Menu Plan Monday

Alright, to start my BlogOlympics....Menu Plan Monday. I have a bit of a disclaimer: I only have a couple of nights planned, the reason being that we are going camping this weekend, and so Thursday night is kind of a "we'll eat what we feel like when we feel like it" kind of night. Also, Matt cooks dinner one night a week, and I don't always know what it is that he'll do (though I give him ideas, we usually eat out that night!). 

Monday: Shrimp, Mushroom and Asparagus Pasta with garlic bread.

Tuesday: Salmon Cakes with mashed potatoes and brussel sprouts

Wednesday: Matt's Night. I have suggested that he grill a type of meat and some veggies, but we'll see what happens.

Thursday: Who knows??? We may meet some friends for dinner to make a game plan for camping. If not, we'll more than likely have left overs.

So, there you have it. The first installment of Menu Plan Monday. I must say, I think that in the future I'm going to like not having to go to the grocery store 3 times per week. To make this work, I pull a few recipes from my cookbooks (or find new recipes online) and then make my grocery list for what I need to put them on the table. This week, I went grocery shopping Saturday afternoon, but more than likely it will usually be on Sunday mornings as sleeping in is now impossible for me and the store is DEAD at 7:30 on a Sunday!

Four months later....

Alright, I'm a slacker!! The past few months, it just seemed like there wasn't really anything to write about. I guess there was, but nothing horribly earth shattering.....

First, let's do baby news! February 22, Ella Lee Blicke was born. I don't remember her stats now, but she was a little over 8 pounds for sure. She's a cute little sweetie and we love her! Congrats to Justin, Sara, and big sister Ruby! Next, Matt's cousin Mica and her husband Andy welcomed Grant Wesley Ingram on April 5. They live in Texas so I've only seen pictures, but he too is super cute and a great baby from what I understand. Finally, 2 days ago on June 15, Jordan and Nick had their daughter. Laine Aubrey Waldron came into the world at 7:23 pm weighing 7 lbs. 15 oz. and was 20 3/4 inches long! I had the pleasure of visiting just an hour after she was born, and she is gorgeous. And, even though I've already mentioned him and his birthday, my little Jack-man is doing awesome! He and his parents moved back to Woodland from Scottsdale a few weeks ago and Auntie Linds is super excited to have him so close!

Onto other events. At the end of March, Matt and I went to the family cabin with our favorite neighbors, James and Tiffany, and their two girls Skylar and Emerson. What a fun trip it was! The boys enjoyed some skiing on Saturday, and then the rest of the weekend we all played in the snow, ate, drank, played Catch Phrase, watched Twilight, and just enjoyed each other. It was the first of many trips with the Allens, and I can tell that they will all be super great!

In other news, I FINALLY received a sort of college degree this year!!! I officially am the holder of an Associate of Science degree in Accounting. And, I've also decided (AFTER having the degree that I do!) that I really do want to be a nurse after all!! So, this fall I am going to start the process of finishing pre-reqs and then hopefully will be applying to nursing schools by the beginning of 2011 (if not sooner!) I must LOVE school, huh?

Matt and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary this year! We went to San Luis Obispo for a long weekend, and had a great time! I wish that we were able to get away like that just the two of us more often, but I'll take what I can get!

Besides all of the above, we are in the full swing of summer!! Boating is a constant in our lives now, which I love! We just went camping for a friend's birthday last weekend, and have another trip planned for the last weekend in June. 

So, I REALLY am going to try and update this thing more often. Things that I have in mind for posts are: Menu Plan Monday (my list of what will be for dinner for the week), Thoughtful Tuesdays or Thursdays (a profound event or thought that I have had and my reflections on it), Wish List Wednesdays (a wish list of five things), Wordless Wednesdays (a picture only post), and Fabulous Fridays (a run down of what weekend plans are). We'll see if I stick with it. I saw a fellow blogger do a "blog olympics" of sorts, and her goal was to blog every day for one week. My goal is to blog every day M-F starting this coming Monday for at least one week. After that, it may fall to a few times a week, but that's still better than I've been doing!

Introducing....

....Jackson Aaron Wallace!!!!

Jordan and Nick's Baby.....

........It's a GIRL!!!!!! Jordan went to the doctor yesterday, and as of right now they are saying that a little girl will be arriving in late June. They like the name Lane Aubrey for a girl, which I think is super cute. I can't wait to meet my new third cousin!

Lots to talk about (kind of)

All is well in my world. School started back up a few weeks ago, so I'm settling back in to that groove. I'm taking business law and machine calculation this semester to finish off my AS in Accounting. Pretty mundane stuff, but I'm sure all of the science classes that I'll be taking in the fall will make up for it.

Matt just returned from a ski trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He and his Dad and a few other guys have been going for the past 4 or so years. While he was gone, I had lots of fabulous "me" time and basically just relaxed. He was away for his 29th birthday, so we're going to catch up on celebrating this coming weekend by having dinner with at his Mom's house Friday night and then eating at The Melting Pot on Saturday.

