Grammar ignorance?

Yes, there is a redesign.  I get bored.  Too colorful?  I kind of like it.  It's food related but fun and bright!  Just like baby toys.  Which is a lot of what I'm seeing lately.  At least this blog doesn't play music.  Some of those toys do not shut off until they are good and ready.  It's only just begun.  I know.

Thanksgiving was so wonderful!  Jackson of course couldn't really eat much but he sat at the table with us and he tried Grammie's homemade squash.  He gagged like crazy.  It had to have been the texture.  It wasn't pureed enough.  I added some formula to thin it out but it wasn't enough.  Oh well!  He enjoyed his Thanksgiving meal of formula.

My niece is the sweetest little thing.  She's already such a little mama to Jackson.  She just says "Baby.  Baby." and touches him with such sweetness.  She even held his hand.  One of my favorite moments of the day.

Moving on.  I've decided to use this blog, at times, for a portal for my venting and complaining.  Today is the day for one such post.

Taking classes, working full time, and having a baby at home is very difficult.  It is so hard to find the time to do what you need to to meet the needs of work, home, and school.  Especially when you have a professor that tells you don't know how to write, have bad grammar, and need to utilize the staff at the writing center at the university.  Say what?  I have grammar ignorance?

Um?  I don't know how to write?  Why don't you come and talk to me when you can send out a communication email without a typo?  K?

Can I also point out that this is a baseball course?  It is called Baseball and the American Experience.  Get over yourself, buddy.

I was livid the other day when he gave me a C on my paper.  While to some that might be fine, to me, no way.  I don't get C's.  Sorry to toot my own horn but as an adult learner, we are not getting this education to just get by.

We are here to do well.  He said this is not a grammar course and he's not grading as such.  Except that he was and I called him out on it.  Apparently other students did as well.  He said in the past, if he found five grammatical errors on the first page of a paper, he would stop reading but he will "soften."  Really?  Believe me, I understand being annoyed with incorrect grammar and spelling.  It bothers me to no end and sometimes I refuse to bring my business somewhere if there is a typo on a pamphlet.  I have also been known to find errors in restaurant menus.  So you can see my offense when he tells me I don't know how to write.  One example was he dinged me for ending a sentence with the word "too."  He said you can't end a sentence with a preposition.  Can somebody please tell me when it was made a rule that a sentence cannot end with this word?  How else is this word used?  Can we only say "I too liked it" instead of "I liked it too."  Please.  Example of his comments.

I can also spy a grammatical error or misspelling in about .45 seconds flat.

I think it's more of a writing style preference   I tend to write how I would speak.  Perhaps some of those sentences are not the correct "way" of writing but I'm not writing in slang in a school assignment.  The writing I do here and there are different.  But whatever.  He's a clown and I'm not changing anything.  I have never had an issue with my writing before this guy.  We had the option of sending a draft of our midterm assignment to him for review so I did.  He said "What an improvement!"  Dude, nothing changed.  It stands now as a 92/A-.  I'm not doing anything more on it.  My luck with this guy, the grade would go down.

I digress.

The holidays are coming!  We have lots of things scheduled!  We have office Santa parties, birthdays, breakfasts, and Jackson's dedication service!  Busy, busy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just wanted to write a quick post to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving and ensure that everyone has good eats!  We will be feasting on turkey (of course), mashed potatoes, proscuitto asparagus bundles, green bean casserole, stuffing, butternut squash, turnip, pumpkin pie, and apple pie!  Yum.  I can't wait.  Especially since last year I was still so nauseous and couldn't eat much save for desserts.  Yep.  Still had my sweet tooth then.

There is so much to be thankful for this year.  Last year, I was so very thankful for the addition we would be expecting in the year ahead.  This year, I am thankful for the healthy little boy that is now in my and M's arms.  Please remember to give thanks this year and remember that God is good!

Food, Food, Food

Baby is four months already!  Where did that time go?  I thought the first few weeks were never going to end but look where we are.  Now I want things to slow down!

But I am excited for this new food phase of his life.  Time to start solid foods.  I am super excited about this.  I don't even drink the bottles but I'm taste-bored for him!  A couple weeks ago it was seeming like the bottles just weren't cutting it so I reached out to my Mommy friends and they all said bring on the cereal!  The unanimous consensus was to start with oatmeal so that's where we went.  The first time he had it, he thought about it for a bit and looked cross-eyed at the spoon like what in the heck is that thing coming for my face?  Once a good amount of food finally made it into his mouth, he did pretty well!  Every feeding of oatmeal since then, he has eaten more and more and finally finished a whole bowl.  He's turning into a little piggy.  Too bad his weight isn't reflecting that just yet.

He had his four month checkup earlier this week.  Stats are:

Weight: 13lbs 4oz
Height: 25.5 inches
Head: 42 centimeters

Getting hungry, Mama!  I'm all ready in my businessman bib.

So basically, he's tall and skinny right now.  We'll see how long that lasts after starting baby food.

Because next up is FRUITS!  I am very excited.  I think I'll start with apples or peaches.  I might introduce sweet potatoes in the next few weeks too.  Just in time for Thanksgiving!  Lucky duck. 

I also have a recipe to share!  I know!  It's been a long time.  I had the fam over for dinner a couple weeks ago and made my version of chicken pot pie that is adapted from an Ina Garten recipe.  Using biscuits as the crust gives everyone their own and there is no fighting over the crust!  How bad could that be?  Not bad at all, my friends. 

Chicken Pot Pie

Adapted from Ina Garten

3 chicken breasts, bone in or boneless

3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper

5 cups chicken stock

1 tsp ground sage

1 tsp dried thyme

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter

2 cups chopped yellow onions (about 2 onions)

3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 cups medium-diced carrots (about 4 carrots), blanched for 2 minutes in boiling water

1 10-ounce package frozen peas

1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

1 can refrigerated biscuits
1 egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Place in oven and roast for about 45 minutes until cooked through.  Set aside to cool.  Once cool, cut into bite sized chunks.

In a sauce pan, add the chicken stock, ground sage, and thyme.  Heat the stock over medium low heat.

In a large, deep oven safe skillet, melt the butter.  Add the onions and saute until soft.  Add the flour and stir until a nice roux is formed.  Gently pour in the hot chicken stock.  Let the sauce thicken and then add the heavy cream, chicken, carrots, peas, parsley, and season with salt and pepper.  Stir well to combine. Place the pan in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes.

Remove the biscuits from the can and place on a baking sheet.  Place in the oven and pre-bake for about 1/3 of recommended baking time listed on the can.

Remove the chicken mixture from the oven and place the pre-baked biscuits on the top of the mixture.  Brush the tops of the biscuits with the beaten egg.  Put back into the oven and bake for another 15-20 minutes until the biscuits are baked through and golden brown on top.

Serve immediately.