Well, this is the end of my second week of summer vacation, and let me say it's been fantastic! The end of the school year is always a hectic time, graduation, finishing up curriculum work, testing, cleaning up the room, parties, memories. It's exhausting. I will say that every May I get sad to see my class move on, especially knowing I won't see some of them again because we have a very migrant population. I had an amazing class this year, which I think I mentioned before a few times:) They looked so precious in their graduation outfits, and every year I am so surprised at how much the grow and change over the course of just one year. Here they are all decked out for kindergarten graduation:
Can you believe how cute some of those boys are?! They look like little men. Ha ha ha...if only you knew how they acted!
So, since school has been out, I have done a lot of nothing. Cleaning, sleeping, hitting the gym, cooking. Tomorrow morning I have to take a test on the U.S. and Arizona Constitutions to renew my state teaching license. So technically I should be studying right now. I'll get to that.
Oh! And I chopped my hair off to donate again! I almost forgot to mention that! I would add a photo but it's not working.
In less than 2 weeks we leave for vacation and I cannot wait to get out of here! I am getting cabin fever being home alone all this time. Our first stop will be Indiana for a few days to visit family, then we will be bringing Santi's grandpa (who is here from Ecuador) back with us to Phoenix. That evening we will repack our bags and hop in the car to drive out to L.A., which is only about a 4 hour drive from here. We will be staying with Santi's aunt, uncle, and cousins for a couple of days to celebrate Father's Day with grandpa. Then, they are off to Europe with grandpa and Santi and I are driving down to San Diego for a nice vacation ALONE. We have not had a vacation with just the two of us since our honeymoon, so I am really looking forward to spending that time together. It's also kind of a belated anniversary for us. That's right, our 3rd wedding anniversary is coming up on the 9th. It's so hard to believe it has been 3 years already. Time flies. Over the course of those three years we have done a lot, seen a lot, traveled a lot, accomplished a lot, and been through a lot...but we have done it all together. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and a wonderful marriage. I cannot wait to go through the rest of life together.
Moving on to my 101 in 1,001. I am slowly checking things off our list. I have been doing a lot of cooking, so I have several new recipes to add to my list (they will also follow below). I have made the bed an entire week (which is only because I am on summer break and have the time, and I am now the last one out of bed). My indoor herb garden is growing, I guess it looks okay so far, we will see if we ever get actual "herbs" or just some green sprouts. So, for now, here is my updated list:
My 101 in 1,001: 101 things to tackle in 1,001 days
Start Date: April 24, 2010
End Date: January 19, 2013 (wow that seems like a long time from now!)
Personal Improvement:
Attend yoga at least once a week for two months
Attend kickboxing class at least once a week for two months
Try acupuncture
Not eat out for a month
Have a no tv/internet week
Participate in some type of run (5k, etc.)
Finish my Master's Degree
Try a whole Zumba class at the gym
Do strength training exercises twice a week for a month
(working on this)
Jog 3 miles again like I used to be able to do:)
Have a spa day
Get some new jewelry
Get an awesome pair of heels and actually wear them
Get a tan!
Get teeth professionally whitened
Faith:
Finish reading the entire Bible
Consistently journal my Bible reading daily for at least one month
Share my faith with someone new
Complete a missions trip of some sort
Pray for others every day
(work in progress)
Travel:
Visit San Diego
Visit Tombstone
Go camping
Return to Ecuador
Go to the Galapagos
Go on a cruise
Drive route 1 in California
Stay at the Venetian in Vegas
Go to the Phoenix Zoo (and not just for Zoolights)
Go to Napa Valley
Stay somewhere new in Sedona
Visit Flagstaff in the winter
Adventures:
Hike Camelback mountain
Hike the Grand Canyon
Learn to play golf
Learn to play blackjack
Try 20 new recipes
(8/20)
Learn to make a new mixed drink
Chop my hair off (Done! 5/28/10)
Read 10 new books
(currently reading 1 of 10)
Try the night tour of the Desert Botanical Gardens
Try 5 new hiking trails in Phoenix
Find 10 new restaurants to try in Phoenix
(2/10)
1. Ta Carbon (super yummy Mexican hole-in-the-wall kind of place)
2. Joe's Farm Grill (another restaurant from Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives)
Make ceviche again Done 5/16/2010
Learn to bake and decorate a cake
Get a bike or rollerblades
Go horseback riding again
Go to a concert
Stay for both movies at the drive-in
Go swimming in Lake Pleasant
Find a place to go fishing in Phoenix
Drive across the border
Buy an expensive bottle of wine (more than $20)
Try 5 new sushi rolls
Family/Friends:
Have a baby
Have a girl's weekend with my college roommates
(in the planning stages)
Have a designated date night once a week for a month
Go on a picnic with my husband
Take my dog to the dog park in Gilbert with the lake
(checked it out on 5/16/10, planning to take Tevez in a couple of weeks, it looks really cool!)
