Menu Plan Monday

Last week, I rediscovered the importance of flexibility. After planning the menu, we ended up completely rearranging our week. Here's what happened, on Sunday afternoon I made Calzones for the fabulous dude to have in his lunch for the week. I then found out that on Monday and Tuesday he was going to be at Staff BBQ's, on Wednesday a fund raising event where lunch is provided and Friday he's off. So, he only needs lunch on Thursday. And into the freezer the calzones went for another week.

On Monday, I put the chili in the crockpot in the morning. When the hubby got home we decided to go strawberry picking and then do some work in the garden and go for a bike ride. By the time all that was done, we were way too hot to eat chili. So, instead we ate sliced tomatoes, cucumber and fresh fruit. Into the freezer the chili went.

On Tuesday, I found out we would be having an extra guest for dinner. I had planned to have roasted chicken breasts but changed that to grilled chicken breasts because of the heat. I also planned to cook a little extra to have enough leftover for a meal on Thursday night. I didn't have enough chicken to feed an extra and have enough for the soup so I decided to serve grilled sausage on a bun with grilled potatoes.

Wednesday the fabulous dude was at his fundraising event and then met me at our friend's daughters birthday party. I had supper with them and he joined us for cake and ice cream.

Thursday's plan was to be chicken and corn chowder. However, because of the lack of chicken from Tuesday night, I decided not to cook chicken specifically for this purpose. So, sliced veggies, fresh fruit and leftover sausage it was.

Friday we left and headed up north for my family reunion. We had dinner with my brother and SIL at their place on the way.

As you can see, the master plan got completely rearranged but that's okay, that's what life is about!

I did end up doing a lot of baking for our trip including...

Blueberry Muffins

Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins

Crunchy Granola Bars

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

and my poor lonely Banana Bread that did not get it's picture taken.

This week is very boring since I am away most of it...

Sunday - away

Monday - away

Tuesday - away

Wednesday - might still be away but if we're home we'll eat chili if it's not too hot, or else just a quick sandwich

Thursday - grilled chicken, corn, rice, salad

Friday - chicken and corn chowder**

Saturday - Leftovers and/or grilled cheese sandwiches

By the way, I have prewritten this post as I am away so if someone would please be so kind as to link me up on Organizing Junkie's Linky I would be very happy.

Head over here to find more menu plans!

**recipes to come on Lucy's Kitchen

The View From Here - June 26th

The garden has really progressed since the last time I posted about it nearly two weeks ago. Everything is growing like crazy and it won't be too long before we're eating fresh veggies.

The cherries are a bit late this year. In previous years we have been able to pick a basket to take up north to my family reunion but this year, they just weren't ready. This made me frown (and I'm sure it will make a few of my cousins frown, too). Hopefully they will be ready when we get back.

Here are a few pictures of the garden (please note: I went outside to take the dog for a walk and planned to take photos on the way back. It began to spit as soon as I got outside so I decided to take the photos first. By the time I walked behind the barn to the garden, it was pouring. I still took the photos. As a result, please excuse the increasingly poor quality as the photos progress. It was a snap and go session).

The peas are beginning to make their way up the lattice. They are a bit late so hopefully we'll still be able to get some fresh peas despite this crazy heat.

The potatoes came up very quickly and started growing like crazy. Have you ever seen potatoes grown in old tractor tires? We decided to give it a try this year, so hopefully it turns out okay. You can read about the tire planting process here.

The tomatoes are coming along really nicely as well. Many of the plants are starting to show some buds. Because of the rain I couldn't get in close enough to show you.

The peppers are looking much the same as they did two weeks ago, just taller. More buds are showing up each day and all 18 plants look very healthy.

