Monthly Archives: June 2012

Just When We Were Feeling Comfortable…….

……..we find out that another moving day is around the corner.

I discovered an envelope this morning, laying on our newspaper on our front porch this morning.  Inside was a 60 day notice for us to move out.  It’s not because we were delinquent in paying our rent or threw wild parties, thus disturbing the neighbors.   Our landlord just wants to move back into his home.  He had been living with his parents while he finished college, to lower his expenses, so he rented his house to us during that time.    We had planned to move…………next year.   However, those plans have been accelerated for us.   So now, it’s time for us to move on.  There is a chance that we may be able to rent a house nearby, so already, this situation may not be as big of a concern as it was this morning.

So, I need to pack.  I already have my “New-House-Starter-Box” set up.  It’s really a laundry basket with some of those basic things one needs on the first night (in our experience, they’ve been late nights because we’re assembling beds and trying to get mattresses to lay just right on box springs) after moving into a new house (toiletries, fresh towels and bedsheets).

The last time we decided to move, we had 6 months to pack, plan and prepare for it.  This time, we have 60 days (more like 59 now as of this post).

Can we do this in 60 days or less?  I believe we can!

Can we do it without getting stressed out……….I’ll get back to you on that!  We will try

Elizabeth

Father’s Day

I’m a few days late in posting about Father’s Day.  Busyness always tends to supersede the need to write.

It’s always been rather hard to shop for my husband and father on Father’s Day.   It’s hard to find the right card to describe them.  My dad doesn’t play or watch sports, but he isn’t a couch potato either, and the gross “men” jokes don’t apply to him.   He does enjoy humor, so I try to stick with that.  My husband isn’t a sports fanatic, or a car guy, and he isn’t into serious cards either.   Still, even in the humor section, it’s hard to find a card that isn’t over the line and might offend (in my dad’s case, I leave the insulting card giving up to his sister as they’ve been giving each other those cards for years).

For my husband, I usually make him breakfast and serve it to him in bed.

He had been told just a few days before to stop consuming dairy products for a few days, and decided to wait until after Father’s Day to start, so that he could have the gravy on the biscuits.   They were delicious!!

Not pictured is the cup of his favorite brand of coffee (which we only buy for special occasions as it’s rather spendy).

 

 

 

 

I also gave him a Neil Diamond CD because, he’s a fan of Neil’s music.  I don’t have a picture of that.

I also gave Kevin updated pictures of our kids, framed and ready to put on his desk at work.

The kids are growing way too fast!  They can wear our shoes now, and they’re as tall as we are or close to it.  I’m just happy that I was able to get the boy to give me a normal smile (and not an intense one) for these pics!  They were good sports considering that it had just started to rain.

Kevin was glad to have some new pics of the kids to show off at work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rest of the day was spent just lounging around the house, which is very rare.  Truly a day of rest for the father of our house!

Elizabeth

Sunset

Last night, I was in the bonus room putting some things away, when my son came in and told me about the really beautiful sunset happening at that moment.  I looked up and noticed the beautiful orange light coming in through the blinds, so I went to my bedroom window (which faces West) to bet a better view.   I grabbed my camera, hopped into the car and drove down the street to get a better view and hopefully some pictures.

“Beautiful Sunset” season has arrived!

Elizabeth

Orange Juice

My son is currently in a phase where his drink of choice, is orange juice.

If he runs out, and I don’t have any more of it in the freezer, I hear, “Well, you should have bought more” followed by endless questioning of “When will you be going to the store for more juice?” and reminders such as, “Don’t forget that you need more juice………..because sometimes you’re forgettable”.

 

He won’t drink milk, at least not since he heard that it can be a phlegm producer when one has a cold.  He’s taking preventive measures against excess phlegm production, by avoiding the milk when he doesn’t have a cold.

 

He’s a “plan ahead” guy.

 

Elizabeth

Slow-Cooker Mexican Lasagna (From Mrs. Mama Hen)

I found this recipe at http://mrsmamahen.blogspot.com/  If you have a moment, check out her blog.  Conni is a military wife and mother of 3 whose husband is in the Army. They are currently stationed in Alaska.  She posts several recipes as well as articles about military life and living in Alaska (I love to see her pics of the Aurora Borealis!).

I came across this recipe a few months ago and thought it looked like something that Kevin would enjoy (he really likes Mexican-type food).    I’ve made this a few times and every time that I do, I rarely have leftovers.   Tonight, he even said that this was becoming a favorite meal.

Basically, the recipe calls for ground beef (I used Morning Star “crumbles” since we are meatless),  black beans (I’ve tried other beans and for this recipe, I think that the black are best), taco seasoning, onion, diced tomatoes with chiles, and salt (I used sea salt because I didn’t have the regular iodized salt that we know and love), and both Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese (the recipe called for Pepper jack, either will work fine).

 

 

 

 

Dice the onion (and if you have goggles, wear them so that you won’t cry in front of your family……prompting them to ask what’s wrong……and you can tell them that “Mommy ran out of chocolate!”).

 

 

 

 

 

In a skillet, cook your meat and onion (and as it cooks, the need to cry will lessen)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add the diced tomatoes & chiles

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add your black beans, rinsed & drained

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add your taco seasoning and salt, and mix ingredients thoroughly

 

 

 

 

 

Bring out your slow cooker, or in my case, my grandma’s circa 1970’s Rival Crock Pot that works as well as it did when it was brand new!

 

 

 

 

 

For layering, start with a 1/2 Cup of the meat mixture on the bottom of your cooker.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lay a tortilla on top

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add another 1/2 Cup of the meat mixture

 

 

 

 

 

Top with some of the shredded cheese

 

repeat the layers until you have the last of the meat & cheese on the top.

Cover, and ……………….

 

 

 

Set your crock pot (ahem, “slow cooker”) to low.

 

Then, leave your kitchen (because you have a kid who has been assigned to do the dishes, and fully capable of doing so), grab a soda, relax on the couch, and watch an episode of “Gilmore Girls” or a chick flick, while your dinner is cooking!

 

 

Slow-Cooker Mexican Lasagna (by Conni Smith, aka “Mrs. Mama Hen”)

1 lb Ground Beef

1 Onion, diced

1 Tablespoon Taco Seasoning

1 14 oz can Black Beans, drained and rinsed

1 14 oz can Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles

1/2 teaspoon of Salt

6-8 flour tortillas

1 1/2 Cup grated Cheddar Cheese

1 1/2 Cup grated Pepper Jack or Monterey Jack cheese

Sour Cream for topping.

In a skillet, cook ground beef and onion until fully cooked.  Remove from heat.

Stir in taco seasoning, tomatoes & Green Chiles, black beans and salt.

Spread about 1/2 Cup of the meat mixture into the bottom of your slow-cooker.

Tom with tortilla (tear the tortilla if you need to make it fit.)

Tom with another 1/3-1/2 Cup meat mixture and cheese

Repeat.  Alternated the layers with the two different cheeses.  The final layer should have a little of both kinds.

Place the lid on your slow cooker and cook on low for 3-4 hours.

Cut into wedges, and serve with sour cream or any other topping you wish.

Supper’s on!