Around the World in 50 Foods...

A few years ago I decided I wanted to start putting some new foods into my diet, spice things up a bit. No, I didn't want to try mashed turnip or squash for the 50th time (still not a fan of either, though I did discover a liking for summer squash). I was able to find some new foods pretty easily. They weren't necessarily radical foods, just ones I'd never gotten around to trying, or had bad past experiences with. I discovered that I liked chickpeas, hummus, black olives, black beans, guacumole and feta cheese. I tried vegetarianiasm for a grand total of about one month, but along the way discovered eggplant parm and veggie burgers! I came up with some wierdly delicious combinations such as stir fried pineapple and soy sauce, and I tried and disliked things such as sushi, tofu, and salmon. After a while things hit a standstill. Not because I didn't want to try new foods, but because I was running out of foods to try! The Charlie's snack bar only had so many options! Then came a move far away from my "homeland," and all things familiar, cuisine included. This new area has allowed me to try "Regional cuisine," such as fried catfish, okra, buffalo,and pheasant. In recent months I have found myself sampling baba ghanouj, fried pickles, shawarma, tofu that actually tasted good, and many other things. What has been the result? An overwhelming desire to try more new foods! This is where you, my readers and fellow bloggers can help. My goal for 2010 is to try (or re-try) at least two new foods each month. First up - spaghetti squash! What else do you think should make it to my table?

pioneering the frontier of humanity

8 months of blogging, and only 10 posts to my name. yet i still wonder if this blog is interesting, or if people bother to read it? my purpose in writing was simply to keep in touch with my east coast friends as i began my midwest life. but am i following the cardinal rule of writing? am i "knowing my audience?" what is it an audience wants? more importantly, i must ask, what does this audience want? there are many places this blog could go... reflections of a first year teacher, humorous stories from high school halls, tales of the hearty prairie which exist for my east coast friends only in the words of laura ingalls wilder? it is from wilder that this blog gets its name. as a child i loved her books. devoured them along with any other historical fiction tale i could get my hands on. i see now what attracted me to her. it was more than simply laura's pension for writing the historical novels which interested me, it was her pioneering spirit which drew me in. it is this same pioneering spirit which brought me here. i am a new type of pioneer now, but i am hardly alone. our world is one which encourages thought. in place of rote memorization we encourage critical thinking. as modern pioneers, we do not seek to tame the land on a new frontier. our frontier is humanity. as a pioneer in 21st century south dakota, i do not wish to harvest the prairie grasses, or tame the wild buffalo. my frontier is humanity. my goal is solidarity. It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all. - Laura Ingalls Wilder

A picture is worth a thousand words -- and the big picture is beautiful.

As I count down the days until Christmas break, and an east coast reunion, the stress seems to cloud the big picture. I have my own semester assignments to finish, quizzes to facilitate and grade, a paper to write, papers to read, plannng etc. It is easy in times like this to focus on the negatives. To think of all the things I don't want to do. But looking at a friend of mine's blog today reminded me - only we can control our happiness. Happiness is an attitude. Sure negative things can and do happen, and these things affect our emotion. As anyone who has even met me knows, succumbing to stress is almost an inevitablity for me. But that still doesn't change happiness - happiness is an attitude, the choice of how we choose to respond to things. No matter our situation, we always have something to be happy about! So, in my attempt to ward off all stress (and maybe, to procrastinate for a short 5 minutes), I am following the suggestion of some very smart women, and making a list. A quick and easy list, of thirty things which I can be thankful for and happy about in my life today and everyday. Can anyone really be sad after listing 30 fabulous things about their life?

1.) A guest came in to my classes today and spoke for half of each class.

2.) (Almost) all of my students were well behaved today.

3.) I recieved a care package full of cookies in the mail.

4.) I will be on the east coast in LESS THAN A WEEK!

5.) I had kluski for dinner and it was delicious.

6.) Our entire community was home for dinner tonight, and ate together.

7.) It snowed yesterday and it is very pretty.

8.) It was above 0 when I left school this afternoon.

9.) The first STM home basketball game is this week.

10.) We got to light three candles on the Advent wreath this morning.

11.) My students made comics last week - now I have something I can actually look forward to grading.

11.) The Chinese food restaurant near our house has a BOGO entree special this week.

12.) I teach in a Catholic school, and can therefore decorate for Christmas!!!

13.) My classroom is covered in Christmas lights (and 250 feet of tinsel.)

14.) I got to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe Saturday, with a Bilingual Mass and Mexican food.

15.) Pandora

16.) God loves me - and He loves you too.

17.) I woke up healthy and alive today.

18.) I found a good book in the 50c sale rack at the Library this weekend.

19.) I have family and friends who love me.

20.) I will be reunion-ing in style with the bests next week at the Boynton.

21.) I made Baked Brie yesterday.

22.) Creating this list is thought provoking.

23.) A picture is worth a thousand words - and even when the details are blurry, the big picture is beautiful!

24.) I have inspiring people in my life.

25.) I have a mission for my life, and I am closer to achieving that mission today than I was yesterday.

26.) Ruby (my car) is holding out in cold weather! Perhaps better than me.

27.) South Dakota doesn't plow - but its okay, because I don't feel bad when we don't shovel!

28.) I ate two peppermint patties while writing this.

29.) I am in my comfies under a warm blanket as I write this, and a warm cuppa tea is soon to come.

30.) I have more reasons to be happy than I realised before writing this.

Think of your own life -- what are you thankful for and happy about today? What are your 30?