Here you can see more pepper plants as well as the Okra plants. The Okra are the four plants closest to the bottom of the photo. They were looking a little shabby last week but after some nice rain and high heat, they appear to be rallying up.
The turnip have gone crazy over the past two weeks. It seems everyday I can notice a change. Soon we will thin them out and attempt to transplant a few of them further down the row where the onions were supposed to be, but never came up.
The beans are getting pretty tall and since the last post, many more plants have appeared. We planted four rows and at one point it seemed as though only the far side of the rows came up. We weren't sure if we planted them too deep or what. So, we added a few more yellow bean plants and now the rows have filled in. We even had to pull a few plants out that were too close together.

Here are the beginnings of our carrots. We only have two carrot bunches, thanks to my expert weeding skills. The weeds were very heavy in this area and I got so carried away with ripping them out that I accidentally ripped an entire bunch of carrots out. Oops! At least carrots aren't my favourite veggie.

Beets. Soon they will be tall enough that I can pick the tops and boil or sautee them like spinach. Also, on the very edge of the photo you can see where the lettuce is coming. We have two bunches and they should be ready for picking within the next week or two. I am so excited to have our first "fully homegrown meal" of the summer!

Top to bottom: Squash, cucumber (very tiny in between the first and second mound), summer squash, zucchini. These plants are also going like crazy. I can't believe how much they seem to grow in one or two days. On each plant, we can see between 10-15 squash/zucs/cucs starting.

Here is the evidence of our first zucchini plant coming along. The cucumber plants also have a number of flowers blossoming, but with the rain I didn't take the time to get close up photos of them.

A view of the entire garden.

We're off today to my family reunion in Northern Ontario so I will be absent from blogland until Wednesday or Thursday. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you when I get back.

The Great Strawberry Expedition

On Monday night, when the fabulous dude got home from work we decided to head to the next town over to pick some strawberries. I've mentioned before that our landlords have a small patch here, but this year it was not nearly as full as past years. So, off we went.

20 minutes and $11 later we came away with this basket heaping full (I could have sworn I took a picture when I got home but I cannot find it anywhere! I know a photo of an empty basket does not have the same effect)...

Then when we returned home, I did what any independent grown woman would do. I called my mom and asked her what the heck I am supposed to do with all these berries. Did I forget to mention that I also had three quarts of berries from the grocery store that I bought on the weekend?

Of course, I considered making jam. I hemmed and hawed and finally decided against it, because, well, I don't really love jam. So, my mom explained to me the process she uses to freeze strawberries for future use.

It sounded like a great plan to me. This way, if I change my mind later and decide to make jam after all, I still have the option.

I started by reserving a good size bowl of berries to eat fresh.

Then I washed and hulled the berries. The pampered chef strawberry huller is my new best friend. It makes the process so much quicker and easier (but I still have calluses on my hand).

Next, I lined the berries in a single layer on a cookie sheet with edges.

I left some whole, and sliced some.

I made a flat space for them in the freezer and carefully placed them, one on top of the other.

I left them in the freezer for about 1.5 hours. You want them to be slightly frozen but be careful not to leave them too long or they will get frost bite. I know you can't tell the difference, but these are the berries after being frozen.

I took one cookie sheet out at a time and quickly transferred the berries into freezer bags before they began to thaw. If you want, you could freeze them in certain portions (1 cup, 2 cups etc..) but I just filled the bags. By flash freezing them like this, the berries will not stick together once placed in bags or containers. So, I can take out the desired number each time without having to use the whole bag.

I froze 4 cookies sheets worth, which ended up being 4 large freezer bags of whole berries and 1 small freezer bag of sliced berries.

Now I have plenty of strawberries for smoothies, baking or to eat over ice cream!

Honest Scrap

The oh-so-lovely Mrs. Southern Bride presented me with the Honest Scrap award. If you have not been by her blog, you really ought to check it out. She's a great gal.

Here is what it's all about...

"The Honest Scrap award comes with a caveat or two. Firstly, you have to tell your readers ten things about you they may not know, but that are true. Secondly, you have to tag 10 people with the award. Thirdly, let all the people you've given the award to know that they've gotten it (comment on their blogs or something). And finally, make sure you link back to the person who awarded you."

