Why isn't it summer yet?

Really.  Christmas break just makes me want school to be over.  I love my job and my students, but I hate having to get up when there's still two hours until sunrise.  Only 97 days of school until summer break...blech.

Commandeered

Megan capriciously claimed reading “The Way of Kings” together would take forever and we most likely would never finish. After successfully finishing the book I thought it best to brag to the world (without telling Megan) that we (I really) have already finished. Saying I told you so may be beneath me, but it may not, I leave it to the reader to decide. Based on Megan’s other posts, it appears I must fetch a picture of some sort to accompany this blog. So I shall. Happy New Year!

Nephew!

I got to babysit my nephew Keagan again the other day and he is just so darn cute that I had to put some pictures on here.  If I could babysit my two little nieces I would put their pictures up, too, but they live too far away. :(

Hi, Aunt Megan!

He thinks it's really funny when I put my hair or my scarf in his face.

He tried to pretend he wasn't tired and cried every time we tried to put him down for a nap, but in the end he couldn't hold out... (PS don't you love my really old couches?)

Medea

On Thursday night, we went to see Medea at a black box theater.  It was soooo good!  For those of you who don't know the story, Medea was the woman Jason (Greek myth Jason) picked up at the island where he got the golden fleece.  Then he left her after they had two sons to marry the daughter of the king of Corinth.  Medea went crazy and murdered Jason's new wife and father-in-law as well as both of her sons.  The play was good but very intense, especially the last scene, when Medea came out of her house with blood all over her hands and smeared on her face and told Jason the stain came from wine that she had "crushed from two sweet grapes."  Shudder.  Bryant's friend Elliot Wood starred as Jason (who, by the way, was a jerk) and was so good and in the zone that he spit all over everyone when he was yelling. :) We also saw him in Persuasion a couple months ago, where he made an excellent Captain Wentworth.  Watch out for Elliot, he'll be famous some day! 

Elliot's intense picture from the program.  Grrr...

Zombies!

Last night we went to a haunted house!  Bryant and I set up his friend Mike with my friend Julia and we had a lot of fun.  I love haunted houses for some reason...they make me scream but I absolutely love them.  I gave one of the zombies Julia's name and he followed her for a while, whispering her name.  Tee hee hee, I was entertained!  Julia was less so. :)

Bryant, Me, Mike, Julia, Karin, and Devon (Karin & Devon are friends from Bryant's old ward)

Updates

Ok, so I haven't posted in a couple of months, so let me give you a quick update of fun things.  Deep breath...

• I started teaching a new year of fourth graders who all have their own special quirks and problems which have been fun to work through. :)
• Bryant is enjoying his schooling and his work as a TA and considering a global marketing study abroad.
• We have a new nephew courtesy of Jared (Bryant's brother) and Amanda.
• We spent last weekend in Washington visiting said nephew, during which trip I decided that it is too cloudy in Seattle for me to ever live there.
• Bryant and I discovered we are not very compatible when it comes to understanding each others' pictures in Pictionary.
• I discovered that AppleOne is not a very good temp agency.
• Bryant grew a basil plant.
• I began working at the temple on Tuesday nights and discovered that I can recite the 13 articles of faith in 1 min and 30 sec.

Whew.  Now that I write it down it doesn't look like much, but it seemed like I was much busier when it was actually happening.  My goal is to be better at posting on this blog, so hopefully I won't have to do any more updating.  Thanks for reading!

Yummy Food

The other day I had a Relief Society activity.  I volunteered to bring a dessert and my lovely friend Emily had posted the recipe for this dessert on her blog.  They're AMAZING.  Every single woman there complimented me on these bars and I had three different women request the recipe.  I'm making them again tonight for Bryant.  Thanks, Em!

(This picture is also pirated from Emily's blog)

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars with Streusel Topping

from melskitchencafe.com

Base:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened


Cream Cheese Layer:
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Apples:
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg


Streusel Topping:
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 cup caramel sauce (homemade recipe below)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.


In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, two tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.


In a medium bowl, combine all the streusel topping ingredients and mix until crumbly. Set aside.


In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two forks until mixture is crumbly but combined. Press evenly into a 9X13-inch baking pan lined with aluminum foil. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.


While the crust is baking, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Then add eggs, one at a time and then the vanilla. Mix well. Pour over the warm crust.


Spoon the apple mixture evenly over the cheesecake layer. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the apples. Bake for 30 minutes until the filling is set.


Cool the bars to room temperature. Drizzle with the caramel topping (or plate individual slices and drizzle with topping one by one).


Caramel Sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ cups half-and-half or cream
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon vanilla


Mix butter, brown sugar, half-and-half or cream, and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook while whisking gently for 5 to 7 minutes, until thickened slightly. Add the vanilla and cook another minute to thicken further. Turn off the heat and pour the sauce into a jar. Refrigerate until cold. If the caramel sauce has cooled in the fridge long enough to harden, warm slightly before drizzling on bars.