Sunday Night Dinner

Grant and I had a very relaxed weekend. It was much needed as we both had busy weeks and I was definitely feeling less than 100%.

Today I decided to make dinner. I got the recipe from Publix - they have some great recipes! At Pubilx they have people making the recipes so you can try them. A few weeks ago I tried Pork with Wild Mushroom Pasta and thought it was yummy, even though I'm not a big pork eater...and I had never made it myself before. Well, now I can say that I have cooked pork...and it was good! Here is a link to the recipe.

Pork with Wild Mushroom Pasta

I made it with half&half instead of heavy cream. I also didn't make green bean casserole to go with it...instead we had steamed broccoli.

Now we're full and ready for the week ahead!

Sen10r Night at Nease

One of the main reasons Grant and I live in Jacksonville is to be close to my siblings as they grow up. If we lived far away I would definitely miss moments like last night...Zack's last regular season home basketball game.

Zack, my youngest brother, is a senior team captain and starting point guard. It has been so much fun watching him grow up on the court from Saturday morning games at the YMCA to Varsity games at Nease. He's a great player and an even better young man! I am so proud. Next year he will be heading to UCF in Orlando.

Here are a few photos from last night.

Zack's hair...he had a mohawk and his jersey number shaved into the side.

Zack and my Mom before the game.

Clay, Kevin and Zack (three of the seniors on senior night)

Zack, Mom and the Coach

:)

Mom and Zack.

All of the Sen10rs

Zack and his girlfriend, Kellie (in her custom made shirt)

Reagan and Penelope Videos!

Reagan is getting SO big! She had the last of her puppy shots this week. Grant has successfully taught her how to sit and lay down on command. We're still working on other tricks. :) It's a lot easier with Reagan because she can watch what Penelope does and catches on real quick!

Here is a video of Reagan and Penelope practicing their tricks.


Here is a video of Reagan and Penelope watching Grant play with his yoyo.

Home cooked meals

I go through phases where I like to cook and other phases where I cannot stand it. I think I'd like to cook if I made more time to select recipes and shop for the week. The last thing I want to do when I get home is find a recipe, realize that I don't have any of the ingredients, battle the evening crowd at the grocery store to come home starving...not wanting to wait an hour for dinner to be ready. So last night Grant and I went to the grocery store with a recipe in hand. I got all the ingredients and started making the recipe when I got home from work. Here is the recipe we(I) chose:

Aromatic Beef Stew with Butternut Squash

Ingredients

2 tsp. olive oil

1 lb. stew beef (round or chuck), cut in chunks

1 large onion, chopped

1 Tbsp. peeled, minced fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. peeled cubed butternut squash, cut into 1-1/2-inch cubes (about 2-1/2 cups)

1 14.5-oz. can no-salt-added diced tomatoes

1 8-oz. can no-salt-added tomato sauce
1-1/2 cups lower-sodium beef broth

1-1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

3 cups cooked whole wheat couscous

1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted*

1 to 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Heat oil in 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add beef. Cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer meat to plate, leaving juices in saucepan. Add onion to pan. Cook 6 minutes, stirring often, or until softened and translucent. Add ginger and garlic. Cook, stirring, 1 minute more.

2. Return beef to pan. Stir in squash, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth, cumin, cinnamon, and red pepper flakes. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat to a simmer; cover. Cook until beef is tender, 30 to 35 minutes.

3. Serve with couscous. Sprinkle with almonds and parsley. Makes 6 servings.

4. *Note: Toast almonds in a dry skillet over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes or until golden brown.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 421, Total Fat (g) 11, Saturated Fat (g) 3, Monounsaturated Fat (g) 6, Polyunsaturated Fat (g) 1, Cholesterol (mg) 29, Sodium (mg) 206, Carbohydrate (g) 57, Total Sugar (g) 10, Fiber (g) 10, Protein (g) 25, Vitamin C (DV%) 1.17, Calcium (DV%) 9, Iron (DV%) 23, Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

We'll see how it turns out!

What do you love about me?

Grant and I went to dinner and a movie on Friday night with two good friends of ours, Mintu and Mary. We saw Avatar in 3D. It was a great movie, but kind of long if you ask me!

Before the movie we went to Brass Monkey for dinner. Over our food and drinks we always have good conversation. This night Mary posed a good question, "What three things do you love about me?" We each answered what three things we loved about our signifcant other and found that our three things were all very similar...family, hard working, humor, and patience. Okay, that was four things...

The fact that we all have similar values in our relationships with our significant others is probably why we have become such good friends. Try asking your friends what they love about each other and see if you come to the same conclusion we did.

Thanks for being such great friends M&M!

Favorite Reads

Today I picked up my two favorite books to read agan because I had given my original copies away so my friends could enjoy them as much as I had. The first book is "Something Borrowed." They are making this into a movie, so I definitely want to read it again before it comes out in the theater. I am friends with the author, Emily Giffin, on Facebook. She keeps posting potential actresses to cast for the main parts. I am going to see who I picture playing the lead roles while I read the book again.

The second book is a sequel to "Something Borrowed," called "Something Blue." I am sure if "Something Borrowed" does well in the theaters they'll make a movie out of "Something Blue." I am looking forward to getting back into reading these books.

Leave a comment with your favorite books so I can add them to my list!

Me and my babies!

Here are a few pictures of me, Penelope and Reagan from last weekend. Reagan is getting so big!

"Wash Hands"

I saw this plaque in a bathroom at a restaurant at the Millenia Mall in Orlando and thought it was funny...