Okay, so 10 things about me that you don't know? Hmm, considering all the personal, random info I've dished out in these posts, this might be difficult, but I'll do my best.

1. I have only cleaned our shower/tub maybe 4-5 times since we've been married. For some unknown reason, this job belongs to my husband.

2. I love love love Pepsi and drink way too much of it.

3. I am the messiest corn on the cob eater in the history of the world.

4. I have three nieces, one nephew and one more niece/nephew on the way.

5. Gummy bears give me a headache.

6. I am never happy with the length of my hair (when it's short I want long hair, when it's long I want short hair).

7. When I was in high school, I wanted to be a midwife. Now I just want a midwife to deliver my babies.

8. I can't skate in figure skates, I have to use hockey skates.

9. In high school, the fabulous dude called me Possum because, in his opinion, I look like an Opossum. I guess that was his 15 year old way of "hinting" to me that he knew he was going to marry me.

10. When I was born, I resembled a monkey.

This really took me SO long because every time I thought of something to write, I realized I had already written it in an earlier all about me post!
And now, I am nominating..

Summer B
New England Girl
Cristina
Jill
Emily
Kristen
Lindsey
Megan
Taryn
Elizabeth

...as well as all of the rest of you! I'd love to learn 10 things about each of you.

Pillow Talk

When the fabulous dude and I were planning for our marriage, we were blessed to receive pre-marital counseling from two couples who were both very influential in our teenage years and who had been strong models of Christian marriage to us as we had grown up. During one of our sessions with one of the couples it was suggested that we withhold on having a television in our bedroom for at least the first year of our marriage.

The couple explained to us that they felt it was important to reserve the bedroom as a place of intimacy, especially in the early years of marriage. Without having a TV in the bedroom, a couple is able to spend time in conversation before going to sleep at night. This way, the bedroom is a place of refuge, a place that belongs only to you and your spouse and is free from distractions.

Growing up, my parents had a TV in their room and FD's parents did not. Neither of us felt like it was a big deal either way but we thought the advice made sense. Plus, we only had one TV (and actually, for the first 2-3 months not even that) so it made sense to put it in the living room and not the bedroom.

Now, after 2.835 years of marriage, we still have just one TV and is is located in the living room. We don't watch much TV anyway. We don't have cable and so we get about five stations on a good day. We have grown accustomed to not having a TV in our room, so it doesn't usually feel like anything is missing.

However, there have been many times when one of us has said, "I wish so badly that we had a TV in our bedroom right now". On nights when one of us is tired and ready for bed and the other is not we sometimes think it would be nice to still be close to each other but one person could go to sleep and the other could watch TV or a movie. Or sometimes, it would just be nice to snuggle up and be comfy in our bed while watching a movie. Occasionally, we have done this by setting up the laptop on my dresser so we can watch a movie in bed (usually this happens when I'm ready to fall asleep and he's not tired yet). However, recently the laptop has been acting up and we can't move it around a lot or else the power cord doesn't reconnect when I plug it in. So, we haven't had the chance to watch movies in our room in quite a while.

Despite the times that we have said it would be so nice and convenient to have a TV in our room, I think, overall, I am glad that we don't. It is nice to have the bedroom as a quiet place that is not full of distractions. Also, I don't think I would like it if we ended up falling asleep while watching TV every night.

So, I am wondering if anyone else has an opinion about this? For those of you who are married, do you have a TV in your room? Why or why not? Is this something you made an active decision about? Did your parents have a TV in their room when you were growing up? Did this impact your choice? I'm curious to see if this is something that is a debate for others or just us.

Menu Plan Monday

Here's a recap on last week...

Grilled Vegetable Salsa

Raspberry Peach Frozen Yogurt
Roasted Broccoli
Seedy Cheese Biscuits
Sausage, Broccoli and Rice Skillet
Barley Lentil Salad

This week's plan:

Monday
Crockpot chili
Cornbread

Tuesday
Roasted chicken breasts
Carrots
Maple Honey Roasted Potatoes
Peas

Wednesday
Birthday party for the coolest 2 year old on the block

Thursday
Chicken and Corn Chowder**
Yogurt and Dill breadsticks

Friday
Gone to family reunion

Saturday
Gone to family reunion

Breakfasts
Granola
Yogurt
Strawberries and Blueberries (scored a sweet deal this week!)

