Homemade Halloween

Happy Halloween!!! Personally, Halloween is not my favorite holiday. Edwin has the same sentiment. Not that I dislike it- I just haven't gotten super into costumes as an adult. Maybe the magic died when I stopped trick-or-treating. This year was different! A few weeks ago Ted and Leigh suggested that we make costumes and dress up as the Flintstones. A craft project, you say? We were in.

This past Wednesday the four of us made a trip to JoAnn fabrics, which, along with Michael's is Edwin's favorite place on earth. Anybody buying it? nope. He claims both stores smell weird. I, on the other hand, rank them up there with Target. Which is saying a lot. Michael's still comes in a distant second to Target, but anyways. Beside the point. Back to JoAnn. We picked up brown felt for Edwin and blue stretchy cotton for me. The real trick would prove to be making them, since we don't have a sewing machine. Cue the iron on hem tape and super fabric glue.

Making both costumes turned out to be a fairly simple process. I was able to use iron-on hem tape for my dress, and the super glue for Edwin's costume. I was pretty impressed with myself- usually I get pretty frustrated if things don't go well with a craft. Well, with anything. (I may or may not have thrown a ball of yarn at the wall when a question on my take home exam was proving difficult last week.) Back to the story. The costumes turned out great!!! We were Barney and Betty Rubble, if you can't tell. Ted and Leigh were Fred and Wilma. Leigh also did an amazing job with their costumes (also sans sewing machine). We went to our friend (who we meet through Ted and Leigh) Alan's house for his Halloween party on Friday night. The costumes were a hit!

What is everyone else being for Halloween? Mom, how did your Pumpkin Caroling costume turn out? Happy Halloween!!!

San Antonio

Edwin and I took a quick trip to San Antonio this weekend, which gave us a much needed relaxing getaway. Edwin has tomorrow off, which is just plain awesome. We drove to San Antonio yesterday afternoon and checked into our hotel, which was just a few blocks from the Alamo. We walked around the Riverwalk and enjoyed people watching- Texas has some interesting people. Below is a picture of me at this great (and way overpriced) Italian restaurant. We had originally wanted to explore beyond downtown and the Riverwalk, but when it came down to it, you can't beat a great view! So we decided to have an appetizer before dinner, which turned out to be almost a meal in and of itself. We had some cheesy garlic bread before heading out on the town.

Because Edwin is such a huge fan of the Alamo (he actually held a grudge against the city itself because as a child his family would routinely visit San Antonio and always and only visit the Alamo), we took a picture on Edwin's iPhone (did we mention he got an iPhone!). Edwin really likes his iPhone and it has come in handy when trying to find directions and also for listening to Pandora in the car.

After the Italian restaurant we discovered a Mexican restaurant by the name of Acenar. It was trendy and on the Riverwalk, but the greatest part of it was that you didn't really have to wait for a table to eat. Their bar had seating at the bar counter and also in lounge-type sofas scattered throughout. We ordered Mushroom Crepes with salsa verde and beef skewers with a Chimi-Churri sauce (it's a sauce made from olive oil, rosemary, and lots of garlic). We were beyond stuffed but very happy to have a nice night out. Below are the pictures of our appetizers.

We went back after our dinner to our hotel room and were exhausted from a long week. Unfortunately, there was a dance club RIGHT DOWN the street and they were blaring their music at 12:30 am. Edwin was was really irritated and called the front desk, who were really nice and moved us to the opposite side of the hotel. We got a good night's rest and were happy that the Marriott was quick to help us out. Edwin's dad used to work for Marriott and was able to get us a really good rate for the weekend.

In the morning, we got up and ate the hotel breakfast which consisted of delicious Jimmy Dean sandwiches and Texas-shaped waffles...(we ate the "South Texas" part first!). On our way back to Austin we stopped by the San Marcos outlet to find a suit for Edwin for the wedding! We found some good ideas and will hopefully have something within the next 3 weeks. We had lunch at Whole Foods and shared a delicious burger with sweet potato fries.

