Silly Problems

Well drat! 

The super-fun Coronas invited me to the movies tomorrow night. In a rare case, it is actually a movie I want to see. And in another even more rare case, all of them are going, mainly because they all want to see the movie. There's talk of an afterparty, or at least dinner. 

However, I made plans with the Catholics first. Three of us are cleaning the church at that exact time. I tried to change the church cleaning schedule, but nope. This is what works for their schedule, and it was already on the calendar for the past month when I signed up for this. 

Wishing to be the kind of person who keeps my word, I bowed out of the fun in exchange for my first obligation. But my heart will be at the movies with the cool kids tomorrow night.  

Back to House Hunting

Welp, Marty brought up how nice it would be to have one extra room. Don't I know it. We were spoiled in Mesa. After a cursory search through Tessa's site, I found three that might fit the bill for us and sent them to Marty. 

Once I started rummaging through Tessa's real estate site, it sent her an alert I was looking again. Last time this happened, she instantly called me with her best Realtor voice and asked what I thought of the properties I found and what time should she set up appointments to view them? This time, I saved her the trouble and sent her a text: "I'm looking at houses. I will let you know."

Of the three houses I found, the first was a custom home, much larger than Marty and I need, once the kids move out  in 100 years. It had four bedrooms--all upstairs, a fabulous kitchen and all the space our hearts could want. It also came with a workshop. The price is more than either of us are ready to pay. The house is 45 years old and not going to get any newer. 

The plus side is that this house has a brand-new roof and is North of Interstate 30--which is where I'd prefer to live. The price, though more than I want to pay, is a steal for the neighborhood it is in. It will be perfect for a growing family with better knees than Marty's and mine. The minus side is that all the bedrooms are upstairs. Marty's other minus was that he'd have a five mile commute.  

The second house was slightly larger than the house we have now, but had that fourth bedroom/den. I loved the front porch (squee!) and was north of Interstate 30. The house was 25 years old. It had a fire pit in the backyard. The house was one story. 

The downside was the kitchen wasn't nearly as fabulous as the one I have now (or as fabulous as the first house I showed him) and Marty would still have that 5 mile commute. Also, the walls are all painted garish versions of brown, and not the same garish brown. "Do you really want painters back in your house for weeks on end?" Marty asked as he quickly jumped out of glaring distance. "I'll just paint it myself," I replied. We've decided if the price comes down, Marty's commute be damned, I'll go look at it. 

The third house is behind me in Wake Village. It is seven years old, about the same size as mine and currently backs the woods. However, given how Wake Village is growing, I predict there will be houses behind this place in a couple of years. That's too bad, because the train noise will be much more predominant. The house is two-story, but the master bedroom is downstairs. It is also a three bedroom home (no office). 

The only reason it made the initial cut was the listing said it had an additional living space. I suppose that's true. That living space is a smallish "reading nook" upstairs crammed between the two bedrooms. When Marty and I looked at the pictures again, I estimate that reading nook is about four feet wide. "Why didn't the builder just make the bedrooms two feet longer and forgo this stupid space?" I asked. We didn't really spend too much time reflecting on that because we then realized there was no place in the not-at-all fabulous kitchen for a kitchen table. 

The plus for this house, is that it is newer (newer roof, AC, hot water heater, etc.) and Marty has a half-mile commute to work. The downside, other than the weird floorplan and the price they are asking for this bit o'crazy is it backs the woods where the snakes live. 

There is still the option of adding on to our current house. But I am not ready to explore workers being here for weeks on end. Nor do I want to be stuck with anything that resembles a tacky addition to my house. I want an add-on to be done correctly. For the price it will cost me to get something done "correctly" I might be better off finding that elusive property with the extra space. But it must have a fabulous kitchen. 

"The Best Mexican Food in Texarkana"

I made chicken enchiladas last night. This dish had all the usual enchilada ingredients, including corn tortillas. It did not have rotel, pecans or coconut. Nor did I use Velveeta. 

I'm told by my family they were fabulous. We topped it with Marty's fresh, homemade salsa (using grown from our garden jalapenos). 

Booyah! 

