Love Locks

Another topic I had been debating on whether or not to "put out there" is about one of my family members. My mother is part of a very large family. She is child number 10 of 15. And we are all fairly close. I mean, the majority of us all lived in the same local area during my childhood. Several of us cousins (my mom's nieces and nephews) all grew up together in batches. We have a yearly family tradition: Christmas party slash family reunion and every year, we have an updated phonebook. I was thumbing through it this year and kept asking Mom, "Well, who is this?" It's that large... This is strange to me. Growing up together, but not knowing further extensions of the family and the 4th or 5th generation. I wouldn't know quite a few of them on sight alone.

A portion of our family has started a little tradition of their own. Every Sunday, they get together and cook lunch or supper. My mom goes. Two of my aunts are there. A few cousins and their kids. When I'm in town on Sundays, I make a point for me and Ivy to go and visit. This is precious time for us. After one of my aunts had passed away, I realized that I needed to make an effort for us to spend more time with family.

We decided on a whim to visit family for the three day weekend. We always tell Ivy who we are going to see and she is excited. And as per usual, we attended the Sunday lunch. Ivy was excited to see Aunt Wanda, Aunt Sandra, BJ and her kiddos, baby cousin Bentley, Uncle Chuck and of course, NaNa and Pops. I am so glad we can sit and visit. It almost feels like the "old times."

Facebook keeps me updated on what is going on in my family. I recently found out (within the past 6 months) that Aunt Wanda has breast cancer. She had surgery to remove the mass. She went through chemo and radiation. They found two more masses. She is currently on her third round of chemo I think. And her hair has fallen out.

While we were there today, Ivy and Aunt Wanda were outside. I suppose Aunt Wanda took off her hat to show Ivy because they came in and my aunt told me that my darling little child wanted to cut off her hair and give it to her Aunt Wanda. My sweet, thoughtful, generous three-year-old baby wants to donate her thick, strawberry blonde, straight-with-a-luscious-curl-at-the-end hair that was dark brown at birth to our precious aunt.

We will, Ivy. We will both grow our hair out and donate it.

Italian Lemon Shrimp

In my last post, I linked a recipe to a shrimp dish from Pinterest. I found the recipe!

1 1/2 lb shrimp shelled deveined 
1 stick butter melted 
1 lemon, sliced thin 
1 package dry italian seasoning packet 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking pan with foil. Layer lemon slices and shrimp. Sprinkle with Italian dressing mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, until light golden brown.

This is such an easy recipe! Surprisingly sweet and tangy and a tiny bit spicy. It was very yummy. I paired that with smashe baby red potatoes. 

We decided that with the three day weekend, we would travel to visit family again. Christmas was so wonderful and I am still feeling very homesick. It will be so nice to see everyone again.

My head is exhausted. It is the end of the first semester and all I have been doing is grading work. It's one of the only things I loathe about teaching. I hate grading papers. 

I'm tired.

Brought to You by Pinterest

This week is the end of my first semester teaching at the middle school. We will have two days of reviews (of which I need to plan) and three days of semester exams (of which I still need to make).

Today we went to see Les Miserables. I got our babysitter who Ivy loves. She is a former student of mine and such a sweet girl! The movie was in one of those dine-in movie theaters with comfy chairs. Every time we have the opportunity, we see movies at that theater. Spoiled. The movie was long. I'd heard bad and good things about the movie. I've never seen the musical on stage. I had no idea about the story.

Man is imprisoned for stealing bread. Is given parole. "Jumps" parole and somehow gets his third chance at life. Creates a new identity, saves and adopts a former-employee-turned-prostitute's child. Citizens start a revolution. Boy falls in love with the child and she with him. Okay... long story short. A ton of singing and a lot of separate story lines that make my eyeballs cross. It's depressing. Anne and Amanda's singing is beautiful. Everyone else, not-so-much. For not having seen the musical or knowing the story beforehand, I would say it was good. Not the best movie ever.

That's pretty much what is floating around in my head. I need to really buckle down and do some actual work.

This week's Menu Plan Monday is compiled entirely by various Pinterest Pins that I have... pinned.

Sunday - Chicken Spaghetti made with homemade cream of chicken soup
Monday - LO Chicken Spaghetti and crack potatoes
Tuesday - Shrimp - I don't know what it's called. It's a dead link (photo only) - I need to find the original recipe.
Wednesday - Crock Pot Taco Soup
Thursday - LO Soup
Friday - Breakfast. I have a lot of breakfast pins with hash browns so I'm gonna find something to try.
Saturday - It's up in the air. Clear out the fridge?

Forced Procrastination

I really needed and wanted to be productive and get some work done this evening at home. I don't have what I need and that bothers me. So I have to hurry in the morning at work to make a quiz and print and copy it. I am not amused.

I wrote on Facebook "Today, I miss our families." With the piling amount of personal events going on in our families, I find myself wishing we could pack up and spend a lot more time with them all. I want to help my mom. I want to hug the necks of my aunts and uncles. I want to snuggle the new family members. I want to hold their hands, comfort them, listen to them and be there. I feel like we are a million miles away. I've considered... hey, let's finish this year and move back to be closer to family. But there are fewer opportunities. Could all the dead space between our two regions disappear?

