Tuesday, February 28, 2017

My Little Mermaid turns Three

I've been meaning to write a post about Littlecjc's third birthday party since it took place back in September, but I never seem to get to it.  So, I'm thankful for this week's prompt from Andrea for our Show and Tell Tuesday to talk about a kid's party.  (Due to a very unfortunate event in her personal life, there is no linkup this week.)   Once the decision was made that the theme would be The Little Mermaid, the fun began.  As always, my mom was a huge help, especially with the decorations.

The previous owners of our home built a treehouse in the back yard.  Structurally, I wasn't worried, but one of the steps leading up to it is missing.  Even though it is a big step, Littlecjc could still climb up and I was pretty sure she would be the littlest kid at the party.  I knew I didn't want the kids climbing up, and my mother suggested that instead of trying to draw the kids' attention away from the structure, maybe we should draw their attention to the underside of it.  We turned the treehouse into Charlie's Grotto.  (Oops, I guess the secrets out on my Littlecjc's name!)  Oh well, here's how we accomplished keeping all the kids off the treehouse.


We wrapped a plastic tablecloth around the top of the treehouse, and covered the stairs with fish and beaded necklaces.


We hung a hammock underneath and filled it with blue colored balloons so that you got the feeling of being under the sea.  We  added the streamers and the fish shower curtain, and even put a few fish on the tree.


We made the sign to hang with Sebastian and Flounder to help hide that treehouse railings were really just covered with plastic.


We couldn't find a true candelabra to place our dinglhopper, knife, and spoon in, but we did find an iron chandelier that we hung from the ceiling to that affect. An added other knick-knacks that seemed like items Ariel might have collected.

The kids loved this little play area and spent a majority of the party here.  Until we pulled the ballons out and let them play with those.


We also got a bubble machine that was running off and on during the party that the kids got to play with as well as a ton of bubble wands so that each kid got plenty of bubbles.


My mom also had the perfect little table for gifts to sit on, thanks to an old college art project of one of my cousins.  She also had the cutest little truck that we sat in the middle of the fish, gift table with little goody bags for the other kids to take home.


I also have to point out the adorable Flounder gift wrapping job on my mom's gift.  Is that not the cutest thing?

Now as always, what's a party without themed food?  I guess I should start with our beverage set-up.


We had sea water, which if I remember correctly was water with some squirts from one of those water flavor enhancer add-ins to give it the color.  The other container was Ursula ink, or what is more commonly referred to as tea.  The different coolers around this table contained ice, juice pouches, water, and some adult beverages.

Now, onto the food...



My crockpots had shells and cheese and sea urchins (aka meatballs.)  The cheese dish was king shells, which was an amazing veggie and cheese stuffed jumbo shell.  The empty dish was eventually filled with sea snails, or mini hot dogs wrapped in a crescent roll.  The Sebastian sandwiches were just chicken salad with eyes attached.  I was grateful for help, so I didn't say anything, but yes I know the eyes should really be facing the other way if I was going for a crab shape.


The other side of the table contained some fruit, seaweed dip (spinach dip) and fish and chips made with goldfish.


Here's a closer look at our shark watermelon and banana dolphins.


And here's our octopus vegetable platter. 


Oh look, you can kind of see my sea snails now.

When preparing food for a party in my family, you can't just stop here, you also need a dessert table.  That's right, not just a cake but an entire table of goodies.


I made several little chocolates shaped like different shells, that I used both as a border around the cake and toppers on my chocolate covered oreos.  I had some extra so I also just left a bowl with those sells in it.  Here's my oreos.

,

I made some dinglehopper cake pops using these cute miniature forks that I found at the dollar store.


The cake was far from perfect, but I was proud of it since the only other decorative cake I've ever made was for Littlecjc's first birthday party.  (Feel free to check that out too, if you missed it.  It was Frozen themed.)  Anyway, here's my Ariel inspired cake.


My mom also made these amazing Flounder cookies!



I can't believe my little mermaid is three already?  Where does the time go?  Of course, since I've taken so long to write this post, she already halfway through this third year.  Jeez, that's crazy.


Oh, I also had a special birthday shirt made for her.  Since you can't really see in this picture, it's Ariel (or I guess it could be any mermaid) sitting on a shell with the number 3 on the inside.  Super cute!

I guess it won't be long before I'll need to start planning for next year.  Feel free to leave me some ideas!  









Monday, February 27, 2017

Hello Monday

Weekend Recap

Last week was a little strange in our house since Littlecjc has been fighting off the cold bug.  One moment she would seem completely fine and then the next she would be so pitiful.  Most mornings she has been waking up seeming totally fine and then late afternoon/early evening it's like her body is done and she crashes.  So, Saturday, we decided to try to get out and we went to a local mini-golf and game place.  We used to do this a lot more when she was younger, but the last time we played was  back in November when we were in Florida.  She was really into getting her grip and club all lined up and swinging at the ball.  It was so cute, since this was the first time she's tried to truly play instead of just sweeping the ball with her putter.  And then, we got to hole four, where she decided she'd rather just run around.



When we finished our golf round, Patrick tried to get her to play some of the games.  She eagerly rode the mini carousel-like ride once and then she was ready to leave.


 Even though she had acted like she felt fine while we were there, I guess her body was working overtime, because she fell asleep on the way home and spent a majority of the rest of the day sleeping.

On Sunday, we did make it to church, and again she fell asleep on the way home.  I took it as a good sign though that she only slept about an hour.  We took it easy until we went to my brother's house for our Disney-themed dinner which they graciously hosted this week.  As always though, you'll have to tune back in on Thursday to get those details.  I will say that it is always nice visiting with family and this evening was no exception.  Littlecjc did crash in my lap while we were there, which is unlike her to miss any opportunity to play so still fighting the cold.

Hello Monday
Here's your peak this week!


We're watching Robin Hood this week!  It's also time for that other consignment sale that I mentioned two weeks ago.  So again, I'm volunteering this evening and then going back to shop on Wednesday.  Otherwise, this week is just like every other week.

Hello Honesty
Before getting into my next announcement, I need to take a moment to be truly honest with you.  Patrick and I never thought that Littlecjc would be our only kid.  We had tried for exactly a year when we got pregnant with Littlecjc, so we didn't think it would happen immediately, but she is now almost 3.5 and she's still by herself.  Some months it's no big deal, but then others tend to really hit me hard.  This past month was one of those hard months.  We haven't seen a specialist and other than simply discussing it with my doctor, we haven't taken any further steps to change this.  So, why am I sharing this now?  Well, I've come to the realization that I've been allowing the thought that I would be/could be pregnant dictate some aspects of my life, and I think it's time to change that.  Only God knows what he has planned for my future, and I am trying to embrace this.  No, I'm not giving up hope, but I'm not going to let the hope of being pregnant stop me from doing other things either. 

As you know, I've been working on getting back in shape, and I really am starting to notice the difference.  I'm feeling better all around and it's energizing me to keep going.

Hello Decisions
I did a lot of research this weekend on two different topics and now I need to make up my mind on whether or not I want to do either.  First, I've been intrigued by reviews of the whole30 food program for a little while now.  This weekend, I was able to get my hands on the book and I was able to read it from cover to cover.  I'm still interested, but it is a large commitment when it comes to planning, prep, and actual cooking.  I'm not sure if it's good or bad, but this is what I'm most hesitant about, instead of all the sugar, dairy, and wheat I would be giving up.  If I'm going to do this before our Disney trip, I need to start by next Friday.  So, I really need to decide this week.

