Sometimes I Forget...

...that I have a slow cooker. Well the other day I was off work and trying to get some little project done, but I felt like making something yummy for dinner. And that's when inspiration came.

Chicken? Check.
Mexican frozen veggie mix? Check.
Corn tortillas? Check.

All the makings for tortilla soup.

I always forget how easy it is to just plop the chicken in the pot with some spices and onions and then come back in a few hours and it's done. Then I just opened the bag of frozen veggies, tossed them in with a few more herbs and spices, cut up some tortillas and left it all for a little while longer. Voila!

Noooo...Summer, you are going by to quickly!

After all the craziness with school ending...

I've been enjoying a pretty relaxing break. Even though I am working a summer job, I am still able to get some "vacationy" things into my schedule.

I've been cooking some yummy dinners. (It looks so much better in one of my new Pyrex dishes!)

What's more summery than watermelon? (Again, all the more delicious when served from yummy turquoise Pyrex!)

I finished a baby blanket for a friend who had had her baby awhile ago. I realized I hadn't taken any pictures of it after I had already wrapped it. This was my first quilt done all by myself--from start to finish. And it was the first time I machine quilted a quilt. (Yeah for the internet!!)

I think I'm addicted...

I wonder who this could be for?

Oh yeah, and my Pyrex addiction--I mean collection--has gotten a little out of hand. I've given myself a budget for how much I can spend each month. I spent the entire summer's budget in just one month!

Thanks to my mom for finding these beautiful casseroles with cradle.

Beautiful yellow Daisy casserole.

Pink! I love pink!

Oh, no! Another project. I wonder who will get this one?

And that's pretty much my summer so far...it's going by waaaay too fast!

For Dinner I Ate...

microwave popcorn
and
cookie dough

You infer the mood I'm in.

Mmmm...the best tasting weeds ever!

BLACKBERRIES! The kind you eat, not email on.

One thing I still can't get over since moving to Western Washington, is the existence of a delicious and, if you BUY them at the store, expensive berry as a WEED! They grow without any help, and actually take over if you let them. They are on the side of the freeway, in parking lots, on school and library grounds, along walking trails, everywhere. (As an aside, those are all places where I have actually helped myself to blackberries.)

A lady that I work with was begging people to come pick some from her yard since they were just ripening and falling to the ground. Oh, what a waste! I went over there one day after work and picked my fingers raw. Then I had this scrumptious treat:

Yesterday, as I was walking to my car at school I happened to look up and what did I see? Some plump, dark berries glowing in the setting sun. They were just begging me to pick them. I left my car door hanging open, and, in my dress shoes, climbed a low rock wall to reach over the chain link fence in order to snag a yummy treat. Of course one of the other teachers came out to the parking lot while I'm standing up there. Don't mind me, I just love to snack on weeds!

Slurpee Salvation

Yesterday a Slurpee saved my life.

It has been very hot here in the Seattle area the past few days. (Thankfully a sweet storm is rolling in right now, taking the edge off the miserable heat.) The news Friday night said there was an "excessive heat warning" in effect--whatever that means. I guess it meant it was going to be 90 degrees or above the next few days. Now for you Arizonans, that may not seem like anything compared to 115, BUT we don't have air conditioning in our homes!! You sit and cook in your house and think of reasons to drive places, because at least (if you're lucky) there's air conditioning in the car.

I was doing just that--sitting in my oven...I mean...house, cooking. It was so hot I could hardly stay awake and yet I couldn't sleep because it was too darn hot. Finally, I couldn't take it any more so I decided to walk to 7-11 to get some liquid refreshment...ah, a Slurpee.

The good news--7-11 is two blocks from my house, just a quick walk through the park--literally. The bad news--I had a bit of a panic attack on the way there, brought on by a heat-induced headache. What if there are no Slurpees at this 7-11? Gasp! Is that possible? Knowing my luck it just might happen. Never fear, there were some Slurpees left by the time I got there.

The Slurpee area looked like it had been ransacked. Very few cups were left in the dispensers. (I had to get a 32 ounce one since all the 24 ounce cups were gone.) Straws and lids were strewn about. Sticky puddles of melted Slurpee coated the counter and floor. And the Crystal Light flavor was out of order. Sad. But I got a Gatorade/Mountain Dew Slurpee. I know it sounds kind of disgusting, but it didn't actually taste too bad. In fact it was the best Slurpee in the world! It saved my life...at least that's what it felt like.