Thursday the 4th: Food of the Week

 *Tomorrow I'm making tuna salad to have with bread before Stations.

*Tonight I'm making chicken and black bean salad; I'll mix the veggies with the dressing and cut up the lettuce, and they can mix things together as they like in their own bowls. I'll keep the chicken separate so it can be meatless for Friday. For the chicken I like to use the chicken pieces already cooked from the fridge section in Aldi.

*Last night I made calzones with leftover shredded pork roast, ricotta, colby jack, and bolognese inside pilsbury mini pizza crusts. They turned out really nicely but I still have lots of roast to use up.

*Tuesday the Son made Monte Cristo Quesadillas while I was at Arts Night at the Academy.  They were unusual but good; they benefitted from a little extra crisping.

*Monday I made Sesame Garlic Beef Tacos. I doubled the recipe so we would have some leftovers. They were delicious.

*Sunday we had leftovers after eating the St. Joseph Parish annual parish dinner of spaghetti and marinara sauce. It was wonderful even if they didn't have cannolis this year.  

Wednesday the 4th: Music of the Week

 *This will be short as I am currently OVERWHELMED with the amount of things to do this. In the words of my principal, though, "I did this to myself" by saying yes and not counting the cost of not giving myself recovery time.

Tuesday was Arts Night at the Academy so I spent 12 hours at work, first in a day of class, then practicing with 8 soloists for regional festival, then setting up four pianos through the school, then a concert with two of our small choirs, then judging middle school piano for an hour, then cleaning up. Then checking in with family, eating supper, getting a son ready for the next day, then bed.

Today is a day of work, getting the son ready to go to Wichita to be a confirmation sponsor, and then teaching CGS after work (and hoping my clipboard with my lesson plan was left there last week) until 5 then cooking supper.

Thursday is a day of work, running home to make supper and check on the Son after his trip and a psychiatrist appointment, and then a confirmation Mass 30 minutes away with a lot of music.

Friday is a day of work and then Stations of the Cross at one of my parishes at six.

Saturday and Sunday are catching up on chores and three weekend Masses. 

 All of this is manageable! I'm just a little overwhelmed having it all in one week. Thank goodness Spring Break is coming soon. 

Tuesday the 3rd: The wonders of Lawrence KS

 We took a weekend trip to explore Lawrence. The Husband and I try to take a weekend or overnight trip every year for our anniversary, but we stopped going on our actual anniversary because we like outdoor exploration, and December 29 is not a great time to be outdoors.

We had a wonderful warm time and did a walk along the Kansas River and then a good walk through the Watkins Museum of History. 

 

 

Monday the 2nd: Saint of the Week

 St. Katharine Drexel is a recent saint, having died in 1955. An heir to the Drexel (banking) fortune, she gave her fortune to serve the poor and the oppressed. She founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in 1891 after doing her novitiate with the Sisters of Mercy in Omaha, Nebraska. She founded Xavier University in New Orleans specifically for African Americans. She traveled extensively to found schools and missions that served the local needs of the poor and the oppressed, especially those of color.

Her feast day is March 3.

 

Friday the 27th: the end of Christie

 The last book in our Agatha Christie collection arrived yesterday! It's a great thing to have all of them, it feels odd to not have this quest in our back pocket now.

 

 

Thursday the 26th: Food of the Week

 *Friday we are eating out something meatless for our anniversary trip.

*Thursday (tonight) I'm making some kind of pasta bake with ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, pasta, and homemade bolognese.

*Wednesday we had Italian stracciatella with chicken: it's like egg drop soup but with Parmesan and chicken. It was done in 30 minutes because I had chicken leftover and diced from last week. We enjoyed it particularly with the addition of a parmesan rind to the broth.

*Tuesday the Son made cornbread from Betty Crocker and a salad kit with leftover chicken strips from Third Coast Pizza. Everything was quite tasty. We finished off the meal with a lemon tart from Wheatfields; I picked up that and a loaf of bread after breakfast with a good friend.

*Monday I made breakfast for dinner, and it might have been my best hash yet. I made crispy cubed potatoes on their own in the oven; in about 45 minutes they are very flavorful and crispy. On the stove I made sauteed veggies with some creole seasoning along with a few eggs; then I mixed those in with the potatoes. On the side I made maple breakfast sausage patties. The Husband was quite pleased with the meal.

*Sunday we had a pork chop dinner with our last pork chops from the Amana Colonies. They are already smoked and so they almost taste like ham (plus for me, minus for the Husband). Potatoes, carrots, and onions cooked in broth and seasonings until tender and then the pork chops warmed up on top. Deeply flavorful and satisfying. 

Wednesday the 25th: Music of the Week

 *I just got almost all of my music for March for my churches sorted and placed yesterday. This week is a bit slower paced so I'm trying to get in lots of practice so I'm not taken by surprise next week. 

*No playing this weekend because we are going away for our anniversary. The actual date is December 29 but it's just too busy to take a trip then, so we always try to go away when our schedules align. This year we're doing Lawrence KS!!