happy thanksgiving!

we are so very thankful today.
we are home enjoying this time together
playing video games
watching football
doing book reports
starting my december daily book
running a mile
making a pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes and green beans
drinking good coffee (and later good wine)
feeling inspired
catching up on breaking bad (seriously, we are on season 3 and can't stop watching)
planning for christmas
decorating the house
getting ready for a birthday
cleaning
enjoying the beautiful weather
and so much more.

happy thanksgiving, yo!

2013 weekly menu: week 48

fruit stuffed french toast

it's gonna be a great week.  a short school week. a short work week. lots of good food, football, visiting with family, generations day, birthday celebrations, putting up the tree, cleaning out the garage, getting ready for christmas and being together.  looking forward to all of it.


weekend eats:
saturday:  homemade greek food at a school event
sunday: fish tacos at a family birthday

making this week:
monday: sausage and spinach soup, ciabatta parmesan toast
tuesday: chicken pomodori panini, green salad
wednesday: seared ahi tuna salad
thursday: thanksgiving dinner
friday:  leftovers or pizza

hope you have a good week ahead of you.

2013 weekly menu: week 47

tomato soup and lasagna grilled cheese.

this week just got away from me. it's been a very long week, but also a very tiring week.  here we are on friday and i'm just getting to posting our menu.

i made the menu up as the week went on - i know shocker.  made multiple trips to the store and even put one meal together by opening the fridge at 5pm and coming up with something.  that was not a good feeling. but it ended up being a great meal - see tuesday.


weekend eats:
saturday:  pizza
sunday: mexican food

making this week:
monday: caldo de pollo - mexican chicken soup
tuesday: chicken enchiladas, rice
wednesday: grilled chicken sausages, vegetables and wild rice medley
thursday: sun dried tomato and goat cheese ravioli, focaccia bread
friday:  dinner with family

this coming weekend is a relaxed one for us.  looking forward to a little catch up time and maybe writing a bit.  we'll see.

have an amazing weekend!

2013 weekly menu: week 46

food paks put together at children's hunger fund by the 6th grade class to send out to needy families in the valley.  this was a great way to spend a thursday morning.

enjoying spending the day at home with the kids today. no school, no (more) practice, no carpool or rushing around.  taking a breath as we slow down a bit.

our evenings this week are  another story. between meetings, banquets and football, we won't have dinner together at home all week.  so i'll plan for the best.

weekend eats:
saturday:  notre dame gala
sunday: chinese food

making this week:
monday: tomato soup and grilled cheese
tuesday: crockpot salsa verde chicken tacos, rice
wednesday: salmon and hummus salad
thursday: water polo banquet
friday:  football playoffs - eat out

now it's time to get out of my pajamas and get to the store.

hello november

hello fall weather...eventually

hello boots, sweaters and scarves.

hello to slowing down.

hello to grandparents day at cha.

hello to gratitude.

hello to soups and hot tea.

hello to fresh baked bread and pumpkin muffins.

hello to getting ready for the holidays.

hello to teacher conferences and report cards.

hello to football and staying on top of my game.

hello to getting my running shoes on again.

hello to weekly family birthday celebrations that don't end until new years.

hello to finishing the unfinished

hello to making plans for the new year.

hello to less anxiety.

hello to enjoying the everyday moments.

let's make this the best month yet!

2013 weekly menu: week 45

bobby and i had lunch at gatten sushi last week.  we came here because we heard the sushi is served on a conveyer belt.  sounds like fun.  the suhsi comes around to your table and you grab what you want.  the prices are determined by the color of the plates.  cool concept, ok sushi.

starting the week off with some energy and motivation.  maybe it comes from the extra hour of sleep we all got on saturday night.  or maybe that i'm getting excited about the holidays. or maybe it's the fact that it feels like a new beginning in so many ways.

regardless of the why, i'm going with it, starting with dinners this week.  challenging myself to try a few new things and getting myself organized in the kitchen. let's see how long this lasts.

weekend eats:
saturday:  family birthday dinner
sunday: mexican food

making this week:
monday: seared ahi tuna salad - i'm going to try and recreate the salad from yard house.
tuesday: blue cheese chicken burgers
wednesday: lemon pepper pasta with shrimp
thursday: pork tenderloin with apricot glaze, potatoes and salad
friday:  water polo tournament - eat out

hoping this week lives up to its potential.

a happy halloween

this past week went by in a flash.  a week ago i was anxious about bobby coming home and now i can't believe he's been here for 7 days.  it's an adjustment for all of us but we are happy to be a family of 5 again.

one thing i kept on my mind while he was gone was that by halloween he would be home trick or treating with the kids. and he was.

the day started off at our school's annual halloween carnival.  the pto puts on this event on halloween day which makes it exciting (and exhausting) for everyone.

there was a parade on the sport's court with each grade showing off their costumes.

sofia, as a disco girl, and her friend madison.

andrew, as a hobo, and his horse friend chance.

after the parade the kids came down to the lower parking lot where class booths had been set up with fun games and activities.  we had a trackless train, bouncy houses and acroflights, face painting, pumpkin decorating, a book fair, snacks and lunch.

it's one of the biggest events the pto puts on and it's always so creative and fun.

after closing up the carnival, the kids and i went to jordan's water polo game.  they played crespi which is our biggest rival in the league.  unfortunately, our varsity team lost in overtime which knocked them out of the playoffs, but the jv team won 6-11!!  go knights.

we left pierce college and headed across the valley to trick-or-treat with friends. the kids were energized and eager to fill their bags.

we went to the.best.neighborhood to get candy.  i have never seen so many people walking around. there were lines at people's doors, amazing decorations and one house gave out king size candy bars to everyone!

one street had a table set up to give out candy to the kids and another table with wine and cheese for the adults.  yup, we're coming back here every year.

by the end of the day my feet were killing me, i felt exhausted and drained, but my heart was happy. we were together as i had imagined and that's the best treat of all.