Frustrated

So I tried the pound cake again. And if you were a reader of my blog the last time I made a pound cake you saw how pretty it was but the inside was raw. Well I thought I would take a shot at it again, only this time I decided to use a different recipe and bake chocolate instead of cream cheese.
Flop!!!! Once again the cake was beautiful. I tested it with a toothpick. It came out clean. I pulled it out of the over and let it cool. Once I flipped it onto a plate and cut into it I noticed the same thing, a raw ring throughout the cake. Fortunately the cake was not complete cool. I flipped it back into the pan and back into the oven for thirty more minutes. It helped some but there is stil a raw center.....
What am I doing wrong?

Enjoying Winter Break

This week the we are out of school for winter break!!!! I have really take advantage of this opportunity to get a lot done.
Monday I worked at the nursing home for a little while and then came home and cleaned the house.
Tuesday, I worked all day at the nursing home.
Wednesday, I worked on school work, writing lesson plans for next week, posting to my online class, doing assignments for my online class, and the best part..... I awaited Andrew's arrival at the hospital. He is precious.
Today, I have spent the majority of the morning finalizing a resume, working on a teaching portfolio, and cleaning the house again. Later I'm going to make a chocolate pound cake...so stay tuned!!!
Tomorrow, I plan to work for a little while and then study for a test I have coming up.
So.... I'm off to finish all these wonderful things. Oh I can't wait for the day when I no longer have to worry about doing assignments for school.

I love him and hope to be like them

My parents are WONDERFUL!!! Last Sunday I decided to go walk the dam with them. My mom has lost 23 pounds!!!!! She is so dedicated.. And look my dad is right there beside her. They were joking around with each other and I thought it was a great opportunity to get a picture of them. This year they will celebrate their 34th wedding anniversary!!! I can only hope that Michael and I can continue to have a marriage as strong as theirs!! I LOVE YOU MOM AND DAD!!

Last night, Michael and I opted to avoid the Valentine's Day crowds. We decided to stay at home and cook a romantic meal and watch movies. It was really an enjoyable evening!! Can you guess what we had?

YUMMY!!!!!! We tried a new sauce from Ingles. It was in the specialty sauces. The brand was Del' Amore. It said spicy on the jar, but was far from it. It tasted like homemade sauce. It was delicious.
After eating supper and watching one movie we decided to do Chocolate Fondue. We had strawberries, cherries and peanut butter crackers (Michael made them). It was YUMMY!

We really enjoyed the evening at HOME!! For once, we did not go out to eat and spend a ridiculous amount of money. We enjoyed each others company, cooked together, and relaxed. We even said, "We will have to do this more often."

Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day as well.

Oh and.... Michael gave me a gift certificate to get a charm for my Pandora Bracelet and an apple dipped in caramel, chocolate, chocolate chips, and pecans. YUMMY!! They are my favorite. This gift was the best EVER.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

Hope you are all having a WONDERFUL Valentine's Day!!!!!!

teaching

My life has been consumed lately with student teaching, working part-time, an on-line class, being a wife, and trying to have a social life.
Let me just say.... I LOVE teaching. I have had the best experience over the last month and look forward to what the future brings me. I look forward to the next few months in the second grade and pray that God blesses me with a teaching job this fall. I have heard a lot of negative talk about the teaching job market over the last few weeks; I'm trying my best not to get discouraged.

I had an awesome day today and wanted to cry when the students said, "Mrs. Adams' is AWESOME." I have tried to incorporate fun activities into the lessons so that they don't have to listen to me lecture. I felt very touched when my supervising teacher said, "you are making me a better teacher." Wow!!!!! She was teacher of the year last year; how could I make her a better teacher. We have a lot of the same beliefs and a lot of different beliefs when it comes to teaching strategies and techniques. I am so thankful, not once has she said, "No we are not going to try that."

I left the school and came to my part-time job at the nursing home. I was doing the maintenance program for therapy but when I decided to go part-time they offered me a new position. I now order supplies and charge patients for them. But anyway..... As I was walking to my office this evening, one of my favorite patients was coming out of her room. When she arrived at the nursing home she could not see a thing. After double cataract surgery she sees a little. Months ago I prayed that she would be able to see the Christmas decorations and she did!!! Then I started praying that she could gain independence and get around in her wheelchair on her own, and tonight SHE WAS!!!!! I came back to my office after talking to her and just cried!!!! GOD IS AWESOME!!!

Catching up.. (this is a common title for me)

Our Christmas Present arrived this week. We have grown out of our house. We needed room to store decorations, tools, and "stuff." So this is what we asked Santa to bring us this year.

This is Michael installing the blind... We do not want to show off our junk.

Lowering the blind... Notice the peg board to his left. This is where he hung a lot of tools. Sorry after moving in yesterday, I was exhausted and did not take any pictures.
Michael installing the shelves.......
More shelves

Ok so I got really bored over the Christmas break. I'm not used to being at home with nothing to do. I bought a puzzle. It was HARD!!!

This is Jacob riding with Michael and I to the Christmas Parade. The sun was in his eyes. He said, "Aunt Amy do you have any sunglasses for me." I gave him my extra pair. Isn't he cute?

I got Jacob this easel for Christmas. He loves to draw. He is our future artist!!! Colin always has to do what "brother" does.

Colin and my brother at the Eifler family Christmas!!!!!

Proud and EXCITED

These two words describe how I feel today. Why you ask?

Well, I'm excited because tomorrow is my first day of student teaching. I will be in a second grade classroom at a local school. I'm excited because it's an experience that I will never forget and because I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. My studying, writing papers, creating lesson plans and curriculum units, and not spending every night as a newly wed with my husband is paying off.

I'm PROUD because my MOM has lost 11 pounds. Yes, eleven pounds!!!!!!!! I am so proud of her. She is doing great and this time she is not only dieting but she is exercising which is AWESOME!! She is participating in "the biggest loser" at work...and.... SHE WON THIS WEEK!!!!! This week was the first week they weighed in and MY MOM won!!!!!!!! I am so excited for her.

Hope you are all having a great week!!!