What We are Eating - Lunch version

 This time of year, as I gear up for school starting, I look for lunch ideas that I can pull together quickly for myself.  I have the standards for my guys - pizza, nuggets, PB and J, etc.  But I need sometime different :-)  This is one that I tried this past week. 

This idea came from a Bento Box Lunch idea from Pinterest along with some really great Ham and bacon Pinwheels.  After making this on Monday I did change it up slightly on Tuesday for the rest of the week.  The dip is made from Greek Yogurt and Cream cheese.  Here's the truth - no matter how many times I try Greek yogurt in any form I don't like the result.  So I used Ranch Dressing for my veggie dip the rest of the week.  I also added in some carrots with the cucumbers.  I love the Everything Bagel chips - a great taste and great flavor!  The fruit I have with lunch varies - this is Monday with an Apple, Tuesday I had watermelon.  I have grapes to use too so a great variety for this week ! 

The cream cheese pinwheels are great!  I love that there is no tortilla - the ham is the wrap (just like a pickle or onion wrap) and that there is bacon!  I used the already cooked bacon strips and they worked perfectly.  The longer they sit in the fridge the better so they are great for make ahead lunches!  You can find the recipe for the Cream Cheese Pinwheels over at 730 Sage Street. 

This lunch is going in my rotation because it is filling (lots of protein) and easy to put together at lunch time since everything is already made.  Also, I tend to eat the same thing all week for my lunch so this is easy to prep in advance and have everything on hand, cut, and ready to eat! 

Gulf Shores Vacation Part 2

 Here's the rest of the story!  :-) 

Remember that one of the reasons we planned this trip was for my 50th birthday so I planned the day with things I wanted to do! 

If you know me at all, you know that I love a really good breakfast.  I would almost rather go out for breakfast then out for dinner.  I picked Sunliner Diner for breakfast.  Darryl and I had eaten lunch at the diner before but this was the first time for my guys.  My breakfast was very yummy!  

After getting our fill at the diner, we headed to the Mini Gulf Course.  It was a bit hot and there were little lizards keeping us company but we still had lots of fun.  

The family selfie on my birthday! !

Of course, I also went down to the beach and read my book for an hour (or maybe two!!)  The beach is my favorite place to be, as I'm sure I have mentioned once or twice! 

I did not want to cook on my birthday (that's the best gift ever!) so we ordered pizza and salad for dinner.  We enjoyed eating out on the balcony - because, well, we are at the beach after all! 

Nate made sure to get a photo of my since I'm 50 now. 

After dinner we headed down to the beach to find ghost crabs.  It's kinda cool because these little guys kind of freeze in the light so you can catch them.  Don't worry, when we were done, we let them go! 

Finally, we ended the night with my favorite dessert - Key Lime Pie from LuLu's.  It's just amazing and such a treat!  I really loved my birthday and hope we get to do it again!  

On Thursday, we started our day like we always do - the balcony and the pool.  We had pretty near perfect weather the entire week.  Clear blue skies and lots of sunshine! 

Our big adventure today was going to the pier.  It's pretty neat to watch the people out there fishing and see what the catch.  There are also sharks swimming below trying to steal the catch before it gets reeled  in and sometimes they do!  It's cool to see them jump out of the water too!  We also saw some dolphins. swimming out a little further.   Oh, and before this we ate at Lambert's Cafe again - the home of the throwed rolls.  

We were HOT after being out on the pier for a few hours so we headed to get ice cream at Matt's Ice Cream.  The servings were big and the icea cream was good!  

Once we got back to the condo, I headed down to the beach and enjoyed putting my feet in the sand :-) 

Our last day, Friday.  What a great week!  When I'm on vacation I really try to enjoy every moment and make it last.  I can honestly say that this vacation was perfect.  Because we chose to do just one thing each day, to hang around the condo, to use the pool, etc, the days seemed to be long and relaxing in a great way.  It was such a laid back trip and we loved it. 

Our big excursion today was the fort. Fort Morgan is another historical park where we get a chance to walk on the same ground as so many soldiers before us.  It's always kind of somber to walk the halls.  

We are still working on our selfies - my arms just aren't long enough HA!  I need to let Nate take them all - he does much better! 

