I have seen so many recipes and pins on Pinterest about how to make a few different meals from a rotisserie chicken. I have tried a few of these but I really just think the rotisserie chicken is a waste. They are not cheap anymore and unless you are really into bone broth (which I am not), you don't get a lot of actual meat. Never mind that you have to work to get the meat! So I was trying to think of a better way to make chicken that could be versatile and help me with meal prepping. Meal prepping for a single person can be interesting. I don't particularly care to eat the same meal every day of the week. I have figured out some ways to give myself 2 - 3 different options of meals assuming I don't eat out at all for lunch or dinner. Maybe I'll share these later. But for today, I want to share my crockpot chicken that you can then make three different ways. 

It's simple and I don't claim to be a chef. Just a girl trying new things and sharing them with you.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
3 1/4 cup chicken broth (I use the Knorr Homestyle chicken stock that you just boil in water)
sliced onion (as much or little as you like)
salt
pepper
garlic powder

Directions:
Generously season both sides of the chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place the sliced onion (I slice large chunks so that they are easier to remove when the chicken is done) at the bottom of the crock pot. Place the chicken breast on top of the onion. Pour the chicken stock over the chicken. The chicken should be completely covered. Place lid and cook on low for 8 hours. Remove the chicken from the crock pot and place on a cutting board. Use two forks (or whatever you can find) to shred the chicken. Now you are ready to make anything and everything you want. You can also freeze a portion of the chicken for later. I recommend putting a little bit of the juices from crock pot in with the chicken you are freezing so that the flavor keeps well. 
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The struggle is so real y'all!! It is not inevitable (in fact very avoidable) but is in fact difficult to stay disciplined on the "health" front at the beginning of every school year. And so here we are, in October and I'm trying to get back on it. I might also add that age most definitely increases the difficulty. It is probably a linear relationship but lately it feels exponential.

Anyway, I have decided that I would do something. And that I would do "something" every day. I figured I needed to establish a minimum or else I will not do anything. It's crazy to think about the difference between nothing and something.

It is not just kids that need to be given things in small pieces. Sometimes as adults we need small chunks at a time so that we have the motivation to move from nothing to something. I am a to do list person and I have seen how that is so necessary to my productivity at work and in life. Especially when I think about the school year as a unit, I can get very overwhelmed. So I make a list and I get the next thing done. And then the next, and the next and you get the point. I don't see growth in my students in a weeks time. Sometimes, I don't even see it within a year, like I wanted to. But as long as "something" is done, growth will happen. While I would like to think I have patience in my classroom, I struggle to have the patience to see growth in certain areas of my life. I want to be done getting healthy but unfortunately that's not how that works. Just as my faith does not work in that way which I believed to be true before God rocked my world. 

But here I am, growing in all things, including leading a healthy lifestyle. I receive any and all encouragement! Thankful for friends that encourage me to keep going. Here is the minimum "do something" I have established:

Every time I make this I get a lot of compliments so I thought it might be worth sharing. I love to cook but baking is not really my strength, except for this recipe. This is not my own recipe though I have made one adjustment. The recipe comes from Betty Crocker herself and will be sure to please all of your guests. The ingredients are:
1 1/4 cups sugar SAVE $
1/2 cup(1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed very ripe bananas (3 to 4 medium) **note: I often have 1 or 2 very ripe bananas supplemented with 1 or 2 not as ripe and it works great**
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 cup milk chocolate chips 

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and make sure you have a rack moved to the lower position in the oven.

Mix the sugar and the butter. Add the eggs and beat/mix well. 
Now add the mashed bananas, buttermilk and vanilla, mixing well.
Finally, add the flour, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips. I add the flour in a little at a time so as to avoid white counter tops in the end. 

Grease your loaf pans and pour the batter. I usually make two loafs in a 9"x4" pan because they cook in less time. I also use the disposable pans found in the baking aisle at your local grocer. 
I bake them for about 40 - 50 minutes. Insert a toothpick in the center to check if the center is cooked through. If toothpick comes out clean then your loaf is done!

