28/31

Day 028: A Special Treat


Wonder Boy had an early release day from school today. On days like today, he will typically invite a buddy over for an afternoon of rough housing, Nerf guns, video games, and snacks as far as the eye can see. But unfortunately, Wonder Boy's best bud is down with a stomach bug, so we were on our own this afternoon. I asked the Boy if he wanted to change pace and run around town until we found something to occupy our time, he declined and said that he would prefer to just spend the down time playing video games on his own. But .... he did make sure that the special snacks we typically serve were still on the menu! I held up my end and made him something totally sinful (bacon cinnamon rolls), but as I was smelling all of that cinnamon scented evilness emanating from the oven, I just knew that Wonder Dad and I deserved a special treat as well. Enter these bright red jewels of awesomeness - chocolate stuffed raspberries! This is my new favorite treat! It tastes so delightful that it feels like I am cheating on my diet, but the chocolate is dark (which is allowed!) and low in sugar, so it's all good!

27/31

Day 027: Ocean of Suds


I am still sans dish washing machine, but that's OK. As I fill my sink with an ocean of suds, enjoying the sweet fragrance of lemon Dawn, I'm OK with the situation. My dishes are clean. The kitchen smells nice. I can wait a while longer on the machine. That thing only makes me lazy anyway (since it takes about 2.5 days to fill it up). This way, since my sink can at most handle a day's worth of dishes, I know that my cupboards are full of clean dishes, the drawers full of utensils at the ready. I am prepared for the next meal - no question about it!

26/31

Day 026: Mr. Melty Face


I never seem to be in a position to properly catch this phenomenon, but I gave it a try tonight. You see ... Wonder Mutt has an excess of loose, flappy skin around his face. And when he plops down on my lap (like he did this evening), the skin pools around him and makes him look like his face is melting right off of his skull. It always brings a smile to my face to see. And I needed that tonight. Well timed, my loveable melty mutt!

25/31

Day 025: Fresh Kicks


Before the winter holiday break, we splurged on new trail shoes for the whole family. But due to less than ideal weather, we are JUST TODAY getting the chance to break them in at a local park. With perfect 70 degree F temperatures, it's days like today that make me long for spring! I'm really looking forward to getting these pretty new shoes dusty and dirty in the months to come.

24/31

Day 024: Monogrammed Morning


I'm not really a coffee drinker. I *love* the way coffee smells, but I really don't care for the taste. However, I do need my morning caffeine. By the time I am done doctoring my drink with sweetener and cream, it's not really recognizable as coffee, but it gets the job done. And on days like today, it gets the job done in this super cute monogrammed mug!

23/31

Day 023: Bacon-Wrapped Love


I had some late work to do this evening. So I was unable to accompany Wonder Boy and his dad to piano lessons like usual. I am thankful for being able to complete my work from home, but I'll admit that I missed being with my guys. In order to drive home the point that they were on my mind, I decided to whip up something special for our Friday night meal. I came up with these bacon wrapped chicken legs and they were a BIG BIG BIG hit! You can count on them making repeat appearances on special occasions - like the next Friday night at home alone.

22/31

Day 022: Liquid Sunshine!


Even when it's cold and grey outside (like it has been here lately), I like to start my day with a bit of liquid sunshine in the form of these fresh fruit smoothies. This particular treat is a blend of orange, pear, mango, strawberries, carrots, cucumber, and papaya. YUM!

21/31

Day 021: Oodles of Zoodles!


My better half got me the COOLEST gift for Christmas - a vegetable spiralizer! One of our favorite veggies to spiralize is zucchini. This stuff makes the BEST vegetable "noodle" out there! Just heat, cover with sauce and meatballs, and you've got one HECK of an Italian dinner!

20/31

Day 020: Princess Pathos


Our puppy princess never seems to sport a happy face. Even when her tail is wagging and her feet are doing their happy dance - her face always looks somber. In this instance she was cold and wanted someone to come cuddle. Could YOU say 'no' to that face?

17/31

Day 017: OUCH!


I hurt my back today. *sigh* I know WHEN I hurt it (while working out) but I'm not truly sure HOW I hurt it. If ever someone had a "signature exercise" this would be mine. And in general, my form is pretty good. Plus, this was not a high weight workout - just lots of reps. But hurting I am. So this little bottle is my best friend for now. I sure hope this passes soon though.

16/31

Day 016: peanut butter face


Wonder Mutt and I were entertained for nearly an hour today with just a few spoonfuls of peanut butter! I got lots of giggles out of the deal and Wonder Mutt got the snack of a life time! That's a WIN on both sides, if you ask me.

15/31

Day 015: breaking it in


In his new gi, Wonder Boy looks ready to step on any tatami! It's good to see him in a gi that fits again. And as a bonus, when he outgrows this one *I* get to inherit it!

