Sunday Blatherings: The Reboot Edition

One week back after Spring Break and you quickly feel like you're back to where you were before we were off.  It's craziness!  We're prepping our students for state testing, which I shouldn't fret about, but with as "high stakes" as things have been the last few years, I do fret.  I know we've all worked really HARD, so my hopes are always that the test actually show the hard work going on in the classroom.

Anyway, this weekend has been about  "rebooting" so I can be my best at work.  Dare I admit that I feel more and more like my age lately?  It's scary, and something I'd prefer not to admit.  People say it, but I don't know why I didn't ever think about it.  Well, here it is.  :)  I've had to redouble my efforts to take my vitamins, eat well, sleep well, exercise, and all that stuff that you could get away without completely thinking about when you were in college, staying up all night studying--or talking to a roommate.  Now, I look at the clock around 9 pm and start to get ready for bed, for fear I won't get in enough sleep and wreck my day the next day!  Kind of makes me laugh.  I've always been the night owl.  Not anymore.

Okay, on a less whiny note, one of the thing I love about the weekends is that I get to be the master of my domain.  Yes, I love taking care of my house!  What's not to love about changing your sheets so you have lovely, fresh linens?  Or, how nice is it to do all the laundry and see the linen closets filled with beautiful, clean towels?  I love it.  That's the other reason I know I might be putting myself in the "adult" category, because I find myself shopping for lovely bedding and towels sometimes more than I do anything else.  My own lovely addiction.  I love it.

Well, here's what up in my world...

What I'm Gnoshing:  A couple of years ago at our local farmer's market, there was this awesome food truck there with authentic Mexican tacos.  The food was so simple, but completely D-elish!  They served simple grilled or braised meats in a corn or flour tortilla of your choice, and then you could serve yourself from a variety of toppings like white onion, pickled jalapenos, diced peppers, cilantro, and shaved cabbage or lettuce.  You didn't see a speck of cheese, sour cream, or salsa anywhere (and I love that stuff), so these were a revelation to me. 

Needless to say, I think I finally mastered one version of my own.  These lovely tacos are made from some pork ribs that I cooked in the oven in an apricot & jalapeno jelly I purchased, that I then mixed with a touch of honey and minced garlic.  They came out sticky and caramelized in the most delightful way, so they made the perfect taco filling, topped with just a little white onion and cilantro.  I will definitely be making these again and then sharing them! 

What I'm Watching:  Thankfully, Call the Midwives Season 2 is back on.  The Christmas special was pretty good, but nothing that made me dying to keep watching.  That was until I started in on Season 2.  It's so good!  I really love it.

I also, finally, started watching The Walking Dead and have to say it's pretty freaky!  I can't watch it late at night, but I can see why it has been so addicting.  It's definitely not like anything I've ever seen before. 

What I'm Reading:  What am I not reading?  Obviously, I'm reading The Great Gatsby for my own "The Great Gatsby Read Along," but also rereading Brave New World  and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children for two of the classes I'm teaching at school.  It's good stuff!

Outside of that, here are some of what I'm enjoying at the moment:

Just finished this one today!  Good stuff.

I need another vacation so I can just read this in one sitting!

Always love a Sophie Kinsella novel.

 What have you done to "reboot" this weekend?