Random blogging miscellanea while my students take their finals

I love to cook. The last couple weekends I have been a cooking fiend thanks to my students. We got into a conversation about balance of life, school and work and I encouraged them to find one thing that they love that they don’t think they have time for and to do it for themselves even if it is only for a short time. After we discussed this for awhile a student said to me Ms O you are a student and you work full time what do you love that you are not doing? So I told them about cooking and they challenged me to practice what I preach (I also think they are hoping on scoring baked goods). I have cooked all sorts of things since then, stuffed green peppers, meatloaf, cardiac referral potatoes, lemon bars, spicy fried chicken thighs; oven fried chicken breasts, Spanish rice, green beans. This weekend I am planning on making pumpkin cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting and pork roast with baked sweet potato fries. Next thing I need to do is make some friends down here so I can invite them over for dinner, ‘cause I really love to throw dinner parties.

Hello, my name is Christina and I am addicted to audiobooks. For the past several weeks I have been listening to the audiobook of “Atlas Shrugged” as read by Scott Brick. Before that it was “Jane Eyre” as read by a woman with a lovely English accent who’s name escapes me at the moment. I listen to it every day, on my dive, before I fall asleep, when I take a nap, I am strung out I tell yah. When I was a kid I loved being read to, as an adult I find a distinct lack of people willing to read to me, so enter the audiobook, now if only I could get it to rub my back.

I have finally decided what I am going to put into my 75 gallon acrylic fish tank. I have been agonizing over this for weeks. I use agonizing but really I have been delighted to do the research on the fish I am considering and their individual requirements. I am setting up a biotope tank. A biotope tank is one that mimics a little slice of the natural environment where your inhabitants come from, everything from the same sort of dirt and rock to water parameters to fellow tankmates. I am going with a Brazil Amazon river tank. I am going with Geophagus Brasiliensis, Geophagus Jurupari, Red Heros Severum, perhaps some apistogramma I really haven’t decided on the exact species yet. I am getting excited though. The next step is setting up all the driftwood and plants then letting the tank run for a few weeks and then FISH, whoo hoo!

I need to go out dancing soon; I think I forgot how it has been so long.

Alright, my students are finishing and the brain smoke is clearing, bye for now!



Because I always have to throw in a picture, here is a look at my very empty fish tank

Day book

My friend @ http://salomeellen.blogspot.com/ got this from a couple other places and I since I am too obsessed at the moment with my school writing I thought I would give it a try...


Outside my window:

It is a warm (high 60s) balmy evening the sky is pink and the warm breeze smells like salt, the palm trees are swaying, the little green parrots are squawking and wheeling in flocks and in general it is the sort of night that makes me want to be outside and not trapped in my classroom.

I am thinking:
That I need to get busy and start calling people for our "Professional Advising Committee" meeting coming up in early April. I wish my great grand boss would get me the time for the meeting so I can let people know for sure when they are needed.

I am thankful for:
So much, my friends whom I love, my job that brings me joy daily, my car that runs, my house with a big yard and nice kitchen, my fireplace, my fish tanks all found cheap, the wonderful weather, that I have food in my fridge, that at my age I am getting good at acceptance, at how damn happy I am etc etc ad gaudium

From the kitchen:
I made this recipe for spicy fried chicken thighs this weekend and they were FANTASTIC. Seriously outstanding, try em if you like spicy chicken. It also works by the way with pounded chicken breasts.

I am wearing:
Navy blue scrubs, white Dansko shoes, white support socks . . . a virtual fashion plate I tell yah

I am creating:
At this exact moment a new blog post for the first time in months, at home I am plotting my new 75 gallon fish tank, how it should be planted, what kind of lighting, what sort of fish etc

I am going:
To visit my lovies in Detroit in just 37 days

I am reading:
"The influence of tumor size and pre-treatment staging on outcome following radiation therapy alone for stage I non-small cell lung cancer."Sandler, Curran and Turrisi Department of Radiation Oncology, Fox Chase Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

I am hoping:
That the current class on business will not kill me with paper writing and that my lack of interest will not be a problem.

I am hearing:
My students working on their test

Around the house:
Just got 2 beautiful used couches for dirt cheap ($150 bucks), I have not had couches for the 18 months I have lived here in Texas because I didn’t want to schlep them 1900 miles. I didn’t realize it would be so long before I could find something that I liked that would be affordable

One of my favorite things:
Soaking in the bathtub while sipping good red wine, reading a book, and eating super dark chocolate with fruit.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
Beginning to revise my lesson plans for the next class I am teaching - Introduction to Hospital Billing to reflect some new ideas I have to make it more interesting.
This weekend I want to go see the new Magic exhibit at the Museum of Natural History

Words I am pondering:
"In the cicada's cry there is no sign of how soon it will die" Basho

Here is a picture I am sharing:

This is my dog Lily . . .