A day about town, ghosts, and a pizza spaghetti tutorial (sorta)

After,  yet another, trip to WallyWorld, Little Miss and I visited Molly at the hotel.  She is not in the least bit afraid of the "ghost" upstairs and always insists on going up there--even been known to go alone!  Above is my picture of where someone else captured an image of something ghosty looking.  Alas, the spirits were not moved for me.

This guy facing you at the top of the stairs seems rather stern.

The courthouse from the upstairs parlor windows.  The parking lot has been destroyed.  Seriously.  A mud pit.  They've been putting in geothermal wells during the renovation of the courthouse.  I don't think this has helped business around the square to say the least.

There is Molly, hard at work in her cage.  I think she was looking at QVC online.

However they unload this place, Little Miss is really going to miss goofing around on the check-in counter.

After we left Molly, we walked across the street for some hometown sightseeing.  She's quite attached to the Leapster.  I offered to hold it for the picture, but she was at a critical point in the Spongebob game.

Note the ghost in the second floor window.  I haven't actually been inside the jail museum since, oh...1985 or so.  But I think the gallows were on the second floor.  Nice to have a cooperative ghost that will pose reliably.

Making a jail break...or I may have mentioned the ghost behind her...

Like an earlier post about the Brazos Motel, this is something else I've always meant to take a picture of.  Today was the day--I'm trying to maintain the "just do it" attitude.  So, I stopped on the way home.  Marion does have good prices on real-deal fragrances.  And she also stocks vacuum supplies in addition to those listed above.  Diversity.

Now...my first attempt at a tutorial and my first attempt making this casserole.  It was not completely successful, but worked out nonetheless.

It is super simple.  Boil and drain one pound of spaghetti.  I used whole wheat pasta and no one knew it.  You'll see why.

Put the spaghetti in a 9x13 baking dish.  Beat 1 egg and 3/4 cup milk.  I used 1%.  It seemed to work.  Pour it more or less evenly over the spaghetti in the baking dish. 

At this point, a jar of spaghetti sauce is supposed to be dumped onto the spaghetti.  I forgot this step until after I had already put the whole shebang into the oven.  I just added the sauce on top of dished up portions.  But this is point where NEXT time I will put the sauce on top of the spaghetti.  Puppy sous chef is completely optional.

About 3/4 of the bag of pizza blend cheese goes on top of the spaghetti (which should have the sauce on it by now remember!)

Next up, the pizza toppings.  I chopped an onion, 1/2 a bell pepper, what ever amount of mushrooms I had lurking behind the milk in the fridge, 2 small cans of black olives (drained),  and the cutest itty bitty pepperoni rounds.  It made for a nice distribution of pepperoni.

A certain Little Miss would not stay out of this.  LOVED it...picked out the baby pepperonis and olives.  Demanded a bowl of the spaghetti noodles.  By now, I'm thinking this is going to the families A #1 casserole. 

At this point, I dumped on the rest of the pizza blend cheese and all of the parmesan, which was really a blend of something or the other.  We are a cheese eating people.

Obviously.  Still loving the pizza spaghetti.  For now.

Into the oven it goes at 350 for...I don't remember.  25 minutes?  Until the cheese is melted and bubbling and crunchy at the corners (the best part).  That's it.

Loverboy, still feeling a little peak-ed today, perked up at this tasty dish.  Little Miss?  Uh-uh.  Wouldn't touch it.  With or without sauce.  Wouldn't pick out a pepperoni. No, no, no.  So we got rid of yesterday's leftover chicken and broccoli.  Everybody wins.

Nutella wontons and bingo

I've had a serious Chinese food craving all week and just couldn't take it anymore!  I was so desperate that I braved Walmart on a freezing Friday afternoon (note the freezing did NOT come in time to delay school).  Chicken and vegetable stir-fry with (purchased) eggrolls hit the spot.  Even Little Miss enjoyed--since I remembered to separate out some chicken and pick out a bunch of broccoli for her before adding the oyster sauce and "ruining" it.  Quite a food critic, that little one.  And to top off the culinary coup, baked wontons with nutella filling.  OMG.  I think I'd add in some sliced bananas next time.   Or maybe cream cheese and blueberries.  The ol' bloodsugar reading was a mite highish tonight, so we'll be waiting a while to experiment further.  Moderation...yadda, yadda, yadda.

To top off the Epicurian extravaganza, we brought out the

 bingo box for family game night!  Little Miss won all three games (even without "Maw Maw" rules)

Loverboy's been feely peckish and chilly today, hence the coat.

The official cage spinner.

Intense concentration.  I think bingo is helping with larger number recognition and reasoning skills. 

Sort a zen concentration zone while waiting for her lucky numbers.

What they do when I'm at work, part 2

I really need to figure out how to rotate pictures.  I'm not sure if this is a list of what was accomplished today, or plans for tomorrow.  Breakfast in the mushroom tent, scheduled paper airplane time, a treasure hunt!!  I have other plans for tomorrow--come on ICE!!  It's not nearly cold enough yet, but it's been raining since early afternoon.  A late start would be okay, but a day off--even better!  Of course, that would just mean a postponed meeting....last one of the week tomorrow.  Ugh.  The one today didn't get out until 5:30!  Anyway...ice, ice, baby!  Now I've REALLY jinxed it.

