RE: Would you want to be a teacher?!?!?
From the front page of the Dallas Morning News today, regarding changes in the Dallas Independent School System:
•Homework grades should be given only when the grades will "raise a student's average, not lower it."
•Teachers must accept overdue assignments, and their principal will decide whether students are to be penalized for missing deadlines.
•Students who flunk tests can retake the exam and keep the higher grade.
•Teachers cannot give a zero on an assignment unless they call parents and make "efforts to assist students in completing the work."
link to article
:E Believe it or not, I am speechless.
My solution:
1. Rename homework to "individual practice" with instructions to the parents that the work will not be graded by the teacher. Send a copy of the answer key to the parents if they want to check their child's paper or have the child check it.
2. Accept an overdue assignment. If you have time to grade it then grade it. If not, the child just has an "empty" spot in the gradebook and fewer grades to be averaged.
3. Give everybody the test twice. The second test is over the same material but in a different format, i.e., first test multiple choice, second test fill-in-the-blanks.
4.Don't give the paper a Zero...give it a 10.
RE: NEEDED: Unusual Ice Cream Recipes
This is a rich, cool, minty ice cream with a slight peppery zing.:p
"FIRE AND ICE" ICE CREAM
6 eggs (or equivalent amount of Egg Beaters)
2- 2 inch fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded
3 cans Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 quart half and half
1 quart+ milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vanilla
2 teaspoons peppermint extract
2 drops green food coloring
Puree the jalapeno peppers in a blender with three of the eggs. In a large bowl, beat the other three eggs and add the pepper mixture and the sweetened condensed milk, stir to combine. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for 4 hours. Pour mixture into a gallon freezer can (+you may need to add more milk to the fill line) and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions.
RE: SCATTEGORIES
WHAT IS YOUR NAME? Iris
4 LETTER WORD: icky
BOYS NAME: Ivan
GIRLS NAME: Irene
OCCUPATION: ichthyologist
COLOR: indigo
SOMETHING YOU WEAR: insignia
BEVERAGE: Icee
FOOD: ice cream
SOMETHING FOUND IN A BATHROOM: ipecac
RE: Upside down! Just wonder how many of us are!
This has been a very interesting thread. Just about every position/argument posted has been rolling around in my head the past few weeks.
Today, with tears in my eyes, I put a FOR SALE sign on our "retirement dream". We bought a new motorhome in 2004 planning and expecting to enjoy it for at least 12-15 years. We upgraded several items on it and got lots of "bells and whistles" and had a wonderful time for three summers seeing some beautiful parts of our great country. But, a year ago, my husband's spine collapsed and he became unable to travel anymore. So, for the past year, our DreamHome has been sitting on its concrete slab beside the stick house. I keep going out there and stay current with the usual maintenance, drive it over to be washed, get it inspected and occasionally sit and watch TV in it while I reminisce about the places we went to and things we saw.
But, after a lot of discussing and finally realizing it was foolish to keep making payments on it (even though we can afford to), we decided it was time to let go of our dream. Yes, I guess you could say we are "upside down", but when it's time to let go, it's time to let go.
I guess I've said all this just to say: if you are lucky enough to afford an RV--go for it, buy it, and use it every chance you get, see this wonderful country we are blessed to live in, make lots of memories as long as you can. You just never know when life is gonna smack you up side the head and all the plans you had go down the tube.
Happy Trails to you all!
TwoForTexas
RE: The end of our dream.....
Thanks everyone for your kind remarks. It's just people like you that make this site so friendly and great to read! Thanks again.
TwoFor Texas
The end of our dream.....
...has arrived.
My dh's health has continued to deteriorate and we haven't been able to use our motorhome in over a year. We just waited too long to retire and buy our RV. So, this past weekend we finally had to make the hard decision to put our class A up for sale. We had so many plans to travel and see this beautiful country we've been blessed to live in. We were blessed to be able to take two long trips in it and three weekend outings, which was just enough to whet our appetites. But, it was not to be. I encourage all you younger folks out there to not wait too long to start realizing your RVing dreams.
I'll continue to visit this website as I have come to enjoy so very much hearing about everyone's adventures. Stay safe, have wonderful travelling experiences and may your RVing days be long and fulfilling.
TwoforTexas
RE: Canned pumpkin---need non-dessert ideas!