Lunches
Pizza buns
Leftovers

Snacks
Raspberry Peach Frozen Yogurt
Granola Bars
Kitchen Sink Cookies**

Head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie to see many more meal plans

I Thought This Dude Was Supposed to be Fabulous?

Here is an upfront warning: this post is full of annoyances about my husband. Let me clarify, these annoyances are all (kind of) jokes and in good fun. I am always very cautious about what I write on here about my husband because 1) people who know us in RL read this blog and 2) I would not ever want to dishonor him in my writing to RL friends or strangers. He is truly, a fabulous dude. But...

This fabulous dude TICKS me off. I work out way way way way way way more often than him and still he is in way way way way way way better shape than I (Annoyance #1). Granted, his job requires extensive physical labour so he is getting a workout on a day to day basis but still, I make so much of an effort to ensure that I am being active daily and still, he just glides on by like nothing's going on. When we go for a walk (and I mean a heavy duty, get your heart rate up walk), he wears sandals. When we go hiking at the conservation area and my feet are tired and cramped by the end, he's still wearing sandals. And, when if we go for a run, he is barely out of breath when we finish while I feel as though I am on the brink of death very tired.

To top it all of, last night, we went for a bike ride. A really, really, really long bike ride. We rode into town, stopped to visit with a few friends, rode to the bank and the movie store and then rode home. By the time we were on the last stretch towards home, I really started pushing myself. I was peddling hard and beginning to feel the pain. By the way, I think I forgot to mention, the fabulous dude was wearing, you got it, sandals. At one point in the midst of my agony and struggle for breath, I looked over at him to see if he was working as hard as I was.

If only I had my camera there to show you evidence of what I saw. There, beside me, was my sweet dear husband, riding effortlessly with no hands on the handles bars, weaving around the road resembling a uni-cycle rider in the circus. I slowed down and said to him, "You know, it makes me feel really bad when we're exercising together and I'm pushing myself with all my strength to keep going and you just float along as though you aren't even expending one ounce of energy".

He responded by saying, "That doesn't really make you feel bad." (Annoyance #2). Recently he has developed this habit of telling me how I do or don't feel. At this point, I'm pretty sure he just does it to annoy me on purpose because he knows how much it irks me. I will say, "I think I want a snack". He will say "No you don't really want one". I will say, "I would love it if you could do the dishes tonight". He will say, "No you wouldn't really love that." I say, "I'm bored". He says, "You're not bored." Get the point?

Back to the story ... so he tells me that it doesn't really make me feel bad when I'm working hard and he's just sailing along in his sandals. Of course, this just gets me even more ticked (Please note: stubbornness and competitiveness are two of my finest qualities). So I yell some kind of "Arghhh noise" and pedal harder. At this point, we were getting quite close to the road on which we would turn up to go towards home. He slows down to turn and I yell, "I'm not riding with you, I'll go the other way." This will show him, I thought, as I began to peddle faster and harder. I will ride as hard as I can and beat him home, that way he'll see that I am a good bike rider.

Within a few seconds, I hear something coming up behind me. I look to my left and what do I see? There he is, effortlessly zooming past me, sitting up straight, flapping his arms like a chicken and looking quite proud of himself. He turned around after going up the road and was still able to catch up with me, even with no hands on the handlebars. I could have killed him in that moment.

And this morning, I am struggling to move because my legs and butt are so sore. And him? He's working and feelin' fine. Arggh ... how annoying.

Now that I have vented all my frustrations, I feel much better. I'm off to wash three weeks worth of Tupperware that the FD finally brought home from work yesterday (Annoyance #3....)

I love you, dear.

