Chocolate Cake

This chocolate cake has brought much contentment. Shout outs to Mary for the recipe! I don't even like cake and I seriously can't get enough of this cake. The recipe is SO easy. I don't bake, so anything I make must be extremely fast and easy.

The recipe is:

Devil's Food Cake Mix

4 eggs

1/2 c. warm water

1/2 c. oil

1 c. sour cream

Chocolate Chips

Chocolate sprinkles on top too!

Seriously, just throw it all together, mix it up and then bake at 350 for maybe like 25-30 minutes (just watch it). You'll want to drink the batter, but gross - don't do that.

I've made this cake twice in the past two weeks -- once for my friend Jessica Whipple's birthday party, and then for Loree for her birthday this past weekend.

Events of the Week

So, I had so many ideas of things to blog about during my rollarblading on Saturday. I kept thinking..."Oh, I'll blog about that, and that, and that." And now it has all escaped me!

However, the events of this week have been interesting, and I'm remembering now that some of them were those I thought about during my rollarblading outing.

Events of this week:

Monday: I didn't go to FHE. I had to stress about teaching a lesson on outlining the next day to 5th graders (Note: I don't like 5th graders - I much prefer little kids) that I was unprepared for and was going to be supervised. We went over the different components (main topic - I, II, III; subtopic - A, B, C, and details - 1, 2, 3) and then I read them a paragraph I wrote on different Ethnic food as I presented a little PowerPoint. And my supervisor decides she needs to leave before my lesson is over, so she doesn't even hear the paragraph, or see the PowerPoint, or even know how I am going to assess them.

Tuesday: I'm sorry to rant here, but I just thought this conversation was SO bizarre that I have to comment on it. So there's this crazy girl in my literacy development class who thinks she knows everything. And she walks into the restroom as I am washing my hands and says, (sarcastically) "So, Meredith your favorite professor is here today." And I am like "What? What are you talking about?" because I really like the professor who was subbing that day, who happened to be our professor for a different literacy class last semester. So, apparently last semester at some point during lecture I ask Lindee (this professor) what she did, because... I wasn't sure if she taught in a classroom, or if she was a reading specialist, etc., and I was just curious. So, this crazy girl (and I'm sure her little obnoxious posse that all sit with her at that table) said that she thought I didn't think Lindee was QUALIFIED to be teaching our class, and thought I would actually express that TO HER FACE! This girl is ridiculous. She bugs. So, I say "Umm, no, I really like Lindee, and like I would say that to her face." She's just ridiculous, and not smart. Could this be an accurate description? Who would think I would say that? And EVERYBODY loves Lindee. She's an extremely kind professor, who is extremely knowledgeable on the subject matter. So, I basically say that to her in the bathroom and just walk out. Whatever. She is a graduate assistant for Dr. Ford who is over all the graduate studies in the Curriculum and Instruction Department, so she probably just thinks she's pretty special.

Wednesday: Totally an exhausting day. I had to meet my class at the Dolphin Habitat Exhibit at the Mirage at 9:00. Afterwards I went directly to work from 12-6, studied a little, and then went to my class from 7-9:30. Wednesdays are LONG days. The field experience trip was okay, but really kind of redundant and the information they presented on how to bring your class on a field trip to the Habitat could've taken 30 minutes, instead of the 1 hour and 30 minutes that they took. We did get to look around the habitat before the boring lecture, but the tiger area wasn't even open.

Thursday: In my 5th grade class then to Sears Auto Center where I apparently can get life stories out of people (this is actually NO surprise...frequently I elicit life stories being told to me for some reason).

Friday: Work then temple then home...watched too much Oprah. Loree and Preston came home and made fun of me for watching Oprah but also because the t.v. happened to have been tuned to "Dirty Dancing." I DO hate this movie, and I can't even believe the t.v. was on this for even a moment. I was embarassed when they came in, so I had to change it right away, but I seriously did just want to see that one scene. They ruined everything.
*Note: Loree and I have decided we are over Oprah. Embarrasingly enough, we've been DVRing it, but I think enough is enough. I never watched it consistently before. Why the need to do so now? I think it's just because we are DVRing it.

Saturday: Rollarblading, laundry, cleaning, sushi, Juno with my roommate Loree. I really love this movie. The dialogue is so great.

Sunday: church, homework (Hunter helped me with an Excel assignment), Grammys.

That was my week!

