Ah, it’s Wednesday – the middle of the week, and (finally) a night I get to spend with my husband – who has been in Texas more often than Georgia these past months. It’s a rare occasion to spend some good, quality time together.
Which is why last Friday night, when Craig told me he would be in Knoxville for the night – for eighteen whole entire hours, nonetheless – and staying at a pet-friendly hotel, I finished my two hour commute home from work, packed a quick overnight bag, and loaded the pups up for the three hour trip up to Knoxville, TN! I was more than happy to drive most of the night with one anxious Lucy and an impatient Caroline in the backseat if it meant I got to see my husband!
By the time I arrived, it was almost 11pm but we were lucky enough to find a neat little place to grab some dinner within walking distance – The Downtown Grill & Brewery.
After dinner and our short walk back, we settled in with HGTV and FoodNetwork – our television staples…like an old married couple. 🙂 Luckily, the hotel even had a dog park for the pups to run off some of their pent-up energy – so sweet Craig had somewhere to take them when Lucy woke us up, restless, at 4am! #lifeasafurparent
The next day we got up and discovered a little bit more of the Knoxville downtown area, when we walked to have brunch at Tupelo Honey Cafe and opted to sit outside and people watch.
The food was pretty delicious, I must say and the weather was just beautiful, but it’s safe to say my brunch date stole the show for me! 🙂
Knoxville’s Market Square
It’s really a pity…but right after brunch we had to return to the hotel, retrieve the pups and Craig loaded me into the car – he headed back to being Captain Lefebvre, and I made the pretty little drive back to Georgia.
I spent Sunday with my sweet parents who I realized I hadn’t seen since Christmas! I couldn’t believe it! Time really does fly…and we sure have been busy! Sometimes it is so refreshing to relax from all of the hustle and bustle…but then, I feel like, we would never see anyone at all! 🙂
Two weekends ago, I visited one of my best friends and her daughter (our Goddaughter), Willa. We hadn’t seen her since right after her first birthday, about five months before, and all of a sudden she is a beautiful little girl – no more baby!!!
I wish we could spend as much time with everyone as we’d like to… We may be busy all the time, but it is such a blessing to be able to see our dear friends and family, and spend quality time together, when it’s possible.
🙂 And now for an exciting night in with my wonderful husband and our furs!
Friends, it has been a long week alone! And tonight, although Craig was scheduled to return home, it looks like the airlines had other planes (Ha! A true Freudian slip!) plans for him. Alas, I have an exciting night of cooking ahead of me anyway, and if I can’t be with my husband tonight, I am actually a little thrilled to be getting back into meal planning and preparing meals ahead of time!;-)
So today, I thought I would share with you the recipes I am making tonight for next week, and a freebie: A Meal Plan Printable & Grocery List!
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Obviously, I’m a big fan of Danielle at Let’s Dish! For this coming week, every meal came from her food blog, so if you see anything that looks yummy to you – and how could it not?!?! – check it out for yourself!
Now, perhaps you’re wondering how I eat any of this if you know anything about my dietary restrictions, and the truth is, that I won’t be eating the pizza or sandwiches, but the quinoa cakes, salmon and chicken should be DELICIOUS with a few minor modifications. 🙂
What are your thoughts on meal planning and cooking in advance for the week ahead? If you’d like to try it (and experience the lessening of pressure from not having to THINK about what’s for dinner or the last minute rush to the grocery store), check out my free printable:
Let me know what you think, and how this system works for you! And by the way, what’s your favorite recipe? You never know, we may add it to our next meal plan!
If you’re reading this post from anywhere in the United States, you’re likely a little bit cold today! Here in Georgia, it is currently 20 degrees with a wind chill making it feel like -5 degrees outside! While my husband may be used to this weather, us Georgians just aren’t! So, read on today to find out about an (audio)book to warm your brain (& soul), a blog to warm your heart, and a bowl (of deliciousness) to warm your tummy!
I somewhat happened upon this “book” when I got my notification from Audible that my new credit was in, and I could choose a new book for the month’s enjoyment. I went on the site and came across this one…Naturally, I was interested in this one…I mean, my husband is a pilot and we are on the look-out every day for new and exciting ways to experience God’s Word.
What a blessing this has been. I listen on my way to and from work, while I’m getting ready some mornings…It is a “book” I just can’t put down. Skip Heitzig discusses the Bible in ways you can’t imagine and you’ve never heard before. Check out the videos here and here.
If you want to listen to or watch this series, you can here . There are also bible study worksheets available to you at this link… Really, you won’t be sorry! The Bible From 30,000 Feet has me interested in, contemplating and passionate about GENESIS. I cannot even fathom what lies ahead!
Wow. This blog could have you enveloped in it’s insight all day long! I’ll be posting more on the topic of “The Veil” later this week, and have been blessed with the opportunity to guest post on this author’s site, so this is certainly not the last you’ll hear about the concept of “The Veil”… But on this cold day, take a moment to read a little bit about The Veil of Chastity.
Reading about the concept of “The Veil” is just another bump on the head of just how much God loves us and cares for us. This is a blatant indication of God as a Father figure, and it is so. very. beautiful. If you’re a single girl or guy, it will give you hope and peace. If you’re happily married, it will give you goosebumps.
Romans 8:28 – “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose.”
Stay tuned for more on “The Veil”, and for the link to my upcoming guest post!
3. A Bowl Of Buffalo Chicken Dip
While this picture isn’t exactly ours, (thank you Starships & Laserbeams!!), the recipe that follows is so delicious you’ll probably not have the opportunity for a picture of it – because it doesn’t last long! Craig & I usually make this dish as a casserole, but yesterday we opted for the “dip version”, being that we had too much going on to cook with anything other than a crock pot! Here’s what you’ll need:
2 lbs chicken breast (or tenders)
1 large bottle Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Sauce (or buffalo sauce of your choosing)
2 blocks cream cheese
1 bag shredded colby jack cheese
Minced garlic
1 jar of ranch
Fully thaw chicken and place in the bottom of your crock pot, turned to High. Pour 3/4 bottle of buffalo sauce, & half jar of ranch dressing over chicken. Place one block of cream cheese & half the bag of shredded cheese over chicken. Add about 1 T (+/- to taste) minced garlic to crock pot. Place cover on the crock pot and let cook for about 6 hours on High.
After about 6 hours on High, the chicken should be easy to shred. Shred the chicken and add the remaining ingredients to the pot. Turn the crock pot to Low and let cook for about 1 more hour.
When this is complete, stir everything together and you will have either a delicious dip or you can also serve over rice for a yummy entree!
Now, between your new book, blog and bowl of buffalo chicken dip, you should be warm from head to soul!
Keep warm, and meet us back here tomorrow for TTC Tuesday!
My my my! 2012 is not coming to an end slowly, and the end of this eventful year has not become any less eventful! Part of that may have to do with my own flightiness…but nonetheless, beginning with Friday, it has been quite the journey to end the year!
Friday evening, in Dallas, Georgia, was a rainy and stormy and COLD one (for Georgia folk anyway – 34 degrees!! Brrr!)…Sweet Craig had left that morning for work, and I got home from work, and had my peanut butter for dinner, followed by a glass of wine, and decided to sit on our front porch with the iPad to enjoy the rain, and wait for my husband’s evening call before bed. This was around 8:45pm…and Craig did indeed call around 9pm…I grabbed my glass of wine and the iPad and went to go inside for the night…to find the door locked. Not wanting Craig to worry nor to embarrass myself, I asked my husband if I could call him right back, thinking maybe the neighbors had a spare key…So here I am in my pj’s and fuzzy socks, running next door in the middle of the night, in the pouring rain and cold weather…Long story short, there was no spare key…and I had to walk back to 116 Caitlin Court with my tail between my legs…I called Craig back and explained the situation…Now, I don’t know this for sure, but I am almost positive he rolled his eyes a little and sighed, “Oh my goodness, my silly wife…” but he didn’t let me hear it if he did. 🙂
He had me check a few windows that might be open…They weren’t…I called our sweet friend Julia, who lives semi-nearby, but she didn’t answer so I texted her. Finally, Craig broke down and called the locksmith. Meanwhile, Julia called back and sweetly asked if she could help. Knowing how reliable locksmiths are, and also that (by this time) it was 9:45/10pm and she has 3 small children at home and a husband who is also a pilot and away, I thanked her profusely for calling and offering to save me, but told her that the locksmith was already on the way. I called Craig back and sat down on the bench to wait the estimated 15 minutes for the locksmith to arrive to save the day…and (another long story short) during the 2 and a half more hours I waited outside with freezing wet feet and a HUGE spider climbing the wall next to me, I was reminded of the time in February when Craig and I went camping, in the snow…I was pretty much THAT cold. LUCKILY, around 12:30AM, the locksmith arrived to let me inside. It literally took him 2 seconds.