The Truth About Lucy - answers

I had so much fun with this. Some of your answers and ideas about me were quite humorous! I was going to post everyone's score along with the answers but then I remember how much I hated when teacher's would read our quiz scores out loud and I decided to save you all the embarrassment. Let me just say this, no one got higher than 6/10, except my family members. And even some of them did not so well.

1. When in kindergarten, I ran the bases backwards in t-ball (i.e. from home -> third -> second -> first -> home). I have not played organized sports since.

This is actually false. I was quite disappointed with how many of you answer true (i.e. EVERYONE except my brother - who made the question up - said true, even my mom and husband). Do you really think I am that athletically challenged? I did strike-out in T-Ball (yes, the ball was in front of me on a stand) but I don't believe I ever ran the wrong way. Although, I think striking out in t-ball is probably worse. AND, T-Ball was not my last shot at organized sports.

2. My middle name is Madelyn.

This answer is false. Believe it or not my middle name is Marie. Hence Lucy Marie. Yup. Tricky, tricky. By the way, please tell me how this works ... MY MOTHER GOT THIS QUESTION WRONG.

3. I screen my telephone calls.

Most of you were right on with this one. I do screen my phone calls. When I receive local calls my phone only rings twice. Just enough time to look at the number on caller ID and decide if I want to answer. So if you call me, and I call you back and say "I didn't get to the phone in time", I might be telling the truth OR what I might really be saying is "I wasn't sure if I wanted to talk to you, so I waited to listen to your message and then decided if I would call you back." If I am home by myself and the caller ID tells me that the call is clearly for my husband, I never ever ever ever answer. What's the point? The person can give me the message and I can relay it to him OR I can just leave it all up to the voice mail. I like to eliminate the middle man.

4. I have been wearing my father in law's track pants for three weeks straight.

I am ashamed but yes, I have been wearing my father in laws track pants for three weeks straight. There was some controversy over this question because yes, I have taken them off to wash them or to put on real clothes when I leave the house BUT for the past three weeks I have been wearing these beauties almost anytime I am at home. Perhaps I should have worded the question "I have worn my father in law's track pants every day for the past three weeks". For the first 2 weeks or so I thought they belonged to my fabulous dude. The other night I said to him, "I don't know why it took me so long to discover that your track pants are so comfy". He said, "You do know that those are my dad's right?" Umm, yeah. They say Tobermory on them (a town close to my husband's hometown) and so he has taken to calling me "Toby" all the time. Somehow these pants ended up at our house and they are very super comfy. They even have a special little hole in the crotch. And I am definitely wearing them right now as we speak, or, err, as we type.

5. My husband was the first boy I ever kissed.

False. No more details. Just false.

6. I love fresh coconut.

False. I hate coconut's guts. I have been known to tell people I am allergic so that I do not seem rude when passing up a dessert being offered to me.

7. I cannot pronounce canola oil.

True. Unless I speak very slowly and concentrate very hard I cannot pronounce Canola Oil properly. I say Canoily Oily or Canola Ola.

8. I have an abnormally hairy back for a woman.

True. Sad, but true. I think it's a combination of a family trait and my super dark hair. Brittany, I am so glad to know that I have your love and approval regardless.

9. I once peed my pants in front of my friends for $40.

True. Grade 12. On the black top at school. Not my proudest moment.

10. I have three tattoos.

False. My body is tattooless.

Some of my family members e-mailed me their guesses so as to not give away the obvious answers - although seeing as my mom thinks she named me Madelyn and that I have three tattoos, I guess that wouldn't have been an issue. She tried to retract her answers saying she just typed the wrong thing (you know it's easy to get T and F mixed up), but even with her new answers, she only got 7/10 and I'm still very disappointed.

I hope you had fun getting to know a bit more about yours truly.

The Truth About Lucy

Yesterday, the ever lovely S from a.little.bit.delirious played this fun little game and I decided to join in.