Our first baby of 2009 came yesterday. Bonnie and Jerod welcomed Jackson Aaron at 11:47 am. He weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces and was 21.5 inches long. When I talked with Jerod, he said that Jack looks a lot like his daddy and that he has lots of hair. I can't wait to see our new "nephew". Hopefully I'll have pictures soon.

Another baby 2009 update is that Jordan and Nick find out if they are having a boy or a girl today. I suppose I could have waited to post until tomorrow so that I could reveal the surprise, but an additional "update" post won't hurt I suppose!

That's all for now! Until next time....

2008 By Month

Continuing with my apparent addiction to blogging, here's a monthly recap of what occurred in 2008. Note that there were three weddings this past year, so the events surrounding them were huge for me : )

January

Happy New Year as well as Matt's 28th birthday.

February:

Valentine's Day of course! We also had our first boat outing to Lake Berryessa.....

March:

My 23rd birthday, which also happened to fall on Easter Sunday. It was a great birthday with good food, wonderful family and fun times! However, I didn't take a single picture of the events...

April:

Let the wedding festivities begin!!! I had my bridal shower and my bachelorette party this month. Matt also went on his bachelor party to San Diego.

 

May:

Our wedding of course!!!! One of the best days ever : )

June:

Went left for our honeymoon the day after the wedding on June 1st. We went to a resort in Puerto Vallarta and had the best week of sight seeing, swimming, going to the beach, eating, drinking and being together. I still don't have our pictures developed, but here's a picture of the resort we stayed at...

July:

In the middle of the summer, we added a new member to the family.....Macy the black lab! She's a great dog and we couldn't be happier to have adopted her! Carrie's bachelorette party was also in July, and that was F-U-N! And of course, we did some boating during the hot summer days.

August:

Carrie and Zach got married!!! One of the best weddings ever, that is, besides mine!

September:

School started, the summer came to a close, and we had another wedding!! My wonderful cousin and her fiance Nick were married on the 20th. 

October:

A fairly uneventful month. We celebrated Halloween with one of our favorite families - the Allen's!

November:

Thanksgiving of course. A wonderful holiday was spent with family eating, chatting relaxing, and of course, Matt's favorite, squirrel hunting! Carrie and Zach also bought a house!! AND, we found out that Jordan and Nick were going to have a baby in June 2009.

December:

Christmas time!!!! This December seemed to be a whirlwind more than anything. We spent time with family and friends. One of the most memorable events was getting out tree at Apple Hill with Jeff, Helen, Carrie, Zach, Alex, Catherine and Marc. (Note: this is NOT our tree!)

Here's hoping that 2009 will bring as many wonderful things and fun times as 2008!!!

Part II

.....So Matt and I did talk. He couldn't understand why I was nervous about being on the road late

1. On New Years Eve

2. When it's foggy

He said that he'd lived in Yolo County his entire life and that he'd always driven and been driven in the fog. Of course, he has nothing on me as far as that goes (except for being five years older) because I too have lived here my whole life. He simply could not understand why I was fretting about something that he didn't worry about. In the end, I talked with our good friend Sara who was driving herself along with her husband and daughter to the same place that night. She stressed to me that she wanted to get home early and that it was no problem for us to catch a ride. In the end, we went to the party and had a good time and were home by 10:30. The funniest part is that by the time we were driving home, the fog had cleared! One of my worries was no longer an issue, but that didn't change the fact that it's still not the safest thing to be driving around on that night with all the crazys!!

In other news, I don't know if I've mentioned that 2009 will be the year of babies!!!! Not my babies, but our close friends and family. The first due date is Bonnie's. She is due on February 17th (but I think she'll deliver early - maybe on Matt's birthday?). Bonnie and her husband Jerod do not know if they're having a boy or a girl, but my guess is a boy. Their names are Jackson and Maria. The next baby is that of Sara and Justin. Sara is due on February 20th and is having another girl (Ruby Clair will be 3 in March) and her name is going to be Ella Lee. I predict that she will have a birthday of February 21st or 22nd. Next in line, Mica and Andy Ingram. Mica is Matt's cousin on his Mom's side and she and her husband live in Texas. Mica is due on April 14th and they are having a little boy. It's their first baby together, Andy has a son, AJ, from a previous marriage - he's an awesome kid and is excited to have a brother. No word on a name yet for baby boy Ingram. And last (but that could change as the year is still young!) is my dear cousin Jordan. Her and I are the same age and were married within less than four months of one another. She and her husband Nick are due to have their first baby on June 20th. Exactly nine months from the date of their wedding!!! Funny huh? They don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet, but Jordan wants to find out and Nick doesn't. The big ultrasound is scheduled for February 4th. I had a dream the other night that they had a little girl and named her Kendall. So, my prediction is a girl : ) 

Okay, there's my first post of 2009! Cheers to lots of little babies!!!!!