The second decision I've been debating is whether I should try to conquer the RunDisney marathon.  Now, let me start by saying that I do not now or have never considered myself a runner.  However, the idea of competing in a marathon always intrigues me.  Obviously, if you're going to run a marathon, what better place to do so than at Disney.  If that doesn't motivate me, I'm not sure anything would.  I've thought of this from time to time over the past 3 years, but I would always say, well what if I get pregnant?  Well, now I'm seeing that as an excuse, and trying to figure out if running a marathon is something I really want to do.  Registration is already open for the 2018 marathon taking place next January and I know it's always said that RunDisney events sell out fast, so if I seriously want to do this, I need to commit soon.  And of course, I need to start training, because like I said, I'm not a runner and I would have a long road of training ahead of me.

Hello New Reads
As I mentioned above, I ended up reading Whole30 this weekend.  Which as much as I enjoyed this read, it meant that I didn't hardly touch Dragonfly in Amber since most of my reading of an actual book takes place during the weekend.  I did however, finish The Keeper of Lost Causes, which I listened to this past week.  I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would when I first started it.  Since this wasn't exactly a happy book and I really want to finish Dragonfly this week, I chose to pick what I'm planning to be a real easy book to listen to this week, Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls and everything in between by Lauren Graham.  I have loved her since watching Gilmore Girls the first time it was on air.  I'm excited to listen to this book, since she is the one to actually read it.

Hello TV
Well, I still haven't started any new shows that I'm personally watching, even though I don't feel like I've gotten anything more than usual done around the house like one would hope.  But, Patrick did notice that a new season of Girl Meets World dropped on netflix, so we did start watching some of those the other night.  I'm guessing we'll finish the rest of those this week, and we'll just have to wait and see if we start anything else.

Hello Menu Plans
Last week, we were much better at following our meal plan.  The only day we didn't follow was Tuesday, where we had salad topped with chicken instead of tilapia which I consider an equivalent trade and in all a success.  Of course, if you remember, I didn't plan anything on Friday since we hadn't been home the past several Fridays, and wouldn't you know, we were home on Friday and I could come up with was a frozen pizza from the freezer.  Not the best, but still probably better than eating out.  Last week, one of my new meals was the mini meatloaf pepper rings.  I think this is worth a repeat, it turned out pretty tasty.

 So what's on the plan this week?

Monday: leftovers from the bumblebee stew I fixed on Saturday
Tuesday: Tilapia with broccoli
Wednesday: crockpot chicken teriyaki with rice
Thursday: salad  or leftovers
Friday: one pan sausage and veggies*

*my new recipe for the week

Now Bring It On
I think that's it for today.  Let me know if you have any experience with Whole30 or RunDisney and what your thoughts are.  Also, feel free to hit me up with your binge-worthy show suggestions.

Thursday, February 23, 2017

Frozen

Let me start by saying that it is a really good thing that I'm flexible.  I originally planned Frozen this week thinking I better be sure to get this one in early so that it's at least cold, since there is absolutely no way to plan for snow.  Ha, we are currently having record high temps this February, so definitely no snow.  I was also planning on just making some sandwiches ("we finish each other's sandwiches") and then melting some chocolate that we could dip some fruit and marshmallows in (since some friends are worth melting for.)  However, Patrick had other ideas.  As we were driving home from church Sunday morning, he asked what was for dinner.  Since I was planning sandwiches for our Frozen viewing I figured we would do that for lunch, so my response to Patrick was "I don't know, what would you like?"  His face visibly fell as he said "oh, you mean you don't have a nice Norwegian meal planned like from Akershus?"  LOL I think my husband just confirmed my belief that Akershus may just be his favorite Disney restaurant.  Needless to say, by the time we made it home I had a new meal planned.  After a trip to the grocery store and a few calls to family, we had a nice Norwegian-themed family dinner.
Shortly before our family arrived, we started Frozen for Littlecjc to watch since we figured she would rather play when our family showed up anyway.  I'm not sure how much she saw before and after they arrived, but let's be honest, it's not like she hasn't seen that one a million times before.  In fact, her first birthday was Frozen themed. (You can read about that here)