Here is how the game works: I will list several statements, some are truths, others are lies. You decide in the comments which is a truth and which is a lie. Sorry there are no prizes. I considered giving away something if anyone got all 10 statements correct but I don't really have anything to give away. So, you will win pride if you get all the statements correct.

Also, if you are my brother, BFF, cousin, sister, mom, aunt or anyone else who knows me in real life you will probably know the answers right away so please refrain from commenting and let my other blog friends have a chance. If you know me in real life and you aren't confident you know all the right answers, then feel free to guess away!

Here we go...

1. When in kindergarten, I ran the bases backwards in t-ball (i.e. from home -> third -> second -> first -> home). I have not played organized sports since.

2. My middle name is Madelyn.

3. I screen my telephone calls.

4. I have been wearing my father in law's track pants for three weeks straight.

5. My husband was the first boy I ever kissed.

6. I love fresh coconut.

7. I cannot pronounce canola oil.

8. I have an abnormally hairy back for a woman.

9. I once peed my pants in front of my friends for $40.

10. I have three tattoos.

Let me hear your guesses and feel free to play along on your own blog if you want!

By the way, I will post the answers and let you know how you scored tomorrow morning!

This just ain't gonna FLY...

I like to think that I'm a fairly hospitable person. If you come to my house, you will be offered a drink, a snack or perhaps a meal. If you need a place to stay, you will be offered a bed. This is a gift that I believe I inherited from my mother and my grandmothers.

However, we have recently had some house guests taking up residence here whom I find it very difficult to extend this warm hospitality to.

When this is what a girl with horrible aim ends up with after THREE short minutes on her fly swatting expedition, you know you've got a problem.


Please, please, please, you pesky little things...

GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!

This Girl's Got Game ... and Some Other Stuff

Thank you for being so respectful of my wishes today and only posting really really boring and uninteresting stuff on your blogs! You are now free to post about whatever you wish. I managed to work most of the day without stopping for any blog reading breaks. Okay, I'm lying. I read a few posts here and there.

But, let me tell you ... I've still got it in me! I managed to pump out the entire draft of my proposal by 2:00 p.m. today. 23 pages of magic. I'm pretty excited and feel like I have at least somewhat made up for lost time. I also managed to get a few questions answered from the ethics board, narrow my recruiting options down to two organizations and prepare for some upcoming meetings. I forgot what it feels like to be (academically) productive. It feels gooooood!

In other news, I quit biting my nails! That's one item off the bucket list. I haven't been biting for about 1.5-2 months. I am quite proud of myself. I find that if I keep them prettied up with some clear polish that I am less likely to bite. Right now, they are all residing just above my finger tips which is a huge accomplishment for a girl who has lived 20 plus years with the shortest bitten nails in the history of the world. The problem is after years and years of biting they are very brittle and weak so they break very easily. Do any of you have any suggestions of what I can do to strengthen them? Right now I'm using Nutra Nail Green Tea Nail Hardener which is working okay but I'm having to re-apply every two days, which just isn't cool. Suggestions, please!!

In even more other news, I can't stop eating chocolate. I always have some dark chocolate in the house for when I have a craving. Usually a bite or two and I'm satisfied. I just cannot kick this craving over the past few days. I've drastically depleted my dark chocolate stockpile and now I'm sitting here with a small bowl of chocolate chips. Please don't judge me.

I'd also like to say thanks for a few awards I've received in the past little while ...

Thanks to Cristina and C for awarding me with the Lovely Blog Award! Thanks, Gals!

And Brittany was so gracious as to present me with this:

Thanks, I love your blog, too!

The bowl of chocolate chips is now gone. I feel sick to my stomach. Perhaps I've kicked the craving.

Dear Bloggy Friends,

Dear Bloggy Friends,

Please do not write any hilarious, interesting, thought provoking, delicious or creative posts today. You see, I really need to spend a lot of time completing a draft of my thesis proposal in order to meet my self-imposed deadline by tomorrow's meeting with my advisor. It would be very rude of you to distract me with your witty humor, fun weekend recaps and yummy recipes. Please respect my wishes.

