Eek, I totally missed yesterday. I've been busy! Daylight Savings hour couldn't have come at a better time for me. Here's an idea of my schedule:
After having a couple days off...
Friday. Work 11-6pm.
Saturday. Work 9-4pm. Go from work straight to play in a hockey game. Go from game straight to my friend's house to watch a movie and hang out.
Sunday. Work 10-5. Play game at 7:15.
Monday. Work 1-8:30.
Tuesday. Work 11-5.
Then I finally get a day off--two actually. Then I work Friday then I get two more days off. Wooo!
I actually really enjoy not having a set 9 to 5 schedule. One of the things I hated most about last year was having to work 8 to 4 (or 6) every.single.day. and never having any variety. I missed college when I only had a couple hours each week where I *had* to be somewhere and I could figure out the rest of my time myself. This isn't as good as that, but it's better than 9 to 5. Although working retail is much more exhausting than other jobs--you're basically ON the whole time you're there, no time to be online or just sit.
Yesterday at work, being a Saturday, was SO BUSY. Plus, people seemed to be really grumpy all day for some reason. Today was steady but not busy, and people were more pleasant. Had fun with my coworkers, too, we had a good group.
Anyway. Promise I'll make up the posting day I missed. But later. I feel like it's three hours later than it is, not just one!
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Friday, November 4, 2011
The Tutor Life (4/30)
When I was trying to figure out what to do with my life this fall, I was thinking about heavily trying to recruit kids to tutor. I ended up getting my other job, and I'd still like to tutor but since I don't have a set schedule, I haven't really pursued it.
I am tutoring for one kid of one of my teammates though. He's in fifth grade and just started taking Spanish, so he doesn't know that much and he doesn't have tests or anything. But she wants me to get him excited about it, I guess. Much, much different from tutoring college kids! I spend a lot of time trying to figure out what kinds of games we can play to work on his vocab. He knows a couple groups of words right now: colors, food, animals, sports, numbers.
Here's some things we've done:
1. Hangman
2. Pictionary
3. Memory
4. Go Fish--asking for numbers in Spanish. We even learned how to say "do you have" and "go fish!" and also jack-queen-king-ace. (sota-reina-rey-as)
Pictionary goes over the best, I think. I want to do something with colors next week. One week I said colors and made him find stuff in the room that were in that color, and another week I had a word search and he had to circle the word for each color in the color it said. Maybe we could do a paint by numbers or something similar to that?
I also made him make flashcards this week for the animals.
I'm having fun coming up with ideas, but sometimes I wish I had a little more direction--or at least more words to study!
Any other ideas for easy games that encourage vocab?
I am tutoring for one kid of one of my teammates though. He's in fifth grade and just started taking Spanish, so he doesn't know that much and he doesn't have tests or anything. But she wants me to get him excited about it, I guess. Much, much different from tutoring college kids! I spend a lot of time trying to figure out what kinds of games we can play to work on his vocab. He knows a couple groups of words right now: colors, food, animals, sports, numbers.
Here's some things we've done:
1. Hangman
2. Pictionary
3. Memory
4. Go Fish--asking for numbers in Spanish. We even learned how to say "do you have" and "go fish!" and also jack-queen-king-ace. (sota-reina-rey-as)
Pictionary goes over the best, I think. I want to do something with colors next week. One week I said colors and made him find stuff in the room that were in that color, and another week I had a word search and he had to circle the word for each color in the color it said. Maybe we could do a paint by numbers or something similar to that?
I also made him make flashcards this week for the animals.
I'm having fun coming up with ideas, but sometimes I wish I had a little more direction--or at least more words to study!
Any other ideas for easy games that encourage vocab?
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Pumpkin "Cupcakes"
Found this recipe online and promptly lost it again. Luckily I'd written it down so when Michelle (of Burgh Baby fame) asked me for it--as I knew she would--I at least had it to type it up for her.
