Cooking Light Week

So this week I’m going to make all my dinners from recipes in Cooking Light magazine. I flipped through a few of these magazines when we visited Evan’s parents in Tyler, and the recipes looked good and apparently they’re healthy-so what the hey!

This week is SXSW in Austin, and the lovely Brad Wilcox is coming to hang out and enjoy some of the festivities, which may mean we skip some of these meals until next week.

MONDAY: Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes and Cheese

TUESDAY: Ceviche Style Shrimp and Avocado Tacos

WEDNESDAY: Dinner with Papa Prothro

THURSDAY: Chicken Peanut Chow Mein

FRIDAY: Evan leaves for Henderson, meaning I will likely eat a can of black beans for dinner and every other meal of the weekend. That, chick-fil-a, string cheese and peanut butter-the staples of my solo life.

Wow, so after actually looking at this week-not much on the cooking. Maybe I’ll do a Cooking Light double week experiment to make it fair.

I am so lame.

The Art of Staying In

Movie + Cheese + Cured Meats + Olives + Fresh Bread + Olive Oil with Spices + Wine  + 2 glasses = The Art of Staying In

Evan and I have been working to master the art.

There are two amazing cheeses that have been helping us on our quest of mastery.

Huboldt Fog.

Moody Blue.

We had to share, because seriously, BEST CHEESES OF MY LIFE.

Happy weekend!

RopeSwing.

In Magnolia, we had a great time watching the boys work to master the rope swing. Or in the case of Wet Whitney, being mastered by the rope swing.

After reviewing the pictures, I’m pretty sure the issue was that Wes decided to tackle the rope swing with ten pound boots swinging with him.

That is bound to throw off your stability.

But it’s also pretty awesome.

We love you Wet Whitney.

LukeKong

SuperBen

Evanator

Tarzan

Wet Whitney

Boot Momentum

Boots Take Over

Splash.

Boom.

Cold

Again.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Oh, Wesley.

Last night I had a bad dream.

No monsters. No falling. No killer clowns. No showing up to a school presentation in my underwear.

Last night I dreamed of my life without Evan. I dreamed I was single, being set up on dates and wishing to be with Evan with no hope of that being reality.

I hated that dream. I hated feeling disconnected from my greatest earthly blessing, from my other half.

It was just all wrong.

I woke up eager to snap back to reality, but the emotions of my dream induced separation were lingering.

There was my sweet husband lying beside me, but I still felt the sting of being without him. The numb pain of losing the joy he brings to my life.

So, bright and early this morning I woke him up, told him about my nightmare, made him reassure me that we were still married and that we would be married as long as I lived.

He made a joke about him dying first. I told him that wasn’t an option. Also, not very funny.

His reassurance didn’t shake the dreamy feelings that still clung to my heart. So I clung to him instead, hoping to hold him so tightly that those feelings were pushed aside.

It only kind of worked.

I told him I loved him over and over again and then headed out the door to meet my CORE girls for breakfast and board games at Rudy’s before school started.

I’m writing this to help me always remember how lucky I am.

My husband makes the thought of singleness a nightmare.

He’s that good.

DNow

This weekend was our church’s DNow. Words cannot describe how well this weekend went and how much God moved in the lives of our students. Well, maybe words could describe it.

It would just take a whole LOT of words.

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen such growth, brokenness and victory in such a short weekend. I was blessed to sit back and watch.

The theme of the weekend was Fame, specifically whose fame we’re seeking-God’s or our own.

On the first night, I got to take some pictures of students on the red carpet, arriving for DNow.

Man, I love our students.

Birthday Parties

Whether you’re young or old, birthday parties pretty much stay the same. It’s a very basic formula.

There’s food and party favors. Maybe a few decorations.

A few activities or games for the attendees to enjoy.

Last weekend, we got to celebrate the birth of Mr. Chris Hill with a few friends and looking back through a few pictures, I was struck by the dynamics of birthday parties in the younger vs. older crowds.

Younger Birthday=Pizza!

Older Birthday=Beef bourguignon or grilled meat!

Younger Birthday=Cake!

Older Birthday=Coconut Cream Pie!

Younger Birthday=Party favor bag

Older Birthday=Sharing nice drinks

I like older birthdays, but alas that is because I’m older. And I embrace that, because that means I get to drink wine and eat great food-and I like that.

So here’s to big kid birthday parties!

The Party Favor Table

This may look like a younger birthday activity, but you're wrong. More on this to come.

Fashion.

Fashion is one thing as to which I am utterly oblivious. (I really had to work to not end that sentence in a preposition.)

Case in point. I know more about grammar than fashion.

Jeans, flip flops and a soft v-neck t-shirt. That is my general 24/7 outfit.

Well, luckily I have fashionable friends like the lovely Kristin Kusiak. I was tickled pink to see that today she designed an outfit just for me on her blog! I told her that I needed more help than the famous people for which she’d been designing outfits. (Another preposition save there.) And she ever so kindly obliged/humored me by creating a fun trendy outfit for me.

Anyways, you should see my awesome new outfit on Kristin’s blog.

Meal Planning Monday

This week is going to be quite a bit different for us in a fun/busy way.

MONDAY: Going to Louie’s 106 with the Rocks for Austin Restaurant Week (Click Here to see the Awesome Menu)

TUESDAY: Seared Scallops with Tomato Beurre Blanc (because lately I am obsessed with scallops!)

WEDNESDAY: Pizza (while I’m at CORE)

THURSDAY: Beef Stir Fry with Snow Peas, Carrots and Mushrooms Served over Jasmine Rice

FRIDAY: DNOW @ church

SATURDAY: DNOW @ church

SUNDAY LUNCH: P.Terry’s at DNOW yumm…

SUNDAY DINNER: Chicken Picatta and Roasted New Potatoes