I can only imagine how our lives would be different if we had not moved so I could attend graduate school. It's something that I don't want to dwell on. I know the decision to move was preferable to staying in what would be a dead end for us. I love Dallas and the suburbs. So much culture and so many activities. A diverse mix of, well, everything.

But the one thing that pulls me back is our families. I love them all. If you see this, I love you all.

MPM and Other Things Including Decisions

So, Christmas and New Year... We decided to spend the entirety of our vacation with family. It was very nice being able to spend all that time together. A couple of my mom's sisters have made a new tradition... Every Sunday, they will all get together and cook and eat a lunch/supper. Whenever we are in town, I always make an effort to go. Since Aunt Carol died, I've been trying to get Ivy to spend more time with some of my relatives.

I have jumped on the hipster train. Lord help us all. It first started when I went to my mom's shop and got new glasses. A pair of retro-ish sunglasses. Then I decided to go ahead and get regular prescription lenses in the same frames. Retro/nerdy glasses! I was hesitant to wear them, but once I put them on, I haven't worn any other glasses since! And everyone has been complimenting them. Next, I got a couple pairs of skinny jeans with Christmas gift money. I wore them with my TOMS, and it didn't look bad. Then, I ordered myself some fake Uggs. Fuggs. Soooo comfy! Combine all that together with a flannel/plaid shirt and BLAMO! I'm a hipster.

We went back to work yesterday. Boooo! I just want to stay home and snuggle with Ivy and sleep. And drink hot cocoa and eat cutout cookies. And clean, clean, clean. I have really gotten my act together about keeping things clean and organized.

And speaking of organizing... Menu Plan Monday!

Sunday - Baked potato soup
Monday - LO soup
Tuesday - Appetizers
Wednesday - Appetizers
Thursday - Pizza
Friday - Pizza or Chicken pot pie
Saturday - Chicken salad

I received an email from one of my students the day before we went back to work. My sweet little rat friend that I had the pleasure of visiting my classroom for two weeks straight had died. I do miss the sweet little ball of fur racing to sleep on my neck. Before I had the opportunity, I never knew that rats could have so much personality and love the way they do. Everyone could tell she loved me. I know that sounds narcissistic but it's true... she would push away hands that grabbed at her when she would cuddle on me and she would find her way and race towards me when I was nearby. I do intend on having my own pet rat in the future. One for Ivy, one for me ;).

Today, we all took a break from our day to honor a local soldier who was killed in Afganistan on Christmas Eve. All of the students were lined up along the road in front of the school. Everyone was silent as the motorcade drove by. It is difficult for me to express my feelings on this. I am honored to witness the somber occasion. To all of the current and former military personnel, thank you for your service.

Stupid Dreams

Winter vacation ends in about 30 minutes. Gone will be the long, quiet days that I can take naps and sleep late. Gone are the days that I don't have to get dressed or really worry about showering or fixing my hair. Don't judge, it's winter. It's not like I'm sweating and getting into messes. Sheesh.

Ivy has been learning some manners. Yes ma'am and no ma'am have been coming out of her mouth at all times. Potty training is complete. Well, except accidents when she is having a tantrum/fit and bedtime. That's next... maybe a little later bedtime and taking away beverages after dinner.

I'm doing a Sunday Spa night just to take care of myself and get ready and relaxed for the work week. I would like to stick with it. Today was my first one and I almost didn't do it because I've been cleaning so much.

I was planning on writing a whole post about last night's dream. It is still pretty vivid but I want to go to bed early. I hope you can figure this out ;)
Hawaii, Christmas, dark, small island, cliffs, deep water, sharks? Diamond Head, eruption? Family (Ryan's), who is Marshall? cats, Ryan, whiney, ornament/gift/music box, run away, friend and kids, vomit, kidnapping, cop, family (mine), uncle, "arrest" 18-wheeler, sushi restaurant, huge, 4 tiny snakes, bite, storm (?)

Anyway, I've been having pretty vivid dreams and if I remember them, I may start a series of posts on them.
Other things I want to write about
- goals for this year (gala darling inspo)
- Cleaning like nobody's business

I just needed to get this out of my head.
Goodnight!

I'm considering leaving this blank

A very boring topic indeed. But this is how I rang in the new year.

I made plans to spend time with my relatives. And offered to bring a dish. My mom decided to bring several dishes but also had to work. I offered to cook her dishes for her and to watch my nephew while she was at work. So I made two things at her house. Pack the little man up, hung out with my mom at work for a bit and finished cooking the other two dishes at my in-law's house. In all, I made deviled eggs, Oreo cheesecake, pigs-in-a-blanket, and "crack" potatoes. 

