I forgot how wonderful fresh blueberries and cool whip is! It is so yummy and good for me!!!
I made this new recipe last night for supper. I had chicken tenders and stuffing, so I searched the net and found this recipe. Easy and eveyrone liked it. It's a keeper! This would make an easy camping recipe, for my rv camper friends. It doesn't have any prep work or unusual ingredients.
chicken tenders, thawed
1 pkg stove top stuffing, chicken flavored
1 stick melted butter
Spray pan with pam. I think I used an 11x7 pan. Preheat oven to 350. Line tenders in bottom of pan. Pout stuffing straight from the box over the chicken. Pour melted butter over stuffing. Bake for about 30 mins or until chicken juices run clear.
I also fried some squash that a friend had given me. it was the best ever! I used the pancake mix as the flour when I breaded it and used tongs to flip it. It was awesome!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
As most of you know, Mr. Kirk passed away last Tuesday night. He had been with Eustace ISD 46 consecutive years and never taught anywhere else. His funeral is this afternoon in the new gymnasium named after him. There is a picture of him on my last blog. He was a funny man. Just listening to Coy's stories about him crack me up. What's interesting is that his dad is 97 years old and still alive. He will be sorely missed for many days, months, and years to come.
My mom and dad are down from Glorieta NM for a quick visit. They have been a huge help with the girls while Coy and I do all the funeral stuff. I appreciate it.
Grace went to the doctor yesterday for her physical and new immunization shots. She got three and never flinched (probably because she was reading a reader's digest the whole time). She's 5'6" and weighs 137. She's in the 95th percentile for weight and 97th percentile for height. I measured JoGail for fun and she is 4'6".
Two more days of work! Yahoo!!!!!I am anxious to have more time to walk and just relax around the house. The two main projects for me this summer are to organize my recipes.....( I have a neato moquito notebook my sister Melissa made for me) and clean out the garage. (go through those tubs I have decided are from the devil himself......just makes you think you can keep more).
I have thought of something I didn't Know I wanted ....deviled egg trays. I have been reading on the Internet that every good respectable true southern lady has those. I have a plastic one but not a nice, FORMAL, one. Any thoughts about this?????I'm sure all our grandmothers had them...I don't remember mine having them but when I mentioned it to my mom and dad they remembered their moms having at least two a piece....
I am now on facebook and love it. You can search for me under the name Laurie Holcombe. I am also on twitter but haven't played around much with that one. You can also follow Coy on twitter.
Gotta go get a bath for the funeral.
My mom and dad are down from Glorieta NM for a quick visit. They have been a huge help with the girls while Coy and I do all the funeral stuff. I appreciate it.
Grace went to the doctor yesterday for her physical and new immunization shots. She got three and never flinched (probably because she was reading a reader's digest the whole time). She's 5'6" and weighs 137. She's in the 95th percentile for weight and 97th percentile for height. I measured JoGail for fun and she is 4'6".
Two more days of work! Yahoo!!!!!I am anxious to have more time to walk and just relax around the house. The two main projects for me this summer are to organize my recipes.....( I have a neato moquito notebook my sister Melissa made for me) and clean out the garage. (go through those tubs I have decided are from the devil himself......just makes you think you can keep more).
I have thought of something I didn't Know I wanted ....deviled egg trays. I have been reading on the Internet that every good respectable true southern lady has those. I have a plastic one but not a nice, FORMAL, one. Any thoughts about this?????I'm sure all our grandmothers had them...I don't remember mine having them but when I mentioned it to my mom and dad they remembered their moms having at least two a piece....
I am now on facebook and love it. You can search for me under the name Laurie Holcombe. I am also on twitter but haven't played around much with that one. You can also follow Coy on twitter.
Gotta go get a bath for the funeral.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
EHS Graduation 2009
Top picture is Mr. E.L. Kirk. The school board named the new gym after him. He has been employed by EISD for more than 46 years. Still going strong, too. 
The next picture is Coy calling out Senior scholarships. The next one is one I took of the seniors. The next one is the new podium made completely of wood and stain-no paint. It's cool! The last one is of Mrs. Beasley, Coy and Mr. Sowers. Coy graduated 95 seniors yesterday in the brand new E.L.Kirk Bulldog gym. The gym isn't completely finished but Coy met his goal of having graduation in it. He calculated more than 2100 people were there. That's alot for Eustace!
