Dear Immune System,

Anytime you want to kick in, it would be appreciated. Thanks. Bye.

I have been sick for over a week and a half (almost two weeks). Not okay. It is this weird virus going around our school. Starts with nausea, then goes into nasty cold and then finishes up with a delightful cough. In my case, I also lost my voice, which is especially great if you are a teacher. My kids were more than semi-freaked-out by my gravely braying as I sang them transition songs. I was told by more than one child, "Ms. Katie, you look BAAAAD!" and "Ms. Katie, you sound WEIRD!!!" One kid stomped around the room during my absence muttering, "Grrr, I am so mad at Ms. Katie. So, so mad. Grrr." For. Two. Days. Straight. Thanks for the support, muchkins.

One positive thing about me getting sick and my class being resentful of my absence was that I was able to be very dramatic when I got back about how germs got into my body and how I was so, so sick because someone didn't wash their hands or cover their mouth. This was all shocking to them. Hopefully I will get at least one or two to remember to thoroughly scrub up before putting their hands all over me.

One result of being so sick for so long was that I missed several parties that I have been looking forward to for quite a while. This weekend was my friend Julie's wedding shower and my friend Amy's cookie party. Even though I am feeling much better than last week (just a residual cough) I wasn't able to make either because I am staying as stationary as possible trying to encourage and support my immune system to actually work so I can have one week of health before Christmas break. In the case of the cookie party, I had stored up several recipes that I wanted to make, but to no avail. So I thought I would share the recipes here in mournful remembrance of all the fun I missed in the name of teaching.

Oreo Truffles

Shape Magazine's Christmas Rocky Road:

1 1/4 cups bittersweet chocolate, chopped or chips
3/4 cup milk chocolate, chopped or chips
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup light corn syrup
4 cups small amaretti cookies
1 cup shelled whole Brazil nuts
2 1/2 cups mini-marshmallows
2/3 cup candied cherries
1 tbs. confectioners sugar

Melt chocolate and butter with corn syrup i a heavy-bottomed pan over low heat. Put cookies in a freezer bag and crush them with a rolling pin to get a mix of big crumbs and sandy rubble. Set cookies aside, then crush nuts in same bag. Take pot off heat and add cookies, nuts, marshmallows and cherries. Turn carefully to coat everything with chocolate. Pour mixture into 9 x 12 pan lined with foil, smoothing top with spatula. Refridgerate until firm (up to 2 hours). Transfer block of rocky road from pan to a cutting board. Use a strainer to dust top of block with sugar. Cut block into 48 almost-squares. (These are only 137 calories per piece).

All that work produces THESE:


I am drooling on my sweatshirt just thinking about them! I am blessed to have a husband downstairs making me broccoli cheddar soup from scratch to fill my belly.

In the past, I have hosted my own annual cookie party. Usually I make sugar cookies in Christmas shapes and a fun activity for guests is setting out a variety of frostings and decorating materials for them to decorate their own cookies to take home. I also thought about bringing those to the Christmas party.

Oh cookies, I love you. Any tips for staying well so this NEVER. HAPPENS. AGAIN?

Icky Sicky Poo

Don't ask me how I got sick my last weekend before school starts. Oh wait! Duh. That's right. Nolan got sick HIS first week of school so in turn got ME sick this week. Awesome. I haven't been sick all summer thankfully, and now I am being reminded of the hazardous nature of being a schoolteacher. Strong immune system and ability to work while woozy should be in every teacher's job description.


I made Jason look up acupuncturists on our insurance and I will be making a call to one next week to try to nip this in the bud. I really can't do another year like last year where I was chronically sick with colds, the flu, and a host of other nasty bugs. I am hoping that a naturopathic doc can give me holistic ways to boost my health and maybe some herbal remedies and/or acupuncture to strengthen my immune system, which has never been that strong anyway. You would think after all these years of working with kids my immune system would figure out a way to get it together on it's own, but I don't think it is the quickest greyhound on the track and needs some nudging.

It was funny because I was at school today helping my friend and co-teacher Aja get the classroom ready for the kiddos. As I was leaving and moaning about my illness, I said, "I'm going to go home and make Jason wait on me hand and foot this weekend." Aja goes, "Um... How is that different from any other weekend?" Touche, Friend. You know me all too well :)