So this week kicked off the challenge of trying a new recipe every week. I’m still working on the full calendar, but I’ve got the next couple of weeks taken care of for now!
This week, I was really excited to try the Hummus Crusted Chicken recipe from Gimme Some Oven. I found the recipe on Pinterest and thought it’d be the perfect option to start with.
It was pretty easy, which is always beneficial on a work night. I originally planned to make it on my work from home day, but Josh was feeling under the weather and we opted to go with chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. So Friday night, I got home, rolled up my sleeves, and got to work!
I followed most of the directions, with the exception of using the lemon juice and slices. Josh isn’t a big fan of lemon, so I skipped that. I also used frozen onion, because I *hate* cutting fresh onions. 🙂 It usually works out.
I pre-heated the oven to 450F, and got to chopping the zucchini and squash.
Started with one of each
Cut into pieces!
Once the zucchini and squash were cut up, I put them in a bowl, drizzled with olive oil, and sprinkled with pepper and garlic salt (instead of regular salt, to give them a little more flavor).
After coating the veggies, I placed them in the casserole dish, and got to work on washing and patting dry the chicken.
Chicken on top of the veggies
I placed the chicken on top of the veggies and pulled out the hummus.
After spreading the hummus onto the chicken, I felt like I might have added too much, but the recipe wasn’t incredibly clear on how much to use (or I was just rushing through it all).
With hummus and paprika
I placed the chicken and veggies into the oven for the outlined 25 minutes, and when I pulled the casserole dish out, and I have to say it looked pretty good! I was ready to sit down and try it out, and then Josh told me he wasn’t sure about hummus and chicken…
Oh well, this is where we were. 🙂
Straight out of the oven
Feeling pretty good about how this recipe turned out, it wasn’t until I tried pulling the chicken out that I was pretty sure that I used too much hummus. It all slid off the chicken.
Whomp whomp.
Where’d the hummus go?
Using a spatula for the second piece of chicken, I had a little bit more luck – but lost some more hummus into the veggies…
With a bit more hummus remaining
Verdict:
Once we sat down and starting eating, it was apparent Josh didn’t like it. I wasn’t sure how badly he didn’t like it. He said he could eat the veggies, but wasn’t interested in the chicken. Chicken and hummus don’t mix (according to him). We both finished most of our dinner, but decided we won’t be trying this one again (most likely).
If we *were* to try it again, I’d use significantly less hummus on the chicken, and perhaps use a knife to smear it on the chicken, versus a spoon. I think with less hummus, it’d actually crust while baking…my bad.
Our ratings:
Amy – 3 out of 5 stars. I think with tweaking, I could make it better…
Josh – 1.5 out of 5 stars. He’s not interested in eating this one again…
If you try this out, and have success with it, I’d love for you to provide your feedback! I do think it’s a great recipe, I just jacked it up a little while making it. 🙂
And there we go, one recipe down, fifty one to go!
*** To view all of the posts in the 2016 recipe series, click here. To view the spreadsheet of all recipes and links to posts, click here. ***
Since I was fairly slack in blogging in 2015, I’ve been trying to think of ways to blog more. Another thing that’s been slack is trying new recipes, and since I get burnt out on cooking the same things over and over again (and Josh gets burnt out on eating the same things over and over again), I figured I’d challenge myself in 2016.
In 2016, my goal is to try a new recipe every week and blog about it.
Am I setting myself up for failure? Possibly, but if I don’t put it out there, I won’t try!
I’ve already setup a Google Spreadsheet to track the weeks of the year, the recipes to try (with links), and a place to note what we thought of the meal. I’ll blog about each recipe every week with pictures, with credit to the original poster (most of these will likely be found on Pinterest). If you follow me on Pinterest, it’s likely that you’ve seen me pinning like crazy.
Here’s where you can help/participate!
