How I have missed you!
Are you confused? Don’t be!
For about 4 1/2 years, I worked four 10 hour days with Mondays off. I had plenty of Sunday Fundays and then used Mondays to exercise, regroup, and relax. It was fantastic! In June, my entire schedule changed and I started working on Mondays. It went ok, but my Sundays became much busier and I never got used to waking up early Monday mornings. With my new job, I decided to go back to my original schedule. Welcome back Sunday and Monday Fundays!
After the past two weeks and a crazy busy weekend, I was more than happy to have this Monday off. Saturday, we had a family wedding! It has been awhile since the 6 of us have been to a wedding together and we wasted no time getting down on the dance floor and frequenting the photo booth complete with costumes (hence the top photo).
We all crashed at my parents house that night and they provided the perfect after party of snacks and water : ) Sunday morning, everyone was moving a little more slowly except for my mom who herded us out of bed and into the kitchen for brunch. The game plan was a Birthday celebration for the BOY and my brother (both November birthdays), the Bears game, and chili. Early on, there was some discussion about bad weather, but it wasn’t until we turned on the TV around 11:30 that we realized tornados had swept through central Illinois and huge storms were coming our way. There were lots of warnings given and when the suggestion of bike helmets came up on the news, I sprung into action.
We had some serious rain and hail but we were lucky that the bulk of the storms were farther south. We watched the start of the Bears game and then there was a LONG delay. There were plenty of stories from last night’s wedding to share and Hanukkah shopping on Amazon to do. Not to mention meal planning on Pinterest. We had some friends come out from the city, and my we made a double batch of Buffalo Turkey Chili, which everyone loved. Just a note, that my mom put the ingredients in the crockpot which worked well.
We left my parents around 2:30pm to head home to Cooper. This was his first night by himself and he just looked so sad when we left (see photo). I wasn’t sure how he would handle the storms. He was beyond excited to see us, but definitely jumpy with the strong winds. We spent Sunday afternoon cheering the Bears on to victory (Woo Hoo!) and playing with kitten.
I slept beautifully last night and was excited to head back to another yoga class this morning. After yoga, I went to Costco and the grocery store, both of which had significantly less people than they typically do on Sundays. Man, I’ve missed Monday shopping. When I came home, I threw chili for lunch this week into the crockpot.
I adjusted the original spices a bit leaving out the cocoa and adding more savory flavors. I also baked up a loaf of clean banana bread with the latest brown bananas hanging out on the counter.
I’m finishing off the day at dinner with my girl friends. Does it get any better than that?
Welcome back Mondays!
Meal Planning 11/18/13
Monday: Dinner Date with the Girls
Tuesday: TBD
Wednesday: Turkey Burgers
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken
Lunch: Crockpot Pumpkin Red Lentil Chili
Crockpot Pumpkin Red Lentil Chili
Slightly adjusted from Kitchen Treaty
Ingredients
2 15-ounce cans kidney beans, drained
2 cups vegetable broth
2 15-ounce cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes, with liquid
1 cup dry red lentils
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 chopped yellow onion
1 medium jalapeno pepper, minced (deseeded and deveined if you’re looking for less heat)
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions
Add all ingredients to a large slow cooker. Stir well.
Cook on high for 4 – 5 hours or on low for 8 – 10 hours, until lentils are tender and chili is thick and hearty.
Serve with assorted toppings.
You look fabulous at the wedding! Sounds like a nice way to spend the morning after! Poor Cooper; he does look so sad!
Glad you have your Mondays back!
Thanks! I was so excited when I found that dress that I had to have it : )
He was so sad…it was tough to leave him but luckily he forgives easily!
Fun weekend!!! The pumpkin chili sounds delicious!!!
It turned out incredible! I should take a picture to post.
Even the BOY ate it last night. It’s really thick and hearty. Yum I can’t wait to eat it for lunch today!
Yours is just the finest family EVER!! I miss my kids so much! I wish they didn’t live so far away!
Thank you Clara! We always do seem to have a good time although when we are all packed into the car driving to NY next week, I might be singing a different tune : )
I made the chili with one alteration-I was out of lentils-so to help it get a little thicker I added this grain mix that I have with brown rice, red rice, green wheat and barley. It was absolutely awesome! Oh and I used tomatoes with chilis (hot) in place of the canned regular tomatoes and the jalepeno. It got the seal of approval from DH-although he is easier to please than the boy. I want to try the buffalo chili next esp since your mom made it in the crockpot.
Wow, that sounds great! The Buffalo Chili is so good. Funny story about that…the BOY looked at me and said. Wow, this is really good! I said, I made it last week and you didn’t touch it. Hmmm he said! MEN!
You look gorgeous in that red dress!
Ahh thanks girl!
[…] head out for dinner. We went to the local pub which happens to have awesome salads. The pre planned turkey burgers will have to […]
What a great weekend! Your Mondays sound so awesome! Poor Cooper….he looks so sad. I am such a sap and that is why we have become so entangled with our dog that we can’t leave him home alone….EVER!! We keep saying we are doing things differently with the next one. Yeah right! 🙂
ha ha! The thing is that I know that Cooper has a great time while we’re gone because I see evidence of exploring, eating, and play. But the overnight was hard for everyone! We used to leave our other cat for 2 nights no problem but she was older and way more independent.
[…] I think we kind of lost meal planning mid week, but I blame that on fun employment […]
Mondays off would be awesome! Glad you’re back to your schedule 🙂 Also, you look fab at the wedding! Super cute dress and love your hair… makes me want to cut bangs again! 🙂
Ha ha! I just cut them and I’m a big fan. We’ll see how long that lasts : ) I also got a new dress and was thrilled to have a reason to wear it.
Made the chili and it was delicious! I also made pumpkin cornbread!! Thanks again!!
You are welcome! I LOVED this chili too! Should have taken some better pictures but I was too busy eating it : ) Pumpkin cornbread sounds fab!