New Job :)

As some of you might already know, I got a job!! It all happened so quickly - Wednesday late afternoon I got a call, Thursday I was interviewing, Friday I was training, and this week I worked a full week!

I am working at a Preschool in Olathe with a class of 4 and 5 year olds (pre-K). 20 kids. It is not something I thought I would ever be doing, and who knew that teaching piano lessons qualifies as experience?

It is both fun and frustrating. My class has mostly boys, and we all know what that means. I am constantly telling them to keep their hands to themselves, and they are constantly doing just the opposite of that. I have had to deal with blood at least once per day thus far. Kinda crazy. On the other hand, the kids are great. I love seeing them connect things that they are learning.

I come home tired every day, but it's very worth it. And it's a job, which I had been searching for for over a month.

Besides work, some of my last two weeks activities consisted of: making freezer strawberry jam, baking my first loaf of homemade bread, hosting our first get-together for our (fairly) new kansas city friends (mostly med students and their wives), and going to a US women's soccer game at the LiveStrong stadium here in KC with some Tabor friends.

Concert in the Park

Today, after Eric and I got back from a lovely labor-day weekend in Arkansas with the Funk family, we got to experience a little of Kansas City.

We went to the KC Symphony annual free concert in the park, and it was delightful!

Notes for future concerts in the park: arrive a lot earlier. We ended up being late because of the traffic and parking situation, and then we were sitting waaaaaay in the back and couldn't even see the stage over a hill until people left and we moved up. However, because we were one of the last cars to park, it was super easy to leave! Glass half full.

The symphony played selections that included classical pieces as well as movie themes such as Pirates and Star Wars. My favorite was Elgar's Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36, Movement 9: Moderato.

Plus - I just checked the website - student tickets for normal KC symphony concerts are only 8-10 dollars with a current student ID for any concerts that aren't sold out! That's a good deal all you Kansas City music lovers....or music loving friends who would love an excuse to come to Kansas City...

Muffin Tin Madness

Being that this is my second post, I'm not quite sure yet what I'll be blogging about. I don't have a job, I don't get out much except to exercise and run wifely errands, Eric is always studying, and I can count my new friends on two hands (and they all have jobs or school). So that leaves only one topic for this post.....my cooking.

I've got to admit - I've been getting pretty good at cooking since I have so much free time on my hands (just ask Eric! About the free time AND the cooking!)  I am always looking for new things to try. I recently discovered a new cooking obsession - making meals in muffin tins. It all started when I saw this recipe on Lisa's cooking blog. I thought, "Mini servings made in muffin tins! How cute!"...and thus, it begun.

It makes sense, really. Shorter baking time, easy to serve, built-in portions, looks adorable....

So last night, I made meatloaf. I didn't plan ahead, and when I got to the baking time (over an hour!) I thought, "Dinners going to be a bit late tonight..." BUT WAIT! Muffin tins to the rescue! It cut the baking time in half...and look at the result:

Perfect little mini meatloaves. Tasted delicious.

Try it. You'll never go back. (Just make sure you grease them well before you bake....I had an unfortunate incident earlier with baked on egg and no grease...my muffin tin will never be the same...)

The Start of Something

Well, here we are. My new blog.

At the urging of many, I have finally caved and committed to writing about myself, my life, and my thoughts. I can understand - recently graduated and in a new city - who wouldn't want to keep up with my witty stories and amazing day-to-day events, right?...RIGHT?

That's just the thing: why I've avoided this blog thing in the past. I sincerely enjoy reading other people's blogs, but for some reason when I thought about writing one myself, it made me squeamish. I didn't want to get a big head and think everyone cared what I was doing day to day. But thats what makes blogs work. If people care - they'll read it. If they don't - they won't. So....read if you want; I can't promise there will be anything interesting...but I'll sure try!