The Lord's Supper

This last Sunday, Danny was so excited that he got to participate in his first communion. He has been waiting rather impatiently since Father's Day for it, and finally he got to hold his own cup and bread. He was so excited, he was afraid he was going to spill his cup, so George had to take over. Megan, the old pro, had no problems. Always a solemn but cleansing ritual, I am so glad that our children share in the meaning of it.  

Domenico Ghirlandaio, 'The Last Supper' (1480), Ognissanti, Florence

The Rusty Nail

George has discovered his new favorite drink, the Rusty Nail, and I have found mine, Drambuie - neat. If you like Scotch, you'll love this.

Rusty Nail

1 1/2 oz good Scotch Whiskey (we love Glenlivet, any year)

3/4 oz Drambuie (liqueur made from Scotch with honey and heather flavors)

Ice, as needed

Lemon twist, for garnish  (optional)

Directions: Pour the Scotch whiskey and Drambuie into a glass with ice cubes and stir. Garnish with the lemon twist, if desired, and enjoy. Careful, though, more than one will knock you on your butt before you know what hit you.

I, the lightweight, am perfectly happy with my 1/2 ounce of Drambuie, neat. I credit (or blame) my Grandma Cantrill for my love of Scotch whiskey - every sore throat I had was treated with Southern Comfort. Ah, the memories.

2nd day of school blues

Does it ever bum you out that your kids are actually growing up? It seems like only yesterday that Megan looked like this...

And I can't believe that this little guy is in the first grade.

Ist day of School!!!

They are getting so big! I can't believe that this is Megan's last year in Elementary School. Getting into the school this morning was a nightmare, and Megan and Danny both said "We can go in by ourselves!" I wasn't so sure, but Megan walked Danny right to his class, and then went to hers. I am so proud, and I'm going to have to take them out for ice cream later today for being so responsible.

Stylin, aren't they?

Anniversary dinner at Ted's Montana Grill

Saturday night, we ate our anniversary dinner at Ted's Montana Grill. In case you didn't know, Ted's is open pretty late on Saturday nights, and we got there about 9:45. The place was still rockin, and there was a wait to be seated, if you can believe it. It was so nice to go a whole day without cooking (we ate lunch at Azu)! The kids enjoyed our anniversary as much as we did, and even helped with the gift-giving. Don't they look happy (especially Megan with a mouth full of steak)? 

Happy Anniversary, Honey!

Today we celebrate 11 years of marriage, and I am so proud to call you my husband, George! I love you with all my heart, and I thank God every day that you are the man you are. All my love, forever.

More from the day with Daddy

Megan and Danny had a great rest of the day with Daddy. A trip to Toy R Us yielded a candy/gum dispenser for Megan

and, for Danny, an Eggs-cavation kit requiring lots of shaving sand off of a dinosaur stuck in the middle of a sand egg (an outdoors only toy, but the kids were ok with it).

Daddy is so much fun.

No fair! I want some!

Ah, summer! That expanse of time when kids of all ages get to do fun stuff like...go to Olive Garden for lunch with Daddy. George sent me these pics, and I must say they look like they're having a good time.

Unfortunately for me, full-time employment syndrome kept me from enjoying the Italian feast with them. Oh well, maybe next time my family will think of me slaving away at my desk and invite me before I've already eaten. Please? 

Quiche tonight!

Remember that sausage from yesterday? Today, I crumbled it in the bottom of a pie shell with some cheese, poured in a mixture of egg, milk, salt and pepper, and topped it with more cheese (oooohhhh, yyyyeeeaaaa!). Baked it for 40 minutes, and

Presto! a quiche, or "egg pie" as Megan calls it. I love quiche, especially because it is so easy.

Busy Summer Weekend

This weekend was super busy - almost too busy, even for me! Friday night, I took Megan and Danny back-to-school shopping to beat the tax-free rush. We didn't get home or eat dinner until about 9:30. Then, on Saturday, laundry, cleaning, and mowing the front yard. By the time the yard was done, I collapsed on the bed for about an hour until ny children reminded me that we hadn't eaten dinner...Thank God for frozen corn dogs and hamburgers. I know, I'm so bad for feeding my kids processed foods, but I made up for it tenfold on Sunday.

Sunday - meal planning day! First thing I did was make pancakes (blueberry for me) and packaged the leftovers for the kids' breakfasts over the next two days.

Then I made bacon (for breakfasts and sandwiches for the week) and cooked some sausage for future use in the week (Harley could barely contain herself as you can see).

I boiled eggs for George's breakfasts this week, for snacks, and for salads (egg, cobb, etc.).

I made two loaves of Danny's Boonana Bread, and while they were cooling, ran errands for prescriptions, dog food, and groceries.

When I got home, I made George some lunch before he went to work, made Fiesta dip for the kids' snack (boy, that didn't last long!), and mowed the back yard.

For dinner, pinwheels for the kids and Caprese salad for me (with home grown tomatoes from my boss' garden, basil from my garden, fresh mozzarella olive oil and balsamic vinegar).

