The only red{ish} shirt that was clean was his plaid dress shirt. As I was ironing it this morning, Elliott pipes in, “You know how to do that, Mommy?”
Apparently she’s never seen me press anything…..uh, and maybe I haven’t pressed anything in the last 5 years and 9 months.
Yoga pants and tank tops don’t require an ironing board or spray starch, so yes, this would be part of my skill set that she has not yet witnessed.
{Thank you, Jay for doing your own ironing!}
At any rate, he looked beyond adorable in his {beautifully ironed} GAP shirt and spikey hairs…
LOVE this kid!
I asked him what his favorite part of school was today and he said…
This morning I’m doing a little V-day shopping, reaching into my gorgeous cherry red MK handbag and paying with my {magic charge card}. You know…the one where the bill gets sent to Cupid.
I thought I’d chime in and give you an update on our non-Direct TV havin’ selves. It’s been 2 weeks now and guess what….
we’re still ALIVE!
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that we would be just fine sans 1,574,623 channels.
Now does this mean that I am OK with NEVER turning on Direct TV again?
NO.
But I must admit, the vacuum cleaner is getting more action. The white grout and the Clorox Clean-Up are seeing A LOT more of each other. The Swiffer has been doing more swiffering. We already need more Gain detergent and fabric softener and I have been more “crafty” and done some homemade goodies for Holden’s party.
Wow….imagine that!
{Because I couldn’t have a post without a pic…thanks Lisa Lisa for recommending this, btw. It rocks on the lovely white tile with white grout counter situation!}
I still get to watch my shows ~ The Biggest Loser, etc. There’s oodles of stuff to watch on hulu.com, too. I watched an episode of House Hunters {an HGTV fave} the other night…now it may have been from 4 years ago. No biggie.
Did we miss the Superbowl yesterday? Yes, but did I really want to see Christina Aguilera screw up the national anthem?
Not really.
I even went for a {short} run this weekend. Um, how did I ever complete 13.1 miles and now can’t even run 2 without wanting to die? Proof that there is no rest for the weary! I think I just need to register for the Santa Clarita Half on 11.6.11…then I will {have} to get out there and run, run, run!
Anywhoo, if you are on the fence about wanting to watch less TV and want to save some cash every month, I highly suggest thinking about turning off your satellite service for a few months and see how it goes.
I don’t think anyone has ever not survived without Bravo.
This morning I made an appointment for Holdy’s 4-year well check.
We’re always curious to see what the scale says at his appointments. When he turned a year old, he sorta headed for the 3rd to 5th percentile and has been hovering down there ever since.
{I try not to dwell on the percentiles…at least he is short and lightweight so he doesn’t look too skinny!}
However, his newest culinary love interest is HAM.
How random is that?
This kid loves ham so much so, he pulled it out of the ‘fridge one day with a loaf of bread, put it on the counter and went to find Jay to make him a sandwich. I come home from running errands to find the dogs eating the ham out of the brand new package. {Our Border Collie was tall enough to grab it off the counter}
Adios ham!
Today for lunch he ate TWO whole ham sandwiches on wheat bread with mayo! I made him one and would’ve been happy if he had stopped there, but he asked for another one and devoured that.
I guess we’ll be stocking up on ham over the next month and seeing how many sandwiches this kid can put away.
Fingers crossed that he’ll hit 30 pounds at his 4-year check up.
{He was 27 pounds on 9.30.10 when he went in for his flu shot}
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Any of you floppers out there have any {healthy} secrets to getting your munchkins to put weight on?
: Grilled cheeseburgers with crinkle fries and Sriracha Ranch :
: Quick Slip N Slide action in the backyard :
: Outdoor play-doh fun :
: Football and more football :
: New dinner recipe :
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My sweet, now in CO friend, Alicia, was so kind to send me a subscription to “Real Simple” magazine. I forgot just how much I love this publication. Full of ways to simplify, but still thoroughly enjoy life. Since I am currently obsessed with purging, this mag fits the bill perfectly. Thanks again, Leesh! I love the monthly love in my mailbox.
This month’s issue had a recipe that caught my eye. We’ve been talking about grilling up a pork tenderloin for weeks and when I scouted this one, I knew this was it.
Uh, chili powder and maple glazed pork with sweet potatoes? Yes, please!
It was the perfect recipe for our maiden {pork tenderloin} voyage! Jay grilled the pork instead of broiling as the recipe suggested.
The sweet potatoes paired with the Sriracha sauce?
Perfection.
And I love that there is some spinach thrown in to make you feel extra good about this dish. Next time I will add lots more spinach and maybe half the sweet potato to reduce the starch in the meal.
Love. Love. Love.
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And here is some proof that you can break out the water slide in January in So Cal…
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Hope your weekend was full of all things {simple}.
I was able to run several errands in preparation for Valentine’s Day and Holden’s upcoming birthday next month. I found some super inexpensive treats for Elliott to give to her classmates for V-day:
I swiped this image off eBay, so it’s teeny tiny, but I found some ornaments filled with candy at Rite Aid leftover from Christmas for 90% off! {There’s nothing “Christmassy” about them other than they’re supposed to be ornaments, but you wouldn’t catch me hanging them on my tree! And yes, I inspected the date and the candy is good until Jan 2012…I am weird with stuff like that. Not that a Now and Later will be any more fresh in mid-February 2011 or a year from then!} They ended up being 10¢ a piece. I’m going to have her cut little hearts out of construction paper and hand write her name with a touch of glitter. The little balls are pink and will look very Valentiney with the added message on the red paper.
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Last weekend we went to Sprouts and loaded up on veggies.
I roasted some last weekend and we added the leftovers to a salad with some beer can chicken and some blue cheese!
I also made quinoa for the first time. Super easy, but a bit time consuming as you have to soak and rinse it {I bought mine from the bulk bin, but you can also buy it pre-rinsed and ready to go}. I used about 3/4 cup water and 1 cup chicken broth. I read that a 1:2 ratio makes the quinoa too mushy, so I used about 1 3/4 cup liquid to one cup rinsed quinoa. Just bring the liquid to a boil, add the quinoa, stir, cover and put on low for 15-20 minutes {or until water is absorbed}. You can also just make it with water and eat it for breakfast with some raisins, a little brown sugar and a splash of milk or cream.
{BTW, the quinoa is under the roasted veggies in the pic}
To roast the veggies, I just cut up whatever I had: red pepper, red onion, zucchini, yellow squash and baby carrots. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Toss it up and put onto a cookie sheet into a 400* oven for about 20 minutes. The flavor is amazing and this is a great way to eat your veggies! Elliott loved them {well, at least the carrots} and they are just as good warm as they are cold the next day. Tonight I am adding some cauliflower to the mix and using a little truffle oil that I picked up today.
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Today is my Dad’s birthday…
Happy Birthday, Popsi! Enjoy your special day!
{Next year he will celebrate a milestone birthday ~ I will let you guess which one}
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Does anyone out there still watch American Idol?
I tuned in last night {yes, we still have Direct TV} because I love J Lo. I think she’s so beautiful. And talented. And funny.
For me, the new judges are a breath of fresh air…it’s nice not having Simon pop off every 5 seconds and his snide comments flying around!
We’ll see if I am still able to watch next week…… 😉
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That’s it kids….how can it already be Friday tomorrow? I don’t know, but I’m glad it is!
