Menu Plan: Week of May 19

For about the last week or so we've had the windows open overnight. It's so nice to have fresh air after a long, cold winter.  But the huge drawback is that the birds start making noise at dawn's early light, which is just before 5:00 a.m.!  I don't remember which ones started it, but I definitely heard a screeching crow.  It was so loud I could hear it even after I put in earplugs.  And the frustrating thing is that they do it mainly as the sun is starting coming up, they're less loud later. I'm a light sleeper with a lot of rules (as dark as possible, need silence, prefer no fan, etc) so the birds definitely wake me up. And then I find it difficult to roll over and go back to sleep, so lately I've been up around 5 even though my alarm isn't set to go off until 5:45. So not cool.

Last Week

We totally took down a 9-pound ham in only a few days.  That's a pretty big ham!  It started as a dinner with Husband Jeff's dad and we chowed down leftovers for the next couple of days.  I threw the bone and a bit of extra meat into the freezer and I'll make some awesome soup with it.

Even though it was cold on Friday, we enjoyed the community carnival put on by the nearby grade school & elementary school.  I think it was a fundraiser for new playground equipment.  Sonny D had a great time romping through the bouncy obstacle course, playing a few of the old-school homemade games, and some time in the bouncy house.  We had dinner from the food trucks parked there.  I really wanted tacos, but after standing in line for so long and not getting anywhere, I gave up and joined the guys at the Slide food cart.  Sonny D had their cheese-stuffed meatball slider with marinara, Husband Jeff got their shredded buffalo chicken sandwich, and I got the sweet potato slider with curry mayo.  I got to taste all three and they were so good!  I also bid on a silent auction item, a cut/color/wax from my hair salon, Union Hair Parlor.  When we checked before we left I was the only bid, so I hope I won.  Haven't heard anything from them yet though.  I've never bid on a silent auction item like that.

On Saturday afternoon Sonny D and I had a great time visiting my best friend and her twin 8-year-olds.  We hung out, played at the park, and went out dinner at Noodles & Company.  At dinner Sonny D found out the reason why I always tell him to not squeeze his juice boxes/milk.  He squeezed it and it shot up like a volcano, up into his hair, on his shirt, and on his pants.  He complained and wanted his pajamas to change into, which of course I didn't have with us.  I was  reminded I should always bring the bag of extra clothes in case something like this happens.  Luckily it wasn't a whole lot and he went home only a tiny bit soggy.

Sunday morning at the Northside farmers' market was absolutely gorgeous weather. I was glad to finally see fresh produce available this week. I bought asparagus, a dozen eggs, rhubarb, salty-and-sweet kettle corn for Sonny D, an orange-carrot juice, and my usual couple of spring rolls.  Husband Jeff and I shared a spring roll at the market because they're so big and I brought the second one to work and am chowing it right now as my Monday morning snack at work.  In the evening we met up with some friends for an awesome all-you-can-eat sushi dinner at Muramoto.  We had a great time chatting, laughing, and eating WAY too much food.  We had one gal who said that after having two kids the raw stuff didn't appeal to her anymore and Husband Jeff doesn't really care for sushi in general and by the end we were all chowing down on everything.  Husband Jeff said "This is sushi?!" when we had him try the Tokyo Picnic roll, which features pork belly.  Yes, it's not traditional but he agrees it's absolutely delicious!

This Week

• Monday - chicken with pasta in mustard cream sauce. After dinner I'm going to trim Sonny D's hair. 
  
• Tuesday - I've got a Burgers & Brew planning meeting (the event is next weekend), so Husband Jeff is on his own for dinner.  I figured fish sticks and roasted red pepper-tomato soup.
• Wednesday - Home-frozen Asian meatballs with broccoli and carrot fried rice.
  
• Thursday - I'm away again, this time Latin hip-hop cardio class right after work.  I planned the guys would have a bag of Trader Joe's gnocchi alla Sorentina with sauteed shrimp and a bag of frozen veggies.
• Friday - I promised Sonny D that we could go shopping at Trader Joe's tonight for Me & D night, so we're having a quick dinner of hot dogs, baked beans, and pesto pasta and then heading to the grocery store.  You might be wondering why he wants to go grocery shopping, it's because he gets to use the mini kid cart there.  He did great last time, he listened really well and was really patient. 
• Saturday - I've got Core Fusion class and then we kick off the summer with our friends' annual Burger Challenge.  It's a contest for the best burger but there really aren't many rules, your only goal is to please the judges (the other guests).  We've never been there for the actual contest, but have enjoyed the potluck afterwards. In the evening the in-laws are having a family grillout.  
• Sunday - Our usual Northside farmers' market visit in the morning and then later my mother-in-law and I are going out for lunch and then watching the taping of the local White Jasmine Everyday Cooking TV show (Groupon/LivingSocial deal). Not sure what to do for dinner.
• Monday - Since it's the Memorial Day holiday and essentially an extension of the weekend, I'm including Monday in this week.  We don't have any plans, but since our friends from Seattle will be in town, we'll probably do something with them.