8. Cooking Challenge - Week 7 (7/12)

Tonight I made soft tacos for our dinner. Nothing fancy since we are on vacation, and I don't have any pictures, but they were yummy and Liam ate 2 full sized soft tacos! :)

40. Watch the sun rise.

We are down in Myrtle Beach for the week, and I couldn't pass up the chance to watch the sun rise over the ocean outside our room. It was beautiful!

8. Cooking Challenge Week 6 (6/12)

This week I baked a chicken and rice casserole. I forgot to take a picture, but we love this recipe, we have it once a month or so. These days, I am a huge fan of anything that feeds us all for more than one night! :)

50. Have at least 10 real date nights, no babies allowed. (1/10)

On Wednesday night, Liam's Nana came over to babysit, and Bill and I went out for the evening. We had dinner at Mellow Mushroom in the American Tobacco district in Durham and then went to see Cirque Dreams (see the blog post below) at the DPAC. It was a really nice evening, and we really enjoyed the chance to spend an evening out!

32. See a show by Cirque de Soleil

On Wednesday, Bill and I saw Cirque Dreams at the DPAC in Durham. It was a good show, and we enjoyed our evening out. I'd love to see a Cirque show in Las Vegas sometime too!

More Coupon Fun

Harris Teeter had triple coupons again this week, and I was more organized this time. I got the groceries above for about $12, and saved over $36 with coupons. I got 3 boxes of Barilla pasta, the package of Reese's cups, and a bag of Mahatma rice for free. Most of the rest of the food was less than $.50 a piece, and then I spent a few dollars stocking up one some hair cream and deoderant. Score! :) You can only use 20 coupons at the time, so I may go back and get a few more things before the promotion ends!

8. Cooking Challenge - Week 5 (5/12)

This week, I made a crockpot Mexican chicken, based on this recipe. I used regular salsa (I hate sweet on meat), mild since we were sharing with the munchkin, though medium would have tasted much better! :) I added sour cream and some shredded cheddar cheese to the crockpot about a half hour before it was finished and served it on rice over a tortilla. If I make it again, I will add some frozen corn too. It was good, we will definitely do this again, and Liam gives it a big thumbs up too!

42. Get a Massage

I cashed in a waaaay overdue gift card from Christmas and got a massage today at Massage Envy. It was wonderful! :)

8. Cooking Challenge - Week 4 (4/12)

This week I cooked a pot roast in the crockpot. We've made this recipe before, but it came out especially yummy this time - we splurged on a roast from Whole Foods (the cheapest one they had, it was not much more than the ones at the regular store, and I'm super picky about the meat Liam eats, especially beef), and I think it made a real difference.


Liam approved! He cleaned his plate and even had seconds of carrots and potatoes. (check the bottom left of the photo for the lurker waiting for him to drop something LOL, she cracks me up)

1 Beef Roast
1 package dried brown gravy mix
1 package dried Italian Salad Dressing Mix
1 package dried Ranch Dressing Mix
1/2 cup beef broth

1. Place beef roast in crockpot
2. Mix the dried mixes together in a bowl and sprinkle over roast.
3. Pour the broth around the roast
4. Cook on low for 7-9 hours.

I also added some potatoes and carrots to the crockpot so that I would have a one pot meal. It's a really easy recipe, and comes out so flavorful!

8. Cooking Challenge - Week 3 (3/12)

This week, I cooked meatloaf cups. I basically just used the recipe on the back of the McCormick seasoning packet, and added parmesan cheese. But we like to cook our meatloaf in muffin pans. It makes great single serving sizes, and it cooks faster too.



We served it with couscous that we mixed with a package of spinach for some veggie. This was actually a leftover from last night though, so I didn't cook it, but Liam loved it and ate tons of fresh spinach - yay!

August 2009 Progress

Completed in August: 1/101
Current Total: 4/101

5. Read 101 books (12/101).
I read 6 more books this month. Still on my summer reading binge! :) My favorite by far this month were these 2 by Tami Hoag (they are sequels):


9. Take 1001 photos in 1001 days (244/1001).
I took 121 photos this month. I think my favorite picture this month is this one of Liam in the ball pit at My Gym: