Early to Bed...

It could be because I'm still nursing a bit of a lingering hangover from a fantastic night out with girlfriends last night or it could be because I need to be up around 6am to get ready for the Sporting Life 10km! I am nowhere close to being ready (been at least 6 months since I ran 10km) but I'm really looking forward to this race.

Hoping I cross the finish line in one piece AND with a time under an hour!

Best! Love!

Productive Sundays!

Maybe I'm back to having my relatively productive Sunday routine?

Got up early this morning and made a pasta sauce with smoked proscuitto for the freezer followed by mac & cheese (with smoked gouda) for tomorrow night's dinner as well as homemade granola (will post the recipe as it's low sugar/oil & delicious) PLUS prepped for tonight's dinner of breaded tilapia, brown rice, cabbage & carrots. Um, phew... and this was all done before 10am!

I'm still having my insane aversion to meat (no, not pregnant) and basically cannot buy anything I see at the grocery store. I'll hit up Rowe Farms later this week to grab us a few staples. Ironically enough, I still managed to spend $140 without purchasing any true form of protein.

This aversion is driving me CRAZY! I pretty much can't look at meat without almost throwing up and the thought of any sort of preparation makes me cringe. I had an big aversion to chicken when I was pregnant with M and could buy it but not touch, prepare, cook or eat it. I got over it (sort of) once he was born. In the past 2 months or so, I'm happy to admit that our meatless versus meaty meals have increased but we're at the point where few meals involve meat. I need to either be prepared to offer more alternative protein sources (no soy) or get my hands & head back in the game. So far, butcher or market meat makes sense. We'll see...

Granola recipe will be posted tomorrow... g'nite!

Oh So Crafty...

D is pretty sure our neighbours think I'm crazy. It likely started with last year's Jelly Tot wreath for Easter, which was a bit of a fail because I neglected to Shellac it and it dripped sticky candy goodness all over our front door after every rain. The raccoons had a field day with this and the poor wreath was ripped from the door and basically eaten to bits after only a couple of weeks on display.

Anyway, the latest in porch decor on our street was M's birthday balloon wreath. I took some 700 + balloons and pinned them to a wreath and proudly hung it on our front door for the weekend of his birthday. I've put it away for now but this will be a tradition we carry for years to come.

Nifty Carrots

We're heading to my brother's house for Easter dinner later today and when I asked what to bring, my SIL suggested a veggie dish. I made these at Christmas to serve with beef tenderloin and think they'll be a great side to ham & lamb.

Nifty Carrots

5-6 large carrots - peeled, sliced & cooked until tender-crisp (reserve cooking water)

1/4 cup reserved carrot water

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream (fat free is fine)

2 tbsp. finely chopped onion

1 tbsp. horseradish

S&P to taste

1 tbsp. butter, melted

1/2 cup bread crumbs

Place cooked carrots in a shallow casserole.

Combine carrot water, mayonnaise, sour cream, onion, horseradish, salt & pepper and pour over carrots.

Combine butter & bread crumbs and sprinkle over top. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Serves 6

*Nifty Carrots, p. 167, The Best of the Best & More.

8 Sleeps!

Gah! The royal wedding is only 8 sleeps away! This is big news, people! BIG. Lots of details to finalize over here... what to drink, serve and WEAR!

Wait...

You mean, you're not taking the day off to drink Babycham or Pimm's while watching the wedding? Eek. Yeah, I am.

Is it wrong that I want to wear my wedding dress?

I Did It!

I finally got off my butt and went for a run. I only did a 4km loop but it was a good run. Not sure of my timing but it was the first run of the season so I won't be too hard on myself. I've got a couple weeks left before the Sporting Life 10km and although I know it will be my first 10km run of the season, I'm hoping to do it in less than 45 minutes. Felt good to be back out there though!