Pumpkin Cupcakes/Muffins
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unless yours is gas like mine, in which case wait on that!
1 1/2 C flour
1 T pumpkin pie spice
3/4 t baking powder
3/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 C sugar
1/2 C canola oil
2 eggs
1 C pumpkin
2 T honey
1 t vanilla
Okay so the recipe actually called for 2 T maple syrup, not honey. I don't own maple syrup and don't like the taste on its own so I didn't run out and buy any just for this but ymmv. I DID run out and buy canola oil because I needed more oil and had never used it before.
Anyway. Mix your dry ingredients in a little bowl. Mix the sugar, oil, eggs. Blend them up together well. Then add pumpkin, honey, and vanilla. Add the flour mix into the wet ingredients. Shove in le oven, bake 22-27 minutes. Supposedly makes 12, but it really turned out to be enough for about 13/14.
The frosting
12.5 g cream cheese, room temp
1/2 C unsalted butter, toom temp
pinch salt
2 1/4 C powdered sugar
1 t pumpkin pie spice (KEY!)
Beat the first three on low. Add sugar a bit at a time. Increase mixer speed until light and fluffy. Add the spice and beat lightly, just to spread it through the icing. The original recipe said the spice was optional which would be a huge failure. It totally makes it. Also, keep an eye on how sweet you're making it. Mine ended up too sweet--though I wasn't measuring very carefully so I can't tell you what a good amount of sugar would be.
Put on cool cupcakes. Eat! Remember to take better photos than me!
Pumpkin Cupcakes/Muffins
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unless yours is gas like mine, in which case wait on that!
1 1/2 C flour
1 T pumpkin pie spice
3/4 t baking powder
3/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 C sugar
1/2 C canola oil
2 eggs
1 C pumpkin
2 T honey
1 t vanilla
Okay so the recipe actually called for 2 T maple syrup, not honey. I don't own maple syrup and don't like the taste on its own so I didn't run out and buy any just for this but ymmv. I DID run out and buy canola oil because I needed more oil and had never used it before.
Anyway. Mix your dry ingredients in a little bowl. Mix the sugar, oil, eggs. Blend them up together well. Then add pumpkin, honey, and vanilla. Add the flour mix into the wet ingredients. Shove in le oven, bake 22-27 minutes. Supposedly makes 12, but it really turned out to be enough for about 13/14.
The frosting
12.5 g cream cheese, room temp
1/2 C unsalted butter, toom temp
pinch salt
2 1/4 C powdered sugar
1 t pumpkin pie spice (KEY!)
Beat the first three on low. Add sugar a bit at a time. Increase mixer speed until light and fluffy. Add the spice and beat lightly, just to spread it through the icing. The original recipe said the spice was optional which would be a huge failure. It totally makes it. Also, keep an eye on how sweet you're making it. Mine ended up too sweet--though I wasn't measuring very carefully so I can't tell you what a good amount of sugar would be.
Put on cool cupcakes. Eat! Remember to take better photos than me!
My food blogging needs work BUT (3/30)
I've been lazy with cooking basically since I got back this fall. Last year, I made dinner most days and I almost always packed my lunch. This year...not so much. After being back with my mom's cooking all summer, it's been really tough to make myself do it! Plus, my schedule isn't consistent so I don't have a good rhythm for meals and don't do enough planning ahead.
Part of my problem is the distinct lack of space in my kitchen. Example:
Just not very inspiring. Plus it always takes like ten minutes to clear off the counter enough to make anything.
I have had a little more success with baking than cooking. I made pumpkin bread and pumpkin cookies, then my latest: pumpkin "cupcakes" but let's be honest, muffins.
With cream cheese icing:
Not a good picture but trust me when I say: delicious. I love muffins and I love pumpkin so this was a delicious marriage. First time I ever tried such ambitious icing too! It's a little sweeter than I would've liked.