The past week just cried for a good getaway. Edwin had a really tough week at school and had hit a major roadblock emotionally. He did have a very good conversation with his principal and assistant principal which will hopefully make things better for the next 2 weeks. He always expresses that no matter how crappy his days are, he's always grateful for the love and support from family (meaning you readers!) It has definitely been a big transition for both of us, and although we may not blog as often as we used to (2 maybe 3 times a month), we get by with a little help from each other and God. Stay tuned readers because coming soon is a trip to Houston with Edwin's family and his college roommate (who just moved back to the states from the Middle East) and a visit from my parents!

Amazing Stuffed Bell Peppers

We're back with another fabulous recipe! Thinking about these stuffed bell peppers makes my mouth water, they are that good. The recipe is from Dr. Oz's website, but I found it from a former co-worker's facebook page.

Ingredients: (This makes 4 servings (2 halves per person))

8 red, yellow, or orange bell peppers

2 Tbsp. canola or olive oil, divided

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1 Tbsp. chili powder

1 Tbsp. cumin

16 oz. italian sausage

1 16 oz. jar salsa

2 c. spinach, chopped

1 c. cooked brown rice

1 c. cheddar cheese

2 large avocados, peeled and sliced

1/2 c. low-fat greek yogurt

1/4 c. chopped basil

Preheat oven to 375. Cut the peppers in half, lengthwise (removing stems). Remove the white stuff and seeds from the insides. Place peppers in a baking dish and drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil. Cover the dish with foil and bake the peppers 15-20 min or until they start to soften.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, salt, black pepper, chili powder, and cumin; cook until the vegetables are softened, about 3 minutes. Add the sausage to the skillet. Cook, breaking it up with a slotted spoon or potato masher, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the salsa and the spinach, and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the cooked brown rice.

Carefully fill the pepper halves with the turkey mixture. Cover the dish with foil, and bake until the filling is hot and the peppers are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove foil, and sprinkle the cheese over the top of the peppers. Return to oven; bake, uncovered, until cheese has melted, about 7 to 10 minutes. Top the peppers with a heaping tablespoon of the yogurt. Place slices of the avocado on top of each pepper. Sprinkle with the basil. Serve immediately.

Picture is from my old co-worker's facebook- although ours looked similar.

MMM so good!!!

grad school update!

Edwin updated everyone on school, so I thought I would board that train and add my two cents about grad school. I'm currently drinking an iced latte and watching the Today Show in my pajamas, which pretty much sums up how much I'm enjoying my new life. Before you judge me as a slug, let me promise you I am working very hard!!!

I have four classes this semester: Professional Issues & Ethics, Counseling Theories, Approaches to Intervention, and Measurement & Evaluation. I have each class once a week from 4:30-7:30. It's been an adjustment, since Edwin and I have opposite schedules now. My typical day starts by getting up with Edwin and making him breakfast for the road, and then going back to bed until 7-8ish. The workload was a bit light the first few weeks, so I had a lot of free time. It's picking up now, so my days are mostly filled with reading and studying.

I really enjoy what I'm learning and know I'm in the right place. My professor for Theories and Ethics (2 classes, same prof) is a Marriage and Family Therapist among other things. She shares a lot of stories from her work as a therapist that are really fascinating. My Approaches to Intervention class is really interesting as well. We are talking about prevention and our textbook told a story of a person sitting on the bank of a river, enjoying the day. He saw someone fall into the river, struggling to stay afloat. He dove in, rescued the person, and went back to sitting on the bank. Later, the same thing happened and he saved another person. After several successful rescues, an onlooker came over to the man and said, "Wouldn't it be easier if you just went to the beach over there and taught people to swim?" The point being that through prevention efforts you can reach a lot more people than through individual counseling. I thought that was really thought provoking... although I don't think you could possibly prevent everything that brings people to counseling. Freud would probably agree, since he thought all of your problems stem from issues with your parents during the first few years of life!

Beyond my classes, I've been working a few hours per week at the career center on campus as an Outreach Assistant. Basically I will give tours of the center and explain our services. Pretty simple! I'm enjoying myself so far and it's nice to learn about the workings of a career center, since that is what I am most interested in at this point.

My cohort has 14 people in it- 6 (including me) on the higher ed track and 8 on the school counseling track. We have people straight from undergrad, and I think the oldest is about 30. We have 2 guys and the rest are ladies. I'm enjoying getting to know everyone! We all went to lunch this past Tuesday and I think are going to make it a weekly thing.

