A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes.....

Tickets to Disney on Ice: Princess Wishes............................$99.60

Jasmine Costume...........................$37.45

Cotton candy during intermission...........$10.00

Making a five year-old princess' dream come true........priceless

First Visitors of the Year!

My dad and his wife, Myrna, came to visit us last weekend. First of all, let me just say that I'm never sure how to refer to Myrna. "Stepmom" is out of the question....sounds too much like "Cinderella and her wicked stepmom"-ish...."my dad's wife" sounds a little too distant--(refer to the first line of this post), "she's my friend" makes it sound like I don't know what to call her....so, I've decided on my "second mom". Phewie...stress! Regardless, let it be known that I adore her to pieces. She is so optimistic, friendly, kind, genuine, patient, happy,.....I could go on and on.

We went to the park, "Desert Breeze Railroad Park" to be exact and fed the ducks, rode the train, and swang--("swang" is one of those words that bug me, I wish swinged was proper English, although that doesn't sound much better). Sorry, I digress. I think that was another one of those moments where I was like, "Geez, Myrna is amazing!". She pushed Deklan for what seemed like hours on the swing. My kids call her "Grandma Myrna" and Myrna's grandkids call my dad "Grandpa Doug" or "Grandpa Dunk"--(2 year olds are so cute!). After the park we went to "In-N-Out" for lunch. YUMMY! Myrna flew home Monday afternoon and Deklan kept saying...."I want to go wiff Granma Myrna on the earrrrrrplane". Made us all melt!

Sadie had the day off from school which made it all the better. I love those moments in life when you're like, "Ahh, I get it. I know what really matters!" And I usually have those moments when I'm surrounded by my kids and I see how delighted they get doing the most ordinary, inexpensive, spontaneous things. It's simple. Bread + ducks + outdoors + grandpa and grandma = sheer joy! Kids really do have it all figured out.

Southwest Pork Kabobs

So I haven't mastered the art of photographing food...but a new year calls for some new recipes. A person can only eat chicken nuggets, pizza, tacos, spaghetti and fish sticks so many times, right? Well feast your eyes on these little beauties.....


Marinade

1/2 c. fresh orange juice
3 T. extra virgin olive oil
2 T red wine vinegar
1 T minced garlic
2 tsp. pure chile powder
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 pds. boneless pork sirloin, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 pint of grape or cherry tomatoes
1 lime, cut into quarters
2 T finely chopped fresh cilantro

1. Whisk together the marinade ingredients.
2. Put the pork in a resealable plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Press the air out and seal tightly. Turn the bag to distribute the marinade and refrigerate for 1 hour.
3. Remove the pork from the bag and discard the marinade. Thread the pork and tomatoes onto skewers, alternating the ingredients. Grill over Direct high heat until the pork is barely pink in the center and the tomatoes are very soft, 6-8 minutes. Top with a squeeze of lime juice and the cilantro. Serve warm. Will feed 4 adults and 2 picky eaters.

Blase'

What is wrong with me? I'm feeling blase'. Usually come January 1, my Franklin planner has made it's grand entry into the new year...addresses are up-to-date, calendar is planned, goals are written, projects are listed in order of importance, the budget is carefully projected. Not this year. Today I woke up at 5 a.m. and decided it was much too early, shut the dumb alarm off, and cuddled with my two kids who had made their way into my bed. We slept until 8:15!!! And then I decided, I didn't really need to work today anyway. We played cats. Sadie was my pink fuzzy cat and Deklan was my skinny striped cat. (Something IS WRONG with me..I hate cats!!!) Then we lazily got dressed, ate breakfast and played with our Christmas toys again. Deklan is down for a nap. Sadie is washing dishes because, "I want to do something nice for you mom!". And I'm blogging. We will go to swim lessons today at 5:30 p.m. and meet Erik there. Then we will return home to crockpot stew and cornbread. And that will be it for January 2, 2008. A wasted day? My cats will tell you different!