So in terms of meals, I've been doing a lot of bagels and eggs and stuff that really takes no time at all. Here are two things I've done in the past week that took some energy.
I love making quesadillas and fajitas because I love eating them, but they sure so take a lot of cutting--and buying so many various ingredients. I do that often enough. Here was a twist--using nachos instead of a tortilla. YUMMY! Next time, I'll have to get some nacho cheese (like Campbell's cheese soup mebbe) to put on it, too.
Forgot to take a picture until I'd mostly eaten it. This is supposed to be scalloped potatoes and it needs some work, but it tastes yummy right now anyway. Got the idea to throw veggies in there from Burgh Baby at some point. Increases the delicious and nutritious!
Those are two of my favorite go-to meals when I feel like making them!
Part of my problem is the distinct lack of space in my kitchen. Example:
Just not very inspiring. Plus it always takes like ten minutes to clear off the counter enough to make anything.
I have had a little more success with baking than cooking. I made pumpkin bread and pumpkin cookies, then my latest: pumpkin "cupcakes" but let's be honest, muffins.
With cream cheese icing:
Not a good picture but trust me when I say: delicious. I love muffins and I love pumpkin so this was a delicious marriage. First time I ever tried such ambitious icing too! It's a little sweeter than I would've liked.
So in terms of meals, I've been doing a lot of bagels and eggs and stuff that really takes no time at all. Here are two things I've done in the past week that took some energy.
I love making quesadillas and fajitas because I love eating them, but they sure so take a lot of cutting--and buying so many various ingredients. I do that often enough. Here was a twist--using nachos instead of a tortilla. YUMMY! Next time, I'll have to get some nacho cheese (like Campbell's cheese soup mebbe) to put on it, too.
Forgot to take a picture until I'd mostly eaten it. This is supposed to be scalloped potatoes and it needs some work, but it tastes yummy right now anyway. Got the idea to throw veggies in there from Burgh Baby at some point. Increases the delicious and nutritious!
Those are two of my favorite go-to meals when I feel like making them!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
These are my people (2/30)
I don't even know how to explain this, except saying I just had an AMAZING, AMAZING DAY. For anyone who doesn't know, I graduated from college a year and a half ago and I'm trying to figure out where my life is headed, and all I know is some vague idea that it's going to involve women and sports. My sticking point right now is like, I do want to go to grad school but I'm not sure that right now is the time, so I'm kinda hoping that some other opportunity to be involved in girls/women participation in sport comes along, but honestly there' aren't that many. Or at least it feels that way.
SO all that is leading up today. The Tucker Center at the University of Minnesota is a research center on girls/women and sport and they held a conference all day today.
It started with a poster session at 7:15am. I didn't get there until about 8:30, so I only got to see about half of them. I've spent the time since graduation outside of the academic world, and it was so refreshing to suddenly be reminded how that world exists and how comfortable I was/am in it. I got so emotional right off the bat, understanding all these buzz words and key words within academia and specifically feminism and gender studies.
The thing went on all day long and although I was tired post-lunch and burnt out by the end of it, I'm so glad I went and so glad I stuck it out. I loved feeling the energy in the room, both from academics and from some of the people in organizations/media/etc. I loved realizing that this world exists and seeing how extensive it is and hoping I can fit in it somehow.
These were the personal goals I made:
1. ask a question. Okay, I didn't reach this one. But only because the session I had a question ready for went too long and there was no time for Q and A! They had an interactive "chime in" iPad thing--I did my part participating in that, so hopefully that counts.
2. hand out at least one business card that I spent three hours the day prior making. I was super ambitious and printed out a ton...finally handed out one right before leaving.
3. Introduce myself to someone (important) related to my interests. I introduced myself to the woman in charge of the conference/associate director of the Tucker Center, and she directed me to another graduate from my college, who gave me some solid advice on where to go from here!