Edwin is really, really appreciate of thoughts and prayers, so thanks for thinking of him!! It's almost the weekend :) On another note, we are going to assemble our wedding invitations this weekend (we are making them ourselves)! Woo hoo!!

Crock Pot Chili...LET'S MOVE ON!

Hello fellow readers, it's Edwin here! We decided it's been too long since our last update. A lot has been going on in our household since the Crock Pot Chili. I personally have not contributed to the blog for a while now, so I will do my best to catch you guys up, although I'm sure Chelsea has filled you guys in on details and such.

School is in full gear! We are entering our 4th week of the academic school year. 7th grade has been a really big challenge, much more than I expected. When I did my model lesson in June, the students were so well behaved despite it being the last day of school AND the fact that they lost their privilege of playing dodgeball with their friends (that should have been red flag #1). In retrospect, they were probably really well behaved because our principal and assistant principal were sitting in the class. It's been especially hard to teach content which I spend countless hours planning for. The chatter is constant and my redirections are not effective. My days are emotionally draining and there are times throughout the day when I feel like throwing my hands up in the air and giving up. Several times, myself and other 7th grade teachers have sort of lost control of the classroom and it is very frustrating. It's frustrating for the teacher and for the students who really want to learn (which is a lot). The stress has led to much anxiety both during and after school and has cut into my sleep a bit.

Lucky for me, however, the one thing that I have a lot of is support. I am so blessed to have a wonderful partner (Chelsea) whom I can depend on and wakes up with me EVERY SINGLE DAY! She doesn't have to, but she does (this is at 5 am folks!... She says to not give her too much credit because she goes back to bed). I have also found comfort in God and in Sunday sermons. Ted and our friend Chris (he's from Chicago but went to school in Madison) who is also a teacher at KIPP have been really supportive and encouraging. Finally, my administrators have been supportive. My assistant principal has sat in my lunch time class several times and continues to help me plan better lessons. Finally, our readers and my parents have been supportive with their words, thoughts, and prayers.

But hey, it's not all bad! My morning class and my last class of the day are actually quite pleasant. They're not perfect and I have 2 students with ADHD in that class, but they're a little more respectful and can stay on task 80% of the time which allows me to go around and help the students who struggle in math. I'm continuing to give 110% every day and will continue to do so for as long as I'm allowed to. I have faith that everything will turn out all right.

Finally, what would a post from Elementary Cooking be without mention of food! I have sporadically received emails from Adam asking whether we've eaten at several Austin restaurants that he's heard of. I am happy to announce that this past weekend (Labor Day Weekend) we went to The Salt Lick, which has been named one of the best BBQ places in America. We went to the original Salt Lick which is in Dripping Springs, TX (Southwest of Austin). It was a busy night full of live music. We waited about 15 minutes to be seated and ordered pretty quickly. They have brisket, turkey, sausage, chicken, and ribs to choose from. Chelsea had brisket and ribs and I had brisket, turkey, and ribs. It was all quite delicious and their BBQ sauce was interesting because it wasn't ketchup based. The brisket was really tender and their ribs were all right... We still think the ribs that Ted and I make are the best.

That's all for now folks. We're currently watching the Jets vs Cowboys game and getting ready for the week. Until next time friends!

Crock Pot Chili

Classes started this week, and with them comes a new schedule. Unfortunately I have class until 7 or 7:30 pm Monday-Thursday. "When am I going to eat????" was my first question. This week Edwin stayed at school until I was done and then picked me up. Which means that we both arrive home at 8 pm hungry and tired. What to do?

Yesterday I had the brilliant idea of becoming best friends with our crock pot. It's a perfect solution. I will be at home studying during the day, for the most part. It will be super easy and convenient to put together a crock pot dish before I leave for class. Yesterday was the first attempt. It was perfection. Chili went into the crock pot at 12:30. We got home at 7:50, with just enough time to dish it up and turn on the tv for Expedition Impossible. The only problem is that now I need more crock pot recipes! Leave a recipe in a comment if you have a good one, please!

As I mentioned, yesterday I made Chili. I found the recipe on skinnytaste.com (great website).

Crock Pot 3 Bean Turkey Chili
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 12 • Serving Size: 10.8 oz • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 5 pts
Calories: 206.3 • Fat: 1.4 g • Protein: 16.8 g • Carb: 31.8 g • Fiber: 9.0 g

• 1.3 lb (20 oz) fat free ground turkey breast
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (16 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 (4.5 oz) can chopped chilies, drained
• 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, undrained
• 1 (15.5 oz) can black beans, undrained
• 1 (15.5 oz) can small red beans, undrained
• 2 tbsp chili powder

Topping:

• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro for topping
• shredded cheddar to top (extra pts)

Brown turkey and onion in a medium skillet over medium high heat until cooked through.
Drain any fat remaining and transfer to crock pot. Add the beans, chilies, chickpeas tomatoes, tomato sauce and chili powder mixing well.
Cook on high 6-8 hours.
Garnish with onions, cilantro and cheese and enjoy!

I made a few changes. I left out the turkey to make it vegetarian. I'm not sure what "small red beans" are, but I used kidney beans. They are big, but red, so I figured they would work. I added some canned jalapenos instead of chilies. Also, we skipped the onion and cilantro on top. And finally, I made cavatappi noodles (curly tubed noodles) and added them at the end.

It turned out delicious!! Happy Friday everyone!

Quarter of a Century Old!

Ok, so apparently no one liked the dog picture. In other news, yesterday was my 25th birthday!!! I think turning 24 caused me more anxiety than 25, which is a little weird. I'm a quarter of a century old!!! Two and a half decades old. I had an awesome weekend. I'm thrilled to be 25. Lower car rental rates! I'm getting married this year! What more could you want.

On Friday, we went to a potluck/grill-out at one of Edwin's co-workers houses. Leigh and I stopped at a gas station to pick up some drinks to contribute... The cashier took one look at my ID and said, "You old." Uh, thanks lady. For the record, she was definitely older than I am. After the potluck Ted and Leigh came over and we all played Boggle. Leigh made me this beautiful cake! It's great to have such good friends!

On Sunday (my actual birthday, for the uninformed), Edwin and I had brunch with Ted, Leigh and Chris (another teacher at their school) at a great restaurant that I would definitely go back to. The migas were delicioso. The rest of my birthday included a trip to Whole Foods, going to see The Help (4 stars), and a home-cooked steak dinner.

I got to Skype with the fam, heard from tons of friends, and even got a slideshow (thanks, Mom) of past birthdays!! Edwin made the day so special for me and I had a blast spending the day with him. I kinda like the guy :) Thanks for making my day so special everyone!

Perfect Halloween Costume

This made me laugh out loud, thought you might like it too :)

Source: tumblr.com via Jamie on Pinterest

More aparment design!

Good Morning readers!! It is 6:30 am, Edwin has already left for school and I have my first day of graduate school orientation today. My new goal is to wake up at the same time as Edwin in hopes of having productive mornings, and hopefully decreasing the amount of work I am still doing when he gets home at night and/or when I get back from class at night.

Anywho- we had a wonderful weekend!!! On Saturday night we had a wonderful dinner at North by Northwest (not to be confused with the music festival South by Southwest) and then went to see Crazy, Stupid, Love. We both loved it! Four stars. Go see it! Throughout the weekend we squeezed in a few games of Boggle (Chelsea 1-Edwin 1) and even made a trip to IKEA! The fruits of which you are about to see. This should be the last craft/DIY/design post for awhile, as my summer has officially ended. After this post we will resume our regularly scheduled broadcasting. (WHAT?! You say? Only one post every 2 months?!) We'll see about that.

We have been dealing with the combined challenges of a tiny kitchen and lots of gifts from my bridal shower. Not that we're complaining!! We decided that we need some new kitchen storage to display our wares (the ones that won't fit in the cupboards, anyway). Off to IKEA we went. With my birthday money, we found this awesome sideboard! Happy Birthday to me!!!

We love it. I put it together in no time at all which is a bonus. We now have storage for our cookbooks, big bowls, wok and food processor. We also picked up 2 glass racks which will allow us to hang our glasses upside down to save space. (We only have one installed right now and you can see the glasses hanging on the left.)

We also picked up a big canvas to hang over the sideboard. We think it depicts a pretty generic city, which we like. It could be anywhere!

We think that the new stuff adds a lot to the apartment and maximizes our space.

