Things I'm lovin'

• Steak Stir Fry for dinner (Had a plethora of steak leftover from the weekend)
• Kids happy and playing in the pool
• Good books (I started A Great and Terrible Beauty and it's good so far. Thanks Kelly!)
• Weekend visits from Vox friends
• Whole Foods Organic Caramel Truffles (seriously, you must go buy some, like now, right now)
• Stacy's Parmesan Garlic and Herb Pita Chips (I'm addicted. Should've sent them home with Hannah.)
• Dinner and a movie in Alexandria with Steve and the 3 kids that are home (Irish food and Wall-E)
• Weezer's most recent album (Still enjoying the heck out of it!)
• Life being close to normal after weeks as a kidless couple
• My husband (He turned to me and smiled last night at the movies and I swear I felt all giddy like a school girl. We still sleep all cuddled up at night too. After 4 years. It's crazy. And he's perfect.)

Things I'm loathin'

• Nothing much right now. I've decided I'm not going to stress about the upcoming school year and all the supplies and crap I need to do til August. So the rest of July is going to be stress-free!

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1. Sleep in. (11:40am counts as sleeping in,right?)
2. Drink a pot of coffee by myself. (This is completely normal, right?)
3. Clean up kitchen and realize maybe the kids aren't to blame for the house being messy all the time. (In my defense, I haven't really been home that much since Thursday.)
4. Wash some clothes. (As much as I would like to ignore the laundry during my "vacation", I'm pretty sure I heard Steve say something about using his last pair of clean underwear this morning. Although, it was before 7am, and I was still half asleep. Either way, the hamper was full, so I figured it was better not to take chances.)
5. Plan healthy dinner after 4 days of riduculously fattening food that has resulted in several pairs of pants being too tight. (There are plenty of places I need to gain weight but my backside isn't one of them.)
6. Spend several hours on the phone with friends I haven't talked to in awhile.
7. Lay in hammock and start reading "Wicked" (thanks to Kelly lending it to me!)
8. Make healthy dinner. (Sure I'm planning on making a healthy dinner, but carry out is just so easy)
9. Curl up on the couch with Steve and watch an episode or two of Scrubs.
10. Go to bed. (Have I mentioned how much I love my bed? It's awesome. Featherbed, down comforter, it's like sleeping on a cloud. Hmm, maybe I need to add a nap to my "to do" list...)

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Things I loathe

• Forgetting to pack comfortable shoes
• Misty cloudy cold days

Things I love

• Going away with Steve on his business trip (it's like an all expenses paid getaway for me, not him)
• Parents that will come and watch the kids so I can go with him
• New comfortable shoes (forgetting my shoes was not part of an evil plan to get new ones)
• Clearance racks at the mall ($245 worth of clothes for the girls for $68, seriously, why do people pay full price?)
• baked sweet potatoes with gobs of melted butter
• finding over $100 in different gifts cards in an old purse
• Free breakfast and wireless internet at the hotel
• Finding a coupon for a free cup of coffee for Starbucks in the morning paper
• My in-laws returning from Florida
• Scramble (even if Steve Betz is getting better and beating me now)
• Peanut Butter Candy Cakes
• And last but not least, The Muppets. Seriously, who doesn't love the Muppets?
  The Muppets

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I've made some new food discoveries recently and wanted to share them with you all. I tend to get bored with things after awhile and start looking for new taste experiences. Here are a few things that have made my taste buds go "Wow!".

Oatmeal dark chocolate

First, we have these delicious cookies. They are super healthy AND ridiculously tasty. They are also high in fiber. So, um, don't eat a whole box in one sitting. Steve keeps turning his nose up at these. Which is fine with me, because if he ate one, he'd be hooked. I'm rationing them out, one a day, so I still have over a months worth in the pantry.  

