Saturday, December 19, 2009

Reporting Live from McAllen-Miller International Airport!

Dear Readers (whomever you may be, real or in my imagination),

Hurray for free wireless at the fabulous airport in McAllen, Texas. I have been "straight-chillin'" here, a few miles from the border, watching airport on-goings since 5:30 AM this morning. Around me I see fellow-fliers, some frustrated, some calm; through the big glass windows, I see...not much... thanks, thick fog. One flight out of here has been canceled, but I am still hopeful that I will be flying out in an hour--three hours later than I'd hoped, but moving towards home nonetheless.

This time yesterday, I was learning the rules to middle-school dodgeball. At school, they had a bunch of "stuff" for the kiddies to do--a dance, movies, various sports (including bowling!), snacks for purchase, board games--and, of course, we teachers got to supervise. I initially was responsible for selling at the concession stand, but was offered a trade to dodgeball by one of my co-workers. Figuring that physical activity would be more exciting than preparing hot cheetos with cheese* all day, I agreed.

I spent more time during dodgeball screaming at kids than I have all year. It was chaotic, but fun. I was told, "Miss, you throw like a girl"; broke up what could have bubbled into a fight; and canceled dodgeball after one kid hit another with one of the bright orange cones that cornered off the dodgeball area. I was pleasantly surprised that when I ran into the dodgeball crossfire, yelling "TIME OUT! GIVE ME ALL THE BALLS NOW", the boys stopped and handed me the balls. For most of the day, as I ran in and out of the dodgeball "court" telling boys who were out that they needed to get off the court, the boys on the sidelines would pull me out of the way if I were going to get pegged; it was very sweet of them. I had kind of expected they would try to hit me with the balls most of the day, so it was really nice that they kept an eye out for me instead.

It was fun, but I might grow up and be one of those moms at the PTA that makes the school stop playing dodgeball. From what I saw, it's not much of a sport when 8th graders play it--it's more of a "how hard can I hit the lame kid without getting caught?" game. Well, actually, I'd advocate for kids to play whatever sports, but also require some sort of sportmanship/sportswomanship/sportspersonship? curriculum.

* To those of you who don't live in the Valley, hot cheetos with cheese is, unfortunately, exactly what it sounds like: a bag of spicy hot cheetos, with nacho cheese poured on. It tastes like one would expect: delicious but horrible. The school sells this stuff, in addition to soft drinks, candy, nachos, and other junk, to raise money. Texas schools can only sell/give junk food to kids on certain days (like before breaks), or after lunch. The school makes a ton of money off of it, but I really don't think that my students should be exposed to such unhealthy food just so we can afford field trips (the sales don't generally raise funds for stuff like books). My students definitely don't eat healthy at home, if they eat much at all. Why give them such horribly fattening food? In a country with an obesity epidemic, it makes no sense. We may as well let them roll around in raw chicken.


Now, I am going to start watching Arrested Development, and then move on to Planet Earth. I figure I can have both series finished by the time I get home tonight at 10:30 PM.

Happy Travels!

Sunday, December 13, 2009

peppermint

Dear World,

If you must inundate me with a holiday I don't celebrate, the least you could do is make sure there is peppermint bark available for purchase in the chaos that is the grocery store. I expect better the next time I brave H.E.B.

Love,
Gulu



Dear Readers,

When the World gyps you and you can't buy any peppermint bark, do not despair. The winter/holiday season can still be full of minty goodness! Of course, peppermint is with us all year long: it's in our toothpastes and shampoo; it adds a kick to chicken skewers and samosas; it calms our tummies as tea when we have too much chicken and too many samosas (and even too much toothpaste, yikes).

Why, though, does peppermint make such a not-so-subtle appearance in the wintertime? I made up a completely unfounded answer to this question, which is as follows: Peppermint is an invasive species (fact). It chokes out all the other plants in the neighborhood, and when the harvest season comes, it's all that's usable from our gardens in the winter. We extract its oils, dry its leaves, and call it holiday cheer.

Since we have such a plethora of peppermint, I have some suggestions on the best ways to get a peppermint fix:

1. Starbucks' Peppermint Mocha. Get it hot, unless you live in the Valley. Then, an ice-cold peppermint mocha hits spot on a sunny, 80-degree December day. It's a good trick to convince your body that it is technically winter.

2. Candy canes-we tend to get gifted tons of these. Fact: they are adorable. Fact: they are messy and sticky and annoying and get slobbery when you eat them. Solution: for a holiday Scrabble party, make your guests each a mug of hot chocolate. Unwrap a candy cane for each mug, and put it in each glass as a stirrer. They melt into the hot drink giving it a minty kick, look adorable curling out of the mug, and are a great way to unload all those candy canes!

3. Candy canes can also be smashed up and used to top icecream, brownies, cupcakes--most anything sweet.

4. Let's be honest, sometimes you buy peppermint bark without totally thinking (peppermint bark is exciting). You bring it home, and uh-oh, it's not REAL peppermint bark---it was made with WHITE CHOCOLATE which ISN'T EVEN CHOCOLATE because it has NO COCOA in it. What to do? Brave the obscene return lines at the store? Absolutely not. Break off a few pieces and let it melt into your morning coffee. Deeeeelectable.

I hope your winter and Christmas and New Year and Hanukkah are full of fresh, peppermint breath! Let me know if you have any other uses of my favorite essential oil.

Love,
Gulu