Foodie Friday - What Adults Do

My man and I found ourselves in an interesting situation last weekend. We had no kids.

Sarah had an early morning soccer game, which was a nice switch from all the 1 pm games she has had all season. It really cuts into the middle of the day at 1 pm. His mom came up to attend the game and while the adults in the family had already decided that the kids would spend the night with her, Sarah thought she was so smart and that she came up with the idea herself.

I don't remember how it all went down, but it ended with Sarah asking if they both could go spend the night with Nanny and we said they would have to ask her... of course she said yes and off they went.

I spent the better part of the day scrapbooking, which if you'll remember, I mentioned recently that I had not done any in, oh, the last YEAR.

So then we came to Saturday evening. We looked at each other and said, "What do adults do when they don't have kids around?"

(Besides the obvious, of course.)

(Ahem.)

We decided that we were so concerned about sitting across the table from one another and having to make an attempt at conversation that we needed to invite some friends on a double date. As we waited to hear from them we discussed what we might go and do and where we might want to eat.

Dairy Queen was pretty far up on my list as you might expect.

However, once we did talk to our friends, an upscale evening was decided upon and we were on our way downtown.

Our evening consisted of dinner at Reata and then the improvisational comedy show Four Day Weekend.

A couple of things you should know:

1) Reata is a little pricey... very nice, but in a down to earth Fort Worth kind of way.

2) It would not have normally come up as a place to go because a)we had never been there before and b) it's a little pricey.

3) Our friend, Glenn, used to wait tables there back before the May 28, 2000 tornado when it was still on the top floors of a building downtown. It has since moved since they were originally I think planning to implode the building because it was so badly damaged.

So, my take on Reata.

Oh. my. soul. If you want a nice time out and enjoy some really good food, this is your place. I started off with a cup (aka bowl) of tortilla soup. Mike had a steak that in his words was "like buttah." I enjoyed a Chicken Chile Rellenos that was unlike anything I'd ever tasted before.

I'll admit, I've lived in Texas nearly all my life (except for that random 1 1/2 year stint in Virginia when I happened to give birth to a child outside of our great state... ahem). However, I never been just itchin' to try chile rellenos. Never had it. It never looked or sounded appetizing before. Until last Saturday. Now this will be the "gold standard" of chile rellenos for me from here on out.

If you don't know what on earth I'm talking about, chile rellenos is a stuffed pepper - usually poblano or aneheim. In my research, most recipes show the peppers roasted (or blistered) to get the skin off, stuffed with cheese, battered and fried.

The whole fried thing I think is what turned me off in the past.

Or maybe it was the fact that the first place I ever saw one was at Rancho's Mexican Barfet when I was 10.

Anyways, the one I had at Reata was not fried (I'm guessing oven roasted) and it was stuffed with a shredded chicken stuffing that was marvelous and topped with some sour cream and what the menu termed Roasted Corn Chowder.

I don't have a recipe to share with you, however this link has a recipe, method ideas and a video for chile rellenos.

And you know what, we even had some dessert. You wanna know what we had? Take two things I love most in the world and put them together.

Dessert Tacos.

The shells seemed like they were some hardened caramelized sugar that was curved like a crispy taco shell with a filling, caramelized bananas and chocolate "gravy." Oh yeah. Chocolate gravy.

After being blessed by such an incredible meal, we had to walk around a bit before going to the improv show, which was, by the way, hilarious.

A night on the town.

Without kids.

And that is what adults do.

Have you been on a date recently with your spouse? What did y'all do? And do you have a recipe for chile rellenos? I'd love to see what you do.

Happy Friday and happy weekend y'all.

Don't forget to be planning for Way More Homemade Holidays on November 21st.

Introducing: Way More Homemade Holidays

November has begun, people. And do you know what that means? Thanksgiving and Christmas are mere weeks away.

Now this... THIS is MY favorite time of year. It's full of family, friends, and... well, of course FOOD. And as I've said before, nothing makes food better than for it to be paired with great company and fellowship.

It is based upon these thoughts that I decided that I will host my very first blog carnival.

Way More Homemade Holidays
November 21, 2008

I'd like for us to share snapshots of our Christmas or Thanksgiving. Here are some ideas to consider as you think about your post:

* Tell us what it is like around your dinner table during the holidays.

* Do you spend it with family? Friends? All or none of the above?

* If your family is not close by, do you travel to see them or do they come to you?

* Share your favorite Thanksgiving or Christmas memories. Funny or sentimental.

* Show us some pictures of your traditions from holidays past. Do you have hopes for future traditions with your family?

* And most certainly share about your holiday food. Does your Aunt Fern make fluffy pink stuff? Does your grandma made a pecan pie to die for? Is there something that maybe no other family on earth, it seems, eats at the holidays that your family for some reason loves?

* Or maybe you do the cooking and you'd like to share your menu.


So, be thinking about what you are going to post and be ready on Friday, November 21st. I'll have a Mr. Linky (my FIRST EVER) up that day and all weekend and you can link your post right here.

The button is over on the side bar for you to grab and put on your blog. Pass the word... I think it will be fun to see other people's traditions, stories, and FOOD!

Maybe it was time.

On a little family trip to Target the other day, we stocked up on some essentials. Both the kids needed some new jeans for the fall and Sarah was in need of a certain costume for Halloween.

While we were there, I noticed this neat little mat on the floor for measuring children's feet. So, I casually suggested to Mike that we might want to measure Nathan's foot. He was wearing through his little tennis shoes that I got for him... oh, I don't even know when.

His foot measured 2 sizes bigger than the size of his current tennis shoes.

When we found some shoes in the size he needed, we compared.



I'm not quite mom of the year material, am I?

But, he's very proud of his new shoes. He has gone around showing everyone...

"See, I can finally walk without my toes curled up at the end of my shoes."



The funny thing is that he never complained about the smaller shoes being too small.

How on earth do they grow so fast? And why can I not keep up?

Who's going to The West Wing?

I spent all day Monday trying to decide what to post for election day.

Well, not all day exactly. But at least five minutes.

Here's what I've got.

I love "The West Wing." I only found out recently that Bravo was airing re-runs of the show in the mornings once again. I spent all evening watching re-run "West Wing" episodes that I had DVR'ed from Monday morning. I didn't think it was possible, but they were actually episodes that we had not seen.

They must have been pulled from the un-aired episode vault or something.

Mike and I got turned onto West Wing unfortunately toward the end of its prime time run. It was probably early in season 5 (there were 7 seasons total) in 2003-2004. At that point, Bravo was already airing re-runs.

We'd settle in on Monday evenings with some cream cheese stuffed jalapenos (not homemade, but the frozen ones from a box), an almost frozen slushy Dr. Pepper and our weekly West Wing marathon. It became our Monday ritual, especially after moving to Northern Virgina. The whole living "next door" to the President thing as well as not knowing anyone else in the area led us to find politically charged entertainment.

(That's also the time period that we really started watching the Daily Show and when the Colbert Report began... hmm.)

And entertainment it was. Why isn't there good TV like that anymore? Smart. Witty. Assumes you have an education and half a brain. And funny.

The closest thing these days is Boston Legal. Yes, they're full of the "liberal agenda." But, we feel like, if nothing else, it's a dose of reality of what the "other" side thinks. Besides, according to my husband, I'm a liberal anyways, so I just have to get my fix.

I'm really not liberal.

But I think you knew that.

I don't know that there is much of a point here other than to allow me to reminisce about the romantic tension between Josh and Donna. The dry quirky humor of Leo and Toby. The wit of Sam and C.J. The wisdom of Josiah (Jeb) Bartlet and to wistfully pine for a presidential candidate such as he.

Even as a liberal... he was a great TV President.

Bartlet for America!

***

Seriously, go vote, America. There's no more time to be undecided. The time is now to make your choice.

It's easy to choose the one who sounds good and who makes us feel good inside. Sometimes it's harder to choose to vote for the one who might not be as eloquent, but who lines up more with our true beliefs if we really take a long look at ourselves and what we believe.

I pray you've done your research, America.

I pray you make a wise choice.

And I pray that the Lord show mercy on this great nation.

