We're Baaack!

Did you miss me? Did you notice that I was gone? I'm guessing no since no one came over and cleaned the house while I was gone. Some friends y'all are!

Tonight is the night that the kids get to stay up as late as they want to / can make it to. I'm sure that once again I'll have to tell Giselle that her time is up around 2. Paul's REALLY wanting to make it past midnight but with the day that we've had I'm not sure if he'll make it past 10. I'm sure that if I let them drink more Champagne that they'd go to sleep sooner but I'm not willing to do that.

It'll be nice to sleep in our own beds tonight.

See you next year!

Dinner Calendar - September 2008

Only 3 months after this and the whole year will be done! Well, I can't post the December one until January. So here's what we had every night for dinner in September of 2008.

1 - Ate Out - Lunch - Chuy's Tex Mex, Dinner - Vietnamese chicken salad
2 - Tortellini w/ sauce
3 - Black beans & rice
4 - Black beans & rice
5 - Tortellini & ravioli w/ pesto, chicken fajita salad for Joe
6 - Ate Out - party - Pok-E-Joe's BBQ
7 - Fresh black-eyed peas and rice
8 - Big Dinner - Tamales, salmon, mixed veggies, stuffed crab
9 - Tortellini w/ pesto
10 - Ate Out - Church - baked ziti, salad, garlic bread, cookies
11 - Hot dogs & chili
12 - Veggie Lo Mien
13 - Ate Out - Claudia's house
14 - Spaghetti w/ meatballs & sauce
15 - Macaroni & cheese w/ mixed veggies & hot dogs
16 - Ate Out - Sonic
17 - Ate Out - Church - taco nachos
18 - Hot dogs w/ buns, mixed veggies (pickiest child in the world over for dinner - ate 3 bites)
19 - Ate Out - Asian buffet
20 - Ate Out - Claudia's house
21 - Tortellini & ravioli w/ sauce, sauteed okra w/ tomatoes
22 - Roasted chicken salad, banana/peanut butter/chocolate milk
23 - I forgot to write it down
24 - Ate Out - Church - fried chicken
25 - Hot dogs w/ chili
26 - Ravioli w/ sauce
27 - Spaghetti w/ meatballs, sauce & mozzarella sauce
28 - Macaroni & cheese w/ black beans and sausage (This was a REGULAR meal when I was single and poor)
29 - Butter-fried corn cakes (polenta) w/ cheese, sour cream & salsa on top (BIG hit)
30 - Ate Out - Nutty Brown Cafe - grilled cheese, Frito pie

Dinner Calendar - August 2008

We're coming down the home stretch - August 2008.

Dinner Menu for August 2008 - what the kids ate since Joe usually eats out and I usually scrounge the leftovers from the previous meals.
1 - Paul - cold tortellini w/ sauce, Giselle - quesadilla
2 - Tamales, melon
3 - Ravioli w/ sauce, tuna fish salad
4 - Spaghetti w/ sauce, strawberry tapioca pudding
5 - Italian seasoned roasted chicken from HEB, tortellini, mixed veggies
6 - Ate Out - Sonic - jr cheeseburgers
7 - Chili
8 - Ate Out - Asian buffet
9 - Ate Out - Claudia's house - tuna fish salad, guacamole, melon
10 - Didn't eat dinner
11 - Ate Out - Sam's Wholesale - pizza & pretzel
12 - Ate Out - McDonald's - I know, it killed me but it was on the way to the lake and the kids were starving and it would have been too late if we had waited until after the lake.
13 - Tortellini w/meatballs and sauce
14 - Tortellini w/ sauce
15 - Baloney & cheese sandwiches
16 - Ate Out - Claudia's house - lamb burgers, green beans, rice, fruit on almond-flour waffles
17 - Macaroni & cheese w/ mixed veggies
18 - Ravioli w/ sauce, chicken fajita salad for Joe
19 - Black Bean & cheese tostadas
20 - Big Dinner (Claudia & the boys) - Shrimp scampi, salad w/ veggies, rice pasta w/ sauce & meatballs, fruit salad
21 - Tortellini & ravioli w/ sauce and meatballs, mixed veggies
22 - Leftover cold tortellini w/ sauce, hot chocolate
23 - Ate Out - Claudia's house - chicken fajitas
24 - Nachos
25 - Ham & cheese sandwiches
26 - Ate Out - Claudia's house - beef stir fry, yogurt w/ fruit
27 - Big Dinner - Tamales, pork loin, mixed veggies, sliced bell peppers
28 - Fusilli pasta w/ pesto, ravioli w/ sauce & meatballs, chicken fajita salad, mixed veggies
29 - Ate Out - Karma's house - hot dogs
30 - Big Dinner - Tamales, mixed veggies, sliced bell peppers
31 - Ate Out - HUGE Lunch - Salt Lick BBQ, Dinner - snacked

