Give thanks

I am thankful for so many people and things. I have a good life.  As I was stirring up biscuits for breakfast this morning, I started a list in my head.

A: animals, Arles, apples, art, Aaron, Amelia, Andy, Appalachian Mountains, Abby, airplanes, Alex, adjectives, adventures

B: Bertie, butter, bacon, baguettes, buttermilk biscuits, bluegrass music performed by Balsam Range, books, blogging, Barb, bracelets, Betty, baking, BFF

C: children, choices, colors, Candice, Caleb, Côtes du Rhône, Cindy, champagne, colleagues, cousins, Christiane Buchanan, Carmague, cheese, chocolate, cookies, coffee, café au lait, cats, cafés

D: dancing, David, Durham, Duke basketball, dreams, Daddy, Durham Academy

E: Elizabeth, elephants, electricity, Érick

F: family, friends, Fanny, French, France, fall, foie gras, figs, flamingos, fresh flowers, french fries, Facebook, freedom

G: Grant, grandchildren, great-nephews, grandparents, Ghislaine, Google, Grandma, gum, garlic, goats, goat cheese, Granny, girlfriends

H: home, health, heat, herbes de Provence, hand-me-downs, Hailey, hamburgers, hearts, history

I: ice cream, internet, Impressionism

J: Jake, Jared, Judy, jokes, jeans, Joel/Joey, jam, Jean Valjean

K: Kennedy, kittens, Kim, Karen, kindness, Katie

L: love, lavender, lemons, lambs, laughter, lipstick, letters, Logan, llamas, Lily

M: Mama Mildred, Marsha, Martha, muffins, macarons, moon, music, Makayla, Monette, mascara, movies

N: Nelson, North Carolina, Natalie

O: oysters, Olivier

P: Paris, Provence, pasta, pesto, pizza, pink, photos, passport, perfume, pens, postcards, poetry, parents, Papa

Q: quirkiness, questions

R: Rick, rain, reading, resilience, Rob Hershey

S: Steve, sons, students, Sean of the South, sleep, smiles, steak-frites, Sundays, spring, soldiers, sisters, shrimp, sea salt, Seth, sunshine, Snoopy, Sandra Boynton

T: turkey, travel, teeth, teenagers, tears, teachers

U: underwear, uncles

V: Vincent Van Gogh, vacation

W: weather, walking, winter, writing

X: Xmas, xylophones

Y: Yolanda

Z: zebras, zoos

Perhaps this will be the last pumpkin muffin recipe of the year? Who knows? I had some leftover pumpkin from making pumpkin cheesecake and it simply couldn’t go to waste. This recipe comes from The Kitchen Paper, adapted from Smitten Kitchen.  I didn’t mess with it. No variations. Seemed pretty perfect. We will find out in about 20 minutes. I will say that my kitchen smells pretty darned good right now. Wish you were here to have a cup of coffee while we wait. Stay tuned.

Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Muffins

12 muffins

• 1 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tsp pumpkin-pie spice**
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 2 tsp cinnamon

**If you want to make your own pumpkin pie spice, use this recipe (from My Baking Addiction.)

• 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons nutmeg
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground allspice
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cloves

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line or grease muffin tins.
2. In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin and butter, then whisk the eggs in one at a time.
3. Add 1 1/2 cups sugar, pumpkin-pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine.
4. Stir in the flour, then divide among muffin tins.
5. Mix the remaining 2 Tbsp sugar with the 2 tsp cinnamon, and sprinkle over the tops of the unbaked muffins.
6. Bake for about 30 minutes. (I set the timer and started checking them after 20 minutes. Mine took exactly 30 minutes.) You know your oven. Test with a wooden toothpick.)

Bon appétit! Make your own thankful list. You may shed a few tears while doing it, but those are good tears. Eat something good today. Savor every crumb or bite. You deserve it.

Got gratitude?

I am not especially fond of photos of myself, but this is the only one I could find of my Got Gratitude? classroom bulletin board.  I do not and I repeat, emphatically, do not like creating bulletin boards.  I have only one in my classroom. I come up with an idea at the beginning of the year and I do not change it. For the past few years, I’ve gone with the gratitude theme and I add every thank you note that I receive during the year. Today I came across an article called Why Keeping a Daily Journal Could Change Your Life. I started reading because this is something that I am very interested in. I obviously love to write. I would write this blog even if no one showed up to read it (but I am very grateful to those of you who do- trust me). When I was younger, I kept a diary.  I have no earthly idea where those little books filled with teen-age angst are, but I wish that I did. I also kept one when I got married 35 years ago.  No idea where that one is either unfortunately. I used to write letters when I was upset, pouring out my feelings on paper. I would reread them, my anger usually dissipating, and then burn the letters in our fireplace. When and why did I stop doing that?  Probably when I went away to college.

So, what does keeping a journal have to do with gratitude? Benjamin P. Hardy, the author of the article, had already hooked me, but about halfway through the article he hit upon the subject near and dear to my heart:

Journaling Increases Your Gratitude

Even if you start a journal session in a bad mood, the insight writing brings has a subtle way of shifting your mind towards gratitude.

