Well, Mama M isn’t doing a 5QF this week due to creepy stuff (sounds ominous) so I’m just going to make up my own… you can join in too in the comments or on your own blog.
1. What’s your favorite sound?
Here are a few:
– Jack’s giggle
– Liam drumming
– Simon’s accent
– lawn mower (because then I get to smell fresh-cut grass)
– espresso maker brewing
– when a can of Diet Coke is opened (I realize this is the same as any other can of pop/soda/cola/soft drink)
2. What pet peeves do you have?
– People who drive slowly in the left lane on the highway when there is no reason for them to be there
– Dirty dishes left in the sink
– People who stand with their carts in the middle of the grocery aisle instead of off to one side
– Bad service in a restaurant
3. What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten?
I ate quite a few strange things in Kazakhstan – fermented mare’s milk and these very hard cheese balls that had the consistency of chalk and tasted like strong, stinky cheese are at the top of the list. And one of the things I could have eaten but didn’t was a cow tongue sandwich. Yum. I also had some of the yummiest things there – fresh-baked bread (daily, sold from a vendor’s cart), honey cake, pelminis (no idea how to spell this, but they were like dumplings with a meat stuffing inside), Korean spicy carrot salad and borscht (soup made with beets).
4. Do you wish you had a different name/did you ever try changing your name in middle school/high school?
I have always liked my name, especially once I learned I was nearly name Robin Renee, a name I don’t at all like. But I very much like being Michelle Marie (apparently my parents believed in alliteration). I went by Shell and Chelle in middle school and high school (this makes me think of my friend who decided that instead of Melissa, she would be M’lissa – we were dorks). I very much dislike being called Shelly (though I know some perfectly nice and wonderful people that go by that nickname and it works for them, just not for me) but I have a couple people who call me that just to drive me nuts and I let it go because if it makes them happy to antagonize me, who am I to kill their fun? 😉
5. Do you have a meal you never tire of eating, no matter how many times you have it?
I’m rather partial to anything Mexican or Tex-Mex so I’d have to go with my pork tacos (recipe here), the carnitas style beef and roasted veggie tacos (recipe here) and my beef and bean burritos (recipe below).
Beef and Bean Burritos
1 pound ground beef (I often use ground turkey, or half turkey, half beef)
1 package taco seasoning
1 can refried beans (I typically use the fat free ones)
1 package burrito-size flour tortillas
2 cups shredded cheese
1 jar of taco sauce
In large skillet, brown beef until fully cooked, add taco seasoning and simmer 5-10 minutes. Add can of beans, heat until the beans have fully incorporated with the beef/taco seasoning. Add a large spoonful of the mixture to center of tortilla, top with cheese (I grab a large pinch of cheese), wrap up tortilla (fold sides in first then roll. Place rolled burritos in 9×13 pan and repeat until filling is gone. Top with taco sauce and bake at 350 for 15 minutes, top with remaining shredded cheese and continue baking until cheese is melted – serve with sour cream and any other toppings you’d like.
The burritos freeze really well, just put them in the freezer before you top with the taco sauce and when baking (after thawing them out), cook them for 15 minutes without sauce, then add the sauce for another 15 minutes, then add cheese for another 10ish minutes. You can also package them individually in foil and take them for lunches (microwave, without foil, for 2-3 minutes – from frozen; be sure to slit the top of the burrito).
Also, yesterday Sirius played a David Gray song that I’d never heard before – a cover of the song “Money (That’s What I Want)” – makes me super excited to think that maybe a new album is coming out. He’s doing a North American tour this summer but the Chicago show sold out too quickly so we didn’t get tickets – it would have been perfect since the show is the day before my birthday. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Dear David Gray – Please come to Grand Rapids. Thanks, mucho! Michelle
ememby 
Robin Renee??
I am also not a fan of slow left lane drivers. But what bothers me even more is people who feel the need to pass you, then cut in right in front of you, only to get one car length ahead… because 99% of the time I am still driving right behind them, which really makes their whole crazy move pointless- or I end up right behind them at the next red light anyway. Today a lady did that to me on the Beltline- complete with motions to show me how upset she was- and I was already going 12 mph over the speed limit (and had cars in front of me)! And sure enough- I followed right behind her for the next 2 miles because there were so many cars she couldn’t get ahead anyway.
That exact thing happened to us on the Beltline last night – rather than flipping them off (which is my true first instinct, if I’m being honest) I give them two enthusiastic thumb’s up! Because really, how sad is their life that they have to speed dangerously around me to get ahead one whole car length – perhaps they need a little encouragement in the form of a thumb’s up.
There was an abduction in M’s neck of the woods. An older lady was kidnapped, police chase ensued, and apparently the guy fled the car on foot within a few miles of their house— so they stayed at her mom and dad’s. Freaky, huh?
Very freaky.
Well.. I was just thinking “I like this new blog I found off pinterest”. but… since my name is Robyn Renee I think I feel a little insulted. Haha. (I still like your blog 🙂 )
That is too funny… nothing against the name for others, it is just so far from me 🙂 Just like how I feel about Shelly… I know some great people who go by that name but it isn’t for me – so glad you found my blog – I promise to insult others and lay off people named Robyn Renee 😉
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