So this may not be the most politically correct thing ever said but it made me laugh out loud and I wanted to share.
This morning I had the TV on as cleaned for background noise. The Today show turned into Martha Stuart with Joan Rivers as her guest. I turned off the vacuum to answer the phone, ended the call and watched for a few moments. As Martha was showing Joan how to make a purse for Valentine's Day the following conversation took place:
Martha: Do you have a sewing machine?
Joan: Are you crazy?!?!?
Martha: You should get yourself one for when you get old (this in itself is funny to me because that women must be 90, but that is what $80,000 of plastic surgery will do for you) and have time. You know, I have a room in my house with ten sewing machines that all do different things.
Joan: You should send those to Angelina Jolie and she could put her kids to work.
I am sorry I just busted out laughing!
Happy Friday!
Our Boys
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Some good eats!
It seems as thought this summer, I have not got to do a lot of something that I love and that is cook. The training plan that Brett and I are following has us running every night during the week and since he gets home so late, we usually end up with something quick and easy when we get back. This week, though, we were in for two yummy treats. Last Sunday we had the perfect day...one of those that you sit and quietly pray would never come to an end. After our long run in the morning, we enjoyed coffee and donuts (thanks Nat and Jase!) on the patio and then spent the afternoon reading on our new lounge chairs. When our bellys started growling loud enough to hear, Brett fired up the grill and made some amazing steaks while I boiled some of the best corn ever ( Mirai corn from the Wheaton French Market, but there early, it goes fast). Doesn't this look like a happy boy ready to eat some meat!
Last night, I tried a new recipe that Sam had given to me from her Rachael Ray magazine: Chili Stuffed Zucchini. Click the link for the recipe, but I did make a few changes and have some ideas for next time. First, I used ground turkey instead of beef. I also had no idea what pickled jalapenos were so I used regular slices like you would put in nachos. Next time i would buy the hot ones thought because they didn't have much of a kick. The recipe also suggested that you could sue potatoes instead of zucchini, but I really like the zucchini! I would definitely make this again, but I think I would go with an Italian taste for a change. Season the meat with some basil and oregano, use mozzarella cheese and maybe even sprinkle on some bread crumbs. Very tasty and the possibilities are endless. 
And last, this was the fabulous snack I had yesterday afternoon that allowed me to beat my four mile time by two minutes! Water, shades, and some light reading only made it better...
We also had some tasty wine (in the backgorund) with such a clever name - Vin De City Red :-)
Last night, I tried a new recipe that Sam had given to me from her Rachael Ray magazine: Chili Stuffed Zucchini. Click the link for the recipe, but I did make a few changes and have some ideas for next time. First, I used ground turkey instead of beef. I also had no idea what pickled jalapenos were so I used regular slices like you would put in nachos. Next time i would buy the hot ones thought because they didn't have much of a kick. The recipe also suggested that you could sue potatoes instead of zucchini, but I really like the zucchini! I would definitely make this again, but I think I would go with an Italian taste for a change. Season the meat with some basil and oregano, use mozzarella cheese and maybe even sprinkle on some bread crumbs. Very tasty and the possibilities are endless. And last, this was the fabulous snack I had yesterday afternoon that allowed me to beat my four mile time by two minutes! Water, shades, and some light reading only made it better...Fresh banana, organic cottage cheese, and a dark chocolate granola cookie, Mmmmmm!!!!
Friday, July 24, 2009
What have I been reading...
I know I have done a little complaining about how busy I have been and that I have been feeling a bit stressed. In between summer school, classes, yard sale,and all the other things that have been keeping me running, I have found some time to read. At the beginning of the summer I made a summer reading list for myself. Unfortunately, it took me half the summer to get started and it seems that these books are on a lot of other people's list and are difficult to get from the library.
But, so far I have read the following chic books and was not disappointed by any of them:
But, so far I have read the following chic books and was not disappointed by any of them:
- Such A Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster
- Pretty in Plaid by Jen Lancaster
- Something Borrowed by Emily Griffin
- Something Blue by Emily Griffin
- Shopaholic Ties the Know by Sophie Kinsella
And I read the following non chic book and was not disappointed in it either:
- Night by Elie Wiesel
Not bad given that it took me until half way through July to get started...