Thanks to pinterest, I found this recipe here for authentic Norwegian meatball / kjøttkaker.  This post thankfully planned my entire meal.  She stated that the meatball should be covered with brown gravy and served with boiled potatoes and steamed vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots.  So, this is exactly what I did.  It was still a pretty simple meal to make, but it always seems crazy when you have company over while you're cooking and you want to rush around so that you're done faster.  My mom's pretty awesome at helping here.  I feel a little bad, since the last two times I've had her over for dinner I've put her to work, but it's nice to get that one on one time with her (even though I'm an adult) since usually Littlecjc gets all her attention these days.  The meal was a success, and everyone loved the meatballs.  Even though they were all like "so we're eating Norwegian food tonight, huh?" when they agreed to come or arrived, I knew that it would be okay.  Since my family is of a German background, I didn't think it was too far of a stretch.  I can actually see us making this meal again on any regular night.  Here's a picture for your drooling pleasure.



For dessert, I found this recipe for Norwegian almond cake.  I didn't have either of the pans suggested, but I attempted it in a loaf pan.  I also didn't realize that I didn't have almond extract when I was at the store, so I'm not sure how authentic our cake was since I used vanilla instead of almond.  My glaze also did not turn out as a glaze looking anything like the picture, but even with all that, the cake was tasty.  Unfortunately, we ate it all up before remembering to get a picture.

When we finished with dinner, we actually ended up watching Trolls, instead of Frozen.  We gave Littlecjc this movie for Valentine's Day and she was so excited to share it with everyone.  Over Christmas break, my mom had actually taken her to see this movie and she loved it.  She's been talking about it ever since and even a few weeks ago she made the statement that Guy Diamond shot sparkles out of his butt.  Since I hadn't seen the movie yet, I called my mom to ask her and she said she didn't remember that part.  If you haven't seen it yet, let me tell you that my mom was wrong and Littlecjc was right.  She was so proud of herself showing everyone.  After the movie, she even made up her own game of "hug time" where everyone had to take turns calling out hug time as everyone else walked away.  Upon hearing "hug time" everyone had to run back to the caller and give them a hug.  Not super exciting if you're not three or grandma, but she had a blast.

During the movie, we also did a blind taste test of some chocolate.  My brother and sister-in-law had picked up this chocolate while in Spain and loved it.

They recently found this locally for our comparison.

Even though it was a blind taste test, everyone knew which sample came from Spain and which did not.  Although the bars were similar, the chocolate on the outside was so different.  The one from Spain was so creamy in comparison.  It really did melt in your mouth.

We had a great evening of good food shared with great family.  I really wish I had taken more pictures, but after finishing dinner, I just soaked up the family time instead.


Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Wordless Wednesday: The Princess and the Frog

"Dig a Little Deeper" - Mama Odie


Today, Deb from Focused on the Magic shared her celebration of being cancer free!  What a cause for celebration!  So with the theme of celebration in mind, I found this picture of a human totem pole my friends made near the totem poles in the Canada pavilion at Epcot.  The gal on top is my absolute best friend and this day was a celebration for her upcoming marriage.  We called it a bachelorette party, but it was so much more.  It was a celebration of diversity, friends, and love for my friend.  If you're interested in reading more about our day and why they made this totem pole, you should check out the details in this past post.

What Disney celebrations have you had? Join the link up and the fun!

Focused on the Magic

Monday, February 20, 2017

Hello Monday

Weekend Recap
Friday night, Patrick and Littlecjc went to their daddy/daughter dance that I mentioned last week.


She seemed to have a great time.  Patrick, on the other hand, was a little less enthused when they got home.  He said that she wouldn't dance with him, other than to run around him.  I think it was great for both of them.

Saturday was pretty laid back, but Sunday we ended up hosting an impromptu family dinner.  Since it was our Disney Dinner night, though, you'll have to check back on Thursday for those details.