When you start writing what you’re grateful for, new chambers of thought open in the palace of your mind. You’ll often need to put your pen down and take a few overwhelming breathes. You’ll be captivated not only by the amazing things in your life, but by the awe and brilliance of life in general.

As part of your morning and post-work journaling sessions, be sure to include some gratitude in your writing. It will change your entire life orientation from scarcity to abundance. The world will increasingly become your oyster.

Gratitude journaling is a scientifically proven way to overcome several psychological challenges. The benefits are seemingly endless. Here are just a few:

• Gratitude makes you happier
• Gratitude makes other people like you
• Gratitude makes you healthier
• Gratitude boosts your career
• Gratitude strengthens your emotions
• Gratitude develops your personality
• Gratitude makes you more optimistic
• Gratitude reduces materialism
• Gratitude increases spirituality
• Gratitude makes you less self-centered
• Gratitude increases your self-esteem
• Gratitude improves your sleep
• Gratitude keeps you away from the doctor by strengthening physiological functioning
• Gratitude lets you live longer
• Gratitude increases your energy levels
• Gratitude makes you more likely to exercise
• Gratitude helps you bounce back from challenges
• Gratitude makes you feel good
• Gratitude makes your memories happier (think of Pixar’s Inside Out)
• Gratitude reduces feelings of envy
• Gratitude helps you relax
• Gratitude makes you friendlier
• Gratitude helps your marriage
• Gratitude makes you look good
• Gratitude deepens your friendships
• Gratitude makes you a more effective manager
• Gratitude helps you network
• Gratitude increases your goal achievement
• Gratitude improves your decision making
• Gratitude increases your productivity

Mr. Hardy’s list is much longer than the ones I have come up with on my own, but I truly believe every single one of them. I believe that focusing on what I am thankful for keeps my mind from wandering to the past and all of the things that I wish that I had done differently or the words that I wish I could take back. I try to practice what I preach with my students. We write thank you notes at Thanksgiving, during several of our advisory sessions, and my 8th graders have to write a thank you letter- en français bien sûr, for the writing section of their final exam in my French 2 class.  I give them guidelines and they can write it in advance and bring it to the exam. I promise that I will mail them. I just put letters addressed to Kobe Bryant, Zinedine Zidane, Paul Van Haver (aka Stromae), several sets of grandparents, a dog named Norman, Bertrand, the tour manager for our March France trip (if you ever need a tour guide in Paris or other parts of Paris, check out My Private Paris), three faculty members, one brother, and two sisters in the mail today, keeping a few for myself.

I will begin a journal. Not an on-line one. An old-fashioned one in a notebook, using a favorite pen. (I am truly obsessed with pens. It’s insane.) I will collect quotes and follow guidelines that I set for myself, using some from the article on journaling. I will Dream Big, Have fun, Share (some of what I write), Try new things, Always tell the truth, and do my best.

I think I may even start with this:

What do you think? Do you keep a journal or diary? If so, do you share it with anyone or is it strictly for your eyes only?

Here’s a recipe to be grateful for… JC made these the other night for a potluck dinner.  I ate mine so fast that there was no time for a photo.

Judy’s Cream Cheese Brownies

from Taste of Home

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces German sweet chocolate, chopped
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

• FILLING:
• 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325°. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In a large microwave-safe bowl, microwave chocolate and butter on high until butter is melted; stir until smooth. Whisk in sugar until blended. Whisk in extracts and eggs, one at a time. Stir in flour mixture. Pour half of the batter into a greased 8-in. square baking dish. Beat together filling ingredients until blended; spoon over batter in pan. Spoon remaining batter over top. Swirl gently with a knife. Bake until filling is set, 35-40 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack 1 hour. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Cut into bars. Refrigerate leftovers.

Yield: 2 dozen.

Bon appétit, my grateful friends and family! Make a gratitude list.  Make it an experiment and see if it makes you feel better.  Tell someone that you are grateful for them. Send a note, an email, a text or call them.  

Gratitude Project

Mrs E:

What happens when a student and a teacher make a lasting impact on each other?  I realize that I have only known Abby for two years, but somehow it seems much longer.  There are a lot of things I could say about Abby, but this video will tell you part of our story.  See for yourself what an amazing young woman she is.
Many thanks to SoulPancake and their video on The Science of Happiness.  We used a short excerpt from the video.  If you wish to watch it in its entirety and find out more about their project, click on the link.
Many thanks also to the amazing Mr. Fitz who shared the video with us and inspired us to do our presentation in front of the whole middle school!
And finally, I would like to thank the incredible Abby who makes me want to be a better teacher and person every single day.  I refuse to think about next school year without you and your classmates.
We'll always have Paris, Abby... and the Plaza Athénée and Dr. Lantieri --what great adventures! I hope that we will have many more!

