My First Louisiana Thanksgiving

So Darryl told me that he wanted me to cook Thanksgiving dinner this year, and the last time I HOSTED Thanksgiving (I didn't even cook it) I blew up the oven! In my brand new house with all of the family coming down from MD/DC within hours. We ended up buying a Boston Market turkey and cooking mac n' cheese on the grill! HA

My family still brings that up to this day!

So both he and Rah agreed on a small Thanksgiving and the menu was set: turkey, ham, greens, candied yams, and dinner rolls. Doesn't seem like a small Thanksgiving to you either? lol

But we bought small portions and I got to cooking enough for four serving sizes and just to make my husband feel some sweet home comfort, I called my mom-in-law for my first attempt at making her infamous mac n' cheese! Now everyone in his family loves her recipe - they take home pans of it at a time - but I have never attempted it, well I don't attempt much of anything. But I decided to try as this was my first time really cooking.



So I thought it turned out pretty well! Until Ebony told me my turkey looked like a frog and Mr. Jarden pointed out that it didn't have wings or legs, how didn't I notice that until looking back at the pics! HA HA HA

I also placed marshmallows on the candied yams but placed regular sized marshmallows instead of mini marshmallows (note-to-self). When I told Darryl to check the yams he said "The biscuits have overflowed into the oven" to which I replied "I haven't cooked any biscuits yet"! Ha

And the mac n' cheese, well it turned out splendidly! Although Kita told me I wasn't supposed to let the noodles cool before adding the cheese (something about the hotnoodles helping thecheese melt). It was the first thing to go - no leftovers!

Pre-oven

I must say, My First Louisiana Thanksgiving turned out pretty well!
 

Happy Birthday Bestie!!!

Niece turned 40 November 2nd and decided that she was just gonna sit home and bartend for her monumentious birthday and that was simply unacceptable. So I did what any best friend would do - I scheduled a flight for a four-day weekend and went to Raleigh to celebrate her mega birthday in style.

We  planned a weekend of spa, shopping, jazz clubs, dinner, and painting with a twist (that's when you paint step by step with an art teacher while drinking a grown-up beverage of your choice). We had so much planned - but alas only a few of those things actually materialized due to sleeping in late!!! We were so tired, that's the life of military working moms. We did have so much fun though catching up on our latest happenings of each others' lives and Tracey even came up to join us later in the weekend to make it a good ole' trio! I miss not being able to get in my car and simply drive to her house or for that matter living in her spare bedroom for the summer! HA


So Happy Birthday Bestie and I wish you many more...

"Forest Nicki" Strikes Again!

Dang it!

Well in so many words that's what I said as I crashed into the back of a pick-up truck and Rah was in the back seat telling me how I was gonna get it from daddy, like I didn't know that much. What's new? For those of you who don't know "Hello my name is Kenchasa, my friends call me Nicki - my alter is Forest Nicki - and I simply am not good with life"! Well things of value in life, well value as far as material possessions to "normal people". I seem to only desire the simple things - not that I don't like nice things don't get me wrong, its just that whenever I get my hands on something of sheer value, it's only a matter of time before I lose, break, damage, or give it away. I just don't seem to care much about material things - never have, never will.

Possessions are nice but you can always get them: they can always be lost, and they can always be reattained (is reattained a word?). I think that philosophy came to me when I was thrown into the reality of poverty after my parents divorce. It's hard to digests going from being one of the perceived affluent kids - first of my peer group with a computer (I remember it an Apple IIc, we had to actually type the commands on the green screen) and having a big concave floor model Zenith Space Command TV that had a speaker phone in it so we didn't even have to get up to answer the phone we just spoke through the TV! So from that to having to date to eat (and that's putting it mildly) and hanging sheets up in the balcony window then running from the bathroom to the bedroom so the passing traffic wouldn't see you naked - all in what seemed like a year - but probably more like 3, but we never financially recovered (Thank God, I made it out in one piece); Jesus is surely merciful.