The next picture is Coy calling out Senior scholarships. The next one is one I took of the seniors. The next one is the new podium made completely of wood and stain-no paint. It's cool! The last one is of Mrs. Beasley, Coy and Mr. Sowers. Coy graduated 95 seniors yesterday in the brand new E.L.Kirk Bulldog gym. The gym isn't completely finished but Coy met his goal of having graduation in it. He calculated more than 2100 people were there. That's alot for Eustace! Grace is finished with school for this year since she is exempt from finals because of her TAKS scores. JoGail has three more days but 2 are early release. Tomorrow she gets to go skating for her grades, attendance, and good conduct. Grace spent the night with Carly Friday night then they went to Splash Kingdom. (waterpark) She came back looking like a lobster. They thought tanning lotion would provide some some block but give them a tan. I guess they didn't read the bottle! We went to Academy this afternoon and got heat gear from Under Armor for her summer workouts. I think she has also decided to add the cross country workouts this summer, also. That means she will be working out from 7 to 10. Coy is making some workout cards fro JoGail to do this summer, too. She wants to do those summer workouts so bad. She's just too young. We got her some workout clothes too. Had to have a heated discussion that even though she may have on a sports bra she STILL had to have a shirt on over it!!!!Betcha ten bucks she tries to go without a shirt at least once this summer!!!! Happenings this week: Tuesday Coy goes to the orthopedic specialist about his shoulder impingement. Friday he's off but he and JG have eye appointments. She's been squinting alot. I have just been waiting for school to be out. Since she sits front and center all year anyway (I don't think she ever gets off the front row for some mysterious reason), I knew she could see the board. She mainly squint looking in the distance. My cellutits is getting much better. Now I just have to tolerate the antibiotics for a little while longer. I was lucky I didn't have to go in the hospital for IV antibiotics for it. I have to work until June 17 but that includes my 3 comp days for net year. When I am done I am done!!!!Lots of reports left to write.
Gotta go get some supper together.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
You put a smile on my face.
You are pretty as lace.
You are full of grace.
You are my comfy place.
Poem I received this morning from Grace. Oh yeah, made my cry....JoGail gave me decorated paper plate full of good food (strawberries, cherries, sushi (thanks TAC and Joey) and watermelon) with a paper towel taped to it that she had drawn a fork, knife, and spoon. on. Priceless......oh-Grace also gave me coupon to 1 ( and only 1) of her books from her 'collection'. Pretty priceless......have to take her up on that one this summer!
Had the 3 on 3 tournament this weekend. Pretty much like a day long picnic. Grace was the only one who got a little sunburned. So I felt like it was a successful weekend. Both girls won and lost some games. They said they had fun. One more tournament for Grace-Memorial Day weekend in Tyler. She play some teams we haven't played before so that will be interesting. Hope we get a chance to see Jason, Rebecca and maybe Leigh Ann and Trey that weekend. We probably won't get a chance to leave to soccer field, so they will have to generously come see us there!
Banquet week is this week. One on Tuesday and one on Thursday. (Top Ten and National Honor Society) The Top Ten one is cool. The top ten in the graduating class choose their most influential teacher and read an essay about them and present them with a plaque. Pretty cool.
Looking forward to graduation finally being held in Eustace! I have to make arrangements to go since I have a workday in Mabank on that Saturday. The gym is almost ready. Coy keeps telling people ready or not it's happening there. For pictures on the new gym, you go to eustaceisd.net and click on the superintendent's blog link on the right. He writes a blog every day. He's been busy trying to mow this afternoon. Finally have a chance! We were talking this afternoon and it's going to be weird not having soccer next Saturday! I secretly wish it was Canton weekend! haha
Oh yeah1 The BIG news of the week--JoGail made 100 AR points! It was truly a family effort to get her there, but we got her there by the deadline. So she gets to go on a field trip to Chuck E Cheese and she was the only one in her teacher's class to get there! Plus she will get 5 balls to throw at the teacher in the dunking booth in a couple of weeks. She has come a long way with her reading! We are so proud of her!!
TAKS scores should be in Thursday or Friday for those wondering. At least that's about when it has been in the past.