If there’s a recipe you’re proud of or if there’s one you’ve been eyeing, but haven’t tried yet, and want to see me make/review, share it with me in the comments of this post, or email it to me at wishiweretherenow [at] gmail.com.
I’ll be starting the challenge the week of Jan 3-9, and I’ve got my recipe for this week ready to go. Keep an eye out for a post later this week!
Here’s to a yummy New Year!
How it is already the middle of December, I just don’t know! 2015 has flown by, and I’m looking forward to all that 2016 will bring.
I’ve been a little slack on blogging this year, but I’m hoping to change that in 2016 – with a new goal that I’m hoping to achieve, more on that later! I think it’ll help if I get a new laptop for Christmas too… 😉
I wanted to recap the year, as it’s been a great one. Thanks to everyone that reads my posts, whether you see them posted on Facebook or receive them via email subscription (sign up on right side of screen if you want to get them via email too). It’s great getting responses and makes it feel like it’s worth posting here and there. 🙂
So, 2015 in review…
January
I turned 32, and B turned 2. We did a zoo themed party for the little guy, since he loves animals. It was great having friends and family over to celebrate our little guy becoming a toddler!
Excited to blow out his candle!
February
February was definitely a busy month. Josh and I started off the month by going to Los Angeles for the Grammy Awards (STILL can’t believe we got to do this)! It was a crazy weekend but totally worth it.
After that, my littlest niece (for now!) turned one! We had a great time celebrating PJ’s birthday.
My sweet little PJ!
And then to end the month, we got some snow, and had a blast playing in it. B absolutely loved sledding down the hill in our yard!
March
In March, my nephew turned two. Having he and B so close in age has been fun, especially as their personalities emerge. We were able to spend time with the family celebrating his day!
Enjoying his cake!
April
April is always a good month for us, as it’s the month Josh and I got married. This year, we celebrated our 6th anniversary, and are looking forward to lucky number seven next year.
We spent our wedding day celebrating my friend Stephanie’s wedding to her now husband Kieth. B was a ring bearer in her wedding, which was so much fun. I loved seeing him in a tux and being a small part of her big day!
Such a little stud!
With the beautiful bride
May
In May, while the weather was still tame, we went on a little family adventure at Zoo Atlanta. It was the first time I’d been in awhile, and it was B and Josh’s first time going. We enjoyed looking at all of the animals, and B’s favorite thing was riding the train (he’s obsessed!). I’m already looking forward to taking B again in the future!
At the zoo, at the zoo…
June
In June, our oldest niece turned six! We went to Lake Winnie for the day to ride rides and play at the water park.
The birthday girl
B & W riding rides
We also did a big family shoot with Ashlee Culverhouse Photography, as a present for my mom and dad. After multiple reschedules due to illness and crappy weather, we were excited to finally get together for the shoot! We also found out that my brother and sister-in-law were expecting another little one!
My side of the family!
July
July was a little busier, and it definitely had its ups and downs. Early in the month, me and the girls got together for a weekend at the pond, courtesy of MFP’s family. It was nice relaxing by the water, sipping on wine, and talking about anything and everything. It was a much needed weekend with my girls.
Perfection
On our way down to the pond, I heard that our family dog, Sable, passed away. It was somewhat unexpected, and definitely sad. Later that week, we said goodbye to Runner. It’s still not the same without him around.
Towards the end of the month, we had a cookout to celebrate Josh’s birthday. It was nice having friends and family over to hang out – since we don’t get to see everyone as much as we’d like.
Birthday cake for the birthday boy
Hanging out in the kiddie pool!
August
In August, Incubus came to town and we got tickets as my birthday present. I missed out on their last visit to Atlanta, so I wasn’t going to miss this one. This was my third time seeing them in concert, and they. were. amazing.
I didn’t particularly care for the bands before they went on, but it was worth it, even if I had to fly to Montreal the next morning at the crack of dawn for work. 😉 Such a great concert, and a great night out with the hubs!