Here are the two pieces

Here is the wider view so you can see how it all fits in. We moved the table over a bit to give the sideboard some breathing room. (Sideboards need to breathe, just like feet!!)

On Saturday I put up our pictures about the couch. We like the color the frames and pictures add to the room.

Last but not least, we moved the art (by Tim!!) that was above the couch to the fireplace.

Our apartment has so much color now, which is so much fun!! Our apartment tends to be kind of dark since it is a basement unit, so having color on the walls helps it to feel bright.

Happy Monday!!

Happy Birthday Brady!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Brady!!! Last Saturday Adam and Andrea hosted a super fun bday party for the B man. I was very happy to be in town for the party!

I am in love with these Cookie Monster cupcakes!!! They turned out so so cute!

Andrea made super cute decorations for the fiesta.

The Bray-man went nude for his cupcake eating adventure

Going for it!

Quite pleased with himself!

Love you Brady!!

DIY Art + Organization

I am celebrating my last week of summer with lots of projects around our apartment. I am in the middle of creating a wall of frames above our couch. Today I created two easy canvas pieces to add to the mix!

This is Costa Rica- the heart is where Edwin proposed :) I made this by printing out an outline map of Costa Rica and tracing it on a blank canvas. Then I painted the background and filled in the map. I'm really happy with how it turned out!

I'm really excited about this one. I've seen this quote in a few places and always thought it was really special. Especially since my new hobby is decorating and improving our apartment! I think it's a nice reminder of what is really important, and why I am so happy in this little space. To make it, I used letter stamps and stamped them on a piece of scrapbook paper from Michael's. Super easy!

My other recent projects involve kitchen organization. Our kitchen is tiny, and the cabinets are kind of gross. The wood is warped and so the bottoms are concave. Not quite conducive to maximizing storage space. Not to fear!! Yesterday I discovered these sweet little racks at Bed Bath & Beyond. They have made an enormous difference!

So much better!

Today I got this drawer organizer at Target. I love the results and may or may not have opened the drawer for the rest of the day to see the fruits of my labor.

Stay tuned to see how the wall of frames turns out!

Sweet as Apple Pie

Well (that's a deep subject), hello!!!!! We're back! Or rather, I'm back to Austin. I spent the past 2 1/2 weeks in Wisconsin with my wonderful family and friends. Over the next few days I will post pictures and stories from my trip! It was so fun, relaxing and rejuvenating. Let's get started! During Sibs Weekend, we made Grandma's apple pie. It tasted uh-may-zing.

Adam peeling apples- a job which, of course, he tried to delegate to someone else :)

the crust-master (Andrea) and her apprentice (me)

the boys

A thing of beauty

The finished product!

Houston

Hello fellow readers! We just got back from a weekend in Houston with my family. It is the last weekend of vacation (for me, Edwin)! My mom is always working when we come into town, so because she was free this weekend she wanted us to come so she could make pupusas for us, which is a traditional dish from El Salvador. We arrived on Friday and went out to eat at Cafe Express with my mom and my little sister Keren. Afterwards we came home and my dad arrived to fix the sink, which was leaking, and stayed to chat for a bit.

As it turns out, my grandpa, my dad's dad, is sick in El Salvador and went through a pretty serious surgery this weekend. I was not aware of this until my mom told me on Friday. My grandfather has been sick for about 5 years. He's had trouble walking and recently had some serious pains in his foot. That pain turned out to be a viral infection that began wearing away bone and tissue and could easily spread to his leg. So unfortunately, he had to have his foot amputated. Because he's 84 years old, we were all a bit concerned about the procedure. Luckily, he survived the surgery and will heading home soon.

Friday night Chel and I stayed up chatting with my mom and playing the Nintendo Wii with my sister Keren. Saturday was the day my mom made pupusas. Pupusas are little pies that are traditionally fried on an iron skillet. They are made from corn flour and can be stuffed with almost anything, especially with a ground meat mixture made from pork, red and green peppers, onions, and spices. It's something that my grandma has made since she was a little girl and it's something that reminds me of childhood, when my grandma would give us jobs as she prepared the dish. The most coveted job: grating the cheese! My mom's pupusas were stuffed with the ground meat mixture, others with Zucchini and cheese, refried red beans and cheese, and plain ol' cheese. We decided to take my dad some lunch (he was working) and he showed us around the apartment complex where he works. It's a really nice property with a lot of really nice amenities (4 pools, a swanky fitness center and 2 COFFEE BARS).

