How the mil10s Eat Chinese Food

Here in Hometown, Texas there is really only one *real* place to eat Chinese food. There are imitators and there are buffets, but they don't compare. When the mood for Chinese food strikes, we always order the same thing. One almond chicken lunch special. It is a classic.

For the mil10s, it is always a to-go order. It would look too weird if we tried to eat it at the restaurant. Why? Let's see. First mrs. mil10 doesn't eat Chinese food other than the fried wonton. EK usually shares some of mr. mil10's rice and almond chicken. EK usually gets the egg roll, too. We are not sure that he would eat any of it if he knew what it really was, so we don't talk about it much other than having to say, "just eat it" or "you always eat the pieces that look like that." EK really does like it, but we want to keep it that way. We can't let him over analyze what he is eating. That leaves the hot and spicy soup for mr. mil10 as well as the rest of the rice, almond chicken, and any egg roll that EK may not have finished.

That leaves the fortune cookie for the end. Today EK broke the cookie and read the fortune, but we have all had turns. We all usually end up with at least part of the cookie. Since we are sharing the meal and the cookie, does that mean we all share the fortune?

There you have it. For us "Chinese food" consists of one meal from one restaurant shared three ways. Now you know how the mil10s eat Chinese food.

Happy Birthday

Today was an unusual day. mr. mil10 had the day off from school while mrs. mil10 and EK had school as usual.

Since EK's birthday takes place during the upcoming school holiday, today was the day for mr. mil10 to take a Harry Potter cupcake-cake to EK's school for an afternoon snack for EK and his classmates.

EK stood in a chair at the front of the room while the class sang happy birthday. He then had the job of separating each cupcake from the cupcake-cake and passing out a cupcake to each classmate. After passing out the first one, EK realized how messy his job would be. His fingers were covered in icing! If you were responsible for passing out cupcakes to everyone in your class and had messy fingers, what would you do? EK's solution was to lick the extra icing right off of his fingers! As gross as it seemed to me, it didn't seem to bother anyone else.

Happy birthday, EK--germs and all!

If you look closely you can see Harry Potter catching the golden snitch!

Taste of Summer

The watermelon from the fruit stand (previous post) is delicious!

Cakes to Celebrate

The mil10s are hoping for a win!

Tonight the Mavs have the potential to close out this series and claim the title of NBA champions. We hope Dirk and company do their best and beat the Heat!

The time is now for eating basketball cupcakes while we get rowdy, proud and loud while we cheer for the Mavericks!

Labor Day

Labor Day is a welcomed holiday at the mil10 house. After the rush that comes along with the start of a new school year, Labor Day is a time for much needed rest.

We celebrated in typical mil10 fashion by cooking on the grill (bbq chicken, grilled corn on the cob, green beans and potatoes, baked beans, and corn bread). This year we also had grilled cinnamon-sugar peaches with angel food cake. We even put the angel food cake on the grill for a nice toasted effect. We served it with ice cream. It was a hit.

EK didn't care for the music today. All of the songs we played during lunch had something to do with "work." mrs. mil10's napkin was borrowed and used along with his own as a makeshift ear plugs.

All in all, it was a relaxing day with the family. What's not to love?

NOW: Vampire Bites

It seemed like an easy task.  Make cookie dough using red food coloring.  Add sprinkles.  Bake.  Add Snickers candy and icing.

However, it was just a little bit more difficult.  After making on batch of dough from scratch, we decided that one batch would simply not be enough.  We opted to do a second batch using the "quick" version of using a pre-made package of sugar cookie dough.  Let's just say that using the pre-made sugar cookie dough just didn't give the desired result.  Those cookies looked more like a red gremlin ears than pairs of lips.  We gave EK one of the cookies from this batch, but he politely excused himself from finishing the entire thing.

The cookies made from scratch cooked like real cookies and even smelled good coming out of the oven.  We'll find out how they taste tomorrow.

 

The finished product.

We made a cookie snake with the last portion of homemade cookie dough.  EK said it tasted strange when he ate it.  I told him it tasted like a gingerbread cookie.  I don't know if it was supposed to, but I am going to blame that on the cinnamon.

mrs. mil10 will have a fun time watching the new Twilight movie with her friends tomorrow night.  Let's just hope the cookies add a nice element to the evening instead of leaving a bad taste in everyone's mouth!  Of course we could always make our other vampire cookies again!

NOW: Feeling Full

An evening of eating out leaves a full (and messy) feeling  when you eat as much crab as EK did tonight!

NOW: Wednesday WOW Night

Tonight was WOW night!  We don't usually have a specific night we call WOW night or a particular occasion that justifies the term, but we'll use it to describe tonight.

The mil10s decided to eat at a local popular Tex-Mex restaurant tonight.  Try to contain your surprise.  You always manage to see a few people you know while dining and tonight was no different.  While we were sitting in our booth, a couple stopped to say hello.  Just a quick chat really.  One of those how-are-you-doing-how-old-is-he-now-wow- he-has-grown-look-at-that-blond-hair conversations.  It had been a while and it was good to run into them again.  Later, our waitress told us that the couple we had been talking to a few minutes ago took care of our bill for us and we wouldn't owe anything for our meal.  Wow!  What a surprise.