So. Much. Fun.
Oh, Brandon…
Just love this photo for some reason
September
Our fall weekends are typically packed with Mercer football games, but this year, Kennesaw State launched their football program, so we checked out one of their games a weekend that Mercer was on the road. It was a lot of fun, and I’m *really* hoping that Mercer and KSU will play each other in the future. The basketball rivalry is so much fun, adding football would be the icing on the cake!
With the live KSU mascot before the game
B was so excited to have the attention of the band members!
September was also a big month for B, as we moved over to a big boy bed from his crib. The transition was a bit tough at first, and it only took until November to get him to go to sleep in his bed by himself and STAY in his bed all night, but it has been great since then!
So big!
And to top the month off, I celebrated my fifth year anniversary at work, AND a promotion. You’re now reading the blog of an Associate Account Director. I’m very excited about this new change and the learnings that will come from the new career move!
October
October seems to always be a busy month! Early in the month, I volunteered in a small capacity for 48 in 48, where people came together to develop 48 websites for 48 local non-profit organizations in 48 hours. It was fun, and I’m hoping to be more involved next year!
Hangin’ with Joe at registration!
Mercer’s Homecoming was a highlight of the month as well. This year marked 10 years since graduation, so there was a tailgate to celebrate. It was a blast being back on our beautiful campus with former classmates. I enjoyed catching up with everyone! Homecoming is *always* one of my favorite events in the year, I just love my alma mater and enjoy seeing the reactions of people who haven’t be on campus for awhile – it’s changed so much in the past ten years!
Hangin’ with my girls!
Catching up with some of my favorite professors
And once the craziness of Homecoming was over, we ended the month with Halloween. This was the first year that B really seemed to fully grasp the concept. For weeks after Halloween, he continued to say ‘Trick or Treat’ randomly. It was really fun to watch him knock on doors and ask for candy. I can imagine next year will be even more fun!
Thomas the Train
November
In November, we were able to celebrate the wedding of our friends Mike & Kristin. Josh was one of the groomsmen in their wedding at Wolf Mountain Vinyards & Winery in Dahlonega. It was a beautiful setting and a lot of fun for a weekend getaway without the kiddo.
My handsome groomsman
At the last Mercer football game of the season, Miss America (a Mercerian herself) sang the national anthem. She’s a spectacularly talented vocalist, and it was very cool hearing her sing before the game. We watched the pageant, so I knew she was impressive, but it was even better in person. I kept looking for the perfect opportunity to try and snag a pic with her, and we lucked out. B had no clue what was going on, but when he’s older, I’m sure he’ll find it somewhat cool that he got his picture taken with Miss America, Betty Cantrell!
Miss America!
And to wrap up the month, we hosted some of Josh’s family at our house for Thanksgiving. It was nice to have them at the house, and B really enjoyed having everyone’s attention all to himself!
Group shot at lunch
December
This month, B had surgery to put a third set of tubes in his ears (round 2 was in April), which he bounced back quickly from.
We celebrated Thanks/Christmas with the extended family on Josh’s side, which is always a big gathering! I’ve enjoyed watching the kiddos grow up over the years, and it’s great for B to spend time with all of his cousins.
And to wrap up this year, Mercer is coming up to Kennesaw State to play a friendly game of basketball. It’s always a blast, and it’s even more fun when Mercer beats KSU at home. 😉 GO BEARS!
This year has really been wonderful, and I’m so thankful for all the experiences I’ve had with my friends and family along the way.
What were your highlights of 2015? If you have a year in review post on a blog, please share – I’d love to read it!
I don’t know about you, but I’m always looking for quick and easy ideas for dinner.
B is a *picky* eater, so if I can find something he’ll happily eat, I try to keep it in the rotation.
I came across a post online about flat bread pizzas, and thought, why not?
At the grocery store, I picked up a package of Flat Out Artisan Thin Pizza Crust, to try out this new dinner option.
