Menu Monday #7

I am running a bit behind today...but for good reason, as we closed on our house this afternoon! Woo hoo!! So, between getting things taken care of for that and returning home late yesterday from a crazy weekend in Ohio, I have had several things on my plate today. Thanks to a 6:30 am wake-up call from tiny man, I got a nice early start on my day. :/

On Friday, we had headed out to Ohio with no idea what we had in store for us. The trip was going pretty well and fortunately we had stopped for an early dinner in Beckley, WV. Not long after passing through Charleston, WV, the 104-degree outside temperature started to drop and the sky was growing dark. It continued to quickly drop, over 30 degrees in the next 10 minutes! The wind started picking up and we grew concerned that we were in for some nasty stuff. We decided to pull off the highway to ride it out (and allow Ethan the potty break he was requesting) and we were surprised at how much the van was rocking as we came to a stop at the end of the ramp. Not cool. We pulled into a gas station so that Ethan could use the facilities there. Shortly after Josh got him inside the skies really broke loose and rain was coming down sideways. Then I heard hail pelting the side of the van and windows. As I sat in the backseat with Daisy, holding Noah's little hands, I'll admit that I really started to get scared. I may have even flashed back to the time we (my sister and parents and me) rode out a tornado in a tent in Toledo. Also not cool. I wasn't crazy about the idea that Josh wasn't there with us and that Noah, Daisy and I were alone in the van during this all out assault by Mother Nature. So not cool at all. Fortunately, it blew through very quickly, leaving a path of destruction behind it. We got back onto the road and the skies soon brightened back up again. It wasn't long after crossing into Ohio that we started to see a lot of damage. We were lucky to be headed northbound, as the southbound lanes were backed up for miles in a couple different spots due to large trees blocking the road. After passing some downed power lines, we arrived at my parents' house, where they had been without power for several hours. The boys had fun playing with lanterns for a bit, then we headed to bed. Unfortunately, there still wasn't any power in the morning, so we had to head to the family reunion without showers. Definite disadvantage to having a well during power outages - no water either! We had a nice time catching up with family we hadn't seen since 2005. When we arrived back to my parents' house, we were planning to pack up and head to my sister's house for the night since she had power, but just as we were ready to load the bags, the power came back on! Woo hoo!! So, we ended up staying there for the night before hitting the road in the morning. The trip was fairly uneventful this time, except for trying to find places to eat and fuel up in southwestern Ohio. Due to the widespread power failure, most places were not open for business. We finally found food and gas in WV and we made our way back home. Whew, what a crazy weekend!! We hope that everyone's power is quickly restored, though the current estimates don't look good. :(

As for meals this week, I don't even have a menu made out yet. It is going to be a crazy week with the move, and I don't know what nights we'll have time to cook. We may try to grill out on the 4th and enjoy the local festivities. I am hoping to get away with hubby on Saturday night for a date night to celebrate my birthday (on Sunday)! Other than that, we're just going to play it by ear and buy stuff to cook as we need it. Hopefully I can get back on track next week, as I am a bit scared to face the scales this week! :(

I hope you have a great week and enjoy Independence Day with family and friends!