Last Week
Sonny D started back for the regular "fall semester" at preschool after a couple months of "summer camp". There was only a week off (when we went to New Orleans) so it wasn't really any different, no adjustment period or anything.On Friday over lunch I canned pickled jalapeños. I had one jar that didn't seal so I put it in the fridge and can't wait to try it! I also made spearmint vodka with mint from my coworker's garden. Up next is chocolate mint vodka with mint from our garden. And jalapeno-infused tequila.
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| Pickled jalapeños and spearmint vodka. |
My Zumba instructor had her last Saturday morning class, at least for a while. She had an audition at Gold's Gym on the other side of town so she's hoping she'll be able to teach there instead, or at least take the fall semester off and maybe start up again in January. I showed up for that last class and it ended up there were only three of us since it was a holiday weekend.
On Saturday afternoon we hosted my brother-in-law Scott's 40th birthday party at our house for the family. We ordered 9 pounds of pulled pork, which was WAY too much. Even after eating a couple more meals of leftovers, we had to freeze almost 4 pounds of meat. And we asked people not to bring anything, but of course that doesn't happen, so we had too much other food as well. Oh, and a cousin brought over the hugest bottle of red wine, we estimated it was about 6 bottles in one.
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| Not us in the picture, but we had a bottle of wine that big on Saturday. |
On Sunday afternoon we went to my favorite Madison "holiday", the Taste of Madison. I did a lot of research on what I wanted to try, but like always, we had a bunch of random things, whatever interested us. My least favorite was the spicy pickled egg, it was somehow SO incredibly dry inside, but not overcooked. And it was just spicy-vinegar flavored, not much more than that. My most favorite thing was probably the deep-fried pickles from Fried & Fabulous food cart. These were huge slices of pickle, really tasty. Sonny D's favorite item was pork dumplings from the SoHo Dumpling food cart, I had to run back and get him his own pair after I finished the first set we had shared. Husband Jeff's favorite thing was talking with Rocky Rococo and getting a picture with him.
I alternate between me cutting Sonny D's hair and taking him to my stylist because his hair grows really fast and I would spend too much money taking him to the salon every other month. On Sunday evening before his bath I cut his hair. He was patient (ok, completely absorbed in YouTube videos) while I attempted my first haircut with clippers. Normally it's a pretty hack job because I use just scissors and I'm not a professional, but the clipper cut turned out great! I used the clippers along with a comb to do a graduated trim up the back. The front is a bit shorter than normal, but it'll hopefully look fine in about a week.
This morning I woke up at 4:30 (yes, AM!) when I heard Sonny D hopping out of bed to grab some books. I tried to go back to sleep, but once my brain starts going, I'm definitely awake for the day. So I got up and went to the basement with my iPad and did a full 30-minute workout on the elliptical while watching a TV show and also did a tiny bit of weightlifting.
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| Early-morning sweaty selfie. |
This Week
Last week I included Monday in the meal plan because it was a holiday, which I consider to be a continuation of the weekend.- Tuesday - Trader Joe's frozen rigatoni alla Siciliana, leftover corn on the cob, and salads before I head off to Zumba class.
- Wednesday - honey, peanut butter, and banana stuffed french toast, sesame green beans
- Thursday - soup with fried-egg and cheese sandwiches, grilled leeks
- Friday - going out with friends for pizza at Sal's Tomato Pies.
- Saturday - going to a wedding in Chicago... on a boat. This is going to be quite different.
- Sunday - Our standard Northside farmers' market visit in the morning. Last week I forgot my canning recipes so this week I'll have to remember them and maybe buy some ingredients to make something else. Shakshuka for dinner, that's eggs cooked in tomato sauce. Maybe I'll make some pasta to go with it.