Since we each were going to have our own pizza, we each had different toppings. B had cheese (because he’s so picky, and he loves cheese). Josh had pepperoni and ham, with shredded mozzarella, and I opted for fresh mozzarella and mushrooms.
We’ve also done margherita, ham and pineapple, and just plain pepperoni.
I typically pop the flat bread into the oven for a few minutes at 350F with nothing on it, then add the sauce and toppings, and cook for another 10-13 minutes.
Once cooked, I just slice up the flat bread and we have our own yummy pizzas for dinner, that aren’t overly filling.
We’re all fans, and best of all it’s quick and easy!
And just so I have a few options in my back pocket, what are your favorite toppings for pizza? Do share!
Ten years ago (on Labor Day weekend), I made the drive to Columbus, GA to adopt my sweet, sweet Runner.
Adoption Weekend
A little less than two months ago, we made the heart breaking decision to put Runner to sleep. It’s taken me this long to process, and to even write about it. I wasn’t going to post about it, but that made me feel as if I was guilty of doing something wrong, and I’m not. [Before anyone gets judgmental, please note that I’ve judged myself and torn myself up about the decision leading up to, during, and after it. Also, I cried my eyes out writing this – so if you’re at work or wearing mascara, giving you an alert that you could cry too…]
When we first moved into our new house in 2012, Runner and Birdie seemed to LOVE having all of the extra space. They ran around, played, and Runner’s personality pre-Birdie seemed to come back. I was ecstatic.
A couple months in, we started finding urine stains in different places around the house. It was strange, we never had issues with this before we moved into our house, but we weren’t sure which one of the boys was doing it.
We later spotted Runner after marking a wall, and promptly took him to our old vet to get him checked out. He had a clean bill of health, but she noted that maybe it was brought on by me being pregnant and him realizing things were different. It was a plausible thought, but this started up before I got pregnant.
We tried pheromone diffusers to help him calm down, they didn’t work. We tried a different cat sand, didn’t work. We tried different medicines, they also didn’t work.
I blamed it on the house, as a former cat hoarder owned the house. The company that purchased the house completely ripped everything up (so they say), so it shouldn’t have been an issue, but it was.
Countless pieces of furniture were ruined, closet doors warped, floor boards warped, carpet stained.
We tried numerous urine cleaners with enzymes, black lights, etc. Nothing. Worked.
More vet visits (to our new vet, and my hometown vet), different drugs tried, and nothing helped. We’d have a few good days, but it’d always would go back to the bad.
I blamed Birdie. Surely he did something to knock Runner off kilter, perhaps attacked him while he was using the sandbox one day. Added more sand boxes to the house, we had four strategically placed ones so he could go in peace. *Sigh* It didn’t work.
Late last year, after trying everything I possibly could, I considered finding him another home.
And it broke. my. heart.
I promised to take care of him for the rest of his life, and here I was considering finding him a new place. I’ve always hurt for animals whose owners gave them away when they had kids or something else came up. By now, B was definitely mobile, and definitely loud. Runner has always hated noise. He used to hide when I pulled pans out to cook.
He couldn’t live with just anyone though, it had to be someone that I could trust to look after him, and not do anything drastic if it didn’t work out.
My parents stepped up to the plate.
Towards the end of 2014, Runner moved in with my parents.
That first weekend he peed on my dad’s pants laid out for church.
*gut punch*
And had a few more incidents over the course of the next few weeks. This wasn’t working out. I was hysterical. What on earth was happening???
My parents agreed to keep him until we got back from the Grammy’s in February, and at that point I felt like it was time to make the dreaded decision. I’d set an appointment with the vet, took the day off from work, and spent the night (up all hours) before the appointment researching anything and everything I could to find a different solution or option.
The vet indicated there was one other option we could try, but after that he didn’t have hope that anything else would work. The downside of the option, there was a 50/50 chance Runner could develop cancer. Great.