Hello Monday
Here's your peek at this week, before the ink.

Image may contain: 1 person

Surprise, it's The Princess and the Frog this week in honor of Mardi Gras.

Hello Fastpasses
We're getting closer to our Disney trip! This week, we get to select our fastpasses! Littlecjc is so close to the 40 inches marker that would allow her to ride even more big kid rides.  I don't know if she will be tall enough or if she will even want to ride all those rides, but this fact definitely changes my thoughts for our fastpasses.  Keep an eye out for a more detailed post about this!

Hello Spring Weather
We are currently having some crazy warm weather for this time of year this week and I'm already loving it.  We reconnected with some of our Hike it Baby friends already this morning, and I'm looking forward to more great walks this week.

Hello New Books
Although I'm still working on Dragonfly in Amber, I did finally finish the Wolves of Mercy Falls series.  If I was unsure about the first three books in the series, there was no question about my thoughts on the final book.  Let's just say that it's a good thing that the final book wasn't the first book.  I did not really care for it at all.  I think the main problem is that the main character/narrator was the new character introduced in book 3 and the previous main characters weren't even in the final book.  And it didn't really have anything to do with any of the previous issues the characters faced in the first three books.  Anyway, this week I'm listening to The Keeper of Lost Causes by .  This book is fulfilling one of the more random categories, a book written or set in Scandinavia.  This is a detective mystery book which is not my typical read, but so far it's been an easy, enjoyable read.

Hello Binge List
I just finished season one of Outlander, but don't want to start season two until I finish Dragonfly in Amber.  I also binged last week on Santa Clarita Diet, finishing the 10 episodes released.  So, I'm either going to have to start something new that's still undecided or else I'm going to get more done this week.  We will see.  If you have binge-worthy suggestions, feel free to leave those in a comment.

Hello Menu
Last week was not so great in the food department.  However, after procrastinating almost two full weeks, I've finally made it to the grocery store and I'm going to get back on track this week.

Monday - leftovers from last night's family dinner
Tuesday - Tilapia
Wednesday - Mini meatloaf peppers *new recipie
Thursday - Basalmic chicken & veggies *new recipie
Friday - let's be honest, I'm not planning anything since I haven't cooked the last 5 Fridays anyway

I plan on working on my meal plans for next month this week, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to leave a comment.

I think that's it for today.  Have a great week!

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Wordless Wednesday: Frozen

"Let it go" -Elsa

The theme this week over on Focused on the Magic is love, so here's a few more love-ly photos for you to enjoy!





Click the button below to join the fun.


Focused on the Magic

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Show and Tell: My Loves

Happy Valentine's Day!  It's Show and Tell Tuesday over at Momfessionals and what a better way to celebrate that to reintroduce everyone to our loves.

Patrick

Patrick and I met while at college.  We started dating at the beginning of our sophomore year.


Our first spring break together, I took Patrick to Disney World with my mom and brother to watch my little brother compete in a cheer competition.


We stayed together all through the fun days of college.  We went to a small private university, that was local for me and only 2 hrs from home for Patrick.  We both were involved in greek life, which is how we met and got together.  Patrick's fraternity had a house on campus, but non of the sororities did.  I said I was local, but it still took me about 30 minutes to get to campus from my parent's house, so after a while, I found myself spending more and more time at the fraternity.  Almost all of our best friends, even to today, all came from that house.  

Since I went to school for two different degrees, I was there for an extra year, but when Patrick graduated he got a job in town and we stayed together.  During my last spring break, we went back to Disney World and Patrick proposed on the beach at the Polynesian.


We were married on July 10, 2010.


And you guessed it, we went back to Disney World for our honeymoon..


Even though we don't usually make a big deal about Valentine's Day, I hope for many, many more with him.

Littlecjc

Nearly three years later, we were blessed with our little girl.


She adds so much love and joy to our family.


She's our little wild one for sure.   



