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In a Roasting Kind of Mood January 17, 2012

Posted by cirellih in Craving, Dinner, Food, Goals.
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Yesterday was Martin Luther King Day, and a wonderful day it was. Working at a school has definite benefits… like important days off. Having the day off made me think of my years in AmeriCorps, and how the bravery and courage of people before me allowed for my years of service to take place. So, thank you MLK and all of the rest of the believers in civil rights for all you have done. Working in Baltimore and Boulder has shaped me in ways I am still discovering.

It was partially from my experiences with these kiddos that I decided that I would like to be a teacher… some classes would definitely help, now that I’ve had these experiences!

On a completely separate note, I decided that I wanted to channel my inner domestic goddess and prepare a roast for my hubby. Roasts seem to have gone a bit out of vogue. Everyone is running around with no time to wait for hours for dinner to prepare. Life is far to hectic to take pleasure in the simple things.

Not tonight. I had bought a little chicken, perfect for two, the other day. Tonight, I took the dog for a walk, and then settled in to make a scrumptious meal. I removed the giblets… my least favorite cooking task. I don’t even like the word…giblet…ick. Anyway, massage the chicken with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and rotisserie spices. Peeled and quartered potatoes for roasting. Sliced zucchini, and prepared (stovetop) stuffing. A mere one hour and forty-five minutes later, Chris was carving the chicken, Oliver was drooling over the smells, and I was preparing plates. Exactly what the doctor ordered after a hectic day.

Sometimes, good things really do come to those who wait.

And We’re Back! August 10, 2011

Posted by cirellih in Family, Travel.
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Since my last post, my whole world has changed:

1. My second year of AmeriCorps has come to an end. It seems so odd… I’ve had the AmeriCorps identity for the past two years, and I’m not quite sure how I feel not being a part of the organization any more. We had a wonderful end of the year celebration. It was a great way to end the year. Lots of fun stories reflecting on our year of service, letters to Dreamers, scrapbooks, a rap, movies, letters to co-ACs, even a recipe book! I am definitely going to miss seeing all of the ACs, but I am continually thankful for having the opportunity to work with such fun, vivacious, creative, talented people.

2. Chris and I went on vacation for our third anniversary!!! I can’t believe that it’s been three years already! We went to South and North Dakota for the weekend, and it was fantastic. Mt. Rushmore, Jewel Caves, the Badlands, two more state capitols knocked off our list, and Teddy Roosevelt National Park… definitely a wonderful trip!

3. I am now back to reality, and currently unemployed. Boo. Not working is not good for my soul. I hate lacking purpose. I enjoy having a place to go each day, and having a list of things that need to be done and that I can accomplish. So here’s back to the drawing board. Another session of job searches. Here’s hoping something comes up soon!

To the Capitol and Beyond! March 1, 2011

Posted by cirellih in Food, Motivation, Snack, Travel.
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It has to be said that I LOVE the east coast! So, by that reasoning, I was an extremely happy camper that the AmeriCorps conference was in Washington, DC. This being my second conference for AmeriCorps, I can say with complete certainty that this was leaps and bounds better than last year’s. The Dulles, Hyatt was swanky (even if the food was not as delicious as I would have liked).

Midyear is a time to connect with members from all of the Notre Dame Mission Volunteers Sites. It is a time to commiserate over pitfalls and celebrate triumphs big and small. There are 300 some odd volunteers all working for a common goal. Everyone has a different reason to volunteer, but we all have the same desire to do some real good in the world.

We listened to John Gomperts, the head of AmeriCorps, the story of Dorothy Stang, a sister of Notre Dame who was murdered in Brazil for helping local people to farm sustainably, and Wayne Meisel, the founder of the Bonner Leaders. All the stories came back to the same idea that service is a crucial part of life. An idea with which I wholeheartedly agree.

The conference was a truly revivifying experience.

I came back with new ideas to try out, new tools for classroom management and a renewed sense of commitment.

It was a great experience, and I am so happy to have been a part of it.

On Monday night, some of my group had a good dose of AmeriBonding and went to see the monuments in DC at night.

First stop was the Jefferson Memorial:

 

Iwo Jima:

The Lincoln Memorial has a special place for me in terms of my year of service. Working for the I Have a Dream program. Truly inspiring to be able to stand on the spot where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous speech.

It was a rather chilly, but the monuments become more alive at night. Definitely not a sight to be missed.

The next day was filled with a trip to the White House. A little disappointing because there is no longer a guided tour. The highlight was a trip to the National Gallery. A quick trip though took us from Rembrandt to the Impressionists. A quick trip back to the airport brought on the next step of my journey.

Sadly, I was not as on top of my flight snacks as I was on the way out. One apple was not as delicious as blackberries had been. Jet Blue gave out animal crackers… talk about a throw-back to elementary school. My flight was delightfully on time, and my brother was waiting for me in Syracuse!

AmeriCorps Conference ’11 February 21, 2011

Posted by cirellih in Breakfast, Dinner, Food, Lunch, Weight Watchers.
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Over the last few days, I’ve been partaking in a giant conference for the Notre Dame Mission Volunteers AmeriCorps, of which I am a member. Decidedly good fun, 300+ volunteers from across the United States get together in the middle of their service year to hear about what is happening at different sites.

Of course, Boulder is the best, but other sites that are well represented are Apopka, FL, New Orleans, San Francisco, Chicago, Baltimore, Washington DC, Seattle, Phoenix, Wilmington, DE and a bunch of others. It is great to hear about the different people we serve, the stories people have to share and the workshops that help with training for our sites. It is definitely a great experience, and makes for a nice break in the middle of the year.

This year, I’ve found that the key-note speakers are interesting. They have an overarching theme to their speeches and have engaging topics. Meeting people from a variety of sites has led to several though provoking conversations. We are a group of passionate, involved and engaged people with incredible talents and so much to offer.

My favorite part has definitely been the story telling sessions from each site. For our group, we Boulderites did a telenovella/glee style skit full of tacky accents, overacting and rocking dance routine. Not to toot our group’s horn, but we did get a standing ovation. So well worth all the practice!

Since this is a food blog, I suppose I should try to comment on… the food.  Sadly, there is not much to report. The hotel is very nice, and everything is much nicer than last year, but when it comes to the food there is always a little something that’s lacking. For breakfast the offer a buffet. We have had egg and cheese on croissant/biscuit, but I am here to tell you that three containers with the same food does not a buffet make. For lunch we had a salad, but it wasn’t quite big enough and didn’t have enough variety to be satisfying. The dinner was lasagna, but it needed a little something more to make it a good meal. Perhaps a few more veggies, a little bread, and something a little chocolatey for dessert. I appreciate that they cook vegetables properly, but I am constantly unsatisfied with the food throughout the day. Weight Watchers would disapprove! Really, it just means that I am all the more excited to have good, home cooked meals from my mom on Wednesday!