Restaurant Menu Hell

I'm looking at the menu for where the Lunch Bunch is meeting this week. It is a "bistro" that is heavy into shrimp. Plus it's mostly fried southern fare, which isn't agreeing with me these days. This kind of food is pretty typical for most Texarkana restaurants. I'm trying to figure out what I can eat that won't cause heartburn or death. 

Right now, I have a note into the corporate office asking if the duck gumbo has any shellfish in it. One would think "duck" gumbo would mean no shellfish, but I've been fooled before. Hopefully these folks will get back to me soon and I won't have to call them and ask again. Dying in their establishment is bad for business, so it's in everyone's best interest to get back in touch with me. 

Of course, there are other menu options: fried catfish (generally stored next to the shrimp in the back), fried shrimp salad, chicken breast with fried okra or fried green beans and grits. There's hamburgers too, but I generally can only eat two bites of a hamburger--though Buckaroo will enjoy the leftovers. I hate to spend that much money for two bites of a hamburger.  I guess if worse comes to worse, I'll just order ice tea and hope they have unsweet tea. 

A Possible Weekend with Patrick

Yesterday I got a call from my sister-in-law and my 9 year old nephew, Patrick. During the call, Patrick asked if it would be okay to visit this coming weekend. Being the cool Auntie, the answer is always, "Of course." Then, Sis-in-law and I tittered at Patrick's adorableness at asking such a question.

Patrick said, "Oh good. I will either be on the 6:30 flight Friday night or if I can't get on that one, I will be on the 10 a.m. one Saturday morning. I will call you when I land." 

Still thinking he was playing, I said, "Do you have my phone number?" 

At which, Patrick rattled off my phone number.  

"When did you learn your aunt's number?" My sister-in-law asked. She wasn't tittering now. 

Patrick replied, "After I looked up flights yesterday." Changing the subject he asked me, "Can we go to the diamond mine in Arkansas and the clock museum in Jefferson this weekend? I have to be back for school on Tuesday, so that's all we can probably do. Also, maybe I could sleep next to Luna. Do you think she'd mind?" 

Before I could answer, Sis-in-law said to me, "Tell him he can't come." 

"She already said I could, Mom," Patrick said. 

"I did," I replied, no longer thinking Patrick was joking. If he'd worked out our schedule for the weekend, I figured minute details like how to get to Sky Harbor from Peoria was a forgone conclusion.  

"You can't go!" My sister-in-law said in her sternest Mom Voice. 

"Mom, you heard Auntie. She said I could visit!" Patrick argued. 

"Gotta go!" Sis-in-law said. "Say goodbye to your Aunt!"

I said, "Bye Patrick."

He replied, "Bye Auntie. See you Friday night or Saturday morning." 

As I hung up, I heard my normally calm and even-keeled sister-in-law say to her 9 year old genius son, "YOU WILL NOT GO TO TEXARKANA THIS WEEKEND. DO YOU UNDERSTAND? TELL ME YOU UNDERSTAND MY WORDS." 

Meanwhile, back at the Sunshine house, we are taking even money Patrick will be calling tonight or tomorrow morning from the airport, ready to go visit the Arkansas diamond mine 60 miles from here.   

Fit for a King

According to the Internet,
it looks like this
(note the fancy sprig of mint).
 

Suzy shared with me her "king ranch" chicken dish that she will be making for February's Church of Christ prayer meeting. She tells me it is Mexican food and a favorite around these parts. This was her ingredient list. 

• Chicken
• Cream of Mushroom Soup
• Corn
• Rotel
• Corn chips or tortillas (flour)
• Beans (she didn't specify, I didn't ask for clarification)
• "Queso" (which translates to Velveeta). 

Mix it all up, heat/bake or whatever and serve to an unsuspecting audience.

When Suzy saw the look on my face, she said, that all "Mexican food" around these parts has to include a can of Rotel. I was too polite to tell her that wasn't my true issue with that particular recipe.   

By the way, you can google the recipe. I did. None of the other variations I found included beans of any kind. So, I'm guessing Suzy is a bit of an artisan. 

Weather News

So far this month, it looks like the Texarkana weather will stay in a comfortable 35-65 degree range. I'm told this is a normal January. I'm also told we can expect another freeze some time in February. That's apparently normal as well.

This sure beats last year's 30 degree days.