After dinner, Grams came over and kept EK while mr. and mrs. mil10 made a spur of the moment trip to the movies.  Tonight's movie of choice was "Knight and Day."  It was a fun movie with plenty of action and a few surprises.  It might just make you say, "Wow!"

Finally, the mil10 blog fell short of blogging every day this month.  Yesterday was a miss, mainly due the exhaustion that resulted after a day of painting the office.  Thanks to the help of three other people, we can now appreciate the front office and its new coat of paint.  My legs, on the other hand, still do not appreciate the fact that I spent so much time climbing up and down the ladder.  Since Monday's post showed up twice due to a technical glitch, I think it all evens out in the end.  Right?

NOW: What's for Dinner

One of mrs. mil10's coworkers was selling meals as a church fundraiser.  Chicken flautas, rice, refried beans, salsa (all from scratch!), and chips from Hometown's tortilla factory.

I actually didn't eat the Colombian chocolate bar.  It was actually brought back from South America by Aunt K as a gift for EK.

NOW: Home-cooked

It is not everyday we have a home-cooked meal at the mil10 house.  In fact, it is really rare when we do cook at home.  I'll be the first to admit that we we eat out much more often than others, but when find ourselves eating at home, it is something that usually does not involve the stove or oven.

Tonight was an exception.  Whole-grain spaghetti with meat sauce, warm garlic bread, and sweet tea.  Mmmm!  Of course the sauce may have come from a jar and the garlic bread came may have been from the frozen food section.  The sweet tea just might have come from a local restaurant.  Nonetheless, we used the oven and the stove tonight. 

We'll just call that a home-cooked meal!

NOW: Eating Out

The setting was a peaceful as it looks. 

Tonight we had the pleasure of meeting a few friends from church at a restaurant that was new to us.  It specialized in seafood and even had an area for fishing. 

Before everyone arrived the mil10s kicked back and sat in rocking chairs on the oversized covered porch.  Even though the temperature was nearly 100 degrees, it was still very nice and comfortable.

As an appetizer we enjoyed beans, corn fritters (more like cornbread than the corn nuggets I was hoping for), and a little tomato relish. mr. mil10 and EK shared the crab legs and fried shrimp meal.  mrs. mil10 ordered the pulled pork served on a toasted, buttered bun.  Good food with good company makes for a great night!

After eating EK was eager to fish.  A friend helped EK with baiting and releasing the fish he caught.  In all, he caught ten.  We think one of the fish was actually the same fish caught twice, but we are still going to call it ten!

NOW: Sweet Tea Goodness

Tonight mr. and mrs. mil10 enjoyed a sweet tea goodness.  No, it's probably not too good for us, but it does taste so good on a hot summer day (yes, I can call them summer days now!).

Our favorite sweet tea would have to be from Chicken Express.  mr. mil10 is picky about tea, because it usually tastes like boiled grass.  Even if it is boiled leaves, it does not have to taste exactly like it.  However, you can always count on Chicken Express to have great tasting tea!

Do you have a favorite place for sweet tea?

BIG: Tasty Sweets

Many years ago mr. and mrs. mil10, then just newlyweds, were treated to "Family Dinner Night" by mrs. mil10s parents.  Over the years the makeup of the dinner guests may have changed.  On a few rare occasions we had to eat out due to busy schedules.  The menu changes weekly, but always consists of a home cooked meal.  However, one thing remains certain -- the good food. 

Tonight was no exception.  The "one dish dinner" was great, but mr. and mrs. milton were surprised by the two dessert options.  Iced brownies or coconut pie.  Yes, I had some of each!  Mmmm.  Modie said she stayed up past midnight the night before finishing the two treats.  She shouldn't have, but they were too good.

Thanks for your hard work, Modie!  The brownies and pie were a BIG surprise and were a great finish to a good meal and a BIG day!

BIG: Too Good Not to Share

Today we had linner or lupper (that meal too late to call lunch but too early to call dinner or supper) at Cheesecake Factory.  The choices are always overwhelming so I usually stick to the same entree each time.  As good as it is, you can't go to the Cheesecake Factory without ordering dessert. 

Today we had one slice of Adam's Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple.  It consists of "creamy cheesecake swirled with caramel, peanut butter, Butterfingers® and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups®."*  Mmmmm!

Since I didn't stop long enough to snap a picture of the delicious dessert, I had to depend on Google for this picture.  I quickly found someone's blog entry that referenced a now defunct quiz on the Cheesecake Factory's website that matched your choice of cheesecake flavor to your personality.  This is what it said about those that liked the Adam's Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple:

The incredible mix of qualities that makes you so appreciated is nothing short of miraculous, much like this cheesecake. A lot goes into this flavor, all delicious. This mouth-watering mosaic is comprised of our Original cheesecake swirled with caramel and real chunks of Butterfinger candy bars and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Just like you it's an awe-inspiring combination of ingredients not soon forgotten.

Ok, it's a little hokey, but I can live with that!
 
This cheesecake is so good and it has such a BIG flavor that it is just too good not to share.  Cheesecake for everyone!

