Day 86: 12/06/11 - "Echo"

"My biggest fear will be the rescue of me
Strange how it turns out that way, yeah"

-"Echo" by Incubus

The Best Gifts: I don't usually like getting gifts. They make me feel beholden to someone else, like I owe them something.  I realize this is not rational since it is an over-generalization of the gift giving and getting process, but it is how I feel.  But there are some gifts that don't make me feel this way, and they usually are what I call Pam Gifts.  What are Pam Gifts, you may ask?  Pam Gifts are gifts from my friend Pam, who seems to specialize in sending people the perfect gift that they need right when they need it.  Case in point: Pam sent my Christmas present early.  Those of you who read my blog know that I haven't exactly been the most chipper person in the world lately (though I'm trying!).  I open my present because Pam gave me permission too and what do I see?  A tiny notebook called a Queen tablet (for those times when I need to make a royal decree!) and a magnet that says "wait - hope - expect."  I'll try to listen to the magnet especially and I may even need to take it to work.  Though these gifts don't make me feel completely like I owe Pam something, I know I do and it has nothing to do with the gifts and everything to do with the thought behind them.  Thanks Pam...

Baking...Again: Yep, I was at it again tonight, this time I made a sweet potato pie for a party I may not get to attend tomorrow (go figure!).  I actually like my sweet potato pie, and I hope others do too.  I don't like the crust I made though.  It definitely looked good when it was rolled out, but it still browned too quickly (always seems to happen!).  One day I'll figure out how to prevent this - I just hope the rest of the pie came out alright (the bad thing about pie is that you can't test it like you can a cookie or even cupcakes). 

home made crust

pie mixture poured in...

finished pie

The Final Day...Or, at least the final class day for my freshman seminar was today.  I must admit it was a bit bittersweet.  We had students create 6 word memoirs about the class today and though I don't think they all took it completely seriously, I still thought they had some good ones.  Here they are (no names attached to save me from embarrassing them and a little commentary from me):

• Lots of fun, Tuesdays and Thursdays!
• I need more extra credit, please!
• If his counts, mine counts too (this one was a joke)
• Your food is super freaking delicious (yes, I fed them!)
• I love Kawanna's class so much!
• Loved it, very fun, miss it
• I really enjoyed myself this semester
• Crazy girls, loud table, friends forever (if you were in my class you'd know how true this one was)
• Came to class, learned new things
• Best class of the whole semester
• I love Kawanna Bright very much! (no I don't give extra credit for this!)
• This class was very, very helpful
• I really enjoyed the guest speakers
• This class was the bomb-diggity
• Coming to class is very important (from a student who stopped coming to class and nearly failed the class because of it).
• Met people, ate food, "read" chapters (note how "read" is in quotations)
• Was served lots of good food
• Learned about school, had some fun
• Met people and enjoyed class time
• Fun class, easy work, great teacher
• Made a new friend, learned much

Which one is my favorite?  Take a guess - I won't pick on here (wouldn't be fair to my students!).  Only the final to create now and a hope that they will do well!