Just some Halloween goodness

Boo! A couple of days late, I suppose.

This is how our evening started off. In typical 3 year old fashion. Little Man took a late nap and Big Sister just couldn't wait any longer. She woke him up when she peeked into his room. That got things off to a very rocky start for the evening.

If you're thinking that Little Man's costume looks familiar, you're right. It is familiar. It's the same one he wore last year when he was 2. And you know what? It's the same one Big Sister wore when she was both 2 and 3 as well. So this sweet little Old Navy Frog costume has gotten some use in our family. I will actually be sad to see it go. But hopefully it will be to a good home.

Big Sister this year was dressed as Lucy from The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian. And anyone who asked her got that exact explanation, usually multiple times. "I'm Lucy from the Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian."

As you can see, we did eventually get a decent picture.... but the following was the prize for the evening.

"Sarah Palin and her secret service detail" made an unexpected campaign stop at our church's Festival 31.

I have to tell you, Beth Moore would have been so proud. My hair reached heights that it hasn't seen since our wedding day nearly 13 years ago.

Oh, and mascara makes for a great temporary hair color.

Just in case you were wondering.

Because you never know when you're going to need a tip like that.

And you know me. I love giving out unsolicited advice. It's what I'm best at.

Foodie Friday - But I Won't Do That

This has felt like such a serious week around here. I promise a little more light-heartedness next week. I would hate for y'all to think that I'm just all serious all the time.

But by know, I do hope you know that I am serious about food.

I'm also fairly serious about politics. And that mainly goes back to my being opinionated and, well, letting everyone and their DOG know my opinions.

But I recognize that you didn't come here today to get an ear-ful of my conservative ramblings, so... moving on.

Today's topic is a family favorite of ours. Meatloaf.

An enthusiastic bunch, are they not?

And I'm talking about meatloaf like this...

Not Meat Loaf, like this...

Meatloaf (the food) for some reason makes me think of "Americana." You know, gathering around the table for lunch on Sunday after church. The good ol' days.

Oddly enough, this is not a dish that my mom made with any regularity... or at all. But I LOVE IT!

Especially from Boston Market. Do you have those where you live? Oh, they make a good meat loaf and serve it with kind of a marinara tomato sauce on top. Yummy.

So I had, for a while been on the look-out for a good meat loaf recipe. Then my good friends at Cook's Illustrated came through for me a couple of years ago.

What's interesting about this recipe, is that it is all beef. Most meat loaf recipes are a combination of ground beef, pork and veal. But, recognizing that not all home cooks have access to all these types of meat from their local grocer, the cooking geniuses at Cook's Illustrated developed this recipe using all ground beef.

There are a couple of interesting and unexpected ingredients (like unflavored gelatin)... but trust me. They have their purpose and it is worth the effort to try this recipe.

The recipe is quite long, so I decided to not post it here as well. You can find it at my recipe blog... here.

What makes you think of what we picture as the "good ol' days?"

Oh, and Happy Halloween, y'all.

Expectations - Part 3

Part 1

Part 2

***

Another thing (besides passing the one year mark at my job) that got me thinking on the subject of my expectations with respect to my home life now that I'm working was a post at Rocks in my Dryer from a few weeks ago. She is doing a series on Thursdays called “What I’d Like for You to Know.” She brings in guest bloggers who share their own stories on specific topics. One was about working outside the home moms. Shalee’s post really was very spot-on. Only she gets up at some crazy ridiculous hour earlier than I do each morning.

So, my expectations? I have realized that they were completely unrealistic.

I guess I expected that it would be as easy as it was when Sarah was little – even though I now have two children and one is in grade school. I had no idea what a difference this made.

I expected that I would be able to clean my house on a day off or a Saturday morning – even though my day off is well-spent in Bible Study and my house is quite a bit larger than the one we used to live in. There are days that I miss staying in my pj's on my day off... but then I get to BSF and I don't miss it a bit.

I expected that I would eventually be able to justify having a housekeeper come and clean at least once a month – even though we are desperately trying to pay off some debt and it won’t ever be in the budget.

I expected that I would be more organized about keeping up with the household chores – even though I have never been organized about it… ever.

I expected that I would be able to scrapbook a little every night like I did when Sarah was little – even though almost every creative cell in my body is worn out by the time the kids are in bed. Sometimes I'm able to write/blog and sometimes not. Sometimes I go days without being able to read all of your blogs. And I miss you when it's like that.

I expected that my husband would help me out a little – and he helps me out a LOT. He takes on so much and I would never be able to do everything that I do if it were not for my man.

The bottom line that I go back to any time I feel discouraged that I am not living up to the expectations I have of myself is that they are just that… self imposed. I believe God has called me to work where I am. I do not know why. But I believe that there is a reason.

So, if that is true, then I MUST also believe that things around my house will be fine… or that the Lord will give my kids some divine amnesia where the house is concerned.

And I believe that my time outside of work is much better spent in Bible study and just being with my kids than making sure that there is no dust on the piano and no dog hair bunnies around the edges of the floor. It’s okay if the bare minimum only gets done most of the time. I will have times when the state of the house overwhelms me… and at that point, I do need to act… and fast.

But generally, just know that if you come to my house at any given time, there WILL be dust, there WILL be dog hair, and there WILL be laundry. But there will also be an open Bible and a well fed and well cared for family.

Even if they do have to live in a messy, if not dusty house.

And those, I believe, are some realistic expectations.

Expectations - Part 2

(Read Part 1)

What’s different?

The work schedule may look the same, but the life schedule is not.

I always thought it would be easier to work once the kids were older and in school. It just seems logical that you could work while they are at school. However, the landscape changes once you have a grade-schooler.

Pill, one of my girlfriends from college, and I decided that it is much easier to work when your kids are little, baby and pre-school age, than when they are older. When you are done at work you pick them up, eat some dinner and then pretty much, you’re done for the night. They go to bed early and you can even have a little bit of an evening to yourself.

Once they are in school age all the homework and extra-curricular stuff begins. There’s piano to practice, piano lessons, piano recitals, soccer practice, soccer games, and meetings at school… along with everything else we were already doing at church and any other special events such as a school musical with rehearsals and performances. They are not going to bed as early and have more to do in a day. And it only gets more involved the older they get.

So, that's where I am. The grade school stage with so many responsibilities outside of just going to and from work.

Here’s a glimpse into my weekly schedule:

Each day (M/T/Th/F):

5:15 am – up for quiet time and exercise before getting in the shower.

6:45 am - get Sarah up to get ready (including practicing piano) for her dad to take her to school at 7:45 am. At some point during this time, Nathan has usually emerged and is usually thrilled to be awake.

8:30-9:00 – get to work after getting Nathan ready and to daycare. The big question of my day at this point: “Oh coffee pot at the office, are you full or empty?”

Mondays:
Leave work at 5 pm & pick up Sarah from after school care (homework should already be done - but almost invariably there's a little to do still) and Nathan from daycare and head home. For now, this is our one night of calm. Figure out something for dinner and eat around 6:30-6:45 pm.

Tuesdays:
Leave work at 3 pm & pick up Sarah from school and Nathan from daycare. Maybe we have time to swing by home… maybe not.
Piano lessons at 4 pm until 5 pm.
Head home . Sarah does homework and I change and go to exercise class at 6 pm. The kids usually go with their dad to the gym so that he can exercise.
Meet back home at about 7:15 usually with Sonic in hand… it is, after all, family night – ½ price burgers.

Wednesdays (supposed to be my day off):
Leave home by 8:45 for BSF at 9:10 am… we’re NEVER on time any more.
Be at Sarah’s school by 11:50 (usually with lunch in-hand) to hang-out with her class during lunch to give her teacher a break.
Home by 1:20 to get Nathan down for a nap. Just in time to get him up again to go pick Sarah up from school at 3. (Some days he goes to day care for lunch and nap if I have a BSF Fellowship or an extra busy afternoon of errands and appointments planned.)
After school we run errands, go to the store… again… and sometimes have a little extra time to play before dinner. Or maybe we hang out at home and bake cookies.
Off to choir practice 7 - 8:30 then back home.

