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| Eek! There he is hanging out next to my wet PJs. |
The centipede freakout was totally warranted because I had even checked the shower for creepy crawlies this morning! I was a little fearful because had an incident a few weeks ago where I ended up showering with a big mama and actually thought about calling a friend to come over early to take care of it (meaning smash it to dust like a vampire on Buffy the Vampire Slayer). But I figured I had to be a good role model for Sonny D and I dispatched of it with a can of aerosol hairspray (didn't even slow him down!) and huge wad of five full-size paper towels (no small pick-a-size paper towels for bug squashing, I need maximum protection!).
Week in Review
On Wednesday we arranged things at the last minute so Husband Jeff and I were able to go out for dinner and a movie. Jeff had an afternoon meeting out of town that day so we were getting a later start than usual but rather than hit a fast food joint for dinner, we headed to La Mestiza Mexican restaurant right near the movie theater. I informed the waiter we were trying to make it to the 7:10 show and he was awesome about getting us everything really quickly. Jeff had the chicken enchiladas verdes and I had the taco trio, we'd recommend both. We made it over to the budget movie theater with more than enough time to get some of their great popcorn and watch previews before checking out the movie Monuments Men. Husband Jeff enjoyed it because he likes war movies, particularly World War II. I thought it was a decent movie and a fine way to spend an evening.We went to the big downtown farmers' market on Saturday morning. I know it's rather early in the growing season, but I had hoped for at least a little asparagus or rhubarb. I guess our long winter slowed everything down because it seemed like there was only a bit of spinach and hoophouse tomatoes. There was a lot of other things like honey, maple syrup, baked goods, meat, hanging flower baskets, seedlings, etc. We ended up with a chocolate chip cookie for Sonny D, Husband Jeff picked out broccoli and Brussels sprouts plants for his garden, and I got a piece of my favorite Colorado beef jerky from D&G Meats.
The next day at the Sunday northside farmers' market the weather was cold and cloudy and we didn't have too high of hopes for produce after our Saturday market experience when I pulled Sonny D down there in his wagon. Luckily the smoothie cart was there so I got my spring rolls, but Sonny D's favorite egg roll stand wasn't there so he got kettle corn instead. He ate half of the small bag immediately and asked to have some in his lunch bag on Monday. I had forgotten about it this morning when packing his lunch so I was glad I spotted it on the counter so I could tuck a bit into a bag for him. Hopefully he liked that surprise.
And on Sunday evening we had an awesome afternoon and evening with our friends Dustin & Jessica in Milwaukee. Sonny D had a nice nap on the drive over and he woke up just as we pulled off the interstate near their house. Our friends bought their house last year(?) and immediately started renovating it and it looks great! Sonny D and I have been there once before, but Jeff hasn't seen it yet, so he had the full tour to check out their progress. We hung out chatted and had Sonny D pretend to make us pizza and cookies with his play foods. Later we walked over to the nearby elementary school and checked out their awesome playground structures. Sonny D really enjoyed playing with Jessica, he even asked about her this morning at breakfast with a smile on his face. We got back pretty late last night and right after we got home I was unpacking the leftovers and Husband Jeff said Sonny D went straight to his room and crawled into bed on his own because he was so tired. So we left it at that, skipping both brushing his teeth and changing into pajamas. After I read a couple books and turned down the light, he was asleep in just a couple minutes. I'm surprised he actually stayed awake for the books!
This Week
It looks like the weather is going to warm up nicely by the middle of the week, upper 70s! Yay!- Monday - Grilled steak salads. When I was grocery shopping I knew I wanted to make steak salads this week, but I don't really know much about meat. Plus I was grocery shopping at night when everything was already picked over, so there wasn't a whole lot available. I picked up what looked nice and wasn't too big. I ended up with top round, which I hope turns out good. My internet research tells me I should marinade it and thinly slice it, so I threw it into a bag of marinade ingredients over lunch. I'm also going to make sourdough crackers from my sourdough starter and roast carrots and rutabaga to get a head start on tomorrow's dinner.
- Tuesday - I've got a haircut over lunch and after dinner I'll head off to Latin hip-hop cardio class. Going quick for dinner with brats from Jim's meat market, sweet potato French fries, and roasted veggies.
- Wednesday - I bought some fresh veggies on Saturday night that are already fading quickly so I'm going to make a white veggie lasagna sooner than expected. It was a creative idea I came up with when trying to find a use for the can of condensed cream of broccoli soup in our pantry. I think I'll thin out the soup and add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese to make it into an alfredo sauce. I'm also going to try to figure out a way to make it so I can have mushrooms in mine, maybe make a separate dish in a loaf pan, which I think fits lasagna noodles.
- Thursday - More Latin hip-hop cardio for me and swimming lessons for Sonny D. Last week swimming was cancelled because of an accident at the pool. We assume that meant someone pooped in the pool. They still went out for ice cream though! Dinner tonight is going to be leftover veggie lasagna.
- Friday - I'm going out for lunch at Banzo (awesome falafel, hummus, etc.) with my friend Kristen. She's a busy nurse practitioner and usually doesn't have time to go out for lunch, but she has a monthly meeting on the other side of town in the morning and is going to stop by on her way back to the office. For our weekly "Me & D" night I'm picking Sonny D up early from preschool to go to Isthmus a la Carts for dinner. I've never been to it, but it's described as a "celebration of the Madison-area street food scene". A bunch of the food carts will set up at a park and we get sample sizes of all the wonderful food. I'm not looking forward to waiting in long lines with a potentially impatient 3-year-old, but all I can really hope for is decent weather. They're currently predicting 62 degrees with a 20% chance of rain, but it's so far in advance right now that I'm not going to worry about it until the day of.
- Saturday - I want to finally go to the local bakery outlet the next town over (Sun Prairie) to pick up the bread we like, Village Hearth 12-grain. It's low in calories but not super-thin and flimsy like other similar breads. We can go through a loaf of bread in just a few days so I tend to stock up. I buy several loaves at a time and keep the extras in the freezer. Bread defrosts great, I highly recommend it! I am hoping to finally make roasted tofu with noodles in peanut sauce after having it on the menu for weeks!
- Sunday - We're having breakfast with my parents at Blue Gilly's Pancake Pier on the river near their house. We're going to try to get Sonny D to leave in the morning without any breakfast so we can eat a real breakfast when we get there. I'm going to talk it up this week so he's ok with the idea. I'll probably bring some fruit so he can eat something healthy while we wait for our meal. For dinner I'm making chicken with mustard cream sauce with pasta or defrosting the frozen chicken enchiladas with homemade enchilada sauce I made a while back.