get low, schwarty

the village dallas opened this weekend! praise the Lord! i know He will do wonderful things through that campus, and i'm so excited that deanna and allison get to go!!

sooo... i guess i didn't really update at all this week!

monday was labor day so that was fun because matt stayed home. we went to his parents' house and then everyone fell asleep so we just left. then luke and amanda came over for tacos and we all went to home group together. wait... i did write about this!! ha ha :)

tuesday allison and reese came over... did i say that? i baby sat him while she went to the dentist, and we made sam a bear for her first football game. she is the mascot, and she is really good. it was fun going to her game.

wednesday i went to my bible study in the morning, and i'm really excited about it. i have done four chapters in Matthew now, and God has been showing me a lot. then that night, faith came over and we talked a lot, which was fun. the boys had a cigar night, though not everyone had them.

thursday i didn't do much, and when matt got home from work we just watched arrested development.

friday, i subbed. it was so wonderful! it made me realize how much i really miss teaching every day. i had a great class that day, too, which helps of course! *sigh* it was also fun seeing all the teachers there. katie, one of my mentor teachers during student teaching, teaches second grade, which is the grade i subbed in, so i got to spend a lot of time with her. i already have three sub jobs for next week and 5 for october, so that is good. i think that i'm starting to appreciate just subbing a few times a week and then being done when i leave... as in, i don't have to take stuff home. of course, if i got a teaching job now, i wouldn't mind doing it, because i love it so much. anyway...

saturday, it was still raining. we woke up later than usual, and decided to go on a picnic in the rain with the smiths. it was so fun!! we ate leftover tacos, and then decided to go on a spontaneous sprinkles run! those cupcakes are delish, i tell you!! that night we went to church and afterwards, we went to the smiths to play some games. it was fantastic. we played imaginiff. it's so fun and funny! we laughed so much that night, you might have thought we were drunk. there was definitely no alcohol involved. some people were hyped up on caffeine, but other than that, we were cleaaan. we got home super late that night...

so sunday we woke up late! haha :) then we took all of our dvds (over 100) and took the DVDs out of the cases, put them in a DVD book holder thing, and threw away the cases. we are going to give the little shelf to allison. i'm so glad it's going to be gone!! it looks so much cleaner in here :). we also have been cleaning, which i am taking a break from to write this!

This week, I already have three sub jobs Mon-Wed. I'll be missing my Bible study (ok why do i sometimes capitalize the right letters, and sometimes not? i'm done now.) but i'll be there next week. tomorrow we are going to jason mraz; tuesday shelley is coming over; wednesday i'm having dinner with michelle; thursday doctor's appointment; friday and the weekend are free! i'm sure it will be a good time, but we'll have to see what happens! :)

now here are two recipes, one for tacos, one for amazing rice.

Mexican Rice

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons vegfetable oil

1 cup uncooked long-grain rice (i used brown instant rice)

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 chopped green bell pepper

1/2 cup tomato sauce

2 cups chicken broth (i used the make it yourself kind)

1-2 tbsp chili powder

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until puffed and golden. While rice is cooking, sprinkle with salt and cumin.

2. Stir in onions and cook until tender. Stir in tomato sauce and chicken broth: bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Amazing Tacos

Ingredients:

2 pounds pork shoulder roast (or beef roast, whatever you have)

*-[for more flavorful meat, double the following ingredients, except salt]-*

1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies, drained

2 tablespoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon taco seasoning

1 teaspoon minced garlic

3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Directions from the recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

2. Place the roast on top of a large piece of aluminum foil. In a small bowl, stir together the green chilies, chili powder, oregano, taco seasoning, and garlic. Rub onto the roast. Wrap foil around the roast so that it is completely covered, using additional aluminum foil if necessary. Place on top of a roasting rack in a baking dish, or place a cookie sheet on an oven rack below to catch any leaks.

3. Roast meat for 3 1/2 to 4 hours in the preheated oven, until falling apart. Remove from the oven and shred into small pieces using two forks. Season with salt to taste.

What we did:

1. Put the roast into your crock pot and turn it on to cook on low for 8-10 hours... or however long before you're going to eat.

2. In a small bowl, stir together the green chilies, chili powder, oregano, taco seasoning, and garlic. Rub onto the roast.

3. When you're ready to eat (the meat will be done if you let it go the whole time in the crock pot, even if you do it on high for 4-6 hours), pull it apart with two forks!

These are so good!