22 April 2008

Clarification

Brian brought something to my attention the other day after reading my last few entries. He actually asked me if I blamed him for our poor eating habits lately. I was stunned and said, "Did it come across that way???" Of course I do not place the blame on Brian! Since it's my job to do the clean up after he cooks the meal, I'm often the one who initiates going out to eat to avoid the cleaning. I have of course clarified this with my husband, but I really hope no one else thought I was blaming it all on him.

At least for the last 2 weeks we have been doing really well - each Sunday night we have planned out menus for the entire week AND we've stuck to them almost every night. We've swapped a few nights around a couple of times, and had to go out once because the meat had not thawed as planned, but I'm proud of us at least for making the change. Brian seems to be enjoying cooking again like he used to - he's experimenting again!

Right around Easter he went grocery shopping and came home with something new he had been wanting to try for a while. It has been in the freezer up until a few nights ago, when he finally cooked it, and convinced me to try it. Believe it or not - we had RABBIT for dinner!!! He joked about having Easter bunny stew around Easter and I told him he was terrible! I have to admit though that I enjoyed it a lot. The meat was not as dark as I expected, and the texture a bit like chicken. Overall it was pretty good!! (This might be nothing to anyone who is used to eating game meats, etc.) I'll keep you updated on any other new things we decide to try!

Lindsay

17 April 2008

I have to admit it's getting better, it's getting better all the time..

Hey everyone! I'm finally updating again, yay!!

Admittedly my last real post was pretty grumpy and bleak sounding, so I'm happy to report that things seem to be improving. I really feel like we are making progress! Maybe it's the warm sunny weather and the hope that spring brings. Maybe it's that Liam is almost 4 months old. Whatever it is, I'm thankful!

Today has been a beautiful day. We've got the windows open with sunlight and fresh air streaming in, and today on my lunch break Brian and Liam and I took a moment outside to enjoy the weather. We've got two apple trees in the back yard, and Brian has set up his hammock between them. While he lounged in the hammock Liam and I snoozed on a blanket on the grass. The apple blossoms sprinkled down on top of us when the wind blew and it was so peaceful, a really nice break in the middle of the day.

I'm really enjoying seeing things come alive in the spring, especially here in our yard and around our house. For those of you who don't know, we are renting this house from our friends from church, Kelly and Brian. The house was built by Kelly's grandfather and she purchased it from him in his old age to keep the house in their family. Before we moved in in October, the house had been empty for 4 or 5 years. We're finding that the yard is full of flowers and trees that Kelly's pawpaw planted and tended, and animals that he encouraged to make their homes here. We've got apple trees, blackberries, and cultivated muscadine vines, and possibly plums or pears (we're not sure which yet). There are pecan trees and great giant oaks. There are azaleas, daffodils, irises, and tulips, and things that we have not even discovered yet, I'm sure! It's nice to have a yard again after living in the city for several years. What is also so neat is that all the animals in the yard are used to the place being empty. Kelly's pawpaw had bluebird houses and I think other bird houses in the yard, and so we have a birdwatcher's paradise around here. The birds and squirrels will perch and climb on the windows and look in at us. I hope that our presence here does not eventually scare them off. There is a red-headed woodpecker that lives in the yard somewhere, and I watch him from the bathroom window a lot of mornings. Yesterday I watched a hawk sitting in the oak tree in the backyard. I hope that when Liam is old enough to see all this that the animals are still around (well, except for the skunks that come around at night...). All these things remind me of my nana and papa's house and yard, and make me feel at home. Liam will never get to run around their place like I did growing up, but I want him to enjoy the simple joys of playing outside like I did. Those of you who know me well know that I wanted to live in the city for a long time, but I realize now that I don't want my little boy to grow up surrounded by concrete and tall buildings!

Speaking of little boys growing up....he certainly is!! The pictures below were taken almost 3 weeks ago: