Deal at Old Navy

One polo shirt, four t-shirts, four pairs of flip-flops = under $30 at Old Navy.



I love deals!

Don't try this at home

The sad thing is that I do this all too often. I never remember to check the setting, which is always set higher for frozen waffles. Or to make me look bad.

Another sunset

Living in the woods was not conducive to watching sunsets. We now watch them several times a week.

The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
and their expanse is declaring
the work of His hands.
Psalm 19:1

Slow Cooker Pork Tacos

I found this recipe at Food Network a few weeks ago while planning a Mexican dinner with friends. This had a slew of terrific reviews and was easy to make. The ingredients list seems long, but nothing required much chopping, as it was all thrown into the blender. Best of all, it was delicious!

Slow Cooker Pork Tacos

3 whole ancho chiles
3 whole pasilla chiles
(I couldn't find the "right" chiles so just subbed six Anaheim chiles.)
4 cloves garlic, whole is fine, or minced from a jar, it won't matter
2 to 3 chipotles in adobo sauce
1/2 medium white onion, cut into a couple of pieces
3 T. oil, divided
2 T. honey
1 T. cider vinegar
salt
2 t. dried oregano
3-3/4 c. low-sodium chicken broth
4 pounds boneless pork shoulder (untrimmed), cut into chunks
pepper
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
Corn tortillas, warmed, for serving
Assorted taco toppings, for garnish

You're going to make a sauce that will be poured over the meat to cook in the crockpot. If you double the amount of meat, you do not need to double the sauce (and it wouldn't have fit in my crockpot anyway).

Put the chiles in a bowl and microwave on high 2-3 minutes. (Note: Only do this for fresh chiles! If you used dried chiles, reconstitute by soaking in water before next step.) Stem and seed chiles, protecting your hands (I use plastic sandwich bags in a pinch).

Put the chiles and garlic into a blender. Add chipotels, onion, 2 T. oil, honey, vinegar, 1 t. salt, and oregano to blender; puree until smooth. Heat the last 1 T. oil in a large skillet over high heat; add chile sauce and fry, stirring, until thick, about 8 minutes. Pour in the broth and continue to cook until liquid is reduced and slightly thickened.

Season the pork all over and put in crockpot. Add the bay leaves and cinnamon stick, then pour in the sauce. Cover andn cook on high until the meat is tender, 5 hours. (I cooked overnight on low.)

Shred the pork with two forks. I strained the remaining sauce and put some of the solids back in the crockpot (discard bay and cinnamon). I chilled the strained broth, skimmed the fat, and poured some of the liquid back into the crockpot to keep the shredded meat moist.

Great taco garnishes include something cool to offset the spiciness of the meat--fruit or sweet salsa, shredded cabbage, avocado slices, etc. For more info on this recipe, including other reviews and hints, click here.

A grieving town

Late yesterday afternoon, there was a horrible accident involving a fire truck in our small town of Rocky Mount. Two volunteer firefighters were killed.

Firefighters Danny Altice and Posey Dillon.

It's a small town. Danny is the grandfather of one of our teen library volunteers; and he was a close friend to my boss. He was in the library yesterday afternoon to pick up his granddaughter. Posey was also the town's vice mayor.

As I was leaving work, I heard the Life-Guard helicopter, which is unusual. As I got on the highway, I was within a few hundred yards of the accident, but I was unaware as traffic had not begun to back up yet.

Please pray for the families, for the town. It's going to be rough.

Wildlife

As much as I try to avoid deer, it seems an impossibility. While I've seen two dead ones on the side of the road here, the live ones are very few and far between. At night, I no longer have to drive with my hands gripping the wheel, and that sick feeling in my stomach that I'm going to hit one. They've run through our yard a few times, but they definitely prefer the neighbors' lawn.



We've also come across that oddity, bat dog.



Much more common in person are the children, but they flee when the camera comes out. One must be sneaky when attempting to photograph them. Maybe I'll have better luck next time.

Back to school!

The move is done, the vacation is over, and it's time to get back to reality.

