Things to do before Aug 09 -- Update #3

1. Walk/Run 40 miles (29)
2. Cook 15 meals a week (10)
3. Save 60% on our grocery bills (44% --not to shabby!)
4. Do one craft project (seriously? come on LMP! I can do better than this!)
6. Do one different type of exercise I haven't done in the last two months a minimum of once a week. (1.rock climbing, 2.nothing, 3.swimming, 4.Spinning)
7. Lose 5lbs. (let's not talk about this right now... realizing I need the motivation by doing WW again)
8. Make 7 new meals/recipes I haven't made before. (So far: spaghetti sauce with cherry tomatoes, making new dessert for picnic, bruschetta, roasted green beans, baked green bean fries, key lime pie, marinated orange grilled chicken... I'm on a roll!)
9. Blog more frequently (have 20 posts by the end of the month -- so far 12)
10. Plant new tomato plants. (planted 4 more, might plant two more next week)
11. Rain Gutters: measure house, create cost sheet, map out where rain barrels will go. (need to do this one)
12. Plant new flowers under the trees (done)
13. Send out Evite for bbq. (postponed bbq due to plans with the mi familia this weekend)

New Post on LMP Farm

Here's the link!

FREE

That's is one way to describe this weekend. No major plans, no major places to go. This weekend came and is just sitting there, looking at me, wondering what I'm going to do with it. This is unheard of for us. We always have something to do where it's a dinner party, or family, or tickets to something, or even vacation. We are never NOT busy. Since this is like a full moon to us, I'm going to run myself rugged and really tackle a weekend to do list. I think this is our last free weekend till... oh, forever and a day! :)

1. Harvest Corn and get rid of stocks to make room for more tomato plants
2. WEED
3. Plant new hydrangea plants
4. Return Wii Game and get a new one (Bought Sonic, and hated it, going to go get the cooking one because of how our friends' raved about it)
5. Start the 30 day challenge on the Wii Active
6. Start figuring out frame situation in entry way (will post more about this later)
7. Spend the day riding our bikes around Santa Barbara for some much needed relaxation/exercise. Frank (the bike) misses me...and I miss him. He needs his tired pumped too!
8. De clutter Computer station (will post about this later)
9. Clean kitchen thoroughly
10. Clean bedroom
11. Try out two new recipes. I'm thinking of making this dressing my friend emailed me and a new dessert recipe, perhaps a refreshing strawberry pie!
12. Clean BBQ
13. Tidy up Garage
14. Go see a movie
15. Grocery shop
16. and if I'm lucky... go kayaking or rent a paddle boat. :)

It seems like a lot of stuff but I think it can all be done.

What are your plans for the weekend?

a few of my favorite things

my favorite thing in the kitchen: garlic press

my favorite thing in the yard: my blue suede gloves my dad bought me to garden with! :)

my favorite thing in the living room: all our big pillows

my favorite thing in the media room: our new fan

my favorite thing in the dining area: a little succulent plant in the middle of our table

my favorite thing in the car: the AC (it's over 100 here!)

my favorite thing at work: my water bottle

my favorite thing at the gym: the sauna

my favorite thing in the handbag: my iphone

my favorite thing in the world: my hubby

:)

Things to do before Aug 09 -- Update #2

1. Walk/Run 40 miles (25)
2. Cook 15 meals a week (6)
3. Save 60% on our grocery bills (24% --I've been buying an OBSCENE amount of veggies this month. Like if our bill was 50, 40 would go to veggies and fruits)
4. Do one craft project (ummm...gardening? i'm realizing i'm not too crafty)
6. Do one different type of exercise I haven't done in the last two months a minimum of once a week. (1.rock climbing, 2.nothing, 3.swimming)
7. Lose 5lbs. (let's not talk about this right now... realizing I need the motivation by doing WW again)
8. Make 7 new meals/recipes I haven't made before. (So far: spaghetti sauce with cherry tomatoes, making new dessert for picnic, bruschetta, roasted green beans,)
9. Blog more frequently (have 20 posts by the end of the month -- so far 9)
10. Plant new tomato plants. (planted 4 more, might plant two more next week)
11. Rain Gutters: measure house, create cost sheet, map out where rain barrels will go. (need to do this one)
12. Plant new flowers under the trees (done)
13. Send out Evite for bbq. (postponed bbq due to plans with the mi familia this weekend)

99 Things Meme...

The rules:
Things you’ve already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven’t done and don’t want to – leave in plain font

If you want to do it to, just leave a comment with the link to your post.


1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyworld
8. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Written something that was published (does a short story in 8th grade count?)
11. Bungee jumped or parachuted
12. Walked across the Golden Gate Bridge I have driven, but not walked.
13. Been in a fist fight
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch Several, actually.
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Seen the Rings of Saturn with a telescope
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when not ill can i double bold this one? LOL
24. Built a tree house or snow fort (sorta, but wasn't up to code.)
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Fired a gun
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (getting there)
38. Visited the Leaning Tower of Pisa
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal
44. Visited Africa
45. Cried yourself to sleep
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (caricature count?)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Visited the Eiffel Tower
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Pretended you cooked something from scratch when you didn’t
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie, TV, or commercial
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold something door to door
62. Gone whale or dolphin watching
64. Donated blood, marrow, etc
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Held onto a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten frog legs or caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job (layed off count?)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards
77. Broken a bone
78. Done something illegal
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Sang a solo
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Climbed a mountain
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had surgery
89. Directly saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury Civil and criminal juries
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Seen a loved one die
94. Given birth to a baby
95. Visited the Alamo
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Sent a text message while driving
99. Been stung by a bee By a wasp, in the face!

Things to do before Aug 09 -- Update #1

1. Walk/Run 40 miles (25)
2. Cook 15 meals a week (6)
3. Save 60% on our grocery bills (24% --I've been buying an OBSCENE amount of veggies this month. Like if our bill was 50, 40 would go to veggies and fruits)
4. Do one craft project (ummm...gardening? i'm realizing i'm not too crafty)
6. Do one different type of exercise I haven't done in the last two months a minimum of once a week. (So, first week I can say I did rock climbing, last week nothing, this week will be swimming)
7. Lose 5lbs. (let's not talk about this right now... realizing I need the motivation by doing WW again)
8. Make 7 new meals I haven't made before. (So far: spaghetti sauce with cherry tomatoes, making new dessert for picnic, bruschetta)
9. Blog more frequently (have 20 posts by the end of the month -- so far 8)
10. Plant new tomato plants. (planted 4 more, might plant two more next week)
11. Rain Gutters: measure house, create cost sheet, map out where rain barrels will go.
12. Plant new flowers under the trees (done)
13. Send out Evite for bbq. (postponed bbq due to plans with the mi familia this weekend)

Random afternoon thoughts

i've been eating a grapefruit like an orange these days. It's bitter but I sorta like it like this

my new favorite thing in the world is bubble tea. I found a place near my house that sells it. we're addicted.

i haven't done a lick of exercise this week. i blame the weather.

actually the real reason is cause i'm lazy...

looks like ths weekend i will finally go on a picnic.

i will also be driving about 5 hours to get to said picnic spot.

i need to go to the grocery store. must buy jicama, butter lettuce, sprouts for lettuce wraps for dinner

also need to stop by Michaels and get red, green, and yellow food coloring

the hubby has finally gotten the hang of gardening. he's now constantly tending to the cherry tomato bush that took over half the garden. the other half has been taken over by the spaghetti squash

i'm not a happy camper with this heat. i shouldn't talk because it is cool compared to last year. and because i even brought this up, my guess is that we will now break heat records.

Easy Peach Cobbler

Very rarely do I post recipes but since this is a new month and I want to try to blog more, here I am.

In the planner household, we rarely go a night without some type of dessert. It's usually nothing bad, it could be grapes or homemade sorbet. Last night I decided to make some peach cobbler. Last time I made this, it was insanely good but insanely bad for you. So this time around, I morphed the recipe to make it better for you!

Ingredients

1/3 cup flour

1/4 cup splenda

1 peach

1 tbsp I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spread

1/3 cup fat free milk

How to:
1. Preheat oven to 350. (we used our toaster oven for this)
2. Cream the butter and sugar together.
3. Then mix in flour and milk until smooth.
4. spray the pan/bowl you're using to bake them in.
5. place half the mixture on bottom of pan/bowl.
6. Slice up peaches and place them in pan/bowl.
7. Spread the remainder of the mixture on top.
8. Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly brown and crisp.



Serves 2


Build your own nutritional info

Yum!!!

A getaway

Wow, what a trip. We were only gone for 4 days but boy did it feel like we were gone for weeks! We went up to Seattle and got to took advantage of the beautiful weather and long days! Here's a quick recap of everything:

Walked over 20 miles

Rockclimbed the Pinnacle

Dim Sum in the International District

Wine tasting on Bainbridge Island

Beer Fest!!!

Experience Music Project and Sci Fi Museum

5 Pts Cafe

Pike Place

Fish Tacos overlooking Lake Union

University of Washington

Duck Tour

Happy Hour at Ruth Chris and McCormick and Schmicks

I think that's it.



Thank you Linda for all your help! It really was one of the best trips we've taken in a long time!

P.S. our streak of having it rain on vacation is still going strong. It rained about an hour before we left! :) I wonder if we'll ever take a trip without seeing rain. HAHA!

New Post on LMP Farm

Here's the link!

Things to do before AUG 09

1. Walk/Run 40 miles ()
2. Cook 15 meals a week ()
3. Save 60% on our grocery bills (%)
4. Do one craft project --
6. Do one different type of exercise I haven't done in the last two months a minimum of once a week.
7. Lose 5lbs.
8. Make 7 new meals I haven't made before
9. Blog more frequently (have 20 posts by the end of the month)
10. Plant new tomato plants.
11. Rain Gutters: measure house, create cost sheet, map out where rain barrels will go.
12. Plant new flowers under the trees
13. Send out Evite for bbq.

Things to do before JUL 09 -- Final Update

I know I am about 7 days late in updating this but I'm here now.
1. Walk/Run 30 miles (17.3)
2. Cook 15 meals a week (15)
3. Save 60% on our grocery bills (61.38%)
4. Do one craft project -- build ottoman top for fire pit. Haven't started that yet but might change it to something else.
5. Order and install Fan for media room (fan being installed today)
6. Go to the gym 4 times during the work day (ummm....)
7. Go for a picnic and a hike (perhaps this weekend)
8. Go swimming twice at the gym (....)
9. Rain Gutters: measure house, create cost sheet, map out where rain barrels will go. (still need to do this)
10. Buy drip irrigation system and start putting it together (sorta done)
11. Make apricot jam (got the apricots in the freezer, hopefully I'll have some time to do this this weekend)
12. Build trellis for grapes (Must do this in the next 2 weeks, there are leaves on the grape vine now!)
13. Finish last tier of the garden (decided to nix this for now... )
14. Start planning Christmas in July BBQ! (changing this to a wine tasting party)