Remove from pan and allow to cool before cutting (if you can even stand it). Best when served warm!!

Be prepared for your guests, friends, or your own mouth to ooh and ahh at your masterpiece.

Enjoy!

Last year I moved from public school to teach at a private high school in Houston. This also meant using a flipped learning model in both my Algebra 1 and Geometry classes. Making videos was not new to me, but using the videos as my primary instruction was. I used someone else's videos for my Geometry class and made my own for Algebra. I did a lot of things wrong and learned some things along the way. ​I have learned:

• making videos can be very time consuming
• videos should be short (3 - 8 minutes)
• you need to have a way to monitor if students watch the videos
• students need to be taught how to take notes from the video
• videos are best broken up by content and not by section of the book
• make the videos appealing to students (ex: have a student create a sweet intro for you)

My school brought in Jon Bergmann who has been the pioneer of flipped learning to speak about best practices and how to implement this model in our classrooms. Most of the things listed above were things I learned from him and also experienced first hand in my classroom. I have attempted to improve my model this year and am pleased with how I have done so thus far. Though it still has much room for improvement. The most difficult part so far has still been making sure students are watching the video (I use Edpuzzle for this) but also taking GREAT notes so that they are useful when the students are working on their assignment. 

My main goal this year has been to create all new videos for both Algebra and Geometry that are shorter and very clear instructionally. Once I have this established, I will be able to move forward in improving my model and how I use it in my classroom. 

Great teachers aren't born, but instead are committed to growing every year even when that means doing something new instead of what has always been done.

This is year 9 of teaching for me and I would love it if I could just pull up last years assignments and upload them to the "2018 - 2019" folder. But I am committed to being a great teacher and also to growing. I don't love spending longer hours at work or extra time at home to make these videos, but I'll do what's necessary for my students to get the best education possible. 

Be great. Kids deserve it.

**Also, if you would like to see my videos, they are all on my YouTube channel**

It’s been a year (plus a few months) since our lives got turned upside down as a result of the terrible flooding in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. I will never forget the day so watching the rain come down relentlessly. It just kept coming down. Harder at times, light at others. Everyday I was searching for hope. A small break in the rain that might be an indicator that it would all come to an end soon. While looking for hope, everyday new people were evacuating their flooded homes. The scenes were unbelievable. I felt so bad for these people while I was still in a dry house. I was glued to the news and learned how to read a flood map in no time. All of my family and friends come to mind and so I check Facebook regularly to be sure all are safe. Others are also checking on me. Since I was at my parents house and not my own home, I constantly check in with neighbors to know of the status of my own home. Thankfully, being in a second floor unit, I had little to worry about. I talk with both of my grandparents as they have to evacuate their home. Meanwhile, between the ongoing news cast and looking out the window to check water levels, my mom, dad, and I somehow stayed busy. This may or may not have included my mom dying my hair and making a delicious crawfish casserole. News comes that the water level at the dam by my parents house is unsafe. There is talk about releasing the water which would mean for sure flooding at my parents house. Now we start talking evacuation plans. We even got out of the neighborhood to check routes. Through much back and forth conversation, we decided to stay. We prepare the house for water by moving things upstairs and putting heavy things on paint cans. We do this “just in case”.

I am awaken the next day early, by my dad notifying me that the toilet will soon be out of order. The water had filled the garage and was inches from the back door. Turns out the “just in case” was the right move. We make more preparations to minimize the damage and it’s overwhelming. What needs to go upstairs or be moved? No time to salvage everything. And now we start discussing an evacuation. We can’t stay here with the water in the house. I call up to check on the neighbors as they are elderly. They tell me they have a friend with a boat nearby. I call him and he tells me he will come. The neighbors however say they aren’t leaving. We get in touch with Parker and he says he can get to us, or at least close. I tell everyone to pack a bag. I am now standing at the front door, waiting for a boat. Nothing comes. I call back and he says he’s coming. Meanwhile my mom is still moving things so as to save them. I wait some more. Still nothing. My anxiety level is rising. We have to get out now or we may be stuck here for a long time.