Grace has her end of year band concert tomorrow night. The competition was postponed because of the flu scare, so she also has that this week. She's decided to wear capri pants (she hates those) in lieu of the dress!She was funny last week when she found out that 'waffling' was a verb. She thought that was really cool. I can't believe she will be a 7th grader next fall! WOW!!!
You are pretty as lace.
You are full of grace.
You are my comfy place.
Poem I received this morning from Grace. Oh yeah, made my cry....JoGail gave me decorated paper plate full of good food (strawberries, cherries, sushi (thanks TAC and Joey) and watermelon) with a paper towel taped to it that she had drawn a fork, knife, and spoon. on. Priceless......oh-Grace also gave me coupon to 1 ( and only 1) of her books from her 'collection'. Pretty priceless......have to take her up on that one this summer!
Had the 3 on 3 tournament this weekend. Pretty much like a day long picnic. Grace was the only one who got a little sunburned. So I felt like it was a successful weekend. Both girls won and lost some games. They said they had fun. One more tournament for Grace-Memorial Day weekend in Tyler. She play some teams we haven't played before so that will be interesting. Hope we get a chance to see Jason, Rebecca and maybe Leigh Ann and Trey that weekend. We probably won't get a chance to leave to soccer field, so they will have to generously come see us there!
Banquet week is this week. One on Tuesday and one on Thursday. (Top Ten and National Honor Society) The Top Ten one is cool. The top ten in the graduating class choose their most influential teacher and read an essay about them and present them with a plaque. Pretty cool.
Looking forward to graduation finally being held in Eustace! I have to make arrangements to go since I have a workday in Mabank on that Saturday. The gym is almost ready. Coy keeps telling people ready or not it's happening there. For pictures on the new gym, you go to eustaceisd.net and click on the superintendent's blog link on the right. He writes a blog every day. He's been busy trying to mow this afternoon. Finally have a chance! We were talking this afternoon and it's going to be weird not having soccer next Saturday! I secretly wish it was Canton weekend! haha
Oh yeah1 The BIG news of the week--JoGail made 100 AR points! It was truly a family effort to get her there, but we got her there by the deadline. So she gets to go on a field trip to Chuck E Cheese and she was the only one in her teacher's class to get there! Plus she will get 5 balls to throw at the teacher in the dunking booth in a couple of weeks. She has come a long way with her reading! We are so proud of her!!
TAKS scores should be in Thursday or Friday for those wondering. At least that's about when it has been in the past.
Grace has her end of year band concert tomorrow night. The competition was postponed because of the flu scare, so she also has that this week. She's decided to wear capri pants (she hates those) in lieu of the dress!She was funny last week when she found out that 'waffling' was a verb. She thought that was really cool. I can't believe she will be a 7th grader next fall! WOW!!!
Monday, May 04, 2009
The light at the end of the tunnel...
Yes, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel,umm I mean school year! I am beginning towrap things up fro this year and look twoards next year. No cases of swine flu, here, that we know of. Of course, Coy said the health department says a flu test takes 7 days to complete now, so who knows!!! JoGail is reading like a crazy girl trying to get to 100 AR points by Wednesday. I think she is at 94.5. It's been neat watching her grow as a reader since she struggled so much at first. She's also getting a little taller and thinning out a little. Grace was about that age when she starting thinning out, too. Grace is looking forward to her summer workouts at school. Every morning at 8. She lives for that just finished a workout feeling. She has her first band contest Friday in Canton. She's trying to get out of wearing a skirt on the bus on the way over there. We'll see. Both girls are in the TriCounty 3 on 3 tournament this weekend. As always our goal will be to avoid getting sunburned! It's a wualifying tournament, so if either on ewas to win first they would get to participate at the next level. 3 on 3 is hard because the field is small, the goals are really really small and it goes fast. An entire game lasts 23 minutes. It's not about power at all. Grace will have to tone it down a little! hahaMade fish for supper with spinach, blackeyed peas and roasted veggies. I'm sure this recipe has been around for awhile, but it was new to me and was really really good!
Roasted veggies
8 red potatoes washed and quartered
16 baby carrots
1 can chicken broth
2 teaspons seasoned salt
1 zuchinni cut into small pieces
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray roasting pan with pam. Combine potatoes, carrots, salt, and 1/2 can chicken broth in roasting pan and cover. Cook for about 30 minutes. Add zuchinni and remainder of broth and cook for additional 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
More rain on the way........wahoo!!! Just what we need--another 4 inches!!!
