Not just another day

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Today isn’t just another Thursday.

Today is hard.

Today Joshua would have been 12 years old.

There are no banners.  There is no cake.  There are no cards from family from far away.

There is only tears.

And “what ifs” and “if onlys”.

I was going to try to do what was needed and expected and act like this is just another day.

But it’s not.

And, I can’t.

 

Recipe: Tijuana Topper

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Tijuana Topper
from the kitchen of Grandma Connie

Ingredients for meat sauce:

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 – 8 oz can of tomato sauce
  • 1 – 6 oz can of tomato paste
  • 3 cups of water
  • 2 tsp sugar (I use Splenda)
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 cup cooked rice

Cook meat, onion & garlic.  Pour off fat.  Add remaining ingredients.  Simmer 10 min

Topping: (I skip this and usually just use Ranch dressing but for the record, here it is)

  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 2 cups mayo
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 clove garlic, minced

Blend ingredients until smooth.

Crush tortilla chips on plate, pour meat sauce over chips.  Garnish as for a taco (tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, etc)

ENJOY!

“3 kids ago….”

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I only had two kids! 😉

This is the oldest digital photo on our computer.  It’s dated July 4, 1997 – but as that would mean J2 would be almost 1 then, it’s actually older than that.  I remember it was taken for newspaper in The Dalles….this was actually an outtake because J2 wasn’t adopted yet, so we could not show his face in the newspaper.  I think this must have been January or February 1997.  So J1 would have been 2 and J2 would be 4 or 5 mos old.  I love this photo!

Project 365 – Day 96, 269 to go!

Sunday

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Feeling icky today – thought maybe I had the stomach flu J3 had last night, but so far nothing. Whew.  So, I’m not doing much of anything but laundry (of course, what Mom of 4 isn’t doing laundry 24/7?) and cleaning out my DVR queue. I could care less about Football.

I’ve been playing with Picasa lately and enjoying it once I figured out how to exclude all the graphics that were for work. One thing I love is the face recognition.  I can see all the photos of a certain person very easily!  And, I found some treasures I didn’t know I had!


This was from Christmas 2004.  So, J3 would have just turned 4, J2 was 8, and J1 was almost 10.  Beth will have to tell me how old C1, C2 and R are here….well, if J2 is 8, C1 was probably 7….so C2 might be 5 and R would be 1??  Not sure.  But I love finding these old shots!

Project 365 – Day 37, 328 to go!