Crock Pot Hawaiian Ham

Good Tuesday morning!

The Back-to-School Dinner went well last night. We met Mikie and Grandmother at Costa's in Trussville, and we ate and ate and ate... and then we boxed up the remaining food for dinner tonight! Yipee!

Since I didn't know when we would be finished eating, and I didn't want to rush, I called Mikie and asked him to stop at the new Gigi's Cupcakes in Trussville and pick out four different cupcakes for us to cut up and try at the end of dinner.

He did an exceedingly great job. He bought FIVE cupcakes (strawberry, banana cream, chocolate, wedding cake and cinnamon roll), cut them into fourths and we passed them around and nibbled on all of them.

Perfection!

Strawberry Heaven Cupcake.

Chocolate Heaven Cupcake.

Banana Cream Heaven Cupcake.

Can you tell I named all the cupcakes myself?

I'll go ahead and sum up the first day of school... for those of us who actually went:

Roxie - She has a great schedule, some friends in each and every class and she's playing volleyball.

She was happy.

Josh - He didn't say much when he came home after his first day at Wallace, so I let him be. I couldn't tell from his demeanor if he was happy, sad, content, angry or tired.

However, on the way to the restaurant, he called shotgun and talked my ear off. He loved his three Criminal Justice classes and his instructor. Loved them!

He was one happy college Freshman!

Melia - She observed a first grade classroom yesterday, but she doesn't officially start her Junior year of college until Monday. She had a good day, too.

Austin - He doesn't begin classes until next Tuesday. He's still working at the Chick. He was super tired. (I'll have to report on his first day of class next week!

Me and Mikie - We don't go to school. We've been there, done that. But because the kids were happy... we were happy.

Melia and Austin.

Josh and Roxie.

CONTEST! CONTEST! CONTEST! - This is my 992nd post for A Simple Life. The countdown continues!

The Contest will be simple. The rules are as follows:

Beginning today, leave your NAME followed by the word "CONTEST" in the Comment Section of A Simple Life, e-mail me (mfaulkner1306@charter.net) or go to my Facebook page.

You can enter the Contest ONCE A DAY (each and every day including Saturdays AND Sundays) until Thursday, August 30 at midnight. (Your name could be put into the drawing bowl a total of 10 times between now and Thursday, August 30!)

I will write my 1,000th post Friday morning, August 31.

I will draw from a HUGE BOWL of names, and a winner will be announced the morning of Friday, August 31.

The winner will receive a $15 Gift Certificate to one of the following restaurants:

1. Another Broken Egg
2. Original Pancake House
3. Olexa's
4. Lucia's Italian Restaurant in Helena

It will be Winner's Choice!

If you win and you live somewhere other than Alabama, you will win a $15 VISA Gift Card!

"May the odds be ever in your favor!"

(I'm going to be saying that for the next 7 POSTS!)

NEW THING! NEW THING! NEW THING! - I'm going to post one of my favorite posts each day from the past four years until August 31.

I had a year of monthly guests, and Roxie was my last one.

NOVEMBER SPECIAL GUEST - ROXIE FAULKNER - Originally Posted November, 2010 - She's mine, but she is still full of surprises. Let's get started!

1. List three adjectives that describe you.

Sassy, sweet and athletic.

2. You are going to be alone on a deserted island for a year, and you get to take one book/DVD/CD. What would you take?

Rascal Flatts... Unstoppable.

3. Describe your perfect day (from the time you wake up until you go to bed).

I would sleep late. I would have bacon, eggs, toast AND biscuits with Grandma’s homemade apple butter and a Coke from Jack’s. I love the ice. I would go shopping with friends ALL day and eat lunch at the mall. I would come home and have Mom’s chicken casserole for supper before watching a movie with the family. (That's a pretty good day!)

4. What movie character would you want to be?

Miss Congeniality.

5. If you could meet a person from history, who would it be?

Adam and Eve. I want to talk to them about the mistake they made. (I get this answer 90% of the time from women of all ages. I think we may be a little bitter toward Eve!)

6. If you could be an Olympic athlete, what would you be?

A basketball player.

7. Where is your favorite place in the world? Why?

Tennessee. I love spending time with my family in the mountains!

8. Name three things you have never done.

Skydiving (over my dead body), swimming with dolphins (not without me), and I've never eaten a fried Oreo (again, not without me).

