Welcome Back to Education!

So, I was working for over three years at a County Office of Education and was approached by the local Superior Court to come be a Records Clerk.  Seeing as how this new job offered the benefit of being only one mile from my house, I accepted the offer.
Not far into my new career path, I realized that even though the legal field intrigued me and I was (and still am) very interested in it as a subject, it was not the right path for me to be on as a career.  Two and a half years later I was welcomed back into the arms of my beloved education realm by way of a local high school.  I was hired to be the Senior Office Assistant covering the Registrar, Student Records, Media Center, College Visits, and Library!
This new job has been a God-send to me.  I have been here almost a month and I cannot imagine being happier in a job assignment!

So, it turns out I really was meant to be with education all along.  The former superintendent was right.

My Little Pony Party

My daughter is turning 5 this month and we just had an amazing birthday party for her at a local park. It was My Little Pony themed and my daughter dressed as Pinkie Pie.

The party was a hit and the decorations were amazing, thanks to the tireless efforts of my very best friend!!

A good time was had by all :)

Enjoy the pics:

The set up

A close up of the candy station

The water bottles were wrapped with My Little Pony duct tape!

We played "Pin the Cutie Mark on the Pony" and I found MLP puzzles at the local Dollar Store for the prize for closest!

The cake was ordered through a grocery store and I just added the figurines myself.

Valentine's Day

So today at work we are celebrating Valentine's Day because we have tomorrow off for Lincoln's Birthday (side note: Abraham Lincoln preferred to be called "Lincoln", hated the name "Abe", and was basically obsessed with cats).


We love Valentine's Day here. So far I have received a cake pop, almonds, and assorted chocolates as well as some VERY cute Valentines. I think next year we will be doing more and each creating a Valentine bag with our name on it for everyone to deliver their little love notes.

My feeling is, if you can't have fun at work... get a new job! I love that we have fun here and that we ALSO get our work done. It's the best of both worlds.

Wishing you all a VERY Happy Valentine's Day 2014!

Lisa

Recipes

As I was talking with some of my colleagues this morning, the subject of recipes came up.  Being busy educational professionals, we were all interested in something that was tasty, easy, and FAST!
My mom's fool-proof Bisquick Quiche quickly came to mind.
The thing that keeps a lot of people from trying a quiche on their own is the dreaded crust!!!
Well, in this recipe, there is NO crust to make.  You simply add Bisquick to your quiche mix throw it in the oven (not literally, your quiche container may break), and the Bisquick settles to the bottom to form a "crust".

So, I'm sharing it here:

Ingredients:

1-2 c. fillings of your choice (e.g., broccoli, mushrooms, ham, green chilies, etc.)

1 c. shredded cheese

1/4 c. chopped onion (optional)

2 c. milk

1 c. Bisquick

4 eggs

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Grease 10" pie plate or 8" square.
3. Sprinkle fillings, onions and cheese in plate.
4. Beat remaining ingredients until smooth and pour into plate.
5. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until a knife inserted halfway between edge and center comes out clean.
6. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

It's so yummy and so easy, I think you'll LOVE it!

Office Halloween 2013

Each year at my office, we celebrate Halloween in a BIG way!  There is stiff competition with the hopes of winning in one of the four possible categories.  Best Costumes, Best Food, Best Pumpkin Carving, and of course the most prized, Best Overall.

When I first came, the department had just won the previous year for Best Overall the year before (2009), then in 2010 we won for Best Pumpkin for our "Cafe Macabre"

(2010)

The following year in 2011 we won for Best Costumes, thanks to my ordering of matching shirts for our roller derby team, The Royal Rollers, I was "The Duchess, Skate Middleton"

 (2011)

(2011)

In 2012, we went all out, trying to get the Best Overall with an airport, we all dressed as flight attendants from different airlines and we even had a ground crew of baggage handlers... we were ROBBED and did not get ANY prize that year.  It was still lots of fun, but the awards ceremony was a disappointment.

(2012)

This year, we made our GRAND comeback!!
We did The Nutcracker Suite.  We had a Nutcracker, Clara, Sugar Plum Fairy, Flowers, Ethnic Dancers, etc.  We ROCKED our office and decorated beautifully and even did a little performance and when it came time to announce the winners we were NOT disappointed.  We were awarded BEST OVERALL 2013!
And we will gladly take it.

(2013)

We worked very hard and are so happy that the judges noticed and awarded us accordingly!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Lisa

Penny Activity

Here's a fun activity for professional development!

We all came together for a consultant meeting today and we were met with a cup of pennies. We were asked to take a penny out of the cup and look at the year, then share with your table group something significant that happened to you either personally, professionally, or other historical event!

First I picked up a penny from the year 2000. In the summer of 2000 I travelled to Europe with my mom. Then I picked up a penny from 2009, that year I lived all over the country: Ohio, California, Indiana, and Alaska!

This activity was a hit and I think you will like it too!

-Lisa

Resource for Administrators

This is a link to my friend, Claudia's blog.
She is a former superintendent of a unified school district in Northern California and is currently heading up a program for new administrators.
As part of this new program, she has started a blog for the Administrative Credential Candidates called "The Well-Read Administrator"
Whether or not you are an administrator, these can be very helpful books.
She will recommend reading materials and give her own insights on the works.

You can find it here:
CLICK
(TheWell-ReadAdministrator.blogspot.com)

Happy reading!