That was the week that was... (A Sunday Blessing)

All in all, I had a remarkable back-to-school week. Although Fay has been squalling to the south of here (and has been pouring rain on us since yesterday afternoon) we've escaped with no harm so far. Randy even escaped the worst of it, though rain yesterday did cancel his back-to-school golf game.

Last Saturday night, out of the blue, I got an email from an old undergrad newspaper friend. I hadn't heard from him in at least 10 years, and now it seems his daughter is considering my university next year. I was thrilled to be in touch with him and his wife (who was also a college friend). I hope they'll visit us soon.

On Sunday, while working on a project for my PR & Admin class, I created a LinkedIn account (I'm trying to learn about social media. My friend Karen is my idol...she's amazing. I want to be her should I figure this out one day...) While looking for connections, I found another undergrad friend, whom I hadn't heard from for 10 years. She and I been great friends for a very, very long time, and I'd truly missed her a lot. Well, by Wednesday, we were back in touch by email, and we just talked on the phone for the first time in years. Turns out she's only three hours away in Savannah, again. Last I saw her, she was in Michigan! If you are on linked in, connect to me! I'm already hooked up with my buds Gluten-Free Steve (who wrote me the greatest recommendation! LOVE you!) and Kate! I also on Twitter, which I can't for the life of me figure out, but anyway...if you are, I am too. GingerCM. Tweet me, y'all

And one more friend came back into my life this week. She's only a half-hour away from here, in Macon, but we'd lost touch and hadn't been in email touch since 2003. We're back in email touch again. I hope to see her soon.

I was also reunited this week with my dear students as classes started again. It has been a horribly stressful week. I have created a lot of new assignments for the student groups and classes I teach, and there will be a lot to do in the next two months. One of my classes is required now to keep a blog. That site is called Bobcat PR, and you're welcome to see it any time you'd like.

With all this schoolwork (I even had to work most of the day, much to Jeffrey's dismay) I haven't had much time to cook or create gluten-free goodies for myself. Since Randy went home last weekend, I've fallen back into my old habits of cereal for dinner, etc. Tonight, I'm going to make a pan-roasted Porterhouse steak that was on the markdown rack at Kroger. Tomorrow, I'm going to make Kate's Banana Bread.

Tomorrow, I'm going to try to replicate one of my mother's recipes -- a pork-chop casserole with onions and potatoes.

Here's the recipe, if you'd like to try it, too:

Pork Chop Casserole

One package of lean pork chops (one pound). I have sirloin chops
seasoned with Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb, salt and pepper
Two baking potatoes, sliced thin
One large onion, sliced thin
One can cream of mushroom soup (GF for me) with 1/2 cup sour cream or greek yogurt

Alternate layers of potatoes and onions in a casserole dish. Top with pork chops. Top with soup mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

OR put it in the crock pot and cook on high for six hour. Can't decide which way I'll go.

OH, BTW, shoutout to Randy, who lost 18 pounds! YAY for my honey.
And y'all keep my former student Julie in your prayers as she goes in for a c-section in five days to have her son, Trent.

Much love, and so much more...
Ging