Happenings in our Household

Really and truly, we haven't dropped off the face of the earth!! I know you all have been wondering, but...

Life has been normal and very routine around here...don't get me wrong, that's a good thing, but it also means there's not much to blog about!

Let me tell you some of the things that happen/or have happened around our house...

:: Michael goes to school everyday from 8:00 - 12:00 and then studies with a tutor from 2:00 - 3:00. Every late afternoon on Monday, he practices with the school "band" because they play in chapels on Tuesday. Did I mention he studies a lot too?!

:: What do I do? Well, there's always cooking, cleaning, feeding, washing, grocery shopping, chasing the kids around, and....a never ending pile of laundry!! This is not a favorite chore of mine, so I do one load each day so it doesn't get too overwhelming! Below is a picture inside the school's laundromat. For those of you ladies who own your own washer and dryer, and have the privilege of throwing laundry in while still in your pajamas...bless you! The school here does not allow us to have our own washer in our apartments, therefore we must use their facilities (at $.75 to wash and $.75 to dry), or go to a laundromat!

:: Even with all the never ending things to do in a day, I still get a chance to work on "fun" stuff! This normally happens when the kids take their afternoon nap! I've finally decided to start a new quilt. I've got several ideas that have been running through my brain, but decided to go with a scrap quilt (using leftover pieces of material from other projects). This is a little hard for me to picture, because I'm all about color coordination and organized looks, but we'll see how this turn out. The picture below shows that I'm still using only certain colors so I don't go too crazy! I think I have 128 triangles cut out - that will get sewn together - only to get cut apart into like 320 rectangle strips - and then sewn back together!!!!! Oh what fun!

:: Philip and Collette were so kind to bring me some more Mexican strawberries last week! After all the ones I froze before I left MX + these new ones, I officially have no room in my freezer for anything else! I guess we'll just skip the meat and eat only strawberries for a while!!! Ha! Ha!

:: Well, the only other thing worth mentioning...can you believe we've been down here a year? We were in MX for almost 9 months, then here in TX for 3 months or so! Our second set of Visas/Vehicle Permit for MX expire on the 31st, so we had to go turn them in the other day. Also, Michael's passport expires the end of April, so we also need to get on the ball with getting him a new one.


I guess that about sums up our life here in the Mason household recently!

Barbeque Meat Loaf

Are you looking for something else to add to your menu this week? Why not try this?! I know...there are a million recipes for meat loaf! So, that means...it won't hurt to try one more!

BARBEQUE MEAT LOAF
1 lb. ground beef (uncooked)
2 slices bread (torn into pieces)
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 egg
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. dry ranch seasoning
1/3 cup ketchup

Sauce:
1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. vinegar
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. ground mustard
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

Combine all meat loaf ingredients together. Shape into a loaf. Place in greased baking dish. Mix all sauce ingredients together. Spoon over meat loaf (it will run over the sides). Bake uncovered in 350* oven for 1 hour.

yields: 4 servings

Enjoy!

The Moody Chorale

We were very privileged to go hear the Moody Chorale sing last night! They did an excellent job! They sang various genres of Christan music, including an ethnic piece in both Spanish and African. Below is a short video clip of the chorale singing, "The Battle of Jericho."

Finally Something to Blog About

We've definitely been keeping busy around here...and yes, I'm still trying out biscuit recipes! LOL

Today, I had some surprise visitors show up at my door. There are a group of students from a Christian school in Plano, TX who are on a "missions trip" here at RGBI. They have done all sorts of work for the school and now they're volunteering their time to help those who live here...by cleaning houses! And do you know what the only thing I could think of was..."Aahhh, I'll finally have something to blog about!" Isn't that terrible? Actually, the young people did a great job!

They even volunteered to clean up the disaster my kids like to create in their room!! I know my sister-in-law Michelle will cringe to hear this, but we actually let their room go for a couple of days before it has to be picked up! It's a very tiresome job, especially when you have kids who love to dump all the toys out of boxes, take clothes out of drawers, and clear the shelves in their open door closet! Maybe I'm a little lazy, but I hate to have something picked up only to be a mess 5 minutes later!

Here's a few pictures of the kids...Kyle really likes to play out on the playground that's right behind our apartment. He has a playground friend named Carlitos who is around his age - I'll have to get a picture of him sometime.

Taylor - enjoying some frozen grapes!

And to Ann, my mom's co-worker: I heard you were thinking I needed to update my blog...I hope this will satisfy you for... another month or so?! Just kidding!

Can Anybody Help Me?

Well, by now, most of you know that I enjoy cooking, baking, etc...but, I have a problem! I can bake bread...but, homemade biscuits and me don't get along!! I have tried many, many different recipes to no avail. I currently have a recipe that tastes good, but is not the consistency I like. I'm looking for a biscuit that is light and fluffy (or just something that raises well - unlike mine)!!

So I had this thought. Ask my faithful few blog readers. Could you please leave me a comment with your favorite tried-n-true biscuit recipe? I'll not promise (just in case), but I will do my best to try and make each recipe I receive! I'll definitely let you know how they all turn out! Maybe I'll have to think up a prize or something...is that any inspiration?

I can't wait...my mixing bowl and wooden spoon are ready and waiting for those "delicioso" recipes to come piling into my comment section!! (Oh, sorry! Was that too dramatic???!!!)