Mother's Day Weekend

Mother's Day weekend is always a struggle for me. I always have these grand ideas of how everything is going to play out, and I am always disappointed. I guess I have to learn to lower my expectations.

Friday was my RDO (Requested Day Off), so I prepped dough for our pizza dinner, and ran a bunch of errands. I also did a lot of cleaning, I mean detail cleaning. It was long overdue. Having my tonsils out really took a toll on my cleaning abilities.

Dinner turned out great and Averie was my big helper in the kitchen. She is slowly becoming more aware and following directions. I reward that kind of behavior with being mommy's helper.

 

We made a tomato, basil, and mozzarella pizza. While Averie and I were making the pizza I noticed that every time I would put a tomato on, it would disappear. My booger was stealing the tomatoes and eating them. I guess there are worse things she could eat, and steal. *smiles* The pizza was delicious and the beer much needed.

That evening we all just hung out and watched TV nothing too exciting. 

Saturday however was going to be fun. We went to the Farmers Market in the morning. Averie was mad that we were taking so long to buy raisins. Poor girl.

Once we got home I washed all our healthy finds and prepped them for use. This always helps me during the week. Averie and I spent the afternoon hanging out with Anessa who came up for the evening. After some quality time with the fam it was time to prep dinner.

I made chicken pesto pasta and bruschetta. The farmers market and bruschetta go hand in hand. I love using fresh local tomatoes and basil. They are so fragrant and might I mention tasty. Averie is able to indulge in her tomato addiction, she would eat the whole bowl if I let her.

After dinner we had some visitor's. Clint and Luke came over to chat and see Averie. They genuinely love that little girl and often make special trips just to come and say hi to her. I love it!

Luke stayed with us and I took Brian, Averie, and Luke to Vampire Penguin. Interesting name right. I will have to look into why it is called that. It won't be today though. I am blogging. *laughs*

 

We ordered the Deluxe Strawberry Cheesecake. Brian was in seventh heaven. I don't think he realized what I meant when I said it was so good and shaved ice. He had a preconceived notion that it was the typical shaved ice that you get at the fair or an amusement park. Oh no my love this was exceptional shaved ice. I would like to announce that he is officially addicted. So much that he wants to go almost everyday. Oops, my bad. Luke ordered the Smores Oreo. No pictured sorry.

Sunday, Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there. I hope you had a wonderful and blessed day.

My day went like this. Well after the long night with Averie and having to get up at 6am. Thanks Honey. In an attempt to recover himself from being absent during the evening.

Brian woke up and made me breakfast. Okay good start.

Oh I forgot the night before is when Anessa and Brian gave me my mothers day present. See's chocolates, and Bath and Body candles. Oh and of course Brian sent Anessa out last minute to buy these items. Maybe I will just come to expect this as his MO.

After breakfast and a little relaxing we headed over to my Mom and Dads for a BBQ. My favorite Pappy's chicken, garlic bread, and cesar salad.

After dinner Averie did a little homework and "swimming". I say "swimming" because we used the old sandbox. It is still early for real swimming, so the pool toys have not come out yet. Soon, very soon. 

Man I love this kid. She makes being a Mommy so worth it every day, not just Mother's Day. I love all of my family, surprised? Haha. They really do try, and that is always appreciated. Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful, hard working, dedicated, selfless, tired, and loving Moms out there. If no one has told you lately, YOU ARE AMAZING!

Hello Fresh and Zulily

Zulily always has great deals. I found a $20 voucher for Hello Fresh and figured I would give it a whirl. I can always use help during the week with dinners. This voucher bought me 3 meals for 2 people for 20 bucks, regularly $69. That sounds like a deal to me. My first shipment came on Monday.

I was so excited to hear the doorbell ring and it to be the UPS guy with my Hello Fresh delivery. I was also excited that Averie was not napping yet, so there was no sense of panic that he was going to wake her.

Brian and I unpacked the box and hashed out what was going to be for dinner. Monday night's dinner is Chicken with Barley Hash and Charred Broccoli. Yum! The instructions were so easy. Dinner was done in about 45 minutes. Not to shabby. When you are a busy Mom and have a full time job, you need something every once in a while that doesn't require so much thinking and prep. This was my ticket for the week. It worked out perfect too, because Grammy and my Mom are on a cruise for a week. The two person meal box was well timed.

 

7 Steps is a cinch. 

 I love how everything was so well organized and labeled. It made prep ten times faster.

We all sat down and ate our new yummy dinner. The consensus was that it was delicious. The barley could have been cooked a little longer, but the flavor was great. The charred broccoli was yummy, and so was the chicken. Definitely a good start to my Hello Fresh adventure. I am excited to see what the next two meals have in store for me.

Well until the next meal, which will most likely be Tuesday night. See ya later.

It's my Friday!

I am back on the roller coaster ride. Back to taking my vitamins. Generously donated to me by my best friend. Back to eating healthy and trying not to fall off the wagon once again. Yesterday I stopped at the store to pick up some things for Grammy, and while I was there I picked up a couple of things that would make lunches healthier and easier. Flatout wraps, turkey, and some yummy Havarti. I am going to try so hard to maintain better eating habits, and since the weather is starting to get better. I think more running is in my future too. I think the start of the Farmers Market downtown will help with the healthy eating. It might also make it more expensive, eek. Another expensive habit that I am taking up is protein drinks. Bolthouse chocolate protein plus in particular, I have had them before and written on the blog about them. They are delicious. I am not nor never have been a breakfast person so this will be a good substitute for my morning meal.

Here is what I have eaten so far today. I am so pleased 

 

I also took a walk with a work buddy to the Farmers Market. Oh how I missed you. Even when there are grey skies the vendors still all came out. I walked away with Strawberries, Blueberries, and Cherries. I guess I was craving fruit!

Well back to staying busy. Friday has all sorts of possibilities at this moment. I can't wait.

More Crazy

I cannot believe the craziness that has ensued these last couple of weeks. It has literally been one thing after another. To the point where I have to look at my calendar to figure out what day it is. The last time I posted it was the end of April so I guess I will update from there.

On April 24th I had my tonsils removed. Yes at 31 years of age those babies had to come out. Last winter I was home sick four or five times with strep and I definitely do not have the patience to do that again this coming winter. It is just not the kind of thing I want to pencil onto my calendar, if you know what I mean.

The experience overall of having them removed was not the greatest but I didn't expect it to be rainbows, and butterflies. I am now 12 days post surgery and I am slowly recovering. I still feel some soreness and swelling. Recovery probably would have gone a little smoother if it wasn't for a nasty flu bug I got this last Sunday. Which by the way has migrated to all of my family. Grammy, Mom and Dad are the current victims. Brian, Averie and I are all hopefully over it. Fingers crossed. Between the surgery and being sick I was off for 10 straight days. I hate taking time off under those circumstances.

Now, I know that you are probably thinking, "Man that has got to be boring staying in bed for 10 days straight." Well if you have read my blog you know pretty clearly that I did not stay in bed for all that time. I did for the first 7 days, but then I had to move and do something. ANYTHING! On Friday Anessa came down and we watched some softball. Which admittedly was a mistake. I was the only one entertaining Averie and a week after surgery that just was too much for me still. We ended up playing in the air conditioned car for the last 30 minutes of the softball game. The car is like a play pen, she gets to climb all over the seats and I get to sit in one. Thank goodness.

After the game Brian dropped Averie and I off at the house and they went to dinner. I still was not eating solid food so it didn't makes sense for me to be in yet another situation where I have to entertain Averie. It is like we aren't even there sometimes.

Saturday we all hoped in the car and took a drive down to Chico, as if I have not been through enough already right. Chico was very nice actually, and one of the potential schools for Anessa to attend next year. (For those of you that didn't know. Anessa previously had a full ride scholorship to San Jose State for softball. That is where she attended this past year. But due to some personality conflicts and lack of opportunity she decided that she did not want to attend SJSU next year. So here we are back at square one trying to find a new school and get at least a partial scholarship. Craziness I told you.) Back to Chico. The campus was very clean and seemed friendly and laid back. All qualities I think Anessa would like in a school. She has also got some interest from a few other schools but this one was close enough to visit.

We walked around, and got some lunch @ a place called Mo's and then headed back to Sacramento for dinner with the Kaylor family for Anessa's 19th birthday. No taking breath over here.

Averie slept through most of lunch

I tried to eat these, but had to chew like a 1,000 times. I eventually gave up.

Brian's lunch

Sunday, oh my oh my this post is long. I know your tickling with excitement. *smiles*

NOTHING! That's right Sunday we did nothing. Oh but why? Cause Brian and I were so sick that we could barely move. Hello stomach bug. I will spare the details, but it was something that the devil made. It was bad, and keep us down for two days. Monday was the 10th day that I did not work. I did finally make it back to work on Tuesday. With a pretty great attitude too. There are more changes coming this summer. You will just have to wait and see! It is going to get a whole new kind of crazy.

Grammy's Birthday part 2

The plan for Saturday was for Thelma (Grammy's Best Friend) to arrive at my house in the afternoon. Did I mention that Grammy had no idea she was coming. I told her that she had to wait at the house until her birthday package arrived. It was perfect, but annoying to her I am sure. She was so surprised when there was a knock at the door and it was her best friend. I had also arranged 3 envelopes for her to open once Thelma arrived. The first envelope was tickets to see Cirque Du Soleil Varekai at Sleep Train Arena. The next envelope had a dinner gift certificate. The last envelope came with a bag of movies. Something to keep them entertained if they decided to hang out at the house for a bit.

Grammy and Thelma at Varekai

Sunday we all went to dinner at Bistro 33 in Davis. The whole family was there. Mom, Dad, Jer Jer, Kerin, Alyssa, Grammy and Thelma. It was so much fun. I think that this was Grammy's favorite birthday to date.

Grammy and Tricia on our way to Bistro 33

Until next birthday Grammy. We all LOVE you!

Sailing Show in Oakland

Talk about a fun Saturday with my Husband. Man if all days could have been like this day. We dropped Averie off at my parents. Then headed to Oakland. Where beautiful weather awaited us.

Once we walked the mile from our car to the show, we quickly had to grab something to eat. I was so nervous eating before getting on the boat for a 4 hour sailing cruise. Cheese Gone Wild had the best Garlic fries I have had since the last San Diego Padres game. Yep I have the specifics memorized. The fries settled down just fast enough for the boat ride. No nauseous for this girl. 

The scenery on this 4 hours cruise was amazing. The whole group had a blast. When we arrived back at the dock there was wine, cheese and crackers awaiting us. It was so nice. I definitely want to go back next year. 

Brian and I got back really late so we stopped for a bite to eat at this cute little place. Then headed back to my parents to pick up the baby. Oh how I missed her. These trips always end the best when I am reunited with my baby girl. 

Well until my next post.

Grammy's Birthday Part 1

Alright so Friday April 10th was Grammy's birthday. We started the day off with Lunch at Shari's with my Mom/Grammy's Daughter/Averie's Grandma. We made a stop at the Nugget and then back to the house. I made a yummy dinner of... no clue. I do know that it was special.

We made Grammy's birthday last all weekend. This was Friday's fun adventures. Saturday Brian and I had plans so I had to be cleaver about planning the next days festivities. She was so surprised, and I was so anxious for her to find out what I got her.