So far this school year...

The best comments I've heard thus far....

Student 1: "Hey, did you brush your teeth today?"
Student 2:"Ya, I did."
Student 1: "Then why does your breath smell so funny?"
Student 2: (nonchalantly) "I dont know."
And then they continued working like nothing had happened..

While looking at the pictures on my desk, one student noticed a "marry" picture from my wedding. She got excited about the picture and pulled a little boy over there to see the picture.
The boy then said to the girl, "hey maybe we should get married when we get older."
She said, "okay."
And they walked off...
Two weeks later, I overheard a discussion between these two:
Girl: "Hey, remember when you said we were going to get married when we're grown up?"
Boy: "yea"
Girl: "Well I think we shouldn't get a dog, because I'm kind of allergic to them...let's get a hamster."
Boy: "okay"

I wore my hair wavy one day...as the students walked in one asked "Mrs. Sage, did you just get out of the shower or something?"

Today when we were discussing the five senses, we were talking about touch and how sometimes touching something will warn your body that it is not safe. I gave the example of my mad cooking skills which often lead to burns. I even showed them my scar from burning my arm cooking pizza. One student raised his hand and when I called on him he said, "maybe you should just let Mr. Sage cook from now on."

Hope you're having a great week!

So.stinkin'.excited.

My shows start back this week!!!!!

Monday @ 7
How I Met Your Mother


Tuesday @ 7
glee


Wednesday @ 8
Modern Family


Thursday @ 8
Grey's Anatomy


Thursday @ 8
The Office


Interested in: My Generation, Cougar Town
What are your shows?

Fish Tacos

These fish tacos were a lot of work but they were amazing! The cilantro gave the tacos a very fresh taste. We will definitely be making these again!
Fish Tacos
From Bobby Flay

Ingredients
Tacos:
* 1 pound white flaky fish, such as mahi mahi or orata
* 1/4 cup canola oil
* 1 lime, juiced
* 1 tablespoons ancho chili powder
* 1 jalapeno, coarsely chopped
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
* 8 flour tortillas

Garnish:
* Shredded white cabbage
* Hot sauce
* Crema or sour cream
* Thinly sliced red onion
* Thinly sliced green onion
* Chopped cilantro leaves
* Pureed Tomato Salsa, recipe follows
Directions
Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Place fish in a medium size dish. Whisk together the oil, lime juice, ancho, jalapeno, and cilantro and pour over the fish. Let marinate for 15 to 20 minutes.
Remove the fish from the marinade place onto a hot grill, flesh side down. Grill the fish for 4 minutes on the first side and then flip for 30 seconds and remove. Let rest for 5 minutes then flake the fish with a fork.
Place the tortillas on the grill and grill for 20 seconds. Divide the fish among the tortillas and garnish with any or all of the garnishes.
Pureed Tomato Salsa:
* 2 tablespoon peanut oil
* 1 small red onion, coarsely chopped
* 4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
* 4 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
* 1 serrano chile
* 1 jalapeno, sliced
* 1 tablespoon chipotle hot sauce
* 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
* Salt and pepper

Preheat grill or use side burners of the grill. Heat oil in medium saucepan, add onions and garlic and cook until soft. Add tomatoes, serrano and jalapeno and cook until tomatoes are soft, about 15 to 20 minutes. Puree the mixture with a hand-held immersion blender until smooth and cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Add the hot sauce, oregano, cilantro and lime juice and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Chewy Granola Bars and Pecan Crusted Chicken Tenders

I made these the other day and followed the reader suggestions at the bottom of the page to up the butter and honey to 1 cup each, which made the granola bars very yummy and not crumbly at all, but they did not taste healthy. I'm open to granola bar suggestions : )
Here is the recipe that I did use:

Chewy Granola Bars
From All Recipes
Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups miniature semisweet chocolate
chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease one 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine the oats, flour, baking soda, vanilla, butter or margarine, honey and brown sugar. Stir in the 2 cups assorted chocolate chips, raisins, nuts etc.
3. Lightly press mixture into the prepared pan. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes then cut into bars. Let bars cool completely in pan before removing or serving.