We enjoyed a late lunch at Shrimp Basket since that is our favorite place to eat.  

Saturday morning we were up early, packed and ready to head out by 10:00 because we had big plans! 

See!  Nate does much better :-)  Our last selfie on the balcony!  We hope to go back to this same condo next year. 

You may or may not know but there was a footbook league that started in the spring and there just so happened to be a game in Birmingham Alabama on Saturday.  We surprised the guys (before vacation) with tickets for this game.  It is technically kind of on the way home so we planned our day around the game. 

It was really a fun time.  We cheered for the team from Texas since my brother and his family live there.  It was hot because we chose the side in the sun (if we ever do this again we know to sit on the other side where there is shade HA!)  BUT the seats were super comfortable and the food was good! 

That is the end of my photos!  Once the game was done, we headed for just north of Nashville for the night.  On Sunday, we got up, ate breakfast and hit the road for the long drive home.  We really worked to not take too much time on our stops and got home pretty close to planned which was nice.  

It is always hard to see vacation end but we sure had an amazing time! 

Weekly Worship - Brandon Lake - So Close ft. Amanda Cook (Lyric Video)

Our Week in Photos

 We have truly enjoyed our week!  Our friends were back in school and we have NOT started school so we were able to enjoy some quiet, relaxed days.  

On Saturday Darryl worked in the morning/early afternoon  and then we went to dinner at my mom's.  It's nice to get back into a routine after a busy month.  Sunday was church.  

On Monday I worked on some projects on my list while also enjoying some Hallmark movies :-) 

Monday evening, Nate and I went to see some folks we know do their black belt testing.  It was also a retirement party for these two - the Goodemoots.  Cherith was Nate's first teacher and she's the one that really put the drive in him to get his black belt.  

On Tuesday I ran errands before coming home and working on things for our co-op.

Wednesday I had a Leadership Team meeting for our co-op and both my guys came with me to hang out with friends.  It has been since before covid that all of the Leadership Team "kids" could hang out at meetings so it was nice to hear them together again. Then my guys went to my mom's to mow her grass and my mom came to our house for dinner :-) 

Thursday was just a perfect day for me.  I slept in a little and then just read, watched some of my favorite shows, and enjoyed the cloudy, rainy, dreary day.  I don't get many of these days when our friends are at school and we don't have anything happening.  I treasure these days! 

Friday - Nate had TKD.  He's training for his black belt!  

This last picture is just because we love Dash so much and he loves when one (or all) of us are on the couch and he can snuggle in with us.  I don't want to wish away the quiet, dog days of summer but I do look forward to our cool, crisp days of fall too! 

Weekly Menu

We are at that transition between the relaxing days of summer and the more busy time of the school year.  In just a few weeks music lessons and church activities will pick up and I'll be running around more!  I will miss the slow days of summer though!  Here's the plan for the coming week! 

Friday -  Chicken Nuggets (homemade) and Fries

Saturday - Dinner at my mom's 

Sunday -  Heading to my father-in-laws for a birthday gathering for him. 

Monday - Oven Baked Chicken, Mac and Cheese, roasted carrots and biscuits

Tuesday - Loaded Nachos (they were so good a few weeks ago I decided to make them again!)

Wednesday -Ham and Cheese Quiche, Sausage balls, Overnight Coffee Cake and Fruit

Thursday - BBQ Chicken, Crash Potatoes, Stuffing and Salad 

Here's the truth - I'm in that time when I'm tired of planning menus so I went back about a year ago in my blog and used that as inspiration :-)  It made it so much easier!  

Gulf Shores Vacation Part 1

 I realzied recently that I never shared about our vacatoin back in April.  Part of why I share it is so you can enjoy it but also so I can look back and see what we did as we plan future vacations!  We were gone for nine days so I'll split it up between two posts.  

We really didn't think we would be able to make a trip to Gulf Shores this year - it wasn't even on the radar.  Darryl and I were chatting one day in mid-March both saying how much we needed to get away.  Well, I said quietly . .. .lets go to the beach; I think we can do it.  It's what I want for my 50th birthday.  I had been trying to plan something - a little get away - for my 50th.  It was all I really wanted.  I was checking out AirBnb's on Lake Michigan; Hotels with a lake view . .. but the cost for just 2-3 days was crazy (Lake Michigan prices are crazy!).  Anyway, all it took was my little statement . .. and the planning begin.  We shortened it a few days from what we did last year to save some money and just plain stopped spending money HA!  

Here's a look back at the first half of our trip: 

We loaded up early on a Saturday morning and hit the road.  Well, not super early - our goal was to be on the road by 8:00 and we were!  So thankful for our "new" vehicle so we didn't have to rent a vehicle this year!  

We enjoy making stops.  We saw the sign for Uranus Fudge Shop and thought it was funny.  We all said we wouldn't make any jokes about it while at the store because we were sure they heard it all.  Well, I'll just say that the joke was on us!  The employees said every joke and then some . .. the shop was pretty "PG-13" actually.  While the Taffy and Fudge we purchased were some of the best I've ever had - we all agreed that we wouldn't stop again ;-) LOL  It's all about the memories, right? 

    Love this bridge :-)  We also love checking states off of our list.  We decided to make day 1 our longer day and go all the way to the bottom of Tennessee before stopping.  Leaving just Alabama for day 2 (which is the longest, most boring state ever!) 

I don't remember where I took this photo - maybe when we stopped for dinner? Or at the hotel?  I will just say that the four of us love being together.  We laugh a lot.  

We stopped for lunch and got Subway/McDonald's (they were right next door to each other making it easy!).  Then we headed on to our hotel.  We planned well - there was a Waffle House and a McDonald's in the "parking lot" of the Hotel making dinner choices easy.  

After a good nights sleep and breakfast at the hotel, we hit the road.  This was our shorter day!  In six short hours we'd be at the beach! 

Just over the border into Alabama is the welcome center/rest stop.  It has an awesome Rocket on display.  We missed it last year but stopped this year.  It's got lots of info not only about the rocket but it was also an area that was a trail used by pioneers.  I love learning our history! 

The rest of the day was uneventful.  We played several rounds of the Alphabet Game to pass the time.  

It was great to arrive at our amazing condo on the beach in Gulf Shores.  We checked in, unloaded, and then headed out to dinner and to Walmart. 

Our first dinner was at a favorite we found when we were Pensacola Beach and visited Gulf Shores called Neptune's.  It's so nice to eat outside!  And, the food is amazing.  From there we headed to Wal-mart to pick up some groceries for the week. 

Now, this is a view I could get used to waking up to every day!  I just love the beach and sitting out on the balcony!  Most mornings (I think every morning actually) I'd start with breakfast enjoying this view.  Then at least Nate and I - sometimes Darryl and Joshua would join - headed to the pool(s).  Our favorite was the indoor pool because it was heated!  The out door pool was super cold!  We would spend a few hours in the pool before getting ready to head out on adventures for the afternoon. 

   We made our main meal "lunch" and would head to a restaurant around 2:00 every day.  This is by far a favorite - Shrimp Basket.  I love their coconut shrimp and seafood queso!  Joshua tried the crab claws and loved them.  

I planned one thing each day.  On Monday we headed out on a nature walk.  It was short and built up with this walkway.  I'll be honest, the reviews were a lot better then real life.  Yes, we enjoyed it but we didn't see much "nature" - it was pretty dry and brown.  

We did not see the alligator . . .but we did look!!  A few months after we were there a friend who lives in Gulf Shores shared a video of an Alligator crossing the main road just down the road from here so I guess there really is one that lives there! 

Since we ate our main meal at 2:00 I planned simple meals/snacks for the evening.  This was Monday's snack.  These little boards are so fun! 

Tuesday Morning!  :-)  We did make it down to the ocean a couple of days to check it out.  Most days it was a red flag so we were thankful for the pools to enjoy swimming.  

Lunch was at Lamberts Cafe - "Home of the Thrown Roll".  Yes, they really do throw rolls to you from across the room and they are all you can eat and are amazing!.  This was true down home, southern food.  They also have all you can eat sides like fried okra, macaroni and tomatoes and fried potatoes PLUS you get sides with your meal!  It was a crazy amount of food.  We all enjoyed it enough that we went back a second time later in the week.  I had a steak the first time and their "famous chicken salad" the second time.  Both were great!   