Yours truly,

Lucy Marie

For Mumma...

You pray for me.

You laugh with me.
You bake with me.
You walk with me.
You hope for me.
You fight for me.
You buy me cute bathing suits.
You stock the fridge with my favorite treats when I visit.
You check up on me.
You encourage me.
You teach me.
You scold me.
You watch Harry Potter with me.
You don't show up to Parent appreciation assemblies to get your flower.
You are proud of me.
You worry about me.
You let my dog spread black hair all over your clean boat.
You survived for me.
You visit me.
You shop with me.
You believe in me.

...and that is what makes you my mother and friend.

Happy Birthday to the most beauitful woman I know.

You don't look a day over 72!

Menu Plan Monday

Last week, we tried some new recipes including...

Cheesy Crackers

Lemony Grilled Chicken

Cucumber Dill Salad

Chewy Pitas

Lime Squares

...and Apple Cinnamon Cake.
They were all great but the cheesy crackers, cucumber dill salad and lime squares took the cake!

Here's the plan for this week...

Sunday
Lunch: Leftover Crockpot BBQ Sandwiches**
Supper: Picnic on our hike ... PB & J sandwiches on harvest grain bread, cheesy crackers, applesauce, cucumber and tomato slices and apple cake.

Monday
Sausage, Broccoli and Rice Bake**

Tuesday
Mozzarella Mushroom Chicken
Mashed Potatoes
Peas
Seedy Cheese Biscuits**

Wednesday
Marinated Grilled Steak**
Baked Potatoes
Mushrooms
Broccoli

Thursday
Beef Tostadas with Grilled Vegetable Salsa**

Friday
Western Omelets

Saturday
Grilled cheese and/or leftovers

Breakfast
Applesauce Granola Muffins
Yogurt

Lunch
Greek Salads
Leftovers
Barley salad**
I'm getting really bored with lunches ... someone please help!

Snacks
Raspberry Peach Frozen Yogurt**
Fresh fruits
Cheesy Crackers

Check out I'm an Organizing Junkie for more meal planning ideas!

**recipes to come! Check out Lucy's Kitchen throughout the week.

The View From Here

I thought I would share some photos from the garden to let you see how it is progressing. There is nothing quite like the beauty in the growth of plants, trees and flowers to demonstrate the wonders of God's creation. The work of His hands is so evident!

The cherry trees are getting ready for the harvest. Within 2-3 weeks they should be ready and we will be devouring sweet cherries like they're going out of style!

The Strawberry Patch is also well on it's way. Hopefully they will be ready soon. I have a feeling they may be a little late this year, but not too much. The patch isn't as full as it was last year, but hopefully we'll still have enough to enjoy some fresh and to make some jam. By the way, the cherry trees and strawberry patch do not belong to us. We rent a basement apartment and the family who lives above us owns the orchard and the strawberry patch, but we get to enjoy the benefits of gracious landlords!

Our garden is also progressing quite nicely. Most of the plants have started popping up but we're still waiting on the carrots, onions and lettuce. I am really hoping that they come up soon. As you'll see in the pictures, when the veggies pop up so do the weeds! I spent some time out there this afternoon and am planning to spend more time tomorrow cleaning things up a bit.

Purple BeansCelery

Sweet Peas

There are buds on many of the pepper plants

The Squash and Zucchini are growing really well.

This year we planted way more than last year so things are going to be busy when everything is ready. We've got roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes and beefsteak tomatoes, red, green, yellow and hot peppers, okra, purple beans, celery, onions, turnip, lettuce, carrots, beets, peas, zucchini, yellow summer squash, acorn squash, butternut squash and cucumber. Whew! I am so looking forward to having fresh produce and being able to preserve everything for the winter! And, remember last year, when I told you that I am not so good at the whole gardening thing? This year I am really really really making an effort to do better. I actually started weeding the garden today, and the fabulous dude isn't even home to remind me. Impressive, huh?