A Little Normalcy

I’d like to repeat the entire weekend. It was such a great one. Things felt normal. I don’t want to let my guard down so much that I’m careless, but I’m so anxious, as I know many of you are as well, to get back to as much normalcy as possible.

We had my mom over for Mother’s Day and I shared in yesterdays post that I gave her a hug when she got here. It was the impulse thing to do. The many times that I have taken her groceries since the middle of March, I have not given her a hug or touched her or allowed myself to get too close to her. Yesterday, I just forgot. The idea of inviting her over to the house to sit outside was to still keep our distance. I dunno. It’s all so weird. I’ve kept my eye on the numbers through all of this and paid attention to how many cases are testing positive in our area while also reminding myself that many people may be asymptomatic and the positive cases may not actually reflect the number of people in my area with the coronavirus. My concern through all of this has been that I would get the coronavirus, show no symptoms, then give it to my mom or dad. I would imagine I’m not alone in this concern.

This weekend, I allowed myself to not think too much about any of it.

The weather was gorgeous and we took full advantage of spending most of our time outside.

Mom came over yesterday and I enjoyed playing hostess.

I shared with Mom and Mike my Oatmeal varieties. They were a hit! I added chocolate chips yesterday to two of them. Yummmm. They both loved the Banana Walnut Chocolate Chip the best but my fav was the Pumpkin Walnut Chocolate Chip. It was super dense. Picked it up and ate it like a cookie! I served these with a side of syrup.

We enjoyed catching up, then Mike left to meet his brother and sister over at his folks where they too sat in the backyard and got caught up.

After my mom left I sat outside and soaked up all the fresh air and sunshine. I do love our seasons here in Kansas, but I could take a weekend of weather like that much more often than we get it.

I took a long walk in the late afternoon, longer than I have been taking, and I drank all the water.

Happy with my steps from yesterday.

I pulled a couple of steaks out of the freezer in the morning and it was my hope that I would cook them much better than the last time I grilled steaks. I cook on the grill a lot but honestly have no idea what I’m doing. I’ve got the grilled chicken and shrimp down, but the rest always seems to be trial and error. Now Manuel? He’s on a mission to become the Grill Master. I’ve put him to work here at the grill the last few times that he and Tess have come to visit, so I asked for his advice yesterday on how exactly to grill my ribeye steaks.

They were perfect down to the grill marks and the temperature.

I started with a sheet pan of sweet potatoes and then added whatever sounded good. Red Onion, Red & Yellow Bell Pepper, Olive Oil, Sea Salt and Garlic Powder. It was a big pile of roasted sweetness to go with the steaks.

Roasted 425 for 35-40 minutes.

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A friend of mine borrowed a spring form pan this weekend and I’ve never been happier to have something someone could borrow. She delivered these just in time for dinner!

All made from scratch. It was the perfect end to our yummy dinner.

Just before sitting down to dinner our son Jake, his wife Jordan and their daughter Wrenley came by to drop off a Mother’s Day card. Wrenley loves drawing and painting and coloring. I remember watching her color one time here at the house. It was not too long after her second birthday and I remember being amazed at how well she was coloring. Very precise. In the lines. Lots of color and creativity. She loves her art.

I love it. She asked daddy to draw the truck and camper and the rest is all Wren. It’s snowing.

Wrenley drew the eyes, nose and mouth. She’s three. I think the kid is brilliant. Anyone else see Picasso here?

Brunch

I didn’t get a picture of my plate, but we shared these along with fresh fruit and coffee. I took the core out of the strawberries and filled them with Vanilla Yogurt then added a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Snack

I grabbed a handful of almonds and dried cherries somewhere in the afternoon.

Dinner

We shared a steak last night so maybe steak and eggs for breakfast today?

This ridiculous deliciousness (now you say it) was all made from scratch. Keto Cheesecake with Pecan Almond Crust. Homemade Blackberry Sauce and homemade whipped cream. Points? Who knows? Who cares? I savored every bite.

I’m super over on my WW Smartpoints for the week after steak, wine and cheesecake, but I feel great so there’s that. Lots of steps today, lots of water and plenty of positive thoughts. Sometimes those positive thoughts can make a world of difference in how we feel about ourselves and the choices that we make moving forward.

I hope you are all doing well and if you need a hug, I’m sending it to you right now.

‘Til tomorrow.

“love the life you live, live the life you love”