The Kohlmans

What an awful day. Seriously. Awful. For lots of little reasons. So this video is my "pick-me-up" for now. So glad tomorrow's a new day.

3. start grad school  It's... um... fine. I spend a lot of time on homework, but I guess that's just how it goes. I just spent eleven hours in class over the past 26 hours. The end result will be worth it. 10. catch up with Brad's basketball book Brad actually asked me to do this, once up on a time. It's a pretty simple deal.  I'm not much of a scrapbooker any more. And, as long as I'm on the subject, I have a confession: 21. take Brad to a Wingnuts game (fail.... oops.) Six to go.... maybe I'll make it... 2. finish black and white quilt (in progress: quilting it!) 11. make braided cinnamon bread 12. touch up ceiling paint mistakes and stains (in progress: bleached the water stains on the ceiling. need to get paint for the paint mistakes) 14. make a fray blanket with mom 15. write down Christmas memories 16. make something old/ugly/cheap into something nice (in progress - just have to put it all back together) View the complete list here.

Right now I'm in class. All day long... I've been trying to sort out lots of thoughts and emotions the past few days. Most of them have been sparked by this new movie and the various mixed reviews I have seen and read from various mixed sources. Maybe I'll post them soon.  In the meantime... my new favorite quotation... "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss

today's quote... when trying to start a letter to the author about a book that inspired/touched... "Can I do Alice in Wonderland?! Oh, wait! That's not a book." I had to look up whether it's actually a movie (other than the animated version).

Reason #5,342 I love teaching 6th grade... (this was most certainly the first conversation I had when I walked into my classroom today) "Mrs. Kohlman! I had jello for lunch, and then it got in my shoe." Um. Well. Okay. How 'bout that?!

I am so ready for fall. (Not the calendar fall - the real temperatures-cooling-off-colored-crispy-leaves fall)Now, I wouldn't normally say that, because I know that winter comes next, but it's been so hot for so long that I just can't take it any more. I think that when the sky darkens at 7:30 p.m. the high should not reach 90 degrees. I'm ready for my giant mums to bloom. (My rose bush has been the only color in the backyard since at least June.) I'm ready to do yardwork on the weekends. I'm ready to bake without baking (myself). I'm ready to quilt again. I've neglected my quilt since school started, mostly because of busyness but also because it's too darn hot to sit under layers and sew. I'm ready for highs in the 70's and nice cool breezes in the evenings. I'm ready to turn off the ac and open the windows. I'm so, so, so ready for fall. Anyone else?!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins 4 eggs 2 c. sugar 1 can pureed pumpkin (16 oz.) 1 1/2 c. oil 3 c. flour 2 tsp. baking soda 2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 tsp. salt 1 package mini chocolate chips In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin, and oil until smooth.  Add dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups.  Bake 14-18 minutes at 400 degrees.

A few random thoughts... I got all these books for my classroom. For free. Thank you, Scholastic book orders. I'm blogging instead of doing homework. I'm such a rebel. We were in Wichita tonight for church pictures. After that, er, experience , we ate at Old Chicago. It rained and hailed. Right after we left, the tornado sirens went off. We made it home safely, though. It's nice to work with people you like a lot. It's okay to work with people you don't really know. CBS is showing Big Brother. NBC has America's Got Talent on. ABC is airing storm coverage. Hmmm... We love bierocks. The new season of Parenthood started last night. So much fun. Brad made (Bethel College) ladder golf for us. I'm not very good at it, but it's fun. I think my mums might be on steroids (this is only one of the four in the backyard). They're going to start blooming any day now. And... you might not to read this last one if you have a weak stomach or you...

I don't really know what inspired me to do this, but today I made pita chips, hummus, granola bars, strawberry cream cheese coffee cake, bierocks, and supper. Here's the granola bar recipe ( originally found here ) 2 cups oats 3/4 cup wheat germ 3/4 cup sunflower seeds 1 cup peanuts, crushed 2/3 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup honey 4 Tbsp butter 2 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 tsp Kosher salt approximately 8 oz. dried fruit (I used chocolate chips instead, at Brad's request) Preheat oven to 400. Crush the peanuts. Mix peanuts, oats, sunflower seeds, and wheat germ in a baking dish. Toast these ingredients for about 10-12 minutes. Line a 9x13 pan with greased wax paper. Yes, you need to grease (or spray with Pam) the waxed paper. Otherwise it sticks to the granola bars and you spend lots of time peeling it off. Melt the brown sugar, honey, butter, vanilla, and salt in a saucepan. Stir constantly until it simmers. Mix everything together (now is when you add your fru...

I don't know why I think this is so funny (maybe it's the line about kids drinking it...), but here's a little chat I had with a student the other day. "Mrs. Kohlman, what's ginnatonic?" "What?!" "Right here." (shows me her book) "Gin and tonic." "Oh. It's a drink." "Like, can kids drink it?" "No."

"I'm alive. And today you know that's good enough for me. Breathin' in and out's a blessing, can't you see?" I think I could sit and listen to this song all day long.

If you've noticed that I've been absent lately, this might have something to do with it. I'm still alive, but some days all I do is work, workout, eat, and do homework. And when I do see that precious thing called "free time," I like to spend it doing nothing. I don't have time to process my actions and emotions, much less to figure out what to blog about. So try not to expect too much from my end. But do feel free to comment or leave me a suggestion for what to write.

A conversation last night between my Grandpa Melvin (who recently had a hip replacement) and Brad (who loves to joke with Grandpa. "So, have you done anything interesting lately, Melvin?" "I guess. I had my hip replaced." "What did they do with the old one?" "Well..... I don't know. Turned it into hamburger, I guess." My grandpa isn't senile. I promise. He's just randomly and strangely hilarious.