14/31

Day 014: warm & fuzzy


Nothing says warm and cozy to me like my flannel jammies. I have a couple of sets, but these with the cheery little snow folk are my favorites.

13/31

Day 013: New Duds


This new judo gi was supposed to be a Christmas present, but it didn't quite make it in time. Presents like this are appreciated ANY time of year though (besides, he had outgrown his old one).

12/31

Day 012: Grey


Wonder Boy is as tired of the cold and wet as I am feeling today. *sigh* Ready for some sunshine!

11/31

Day 011: Mr. Mellow


I spent about 5 hours with this laid back fellow and his twin sister today. Be VERY jealous!

10/31

Day 010: Warm and Toasty


Nothing says "comfort food" to me like a warm, toasty tortilla. Too bad this one wasn't for me!

9/31

Day 009: Puppy Pile Up


Wonder Boy knows that the warmest spot in the house is at the bottom of the puppy pile up. With all of the cold, wet weather we've been having, it doesn't take much to convince the mutts that the best seat in the house is right wherever Wonder Boy and his trusty blanket happen to be seated. And before long, they've made a warm spot big enough for the 3 of them to share!

8/31

Day 008: Poor Puppy Princess


Momma's little girl has bad hips. And those bad hips don't like cold, wet weather. The puppy princess is staying camped right on her bed, placed strategically right below the fire place. And hopefully the weather will ease up and she'll be back to her regular self soon.

7/31

Day 007: Lip Smackin' Good!


For Christmas this year, my better half surprised me with a super-duper blender and I have put that baby to WORK making all manner of delicious smoothies! I find I'm even able to hide veggies in there so that I can get a nice strong dose of goodness each day in the form of a seriously sweet treat.

That's a WIN in my book, any day!

6/31

Day 006: Serenade


Each afternoon, once he finishes his homework, Wonder Boy breaks out his viola and practices until Wonder Dad gets home. He practices in the breakfast nook area where we set up to do homework and I finish out my work for the day on my laptop. I cannot tell you how much I truly look forward to this serenade. He works through whatever music they are preparing at school and then launches into whatever tune suits his fancy for the day.

On this day, he spent most of his time working on the theme song from "the Pirates of the Caribbean" movies. It probably helps that the "Pirates" movies are some of his favorites.

5/31

Day 005: Back to School


Today was officially back to work and school day for our little clan. And as he is in 7th grade now where the work load never seems to end, Wonder Boy got to celebrate this momentous day with a little math homework.

Math is the one class he just KNOWS he will have homework in each day. But that's OK because match comes to him about as easily as breathing (in allergy season one might argue that breathing is harder). So while he might have preferred an afternoon of free time, it didn't take long to knock this out and start in on the serious business of relaxing.

4/31

Day 004: Pot Roast


One of the changes we have made as a family for 2015 is that, once a week, Wonder Boy will prepare dinner for the family. He is a teenager now and despite the fact that I don't want to think about it, one day he will move out on his own. When he does, we want to make sure that he can take care of himself.

As with most families, as our Boy has grown, we have given him more responsibilities around the house - mostly cleaning type things, but he can make a few of his favorite snack foods as well. And he has always been willing to lend a hand when there is baking to be done. But the idea of him preparing a meal each week is so he can get a feel for EVERYTHING that goes into putting a meal on the table for us all.

He plans the menu, we take him shopping, and on the appointed day he prepares the meal. His dad and I provide manual labor where needed, but Wonder Boy directs the show.

And so far, he's off to a GREAT start! He's made 2 family meals so far (we started before New Year's just to take advantage of our winter break time off from school and work) and both have been very tasty. I'm looking forward to the next 51 meals to come this year!

Oh ... and if you are curious ... for this meal, Wonder Boy prepared Cocoa-Roasted Pot Roast and taro root fries. YUM!

3/31

Day 003: Weathering the Storm


We had a HECK of a storm blow through last night. It woke almost everyone in the house (Wonder Boy could sleep through the train running through the back yard) and made for a VERY groggy start to the day.

But I did get to see this little survivor when I went out to survey the damage this morning (note: no damage really found - just lots and lots of water/mud everywhere).

2/31

Day 002: Dishpan Hands


My dishwasher decided to quit just before Thanksgiving. I miss it, but manual scrubbing isn't so bad. I know things are clean and I'm being much less cavalier about dirtying up a ton of dishes. *wink, wink*

back in action!

I know I've been MIA for quite a while now. And I have no real excuse. SO ... to get back in the swing of both taking pictures and blogging them, I am going to start a photo-a-day project. For now, I am just going to try and do a photo-a-day for the month of January. If I make it that far, we'll see whether or not to continue a bit longer.

SO ... without further ado ... let's kick off this project!

Day 001: my guilty pleasure - binge watching network sitcoms!