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I'm only creating this blog to make the other blog move down further so the video can be seen. Sorry for anyone who got their hopes up and thought I was making another awesome video blog...

From our home, to yours, Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all, & to all a goodnight!

It's finally here, Christmas.

Reasons I love Christmas:

• Almost everyone is full of holiday cheer
• Christmas music & movies
• An excuse to go shopping and spend money
• Christmas lights make houses look so pretty, warm, & cozy
• Family comes home and gathers around a delicious meal complimented with baked goods afterward
• Buying gifts for someone special and seeing their face after they open it
• I would go on, but I can't even explain why it makes me so happy

Now, I'm going to touch on my 2nd to last point, "Buying gifts for someone special and seeing their face after they open it."  Yesterday, I was at work and every student, teacher, staff, & faculty member was running around exchanging gifts, delivering cupcakes, watching movies, eating popcorn, or just simply smiling. I loved the love in the building and seeing that joy, we all know everyone possesses, surface this one time a year. Lately, everyone in the building has been stressed out and irritable to the max. But, somehow everyone managed to dig deep down and forget about their troubles to make yesterday special to the students and others in the building. It was magical.

The most magical part hit me when I was in my last classroom for the day. This  3rd grade class is considered a "self-contained" class. That means the kids who are in the class have behavioral and/or emotional issues. The class is about 12 kids and usually chaotic (in a good way). The teacher is the sweetest woman ever and her aide is a tough guy with a big heart for each student. Together they work to create a special and very unique family where every person looks out for one another, even if on most days profanity is being shouted from one student to the next, fits are being thrown and lockers are being hit, students are threatening one another's lives, etc. If one outsider tries to come in and join the class, the others are cautious and will do anything to that child if he/she threatens the teacher or anyone else in the class. It's a very weird dynamic, yet so special and amazing to witness. Most of these kids have one parent households, have grown up in foster care, come to school with bugs, bruises, burns, you name it. To sum it up, these kids have very little things or people who appreciate them.

So, every year their teacher asks the students to make a list of toys they'd like for under $10. This year she had the kids look up toys online and write it down. So, yesterday was the Christmas party. The students first watched a video of themselves set to music that the teacher's aide had made of the kids. This video included voice overs of each student and their feelings, and also photos of themselves and staff who have had a meaningful interaction with them throughout the year. Next, was present time. Everyone moved their chairs into a circle and was out of control with excitement. The teacher called each student's name one by one and handed him/her the present. Every child watched as the wrapping paper was torn off and the biggest smile ever was revealed. There was one student in particular who made me cry. She is a girl whose clothes are always to small, who has a big heart along with a big attitude, and who doesn't seem to get much attention or love at home. She opened her gift, moon sand, and immediately ran over to the teacher and embraced her. This hug was the biggest hug I have ever seen a child give. The teacher told her how much she loved her and wished her a Merry Christmas. The girl continued to latch on with the biggest smile and would not move. This site brought myself, my coworker, and the teacher to tears. Seeing how happy she was and feeling the love in that room really hit me. I have so much to be thankful for, why do I always long for more when there are young kids out there who might not have a safe home to go to, who are never told or shown that they are loved, or who are constantly acting out just to hope that someone will notice them.

I want to wish you all a very special holiday season and remind you to show those in our life how much you appreciate them and reach out for those who might be seeking your attention. You never know what story they might have to share with you and how much you could mean to that person. Merry Christmas everyone and safe travels! I love you all, peace.

My Goodies, My Goodies

I know I have failed you all with my "25 days of Christmas" series. I apologize whole heartedly and hope you will forgive me. Since my last post I've had my first campout weekend with the 3rd and 4th graders, started to join bar trivia, ate numerous amounts of delicious wings, started driving like a Buffalonian, went out with some work people (I'm making friends!), found a delicious mexican restaurant, and downed a whole bottle of brandy, wine, & 4 jack'n cokes in one night leaving me with the worst hangover, in history, for 2 days afterward.

The night of drinking was also a night of baking. I baked chippy dippy bars (magic cookie bars to some), almond bark pretzels, sugar cookies (cake recipe), and my new favorite, oreo balls.

Now, I don't know if any of you have experienced these, but my roommates introduced me to them so I thought I'd pass them along.

Oreo Balls

• 1 pkg. regular oreos
• 1 pkg. cream cheese
• almond bark

You'll want to allow the cream cheese to soften, so I usually take it out of the fridge first. Crush up the oreos until they are super fine. In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese and oreos. I have to use my hands because it's hard to do. The mixture will come out feeling like a sticky playdough, so don't panic if it's gooey and thick. Form the oreo mix into 1-2" balls. Use a double boiler, or make one, and melt the almond bark. Then, dip the balls into the almond bark and let dry on wax paper. These are soooo delicious. Very rich so I can only eat about one at a time. This recipe makes about 24 oreo balls depending on how large they are.

Ah!

Posts.are.coming...I promise!

Until then, stay safe and warm my dear Iowa frenzzz!

On the 20th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

Ok, first things first, I need to post a song. (I really hope you guys are enjoying this holiday music as much as I am!).  Who doesn't love a good classic song sung by an old time 90's favorite?!?  (ignore the foreign language subtitles; it's all I could find!)



