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Tieks for Teachers

As you may know already, I have been teaching for over 14 years. Most of my career has been teaching upper grades, but this year I took on a new challenge and became a Kindergarten teacher! Let me just tell you something I learned on my first day as a Kinder teacher, you can NOT wear the same clothing and shoes as you can when you are an intermediate teacher. The first day on the job as a Kinder teacher sent me home with blisters the size of Montana. I was wearing awesome sandals that I have had for years, so I had no idea why this had happened. The second day I tried a different shoe and still the same result at the end of the day. Let me preface and let you know that I NEVER buy cheap shoes, so I was completely frazzled! Every sandal I had cut into the top of my foot and rubbed on my heel. Every heel did the same, and by the end of my first week boots, sneakers and flip flops were my only options. I couldn't' swing the boots because of the long summer, thus I tried the sneakers but they agitated all of the open sores left by previous shoes. I finally had to get permission to wear flip flops for a couple of days because my sores were so big and so raw. My principal was awesome and totally understood my problem, as wearing flip flops in our district is a total sign of teacher rebellion. I obviously had a problem here that needed solving so I reached out to my teacher friends and the FB blogging community and asked for suggestions for good flats. The same name came up on several forums, TIEKS! I did a little research about these pretty little shoes and found them to be flawless (except for the insane price tag). However, even with that price tag I didn't have a lot of time so I ordered a pair of RUBY RED PATENT ballet flats. I normally wear a size 9 and that is the size I ordered. From there the fun began, they arrived in this cute little blue box. Totally reminding me of Tiffany and Co. In the box was a handwritten card with a sweet message and these cute little shoes folded up. I am amazed that MY shoes can fit in a box that small. The shoes are beautiful and shiny and have these adorable Tiek blue soles. The only problem is that I felt like one of the wicked step sisters with the long bony feet, the size 9 didn't fit. I was totally bummed because I just dropped $200 on shoes and how I was going to have to drop $10 to send them back. I sent a quick email and within hours there was a response and they asked if I wanted to try a 10 and they sent it to me for FREE, told me to try them both at the same time and decide which was best for me, and sent a prepaid mailing label to send back the ones I didn't want. I was so impressed with this customer service that I literally was excited for the entire week and told all of my friends about this. I am so used to everyone needing collateral and this company did what was right. For Christmas my sister, Teacher Laura(Check out her awesome blog), got me a Tieks gift card and it too came in the adorable Tieks blue signature box. These shoes are amazing, they never give me blisters, make my monster feet look cute and brighten up every outfit that I attempt. I love them so much that I decided to order the Gray Croc style, which is so versatile and just as comfortable. Guess what came with the gray pair? Another hand written, personalized note. Anyhow, TIEKS are this teacher's best friend. I am going to start a collection, but on my modest teacher salary one pair a year is all this girl can afford. Move over Tiffanys, there's another little blue box in town.

Breakfast Pinwheels

Last week I was at Great Harvest and I saw this beautiful, delicious sunrise roll type of breakfast roll. It was amazing!!! Since then, I have looked around P-Town and have not found anything else that looked as appetizing. I have been having non-stop cravings for these things and had to figure out how to make something similar…AND I DID!
Go to your local grocery store or look in your refrigerator and I am sure you will have most of these ingredients. Here is the list that I used, but as any good cook who cooks from the "hip" would do, change it up to make it your own.
Pizza Dough (Safeway has pre-made dough that is ready to go in their deli section).
Chopped Ham (I used leftovers from Christmas, but don't worry I froze it right away).
Shredded Cheese
A bag of Shredded Hash browns(cooked with the onion)
A small diced onion (cook with the hash browns)
Half a green pepper
2 Eggs scrambled

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Fry up the hash browns and the onion, add some salt or pepper to taste. Then, roll out your pizza dough as thin as you can without making it tear. Spread a thin layer of cooked hash browns, sprinkle with a layer of ham, then cheese, then green peppers or any other veggie that sounds good to you. Roll the dough up into a big jelly roll type shape. Next, you need to take a knife and slice it into pinwheels. My kids thought I was making cinnamon rolls with meat in them, lol. Now, take the rest of the hash browns and spread them in a baking dish, both 8x8' or 9x11" will work. The only difference will be if your rolls touch or not. I actually made a double batch and used the big pan and they all touched. After your spread the hash browns in the dish, place the pinwheels in the dish on top of the hash browns. I added swirl of hot sauce to each pinwheel for a little flair. Lastly, I poured the egg mixture over the top of the pinwheels and baked for 25 minutes.
Goodness, gracious these things were awesome. A batch will make 6-8 pinwheels depending on how much dough you have.Have fun with this breakfast. It's one of those recipes that you can use whatever you have. I bet bacon or sausage would be good, or pretty much any veggie. Have fun making this recipe your own, something so simple, yet with so many flavor elements going on. Happy New Year!