weekend update

Thursday night the restaurant club went to a fantastic Afghan restaurant, where I picked out the best meal on the menu. It had lamb and vegetables in some sort of delectable sauce.

Friday, it rained buckets so we took advantage of the situation and put on our swimsuits and rain boots (and clothes - not really sure why we bothered with those) and splashed around in the rain. Laura tried boogey boarding down the hill, but there wasn't quite enough water.

Then our Brazilian neighbors got jealous that we were having so much fun and came out to play soccer.

I also made lots of shaved ice with my new gourmet shaved ice syrups that already arrived!!! (I decided to go with package #2.) And when my package arrived, I also received a note from the seller (I bought them off of ebay) letting me know that next time I order, I can pick whatever flavors I want! My favorite 15 out of hte 99 options available!!! I'm already excited for next summer.

Saturday, my roommate and I made strawberry-rhubarb pie and lemon buttermilk sherbet. It was quite possibly the best combination of dessert flavors ever. I'll have to post the recipe for the sherbet. It made my little heart go pitter patter. Saturday night, we tried to go to the National's game but the cheap seats were sold out (who knew the Nats were popular?) so we went down to the mall for the folk life festival, which was over. But we saw enough to know that we are going back. Mission accomplished.

ps - read my mom's blog. sometimes my family blows me away. in a good way.

dear brother,

thanks for not killing me when we did the paper route together. I owe you my life.

and happy birthday.

love,
poodle

my books are here!!!

I ordered a book from Amazon last week all about robotics and designing and building sensors and what not. So it turns out that when my school asked me if I'd like to teach a robotics class, I forgot to mention that I really don't know that much about robotics. Lucky for me, everybody else in the school knows exactly zero about robotics, so when I tell them that I can program a robot to look for objects and pick them up, they think that's really fancy. This book should help me turn my class into an actual high school/pre-college class as opposed to something along the lines of "Fun with Legos".

invoke your right to vote

So, a few weeks ago I bought an electric shaved ice machine, which is just about my favorite purchase of all time. So, since shaved ice is no good unless you have some shaved ice FLAVORS to go along with it, I found some syrups on sale that I am debating. One package has 14 flavors ($14) and the other has 15 flavors ($15). The problem is, the flavors are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. So it is your job to tell me which package you think I should go with. I may or may not listen to your suggestions, but I want to hear them anyway.

Package 1 includes the following flavors:
Blue Raspberry,
Cherry,
Pink Cotton Candy,
Grape ,
Root Beer ,
Watermelon ,
Sassy Green Apple ,
Banana ,
Strawberry ,
Blue Bubble Gum ,
Orange ,
Lime ,
Pineapple ,
Tigers Blood (Red Fruits & Coconut)

Package 2 includes these flavors:

Wild Cherry (Red, tangy cherry)
Rock n Roll (Blue Fruit Punch)
Black Cherry (Dark, Sweet Cherry)
Wild Thing (Wild Cherry & Black Cherry mix)
Red Apple (Red, Candied Apple)
Blackberry (Just like the fruit without the seeds)
Peach (add a little evaporated milk to have peaches & cream)
Red Hot (Red, Hot Cinnamon)
Kiwi (Tangy)
Coconut (White - no food coloring)
Pina Colada (Pineapple & Coconut)
Red Raspberry (Just like the fruit without the seeds)
Margarita (Bright Green)
Strawberry Daiquiri
Pink Lemonade (Pink, Sour)

So what do you think?

the weekend

Overall the weekend turned out to be pretty fun. Friday night, I watched Freedom Writers, which always makes me feel inspired about being a teacher. I think it might have graduated to the title of favorite movie of all time.

Saturday, we went down to the mall (national, not shopping). The weather was SO perfect in the shade, and the barbecue festival smelled perfect. However, the barbecue festival required a large fee, and nobody wanted to pay it. So we just stood and stared and smelled. But boy, the smell was worth it. Ahhhh....

We then went swimming, ate dinner, and went down to a party at the French Embassy. The party wasn't quite as cool as we had hoped for, but the strawberry lemonade smoothie I bought in Georgetown was definitely as good as I had hoped.

update

So this is what we've been doing this week in my summer robotics class. I now have a strong testimony that I should never, ever teach twelve-year-olds. I just don't have the patience for pre-adolescent antics. They love the battle bots, though. The real fun starts in the fall. Stay tuned.

During my free time, I finished reading this book:

Nice story, great ending, and after the first two pages I was already worried about the main character.

I also started this book:

So far, it's interesting and pretty funny. It's a great summer book because it's easy to get through, but still thought-provoking. What a great combination.

I also bought The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down and Peace Like a River, which I am excited to start:

belize

Occasionally, companies, rich parents, or other philanthropists donate items to our school that are given via random selection to faculty members. Usually these prizes involve football tickets, ballet tickets, or tickets to other local attractions. However, as a grand finale to the school year, someone donated an all-expenses paid trip for two to BELIZE!! And guess who won?!?!

Molly.

I hate her.

only in baltimore

as heard at the airport:

"Paging airport patron Ghetto Hood. Ghetto Hood, please press zero on one of the airport courtesy telephones."

Dear Mom,

No, a lack of blog posts does not equal a boyfriend.

All it means is that I'm not that clever.

Sorry to disappoint.

Love,
Poodle

Dear Students,

Thanks a lot for demanding so many clever stories. Now I have nothing left for my blog.

This is all your fault.

I miss you,
Miss Reed

Dear Ashley,

I'm glad somebody has finally recognized my crown as fashion queen.

