Friday Freebie

I have seen a couple "family manifestos" around the web and played around with making to share with you guys.

Here's what I came up with.

You can download a 16x20 pdf here and print it off to use for free. I just ask that you don't reproduce and sell it.

Oh, and you better let me know if you printed it off, better yet, send me a picture! Or else.

Happy Friday.

Embrace the Camera - Yay for Spring

I have a love-hate relationship with gardening - both flowers and veggies.

I love the beauty of flowers and the wholesome goodness fresh veggies.

I hate weeds. They really take over and they are a pain to pull.

I had a few hours and some gorgeous sunshine and decided to tackle some weeds in the front flower beds. Sweet P hung out with me in a little tent my sister gave me. I entertained her with toys and finally gave her my iphone so she would stay in the tent a little longer.

She hit her limit and just wanted to be held. That's okay. I hit my limit too. I made it about halfway through the flowers and strawberries and decided to call it quits. Before we went inside I grabbed a quick photo of us.

I'm a little stinky and wind-blown and yes, she has a smidge of dirt on her lip, but it is what it is.

So now it's your turn. Go embrace the camera with Emily.

Sweet P Trys Fish

Our adventures in baby food continues.

The husband has been doing some fishing lately and has been bringing back some really good saugeye. If you've never had it, it's kind of like cod. A thick, white fish.

Anyway, we decided to let Sweet P have some. She seemed really excited about it.

 

I baked her's and made a pecan-panko crust for ours.

Her dinner.

And the reaction.

Not so sure she loved it, but she did warm up to it and ate it after I mixed in sweet potatoes.

And our dinner. Sorry, no reaction, we gobbled it up.

We have already hit that time of year where it's garden fresh salads with dinner every night! I love it!

Signs of Spring

I went outside to cut a little lettuce for a salad and was shocked when I saw all the little greens sprouting up! I guess I shouldn't have been shocked since we planted everything over a week ago, but still, I was.

Our radishes, mesclun mix and tons of herbs have starting growing their first leaves! YAY! And, we even have flowers all over our strawberries. I don't remember them ever blooming this fast in previous years.

I'm starting to salivate as I think of all the tasty strawberry concoctions I'll be making soon!

Another fun thing about gardening this year...

a new little helper! I'm so glad she loves being outside and isn't afraid to get a little dirty.

I'm also thankful I have a husband that really enjoys gardening. And I'm pretty sure he's going to enjoy it a lot more this year since he has a cute little helper.

Look Who's Turning 30!

That's right, I am. This year. In just over 6 months!

I'm sure you can imagine my excitement when I was flipping through a magazine and saw this:

I don't even care about the picture they used - I'm next to J Timberlake!

So take that Monday!

It's so weird to me to know I'm living the last of my 20s. I remember when I was younger and 20 seemed old. Then, when I hit 20, it didn't seem so old anymore, but 30 was still pretty big. Now, 30 is well, 30. Not really sure what I think about it. I guess we'll see in another 6 months.

Ok, so maybe I photoshopped myself in the magazine. Big deal.

Oh Spring

I saw this quote and thought it was very fitting for our family.

And with spring comes one of my favorite things: fresh garden salads!

Bring on spring and bring on the weekend!! Happy Friday!

Embrace the Camera - Daddy's Girl

I saved this photo from our afternoon of gardening for today's "Embrace the Camera" post.

The husband teaching his girl all about gardening.

I love everything about it.

Happy Thursday!

Another Lesson in Cooking

You should read the recipe before you start cooking.

We're trying to eat more chicken these days because people say it's healthy. Blah. I don't like chicken.

Anyway, I saw a recipe in my Everyday Food book that seemed pretty healthy. Chicken, potatoes and peas.

The picture looked good so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

I bought all the ingredients and started cooking. I hadn't actually read the recipe yet, just looked at the picture and list of ingredients.

That looks like the makings of a healthy meal, right?

No.

The chicken was fried and then baked. The potatoes were boiled, then fried. Ooops.

The recipe also called for mixing in lemon juice and cilantro to the potatoes. After I made the most perfect fried potatoes I have ever cooked, I couldn't do it. So, I just added it to the peas. So here's another lesson, don't be afraid to not follow a recipe. I hardly ever follow recipes exactly.

So, our healthy meal turned out to be not so healthy. Chicken. Go figure. Had I read the recipe before starting, I would have realized that everything but the peas were fried.

Oh well, it may not be the healthiest way to eat chicken and potatoes, but it sure was good!

Beautiful Criers

Have you heard of those people? When they get all teary-eyed and have a boo-fest they look just as gorgeous as when they're smiling?

There are a lot of them in the movies.

Around here, we do not cry beautifully. I get red splotches all over my face and my eyes swell up and turn red. Not pretty at all.

I guess Sweet P inherited my lack of crying beautifully, but she's still pretty!

I love this picture of her. Her squinty-eyed-bottom lip-way-out-cry! Cracks me up. I know, bad mom, her cry makes me laugh.

Her Aunt Ashley took her 7 month pictures and that picture was in the mix. Go check out more at her blog!


Thanks Ashley!!

What a Weekend

Thanks to Nana and Pappy watching Sweet P one day this weekend, we did a LOT of house work and got to check a few things off the never-ending-to-do-list. Yay!

The husband worked on the garden planting everything from onions and radishes to lettuce and herbs. And he did a little yard maintenance.

This is leftover from our fall garden! Who knew lettuce could last all winter?

While he was outside, I was inside. I painted the entire kitchen (2 coats even).

Thanks Nana and Pappy!

With all that work and no time to take long breaks, I realized how hard it is to cook, so, we didn't. Instead, we ate super healthy!

After posting my dogs from Sonic, I felt like I was cheating on Jim's so I had to give them some coney love.

After I dropped P off at Nana's, I picked up a little breakfast.

It should also be noted that if you are looking for some of the best donuts in town, go to Daylight Donuts in BA (on 145th by Papa Murphy's). They are amazing and they have these little, square donuts (about the size of a donut hole) filled with bavarian creme. mmm.

Ok, so maybe it wasn't that healthy but they were fast and delicious!

And when P wasn't with Nana and Pappy, she was helping us in the garden!

I think we have a tiny green thumb in the making!

Hope you had a great weekend and hoping this week will be just a productive!