checking items off the list…

I’ve felt very accomplished with my 101 Things list lately. I crossed another item off the list last night and wondered why I haven’t done it sooner.

There’s this lovely historic theater in town (much like the one I remember from my childhood), and they show an interesting mix of vintage and indie films. Last night, they were showing “Casablanca,” which is one of my very favorite movies ever. When I saw the ad in the paper a month ago, I immediately called our newest favorite sitter and booked the evening.

The theater is downtown near our favorite restaurant, so we had Voodoo Shrimp, crawfish etouffee, and jambalaya before walking over to see the movie. It was a lovely night.

I’m already looking at their schedule to find another movie to go see.

updates abound…

It was a busy week for us. I crossed off several items on my 101 Things list … in just one week. I’m telling you, it was a happening week.

First, last Sunday, we took the kids to the St Petersburg Museum of Art to see the traveling Andy Warhol exhibit. Last year, Griff did a project in school on Warhol, and so he was very excited about the exhibit. He really enjoyed seeing in person the artwork he studied. It was a neat experience. Eliza didn’t enjoy it on the same level, but she did really wonderfully, and we talked with her about the paintings she enjoyed and why she was drawn to them. Hopefully, it’s a step on a path to them both appreciating great art (and even fair-to-middlin art if it feeds their souls and makes them happy). (#21 crossed off)

Then, we traded both of our vehicles for new ones. Mike has driven a 1992 Chevy truck since 1993. When we got married, all of his worldly possessions that I let him bring to my townhouse fit in the bed of that truck. He taught me to drive a standard in that truck. I cannot count the number of times we’ve hauled furniture in that truck and had to pull over on the side of the road and cover it with tarps and bungee cords.

I once drove the truck over a big red toolbox. Twice.

Mike did the math and discovered that, through the years, he paid approximately $300 a year for the truck. In the last few years, he’s done most of the work on it himself. In some odd way, the truck represented our married life. There were all of these memories wrapped up in it.

But it wasn’t worth anything any longer, and Cash for Clunkers gave us $4500 for it. Mike’s now driving an SUV (and easily getting 10 MPG more than in the truck). We also traded in the mama van for a little sedan for me to drive back and forth to work. It’s not a hybrid, but the gas mileage is much better than in the van. (#96 crossed off)

Eliza’s begun taking swimming lessons and is doing really well. We’re not crossing #33 off the list just yet, but we’re really close.

Number 60 had me sending flowers to someone random every July. July was a little nutty for us, so I didn’t get the flowers mailed. I decided at some point that #60 wasn’t necessarily about sending real flowers. Instead, I let Eliza pick a flowered top for her little cousin, London. They’re packed and ready to be mailed Monday. (1/3 complete)

Numbers 79-81 aren’t my favorites. Thankfully, Mike’s taken those on. He has an 18 month plan & I’m doing what I can to comply. Frugal isn’t exactly my nature, but I’m doing my best.

And, in two weeks, Griff and I are beginning to work on #91. I’ll keep you posted on how that goes.

Thanks to everyone who’s going through these 101 Things with me!

Pork Tacos

As part of my 101 List, I set a goal to try new receipes and review half of them here. This one is a keeper. Here’s the recipe.

Pork Tacos

• 1 can chipotles in adobo sauce
• minced garlic
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 3 tbs olive oil
• 2 tbs honey
• 1 tbs cider vinegar
• kosher salt
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 3 1/4 c chicken broth
• 4 lbs boneless pork shoulder, cut into chunks
• fresh ground pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cinnamon stick

*In a blender, mix the garlic, chipotles in adobo sauce, onion, olive oil, honey, cider vinegar, salt and oregano.

*Pour the mixture into a dutch oven or deep saucepot and add chicken broth. Simmer till blended well.

*Add the pork, bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Cook covered in a 350 degree over an hour and 45 minutes. Uncover and cook another 30 minutes.

*Remove the bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Shred the pork with two forks and season as needed with salt and pepper.

*Serve with warm tortillas and toppings.

Optional Toppings

• radishes
• scallions
• salsa
• queso fresco (crumbled)
• fresh avocado
• lettuce
• red cabbage and jicama
• tomatoes
• mangoes

Notes…

__This is a recipe from the Feb/Mar Food Network magazine. I changed it a little bit. I left out the ancho and pasilla chiles (couldn’t find them at the Publix) and increased the chipotles from 2-3 to the entire can (about six). Not the best choice. Much hotter than the kids could eat. I ended up taking the pork out of the mixture about halfway through the cooking time and replacing the sauce with crushed tomatoes to cool it down some. Worked like a charm.

__You can also do this in the Crock-Pot. Just put it all in the CP instead of in the oven. Cook on high for five hours.

__The magazine suggests ‘upgrading’ your toppings. The odd sounding toppings are from them. The more traditional, from me.

__I started Weight Watchers recently, and this recipe will give you eight servings at 5 points per serving. With the queso fresco, salsa, radishes, and tortillas, the whole thing is 9 points.