Then I prepped ingredients for George's dinner and sat back and read my book until I drifted off to sleep.

Before George got home, I woke up, got out my ingredients and made panini duos for my real dinner (Caprese salad did not last very long) with the Panini maker that I got for my birthday this year.

The first was a Mozzarella, Raspberry and Brown Sugar Panini from (who else?) Giada. The second was a savory panini  of my own creation. Here is the recipe:

Mozzarella, Bacon, and Sundried Tomato Pesto Panini

Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, two slices per sandwich

Maple Bacon (from earlier), two slices per sandwich

1 Tbsp. Sundried Tomato Pesto (Giada brand, available at Target) per sandwich

Fresh Basil (from my garden)

Ciabatta bread or rolls

Olive Oil

Assemble the sandwiches by drizzling Olive Oil on the outside of each bread slice. Spread 1/2 of the pesto on the inside of each bread slice. Layer bacon on the bottom sandwich slice, Mozzarella, then Basil leaves (I used 4 large leaves per sandwich).  Place in the panini press for about 5 minutes. Delicious!  

We ate our sandwiches while watching the latest True Blood. I don't remember anything else, I was so tired.
Phew! What a weekend! I think I work harder on the weekends than I do all week long.

We love Shark Week!

This weekend, we had an On Demand marathon of Shark Week. One episode in particular,
SHARK BITES: ADVENTURES IN SHARK WEEK, features Craig Ferguson, hilarious Scottish comedian, in a montage-style episode leading up to a shark-feeding trip. The kids absolutely loved this episode because of Ferguson's humorous antics, the stories from 20 years of Shark Week, and the phenomenal underwater footage. Don't think we'll be swimming in the ocean any time soon, though.

Vampires rock!

Our neighbors think we are vampires. Seriously, this summer has been so hot that they rarely see us until the sun is going down. Last night was no exception.

Our 2.4 mile walk with Harley (see dark picture above) was a 9pm event. Then, George and I got to spend some quality vampire time together watching Sunday's episode of True Blood (oooohhh was it good!), and munching on goodies. We indulged in Cinnamon Twists and dessert wine. I altered the recipe for George by omitting the cardamom, and they were de-lish. George ate the whole pan, pretty much counter-acting the walk entirely. The way to a vampire's heart...

Victory!!!

Or as Danny would say, "Yea, Baby!" When I got home from work today, this is what I saw:

One down, several million to go... but you never know. Maybe ours will be the yard they tell their friends about. Obviously, it is the little things in life that make me happy. :)

Home sick... and making waspcatchers?

I stayed home from work today with a migraine, and about 1:00, the kids started getting a little antsy. I decided on the quiet task of making wasp catchers from plastic water bottles. No noise, and relatively easy. It was perfect. I hope they work, for George's sake. Our back yard is a haven for flying stinging creatures, and as a result, George spends little time out there. Keep your fingers crossed!

Vanilla, batch # 3

Got the makings for vanilla, and decided tonight was the night to start my 3rd batch. ABC has a sale on two decent brands, Sobieski (Russian) and Viking Fjord (Scandinavian), and I split my 30 beans between the two. After I sliced them open and placed them in the bottles, I closed them up, and put them - you guessed it- in my closet. They should be ready just in time for Christmas.

Mmmmmoooooeeeeee's

We love Moe's. I could seriously, if I gave in to the craving, have a major queso problem. That is why I don't go there very often. Tonight, Danny and Megan begged for Moe's, and I gave in.

Danny was so happy, he paused to pose for a picture to send to Daddy. Megan... well...

Megan was a little busy to smile.  It was such a good meal (especially since I didn't have to cook it), and I even managed to take home some of their amazing tomatillo salsa for my breakfast burrito in the morning. If I had to pick only a handful of condiments for the rest of my life, Moe's tomatillo salsa would be number one or two on my list. It's also a much healthier alternative to queso, don't you think?

A day of beauty

Not to be confused with "a beautiful day," today was a day for my kids to beautify. After a weekend of swimming with Grandma and Paw Paw Gilbert, and a week of swimming, playing and working out with Daddy, I guess it was time for them to slow down and primp a little. Megan got her nails done (I feel like such a horrible mom because I don't do my own nails, so Megan has to rely on Gran-ma for polish), and even got to use the battery operated fan for drying. I knew there was some use for that thing other than post-hurricane air conditioning outages!

Not to be left out, Danny, who NEVER consents to getting his hair done at the barber shop, actually got a haircut today. I guess he got tired of begging us to gel down his cowlicks.

Nothing like a day with Gran-ma and Grandpa to lift your spirits. I know they wish summer would never end!

Vanilla, my second batch

My second batch of homemade vanilla is done! Last night I poured it into bottles, and labeled them for use. I love the lighter flavor and floral aroma of the homemade vanilla so much more than storebought. Time to start a new batch - my closet just feels empty without a bottle of vodka in it!