*These chicken tenders were good, but would have been better had I not cooked the chicken for too long...it was a little dry. I also added extra bbq sauce to the dressing.
Pecan-Crusted Chicken Tenders
From Rachel Ray
Ingredients

* Vegetable oil, for frying
* 1 1/3 to 2 pounds chicken tenders
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 2 eggs, beaten with a splash of milk or water
* 1 cup plain bread crumbs
* 1 cup pecans, processed in food processor to finely chop
* 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated or ground
* 1 orange, zested
*

Dressing:
* 1/4 cup maple syrup
* 1/4 cup tangy barbecue sauce
* 1 navel orange, juiced
* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 3 hearts romaine lettuce, chopped
* 6 radishes, thinly sliced
* 6 scallions, trimmed and chopped on an angle

Directions
Heat 1 1/2 to 2 inches of oil over medium high heat. Season chicken tenders with salt and pepper. Set out 3 shallow dishes. Place flour in 1 dish, eggs beaten with water or milk in a second. In the third dish, combine bread crumbs with ground pecans, nutmeg and orange zest. Coat tenders in batches in flour, then egg, then bread crumb mixture. Fry tenders in small batches 6 to 7 minutes. Drain tenders on paper towels.

Combine maple syrup, barbecue sauce and orange juice in a bowl. Whisk in oil and season with salt and pepper.

Chicken Pesto Pizza

Very yummy pizza!! I used our pizza dough recipe that I always use rather than the one listed below.

Chicken Pesto Pizza
From Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet
Ingredients
* 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
* 1 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
* 2-3/4 cups bread flour, divided
* 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
* 1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
* 1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced
* 1/2 each small green, sweet red and yellow peppers, julienned
* 1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
* 3 tablespoons prepared pesto
* 1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions
* In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Beat in the 1 cup
* flour, 1 tablespoon oil, sugar and 1 teaspoon salt. Add the
remaining flour; beat until combined.
* Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic,
about 6-8 minutes.
* Place in a bowl coated with cooking spray,
turning once to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until
doubled, about 1 hour.

Italian Chicken Wraps and Chocolate Cake

Quick and Easy!
Italian Chicken Wraps
from Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet
Ingredients
1 package (16 oz) frozen stir-fry vegetable blend
2 packages (12 oz) ready to use grilled chicken breast strips (I just used 3 chicken breast that I grilled on the George Foreman and cut up)
1/2 cup fat-free Italian salad dressing
3 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
6 flour tortillas
Directions
In a large saucepan, cook the vegetables according to package directions; drain. Stir in the chicken, salad dressing and cheese. Simmer, uncovered for 3-4 minutes or until heated through. Spoon about 3/4 cup down the center of each tortilla, roll up tightly.

This is the chocolate cake recipe I used to make my mom's birthday cake. The icing is put on the cake while it is still warm, so it kind of melts into the cake, so good! This recipe is from my grandma and when I made the cake I even used the card written out in her sweet handwriting.
Chocolate Cake
Sift together: 2 C sugar and 2 C flour
Set aside
Mix together in saucepan
1 stick margarine
½ C Crisco
4 Tbsp cocoa
1 C water
Bring to a boil & pour over sugar & flour
Mix well and add:
½ C buttermilk 2 eggs
1 tsp soda 1 tsp vanilla
Bake 25 minutes at 400 degrees in large pan.
5 minutes before cake is done mix together in pan:
1 stick margarine 4 Tbs Cocoa
6 Tbsp milk
Boil. Remove from heat and add:
1 box powder sugar 1 tsp vanilla
1 C pecans (optional)
Spread over hot cake.

I am loving...

1. Our families!!
We have two absolutely amazing families!! We're so blessed! We got to go home this weekend to see our parents after being gone from Longview since June! What a great visit! We celebrated Logan and Whitney's upcoming wedding and got to celebrate my mom's birthday at the Sage's new barndominium (it's so nice)! Dad and I had a photography date on Saturday afternoon where I learned how to use my camera off of the automatic setting, so be expecting some great new pictures soon. Here's a sneak peak..I think the pictures of Speedy are the only ones where my camera was on auto..be impressed : )

Our little fam (you'd think after all of the pictures I've taken of these pups, that their eyes would be fixed on the camera...oh well!)



