GREEN CHILI PORK

3-4 lb. pork roast or port tenderloin
1/2 - 1 cup water
1 Tbsp. salt
Pepper to taste
4 small cans chopped green chilies
1 28 oz. can green chili enchilada sauce
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 bunch of cilantro, washed and chopped
1/2 - 1 cup drippings from meat

Cook the pork in a crock pot with 1/2 - 1 cup water, salt, and pepper overnight on low. Remove the roast, reserving the liquid. Shred the meat and place back in the liquid in the crock pot. Add the remaining ingredients and let simmer on high for an hour covered, then uncovered for a couple of hours to reduce the liquid and allow the mixture to thicken. Stir occasionally and watch the consistency. Since the meat will be spooned into tortillas, it should have the thickness of a stew. If the mixture starts getting too thick, add additional drippings and/or cover it. If the mixture is too thin when ready to serve thicken with a little corn starch.

To Serve: Place a large spoonful into a warmed flour tortilla and wrap. OR quick fry some corn tortillas just until they are brown around the edges and easy to bend. Drain on paper towels. OR if you prefer a chimichanga style burrito, place the wrapped tortilla in a frying pan with a small amount of oil, shortening, or butter and brown on both sides.

This is from The Worldwide Ward Cookbook page 112.

Tips: I keep it covered most of the time, taking the lid off for the last hour on high. I don't know why, but I always have to add more water. My family prefers the corn tortillas, shredded lettuce, cheese, and a few beans.

These are REALLY good!

ps: the gal who submitted this recipe is from Surprise, AZ, and gives this to her neighbors for their Christmas gift!

GAME DAY

So many 'games'. So many strategies.

Yesterday's game of clean and purge master bath was a victory! Under those sinks. Medicine cabinet. Walls. Baseboards. Our offense was smashing. We crushed their defense! The purge was inspiring. We scored with every possession. Next weeks opponent: the drawers. Now I don't want to give the impression that we are slobs by any means--we are not. BUT, over time it is easy to 'keep' things we think we will use or will need and never do. So lately, I am on a simplify signal call and editing the play book! I like to go in there and just open everything up just to look at it!

Today's game schedule was a daunting opponent. Finish Cherise's 2nd blanket set, grocery store, pharmacy, gas the car, BYU game, 2 lacrosse games, gas the car again, and feed the fam!

I did a mexican theme for game day fare. Green Chile Pork (which I started last night in one of my favorite friends: the crock pot), and Black Eyed Pea Salsa. I will post the recipes after this. Nicely spiced--but not too much--for a cool autumn 'sports' busy day.

Blanket finished: check
Grocery store/pharmacy: check
Gas the car 2 times: check
BYU game: check that win
2 lacrosse games: check! Divide and conquer on this one. Duff and sons stayed home for the football game, and me and Chris did lacrosse. She plays in Newport Coast, and I gotta say, it's cold down there for late afternoon games! She had one at 2pm, an hour in between, and another one at4pm. That marine layer just comes in and they play and we sit in the fog. A definite cool mist humidifier for sure! I have totally straight poker hair. Not a smidge of curl anywhere. My hairstyle is a straight one to begin with, with a lot of effort and product to get it to bend a bit to soften the ends, so by the end of this game schedule today at 5pm I looked like I had stepped out of the shower. And anyone who has a trifle of natural curl looked like they had a brand new perm. I was half frozen when they finished and those seat heaters went on first thing for the ride home. Best news ever: they beat Mater Dei (big Catholic private school who recruits for all their sports) with Christine as the goalie!!!! Yay! It makes the bruises more bearable...

Home to eat. Chris off to babysit--which she accepted first and then 30 seconds later got 3 calls to do things with friends. So proud of her to keep her committments. And Duff and I are spending a quiet, nice and warm, evening at home. Love those!

Happy Weekend All!

I got this in my email today from my dear friend, Lisa K. I've seen it before, but it's a great laugh for a Friday! It is good to watch it a few times to get all the details, like the dad with the tissue stuffed up his nose, and the other dad with a diaper taped to his face like a mask, and the space suit is hysterical! (Before you click on it, scroll down and turn off my music. Then turn up your volume for the full effect!)



(Truth be told, some diaper changes are even difficult for we seasoned mothers, but don't tell the guys.....!)

ENJOY!

I Can't Help It!

I LOVE Christmas music!

There. It's 'out'. If you didn't know that about me already.

I'd play it all year long, but my family would plot a mutiny.

I acquire one new Christmas CD every year. It is the biggest collection of music I have. I love it all from Andy Williams, to Bing, to James Taylor, to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, to Amy Grant, to Kenny G, to Donny Osmond, to The Ray Conniff Singers, to The Carpenters, to Percy Faith, to the German albums I grew up on from my mama, OH! and so many more!

This year I'm getting 2.

I already got this one by Hillary Weeks. It is beautiful. Some familiar traditionals, and some of her new work. I already have it memorized. I know, I know. But truly, I just can't help it! I've been playing it over and over and over...

Go here to find out more information:

http://hilaryweeks.com/moreinfo.php?SKU=1021 OR:

http://deseretbook.com/hilaryweeks OR:

drive on over to Deseret Book and pick one up a.s.a.p.!

You will not be disappointed.

AND! My friend Victoria is feverishly finishing this CD of her original Christmas music. It is her first ever CD. She came with musical talent from heaven and is now finally able to publish/produce this. She writes it all and has some beautiful talented voices of friends who sing it. Many of these songs have graced our church programs over the years. We've all been encouraging her forever to make a CD and here it is!

