If you like food with a Mexican flair as much as my family does, you will love these pork chops. We ate the pork chops up so fast that I forgot to take a picture, so I borrowed the one above until the next time I make them as these look similar.
Serving Size:
6
Time:
4 hours cook time
Difficulty:
Easy
Ingredients
6 pork chops
1 can hominy, drained
1 can red enchilada sauce
8 oz salsa – my favorite is On The Border salsa
1 can green chilis
1 can cream of chicken soup
Directions
Put everything in crockpot and cook on low for 4 hours.
I like to serve with a side Uncle Ben’s Spanish Style Ready Rice, refried beans, and tortillas, with cheese of course.
These jeans sort of give me a good vibe. They remind me a little bit of the bell bottom jeans of the 60s and 70s. Cosmic Blue Love even sounds a little hippie-esh in a really good way. I’m a hippie at heart, and these jeans give me a warm feeling inside.
Here are some great ways to pair these jeans with other items from StitchFix:
EVOLUTION BY CYRUS Aneesa Cable Knit Asymmetric Hem Pullover
Speaking of warm feelings, this is a beautiful sweater. The photo doesn’t do it justice. Normally, I have a need for symmetry, but I’m making an exception in this case. I can’t wait to wear it.
I have the cute little purse on the right and absolutely love it. When I travel, it makes a great over-body way to keep necessities safe. I like to travel light, so this is perfect.
MARKET & SPRUCE Perine Pocket Hooded Knit Top
I love a hoodie. Winter Saturdays and Sundays are my hoodie days when I’m just hanging around the house. The pockets are perfect for holding my phone, or any other thing I happen to pick up while moving from room to room. I tease my daughter about her hoodies. She gets cold easily, and frequently I’ll find her sitting in front of the tv with her hood on. She looks so cute. She’s 44, just so you aren’t getting images of a little tot or a teenager.
DANIEL RAINN Ari V Neck Pullover
This sweater is a beautiful shade of blue, and it’s a bit dressier than the two above, in my opinion.
LIVERPOOL Kaylee Skinny Jean
I love a nice pair of skinny jeans. This would go great with the blue sweater above.
This lasagna is another recipe I cooked in my new Cuisinart MSC-800 Cook Central 4-in-1 Multi-Cooker, 7 quart. It was delicious. My daughter and I ate dinner twice, and I had two lunches from this recipe. It makes a good bit. It’s easy and delicious – even better the second day.
Slow Cooker Lasagna
Serving Size:
6-8 servings
Time:
Difficulty:
Easy
Ingredients
12 lasagna noodles
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 28-oz jar spaghetti sauce of your choice – I like Ragu, but any kind will work
I’ve seen a lot of memes on Facebook that say we should be kind because we never know what others are going through. Frankly, I never gave that too much thought. For 25 years, I was in a rocky marriage. There was a lot of screaming, but never any physical violence. We had the usual teenaged angst with our kids, but no physical violence. Still, I always thought I had terrible problems at home, and I couldn’t see past my own issues to understand those of anyone else. If my co-workers came to work looking fine, then I thought they were fine.
Someone in my county started live streaming a scanner on Facebook, so I thought I’d have a listen. Last night, a child called 911 and said her mother was acting crazy toward the kids and had a knife. The child said the mom had come at them with a knife before. At the same time this was going on, a mother-in-law called in and said her son-in-law was suicidal, and she heard him cock a pistol. A couple of nights ago, a mother called and said she and her husband were sitting in the car at the entry to their subdivision because their son was threatening to kill them and they were afraid.
I’m assuming the family members in these situations went to work and school this morning and tried to act like nothing significant had happened last night. They may encounter a teacher who gives them detention for not having their homework to turn in. They may snap on phone calls with customers and get fired. They may be rude to friends and cause strained relationships. All of these things on top of what happened last night may break them or cause them to snap. Chances are, there will be more domestic violence, and maybe even workplace violence.
Now I have a better understanding of what the memes on Facebook are saying. I really don’t know what others are going through. When someone posts a picture of their new car, maybe it’s a gift after a violent outburst. With enlightenmet comes responsibility.
Why is “conspiracy theory” such a bad thing? Especially since COVID-19 started, people throw the term around like it’s bad. Anything people don’t like or don’t agree with suddenly becomes a “conspiracy theory.” But is it? Crazy things happen. Haven’t we all read something that sounded so weird and crazy that if we had heard of the possibility of it happening we would have chalked it up to conspiracy theory? I have. I read a lot of true crime books, so I see what people are capable of doing.
I’ve been following the disappearance of a local young man for over a year. His car was found with the headlights still on, but he left everything behind, even his clothes, shoes, and watch. I belong to a couple of communities of people who toss around ideas of what could have happened to this young man. One guy posted that he didn’t want to hear anything about alien abductions or cults. I’m not entertaining the thought that aliens abducted him for a year and never brought him back, but in my head cults are not out of the realm of possibility.
Cults are a real thing. They do exist. They also use unscrupulous methods to attract – or force – new members into the cult. Another young man was kidnapped by some cult members about 50 miles from where this young man disappeared close to the same time, but he managed to escape. Why do some people think cult abductions are so far-fetched that they don’t even want to consider the possibility?