I took so many notes, especially through the first couple sessions that I felt like my mom who is notorious for being an extensive note-taker and attention-payer and front-row-sitter. I really want to look back over my notes, say, tomorrow and then again in a week or so--try to keep it fresh and see what things really jump out at me.
The most exciting part of the conference, on a personal level, was a book written by one of the keynote panelists, mentioned in his introduction. It's apparently about the tiny piece of women and sports that interests me MOST OF ALL, that I thought almost nothing existed about. I didn't get to talk to him about it partly because the conference wasn't about that topic at all, and I felt guilty that I somehow missed that work when I was researching! I'm looking forward to tracking down a copy of it and seeing what he has to say on the subject. Unfortunately, he's not a professor in Minnesota but at USC....but maybe the book's references section can point me somewhere else?
SO all that is leading up today. The Tucker Center at the University of Minnesota is a research center on girls/women and sport and they held a conference all day today.
It started with a poster session at 7:15am. I didn't get there until about 8:30, so I only got to see about half of them. I've spent the time since graduation outside of the academic world, and it was so refreshing to suddenly be reminded how that world exists and how comfortable I was/am in it. I got so emotional right off the bat, understanding all these buzz words and key words within academia and specifically feminism and gender studies.
The thing went on all day long and although I was tired post-lunch and burnt out by the end of it, I'm so glad I went and so glad I stuck it out. I loved feeling the energy in the room, both from academics and from some of the people in organizations/media/etc. I loved realizing that this world exists and seeing how extensive it is and hoping I can fit in it somehow.
These were the personal goals I made:
1. ask a question. Okay, I didn't reach this one. But only because the session I had a question ready for went too long and there was no time for Q and A! They had an interactive "chime in" iPad thing--I did my part participating in that, so hopefully that counts.
2. hand out at least one business card that I spent three hours the day prior making. I was super ambitious and printed out a ton...finally handed out one right before leaving.
3. Introduce myself to someone (important) related to my interests. I introduced myself to the woman in charge of the conference/associate director of the Tucker Center, and she directed me to another graduate from my college, who gave me some solid advice on where to go from here!
I took so many notes, especially through the first couple sessions that I felt like my mom who is notorious for being an extensive note-taker and attention-payer and front-row-sitter. I really want to look back over my notes, say, tomorrow and then again in a week or so--try to keep it fresh and see what things really jump out at me.
The most exciting part of the conference, on a personal level, was a book written by one of the keynote panelists, mentioned in his introduction. It's apparently about the tiny piece of women and sports that interests me MOST OF ALL, that I thought almost nothing existed about. I didn't get to talk to him about it partly because the conference wasn't about that topic at all, and I felt guilty that I somehow missed that work when I was researching! I'm looking forward to tracking down a copy of it and seeing what he has to say on the subject. Unfortunately, he's not a professor in Minnesota but at USC....but maybe the book's references section can point me somewhere else?
The conference host left us with "where do we go from here?" and I want to set three personal goals going forward.
1. seek more information on U grad programs
2. hunt down aforementioned book and think about research on said area
3. find an organization focused on women/sports in the Cities to volunteer with.
I've talked a lot about "home" on this blog, meaning physical place. Today I felt like I was "home" in a totally different and amazingly fulfilling way. I really hope I can do something with this.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
NaNoWriMo/NaBloPoMo (1/30)
For those of you who don't know, November is National Novel Writing Month. A novel is defined as 50,000 words and in order to write that many words in a month, you have to write 1667 words a day.
My freshman year of college, I was really into writing and so I signed up for my first NaNo, and I finished it pretty easily. The next year, I gave it a good shot but didn't really have any direction and didn't make it too far. Since then, I've given it a brief try almost each year, I think, but never came anywhere even close to that first year. I had the drive, the story, and the time. I'm still proud of that, and I still wish I could go back but ugh coming up with an idea that I can follow through on and be proud of, just...
