Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Week so far . . .
Monday: Braced for Hurricane Sandy. We were on the edge of the storm and just had high wind and gusts. I was concerned about losing power, realizing at the same time that it's a silly and insignificant worry in the scheme of things. Had planned to take Trevor to the midnight opening release of (the video game) Assassin's Creed III, but the weather prevented that.
Tuesday: Out early in the a.m. to get Trevor's long-awaited video game. Stopped at Panera for breakfast. Poor kid just wanted to come home and do school work so he could play his game! Holly completed her first two college applications, writing a great personal essay, and pressing SEND to both JMU and DU. I *am* so proud of that girl! I think this is such a stressful time in the life of a 12th grader, and she's hanging in there, seemingly unfazed. The kids carved out a couple of cool pumpkins.
Wednesday: Halloween. Robert has a few things to get done before the new tenants move into the rental house. I'll be stopping by after work. Our traditional (apparently it's a new tradition, as we've just done it once or twice?) Halloween dinner out of milkshakes and onion rings will have to be postponed. Weird to not know how much of Halloween evening we'll spend with the kids, but not much we can do about it.
I can't believe it's Wednesday already. Or November. Or the end of 2012, for that matter . . .
Tuesday: Out early in the a.m. to get Trevor's long-awaited video game. Stopped at Panera for breakfast. Poor kid just wanted to come home and do school work so he could play his game! Holly completed her first two college applications, writing a great personal essay, and pressing SEND to both JMU and DU. I *am* so proud of that girl! I think this is such a stressful time in the life of a 12th grader, and she's hanging in there, seemingly unfazed. The kids carved out a couple of cool pumpkins.
Wednesday: Halloween. Robert has a few things to get done before the new tenants move into the rental house. I'll be stopping by after work. Our traditional (apparently it's a new tradition, as we've just done it once or twice?) Halloween dinner out of milkshakes and onion rings will have to be postponed. Weird to not know how much of Halloween evening we'll spend with the kids, but not much we can do about it.
I can't believe it's Wednesday already. Or November. Or the end of 2012, for that matter . . .
Monday, October 15, 2012
Life and Tortilla Rollups Recipe
Life in general has been busy. We are nearing the end of soccer season, and we'll be going to the playoff games next week. We ended up in fourth place out of eight teams. This was a good (surprise) ending. Although we think we have a great team, we didn't win as many games as we expected. I did note, however, that we scored more goals than any other team this season, no small feat! (And no, we did not have the most goals scored against us to contrast that.)
Holly is working on college applications. I'm sure that everything will come down to the early November deadlines, as she is applying "Early Action" to several schools. We'll see how things pan out, as our financial stuff is wonky, and even using FAFSA worksheets, we have no idea where our EFC will end up. As it stands right now, she's applying to JMU, GMU, Elon, and University of Denver. She took the SAT earlier this month for the second time, and she's retaking the ACT at the end of the month.
Trevor's new curriculum is continuing to go very well. He's 20% through the school year already, a very nice advantage to us moving up the start of school this year by several weeks.
I don't feel like I'm accomplishing much of anything (and believe me, I don't have much to do with any of the activities above). Robert slipped on the basement steps Wednesday night (thought he was already on the landing), and 30 minutes later, the washer overflowed, flooding 1/3 of the basement in a LOT of water. Robert's ankle is swollen and bruised, but it is getting better every day or two. And the basement flooding could have been worse. There was just a button that had been turned too hard, so no repairs necessary, and anything damaged in the basement wasn't enough to make me cry. At least we were home (well, not me) when it happened.
The weather has turned overnight from summer to late fall. Everyone else seems happy with this, but I'd prefer to turn the clock back a few months, in more ways than one.
Trevor went to a party on Saturday and was asked to bring a snack to share. He's long loved Tortilla Rollups. Since I've never found a great recipe, I winged this last minute Friday night. Apparently it was pretty good. Not only did he like it, but a friend called up raving that I should write this down and sell it, haha. (It wasn't nearly that good, but it will do.)
TORTILLA ROLLUPS
2 bricks cream cheese, softened
1 can diced green chiles (not the usual small can, but slightly bigger, but not enough to be two small cans)
1/2 c. shredded cheddar
1/4 c. red salsa
2 T. chopped cilantro
1/2 big can black olives, chopped
2 to 3 tsp. dried minced onion
large tortillas
Mix all filling ingredients (everything but tortillas). Spread on tortillas, roll up, and wrap in plastic wrap. (As you continue rolling up each tortilla, you'll need to keep the edges of the tortilla free, as the filling will mush in and fill the space.) Chill for several hours. Before serving, unwrap, and slice in 3/4 - 1" pieces. Eat the ends before serving; they aren't pretty, but they taste great!
It made 5 tortillas, but the first three were really, really full, so it could have made 6-7 tortillas.
Holly is working on college applications. I'm sure that everything will come down to the early November deadlines, as she is applying "Early Action" to several schools. We'll see how things pan out, as our financial stuff is wonky, and even using FAFSA worksheets, we have no idea where our EFC will end up. As it stands right now, she's applying to JMU, GMU, Elon, and University of Denver. She took the SAT earlier this month for the second time, and she's retaking the ACT at the end of the month.
