It Is Done!

The flooring extravaganza of 2009 has finally reached completion!! Pictures to follow soon!!!

To all the dads in my life...

To my dad : Thank you for always sticking around. I know I was "less" than the perfect daughter but I was yours and you are always my daddy. I love you.

Dad, Bill, Pops: You have so many names and an amazing patience.
Thank you everything you do for our family.



GGDaddy: Thank you for always loving your little squirt blossom.
She and we are blessed to have you in our lives.

Charles: My brother and an amazing dad. We don't always see eye to eye but we are getting there! You may not know it or believe it but you are a wonderful daddy to your daughter. You are doing a great job.
I love you too, even if you pick on me:)

You are...

you are

my hero
my best friend
my confident
my rock
my rescuer
my dependable one
my husband

you are
her hero
her safe place
her friend
her playmate
her story-teller
her source of endless hugs and kisses
her daddy

Thank you for all you have done and continue to do for us.
We are so proud that you are ours!
Happy Father's Day, Will!

Love on a tortilla!

Tonight during the wild storms we had the most amazing dinner. I found this recipe a while back but only got around to fixing it today. I put it in the crockpot this morning around 8:30 and we ate dinner at 6:30. Will shredded the meat and I made guacamole to go with the tacos. We use corn tortillas heated in a little hot oil but I bet flour would be fine also. I highly recommend this recipe. It was easy to throw together this morning and fast tonight when we were ready to eat! Here is the recipe and you can find the original here! Bon appétit, mes amies!

Cilantro Slaw
1 head red cabbage
1 c. Mayonnaise (I split 1/2 mayo and 1/2 miracle whip)
1 c. Cilantro, chopped
1 tsp. minced Garlic
1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper or a dash of your favorite hot sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. Lime Juice (one small lime)
1/2 tsp. Cumin

Combine all but slaw in a mini food processor or chop and combine yourself. Mix desired amount of dressing with slaw mix no more than 30 minutes before serving.

Roasted Sweet Pork
6 (approx) pounds Pork butt/shoulder (Mine was only about 3 lbs...no problems!)
1 19 oz. can Red Enchilada Sauce ( I used Old ElPaso...it was all the Kroger had)
1 can Dr. Pepper (12 oz)
2 tsp. Chili Powder
1 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. salt
1 Clove Garlic or 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 1/2 c. Brown Sugar
1/2 onion, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (I forgot this, oops!)

Combine all ingredients into your crockpot and cook on low 9-10 hours or until meat is tender.

We put the meat and slaw in the tacos together, the slaw was pretty powerful but when paired with the sweet pork it was amazing! Also, I used a whole head of cabbage and thought the amount of mayo was too much for our taste. Next time I think I will reduce it to 3/4 cup and see how it works.

Let me know if you decide to try it, you'll be glad you did!

Lunch Today

I can't find the site to where I first saw this but I gave it a try today. Not very complicated or nutritionally balanced but Maddie though it was a fun lunch!

Don't mind me, I'm with the band...

...The Mesquite Symphonic Band, that is! (What you should read is a community band with an extremely diverse population of members.) Early in the spring I made a connection with the director and began attending rehearsals. It has been so much fun and reminds me daily of my love for anything music and a slight regret for not finishing my music degree, but I digress!

We do a few concerts a year and run 5 shows in June as our Music in the Park Series. These informal concerts are on the lawn of a gorgeous (yes, Mesquite has something gorgeous) park in Mesquite near a historical house. Each week we feature a different musical program and the community is invited to bring lawn chairs and or a blanket and relax to the music! We are certainly not a professional group but we do pretty well! Here are a few pictures from Monday's performance and from the performance last week.

{View of the director}

{View from the audience}

{Liz and me}

{My bandmates!}

{Maddie won some new crayons and coloring book!}

{Chris on the fluglehorn, Somewhere Over the Rainbow}

{Maddie camping out, it was not cold at all!}