Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Nommas Nommas Salmonnn

Work? Check
WorkOUT? Check
Quick trip to the grocery store? Check
Awesome dinner and consequently a fun salmon recipe to share with the class?
Check & Check!

Yep, it's another recipe post! This one can be found here on the First Home Love Life page; I added some of our own touches to it, but for the most part I stuck to what I had.. and it... was.... amazing. (:
roasted red pepper salmon (:

NEED
* Salmon. For us, I just got 2 fillets from the seafood counter.
* 2 tbs light oil [I used olive]
* 2 tbs soy sauce [low sodium if you really want]
* 1 cup teriyaki sauce
* ½ cup balsamic vinegar 
* ½ cup honey
* 1 tsp sugar
* 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
* ½ cup dicded red bell peppers
* salt & pepper
 
DO
1. Dump all of the ingredients into a large freezer/ZipLoc bag to mix it all together.
Add the salmon and marinate in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
 
2. Once everything is marinated, broil the salmon until it is finished. I didn't actually time this out, but rather used the old-fashioned fork & toothpick method to make sure it was perfectly cooked through. Some people prefer the inside to still appear fleshy; I took it just past that to make sure it was opaque all the way through and slightly browned on top.
 
3. Add some sides and ENJOY!  
dinner time!
I whipped up some cous cous and added green beans for this, and I am definitely going to make this again. It really didn't take long at all to dump everything into a plastic bag, mix it up and let it broil.

NOM. NOM. NOM!

Have a great week, blogbots!

xo | cmd
 

Monday, April 28, 2014

Monday in Corinthians (:

Today came and went in a flash. At work, it felt like we moved at one, consistently frantic pace all morning, and when I stopped to check the time, it was 4:15. Am I complaining? No (:

I ran a couple of errands after work before meeting up with Rob at the gym for a pretty good leg session. We stopped to grab a couple things at the grocery store afterwards, came home and made some chicken noodle soup, and now we're here, unwinding.

And I just dug into some scripture that one of my best friends now has tattooed on her arm because of how much she loves it. This happes to come out of the book of Corinthians, from which my first name also was derived [thanks, Mom & Dad!], and I can easily see why Ali loves this so much.
"For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory"
- 2 Cor 3:10
my dear friend ali's new tattoo!
There are a lot of ways to mull this one over; of course the first would be in context with the way it was written [go, go read the rest of it!], but for me, it's a concise reminder that the things of today hold no candle to the final prize for our faith. I'm definitely built in the human mold, so it's easy for me to lose sight of the fact that the here-and-now is temporary in contrast to the eternal glory of the Lord we serve.

It's Monday.
Deep breath, recite it.
Repeat.
Go. (:

Love you, blogbots.
Make it a great week!

xo | cmd

My F A M I L Y

We were up early again today, and off to church with my parents. It took a bit of coaxing to get Sydni into the Sunday School class, but by the time the service was over, she'd found her place and even brought home a tiny little trophy for the morning.
haha.. look at the mischief on her face!
After church, we took a tiny little tour via Dad around some of the hotpoints of good old MTV, then headed back to the house. The camera came out, and I promise that once I get the actual edits done, I'll re-post the less-shadowy versions of these.

For now, HERE!
"... to the moon & back, mommy.. i love you!"
Here's the "bench series" haha..
my beautiful little girl
playing with her animals
hello, favorite people!
pappy & nana with syd!
We moved from the bench to the porch... 
my family.


i love them more than i'll ever be able to express.
And finally, we made our way onto the front steps!
these are my favorite moments!!
Sydni showed off two very contrasting sides today: Sweet & Something-Like-Sour?:
my sweet little plant-loving girl
... & the homegrown bumpkin who will knock your teeth out
if she catches you trespassing.. hahaha
How I love this girl. How I love my family.