Our "excursion" today was go-karts.  Joshua and Nate have never driven before so this was a fun thing to do.  They had a blast and were the only two on the track during their ride which made it nice for the first time.  

That takes you through the first part of our vacation!  Check back next week for part 2 (which includes my birthday!!)  

There Is Freedom (Official Lyric) - Josh Baldwin

Our Week at a glance

 It's been a super quiet week.  It's the last week before our friends return to school on Monday so I always try to keep it low key; they get to just enjoy the last week off of school.  

These photos sum up most of my week :-) 

One of my "extras" had to go to his school for pictures and registration; when his mom brought him back she also sent in a Sozo's coffee and an amazing cookie (it was like a spice cookie dipped in chocolate with orange and sea salt!)  She loves Sozo's as much as I do and treats me periodically :-)  

This was my big project this week - working on putting together Josh's first two weeks of school; making supply lists for Science projects; and planning out our schedules.  We still have 2 1/2 weeks until we start school but I like to plan ahead so I'm ready!  

Other things this week - my guys mowed lawns :-)  Both ours and my moms.  My mom came over for dinner on Wednesday and we celebrated my parents anniversary - it would have been 59 years this year!  My parents set a great example for sure.  

Nate and our friends enjoyed some Pokemon Go fun on Monday and Tuesday. 

Nate had TaeKwonDo on Friday.  

Weekly Menu

I think the menu posted last week was nothing like what I cooked.  I had written it; then went on vacation and while on vacation with limited internet capabilities, rewrote my menu/grocery list so I could place a grocery order to pick up soon after getting home!  I cooked quite a few SkinnyTaste Recipes.  This week, I'm back to some of our favorite long time recipes.  

Friday - Buttermilk Waffles, Sausage and Bacon.  I might make eggs and grits too (think Waffle House!) if I feel like cooking that much. 

Saturday - Dinner at my Mom's

Sunday - Roast in the crock pot, beefy noodles, and roasted carrots. 

Monday - Lasagna, Salad and Garlic bread.  Ever since I made the simple crock pot "lasagna" I've been craving the real thing.  Sure it's still summer but Lasagna always tastes good! 

Tuesday - Tacos, Rice and Beans

Wednesday - Chicken Alfredo Pasta, Garlic Bread and Salad

Thursday - Baked Parmesan Pork Chops, Fried Rice, and Green Beans

Looks like a great week of eating! 

What we are eating - Loaded Nachos with Ground Turkey and Cheese

 

This week for "Taco Tuesday" we had nachos!  I very seldom make nachos but this recipe looked good and it did not disappoint.  We ate them right off the tray at the table with sour cream, salsa, and lettuce on the side.  

I did two things differently - 1) the recipe calls for a Black Bean Dip but we are not big fans of black beans.  Instead I used refried beans.  Mixing the beans in with the meat was great because it helps the meat "stick" to the nachos!  2) I used ground pork.  I am not a fan of any ground poultry and always use ground pork in its place. 

You can find the recipe HERE. (and yes, it is a Skinny Taste Recipe!) 

Silver Lake Sand Dunes Vacation - August 2022

We just returned home from our beach vacation and I wanted to share our details.  A couple in our church owns this "cottage" in Silver Lake and they offer it up to folks for vacation times in the summer as their family uses it more in the fall/winter for hunting.  Well, we didn't want to turn it down!  Outside of camping, this is our first "Michigan Beach" vacation.  

Saturday

We loaded up and headed out!  My mom and I stopped on the way in and picked up some fresh Michigan veggies.  Once we unloaded, Darryl grilled burgers.  We found out on Friday evening that Darryl's mom and her husband were camping about 25 minutes from us so after dinner we headed to their campground for the evening.  Nate got to enjoy swimming and we all enjoyed some S'mores.  

Sunday it was stormy/rainy so we enjoyed a day at the cabin. 

We played some games - all new to us and all fun!  Lots and lots of laughs for sure.  We also introduced Joshua and Nate to "The Princess Bride" which they found funny.  We had a break in the rain and Darryl cooked some amazing steaks on the grill!  

