Chemo Round #3

MRI Monday showed that Dad's tumor had grown,(as was expected), and will have chemo tomorrow. Anybody in the area is welcome to come and hang out with Mom and I at Barnes. Hit up on my cell or Moms and let us know. I might be nice and share my snacks ;)

Zoo

Sunday, we hit the Zoo. I know what you are thinking, "but Sarah, it was 95 degrees on Sunday with a heat index of 105." Damn straight!

Let me clarify, we visited the Zoo first thing in the morning, think 8ish, to take advantage of all the free stuff. Many attractions are free the first hour the Zoo is open. We partook in the stingray exhibit,(plus sharks!), the carousel, and the Children's Zoo. And of course, no St. Louis Zoo trip is complete without visiting the Puffin and Penguin exhibit. It is the only one like it in the world. Click below to see more pics.

Zoo

Indiana 2

From Indy, we went down to Jasper via The Edinburgh Outlets, (a girl's got to shop, right?). We took my MIL out to celebrate her birthday. We had dinner at the Schnitzelbank and then ended up at Dairy Queen.

Myself, Teresa, Eric's brother Ed, and Alex.



I seriously love the picture!!

We went over to Andy and Alison's house to shoot off fireworks for the 4th. Alex gladly watched from the car and then from the house.

Alex tooling around on the new scooter he got from Alison for his birthday.

Jeff, Andy, and their neighbor contemplating what to light next.
Too noisey!

Indiana 1

As many of you know, we spend a lot of time in Indiana. Eric's family is from there, we both went to college there, and most of our friends are there. Hence the time spent in Indiana. This time, we hit Indy first and took Alex to the Children's Museum with our friends Nick, Beth, and Jillian. I had not been there since Oct. 2001, when I took my first graders from Lost Creek Elementary, in Terre Haute.




"Mom, the dinosuars broke the building!!"

Alex and Jillian in the race car.


We stayed at the Holiday Inn Pyramids, right across from Beef and Boards, home of Caribbean Cove Water Park http://caribbeancovewaterpark.com/. Nice place. I recomend calling and booking, you will get a much better rate/deal then if you book off the website. Alex wasn't too sure about it, but he did enjoy watching the giant bucket spill water onto the pirate ship.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Third Birthday to my special Small Person. We celebrated with my folks at Incredible Pizza Company and then had cake at home. Note: This was the best pic I could get on his birthday.

This was his cake. He requested a dinosaur and I delivered. I only had 30 minutes to tint the icing and decorate the cake, so it looks a little sloppy. It tasted delicious, even so!



Alex and my Dad waiting for some cake.



Eric and Alex at the Train Park in Ferguson. Playing with the train set at the Whistle Stop Depot in Ferguson.

Recipes

I have had a couple of requests for a recipe, so I am posting it here. This is my fabulous Taco Skillet. The first recipe is for the Pampered Chef Rice Cooker and the second one is the regular skillet version. Both of these recipes are original and not published elsewhere.

Taco Skillet-© Sarah Hopf

1 lb ground beef or cut up chicken-Can substitute a can of Black Beans
1 medium onion chopped
2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced finely
1 or 2 Bell peppers, chopped, any color.
1 16 ounce can tomatoes
1 small can of diced chilies
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 c uncooked brown rice
1 c shredded Mexican blend or Montere Jack cheese
2 c shredded lettuce


Drain tomatoes reserving juice. Add water to juice to make 2 cup of liquid. Add tomatoes, liquid, chilies, taco seasoning, garlic, peppers, and rice to rice cooker; stir. Put lid on and microwave on high for 30-45 minutes, depending on your microwave. Brown beef or chicken with onion in skillet, drain off fat. Add mixture from the rice cooker and stir. Top with shredded lettuce and cheese before serving. I serve blue corn tortilla chips on the side.
*Black beans can be used as the protein, just add to rice mixture before microwaving
*Great for leftover chicken or beef.
*White rice can be used, just reduced cooking time by 5 minutes.

Here is the regular skillet version.
Taco Skillet--© Sarah Hopf

1 lb ground beef or cut up chicken-Can substitute a can of Black Beans
1 medium onion chopped
2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced finely
1 or 2 Bell peppers, chopped, any color.
1 16 ounce can tomatoes
1 small can of diced chilies
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 c uncooked brown rice
1 c shredded Mexican blend or Monterey Jack cheese
2 c shredded lettuce

Brown beef or chicken with onion in skillet, drain off fat. Drain tomatoes reserving juice. Add water to juice to make 2 cup of liquid. Add tomatoes, liquid, chilies, taco seasoning, garlic, peppers, and rice to skillet; stir. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed, roughly 45 minutes. Stir occasionally. Top with shredded lettuce and cheese before serving.

Clean MRI

Yep, a "clean" MRI. Dad is off the hook until the end of July/first of August. His tumor has not grown or metastasized. This does not mean he is cancer free, just in a holding pattern for now. He said it was the best birthday present ever!

Now that he is home, he would love to talk to folks on the phone. Either leave a comment here, or send me an email @ spow79@yahoo.com, and I will get you their phone number. We appreciate all the good thoughts and prayers. Special thanks to Janice for all the cards.