Super tired Chloe

Speedy channel surfing

2. "Stinky" aka Chloe
Even though she managed to get sprayed by a skunk on Thursday night(omg...yes she did), we still really love her. Chloe is a super curious dog and I'm pretty sure she stuck her nose through the fence and her new little friend let out his nasty stench. Our house suffered minimally and the smell is mostly gone from her. I of course overreacted as always as my amazing husband calmly handled the situation.

3. GAP jeans
I got two pairs of GAP jeans last week and they were just $35! Don't worry if you haven't bought jeans from them in a while, they now have so many different possible fits that you'll find jeans that are a perfect fit. Mine are the curvy ones, love them!

4. Mimi Boutique
I got my purse that I won from the Look 4 Less giveaway and my beautiful purse that I bought on the same day!! It was like Christmas and the bags are fabulous! You should check them out!

5. Quick and Easy Grilled Potatoes
I mentioned them earlier this month and they have become our new staple side. So easy and so yummy! (And a 5lb bag of Russet potatoes is only like $1.99 which means sides for basically the whole week)
Ingredients:
2 large russet potatoes, scrubbed
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt (I used Lawry’s season salt) and ground black pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Poke each potato with the tines of a fork. Place the potatoes in a microwave oven, and cook on high power for about 5 minutes. Check about halfway through, and turn potatoes over for even cooking. Slice each potato in half the long way and cook potatoes another 2 minutes on high power.
2. Preheat a grill for medium heat.
3. Brush the potato tops with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Cook on prepared grill for 15 to 20 minutes, turning once.

6. The difference a positive attitude makes!
It sounds corny, I know, but its so true!! I made the decision this summer that I was going to intentionally make the decision each day to be positive and it has made each day much better! : )

7. The public library
What a great solution for a book addict!! I can borrow the books, read them and then return them!! I once had a $0.45 late fee, but that's all I've ever had to pay! I've also recently found their online holds. If I want a particular book, I can go online to www.hcpl.net and search for the book, find it, put it on hold and then pick it up in an envelope that has my name on it!

8. Ellie's enjoyment of my entertaining qualities
Ellie will dance with me and she wags her tail when I sing to her..Love it!

These are a few of things I'm loving. What are you loving?

Crazy Little Thing Called Love

So I'm slightly behind on blog updates, but I'm doing my best to catch up : ) 3 weeks ago Cody's sister, Lyndsey, got married and what a fun wedding!! We were so honored to be a part of it!
After the rehearsal on Friday night, we went to The Iron Cactus in downtown Dallas for some yummy Mexican food.

My roomie/sis-in-law's sister-in-law
On Saturday bright and early, we headed to the bridal brunch and getting our hair fixed (which I somehow managed to make it through both of those events without taking pictures!)

Then we went on to First Baptist Dallas for the wedding followed by the reception at Sam Buca. Wasn't she a gorgeous bride!?

Jenni and I

My sweet mother-in-law

with the beautiful bride/our shared sister-in-law!
@ the Reception with my handsome husband!

Aggies singing the Aggie War Hymn

Congrats Lyndsey and Chris!

S'more Cupcakes and Slow Cooker Fajitas

One might be thinking. Isn't SB diabetic? Doesn't the number of sweets that she bake seem quite excessive? Is this how she became diabetic? How can she eat this stuff? Have no fear fellow bloggers! I am an insulin dependent diabetic which means that I inherited the tendency to get an autoimmune disease which meant I had a chance of becoming diabetic. Its like a one in a million chance..go me! My diabetes which developed at age 13 (really 12, but wasn't diagnosed until 13) would have manifested itself regardless of my sugar intake. Unlike type 2 diabetics whose pancreases produce bad insulin or not enough to cover their carbohydrates, my pancreas produces no insulin (its a dud). And luckily for me, since I do have an insulin pump, I am able to eat just like a normal person would (my sugar intake is still probably excessive for even a normal person), I just have to check my blood sugar, then give insulin according to what I eat. So please breathe a sigh of relief, then make these delightful cupcakes : )

I was watching Cupcake Wars Sunday night before I went to bed, so I dreamed of cupcakes. Then, Monday morning during my run, I recalled an article in my latest Real Simple magazine about using marshmallows instead of icing to ice cupcakes. These two thoughts came together to create S'more cupcakes!