Monday, April 20, 2009
The life of a diagnostician
Had a very trying day at work today. I feel like many people are trying to make round kids fit in the premolded square peg. I.E......everyone must pass TAKS, if a kid can't read then he must be Special Ed.......and it goes on and on. Now for those who don't know exactly what I do at work (some people I work for are still wondering that but the way). Here' s in a nutshell what I do. Students are referred to me for Special Education testing. There are many criteria the student must go through before I get the referral. Then I contact the parents and we begin collecting data, giving IQ tests, giving achievement tests, observations, etc. Again, alot of time and input is given from teachers, etc. After I collect everything and give everything, I write a report. Now the report is based on all the information I have collected. Then we input the scores in a template to see if the student has any cognitive deficits. There are specific areas that I test for. Used to be, a child's IQ was a significant factor in whether or not they qualified because there had to be a 16 point or greater discrepancy between that and an area of achievement. But no longer because of No Child Left Behind. Now I am looking for a cognitive area with a deficit (below 85) that correlates back to a low area of achievement. Many students I have tested this year have not demonstrated this deficit. Thus, they do not qualify at this time for services. Now here's where I think some confusion comes in. Many think that since a student can't read so he will qualify for Special Ed. They forget to look for the underlying cognitive deficit that the law says MUST be there. If it is not there I can't say a student has a Specific Learning Disability. And while I am on the topic, a student who is low in the three basic areas of achievement (reading, writing, and math) cannot have a specific learning disability. A student in this situation, in my opinion, has more of a general learning disability rather than a SPECIFIC learning disability. Yes, there is a HUGE crack that slow learners and students with general learning disabilities will probably fall in. This is where teamwork and thinking outside the box comes in to play. These students CAN learn. They are just slower. They may need more individualized teaching. You can't keep teaching them the same way, or you will get the same results. They are obviously struggling so change the way they are being taught. Yes, I have a huge burden on my heart for those students who I test and do not qualify, especially when I know they are struggling in the classroom. But I am bound to follow the guidelines set forth by my school district, TEA, and the federal government (since we receive federal funds). Seems like if a kid qualifies everybody loves us but when a student doesn't we're the arch enemy. Hard for an emotionally unstable (Sometimes) person to deal with on some days.
There got that off my chest! Maybe I will sleep better tonight.
Came home from work and walked for a little bit-til I started wheezing! Still on meds and breathing treatments. Went to dr this pm and it's not pneumonia again so that's good. Probably just my faithful companion a sinus infection.
Had beans and cornbread for supper. That is so hard to beat! Just to walk in and smell those beans in the crockpot made me relax a little! Grace and I are heading out to Waxahachie this weekend for her soccer tournament. Coy and JoGail have a game here. Busy Busy!
One of our Sunday school cl as member shad a stroke this morning. Please keep Mary and Jack in your prayers. They are a sweet couple. Jack was supposed to go on a missions trip to Africa this May but I don't know if he will go now since this happened to Mary. Please pray for wisdom for him in this. Also, my sister and her family are gearing up for their annual March of Dimes walk this coming weekend. While it's inspiring and healing, it's also a reminder about why they are there. Please pray for them to have a peace about everything. If you haven't but would like to donate, check out their web page.....
http://www.marchforbabies.org/personal_page.asp?w=131027451&u=marcysteam
Hopefully we will get our t shirts this week and we can wear them Saturday as if we are there walking with them......if not, I'll wear last year's -it still fits!!!One of these years I am going to be there for the walk....forget work and really think about what's important in life.
Gotta go clean the kitchen....the cleaning fairy must be at Stacia or Leigh Ann's because she sure hasn't been here! LOL
There got that off my chest! Maybe I will sleep better tonight.
Came home from work and walked for a little bit-til I started wheezing! Still on meds and breathing treatments. Went to dr this pm and it's not pneumonia again so that's good. Probably just my faithful companion a sinus infection.
Had beans and cornbread for supper. That is so hard to beat! Just to walk in and smell those beans in the crockpot made me relax a little! Grace and I are heading out to Waxahachie this weekend for her soccer tournament. Coy and JoGail have a game here. Busy Busy!
