Dermacentor Variabilis

How many of you know what the title means? Basically, it's just a fancy way of saying "tick". I hate wood ticks (or deer ticks, or ticks of any kind). They really gross me out. Give me a snake or mouse any day, even a leech, but keep the ticks away! Why am I thinking about ticks you ask...because we had our first encounter with them this past week. Out in Benjamin, I was sitting peacefully relaxing in a chair after Jesse had gone to bed. Susan came over and started picking at my foot. She told me to hold still, there was a bug on me. After she had removed it, and the one on the chair, she told me it was a tick. I am so glad she didn't tell me before, cause I wouldn't have sat as still while she picked it off. I jokingly told them that I was going to think there were ticks crawling on me all night. But, I slept pretty well all night. The next morning as I was making the bed, I found another tick crawling on the sheets. It made me laugh at that point. Glad I didn't see it before I went to bed, or I wouldn't have slept at all! I can't wait until tick season is over!!

Not Much New...

Well, not a whole lot is new here, but I thought I should let you all know we are still alive! We have been keeping busy as usual. The weather has been great. On Saturday we finally took our recycling in. We have never recycled our used oil before, so it was a new experience to pour it into the big barrel. We took a picture - it's on dropshots. And then we went up to ACU and blew bubbles and let Jesse run around on the grass. It was a lot of fun. Sunday was pretty normal, other than us sleeping in (and when I say sleeping in on Sunday, I mean we slept until 7:15). Mike's alarm didn't go off, and of course Jesse decided to sleep in as well, so we missed Bible Study out in Benjamin. Jesse and I found a big spider in the room where he plays sometimes. It grossed me out. And I saw three of them in there....anyway, Tracy (the "head-honcho" out in the church in Benjamin) said it was just a normal house spider. He didn't think it was big. And his son said he would find a tarantula for us. I declined his offer. Seeing one scorpion this year was enough for me.

Today we (Jesse and I) got together with the other moms from our small group, Donna & Tyler and Krista & Miriam. Shelley also came (she's due with her first baby 5 days before me). We had a lot of fun and the kids actually played together really well...at least Jesse played and the other two watched him. Tonite, Mike and I dropped Jesse off at a babysitter and attended a fundraising dinner for Western. Great food, and good company. I had forgotten the many people we have met over the years that are from Abilene. Roger & Donna Gee came up to Dauphin for a semester to teach at Western. Marsha Harper came to Dauphin and worked in the library. Bob Gomez brought a bunch of college students on spring break to work on campus. Plus, we also met people that I have know their names for years at donors to Western; it's always neat to put faces to the names. Plus, John McMillan was hosting the dinner (and came over for a visit after). Both Mike and I had the opportunity to share some of our experience at Western with the group as well. An enjoyable evening overall.

And don't forget about the new baby...here's a bit of what's happening in my belly: "Your baby's a bit more than 15 1/2 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds. Your baby is now able to distinguish between light and dark, and she can even follow a light source back and forth. Once she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have a visual acuity of only 20/400 — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face." Note: they use the pronoun "she" but we don't actually know the sex of the baby. Sorry to disappoint those of you that were hopeful...

Enchilada's and Cardboard Boxes

We have this big mattress box sitting in our living room, waiting to be cut up and taken down to the garbage. Jesse likes to play near it. Yesterday, I was sitting on the couch and the box was flopping all around and Jesse started to make his frustrated cry. So I got up to rescue him from being stuck in the box (so I thought). I came over and low & behold he wasn't stuck, but was just trying to fit his big ball inside. It made me laugh, so I took a picture. He even managed to get the ball back out later.

Tonight we decided to try a new recipe, Enchilada Pie. It was delicious. We were supposed to have it when John and Brenda were visiting...sorry you missed out! Even Jesse liked it, and of course we took a picture of him eating his first enchilada's - our little Texas boy!

Here's the recipe for those who like to cook (or those who need an idea for supper):

Enchilada Pie
(Serves 6; Prep time: 20 min/Total: 1.5 hr)

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped green or red pepper
1 lb ground turkey (or beef)
2 tsp ground cumin
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes with garlic & onion
1/2 cup enchilada sauce
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies
1 cup corn
3/4 cup black olives
4 flour tortillas (6-8 inch)
1 bag (8 oz) cheese (preferably 4 cheese Mexican blend)
Toppings: sour cream, chopped tomato, onion, and scallion

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add pepper and saute 3-4 minutes. Add meat; cook, breaking up chunks, until no longer pink. Stir in cumin, tomatoes, enchilada sauce and chiles.
2. Bring to a simmer and cook 10 minutes to develop flavours. Stir in corn and olives.
3. Heat oven to 350 F
4. Assemble: Line bottom of 3 qt baking dish with 2 tortillas. Top with 1/2 the meat mixture, then about 1/3 of the cheese. Top with a tortilla, the remaining meat filling, 1/2 the remaining cheese, then remaining tortilla. Cover with foil.
5. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake 10 minutes or until filling bubbles. Cool 5-10 minutes before cutting. Serve with toppings.

