Weeks 4 and 5: Summer

This is a 2 week post. We have been very busy. I was on a mini vacation with my mom and sister, Jonathan went to Louisiana on a business trip, we celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary (some more), made schnitzel with sweet potatoes, made bacon asparagus pasta, and went to Laurel's birthday party and other things that I didn't take pictures of!

Week 3: Summer

Last week:

-We had shish kabobs, fajitas, avocado pasta, and homemade pizza.

-Momma came up to shop and visit.

-We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary with a trip to the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.

-Documentation follows!

Week 2: Summer

Last week, I/we:

-Went to visit Grandma and Grandpa. I enjoyed time with them, my mom, and my aunt and uncle!

-Spent the afternoon with Lindsay, Laurel, and Holden.

-Made lemony squash galette. I don't really know what a galette is, but we enjoyed it!

-Met Jonathan at Hickory Tavern for the USMNT soccer match. :(

-Worked with Jonathan Thursday, Friday, and Saturday on our screen porch. We are so close to being done!  Thanks to Doug and Melanie for coming down to help.

-Made pepper jack and avocado chicken.

-Ate at Tupelo Honey Cafe with Doug and Melanie.

-Watched the fireworks behind Carowinds.

Summer: Week 1

I already forgot to take pictures of our meals. We had chicken and noodles, spaghetti, hotdogs with corn on the cob, and some other less memorable things.

A strategy that might help you in meal planning is to look at the meal (in your mind) and try to add more color. The more color on your plate, the more variety of nutrients. So, if you have chicken, corn, and bread, its pretty bland-all white/yellow. Throw in some colorful fruits or vegetables.

I went to Pfafftown for a night and had lots of fun. We shopped, ate out, played games, and sat around to talk.

Summer Suppers

I always have more time to cook during the summer, since I'm not working 10 hours a day, away from home. Duh. I always make time to cook during the school year, (5 nights a week, on average), but often times, I'm just trying to get something on the table.

I get a lot of questions about what I cook, what we like to eat, where I get recipes, how I make my menus, so on and so forth.

I'm planning and hoping to update this blog I've forsaken with our summer suppers. I'm gung-ho now, but let's be honest, I might forget about this next week.

Tonight, is the first night we've been home, so this is probably first meal of the summer. It is baked rotini with summer vegetables. You can find the recipe on my Pinterest board labeled Meals for the Calendar, or you can follow this link. I usually use recipes as a guide and change what I want to. Today I added carrots, sauted the vegetables longer than written, and just eyeballed the cheese measurements.

Now, if only Jonathan would get home, so I don't have to eat alone.

Counting My Blessings

As November draws to a close and we begin moving from the official Thanksgiving season into Christmas, I've tried to take some time to count my blessings.  Jonathan and I agree that family is more important than pretty much anything else.  We've had some great examples set by parents and grandparents. 

We were both off of work on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  We went to Raleigh on Tuesday night and stayed through lunch time on Friday before heading to Pfafftown until Sunday afternoon.

I actually managed to take some pictures this time, which was nothing short of a miracle, since I usually forget that I even have a camera.

 I am thankful for the laughter that Jonathan provides on a daily basis...this was a photo shoot he wanted to have to show the many emotions that he experiences and the many ways he expresses himself...this is "Innocent Jonathan".

 We are thankful for Granny Dot and her sense of humor.

 We're thankful for Grandma Mary and her kind heart.

 Emily made this Tree of Plenty for everyone to list some things we're thankful for.

 This was from Emily...I think she's glad to finally have some more girls in the family.

 This was Jonathan's and I only had to hint a little bit that he should mention me specifically.

 This is mine.

 Jonathan is a blessing to me every day.

 Jonathan felt blessed to be able to drive Grandpa's truck.  Grandma and Grandpa are both very giving and want their kids and grandkids to be happy.  Before we left for a drive, Grandpa asked if we had enough gas and then told us to, "Run it all out."

 I'm thankful for the example that all of my grandparents have set in teaching us how to be a family.



We've Made It A Year!

As I mentioned earlier, we recently (July 16th) celebrated our first wedding anniversary.  We went to the Greek Isles restaurant to eat, then came home and cut the top layer of our wedding cake.

A waiter offered to take our picture.  I didn't have the heart to ask him to re-take it to get the sign IN and the take out bag OUT.

In case you're wondering, yes, those ARE my wedding heels.  I love them!

Jonathan wanted to take this picture, "In case something funny happens while you're cutting the cake."

(His words, not mine). 

Not the best picture, but the cake was still good!