"on a break"...

Who can forget that pop culture line that has gone down in history: "WE WERE ON A BREAK!" (yelled by Ross on Friends---many times).

Well, I took a break from my camera this weekend and now I totally regret it. All weekend, I kept thinking, I should take a picture of this or I should take a picture of that. Instead, I was too lazy to get my camera and told myself that it would be okay to have one family gathering without taking pictures. I better not let it happen again!

The Lapps family arrived on Friday around 9:45 p.m. They had car trouble, so took the van in on Saturday morning. Greg got the bad news while playing golf. It's time to let the old thing go---152K miles---they've been planning to get a new car for a while now. We loaned them my car to get home---along with the klunker. I haven't heard yet as to whether they made it all the way---they just left this morning and aren't home yet. It's been a quiet day around here. Jordan came over so we could plan our strategy for our family vacation challenge. A friend of hers came by to hang out at the pool. I'm exhausted, so I spent the day reading (after getting the house back in order this morning).

We had a great weekend---we even got in the pool. It was cold, but as soon as you braved the water, it was okay. It was nice to be out in the sun for a change---and happy that it wasn't so beastly hot.

We are a family that cannot do anything "just for fun." Everyone always wants some sort of friendly wager. This weekend, we bet on the Indy 500, our family bocce tournament, and the Coca Cola 600. We all put in a dollar or two, but since there are 12 of us, it makes for a nice little pot. And then, of course, there is our poker game. Even Elizabeth at 7 gets in on the action. She's gotten to where she really understands it all. The teens prefer Texas Hold'em. Again, we don't break the bank and there is very little fighting---well, that is, related to the games. The arguing comes like this---"omg get off the phone," "stop texting" "put your phone away" "pay attention to the game," "Mitchell, you don't get yourself a snack when it's your turn to deal." "Jordan, you are not supposed to have an open drink on the table. Basically, it's a lot of chaos---fun---but chaos none the less. Damage report for this weekend: one spilled drink in the dining room, one ruined deck of cards, and one picture knocked off the wall breaking the glass. All tolled, not bad for two days.

And the food---boy, we go through it! I planned for this weekend to be a "clean out the freezer" weekend. I planned all the meals around what I had in the freezer. I want to get it defrosted soon.
I made a big breakfast on Saturday morning and hadn't really planned lunch. I had 3 snacks---chicken almond cheese balls (2), green onion dip, and a huge jar of peach and mango salsa that Nancy gave me. That was ALL gone on Saturday. On Sunday, Elizabeth asked me what we were having for snacks at the pool. I told her that we ate it all yesterday. Still, I pulled together a nice spread with cream cheese topped with a raspberry habanero sauce and cheese con queso. Drinks are another story---too many to mention.

I made a couple of new recipes---the dessert from Connie was a hit. I'll see if I can share it here. It makes a lot, but the kids were fighting over it in the end. Then, I made fried corn. Karolyn makes it during the summer when we go to the farm---with fresh corn on the cob. I had frozen corn, so decided to try something a little different with it. The family LOVED it.

Fried Corn
Large bag of frozen corn
1 stick margarine or butter
Cook corn in skillet with butter on medium heat until the corn barely starts to brown---about 45 minutes.

Pour in 16 oz. half and half cream, salt, and cayenne pepper---I would say I used about 1/8 to 1/4 tsp.
Cook about another 45 minutes until the cream cooks down.

It was a little spicy for Steph, but everyone else thought it was just right.

I hope everyone had a great weekend too. Jordan and Morgan mostly were coming and going due to their jobs, but I'll take what I can get!

Now I'm off and running for the week!