Sweet potato fries

Also delicious and healthy. I love a good french fry and these are not only good, but full of vitamins, fiber and other good stuff. (Sorry, I'm obsessed with fiber due to a history of colon cancer in my family). I love 'em baked with a light sprinkling of salt. My Target sells them in their frozen food section. Love them! Steve gave them a thumbs up and 4 out of 5 children say they are tasty. (Mrs. P, guess which one doesn't like them!) 

Pringlesstixhb

Last but not least, Pringles Baked Wheat Stix. They are low in calories and fat, but not really nutritious. No vitamins, no fiber. They've got that nice sweet and salty thing going on that I just love. They also come in Pizza and Vanilla. I've had the pizza flavor and like those too. Reminds me of Pizza flavored Goldfish. 3 out of 5 children in the household also give them a thumbs up. The other two don't like new flavors and textures (Mrs. P, wanna guess which 2 those happen to be?). That's ok, just means more for me!

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Gary was over the house the other night for our traditional Heroes viewing. While we were waiting for Steve to get home from work, we were talking about this tv show, Bizarre Foods with Anthony Zimmerman. He found it on our guide and set the DVR to tape it.

I must admit, as much as it grosses me out, I really enjoy this show. The kids love it too.

He goes to all sorts of interesting places around the world and eats the strangest local delicacies. It got me to thinking though. I love to travel and I would love to see the world. I'm wondering if someone offered me the same job, to eat this nasty stuff, but paid to travel the world at the same time, if I would take it. Would you? I'm undecided at the moment having just watched the dude eat Balut.

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But I decided to just add Nutella this time around. I added a 1/4 cup of Nutella to your basic Rice Krispie Treat recipe. It is soooo good. I highly recommend it. I'm bringing the batch I made to Nicole's this weekend. Hopefully they enjoy them as much as I enjoyed my little sample!

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I woke up earlier than usual this morning. Victoria was going to a friend's farm to dress up like Boots from Dora the Explorer for a hayride thing they do. Sure beats asking to hang out at the mall, so I drove her down. The costumes weren't just cheap costumes, they were like mascot costumes. She promised me to get a picture or two. We'll see if she conveniently forgets.

After dropping her off I took the opportunity to call Hannah and stop at the grocery store. I wanted to make "Quick Tortilla Soup". It's windy with a good chill in the air. Perfect day for a huge pot of soup.

When I got home, I made a huge pot, big enough for a couple of days. Steve was outback attempting to turn the pool from a lovely green back to clean. The pool guys are coming to close it in a little over a week. I'm always so relieved when they come to close it. I'm so tired of trying to keep the thing clean by this time of year (hence the green hue it currently has).

Now Steve and Alex are at the dump getting rid of our old dishwasher and stove along with other random crap that was sitting out in the garage. There is still much more out there, but the van will only hold so much.

Josiah is playing some SpongeBob video game. Sophie is working on a project for school, something to do with the United Kingdom. Ashley is hanging out at the neighbors. I told Hannah I would post the recipe. So here I am. I was racked with guilt for putting it off until now.

Quick Tortilla Soup

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 tbsp taco seasoning mix

1 garlic clove chopped

6 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup thick and chunky salsa

1/4 cup lime juice

2 cups cooked chopped chicken

1 can black beans

2 cups frozen yellow corn

1/4 cup snipped fresh cilantro

2 cups broken tortilla chips

Toppings such as grated cheese, diced avocado, sour cream, and diced tomato.

In 4 qt pot, cook onion, jalapeno pepper, taco seasoning mix and garlic over medium high heat until tender crisp. Add chicken broth, salsa, and lime juice. Cover and bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Stir in chicken, cilantro, beans and corn. Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with broken tortilla chips and serve with toppings.

So there ya go. A good soup for a nice cold day. I already sampled it several times, just to make sure it was edible and all. (Tamzen, I bet it would be good if you used vegetable broth and left the chicken out too!)