Dinner Calendar - July 2008

I'm all tied up in post-Christmas craziness. But I do have all the wrapping paper all cleaned up - did that by noon yesterday. To keep you amused here's the dinner calendar for July 2008.

July 2008
1 - Hot dogs and chili
2 - Ravioli w/ the newly canned sauce, fresh blueberries & strawberries w/ fresh whipped cream
3 - Ate Out - Sonic - popcorn chicken and banana splits
4 - Mini lasagna noodle pasta w/ sauce & meatballs, blueberry grunt (cobbler, kind of)
5 - Potato salad from County Line, roasted chicken from The Farmers Market
6 - Oatmeal, fried eggs
7 - Homemade chicken noodle caldo (soup)
8 - Tortellini w/ sauce
9 - Big Dinner - Scallop scampi pasta, tamales, pork loin, Sonic shakes (Joe drove)
10 - Hot dogs and chili
11 - Macaroni & cheese w/ pasta sauce
12 - Ate Out - Taco Bell
13 - Pork shoulder steak, sauteed pipian squash, caramelized onions
14 - Ate Out - Burger King - to get the Pokemon toys
15 - Leftover macaroni & cheese, peas
16 - Tortellini w/ no sauce, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, mixed veggies
17 - Ate Out - Maudie's - Tex Mex
18 - Pork shoulder steak, sauteed pipian squash, caramelized onions
19 - Ravioli w/ meat sauce
20 - Order Out/Eat In - Asian food
21 - forgot to write it down
22 - Eat Out - El Arroyo - Tex Mex
23 - Hot dogs & chili
24 - Eggs in a nest (courtesy of Ree at Pioneer Woman)
25 - Tortellini w/ sauce
26 - forgot to write it down
27 - Ate Out - Vietnamese buffet in Houston
28 - Houston
29 - Houston
30 - Houston
31 - Tortellini w/ sauce

Merry Christmas

I hope that your day is as wonderful as mine is!

Dinner Calendar - June 2008

I hope that I remember to put everything out tonight that I need to take care of. To clear my mind of clutter I give you the dinner menu from June. Summer was in full swing, so this is what we had every night for dinner in June of 2008.

1 - Ate Out - Angel's Icehouse (I first typed "Outhouse"!)
2 - Big Dinner - roasted pork loin, fresh green beans, skinny lasagna noodles with basil pesto, tomato wedges, chicken breasts.
3 - Skinny lasagna noodles w/ basil pesto
4 - Green beans, chicken breasts
5 - Hot Off Of The Grill - tamales, pork loin, marshmallows, from the stove - mixed veggies, from The Farm - sliced tomatoes
6 - Chili & hot dogs
7 - Ate Out - Claudia's house - beef vegetable soup made 100% with ingredients from Finca Pura Vida
8 - Butter beans & rice
9 - Tortellini w/ red sauce
10 - Chili w/ hot dogs
11 - Ate Out - Claudia's house - buffalo burgers and fresh veggies
12 - Tortellini w/ red sauce
13 - Tortellini w/ red sauce
14 - Tortellini w/ red sauce, ayote squash, gazpacho
15 - Sauteed - onions, tomatoes, squash & okra served over rice, w/ sour cream
16 - Tortellini w/ red sauce
17 - Fusilli pasta (remember the Fusilli Jerry that Kramer made on Seinfeld) w/ red sauce and mini mozzarella balls
18 - Vegetable patties (I got these at Costco months ago while shopping there with Marie and the kids), sliced tomatoes & cucumbers
19 - Chili & hot dogs, fresh berry shakes, tamales
20 - Ordered Out/Ate In - Subway - veggie patty (veggie max) sub on whole wheat
21 - Roasted chicken from The Farmer's Market, slices tomatoes & cucumbers
22 - Macaroni & cheese w/ ground beef & mixed veggies
23 - Cold soba noodle salad w/ cucumbers, peppers & chicken (recipe from Everyday Food)
24 - Big Dinner - scallop & shrimp scampi pasta (using those cool skinny lasagna noodles), tomato wedges, roasted pork loin, sliced fresh peppers w/ dip, homemade jello, some really good Incan Beer
25 - Hot dogs w/ buns, sliced tomatoes, homemade jello
26 - Ate Out - Chick-Fil-A
27 - ?
28 - Pizza
29 - ?
30 - Ate Out - Asian buffet

OK, back to the madness.

Dinner Calendar - May 2008

I can't believe that I'm actually bothering to post in the middle of this chaos but I'm now feeling the need to finish this series of posts before the end of the year. So yes, now this is what we ate every night in the month of May 2008.

1 - Ate Out - Asian buffet
2 - Cheese tortellini w/ red sauce, mixed veggies
3 - Pot Chuck Roast w/ carrots and cauliflower and potatoes and onions
4 - Chicken Breasts, mixed veggies
5 - Ate Out - Chick-Fil-A
6 - Hot dogs w/ chili
7 - Tortellini w/ red sauce, mixed veggies
8 - Spaghetti & meatballs w/ red sauce
9 - Ate Out - Nacholicious (which was not so delicious!)
10 - Breakfast sausage & fried turkey eggs
11 - Big Dinner - tamales, mixed veggies, shrimp scampi
12 - Black beans & rice
13 - Tortellini w/ red sauce, cauliflower
14 - Vegetable patties, broccoli
15 - Ordered Out/Ate In - Domino's Pizza - black olives & mushrooms
16 - Tortellini w/ no sauce
17 - Ate Out - birthday party - hot dogs
18 - Mushroom ravioli w/ sauce, homemade coleslaw
19 - Italian herb roasted chicken (from HEB)
20 - Big Dinner - tamales, talapia, mixed veggies, coleslaw, scallops, tapioca pudding
21 - Asian noodle soup
22 - Tortellini & ravioli mixed w/ no sauce, cheese, oatmeal
23 - Ordered Out/Ate In - Asian food
24 - Homemade tabbouleh
25 - Ate Out - condo
26 - Ate Out - Satellite Cafe (which is now closed!)
27 - Ravioli w/ sauce
28 - Spaghetti & meatballs w/ red sauce
29 - ? tortellini w/ red sauce?
30 - Ate Out - Asian buffet
31 - Ate Out - condo

That must have been the end of the spring crop of broccoli & cauliflower from The Market because we're eating the middle of the fall/winter crop now in December.

Dinner Calendar - April 2008

And yes, the insanity continues around here so here's what we had every night in April of 2008. When the spinach is in season out at The Farm my kids can't seem to get enough of it; and it just came back in season 2 weeks ago!

April 2008
1 - Leftover pigeon peas & rice (Puerto Rican style - arroz con gandules), no joke!
2 - Big Dinner - Tamales, roasted pork loin, spinach, carrot cake, sherbet.
3 - Cheese tortellini (w/ sauce & meatballs for Giselle, w/out for Paul), spinach.
4 - Mushroom ravioli w/ sauce and meatballs, spinach.
5 - Hot dogs in buns, spinach.
6 - Fried eggs & bacon.
7 - Macaroni & cheese w/ mixed veggies & ground beef mixed in.
8 - Cheeseburgers, spinach, okra w/ tomatoes.
9 - Chili w/ hot dogs, okra w/ tomatoes.
10 - Cheese tortellini w/ sauce & meatballs, spinach, okra w/ tomatoes.
11 - Order Out/Eat In - pork lo mien, chicken fried rice.
12 - Ate Out - dinner party at a friend's house.
13 - Mushroom ravioli w/ sauce, edamame, beets.
14 - Homemade chicken noodle veggie soup.
15 - Big Dinner - Tamales, snow peas.
16 - Order Out/Eat In - Domino's Pizza - double black olives, double mushrooms. Holly and I went to the Juanes concert and lived off of music for the night.
17 - Spaghetti w/ meatballs & sauce, arroz con gandules.
18 - Turkey noodle soup all day long.
19 - Spaghetti w/ sauce, apple/prune tart.
20 - Cheese tortellini & mushroom ravioli w/ sauce, snow peas, broccoli, apple/prune tart.
21 - Black bean tamales, scallops, broccoli, snow peas, tapioca pudding, apple/prune tart.
22 - Order Out/Eat In - Sonic - grilled cheese, popcorn chicken. Tapioca pudding.
23 - Fried goose eggs.
24 - Ate Out - Marie's - bowtie pasta w/ parm cheese, broccoli, cauliflower, turkey.
25 - Paul - hot dog w/ bun, hot dog w/out bun, salad. Giselle - mushroom ravioli, salad.
26 - Cheese tortellini w/ no sauce, just butter, salt, pepper and parm cheese.
27 - Macaroni & cheese w/ pasta sauce.
28 - Mushroom ravioli w/ sauce, tapioca pudding.
29 - Big Dinner - Roasted pork loin, raw carrots, spinach, pizza bites, tamales.
30 - Tortellini & ravioli w/ sauce, mixed veggies.

Dinner Calendar - March 2008

Today's going to be another busy day so here's what we had every night for dinner in March of 2008.
March 2008
1 - Big Dinner - Meat Fest - Grilled pork shoulder, grilled steak, grilled shrimp, mixed veggies (not grilled).
2 - Cheese tortellini w/ meatballs & sauce, spinach. Roasted pork loin for Joe.
3 - Cheese tortellini w/ sauce, spinach, corn, buffalo/pork smoked sausage. Roasted pork loin for Joe.
4 - Ate out - At The Farm (Finca Pura Vida) - blackened salmon, shrimp scampi, sauteed Brussels sprouts, rice, sturgeon caviar, arroz con leche.
5 - Bacon & cheese omelets
6 - Big Dinner - Tamales, pizza bites, snow peas.
7 - Ate out - At Marie's - cheese tortellini w/ no sauce, salad.
8 - Spaghetti w/ meatballs & sauce.
9 - Ordered out/Ate in - Domino's pizza (double mushroom, double black olive).
10 - Mixed veggies, stuffed crabs, caviar w/ cream cheese.
11 - Didn't write it down!
12 - King Ranch casserole, green salad & fruit salad (both made by Giselle & Grace).
13 - leftover King Ranch casserole.
14 - Hot dogs in buns, snow peas.
15 - Tamales, snow peas.
16 - Pasta shaped like flowers w/ meatballs & sauce, snow peas.
17 - Shrimp, scallops, snow peas.
18 - Cheese tortellini w/ meatballs & sauce, snow peas.
19 - Spaghetti w/ meatballs & sauce.
20 - Ate Out - Paul & I at Jimmy John's Subs, Joe & Giselle at Buffet Palace.
21 - Chili w/ hot dogs & ayote squash. I had refried beans w/ cactus, salsa & sour cream.
22 - Black-eyed peas & rice (w/ sour cream). Joe had roasted chicken from The Farmers Market.
23 - Giselle had Asian noodle soup, Paul had cheese tortellini w/ meatballs (no sauce), both had snow peas. Joe had roasted pork loin.
24 - Leftover black-eyed peas & rice.
25 - Big Dinner - tamales.
26 - Shrimp, scallops, snow peas.
27 - Chili & hot dogs.
28 - Homemade pizza - pepperoni & black olive.
29 - Tamales.
30 - Pigeon peas & rice.
31 - Caviar & cream cheese, shrimp, scallops, crawfish, spinach.