And one day, it was cold:

Living in New England, cold becomes something you grow accustomed to. You are used to the humid heat of summer, and just as much, used to the damp cold winter months. The dampness settles into the air, our homes, and our bones in late November and remains there through winter. Cold in South Dakota is different. South Dakota is dry, in a way that leaves the grass brown and your skin thirsty. The cold varies with each day. It was -13 Wednesday morning, and a beautiful 20 above today. The cold the beginning of this week was intense enough to require a hot shower before bed, legggings beneath pants for work, and running the car for a solid 10 minutes before leaving for school. Today however, the weather did truly seem beautiful, and not just in a 20 degrees in December type way. The sun was shining, the snow was melting, and even the air smelled beautifully fresh and new. Today was the first time in awhile, where I was simply joyous to be in South Dakota. I understand now why Kathleen Norris includes weather reports in her novel Dakota. Today was the type of beautiful day that only South Dakota could yield.

Happy New Year!

Today marks the first Sunday of Advent, in addition to that meaning I am only three weeks from heading East, it also marks the beginning of the New Year in the western Church. With the start of this New Year, we are given the opportunity to prepare for Christ's coming - not only the memorial of His coming at Christmas, but also preparation for the time at which Christ will come again. As Fr. Dave reminded all those at St. Isaac Jogues in his homily this weekend, we all prepare for things in a different way, and the coming of Christ is no exception! The Church encourages us to use the season of Advent as a time of prayer, penitence, and thanksgiving as we prepare to memorialize Christ's first coming, and that time in which we will reach our salvation with Him. Even with these general guidelines, we will each experience and reach for God in different ways. In order to reach toward God, I belive it is sometimes necessary to set specific goals. Just as we make New Year's Resolutions on December 31st, I believe it is also necessary to set "spiritual resolutions." While we can - and should - set spiritual goals throughout the year, this first Sunday of Advent, and start of our New Year seem a perfect time to begin! Here are my spiritual resolutions, for the Church year 2010. 1.) Finally finish reading Armchair Mystic! I got this book almost three years ago, and have still yet to finish it! I was really frustrated with myself over this, until I reread the introduction, in which Fr. Thibodeaux states that we are not all or always ready to begin meditative prayer, I realise that I am now more ready to begin this type of prayer life than I was in the past. 2.) To read at least one non-Jesuit prayer/spiritual book. I have nothing against the SJs, I have just realised that almost all of my spiritual knowledge and education has been from the Jesuit perspective, and I believe that the more well rounded my spiritual education is the more well developed my spirituality will be as well. Suggestons (Catholic or otherwise) very welcome!! What are your resolutions this Advent?

Some more, "only in South Dakota"

For your entertainment pleasure, I have added to my previous only in South Dakota list.... the original list I posted is below, with the additions added in green.

*You see so many grasshoppers/locusts you begin to wonder if we're reliving the Plagues of Egypt.

*The busiest WalMart in the country is a few minutes from your house and you wouldn't dare shop there on the weekend.

*You see adorable kid in full cowboy gear in said WalMart, and instead of thinking "oh cute, he's dressed up," you just think "they probably own a ranch."

*Motorcycles are as plentiful as cars.

*You order a "medium iced" in a coffee shop and they assume you mean tea.

*Bars serve tequila with lemons instead of lime and ask if you want an olive in your beer.

*Students submit pre-planned absence forms for family hunting trips. (Pheasant hunting has proven most popular).

*Your school announcements include a reminder to seniors about scholarship opportunities for those with a turkey license.

*Unleaded plus gasoline costs LESS than unleaded regular, and is closer to regular grade gas in Massachusetts.

*Catholics do not make up the largest single Christian denomination (2nd to the Lutheran Church, when the ELCA, WELS, and LCMS are combined).

*It's not unusual for gas stations, restaurants, or strip malls to have a casino, and most of these could fit in your living room.

*The capital (Pierre) is not pronounced like a French man's name, but like a "pier" on the beach.

*Everything in the state is either "near Rapid City" or "near Sioux Falls," even if they are exactly in the state, and hours from either city. (Pierre is the only possible exception).

A Month In The Life....

So despite my inital pick-up in posting upon arrival in Rapid, a month has passed since my last post. Oops. I took pictures to add, but since my camera cord is lost at the moment, they will have to wait until my another update - hopefully soon! So, what has happened in the last month? It is almost better to answer this with what hasn't happened in the last month... here's a rundown of some highlights: the good, the bad, the ugly, and the simply funny! 1.) Homecoming Week - This one was pretty foreign to me, does homecoming even exist in WMass? It certainly didn't at PHS, then again teh concept of Thanksgiving Games is completely foreign to my students! They didn't understand the concept having a consistent annual rival, or that my uncles (some of them anyway) still try to attend the Thanksgiving games... I think not having a specific rivalry can be contributed to how spread out towns are here. The closest high school in our Division is about 20 minutes away and this is a Dakotan anomaly! After that other schools are all at least an hour. 2.) Flu - The flu has been plaguing RC badly, enough to make front page of the Journal (our newspaper). 3.) No more TOB - I wrapped up teaching Theology of the Body to my sophomore girls, and was quite sad to see it end. It was a great way to start the year, and most of my girls got really into the discussions and the teachings. I've even had students try to buy the texts off the school. 4.) Sports Galore - Sports are HUGE at STM...and so over the past few weeks I've attended as many football games as my entire college career (then again STM actually wins on a regular basis, so the games are more exciting....), volleyball games, a short portion of a soccer game, and a Cheer & Dance Competition..... with fall sports wrapping up now I'm ready for basketball season! 5.) Challenges - I think this word can sum up the last six/seven weeks... I have been pushed and challenged, but I've also gotten to think, grow and learn. So far so good.... pictures coming! Hopefully in less than a month!!