So now I take possessions with a grain of salt. I only hold a few treasured items dear. One being my blankie "woobie" and everyone who knows me knows I suck both thumbs (thanks to my granddad spitting on one trying to break the bad habit, and then I switched - and somehow forgot which one along the way, nasty bastard). I guess a gal like me can't give up her security just yet. Darryl on the other hand hates it, he'd probably burn it if not for me jumping into the flames after it and until recently I couldn't list a single other material thing.

Which brings about this blog. So I know I got all "heavy" and you guys are probably not used to that from me, hence the blog's title "Forest Nicki". She's who is usually in the forefront - carefree and careless. Darryl said its one of the main reasons he fell in love with me, because "I'd run into the woods and chase unicorns and butterflies"...and that just about sums her/me up. I was once told that I needed to come back to the "real world and visit from time to time although it is overrated in my opinion because Kenchasa/Nicki need oxygen"! Ha was my reply - I've been living my life this way for so long why bother changing, let me just be. I do get stressed, upset, and angry - but when I get to my max - I just zone out and go to "The Forest".

Maybe its because I've always wanted a tree house - a big old tree house where I could hide from life when it was bothersome and come back into it when it pleased me, so I created one for myself. It all was working out well until my two worlds began to sorta overlap and my "Forest" began to become more of my reality that the reality itself. Now it's not like I didn't know what reality was or that I existed in reality; I simply just didn't care, and I opted to live in "The Forest". I simply said "F*** it" - now tell me you've never wanted to do that?

The thing is, living in "The Forest" is tricky and I decided that maybe I needed to take another look at that advice and seek a "bit of air"; simply because one many forget that one has been removed from life (introverted) as long as they actually had and things go haywire; i.e. there are consequences for your actions (I'm actually laughing now at some of the things that I have gotten myself into over the years). So I concluded that people have different names for their personal "Forest" and I believe and as I have grown, I better know my triggers and better regulate my visits  - but I really don't see anything wrong with "zoning out" from time to time to prevent me from being totally impulsive and "Blacking Out" on someone (in more way than one); I think it's a perfectly rational response.

OK, Ive really been ranting (its therapeutic, ya know) and I'm sure your like this girl is certifiable, and your right - but oh well. So I was in "The Forest", dang Darryl... - and BANG into the back of the truck! Not going fast or anything but the truck was stopped at a traffic light (sunny outside and I was trying to put down my visor), no excuse - either way wasn't paying attention, and the truck had a tow-hitch and since my car has like a trillion miles on it from visiting all of y'all across country, although it was in perfect condition otherwise - due to likely radiator, engine, AC, frame, and whatever else damage (by that time the representative said "totaled", and they were speaking to me in Charlie Brown teacher language!!!! LOL). Dang - it was totaled; maybe they could tell Darryl?

 

 

Well, you know I grabbed my incense and climbed down from that "proverbial tree house" pretty quickly at the thought of telling him. It snapped the "Forest" right out of me! LOL  I could care less about the car, it was the "Darryl Backlash" - I'm like a regular Lucille Ball (seriously) I broke my Nook, like a month after he bought it for me (after I begged forever for it) and fried my iPod nano by accidentally leaving it in the car;  I knew this was in another realm- this is the whole dang car! So of course everyone was OK, the other driver was more concerned about me & Rah - if it weren't for his dang tow-hitch all would have been well but noooo his truck sat in a perfect position for my low car just to pivot all around it with my engine, stupid tow hitch! HA HA HA. I literally felt like you feel when you are about to get a whipping; when you were little and you had to go to the bathroom; that's how I felt at the thought of tell Darryl. And then Rah is in the back seat yelling "Daddy's gonna get yoooouuuuu!", didn't make it any better at all!

So I called a friend to pick me up and didn't tell Darryl until the very last minute, he ended up being very understanding - I told him over the best peppermint foot rub ever! My wrist were hurting but I figured he couldn't punch me in the head because he couldn't reach his feet while I was massaging them and he couldn't kick me because he was in the zone with the massage, LOL! I think he knew I was in "Forest Nicki" mode when it happened and he was the cause of it so he didn't wanna force me back up my ladder rope with his reaction - but I do think he was genuinely happy that we were all unharmed.

