menu plan monday
I’m at it again. It’s been a challenging six weeks for us, to say the least… Mike’s appendectomy, my shingles, vertigo… and we’ve spent those six weeks hanging on, so there hasn’t been any meal planning other than ‘geez, what should we eat?’ I think it’s time to get things in order.
We’re starting to work on eating a bit healthier, on utilizing the fresh fruits and veggies from the stand near the house, so I’m going to try to stop by the stand every day or so and pick up enough for a couple of days so that we’re sure to be eating the freshest ingredients possible. 
Last night, we had grilled chicken pasta salad, an all-time favorite of Mike and me. He and the kids will have it again tonight while I’m at my cake decorating class. Grilled chicken, crazy colored veggie pasta and loads of fresh grilled veggies.
Tuesday - summer rolls (recipe from this month’s “Everyday Food”)
Wednesday - pork chops with lemon couscous
Thursday - Griff’s birthday… He’s requested to go to Smokey Bones, so we’ll be eating some BBQ.
Friday - grilled margarita pizzas … fresh Roma tomatoes, mozza, and basil
With the grilled chicken from Sunday, I’ll make a fresh chicken salad for Mike and the kids to make chicken wraps for lunch this week. I’m thinking of challenging the kids to see who can eat the most fruits and veggies per day to increase our daily intake (which is currently hovering in the pitiful range). I just need to determine a good reward for the winner.
Filed under Menu Plan Monday | Permalink | Comment (0)friends since forever…
Last weekend, in celebration of the fact that we would both turn 40 this year, my oldest and dearest friend and I took a trip together. We boarded flights in our separate states and landed separately (thanks to several screw-ups on the part of Delta) in the sweet land of Savannah. And we spent a really fabulous three days together.
The two of us met when we were barely older than Griff. She was in seventh grade (which he will enter next fall), and I was in eighth. We were in PE, and we were walking around an endless track. Our walking speeds matched, and we began to talk. We haven’t much stopped since. We’ve been together through psycho boyfriends (mine), heartbreaks, laughter, tears, family crazies, husbands, children, jobs, moves, loves and loss. And we’ve already planned where to go for our 50th birthdays.
We rode the trolley tour, and we walked the river walk, and we listened to the bands play outside the restaurant in the cool air. I freaked out my son when he read on Facebook that I was having dinner and drinks (it’s good for him to realize I’m a real person and not just a mom).
But mostly, we laughed. And I remembered how really amazing it is to be with someone who knows me. I am astounded at how effortless it was for us to be together. She and I haven’t seen each other since before we moved to Florida… four years or so. And we haven’t lived in the same town in 20 years… the same state in well, 15 or so (my math is bad). But the time we spent together flowed easily. I missed her as soon as we turned to head for our separate flights in Atlanta.
God has blessed me through the years with a steady stream of perfectly lovely friends to carry me through each phase of my life. Moreover, He has blessed me with a small handful of people who are traveling the length and breadth of this life with me. This particular friend is one of those.
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click it
In my 101 Things in 1001 Days, I said I was going to participate in Project 365. I kept waiting for a good time to start. I like things to start in an orderly fashion… first day of the month, week, year, whatever. I’m a little OCD that way. But I downloaded an iPhone app a few days ago that has a calendar to help with the project - I love an app! - and I decided today just to go ahead with it despite it being not at all an orderly day.
So I took a picture. Just a random picture. And because I think the project involves posting it somewhere, I posted it to Twitter. I’ll post some here as well. The point for me is to see if I can take a photo every single day for the next year… to document our lives with one quick snapshot every day. I can hardly wait to see where each picture leads us.
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a buncha buncha
We have the cousins for the weekend. Last night, we gathered all of them around and played a card game, and I kicked their collective tushies. I do love that. We put the girls to bed late (hoping incorrectly that Eliza would sleep late) and then told the boys they could stay up as late as they wanted. I sent Mike in around 2 this morning to tell them maybe they should consider going to sleep. When I heard them again around 3, I decided to leave them be. They’d been warned. Today will be a struggle, I’m sure, as they have to keep up and be cheerful.
We’re taking them all to see Shrek (painting everyone’s fingernails with the groovy OPI Shrek colors) and then I’m going to sign up for a cake decorating class with a friend. I’m thinking later we’ll have another round of the card game, this time with the slushy punch I made (thanks to Mika & her mama for the incredible recipe that I told Eliza I’ve been making since before she was born… before Griff… before I met MIke).
Tomorrow, while Mike takes the cousins home, I’m going to watch a friend’s bellydance recital. A big, fun weekend. I do love having a house full of people. I’d have the kids come visit more if I could work it with everyone’s schedules.
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