And yes, both kids actually eat this stuff. They're usually the ones that specify what we're having each night so it's their pick, not mine. I can't wait until it's snow pea season again; it's green bean season right now but if the hard freezes keep up it won't last for much longer.

Dinner Calendar - February 2008

I've got too many things going on right now to think about something to post so for the next few days here are the rest of the dinner calendars for 2008.

February 2008 - the month in dinners
1 - Homemade pizza with mushrooms, black olives and pepperoni.
2 - Cheese tortellini & mushroom ravioli with meatballs and red sauce.
3 - Macaroni & cheese with ground beef and mixed veggies mixed in.
4 - Giselle had the mac & cheese leftovers and Paul had cheese tortellini w/ sauce.
5 - Ate out - Pancake dinner at church for Fat Tuesday.
6 - Hot dogs in buns, spinach.
7 - Homemade hamburgers.
8 - Cheese tortellini w/ sauce.
9 - Ate out - Satellite Cafe (American food).
10 - Tamales.
11 - Ate out - Flores (TexMex food).
12 - Hot dogs w/ chili
13 - Long pasta w/ garbanzo beans.
14 - Ate out - Meat fondue at a friend's house.
15 - Hot dogs w/ chili
16 - Leftover pasta w/ garbanzo beans
17 - Cheese tortellini w/ sauce, broccoli.
18 - Bagel pizzas, edamame in pods.
19 - Hot dogs w/ chili.
20 - Cheese tortellini & mushroom ravioli w/ sauce.
21 - Ate out - Taco Bell (7-layer burritos all around and a side of cheesy fiesta potatoes for the kids).
22 - Ate out - Sonic (grilled cheese).
23 - Bagel pizzas, pizza bites, pickles.
24 - Mushroom ravioli w/ no sauce, spinach ,broccoli, snow peas.
25 - Tamales and asparagus, pork loin for Joe.
26 - Hot dogs w/ buns, mixed veggies.
27 - Frozen hot dogs for lunch. Spaghetti & spaghetti tubes w/ meatballs & sauce & sliced mozzarella. I had a ham/cheese/collard roll-up and stewed okra.
28 - Bacon and eggs (scrambled for Giselle and fried for Paul).
29 - Ate out - Dynasty Buffet (Asian food).

We're simply having a wonderful Christmas time

not for the squeemish

Here's some of our snails that we caught the other day, out for some exercise.

forgot?

Did I actually miss posting yesterday? How did that happen?



I need to go to Radio Shack, TODAY! I think I'm going to drop the kids off at a friend's house, go to Radio Shack, pick up the dog from the vet, drop the dog off at home, then go back to the friend's house to play for a bit and then come home for dinner. Well, maybe we'll eat out; I don't know.



Oh, I gotta go take some pictures of the steps since I haven't taken any since the most recent ones were installed.

Here's a shot of them as a teaser for the post that I'll do when they are all the way done.

Oh My Darlin'

Oh my Darlin' Clementine!
Yes, it's that season again and we are so happy. Remember, the ones from California are NOT real Clementines they are Cuties and they reliably have seeds in them. Real Clementines ONLY come from Spain and they almost never have any seeds in them. Morocco exports supposed Clementines but they have about one seed per fruit so I don't believe that they are true Clementines. Although Morocco IS really close to Spain so I'm able to cut them a little slack.

