Mandy and Jace

Happy Labor Day everyone! We are having a lazy day here and loving every minute. Saturday morning Jace talked me into getting out of bed and going to the farmers market. Not sure how he managed that because waking me up is pretty close to what it would be like to wake a sleeping bear, but I’m happy he did. It was a gorgeous day and we bought lots of local meats, veggies and breads. I’m not sure why I haven’t been out there before but I think I’m going to start to go more often. This weeks meals are going to revolve around all the things we bought.

Also, Wednesday is our 3 year anniversary. I can’t believe it! So we will be going out tonight to celebrate that.

Tonight: anniversary dinner
Tuesday: sauteed chicken with lemon pasta and a squash, zucchini and tomato medley
Wednesday: on-the-go burritos
Thursday: take out after practice
Friday: date night!

Happy eating!

Back in May I set some goals for myself that I wanted to accomplish by the end of the year. If you like me have a bad memory here they are.

Read more books
Learn to drive a standard transmission
Bake more breads
Learn to shoot
Learn photoshop
Climb the alpine tower at Lone Tree
Eat more candlelit dinners
Find a piece of seafood that I can stand to eat

While we were on vacation I achieved one of my goals to learn to shoot. While I wasn’t very good I am proud to say I did it. I was a little nervous at first but as I got a little more comfortable the nervous went away and I actually had fun. We will definitely be taking some Saturdays so I can get better and better and maybe hit the target a couple of times.

We had a fast and furious weekend and I really wish there was one more day to it. The weekend was a blast but I’m still tired. The bad thing is I’m sitting here thinking of all the things I need to do this week. My house needs cleaning, I have weeds taking over my flower bed and I have a mountain of laundry. No rest for the weary this week. I’m determined to get it all done gracefully, though.
This weeks plan is an easy one. I really didn’t want to do anything fancy with all the other things I need to do.

Here’s the plan.
Tonight: melt in your mouth pancakes, eggs and bacon
Tuesday: pork chops with potato cakes
Wednesday: grilled cheese sandwiches
Thursday: take out after praise and worship practice
Friday: date night!

Happy eating!

I think I like vacation way too much. I just got off of one and I am ready for another. Does anyone else feel this way? We spent all last week in sunny, HOT Florida with Jace’s parents and had a blast. I know I normally keep everyone very updated on Facebook and Twitter about our vacation encounters but we decided that it would be smarter for us to not let the world know that our house would be vacant for a week. Not that I don’t like having house guests but I would like to be there when people are at my house and I’d rather not give an open invitation to the bad guys. The good thing is this will all be new to you.
We were met at the airport by Jace’s parents, brother and niece Mary Elise. I had a blast with this little bundle of energy. The only thing is I wish I knew what she was saying, she clearly knows what she’s talking about. She already has great taste in shoes!

We did a lot of relaxing and exploring. We took our very first trip to see a lighthouse. Before last week the closest I had ever been to a lighthouse was a Thomas Kinkade print. Now I can say I have been all the way up to the top of one. My sore legs can also second that. It was a long way up with no AC but it was totally worth it once we got to the top. You could see so far and the ocean breeze felt amazing. I also took some really cool pics.

We then went to a really old fort in St. Augustine. It is the oldest fort in America and it’s scenery did not disappoint. I got some cook pics here too.

After that, THE BEACH. This was the only thing I really wanted to do while in Florida. I love the beach. I think it was one of God’s masterpieces. So calming, beautiful and fun. The only thing we were disappointed in was the lack of sea shells. That was easy to get over, though.

We have just made it home from a whirlwind vacation in Florida. My favorite part of vacation is the food. I decided that it’s not worth trying to diet on vacation so I pretty much eat what I want to when we go out of town. So now, we have to get back on track. We will definitely be cutting calories this week, but not flavor. I am a firm believer that you don’t’ have to eat all salad to eat healthy.

Here’s this weeks plan.
Tonight: roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and corn on the cobb
Tuesday: steak with pasta covered in olive oil and lemon juice
Wednesday: cheesy chicken enchilada soup
Thursday: take out after practice
Friday: date night
Saturday: Jace’s award winning chili