This and That

So we got back on Saturday and we survived, although that last day of flying home about broke me. I love my kids, really, but dang was I tired of them by the time we got home. Funny thing about vacations, even in a different country where they speak a different language, you're eating out all the time, and having the time of your lives--the whining does not stop. We started all the kids out at 20 points, which they lost each time they were pills and gained back when they did something particularly appreciated. #1 came home with 5, #2 had 2, #3 and #4 will owe us for some time. But it was lots of fun and a great thing to share with our kids. However, I'm glad to be home too.

I took my Isagenix stuff with me and did about one shake a day as a meal replacement; we were lucky in that we had a blender in our rental place. I weighed myself the morning after we got back and had only gained 1.2 pounds even though we ate out 2 meals a day and I wasn't living as if I were on a 'diet'. I was quite pleased with that. In a couple days I'll be starting their maintenance program and I'm looking forward to that; it will be interesting to see if I'm able to maintain and still feel the balance mental stuff I've appreciated.

I managed to write 25 pages using my beloved Alphasmart, I read 4 novels, got a tan, napped nearly every day and didn't wear make-up for a week. It was awesome.

Last night I made my kid's favorite dinner--Taco Salad--a unique meal in that they ALL like it and it's full of good stuff like veggies and beans they that they usually don't like. It's an easy thing to make a 'base' for that keeps in the fridge and can be mixed with the lettace, dressing, and chips at the last minute. I thought I'd share it with you guys for no particular reason.

Nonna Mae's Taco Salad

1 lb hamburger--drained
1 packet taco seasoning
1/4 cup water
1 green pepper, diced
1 can olives, sliced
1 can beans (any type, not seasoned) drained
1 can corn (optional)
chopped cilantro (optional)
sliced mushrooms (optional)
3 chopped tomatoes (optional)
1/2 bottle Catalina salad dressing
1 bag iceberg lettuce mix or the equivalent of head lettuce
1/2 back Nacho Doritos crushed (can use other types of corn chips, doritos are out favorite)

Brown hamburger, add seasoning and water, mix well. Add green pepper, olives, beans, corn, cilantro, mushrooms & tomatoes. Mix well. This is your base and can be refrigerated and used as needed. When ready to serve, mix base with lettuce and dressing, mix well. Add chips last and serve. Keep in mind that the chips will go soggy relatively fast (about an hour or two), so add them just before serving. If your base is still warm when you mix it with the lettuce, the lettuce will lose some of it's crispness, which is why this works really well do to the base ahead of time then cool before mixing together. The base freezes well, just leave out the olives, mushrooms, and tomatoes until serving.

Hope everyone is having a great summer.