Our Thoughts…

__Mike gave it a 4 out of 5, saying it was a different taste (pork, radishes, spinach, salsa and queso fresco) but a good different.

__Griff and Eliza both gave it a 5, which is rare around here and which probably means they won’t eat it at all the next time I make it. But Griff ate his with with radishes & Eliza had her’s with spinach, so it was a good meal all around.

__Me… I enjoyed it. But it was a lot of work. Now, sure, my toe hurts & I mostly just told Mike what to do, but it seemed like he did a lot of work. But it was tasty, and it would be a nice alternative to the typical tacos every now and then.

__And I would have taken a photo, but we gobbled them up way too fast.

a 101 update…

If you haven’t read my 101 Things in 1001 Days List, here you go. It’s even been updated.

Chel’s 101 Things in 1001 Days List

Started January 1, 2009
Ends Thursday, September 29, 2011

1. Read the Bible through… the whole darned thing, even the difficult and the dry and the dreary parts.
2. Start a college fund for Griff and Eliza (poor babies better hope they’re smart… I’m thinking scholarships are going to be necessary.)
3. Pay off ALL credit card debt.
4. Join and become active in a church (The actual REALLY final goal for this one is 12/31/09).
5. Take a yoga class.
6. Take a belly-dancing class.
7. Join a book club, if only for one book.
8. Read 100 books. Keep a list. (10/100)
9. Review half of those books on my blog. (4/50)
10. Grow herbs. Don’t kill them.
11. Grow cucumbers. Don’t kill them either.
12. Mail a secret to Post Secret.
13. Tell Mike the secret.
14. Get promoted at work. (5/13/09 - Yay, me!)
15. Take and pass three more insurance classes at work. (0/3)
16. Participate in the 365 Day Challenge. (0/365)
17. Lose 50 pounds. (10/50)
18. Buy handmade products for gifts as often as possible.
19. Submit a book proposal to a publisher.
20. Consider Aleece’s suggestion to blog for pay… or to at least add ads.
21. Take both kids to an art museum.
22. Hold my new niece. (2/09 … London is amazing.)
23. Memorize the books of the Bible.
24. Take a weekend trip with Mika and Tara.
25. Lower my cholesterol to 175 or lower and keep it in that range. (As of May ‘09, it was at 165. Now, to keep it there.)
26. Institute regular family outdoor activity days. (I hate the outdoors, but the weather here is fabulous & I want the kids to cultivate an active lifestyle.)
27. Take Mike to see the Blue Man Group in Orlando.
28. See a really good ballet.
29. Fly the four of us to Houston to meet Mandy, Josh, and Olivia to see an Astros game.
30. Begin a skip day tradition for me and Eliza like the one Mike has with Griff (Spring Training).
31. Teach Eliza to ride a bike without training wheels.
32. Go on a bicycle trail ride with Mike and the kids.
33. Teach Eliza to swim.
34. Take the kids swimming with the manatees.
35. Take the kids kayaking.
36. Take the kids to the drive-in theatre.
37. Send hand-written thank you cards.
38. Scan my grandmother’s old photos.
39. Take both kids to the Nick Hotel. (Booked for Eliza’s birthday, though she doesn’t know it yet.)
40. Donate jewelry to good causes.
41. Give blood. (1)
42. Volunteer to organizations that allow children to assist as well. Instill in the kids a sense of community and of giving.
43. Make the kids work (though we don’t call the tasks ‘chores’… we’re calling them Things You Should Do Because You Live Here).
44. Create a piece of jewelry for my mom from the broken pieces of my late grandmother’s jewelry.
45. Vote. (Presidential election ‘08)
46. Write a letter to the editor.
47. Write a letter to a government official about a cause I believe is important.
48. Take photos of my messy house. Make a collage of those photos. Mix in photos of my happy kids. Remind myself happy kids are more important than a clean house.
49. Teach Griffin about being a gentleman.
50. Read the Harry Potter books to Eliza (this will be close to the end of the 1001 days).
51. Write a new 100 Wonderful Things About Me list.
52. Get a tattoo (ok, maybe not, but I think about it a lot). (6/6/09 in Virginia Beach - Ancient Art Tattoo Parlor. Ask for Mike. See it here.)
53. Try 100 new recipes. (4/100)
54. Post and review at least half them on my blog. (3/50)
55. Write Tara a short story for her birthday. (Done!)
56. Serve my family one vegetarian meal a week. (0/143)
57. Wear a pedometer. Average 7-10,000 steps per day.
58. Print photos from Snapfish. All of them. Put them in albums.
59. Tithe. Not necessarily the 10 percent the Old Testament mentions, but enough that we are literally invested in the church.
60. Every July, send flowers to someone for no good reason. (0/3)
61. Have a standing date night with Mike every three months. (3/12)
62. See an old movie at the old theatre here in town.
63. Calculate my carbon footprint.
64. Take specific steps to shrinking my carbon footprint.
65. Begin a vacation fund for a romantic trip with Mike. (Chicago, four nights, July ‘09)
66. Give at least one compliment every day.
67. Pray with Mike.
68. Read the Bible with the kids.
69. Thank my kids’ teachers.
70. Buy a Starbucks for the person behind me in line as a surprise.
71. Shop locally.
72. Cook with fresh foods as often as possible.
73. Buy fewer books. Use BookMooch or the library instead.
74. For the books I do buy, use Eco-Libris.
75. Floss. (dammit)
76. Register online as an organ donor.
77. Plant a lime tree in our yard. Or two. Maybe two. (Mike gave me a lime tree for my birthday. 4/2009)
78. Paint the outside of the house a non-icky color.
79. Create a budget.
80. Stick to the budget.
81. Save several thousand dollars in an emergency fund.
82. Go to a women’s spiritual retreat. Convince Stacy to go with me.
83. Spend a weekend at a spa with LeeAnn.
84. Take Aleece to an art museum.
85. Go to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween every year with Mandy, Josh, and Olivia.
86. Start and maintain a scrapbook for our Halloween adventures from #85.
87. Keep a prayer journal.
88. Go to the local Farmer’s Market every couple of months.
89. Color my hair blonde for at least a little while.
90. Surprise the kids with a day trip somewhere fun.
91. Complete the Couch to 5K program.
92. Get “Band of Brothers” from Netflix for Mike and sleep while he watches it.
93. Re-design the back porch so it’s more functional and friendly (to me… the lizards already find it very functional and friendly).
94. Take a family portrait.
95. Take a hot bath at least once a week. (Seriously… I love baths, but I hate trecking across the house to the kids’ bathroom where there’s a tub.) (3/143)
96. Replace the van with a hybrid.
97. Have people who are not related to us to dinner at our house (I used to love to have people over for dinner before we moved!). (A work friend of mine comes over once a week so I can teach him to cook. And Eliza teaches him about little girls. Very fun.)
98. Have Eliza tested for her allergies. (The pediatrician says if she’s not having trouble, she doesn’t need to be tested again.)
99. Have Griff tested again for his pet allergies.
100. Rescue a dog from the pound.
101. Set aside one Sunday evening a month to call far-away friends. (0/33)