BIG: 150 and Our Saturday

The last blog was actually post number 150!  That is a BIG milestone. 

Today was a busy day.  It started off with a friend that had spent the night on Friday.  EK and his guest woke up at 7:00 (after staying up well past 10:00) and were ready to play the wii.  Later we made a trip to Rockwall to purchase supplies for baseball including pants, shoes, socks, and a belt.  We also had to pick up supplies for the pinewood derby racer that we will need later this week.  We bought lead weights, paint, and decals.  EK's "rocking roadster" will look great come Wednesday!  Back in Hometown, we found our favorite chicken restaurant that plays Christian music way too crowded.  We made the wise decision to eat outside.  What a great day to do that!  Our last stop before heading to the casa was the ghost town that is our local mall. 

When we got home we had some time for baseball practice.  Peeps was even able to come over to practice with EK.  There was also time for cutting and painting that block of pine wood so that it hopefully resembles a car.

We finished the night with a meal cooked on the grill.  BBQ chicken is the best when cooked over a bed of hot charcoal!  Sweet potato French fries, corn on the cob, and Blue Bell ice cream rounded out the meal.  We ate the meal off of Dallas Cowboy plates that we bought earlier (clearance!) that day at the sporting goods store.  The sales clerk asked if we were having a party for the implosion of Texas Stadium!  No, I don't think so.

It may just seem like any other Saturday, but for the mil10s Saturdays are a BIG deal.  It is a good time to rest from a busy week and have time to spend together.

BIG: Easter Lunch

It's an annual Easter tradition to host Easter lunch at the mil10 home. Although as a reader, you cannot fully enjoy the food we ate, here is the Easter 2010 menu. It was a BIG meal for a BIG day.

Coke ham
Modie’s Yukon gold mashed potatoes
Modie’s potato salad
Green beans with sliced potatoes (I think somebody likes potatoes!)
Bush’s baked beans
English peas
Gram’s corn salad
Bread and butter pickles (bought at Atwood’s)
Candied jalapeños

Buttered rolls

Carrot sticks

Deviled eggs

 The deviled eggs looked like chicks. 
I see one winking at you!

For dessert:

DQ ice cream cake

Peach cobbler

Bunny cake (Modie baked; mr. mil10 decorated)

Would you like a blue bunny or a pink bunny?

I think I included everything, but I could have missed something.

I can’t think of a better time to get together than to celebrate our risen Lord! Happy Easter!

Cute Cupid Cake

Just before Valentine's our church sponsors an annual child/adult event called "Baking with a Buddy."  Last year we made a mailbox cake.  This year Edie found another great cake idea.  It was actually a cupcake design that we enlarged for a round cake.  The design won EK's approval.

This year we had several "buddies" to work on the cake.  Peeps always helps, but this year a friend from church joined us in the project as well.  We brought our cake and were soon ready with all of the materials to decorate.  EK and Sydney worked with Peeps to come up with a method for making and attaching the wings while JMM began the icing.  EK and Sydney took care of the hair with Rice Krispies cereal.  A few touches later and Cupid was ready to give away his heart! 

Peeps and EK work with marshmallows to make wings.

Working in gloves was not easy.

The cereal needed a little help sticking to the cake!

Three happy faces!

Candy Paradise

We are in a room with five swimming pools all filled with candy. Wow!

Baking Cakes

EK's birthday party is early this year. We went with a pirate theme (again!), but with a Lego twist.  Lots of little cakes. Lots of icing.

Let's Talk Groceries

At first glance, I guess this is a common sight in most houses.  Bring in the groceries, place them on the counter, and then hurriedly put them away before things begin to thaw or melt. 

But if you look closely, you will see that all of those sacks are different.  Now, we didn't visit each of our hometown food markets.  And a baby's teething toy.  Why is that there?  Truth be known, these are the groceries that came OUT of our refrigerator!

Since Modie was moving and had food that was perfectly fine, but did not have anywhere to keep it, we gladly took those jars of pickles, soft drinks, and other items that are better served cold and took them to our house.  Who enjoys throwing away perfectly fine individually wrapped servings of Brussels sprouts or corn? Finding room for all of those items was another story.  We had to make room.  How?  Well, as you can see, our ice box had become cold storage for a few things that we could live without.  How does the ice box (that is the mil10 word for refrigerator) become a virtual junk drawer?  Especially when we already have a real one!  How does someone let something stay around even though it expired months, or maybe even years, ago?  It is not like we are dirty people.  Our ice box doesn't even look dirty.  Sure the shelves could be wiped down a bit more occasionally, but someone would not see inside our ice box and think, "Those are some nasty people."  I hope. 

As you can see, we found several things we could live without.  Take the glow necklaces for example.  These have been in our freezer (because if you keep them there the glowing abilities are retained and you can use them again sometime, or so we were told) for so long that we don't even know where they came from.  Does butter really go bad?  Ours was past the date printed on the tub.  So was the stick of butter.  Also, how far can you go past the "best by" date?  That doesn't really mean it is expired does it? 

Our child turns eight and we are just now throwing away the teething toy.  We will see what we find in the ice box after another eight years!