I totally forgot to pick up a new bag of organic dried cranberries. Yes, I'm still buying them even though they cost a small fortune; I can't help it because they taste so good!

I didn't vacuum.

cold

It was a miserable cold day. That's all I'm saying.

And I'm getting the laundry all done today - one day late since I was too busy napping yesterday to get it done then. Still haven't vacuumed, I'll take care of that tomorrow.

a nap

Today went smoothly - woke up on time, baths, oatmeal, at church by 9, home at 12:20, Giselle went to some Brownie thing, I napped on the sofa while Paul watched TV shows that Giselle never likes to watch, after we picked up Giselle we picked up dinner from Taco Bell, ate dinner, kids went to bed, worked on getting more Christmas gifts for the kids, and soon I'll be going to bed. I will be asleep before 12:30 tonight.

case closed

I cooked up the last of the case of tomatoes Saturday evening/tonight. This part of the case became 6 pints of seasoned stewed tomatoes. I didn't cook them down long enough to make it become a thicker sauce and I didn't puree it smooth either; that's what makes it stewed tomatoes instead of pasta sauce. I didn't feel like going through the 20 min hot water bath necessary for canning these up and I really liked the stewed flavor which would have changed if I had cooked them longer in the canning process. So I froze the pints up in 1-quart freezer bags; 1 pint per bag. Now I'll have fresh stewed tomatoes to add to my pasta sauce or for throwing on top of my seafood scampi pasta.
Truth be told, I had 8 tomatoes left that wouldn't fit into the 8-qt pot I was using to cook the tomatoes in so I quartered them up and put them in the fridge for snacking on over the next few days. I see some BLT's in our future!

Grumpy Mom

So the kids will be performing in our church's Christmas musical tomorrow morning. This year's play is The Grumpy Shepherd. This is a pleasant play but is it REALLY necessary to use the word "stupid" in a church play, especially one being put on by kids aged four to 11? At one point in the play, the grumpy shepherd refers to his sheep saying "But what about these stupid sheep?". I think that it's not right! It bothers me that this line is in the play. Had I known earlier in the process that this word was in the play I would have said something, but it wasn't until today's final dress rehearsal that I heard the full play with the line that I object to. I'm disappointed that I now I'll have to say something to the choir director about it. I would think that I shouldn't HAVE to say something because the choir director would have changed the word BEFORE it was given to the children. The word could have VERY easily been dropped or changed to something a LOT less cruel than the 'S' word.

Sorry if I you think I'm being prude about this but I feel that the way we talk to other people is a reflection of how we treat other people. If you are prone to CALLING people stupid then you're more likely to TREAT people as if they are stupid.
I really disagree with calling people (or things) disrespectful or degrading names to make yourself feel superior to them (or make them feel inferior to you). When those words are used without discretion it leads to a general lack of respect for yourself and those you come in contact with you.

full moon

No picture to go with this post but, wow that was an awesome rising full moon that we had this evening. We stared at it for as long as we could on our way home from The Park.

That's it, that's all I've got.

dinner out

Joe and I had dinner out at a tiny fancy restaurant tonight. It was the Holiday Dinner of one of his clients and we were invited. Really delightful food - wine, mini crab cakes, mixed greens and other stuff salad, prime rib or mahi mahi or penne pasta (I had the fish, Joe had the beef), roasted root vegetables, chocolate torte (Joe) or creme brulee (me), and coffee. The conversations were delightful too - a wide range of philanthropic people. It was a wonderful night out. Thomas watched the kids and when we got home they were watching our favorite Christmas special - The Year Without a Santa Claus. You know, it's the one with the Heat Miser and the Cold Miser. Gosh we just love that one!

I'm off to watch ER on TiVo and then MAYBE go to bed before 2 am.