Happy Dance!

This week I will pay off one of my longest running and most cumbersome debts, and I. am. giddy. I want to call the the bank and scream "In yo face, suckahs!" But since I was the sucker in that relationship, I won't.

I don't know why, but the song "I've Got No Strings" from Pinocchio popped into my head. Apparently, I listened to that record so many times as a child it is ingrained in my repertoire of songs I know but should never sing in front of another human for the well-being of all.

While I've only reduced my personal debt (not home or auto) by 55%, I think that's pretty darn good for the first month of the austerity program. While there are still "strings attached," and we still have many obligations to meet, we are ahead of schedule (thanks to a few pointers from Suze Orman).

I would like to dedicate the following little diddy to Bank of America.


Lyrics Dickie Jones - I’ve Got No Strings lyrics

Cookwell

I am a huge fan of quick recipes that don't dirty up a ton of dishes, and create tasty leftovers that reheat well. Recently, Joe brought home a jar of Cookwell & Co's "Two-Step Mix Green Chile Stew" from Central Market (they carry it at HEB too). The label instructs to go to their website for recipes...and boy, do they have a TON of recipes for this jar of yummy goodness. We're definitely fans, and have since bought a couple of jars.

The first and only recipe I've tried was for Chicken Verde Enchiladas. We like it so much I haven't even bothered trying any of the other recipes yet. The sauce has wonderful tanginess and is mild on the heat. I never order sourcream & chicken enchiladas at restaurants because the ones I've had are always bland, but this sauce is perfect. It would be a good dish to take to a pot-luck.

It's really easy. It's cheap, considering all the leftovers, and it's delicious! I boiled my own whole chicken and that added to the prep time, but canned chicken would work too.

CHICKEN VERDE ENCHILADAS

Serves 6 – 8

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

12-18 corn tortillas*

2 c chopped or shredded cooked chicken

1 jar Cookwell & Company Green Chile Stew Mix

2 c shredded Monterey jack or Colby jack cheese

¾ c sour cream

Mix chicken, sour cream and 1 cup Green Chile Stew Mix in a mixing bowl. Wrap

tortillas in a damp paper towel, then heat tortillas in a microwave for 1 minute until

pliable. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with non-stick spray. Place a heaping tablespoon full of

chicken mixture in a tortilla, roll up and place in the pan. Repeat until pan is full of

enchiladas. Pour the rest of the Green Chili Stew Mix evenly over the enchiladas

and top with cheese. Bake for 40 minutes at 350˚. Garnish with chopped green

onions

Our Stats- In Honor of V-Day

Yes, that is the "sweeheart" ribeye we had for our Valentine's dinner. Aside from being cute and a bargain at only $9.99, it was delicious! Steak is a rarity at the casa, but we do enjoy the occassional slab o' beef.

The official day of love had me thinking about our stats. Here's the Joe and Sarah run down:


8 years and 10 months. How long we've known each other.


4 years and 8 months. How long we've been married.


20 years and 8 mos. Joe's age when he met Sarah.


19 years and 4 mos. Sarah's age when she met Joe.



Oh my gosh, we were so young when we met! Here's our story if you haven't already heard. It was fate. Sigh.


I was living in the Jester dormitory at UT and Joe was stationed at Ft. Hood in the Army. We met on a blind date set up by my roomie and Killeen native, Amber. She'd met a GI in a bookstore and they were planning a date in Austin. She asked him to bring a friend for me to make it a double date. I interviewed my potential suitors over the phone. Having the choice between Joe and some sweet Georgia boy (I am a sucker for an accent),I picked Joe because...well, he had wheels and I was told he was more fun. I later learned that the other guy was wearing Realtree overalls, sans shirt. Nice. lol

We went to Pappadeaux's on our first "date." I use quotes because he only thought he was coming to Austin to party with some college girls and hang out. In fact, he'd only ventured on to the military post that day to locate someone to buy "beverages" for a party and Aiden, Amber's date, was merely an acquaintance of his. But being fun-loving and adventurous, Joe agreed to go to Austin that night. He was caught a bit off guard when dinner was brought up and secretly panicked when Amber chose Pappadeaux's. He had to borrow some cash from Aiden to pay for our dinner (unbeknownst to me). He held my hand in the car on the way to the movie that night. :) We saw Rocky Horror Picture Show...and Joe was a good sport even though he hates that movie.

We've survived: several years of long distance dating (he moved back home to Florida after he got out of the Army while I finished college), a couple of pre-engagement break ups, a few stressful stints in Kuwait and Iraq, and several relocations. We've stuck it out, feast or famine and have created a pretty good life for ourselves.

From time to time our idiosyncrasies simply become annoying, responsibilities become overwhelming, but we deal with it all in stride.

That's us in March 2002, right after he returned from Kuwait. So old I had to scan it. Yes, my hair was really curly and in a ponytail. Speaking of things that have been with me for a while, I still have that shirt, too. I had it before I met Joe! That clock? Can now found in my classroom. I hang on to the good stuff. :)

Only Children and Whores

After a failed attempt to get a mani & pedi at the only (and best) nail salon open on Sunday, I was scanning through some old Myspace blog posts and I found this one called "Only Children and Whores." I'd TOTALLY forgotten about this experience, but it cracked me up. Thought I'd share. Mushy lovey-dovey post to come later.

The Southern Belle Primer (Or Why Princess Margaret will Never be a Kappa Kappa Gamma) clearly states that only children and whores wear red shoes.

I should have taken heed.

