Saturday, August 20, 2011

School Days, School Days

Happy weekend, dear blogging world! I’m finally coming up for air after a hectic few weeks! School is now well underway-we’ve had two full weeks-and things are going well. We’re off to a smooth start, schedules and routines are falling into place, and it is getting busier by the day.

We had a wonderful family reunion at the end of July. It was great to see all of my family members. Two of the three family members who were in the car accident were able to attend. My uncle and one of my cousins were there and they both looked fantastic. The third cousin is also doing well, and she wanted to come very badly. Unfortunately, the halo she is wearing has sheepskin underneath it to protect her skin and it gets very hot. Since the family reunion was held outside and the weather was in the high 90’s, she had to stay home. She would have been roasting in that heat, poor thing!

There is not much else going on around here, just work and school, work and school, work and school.  Mr. P is overseeing two different bridge reconstructions, and he is working long, long hours right now. He has worked about 70-80 hours a week the last few weeks.

I haven’t been cooking as much as I did this summer, but I am trying to get back into the routine that I had last school year where I cooked enough on the weekends so that we could have leftovers throughout the week. On Sunday, I roasted a chicken and made creamy tomato dill salad, lima beans, and macaroni and cheese.  Most people don’t like lima beans, but I absolutely love them. As for Mr. P…I think he tolerates them for me! I was going to post the Creamy Tomato Dill Salad Recipe, but I am still tweaking it a little bit.

With school starting, I’m also planning my breakfasts and lunches. I always try to get everything ready the night before so that all I have to do in the mornings is put together my Home Brew Iced Coffee (my beverage of choice while driving to school right now) and throw any refrigerated items in to my trusty monogrammed lunch bag. Here are a few of my product favorites right now:





I can also order a salad for lunch from the cafeteria, so I am keeping plenty of this Hidden Valley Ranch dressing on hand. So easy to make and low in fat!

Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Recipe

1 cup milk
1 cup mayonnaise
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix

Mix all ingredients well and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Will keep for 3-4 weeks. Makes about 1 pint of dressing.

By using skim milk and reduced fat mayonnaise, this makes for a very creamy and low-fat ranch dressing. 

No big plans for us today, we may just rest up around the house. Some friends are camping down at Mammoth Cave this weekend and they had invited us to come along. We decided not to go, but we may drive down to visit with them tonight. Tomorrow, I’m having brunch in Bowling Green with dear SIL and niece tomorrow. My niece (legacy in my sorority/same chapter) is getting geared up for rush next week so I can’t wait to hear all the details from her.

So what are your plans this weekend? Hope it’s a great one!

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

I'm Still Here

I'm still here lovely bloggy friends, just tied up with life in general right now. School starts on Friday (I CANNOT believe that it is here so soon!), so I'm up to my ears in Open House, meetings, and all that other fun stuff. I'm also starting my annual play at the community theater (don't know if I've ever mentioned that on the blog), so when I'm not at school I'm in rehearsals at the theater. I promise to be back soon with an update on my family reunion, my family members who were injured in the wreck, and some yummy recipes!

Have a great week!