2013, go home, you're drunk

Sorry I've been not posting regularly on this little blog lately, but in true 2013 form, there's been a lot of drama and sadness again in the family.  This time, my partner's family.  Her grandmother suffered a major stroke 1 week ago and was put into a hospice facility last weekend.  The family rallied around her and came to say their goodbyes on Sunday and Monday, anticipating that the stroke would take her from us quickly.  But in true grandma form, she held on for a week, fighting every step of the way.  Unfortunately, she passed away Thursday night so now there is another deep loss felt in the family, much too soon after my father passed away. 

2013 has so far been the year of loss and drama.  A beloved teacher colleague of mine died of brain cancer back in March, my father passed away in May, my partner's great aunt AND great uncle (married to each other) passed away within 6 weeks of each other,  my aunt (dad's sister) passed away in July, and now my partner's grandmother.  This year has sucked and my entire focus of the year, besides teaching, has been in dealing with death and it's aftermath.  Estate settling, garage sales, official paperwork, funeral planning, funeral attending, etc etc etc.  It definitely takes away the fun and enjoyment of the summer. 

And now, it affects our vacation.  We had a week long trip to New York planned, starting tomorrow.  Grandma's funeral is Tuesday.  So needless to say, we aren't going to New York on Sunday.  We've moved our flight to Wednesday morning so that we are able to be here for the funeral and to spend time with the families.  And of course I am not begrudging this chain of events...I would expect nothing less than to be here for the funeral.  I wouldn't dream of missing it.  But needless to say it really puts a damper on our one big vacation for the year.  Kathy is obviously upset and worried about her mom and how she's handling the loss and the responsibilities.  So I know that there will be some dampened excitement surrounding this trip.  In the grand scheme of things, it's 1 small vacation out of many we've had and many more to come, but when we have such a limited amount of time together as it is because of her work schedules, it's a bummer to have to lose 3 days of time together for something so sad. 

So, that's where I've been.  All I have to hope is that the rest of 2013 goes away quickly with no other major losses or horrendous events.  I'm not sure I can take anymore. 

Another fun weekend

So we just finished another fun, yet hectic weekend.  The no-so-fun stuff was the garage sale for my father's estate, which was horribly unsuccessful and boring.  The fun stuff started once I left the family home and came back to Madison.  Friday night was a fantastic dinner with friends in Sun Prairie that ended early since all of us were tired.  Saturday night was the typical dinner at our house.  We did make your own pizzas on the grill and then hung out around the fire pit talking.  Sunday we met friends out for breakfast and bloody marys and then we went downtown for Art Fair on the Square.  It was crazy hot and humid here on Sunday so it wasn't too much fun (at least for me, who is not a sun lover) so we spent a few hours at the fair checking out the art and mixing in some stops at local restaurants/bars for liquid refreshments.  Once we were officially melted we headed home for another cook out and a float in the pool.  And exhausting but fun weekend.

New Food Friday

Both us and our best friends love to try new recipes, so last fall we instituted something we call "New Food Friday".  One of us hosts the dinner at their house and the rule is that one of the recipes needs to be brand new to us.  We've tried everything from lobster mac and cheese to salmon to pasta recipes throughout the fall and winter.  We had put it on hold for a while because of our crazy schedules but tonight we decided to start it up again.  Our friends hosted the dinner at their house and we tried a new recipe that was found in the July/August issue of Food Network Magazine...

Grilled Cheesy Meatloaves


They were fabulous!!! Filled with seasoning and cheesy goodness and holy cow were they huge! We had them with a side salad and potatoes with peppers. It was delicious! Definitely a recipe to add to our regular rotation of meals. So...what did you have for dinner?

A tough, emotional day

Yesterday I spent the day with my brother and sister meeting with a realtor in preparation to sell my parent's house, my childhood home. My mother passed away in 2000 and my dad passed away in May so I've spent the better part of my summer vacation taking care of my father's estate, sorting through years of possessions and now, getting the house ready for sale. It's an event that I do not look forward to and one that brings me a mix of emotions. On the practical side, it's not a house I want, it's not in a town I want to live in, and it's not my style of house. On the sentimental side...it's my childhood home. It's where I grew up. My tap dancing shoes are why there is now sticky tile over what used to be gorgeous hardwood floors. My old bedroom is still painted that hideous pink color that all girls fall for. I am sure that there will be a wave of emotions when that for sale sign goes outside in the yard and a second wave of emotions once the final papers are signed at that house now belongs to a new family. There's a wave of emotions now just writing the words. Here's my favorite picture of my parents. I have no idea when or where it was taken but it's such a sweet picture. Love you mom and dad.

New Recipe

Shopping at Costco over the weekend, I bought a huge package of Oscar Meyer chicken hot dogs.  I've never had them before but thought they would be a some-what healthier option than regular hot dogs.  So today I open my email from Kraft recipes and there's a recipe for them!  I'm sure most of you are saying...who needs a recipe for hot dogs?!?!?  But these sounded awfully delicious and an interesting way to dress up a dog.

Fresh Apple Salsa-Topped Chicken Franks

Vegan Pizza

Last night I treated my niece to a pizza night here in Madison.  My niece decided a few years ago to lead a vegan lifestyle so needless to say, that adds an additional challenge to going out to dinner.  Madison is such a cool, progressive town though that vegetarian and vegan food is becoming more mainstream and many restaurants offer vegan choices. 

One of those places is Ian's Pizza on Frances Street.  Every Monday night from 5:00-10:00 pm they offer a few of their traditional pizza choices and make them vegan.  So I decided to take her out for girls night for pizza.

On the left is lasagna pizza, on the right "pepperoni" with mushrooms.  The cheese, crust and all toppings were vegan.  Now, if anyone knows me they know that my food choices are about as far from vegan as they possibly can be, but I humor my niece and try her food at times.  I must say that the lasagna pizza was pretty good.  The "pepperoni" I did not enjoy at all.  In my world, there is no substitution for real pepperoni. 

I wasn't horrified by the pizza :) but I know that I wouldn't choose to eat it unless I was with my niece.  Otherwise, bring on the gooey cheese, sausage and meat!!!

Welcome!

Welcome readers to my little corner of the blogging world.  I decided to jump on the blogging bandwagon and write about my life and some of my favorite things.  I'm not so sure anyone will want to read about these rambling thoughts, but I'm going to give it a try.  I'm sure you're all wondering who I am, so here's a bit about me and what you might find on this blog:

My name:  Heidi

Who I am:  I am a first grade teacher, living in Wisconsin with my partner of 8 years along with our 3 dogs and 3 cats.  I've taught kindergarten or first grade for the last 13 years and love working with children.  Along with teaching, I love hanging out with friends and enjoying great food.  We host dinners and parties on Friday and Saturday nights at our home and we love to try new recipes.  When I'm not teaching or hanging with friends I love to read, swim, watch hockey and football and have a bit of an obsession with Target.  I'm a graduate of UW-Madison so I also have an obsession with all things Bucky Badger and UW sports. 

What will you find on this blog: recipes, meal plans (if I can wrap my head around how to do it!) stories about our life and what we do, and my experiences as a first grade teacher.  I won't be sharing direct photos of my students to protect their privacy, but I will share funny stories and musings about my life as a teacher. 

That's me in a nutshell.  Hope you enjoy the ride!
Heidi