Buena suerte??

So I was walking to the corner market and what did I see? Signs for a new English language school in town! IN TOWN!! We're going to check them out tomorrow to see if they are hiring and what the pay would be. This isn't going to solve our money problems and prevent me from having to return to the states for a bit, but it could very well make it possible for us to return much more quickly.

Tomorrow we are planning a family day. We may go to the beach or perhaps just roam around--the point being we're getting out to do something other than work or take care of household business. Well... we have to go grocery shopping too, but as long as we do something else besides that, I'll be happy.

We are very low on food and I had no meat to cook for Mi Amor's lunch today, so I used what we had and made some egg salad. Unbeknownst to me, he'd never had it before and is now a huge fan. I was also told that I make better rice than his Tia... and that, my friends, is one of the biggest compliments I've ever gotten!! :)

Clinging to my sanity

I guess this is an addendum to my last post, but it's something I think I'll be writing about more often, so I'm giving it it's very own post.

Throughout my years on this earth, I have done many things to help alleviate stress... some more healthy than others. Lately, my outlet of choice has been cooking, and I've been reminded of how much I enjoy it. I haven't done it as much as I'd like over the past two years, because I'm often the only one around to eat it. Lately, I've taken to bringing cartons of food to work for coworkers because I just can't eat the same things over and over again and I enjoy the act of cooking too much to stop.

Before Thanksgiving, I made Blueberry Cranberry Apple Butter for holiday gifts... then I realized I've got some folks in my life with some special dietary needs, so over the weekend I made two versions of some Four Berry Apple Butter (blueberry, cranberry, blackberry and raspberry) for those folks.

Then I made some Chicken and Dumplings for dinner tonight.... oh my YUM!!!! I hadn't had it in forever and it was amazing... good thing too since I've got 4 meals worth of leftovers.

I'm making a pork roast this week since I have one sitting in my freezer.

I've got a ton of other things to make over these next two weeks too... just to get rid of the perishables. I'll likely be bringing some stuff over to my neighbor too. She's on a fixed income and still feeds her grandson (who works but won't buy her any groceries for some reason) on a daily basis, so she can definitely use some extra food now and then.

Cleaning out the Kitchen

In a quest to utilize what I've got in my cabinets and freezer, I decided to spend the afternoon making Christmas present preserves. Last year I made cranberry apple butter, and it turned out well but was a bit sweet. I found two bags of cranberries and a bag of blueberries in my freezer today, so this year's concoction is blueberry cranberry apple butter. It's got a very nice tartness to it, so I'm pleased with the outcome. I ended up with 11 half pint jars, so that should do well for gift giving this year, and I may bring some for Thanksgiving next week.

Slowly but surely, I'm using up what I have in the apartment. Made some vegetarian lasagna this weekend, using up the few lasagna noodles and the frozen breaded eggplant I had. Part of me thinks that the fact I have to buy more in order to complete the dishes I'm making is a bit counterproductive, but I guess I'd typically have to go grocery shopping anyway, so whatever. The lasagna was amazing, by the way. I used some sundried tomatoes and these great olives I have... I had planned on using some artichoke hearts I've got in the fridge too, but I forgot. I guess those will have to go in salads or something. This weekend I also made the turnip, parsnip and carrot dish that I love, which used half the homemade chicken stock I have in the freezer. I made myself throw out the veggie scraps I had in the freezer, along with some fish that had some serious freezer burn. I'm not going to make stock again in the next month, especially since I won't even be home for most of next week.

Most of my holiday shopping is complete, just a few odds and ends to pick up and a lot of organization to do. At this point, I think I may only have one more box to send down to El Salvador. I may have another to send after Christmas, as I am guessing La Hija is going to get a bunch of toys... especially since I bought her some this weekend. I took her to the toy store and we roamed around and I bought her some of the things she went nutso over... she was content with only opening the Yo Gabba Gabba figures, and she's been obsessed with them ever since. She's requested that we watch the show constantly, which means I have to play the same two On Demand episodes over and over and over. Thankfully, she's consented to watch Jack's Big Music Show (which I love) a couple of times and I've snuck in an episode or two of Blues Clues, The Backyardigans and Dora, so I am not totally insane... yet.

I booked the rental truck for the move as well. Of course they always tell you that you're not guaranteed a truck, which flips me out, but I'll deal with whatever comes up. If I have to drive an hour to pick something up, I will.

The next big task at hand is to correct all the papers I have in my possession before class on Tuesday so I don't have anything pressing over Thanksgiving. We're heading up to Michigan and as much as I'd like to pretend I'll get something done while I'm up there, I know better. Most of our time will be spent relaxing and visiting with family. My aunt has arranged for La Hija to get a ton of photos taken, so she'll get to play dressup one day too--we'll see if she cooperates!

Anywho, I guess I should go to sleep. Must wake up early tomorrow and get some work done.