family

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving.

We spent ours at the lake with hubby's family.

I just love the way the colors look in this picture

My new favorite picture of her

Happy

A picture with the grandparents

It was a nice time spent with family.  The kids got to spend time with their cousins and the weather was nice enough to be outside.

We had many things to be thankful for.

Zizette

There's No Place Like Home

I am sure you have heard about that crazy storm in the Northeast last week.

Yeah, it got me.

I was home about 20 minutes from my class and I heard a big pop and the power went OUT.

I called my mom (who lives around the corner, 3 blocks over), she had power so me and the kids went there.

Just an hour or so after we lost power

 The storm was absolutely INSANE.

A little later I saw that we would be there overnight, I went back home to collect some essentials and unload my Fridge/Freezer.

My parent's street looked like a war zone obstacle course.

School was closed for 2 whole days.  Halloween was crazy too with all the trees down.  But the kids got out there early so we could see tree branches, electric lines and whatever else may be out there.

I was without power for 7 days.  Yes, 7 days.  We went back everyday to check on things, get things we needed and feed the cat.

This was the freakiest thing ever to happen.  The trees had all their leaves and when the snow built up on them the tree limbs snapped.  Broken trees all over our town.  I live on a beautiful tree lined street as do my parents.  The big old trees on my street lost limbs but on my mom's street the smaller trees were split in half.

Just one of the houses on the block

I have a beautiful Japanese Maple on my front lawn.  I so did not want to lose the tree.  I stood out in the snow knocking the snow off it's limbs so they wouldn't snap.  When I would knock the snow off, I would see the limbs bounce back up.  I am happy to say we didn't lose it.  Only one branch fell on our whole property.  We were very lucky there.

My Japanese Maple

I am happy to finally be back home in my own bed.  We thank my mom and dad but, "there's no place like home."

{New} Cooking Experience

Well, I haven't been doing the normal kind of cooking I like to do this year because, well, my oven died in  late spring.  It kills me to replace it because it is this awful little wall oven and if it was up to me I would cut our counter and cabinet out where our cook top is an put in a freestanding range.  That would probably be very costly so it's not happening.  I guess I will have to spring for the oven soon but right now I don't have one so I made meatloaf on the grill.

Yeah, you heard me right - Meatloaf ON THE GRILL.

I looked it up to see if it was possible and it is so I took up the task and did in fact try it.  I modified a Rachael Ray Recipe a bit and followed her directions on how to cook it on the grill.  Hubby was home that day and he made his famous Mashed Potatoes and Glazed Carrots.

I assembled all the ingredients, wrapped the meatloaf as directed and cooked it up.  It came out GREAT!  My picky eater asked for seconds to which my husband replied that I will be making this meal at least once a week!

Something new to try and everyone liked it, so I guess it was a hit.  I don't have any pictures because when hubby gets involved in meal prep he sort of takes over and then my meals don't get their pictures.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Italian style panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup half and half
2 Tablespoons grated onions
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
salt and pepper
1 package of the meatloaf trio (beef, veal, pork) Approximately 3 lbs
Cooking Spray

What you do:

Preheat the grill to medium.  Mix all ingredients in a bowl.

Stack two 2 foot long sheets of heavy duty foil. Coat the stop sheet with cooking spray.  Place meatloaf on top - shape it into a 5x8 inch loaf. Fold sides up to make a sturdy package, turn the loaf halfway and wrap again sealing the loaf in the package.

I placed the loaf in an aluminum pan just to be sure.  Cook for 35 minutes, then turn over and cook for another 25 minutes (until firm to the touch).  Remove from grill and let rest for 5 minutes, unwrap and let rest 5 minutes more.  Slice and serve.

Enjoy!

New {Favorite} Product

OK, many of my friends have cleaning ladies who come once a week, once every two weeks and at times even I have had a cleaning lady.  BUT to be budget conscious I have stopped having a cleaning lady.  I do it and a small part of me likes it better when I clean because I know it is done my way.

I live in an old house and it seems that it gets dusty quickly.  My pet peeves are bathrooms and the kitchen. Last week I found this unbelievable product that I love.  I am not into the latest thing just because I need to try stuff for myself.

Scrubbing Bubbles Cleaning Gel

Just hold the wand and slide the button down for gel to apply

The gel stays there even after flushing

Just apply the gel and it stays there for about a week, depending on how often you flush the toilet.  It is so cool and makes my bathroom smell so nice each and every time it is flushed.

I love the way the house smells after it is cleaned.  I like fresh scents and orange scents in the home.

Have you found any great new products that are helpful?

Zizette

Back In The Saddle

Credit

Oh my,  Sorry for taking off some time.  I did not realize what or where I have been lately.