With the mindset of trying every available option, we moved forward with this hormonal medicine, and restricting him to a smaller area in the house (our guest bed room). I thought it was working at first, he was happy, it was a quiet area, and he didn’t have Birdie or B to bother him. Visits were friendly, lots of love given and received.
But the medicine didn’t work.
In addition to the medicine not working, every time I cleaned up a urine spot, or spent extended time with Runner, Birdie (who hadn’t seen Runner since before Christmas), would attack me. My legs if he noticed the smell before I crawled into bed, or worse, my head if he noticed it while I was sleeping. I lost track of the number of times I awoke to intense pressure from a rather hefty cat lunging at my head. Or the number of times I pulled the comforter over my head because I was scared of an impending attack.
Everyone in our house (with the exception of B) was anxious and stressed in their own way.
And it was my fault.
On July 17th, I took Runner in for another vet appointment. We’d been trying the hormones for five months, with no improvement.
Our vet looked at me with a sad face, and said if this option didn’t work, nothing else was going to.
And I lost it.
I knew what I had to do. Runner’s quality of life, living alone in our guestroom, wasn’t what he deserved, but we couldn’t let him have free reign of the house. Josh and I had some pretty tense moments over the past 3.5 years of dealing with this situation, and it wasn’t fair to him to have to live this way either.
That afternoon, I scheduled the last appointment of the day on July 18th, still in disbelief that this was happening. I spent the night in the guest room with Runner, loved on him, and let him keep me awake all night with his purring and pawing at my face.
I feel like it would have been so much easier to handle this if he would have truly been physically sick. I wouldn’t do anything drastic with a loved one if they had a mental illness, but that’s what I was doing with Runner.
That morning, we all said our good-byes. B fed Runner treats, and was excited that Runner actually let him pet him.
B and Runner
The second guessing continued.
I forced myself out of the house that morning, bawling my eyes out on the way to the vet. I called my Mom, so she could say good-bye to Runner as well. He meowed, and I’m fully convinced that he knew what was going on. And I felt awful.
We were ushered into the exam room that was already setup for the procedure, I couldn’t get any words out of my throat when the vet tech asked me a question. She promptly handed me a box of tissues.
I held on to my sweet boy the remainder of his precious life (and them some). It took me awhile to leave, as I attempted to convince myself that I, in fact, was not a failure. That there was nothing else I could have done. That this wasn’t my fault.
Our sweet vet told me that the number one reason felines are put to sleep is due to improper urination. He quickly followed up that I had literally done EVERYTHING I could have, and that I shouldn’t feel guilty about this decision. He stated the he knew that I would, and I do, but I’d hung in there longer than most anyone else would have.
As the days have passed, I’ve started feeling less guilty, but I still miss my sweet Run-Run, and I’m fairly certain that I always will.
He was my first furbaby. He was my companion during my single days. He’s the one that made me smile when I was sad. He was mine and Josh’s first shared responsibility once we were married. He watched over B as a baby.
And now, he’s watching over us.
RIP Runner, Feb 2005 – July 2015
On Friday, I was about to head out of town for girls weekend, and Josh asked me if I could get B down for a nap (he usually naps better for me). So we went into our bedroom (because he typically naps in our bed) and we were having some issues with the DVD player not working, which would impact B’s nap time. (We fall asleep watching Cars at nap time – yes, I said ‘we’ – I still “sleep when the baby sleeps” if at all possible!)
Something happened with the TV and/or DVD player, and I said “Oh, crap.”
Like a parrot, B repeated, “Oh, crap.” CRAP!
I tried telling him that I said “Oh snap”, but he wasn’t buying it. I decided to drop it, rather than reinforce that I didn’t particularly care for him to say that phrase.
On Sunday, we were cruising the produce section at the grocery store and I was checking out the heads of broccoli (which looked super sad, by the way). When I leaned over, my cell phone fell in between the edge of the fridge and the baskets holding the broccoli.
