| Katherine Anne 的个人资料Pemberly照片日志列表 |  工具  帮助 |
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2月27日 FrustrationEveryone said that the levy wouldn't pass and that I was going to lose my job. Then the levy passed.
Shortly thereafter, I recieved word that my non-continuing contract was going to be converted into a provisional contract. My principal announced that I would be staying at Maple over the loudspeaker during school. It was all very nice. Brandon and I started townhouse hunting.
Monday night, I got an email from my principal saying that my school is facing a shortfall of between $69,000 - $111,000 and that "serious cuts will have to be made." When I saw her this afternoon, she basically told me to spread the word that we should not be optimistic because unlike previous years, she will not be able to "pull a rabbit out of the hat" this time.
I honestly don't know what to think at this point. I just feel angry and heartbroken. The budget is due to be completed by mid March. I've been told that if I'm not terminated by mid May, I might just be able to keep my job. May feels very far away at this point. 2月25日 House HuntingIt's been an action-packed week. On Wednesday, Brandon and I met with our lender and began the necessary paperwork for getting a mortgage. By Friday, we had our official approval. Today we met with our realtor and then explored the wonder that is the Westwood neighborhood. It's a bit out of the way, but no where near as sketchy as I had previously imagined. We are convinced that we can find a 3 bedroom townhouse in Seattle that happens to fall in our price "comfort zone" by my birthday. Actually, I'm more worried that we'll find something right away and have to pass it up because the lease on our apartment isn't up until the end of May.
I haven't done any planning for music, which was supposed to be my main task over break. Oh well, there's always Monday, right? 2月22日 A delicious dinner ideaThis is a combination of recipies that I've found - it came out so well that I thought I'd share. Roasted Vegetable Lasagna
Serves 6
7 points/serving
Ingredients:
3 zucchini cut on the bias into thick slices 1 eggplant cut into thick slices 1 onion, peeled and sliced into rings 2 teaspoons of olive oil (2 pts) 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning pepper 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and wrapped in foil 6 oz ground turkey breast (4 pts)
2 tsp of olive oil (2 pts) 1 container sliced mushrooms 1 small box frozen chopped spinach pepper 1 container low fat ricotta (7 pts)
12 Barilla lasagna noodles, not cooked (14 pts) 6 oz low-fat mozzarella (10 pts) 1 jar Newman’s Sweet Onion spaghetti sauce (7 pts) 2 T fresh basil sliced into ribbons
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss zucchini, eggplant, and onion in 2 tsp oil. Spread in roasting pan/baking sheet.....put foiled wrapped garlic in the corner of the pan. Bake for 30 minutes and then stir. Bake 15 min more. Remove and transfer to a large bowl. Squeeze baked garlic into the vegetables and stir well. While the vegetables are roasting, brown the turkey breast and set aside. Thaw the frozen spinach and remove all excess water.
Pour 2 tsp olive oil into a large frying pan on medium heat and sauté the mushrooms until they start to brown. Add the spinach and pepper and remove from heat once the spinach is incorporated. Once the mushroom/spinach mixture has cooled slightly, add the ricotta and combine. To Assemble: Lower oven temperature to 375 degrees. Spoon 1/4 of the sauce into a baking dish. Lay first 4 noodles down. Cover with half of the mushroom/spinach/ricotta, half of the turkey, half of the roasted vegetables, 1/4 of the sauce and 3 oz of the mozzarella. Cover with 4 more noodles, half of the mushroom/spinach/ricotta, half of the turkey, half of the roasted vegetables and 1/4 of the sauce. Cover with last 4 noodles, the remaining sauce, remaining mozzarella and basil. Cover with foil and bake at 375 F for 55 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 -10 minutes before serving. 2月12日 Masterpiece Theatre's Jane Eyre - A ReviewI finally watched all four hours of the new Masterpiece Theatre version of Jane Eyre today. It is not perfect. It took six hours to do Pride and Prejudice justice, and I happen to think that Jane deserves as much. They crammed the first eleven chapters (often considered the first of two distinct parts) into 25 minutes. And, although most folks (myself included) think her childhood at Gateshed and life at Lowood school is not the most interesting part of Jane's story, it is still important. The episode in the red-room is so brief that they don't even depict the apothecary/physician's visit. And there isn't even a Miss Temple at Lowood! Jane meets Helen and about five minutes later - Helen's dead. That's it. No development of friendship and even less "religious talk". Speaking of which, a great deal of the biblical quotes and religious references are missing...
However, there are some very redeeming things about this new version. The chemistry between Jane and Mr. Rochester is far superior to any I've seen. (William Hurt was so sedate and Cieran Hinds' Rochester was almost a caricature - don't get me wrong, I love those guys, but they just didn't get it right.) The development of Jane and Mr. Rochester's relationship was handled very well. Snaps to Masterpiece Theatre for making their first handshake (after the bed on fire incident) so delicious. Most relevant bits were included; they even managed to incorporate the episode with the fortune teller/gypsy. And this version actually gives some time to the Diana/Mary/St. John story line. Shocking!
So, overall, it was good. I wouldn't give it an A, because there's certainly room for improvement, but it's the best Jane Eyre I've seen to date. 2月11日 sniffle, sniffle, coughIt's been an incredibly stressful week. Tuesday was election day, with two levies affecting my school district up for renewal. There was virtually no news coverage, so it wasn't until I got an email from the district's office of public affairs on Wednesday night that I knew for certain what the outcome was. Luckily, both levies passed. This means I have a much smaller chance of getting RIF'd this spring. It still could happen, but things are looking much better.
Since my future is a bit more certain, I think Brandon and I will resume our pursuit of a home. We'd love to find a townhouse or condo somewhere north of I-90 and south of Shoreline. Basically, we'd like to be in the city, but not on the south side. I've really enjoyed living in Northgate, and would certainly consider buying a place in this area.
This week will be my last week of dance. I'm excited to wrap it all up and move on to music, but I will miss it. I have some serious reading and planning to do over mid-winter break. There's already a spring concert planned for the first week in April. Eek! We've got some work to do! This is the one quarter I am the most nervous about. I've never really taught music before...
Right now, I'm in bed with a cold. I hate stuffy noses! It's so annoying! I feel lethargic and crabby. Luckily, I have a sweet husband who is willing to go grocery shopping for us this week. |
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