Fantastic Fruit Pizza

 It's definitely one of the prettiest things I've ever made before...

 Fruit Pizza

1 roll of sugar cookie dough 

    {Bake as directed}

Then combine:

1 pkg cream cheese

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Spread over the baked sugar cookie crust shortly before serving. 

Then, top with a variety of fruit!

 

I tried to be as creative as possible, 

using all sorts of colorful fruit

 blueberries

strawberries

grapes

mandarin oranges

kiwi

  

Once I had all my fruit, it was up to me to figure out a way to arrange everything. 

I did a little research  

to get some ideas about ways to start decorating

 but on the whole, my design just evolved based on the fruit I had

and the spaces I needed to fill. 

 

The best part was seeing the design evolve and incorporate even more color as I added more fruit.

 

I even thought about using bananas as another color, 

but I wouldn't have had room! 

{note the 20 grape halves from an entire carton of grapes}

 

Once everything was in place, it was hard not to want a bite

 

But I made sure to curb my hunger, 

at least until I could get it to the throwdown

This pizza's definitely a colorful addition to any party.

I'm excited for the next opportunity to make one.

Both for the beauty

and the deliciousness of fruit, cream cheese, and cookie. 

{delicious}

P.S. The weekend was so full of fun that I haven't even gotten a chance to blog about spending time with my bestie Hannah and her lovely beau Adam. Any visit from her deserves a post all to itself, so keep an eye out in the next couple of days for some pictures and funny stories (though I'm sure there are some youhadtobethere moments).

Pizza Throwdown

Pizza is always a good thing.

 So a pizza cook-off must also be a good thing.

On Saturday night, some of my friends gathered together to bake, taste, and judge several pizzas. 

The competition was fierce...

...fun...

 ...and occasionally, fiery! 

 There were five teams who competed, some in pairs 

and some individually, in four categories including 

taste

appearance

creativity

and

sex appeal

{interpret that category as you will}

The crab rangoon pizza B and his roommate made won the most creative  award.

It was very interesting, to say the least.
Still very good, but an unusual taste for pizza.

Sure made me hungry for crab rangoons though!

 Savannah and her boyfriend Tim took top honors with their pie, 

a delicious mix of chicken mixed with some sauce I can't remember, bacon bits, and plenty of cheese.

As for the winner of the appearance and sex appeal categories, this cool pie took both honors.

Blueberries

mandarin oranges

grapes

strawberries

and kiwis

on a sugar crust 

with cream cheese frosting

Not too bad for a solo team huh? 

I'd never made a fruit pizza before, but I sure had fun arranging the fruit 

{and eating all the extra fruit I bought that I didn't use}

As for the rest of the pizzas

it didn't take long for everyone to dig in...

...trying each of the five pizzas until....

 ...most of the pizzas were gone. 

And as I heard later, there weren't any leftovers.

Just a bunch of college students in food coma's. 

Perhaps Matt's Mom says it best.

"Don't you guys party like normal college students?"

And proudly, we can say no.
 

First Full Week

This week has certainly been interesting in terms of student teaching. 

I was set to take over on Monday as the full time teacher for all of my coop's classes. 

And yet Monday morning found me still battling my cold. 

Do you have difficulties calling a sick day? 

Deciding to call in sick, especially on my first full day as teacher

{difficult}

but I feel like I learned a lot from my experience

the importance of detailed lesson plans

the need to be flexible

the importance of health

and the amazing power of sleep, juice, and tea. 

Otherwise, my first week teaching full time went splendidly! 

Of course, I'm still figuring some things out

classroom management

activities that students enjoy

time management

flexibility and spontaneity

but on the whole, I survived the week and still want to keep teaching.

Always a plus, right? 

Yesterday, I got a little blast from the past when I went down to the gym during my prep.

Remember back in elementary or middle school when the traveling roller skates came in for gym class? My students have been roller skating all week, and it sounded too fun for me not to take a few minutes to see how skilled my students were on skates. 

Some more so than others....

And somehow, I managed to find myself pulling on a pair of skates, and skating around with some of my students. 

Hopefully, that won some brownie points that Miss Fischer was cool enough to go skating! 

I know some of the kids were excited I joined in.

I'm looking forward to doubling dating tonight with my cousin and bestie, Hannah, when she and her boyfriend Adam arrive in Ames. It's been a long time since I've seen her, and I'm looking forward to some girl time and catching up. The weekend also promises a Pizza Cook off, dancing at Outlaws, and a little shopping around Ames. Stay tuned for some pictures; I'm sure they'll be plenty!