What I'm Loving Wednesday....BABIES the Thursday Edition!!!

Ugh, I am late posting this but I loved so much yesterday, so oh well.  Here is the WILW on Thursday.

Oh I have so much that I am LOVING today.  You may remember a while back I blogged about my good friend's baby shower and how excited I was that a she, Mrs. Hall, was having a baby!  Well, Wednesday her water broke and she had her sweet baby boy! I am hoping to meet him today.  Which brings me to another thing that I am LOVING today, a day off in the middle of the week.  Thank you Cesar Chavez!  Your hard work did not go unnoticed. 

I am also LOVING that two of my great friends are celebrating their birthdays this week...

Ms. Hirsch - I have known her since PRESCHOOL.  I love her spontaneous personality and she has always been a wonderful friend.

Ms. Dito (yesertday was her birthday!!) - I have known her since freshman year of high school.  Hands down one of the nicest people I know. 

As I wrote about before, I LOVE March Madness.  Even though MSU was eliminated from the tournament early on, I have been still been enjoying close games and upsets.  I am looking forward to great games this weekend.

On another BABY NOTE....I attended a baby shower on Saturday for another good friend.  Ms. Lopes is welcoming her second child into the world in a few short weeks.  AND this Saturday, I will be attending ANOTHER baby shower for a great friend and co-worker, Mrs. Newby, who is welcoming her second little one into the world soon.  There are babies a bunch!!! 

I LOVE babies and baby things and baby lotion and baby clothes and baby COLORS.  Ahhhhhh, I cannot wait to meet all these babies.

These past few weeks have brought about a lot of change in my family.  I am LOVING my parents and all their hard work over the past many many years.  TODAY marks my mom's last day of work!  She's officially RETIRED!!!  What a perfect time for my parents to take a nice little vacation to Mexico on Saturday.

Finally, I am LOVING all of my friends and family who enjoy reading my blog.  I feel honored to have so many people follow my blog and take interest in the bits of randomness I have to share. 

Now playing Miguel Sure Thing

Perms.... The good, the bad, and the VERY ugly.

To perm or not to perm THAT IS THE QUESTION.

This weekend has got me thinking about my hairlemma (sort of like a dilemma except ONLY having to do with hair).  I have always had a love hate relationship with my hair. The things I love about my hair are the color and the fact that it is naturally a little wavy.  I hate the fact that it is fine AND very thin.

I have gone through many hair changes through the recent years:

Bangs

Short

Long and straight

Long and wavy

My biggest complaint is that my hair is never enough of something.  It is not curly enough or straight enough or thick enough or dark enough or blond enough.... I think this is the same hairlemma that everyone has.  The grass is always greener right!

This brings me to the purpose of this post...

Miss. Miya has been perming her hair for a long time and it looks fabulous.  It is always the perfect balance of wavy and full.  It got me thinking about getting a perm.  I know, I know, it is sooooooo 80's.  I've heard many stories about perms gone wrong, in fact my sister has a horrible perm story of her own - it involves the terrible little hair salon around the corner from our old house, bangs, picture day, and fifth grade....it wasn't pretty.  I am NOT thinking super tight curls like this....

I am thinking more along the lines of this....

I want my hair to STAY curly.  When I curl my hair now the curls fall and my hair ends up looking like I just let it awkwardly air dry and didn't take anytime to make it look nice.  UGH...it is soooo annoying. 

I haven't made up my mind about whether or not to go through with a perm but I am seriously considering it as my next hair move.  What are your thoughts?

Now playing....Jazmine Sullivan 10 Seconds

 

In the kitchen with Dana... Almond Roca

Ok... I'm back to give another fool proof lesson in the kitchen.  

Today's objective: Make candy from scratch.  Daunting, I know, but very VERY easy and so very VERY yummy.

Here's what you need:

• 2 cups of sugar
• 2 cups of butter
• 1/2 bag of milk chocolate chips
• 1 cup raw almonds
• 1/2 cup crushed walnuts

Here's what you do:

Melt 2 cups of butter on med/high heat. 

Add 2 cups of sugar and stir and stir and stir....and stir DON'T STOP stirring...(10-12 min)

 Once the butter and sugar start to foam up throw in the almonds and....STIR. (5-6 min)

When the butter, sugar, and almond mixture turns the color of toffee (the inside of a score bar) it is done.

Remove from heat and pour into a baking pan with high sides.

Tilt the pan side to side to evenly cover the bottom of the pan...let cool for 5-7 min.

