Currently....

Watching…. Weeds pop up in our yard and turn it green.  We have some grass too, but we have LOTS of weeds.  But, it’s green, right?  Hoping the grass takes over with a little help from my friend Weed & Feed. 

Reading… the last book in a series by Francine Rivers, As Sure As the Dawn.  I’m so surprised that I didn’t read this third book sooner.  If you like historical or Biblically-based fiction, this series is awesome.  Also picked up our next book club selection, Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, from the library and planning to read it this weekend.

Listening… to some new songs on iTunes and trying to decide which ones to buy…. Got any suggestions for running music?  I want to update my running playlist this month before the Heart & Sole 5-Miler on April 27^th.

Planning… to get our house all “Spring-Cleaned” before I leave for the beach on Friday.  I just love coming home to a clean house!  I’ve got a list of tasks for everyday between now and Thursday to get done.   Hopefully leaving my husband and the dog behind for the weekend won’t mean it’s messy again before I get back! 

Loving…. WARMER WEATHER! Sunshine! Sandals!  And most of all, LOVING that a short weekend trip to the beach is only 4 days away!  Planning to take some books and my beach towel and cram as MUCH relaxing into the weekend as humanly possible

New Recipes Reviewed

We've made lots of new recipes lately and I always want to remember what we liked and didn't like so that I know which ones to add back to our menu, so here's what we thought...

Cheesy Chicken and Rice..... this turned out pretty soupy and though it was tasty, it was missing something for us.  A good recipe, definitely comfort food, but we were wishing for something more.  It is also really similar to the Creamy Crescent Casserole that we love, so we'll probably scratch this particular recipe from future menus and just go with our old faithful.  

Crockpot Beef Gyros.... believe it or not, despite my intense love for Greek food, I never even tasted this recipe!  I made it on a day that I had something else going on, and only Ryan ended up eating it (and the leftovers.)  He says it was super tasty, but didn't do too well re-heated.  Next time, I'll try and be around for the first serving so I can form my own opinion.  But, let's face it, I love tzatziki sauce, so anything wrapped in a pita with tzatziki, I'm bound to love!

Burritacos.... YUM!  Seriously, this recipe combined EVERY ingredient that I love.  It also makes a HUGE amount and thank goodness, it freezes well.  We ate the second batch of this recipe last week and I was even more in love the second time around.  Don't forget to take your reflux medicine though, it's a hot one!

Spicy Sausage Pasta .... Ryan says this recipe is his new favorite food.  Another homerun in the kitchen.  In fact I think he used the phrase "favorite meal you've ever made".  I loved that this entire meal was made in a single (giant) skillet.  One dish to wash = total win.  We made it with original Rotel and loved the spicy-ness.  You could take it down a notch by using just regular diced tomatoes or mild Rotel.  

Crockpot Pork Chops and Apples ... We had pork tenderloin and apples for New Year's this year and when I saw this recipe, I hoped it would be similar.  We used a pork tenderloin instead of pork chops.  Another meal that was good, but left me wishing for something more.  Definitely think we will make it again, just might play around with the spices a little.  

Cauliflower Bacon Cheddar Chowder.... Made this recipe tonight.  Actually, saw it a while back on Iowa Girl Eats, and then when Leigh re-posted it recently and raved about it, I knew we had to try it.  We all know how I love my Easy Potato Soup, and this is a perfect "lightened up" version with cauliflower instead of potatoes.  I can't wait to eat the leftovers tomorrow for lunch!  

April Monthly Menu

Spring is hopefully here to stay so lots more nights of grilling on the menu this month!  Also tons of our favorite recipes and just a few new ones.  Happy April!

Week 1: April 1-7

-          Homemade Pizza or Calzones

-          Grilling Out

-          Baked Ziti

-          Leftovers

-          Dinner Out

-          Cauliflower Bacon Cheddar Chowder *New Recipe*

-          Dr. Pepper Crockpot BBQ

Week 2: April 8-14

-          Freezer Chicken Burritos

-          Grilling Out

-          Leftovers x2

-          California Turkey Burgers

-          Crockpot French Dip Sandwiches

-          Out to Eat

Week 3: April 15-21

-          Spicy Sausage Pasta 

-          Breakfast for Dinner

-          Leftovers

-          Cheddar Ranch Chicken *New Recipe* 

-          Homemade Tacos/Nachos with Ground Turkey

-          Dinner Out

-          Salads and Sandwiches

Week 4: April 22-28

-          Crockpot Lasagna

-          Leftovers

-          Thai Chicken Bites & Rice

-          Grill Out

-          Sunday School Picnic *Bringing Dessert*

-          Out to Eat

-          Meatball Gyros

Week 5: April 29-30

            -          Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

            -          Leftovers

Keep Calm & Green On - 10K Race Recap

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  This guy has been sporting his St. Patty's bandana since last week.  I just love how festive it makes him look....

On Friday night, I decided that I needed to buy something new and green to wear for the race on Saturday.  After hunting around a little bit, I found this sparkly long-sleeve T-shirt from Old Navy for $9.  We've had fairly cool weather this week, so I figured long sleeves would be nice for the race.  We got down to Five Points at about 7:15am, and it was pretty breezy, so it turned out to be an OK decision.  I only got hot toward the end of the race, and once we were done running, I was glad again to have on long sleeves.  

