Midweek Mashup Plus*

I am recovering from a "week off" from work that I spent with my extended family for my parent's 60th Wedding Anniversary. Trying to fit two years of relationships into 5 days with family can be a bit much. In addition to the anniversary party in San Diego, we went to the beach, hung out at the pool, and ate like Kings and Queens. Some of the meals I prepared included: Roast Pork Loin with whole cranberry/balsamic vinegar/rosemary glaze with roast potatoes and vegetables, Alaskan crab legs with fresh summer corn and drawn butter, Grilled steaks with asparagus at the pool for a neighborhood potluck, and, Carnitas, tortillas, spanish rice, and refried beans from our local Cocina. Still, it's great to be getting back to the normal routine of work, chores, and family.

Our parents' 60th Wedding Anniversary party was truly delightful and joyous. My dad played with his band and my brother, sons, nephew, mom, and sister also performed. I had a great time dancing.
This is a photo of one of the two bouquets my sister and I got our parents. There are six different types of flowers, one for each decade of marriage, including blue delphiniums to represent the March birthstone color of their late son, our brother, Jim.

We've done a lot of traveling this Spring and Summer with visits to Mammoth, Coronado, and San Diego. I've learned that as much as I dislike packing and preparing to go out of town, that I don't mind unpacking, which I do almost immediately upon our return.

I also learned something else from my travels, specifically from the breakfast buffet at the hotel where we stayed, that you can use a slice of bread to drain and absorb the oil from fried and fatty foods, like bacon and sausage. Very impressive.

This week the boys start school, 10th grade for our oldest, 7th grade and a new school, (Junior High School!!) for our youngest. I have been shopping the sales for both school supplies and clothes, and have saved an average of 40% overall. Using select coupons and buying the loss leaders of 1 cent pencils and notebooks really helps. I also told the boys that they would have to make these supplies last the year and no poaching from my supply stash!

Please, how about you? What is new with you? What have you learned about yourself or the world this week?

*Also posted over at The Motivation Station (except for the cool photo of the boys getting silly on the cannon).