I love reading and I always feel like I should tell my own stories (and I have at various times in the past), but I read so much, I worry I can't think of any original ideas. Thinking of ideas is hardest for me, in anything. The follow through and running with an idea is easier.
I'm still debating today that I should sit down and figure something out. But in the meantime, I'm gonna try for National Blog Posting Month, instead--posting one thing each day. So here's number one.
My freshman year of college, I was really into writing and so I signed up for my first NaNo, and I finished it pretty easily. The next year, I gave it a good shot but didn't really have any direction and didn't make it too far. Since then, I've given it a brief try almost each year, I think, but never came anywhere even close to that first year. I had the drive, the story, and the time. I'm still proud of that, and I still wish I could go back but ugh coming up with an idea that I can follow through on and be proud of, just...
I love reading and I always feel like I should tell my own stories (and I have at various times in the past), but I read so much, I worry I can't think of any original ideas. Thinking of ideas is hardest for me, in anything. The follow through and running with an idea is easier.
I'm still debating today that I should sit down and figure something out. But in the meantime, I'm gonna try for National Blog Posting Month, instead--posting one thing each day. So here's number one.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
The Ten Best Things about the Post-College Life
As promised, ten things I enjoy about not being a college kid anymore.
10. Having cable and Center Ice. Of course, the novelty has worn off a bit. And if I were still in college, I wouldn't want those things because of the distraction. But still.
9. Living in the Cities: having more choices for food, and being closer to stuff (like the X for hockey games), and knowing my way around (like whoa).
8. Being a lot closer to hockey rinks. Can't believe I used to drive a half hour just for some ice time. (own number because it's key!)
7. I have to say, I don't miss living with my friends. I didn't like having people around all the time, so it's kinda nice now--when someone wants to do something, I'm always up for it. In college I used to say no a lot because I was burned out on socializing.
6. Along with that: having my own space (and I LOVE my apartment) and not having loud neighbors.
5. That I don't have to pack up and move/visit home all the time, though I did it this summer--but won't again for awhile. Not that I hate home, but I got really tired of having my life in two places.
4. Easy access to the local library and having time to read fiction and what I want to.
3. Being able to bike and walk places.
2. Rarely having to do things I don't really want to do.
1. Above all, my cat. She is the most fantastic thing ever.
This is actually a neat comparison. If you look over the two lists, what I like about life now is about my living situation more than what I'm doing with my life--ie, I love everything about my apartment, but not my job. The things I miss most about school are mostly intellectual rather than social/physical needs (other than walking around campus). I mean, I don't miss the dorms, I miss the classes.
So....grad school?
10. Having cable and Center Ice. Of course, the novelty has worn off a bit. And if I were still in college, I wouldn't want those things because of the distraction. But still.
9. Living in the Cities: having more choices for food, and being closer to stuff (like the X for hockey games), and knowing my way around (like whoa).
8. Being a lot closer to hockey rinks. Can't believe I used to drive a half hour just for some ice time. (own number because it's key!)
7. I have to say, I don't miss living with my friends. I didn't like having people around all the time, so it's kinda nice now--when someone wants to do something, I'm always up for it. In college I used to say no a lot because I was burned out on socializing.
6. Along with that: having my own space (and I LOVE my apartment) and not having loud neighbors.
5. That I don't have to pack up and move/visit home all the time, though I did it this summer--but won't again for awhile. Not that I hate home, but I got really tired of having my life in two places.
4. Easy access to the local library and having time to read fiction and what I want to.
3. Being able to bike and walk places.
2. Rarely having to do things I don't really want to do.
1. Above all, my cat. She is the most fantastic thing ever.
This is actually a neat comparison. If you look over the two lists, what I like about life now is about my living situation more than what I'm doing with my life--ie, I love everything about my apartment, but not my job. The things I miss most about school are mostly intellectual rather than social/physical needs (other than walking around campus). I mean, I don't miss the dorms, I miss the classes.
So....grad school?
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