The title is: It's All About The Baby
and you can go here to find out all the details:
http://www.vixlove.blogspot.com/
and click on the same picture as above for information.
It comes out any day now. She promised it would be done by tomorrow.... You won't be disappointed here either!

Listening to Christmas music just somehow makes me happy! I know some people get all upset at the malls and stores decorating so early, but if it gets people to think about Christmas and it's true meaning I have no problem with it! Decorate for it starting in July! I think we need to listen to more of it. It makes one think about Jesus, and I'm just fine with that!

The world needs more of that these days. Don'tcha think?

Little Ditties...

The moisture and cooler air has returned and it feels soooo good!

I have a friend who is dieing. She has a terrible disease. Duff and I went to the hospital to see her today. She is pretty close to death and on a ventilator right now. When I walked in the room and called her name she spread her fingers out on her left hand reaching for mine. I grabbed that hand so quick and she squeezed. Just faintly. But it was a squeeze that she sustained for as long as she could. I squeezed back, gently. Spirits connecting.

I sat there with her while Duff went with her hubby to the hospital cafeteria so he could get some lunch. I talked for a while with her listening. Then I could tell she was tired, and I just sat there holding her hand. All the while the nurses doing what needed to be done.

We can do so much medically. She may even rally a time or two and might even be able to come home for a bit. But in the end, this disease is going to take her.

After that, we went to Costco and did the quarterly shopping. I won't need to go back for groceries until after the first of next year. I sure like that. Just fresh and miscellaneous items from the local supermarket. We are planning a winter garden. We've never done one before. We'll see how it turns out!

I just kept thinking about my friend in the hospital. Fighting to live and here I am healthily shopping and going on with the dailyness of living. I think about that a lot lately with our cousins passing away recently too. Life is fragile. More fragile than we realize. But I think the biggest thing I ponder about is that life is ongoing. Just not here.

God's plan of happiness is real. It's not just some made up, feel good story. We lived before we came to earth, we are here to prove ourselves and make and keep covenants, and we continue to live after this mortal experience. How am I measuring up?

Natalie had her weekly o.b. appointment today. The baby is still measuring large--we already knew that! You can tell from the pictures I took of her belly. But Robert is 6'3" and was a 10 pounder at birth--and if she doesn't have him by the 15th, they will induce. Wahooie! He is almost here!

Christine is coming down with a cold and Duff's asthma is flaring. My eyes are itchy. Ah. Fall!

The Atheist

Interesting story. Makes you think!

An atheist professor was teaching a college class, and he told the class that he was going to prove that there is no God. He said, "God, if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform. I'll give you 15 minutes!"

Ten minutes went by. He kept taunting God saying, "Here I am, God. I'm still waiting." He got down to the last couple of seconds and a big, 250 pound football player in the class walked up to the professor, hit him full force, and sent him flying from his platform.

The professor struggled to get up, obviously shaken and yelled, "What's the matter with you? Why did you do that?"

The football player replied, "God was busy. He sent me."

(God is in the details. We never know how he will use us for good as His instrument. Most often the answers to our prayers are met through another person....)

...and it's November's Provident Living...

Scroll down and to the left side. Soups this month. Kind of a no-brainer. Just add it to your marketing list each week. And I think it's kind of fun to have it be the theme because it's the perfect time of year!

I know it's hard. I know the economy stinks. But we can do this, we can do this, we must do this.....

Love, Mom and Dad

Just Because...

Auntie Christine and Uncle Shaun saying hi to baby Newell.

He's all out in front!

Camera Fun!

Discomboomerated!

Okay. Today I was really out of it.

The traveling, the switching, the time change, it's all catching up with me. I did change sheets on our bed and got laundry almost done. But I'm discomboomerated.

Did I mention how the time change really messes me up? It's dark at 5pm and I feel like I should be going to bed and we haven't even had dinner! I know I'll adjust after a week or so, but I don't like it. I wish we were like Arizona and just stayed the same all the time. Why do we do this?????

We had sandwiches and fruit for dinner. Read scriptures with Christine, and watched DWTStars.

Off to bed. It feels like it's midnight!

Sunday

No time to rest here! Church, family dinner and FHE.

Good times, good times.

p.s. It was nice to get an extra hour, but the time change messes me up.....

It Finally Happened on this Flight!

Cameron was one of the flight attendants on my flight! Yay! He's looking fresh and perky in his uniform at work, and I am at the end of a long week. He even got to serve my section. I'll tell you this: Halloween evening is a good time to fly. The airports were like ghost towns and the flight was less than 1/2 full.

Silly us.
After we landed in Long Beach, the pilot let him take me into the cockpit for a tour!
It was soooooo cool. See me sitting in the pilot seat? It is a lot smaller than I thought, and there are so many buttons to push and flip. I was amazed that this little space controls such a large traveling machine!

It was fun to catch up with Cam and chat away, when he wasn't working of course!

This auntie loves you Cam!

If It Looks Like A Duck...

...and walks like a duck....

Well, you know the saying!

It Looks Like Halloween To Me!

What can be said about Candy Corn? That delicious, addictive indicator that fall is REALLY here. Can anybody eat just one????

One of our favorite all hallows eve pieces: the haunted mansion with blinking lights and a witch that circles the turret with ghosts laughing.

And the fall mantle.

Tomorrow I'll put out the pilgrims and indians and say goodbye to the tick or treators!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!