March 6: Congressman Mica throws a pretty good party.

(Jeremy, Roy, Mica, & Mr. R)

Who: Congressman John Mica, Congressional District 7

What: A Young Republicans BBQ providing free food and beer for hungry republican under the age of 35.

Where: His awesomely architecturally beautiful home in WinterPark Florida

When: Saturday March 6, 2010

Why: There are several reasons for this one.

1. Mr. R and Congressman Mica go way back to Mr. R's days on Capitol Hill working for another congressman who served with Mica on the transportation committee.

2. I wanted to see what his home looked like and yes it is unbelievable. (Mr. R needs to run for Congress ASAP, if I can get a house like that).

3. Mrs. Mica rocks. She is a former teacher, incredibly down to earth, and she is from PA and loves the Jersey shore. (If she was about 20 year younger we could be BFFs).

4. The Mica's live 20 minutes from IKEA. (Enough said).

5. I love meeting new people and wearing new dresses.

Birthday Wishlist!

March is my birthday month and I cannot put into words how much I love my birthday!

It all started with my Mom who made birthdays wonderful in my house growing up. There were parties, special dinners, fancy homemade desserts, birthday crowns, and beautifully wrapped thoughtful presents. My birthday started a week before the actual day (the 19th) and lasted until the end of the month. Both of my parents went out of their way to make me feel special and loved. And I will cherish that time with both of them forever.And even though I will turn 28 this year and live a thousand miles away, my mom still goes out of her way to make my birthday special.

Mr. R usually likes a few hints as to what I might want to open on my birthday. So I thought I might share with you what I am currently lusting after.

An Einstein bobble head.

Einstein was my first love and I am still enamored and floored by the extent of his brainpower, cultural wisdom, and work ethic. I think he deserves a place in my china cab

inet. (Which ironically holds no china).

Night @ the Museum 1 on DVD.

I received Night @ the Museum II for Valentine's Day and I need to complete the collection.

You've Got Mail on DVD.

This is my 2nd favorite movie, right behind Bewitched with Nicole Kidman & Will Ferrel.

And the big present!

Project Life (and since wish lists are made for hoping a Nikon D5000)

I have been wanting to do project life for a while and now that I

have committed to taking daily pictures this year. I think this project would be a great way to document life @ Casa Republican in 2010.

And the camera, well that is something I need to save for, but seeing as this is a wish list I think it deserves a spot on here too.

March 5: Sound Wave Lab!

Lab days are always my favorite.

Today's lab is all about sound, vibration, frequency, and pitch.

And the power conclusion assigned post lab, gave me 15 minutes of quiet time to grade in EACH CLASS!

March 4: Buttered Noodles are the new fave.

I am still fighting off this nasty cold and food is really the last thing I want to think about let alone touch. Mr. R, concerned for my health and my lack of nutrition, made one of my single girl dinners tonight.

I have a few recipes from my single girl days. The days when dinner could be a bowl of cereal and breakfast was

sometimes cold pizza and a beer.

One of my absolute favorite dinners from my college and grad school days is butter noodles with peas, plenty of black pepper and cheddar cheese. If you are starting to sneer in disgust at my combination, you are clearly mistaken. You can't knock it until you at least try it!

Mr. R thinks the only reason I like it so much is because it is super cheap to make and can feed me for a week. He thinks subconsciously my wallet is forcing my brain to like the combo of starch, starch, butter, and cheese. I say that as a carb girl how could I not like something that has carbs and starch as the first two ingredients.

March 3: Online 3 week courses are NO joke and NO Fun!

So tell me, who thought it was a good idea to condense three credit classes into a three week time period. And who am I to think that this was doable?

My day today:

5:45 AM: Alarm goes off, make coffee, shower

6:15: Dry hair, dress, drink coffee

7:00: Arrive @ School and begin teaching

3:00 PM: Leave for home

3:30: Start 250-500 word paper (I have one due everyday).

5:30: Spin class

6:30: Dinner & Finish paper.

7:30: Post 2 comments on the class blog (each are required to be no less than 100 words).

8:30: Keep working on my 10 page paper due Saturday

10:00: Remember that I have an actual job to go to in the morning and start planning for tomorrow's classes.

11:00: Answer parent emails

11:45: Shower and crawl into bed. (Which really means push Mr. R and the dogs over so I actually have a sliver of bed to call my own).

March 2: Belly full of protein... yuck!

So I have this cold, actually I am pretty sure its more than a cold. My nose won't stop running. I am losing my voice. And My throat is feeling thick like I just drank two gallons of milk followed by a block of cheese as a chaser. I don't feel like cooking. To be honest, I really don't feel like eating either.

I bought protein powder on a friend's suggestion. She mixes it into her smoothies and says it keeps her full until lunch. I am not a big fan of the taste or its inability to actually mix with water. (Some of it mixes while the other makes these hard chunks that kind of float around in the glass). But, Kate was right. The protein totally fills me up and keeps me full until lunch, which is more than I can say for my morning oats.

In the idea of being honest, I need to tell you that I may have been substituting protein water for 2 of my daily meals this week, and yesterday I actually had it for all three. (DO NOT DO THIS!) The idea of not cooking sounds amazing, but trust me. All of the protein will not only make your stomach swell so that you look 5 months pregnant. It will also give you enough gas to make your husband threaten to sleep in the guest room. And you will have a stomach ache that lasts for two full days.

I always joke that I would love to be like the Jetsons and have my food come in pill form, that way cooking would be totally optional or better yet, obsolete. But until that day comes, I guess its back to the stove for me.

March 1: Teacher of the Year

This year Linda was nominated for Teacher of the Year at our school. She is truly a phenomenal teacher and I can say that from experience. Linda was my team leader and mentor my first year of teaching. She was patient with my newbie questions never once sounding exasperated or annoyed when I came asking again and again about forms, parent contact, and school policy. Her patience and kindness have been honed from years of teaching sixth graders and answering their endless questions about world history.

Linda was a guest speaker in my science class today. She gave up part of her teaching time to help my students understand how ears work and why some people are born deaf while others become deaf over time. She was engaging, gracious, and informative.
And lastly what I love about Linda is that on her way out, after 25 minutes of talking and answering questions, she thanked me for allowing her to come speak to my class. She gave up her time to help me out and yet she thanked me.

It is all of these qualities and so many more that separate Linda into that special category of teachers who make a difference and deserve to be called Teacher of the Year. Congratulations Mrs. Markum and thank you so much!