(Okay, I modified slightly from this recipe...here's what I did different. I used rotel tomatoes instead of the regular tomatoes plus a can of chilies. I also didn't have a bag of cheese, so just grated what I thought would work...I think by the end it was about 1 lb. And I used a whole can of enchilada sauce - 10 oz)

Texas Sojourner גֵּר אֶרֶץ בְּעֳפָר

No, I do not speak or write Hebrew...but I assume that the above text translates to something to do with "sojourner". Anyway, for those who wish to glimpse into the life and thoughts of Michael, he has also started a blog. This is the address http://www.jmichaelcoghlin.blogspot.com/ You can also find a link on the right side of my page. Enjoy!

Visitors Over Spring Break

Mike, Jesse and I had some very special visitors over Spring Break. John and Brenda flew down for a few days to spend time with us while Mike was off school. We had lots of fun! We went to the zoo, the park for a picnic, shopping, and one kickin' steak dinner (in celebration of Brenda's upcoming birthday). We also got to go to church out in Benjamin, and see lots of rain on Sunday. They even got to experience the flooded streets! Mike and John got to change the oil on the van (and in the process break one socket and spill a lot of oil from a stuck oil filter which was crushed in the process of taking it off) and Brenda and I got to shop for jewellery at Target - great bonding moments. Jesse of course had a blast with them here, lots of attention to go around. The minute they walked through the door his face lit up, there was no playing "strange" or anything. What a way to warm grandparents hearts!

They had to leave on Tuesday. On the way to Dallas to catch their flight home, they drove through a torrential thunderstorm which made them late getting to the airport. But, the good thing about the storm was that it delayed the flights so they still made it home, just a bit later than anticipated. And, to top it all off, they were welcomed by snow and cold weather. Meanwhile, we are still enjoying summer temperatures down here...

One last story before I sign off here...for those of you who are not familiar with the "Sudocream" story from last summer, here's a recap - Mike, Jesse and I were on holidays. We put Jesse to sleep. We heard a clunk and figured it was just him sitting down loudly (as he often does). After about 10 minutes of silence, I thought he was asleep. I wanted something from the room, so I carefully snuck back in. He wasn't asleep at all. He was sitting in his playpen, with a jar of Sudocream (mostly empty at this point) and the cream smeared everywhere - clothes, skin, blankets, playpen...So, today Jesse comes trotting out to the living room and sits down on the floor. I look over just in time to see him opening a jar of Sudocream. Luckily, he only got one hand in it before I took it away. I went to the bedroom and discovered that he had pushed a box over to the dresser in order to stand on it and reach the cream. I have been wondering how long it would take before he realized that he could push things around in order to use them as a step. And so the fun is just beginning...

How could I forget?!?

Mike and I recently finished a blanket we have been working on (yes, Mike did help me with crocheting it!) Here is the finished product, a bit lopsided in places as we had some trouble with getting all the squares exactly the same size. But, I think it looks okay nonetheless. The other picture is the stack of squares before I put it all together.

And, Jesse with the cute blanket...that's his new bedspread. A present from one of the wonderful ladies out in Benjamin!

One more thing...my sister, Angie, has started a blog too! The link to her site is on the right!

Raisin?

Well, Jesse has learned a new word...guess what it is? That's right - Raisin. You would think that this guy likes to eat or something. Three of his favorite words are about food - cheese, ketchup, and raisin. He is getting close to saying "apple" too. Some days the words are clearer than other days, but last night anyone would have understood when he said"raisin", it was as clear as a bell.

We continue to have beautiful weather, and can't wait until John and Brenda arrive on Saturday to enjoy it with us. The forecast looks like 20's all week - with a high of 28 on Saturday!

A few weeks ago Mike and I bought a Magic Bullet. Between using John and Brenda's at Christmas, and the endless infomercials on TV, we decided to "bite the bullet" and buy one too. Mike has a smoothie more days than not, and I like blended frozen fruit...mmmmm. Jesse likes both! We have even used it to make guacamole, muffins, pancakes and Jesse's applesauce. So, for all you fellow Magic-Bulletiers out there, here is my new favorite muffin recipe to do:

Carrot Pineapple Muffins
1/3 cup oil
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup chunky pineapple (maybe a bit more...)
1/2 cup raw carrots (peeled and cut in chunks)

Blend it in the large mixing cup with the cross-cut blade until the carrots are mostly chopped.

In another bowl, mix the following:
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Add Magic Bullet cup contents to the dry ingredients and stir until mostly smooth. Pour into your muffin tins, and bake at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes or until done.
Makes 10-12 muffins.

Let me know what you think! I will keep experimenting and see what else we can make with it. Salsa and pasta sauce are on the agenda...

So this is winter, eh?

I can't believe how hot it has been down here the last few days. Not just warm, but hot. It reached about 28 degrees Celcius on Tuesday and Wednesday. Jesse has been running around in a diaper. Our apartment gets at least as hot as it is outside, and it just feels wrong to turn the air conditioning on in February! It sure is nice to go for a walk in the evening without a jacket though.

On another note, Jesse has two new teeth that came through sometime this week. His fourth molar (number 12) and one incisor (number 13). Pretty soon he will have a full set! He has also learned a new word - ketchup! He surprised Mike and I at supper the other night by saying it. (You can ask my mom if you don't believe me that he can say it...Jesse repeated it over and over while I was on the phone with her at lunch the other day). He can now say cheese, up, hi, bye, and ketchup, and sometimes even please (which kind of sounds like cheese...) But he still won't say mom or dad, at least in reference to us. He babbles the words sometimes but that's it.