Author: L.

Trying to get out of debt and have some fun! (and also figure out how to be a grown-up)

Chicken & Dumplings

Mmm. Cold weather. But not yet. Because Louisiana.

It is, however, prime-sick time. One of my good friends got sick (that whole graduate school + wife + toddler + 11 year old thing with no sleep and the flu shot), got pretty sick this past week. She does a lot for me and is one of the people who has helped keep me sane over the last several years, so I figured the least I could do is cook her something filling, warm, and easy to reheat. I decided on one of my favorites, chicken and dumplings! 🙂

Ingredients

Finished Product
Finished Product
  • Large pot (3 qt or larger)
  • Boned Chicken (I usually do at least 4 chicken thighs – boned)
  •  4 cups of water
  • 4 cups of chicken broth (1 box or use bouillon)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp dried leaf thyme
  • 1 medium onion (chopped)
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 c. buttermilk
  • 1 c. buttermilk
  • 2-4 tbs butter

Directions

  1. Take out the large pot (at least 3 qt). Add water, chicken broth, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp thyme, onion, and chicken. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1-2 hours, or until chicken is very tender and cooked through. Note: If the liquid level decreases, add more water as needed
  2. Remove and debone the chicken. Add the deboned chicken back to the pot and bring back to a boil. Stir in 1 c. buttermilk and butter. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed
  3. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and 1/2 tsp of salt. Mix until resembles a coarse meal. Stir in 3/4 c. buttermilk until the dough just clumps together. At this point you can do one of two things: I do not like to knead and roll the dough out and cut into strips, so I do not. I drop the dough in small clumps.
  4. Drop the dough, a few at a time, into the boiling chicken broth. Reduce heat to med-low and continue to simmer for 10-15 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.
  5. Let it cool down (and let the liquid thicken).

Bon Appetit!

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October is a great month! Not only because it’s the month in which I was born, but because it means pumpkin spice everything! And yeah, call me sodium bicarbonate because I’m basic. I’ve had pumpkin spice Noosa, Chobani, oreos, lattes, and everything else! The last couple of weeks have been very stressful for about ten thousand reasons. So many things have happened: familial and employment and financial and just. In general, it’s just been overwhelming. But that’s okay. I’ll make it work. I’ll make it work through Xanax and Excedrine Migraine and tying a knot in my rope and hanging on!

Anyway. Enough complaining. October is a good month, and will be a good month. This is what I’d like to accomplish (among other things).

Good-bye

1_September

These last two weeks have been terrifically crazy! I feel like I haven’t had time to breathe, much less post with regularity or even stay on top of a to-do list. I got a lot accomplished…but a lot of that wasn’t even on my list 😥 Bayleaf and I (as of yesterday) are officially moved in to our new apartment (and I am moved out of mine). There is nothing like moving to remind you that you have too much stuff and don’t clean the bathroom or vacuum often enough. So did I make some progress? Well…a little, but not a whole lot.

  • Read two books – I did read Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 
  • Finish one bear for the Mother Bear Project
  • Buy my bridesmaid dress
  • Lose 5 lbs – I did lose 2?
  • Work out at least 6 times – There were several days of moving for 9+ hours straight, so I’m counting it.
  • Knit at least half of B’s wedding present – I’ve got about 1/4 of it finished
  • Create a budget template
  • Create debt repayment plan
  • Sort and donate unnecessary clothing and shoes
  • Spending fast (excluding bills & bridesmaid dress)

So I got some things accomplished, made some kinds of progress, and flat out didn’t do other things. Things I’m kind of proud of accomplishing are: finishing knitting/crocheting my friend’s gifts before he moved (which is why more bear progress wasn’t made), donating four Hefty bags of clothing, studying topology on my own, and paying my emergency room bill (was only about $11.68). I also set up a payment plan with Discover, so that was something good (and bad) that was done this month. October is a good month, and one of my favorites, so I’m excited to see what it will bring now that September is ending.

Ugh, Moving

boxesMoving is a pain. In. The. EVERYTHING. I live two towns and one parish over from the school I teach at. The reason for this is because I was originally supposed to move into a complex with my ex, a terrible goblin. Not together in the same apartment, mind you, but in the same complex so we could see each other more often than we were. And wouldn’t you know it, we broke up the day after I signed the lease. I don’t mind where I live…it’s actually only a 30 minute drive, and the complex is reasonably priced and has great amenities. It is also more…residential than college, so there aren’t wild parties everywhere all of the time, and people go to bed at a reasonable hour.

