July 4th Weekend

My July 4th weekend was busy. It began when I performed in a concert with the Saint Louis Wind Symphony on Friday, July 2. The concert was held at the Foundary Art Centre in downtown St. Charles.The Saint Louis Wind Symphony (SLWS) was founded in 1998 as an avenue for music educators to continue to perform. Founded by Dan Presgrave and a core group of musicians, the Saint Louis Wind Symphony was established as a non-profit, all volunteer concert band dedicated to the highest-quality performance of the best wind literature.
There are about 60 musicians in the wind symphony: seven flutes, three oboes, one bassoon, 13 clarinets, four saxes, four French horns, eight trumpets, six trombones, three baritones, four tubas, a string base, and four percussionists. Performances revolve around a theme and compositions are selected to fit the theme. This concert was a Patriotic Musical Tribute.
It has become the premier Wind Ensemble in the Saint Louis metropolitan area, with a reputation for quality performance spreading across the country. I have been performing in the group since 1999, only missing the first concert season.

After the concert my friend Ginger and I went to Llywelyn's Pub in downtown St. Charles. Llywelyn's has several local locations and I am pleased to see that they recently renovated an old bank building. I have always enjoyed visiting Llywelyn's in St. Louis, now I have a location close to home! We enjoyed a salad and some beers on the outdoor patio.

On Saturday I met some girlfriends at Brio for lunch. It was a very special lunch because my friend Nicole was in town from Indianapolis and my friends Nicole and Tonya were in town. It was great to see them along with Justine and Ginger. Brio is one of our favorite places to go for lunch when everyone is in town.

Nicole, Justine, Ginger (holding Abby), Jennifer (me) and Tonya

Nicole and Justine. Best friends pregnant at the same time with due dates a month a part! Nicole is having a girl and Justine is having a boy!

Ginger and Jennifer with baby Abby.

On July 4th Ken and I performed an outdoor concert with the Northwinds Concert Band on the grounds of the Florissant Civic Center. We had a short rain delay and began the concert a half an hour late, but with a shorter intermission we were able to play every song before the fireworks display began at 9:30. The city fo Florissnt really outdid themselves with a spectacular fireworks display! Our concert included show tunes, marches, and patriotic favorites. I have been performing with the Northwinds Concert Band for about 12 years and Ken has been a member for at least 7 years.

Father's Day 2010

Ken and I with our fathers.

Ken and I had our parents over to our house to celebrate Father's Day. We continued eating our way through St. Louis favorites by having St. Louis style pizza. Ken's parents brought pizza and salad from Pirrone's Pizza. Pirrone's is one of our favorite places to get pizza in St. Louis. The characteristics of St. Louis-style pizza are a super-thin yeast-less crust, the use of Provel processed cheese, and pizzas cut into squares or rectangles instead of large wedge shaped slices. Provel is a trademark for three cheeses fused to form one (provolone, Swiss, and white cheddar), Provel cheese was developed by the St. Louis firm Costa Grocery in the 1950s and is made in Wisconsin primarily for the St. Louis market. The cheese is not widely available outside the St. Louis-area.

I kept the tradition of making homemade ice cream on Father's Day alive by finally making a successful batch of ice cream. My chocolate ice cream turned out perfectly and we enjoyed chocolate ice cream with all of the toppings. It was fun creating sundaes with the following toppings: (strawberries, whipped cream, sprinkles, chocolate fudge, nuts, and cherries)

A Taste of Saint Louis

Grandma Talley and Aunt Geri made a visit to St. Louis June 17-21. In honor of their visit my mother-in-law hosted a dinner at her home on Friday, June 18. It was a Saint Louis themed dinner and everything on the menu had something to do with our city.

The Menu

Toasted Ravioli

St. Louis BBQ Ribs

Twice Baked Potatoes

Slaw

Baked Beans

Gooey Butter Cake

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

Fitz's Root Beer

Toasted ravioli, or breaded deep-fried ravioli, is an appetizer created and popularized, according to common claims, in St. Louis, Missouri. Toasted ravioli can be found on the menus of many St. Louis restaurants. Legend says that in 1947, a chef in St. Louis accidentally dropped the pasta into oil instead of water.

I contributed the Fitz's Root Beer, a St. Louis tradition. Fitz's Bottling Company is a regional soda brand in St. Louis, Missouri. Fitz's has a microbrewery and restaurant located in University City, Missouri on the historic Delmar Loop. Although Fitz's is best know for root beer we also enjoyed Fitz's Cream Soda. Click on Fitz's Root Beer and read about the history of this yummy beverage.

