Catching up...

A whirlwind of a month and a half has passed by since I posted here.  So many things have happened, but I’ll try and get back in the swing with the beginning of August in just a couple of days! Wish I had some more pictures to go along with this post, but just don't want to forget what we did this summer, so here it is in lots of words!

During June, we spent an afternoon kayaking with friends down our local river, which then inspired us to purchase our own kayaks.  However, since we bought them, it has rained for a month in a row so the river has been too high.  I’m hoping we’ll get to use them much more in August and September!

We also spent a few days at the beach and wrapped up the month of June celebrating my niece’s Baptism and my nephew’s 3^rd birthday.  Where does the time go??

For 4^th of July, we spent time on one side of the lake with family in the morning and then headed to the other side of the lake for a cookout and fireworks with friends.  I was reminded how AWFUL it is to work the day after a late-night holiday.  They should give everyone the 5^th of July off, too!

July has nearly completely passed me by without even a mention that my husband got to start a new job!  There is a lot of new information to learn and a whole new schedule to adjust to, but so far he is enjoying it.  He’s had to go out of town twice for training, and I spent a week at the beach, so we’ve been missing each other a lot. 

Finally, this past weekend, I attended my Pilates certification course and passed the test to become a Pilates Mat Instructor.  After 4&1/2 years of practicing Pilates, this has been a goal of mine for a while, and I’m excited to see what my future as an instructor holds. 

And… since we’ve been so busy, my sweet husband was sweet enough to plan out a menu for our week, so here it is!  Our weekly menu for the week ahead…

7.29.13 – California Turkey Burgers, Guacamole & Chips

7.30.13 – Leftovers

7.31.13 – Thai Chicken Bites & Rice

8.1.13 – Bacon, Avocado, Tomato Sandwiches

8.2.13 – Headed to Greenville for the night to see our friends & enjoy some baseball and other fun!

8.3.13 – Homemade Pizza or Calzones

Oh, and as always, we’ve been spending plenty of time with this guy, who apparently thinks this is his bed....

June 15 Weekly Menu

The heat of summer truly hit us last week and so I'm aiming for lots of summer crockpot meals so I don't have to sweat too much in the kitchen!  I especially love making any sort of shredded meat for tacos in the summer.  Who am I kidding?  I love tacos year-round, but the veggies are fresh in the summer so that makes it a pretty inexpensive meal, too!

6.15.13 - Leftovers
6.16.13 - Fathers Day Plans TBD
6.17.13 - Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches (never made last week)
6.18.13 - Leftovers
6.19.13 - Grill out
6.20.13 - Shredded Beef or Pork Tacos in Crockpot
6.21.13 - Dinner Out

A Summer Side Dish - Tomato Cucumber Salad

I absolutely LOVE tomatoes (no kidding, my favorite food is salsa) and cucumbers are pretty much the only green vegetable that I tolerate without much whining, so this summer side dish is right up my alley!

What you'll need....

Tomatoes (sliced or diced into bite size pieces, about 1.5 cups once cut up)
1 Large Cucumber (cut in half, then sliced as thin as you can slice)
1/4 red onion (sliced or diced, however you like it)
Olive oil (about 2 TBS)
Red Wine Vinegar (a few splashes, to your taste)
Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Slice & Dice your veggies, splash in the olive oil and red wine vinegar, sprinkle on salt & pepper.  Allow to marinate for 20-30 minutes while you prepare the rest of your meal.  Also great the next day, but you may want to double the recipe if you plan to have leftovers, this stuff goes FAST!

a breeze

I normally love summer.  Even the heat that comes along with a South Carolina summer.  BUT, yesterday was the 6th day in a row of sweltering heat, so I spent most of my Saturday inside.  (Well, if you don't count the 7.43 mile run completed before 8am).    I originally had all these plans of spending the afternoon out shopping, but the heat this week completely wiped me out.

This guy is wiped, too.

We actually did venture out to lunch and to the new Mast General Store in town, and scored two $10 off coupons which I used to buy some Columbia tank tops for running.  After our lunch, however, I alternated between my couch and my bed, drinking up lots of ice cold water.

This morning, when I woke up, it was already hot, and the dog was going a little stir-crazy from being inside most of the day yesterday.  I decided to take him out back and toss the tennis ball around and when I opened the door, I felt the most glorious BREEZE!  The actual movement of air!    Just when I had started to lose all hope of it ever cooling off again!

I'm looking forward to a slightly more productive day today.  It's the little things, like a breeze, that can really turn your day around.  Any good ideas for hot weather activities?