click clack moo!

Today was an extra good day in third grade because we went on a field trip!  All of the first, second, and third graders (plus teachers and assistants, of course) packed into three school buses and drove to the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Providence.  Our students throughly enjoyed the theatreworks production of Doreen Cronin's Click Clack Moo.  I think the kids' favorite part was when one of the chickens called Farmer Brown a stink head, and I have to admit I was laughing along with them.  Another comical moment occurred during one of the many songs sung by the cows - one lyric from the chorus: "I'm proud to be Bovine/God bless the USDA."  Check out actress Collen Lis's blog here about her adventures on the road playing Farmer Brown's granddaughter Jenny.

the members of the Spring 2010 cast, minus Farmer Brown

(image via Colleen)

I would highly recommend catching a theatreworks show if you're looking for a fun activity for your children, grandchildren, or students.  Peruse the schedule to see if the acting troupe is coming to a city near you.  I would love to see theatreworks perform Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, a novel by Judy Blume we read earlier this year with my fourth grade class.  Have you seen any children's plays worth checking out?

i love you much (most beautiful darling)

(image via claudia kay)

I read the first verse of this poem the other day, painted, framed, and for sale in a shop downtown.  Loved it and wanted to share...


i love you much (most beautiful darling)
more than anyone on the earth and i
like you better than everything in the sky


-sunlight and singing welcoming your coming


although winter may be everywhere
with such a silence and such a darkness
noone can quite begin to guess


(except my life) the true time of year-


and if what calls itself a world should have
the luck to hear such singing (or glimpse such
sunlight as will leap higher than high
through gayer than gayest someone's heart at your each


nearness) everyone certainly would (my
most beautiful darling) believe in nothing but love


- e.e. cummings

pretty nails

I just received the new Urban Outfitters catalog in the mail and I was reminded of all their great nail polish colors.  My friend Rachel introduced me to their nail polish last summer and I once spent about $24 on it in one day, but don't let that price tag fool you - the bottles are reasonably priced at $4.  I couldn't stop myself from buying six colors!  Anyway, Urban has tons of colors available in the store and select shades available online.  I have orange 2, yellow 1, green 1, and blues 1, 3, and 4.  I'm currently sporting blue 3, although my manicure is in dire need of a touch up.
The only hue I'm not really a fan of is yellow 1- my friend Jaclyn was kind enough to point out that it looked like fungus the first time I wore it and I haven't worn it since.  With spring right around the corner I recommend that you get yourself on over to Urban Outfitters and stock up on lots bright colors for your fingers and toes!  

run, don't walk

Get thee to Craftland.  That's all I have to say.  OK, that's really not all I have to say.  What I have to say is Craftland is an amazing collection of handmade goods from artisans all over Rhode Island and the United States.  It's located on Westminster Street in Providence and used to be a seasonal gift shop that was only open around Christmas time but recently they decided to keep the doors open and for that I'm very thankful.  I used to think about Craftland all year, waiting for an online announcement that they were open for the season but now I no longer need to exercise patience!

It's very hard to walk through the store and not want at least seventeen different items.  All the products are so nicely packaged that I can't resist picking everything up and then saying, "this is so cute!"  I think Matt wanted to strangle me, but everything really was so cute!  For example...

blackberry jam

Rhode Island change purses

beaded felt bobby pins

yummy smelling soaps

i heart RI pins

woven baskets

Providence toddler tee shirts

Clearly, we Rhode Islanders love Rhode Island.  As previously mentioned, I wanted many many items in the store (especially anything having to do with Rhode Island) and while I didn't make any purchases I can rest easy knowing that Craftland is still open! 

In addition to offering great jewelry, apparel, stationery, home goods, and gifts, Craftland runs the School of Craft.  My friend Karissa recently participated in a soap making class at Craftland and she loved it.  She's going to teach me all she knows some day soon so I can become more eco-friendly and smell pretty at the same time.  Take advantage of the warm weather - take a stroll down Westminster and check out Craftland soon!    

Cowboy Cookies... mmm

I recently experienced the saddest baking day of my life.  Let me explain why - last week I made broiled salmon which was wonderful except for the fact that some of the oils dripped off the pan and onto the bottom of the oven.  You can guess what happened... the oils burned, made the entire house smell like incinerated salmon, and I could barely see through the haze.  That's how bad it was.  I wanted to set the oven to self-clean but the manual says only to do it if the area is well-ventilated, and since it was freezing outside I wasn't willing to open the windows and air the place out, so the burnt fish smell remained.  Disgusting, I know, but I haven't even gotten to the part about the Saddest Baking Day of My Life yet.  Fast forward five or six days.  I decided to make Cowboy Cookies, a recipe that never fails me.  They are the perfect combination of oats, pecans, coconut, and chocolate and they always turn out chewy (which tends to be a problem for me when baking cookies).  Anyway, it was about 9:30 pm and everything was ready - the oven was preheating, butter and sugars were creamed, flour and other dry ingredients were sifted together, and I was about to combine the two mixtures when I noticed a rather pungent smell beginning to waft about the kitchen.  I glanced at the oven and I recalled last week's salmon debacle.  My eyes narrowed as I realized my baking experience was about to be ruined.  Sure enough, the stench permeated the entire house and I was forced to finish baking the cookies in a rather unpleasant environment.  Every time I opened the oven to take out a batch I was met with an overwhelmingly powerful wave of smoke and salmon scent.  Repulsive.  After another thirty or so minutes and two batches later the cookies were finally done.  I usually leave the oven door open to let the warmth into the house but I had to close it immediately.  To make matters worse, I swear the cookies even tasted like burnt salmon.  Matt claims I'm crazy, but I think at least the first bite is tainted.  It may be psychological, but I can tell you for sure that I won't be baking anymore until the oven has been cleaned.