Vacation!

Walker and I just got back from vacationing this week! Ken & Debbe are looking to buy 40 acres in far east Texas in Clarksville and invited us along to see the land. We stayed at The Courthouse Inn Bed & Breakfast. This house was on the census in 1881! The couple who owns it now bought it about 10 years ago and have completely refurbished it. It was like stepping back in time. I would highly recommend this place if you're ever headed through Clarksville. Walker and I agreed that this is the third best accomodations we've ever had anywhere. (Surf & Sand resort in California is #1, #2 is the Gaylord Texas Resort in Grapevine)

We saw the land, used the 4 wheeler to cut trails through the 6 foot tall weeds and brush, mowed around the pond so we could fish and set up a picnic. After 3 hours of fishing we determined there's nothing but crawfish in the pond. We saw racoon, deer and wild hog tracks...which got Ken's hopes up for hunting season! Later on we went antique hunting and browsing around the town square and had sno cones to beat the heat! Next time we'll have to tour the courthouse and stop at the Presbyterian Church to see the stained glass.

Here's a recipe from yesterday's breakfast that Cheryl made. She didn't give me the recipe but she did list out some of the ingredients for me and I think I can wing it.

Peach French Toast

4-5 Parker county peaches skinned and sliced
brown sugar
french bread in thick slices (1 1/2-2")
milk
eggs
vanilla
sugar

cream cheese
ricotta cheese
lemon
honey or sugar

Place peaches on the bottom of a baking dish and sprinkle with brown sugar. Put the french bread slices on top of the peaches. Combine the milk, eggs, vanilla and sugar and pour on top of the bread letting it soak up all the mixture. Bake in the oven until golden. Combine the cream & ricotta cheeses with lemon and honey. Serve dolloped on top of the slice of french bread.

This is such a unique recipe. I'm going to have to make it myself to figure out the measurements.

The Kite Runner

by Khaled Hosseini. Picked this book up on recommendation from many hundreds of customers and a couple of fellow coworkers who have read it. I hadn't read anything since Harry Potter...summer school has kept me pretty busy at nights...along with all the parenting magazines and books I've been reading. Anyway, finished class Friday and picked up Kite Runner on Saturday. I'm already about 1/3 of the way through. It takes a couple of chapters to really get hooked and now the story is just enthralling. It's a fictional account of modern day Afghanistan. It's just getting into details of the Suni/Shiite conflict that's been going on for ages and I'm definitely interested to read on.

Taco Soup

This is easy and tasty. Use a crock pot and it makes the house smell wonderful.

1 lb. chicken
1 pkg frozen corn
1 can rotel tomatoes
1 can beans, any kind (I used pinto)
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
1 can chicken broth

Instant rice
1 red or yellow bell pepper
cheese
avocado
sour cream

Load all the chicken, corn, tomatoes and beans, seasoning mix and broth into the crock pot and set on low all day. If the broth doesn't cover all the ingredients you may want to add a can of water. After 8-9 hours, the chicken will be tender enough for you to shred with a fork. After doing this add about 1/4 cup instant rice and the chopped red bell pepper and turn up to high for an additional 20 minutes. Heap into a bowl and top with cheese, avocado and sour cream. Enough for lunch the next day.

When the cat's away the mice will play...

Well, Walker went with Tony and a friend to see Bourne Ultimatum tonight and is spending the night at Mom's house. Meanwhile I'm studying for and taking a test tonight involving writing three essays. I took the liberty of ordering myself a rare treat of pepperoni, pineapple and jalapeno pizza. There are some people in the world who think that fruit on pizza is atrocious, which I can completely understand...I just have a hankering for it sometimes.

Happy 15th Birthday Tony!

Last night we enjoyed laser tag and Panchos as my youngest brother celebrated his birthday. I'd never played laser tag before and it was very fun, kind of like being a spy or working for the CIA. You wear a vest that has several target lights on it and people shoot you with laser guns. It was a 2 story facility all dark black lights, I wish we could've taken our camera in. I'll definitely want to go again sometime.