Meal Plan #26

This week's meal plan is pretty light as we are about to head out of town for a week. Hello vacation! I tried to pick things that we already have on hand or that were easy to pick up at the store.

MONDAY: Burgers & Salad
Assuming I get the propane tanks filled, we can have burgers on the grill! And we'll use up the leftover spinach and strawberries for a salad. I am a little obsessed with spinach, strawberries and poppyseed dressing right now.

TUESDAY: Bean Burritos
This week's meat-free meal. Somehow I find this easiest to do on mexican or italian dinner nights.

WEDNESDAY: Grilled Cheese & Chili
We have a few canned jars of chili in the pantry which will go perfectly with some grilled cheese sandwiches

THURSDAY: Brinner
Best way to use up the leftover eggs and little bits of veggies, cheese, meat etc.

FRIDAY: Leftovers
Our last chance to clean out the fridge before we leave, if nothing remains we can go out :)

Happy Meal Planning!

5 on Friday

Today is my 10th wedding anniversary! Gosh it makes me feel old to say that, don't even talk to me next year when I have a 10 year old child ... anyways. In honor of my wedding anniversary I thought I'd share 5 things I love about being married.

1. Let's start out cliche with "I get to live with my best friend". But in all seriousness, we have fun together and I'm glad I get to go through this crazy thing called life with him by my side.

2. Being married means you get a nice shiny ring. I mean diamonds are a girl's best friend ;)

3. I have a handy man, lawn boy, bug killer and chauffeur all in one! 

4. Being parents with him is challenging and rewarding all at once. We don't always agree on how things with the kids should work but in the end I know we respect each other's decisions and agree on the big stuff (like no boyfriends! kidding, well sort of!).

5. Having someone you can trust, count on, always talk to and are happy to see every day is the best. I couldn't imagine not having him around. 

Ok enough with the sappy stuff ... let's end with a happy photo of us on our wedding day. Here's to the next 10 years and beyond!

He was 21, I was 19 ... gosh we were babies. Would you have guessed if I hadn't told you?

Meal Plan #25

I use Pinterest, like many people, to keep track of what recipes I want to try. The problem is I had a single Recipes to Try board with way too many pins that I couldn't ever find anything without endless scrolling. I did keep my crock pot/slow cooker pins separate, but everything else was thrown together. So I spent time this weekend breaking out my pins into a new Breakfast of Champions board and moving some over to my Freezer Meals board. I also started a Hold the Meat board to gather ideas for our meat-free dinners. How do you organize your pins? Am I the only one who enjoys creating boards with fun names? :)

MONDAY: Paninis with Veggie Pasta Salad
I love a good pasta salad and this one looks delicious!

TUESDAY: Black Bean Quesadillas
This is our meat-free meal of the week.

WEDNESDAY: Sweet Chili Pineapple Chicken
This crock pot meal looks easy enough to change up our traditional meal selection.

THURSDAY: Kid's Choice
We are going to try something new and let the kids make dinner. They can either find a recipe to follow or make something impromptu - the only rule is it has to be well balanced (no ice cream soup).

FRIDAY: Date Night!
It is our 10 year anniversary today so we will be celebrating with dinner out!

Currently #14

loving. that this month marks my 10 year wedding anniversary
smelling. all the delicious foods I've been grilling
writing. lists to keep track of everything
reading. The Secret Place
watching. Pretty Little Liars season 6 that just came to Netflix
craving. quiet time
obsessing. over the weather, I love summer!
wishing. I could magically lose 10 lbs 
needing. to do more planning for our trip - all I know is how we are getting there and where we are staying. 
wanting. a manicure and new hair style
trying. to keep the house clean, it's no easy task!
eating. all the fresh fruit
drinking. iced coffee, I'm becoming obsessed again
feeling. happy
hoping. for a date night very soon!

Meal Plan #24

What a weekend! I feel like I say that every Monday. And this weekend was no exception. We had family and friends over for a cookout on Saturday, then played some croquet, did some fishing and overall stuffing of our faces. I even snuck in some yardwork Saturday morning as we are trying to rip out and redo all of our landscaping in the front. It was a nice workout!

The girls go to camp this week so we'll keep dinner nice and easy ...

MONDAY: Spaghetti & Salad
This week's meat-free meal.

TUESDAY: Nachos

WEDNESDAY: Wraps & Fruit Salad
Everyone will fill their tortilla with whatever they want - it's guaranteed to make everyone happy with dinner.

THURSDAY: YOYO
You're On Your Own - mama has the night off, find some food and eat it!

FRIDAY: Flank Steak Pinwheels
This is such an easy thing to make yet people will think you spent hours cooking. Butterfly a flank steak so it lays open flat and pound if necessary to make even. Put a layer of spinach down, then roasted red peppers. Roll up and wrap with bacon, secure with toothpicks. In between each slice of bacon you'll cut to make slices. Grill until desired doneness then stuff your face! Since I'm not a bacon eater, I use the toothpicks to hold the meat together and grill - still delicious!

5 on Friday

This week's edition of 5 on Friday is focused on 5 things I'm loving right now!

1. Summer weather - it's going to be 92 this weekend and we are going to grill out and have a bonfire. I couldn't be more excited!

2. This blog post from Sarah. Girl is amazing for taking photos and posting for all to see. I relate to her "medium" mentality and don't want to miss out on this summer either.

3. The iced coffee with mocha swirl and cream from Dunkin Donuts. Traditionally I'm a Starbucks girl, but while picking up donuts a few weeks ago I stumbled upon the glory that is the mocha swirl. I might be in love. Sidenote: every time I order coffee I think of the episode of 2 Broke Girls where they work in a coffee shop and Max tries to repeat the orders "small cap, nipple slap, half half".

4. Sabra Roasted Pine Nut Hummus - just roll me around in it. I found a recipe to make my own so I'm excited to give that a try. 

5. Fridays! Staying up late, knowing if you make it to 5:00 (or maybe 4:00) you don't have to come back to the office for 2 full days, fun dinner plans, and all the laid back time that comes with a Friday afternoon after an extended lunch at work. 

Bonus! Come read all my unanswered questions, can you help me with the answers? I'm dying to know, please tell me you have the answers!

Have you ever wondered ...

I have lots of random questions floating through my head, so I thought I'd share with you all. 

... how they make peanut M&Ms? There are videos galore on the plain ones, but nada on the peanut ones. Someone tell me how they do this!

... when you work from home why your dog bothers you to go outside 8 million times? She is normally home all day on her own, so why when I'm here does she have to go out every 6 seconds.

... how may licks it takes to get to the center of the Tootsie pop? The owl always gives up. And I don't like the tootsie center so I'm not testing it out, but I still want to know!

... why I can wear wedges all day with no problem, but 2 minutes in heels and I'm done? There is no height difference, but those spiked heels are not my friends.

... how you can buy expensive sunglasses and they are lost or broken in a week? Yet you can buy the ones from the dollar store and you'll have them for life!

... can the ladies at the nail salon paint their right nails at home or do they end up looking like a 5 year old did them? I know I can't paint my right nails to save my life.

... how many shows can Netflix produce in a year? I swear every other week there is a new Netflix produced show airing. How many subscribers do they have to pull off those budgets?

... why weeds can grow like crazy in my garden, but all my plants I try to grow end up dead? I'm of the "let nature do it's thing" sort of thinking on gardens.

... why nail polish stays on your toes for months, yet my fingernails chip within 30 seconds of being dry? I wear socks and shoes, doesn't that rub on my toenails just as much as what touches my hands!

... where Max & Ruby's parents are at? All the moms will get this one ... Grandma comes to visit but Mom & Dad are never home yet Ruby is always in charge (and very bossy).

... how 2 socks go into the washer and then into the dryer, but only 1 sock comes out? Someone has to got to have them somewhere!

Any questions you need answered? Do you have answers to my questions? Please share your wisdom!

Meal Plan #23

Summer is in full swing! I love all the outdoor activities we get to do over the weekends. Fishing, biking, hiking, walking and running around ... makes me want to be a teacher so I can have summers off to enjoy it all. And of course summer foods are my favorite! Grilling, fresh fruits and veggies, s'mores, ice cream treats - yum! I'm pretty bummed I don't have a garden this year to help plan some meals around. I'll be hitting up the weekend farmer's markets more often instead. Here's what is for dinner this week ...

MONDAY: Chicken Orzo Salad
This salad is completely not traditional and it makes me want to try it even more. Plus you can use pretty much any veggies you want to ensure everyone will love it!

TUESDAY: Mexican Stuffed Shells
These are a freezer meal I made awhile back, so an easy heat and serve dinner.

WEDNESDAY: Ravioli
We'll do cheese ravioli with salad on the side and this will be our meat-free meal this week.

THURSDAY: Brinner
Breakfast for dinner - maybe eggs and pancakes this week!

FRIDAY: Tacos in a Bag
The girls love this dinner option. Totally unhealthy but delicious!

5 on Friday

1. Holy crap - how is it June already?! The kids are out of school and A's 9th birthday is this month. Plus, our vacation is weeks away. I can't even believe it. See what I'll be packing here.

2. I can't stop watching all the home improvement shows on Netflix. I want to DIY my entire house! Keep me out of any craft store or home store in the near future. I'm looking at you Lowes :)

3. We've been in our new house about a month and I am completely obsessed with our backyard. We are on the corner of the pond so we can walk out the back door and go fishing. But we also back up to a HUGE empty lot/field. The center is filled with grasses, trees and all sorts of wildlife (including coyotes - yikes!), but there is a 1.04 mile path around the outside. So I can literally walk out my back door for a mile walk in nature. After a stressful day at work, it feels like I am miles and miles away from everything on that path.  *insert heart eye emjois*

A photo posted by Allison (@amazingmommy) on May 26, 2016 at 5:48pm PDT

4. Can I spend a day at the spa? Just take a day off work and go get pampered. Hair, nails, massage, the whole works. Think I can squeeze that into the budget? Maybe I could even color my hair.

5. I'm inclined to make a summer bucket list. But I am afraid I'll put it together and we'll do nothing and then I'll feel lame. I totally relate to Bonnie's post about summer bucket lists. Thoughts? 

Professional & Edgy?

I think the biggest struggle every lady out there has is ... her hair! Let's face it, curly haired girls want straight hair. Straight haired girls want curly hair. I almost never hear "I love my hair!", everyone wants something new, different, easier to style, etc.

My current dilemma is that I love to color my hair. The damage caused by coloring my hair actually makes it a little thicker and healthier looking. I know that sounds crazy, but let's get real. I have fine, stick straight hair. Layers, bangs or razor cuts are not happening. I don't have enough hair to pull off the look. And for complete honesty, the amount of grey coming through is saddening as I haven't even hit 30 yet. The last time I colored my hair I wasn't thrilled with the color, so maybe it's time to go to the salon. So here's where the dilemma is ... can I get a unique, edgy hair color and yet still be taken seriously at work?

I work directly with our customers and am responsible for getting them to hand over $30,000+ for a website design. So they need to know I've got their back, I know what I'm doing, that I'm going to take their money and they will be happy. Does a chick with blue hair give them that confidence they need?

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I love all the dark brown with purple highlights I've been seeing. I think if I went subtle enough this would be acceptable.

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But where do I draw the line? What pushes me over the edge of no longer being professional? We are a young crew with lots of creative types so I think I get away with a little more than if I worked at say a bank.

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So what do you think? What color should I make my hair? Can I get away with something a little edgy while still being professional?

Help!