Happy Summertime!

Sparklers!

Smoke Bombs!

Well, it has been sooo long since I've posted. So much going on within the family and for me, family always comes first.

First of all, I hope summertime is treating everyone well. We've had a drought going on around here, as so many are. Mandatory water rationing-our poor lawn! It was struggling before the drought for some unknown reason, and this has surely not helped!

For the fourth of July, my sweet DD went to a friends for a sleepover and to go watch the fireworks with them. Hubby and I stayed home, ordered a pizza and just enjoyed a quiet evening together. We're starting to feel little snippets of an empty nest. Not sure how that will be when it hits full force.

DD has experienced her first attempts at job hunting! So far, no luck but I don't think it's breaking her heart too badly, lol!

Speaking of DD, I think we have finally figured out that she does not tolerate wheat products well and that may be the cause of all her tummy woes. The g.i. testing she had done showed no physical cause for all her intestinal distress. And for all her assuming that she was lactose intolerant, when she finally bit the bullet and decided to cut out wheat products to see if that could be the culprit, lo and behold she began feeling better. And seems to tolerate dairy just fine. Thank the Lord! This has been so hard on her and us, watching her suffer and not knowing what to do for her. And such a long road to finally finding some relief for her!

About a month ago, we took dear hubby to the emergency room one evening because he wasn't feeling quite right. They ended up keeping him and determined he had had a minor heart attack, found he had 95% blockage in one of his arteries and had to put a stent in. Once home, he said he actually felt better than before in general. He is back at work and doing well now and we are so relieved!

I finally had the last of my four foot surgeries! Yay!!! (oh...no, I don't have four feet~two surgeries on each foot (: ). So happy with the results! Dr. Webb, I salute you and your staff and the surgery center for jobs well done!!!

And my niece Breezi's graduation! We can't forget that! Congratulations BZ!!!

Today, we plan on making a quick trip to the mall, and just enjoying the day and each others company. Of course there's laundry, ironing and a bit of housecleaning to do as well /: .

I thought I'd keep record here of what's for dinner so I can refer back on those days when I just can't come up with any ideas on what to prepare. Because of hubby's heart health scare, and Ari's dietary needs, I have begun to make more meatless meals. Trying to unearth tasty, filling recipes that don't contain meat for a family of carnivores has been quite a challenge! Our breakfasts, snacks and lunches vary from person to person. Mike usually takes basically the same lunch to work each day and Ari & I tend to fend for ourselves or stop in somewhere if we are out & about for a quick lunch. We aren't vegetarian by any stretch of the imagination but every little bit helps.

So, what's for dinner today?:

Three Bean Cassoulet served over mashed potatoes

tossed green salad

Other happenings in the kitchen:

I found this GV Lime Margarita drink mix while searching for the Crystal Light drink mixes that sound like they would make delicious low cal mixed or virgin cocktails that would be perfect for summer sippin' on the patio. So I mixed up a batch and will give it a test run. I like my margaritas frozen with salt. You?

And I'll be slow simmering a fat free veggie broth while I'm out running errands in my new Wolfgang Puck 10 cup cooker. Oh...and ewww...deep cleaning in the fridge.

Off to get ready for the day! Thanks for sharing your time with me!