B blurts out (unprompted, as I didn’t react at all), you guessed it, “Oh, crap.” Awesome.
I looked around to see if there were any people silently judging me, but I think I was in the clear.
Fast forward to this morning…
Josh was loading B up in the car this morning, and B dropped his toy car.
“Oh, crap.”
*hangs head*
Josh of course texted me after the exchange took place.
Looks like B officially has a new phrase, but I still stand by the fact that it could be a LOT worse.
Crap.
Nap time with Daddy results in falling asleep on his chair…
Ah…bedtime. It’s one of my favorite (and sometimes least favorite) parts of the day.
After we get B into his pajamas, there’s a normal “I wanna pay [play]” battle before I corral him into my lap to read a few books before bed.
Over time, the books change, and sometimes he insists on getting a different book from one of his bookshelves, to include in the evening story time. I usually cave and let him get a new book. I just love that he enjoys being read to, and I love it even more when he says that he wants to read it.
I feel like our bedtime process takes forever, so I try to limit it to 4 or 5 books, with one of them being somewhat long, and the others being short. Sometimes he chills out, and sometimes, he’s just wants to keep talking and playing. 🙂
Our current favorites for bedtime are:
I’m a Monster Truck (Little Golden Book)
B has this one monster truck toy that Gran gave him awhile back, and he loves to play with it. When we went into Barnes & Noble a month or two ago to use a gift card he’d received from Uncle Brian and Aunt Stephie, he saw the book and wanted to get it. So we did.
It’s short and sweet. We read it first, because he likes to make the loud monster truck noises/engines revving. If we read it first, he’s a little more likely to calm down by the time we’re finished with the other books.
This book has come in and out of the bedtime rotation over the past year. Sometimes he loves it, sometimes he’s not interested. Lately, every time he sees the cover he starts to sing “Baa Baa Black Sheep” – cracks me up every time.
He used to be really into touching the different animals, but now we focus on counting all of the different items on the page. Working on getting him to remember 4, 5, and 6 – as he loves to jump straight to 7 after 3. 🙂
Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site
I’m amazed and how much B likes construction vehicles. I think it’s mostly from this book. He can tell you which one is the dump truck and which one is the es-ka-vator when you ask. It’s a cute book with an easy to memorize rhyme. I’ve read this thing SO many times, if I hear Josh reading it to him from another room, I can tell you what line comes next. I might even be able to read it with my eyes shut…
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (Kate Toms Series)
And last but not least, we finish up bedtime with a twist of an old favorite. When B was in his last class at school, they had this book and his teachers told me it was his FAVORITE. So I went home, found it on Amazon, and bought it for home. I’m pretty sure we’ve read it every night before bed since. And where I question if I could recite the above book, I know for a fact that I can with this one, and do it often after we’ve turned off the lights. I used to read the book, but then one night B turned around and looked at me and said, “Sing, Mama!” and from that point on it’s his request that I sing instead of read. I’ll take advantage of him not realize I can’t carry a tune in a bucket and will sing to bring a smile to his face.
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Again, these are just B’s current favorites. I spent some time making a list of all the books in his library, many of which have been bedtime books at one point or another. There are very few books on that list that we don’t love, and they’re all linked to Amazon* if you want to check them out for yourselves.
What do you read for bedtime? Any books that you’d highly recommend? I love adding to his collection, so please share your favorites!
*Note: WishIWereThereNow.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Tomorrow (the 18th), Josh and I will celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary. Sixth. I know in the grand scheme of things, six years isn’t all that long, but it feels like it (in a good way).
Directly after our wedding ceremony, April 18, 2009
We’ve experienced a lot together, grown up together, and already act like an old married couple (we’ve been doing that for awhile). I love this guy, and since I haven’t blogged in awhile, I figured I’d provide six reasons why I love him (though there are many more) for the six years we’ve been together.
