Picture Post & A Confession

I forgot to mention that I spent $4.50 to get Quint into the Wiggly Center yesterday and in the spirit of honesty and disclosure, I wanted to make sure to note that. In the continued spirit of honesty, I really did forget! (and by the way, seeing how much fun he had - it was worth every cent!)

I got these great pictures from Robyn and wanted to post them here for Daddy, who is away on a trip and really missing his little man. Thanks Auntie Robyn!

We love you AB - miss you bunches!

Wiggles and Nine

Day nine was a breeze, thanks to my gaggle of M3 gal-pals. We met at the local "Wiggles" Play Gym with all of our kiddos. It was a great break in the day and made the afternoon so enjoyable. Especially without having AB around - when I'm likely to go stir-crazy sitting at home all day, staring at the same four walls. Quint had a blast and we really enjoyed our time with friends. And thanks to Stacy for joining us - it was good to see you and Miah again - what a doll she is!

So, yes...a farewell to day nine of our 30 days of Nothin' Challenge. We made it beyond one week, and I'm actually starting to get the hang of it a little bit. The temptation to spend is less and less and the drive to make it to the end without major slip-ups is getting bigger. Yaaay!

Today's Menu:

Breakfast: Same ol Same ol Same ol

Lunch: Quint & I had a slice of pizza courtesy of Auntie Robyn (thank ya, my friend) while at the Wiggly Playcenter. Yum! Later I had a frozen chimichanga at home.


Dinner: Chilli and crackers. Maybe Won can cook after all? It wasn't that hard...just put the ingredients in the crock pot and let them cook all day on low. But I can say this, it was really yummy. Even Quint ate a bowl and he's Mr. Picky lately. We did top our bowls with shredded Colby cheese - cheese goes with everything. Mmmmm...

Dessert: Almond Tea Cookies heated up in the micro for a few seconds. Just like they came out of the oven...I tell ya, so good!

For those of you who have e-mailed and commented to let me know that you're taking the challenge, I'm so proud of you! I really, really am! It's not an easy thing to do and it really does open your eyes to your own spending habits (good and bad). For those of you doing just Empty Pantry, I'm proud of you too! It's not easy to use up all those items we collect and duplicate at the grocery store - but you can do it! If you want my Empty Pantry List or Weekly Meal Planner, e-mail me at cbemptypantry@yahoo.com and I'll send them over to you.

Meanwhile, back to the playcenter. We had a really good time catching up with friends. Quint took a little time coming out of his shell, but by the end, he was zooming around, up and down, and making his Mama so proud of him. He really is the best boy ever!

Day Eight & A Farewell to Good Eats

Heading into day eight, we had a confirmation of the sorry kind - referrals that came in only covered 2 days into March. The kind of referral batch that was so small our agency didn't even get any referrals. (ok, except for a few expedited families) So that's that. And as I said, I'm sad for those families who were so hopeful this time only to have their hopes dashed. We really weren't surprised at all - at least not very.

Two items of note for day eight were that 1) AB had to leave town for a conference and won't be home until Sunday and 2) a dear friend took Quint and I out for a yummy lunch. So technically, I ate out. But I didn't pay for it, so we're calling it a wonderful treat! (sssssshhhh, it was the best kind of treat too....Sushi!!)

So this leaves me to both warn you and confess to you - when I say I can't cook, I'm not just throwing that out like a lousy excuse for not wanting to cook because I happen to be married to the world's best husband chef ever. I'm saying "Won Can't Cook". I'm saying, don't come looking here for anymore of those tantalizing pictures of amazing food until Sunday evening. Sorry my peeps. It just ain't gonna happen. Here's what you get instead:

Breakfast: See previous seven posts. Seriously.

Lunch: Japanese and it was delish...thank you so much Desiree for the wonderful meal and the always lovely company. You are a dear friend!

Dinner: Ha! Don't say I didn't warn you, ok? **Note to AB: Come Home.


Dessert: I did manage to make one of my favorite winter cookie recipes, Almond Tea Cookies. Of course, it would help tons if the weather outside indicated in the slightest bit that it actually was winter - and not say, 77 degrees. Yeah. So moving on...