It wasn't long before Rob and I were loaded up and back on the road to Cincinnati. Syd's hanging back with my parents for a mini vacation there; she's gonna come back mid-week spoiled as all get out, I'm sure. ;)

Again, we can skip the details [or lack thereof] of the commute back to Cincinnati, and hop right to the part where we were home for less than five minutes when Becky came pulling up. She'd been watching the pups over the weekend, and so the three of us decided it was a good a reason as any for some take out sushi from Mango Tree.
helloooooo from mango tree!
Nope.. there's nothing wrong with today, except that Syd didn't come back with us... but I know my parents are overjoyed to have her for a few days. Life's good. (:

xo | cmd

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Easter Eggs & Kites!

I slept on the couch in our greatroom last night, and I don't regret that decision at all. This house, the house in which I grew up, boasts an open greatroom with gable windows, and when the sun rises, so do you.. in a great mood. I was up and moving before the rest of the house; the first thing I did was step outside onto the deck. The trees have yet to sprout their full sets of leaves, but that barely detracted from the beauty that always surrounds this place.

** Deck morning pic

My mom is a machine. I think we'll all be shocked if I actually outlive her. Haha. Seriously, though: My mother is the definition of a healthy woman, and I'll never get over the fact that she can run circles around us. She had us up and going as soon as her feet hit the floor this morning, and we haven't looked back since. ;)

|| ONE ||

First, it was an Easter Egg hunt & the unveiling of Easter baskets.
[The Easter bunny was busy this year!]
egg hunt...... go!
basket o' eggs
nana & pappy!
With all the eggs collected, we noticed there were some strange prints on the deck... [yes, this Easter bunny walks, like a human... haha]
where did he go?
easter baskets, of course!!
ransack.
easter basket goodies!
Showcasing some spoils:
new sock-shoes? lol (:
ninja bunny here....
little capsules that become sponge animals
|| TWO ||

We survived the explosion of Easter basket fun and gathered ourselves together for a trip to the new and still in-progress development of Mt. Vernon's Foundation Park. They still have some big work to do, but it's already beautiful and I'm excited to come back in a few months to see how it's finished.

Our reason for the visit today?
butterfly kite!
I didn't realize until today that my mother has never before flown a kite. Never. This won't sound like much to most, but today will stay special if for no other reason than the fact that I was with my mother and my daughter for their first time flying a kite. How.. awesome (:
she's good!!

she insisted she could do this herself ;)

but finally enlisted mister rob's help ♥
heading out to get started
my girl ♥♥
mom!!!
showing mister rob how it's done ;)
she's a pro now!
mama, reeling it in after an hour of flight time (:
We flew that thing for almost an hour before finally bringing it down. Luckily for us, we also brought snacks... and bubbles.
snacks with pappy
bubbles with nana

ribbons!
Soon it was time to go...
getting chilly ... zip up!
my love...
... and the love i most admire ♥
|| THREE ||
We headed home after the park; Dad, Rob and our neighbor Fred got together to switch out the dryers and hang out for a bit, and Sydni and I took to the yard.
in love with today
her snarly monster face
if you guessed that she's singing the frozen soundtrack, you're not wrong...
more bubbles!
This picture, which is now one of my favorites:
baby girls being raised right ;)
Before long, it was time to settle down for dinner. Mom, as usual, outdid herself and left the family with bellies so full we didn't know what to do with ourselves. Dad's solution? Teach Sydni chess. 
ok, so maybe it wasn't by real chess rules, but hey, it's ok!
After dinner, we forced Mom out of the kitchen and took away all her dishtowels and parked her in a seat with the family to watch................. you guessed it.. Frozen. I'm fairly certain my parents are were the only two remaining people in the U.S. to have seen this movie. Haha.
it's movie time!
hey pappy! dooooooo you wanna build a snowmaaaaan?
They loved it. She recited it. We just laughed watching them the whole time.
Oh, and when you're here at the Dren Lodge, this is how you end Saturday movie nights:
homemade chocolate & caramel sauce!
Whoa. Saturday = SUCCESS.
We're aiming for the same thing tomorrow (:

xo | cmd