So since I still carried full coverage  I got a fair price, the money will be used to buy a beautiful 54 Chevy reminiscent of the Sanford & Son truck (my dream vehicle that I've wanted for many, many years). Darryl said I can get it as long as it runs and can get me to and from work (which is about a 5-minute commute round trip). He's such a patient man, I'm truly blessed. In the mean time friend Mrs. Smith has loaned me a vehicle of hers until I get my truck, it's $11K and I'm only getting a little over half if that for my car so I must make up the difference and try to negotiate it down a bit - I don't think Darryl is gonna contribute; I really may get that punch in the head if I ask! LOL

I actually wiped the window with my hand to try to get a pic of the inside! Good thing I wasn't arrested for trespassing or suspected car theft!

So you see, no worries - well not over possessions, just the repercussions from husbands from totaling possessions. And God gave me one that is patient and loving, to offset the fact that I am well...quite irrational and unstable! LOL - But he loves me for it - and I love him for that!

Update:
3-weeks later I lost my engagement ring in the VFW bathroom while changing for a Zumba class! Here comes that feeling again.... BTW 12/27 will be our 7th anniversary. That's surely gotta count for something, right ;)

I called the building the following morning in a sheer panic and the receptionist located it under the sink! Whew!!! I dodged a bullet on that one- but in the meantime I couldn't drive there to retrieve it immediately because as I was so stressed over losing the ring in the first place, I somehow lost the car keys to the car I'm borrowing from my friend. The keys were later located...in the ignition of the car! I had exited the car that morning and parked as I usually do when going to work but somehow negected to remove the keys from the ignition! The car was still running from since I arrived, while I had been working inside all morning! I know, I know - what can I say :)

The Swann Class or The Swan Class (either way)

I have been working really hard in my class and keeping my students busy. Learning in various ways is always fun. Recently we learned our color words by creating color word chains with a link to signify each letter of the same color so they became this massive web in the end. Everyone loves it besides the janitor who gets tangled in it each day when he's vacuuming the floor! LOL But the students loved creating them, they look great hanging from the class ceiling, and all of them have the the ability to identify at least one color words and some can even spell them now; so you know I'm delighted!.

Mr. Jarden wouldn't get outta the dang pic - I already had to cut out Lillian & Malachi who "conveniently" placed themselves in the shot! Sheesh! LOL

We also have been learning ordinal numbers and what better way to learn than to move! So I thought I'd teach the students through a game of hopscotch. Now seeing as though I have a class for of boys (in my second grade class) they had no idea of what hopscotch was, but were extremely happy to play once I taught them. And I had to modify the rules - because "hopping" with all of this weight was quite exhausting! So you only hopped one way and walked back to pick up your marker (which was a colored word tile that you must read before each throw - so I actually fit reading into the game too!) LOL
You didn't think I'd let them play without me, did you?

After reading a story we did a wonderful comprehension lesson using flashcards and yarn to create a Venn diagram. Students loved the opportunity to compare and contrast elements of the story and actually interact with with the cards - now if I had a Smart Board I could do the same thing using technology, but I found and devised a more primitive way! Ha

P.S We did another lesson using Venn Diagrams and it turned out so wonderful that I had the students copy their ideas from the board onto their very own color-coded sentence strips and created a class bulletin board; it turned out great! No need to keep all of our progress to ourselves, lets show the whole school!!!

Lastly, all across town I've been seeing these wonderful bows and wreaths! Giant over sized adornments on doors and over entrances to homes and office spaces - in various themes depending on the owner. Well after whining and complaining so much, Mrs. Smith created me my very own for my class door! Its soooo lovely! And it even has my name and a swan in the center. Now whenever the students read the password to enter the classroom (a high-frequency reinforcement strategy that I picked up from my days at Bragg) they can also admire my wonderful swan wreath. Its gonna follow me all my teaching days just like my swan flag I purchased while at Bragg! Now I just have to figure out how to store it for the many interim's of my career/life ;)

A swan bow for the Swan Class (never mind the extra "n" that differentiates the name from the animal, the students hardly ever notice)! LOL

Party in Pink: Movin' to End Breast Cancer

FIGHT LIKE A GIRL!