I lived in a one bedroom apartment with a little balcony…750 sqft for $750 for me and my two cats, Max and Kat Kat. My friend Bayleaf and I had talked about living together the next year, but I had to renew within 60 days of my lease ending (July), so I did because we hadn’t set plans in stone yet. She wanted to find a place closer to her job (which would also be closer to mine), but I wasn’t crazy about that idea either. Then she stayed over a few times and commented how she really liked my apartment complex, and how the drive wasn’t even that bad. So I thought “Well maybe my complex will let me transfer my lease?” And they did! Yay! Living with a good friend, cheaper rent, a dog, bigger living room, more private building in the complex, and I didn’t have to move far! It’s all good in the neighborhood, right?

Well…aside from the hunting someone down with a trailer/truck to help move furniture (thanks friends who helped!), Bayleaf and I had to take care of miscellaneous tasks that one forgets sometimes…

  • Transferring Internet (vital)
  • Signing the lease and paying/transferring the deposits/rent
  • Transferring the electricity
  • Cleaning the old place

So the only one of these that caused a real problem was transferring the electricity. So basically…it’s a $35 transfer fee (whatever), but I had to reapply for an occupancy permit within my parish ($25). I wouldn’t have been as ticked about it if it didn’t require me to drive 25 miles immediately after work to turn in a paper copy of a simple application for occupancy in the parish I already live in. I literally am moving across by four buildings. But whatever. WHATEVER. It’s all taken care of now 🙂

autumnIt’s fall y’all! It’s my favorite season of the year! I’m not biased with a fall birthday or anything…but there’s something strangely hopeful about this time of year, even though it is full of dying leaves and shriveling flowers.

So where are my pumpkin spice Uggs??? No just kidding. I’ve actually only had two pumpkin spice chai lattes this month. And my new roommate and I have only gotten a few fall decorations (banners, acorns, fox cookie jar, etc)…maybe few is an understatement. It’s also been nice to walk outside and not feel like I’m walking into the armpit of a sweaty giant. Perhaps this means fall breaks and hikes with Z or hanging out on the balcony, enjoying the cool autumn air.

pusheen

Pusheen is my spirit animal pretty much. I’ve been seeing pumpkins all over the place! I can’t wait to carve one!!!

Many Mini Fall Goals: 

  • Carve pumpkins
  • Go to a corn ma[i]ze
  • Bake a pumpkin pie
  • Decorate the apartment!
  • Visit a pumpkin patch
  • Go to the 13th Gate

Enjoy your own autumn plans! 🙂

Updates

 

goal

  • Read two books
  • Finish one bear for the Mother Bear Project
  • Buy my bridesmaid dress $27.99 at Target
  • Lose 5 lbs
  • Work out at least 6 times
  • Knit at least half of B’s wedding present
  • Create a budget template
  • Create debt repayment plan
  • Sort and donate unnecessary clothing and shoes
  • Spending fast (excluding bills & bridesmaid dress)

I have the yarn for B’s wedding present, now I just need to pick a pattern! I’m trying desperately to finish a scarf that is on the needles I need to use for this afghan. I still need to finish grading some things. I also accidentally fell last week and either tore a ligament or pulled a muscle in my foot (in front of my entire fourth hour class). So embarrassing…but they were concerned and then saw I wasn’t crying, so figured I’d be okay. It was actually more scary than painful. High of this week was getting to go with Z (my “bae” if you will 😉 ) to a great special collection called Graphic Sensibilities at our local university. It focuses a lot on how southern culture is perceived through graphic novels and how they affected those growing up through times of civil unrest.

Things I got even though I’m on a spending fast.

  1. Fajita Mix & Frozen Fajita Peppers/Onions
  2. Grape Tomatoes
  3. Flour Tortillas
  4. Long sleeved Shirt
  5. Notebooks

Because I’m turrible. But I’ll do better. I also need a haircut.

The Fraction Faction

mathpics-mathjoke-mathmeme-pic-joke-math-meme-haha-funny-humor-pun-lol-dog-denominator-digging-holes

There is nothing worse than finishing up the chapter, allowing your students to work on the study guide for their first class in groups during class…and then realizing that your twelfth graders have no idea how to add fractions together. Which means their trouble with the implied domain of functions involving fractions makes way more sense.

It is frustrating when the problems my students are going through are not because of the concepts we are learning, but because of gaps in their knowledge from the last three years of their education. At this point (when I posted this on FB), there were many defenders of my dear seniors. “I still don’t know how to do fractions – I never learned!” “Well, sometimes it’s hard because the teacher doesn’t make it interesting or relevant.” “Well, it is close to the beginning of the school year [actually the 6 weeks just ended] so they probably forgot a lot over the summer.” And my personal favorite “Thanks Common Core.” 