Here's the recipe because these are just such good cookies - especially when they're warm out of the oven:


2 Cups Bisquick
1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
1/3 Cup Butter or Margarine
1/2 Cup finely chopped walnuts
1 generous tsp Almond Extract
1-3 tablespoons of water (only enough to moisten batter slightly)

Mix all ingredients until a heavy batter forms. Shape into 1 inch balls and load onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes until set, not browned. Cool for 5 minutes and then gently roll each cookie in powdered sugar. Then ENJOY!


The good thing about these cookies, is that they are light and good anytime of day. Breakfast with a cup of coffee, afternoon snack with a hot cup of tea, or even as a late night snack. Really yummy and so easy to make.

I'll leave you with a picture that we took for Daddy tonight....we miss you, be safe and we'll see you Sunday!

Rocky and Day 7

Da-nu-nuh......da...nu..nuh....da nu...nuh....da...nu...nuh...

I'm hearing the Rocky theme song in my head...the one where he is working out all crazy like a fox and then runs to the top of the steps up to the statue. The one that's just music...not the other one...not Eye of the Tiger. The other one...anyone?

7 days / one whole week / 168 hours have passed and we did not eat out once. On one hand, I am really proud of us. But on the other hand, it's a little bit lame, because it's an American thing to eat out like this - like we do over here in the states. People in Europe, etc. don't eat out like we do. They just don't. And don't get me started on how they're eating in 3rd world countries/orphanages (namelythosemysonlivedin). Shudder...

So, we made it to seven and tomorrow is eight - and that makes me happy. Happy that we (snicker) are still alive (so dramatic!) and kicking with the challenge. With the exception of one soda and a scoop of ice-cream, we're doing pretty darned good.

Today's Menu:

Breakfast: seriously, people - I should just leave breakfast off the menu. Cereal. Again.

Lunch: We decided to be creative - so I packed up our lunch and we met some friends at the mall and ate in the food court (yes, with our packed lunch - so ghetto, I know) and then went to the play area. Quint had a ball and my friend who is aware of our challenge was so gracious and brought along her own pack lunch for her kids and herself. What a nice treat! So, leftover Fried Chicken and an apple for me and Ham, Cheese, Crackers, and a small granola bar for Quint.


Dinner: So the picture above is what I saw this morning as AB was heading out the door. He really is amazing. One of my all-time favorites - stringy beef with potatoes. Seriously - this is just melt in your mouth and such a delicious dinner. I love it when AB makes this! We get a roast that sits in the crock pot all day with veggies and broth, etc. By the time we eat, it's falling apart - thus the term "stringy beef". Proof that he really does cook all this, and proof that he actually enjoys it:

I should have posted a picture of me stuffing my face. Proof that I can't cook and that my hips are married to Chef Boyardee.

Dessert: Chocolate Covered Strawberry Ice cream. All I can say is...holy cow that's good.


ADOPTION FRONT:

Well, the rumors have quelled and it looks like it might be quite a small referral batch after all. I'm really sad for quite a few of my blogger pals. This is really too bad - I was hoping that we just might finally have some happy news, but it looks like rather than getting through March, we might only see referrals for a couple days. As for us, we're not taking it hard because we really and truly suspected it was not true. We didn't put any hope or faith in the rumor even though it was fun to think "what it" for a little while. Meanwhile, truth be told, it would have been hard to have the referral so much sooner than planned for many reasons. We're not happy about the wait, but we've been able to say "we'll probably travel around..." for quite a while and we're counting on it, in a way. We'll see what happens in the next couple batches to know where we stand.

For Julie: For every awesome amazing smiling picture, there are 14 blurred, non-smiling, nose running, crying, fussing, out of frame shots to weed through. Never you fear - he is very photogenic, but not every picture is amazing. Meanwhile, though he is not smiling in this picture, there is just something about it I like. Maybe just the intention on his face while he's playing and trying to figure out where the piece goes. Maybe because he's my baby and I love everything about him...


For Amy: If we lived closer, I am quite sure we would be friends...and we could make menus, organize, and create lists together. Big Hug!

For my LOST/AMERICAN IDOL/FRINGE buddies...all I can say is that I'm just sooo glad they're all back on! Yaaay TV. (again, so lame)

See you all for Day 8!