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Steve and I had a lovely kid-free Friday night. Victoria, Sophia, and Josiah are with their father and stepmother for the weekend. Alex and Ashley went over to Grandma P's abode. We stayed in a watched a movie (Chocolat) and slept wonderfully late this morning. I had wanted to get up early and go to breakfast (I have coupons), but bed was warm and comfortable and sleep feels so good. I decided to sleep in and just make breakfast at home.

We rolled out of bed around 10:30. I made my version of a Bob Evans Skillet Meal. I layered home fries, scrambled eggs, sausage gravy and topped it with cheddar cheese. Mmmm, nothing like starting the day with some heart attack inducing breakfast foods. Sure beats the Fibre One I normally eat most mornings that Victoria says tastes like cardboard. As a bonus, I saved money and didn't have to change out of my pajamas.

After we had breakfast, Steve and I headed into the boys' room to throw away some of their junk reorganize their stuff. We tried to get as much done as we could before we had to meet up with Rob and Gary. Gary had some extra tickets to a Bull and Oyster Roast thrown by a local business to benefit the American Cancer Society. Seriously, you think I'm going to pass up free food? Steve asked if I was interested. Um...yeah!

The Bull and Oyster Roast was interesting. Southern Maryland's finest were there. Nothing like some tasty meat cooked over a huge fire and good old people watching. The dj played songs like "The Electric Slide" and "Booty Call". They even had a "beer truck". If only I could've figured out a way to get a picture of the woman with the huge Tazmanian Devil tattoo on calf with the inscription "100% B*tch" to share with you all. Gotta give her props for putting a permanent warning label on herself.

I was the only one that ate the steamed oysters. For some reason, despite being born and raised in Maryland, Steve and his brothers just aren't big fans. I don't eat them raw. That is just nasty. Anything that resembles snot just isn't going into my stomach. I'm still curious as to who was the first person to discover that oysters are edible. What would make someone look at that and think, Oooh let me see if that is something I can actually eat.

Sadly, there wasn't any dessert. Seriously, what kind of shindig doesn't have anything sweet to finish off the meal? I had Steve stop off at Nick's so I could pick up some ice cream on the way back to his parent's house. I ended up with Haagan Daas Sticky Toffee Pudding ice cream and Steve found another Boston Cream Pie. I couldn't pass it up knowing that it could be months before I see another one. So the money I saved by not going to breakfast paid for my ice cream and the pie. I'm on a personal quest to share this delicious pie with as many people as I can, so I made sure Mrs. P took a slice for everyone in her house. I wonder if she thinks it's the best pie ever like I do.

While we were hanging out at the P's, we watched Pushing Daisies. I forgot to DVR the encore presentation and I didn't want to risk having my neck punched by Cori. Steve and I are definitely adding it to our Fall tv schedule. Mainly because we liked it, but we also don't want to risk Cori punching us in the neck if we decided it wasn't worth watching on a weekly basis.

Now we are home. We've had some pie and Steve is waiting for me to wrap this up so we can watch an episode of Scrubs before bed. He keeps glancing over to see whether I am done or not. I think I'll type an extra paragraph of filler just to be a brat. Ok, not really. I'm out of stuff to say and that doesn't happen too often. So yeah, hope everyone is having a good weekend so far too.

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Pecan Pumpkin Pie that Rob bought at a local Catholic church.

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I am so bloated. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the Chick-Fil-A I had for lunch (Yay free coupon from the county fair!). Or the Blue Cheese Doritos I ate this afternoon (They come in a bag mixed with Hot Wing flavored ones too. I just poured them in a big bowl and picked out the Blue Cheese ones). Or that Chubby Hubby ice cream I had before and after dinner (Thanks Honey!). Or the Cheeseburger Macaroni Hamburger Helper (which happens to be the best ever, Jamie) and sauteed green beans with butter and garlic (I'm thinking veggies dripping with butter, not so healthy. Tasty, but not healthy) I had for dinner. Nope, nothing to do with any of that.

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