Quote of the Day

Today was Grandparent's Day at school. We all dressed up 1960's style. I went as a go-go girl and thought I was looking pretty darn good until I had one of my fifth graders come up to me and ask, "Are you a grandparent?" My response was, "Are you kiding me, I'm not even a parent, go sit down!" This job is aging me.

A Most Delicious Recipe for Chocolate Lovers with a Sensitive Side

I recently tried out a recipe for Vegan Chocolate Cake and it was absolutely delicious! You would never know it was vegan, and those with sensitive stomachs will thank you.
Mix dry ingredients together, then add the wet. 2 greased, floured 8 or 9 inch pans. Bake at 350 for 30 min.




3 Cups Flour
2 Cups Sugar
6 Tbs. cocoa
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 C vegetable oil
2 Tbs. vinegar
2 tsp vanilla
2 Cups cold water

A Little Visit to the ER

This morning did not exactly go as planned. The plan was to get up early, get ready for school, and make it out the door in time to get my kids prepared for putting on 8:00 am mass for the entire school. I did wake up early, only not to head to work but to the ER. I have been dealing with some neck issues lately and have been having horrible pain near my spine. So this morning was the morning I couldn't deal with the pain anymore. Only in San Luis Obispo would we walk into the ER and not have to wait for anything. I was brought right to a room, had x rays taken, and was back home in about an hour. I love small towns. Not to mention an ER Doctor of one of the students that I teach calling the hospital for me to make sure I was well taken care of when I arrived. The X rays came back fine (which is always a blessing and a curse because you still don't know what is wrong with you) and the Doctor said that I had a mayofascial cervical strain. So I sit here with a neck brace on the couch, realizing that life in my classroom is probably going on as somewhat usual, and learning not to stress out so much about the little things that were most likely the reason the whole neck thing started in the first place.

Pecho Coast Trail

We took a great hike this past weekend to the San Luis Lighthouse. We were led on a 3.4 mile hike by a docent. They don't let you travel out there alone because it is so close to the nuclear power plant. The views were absolutely incredible and we learned a lot of history. I would definitely recommend it if you have a free Saturday. Just meet at Port San Luis at 9 am, sign a few waivers, and you are on your way.

This is Smith Rock. There were actually five families living on this rock in the 1920's. They chose to live here to escape taxes. They used to tether there children to the rock so they wouldn't fall. How crazy is that!
This is Whale Rock. Local whalers used to process the whales. They made many products at the base of the rock.

This tree swing hung near the lighthouse. Can you imagine growing up with a swing like this in your front yard? Not to mention the view!


Here is the lighthouse. They are in the process of restoring it. It is the only remaining lighthouse of this particular design. Two others were built in San Diego and the Bay Area but are now destroyed.

Christmas Vacation

Christmas at the Romano's was a lot of fun. We did the traditional gift giving in the morning after enjoying homemade cinnamon rolls. We then headed out to the Grandparents in Cherry Valley.




A Romano family tradition includes something called "Destination Unknown." This involves some sort of adventure with the family without any clues. This year he took us 4 wheeling through some major puddles and mud holes to a beautiful trail. Keep in mind we were in Orange County. Once we reached the Cleveland National Forest, you never would have known it. We hiked the "Holy Jim Trail" until we reached an amazing waterfall.








New Year's Day was warm and sunny. We put our new landscaping to the test by playing Cornhole. (Basically bing bag toss with skill) I couldn't believe I was breaking out the sunscreen and shorts on January 1st!

Twentyten

Some call it Thirty. I call it Twentyten. Why? Because I don't feel any different. I still feel like a twentysomething. I guess that's the trick about aging. It's so gradual you can't point to one day and say, "Yep, that's when I got old." Yet there's something significant about turning the page on another decade. Here's a few things that come to mind:
1) I can run for US Senate. I don't know about the rest of you but that sounds like a great way to spend the next 6+ years. Watch out Boxer.
2) I can wear loafers without being laughed at. (hopefully)
3) I can fix my own appliances. OK, maybe this isn't age dependant, but I never worked on my own appliances until I turned 30. So far I've been incredibly successful, already fixing our dryer that broke last week.
4) I can talk about the good old days. Like when vending machines sold 12oz cans of soda, bicycle helmets were optional, Mario Brothers was cool, gas was under a buck a gallon, and cell phones were the size of car batteries. OK, not everything about the old days was better.

Philosophy aside, my birthday was indeed one to remember. I was surrounded by many of my closest friends and reminded how blessed I am to have them in my life. My brother came into town just for the event. The love of my life planned the most amazing party, down to the last detail. It was a 3 course progressive dinner. The main dish was upper crust take out. Yummy. There was a quite amusing white elephant exchange and another fun Tim trivia game. I love games! Debra even looked into an RV to transport everyone during the progressive dinner. It didn't work out but how cool is that? She's the best.
The rest of the day was pretty cool too. Debra made me breakfast and she let me do whatever I want, even wear my blue cords that she can't stand!

Merry Christmas

We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday filled with fun, family, and health.