After lunch we headed back home where my brother and his wife were joining us for their lunch. And shortly afterwards the babies arrived! Adai, my niece, has a rash on her cheeks and was a little fussy at first but after we applied the ointment her doctor prescribed she was a cheerful baby. Jafet, or JJ, was roaming all over the house asking us if we could put the "Cars" movie on for him (it's currently his favorite). He made very good friends with his tia Chelsea. In fact Chelsea changed his **very messy** diaper, chased him around the house, and helped him count his blocks. I was helping my mom look over Adai and tried rocking her to sleep. It was a nice afternoon that ended with a trip to Target! My mom was aware that we did not have a microwave so she wanted to buy us one (thanks mom). This morning we had breakfast at IHOP with my mom and my sister Keren. Keren was a little sad last night because Chelsea and I were leaving. She really enjoys spending time with all of her siblings and it's always a little hard for her when we or my brother and sister go. But she knows that we love her very much and that we will come visit soon.

This week is my first week of work and Chelsea's trip to Wisconsin. I will miss her dearly, as we have not been apart for 3 weeks since we first began dating! However, I am really happy that she will get to spend a lot of time with the family and wish that I was coming with. Stay tuned as we blog from various locations on family time in Wisco, first days of work at KIPP, and the wonderful life that we're living. Love you all.

Edwin's mom and Adai (pronounced A-Da-ee)

Edwin and Jafet (pronounced Ha-Fet)

Chel and Adai

Curtains

Edwin mentioned in his last post that I have finished the curtains! They have actually been up for a little over a week, but I'm just getting around to posting now. We started with fabric that was about 90 inches long and 3-4 feet wide (I can't remember the width). To figure out those measurements, we just measured the height and width we wanted them to be. The width of the curtains is more than the width of the window.

I used iron on hem tape to make the hems. This was the hardest part (should be easy) and if I had a sewing machine I would definitely have gone that route. It was easy enough to measure the hem (I did 1" on top and 2" on the other 3 sides). My problem was that the hem tape didn't stick super well in some parts. I'm not sure why.... but it stuck in enough spots to make the curtains work.


Here is the hem.

To hang the curtains, it was really simple. Edwin installed the curtain rod at the height we wanted. Instead of using curtain rings we used curtain rings with clips. This meant I didn't have to sew/cut holes at the top to allow for curtain rings. All I did was clip the clips to the top of the curtain, and then the ring went on the rod.



We really like how they turned out! We like them even better because they are homemade! Also, if you are interested in making curtains of your own there is a much better tutorial here.

4th of July Food!!

Hello fellow viewers, it's Edwin here. So a recap of what's been going on in the Chedwo household: Chelsea has made some really awesome curtains which make our bedroom feel like a paradise. Chelsea and I have both done A LOT of reading this summer. Chelsea has read "Medium Raw" by Anthony Bourdain and just finished "Spousanomics" a book that looks at marriage through the lens of two reasonable and loving economists. I am currently reading "A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn who passed away not too long ago. It's an interesting book that tells the story of the US rise to a super power through the lens of the poor, the slaves, Native Americans, immigrants, and women. We've accomplished a lot for our upcoming wedding and have watched a lot of television. Currently the household favorites are: The Bachelorette, America's Got Talent, PBS, Extreme Makeover (where people lose a lot of weight), Love in the Wild, and Love Bytes. We've played a lot of Boggle (Chelsea blew me out of the water yesterday!) and as of Tuesday we are committed to riding more bikes (i.e. I'm learning how to ride a bike!). So far I have not wiped out on Chelsea's mountain bike, but the road bike has been a challenge to ride.

One of my interests is barbecuing and grilling. I think it's because when I smell the scent of wood chips burning or charcoal burning it takes me back to when I was about 9 years old when we would attend my dad's company picnics near Lake Conroe. The menu was always the same (smoked fajitas) and it never got old. It also reminds me of spending time with my dad and my uncles during high school and college, and all the joking, laughing, and stories that occurred. So it's no surprise that any chance we get, I try to make something related to barbecue or grilling. In the RGV, with the help of Ted, we made some excellent ribs that I hope to one day share with you all. Unfortunately, I cannot use my grill in our apartment because it's too small and the risk of starting a fire is big.