I also brought the gooey butter cake. I bought the cake from Gooey Louie. Click on Gooey Louie to find out more about this yummy bakery that sells gooey butter cakes in a variety of flavors. Gooey butter cake is a type of cake traditionally made in the city of St. Louis, Missouri. It is generally served as a type of coffee cake and not as a dessert. There are two distinct variants of the gooey butter cake. There is a bakers gooey butter and a cream cheese and yellow cake mix variant. It is believed to have originated by accident in the 1930s when a St. Louis German American baker was trying to make regular cake batter but reversed the proportions of sugar and flour. My mom and dad made creative ice cream cone cupcakes. The ice cream cone would seem to be a simple and unpolitical a treat, yet it's origin is hotly contested. The most favored folk tale regarding the invention of the ice cream cone takes place at the 1904 World's Fair held in St. Louis, Missouri. Two food vendors had stalls next to each other. Arnold Fornachou made and sold ice cream. His neighbor, Ernest A. Hamwi, had come to the United States from Damascus, Syria. Hamwi made sweet wafers (much like today's wafer-like cookies). Hamwi cooked the wafers on a waffle iron heated over a coal fire, coated them with sugar, and rolled the wafers while they were still hot so they were easy to eat and carry. When Fornachou ran out of dishes to hold his ice cream, Hamwi rolled his wafers into a cone shape instead of a tube, and the gentlemen topped the wafer with scoops of Fornachou's ice cream. Zalabias became "World's Fair Cornucopias," and the cone concept was born.

No trip to St. Louis would be complete without a souvenir from the St. Louis Cardinals. I made sure Grandma and Aunt Geri took some St. Louis Cardinal peanuts and baseball shaped cookies home with them. They also got a bag of Dad's Oatmeal Scotch Oatmeal Cookies to take home and share with their friends. As the family story goes, Dad's Original Scotch Oatmeal Cookies arrived in California from Scotland around 1900. Shortly thereafter, the parent company began selling rights to the company name, making Dad's Cookie Company one of the country's first franchised businesses. In 1927, one of the company's salesmen passed through St. Louis and visited Carpenter's Ice Cream on Goodfellow Avenue. After sampling the wares, Mr. Carpenter realized the unique flavor of the Scotch Oatmeal Cookie would ideally complement his ice cream so he obtained the franchise for the St. Louis area.

Young Frankenstein

On Friday, May 21, 2010, we enjoyed seeing the musical Young Frankenstein at the Fox Theatre. Young Frankenstein began previews on Broadway on October 11, 2007 and opened on November 8 at the Hilton Theatre and closed on January 4, 2009. The musical is based on Mel Brooks' classic comedy masterpiece. The story follows young Dr. Frankenstein as he attempts to complete his grandfather's masterwork and bring a corpse to life.
With such memorable tunes as "The Transylvania Mania," "He Vas My Boyfriend" and "Puttin' On The Ritz," the musical made for an entertaining evening. Several original cast members were in the production we saw. Go to http://www.youngfrankensteinthemusical.com/ and find out more about the show.

Mother's Day 2010

Our moms, Marilyn and Janet.

On Sunday, May 9, we celebrated Mother's Day at our house by having our parents over for a special lunch in honor of our mothers.

I served lunch in our dinning room and used my Butterfly Meadow dishes. Ken prepared the meat on the grill. My mom brought a casserole and Ken's mom made appetizers. Our menu was as follows:

Roasted Garlic Hummus with Bagel Chips

Bruschetta Cups

Blackberry & Apricot Cups

Garden Salad

Hot Rolls

Broccoli Cheese Casserole

Lasagna Casserole

Green Beans with Almonds

Smoked Apple Turkey

Grilled Beef Sirloin

Sparkling Clementine Cider

Angel Food Cake with Fresh Strawberries & Blueberries

Chocolate Raspberry Coffee

Angel's Dream Hot Tea

Ken and I prepared special bags for our mothers that contain everything they need to host a proper tea at their home. In the bag was a mini tea cup decorated with cherries that I found in Traverse City, MI. They also received cherry preserves, cherry cinnamon tea, authentic English curd, tea cookies, and a gift certificate to St. Louis Bread Company so they can purchase yummy pastries for their next tea.

Ken and his mom Marilyn.

Jennifer and her mom Janet.