Thursdays:
Leave work at 5 pm & pick up Sarah from after school care (homework should already be done) and Nathan from daycare.
Drive straight to Sarah’s soccer practice at 5:30 and meet Mike there for passing of the “kid baton.”
I head to exercise class at 6 pm.
Mike gets the kids started on dinner and I join them when I get home at 7:15 or so.

Fridays:
Leave work at 3 pm & pick up Sarah from school and Nathan from daycare.
Usually we have the afternoon free to just hang out. Maybe run some errands. Maybe we just go to the park if it’s nice out.

Each night:

Get the kiddos headed toward baths and bed at around 8 pm (they should be in bed by 8:30-9 pm).
Check email. Blog a little. Tweet a little. Check Facebook. Clean up from dinner. Maybe watch a show with my man. Get sucked into an old movie on TBS or TNT. I totally intend to do something productive like clean... but instead I fall asleep on the couch by 11 pm and head to bed when my man wakes me up at midnight.



Know what you don’t see? Any time for house cleaning.

If it happens, it's got to be on the weekend. But I find that in my time off from work during the week and on the weekends and when I’m not shuttling kids from one place to another, I just want to hang out with them and be their mom. I am finding myself more concerned about relationship with them than about the state of my house.

Which is a good thing, I believe.

And then, I come to weeks like last week when it totally hits me that I've been basically out of town or out of pocket for 3 weekends in a row and my house is a wreck and has been for weeks. I realize that to get to the cleanliness point that I’d ideally like to be, it would take days. Days of not going to the office while the kids still go to school and daycare. Days of concentrated effort.

Days that I simply don’t have.

And feel like I never will have.

Then I get completely overwhelmed, discouraged and beat down.

****

Just one more installment... come back for part 3 tomorrow.

Expectations - Part 1

I work outside of my home. Did you know that?

I had certain expectations when I took this job and started working outside of my home once again last fall. Expectations of the job, of myself and for my family and my home.

As I have watched the one year anniversary of taking this job come and go within the last month (get a glimpse of my first day here), I am in a reflective mood and thinking about those expectations.

It’s hard to nail down what they were because, certainly, I never uttered what they were in speech or in writing. But clearly as I look back, they were there.

I have been thinking back to my last job. I worked when Sarah was little. From the time she was 1 year old until she was 3 ½ and we moved to Virginia. I worked 4 days a week – 2 longer and 2 shorter so that I could pick her up from preschool. I had Fridays off completely. It was a demanding job and I worked my share of extra hours. But I was paid hourly and rarely felt guilty for staying at home if Sarah was sick. If I wasn’t there, I didn’t get paid… and I was okay with that.

Fast forward to today. I work 4 days a week – 2 longer and 2 shorter so that I can pick the kids up from school. I have Wednesdays off completely. It’s not a terribly demanding job, but I work hard and put in extra hours when necessary. I am on salary and do feel guilty for staying home if one of the kids is sick.

These work situations sound fairly similar, do they not? That’s what I thought.

But here’s the deal. Back then, my house stayed relatively clean, we entertained company fairly regularly, and still worked on my scrapbooks on a very regular basis.

Now, I feel like it’s a major accomplishment to just get the laundry done so that we can all have clean clothes for the week a few days. I feel like my house never gets clean. I don’t scrapbook anymore. I only blog to help me get my thoughts out of my head and on to paper so that I stay sane.

What’s different?

****

I don't know how many parts there will be. I'm not done writing yet. But stay tuned (if you're interested, of course).

A-Maze-ing. And a little corny, too.

Our local pumpkin patch is actually a working farm. Right here in the middle of Dallas/Fort Worth.

And it also belongs to a family that I'm related to. By marriage. I think. But we still paid. How does that work, exactly?

Mike was helping some friends do some moving on Saturday evening, so the kids and I took a break from housework and went on over to do the corn maze. It was a riot.

Would you believe me if I told you they just walked up to the first intersection we came to and did this spontaneously?



Well, believe it or not. They did.


And this was absolutely the cutest thing ever and totally makes up for most of the other three year old moments that we have around here...

We also bought pumpkins and I do have a plan for carving one of them. It involves their dad. On Wednesday night. When I'm at choir.