The Get to the Green 10K was a first annual event, and also my first official 10K.  The 5K race is a really popular event that occurs every year in conjunction with the 5 Points St. Patty's Festival and parade. and I was excited that they added on the longer distance this year.  Throw in a tech shirt and free admission to the festival, and that was a deal of a race!  

Going in, I was dreading a few things.  First, the race was a double loop, and I do not love running the same loop twice in a row.  Then, the 5K started exactly 30 minutes after the 10K, and the routes crossed paths a few times.  The 5K had 2-3 times as many runners as the 10K, so it got really crowded for us just after mile 3.  The roads were really crowded and I felt like I wasn't keeping a good pace, especially when the 5K runners joined us.  There weren't any mile markers for the 10K and my GPS wasn't working, so I really had no idea.  Ryan ran with me the whole way until we had about a quarter of a mile left.  He ran ahead and was able to finish about a minute ahead of me.  Turns out, I was actually keeping a pretty good pace, finishing at 1:05:25.  Going in, I was hoping to beat 1:10, so goal accomplished!  

One of the cool things that happened was the winner of the 10K (along with his police escort to help get him through the crowd) passed us at about mile 3.  All I can say is, WOW.  He was booking it, going at a pace about twice as fast as ours.  It was cool to look down the hill an actually see the winner finish the race... not so cool that we still had 3 miles to go!  

Here we are after the race -- Deedee, Russ & Jennifer met up with us at the finish after running the 5K.  

I think it is safe to say that I'm going to be hooked on the 10K distance race.  It was long enough to make it feel worthwhile to pay the money, but not so long that you have to do any major training leading up to it.  Also definitely a distance I feel like I can work to improve my time.  The next race on the books is the Heart & Sole Women's 5-Miler on April 27th.

The weather was really nice so we came back to the festival later in the day to enjoy some Bluegrass and Shag music -- stayed just long enough to get a funny sunburn..... aaah the joys of early Spring!  

bye bye Google reader

Google reader is going away.  I can't tell you how sad that makes me.  Luckily there are some other good reader options out there, which I'm trying out and seeing which I like.  I just tried out BlogLovin' and it was super easy to transfer all the feeds from Google reader, so that's a major plus.

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Currently....

Here's a few snippets into life currently....

Reading... Just finished our first book club selection, Serena by Ron Rash.  I liked it just OK.  It was a difficult read as Rash is incredibly descriptive.  It wasn't what I would call a page-turner, but I definitely had to keep reading to figure out what evil thing Serena would do next.  I'm pretty excited to see what the other book club grannies think about it.  Also, the movie starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper is coming out this September!

Watching... Of course tonight I'm watching The Bachelor finale.  This show is my number one guilty pleasure.  I hope he picks Lindsay, and I hope she shows up in an even more beautiful wedding dress to accept the final rose than she did on the first night!  I mean, how cute are they together???

Planning... to make a gallery wall behind our TV... this is my inspiration picture....  I absolutely love the look of a gallery wall and have wanted to make one in our house for a while.  The new TV set up and moving our giant tall entertainment center out of the den and into the bedroom have left me with the perfect blank wall for the project!

Source: Beautifulmatters.com 

Listening... to my Bible-in-a-Year reading plan on the YouVersion App.  I’ve just completed the first 70 days!  This is farther into the plan than I’ve ever made it in years past, and I think that’s highly due to LISTENING to some of the law books from the Old Testament rather than trying to just trudge through them.  Plus, it gives me something to do in the car when I’d otherwise probably be listening to junk radio.  

Loving... the official race shirts for the St. Patty's Get-To-The-Green 5K & 10K for next weekend.  Also loving that my hubby is joining me for the race!  

TGIF

Wow, thank goodness the weekend is finally here.  Actually, kicked it off last night meeting some friends at Hunter Gatherer Brewery for jazz night.  HANDS DOWN, this is the BEST thing to do in Columbia on a Thursday night. If you ever feel like this city doesn’t have anything cool to offer, think again.  Jazz night was not only an amazing display of musical talent, but also of community, diversity, and a whole lot of fun.  My one regret?  Too tired to stay all night.  Next time, I’ll take a nap first.

Tonight, a bunch of my college girlfriends are coming to town.  Over the last few years, we’ve had a million weddings, showers, and bachelorette parties… but things on that front have settled down and now we’re just getting together to have a weekend to hang out. Dinner, maybe a concert, brunch, and baseball are all in the picture for the weekend.  I can’t wait to catch up with everyone….. can someone locate my floozie coozie? 

Also on the books for the weekend (quite a busy one).... a run with Jennifer this afternoon (getting ready for the Get To the Green 10K next weekend)… dinner club Saturday night (making these yummies for dessert)… and taking dinner on Sunday to our friends with a new sweet baby girl.   It’s crazy weekends like these that go by way too fast, but also are the most fun.  I think I’ll schedule a nap for Monday afternoon!