Get grandma and grandpa out here for a visit
Have a candlelight dinner with my husband once a week for a month
Take a dancing lesson with my husband
Take a mother/daughter trip
Host a wine and cheese party
Go to at least 5 sporting events with my husband
Get professional pictures taken of my husband and I
Financial:
Pay off the Nissan Altima
Get a minimum of $5,000 in the savings account
Reach a point financially where I can stay home or work from home
Stick with a budget for five full months
Not buy any new clothes for a month
Spend less than $300 on groceries in a month
Put $5 in the savings for each completed task and donate $5 for each incomplete task
Hobbies and Creativity:
Make Shutterfly albums with all of our pictures
Learn some type of new craft
Get a nicer camera and learn how to take great pictures
Update blog at least once a month
(in progress)
Go to a pottery studio
Home:
Redecorate/repaint our bedroom
Buy a sectional sofa with a pullout couch for our guests
Finally clean and organize the office (completed 5/1/10 thanks to my husband!)
Buy something from Etsy
Put grass in our backyard
Get some flower pots for the front yard
Have a shredding party and clean out the filing cabinet
Get a digital picture frame
Make the bed every day for a week (done 5/10)
Organize my favorite recipes
Keep up with cleaning for an entire week
Bake something once a month
Reaching Out:
Volunteer somewhere other than church
Leave a 50% tip for dinner
Give money to one of the homeless people by school
Actually meet and know both of our neighbors names
Lend someone a microloan
Send handwritten notes to each of our sponsor children in Ecuador
Pay for the person behind me in the drive through
Make a new friend (met a girl from Gilbert, AZ)
Buy a goat for someone in a poor country
Getting Green:
Use reusable shopping bags every shopping trip for a month
Try a new "green" method of cleaning
Eat fruit off the trees in our own backyard
Grow an indoor herb garden
(in progress, just planted my cilantro and parsley!)
Learn to garden desert style and actually have a vegetable garden in our backyard
There you have it! If you are interested in starting your own list, here is a great website to get you going:
http://dayzeroproject.com/
And some delicious new recipes!
Try them!
An Ecuadorian favorite, not the first time we have made this one:
Swordfish Ceviche with Chifles and Patacones, and served with Bud Light Lime of course:)
This recipe comes from a cookbook I bought in Ecuador. It is a very popular dish there, and soooo good.
1. Cut fresh swordfish into small squares
2. Place fish in a large bowl with 1 cup of freshly squeezed lime juice, salt, and pepper
3. Mix together and allow to sit in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, stirring occasionally (the acid in the juice "cooks" the fish)
4. Meanwhile, slice a red onion very thin, and put in boiling water to make it soft and take away some of the bitterness, drain
5. Add to the onion one diced tomato and a handful of chopped fresh cilantro, set aside
6. Remove fish from fridge, add in a small amount of orange juice and a tbsp of dijon mustard, mix well
7. Cook on low heat for 10 minutes, then add onion, tomato, and cilantro
8. Mix and taste (you can add more orange juice if it's too bitter
9. Let ceviche cool in the fridge, then serve with chifles and patacones as well as some fresh popcorn (we used something special from Ecuador)
YUM!
To make chifles, you take a plantain that is green (they look like big bananas at the store) and you slice it very very thin like potato chips and fry them in oil, add a little salt
To make patacones, you take a green plantain and slice it into about 2 in pieces, then you fry those pieces in hot oil, take them out and smash them down with a glass, dip them in salt water, and put them back into the frying pan until they are golden brown
This is what patacones look like. We have a special tool to smash them, but a glass works fine.
Next recipe is...
Grilled Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos
I love fish tacos. Here's how I made these:
1. Marinate two Mahi Mahi fish fillets in olive or canola oil with chili powder (lots), lime juice (lots), and chopped fresh cilantro.
2. Grill the fish in foil until flakey, then flake fish with a fork and place on corn tortillas (they have to be corn for fish tacos)
3. Serve diced tomatoes, chopped fresh cilantro, chopped green onions, shredded cabbage, and sour cream on top
4. We ate ours with brown rice and sliced avacado
And my favorite salad ever...
Strawberry and Spinach Grilled Chicken Salad
This is the best summer salad!
For the dressing:
1. Mix together balsalmic vinegar, olive oil, strawberry preserves, and dijon mustard (I just played with the amounts until it tasted good)
2. Heat them over low heat until strawberry preserves "melt", then put in the fridge to cool
3. Grill some chicken with just basic salt and pepper seasoning, cut into strips and set aside
4. The salad consists of spinach, sliced strawberries, feta cheese, chopped walnuts, and chopped green onions
5. Arrange chicken on top and pour on the dressing. Soooo good. Even Santi asked for it again the next night!
Well, that's all I have for now. Time to go study!
