Smooches in Midland

I took Derek and Kim's engagements at the beginning of this month in Midland. Check them out here.

Oh, Those Orange Days

I had a couple of really busy weeks... and then this past week, during which I did essentially nothing. Koby and I have been laying low in Colorado City, 'nesting' (mostly reacting to the level of filth in which we found ourselves living) and getting various things a little more ready for the impending arrival of our son. Today I really set to work on getting lessons squared away for next year, but after getting Art I and Art II laid out until Christmas, I decided I was being much too productive and needed to address another thing I had neglected: this blog. (Next on the list? Thank you notes WAYYY over due for two fabulous baby showers, one thrown in Graham and one in Abilene.)

As you know, June 13-17 I taught Grace Academy's 'Daring Drawings and Curious Colors'. It was an exhausting blast. I enjoy having little kids after teaching big kids all year - little kids still 'ooooh' and 'ahhhhh' over artwork. High schoolers have seen it all.

Here's some of the artwork we completed near the end of the DDCC camp.


Campers show off their 'Many Colored Days' books. They were SO insightful about colors and emotions - they caught on to Color Psychology wayyyyyyyy faster than my high school students! We read the Dr. Seuss book 'My Many Colored Days' at the beginning of the week and worked on these books every morning.

Dr. Seuss' My Many Colored Days

Something else I love about little kids? Their parents! They are so thoughtful as well. On Friday two campers brought me little 'thank you gifts'... It's not about thanks at all, but when it happens it feels really good. I'm going to remember that as a parent.




These self portraits are the end result after a two-day look at the artwork of Henri Matisse, namely his painting The Purple Coat. I think the campers were very astute in their observations!

Henri Matisse, The Purple Coat

Ok, now some of my favorite pictures. The students LOVED sharing their Many Colored Days books with the class, and I loved taking pictures of the hilarious things they wrote in their books. My favorites include "On yellow days I feel brave" and "On orange days I feel like an adventure" or "On purple days I feel like running" (not pictured, also, I never have purple days).







I am so mad at myself for not putting this up in honor of Father's Day, like I had planned. This is probably my favorite one. The little girl who did this did it so nonchalantly, like 'of course every one has orange days when they feel like putting ice down their dad's pants'. Duh.




This kid wrote "(Insert color here) days make me feel happy" on every page. I can appreciate that.

Coming soon? Pictures of baby showers, photo sessions, and THE BLOB! I am not at all opposed to his arrival before his scheduled appearance, which is the 21st of next month. In fact, I am even willing to indefinitely postpone my viewing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two if he decides to come before the 15th. That, my friends, is a mother's love.

OUTrageous

I am more than a little irritated with who ever decided to invent this whole 'conflicting Google accounts' thing. I have three e-mail addresses, none of which wanted to sign me onto my blog just now.

And this is me:


Next time I'm pregnant, remind me not to schedule six billion and one things to do as the ninth month of the pregnancy approaches. Mmmkay?

Since school has been out I've collected more than 40 professional development hours, driven out of town at least seven times (more than 50 miles each time), gone to two doctors' appointments, been in a wedding, planned for a week of camp with 21 six and seven year olds, taken and edited hundreds of pictures, neglected obligatory thank-you-note-writing, and in the mix somewhere, hurt my back so badly that I'm hobbling around like an eighty year old instead of an expectant mother. It's a little bit concerning. But I wouldn't trade any of these things for a day in bed because they're all FUN (and some mandatory if I want to keep teaching) but I am looking forward to a breather before the baby comes. Also, the nursery (and house) looks like we're moving in/out because Koby and I have both been gypsies for the past two weeks. And gypsy does not mix with nesting.

Today was the second day of Grace Art Camp (Daring Drawings and Curious Colors) and I have the kids going into 1st and 2nd grade, just like last year. And just like last year, it seems like the bulk of the kids are fresh out of kindergarten. Which I really like. Part of me hopes we never move too far away from Abilene, so I'll never not be able to do summer camps at the Grace. They're so fun!

We've been learning about COLOR (we read Dr. Seuss's 'My Many Colored Days' on the first day of camp) and TEXTURE and tomorrow we'll talk about Henri Matisse. And Oaxacan Folk Art, which I will inevitably misprounounce.

Here are some of our artists and creations from Day 2:

Acrylic Paints and Pork Chops

I got a text from Koby today while he was completing his LAST DAY in the oil field, requesting that we have a 'real' dinner tonight. So I started thumbing through some Food Network magazines and found this recipe that seemed easy enough for me to throw together for my very excited husband tonight.

Reviews? It's good - we both decided it would be even better with bacon. And the smashed potatoes 'as-is' are a little bit bland compared to how we usually make them. Overall, it's a super easy meal to make that's relatively healthy and is a nice twist to your average pork chop.

Ingredients

* 1 pound small fingerling potatoes
* 2 cloves garlic
* Kosher salt
* 4 1/2-inch-thick boneless pork loin chops (5 ounces each)
* 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
* Freshly ground pepper
* 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 large red onion, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
* 2 Granny Smith apples, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
* 3/4 cup apple cider
* 1/4 cup buttermilk

Directions

Put the potatoes and garlic in a saucepan, cover with cold water and season with salt. Cover and bring to a boil, then uncover and continue cooking until tender, about 15 minutes. Cover and set aside.

Meanwhile, rub both sides of the pork chops with the sage, and salt and pepper to taste. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat, then add 1 teaspoon olive oil and sear the chops until golden on both sides, about 5 minutes total. Transfer to a plate. Wipe out the skillet and add the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil. Add the onion and apples and cook over medium-high heat until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the cider.

Return the chops to the skillet. Cover and cook, turning once, until just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain the potatoes, reserving 1/4 cup liquid. Return the potatoes to the pan; add the buttermilk and mash, adding cooking liquid as needed. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with the pork chops, onion and apples. Drizzle with the pan juices.

Per serving: Calories 413; Fat 16 g (Saturated 5 g); Cholesterol 76 mg; Sodium 98 mg; Carbohydrate 40 g; Fiber 5 g; Protein 26 g

Photograph by Antonis Achilleos

In between runs to the grocery store and cooking, I became very bored and decided to paint. As with the other fox painting, I'm totally copying illustrations I'm finding on Etsy. I don't have any small canvases left and so I decided to paint these on the backs of grocery bags - I LOVE brown paper for some reason.





This post is sort of lame - you can imagine that the lack of sarcastic teenagers around me for 8 hours each day provides me with less entertainment than normal.