Is It The Weekend Yet?

Okay, as a newlywed, I have never before spent a Monday-Friday at home while my husband was away on business. This was his first trip. So I can't really feel silly for not knowing what to expect, but can I just say that what I expected is SO not what happened? I thought I would watch movies, read books, blog every night, work out TONS... I had cooking experiments planned for dinner every night... all this while working super late every day to get ahead at work since I won't be able to work this Saturday.

Here's what really happened.

After the fiasco at the airport on Monday, I was so exhausted I left work at 6:00! I made some low cal enchiladas that I enjoy now and again (that will be my Delicious Dish this weekend... I don't want to ruin the reveal!) and channel surfed for a good half hour because nothing was on TV. Then I worked out and was so tired, I went to bed!

Tuesday, as you know, my mom came over for dinner. She was planning to be at my apartment at 7, and I needed a few ingredients for the recipes that I was trying out, and unfortunately I needed to hit 2 stores to get them because one of them can only be found at Wal-mart, but I never buy produce at Wal-mart because they have disappointed me one too many times. So I left work at 5:30 thinking that I would hit both stores and be home at 6:30 and have dinner ready by 7. Well I didn't get home until 6:45 and dinner wasn't ready until 7:30. My mom left at about 8:45. I did the dishes and did a little blogging and suddenly it was midnight! So I went to bed.

Yesterday I left work at 6 again because I needed to go by my parents house to show Mel a proof of the wedding programs and grab the full length mirror that I have yet to move to my apartment (so I could see how my shoes looked with my bridesmaid dress...AWFUL!). I hung out there for a bit but I had to be home by 8 because my sister, Laura, was stopping by on her way to a birthday party to grab a pair of jeans that I haven't fit into since 2007 but was holding onto because they are cute! My plan last night was to make spaghetti squash and ratatouille, but after the soup from the night before and that afternoon, I needed some meat! So instead I baked some breaded chicken and ate it on top of Tofu Shirataki noodles topped with marinara sauce. It was chicken parmesan without the cheese and it was very satisfying! The chicken took about 45 minutes in all to make (I had to thaw it first) so I didn't eat dinner until about 9:15. By the time I was done with dinner and a tasty dessert it was 10:00. Even if I hadn't been too tired to work out (which I without a doubt WAS) it would have been too late because I know I probably sound like an elephant to my downstairs neighbors when I do the Wii Active. All of that jogging and jumping... not gonna happen at 10:00 at night. I'm not that neighbor.

Today was BUSY at work! I was trying to get a lot done because I am leaving at 2:00 tomorrow. I need to pick up Brett from the airport and then we have the rehearsal and dinner at 5:45. I worked until 7, but I had errands to run and recipes to make so that was as late as I could stay. I got a long sleeved white shirt for Brett (for the wedding...woohoo!) at Kohl's (not on sale...boo!) and a pair of more appropriate shoes at Payless for me. They're not great, but they were my best option and they are MUCH better with the dress than the pair that I had.

I made the spaghetti squash, which was both FASCINATING (it totally makes noodles!) and not bad, but I topped it with the ratatouille which was, unfortunately, gross. So after 3 bites I threw it away. But I am going to think about what I could do with spaghetti squash and give it another try sometime. As for the ratatouille... that won't be happening again. I made marinara sauce earlier this week, and that was kind of what I was going for tonight... like a homemade pasta topper, but it's time to face the facts! I'm a store bought sauce girl. There's nothing to be ashamed of... I need to just buy the Healthy Choice marinara and stop torturing all these cans of diced tomatoes.

Once again, I finished dinner at almost 10:00 and it was too late to exercise.

I've been too tired to read all week, and High School Musical 3, which I've had recorded for WEEKS waiting to watch while Brett was out of town, is still sitting in my queue unwatched. If Brett had been gone on a Saturday, I might have had the freedom to enjoy a little "me time" but during the week, especially the week before my sister gets married, there's just no time. So instead, I powered through the week feeling a little sad and lonely and thanking God for giving me Brett because my life feels empty without him.

One last thing... despite the lack of exercise, I have been steadily dropping a little weight each day this week. I'm very thankful for God's guidance, and I pray that I will continue to strive for a life that honors God, in and out of the kitchen.

It's going to be a busy weekend, but I will tell you all about it when the wedding is just a happy memory =-) Now, I am off to do dishes and fall into bed!