9. What is one thing you couldn't live without?

Hoodies. (It's true. She would wear a hoodie every single day of her life if I let her.)

10. What is the hardest/best thing about being your age?

The hardest thing about being 14 is drama, drama, drama. The best thing about being 14 is I have a little more freedom.

11. What would be the worst job/profession to have?

Roofer. (She was pretty adamant about this one. I don't think she's ever tried to roof a house, but the way she answered the question you would have thought she had been "roofing" for years.)

12. What is the best book you've read recently?

The Christy Miller series. (My friend, Kim, recommended this series of Christian books for teenage girls, and Roxie absolutely loves them. You can find them at Books-A-Million.)

13. What do you think you will be doing in ten years?

I will be finishing up college at Auburn majoring in Interior Design. I will also be engaged to my future husband. (All righty then! She's planning on staying in college for SIX years, and then immediately getting married. I need to start a money envelope right now!)

14. What is the best and the worst thing you have ever eaten?

Hominy is the worst. The best would be steak from Bonefish Grill with shrimp and garlic sauce drizzled on top. (Since they've outgrown the Father/Daughter Banquet, Mikie takes her on a Valentine's Date every year. The last two years they have eaten at Bonefish Grill. She doesn't want to go anywhere else, and now I know why.)

15. What do you like best to do with your family? Why?

Camping. There are no distractions. We just get to spend time together.

16. What makes you furious?

Cry Babies. (It's true. She gets angry with me ALL the time.)

17. What instantly puts a smile on your face?

Tori Grubbs. (Good answer. If you don't know Miss Tori, you need to meet her. She's a funny, sweet chick.)

18. How many siblings do you have, and where do you fall in the mix?

I have two brothers, AND I AM THE BABY.

19. Dog lover or cat lover?

Dog, dog, dog.

20. If you could remove someone's burden and take it as your own, whose burden would it be?

My brother’s.

21. Where is your "happy place?"

In the car on the way somewhere fun... listening to my I-pod.

22. Who are you most like... your mother or your father?

Mother. (Sorry about that, Chick.)

23. What is your favorite holiday, and why?

Christmas. I love the smells and the warm feeling inside because you are giving to others as well as receiving.

24. What is one food you cannot force yourself to eat?

Hominy. (We had canned hominy one night with a meal because I saw it at the store, and I remembered how much I liked it as a kid. Austin, Josh and Roxie have all been scarred for life because I made them take a bite of HOMINY! They even shudder when they hear the word... which I think is HILARIOUS! I say it all the time just to see their reaction.)

25. Are you a "glass half-full" person or a "glass half-empty" person?

I think this is a dumb question. (Perhaps for a 14 year-old, but most adults know exactly what they are.)

26. If you were an animal, which animal would you be?

Chinchilla. (I didn't even ask. I'm assuming it is because they get to wear a fur coat all year long.)

27. What is your favorite book of the Bible?

Proverbs. (Good one.)

28. Are you a morning person or a night owl?

Night owl. (But what she doesn't realize yet... Being a night owl is the reason you are NOT a morning person!

29. What is your favorite cereal?

Marshmallow Maties. (Well, the secret it out. We eat cereal by the BAG, not the BOX!)

30. Name your three best physical features.

Hair color, freckles and my hands. (She does have pretty hands. Very graceful.)

31. What is your current obsession?

Uh, Basketball, basketball, basketball!

This is Roxie today... almost two years since this interview. I wonder how many of her answers would be different? Hmmm.

I KNOW she still hates hominy. I don't think that will ever, ever change.

Crock Pot Hawaiian Ham

Since we've talked about Roxie this morning, I'll go ahead and tell you The Chick loves anything and everything associated with pork. She is a big ham eater, so I think I'll make this for her sooner than later.

You will need the following:

1 ham (pre-cooked, bone-in, spiral cut
3 cups of brown sugar
1 can pineapple tidbits, undrained

1. Cover the bottom of the crock with brown sugar.

2. Place ham on top of the brown sugar and add the pineapple tidbits with the juice.

3. Sprinkle ham with more brown sugar.

4. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours.

Have a terrific Tuesday. I'll be back in the morning with Wednesday Wisdom, a Seasonal Tradition, another chance to enter the Contest, an oldie AND pictures.

Take care, and I'll talk to you in the morning.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda