a/k/a time flies when you're... oh never mind

I'm going to have to start numbering these... Not to mention finding a way to make our weekends some more interesting... Ah well, just the highlights, then...

Here's the weekend update.

Friday, we took the day off of work. The memorial service wasn't until the evening, but we were not about to spend the extra gas, to go to work, come home early, get us and the kids ready and drive all the way back up to the church where the service was.

Gas prices seem to influence more and more where we go. I don't even like to drive the 4-7 miles it take to get wherever I need to go in town. If it weren't for those pesky kids wanting to eat all the time, I probably wouldn't go anywhere EVER!!

The service Friday evening was nice. My uncle wasn't the kind of guy who would have wanted everyone dressing up all fancy for him, but we did it anyway. The boys behaved well (Thank goodness). There was a slide show, some music, and then people told their stories. My uncle was the kind of guy, that if you knew him you had a "story". There will be no funeral - at least not yet. Due to the nature of the incident, he has not yet been identified, and the investigation is ongoing. So, in lieu of a funeral, the memorial service offered some closure (as much as you can get in this situation, anyway).

Saturday, Budman went to his parents to help with work around the house, the kids and I went to get Father's Day gifts. I got T-shirts and paints, and we made hand print T-shirts. The boys each picked their own paint color, and I could not have picked better colors if I had tried. They went perfect together . We went ahead and made four of the shirts, for my dads and Budman's dad, also.

Sunday, we gave Budman his shirt, and the cards that the little ones had made for him. He was touched. (He should have been... The boys asked for my help in spelling. I got a piece of paper, and wrote the things they said they wanted to put in the cards, I was a bit teary-eyed just reading them.) Monkey, especially, who wrote, "I love you for keeping us safe. Thank you for being the best dad." Aww.... excuse me just a moment. 'Talk amongst yourselves'

Dinner that evening was, surprisingly, a success. Seems lately anytime I get in the kitchen, something goes wrong. It's part to do with my scatterbrained nature, partly bad luck and partly that I always get a bit ambitious in the kitchen. I planned the menu last week, bought my groceries ahead of time. And feel free to laugh at me, Budman does, but lately ALL my recipes come from bloggers.

The menu:

Bacon Tomato Cups from Robin at Pensieve - Oh mama, were these good... I think I overdid the Mayo a teensy bit, but they still turned out heavenly, and if I hadn't reminded them to save room for desert, Budman and Possum would have eaten them all. Thankfully, I still have quite a few of these in my fridge, and I'm kicking myself for not bringing them for lunch today...

Shrimp Scampi from My Wooden Spoon - This was awesome. I think I will use more butter next time, but it was a hit. Both Possum and Monkey went back for thirds!! Granted, Possum will eat anything, but he won't go back for seconds or thirds unless it's REALLY good.
What went wrong: I forgot until the very last minute that the shrimp we bought was not already peeled, and had to turn off the fire under the pan while I spent almost 20 minutes frantically peeling shrimp.

Creamed Spinach from The Pioneer Woman - I really cannot get enough of her recipes. I have not found a bad one yet... And to be perfectly honest, I have never eaten spinach before yesterday. Shocking, I know. I've never been able to get past the smell of canned spinach, but when I made fresh creamed spinach yesterday, I REALLY liked it!!
What went wrong: Not having ever cooked fresh spinach (or any spinach, for that matter) before, and being the stubborn know-it-all that I am, I did not look at the spinach until showtime, and I wasted another ten minutes removing all the stems. This is something I could have had Possum do for me, he was already hovering around the kitchen anyway... but I'm stubborn like that.

Carrot Cake from... a box. I had big plans, to make Sigrid's Carrot Cake, also from The Pioneer Woman (I told you - 90% of my recipes come from her!!), however Budman talked me out of it. He thinks I like to make things complicated. Once I started listing ingredients, he BEGGED me to just make him a box cake. Truth be told, I'm glad he did, if I had been doing it from scratch, I would have had to begin cooking right after lunch, and probably, I would have procrastinated, and not made it at all, and then I would have been upset with myself for not being Superwoman. I'm weird like that. So box cake it was, and my step-mother said it was the moistest cake that she had ever eaten, so YAY Betty Crocker!!!

So, even after going back and removing the really boring stuff... This is still way too long. But, if you've made it this far, you either really like me, or maybe it wasn't quite as boring as I thought...

Have a great week.