Ok, so Oprah recently aired her show, "Oprah's Favorite Things," and the other day I was in the bathroom getting ready for bed when I realized, I have not shared two of my very favorite things that I use everyday! I know that some ladies who read this will really appreciate the first one...

1. Scott's Extra Soft Toilet Paper

• Single-ply tissue paper so you don't feel like you're wasting a giant wad of paper every time you use the lavatory
• Soft & not scratchy like it's competitor "Soft & Gentle" or as I like to call it, "Hard & Scratchy"
• Each roll lasts forever (something I wish I would've discovered before the Brady sisters visited my apartment each month)
• Fairly inexpensive for what you get

Now, a lot of you might not have realized the constant agony my roommates and I went through in past years of finding the "perfect" toilet paper. So, when I came to Buffalo and Cody suggested this, "Scott's Extra Soft," stuff, I was a little hesitant. Aha, I think he was on to something! Here it is in my blog listed under one of my favorite things! I don't know how I missed it all these years. My old favorite was Quilted Northern, before they got rid of the one-ply and started making everything super plush. I'm telling you kids, try this stuff and let me know what you think. I hope I won't let you down.

My other item of choice probably won't be very exciting to you and for that I'm sorry. However, it is an item I swear by and use everyday. Ok, enough with the suspense, it's floss picks!

     2.   DenTek Comfort Clean Floss Picks

• Super easy grip so you'll be sure to get every tooth/gum area
• Make sure to get the angled ones (I find them easier to reach the molars with)
• Help prevent gingivitis (a chronic infection that stimulates your immune system to overreact which could possibly lead to increased heart attacks and strokes!) -thanks, Dr. Oz!
• Inexpensive
• Mint flavoring

I can't stress enough the importance of a healthy mouth! It's something I've always loved and who knows, maybe one day I'll go back and get a degree in dental hygiene! Who would've known that gingivitis, a disease easily prevented by simple oral hygiene practices, could lead to heart attacks and strokes?!?! I sure didn't, so make sure you're flossing those pearly whites and keeping them sparkling!

Happy Holidays!

TwoOne

My bad shawtays, I'm late on yet another blog post. Wah, let's just all be happy I'm making up for the ones I've missed. Ok, let's post a song first. Here's a sweet Christmas song that I like to listen to when I'm having a rough day. So, since I had a rough few days last week (rest in peace Aunt Linda), I thought I'd share it with you. Rachael Yamagata is an amazing artist and if you have not checked out any of her other songs/albums, I highly recommend you do so! I hope you enjoy it!


Ok, enough sappy/downer stuff, let's move onto something that makes everyone happy...COOKIES! A few days ago I mentioned that Taylor and I made some delicious cookies. I promised you the recipe and it's a mighty complex one so bear with me.

Funfetti Cookies

• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 box Funfetti cake mix (or any flavor cake mix)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl mix together the eggs, oil, and cake mix. Stir until all the cake mix is dissolved. (Note from me: it'll be tough to mix but don't add water. It'll be very thick and sticky, this is normal.) Place little balls of cookie dough onto a sprayed cookie sheet and Voila! you're ready to place them in the oven and bake them until they are a little golden on the edges. (We all know what cookies look like when they're done.)

Our batch made about 18 large Funfetti cookies. We also made a batch of lemon cookies using lemon cake mix. I must say, these turned out delicious if you like a hint of lemon. We paired them with cream cheese frosting and mmm they were marvelous.

Now, the other recipe I said I would share was the vegan lasagna we made. So, here goes:

Easy Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

• 1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tsp. chopped garlic
• 2 tbsp. water
• 2 26-oz jars of spaghetti sauce (or your favorite pasta sauce)
• 9 lasagna noodles
• Soy Parmesan (optional; we used vegan shredded mozzarella)
• Sliced black olives (optional)

     Filling:

• 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed (we used fresh spinach)
• 1 lb tofu (firm, reduced-fat recommended-not silken!)
• 1 tsp. salt (optional)
• 2 tbsp. nutritional yeast (adds a cheesy taste; I don't think we used this...maybe though)
• 1 1/2 tsp. oregano
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. basil
• 1/2 tsp. rosemary, crushed
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Saute the mushrooms and garlic over medium heat in the 2 tbsp. water until tender. Remove from heat and add the spaghetti sauce (use a big pot or we found that a wok worked best).

Place the tofu and thawed spinach in the food processor (we used a big bowl and a potato masher) and process briefly. Add the remaining filling ingredients to the processor and blend until smooth. 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Spread half of the sauce in the bottom of a 9x12 in. pan. Place a layer of noodles over the sauce, using three dry noodles and leaving a space in b/w them. Spread half of the tofu mixture on the noodles. We added some shredded mozzarella after the tofu layer and then repeated the layers. Cover with another layer of 3 noodles and then spread the remaining tofu mixture over them. Top with a final layer of noodles and pour the remaining sauce over this. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then, remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with soy Parmesan and sliced black olives if you want. The lasagna will cut better if you allow it to cool for 15 minutes before serving. 

**Recipe from: FatFree Vegan Kitchen