Musical Morning Inspiration

School started yesterday. And that means getting the five other people in my house up and out the door every school morning.

There are different methods for this, of course. I prefer music. Every morning, I bring my cell phone into the bedrooms with "media volume" on full blast and play an inspirational song.

For awhile last semester, I played "Reveille" every morning. This was inspired by the one child who tells me he wants to be in the military. I was delighted to hear this, because you know what you have to do in the military? Get out of bed early in the morning. And this, son, is the very music they'll play to inform you of this! Start practicing now!

About the time that blasting trumpet started to lose its effectiveness, Christmas was almost upon us. So I switched to another loud trumpet song that served as a reminder of the excitement to come: The Tabernacle Choir belting out "Joy to the World."

I also have to get them up at the same time on Sundays to get to our 8 a.m. Mass, but that doesn't require so much musical intervention.

Now that Christmas is over, I had to find a new song. I decided yesterday that the time had come for the big inspirational guns. And that meant Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger." Because if Rocky can get his face beat in in that ring over and over again, you, my boy, can get out of bed*.

I'll have to come up with something new in a few weeks when Survivor loses its novelty. Any suggestions for me?

* Edited to add: When I said this to one son this morning, he uncovered his eyes long enough to look at me and declare, "I would rather get my face beat in than go to school." So. If you've ever wondered how much boys dislike school, it's that much.

Snapshots: A Tea Party and a Trip

On New Year's Eve (morning), Poppy's friend came over for a tea party. The girls used the rolling pins my dad made to make hand pies for their tea party.

Well floured.

I continue to be amazed and delighted at how adorable little girls can be.

The finished hand pies. They were filled with apple butter, plum butter, strawberry-rhubarb jam or apricot puree, and there was no way to tell which was which. Hand pie roulette.

New Year's Day was mostly spent at church and preparing our traditional big New Year's Day dinner. 

But the day after New Year's Day, I left in the morning for my night away at the hotel. I had prepared something to bring with me for lunch, but I forgot it. So I was forced to eat a slice of pizza instead. So sad.

While reading a book, of course. My favorite way to eat, as some of you may remember.

There are quite a few shops on the old plaza, and I visited some of them before it was time to check in. One is a new shop that carries spices, teas, and medicinal herbs. 

It was so much fun to look around. The owner encouraged me to open any jars and smell the spices and teas, which I did. I bought some tea.

 

Then I had an ice cream cone.

And then it was time to check in.

The food at the hotel is certainly not the best in town, but I never want to drive anywhere to eat, so a burger and fries was just fine in the hotel bar.

And a drink, of course. Vodka and soda.

The bar has a very nice view of the plaza. I sat right next to the window.

 Artfully blurred Christmas lights on the plaza.

After dinner, I watched a movie and took a bath before I went to sleep. Nothing too exciting, which is just how I like it.

The next morning I got in my workout by going to Walmart before starting my drive home.

Two large hams (they were only a dollar a pound!) and sixty eggs helped to weight the cart nicely for my core workout.

I saw this in the meat department and thought it was very funny.

A. tells me that the Spanish people here call every kind of animal foot a "paw," so I guess this makes sense. Still funny, though. (I did not buy these.)

There you have it! My life, snapshotted.

Friday Food: Away

Friday

Short version: Birthday barbecue meatballs, garlic bread, leftover peas, brownie ice cream sundaes

Long version: I always make my own birthday dinner, because I like my own food best. But I also always find a way to make it with as little actual cooking as possible. This year, I used some meatballs I had formed and frozen some time ago, which I just broiled until brown, and then baked in (homemade) barbecue sauce.

The garlic bread was one I had baked a few days before when I was making bread. The peas were leftover from Christmas dinner.

Birthday plate.

Eldest son made the brownies for me, so we could have brownie sundaes with vanilla ice cream and a choice of chocolate syrup or salted caramel sauce. Or both! Celebrate good times!

Saturday

Short version: Different-birthday pizza and cake

Long version: This was the day I took the children to Poppy's friend's birthday party at a pool. There was pizza there. I think this is the first time my children have experienced pineapple on pizza. They were not enthused.

There were also a couple of store-bought birthday cakes. I tasted a bit of Poppy's after she informed me she didn't like the frosting. Yuck. I didn't, either. It tasted bitter. Maybe it was all the food dye. It was a very bright-pink frosting. I can't imagine you can add that much coloring to anything without affecting the taste.

Sunday

Short version: Fried ham and potatoes, leftover carrots

Long version: I just microwaved the potatoes until they were soft, then diced them and the leftover ham before frying them in some rendered beef fat I had saved from . . . something. 

I also added some cheese to the fried ham and potatoes. We currently have some extra-sharp Great Value (Walmart's store brand) cheddar that is actually extra-sharp. This means it's also extra crumbly which is handy when I don't want to grate cheese. If I slice it thinly, it just falls apart and I can throw it right into the skillet to melt. And then I don't have to wash the cheese grater. Yay.

Monday

Short version: Meatloaf, baked potatoes, still-frozen green beans, fresh bread and butter

Long version: I love ham, but it does get to be a bit monotonous when dealing with the leftovers. Meatloaf was a nice break.

Tuesday

Short version: Lamb steaks, rice, frozen peas

Long version: I made a sauce for the lamb steaks with red wine and cream, but this was otherwise a very un-fancy meal. 

Yes, I realize that most people would not consider lamb to be an un-fancy meal. That's because most people don't have a sheep flock.

Wednesday

Short version: New Year's Day health, wealth, happiness, peace, and joy

Long version: Pork (big pork butt), black-eyed peas, greens (beet greens from this year's garden, cooked with some of the liquid from the black-eyed peas), rice, and pecan pie. The children have assigned peace to rice and joy to the pecan pie.

Thursday

Short version: Restaurant food for me, tacos and leftover pie for the family

Long version: I was not at home this night.

Record scratch.

I try to go every year for one night at a hotel in a nearby (well, 100 miles away) small city for some time to myself after the craziness that is December in my house. This was my night. So I had a smash burger, french fries, and a vodka and soda for dinner.

I did not prepare or clean up after this in any way. Yay.

There was some ground beef taco meat at home, so the older kids used that to make tacos for dinner. And then there was leftover pecan pie and ice cream. Everyone was happy.

Okay, your turn! What'd you eat this week?