Foodie Friday: Carnitas lettuce wraps

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I spy a melon!

We were excited at the end of the year when it looked like we might have a winter harvest of cantaloupe. One teeny-weeny cantaloupe was growing in the repurposed toy truck that we converted into a planter. Unfortunately, we had a couple of cold snaps that Texas winters are known for, and the wee little melon didn’t make it.

Who wants salad?

A few weeks ago, we decided to get started on the spring garden and planted four seedlings of green leaf lettuce. They have really flourished and are now ready to harvest! We pulled off a few leaves, which should grow back as the plants continue to grow.

The guys enjoyed their green leaf lettuce with carnitas on flour tortillas, but I made lettuce wraps for myself with a scoop of picante sauce, and they were delicious! (This is the part where I should admit to using pre-seasoned, fully-cooked carnitas, not from a recipe. 🙂 )

Carnitas lettuce wrap with salsa

Like the cantaloupe, our tomatoes didn’t survive the Texas weather [summer] last year, so we started the upside-down plant this week, in the hopes that we can have spring tomatoes, instead. I hope we can keep them alive this year, because I love the idea of having my own salad &/or lettuce wraps on hand, whenever I want.

I might be the only parent in town whose kid asks for lettuce on his sandwich and I send him to the yard to pick it himself! 😉

Linking up: Milestone morning

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I’m linking up again today with the MOB Society‘s weekly reminder to brag about the terrific things our boys are doing.

Today was a great morning. I am thankful that the boys seldom have problems getting out of bed on school mornings (which is something I should remember in my grumpy, groggy state on Saturday and Sunday mornings when they wake me up before dawn … but I digress). Today, though, was even better than usual.

The older two decided to not only make breakfast for themselves, but they cooked over-easy eggs for the rest of the family, too! Needless to say, the younger three were VERY excited when they woke up to the smell of breakfast already on the table.

After the big two left to catch the bus, the younger guys asked if they could make their own lunches. Admittedly, it was more “work” to let them do it themselves, but they had such a fun time and were so proud of themselves. We even plucked a few pieces of green leaf lettuce from the garden (<<sneak peak for tomorrow’s Foodie Friday post! 😉 ) for their sandwiches.

Way to go, boys, for getting the day off to a great start! (Now, please keep it up and don’t get in trouble at school! 🙂 )

Follow other MOB Society posts on Twitter under the hashtag #LetsHearItForTheBoys.

Owie

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I managed to whack a doorframe as I reached for a light switch last night and popped the top knuckle in my thumb. Now, I will admit that I’m a finger-popper. I always have been. The way I figure it is, arthritis runs in my family anyway, so cracking my knuckles occasionally isn’t going to affect it one way or another. (Besides, I’ve read plenty of articles that say that finger-popping causes arthritis is an old wives’ tale, anyway.)

However, I don’t pop my top knuckles, just the ones that connect my fingers to the palm of my hand. So, when I hit my thumb on the doorframe and felt that joint go POW, it hurt like #*$&(#@$%*_!@#. It still aches this morning, even. 😦  I know it isn’t broken, because I can still use it, and it isn’t discolored or swollen, but it aches awfully. Typing seems to be ok – doesn’t make it ache any worse, but I keep re-hurting it when I do something simple like pick up my coffee mug or put my purse strap over my shoulder.

Waah. Welcome to my pity party.

Wednesday Words: The Paper Monster

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Paper is my nemesis. The boys bring home so many papers from school (often duplicates, since two go to one school and three attend another) that is is difficult to keep the study tidy. (And by “difficult,” I mean that it is seldom tidy. Ever.)

I like having to-do lists, primarily because I think of random things that I need to do when I’m not in the position to take care of it right then and there. I usually have a running list on a piece of scratch paper on my desk at work, but at home, scraps of paper end up where mismatched socks, single puzzle pieces and AA batteries go … oblivion.

The boys each have a plastic basket to hold the random assortment of school papers, but it takes time to go through the baskets and decide what is special enough to keep for posterity (which then goes into a plastic folio thingamajig for that school year), and what needs to go in the recycle bin.

I also use a magnetic whiteboard that I keep on the fridge. It has two columns: one for meal planning purposes (ie, “What’s for dinner?”) and the other for daily activities, such as school programs, birthday parties, etc. We have another magnetic pad of paper for a running shopping list, and it works out pretty well; just add to the list as you think of things and rip off the sheet when you head to the store.

I know that I need to sort through the paper baskets more often, but with everything else there is to do after school/work, time in the evenings gets away from me. I’m open to other suggestions for managing the paper monster. Please share!

Monday Musings: Free time

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TV? What is that?
Doctoral students don’t have
time to watch TV.

That is partly true, but not entirely. I could watch a little TV, but I can’t watch anything consistently, so rather than be disappointed about missing episodes or having to DVR them for later, I just don’t watch much at all. I catch occasional cooking shows and sporting events, but I’m seasons behind on some of my faves, like The Big Bang Theory, Glee, The Office and NUMB3RS (<<Is that one even still on the air?).

Here’s hoping for something good to watch in, say, the fall of 2014! 😉