Easy Mexican Pork Wraps

Now that it's finally Spring, and Summer is around the corner, I'll be getting busier. I feel like I'm always busy in the summer, even though it's really the most relaxing time of year (work-wise). Since I'm always busy though, I like to have some easy-ish recipes to fall back on when I don't have time for a big meal. Mexican pork wraps (above) are one of my favs! There are several different recipes you could try. I used one from my Better Homes and Garden cookbook. You can pretty much just add whatever you like to it, and that's what makes it so easy! I might make some guacamole to go along with it next time.

Mexi-Pork Wraps

Ingredients-
8 ounces lean boneless pork, cut into thin bite-sized strips
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
1/2 cup chopped roasted red sweet peppers (I left mine raw and they were fine)
1/4 cup sliced green onion
3 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional...we always put a little extra cayenne!)
1/2 cup refried black beans (or buy regular black beans and mash them)
9-10 inch whole grain tortillas
1/2 cup shredded romaine
1/2 cup chopped tomato
(sour cream, optional)

1. In a skillet cook and stir pork strips and garlic in hot oil over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes or until pork is no longer pink. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl stir together corn, red peppers, green onion, 2 tbsp of the lime juice, cumin and cayenne. In another smaller bowl combine black beans and the other tbsp of lime juice.
3. Spread 2 tbsp of black bean mixture down the center of each tortilla , top with pork strips, corn mixture, romaine and tomato. Fold bottom edge of each tortilla up and over the filling. Roll up tortillas around filling.

You could also do this with chicken! I honestly don't measure out all the stuff like the spices, lettuce, tomato and onion. I just kind of use however much I want. Other easy dishes along the same line include tacos (duh), beef enchiladas (which we enjoyed last night. Used a recipe on the back of a can of enchilada sauce), and fajitas. Fajitas are a bit more work as you have to do quite a bit of chopping.

I'm looking forward to Summer a lot now that it's finally getting warmer! I really hate when it gets super hot, but I still prefer it to the cold. I will be outside a lot this year now that we have Chipper. He just loves to play in the back yard and go for walks! I can't believe how fast he's growing up. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend planned. We're looking forward to a trip to the zoo with Rhett's family! There are several grandchildren now, so it should be interesting. haha

Left a Clouded Mind and a Heavy Heart

Last weekend we had a bit of fog on Saturday morning, and I wanted to take some photos around campus while it was still foggy. Of course by the time I got done with my errands, it was gone. Well this morning I woke up to more fog! It was actually a lot thicker than last time, but I decided to try taking pictures anyway. I came to work early so I wouldn't miss it, but it didn't end up lifting until after 9 anyway. Here are a few of my favorites

The title of this post is from Hopeless Wanderer by Mumford and Sons (listen here). I felt it was appropriate as I have had a heavy heart about something lately. I've been following a fellow Union alum's story about his struggle with cancer on GoTeamGray.com. There are a lot of people praying for him, and we are not losing hope that a miracle can happen! I know it may seem crazy to think there's any chance of recovery after the "non-curative" diagnosis, but crazier things have happened. I really loved their spirit and strength in this video. I have only met Will once or twice when he's played at Union, and I doubt he would even know who I am, but I have been so encouraged by his and Angie's show of faith during their struggle.

Sorry to be so melancholy on such a beautiful day (now that the fog has gone, it's 65 and sunny)! I felt like I needed to share Will's story in a small way. Even if you aren't a believer, hopefully you can find encouragement from them when you are enduring your own struggles.

Logan - 9 Months

Earlier this week I was FINALLY able to get some portraits of this sweet boy here. I went to high school with his mom, Brandie, and she contacted me a few weeks ago about getting some photos of him. We had a hard time getting together because every time we scheduled a shoot, the weather was either cold or rainy. It's very hard to predict the weather in Jackson because the forecast changes so often. We finally had a nice day Monday, so we took advantage of it! I'm super happy with how these look. It's hard to take a bad shot of such a cutie. I just love the one of his smiling at his toy!

I am getting geared up for a race this coming weekend, and I could not possibly be more excited! Libby, Emily and Kelsey are going with me to St. Louis to run the GO! St. Louis marathon relay. I'm not exactly prepared for it, but I think it's going to be a lot of fun. It'll just be nice to have some girl time!

Dog Spoiling 101: BarkBox

I feel kind of bad, but we spoil Chipper WAY more than we've ever spoiled Dudley (the cat). I think it's because Dudley doesn't get excited about anything that way Chipper does. It's just so fun to see him go crazy over a tennis ball or pretty much anything else that you're holding out to him! When BarkBox ran a Groupon deal, I bought one so I could see what it was all about. I had heard of it before, but this was shortly after we got Chipper and I hadn't thought to sign us up yet. Basically it's a monthly subscription box that usually contains a couple of toys, a food item and maybe another miscellaneous dog-related goodie. I signed us up for 3 months, and this is Chipper's second box...

I'll take this...

...and this.  

And then I'll just chew on the tags until you cut them off.

He has a thing with paper, which I've heard about other dogs too. I have to keep anything paper out of his reach or he will hide it under the couch and snack on it when I'm not looking! Once I cut the tags off the toys, he actually did run around and play with them for a while. He's already eaten a huge hole in the bone, so all the stuffing came out and that mouse is made of felt so we've got gray felt all over the house. The toys this time weren't my favorite as an owner (messy!) but Chipper loved them! The treats we got were awesome though, the Teeny Treats in particular. I definitely recommend those. The other snack item was a bag of peanut butter cookies that are supposed to be for humans AND dogs. I tried one, and I can't say I would ever eat another one. It wasn't repulsive but it wasn't tasty either. It's a cool idea though, and I'm sure it definitely tastes better than generic dog biscuits!

Now here's a video of him with his box, because why not? I know...I'm crazy and obsessed but I DON'T CARE. Have any of you tried BarkBox? If you're wanting to sign up, here is my referral link: https://barkbox.com/r/OvDI5Y1TKV/ and if you use that when you sign up, I get a free month! Win/win.

Leaving Length

I distinctly remember resolving in my junior year of high school to grow my hair out. My intention was to have long hair for my senior year banquet (our COC town's version of prom), but it didn't get very long in that one year. All I know is that when my hair was super short that one time in high school, it wasn't a great look for me, so I haven't cut a significant amount of length off in over 8 years...until now. 

Looking at the pictures now, it doesn't look THAT different, but it feels like I'm a brand new person! I didn't really want to get that much cut, but I figured that I might as well do Locks of Love now while I had the length to give. I am sending off my ponytail this week, and I love that someone somewhere will be able to benefit from it! I also love that my hair no longer gets caught underneath me in the bed or stuck in the car door. I am still planning to refrain from using heat on it, so I hope it air dries well. This after picture was with a shower the night before and sleeping on it wet. I did have to straighten the front, but I guess it wouldn't be the worst thing if I had to do that every day. If you can't tell, I'm pretty low maintenance. I've never been one to get gussied up. I do think it might be fun to try a couple of different styles with the shorter length though! Maybe without all the weight I can even get it to curl. 

RAWWWRRRR PUPPY (NSFW)