It was gymnastics night.  Little Miss was the only girl in her group.  Her sparkly pink leggings with her rainbow tie-dyed Longhorns tshirt was a unique look.  I think I know why everything in Loverboy's closet is orange or navy on top, denim or khaki on bottom.  I don't think she's inherited her father's fashion sense, but from the looks she gave the rambunctious fellows in gymnastics, she did inherit her mother's withering look of disdain.  That's my girl.  Always use your powers for good, my child. 

What they do when I'm at work

Pictures by Loverboy.  An afternoon at the riverside park.  Meanwhile, I found out I also have a meeting Friday morning.  Never mind teaching...I have meetings to attend!  I'm glad someone's having fun.

Meetings, meetings, meetings

This sums up my feelings for the day.  And tomorrow.  And the next day.  I had a meeting after school.  One in the morning.  Aaaaand one Thursday after school.  I'm in the PLC (professional learning community) that will be focusing on trumpeting the successes going on at school.  PR basically.  So I guess I can't lambast the crazies here.  Accentuate the positive and all that jazz.

Party in a box

It's here!  It's here!  Our party supplies arrived today!  The puppy wall decorations are H-U-G-E.  We're going to have to have it all up in time for her "real" birthday.  Little Miss informed me she can NOT wait for her party since it's a whole three days later.

Lovely (hah!) day at school.  Loverboy had my car so he could (finally) take the unused kayak back to his friend.  I don't mind driving his, I just miss my morning XM radio routine.  My whole day feels off.  And I had to scrape ice off the windshield since he parks outside.  Hmm.  Maybe I'm a wee bit overattached to my daily grind.  Mom fixed dinner--yay!  I tried not to undo the eight pounds I've lost in the last three weeks.  Go Weight Watchers!

Sort of on the topic of resolutions there--since today is the 25th, I'm going to do some Christmas-theme crafting.  Maybe if I work on it the other eleven months, it won't be so overwhelming and rushed when we get to December. 

Muffins for Monday

Blueberry and banana nut.  Recipes from the Mommy and Me Muffin Man cooking class Little Miss and I took at Central Market last fall.  I think these will be nice to grab and go with for breakfast this week.  Cut down on the morning rush.  I've also got lunch fixed for all this week--zero-point vegetable soup.  The zero-point bit is great, but it's nice to not have any flacid celery hanging around the vegetable bin reminding me that we waste too many fresh vegetables around here.  I have good intentions.  I'm not a premeditated carrot killer.  I just get carried away in the produce section on the weekend with grand week night dinner plans of stir-fries, fajitas, gumbos--and end up rushed and eating fish sticks and frozen peas.  Resolution for the week:  eat everything that's in the crisper while it's still crisp.

Mr. Squirrel, cousins, and Americana

An unlikely friendship is developing in our backyard.  Sitting on top of the large branch that shoots off to the left is Mr.(?) Squirrel.  I went to let Emily in this morning and saw her trying to climb the pecan tree.  As I watched, Mr. Squirrel repeatedly ran circles around the tree juuuuust above the highest point Emily could jump.  Then he would sit where he is in the picture and chatter at her.  He would dodge one way direction, then the other, as she would dance back and forth.  Finally, they both sat down in one spot and stared at each other.  I think Mr. Squirrel was having fun.  He could have easily hopped on the fence and off to some other tree where he could hang out without a little dog irritating him.  I guess we all have to make our own fun from time to time.  Little Miss informed me that they have these meetings everyday.

Dad, home from San Antonio for good, made chili last night.  REAL chili.  Good chili.  They've apparently forgotten that if you feed us once,  we'll keep coming around looking for more.  And since they had Lolly for the day (Trey was at some conference for AdvoCare supplements--I'm sure I'll have more info on those soon), the cousins had to be together.  They seem to play better together at our house for some reason, but they did have (loud) fun.  It's so sweet now that they're a little older and can really play together.  Mom made (yes, she cooked!) pasta e fagioli soup--even the girls scarfed it down.  Loverboy set up their Wii and made miis for Molly and Papa.  This is going to be fu-un!

And on an organizational note, I (apparently) have a new collection going...

I'd like to take them to my classroom, but can too clearly forsee them in multiple little pieces.  But where to put them in my house? 

Games and breathing

I think we are in a January slump around here.  Everybody's more or less sick and generally crabby.  Break out the games though, and we perk up.  Tonight's selection, after some butt-kicking in Wii tennis, was Chutes and Ladders. 

Little Miss's cough was starting to sound yaky-gaky so the breathing treatment machine re-appeared.  Never a happy moment. As she says, "that thing freaks me out."  Me too.  Loverboy is in charge of it.  I provide moral support, hand-holding, or threats of going to the doctor, depending on how the evening is going.

It went pretty well.  Seems to have helped the cough.  No one freaked out.  Always a good thing around here.

 Even Emily chilled, providing full bff calming support.  She usually tries to attack the vapor. 

Puppy love

Anne calls her "my bff." 

Emily actually seems to like this.  They were enjoying iCarly.

Best $100 ever spent.  E.V.E.R.

Lucky dog.  Lucky family.