Dump chocolate chips and smooth evenly over the toffee (the heat from the candy will melt the chocolate chips...it's very cool and I still think this is the best part)

Sprinkle the crushed almonds evenly over the top and let cool for several hours (overnight is best).

Finally, break into easy to eat pieces and share with friends and family...it will be a hit!

I hope you enjoy my Grandma's almond roca.  It is wonderful to make during the holidays, for a more personal gift, or just because it tastes good.

Now playing.....Ray J   Last Wish

 

What I'm LOVING Wednesday...

I am LOVING that this week is almost over.  I am in a mid-school year slump and feeling like I need a vacation!  WILW couldn't have come at a better time!  Check out Jamie's page to see what other bloggers are loving today!

I'm LOVING....



Finding out that Mrs. Newby had a copy of The Help for me to borrow.  I am very excited to read this book!  I think I know what I will be doing for the next few nights.

I am LOVING that NCAA basketball finals are here!  I am very excited to be consumed with college basketball for the next few weeks!  Hopefully Michigan State can beat UCLA on Thursday!!  Go Green!

This season I LOVE watching American Idol.  I haven't watched for several seasons because I was tired of the same old show but I am really into it this year!  I don't call and vote or anything but I sure do enjoy the show.  I am looking forward to another great episode tonight.

Today I am also LOVING Tutti Frutti.  For those who are unfamiliar, Tutti Frutti is the Northern California version of Pink Berry.  I love the fresh fruit toppings and the original tart flavored frozen yogurt.  I rarely treat myself to sweets but this is something I will always leave room for!!!

  

Today I LOVE the fact that my report cards are completed and turned in!  I also love the fact that my students are doing so well this school year!  Hard work is paying off!

I am loving that my friends and family read my blog!  I enjoy your comments either on my blog or in passing.  I am happy that my loved ones are enjoying what I have to share. 

Finally, I LOVE that I made breakfast for dinner.  Bacon, grits, and eggs...a nice change from the usual dinner menu.

These past few days have been very hectic.  Pink slips, report cards, and fallen hip-hop legends OH MY!  It is nice to sit down and think about all the things that are fabulous and for a minute forget about those that are not.

My musical selection for today is in honor of the late and great Nate Dogg.... You will be missed by the hip-hop world.

 

I hope you are loving many things today.  Until next time...

 

In the kitchen with Dana... Homemade Pizza!

...kind of like In the Kitchen with Inna except I am hardly as skilled in the kitchen as Inna and I am not going to make you call me The Barefoot Contessa.  The more blogs I visit the more ideas I get for my own blog.  As many of you know, I love to cook and have many wonderful ideas to share.  In an effort to get more 20 something ladies to enjoy cooking, I am going to start and post some of my favorite recipes!  I hope you try them at home and enjoy them as much as I do!

Before you start cooking there are a few things you must do:

• change into comfortable clothes
• put on your slippers
• turn on your favorite iTunes mix

Ok!  Now you are ready to cook!

HOMEMADE PIZZA!

Everyone loves pizza and it really isn't very hard to make at all! 

Here's what you need:

• 1 package of yeast
• 1.5 cups of warm water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3.5 cups of flour
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• salt (to taste)
• pepper (to taste)
• cheese, sauce, your choice of pizza toppings

Here's what you do:

• Combine warm water, sugar, and yeast and let stand until yeast is dissolved (5-7 minutes)
• Combine flour, olive oil, salt, pepper in a food processor or large bowl.
• Add water/yeast and mix on low for 2 minutes or knead by hand for about 10 minutes.
• Transfer dough to a bowl lightly coated with olive oil, cover with plastic, and place in a warm place so the dough can rise for an 1-1.5 hours. 

• Preheat the oven to 475.
• Once the dough has doubled in size it is ready to make into a pizza!
• Punch the dough and divide in half. (I save one half for another night but you could make two pizzas)
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough in a ball and then use a rolling pin to flatten dough and transfer to a lightly greased baking sheet.

• Add sauce, cheese, and your favorite toppings.

I also added sliced black olives.

I cooked up some pancetta.

• Bake for 15-18 minutes.
• ENJOY!

I LOVE this pizza!  It doesn't look fancy but it sure does taste great.  I hope you try it for yourself.

Now playing... Florance and the Machine

"The Dog Days Are Over"

 

Home decor for the not so creative...

