Week 7

One of Matt's and my favorite thing to do is eat, especially with friends. Last week, we met our friends Courtney and Jamey at Eastland Cafe for an early dinner. We hadn't seen them in a while and it was so great to catch up! At Eastland we love to get their margherita pizza, fish tacos, and chicken pot-stickers. The best thing about it? Each item is only $5! Good food, cheap prices, and great friends. Does it get any better than that?

Check out all the other Week 7 posts at The Mom Creative.

40 Days of Water

Several of my friends were posting on twitter and facebook the various things they were thinking about giving up for lent. I had been toying around with the idea myself, trying to decide exactly what I could give up for 40 days. I kept shooting down my own ideas because everything I thought of was too big of a sacrifice. There was just no way I could give up TV or chocolate. I finally convinced myself that I didn’t really need to participate in lent anyway.

Then I clicked on this link and it rocked my world.

Shame on me. Shame on me to think I couldn’t give up chocolate or TV for 40 days. (I mean, I would miss the Bachelor finale if I did that?!)

Blood:Water Mission reminded me with their 40 Days of Water challenge that there are people who would be happy to have something to sacrifice. It reminded me that there are people who make sacrifices every day just to get clean water to drink.

So that’s what I’m hoping to remember every day of this 40 day challenge. As I drink only water, clean water that I get with no effort, I pray that this tiny sacrifice will help me become innately aware of how blessed I truly am.

I convinced Matt to take on this challenge with me. You can read his take on it here. We started today. (Hence the water you see above:)) I will be calculating our saved expenses by choosing only tap water for the next 40 days and then make a donation to Blood:Water Mission. We would love your support and encouragement.

Are you participating in lent this year?

Week 6--Recipe Share

Week 6 of Project Life Tuesdays hosted by The Mom Creative

I have been cooking more in the last few weeks than I have in my entire life. One of the things Matt and I committed to this year was to eat out less, eat home more, and save a ton of money in the process. My crock pot gets a major workout every week.

My picture this week is of a few of the cookbooks I have been using recently. I'm trying to cook meals more on the healthy side. I've made mac and cheese and an Alfredo that were both low fat and delicious! Our other new favorite is crock pot chicken tacos. Yum!

As March quickly approaches we will be mapping out our menu for the month. I would love any quick or easy recipes you would like to share! Almost every recipe I try has come by recommendation from a friend and they are always SO good! So let's share. :)

I'll go first.

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

4-6 frozen chicken breasts

1 can of Rotel

1 package Taco seasoning

• Put the frozen chicken in the bottom of your crock pot. Mix the rotel and taco seasoning in a small bowl and pour over the chicken. Cook on low about 6 hours.
• When chicken is done remove from the crock pot and shred using two forks. Mix in some of the rotel left in the crock pot.
• Fill your hard or soft taco shells with the chicken mixture and add your favorite toppings!
• Enjoy!

So easy, right?

Now it's your turn! :)

Two Years Ago Today...

I met the man of my dreams for the first time. I loved him then. And I still do. More than ever.

You are amazing Matthew. You are so special to me.

Love love love!

Week 5

I made it through January! I have really enjoyed doing the first month of my Project 52. It has made me take more pictures and it has made me want to capture the moments of my life. I'm already looking forward to doing Project 365 next year! :)

My picture this week is from one of my very favorite new traditions: Willis Wednesday! Every Wednesday night we get together with the Willis family. They are such a sweet family and have a cutie pie boy, Jonah. Wednesdays have become a night I look forward to every week.

This week Matt and I were pseudo parents to sweet Elias. (You may remember him from Week 3.) Both of his parents were traveling so we had a slumber party with him at our place. He and Jonah got along famously! It was so fun to watch the boys play together.

Don't forget to head over to The Mom Creative to check out all of the other Week 5 posts!

Week 4- Snowed In!

This past weekend Nashville got several inches of snow. The school I teach at was closed Friday, Monday, and Tuesday. I had a great time enjoying my days off hanging out and lounging around with Matt. On Friday Matt made some snow cream. I had never heard of it or tasted it before. I harvested the snow and Matt mixed it all up. I really enjoyed it! For my second cup I added a little coconut. Yummy! My picture this week is of the fresh snow we used!

Don't forget to head over to The Mom Creative to see the rest of the Project Life Tuesdays!