We took a break from school beginning back in early May. We had appointments and time spent working out the details with the new house, and arrangements to make for the old house. We were still deep in soccer season; Trevor and I took the trip up to Pennsylvania, and of course I continued to juggle my work schedule three days a week. Then we had the packing, moving, and unpacking, and getting ready for our beach vacation that Barb had planned months in advance.

We never finished the school year. With Trevor, it's not such a big deal. I'm putting him back to work because some sort of structure is good for a boy. Holly has several classes to wrap up to complete her 9th grade year, a couple of weeks here and there.

Meanwhile, we finally did our testing last week. Virginia law requires me to test annually and submit results to the school district. For the past few years, I've sold out my principles and tested for free through the local school. A nice convenience, yes, but it went against everything we've believed, getting that involved with the public schools. My personal preference: the boundary was too blurred, and it bothered me. Even in Colorado, we took advantage of the law which allowed us to pay a small fee to a private school to hold our kids' test results, instead of submitting them to the public school. This year, I finally coughed up the money to pay for the tests myself. It was worth it, and I no longer feel like I can be bought quite so easily.

So I'm swept up in that manic euphoria of Holly and Trevor finishing the school year and knowing that I need to be preparing for fall. My Notice of Intent is due in three weeks, and I need to fine tune my plan.

Summer: You've been lovely. I hope I see you again very soon. :)

Recipe -- Tomato, Basil, and Cheese Baked Pasta

Trevor found this recipe in a kids' cookbook earlier this week, and we decided to make it together for dinner tonight. It was delicious, and we both appreciated that, while it was a bit of work, everything came together very quickly, and it did not take a lot of time to make.



Tomato, Basil, and Cheese Baked Pasta

1 lb. medium shell pasta
1 T. chopped or minced garlic
1 T. oil
1 small onion, chopped
28 oz. can crushed Italian tomatoes
1/2 c. fresh basil, torn into small pieces (10-12 leaves)
1 c. store-bought pesto sauce
1 c. ricotta cheese
1/2 c. grated parmesan
1/2 lb. shredded mozzarella

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt the water. Add pasta and cook for a minute or two less time than package directions say. The pasta will soak up more juice and keep on cooking after we drain it, so we need it to be a little undercooked. The shells will probably cook for 9 or 10 minutes.

To chop the onion, cut the ends off and cut the whole onion down the center. Wrap half and save it for another use. Cut the other half into thin slices, then turn the slices a quarter turn and chop them again. Hold the top if the knife on the cutting board and lift the back of the knife up and down over the onion to make the pieces really small. Add the chopped-up onion and the garlic to the oil. Cook, stirring a lot, until the onions are mushy and look cooked, about 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes to the onions and stir. When the tomatoes come to a bubble, reduce the heat under the sauce to low. Stir in basil pieces to wilt them.

Drain pasta shells. Add them to a casserole dish. Add pesto sauce, ricotta cheese, and parmesan. Stir carefully and coat the hot pasta with the pesto and cheeses. Pour the hot tomato and basil sauce over the pasta. Scatter the mozzarella cheese over the pasta.

Bake at 350 for 20 mins. or so, until cheese is melted and top begins to brown.

Bottoms up!

Robert and I are having friends over for Mexican food later this week. I'd emailed my friend, asking if they drink Margaritas, and I passed on her response to Robert, while Trevor jumped in.

Me: They said Margaritas sound great, but no salt, please.

Trevor: But what's a Margarita without the salt?

(As if he would know??????)

Robert and Trevor began a discussion of Margaritas (although how this can be a topic is beyond me). Then I heard this.

Trevor: Aren't Margaritas chock-full of alcohol?

Where DOES he come up with this stuff?

Date night!!

Robert called me at work yesterday afternoon--we'd been invited out with friends for dinner. That might seem like nothing special, but we haven't done anything like this since living in Colorado three years ago. I'm not sure if it's because we've lived so far out, or because we've chosen the wrong friends (haha). Either way, that's changed.

We dined (yes, dined) at a National Historic Landmark built in the 1840s. Located in Buchanan on the James River, the house is now a German-themed B&B and restaurant. I took pictures but couldn't do it justice. We had a lovely time drinking house beer and eating delicious food, including Jagerschnitzel and German sausages, served with noodles and mushroom gravy, red cabbage, sauerkraut, ohmygoodness I could go on and on. It was SOOOOOOOOOO nice!!!!



