A Farewell to Doris

So I had another wake to go to last week. It was for Doris, the sales rep I was working with at Winco. She was one of the few people at work that I actually liked and had a personal relationship with. She was young, brass, full-of-life, determined, sweet, caring and giving. We butted heads sometimes at work, but only with work-related issues. We always made sure to see eye-to-eye after a disagreement and move forward.
Doris had turned 39 the week before her death. She had been married just under a year. She was so...happy. She was enamored with her new husband and talked about him all the time. She and I went through her wedding album and talked wedding talk a lot. I remember she got her dress real inexpensively, and she got married at Castleton. They were playing a slideshow of her wedding pictures at the wake... that really got me. I have to say, even after seeing her body, I'm not sure it's 100% set in yet.
I'm getting too used to wakes and funerals. I mean, is it unusual for someone my age to have known so many people who have died? I just sat and tried to count the number of wakes, funerals, memorials or Shiva homes I've been to. I got to 12 and decided to stop counting. Oh geez, lets not even count the pets. I think Doris's death is the first one I've been able to handle "well". I haven't fallen apart. I've cried, but I haven't fallen into convulsions as I usually do. Maybe it's maturation? Maybe it's old hat? I don't know. All I know is I'm fucking sick of death.
Oh, I'm sure you're curious... she fell down the stairs and snapped her neck at the bottom. Her husband found her there....very sad. very, very sad. :-(

MERC

So I am going to the MERC job fair on Wednesday. I am so scared because I really don't have any teaching "philosophies" and such yet. I'm afraid people are going to be asking me questions and I'm going to have to BS my way through it!

I know... I just listen to what everyone else is saying! Cha!

April Apple Chicken Goodness

Chicken with Apples and Cider

Makes 4 Servings

3 Tablespoons reduced-calorie margarine
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and sliced
1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
Four 4-ounce skinless boneless chicken breasts (or one package Quorn Naked Chik'n Cutlets-vegetarian but not vegan)
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 medium onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings
½ cup apple cider
¼ cup cider vinegar
2 cups hot cooked wide noodles

*I recommend starting the noodles when you start the dish so they are done cooking when the chicken is.

1. In a large, nonstick skillet, melt half of the margarine
Sauté the apples until lightly browned, about 5 minutes
Sprinkle with the brown sugar
Cook, stirring frequently, until tender, 3-5 minutes longer
Transfer to a plate

2. On a sheet of wax paper, sprinkle the chicken with the cinnamon, salt and pepper
In the skillet, melt the remaining margarine
Sauté the chicken until browned, 4-5 minutes on each side
Transfer to another plate (don’t worry, it will cook more in a bit)

3. In the skillet, cook the onion, covered, until tender, 6-8 minutes
Stir in the cider and vinegar
Reduce the heat and simmer 2 minutes
Return the chicken to the skillet
Simmer, spooning the sauce over the chicken until the chicken is cooked through and the liquid is reduced by half, 4-5 minutes

4. Return the apples to the skillet; cook until heated through, about 2 minutes
Arrange the noodles on a platter
Top with chicken mixture, pouring any remaining juices over the chicken

Per serving:
287 Calories
6g Total Fat
1g Saturated Fat
76mg Cholesterol
273mg Sodium
34g Total Carbohydrates
3g Dietary Fiber
24g Protein
34mg Calcium
Points per serving: 6

On the path

So I found out on Friday that I passed the third of the three teacher's tests I needed to take in order to apply for liscensure! I am very excited! I mean, I knew I was going to pass it, but still. It's good to know for sure!

Now I have to buckle down and start working on my teaching resume. Which will be interesting, considering the only teaching experience I have is one year of Hebrew. But, Heahter and Evan pointed out some experiences I've had that would be good to add. For instance, tutoring for Bar Mitzvah and training new employees in other jobs. I'm wondering if I should put down my Life is Good Productions experience. I mean, we made $ for the JDRF, but the only face-to-face contact I had with the kids was a Halloween party for the summer camp. I guess that could count.

I am getting a little nervous about interviewing too. I mean, are they going to see through me and see that I have no real teaching experience? Are they going to be laughing on the inside, knowing that the teenagers are going to have me for breakfast?

I don't know. Evan gave me a bunch of good reading material that I'm working through. I'm hoping that, along with my inner nerd, will help me get through my first year. Also, I'm REALLY interested in working at Nashoba Tech. From what I saw on their website, it's more of a college atmosphere than a white-bred college prep high school. The kids there seem to really enjoy going to school. They get to choose which real-life skills they want to learn. Plus, you have kids coming together from several different towns into one school. There won't be that 9-12 years of built up crap that kids in other high schools deal with. So it seemed on their website, anyway.

So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed both for getting a teaching position by the fall, and for not being eaten alive by 15-year-olds.

Roller Girls

I have been having a blast as Queen Seedy, the mascot for the Roller Girls! This is the first official team sport I've officially been a part of. I can't be a roller girl because I have too many health problems (bone spurs in heels, plantar faschitis, arthritis in my hip, weak ankles prone to spraining, 130lbs of excess fat....) and because I'm poor as a bitch and can't afford skates and safety gear. But, in my heart I'm a derby diva! I get to hang out with some of the coolest women in NH and still feel like part of the team! Plus, I get to wear obnoxious jewels and a crown and have people bow to my insanity! Weeeeeee!

Thus far I've been in the Manchester St. Paddy's day parade, which was a lot of fun, and the opening of the Manchester Harley Davidson. I don't know what I was more jealous of, the 8 wheels or the two wheels!

Which brings me to another point. I will, someday, have a Harley. I have that as one of my goals. If I do get a teaching position this fall, I will be one step closer to getting out of debt, buying a house and, when I'm 50, getting a Harley!

I just want it all now: career, house, kids.... I am so impatient! I'm so sick of being fucking poor! It sucks! Super ass!