Guacamole

Andy and I went to a work party of mine last Saturday night.  It was held on the intimate, tiny-white-lights-strung back garden patio of The Mission, a very nice restaurant in Scottsdale that serves "modern Latin cuisine".  

The food was SO good.  

The servers kept a steady flow of drinks (me: water, Andy: ginger ale), chips (the best I've ever had), salsa (yum), and guacamole (holy MOLE!)... 

The guac was amazing.  I decided to re-create it tonight.

The Mission Guacamole

3 ripe avacadoes

1 jalepeno, chopped

2 tsp minced garlic

2 Tbl chopped red onion

1/2 tsp Chili powder

1 tsp olive oil

coarse sea salt

ground pepper

chopped cilantro (I did not have this on hand...still good without)

1 lime

Queso blanco

Cut up avacadoes into chunks; place in bowl, along with the next 8 ingredients.  Cut lime in half and juice both (I used a little less than half of the second half) into bowl.  Mash and stir until guac reaches consistency to your liking.  Taste.  Add more salt to taste if it needs it.  [The Mission also had chopped tomatoes in their guac, as well as chipotle paste.  I didn't have any on hand.]

Top with crumbled queso blanco.  Enjoy!  (how do you say that in Spanish?)

Victoria Weiss, RN, BSN

I am so proud of my sister, Victoria...
She just passed the NCLEX and is now a
Registered Nurse!

She is one of my closest friends.  We're a lot alike,
and we're a lot not alike.
When she decided to switch majors to go into BC's nursing program... like me...
I knew her decision was totally independent of me.
I like to think I influenced her decision, but she is so unique and self-motivated,
I probably didn't.
Needless to say, I knew from the start that she would make a great nurse.

She loves people, especially children.
She is compassionate.
She is sacrificial.
She is kind...
but strong.
She has a great sense of humor...
and can laugh at herself.
She's smart and a hard worker.
She is loyal and dedicated to the people in her life.

Congratulations, Dana!
I'm proud to be a nurse alongside you.
Maybe one day we can work together.


I hope you enjoy your cookies!

These were fun to make...  I love my new disco dust sparkles!  (Totally edible, of course.)

Dinner for Andy

Andy LOVES Cincinnati-style chili...  It's runny, has cinnamon and cocoa in it, no beans...  I tease him because it's more like soup!  His mom has family in Ohio, so Andy grew up eating that when they would visit.  He has had friends bring back cans from the airport, and we stocked up this summer when we had a layover there.  You eat it one-way (just chili), two-way (chili on a hot-dog or spaghetti), or three-way (chili on spaghetti or hot-dog with cheese), four-way (also add onions), and so on.  But alas, we're now out of Cincinnati chili!

So it was PERFECT timing when I got my Family Circle magazine in the mail this month and they had a whole section on chilis... and they had a recipe for this one!  I tweaked it a bit so it would be runny for Andy.  He took one bite and said, "It's just like straight out of the can!"  This is one time that I take that as a compliment :)

A few more pics from time in Boston

Loved stopping by 11 Durland to see the sweet Bianchis and visit their amazing new home!

A little Ticket to Ride action with the Littles and Caitlin

Caitlin's first time playing... and she beat us all!

We love and miss the Littles so much!

Luci and me at lunch--loved seeing you!

A Dedication to June!

One of my dearest friends, June, just gave birth to her second child on December 30, 2011 at 7:18am...

He was a whopping 10 lbs!

June did an AMAZING job laboring for hours... 

I was so thankful to be there for a small portion of her labor.

She has had a tough recovery this week, 

but through it all she has trusted God and put her fears and pain in His hands.

And He is FAITHFUL!  

Here are some pictures of sweet

Micah David Doran

I love you, June and Dave!  Thanks for letting me be a part of your special day!  

I can't wait to see you all again.

Miss you dearly.