Trying to get back into the swing of things has been a little trying.

As always I am trying to be the best mom possible, best teacher possible and as of yesterday I have added best student possible.

Yes, you read that right I am back in school.

I have gone back to Grad school for School Building Leadership and at some point I need to decide if I will go for the FULL Masters or just the certificate program.  We shall see.  I am excited.

I NEVER wanted to go into education.  I wanted Business (which I did and hated).  My friends would say teaching and I would say, "No way!"  But here I am 22 years later and I am exactly where I should have been all along.  However, my business background is what gives me the motivation to do more than just teach.  Education is such a mess.  We are teaching our children to the test, making unrealistic goals/expectations for some in special education instead of concentrating on what they really need and the people who have never been in a classroom make the rules or bash us for our jobs.  Sorry for that.  I just want to make a difference and this program will open up that arena for me.

I have been cooking some yummies and will be posting those recipes as they came out really good.  It is so cold here today I am in a soup making mood.  Let's see what I come up with.

Ta-ta for now,

Zizette

Where Were You?

Credit

Tomorrow is 9/11, a day we will not forget, a day I will not forget.

You see I know exactly where I was that day at the exact time the first plane hit the Twin Towers.  I was going through the toll at the George Washington Bridge listening to KTU radio.  The radio cut out as I passed through the toll.  I switched over to a news station, at first nothing and then it really didn't have info.  After I came through the toll you don't see much as the side of the Mountain/hill is in the way.  I recall turning my head towards the city and seeing the twin towers smoking and then a static radio saying a small plane or something hit the North Tower. It was a beautiful clear day so you could see straight downtown from the bridge.  The traffic was creeping along, almost in disbelief.  A radio reporter called into the station and they were on their way to work and live downtown.  As I was entering the helix to go down to West Side Highway, the reporter is saying, it seems to be a plane that hit and all of a sudden they scream, "OMG another plane is hitting the South Tower."

At that moment I was terrified.  My husband does not answer his phone during work.  I call my dad, who I was working for at the time and asked if he heard what was going on.  He said something hit the towers and I told him they hit both towers, planes! I also said, "this was no mistake it is F***** Terrorism!"

I came down and the police had already closed the WSH, since eventually this road brings you roght down that way.  They were re-routing through Harlem.  I rolled down my window and asked if I could go back over the bridge and he say yes.  I drove as fast as I could and as safe as I could.  Lucky for me people aren't leaving NYC at the time so I made it back home in minutes (I live right across the river in Fort Lee, NJ - The East side of my building faced the City and you could see the Twin Towers from  it).

I called my dad and he was going to leave but I said he couldn't they closed the bridge, I was probably one of last non-emergency people to be able to go over at that point.

I remember once I got to my building seeing a woman rushing to work and telling her what had happened and she was like, "I need to get to work."  I looked at her and said, "everything is closed, turn on the news."  I then walked into my building and told my doorman.  He and the other staff members tried tuning the small radio.  I got upstairs and turned on the TV, sat in disbelief and called my husband.
He did answer and said at that point they were staying there with all the people since there was some big stockholders meeting and most of the people were for out of town and had no where to go.  He was one of the managers in their Corporate Cafeteria and was handling all of the food for those meetings and the rest of their staff. They even had a child care center at his sight so many people had their kids there as well.  The good part was, it was far enough from the city so it wasn't as chaotic as it was in the city.

I sat glued to the TV, watching and crying at what happened. I didn't believe those buildings could collapse. Thinking about the unborn baby in me and what kind of world we (he) live in.  Will there be a place for me to raise my child?

As I watch now, I feel that same sadness for those who were lost and effected by this horrible tragedy.  My prayers are with everyone since we all lost a something that day.

Zizette

MIA {sorry}

I have been MIA lately.  I was spending time with my kids and my visiting nephew.  It was a glorious 3 weeks.  I so enjoyed it.  I am now getting back in the groove.  School starts tomorrow and I am very excited for the coming school year.  I am also *pondering* the thought of making another blog, but it being a teaching blog.  My thoughts are all over and I am excited for this school year but more on that later.

We had lots of fun in the past few weeks.

All he wanted to do at the Jersey Shore was  drive a Go-Kart

My Nephew caught the first fish of our stay at the lake

Sam caught the largest fish at 2 1/2 lbs, he was proud to brag he caught 8 1/2 lbs of fish in one day

Little Miss, she caught her fish with bread, Sunnies and Rock Bass for this little lady

Cousins, great summer!

Jersey Shore House

Really thought he was going to throw up here

We had an awesome summer and we are sad to see it end.  Here's to a great school year.

Ziz