Some may think I’m too open-minded, but I like to consider all possibilities in any situation. I’ve seen some weird stuff. It seems like the majority of people can only consider simple explanations. I do realize that it usually is just the simple explanation, but sometimes it’s not. An hour before this young man disappeared, he was talking about spiritual enlightenment and a couple of extreme ways to reach it. Maybe he wasn’t kidnapped by a cult. Maybe he joined one of his own accord. Maybe he started his own cult. His father is the pastor of a church, so he has seen people invited into a religious organization before and all the effort that goes into keeping parishioners. Just a thought.
I’m going to put on my little tin foil hat and see what other ideas come to me.
My January fix arrived this morning. This month, I selected a shirt, a jacket, two pairs of jean, and some sneakers. They did not disappoint. The Kaileigh top (above) is so soft and comfy. It will go great with the TOMS sneakers and denim jacket below. Thanks to my prior fixes, I already have a selection of purses and jewelry to match.
I don’t know how they do it, but StitchFix always sends me shoes that fit perfectly. It’s amazing how they do that, because if I go to the store to buy my own shoes I’m not nearly as successful with getting comfort, beauty, and trend as getting the ones StitchFix sends me. My arches need a little extra support on the inside, and these sneakers provide that. I wore them around the house this morning, and they were great. No need to even break them in. These shoes have a bit of a suede look and feel, and they are a bit dressier than my other sneakers.
A funny story…My son called me one day and asked if I owned any jeans with holes in them. I said that I did. He said when he and his girlfriend had spent the prior weekend at our house he had taken my jeans home with them because he thought they belonged to his girlfriend. He said, “They’re trendy jeans. I thought they were hers.” I guess he didn’t think I could be trendy. He must not pay attention to what I wear.
The jeans I’m wearing right now are practically shredded across the front upper thighs. I love them. One time, I wore them to a baseball game. Two women sitting a couple of rows in front of us kept looking back at my jeans with disapproving glances, and they were obviously talking about me. I have no idea what that was about. Maybe they thought a woman my age shouldn’t be wearing jeans with this many holes in them. They must not have enough fun in their lives. There was this one time that I went to a different baseball game, and there was a lady sitting in front of us who was wearing a completely shear black shirt with nothing under it. I talked about her…and look at me still talking about her here. She probably thought I didn’t’ have enough fun in my life. I’m sure at the time she would have been right about that, but times change and I’m plenty fun now.
Of course, I also like to have jeans without holes in case I’m going somewhere that holes would be less appropriate. I’m not sure where that would be, but just in case. They didn’t used to let us wear jeans with holes to the office, but I telecommute full time now.
I’ve never owned a denim jacket before, so I thought I’d give this one a shot. Every one I’ve tried on in the past had no give, and it was hard to move my arms around. This jacket has some stretchiness, and it’s comfy. I hung it by the front door so I can wear it the next time I go out.
I’m going to see George Lopez next week, so maybe I’ll wear some of these pieces. With COVID raging like it is right now, I could possibly end up not going, but if I do go I’ll probably incorporate the denim jacket for sure.
I’ve been doing well with the intermittent fasting (IF). My goal is 16:8, but most days I’m actually doing 18:6 or 17:7. Although I’m not experiencing any weight loss, I’m not gaining any weight either. I’m still attending the WW workshops, but honestly, I’m not counting calories or points or anything. I’m just attending the workshops to keep my focus on being healthier.
I noticed that after about a month or two of IF my memory got significantly better. I wasn’t expecting that and was quite surprised when it happened. I did a little research and found that memory improvement is a benefit of IF. I’ve also had a lot of breakouts on my face. Hopefully, this will clear up at some point. Maybe that’s just my body clearing out the crud? I don’t know.
I haven’t been exercising at all. I’ve been a bit of a slug. That’s nothing new for me. I’m pretty lazy. Everybody tells me I do more than anyone else they know, but in my mind I’m absolutely lazy. I totally complete a task in my mind before I actually get up and do it. That way, when I’m working on the task it’s very quick. My friends and family see the end result, but in my mind I didn’t put forth that much physical effort. I should probably count the mental effort I put into it. My job is mentally taxing, and I spend the rest of my time trying to unpack my brain.
I know if I would exercise or watch what I eat during the eating window I would lose weight, but that’s just not happening right now. For me, it might be helpful to try 19:5. I’m not there yet either. I’m pleased with not gaining weight anymore, so that’s a real positive.
I went for my annual doctor visit recently, and my blood pressure was perfectly normal. That hasn’t been the case since I was about 21 years old. I was so excited. I know it was because of IF. That’s all I need to keep me going.
So, to summarize here, I’m no longer gaining weight, my memory is significantly improved, and my blood pressure is normal. There are probably other positive effects that I haven’t even noticed yet. I will keep going. IF is a good thing for me.
Six years ago, one of my coworkers came to work wearing a really cute dress. When I complimented her on the dress, she told me she got it from StitchFix. I signed up for a subscription the same day, and I’ve been receiving five clothing/jewelry/shoes/purses/scarves items monthly ever since. You fill out a profile with your sizes, shape, likes, and dislikes. What amazes me is how they send me shoes that have fit perfectly 100% of the time. You can also select the frequency you would like to receive a box, and you can request special items for a date or event that’s coming up.
Okay, yeah, I know that’s a lot of clothes. So? When you receive your five items, you can keep all of them, a few, or none. You just send back anything you don’t want in the enclosed return package. If you keep everything, you get a 25% discount.
I received the above sweater in my last package. The picture doesn’t do it justice. It’s a long sweater that hits about mid-thigh. It’s warm, cozy, and stylish.
I whole-heartedly recommend StitchFix. I love that no matter what kind of occasion comes up I can find just the right thing in my closet.