I can't believe that she is already 3.  I don't know where the time has gone, but it has been amazing.  I love being her mom and I am so thankful that everyday is truly an adventure with her. 


Please join the fun, and share who you're loving this Valentine's Day!


Monday, February 13, 2017

Hello Monday

Well, with me still recovering from sickness, this weekend was pretty laid back.  Our big excitement was cleaning.  Our guest bedroom never gets used, so it has kind of become a clutter room where those items without proper homes just get stashed away there.  Patrick had an old magic band that had been missing for a long time that he couldn't find anywhere.  After cleaning through almost every room in the house, I finally looked through his junk drawer that he stated he had already gone through and lo and behold there I found it.

Hello Monday
Here's your peek at this week's layout and plans.


As you can see, it's Frozen week.  My thought was I needed to get to this movie while it was still cold so that there was at least a chance of snow.  However, we've been having an unusually warm winter this year with no real snow and I don't think there's any chance of seeing any this week either.

Hello Consignment Sale
If you've read my last show and tell, you know that I take advantage of two local consignment sales during spring and fall.  The first of the two is taking place this week.  I've signed up to volunteer tonight during drop off where I will likely be sorting through the clothes coming in deciding if anything needs to be turned away due to stains, tears, or such wear.  I always volunteer at these sales, because the volunteers shop first, which makes a big difference in what you can find to take home.

Hello Daddy Daughter Dance
Not only do Patrick and Littlecjc get there quality time while I'm at the sales this week, but they are also going to their first dance together Friday night.  Our church is hosting the event and I can't wait to see them off and then hear all about it when they get back home.

Hello "New" Books
I did get my hands on Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon, the second in the Outlander series and was able to start it this weekend.  However, it's even bigger than the first book, so I'm sure it will take me a while to get through it.  I also started Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater but haven't gotten that far yet.  
Hello Binge List Add-ons
I also was able to get Outlander: Season 1, Volume 1 and of course made it through all 8 episodes very quickly.  I'm looking forward to starting Season 1, Volume 2 today.

Hello Menu Plan
Well, last week was awful in following a plan, as I didn't even try.  Here's to hoping this week is better.

Monday - Potato Soup
Tuesday - Spaghetti, Meatballs, green beans
Wednesday - Crockpot Chicken Teriyaki with rice
Thursday - Tilapia, broccoli, carrots
Friday - Mongolian Beef with rice, peas - new recipe

I should know better than putting a new recipe on Friday, but we will see.

Hello Valentine's Day
It's hard to believe I've written this entire post and not mentioned that Valentine's Day is this week.  It's normal that we don't make a big deal of this holiday, but this year in particular, we've agreed not to get each other anything since we just got our annual passes to Disney World.  However, we are expecting a package that day from the shop disney parks app from a sale they just had.  So, I guess we have one more joint gift expected that day after all.

Thursday, February 9, 2017

The Aristocats

I knew last weekend was going to be busy with food since it was the superbowl.  So, I had planned on viewing The Aristocats and keeping it simple.  I made croque monsieur and pomme frites, also known as grilled cheese sandwhiches and fries. 


Littlecjc did at least play a little piano while we were at Grandma's for the superbowl.


Even though this was a simple lunch followed by the movie, it was nice to change the pace a little.  Patrick said he had never seen the movie before, which I find hard to believe knowing how often Littlecjc has watched it, but it was great having all three of us snuggle up on the couch and watch something together.

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Wordless Wednesday: Cinderella

"So this is Love" - Cinderella


This week's Wordless Wednesday theme over at Focused on the Magic is "love this."  I always love that moment when you first see the castle.  Back in 2010, I caught this sweet moment of my sister-in-law and her now husband taking it in.

Join the fun here!

Focused on the Magic

Monday, February 6, 2017

Hello Monday

First things first, we had a great, food-filled weekend.

