Silence

Thank You Mr. Rogers

This was emailed to me by another teacher in my building. I hadn't seen it on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram so you might now have seen it yet. 

My thoughts

By now the news from Clackamas and Connecticut are widely known. Having one shooting so close to home and the other take place in a school has made it much more real than previous mass shootings. I was in high school when Columbine and Thurston happened. Back then, I felt connected to the victims and the other students in the school. But now, hearing the stories from the teachers is too much for me. I refuse to watch interviews with children. (And shame on the media for interviewing kids.) I heard one interview with a teacher who hid her students in a room and told them all how much she loved them, because she didn't want gun fire to be the last sound they heard. I can't imagine what I would do in that situation.

There has been a lot of talk about gun control and mental health care. I think there needs to be improvements to both. But what we really need? More compassion. And knowledge. And then action.  We have to look outside of ourselves and to see that other people are hurting and struggling. As a whole, we need to be more educated on what to look for in our friends/neighbors/coworkers and we need to know how to help them, or who to turn to when they need help.

Eggnog Coffee Cake

Last December I posted 6 times. Right now it looks like I am heading for that number. I want to share a recipe that I posted in late December, because it is awesome. And you will thank me. I think I will be making this for Christmas morning again this year. It was fantastic. The best part? You make it ahead of time and then just bake it in the morning for 40 minutes.

Overnight Eggnog Streusel Coffeecake

Betty Crocker. She Rocks

Streusel Topping 
1/3 cup sugar
1 T flour
1T softened butter
1/2 t nutmeg

Coffee Cake
1 cup  sugar
1/2 cup softened butter 
1 cup egg nog
8 ounces sour cream (1 small container)
1 t vanilla extract (Betty asked for rum extract, I had vanilla)
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt

Eggnog Glaze 
1/2 cup powdered sugar 
2ish T eggnog 

Mix the streussel topping in a small bowl and set it aside.

With an electric mixer beat1 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup butter, or mix with spoon and get your work out in. Beat in 1 cup eggnog, the sour cream, vanilla and eggs until blended. Stir in 2 1/2 cups flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Spread in  a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle Streussel Topping over batter. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours. 

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. (If you don't want to keep it in the fridge, just reduce bake time to 30-35 minutes) Let it cool and drizzle the egg nog glaze over the top.

My 13 year old nephew called this "incredible." Mine wasn't as pretty as Betty's but it tasted great. 

What are your holiday must haves??