Love,
Poodle

hey

remember back when it was teacher's day, and six whole people boosted my ego by telling me i'm a great teacher?

yeah. me, too.

and remember how i was wishing and hoping that the parents' association would bring in some chocolate croissants from the french bakery down the street? well, guess what i found in the workroom the very next day?! that's right, chocolate croissants!

and guess what i found in the workroom a couple weeks later? MORE chocolate croissants!

that was almost as exciting as the last day of school. almost.

it's official

My baby sister is married, and is now off honeymooning in Yosemite and San Francisco. (I think.)

The wedding turned out to be fantastic, mainly because Shady was stubborn and planned everything exactly the way that she wanted, regardless of what anyone (and by anyone I mean Mom) thought.

They pulled off the alligator-shaped groomscake. How cool does this look? I had no idea little Brandon was such a cake artist:

The wedding cake had a layer of rice krispie treats (which I didn't have a chance to try) and two layers of cheesecake. They also made this themselves. Pretty, pretty:

Little Brandon is the oldest of the Harpdogs, and he and his siblings all look alike. Even the 5-year-old. I'm told my family looks alike, too, but whatever:

And she danced to Freebird, which I don't really understand. But I'm pretty sure dad was excited:

I'm pretty sure the kids had fun:

And her dress was beautiful. It's pretty in the picture, but it looks way better in person. Trust me:

so i married an ax murderer

Has anyone ever seen this movie? Because the ax murderer bears a striking resemblance to my roommate. Minus the murderer part. Seriously.

so close

There are only three days of school left. And then it will no longer be my first year at this school. It hasn't really felt like my first year since about the third week, but still...

In other news, my five days of freedom are over. My roommate is back. Not that I don't love her or anything, but sometimes I really miss living alone.

I still have not received my economic stimulus check. Unlike Ashley, most of mine is going into the bank. But having a lot of money in the bank makes me very happy. So much for stimulating the economy.

tourist season

As of this weekend, it is officially tourist season here in DC. Sometimes it's just fun to go downtown and watch the tourists look lost and confused. I have learned that there are some rules that all toursts must follow:

Rule #1: Every time you cross the street, stop and block the sidewalk to make sure that everyone is with you.

Rule #2: Speak loudly enough for everyone (whether they're in your group or not) to know where you're going and how you're getting there.

Rule #3: Always double and triple-check the map. It doesn't matter if you looked at it two minutes ago, it may have changed. Or the museum may have moved.

Rule #4: Walk in rows of at least 4 so you take up the whole sidewalk.

three days

until ALL of my roommates go out of town. for FIVE DAYS. five blessed days basking in the glorious sunshine of freedom.

food

one great thing about living in DC is the food. there are thousands of restaurants with thousands of different types of food. so far i have tried the following:

Ethiopian. Excellent, as long as it's a good restaurant. But if you don't like eating mush, this isn't for you.

Korean. Also delicious. The spicy tofu soup is excellent, and they had some ribs that melted my heart.

Chinese. (Real chinese) Custard buns are my new favorite dessert. Honey walnut shrimp is my new favorite meal. If there's a restaurant near you that serves dim sum, try it out.

Lebanese. Not my favorite, but I need to give it a second chance. I think I made a poor choice when I ordered, because everybody else's food looked way better than mine.

Indian. There's a place 45 minutes away from my house that is SO worth the drive just for the naan.

Japanese. I could eat sushi every day for the rest of my life and die a happy woman.

Maryland Crabs. Yum.

Vietnamese. Not bad, but if I'm going to pay for soup, I'd rather have the korean tofu soup.

French. We tried out a nice French restaurant during restaurant week. Great deal, good food, snobby waiter. What more could you expect from a French restaurant?

happy teachers day!!!

tell your favorite teacher (ahem) how awesome he or she is. sometimes we really need to hear it.

the parents at our school are providing a luncheon for us today. they're pretty much the best parents association ever. they make me want to jump for joy. now if only i could convince them to bring in more chocolate croissants from the french bakery down the street.

great week

The crabs Thursday night were delicious. Quite possibly one of the best meals I've eaten in a very long time. Yes, they're a lot of work for just a little meat, but the flavor was great, and the restaurant put a spicy rub on them that gave them a little kick. Perfecto.

I also stopped by the mall on Thursday to pick up the vacuum we bought for our apartment, and obviously needed to check in my favorite stores just to see what the sales were like. Good thing I did, because I bought a 100% cashmere sweater that was originally $100 for only $10!!! Don't ask me how I do it, I'm just lucky.

weekend recap

My weekend was enjoyable for so many reasons:

• I joined the DC Restaurant Adventure Club. Every Thursday night, we try out a new local restaurant just for fun. This week is Maryland Crabs.
• We made cinnamon sugar popcorn. Easy to make and tastes absolutely heavenly.
• We ate cinnamon sugar popcorn while watching Waitress. Funny movie, with a great ending. No matter how crappy your life is, being dishonest will not make it better.
• I chapheroned prom and the prom after-party. I was supposed to make breakfast for the kids Sunday morning, but they all got tired and left before I had a chance.
• I made a magnetic rail gun. I went ahead with the JB Weld, and it works beautifully. I'm so excited to show my classes tomorrow.
• I found a website with an unbelievable amount of resources for my class. It took me about 10 minutes to plan my lesson for Monday. What a relief.

post #3 (for bexar)

I'm having my students build little stirling engines this week. I spent the majority of my weekend building my own for troubleshooting purposes. I'm pretty sure they're going to be awesome.

And we built marshmallow blow guns last night for the forthcoming summer marshmallow wars. I can't wait.

I also recently discovered instructables.com. It's the best website known to man. It even trumps craigslist. What a miracle! My summer will now be filled with project after fun project.