Friday, we went out for some pizza with some friends.  The place is a little local place that has a few quarter sucking games for the kids to play.  We went through some money, but Littlecjc definitely came home with more toys than she should have.  It was sweet at first when the 6 year old boy we were with was being nice and playing with her and winning her some toys.  I don't know what kind of charm she started using after that though, because she kept coming back to our table with more toys even after the little boy stopped playing with her and we stopped giving her money.  When this first happened, we gave her some more money to give to the girl who was giving her so much attention, but that girl just kept spending the money on Littlecjc so we stopped giving her money again.  Regardless, we came home with more little toys than she could carry, and we all had a great time.

Patrick's parents came in town on Saturday.  They live about 2 hours away, so not too far for a day trip, but still a nice treat when they do come down.  They were in the mood for a pick-me-up, which Littlecjc always gives them, and they still hadn't seen our kitchen floor or our van.  I think I've mentioned before, that Patrick's sister also lives in the same city as us, so she and her husband also joined us and we all went out to Logan's for lunch.  After somewhat controlling myself at lunch, we all decided to go to Cold Stone Creamery for dessert where all hope was lost.  After our splurge, we came back home where Mamaw played with Littlecjc for a while before they had to hit the road again.  It was a really nice visit and I'm always thankful when they are able to come in town.



When Sunday rolled around, thankfully we weren't going out for food, but we definitely still splurged as we went to my mom's for the Superbowl.  I don't know why we all have the mindset that we have to eat so much to watch this one particular game.  We had ribs, chicken wings, loaded fries, loaded baked beans, stuffed and bacon wrapped peppers, fried shrimp, peanut clusters, and a chocolate cake.  We did actually watch the game (or most of it, at least) and of course the commercials and the half-time performance.  Although, Grandma probably didn't see much of anything since she spent the entire evening playing with Littlecjc.  They did watch and dance to Lady Gaga's performance and I think Littlecjc approved!  We all had fun, and someone was asleep before we made it 5 minutes up the road.  Win, win!



Hello Monday
It's a new week, so here's your peek before the ink.


I know Valentine's Day is still next week, but it's closer to this weekend than the next, so Cinderella had to be this week!  It's looking like a normal, basic week, but don't they usually this early on?

Hello Cold
I wouldn't say I was bragging about being healthy or anything, but it is ironic that the friends we went out with on Friday said they had been battling sickness at their house and after asking if we've been sick, I had to say that we had all been fine.  Not even 24 hours later, my throat started hurting.  I'm not super sick yet, but I am really fighting it this morning.  On the bright side, my throat feels better today, but on the downside my entire head is stuffy and my body aches.  Hopefully, this doesn't get worse.

Hello Food
So how did we do last week? Meh, ok I guess.  We had leftovers one day instead of making the Chili and as already stated, we ended up going out Friday night.  How was last week's new dinner?  Well, I messed up and bought the wrong Squash, so we added some pasta instead of the squash, but we really liked the flavor.  I think we will definitely try this recipe again once we get some spaghetti squash, and we'll have to see which way we like better.

So what's cooking this week? Well, honestly I'm not quite sure yet.  I had some great meals planned this week, but after this past weekend, Patrick mentioned wanting to do the Military Diet dinners to try to get back on track.  So, if we stick to that I'll have to see which meals we keep and which get tossed this week.

Hello New Reads
I finally finished Outlander this weekend and I can't wait to start the next book.  We'll have to see how quickly we can get it from the library.  I also finished listening to Forever this weekend and just downloaded the last book in that series, Sinner.  

Hello Binge List

I created this new spread this past week to keep track of what I'm watching.  As you can see, I didn't get to start Outlander yet.  I'm currently on a hold list for it at the library, so here's hoping I can start it soon.  Instead, I have been watching Limitless.  Patrick also started watching season 8 of Friends the other day, so I've caught some of those off and on as well.

I think that's it for now.  We'll just have to see how the rest of the week plays out.  Feel free to share what you've got going on this week and what you're saying hello to.