Monthly Archives: May 2010

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lovely long weekend

May 31, 2010 7:04 pm \ Leave a Comment \ Carol B.

It’s been quite busy over here, so I think the easiest thing to do is summarize it all in bulleted form:

Jake had his 2nd grade concert last week and it went very well. He practiced for everyone and did a great job at the show.
Drew’s dad and step-mom spent a couple days visiting with us. They live in Miami so we don’t see them often. The boys had so much fun with them and Laura did too. We had some great meals out as well as at home. (I felt like I could have benefited from weight loss supplements, LOL!)
Yesterday we spent the day with Drew’s mom and aunt. We grilled outside and just relaxed. I’ve been feeling a teeny bit under the weather, so last night Drew took the boys to the drive-in movie theatre to see Shrek 4. They loved it!
Today we went to the Memorial Day parade, but Jake marched with the Cub Scouts so that was fun for him. They both came away with tons of candy. At home we just cooked some turkey burgers and took it easy today.
I’ve got a busy week ahead. It’s our 9th anniversary and Laura’s 1st birthday.
Hope you all are enjoying a beautiful Sunday evening.

Posted in: This & That

memorial day wishes

May 31, 2010 8:59 am \ Leave a Comment \ Carol B.

Photo credit: sxc.hu | linder6580

For love of country they accepted death…

~James A. Garfield

Posted in: Holidays & Entertaining

quickie weekend crochet

May 25, 2010 4:41 pm \ Leave a Comment \ Carol B.

This is the quickest little crochet project! Friday night Drew and Jake were camping with the Cub Scouts, so I decided to whip up a little something for Laura to wear to her cousin’s Baptism. Her outfit was very summery, and just in case it was cool, I didn’t want her to be chilly. I had the pattern for Vickie Howell’s Clo Baby Poncho in my craft binder and thought it would be perfect. Instead of the suggested embellishment, I made a more traditional flower. I was really happy with the result. Here’s Lulu modeling it with her favorite guy:

(Don’t mind her expression. She had just woken up from a nap). I had to use yarn from my stash and the only thing that even vaguely fit the bill in terms of color (I really wanted it to be white, not cream but such is life) is some leftover Bernat Berella 4 I used for my ripple afghan. This resulted in a very heavy garment. Since it’s a little big on her (I made the size 12-24 months version), it should be perfect for the fall. I think it will look adorable with jean or cords and a turtleneck. I think the pattern would be very easy to modify to larger children’s sizes, or even adult sizes. And if you don’t join the chain it would be a very pretty shawl or capelet. I think I’ll make a variation at some point.

Posted in: Crafting, Knitting & Crochet

no cavities

May 20, 2010 8:18 pm \ Leave a Comment \ Carol B.

Last summer when I went to the dentist (after a couple years of skipping my visits), I had bad news: my wisdom teeth had to be pulled and I had three small cavities. I was devastated. Lucky for me, today I got a clean bill of dental health! I really love the dental office I go to (Aspen Dental) and they’re opening a branch closer to my house. It can be a real hassle going to my current office because you have to deal with some heavy (crazy) traffic. I feel like I should be suggesting that these people visit carinsurancelist.com or something when we come to a stoplight. The way they drive, an accident seems imminent. I’m always glad to make it there and back without anything happening!

At any rate, my teeth are nice and clean now and I don’t have to worry about fillings. That’s such a relief

Posted in: This & That

cairns

May 19, 2010 6:29 pm \ 1 Comment \ Carol B.

For some reason, people around here like to stack rocks. When we first moved to the area, I found it a little odd. But as the years have passed, the rock groupings (some of them quite large) have become rather compelling. I’ve tried to figure out what exactly they’re called, but the closest I’ve come up with is cairns. And that’s not quite right because the stacks are just one rock on top of another rather than piles. Whatever they are, they’ve grown on me. Over the weekend, Drew did a bit of rock stacking himself in front of the house.

This one is my favorite:

I think they add a fun touch to our gardens and they’re different from your standard garden statuary.

Posted in: Uncategorized

meal plan monday

May 17, 2010 4:34 pm \ 4 Comments \ Carol B.

My big successes last week were the chicken vindaloo and the black bean soup (which I made again for lunch today). I haven’t posted the soup recipe because I’m trying to get it perfect. It’s pretty close, though! The pork chops didn’t happen because the meat looked off. (Why do I buy pork chops? We don’t even like them all that much.) Spaghetti and meatballs turned into chicken marsala on a whim, and it was so yummy. Laura devoured the chicken and mushrooms! The whole wheat buns were a huge disaster since I had the wrong type of flour. The backyard birds ate well that night! Luckily I had a package of store-bought buns handy. And shrimp skewers didn’t happen. Noah wanted cereal and the rest of us ate grilled chicken sandwiches.

On to this week. I’ve got a huge package of chicken drumsticks in the freezer so I think I’ll pull that out and make a big batch of stock. I’m looking forward to the short ribs, but I think I’m the only one! We have a lot going on this week, so my meals are pretty straightforward. I also did a little freezer cooking over the weekend so if necessary I can pull something out at a moment’s notice. But here’s what I’m thinking about:

Sunday: Pizza and salad
Monday: Cheese ravioli, marinara (from the freezer), salad
Tuesday: Taco ring (made with ground chicken) with lettuce, tomatoes, olives, pico de gallo and guacamole
Wednesday: Cabernet braised short ribs, mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables
Thursday: Homemade chicken soup and sandwiches
Friday: Grilled turkey burgers, chips, cole slaw
Saturday: Not sure yet

Visit Organizing Junkie for more great meal plans.

Posted in: Food & Wine \ Tagged: menu

how to have a perfect saturday

May 15, 2010 5:16 pm \ 3 Comments \ Carol B.

1. Start the day with a good breakfast, in this case triple-berry muffins that I let the boys make (just the add-water-variety of muffin mix), yogurt, fruit, and a big mug of Green Mountain Coffee’s Dark Magic.

2. Buy some dirt-cheap Bosc pears and apples at the local farm stand. Then take a blurry picture of them.

3. Hook a row on the adorable dress you are testing for the fabulous Alicia Paulson (!!!)!

4. Allow your boys to run through the sprinkler even though you think it’s too cold out. Wonder how you made such cute kids.

5. Watch them play with their new Tech Decks and the set you found for $1 (!!!) at a yard sale this morning.

6. Notice that one of the strawberry plants has a teeny tiny strawberry that is turning red and immediately yell, “Oh my goodness how cute!!!” And cause your boys to come run and see.