Monday - It was another rainy day where we just hung around the cottage. 

We played games and watched "Facing the Giants".  It rained pretty much all day so we had sloppy joes for dinner since grilling was not a good option.  

Tuesday - We finally got to escape :-) HA!  The weather was amazing so we headed to the beach! 

I made a charcuterie board for lunch.  These are always a fun little thing to do when there is a group of people to enjoy it! 

After lunch we headed to Silver Lake State Park - can you guess who the first person in the water was?  HA!  Nate!  He is my water kid for sure!

It was a beautiful day and the water was near perfection!  This is Nate and I out enjoying the small waves.  He and I enjoyed the lake for a good hour plus while everyone else enjoyed relaxing on the beach.  

Darryl did a lot of grilling and Nate helped him a lot.  This time they cooked amazing pork steaks! 

After dinner we headed out to Whippy Dip for Ice Cream.  This was some of the best ice cream ever - their Turtle Sundae is the best I've ever eaten! 

We then took off to drive around town and ended up at the pedestrian part of the park where you can climb dunes.  Darryl, Joshua and Nate took on the challenge and climbed to the dune.  They ended up at a place where they could see both Lake Michigan and Silver Lake.   

Once they came back down the dunes we made a quick run to the Lighthouse at the beach to try and catch the sunset - we were just a few minuets late but the colors were still amazing.  I just love sunsets on Lake Michigan.  

Nate and Joshua - I just love them and love hanging out with them.  They are both amazing people! 

Wednesday - Our Pastor and his family had stayed at the cottage the week before us and they left us a gift of Dune Rides! 

The Dune Ride was amazing AND we had the best driver!  This was probably the highlight of the trip. 

After the Dune Ride we went back to the cottage and did burgers again on the grill (they were THAT good).  

We were finally able to have our first campfire of the week.  Darryl got an amazing fire going, we were on our second round of Marshmallows roasting when the skies opened up and it down poured HA!  It was such a great fire too!  

Thursday - Darryl, Joshua and Nate I took off to Ludington for a bit to explore the Hydro Electric Plant.  

We had hoped we see some wild life and we finally did!  The deer were walking along the trail behind the cottage and had a great view of all of them including a good size buck. 

At the Hydro Electric Plant we were able to walk across a pedestrian bridge to see the workings at the base of the plant.  Then Nate's shoe broke (oops!) so I gave him mine so that they three guys could climb the super steep hill to the top of the reservoir!  They said it was pretty cool and Nate has some photos but I haven't downloaded them yet ! 

Thursday afternoon someone from our church was hosting a BB Gun safety shooting "thing" at the state park and invited us over for it.  The guys all got to shoot.  Neither Joshua or Nate had ever shot a gun and Darryl hadn't done any shooting since he was a teen.  It was an unexpected event that I'm glad they got to do. 

We picked up pizza for dinner from a local pizza place that was really good before heading to actually watch the sunset for real :-)  It did not disappoint.  I could watch the sun set every single night.  

Friday - I'm so thankful for so many beautiful days and Friday did not disappoint either. 

We had a cook out for lunch.  Darryl got another great fire going and made some hot coals so we could cook hot dogs and hobo pies for lunch.  

After lunch we headed just down the road to this great garden.  It was really to appease me because I enjoy it so I didn't make everyone hang around too long :-)  

We then headed back to the beach where Darryl, Joshua, and Nate climbed the light house!  They are up there at the very top!  

We then enjoyed the beach - the water was a good 20 degrees colder then it was the first time we went.  Of course, Nate was the first one in - but it was even cold for him!  Both Darryl and I managed to get in up to our knees but that was about as far as we went!  

We enjoyed chicken on the grill or dinner and then we ended our vacation with a game of Five Crowns because that is the game we always play with my mom :-)  

Saturday it POURED.  It made loading up a little tricky but we did it!  It was so nice to be home - as it always is after a vacation :-) 

Here are a few photos of Dash on his vacation too! 

He made a fast friend when someone scratched his belly HA! 

Dash spent the week with a boarder.  He made some new "friends" but was SUPER glad to be home and back in his big bed.  I'm thankful he had a good week too!