So, anyone read anything else that I should move to the top of my list? Happy Reading!
Scotty comes to town!
Last week my brother Scott and his friend Stephanie came to spend some time with us. We had a busy and fun filled week showing them around. The highlight of their trip was Wednesday night when the went to see Blue Man Group. They loved it and even got be part of the show - the people who come in late. 
Brett and I enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Jack's on Halstead while they were there. The food was so good, you only get to see what was left or rather, what was not left on my plate...
On Saturday we went downtown. We decided for a change in mode of transportation that we would try out the water taxi. So fun! I think from now on, I will go to the city and just a ride around on one. I never knew how many neat things there were to see from the river level. I now have a whole new list of restaurants to try!
The ride really gives you a whole new perspective of the city and Brett had dun seeing what kinds of pictures he could take. Pretty cool...
Brett and I enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Jack's on Halstead while they were there. The food was so good, you only get to see what was left or rather, what was not left on my plate...
On Saturday we went downtown. We decided for a change in mode of transportation that we would try out the water taxi. So fun! I think from now on, I will go to the city and just a ride around on one. I never knew how many neat things there were to see from the river level. I now have a whole new list of restaurants to try!
The ride really gives you a whole new perspective of the city and Brett had dun seeing what kinds of pictures he could take. Pretty cool... After our water taxi ride, we exited onto Navy Pier. It is such a touristy pace, but I always enjoy walking around and being close to the water. Everyone was staved so we had a very delicious lunch at Bubba Gump's 
and then did a bit of shopping on Michigan Avenue, where Stephanie made her first Tiffany's purchase. 
and then did a bit of shopping on Michigan Avenue, where Stephanie made her first Tiffany's purchase. I always love when one of the boys come to visit and this trip was no different. I do however wonder if they'll ever make a trip out together...hahahaha! We did a few other things - made ribs on the grill, tye-dyed t shirts, shopped at Woodfield, went to the outlets and otherwise just hung out. Another great summer visit!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Just checking in...
Here I am again...stopping by for quick hello and a quick update. The past week has been a blast - two teenagers int he house! Scotty and his friend Stephanie came for a visit and just left last night. So one of my many "To Do"s today is to download pics and give them a respectable post.
So what else is going on? I have two distance learning classes due at the end of July and I have barely started them. Distance Learning means that you sign up for a class over a to month period, they send you all assignments and reading materials and you have to be self motivated enough to budget your time to complete these classes. Well, I took two over May and June and two over June and July and here I am with a lot of work to do.
Tomorrow is our Summer Challenge Day meeting. For anyone who doe snot know what Challenge Day is I urge you to go to ChallengeDay.org and see what it's all about. Here's a little preview:
I told you in the last post that I had a bit of a surprise. Well, the surprise is that as of the start of this school year, I will be starting a new position. Still in the same school and still special ed teacher but in a much different capacity. Before, I was the inclusion facilitator and worked mostly with students with Asperger's Syndrome, something I became very involved in and passionate about. I accepted a new role as an instructional teacher that will allow me to have my very own classroom and actually teach! I will be teaching 4 English classes and will have a caseload of about 10 kids. What a change and a challenge it will be but I am so excited. My own classroom is something that I have been wanting and this opportunity, while very hard to make, will be a good next step! My old job has been filled by a new teacher. She is a doll and I think she will do a phenomenal job. even better, I was asked to be her mentor (so awesome, but add in another 2 days of training for that!) so we will be able to work together to make this an easy transition.
With everything else I have going on, the thought of this new job has been making me very anxious. Needless to say I have not done a lot of the things I wanted to this summer, mainly take too much time for myself. Hopefully over the next few weeks I will be able to do that. For now, I will stop blogging, get off of facebook, and stop checking my email so that I can work on my classes. First up - Teaching with the Brain in Mind!
Have a lovely Tuesday!
So what else is going on? I have two distance learning classes due at the end of July and I have barely started them. Distance Learning means that you sign up for a class over a to month period, they send you all assignments and reading materials and you have to be self motivated enough to budget your time to complete these classes. Well, I took two over May and June and two over June and July and here I am with a lot of work to do.