So this 4th of July, because Chelsea and I both really enjoy barbecued meats and because we like celebrating the 4th of July, we tried to have an All-American Meal. We could not grill so instead we made the next best thing: Barbecue Baked Beans. We made them in a crockpot, although the recipe (from BBQ U) has them baked on a grill. We paired them with Turkey Sloppy Joes. For dessert I made Blueberry Crisp and we bought mustard potato salad. Here are the recipes:

1 pound smoked brisket or bacon cut into 1/4-inch slivers
1 can (15 ounces) black beans
1 can (15 ounces) dark red kidney beans
3 cans (each 15 ounces) baked beans or pork and beans
1 large sweet onion, finely chopped
1/8 cup of Cayenne Pepper (optional, it counteracts the sweetness of the brown sugar and bbq sauce)
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely chopped
1 poblano pepper or green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 to 6 jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced (for hotter beans, leave the seeds in)
2 cups sweet red barbecue sauce (your favorite commercial brand)
1-1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar, or more to taste
1/2 cup Dijon mustard, or more to taste
Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper

1. If using bacon instead of brisket, place it in a large skillet over medium heat and fry until crisp and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Pour off all the bacon fat, saving a few tablespoons for the beans, if desired.

2. Empty the cans of black and kidney beans into a colander and drain. Rinse the beans under cold running water and drain again. Place all the beans (including the baked beans or pork and beans) in a large nonreactive mixing bowl and add the onion, bell and poblano peppers, garlic, and jalapenos and stir to mix. Add the barbecue sauce, brown sugar, mustard, and brisket or fried bacon and stir to mix. Taste for seasoning, adding more brown sugar and/or mustard as necessary, and salt and black pepper to taste; the beans should be very flavorful. IF GRILLING: Transfer the bean mixture to the aluminum foil pan or pans. (If you used bacon, you can drizzle a few tablespoons of bacon fat over the beans for extra flavor.) IF COOKING IN A CROCKPOT: Transfer the mixture to the crockpot and set on low for about 5 to 6 hours.

3. If grilling them, set up the grill for indirect grilling and preheat to medium-low. If using a gas grill, place all of the wood chips or chunks in the smoker box or in a smoker pouch and run the grill on high until you see smoke, then reduce the heat to medium-low. If using a charcoal grill, preheat it to medium-low, then toss all of the wood chips or chunks on the coals.

4. When ready to cook, place the pan of beans in the center of the hot grate, away from the heat, and cover the grill. Cook the beans until they are thick and richly flavored, about 1 hour. If the beans start to dry out, cover them loosely with aluminum foil. Remove the beans from the grill and let them rest for 15 minutes, then serve.

For the Turkey Sloppy Joes:

2 large garlic cloves
1 small yellow onion
1 small green pepper, seeded and cut into large chunks
Nonstick cooking spray
Salt and Pepper
12 ounces of ground Turkey Breast or just 93/7 ground Turkey
3/4 cup of ketchup
2/3 cup of water
2 Tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp of Chili powder
Hamburger Buns

1. Heat a large nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat
2. While pan is heating, combine the garlic, onion, and bell pepper in a bowl of a food processor, and pulse until finely chopped. We don't have a food processor so we just chopped them by hand.
3. When the pan is hot, spray with cooking spray. Add the chopped vegetables. and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is fragrant and the vegetables are tender, about 4 minutes.
4. Add turkey to the pan and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to break it up. Season with salt and pepper, continuing to break it up with a spoon as it cooks. When turkey is cooked through (about 4 minutes), drain any fat if desired and add ketchup, water, Worcestershire sauce, and chili powder. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
5. Toast hamburger buns. Divide mixture over the buns and enjoy!





The beans looked like a very thick Chili, but tasted really great.



Here's the blueberry crisp. Blueberries have been on sale here in Austin, so we took advantage of that. The only thing I would have changed about the crisp was maybe to add more lemon juice. It didn't have the slightly tart taste that frozen blueberries have. Then again, these blueberries were very sweet!



The one and only Chelsea Barnes!



A close-up of the Turkey Sloppy Joes.