It was Saturday night and I was exhausted from one of the most trying weeks of my career. Not so exhausted that I wasn't feeling up to dinner and drinks with my cousin. I decided that I was going to get ready at her new swanky downtown apartment, so I didn't put much care into picking my wardrobe for the journey there. I knew that I would probably change clothes at Amanda's at least three more times before I was ready to go out. This is a bad habit I picked up from Amanda...if you can't beat them, join them. So when I left my house I knew that my lovely red platform wedges were too tall for my jeans. I knew that the perfect pair of long Juicy jeans awaited me in Dallas.

Like always, my car was running low on fuel, so I stopped in Midlothian to fill up, not self-conscious in the least about the disproportionate length of the inseam on my jeans to the height of my heels. It was dark, the place was practically deserted...and I'm married... Who am I trying to impress?

I pumped my gas and walked towards the store to use the ATM. As I reached the front, a man in his late 40s, early 50s leaned out the window of a silver Dodge pickup truck and drawled, "Darlin, those red shoes don't go with your outfit."

I kid you not.

I was mortified! I silently flung a barrage of vulgarities in his direction and went inside. Thanks douchebag! Who did this guy think he was? Carson Kressley?! Clinton Kelly?! Manolo Freakin' Blahnik?!?!?!?!

I don't know why it upset me so much when I knew that he was right. My red shoes didn't look right with my outfit. However, I've seen much more severe fashion blunders that no one dared to critique. I guess it was the audacity of a stranger telling me that got under my skin.

The Stuff of Legends

Yes, that's what I'm calling it....The Great Snow Storm of 2010...because it will be legendary. I will tell my grandchildren about the day it snowed a foot in Dallas, Texas. lol

When we woke up to a couple of inches of snow on the ground Thursday morning, I thought that would be about it. Always a skeptic...that's me. I went to school and it kept snowing steadily, and I waited just as anxiously as my students for the administrators to call an early release. They were so excited, and I was glad to have a window from which to watch the snow fall in big, fat flakes.

They are 15 and 16 years old and sometimes I forget how wide-eyed and innocent they can be. Many of them have never seen much more than a sprinkling of snow and I suppose that could have created some anxiety watching the snow fall incessantly and pile up.

Student: "Do you think we're going to get snowed in and be stuck here at school?"

Me: "Lord, I hope not."

Student: "But do you think it is possible?"

Me: "No."

Student: "Whew. Ok, good."

We ended up getting out at 1:45. It took a good hour for the parking lot to clear of students and it was a frightening scene indeed. Tires were spinning...kids darting between cars...I watched from my window and prayed they all made it home in one piece. I headed home to curl up under a blanket with Harry and Pheebs and watched a few episodes of Mad Men.

About 6:00 Joe called and asked if I would come help him and a co-worker who were stuck on the driveway to the KXAS transmitter in Cedar Hill. I have to admit, I felt pretty important and glad my gas guzzling SUV's 4WD was good for something, after all! I was also a smidge smug because had I told Joe to take it to work rather than his Civic that morning. I love it when I'm right. hehehe

Who would have ever thought we'd get this much snow?! We got around 11 inches here...the likes of which I've never known in Dallas, and may never see again! It's 2 days later and my yard is still covered. We only lost a couple of limbs from a pine tree in the back yard. I heard a loud pop in just as I was drifting off to sleep Thursday night, and figured that's what it was. My beloved pecan tree lives to see another day.

I had to get out of the house today. I was getting stir crazy and I needed to get a few grocery items for our Valentine's dinner tomorrow.

After braving the Central Market crowd on Valentine's day last year, I decided I'd give the new Lakewood Whole Foods a go this time.

I heart Whole Foods! It was busy, but not insane. It's not as well appointed produce wise as CM, but my goodness, it had everything I needed and more. I bought a "Sweetheart" cut ribeye for our protein, and I think I'm going to make some fancy Top Chef mac and cheese, and/or either roast or mash some German Butterball potatoes. Mmm carbs. I got some zuchs and yellow squash for some color. hehe Speaking of Top Chef...we made a heart shaped puff pastry topped with chocolate mousse and a drizzle of raspberry puree for our V-Day dessert last year, and it was soooo good! I am going to make it again this year...if I can find the recipe. :( If not, I'll just wing it. I remember it being fairly simple. Guess I'll find out!

And Jeremy, the wine you bought us is the only one left and I think it will go perfectly with dinner I have planned. It's been taunting me from the wine fridge since Christmas. Wish we could have enjoyed it with you when you were in town.

My Valentine's Day will consist of a mani and pedi (Joe's present to me...he just doesn't know it yet) and cooking a special meal with Joe. That's a pretty good day in my book!

O Canada

I love the Olympics. Aside from Joe working crazy hours to make sure NBC doesn't go off air and lose ad revenue, I look forward to them every other year. When else could I possibly watch hours and hours of figure skating and not have to contend with Joe's whining to change the channel? Recently I was watching a documentary on PBS (remember, I don't have satellite anymore), and saw a clip on how the Vancouver medals were designed with native Indian heritage in mind. It's kinda nerdy, but I love how each host country gets to put their touch on the medals.

Last night I had a dream that the Winter Olympiad athletes got a cheesy trophy instead of a medal....and to top it all off, it was a baseball trophy. I remember thinking "Epic fail, Canada, epic fail." They said that the medals were not ready yet and that the trophies were just temporary.

I think this dream was all brought about by the snow shortage I keep hearing about on the news. The Vancouver Olympic Committee is frantically hauling in snow from surrounding areas to compensate for a warmer than expected winter. Thankfully, it looks like they have it under control now. Hopefully the medal situation is taken care of too. :)