East Coast Snob

If Jane Partridge Anderson is allowed to be an "east coast snob," than so am I!

That is the subject of today's blog posting.

Apparently, Jon (Jane's husband) tells Jane she is an east coast snob. For those of us who've grown up on the east, I don't think we can help it. We just know how to value the finer things in life. These things do not include the desert, four wheeling (I didn't even know what it was before I moved to Nevada), or as Elise puts it when I was complaining about Las Vegas being trashy, "Well, what did you expect! You moved to Nevada. It's full of white trash!" (Elise is from outside of Carson City, Nevada - Dayton, where they just put in the only traffic light). We also know the importance of contributing to society in a valuable manner.

One time this girl (from L.A. - gag) was almost arguing with me/making fun of me because she didn't understand why I would say that I wanted to "BE" Pam on "The Office" (for obvious reasons). She may not understand the depth of my crush on Jim, but she mostly was just talking about living in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and was talking about conferences she has been to for work on the east coast where apparently everybody looks "awful, and unkept, and not put together." Oh my gosh! Shocking! Some people have things they care about more than just looking good! I think Pam looks great, and if I could have Jim, and look like Pam I would most definitely be overjoyed.

This all being said, Katie and I decided Saturday that we are moving to San Francisco in January 2009 (probably...you all know I can't make decisions in my life). I can live in San Francisco. I was born there. It's kind of like the D.C. of the west coast, right?

Now, I think there are LOTS of places I could live in the country. I really might even like the midwest. I appreciate small, rural communities. I think I'd love to live on a farm or ranch. I just think I really need a metropolitan city nearby with museums and culture, etc. I think some cities tend to be more "family friendly" and I'd really like to be in a city with this quality. No, I don't have my own family, but since I'm in the field of education, and because I might have a family one day, it matters. Basically, I think northern Cali is a great fit, or the further west than McLean areas in D.C. where it is more rural. Growing up, I was a little overrun with the D.C. snobbery...there's a fair amount of it. I think I'll be going to visit Kenzie and Jeremy in the next couple months and they are loving Austin. I hear great things about Austin. It's affordable, cultured, diverse. I think I could maybe live in Texas.

What are your thoughts on the matter? The matter of east coast vs. west coast?

My schedule

I thought I'd give you an idea of what my daily or weekly schedule looks like. Yes, maybe this is boring, but I just am relaying the fact that I think I'm a pretty scheduled person, and really kind of love it.

Monday:

7-8 Yoga

8-9:30 Get ready

10-11:15 Teaching Science Class

12-5 Work

7-8:30 FHE

Tuesday:

9-10 S.E.T Class at 24 Hour

10:15-12 Get ready

12:30-3:30In my 5th grade class

4-6:45 Literacy Development Class

7-9 Institute (some weeks I go on Thursday)

Wednesday:

7-8 Five or six mile run

8-9:30 Get ready

10-11:15 Teaching science class

12-6 Work

7-9:45 Teaching Math class

Thursday:

9-10 Cardio Core Class at 24 Hour

10:15-12:00 Get ready

12:30-3:30 in my 5th grade class

4-7 Work

7-9 Institute if I didn't go on Tuesday

Friday:

9-10 Kickboxing class at 24 Hour

10-11:30 Get ready

12-5 Work

Saturday:

9-10 Spin class

10-12 Errands, which entails...grocery shopping - a Trader Joe's stop and a Sunflower Market (for water), if needed a Target stop, dry cleaning drop off/pick-up, car wash (not EVERY week), gas fill up, and maybe that's it.

Rest of afternoon: Laundry and cleaning and then my day somehow has slipped away from me. I ONLY will do these activities on Saturday, because I LOVE schedules. I like to know exactly how many salads I need to buy to last me through the week (I've already figured it out, and if I'm going a different time during the week, it'll get all messed up), I don't want to think about making random shopping trips during the week. I don't know how people function without a schedule. And I get annoyed if I'm off schedule too. My workout schedule doesn't falter. I am a little more lenient with my Saturday workout. However, ONLY if I think I deserve to be. Last Saturday, instead of going to my spin class, I decided to go rollar blading. And let me just tell you how great it was...It was a really nice workout - not too strenuous, but I still worked up a sweat, and it was an INCREDIBLY beautiful day. If there's one thing I like about living in Vegas it's the fact that we almost always have bright days with the bluest of skies.