Crafty Things...

I'm super-psyched to see how our painting projects turned out! Jenn - were you able to get them yet from that pottery place we visited last weekend? Is there any way to post a photo of all of them for us to see?

The pottery activity made me think of crafty things to do, and this past week I did candle making with my college roommate, Amy. It was fun (even though it was like 90 degrees when we decided to boil hot wax) and they came out looking quite beautiful! If you want to know how, let me know.

The never-ending saga

Since I haven't been meeting new people of late, I've decided to give the internet another crack at finding someone interesting in the area. I signed up for a new site yesterday and I've found some interesting people to talk to, but of course that's not nearly as interesting as the bad ones...

"u r nice hottie en i like to treat u like a laded (yeah, "laded")

"nice plumage gorgeous! we should go out some time"

"can i b ur roomate?"

Apparently no one has discovered the beauty of the shift key and they think they can impress an English teacher by making up their own bloody language! Several of the profile pictures could possibly be their mugshots. Seriously, several of them look dangerous and yet somehow they think they'll find a lady (laded) friend! I promise to keep you updated as I know you lovely settle couples live for this stuff!

Wall*E

Hi Girls,
Erik and I just saw Wall*E and it was great. A very entertaining movie, but also kinda dark for a G-rated film. If you're looking for a cute matinée, I recommend this one. However, I don't think it was as fun or lighthearted as Ratatouille. Enjoy!

Rubistar

Hey Girls,
You've both probably heard about rubistar.com, but I totally had forgotten about it until the end of the year and then remembered it when I needed a presentation and project rubric. This site is great because it has preexisting rubrics, but you can also create your own criteria for the rubric and it will put it into the format and boxes and everything.

Love to blog!

Hi girls! This is great. We can chat and toss around ideas and everything. Wow, I feel totally tech. savvy! More blogs to come!

Mmmm Salmon

New marinade for you all to try - it's in this month's Cooking Light, and Tyler and I found it to be quite tasty last night.

Maple Grilled Salmon
1/4 cp rice wine vinegar
3 TBSP maple syrup
2 TBSP fresh orange juice
4 (6 oz) salmon fillets, skinned
Cooking spray
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag; add fish. Seal and marinate in refrigerator for 3 hours.
2. Preheat grill or grill pan to medium-high heat.
3. Remove fish from bag, reserving the marinade. Pour marinade into a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 2 TBSP (about 5 minutes).
4. Place fish on grill rack or pan coated w/cooking spray; grill 4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Baste occasionally with marinade (this was a key thing to make it taste really great!). Remove fish from grill; sprinkle with salt & pepper.

Per serving: 270 calories; 10.6 g fat (good fat!); 31.1 g protein; 11 g. carbs; 0.1 g fiber

Rambow!

Just got home from a supremely cute movie, Son of Rambow.

It is about this young boy named Will whose family is part of an extreme religious group called The Brethren. At school his differences from the other kids really stand out as he has to leave the room when they watch movies, etc. He connects with another outcast, Lee Carter, who has access to video equipment. Together they embark on making their own Rambo-esque film based on a story Will creates. I would definitely recommend watching it if you get the opportunity!