Me, Sherry, & Rose

We Zumbed the night away for a great cause. For 2-hours we danced and celebrated life while raising money for those battling breast cancer. The Party in Pink was great! Sherri (aka Mrs. Smith) set up a table and displayed her Mary Kay items, more specifically their Gloss for a Cause line, and it sold great (check out her website for other products or to contact her directly).




www.marykay.com/ssmith0303

I worked up a major sweat!

We did the House Party dance routine! LOL

Not too many pics, too busy dancing.



Rose (aka Mrs. Singleton) signs the wall at the nights end

Dance, Dance, Dance...





Now we just gotta prepare for the annual Relay For Life Cancer charity fundraising activities, but that's just a walk AND it's a team event.

Swann #10

Darryl started playing football on post and we finally got to see him play a game. He plays for his unit and really enjoys it. They play several times a week and it gets him out of the house. They are not organized (as in uniforms and rosters and stuff) - at least that I'm aware of, but they play for the sheer joy - when he's not in rotation.

Go #10!!!

So Bravo company (his team) has played the the MP's (Military police), doctors, cooks, engineers, fire department, and other companies - and lost every single game! LOL

But, hey it's all in fun, check out his video:

Fair Week (October 1-5)

There's not much to do here in small townsville, but when the fair comes along in the fall - it sparks the beginning of not only the season, but it seems the simple nostalgia of hometown living. Fair Day was the first Friday in October (I know I'm really behind in my blogs). And leading up to Fair Day is accumulation of fair related festivities and events for the entire week: from the Fair Day Parade to the Carnival and crowing of local pageant princesses/queens.

 

 

Schools are closed for the actual Fair Day (it is observed as a local holiday) and businesses from all over the Parrish (county) come and enter their local produce, livestock, and homemade items for judging. Students are taken on field trips in the week leading up to the fair to learn about the origins of the community, how the land was developed, and all that the county has to offer. It's really educational - just think if those trips were mandatory up North, maybe public school students would know that people from all over the world come and visit such places as DC for once in a lifetime vacations; simply to tour the national landmarks, museums, and/or parks that our children pass daily as youth and then into adulthood but never take the time to truly understand the significance, simply amazing. I think we went on field trips to the Smithsonian when I was in elementary school, but I don't even think local schools do that anymore - not the local public schools, and definitely not by the masses.




To that I must say that I am proud of my culturally diverse parents who kept us downtown in museums and on the National Mall; I in turn keep my children culturally exposed so that they understand that going to the movies is not actively participating in the fine arts!
I must say I learned the most about my small town from my initial visit to the fair when I chaperoned Rah's field trip three years ago, but this year as I have assimilated into the community a bit more, I'm learning much more and actually went to the carnival portion of the fair with the family, ate red velvet funnel cake, and rode a ton of rides. We watched the parade that signifies the beginning of Fair Week and our school's float won top prize! Mr. Jarden, my paraeducator, rode the float too along with some of our students and fellow teachers to toss candy! Rah stood in the middle of the street and cheered and caught candy in his shirt. Traffic was shut down for more than two hours - it was my first "rush hour" in over 6 years, but with horses, four-wheelers, and floats!



GW Carver school float won top prize!

All in all, it was great!

I think I prefer to raise my boys as Country Mice, (maybe that's why I always chose to live in the suburbs when we did live in the city)! LOL

Some videos from the parade:

Pics from the carnival (they even had a sideshow of which you could pay $2 and see some of the world's "attrocities"). I must admit I was curious to see the lizard lady but I simply couldnt pay to do it - I felt as if I was contributing to demeaning people with disabilities; however there are two sides and they may simply be trying to make a living just as everyone else....but I just couldnt.

You got in the ball and ran around like a lifesized hamster/gerbil. Rah really wanted to, but we opted out!