Autumn Harvest Pozole
2 pounds boneless pork, cut into one inch cubes
1 teaspoon each salt, black pepper, chili powder
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup bacon drippings
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped bell pepper
1 cup chopped green chilies
3 cups raw pumpkin, cut into ½ inch cubes
2 cans (16 oz.) yellow hominy, with liquid
2 cans ready-to-use vegetable broth
2 cups water
In a large skillet, sprinkle pork with salt, black pepper and chili powder, dredge in flour.
Brown the pork in the bacon drippings, remove pork to large saucepot Add onions, bell pepper, canned green chilies, pumpkin, hominy, vegetable broth and water to pork. Bring to a boil, reduce
heat, cover and simmer for 1½ hours or until pork is tender. Taste and add more salt, pepper or chilipowder if needed.
Serve with cornbread.
This recipe would work well in a slow-cooker.
RE: Canned pumpkin---need non-dessert ideas!
Autumn Harvest Pozole
2 pounds boneless pork, cut into one inch cubes
1 teaspoon each salt, black pepper, chili powder
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup bacon drippings
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped bell pepper
1 cup chopped green chilies
3 cups raw pumpkin, cut into ½ inch cubes
2 cans (16 oz.) yellow hominy, with liquid
2 cans ready-to-use vegetable broth
2 cups water
In a large skillet, sprinkle pork with salt, black pepper and chili powder, dredge in flour.
Brown the pork in the bacon drippings, remove pork to large saucepot Add onions, bell pepper, canned green chilies, pumpkin, hominy, vegetable broth and water to pork. Bring to a boil, reduce
heat, cover and simmer for 1½ hours or until pork is tender. Taste and add more salt, pepper or chilipowder if needed.
Serve with cornbread.
This recipe would work well in a slow-cooker.
RE: spagetti gravy
Mama's Spaghetti Gravy
4 (16 oz.) cans tomato puree
1 (8 oz.) can tomato paste
1 large green pepper, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 large onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 tablespoon EACH of: dried oregano, dried basil, garlic salt, crushed red pepper.
1/2 tablespoon of dried fennel seeds
Combine in a large heavy saucepot, mix well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer two hours, stirring occasionally to prevent burning or sticking. You can do this in a crock pot, too.
I sometimes brown and crumble 1 lb. lean ground beef and/or 1 lb. sweet Italian sausage and add to this sauce before simmering.
Purely Decadent....
When you want something truly outstanding for a special occasion, this is it! A creamy cheesecake in a chocolate cookie crust, with a cherry layer in the middle, covered with a luscious ganache, and topped with more cherries.
CHOCOLATE-CHERRY CHEESECAKE
CRUST
2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
3 tablespoons melted butter
Combine and press into bottom and sides of a 10 inch springform pan.
FILLING
4 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 (21 oz.) can cherry pie filling
Beat cream cheese in a large bowl until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each. Add sugar and almond extract; beat until smooth. Add whipping cream and blend well. Spoon two-thirds (about 3 1/2 cups) of the cheese mixture into crust-lined pan, spreading evenly. Carefully spoon 1 cup of the pie filling evenly over cream cheese layer. (Reserve remaining pie filling for topping.) Spoon remaining cream cheese mixture evenly over pie filling. Bake at 325 degrees for 65-75 minutes or until center is set. Cool in pan on wire rack for 1 hour.
GLAZE
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 (6 oz.) pkg. semisweet chocolate chips
Bring whipping cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat. Stir in chocolate chips until melted.
Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Remove sides of pan. Place cheesecake on paper-lined cookie sheet. Spread glaze over cooled cheesecake, allowing some to flow down the sides. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight. (At this point, it can be wrapped tightly and frozen up to a month. Allow to thaw in the refrigerator before serving.) Remove cheesecake from waxed paper and place on serving plate. Serve topped with remaining pie filling.
RE: Tex Mex or Southwestern Side Dish Recipes
Texas Caviar
1 can (14 oz) blackeyed peas, drained
1 can (15 oz) hominy, drained
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
4 green onions, very thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium green pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup Pace Picante Sauce
Combine all ingredients; mix lightly. Cover and chill at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours, stirring occasionally. Before serving, drain and salt to taste. Serve with tortilla chips as an appetizer or as an accompaning salad.