It was a great day spent with family. Many laughs, good food, and family. Who could ask for anything more? Ken and I are truly blessed to have two wonderful mothers. Our mothers reminisced on past traditions. The one my mother remembered from her childhood was wearing a carnation to church on Mother's Day. If your mother was living you wore a pink carnation. If your mother was deceased you wore a white carnation in her honor. Ken's mother shared a song she learned in primary Sunday school when she was a little girl. She remembers singing it on every Mother's Day.

"All through the year I try to do

the things to show my love for you.

And not to be happy just to say

I love you, Mother, on Mother's Day!"

Landscaping

We finally have landscaping in our front yard! Above are a few pictures of the new landscaping we added to our house last weekend. We had a wall built and added some beautiful plants and now our home has curb appeal. It was difficult to decide what plants to get. I like the hot pink knock out roses and the Japanese Maple tree. We also have yellow lilies, several varieties of boxwood, and red azaleas. We hired one of Ken's co-workers, who has a landscaping business, to do the work for us and Ken was his assistant. Ken is in the process of adding landscape lighting. Our new landscaping inspired a few other people on our block to do the same.

Busy Days

Work Update
I can't believe today is the first day of May! I have been very busy with work and have not had time to post anything. Let me give a few updates.
Since January I have accomplished many things for work that I never thought I would or could do. Over the past four months I have given 30 sales presentations. That is more sales presentations in four months than I had given in three years! Most of the sales presentations were for Treasures Reading or were a combination of Treasures Reading and Imagine It! Reading. I also gave my first math and a social studies presentations. April brought my first Treasures Reading in-service and Math Connects in-service. Although most of my travels have taken me all over Missouri and Illinois, I also spent time in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

Music Update
In January my physical therapy was complete and I began playing clarinet again. I played a concert with the Saint Louis Wind Symphony on January 24 and February 14 in St. Louis. We took our concert on the road and performed a joint concert with the Kansas City Wind Symphony in Kansas City in March and played a concert in Union, Missouri in April. Ken and I have a Northwinds Concert on May 2 and Ken will be a member of the big band in this year's Best of Hawthorne on May 8.

Personal Updates
I have been working hard to be healthier and to lose weight. Since January I have lost 33 pounds! I still have more to lose but I am defiantly on the right path! Ken and I took a trip to Florida in March to attend the St. Louis Cardinals spring training. Ken's parents and some family friends went at the same time so we enjoyed spending time with them. Ken's sister and her husband and two little boys visited us over Easter. Most of my weekends were spent recovering from my busy work schedule, but we also found time to attend a few musicals at the Fox, participate in a trivia night, and go out to dinner with friends.

Legally Blonde the Musical

I enjoy posting about the musicals and concerts I have the opportunity to see. I realized I never posted about going to see Legally Blonde at the Fox Theatre on April 10. I organized a "Girl's Night Out" and invited my friend Ginger and my friend Jaime. Jaime brought her friend Jen and the four of us had fun sitting 3 rows from the stage! This was the second time I saw Legally Blonde at the Fox. The first time I saw the show I had the pleasure of seeing Laura Bell Bundy play the role of Elle Woods. This was quite a treat since Laura Bell Bundy originated the role of Elle and was nominated for a Tony Award. Laura Bell Bundy filled in as the actor playing Elle in the touring production had broken her toe and was unable to perform. What a treat! Although Laura Bell Bundy was not in this production, the production was enjoyable and seeing it with the girls made it even more fun! The musical is based on the movie, Legally Blonde, and it is meant to be fun! Think Pink! Legally Blonde The Musical opened on Broadway in 2006. Later, the Broadway show was the focus of an MTV reality TV series called Legally Blonde - The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods, in which the winner would take over the role of Elle on Broadway. Two of the girls who competed in the MTV show are part of the touring cast.

Ginger, Jennifer (me), Jen, Jaime

August Osage County

On Friday, March 5, Ken and I joined my mom and dad for an evening of theater at the Fox. We usually see musicals but this time we went to the Fox to see the Tony award winning musical, "August: Osage County." Wow! This show will make every dysfunctional family feel a little better about themselves because the Osage County family tops the charts in dysfunction!

The play won a Tony Award in 2008 and is a Pulitzer Prize winning play written by Tracy Letts. The play was produced by the Steppenwolf Theater Company in Chicago, IL. I remember seeing Osage County play posters and signs outside the theater in Chicago when I was there for work. I visited a school that was a block away from Steppenwolf.