I have recently been very interested in sort of "maturing" my condo.  I am creative in a few ways but decorating is not one of them.  I see things at other people's homes that I love and think that I could never pull it off at my own place.  Ms. Favro had her condo repainted and it has really made me want to spruce my place up with some color!  I am not thinking of anything major but there are a few things that I would love to add to my home to make it slightly more grown up.  I have been looking for a long time for a bed that would work in my room.  I am totally on a budget, so I have been looking at second hand stores in Berkeley and have my eyes set on something like...

 

I am having quite a tough time finding one but I will continue my search!  Also, I am looking for an old chair to go in a corner of my bedroom like the one on the left that I can paint and recover with the fabric on the right.

I was also thinking about painting my bedroom a light shade of brown...

I have very simple white furniture in my bedroom and think that a light shade of brown would be nice.  I'd like to work on one room at a time.  First my bedroom and then the bathroom, which only needs some paint.  I was thinking a gray/blue...

I have a wonderful piece of artwork in the bathroom that I think would look great with that soft shade of blue.  Hopefully, this is a project I can get going in the next couple of weeks.  I am looking forward to having some color in my house!

My bathroom artwork

I can feel my interior designer coming out...I will keep you posted on the progress.

Today's music...

A bloggers confession....

Forgive me Followers for I have sinned.  It has been six days since my last blog...

Oh I have been meaning to post and everything else seems to take priority - students, friends, books, my cold...

Alas, there is a break in the craziness and I am back!  This is going to be a jam packed edition of Many Moments complete with Weekend Delights and Top Two on Tuesday!

(This is actually an old Top 2 Tuesday but I liked it so I decided I would blog about it anyway.)

Top 2 things I've learned from my parents or grandparents.

It is hard to pick just two things I have learned from my parents because, at times, I feel like they have taught me everything I know that it is really important.  However, forgiveness and open-mindedness are two valuable lessons they have taught me. 

1. FORGIVENESS: My parents have taught me the importance of forgiveness.  Though they taught me well and guided me down the right paths in life, I haven't always made the best choices.  My parents have ALWAYS supported, loved, and cared for me unconditionally and helped me learn from my mistakes.  It is inevitable that I will falter again because that's the way life is but, I know that my parents will forgive me.

2. OPEN-MINDEDNESS: My parents have taught me to be an open-minded and respectful adult.  Mom and Dad are two of the most open-minded and tolerant people I know.  I learned from them to embrace differences and love individuals for who they are.  No one is perfect and no one is going to think, feel or believe EXACTLY the way I do and that is a GOOD thing.  I apply this to my life everyday.  I am open-minded and respectful of my students and their families as well as my friends and co-workers.  Being around people who have different beliefs than I helps me challenge myself to learn and try new things.

I am so fortunate to have parents who have taught me well.  Most importantly, they love me. 

Dad & Me

Mom & Me

On to WEEKEND DELIGHTS...

Over the past few weeks I have been doing a lot of thinking; about faith, relationships both personal and professional, and the direction my life is taking.  Two weekends ago I spent a wonderful night with Miss V and Ms. Gina at Hotel Favro.  We ate, we talked, we laughed, we drank and it was a wonderful time.  Somewhere between bottles of wine our conversation took a more serious turn.  During our discussion I remember thinking about how lucky I am that I have girlfriends that I can have these serious conversations with and ask tough questions.  The following morning I woke up, not only with a slight wine induced headache, but also a better understanding of my two good friends and their beliefs.  Our conversations that night inspired me to branch out and try new things, things I have been apprehensive about in the past.  I am SO looking forward to a sweet Sunday afternoon with girlfriends and new endeavors.  **LOVE**

A favorite... Miss V & Me

Ms. Favro & Me

That Sunday was spent at the home of one of my oldest friends, Mrs. Klimczak.  I enjoyed a nice walk from BART to her lovely apartment in the Mission.  Then we talked and watched some reality TV.  It is always nice when I see her.  She posted something on Facebook that rings very true for us as well as many of my other friendships:

It's been said that everlasting friends can go long periods of time without speaking and never question the friendship. These types of friends pick up like they just spoke yesterday, regardless of how long it has been or how far away they live, and they don't hold grudges. They understand that life is busy, and they ALWAYS love you.

Mrs. Klimczak & Me

The past week reminded me of the importance of keeping up good relationships.  As I am getting older I realize how important it is to make plans with old friends, call and chat with faraway friends, and plan to do things with those I love the most.  Calendars fill up quickly and we all have different schedules or live in different places so making time is important.

Today's song is inspired by love and lasting relationships.

"Seasons of Love" from RENT

Until tomorrow...