That little fiasco ALMOST foiled my plan for Saturday…
Poor Craig had to be up SUPER early the next morning to fly to Detroit, and he of course had waited up with me until I was safely inside the house before going to sleep. I felt horrible for him, but OH SO THANKFUL I have such an amazing husband – who saved me from the freezing cold and the scary spider even from hundreds of miles away! I was awoken the next morning by a text message from my husband letting me know he was safely in Detroit at the perfect time. 🙂 We had ‘planned’ that I would try and make it on a flight to Memphis, where Craig would be ending up for a long overnight…HOWEVER, the flights were full going to Memphis and back to Atlanta, as well…So we scratched that plan…and Craig knew how tired I was (we both were) from the night before…But all along I knew I wouldn’t let a full airplane stop me from seeing my husband on my day off! 🙂
Craig’s text came at 9:30am – just enough time for me to jump out of bed and quickly pack and get ready to be on my way by 10am! The drive from Dallas, GA to Memphis, TN is right around 6 hours, and Craig was scheduled to be at his hotel around 4pm. Of course, when I got in the car, Craig called me and I had to work hard to muffle all the driving sounds, since he thought I was sitting downstairs enjoying a pot cup of coffee with Miss Daisy…By the time I had passed safely through Birmingham, AL, Craig had told me the flight between his arrival in Memphis and right then had been canceled, and I felt I should probably let him in on my surprise:
Craig was SO excited! 🙂 I couldn’t wait to see him in just a few more hours…
Ha! I should have remembered that my husband is a PILOT who works for the AIRLINES and that anytime you PLAN anything, it never happens as you think it should! Right, Julia? 🙂
Craig’s first plane was delayed by maintenance, so I found a Target in Memphis and decided to go shopping for a bit…Craig texted to let me know they were on their way and I disappeared into the store for about an hour. After I got back out to the car, thinking it would be time to go and pick him up at the airport in about a half hour, I got another text from Craig…there was an issue AGAIN and they couldn’t take-off…AAHH! Very frustrating and so much for newlywed romance, huh? 🙂
So…I visited Best Buy since my phone was close to dying at this point and I didn’t have a car charger…(We do now!) Then, I found a movie theater, rather close to the airport – and not in a desirable part of Memphis… – and by this time, Craig reminded me of his flight number and said they had gotten a NEW airplane, and were about to take off.
Well, I looked down at the clock in my car. 6:30pm. And I walked up to the ticket counter at the movie theater, and saw that “This Is 40” began at 7:05pm. Perfect! By the time the movie ends, Craig will be here and I will have killed 2 hours! I bought my small popcorn and small Diet Coke (STAPLES for a movie, in my opinion), and went into the theater…to find the movie halfway over… What???
OH YEAH! Memphis is in the Central time zone…and the clock in my car is on the Eastern time zone. Duh.
So, I watched the end of “This Is 40″…and then, when the movie was over, I stretched my legs in the lobby and came back to watch the beginning of the movie. About halfway through, Craig FINALLY texted to say they had safely arrived in Memphis! So I left to head to the airport to pick him up! I’m not sure what happens in the MIDDLE of “This Is 40”, but I enjoyed the beginning and the end…even in reverse order.
I picked up my husband and it was WONDERFUL to be able to spend an evening with him in the middle of a 4-Day trip!! (Even though, after we ate dinner, we were both sleeping like babies within minutes!) I took Craig back to the airport at 7am, and began my drive BACK to Dallas. My mother asked me if it was worth 12 hours of driving to be able to spend even less than that with my husband, and it absolutely was! I would have driven, flown or swam any number of miles to be able to spend any amount of time with him at all.
And so, as I await his arrival back home this afternoon, I wish all of you a very Happy New Year! We are going to celebrate with champagne, black-eyed peas and collard greens, and Mass on January 1st. I cannot wait! I can honestly say that 2012 has been the absolute best year of my life, and according to a recent tweet by my husband, he feels the same:
I have the very best husband in the whole world, and am blown away each day by how God has truly blessed us in 2012!We can only imagine what He has in store for us in 2013! We thank all of you for making this year special, and wish you all the best in 2013!
We may be busy all the time, but it is such a blessing to be able to see our dear friends and family, and spend quality time together, when it’s possible.
While this picture isn’t exactly ours, (thank you 
The (Not-So) Newlywed Lefebvres 
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