Here goes…
6. He cuts the plastic loops that hold six or eight packs together.
This may not seem like a huge thing to many, but it shows to me that he cares about the environment and the animals that can be impacted by getting caught in them. The fact that he’ll cut them to prevent something like that speaks to my heart and shows how considerate he is.
5. He takes care of our house (inside and out).
I warned him when we got together, I didn’t do yard work, and I reminded him when we bought a house. He likes the yard work, so I don’t feel guilty about that. 😉 Inside though, he’s constantly cleaning, vacuuming, doing laundry, or doing dishes. He does a lot around the house, and I probably take that for granted most days. I do appreciate the effort in all that he does. Our house doesn’t always look like a toddler lives in it due to this guy. 🙂
4. He tries to fix my problems…
…even if I’m just venting/complaining. He doesn’t like seeing me upset or in a negative mood, so he offers up options and solutions to try and get me past that hump in the road. While I don’t always appreciate it at the time (because I really just want to be angry and vent), I do appreciate that he cares enough to try to find a way to make me happier.
3. He’ll jump in puddles with B
Last week we had some rain and the way our driveway currently is, water will pool in a certain section, leaving a perfect puddle for jumping. B always seems excited that we’ll let him jump in it, but in all honesty, his reactions make it totally worth it. B decided he wanted his Daddy to jump with him, so he called him over, and they went at it. One of my favorite moments from 2015. They both got dirty, but they both had fun.
2. He works hard.
Josh busts his butt at work to provide for our family. His job seems to be non-stop, because social media never stops. He handles work things throughout the day, and most of the time takes time to humor me and my random IMs and link shares. 😉 Josh’s job has provided us some great stories, and I know he loves what he does. Seeing him work hard and enjoy what he’s doing makes me happy. I’m so proud of him, and love bragging on him any chance I get.
1. He loves me for me.
Even though I can be a giant pain in the butt sometimes, at the end of the day, I know he still loves me. He makes jokes to try and get my carefree side to come out when it needs to, though I don’t always let it. If I ask really nicely, he’ll rub my feet for me (he hates feet). If I’m stressed, he’ll rub the knot out of my shoulder. And if I want to eat somewhere he really doesn’t care to, he generally agrees to just to make me happy. When I’m mean, snarky, or just downright irritable, he still will give me a hug or kiss at the end of the day, and we move forward to make it better the next day. And I love that. And him.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from our six years of marriage, it’s that I absolutely made the right decision when I said yes to his proposal.
I love you Josh, and I can’t wait to see how our life grows and changes together in the future.
Happy (day early) anniversary!
Oh my, can I just say that we had a BEAUTIFUL weekend? After weeks of cold and wet weather, hitting the upper-sixties with bright blue skies was amazing! And knowing that it snowed on Friday morning makes the weather jump even crazier. I guess that’s Georgia weather for you!
It’s going to rain pretty much all this week though, so I’m going to keep what a great weekend we had in mind, and just get through the blah.
On Saturday, Josh finished installing B’s new bookshelf. In the past two years, B has accumulated a large number of books and they were spilling out from the IKEA shelves we initially installed. We had to do something, and fast. We’d had our eye on some bookshelves at Pottery Barn Kids (originally the 4-shelf, followed by the 3-shelf), but put off buying them for some reason. Josh, ever tired of clutter, went ahead and bought the Madison 3-shelf Bookrack and it came in last week.
B helped put it together, so adorably cute.
Let’s put this together!
Then Josh anchored it to the wall in B’s bedroom.
Our little reader
We quickly, and easily filled the shelf up…and still have more books on the old IKEA shelves. 🙂
B went to a birthday party, which was a lot of fun. He enjoyed running around after the older kids, and he was definitely worn out. After he crashed for the day, I got to cheer on my Mercer Bears vs. VMI in the SoCon Quarterfinals.