I am getting very impatient and finally decide I’m just going to walk out. I ask my dad to check the water level in the street first. I needed to know if I would be walking or swimming. It’s probably about knee deep or a bit more, which for me is about my waist. I yell in the house that I’m leaving and off I go. Trash bag in tow with my belongings. I get to the next block and have a decision to make. Left takes me to the front gate about a quarter of a mile away, which I think is closed anyway. My other option is to go right and climb over the six foot wall that surrounds the neighborhood. Some neighbors are standing outside and I ask them, “Do you think I can climb that wall?” They said no but I was determined anyway. I go for it. Parker has been sitting at the gas station nearby for at least forty-five minutes. I ask another neighbor for a ladder and manage to get over the wall that way. Parker just hops right over and goes to get my mom and dad and hopefully the neighbors. Once over the wall I witness something incredible. Strangers showing up with boats, canoes, kayaks, and large trucks to help whoever needs it. I get to the truck and go back to check on the rest. My mom gets over and we also get my brother’s dog over which was no easy task. Parker had also convinced the neighbors to come with him. Helping them over the wall was scary, but by God’s grace, we did it. And not without the help from some strangers.

Now we are seven people and three dogs piled in Parker’s truck. We get in touch with Stuart to see if he can get his dog. He is on the other side of Buffalo Bayou though, so that would prove to be very difficult. The neighbors find a friend from church to stay with. We dropped them off and then were able to meet Stuart to get Tucker (his dog). We head to Parker’s house in Bellaire where my parents were going to stay. There is a pizza shop on the way so we stop in to get something to eat and take a breath. It was about 2:00 now and our day started around 7:30. I tell my parents they can stay with me. Parker takes us to my house where we set up camp. My dad had to sleep on the couch and my mom on an air mattress. Already, in some parts of Houston, people are tearing sheetrock out of their homes, including at my grandpas house. We have no mode of transportation and I feel useless. Stuart comes and picks up my dad to take him to Hearne to get the truck and a large fan from a friend as we will need this when clean up at their house starts. I catch a ride with them and meet up with Shea to go help my grandpa. Everything is a mess. His house had also flooded the previous year in April (tax day flood). It was a long day but I really got to see a community come together.

The next day my parents went to Galveston where they would stay while their house was restored. While we wait for the water to recede from my parents’ house, I move to action. A friend has a spare car and let’s me use it. I partner with my church to help our city. So much happened in just a few days, I can’t quite remember the details. I employ a team of workers to start demo on my parent’s house almost a week after we evacuated. It was overwhelming, obviously mostly for my parents. The help we had no doubt made the difference. Two days later I am back to work, attempting to start a new year, with new students, at a new school. Watching our city work together toward a common goal was beautiful. I have no doubt many people came to know the Lord through this great expression of love and service.

The Lord brought me to Ezekiel 37 in the few moments I had to process through all that was happening. The Israelites had lost hope. They say their “bones are dried up.” (verse 11) But the Lord speaks life into them. He gives vivid imagery regarding how He will raise them from the grave. In math, zero times a million is still zero. That is not how God does math though. He can take nothing and multiply it to greater things. He is glorified in this and we are reminded of His great glory. I will never forget the first ray of sunshine we saw after the rains had stopped. It was all over social media. It’s all anyone wanted to talk about. It was not immediate, but it was just at the right time because that’s how God does things. This sunshine was the hope I had been looking for a week earlier. But it wasn’t the sun that was the hope. The real hope was in the Son, the Son of God and Son of man who paid it all that we may live.

Thank you Jesus. I hope to never experience another “Harvey”, but I also acknowledge that God was good before, during and after the storm and will continue to be through the next. May He always be glorified.

Ezekiel 37:11-14
Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

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