could it be the world's best pencil sharpener?

so this is not a treat tuesday post. sorry about that.

i've sort of been in a funk today, maybe because i'll be 35 for ... oh, just another 18 hours or so. boo.

to take my mind off my birthday i was doing a little school work today.

i'm sure there are teachers out there gasping, because school doesn't officially start for another 21 days.

but let me say that again. 21 days!!!

this little tidbit gives me something else to freak out about besides turning 36, which seems awfully close to 40, if you ask me.

so... i was conducting some research on pinterest and my favorite teaching blogs and i came across this...

this was not our first introduction.

once again i was filled with hope and excitement that maybe there is a pencil sharpener out there that really works.

you see, if you don't sharpen a lot of pencils, you probably won't understand or maybe you can't even imagine just how bad it is.

first of all, the classroom pencil sharpener, if you are lucky enough to have one... is TERRIBLE. students and teachers alike can stand there all day sharpening down to a nub and never getting a nice and pointy (or even useable) pencil. it's ridiculous. and it makes your fingers red and blistery if heaven forbid you have to sharpen more than one pencil.

i have avoided using the classroom pencil sharpener (when i had one!) for the 10 years i have been teaching by buying my own electric pencil sharpeners. these sweet gadgets can be pricey and loud and bulky and they burn up and decide not to work anymore and... my biggest pet peeve about them... they are hit or miss. when sharpening a brand new box of pencils i may not get even 50% sharpened without the lead breaking and falling out. for years i have thought it was because pencils are being cheaply made. but the above pencil sharpener promises that won't happen, stating it's the electric pencil sharpen that pulls to hard at the lead breaking it from within. well, that alone has me doing cartwheels, because it is extremely annoying to spend 30 minutes trying to sharpen a class set of pencils, only to have 7 that will actually be able to do their job.

and let's face it people, we sharpen A LOT of pencils in first grade. have you ever seen a first grader's pencil? most have black and brown smudgies from blacktop hands and then there are the bite marks and unidentified crusties along the wooden ridges. top all of that off with partially or entirely eaten erasers and metal rings. yes, first grade pencils are NASTY!

so why am i posting about my pencil sharpening woes and the health hazards of handling old first grade pencils?

i am hoping to win one of those sweet little machines of awesomeness in the photo above and by blogging about it, i get 5 entries. :)

you can enter to win one here.

and if you enter and win and don't want the pencil sharpener for yourself, i know of the perfect first grade classroom for it!

so... will you enter to win?

4th of july

as i mentioned earlier this week, the 4th is my mom's birthday. on this day we celebrate our country... and my mom!  we gather together for swimming, bbq, birthday celebrations, and fireworks. it's always so much fun spending the day with our family and friends.














i hope you all had a happy 4th of july, too! do you have any traditions on this special day?

treat tuesday #4: homemade corn dogs

while this is not a sweet treat, i think corn dogs totally qualify as a treat!

one of my favorite memories growing up was going to denio's on a sunny saturday morning, spending my allowance on trinkets, betty boop t-shirts, and paint splattered sunglasses. i stopped only to re-fuel with a heavily battered, deep fried corn dog. maybe even two. (gasp!)

these days eating something so greasy would leave me feeling guilty and well, sick.

when i came across this recipe in my clean eating magazine, i was super excited. was it possible that a corn dog could actually be clean, somewhat healthy, and taste good, too? i had to find out! this week's treat is homemade corn dogs.

ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups stone-ground whole-grain corn meal
- 1 1/2 cups white whole-wheat flour
- 3 tbsp organic evaporated cane juice
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper--gives it a little bite, so use less or eliminate if you don't like spicy!
- 4tbsp organic unsalted butter, frozen
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
- 10 all-natural uncured nitrite-free beef hot dogs

you will also need 10 wooden skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes

step 1: add dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl

 

step 2: grate butter into dry ingredients, stirring occasionally so the butter doesn't clump. oops, i didn't do that--they turned out fine!



step 3: add the wet ingredients and mix until a dough ball has formed

step 4: divide dough ball into two and freeze for 10 minutes. while dough is in the freezer, insert sticks into one end of each hot dog




step 5: roll one of the dough balls out and cut into pieces that will fit around the individual dogs--you will repeat this step many, many times!




step 6: wrap the dough strip around the dog







step 7: bake corn dogs at 400 degrees for 14-16 minutes--bottoms will be golden brown and dough cooked through



step 8: enjoy! i served my dogs with a cabbage salad and cantelope slices



the end result? a pretty dog-gone good meal!

summer fun and treat tuesday #3: 4th of july cake

we've been happily enjoying our summer. no school, nice weather, swimming, and delicious food. we LOVE eating!

i've been sort of bad at organizing crafts. i had one all lined up two weeks ago, but i was mad at the kids for being totally rotten in the store, so we didn't craft. then last week... well, i don't know what my excuse is. we were recovering from a fun 4th? i honestly don't remember last thursday!

i have been making treats though. so today i will post about that, even though it's not a tuesday (although i did make this treat on a tuesday!) i made this treat for america's and my mom's birthday. it's a festive 4th of july cake. i've been really making a strong effort to eat clean this summer, so this cake is (mostly) clean. it would be completely clean if i hadn't added the food dyes to it.

it was scrumptious.

i found the recipe at one of my favorite sites for clean eating recipes, the gracious pantry. seriously, this is my go-to site. this gal has taken tried and true food staples and transformed them into healthier, clean versions. i love it, because it takes all the guesswork out of trying to come up with your own clean version of a family favorite. and the best part--everything is yummy. i have yet to try a recipe i didn't like. so check out thegraciouspantry.com for some clean eating tips and recipe ideas, just like the 4th of july cake i made below (it's listed under canada day cake on her website).


between each layer there was whipped cream and fresh sliced strawberries


since i made the cake the day before, i used bamboo skewers to keep the layers from sliding. anyone remember my new year's cake fiasco?!


help is easy to come by when you are frosting a cake and need to clean the spatula


fresh strawberries and blueberries not only tasted great, but they helped make this cake look patriotic, too


the finished cake... the star deco was pinterest inspired, of course


guests enjoyed the surprise of the red, white, and blue layers... although taylor insisted they were red, yellow, and blue

visit the gracious pantry for this recipe and many more!