Ingredients
Devil’s Food Cake mix
1 pkg large marshmallows
1 pkg graham crackers

Directions
1.In a gallon size Ziploc bag, crush up several graham crackers with a rolling pin. Line cupcake pans with liners, then put a small amount of graham cracker crumble in the bottom of each to cover the bottom with a thin layer. (I was thinking about combining the graham cracker crumbs with a small amount of butter, kind of like a pie crust, so that it will stick together and stick to the cupcake a little better next time..)
2. Make cupcakes according to directions on box of cake mix (or if you’re feeling really ambitious, make a chocolate cake mix from scratch), then pour into cupcake pans.
3. Bake according to the box. With three minutes left (or when the cupcakes are almost fully cooked), take the pans out and place a marshmallow on top of each cupcake.
4. Place the cupcakes back in the oven until marshmallows are melted, but still fluffy (mine took about 5 minutes).
5. Take cupcakes out of the oven. You will probably have to use a spatula/your fingers to stretch out the marshmallow to fully cover the top of the cupcake.
6. Have the remainder of the graham cracker pieces ready to sprinkle on top of the cupcakes almost immediately after taking them out of the oven. Let them cool and enjoy!

Slow Cooker Fajitas
from Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook
*The next time that I make this, I will chop up the onion, peppers and cut the meat the night before. I woke up super late the morning that I made this and grew quite impatient while chopping : )
Ingredients
*1 each medium green, sweet red, and yellow pepper, cut into ½-inch strips
*1 sweet onion, cut into ½-inch strips
*2 pounds boneless beef sirloin steaks, cut into thin strips
*3/4 cup water
*2 Tbs red wine vinegar
*1 Tbs lime juice
*1 Tbs ground cumin
*1 tsp salt
*1/2 tsp garlic powder
*1/2 tsp pepper
*1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
*8 flour tortillas, warmed
Salsa, Cheese, Cilantro
Directions
1. Place the peppers and onion in crock pot. Top with beef. Combine the water, vinegar, lime juice and seasonings; pour over meat. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or until tender.
2.Using a slotted spoon, place about ¾ cup meat mixture down center of each tortilla. Then add cheese, salsa or whatever toppings you prefer.

Nuthin Muffin

I love breakfast..like my love for desserts and breakfast might be a tie. And of all the breakfast foods, blueberry muffins are my favorite! My sweet mother-in-law and brother-in-law brought me some fresh blueberries a few weeks ago. We ate a lot of them, but wanted to use to make some muffins and found this recipe. Enjoy!

To Die for Blueberry Muffins
From All Recipes
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Niagra Falls

A few weeks ago, Cody went to Toronto, Canada for work. While there, he got to go see the Toronto Blue Jays play the Red Sox and caught a foul ball!!

This is what happens to MLB foul balls when lab puppies get ahold of them.

He also got to go see Niagra Falls and I wanted to share some of the beautiful pictures with you!

DIY Sign

I love finding things and turning them into something new! My sweet husband brought me two ceiling tiles and I was excited to turn them into signs for my classroom.

For the first ceiling tile, I used black paint that I already had from a armoire project last summer. The tile soaked up the paint so I had to put several coats on it (it was suggested afterwards that I use a shellac prior to the colored paint so it wouldn't soak in quite as much).
After the black coat dried, I measured off 4 inches on each side and drew a line with a pencil. In those two measured off areas, I used white paint to make polka dots.
After the polka dots dried, I hot glued thick ribbon on top of my pencil lines.
In the middle of the board, I used bright green paint and a thin paint brush to write the words "Welcome to Kindergarten."

After everything had dried, Cody drilled two holes in the top so that I could place a ribbon through to hang it up with.


For the other ceiling tile, I used a staple gun to attach the little bit of fabric that I had left over from my desk skirt and classroom curtains.
I then hot glued thick green ribbon to make a border. I used green paint to paint the words "You have an amazing brain!" Cody drilled two holes in the top of this one also so that I could place a ribbon through to hang it up.

(This is a super blurry picture, but its the only one I have of the finished product)

Thanks!

Thanks to Mimi Boutique and the Look 4 Less. I just won this adorable Lily Bag! Check out all of the cute purses and accessories on her site!