Sunday, we were supposed to have our big family photo shoot with Ashlee Culverhouse, but due to illness of a family member, we had to reschedule. So we did what made sense to us, got ready and went to Waffle House. Love a Sunday morning at WaHo!
Waffle. Yummy.
Once home, we hung out and played around the house. And then we tackled our newest photo project.
Since B has had an Instagram account since Day 1, with a photo for every day of his life, we have a lot of photos of him. 🙂 Josh discovered Foxgram one day, and we’ve been big fans of the site since. Most recently, Josh ordered 100 4×4 prints from B’s account and had them shipped to our house.
They sat around until I went searching on Amazon for 4×4 pictures frames, and luckily, I came across the perfect one: Umbra Gridart 16-Opening Picture Frame. Since we had 100 printed photos, I ordered three frames.
I laid out the pictures as to how I wanted them in the grids, and used the background that came with the pictures as a template for where to place the photos. Yay for double-sided tape and an iPad to keep B entertained while I placed the photos for all three frames.
Making progress…
Josh and I were really happy with how they turned out.
Finished!
Josh hung them in the hallway for me, and now we have a few more things on our walls, so they don’t look so bare. 🙂
On the wall
A nap soon followed, then helping Josh with yard work outside, and spending more time hanging out, enjoying the rest of what was left of this beautiful two days together.
Yay for yard work!
Here’s to wonderful spring weather being here full time, and giving us time to enjoy it before the heat of summer sweeps in!
What’d you do this weekend? How’s the weather where you are? And who is ready for next weekend to be here already? 😉
Georgia is hit or miss when it comes to winter every year. Yes, we get the cold temps, but we don’t always get snow.
Last year, we got (what we) consider a lot of snow. Let me preface, I realize to other parts of the States, what we call a lot, isn’t really a lot. I get it. We also don’t have the equipment to handle really large amounts of snow since we never get a ton, so when it accumulates, it’s a big deal. This year we got some snow…but not nearly as much as last year.
This week, B and I stayed home on Tuesday with the threat of potential snow/ice, only to get a little snow. The roads where we live were fine. Then Wednesday, there was a threat of even more snow and definite icy roads. With that threat, schools and day care centers closed, so we stayed home on Wednesday.
It started snowing around 2 pm, just light flurries, and then it started coming down heavy. Of course, B was asleep during this first snow fall, so I hoped it’d start up again.
Thankfully it did!
We went outside when the snow started falling, and while we were hanging out in the driveway, it started coming down heavier. We were all giddy with excitement.
I sent Josh back inside to get the sled his mom gave B for Christmas, so we could go down the hills in our yard. Best time ever!
We alternated taking B down the hill on the sled, over and over again. He LOVED it.
Compared to how he responded to the snow last year…it was a huge improvement!
Uncertain about the snow in 2014
After sharing the sled with us for awhile, B decided he wanted to go at it alone. As I was sitting on the sled trying to get him to join me, he looked at me, pointed at the sled and said “Get up, Mama!” He’s so independent sometimes…I haven’t the slightest clue where he gets that from. 😉
So we let him sled by himself.
And he had a ball!
Josh started throwing snowballs at our fence, and B decided he wanted in on that action as well.
At first he threw a couple on his own, but then he realized even if he didn’t have snowballs in his hand, if he acted like he was throwing them, something would still hit the fence. I don’t think he realized Josh was behind him tossing snowballs at the fence when he moved his arm, and it was hilarious.
I seriously have at least two minutes of footage, because it was just so funny. And the kid’s laugh. Ah, it melts my heart.
All in all, our snow days were fun. That’s not to say I wasn’t glad that day care was open again on Thursday… 🙂
Here’s to looking forward to our next snow day…hopefully next year. This Mama is ready for Spring to arrive!
What’s your favorite thing to do in the snow? Did you get stuck at home any this winter? Are you ready for Spring? Tell me your thoughts in the comments!