Well. Firstly – as a teacher I simply don’t have the time to glitz every single lesson to make it completely relevant and interesting to every single student. The point is that you’re in school, you learn it, you study, you do well. Secondly, you don’t forget every single thing you’ve ever learned in your life over a month and a half. Thirdly, they should have learned fractions in elementary/middle school – well before Common Core (which I do support) came into their schools. So where is this breakdown occurring? My personal opinion is that the guidelines that No Child Left Behind places on schools causes pressures to just pass children through – so you end up with a student performing at the 9th grade level in 12th grade math; however, how they got in my class with the skills they possess is not something I can control. What I have to do is scaffold them until they have these vital skills.

The kids I teach are college-bound. They are a part of an engineering magnet, so it is reasonable that I expect them to hone their advanced mathematics skills to prepare them for college. It is difficult to maintain faith in the future of my students, because they are going into math-centric fields without the necessary tools to do well and succeed. Since we’re a little ahead of the other teachers who teach the same subject, I am going to take the week following their chapter one test to focus on the skills they should have learned from their previous teachers. I keep telling myself that it doesn’t matter that they should have anything. If they didn’t, we need to get them back up to level.

I guess this was really more a reflection and rant? It gets discouraging to not be able to continue on a topic because of a lack of knowledge. That you can know how to take a composition of a function, but don’t know that you shouldn’t add x2 + x. I’ll have to suck it up and do a review of these fundamentals…because they deserve a brighter future, and so do we.

Discovering Responsibility

This isn’t really quite that new of a discovery…I’ve had quite a bit of experience with responsibility. I even manage to feed myself every day! But two days ago I received a certified letter that was a rude awakening to how irresponsible I had been lately.

Back in 2011, when I got my Discover Card, it was with the purest intentions. I’ll have it for emergencies! I know it’s a large credit line, probably too large, but I won’t use it all!!! And look at the cashback rewards! 

i am so smart

Now granted, sometimes it was handy to have. Like when I needed to cover an unexpected bill or tuition, but the thing is that when you borrow money…you kinda gotta pay it back. Well, for a while it wasn’t exactly in my budget to pay it back. So…I uh…didn’t. It’s hard for me to face that music, but they made me do it the best way, by sending a letter saying if I don’t call and set something up they’ll sue me to pay the full amount immediately.

So I called yesterday and we worked something out. Yeah it was super embarrassing and I’m pretty upset at myself, but what do. The total amount owed was $4262.35. Yup. Let’s take a minute to think about how ridiculous it is that I was that irresponsible with the card, knowing full well what the repercussions would be (and how my credit probably looks right now). They were really friendly and tried to work with me the best they could, so Cardholder Assistance Person Adam found probably what would be best for both ends.

The deal was that if I paid it off in 6 months, with the first month’s payment being $1500, they would write off $400 and not sue me. So I paid $500 yesterday and will pay another $1000 on 9/30 (when I get my second check of the month)…then $472.47/month until February. After which I will be free of any debts to them.

This was quite a wake-up call. I do have a lot of things to take care of, and sometimes it’s easier to just pretend it’s not happening and bury your head in the sand, but that’s a really terrible, impractical, and ineffective method of dealing with problems. Dropping an unexpected $1500 out of this month’s budget is going to be really uncomfortable and difficult, but just means I’ll be on a much needed spending fast for a while…and the September goals of creating a budget template and debt repayment plan are even more urgent!

septs

Even though it’s already two weeks into the month, I’m ready to set some goals! There are a lot of things going on in my life right now…and I find that I am better able to accomplish things if I make a list and am obsessive about said list. We’re already over a month into the school year, and it has actually been going pretty smoothly. This is only my second year teaching, so there are still some bumps in the road, but I am much more confident and well-prepared this year. The rest of September involves moving from a 1-BR apartment to a 2-BR within my same complex and one of my best friends moving to Pennsylvania. October will not be that calm either – I am in a wedding, plus it’s my birthday month! Anywho, here’s what I want to accomplish:

  • Read two books
  • Finish one bear for the Mother Bear Project
  • Buy my bridesmaid dress
  • Lose 5 lbs
  • Work out at least 6 times
  • Knit at least half of B’s wedding present
  • Create a budget template
  • Create debt repayment plan
  • Sort and donate unnecessary clothing and shoes
  • Spending fast (excluding bills & bridesmaid dress)

Just Keep Swimming

I wasn’t always a little fish in a large pond – the pond used to be so tiny that I couldn’t even turn around. I grew up in a small town in Louisiana, went to a small boarding school, went to a large public university, and now teach math at a large public school. At this point I am the epitome of a stereotypical, panicked person in their mid-twenties.

  • Finances are a hot mess
  • Education is finished, but is a B.S. really where I’m going to stop
  • Is this the career that makes my heart pound from joy and fulfillment
  • But I haven’t started a family
  • I’m starting to get a little squishy in too many places

yup