One of our Sunday school cl as member shad a stroke this morning. Please keep Mary and Jack in your prayers. They are a sweet couple. Jack was supposed to go on a missions trip to Africa this May but I don't know if he will go now since this happened to Mary. Please pray for wisdom for him in this. Also, my sister and her family are gearing up for their annual March of Dimes walk this coming weekend. While it's inspiring and healing, it's also a reminder about why they are there. Please pray for them to have a peace about everything. If you haven't but would like to donate, check out their web page.....
http://www.marchforbabies.org/personal_page.asp?w=131027451&u=marcysteam
Hopefully we will get our t shirts this week and we can wear them Saturday as if we are there walking with them......if not, I'll wear last year's -it still fits!!!One of these years I am going to be there for the walk....forget work and really think about what's important in life.
Gotta go clean the kitchen....the cleaning fairy must be at Stacia or Leigh Ann's because she sure hasn't been here! LOL
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Happy Easter!!!!
Happy Easter from Eustace!!!n We had our Easter Celebration meal today at lunch... I think we are all still full!!!! Here's our menu:
Ham (precooked and bought from teh good ole FFA)
Broccoli and cauliflower (Girls love this)
Mrs. Beasley's corn casserole (we ALL love this)
Hash Brown Casserole (from my mom's recipe book)
Coy's layered salad (He's the only one who even touches this)
Deviled Eggs (we are in the South afterall)
Pillsbury Rolls
Tea/Lemonade
Triple Layer Lemon Pie
Strawberry Cake (Sort of like what Grandma used to make but I have yet to match her icing)
After eating we cleaned the kitchen (Coy always helps) and then went to see Monsters vs. Aliens. Tonight we got everythign out ready for tomorrow and painted toenails.......no, Grace wouldn't submit yet......
Latest happenings--Coy mowed most of yesterday....all day.....and then he put out fertilizer this afternoon......I'm no brain surgeon, but wouldn't lead to MORE mowing????? Grace hid plastic eggs outside for JoGail...took her a day and a half to find them all......(go figure that one when we have what.....maybe 3 baby trees???I took some grat pictures of th eazaleas blooming......what you can see through the baby palm tree Coy planted in from of them....the transplanted (I mean mailed) rose bush from New Mexico in the front flower bed os blooming like crazy.....the irses that were also mailed from some neighbor lady of mom and dad's have bloomed and have quadrupled in number.....they are gorgeous.... a deep, deep purple, of course! I've been messing with pictures again and it's slow going. I'll eventually get it all figured out! I did download picassa, so that should help...maybe!
I will try to post some pictures tomorrow of Easter outfits!
Have a blessed Easter!
Ham (precooked and bought from teh good ole FFA)
Broccoli and cauliflower (Girls love this)
Mrs. Beasley's corn casserole (we ALL love this)
Hash Brown Casserole (from my mom's recipe book)
Coy's layered salad (He's the only one who even touches this)
Deviled Eggs (we are in the South afterall)
Pillsbury Rolls
Tea/Lemonade
Triple Layer Lemon Pie
Strawberry Cake (Sort of like what Grandma used to make but I have yet to match her icing)
After eating we cleaned the kitchen (Coy always helps) and then went to see Monsters vs. Aliens. Tonight we got everythign out ready for tomorrow and painted toenails.......no, Grace wouldn't submit yet......
Latest happenings--Coy mowed most of yesterday....all day.....and then he put out fertilizer this afternoon......I'm no brain surgeon, but wouldn't lead to MORE mowing????? Grace hid plastic eggs outside for JoGail...took her a day and a half to find them all......(go figure that one when we have what.....maybe 3 baby trees???I took some grat pictures of th eazaleas blooming......what you can see through the baby palm tree Coy planted in from of them....the transplanted (I mean mailed) rose bush from New Mexico in the front flower bed os blooming like crazy.....the irses that were also mailed from some neighbor lady of mom and dad's have bloomed and have quadrupled in number.....they are gorgeous.... a deep, deep purple, of course! I've been messing with pictures again and it's slow going. I'll eventually get it all figured out! I did download picassa, so that should help...maybe!
I will try to post some pictures tomorrow of Easter outfits!
Have a blessed Easter!
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