The Latta Family

Every summer, I have an annual big purge. I start with the kid's rooms, and we clean out clothes that no longer fit.  Then we do toys/books/memorabilia.  Last summer Andrew was struggling with it.  Everything I asked about: what about this book? He'd respond: "It's sentimental. It stays."  Thankfully I watched those shows with people who wanted to clean out their houses, and then had a garage sale, and then had those freshly cleaned out rooms redecorated. . . what was that show called?!  Anyway- I am like a professional cleaner-outer- so I could totally handle Andrew and all of his sentimental items.  (It was actually quite hilarious, he was getting so frustrated with me, and finally he yells, "MOM!  The only thing not sentimental in this room, is YOU!"  True that, buddy.  But we came to agreements and the other day when I started on Alexa's room, he said, "It sucks when you're doing it, but it really does feel better when you're done....

Y'all I LOVE LOVE LOVE garlic.  The heavenly scent of onions and mushrooms sauteing in olive oil and fresh garlic?!  I might love that smell more than chocolate- but not more than freshly bathed babies.  It's close though.  Back in the days when I was a religious watcher of Food Network, I remember the Barefoot Contessa made chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic and I thought it sounded pretty doggone delicious! Way back when I was a baby cook, and just beginning adulthood, I thought cooking with garlic meant using garlic powder.  It's actually worse than that. I thought I was supposed to use garlic salt powder.  WHAT!?  Good news. I started watching Food Network, and I learned that's not cool.  It's not what the real chefs use.  And I like to do the right thing.  Not to say that garlic powder doesn't have its place, frankly sometimes it does.  I love it in my homemade Taco Seasoning and my Pork Rub. For years I used "fresh" minced ...

Alexa and I drove from the Charlotte area up to my brother and sister in law's house up near Philadelphia this week.  I was a little nervous because . . . this is going to sound dumb, but that was the longest trip I'd driven without another adult.  If I got tired, I had no one to hand the driving over to.  I had to stay awake and alert for what turned out to be 9+ hours.  That's not a big deal except . . . I fall asleep all the time in the car!  Sometimes- I'll take 2 naps in the car!  I wasn't worried about driving in the infamous Washington DC traffic. I wasn't worried about paying tolls (although- I should have been- I forgot I was going to need cash for them! Thankfully I remembered before I got to one). I was worried I would get drowsy.  So I made a plan. I had plenty of snacking foods and drinks (although- not too many because even though I LOVED being able to stop and go to the bathroom whenever I wanted- as opposed to when Doug drives and i...

Yikes- it's been a month since my last post!  So much for my New Years Resolution.  I'll get back to regularly blogging now.  The end of this school year has been one of the most exhausting, in a long time. I don't know why.  I told my mother at one point recently that I am too tired to even feel Mom Guilt.  Y'all.  That's pretty stinkin' tired, when I don't even feel bad that I am not trying to feed my family until after 7:30 and then they just get cheese and crackers because that's all I feel like attempting (also they're capable of fixing more- but they are also too tired to do more).  However- we have made it.  Alexa made it through her first state standardized testing without throwing up in the trashcan that she sleeps in her bed with regularly.  Andrew is officially a high school student.  I just finished year 21 of teaching.  I got a certificate today for years of service, and I said, "How can that be?! I'm just 29!!!!!"...