Trevor's new curriculum is continuing to go very well. He's 20% through the school year already, a very nice advantage to us moving up the start of school this year by several weeks.
I don't feel like I'm accomplishing much of anything (and believe me, I don't have much to do with any of the activities above). Robert slipped on the basement steps Wednesday night (thought he was already on the landing), and 30 minutes later, the washer overflowed, flooding 1/3 of the basement in a LOT of water. Robert's ankle is swollen and bruised, but it is getting better every day or two. And the basement flooding could have been worse. There was just a button that had been turned too hard, so no repairs necessary, and anything damaged in the basement wasn't enough to make me cry. At least we were home (well, not me) when it happened.
The weather has turned overnight from summer to late fall. Everyone else seems happy with this, but I'd prefer to turn the clock back a few months, in more ways than one.
Trevor went to a party on Saturday and was asked to bring a snack to share. He's long loved Tortilla Rollups. Since I've never found a great recipe, I winged this last minute Friday night. Apparently it was pretty good. Not only did he like it, but a friend called up raving that I should write this down and sell it, haha. (It wasn't nearly that good, but it will do.)
TORTILLA ROLLUPS
2 bricks cream cheese, softened
1 can diced green chiles (not the usual small can, but slightly bigger, but not enough to be two small cans)
1/2 c. shredded cheddar
1/4 c. red salsa
2 T. chopped cilantro
1/2 big can black olives, chopped
2 to 3 tsp. dried minced onion
large tortillas
Mix all filling ingredients (everything but tortillas). Spread on tortillas, roll up, and wrap in plastic wrap. (As you continue rolling up each tortilla, you'll need to keep the edges of the tortilla free, as the filling will mush in and fill the space.) Chill for several hours. Before serving, unwrap, and slice in 3/4 - 1" pieces. Eat the ends before serving; they aren't pretty, but they taste great!
It made 5 tortillas, but the first three were really, really full, so it could have made 6-7 tortillas.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Moon
Yes, I've had a thing for sky pictures lately. Maybe because everyone else runs when I pull out my camera! (That's probably not really true, since I've been taking many of these with my phone.)
Tuesday, October 09, 2012
Evening sky
Found in my camera, from a few weeks ago.
Looking west, from the back deck.
The rainbow was broken but came down on the other side.
At the same time, the view to the east.
Looking west, from the back deck.
The rainbow was broken but came down on the other side.
At the same time, the view to the east.
Monday, October 08, 2012
Sunday, October 07, 2012
Dynamic Duo
The dogs have been testing each other's beds. Lakota seems to think Lucky's bed is better (it is). Lucky is drawn to his old crate, even though it no longer has his best pillow in it. He wasn't sure how he felt about her on his pillow though, so decided to join her.
They get along so wonderfully well together.
LOL, Robert saw this and said, "Beauty and the Beast."
They get along so wonderfully well together.
LOL, Robert saw this and said, "Beauty and the Beast."
Saturday, October 06, 2012
Saturday
Holly is retaking her SAT this morning. It was quite early and not yet dawn when we left the house.
Yawn.
Leaving the school after drop-off
Yawn.
Friday, October 05, 2012
Holly's birthday
18 balloons.
Donuts for breakfast. Writing class, where she received more kudos and positive comments from her teacher.
We dressed up for dinner at The Regency Room at Hotel Roanoke. The kids looked gorgeous, so grown up. They pretty much flat out refused to let me get any kind of photo, with the exception of these below. I really should have insisted.
Holly did something so feminine and pretty with her hair.
Trevor with the computer reflection on his face.
On the way home from dinner, we stopped at Dairy Queen to pick up an ice cream cake. Once we got home, Holly opened her gifts. She received cash, a beautiful bracelet (from Grandma Jean), an iTunes card, a game card, ear buds, a giant bed pillow, and a makeup set. I made this shadowbox for her using a saved baby outfit, along with her old pacifier, hospital ID bracelets, first haircut clippings, and a card she'd received at birth.
And we ate ice cream cake.
Donuts for breakfast. Writing class, where she received more kudos and positive comments from her teacher.
We dressed up for dinner at The Regency Room at Hotel Roanoke. The kids looked gorgeous, so grown up. They pretty much flat out refused to let me get any kind of photo, with the exception of these below. I really should have insisted.
Holly did something so feminine and pretty with her hair.
Trevor with the computer reflection on his face.
On the way home from dinner, we stopped at Dairy Queen to pick up an ice cream cake. Once we got home, Holly opened her gifts. She received cash, a beautiful bracelet (from Grandma Jean), an iTunes card, a game card, ear buds, a giant bed pillow, and a makeup set. I made this shadowbox for her using a saved baby outfit, along with her old pacifier, hospital ID bracelets, first haircut clippings, and a card she'd received at birth.
And we ate ice cream cake.
It was a very nice birthday, mostly low key, with enough celebration to honor the specialness of turning 18.
I don't know how I feel. From the time she was six months old, I was very conscious of the fact that our time with her was, at that point, 1/36th over. When the kids were little, Robert and I often spoke of how we were living the BEST TIMES of our lives. I'm so thankful that we realized this at the time. I'm excited for whatever God holds for her future, but I selfishly never want this part of my life to end either. Well, I made it through this post without being emotional at all, until this last paragraph. Don't want to cry in my coffee!
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