When mom got off work, we all headed on out to my aunt's house. While we were there, I continued cooking (or helped cooking). I made pimento dip, chicken salad, and egg salad for sandwiches and I cannot recall what else. I think I just cut an onion for my cousin. And we all just hung out. The kids played. My cousin manned the computer and became YouTube DJ as usual and we had a mini dance party/dance-off. Her two kids and I were serving or challenging each other to crazy dance moves. And we ate and as soon as it was dark, we started having some tasty beverages. More people came over and I snuggled my cousin's one-month-old baby. This little boy is a cuddle bug! Anyway, I spent a good two hours rocking, cooing, feeding and burping him. Another cousin's husband commented that I was good at "that." And you know what? I am! Ain't gonna lie! Although he did assume that I was the mommy at one point - uh, nope! 

Ready for a tangent? I have a huge family. Enormous. Gargantuan. There are always new babies. Multiple babies every year. I think we had about 6 this year. Whenever I was younger, I never wanted anything to do with the babies. Never wanted to touch or be near their screaming, messy butts. The Plague, I tell you! But now, since Ivy, I love babies! And I'm excellent with them. 

Returning back from the ADD train, the rest of the evening went as follows… I returned to my in-law's house and rung in the new year with my husband. A quiet evening enjoying another tasty beverage and the distant cracks of fireworks that were being (illegally?) shot within the neighborhood.

...

We got back home on Wednesday we took it pretty easy: unpacking most stuff, picking up dinner and relaxing. Thursday was a major errand day. Ivy had a doctor's appointment so we headed out early to one of our preferred breakfast joints for Austin style breakfast tacos. Ivy's doctor reported that we have a perfect child ;). THREE years old, THREE feet tall and THREE-zero (read:30) pounds. A well-rounded child indeed! She did have to have two needle sticks. All was forgotten once we went to Chuck-E-Cheese! 

We all ran around playing games, winning tickets, riding rides and picking out prizes. Ryan wanted to stop by JC Penny's to look for a certain type of shirt. Apparently IZOD took over and his favorite brand is gone. After that disappointment, we headed on over to Central Market for grocery-getting stop #1 and picked up Five Guys for lunch (per usual after a CM stop) and hung out at home for a little while.

Once we had rested up, I finished unpacking the cars and put more things away. Ryan hooked up our new speakers. Ivy played and  ate supper then we all went to Market Street for grocery-getting stop #2. Back home, we gave Ivy a bath and put her to bed. I took down 90% of the Christmas decorations while Ryan tried for grocery-getting stop #3 at Wal-Mart - which is NEVER a good idea.

It should be mentioned here... How many married women out there work at cleaning and organizing and maintaining a home have a husband that says "Stop, let me do something, let me help!" I'm guessing that not too many. I have gotten really into maintaining my home. I don't mind doing everything that it entails. I'm not complaining that I need help or anything like that. I'm just doing what I think needs to be (and what I want) done. 

And now, here I sit. I am exhausted. Not only was today very busy, but I also didn't sleep very well last night. And tomorrow is going to be busy again! Carpet cleaners, a second attempt at Wal-Mart, something fun for Ivy, run to the bank, maybe some other random shopping. Who knows?

Menu Plan Monday

I am including this Friday and Saturday because we returned home mid-week and, well, we planned it!

Friday - Appetizers (crab rolls, smashed potatoes)

Saturday - Nachos

Sunday - Baked potato soup (crock pot)

Monday - LO soup

Tuesday - LO soup

Wednesday - Pizza

Thursday - LO pizza

Friday - Chicken pot pie

Saturday - Chicken salad sandwiches

Happy (?) New Year

I cannot recollect correctly - say that five times fast - but is there a New Year's superstition that says 'the first day of the year predicts the rest of the year'? Because if so, I'm already screwed. Cat piss, TMI ladies, and back spasms that keep me in bed all day are what I'll be looking forward to this year. Oh hooray (bitter taste of sarcasm).

I went to bed physically fine last night (after all the fireworks stopped) and woke up a few times to my back hurting. And by the time Ivy got up, it was worse so I took a muscle relaxer. After that wore out of my system, the pain was worse so I took a heavy pain killer which knocked me out until 2pm. It was getting so close to being on the verge of an unwanted trip to the ER. And it still hurts.

Then we decided to go out to eat for 'one last meal' for just the two of us. So I got dressed and headed to put on my jacked and shoes to find that one of the cats had pissed on my pile of stuff. How excellent. So those things got put into the wash. I really don't remember putting my jacket on the floor. But whatever.

And at dinner tonight, we decided to go to the local hibachi grill slash Japanese sushi and steakhouse. We opted for the grill and were alone for some time until three middle aged, Real Housewives wannabes were seated with us. I really did not need to know the following things: Why one was dumped by her date 2 hours before it happened, cervix widths, a husbands sleep apnea/thyroid issues, d&c miscarriage details, why one can get pregnant but not stay pregnant (progesterone levels), and birth control methods. Oh, let's not forget the special, expensive handbag that was ordered and ruined in one day with a pumpkin spice latte and how hot the UPS man was.

Stay classy!