I'm back!

Wow, it has been awhile and I must say it is good to be back! Eric and I went on our trip to Orlando and it was fabulous, fraught with adventure. (Is fraught a word? It is now?) Our first two days were spent mainly in the airport hotel. I do have to admit it was a fun airport though, good restaurants, shopping and people watching.) I relaxed, slept in, and finished two books. I went out to go to the pool but Orlando was having an unusually cold month. The high the whole time we were there was only about forty five, so my vision of me reading and lounging by the pool sipping fruity drinks was quickly headed out the window.
After Big E's conference was over, we headed to DISNEYWORLD! Amazing, seriously that place is huge. Our first night we strolled around Downtown Disney and had dinner at Earl of Sandwich. Eric and I looked into opening an Earl franchise, it is that good! The next morning we got up and went to the Magic Kingdom right in time for opening. We did the "Give a Day, Get a Day" service program and it was awesome. Really if you are planning any type of Disney trip Do it. It saved us $160. We went crazy and hit all of the good rides. I was sorely disappointed that the Magic Kingdom doesn't have Indianna Jones. By eleven o'clock we had hit all of the rides about three times, so we upgraded our ticket to a parkhopper. We went to Disney's Animal Kingdom, and Epcot as well. We went all day and only sat down for one 10 minute break. We stayed until the park closed at one o'clock in the morning and headed back to the hotel for a "nap". An hour and a half later we were up on our way to the airport. I flew standby and the early morning flight was my best bet at getting home. (This was the week that snowstorms slammed the East Coast and all of the airports were closed.) Well I got to L.A. and then I was stranded. Flight after flight I never got on. By the time the last flight left I would either have to get a hotel for two nights (I wasn't allowed to fly on President's Day) or stay in the airport. After my hour of sleep I broke down and we bought a ticket home on another airline.
It was an adventure! We are so thankful for my Aunt who gave us the buddy pass (we saved a lot of money) and my Mom for watching the man. By the end of the trip I was missing him terribly! The pictures are of us and our Mickey Mouse pirate ears, and on Harleys at the Harley Davidson store.

What's for Dinner Wednesday?

Okay, I have slacked off.... quite a bit really. But, I do have fabulous reasons that I will go into in the next post. But seeing as though I have missed three Tasty Tuesdays, here is What's for Dinner Wednesday. Thanks for the title Jill, you are the best! This is a great and easy recipe, not to mention amazingly good and even better for leftovers! To cut some of the fat, we very rarely put the cheese on top and if we use sour cream it is the no fat kind (ya know the carton that looks like a cow) and it still is very good.

Tacoritos
1 lb hamburger
1 onion, chopped
1 can refried beans
8 8-inch flour tortillas
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
½ can water
1 can enchilada sauce
1 can mild chopped chili peppers
1 c Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1 c Cheddar cheeses, grated

Brown meat and onion in pan. Add refried beans. Spoon mixture on to tortillas and roll, placing in a greased 9 x 13 pan. Combine soup, water, enchilada sauce and chili peppers and pour over rolled tortillas. Top with cheese. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Tasty Tuesday III

Yup my friends, I made it to week three. So week 1 was salad, week 2 was a main dish... so this week let's make it breakfast. This first recipe comes from Big E., and I must admit it has become a favorite. Last week we made this with freshly ground whole wheat flour and they were SO good. (Wow, that last sentence makes me sound so domestic/homemakerish, but don't be deceived Momma J ground the flour for me.) I am sure that many of you have had this before, it's an oldy but a goody!

German Pancakes
3 egg whites
3 whole eggs
1 c flour
1 c milk
½ tsp salt
½ cube margarine or butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, spray 9 x 13 pan with Pam. Take ½ cube of margarine and put into pan. Place pan in the oven while preparing the batter. In a blender combine egg white, eggs, flour, milk and salt. Mix for 2-3 seconds on a low setting. Use a whip to mix as you pour into the pan leaving some lumps. Bake for 25 minutes.

This next one is a simple granola recipe. I love granola and always wanted to make it but soon found out that I didn't have wheat germ and dandelion oil in my cupboards. Really good granola recipes have such things. But this is a simplified granola, and it is so yummy. I like it best with cold milk in the morning. If you make this remember to keep it in an airtight container. I know I got this off of some website, but I am not sure which one.

Cinnamon Raisin Granola
5 c old-fashioned oats
½ c honey
4 tsp ground cinnamon
½ c packed brown sugar
3 tsp vanilla extract
½ c vegetable oil
1 c raisins or crasins

In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, oil, honey, and cinnamon; bring to a boil. (I usually double the syrup) Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over oat mixture, stir to coat. Spread in a large shallow baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes stirring every 5 minutes. Cool and add raisins. Store in an airtight container.

There you go folks, give them a try!

Yuck!

I don't know why, but lately I have been bombarded with the simple fact that I am aging. I don't know if I actually have issues with aging, or more the idea that I am running out of time with people. Does that make sense? And okay, in all honesty I DO hate the wrinkle that is now permanent between my eyebrows. Mostly for the fact that if I forget to pluck my unibrow, my wrinkle highlights it and I look like Sam the Eagle off of The Muppets. I have been telling people that I am 23, for about three years now, why? Not sure. I liked 23, but I like now too. I love that I have Big E and The Mr. now. It's all very complicated.
However this hit me last night. Big E and I were watching an old Warren Miller movie, I remember back in the 23 days I thought these people were exciting and I took cues from them to be more daring... and maybe stupid. I wanted to become the skier that did amazing jumps while looking totally stylish while doing so. (Forget the fact that I have never skied). I was watching last night and the only thoughts that came to my mind were these: What complete idiots, just asking for back and joint injuries.
The aging thing hasn't been helped with the realization that if I wear orthopedic inserts in my New Balances, I am a new woman. This combined with the second realization that if I ever lost Farsen, pretty sure I would lose it. I also saw on one of my old young women's Facebook that she was a fan of the group, "At your age I knew Shia Labeouf from Even Stevens NOT Transformers". What in the crap is Even Stevens?
Well, I am tired while writing this post. I am not even sure if it made sense. But maybe it has brought me some comfort, and maybe tomorrow I will actually wake up a 24year old. Maybe.