And a special one… for my personal blogging webmaster…

102. Thank Aleece routinely.

finding my morning…

As of this week, we’ve now been Florida residents for three years. In some ways, it seems like far less time has passed, and yet, in other ways, it feels like an eternity.

Three years. Griff’s attended two different schools, had three different homeroom teachers and one amazing gifted teacher, had surgery on both legs and learned that he’s stronger than he thought. Eliza’s gone from daycare to pre-k graduation, lost her first tooth and completely forgotten her life before Florida.

Mike has grown into this strong, capable, motivating professor. He has his own style and is comfortable in it. He’s serving on committees and hating it and missing his own faculty, but he’s so very good at what he does.

My three years were harder than Mike’s. Though now that I’m feeling better, stronger and more confident myself, I think that those first months, years, were just as hard on him as they were on me as he had to watch me struggle and suffer and flounder. And while we made the decision to move together, the move initially was far kinder to him than to me, and I was not too proud to mention that to him, more often than was necessary. He’s a kind man to have stayed with me when I was so miserable that I considered not staying with him.

But even then, all curled up in the bed, aching from the depression and homesickness, longing to go home, I couldn’t have possibly left him. He’s my anchor, and I’m deeply thankful for his kindness and compassion and patience.

Because today, I am happy here. Now, there are things we’re lacking - namely, a church home - but a lacking of our own making. But in general, I’m happy here now. Contented with my life.

A few months ago, I was driving home from work (I had already applied for the promotion but hadn’t been told that I had gotten it) and thinking that I was liking this life. It was really a lovely realization that we had come so far. And in that moment, I decided that if I got the promotion, I would do something permanent to remind myself that things will eventually even out, even after something so completely unsettling to me as the move.

I wanted something that would be a tangible reminder to me that the bad in life rarely lasts forever. For as long as I can remember, Psalm 30:5 has been one of my favorites.

For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning. (New American Standard)

There’s something endlessly comforting to me about the notion that sorry and weeping and aching and longing and soul-searing unhappiness are only temporary. I understand that the time between night and morning can be a really long time. My Florida night seemed endless. But this morning, it is lovely.

One of my 101 Things in 1001 Days goals was to get a tattoo, and when I decided that I wanted something happy and permanent to be a reminder to me that joy will always come in the morning, I decided to get a tattoo.

So I asked my brother to design something for me, and he agreed. A couple of days later, he sent me the design. It was something I already had, something Aleece did for me years ago.

John told me, “I think I’ve got the right one for ya.  For years now, you’ve been chasing it.  Now, when we spoke the other day, it sounded like you’ve all essentially found it.