I couldn't help but think that *these* are the kinds of things we've been missing out on--and missing! It was such a blessing to spend time with my husband and good friends, such a nice evening.

Promises, promises

When we came home, this flyer was in our mailbox.



Such a titillating company name!

And I thought it was such a nice neighborhood . . . kind of makes you wonder about those "Extra Services."

Souveniers

(sic.)

So many little shops along the Boardwalk! So many opportunities to ponder what people are thinking!

I would have thought it was a club, "Dads Against Daughters Dating," but technically, this one isn't wrong, as long as you have just one daughter.


One would choose doggie scented Bandz bracelet why?


What exactly does a princess smell like?


Oh, yes. I so agree!

Leaving Ocean City for home

Ocean City was lovely. I'd heard it was "family friendly," but even better, I was visibly reminded of that again and again. We saw none of the outrageous tattoos and you've-put-a-hole-WHERE? piercings that make me cringe. Swimwear on the beach was modest, and I don't recall seeing anything that made me want to distract my son. We did see one guy in a speedo, but the biggest challenge was to keep our snickers discreet. (Teehee!) To top it off, Ocean City is a dry town (no puns intended).



It was an attractive mix of older homes



and new. We stayed on the first floor of this house, two short blocks from the beach.


We left early Saturday, passing all of the traffic that was heading towards the beach for the July 4th weekend. New Jersey Turnpike, bleh. I don't like their rest stops. The lines for the bathroom looked like it would take forever; I didn't even try to wait. This particularly gas station was so busy that every pump was full-service. When was the last time you saw that? Robert said it was a state prison rehabilitation center, lol.


We saw Holly's chickens

Bawk, bawk, bawk, BAWK!!

and the NRA building. The size of it fascinates me; it's interesting to consider what a powerful lobby it is.



Almost heaven, western Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River.



We made good enough time to pick up Lucky on our way home. I'd stumbled upon a great find of a kennel, where he was able to run and play with many other dogs. This is a nice change from a cement run where he would just bark nonstop all day. I'm sure he had a wonderful vacation of his own, and it will take him days to fully recover.

Lucky's view

Wonderful family, wonderful vacation, wonderful memories. We are so grateful to Barb and Dave for this gift. It's not that bad being home. :)

Day 5 -- last day at the beach

Trevor and I made our way down the Boardwalk in the morning



to use up the free game of mini-golf which he'd won. He didn't win a second free game, but he beat me easily.



He beat me at two games of Scrabble today too.

After lunch, we all met up at the beach.



The guys played ladder ball, boys against men,



and the boys slaughtered the men won. Easily.



I made good on my promise to get in the water. And who in the world showed Robert the zoom on the camera? I wanted a nice picture of me, far, far away with everyone else in the water. Instead, he took a dozen close ups. Thanks, hon. Yes, it seemed cold!



Holly also got out in the water and rode the boogie board.



We ate dinner on the Boardwalk,



and Trevor and I stayed out so Trev, Gwen and Nate could get in one more golf game (and ice cream!) together.



A full day, a late night, a great time.

Day 4 at the beach

We borrowed bikes from Janet and Alex, and I took Trevor and Nate riding. You can bike on the Boardwalk until noon, and there are bike/surrey/runner/walker lanes clearly marked. I haven't been on a bike in years, and I was a little nervous about steering, braking, and just FALLING OFF. I kept up with the boys! We had a blast, and we ended up riding about 4 miles.


We met up at the beach and did the usual: Boogie boarding, swimming in the waves, building sand castles, walking, soaking up the sun. Even Robert said he could understand why people enjoy this life. (Ya think?!)


Some of us got a little bit more sun today than others. Better that we're at the end of the week than the beginning!


We had a great dinner


and visited the Boardwalk


specifically for the kids to have "Frogs in a Blender": green apple and cherry shave ice swirled, with the biggest gummy frog you've ever seen perched on top.


This picture says it all: Happy, relaxed, and kind of blurry, but in a good way.

Tomorrow is our last day!