Abby:

If you watched the video, I hope you understand the reason why showing appreciation is so important. You never know how far a simple thank you, phone call, email, or just a smile could go. And you don't have an infinite amount of time with the people you love either. For me, showing my gratitude, as simply as sending a letter, led me to having one of the best relationships of my life. I've realized that life is short, and there is so little time to stay the things you mean to the people you love, so say them while you can.





Abby's Queso Dip

1 lb or 16 oz of Velveeta, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 lb ground sausage
1 can of Rotel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies, undrained

1. Cook the ground sausage in a saucepan until browned, strain all the grease out and put the sausage back into the saucepan.
2. Add the Rotel and Velveeta, cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the Velveeta is completely melted, stirring frequently.
3. Serve warm with tortilla chips, I recommend Tostitos Scoops because you can scoop up a ton of queso with those things, they're also good for making these really good mini nachos by the way.

Bon appétit, y'all.  I hope that you have someone in your life to be grateful for each and every day. Tell them.  Start your own Gratitude Project.  You will be amazed at the results.

365 Thank You Notes

It started with this.  Last week, a colleague passed through my room and handed me this post-it note folded up.  He didn't say a word, just gave it to me, and kept going.  I now have it stuck to my laptop, just below the keyboard where I look at it every time I sit down to use the computer (which is ridiculously often).  This little piece of paper makes me smile each and every time I look at it.

I am a huge believer in gratitude.  Deep breaths and reminding myself how much I have to be thankful for gets me through a stressful day.  In a text message sent recently to the BFF, I wrote "Life is too short to feel sorry for ourselves."  I am not even sure what or who we were messaging about, but that thought popped into my head.  I have a bulletin board in my classroom this year (I only have one, thank goodness, because putting together a bulletin board is not one of my teacher super powers) just for my Gratitude Project, shall we call it.

Last week, I handed my 10 advisees a blank notecard and an envelope and asked them to write a thank you note to someone in their lives.  I then mailed the notes.  Call me old-fashioned, but there is just something about getting a note in the mail with a stamp and your own personal name on the envelope.  I have loved getting letters my whole life, or at least for as long as I can remember.  I even recycled stamps so that I could write to friends until I found out that was illegal.  The local postmaster didn't catch me and I didn't get a jail term or anything.  Mama Mildred discovered what I was doing and let me know that a stamp can only be used once.  Seriously?

If the kiddos were writing notes, then I decided I should as well so I wrote one to Sister Moo.  She is my baby sister and an amazing person.  I don't tell her that often enough.  We call, we text, we email, and I know she knows that I love her, but I do not express my gratitude to her often enough.  She was 1/365.  I am writing down the recipients in my nifty Passion Planner so I can keep myself on track.  Mama Mildred (for being my  amazing mama), Leonard Pitts (for his amazing column on the November 13 attacks on Paris), and an 8th grade girlie (who amazes me everyday with her smile and the fun attitude she brings to my class) have been among my "victims" so far.

Today's recipient will be the giver of the post-it note.  A big teddy bear of a 6th-grade-math-teaching man whose room is across from mine.  I am grateful he decided to move to the Triangle and take a job at my school.  His smile lights up the room and he listens to me when I need to vent.

I've shared the recipe for Chocolate Stuff before on this blog, but it is so good that it bears repeating.  I am up way too early this morning, the last day of school before Thanksgiving Break, and I am getting ready to pop some in the oven.  I think that 5/365 will appreciate it...

Recipe note:
I did not use Hershey's cocoa... sorry, HRH Sweet Potato Queen Jill.  Mme M gave me a box of Van Houten 100% Pur Cacao last March when I visited with her in France.  Use the best ingredients you have or can get your grubby little paws on is always my motto for baking.  I also baked the Chocolate Stuff in 4 individual ramekins instead of a loaf pan this time.  Better for gift-giving.  And believe me, should you find yourself in need of a chocolate fix, this is it.  Always have the ingredients on hand.

Ready to go in the oven--

Chocolate Stuff
(I will now quote The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love pp. 170-171 since I have it open to the chocolate-stained pages that contain the recipe...)

Here's the deal: Beat two eggs with a cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of flour. Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt. In the microwave melt together one stick of real butter (I never use unsalted; I think it tastes flat) and two fairly heaping tablespoons of Hershey's cocoa. Get regular Hershey's in the dark brown box- anything else is different and will screw it up. Dump the butter-cocoa mixture into the other things, and stir it up good. Then add a running-over teaspoon of vanilla. I use real vanilla, but the grocery store kind won't ruin it. Stir that up, too. If you decide to go for nuts, use a whole bunch of pecans, chopped up fine.
Pour the Stuff into a greased loaf pan, set the loaf pan in a pan of water, and stick the whole business in the oven at about 300 degrees. Depending on how your oven cooks, it needs to stay in there for 40 to 50 minutes. You can reach in there and tap on the top of it at 40 minutes. If it seems crunchy, I'd take it out. You can't really undercook it, since it's good raw, but you don't want to overcook it and lose the gooey bottom so crucial to the whole texture experience.


Bon appétit, everyone!  Do not let a day go by without expressing your gratitude to at least one significant person in your life.