Tomorrow is our Summer Challenge Day meeting. For anyone who doe snot know what Challenge Day is I urge you to go to ChallengeDay.org and see what it's all about. Here's a little preview:
I told you in the last post that I had a bit of a surprise. Well, the surprise is that as of the start of this school year, I will be starting a new position. Still in the same school and still special ed teacher but in a much different capacity. Before, I was the inclusion facilitator and worked mostly with students with Asperger's Syndrome, something I became very involved in and passionate about. I accepted a new role as an instructional teacher that will allow me to have my very own classroom and actually teach! I will be teaching 4 English classes and will have a caseload of about 10 kids. What a change and a challenge it will be but I am so excited. My own classroom is something that I have been wanting and this opportunity, while very hard to make, will be a good next step! My old job has been filled by a new teacher. She is a doll and I think she will do a phenomenal job. even better, I was asked to be her mentor (so awesome, but add in another 2 days of training for that!) so we will be able to work together to make this an easy transition.
With everything else I have going on, the thought of this new job has been making me very anxious. Needless to say I have not done a lot of the things I wanted to this summer, mainly take too much time for myself. Hopefully over the next few weeks I will be able to do that. For now, I will stop blogging, get off of facebook, and stop checking my email so that I can work on my classes. First up - Teaching with the Brain in Mind!
Have a lovely Tuesday!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Worst Blogger Ever Award
Yep - that is the award I am giving myself for my lack of posting over the last two weeks. I received the following email tonight:
Marissa,
Are you guys ok? No blog-aganza in over 2 weeks???? You've got me worried.
Love you,
Aunt Z
Are you guys ok? No blog-aganza in over 2 weeks???? You've got me worried.
Love you,
Aunt Z
And so I decided that it was time to catch y'all up on where in the world the Clancys have been. I don't even know where to begin because we have just been so darn busy.
1. My baby brother turned 18 on June 27. Happy Birthday buddy!
2. We attended a wedding of the brother of a long time friend of Brett's. He's always been close with their family and it was such a great night! Who doesn't love a good time in Bloomington!
3. The Brownlees came to town! The first night here, we had a delicious meal of ribs cooked on the grill by the Mr. and they were YUMMY!!! I managed to get a picture of everyone tearing the meat off the bone and Brett got a good one of my - very dirty and a little embarrassing! As always, they did not disappoint with the amount of work they got done. Thanks to Dad the fence and garage is painted and thanks to Mom the flowers are happy and the jungle is gone form behind the garage. Scott - as always supervised.
4. We went to the July 4th Cubs game and spent the entire day in Wrigleyville with the Bergers and their friends. What a day!
5. We had a yard sale this weekend so that pretty much took up all of last week trying to get organized and ready for the sale. It was lots of fun though simply for the fact that people that come to yard sales are...interesting.
6. We had a girls day at Wrigley...Natalie, Jess, Sam and I headed to Wednesday's game and had a blast. A little rain never stopped us from having fun!
6. And last, but certainly not least, we just finished Week 3 of training! That means 9 weeks until the race. Today was our longest run yet - 5 miles - and it was the first time I have ever run that far. It has certainly not been easy but very rewarding.
That's all for now...our schedules don't seem to hold much down time in the future so it may be another two weeks until I post. Scott is coming to visit again this week, a few weddings coming up, summer school wraps up this week, and I have a some good news to report soon. It is exciting but I will wait until I have time to give it a post unto itself. However, it does not involve babies!!!
That's all for now...our schedules don't seem to hold much down time in the future so it may be another two weeks until I post. Scott is coming to visit again this week, a few weddings coming up, summer school wraps up this week, and I have a some good news to report soon. It is exciting but I will wait until I have time to give it a post unto itself. However, it does not involve babies!!!
Well wishes to all my friends and family who read. I love that I have this outlet to let you all know what is going on in our crazy life. I have recently been feeling a little overwhelmed by everything but I am reminded on a daily basis that my life is filled with the most wonderful people to support me. For that I thank you all!
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