Wii

Ken and I have really enjoyed playing Nintendo Wii. We got into the game while visiting Ken's sister Patricia and her family in Atlanta over the holidays. Our nephews enjoyed showing us how to play Wii. Ken's mom even got into the action! We stayed up late playing Super Mario Brothers with Scott, Ken's brother-in-law. We enjoyed playing the game so much we bought a Nintendo Wii in late January. We only have a few games but hope to add a Wii Fit to our video game collection in the future.

Ken plays Wii while Matthew and Scott watch.

Patricia and Marilyn race cows on the Wii.

Matthew enjoys playing the game we bought him for his birthday.

My mother-in-law races cows.

Dr. Jan Hasbrouck

On Friday, January 29, 2010, I had the exciting opportunity to hear Dr. Jan Hasbrouck, a Treasures author speak. I was in Chicago conducting an early morning sales presentation. Susan Leitao, one of the Chicago Public Schools sales reps told me that she had arranged for Dr. Hasbrouck to come to Chicago to speak to a group of Chicago teachers. Susan gave me the address and after my sales presentation I went to hear her speak. Dr. Hasbrouck worked as a reading specialist for 15 years and has taught undergraduate and graduate courses as a university professor. Her research in reading fluency, academic assessment and interventions have been widely published. She is a dynamic speaker and a very knowledgeable educator. I really learned a lot from her and was excited to have the opportunity to get to meet her. Since I was flying out of Midway Airport and so was Dr. Hausbrock, I offered to give her a ride. On the ride to the airport I had the opportunity to learn more about her background in the field of education. I also heard the story of how she met and began to collaborate with her educational partner, Dr. Vicki Gibson, another Treasures author. I shared with Dr. Hasbrouck that I was an ABD at Saint Louis University and that I was interested in completing my PhD. She said that it saddens her to see individuals come so close to completing their PhD and never do. She is also sad to see individuals with potential never go after a PhD. She told me she has encouraged PhD candidates who are having difficulty completing their dissertations partner with a professor who has a pile of research they are unable to get to. She told me that I shouldn't worry what the topic is on, rather, I should get the degree completed and begin my own research. I was energized by Dr. Hasbrouck's words and I am going to take some steps this week towards my goal.

Rosalyn Johnson (Glencoe Rep), Susan Leitao (Chicago Sales Rep, Dr. Jan Hasbrouck, and me.

Dr. Hasbrouck and me.

Foldables

Teachers use Foldables to enhance the study of concepts in their classrooms. After learners have been introduced to a concept, the teacher facilitates the construction and application of these three-dimensional organizers. As with all strategies, the creation process must be modeled.

Matchbook Foldable, Layered Book Foldable, Three- Tab Foldable

Learners use Foldables to create tangible containers for their new learning in a useable and hands-on format. Of course, the strategy does not end with the construction. The Foldable must be used in some format to show application.

Four-Door Foldable, Pyramid Foldable, Shutter Foldable

Foldables...
...quickly organize, display and arrange data making it easier for students to grasp concepts, theories, processes, facts, and ideas, or to sequence events as outlined in the content standards.
...result in student-made study guides that are compiled as students listen for main ideas, read for main ideas, or conduct research.
...provide a multitude of creative formats in which students can present projects, research, experiment results, and inquiry based reports instead of typical poster board or science fair formats.
...replace teacher-generated writing or photocopied sheets with student-generated print.
...incorporate such skills as comparing and contrasting, cause and effect, and similarities and differences into daily work and long-term projects. For example, these graphic organizers can be used to compare and contrast student explanations of inquiry based questions to explanations currently accepted by scientists.
...continue to "immerse" students in previously learned vocabulary, concepts, generalizations, ideas, theories, etc. providing them with a strong foundation upon which they can build with newly learned knowledge, observations, and concepts.
...can be used by students or teachers to easily communicate data through graphics, tables, charts, diagrams, models and Venn diagrams.
...allow students to make their own journals for recording qualitative and quantitative observations.
... can be used as alternative assessment tools by teachers to evaluate student progress or by students to evaluate their own progress.
...integrate language arts, social studies, mathematics, and science. Note: Dinah has developed a publishing center that encourages the use of time lines,maps, graphs, tables, charts and measurement tools (such as beakers, rain gauges, and thermometers) to be incorporated into student communication--written, oral and research based computer projects.
...provide a sense of student "ownership" or investiture in the curriculum.