Today we are getting Library Cards! We hope to rent some audiobooks for our trip to Houston next weekend. Also, next week is my last week of vacation! So at some point next week we are hoping to go to Schlitterbahn, the best waterpark in Texas. Today we also want to go to the movies to see "Horrible Bosses". For dinner we are going out! We're having french fries at "Parkside", a restaurant on 6th St., and then head over to "Iron Cactus", a Mexican restaurant right across the street from "Parkside". Until next time, we love you all!

Fourth of July

First off, nice work on Boggle!! I think 6 comments is a record. I'm back for a recap of our 4th of July weekend. On Friday we drove out to Lake Travis (near Austin) to meet one of Edwin's good college friends and her boyfriend's friends/family. They were renting a great VRBO house for the week. We were lucky enough to go out on their boat for the day. I found a google image of a similar boat for Adam to see:

On Saturday Edwin and I celebrated our country's independence by eating meat. Lots of meat. In the afternoon we went to a German draft house that had FREE brats! They were delicious. We went to see Larry Crowne later, which we would give 3 stars. It was funny and pretty cheesy. For the record, I would rather watch Julia Roberts in a happy role than in an angry, moody role. Her smile and laugh are what made her famous! I digress. After the movie we got dinner at Mighty Fine Burger Co., a local burger chain. They use really good beef, etc. It was delicious and we won some points for supporting local businesses (ie Austin's "Keep Austin Weird" campaign).

On Sunday we got to see Kieley and Jack! Kieley is our friend from the Valley, and Jack is her adorable Australian Shepherd. See their adventures here.

Jack was especially happy to see Edwin since he doesn't have a lot of male role models. Kieley is teaching another year in the Valley (God bless her) which is great for us since she (and Hannah) can visit!

Unfortunately Austin (and most of Texas) is under severe drought conditions and all fireworks were canceled, so we didn't see any live fireworks on Monday. Luckily for us the Macy's NYC fireworks were on. Sadly the holiday ousted the Bachelorette from airing on Monday night. Sigh. We made an awesome meal on Monday which Edwin will be back to report sometime soon!

Edwin on a bike!

Edwin is on a bike!!! For those of you who know his history with bicycles, this is a big deal. We are practicing in a nearby church parking lot. Look for him soon on a street near you!

Crafts!

I really like to do arts & crafts projects. I've tried my hand at many things in recent years. Purse making took far too long to become a real hobby. My fabric covered magnet board was never completed due to technical difficulties (I couldn't find the right adhesive for the fabric). The point is- I get ideas and want to do them right now. I get the supplies, am all gung-ho.... and then something goes wrong. Namely, I don't have the patience to see the projects through.

Recently I think I've gotten better at choosing projects that fit my ideal time frame. The Placemat pillows took no more than 10 minutes each to complete. PERFECT!!!! Well, I have another success story to report. Back story: Soon after Edwin and I moved into our apartment, I bought chalkboard paint. Another prime example of a big idea that petered out. I wanted to make a big chalkboard to put over our kitchen table where we could write quotes, the menu, etc. I did a test run on a piece of wood, and it turned okay. A month later, I still haven't done the real deal, and our wall remains empty. Well, yesterday I saw a great idea on a craft blog to paint wine bottles with chalkboard paint. I thought, what a great idea!! And I ACTUALLY DID IT! Project complete. We want to use them to mark the table numbers at the wedding.

What do you think? Would you be happy to sit down at a table marked with one of these beauties? To set a visual, there would be a hoj-poj of vases and candles (in mason jars?) as centerpieces.

Next project: curtains!!!!!!! I found a tutorial for No-Sew curtains here on Young House Love (one of my favorite blogs) and thought, "What a great idea". Edwin and I have been wanting to put curtains up in the bedroom, but hadn't found any we both liked during our last IKEA (or Target) trip. After seeing an ad yesterday for a $3.99 tupperware set at IKEA, we decided to go again. Unfortunately, IKEA didn't have fabric (or curtains) that we both liked. So we headed across the street to JoAnn fabrics where we found this! The color is lighter/brighter in person- kind of a robins egg blue/light turquoise. The fabric is in the wash right now, and after that it is game on!!! Wish me luck! This project may go over my typical arts-and-crafts attention span, but they are going to get finished and they are going to be beautiful!!!!! Stay tuned!