Currently...

Listening... to a Jennifer Weiner book on CD.  Ever since our bookclub started, I've been really into listening to books on CD again.  So far this month, I've listened to The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, our book club selection Between, Georgia by Joshilyn Jackson, and now the Jennifer Weiner book, which I can't remember the name, but it's the one about the fertility clinic with about a million characters.  Also, on the subject of books, I have Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn in hard copy at home as well.  May has been the month for reading.
Eating... leftovers of Bacon & Mater pasta for lunch.  absolutely love this recipe.  The ingredients are flavorful and the sauce (when made with milk instead of cream) is light and perfect for summertime. 

Drinking... Is that even a question? Diet Coke. I'm hopelessly addicted.  Anyone see that article go around facebook about signs you're addicted to diet coke?  That's totally me.  And tonight, probably drinking the leftover wine used in the pasta above. 
Wearing... scrubs.   I'm so lucky to have an office dresscode that allows me to wear pretty much whatever I want except jeans, but today, just wasn't feeling like planning and outfit or ironing anthing. 
Needing... to finish up my notes on a presentation I'm making at a conference... tomorrow! Yikes!  Procrastination = my worst enemy (or my best friend, depending how you look at it)
Wanting... my dog's hair to grow back.  He is so skinny with his summer shave!  Also, wanting to find a new groomer that gives him the perfect cut, not too short, not too long.  Will be on the search for that next month.
Planning... a long weekend at the beach for Memorial Day.  First days off work since my half-day off in January.  Now that has taken some HARD work!  Finally built up some time off so my bank won't be empty after summer vacation!
Enjoying... warmer weather!  After a weird few weeks in April and beginning of May, it's finally here!  I need to put a towel in my car so the leather seats don't burn my booty.  Now, if only my leg will get better so I can RUN! 

Hello? Anyone out there?

I fell off the face-of-the-blog earth during the end of April.  Kinda got crazy busy and didn’t update too much around here.  So, how about I show you some pics from my phone and catch you up on  our life?

Trimmed up my rose bushes and made this giant pile of thorny limbs....  

Since I waited too late to start trimming, I actually had to go buy new loppers to cut through the thick limbs but lucky me, I scored these beautiful hanging baskets for our porch at True Value while I was out...

Spent a weekend at the beach with my mom and her work friends.  There is nothing quite like getting close to the beach (13 miles to go)!  Here’s a pic I took on the way down…. it was super rainy on Friday, but so beautiful on Saturday!

We might or might not have run the golf cart completely out of batteries and had to push it for an entire half mile back to the house….

Luckily we had these yummy raspberry mint mojitos to spur us on!

I watched in disbelief as the finish line of the Boston Marathon was bombed.  Honestly, I thought a few times about writing something here, but just couldn’t find the words.  I loved this article…. and, like most runners that week, I got together with my running buddy Jennifer and “Ran for Boston.”....  

I’m a member of the Junior Women’s Club of Lake Murray and we had our annual yard sale…. There was a lot of junk to sell… here’s a pic of our organizing garage the night before.... so much junk!

We finally had a baby shower for my sister and niece Elliott.... somehow I managed not to take any pictures there, may have had something to do with attempting to play paparazzi with Marian’s fancy camera. 

Our church rented out the Plex and our Sunday school class organized an ultimate Frisbee team…. Go team green!  Since we were the only organized team, I’m declaring us the champions (we won our first game and lost the second game 2-1 because we ran out of time to play)….

Most of the month I spent running to get ready for the Providence Heart and Sole 5-miler.  After the St. Patty’s Get-to-the-Green race, Jennifer and I set a goal of running the 5-miler in 50 minutes.  She made it under 50, and I just barely missed it, finishing in 50:25.  Here’s me with some of the alumnae girls from my sorority before the race… 

All in all, April was a fantastic month, just really busy!  We've had the weirdest weather ever to start off the month of May, but I'm looking forward to warmer weather and the rest of summer!

May Monthly Menu

Here is our monthly menu for the month of May!  Lots of new recipes and old favorites, and tons of plans for grilling as the weather continues to heat up!!


Week 1: May 1-5

• Dinner w/ family for Travis' (my brother) Birthday
• Pantry Cleanout meal
• Grilling Out
• USC Baseball Game
• Dinner at Gervais and Vine for Girl's Night

Week 2: May 6-12

• Dr. Pepper Crockpot BBQ
• Grilling Out
• Leftovers
• Salads and Sandwiches
• Meeting friends at Pasta Fresca
• Buffalo Chicken Pizza
• Stuffed Corn and Black Bean Quesadillas *New Recipe*

Week 3: May 13-19

• Bacon & Mater Pasta
• Sesame Chicken Tenders and Veggies *New Recipe*
• Leftovers x2
• California Turkey Burgers
• Roast Beef Panini with Carmelized Onions and Horseradish Cheese Spread *New Recipe*
• Out to Eat

Week 4: May 20-27

• Salads and Sandwiches
• Grilling Out
• Cheddar Ranch Chicken *New Recipe*
• Crockpot Shredded Beef Tacos
• Leftovers
• Memorial Day Weekend at Beach

Week 5: May 28-31

• Pork Tenderloin & Sweet Potatoes
• Grilling Out
• Leftovers
• Out to Eat 

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!