Dinah Zike is known for designing these hands-on manipulatives that are used nationally and internationally by teachers, parents, and educational publishing companies. Dinah Zike has a partnership with Macmillan-McGraw-Hill and her Foldables are found in all of our programs.

On January 19, 2010, I traveled to Morton, Illinois to observe my co-worker Tina Hyatt conduct an after school Foldable workshop for area teachers. Tina is a dynamic presenter and I learned a lot from her. I was amazed at how excited the teachers got when they were making the various types of Foldables! When Tina asked if they'd like to make another one they cheered as if they were on Oprah and had just been told that they were going home with Oprah's favorite things! I could tell that conducting a Foldables workshop was going to be a lot of fun. And after participating in Tina's workshop I was ready to make my own.

Tina shows off the Foldables she made.

On Monday, January 25, 2010, my mom and dad came over to my house and we made Foladbles for 6 hours! After making Foldables all day I felt like an expert and was confident that I had the knowledge to conduct my own Foladables workshop. Two days later, on January 27, I conducted my first Foldables workshop in East Peoria, Illinois. I had a group of 18 teachers to work with. I began having them make a Sentence Strip Holder Foldable to use as their name tag and I messed up the directions as I was making this first Foldable with them! We had a good laugh and I assured them that this was the most difficult Foladable we would make today, and it was. The rest of the one hour workshop went very well and everyone was excited to leave the session with new ideas to take back to their classroom. Holly, the Central Illinois sale rep, was there for extra support and I really appreciated her encouragement. Holly arranged for this Foldables workshop to be held at a local pizza restaurant and everyone went home with Foldables and a large one topping pizza! Holly and I are taking our Foldable act on the road and will be giving another Foldable workshop in her territory on February 23.

A few of the Foldables dad helped me make.

Holly Whitacker and I at the East Peoria, Illinois Foldables workshop.

Pen Pals

On Tuesday, January 26 I drove to Iowa to give a Treasures and Imagine It! sales presentation to a committe of teachers in the Center Point-Urbana School District. When I found out I was traveling to Iowa I immediatly contacted my high school pen pal, Tammy Denison, whom I have not seen since 1987! Tammy and I were in freshman band together at Belleville East High School. We both played clarinet and made a connection in that class. At the end of freshman year Tammy and her family moved to Texas. We stayed in touch as pen pals for a few years but eventually lost touch. A few months a go Tammy found me on facebook and we reconnected. I found out that Tammy and her parents were living in Iowa so as soon as I found out I was traveling to Iowa for business I immediately contacted Tammy to see if we could get together. As fate may have it Tammy was going to see a specialist in Iowa City on that day. I had to drive past Iowa City on the way to Center Point, IA. We met at the hospital in Iowa City and we were able to spend an hour together sharing photos and memories. I brought Tammy the cookbook and golf ball Ken and I gave to our guests at our wedding. I also gave Tammy some Fitzs Root Beer so she and her family could taste something made in St. Louis. Tammy brought me a bag of Iowa made Sterzing's potato chips and a homemade ornament. The best gift was the opportunity to meet with Tammy. I hope we have the opportunity to get together again in the future.

Tammy and I

Goodbye to Our Neighbors the Johnsons

Todd and Shannon Johnson moved into the house next door to us on July 5, 2007, the same day we moved into our new home. They moved into the house in St. Charles because it was close to the St. Louis Ram's practice facility in Earth City. Todd had just been signed to play football for the St. Louis Rams.

The Johnsons were the best neighbors anyone could ask for. They always greeted us with a smile when we saw them outside and they always took the time to chat and to ask us about our day. They looked after our home when we were gone and Ken got their mail and looked after their home during the off season when they left Missouri to spend time at their Florida residence.

Ken and Todd spent time working in the yard and Ken enjoyed teaching Todd to be a handy man.

This football season their house was empty when Todd was released from the Rams and was signed to play for the Buffalo Bills. They put their house up for sale and moved back to Florida. Todd and Shannon recently had a baby girl. Her name is Lyla Reese and she was born in early December. Todd and Shannon brought Lyla over to our house so we could meet her before they moved back to Florida. I wish we could have gotten to know Todd and Shannon better and had the opportunity to see baby Lyla grow up. Although Todd and Shannon and baby Lyla were in our lives for a short time we wish them happiness and success in life and we enjoyed having them as neighbors. We wish them the best and hope to keep in touch!

Todd, Ken and baby Lyla.Keeping with tradition I gave baby Lyla an SRA lion that Todd said they would name Kenny!Ken holds baby Lyla. The Johnson family.