Orzo & Rice Mediterranean Salad

Had some friends over for dinner last night, and I concocted this salad loosely based on a couple different recipes.  It was quite tasty if I do say so myself, and just wanted to document it so I can remember how I made it when my hubby asks for it in the future :)

1 box Uncle Ben's long grain & wild rice, prepared according to package directions
1 pkg orzo, cooked and drained (this is pasta that's shaped like big pieces of rice - I did 16 oz because I wanted a big bowl)
3 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 cup carrot, chopped
1/2 c green pepper, chopped
1/4 c onion, chopped
2 Tb capers
2 Tb slivered almonds
10-12 oz of marinated artichoke hearts with oil
3 oz goat cheese (this was the last thing I added - it was still tasty, but the goat cheese added a perfect note of creaminess)
black pepper
Olive oil and/or vinegar if desired

Dump it all together and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.  I happened to have a jar of marinated veggies that included not only artichokes, but also roasted red peppers, hearts of palm, & baby corn.  It would also be really good with mushrooms or olives, but I didn't happen to have either on hand.

New School Year

Friday

Son had surgery this week. We went in for for the pre-op blood draw on Monday and he didn't exactly enjoy the procedure, so I was a bit concerned about how he'd handle surgery on Wednesday.  Prayed a lot for him, as well as for MY state of mind so that I could be supportive rather than making it worse.   Everything went very well.  He had tubes inserted in his ears (the type that are designed to stay in 2-3 years) plus had his adenoids removed at about 8:30 am.  We were home before 11:00, and he laid on the couch watching Top Gear.  This picture was taken at 2:25 pm after he chowed down on a bowl of cherries.  Yes, he's doing just fine :)  Still waiting to see if getting all that fluid out will help with the hearing issue, and if not, we'll most likely be getting him some sort of amplification device.

Took the kids to meet their teachers this morning and drop off school supplies - so happy to have those piles outta here!  I'm happy with the teachers the kids have, although both of them are disappointed to not have many friends in their particular classes.  AWANA starts back up next week as well, and both kids are also interested in doing karate, but I think we're going to hold off on that for a few more months.

In other big news from the D house: we have become pet owners.  The kids have been wanting something forEVER, and D had recently taken to catching lizards (the rule is that he can capture 1 in the morning, then release it before bedtime).  A likes the idea of animals, but is still quite fearful of most of them, which is yet another reason that I'd like to have something around.  Really wanted to move up to something fuzzy, but not quite ready to commit to a dog or cat.  One trip to PetSmart later, and we now own 2 gerbils.  The one you see here is Spike, and there's also a black one named Rocky (who's definitely quieter - amazing how I'm already noticing the rodent's personalities!)  The biggest challenge thus far is letting the poor little guys have quiet time away from their overly loving owners...

I still have a ton of other pics from the summer - kids activity camp, 1 day VBS program & trip to San Antonio.  Perhaps next week when I turn my little darlings back over to the school district for several hours each day!

And a final bit of silliness on this fine Friday: it's kind of tough to tell your kids not to play with their food when Daddy is building a snowman out of the mashed potatoes and brisket!

Summer drawing to a close...

The kids will be headed back to school in 9 days - :) and :(

We just got home from a mini-vaca, but before I share pics from that guess I should update stuff from June and July.

 

• When we drove to Arizona in June, there was a small fire on a hill in the distance, and our son was convinced that it was an active volcano
• Drove through Devil's Canyon on the way to Mesa, and our daughter was excitedly telling us that she learned about this place in school.  "Um, honey, I'm pretty sure that was the GRAND Canyon."  Yeah, that might be right...
• Took a little trip to the mall to visit the Lego Store, ogle the Hello Kitty merchandise, and ride the escalator.
• One of the kids managed to snap a picture of me :)
• Cousins, plus MIL and her kids
• Celebrated nephew's birthday, including covering him with silly string and giving him a model rocket that was slightly above his previous experience
• Kids had friends over, so lots of swimming, watching movies, nerf war, etc.
• When cleaning her room, A decided she'd rather just wear everything rather than put it away
• Issues with our sprinkler meant a flooded backyard.  Also had to replace one element from our pool pump.  Sometimes home ownership stinks.
• out to lunch, and the restaurant had a really good balloon artist who presented our kids with a motorcycle and a dolphin
• Off to the shooting range, too (Hi, Grandpa!  Wish you could've joined us!)

Friday Funny Business

So life continues to be crazy around here (why do I cling to the illusion that summer will somehow be slow and peaceful?!) - trying to catch on some things, and thought I'd share these bits of funniness.  The first is our family, assembled by our son.  The first thing I noticed? Both guys have weapons, while I am clutching a coffee cup and A has been given a broom. Things that make you go hmmmmmmmm.  I snapped the second photo last week - We were stopped at a light, and thankfully I had time to grab the camera from my purse.  In case you can't read the window graphic, this van is from Perez Professional Painting, and the bumper advertises 24 hour emergency service.  Can anyone tell me what constitutes a paint emergency?!?
 
We've had a lot of friends over lately, the kids just wrapped up a program at the library, I'm co-leading a major community outreach day with the kids' ministry at our church, and then there's the normal business of life.  Hope to be back more soon, though...  But 1 last funny story before I head off:  I bought some fresh beets last week, and the kids gobbled them up on Tuesday evening.  Wednesday morning I was awakened by our son, who had a very anxious look on his face, telling me he had to go to the hospital.  You see, we've told the kids that if their, um, body waste is not the usual color they should tell us because this may be an indication of illness.  Next time I serve them beets I will be sure to remind them that their body will be affected by the natural red dye :)

Friday Sorta Funny

Had a couple reminders about this lately.

Seriously, if you're on the phone, step away from the group of people.

Home.

Grandma Betty is now in her final home -- the one where the golden streets out front never need sweeping. She's free from pain, and hanging out with her beloved Jesus.  Her "celebration of life" service was this past Friday evening, and the pastor spoke briefly on Psalm 23, and said if he had to summarize her life with 1 word, it would be faithful.  What a testimony! Truly, she leaves a wonderful legacy of faith through her family, both the legal and church varieties. (picture is from June, 2006, looking at the display that we'd made for her 90th birthday party)

Anyway, we drove out to Arizona for the service -- logged nearly 3000 miles in 9 days.  Sad time, but also nice to spend some time with family.  We were able to celebrate my MIL's bday as well as our nephew's, not to mention our 16th anniversary and Father's Day.  Yes, it was a busy time.  Will try to post pics later this week.

(used this song in a tribute slide show -- "All I know is I'm not home yet, this is not where I belong. Take this world and give me Jesus..."