I love these two shots as they give a great look at what the thee kiddos often do when they are together. They all get quite excited at the sight of the others, but their little personalities come out quite easily.
Shot One-the kid who can’t keep his arms to himself:
Shot Two-the kid who clearly demonstrates that she is the old one:
I love roasting birds-turkeys and chickens (who wants to spend time cooking a dove?!?) I was able to help my not-so little brother learn how to roast a chicken and we used this wonderful stand-by. Everyone needs a great chicken recipe, so if you don’t already have one, check this out:
Ingredients: 
3 tablespoons minced fresh thyme
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1 7-pound roasting chicken
1 lemon, quartered
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup (about) canned low-salt chicken broth
2 teaspoons all purpose flour
Preheat oven to 450°F. Mix first 4 ingredients in bowl. Rinse chicken; pat dry. Place chicken in roasting pan. Rub all but 1 tablespoon garlic-thyme oil over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place lemon in cavity of chicken. Tie legs with string.Roast chicken 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Roast chicken until meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of inner thigh registers 180°F, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Lift chicken and tilt slightly, emptying juices from cavity into pan. Transfer chicken to serving platter. Tent chicken with aluminum foil to keep warm.
Pour pan juices into large glass measuring cup. Spoon fat off top. Add wine to pan; place over high heat. Bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Pour wine mixture into measuring cup with pan juices (do not clean roasting pan). Add enough chicken broth to cup to measure 1 1/2 cups. Return broth mixture to same roasting pan. Mix flour into reserved 1 tablespoon garlic-thyme oil. Whisk into broth mixture. Boil broth mixture in roasting pan set over 2 burners until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Season pan-juice mixture to taste with salt and pepper. Pour into sauceboat. Serve chicken, passing pan-juice mixture separately.
Admittedly, I tend to be a bit particular with my vision, I think due to the fact that I was so decidedly near-sighted for so long and then experieced the joy of Lasik surgery and perfect vision.
But I have been having some trouble with my vision the last month, and I was afraid that I would have to go back to glasses and contacts…
The great news is that my vision is still 20/20 and 20/15!
What then is the problem? How could I be complaining? Well I was having trouble with fluctuating vision over the last month-morning of marked vision trouble and tired eyes at night (so bad that I had trouble seeing the DTV schedule from the couch somtimes-that is when you know you have a problem.) But the waking up with poor eyesight was what really worried me.
I feel better now, as I know the problem. I know the problem after having my eyes super dilated (the severe dilation lasts almost 24 hours instead of the regular couple of hours.) Being super dilated meant that I could not read at all for several hours yesterday (and the kind intern handed me a magazine to read while waiting for the doctor! ) I had to wear my sunglasses in the house all afternoon, and when I could read yesterday it was only with reading glasses…It is a good thing I trust my doctor. 
But after all that, my problem is…
tired, dirty eyes caused by…
doing too much close work (like reading, grading and typing on the computer) especially late at night. I am actually typing this with my eyes closed to reduce the strain.
There is so much to be said for time spent with long-time friends who have known you through thick and thin.
Faith came into town this weekend so several old pals got together for dinner and the time flew! I usually get to Friday night and feel like my brain has processed plenty, thank you! But we had no lack of conversation, laughs, old memories, laughs, good stories, laughs, and new stories. Anyone who knows Faith knows that she can make you laugh.
Every now and then I looked around us at the restaurant to see if we might be as loud as I feared we were…
Judging by the fact that every time I looked up some table was looking over at us I think we were loud.
Of course, I am sure they were all really just wishing that they were have having as much fun.
Alas, I have no pictures, just memories…
According to Bon Appetite, these are Texas Beef Tacos, but there is nothing about these that even hints at Texas…I think they are far more in the world of Cuba or Jamaica…So, voila-they are now renamed!
I highly recommend these tacos, whatever you might call them. In fact I have 2 challenges-
1-if you use packaged taco mix, stop! It is quite simple to make any type of taco without the expensive, preservative riddled packages of mix.
2-if you make your own taco seasoning, shake it up with these. I have never made tacos with ingredients like this, but we all loved them. None of the kids knew that there were several secret ingredients in here…
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup pecan pieces
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Just saute the onions, peppers and garlic until soft, then add the cumin and cook for a minute. Add the beef and cook until browned. Drain any fat. Add the tomato sauce, raisins, pecans and s & p. Finish with cilantro. You’re finished!
And yes-add the raisins and pecans. They were luscious additions.
Today several classes learned the form and purpose of the basic essay outline.
Moving around the room makes outlines fun! 
Our learning goal for the day: 
You’ll notice my very artistic rendering of a piece of binder paper with the red margin line and the holes on the left side of the paper. As some former students will remember, I can be a stickler for using the correct side of the paper and lining up your outlines with the correct indents.
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