Black and Orange

October 31st, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Dinner Time - (4 Comments)

A fast and color coordinated black bean burger and orange fries for dinner tonight!

Black Bean Burger

Too bad my black burger was obscured by a piece of provolone cheese.  The black and orange effect was lost. Good thing veggie burger love knows no color.

And a letter:

Dear Frozen Sweet Potato Fries from a Bag,

I didn’t forget how delicious you are, but I did forget how easy you are!  Easy like Sunday morning straight from my grocers freezer case delivered directly onto my plate. Stuff it mandolin!

I should totally start my own advertising business. I could be a hundredaire.  Read more...

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Like the French Do

October 30th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Breakfast - (5 Comments)

Ava said, “you’re sticking your tongue out” while I was taking this picture.

Making French Toast

That’s my Thinking Tongue! And besides, that’s how the French do it.

(OK so maybe I left out that last bit when responding to my 7 year old’s observations.)

I had French toast on the brain when I woke up this morning, so French toast it was. I remember eating French toast as a kid and how mysterious it seemed. How on earth did my parents turn ordinary bread into something so soft and sweet and delicious?  Read more...

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Puppet Run

October 28th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Fitness - (5 Comments)

So I hurt my wrist.

Wrist Hurt

I know. It’s always something, right? Left pointer finger. Left knee. Left wrist. What’s left?

I’m not even sure how I did it. I think it’s keyboard/ergonomics related, so I’ve changed some things up on my desk, but the pain went from “niggly” to “bad” to “awful” in a matter of days. Dr. Google suggested a wrist brace and it’s helping! The real doctor today said the same thing about the brace, but didn’t agree with my self diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome.  Read more...

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Merry Happy Birthmas

October 27th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Life - (5 Comments)

Some days you’ve totally got your act in gear.

Holly Muffin Tins

And then there are other days where you don’t. Like the kind of days where you’re forced to use holiday muffin tins for pumpkin muffins at the end of October.

Pumpkin Muffins

Good thing the horde of hungry kids at snack time didn’t notice.

Sometimes you can’t always be Suzie Homemaker. Sometimes birthday dinner comes pre-made from the Wegmans bakery and is topped at home.

Bakery Pizza Topped at Home

(cheaper and at least slightly healthier than take out!)  Read more...

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We Called in Sick

October 26th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Lunch - (3 Comments)

We didn’t have anything official on the agenda today, so we didn’t really call in sick. But we’ve been goofing around today for sure. Stay at home mom’s and homeschooled kids get a day off once in a while too, right?

Right.

We had breakfast together, we got dressed and then we went about our business.

The girls set up shop in the upstairs foyer.

Set Up Shop

I found Barbie hanging from the register in the kitchen. When I asked no one in particular what this was all about,

Hang Up Barbie

Maxine responded, “So I know where she is.”  Read more...

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Berry Simple

October 25th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Breakfast - (5 Comments)

I’m trying to make peace with the fact that early morning outdoor exercise is soon to be a relegated to the weekends.

Pink Knit Hat and Gloves

For the first time since early spring I busted out the pink hat (you know, the hat I knit myself) and gloves for a morning walk/run today. More walking than running this morning, sometimes it nice to simply walk.

It’s also nice (and necessary) to remember that no matter how freezing it is out there, you DO warm up once you get moving! If anything, the cold is motivation to pick up the pace in the beginning. Knowing how good that early morning air and sunshine will feel on your skin is enough to make it worth it to drag myself out from under the covers.  Read more...

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Money Talks

October 24th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Lunch - (1 Comments)

Zombie weekend fun is officially over, now we’re back to business as usual gang!

And this morning, we were all business. If there’s anything out there that works like a charm when it comes to teaching your homeschooled kid some valuable math lessons, money is it.

Me: Is 46 greater than or less than 56?

Ava: Ummmm…

Me: Would you rather have 46 dollars or 56 dollars?

Ava: 56!

Now we’re getting some where.

After chatting a bit about the < and > signs and how I could never tell them apart, I shared the uber impressive trick I learned to acing those greater than/less than math quizzes in elementary school.  Read more...

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Caution: Zombies Ahead

October 23rd, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Fitness - (14 Comments)

We survived!

We Did It

Literally, anyway.

Our day started in the car where we enjoyed breakfast in the form of pumpkin oats and lunch in the form of hummus, veggies,

Breakfast in the Car And Lunch

pita chips and my favorite portable protein; hard boiled eggs.

Pita Chips Portable Protein

Five hours later, we finally made it to Zombie Land

Caution Zombies Ahead

in time for our 4 o’clock wave start.

Start

We decided we were all fast enough to be Entrees. (vs. Fast appetizers or Slow desserts.)

Entree  Read more...

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Tomorrow We Run With Zombies

October 21st, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Dinner Time - (5 Comments)

In preparation for running from zombies tomorrow, we hit up the only logical place for dinner tonight.

Actually, in preparation for running from zombies tomorrow, first I dropped the girls off with Aunt Ellen, then I picked up The Man and we hit the bar.

Vegetarian Bar

The veggie bar at Wegmans. If I hope to ditch any zombies tomorrow, greens tonight are a must!

Veggie Bar

This is one of my favorite places to eat in town. No place else can I load my plate up with greens and then pile on a ton of fun stuff.  Read more...

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The Lunchtime Puzzle

October 20th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Motivation - (4 Comments)

Two days a week, the girls go off to class for three hours in the afternoon.

That means two days a week, I have three hours to myself.

Sometimes I stay and help out in class, sometimes I run errands, sometimes I do housework, sometimes I work on a blog post.

Lentil Taco Salad

Sometimes I eat leftover lentil tacos on a bed of lettuce with salsa, Greek yogurt and 1/2 an avocado for lunch in front of my computer so I can watch Modern Family on Hulu.  Read more...

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