New Year, New Bathroom

Over the course of 2009 Grant and I updated almost every surface (walls, ceilings, floors, etc.) in our home. Here are some before and after photos from our guest bathroom, which was one of our last interior projects...for now!

We LOVE our new guest bathroom, and I hope our guests do too!! ;)

Move in Day: December 2008

Love the shower curtain the previous owners let for us!

Photos from after we got the entire interior of the house painted.

New grey walls. Old mirror and ugly light fixture.

Love that pink/peach tile!

Photos in process of renovating the bathroom:

Buh Bye mirror and light fixture! Hello new mirror and light fixture...and painted vanity!

I purchased the mirror from Craigslist, painted it black (It was gold before) and hung it! I also sanded, primed and painted the vanity and added new hardware.

New shower curtain...the tile is still horrible!

Old tile.

Broken tile.

The floor is being installed, the shower demo is done and sealer is setting. Do you like my picture on the wall? I made that in middle school!

Floor tile being installed.

After photos!

LOVE the floor and marble mosiac tile in the shower.

Now the shower curtain makes more sense with the grey, black and white theme!

On the left, a painting I painted at YesYouCanvas! On the right, the shower, marble mosiac tile accent and white subway tiles.

This is the granite we're going to put as the vanity counter top.

Trip to Fort Myers

Last week Grant and I drove down to Fort Myers (with the girls, of course) to see Grant's parents, grandparents and a bunch of our friends. It seems like all of our friends in Fort Myers are having kids!

We left Ponte Vedra right after work on Wednesday (I had the day off, but Grant had to work) and arrived in Fort Myers around 10:30pm after stopping in Orlando for a pit stop. We were pretty tired. Grant's Mom waited up for us and met Reagan. They were so cute together! We caught up for a bit and then went straight to bed.

On Thursday we got up and introduced Reagan to Grant's Dad, or the girls' grandpa! We spent some quality time with Grant's parents and took them to lunch at Panera. After lunch Grant's Mom, Sue, and I went shopping. We found some cute stuff including a bench that I thought would go perfect in our house. Grant and I went back the next day and bought it. Luckily, it fit in the car!

That night we went to Richard's parents' house to celebrate the new year and Richard's birthday! We got to meet Richard's new girlfriend Jenee too! Richard had planned a white elephant gift exchange as well. We forgot our presents at home, but picked up a cool fountain at the store and a really cool light from Grant's Dad. Here are some photos from the gift exchange.

Jenee looking for the perfect gift.

The Priebe Brothers

Mike and Richard opening their gifts. Check out that guitar lamp!

Adrienne (one month after Brayden's birth - looking GREAT!) and Josh (looking good too ;) )

A couple great gifts..."Are you Stocking me?" shirt and toe nail clippers with a magnifying glass!

Grant opening his gift...tube socks!

Richard's Dad made a TON of pizzas for dinner. He is quite the pizza chef! I didn't take any photos, but I should have! We all were well fed by the time the ball dropped! Here are a few photos from the rest of the night.

Just the two of us!

Two cute couples! (Richard and Jenee on the left, Grant and Me on the right)

Great friends!

Jenee playing Apples to Apples and Dave popping the champagne (PINK champagne!)

Grant...he broke his glow stick and put the glow stuff on his face...kids: do not try this at home!

Happy Birthday Richard and Dave!

Fireworks..."don not hold in hand"...that warning wasn't followed!

On Friday it rained almost the whole day and got really cold, especially for Fort Myers! Before the rain came I took the girls to my friend (and old RA)'s house. She has two ADORABLE girls of her own, Lorelai and Kinley. Here is a photo of Lorelai and Reagan. As I was leaving Kellie's house the rain started coming down!

Lorelai and Reagan

I arrived back at Grant's parents' house just in time for lunch with everyone. Everyone included me, Grant, Grant's Dad Ed, Grant's Mom Sue, Grant's Dad's parents Pearl and Ed, Grant's Mom's parents Jean and Jim, and Penelope and Reagan! Grant's Mom made some yummy tacos. It was actually "create your own taco/burrito." Grant's Mom had to help the Grandparents out when making their burritos. They were really good and everyone enjoyed spending time together and meeting Reagan and Penelope!

Grant and his grandfathers

Grant, Reagan and the Great Grandparents Pearl and Ed

Reagan with her Great Grandmothers!

After lunch we were going to go mini-golfing with Richard and Jenee, but those plans had to be post-poned for another day due to all of the rain! Instead Richard and Jenee came over for a competitive game of Rummikub. I won two games, Jenee won two games and Grant won one. Maybe next time Richard will win one! After the boys were thoroughly defeated by me and Jenee we went to Josh and Adrienne's house to meet their new son, Brayden (1 month old) and see their daughter Briana (18 months old). They were so cute!! We hung out there for a while and then went to dinner at Cantina Laredo. It was very good! I LOVE their guacamole!

That night we watched the Gators dominate Cincy with Grant's parents. It was an awesome send off for Tim Tebow and the rest of the senior class at UF. I certainly hope that Urban Meyer comes back soon!!

On Saturday I had lunch with Mandy and her one-year-old daughter, Madison. She has gotten SO big! She's walking and starting to talk already. We had a great time catching up and taking some photos.

Kisses!!

Just the girls!

Me and Madison - She is the cutest!

Loving the hoodie!

On our way to Olive Garden

When I got back we started the drive home to Jacksonville. Hopefully we'll be back to Fort Myers soon!