New Year’s Resolution – continue to make healthy choices. I have been trying to cook more meals at home, but have failed miserably the last few weeks.  I SO admire people that have a meal plan for an entire month.  My sweet friend Whitney Lynch would always inspire me with her color-coated meal plans on her calendar.  I knew I would never aspire to her level, but I figured I would plan two full weeks and see how it went.  Besides, I have been pinning too many good recipes on Pinterest…and they are all just SITTING there, making my stomach growl.  Zach left Wednesday for a ski trip with three of his brothers and their families to Targhee, so I told him I would make anything he wanted Monday night.  He picked Pork Chops with mashed potatoes and gravy.  This meal was NOT on my meal plan, you see, because I REALLY dislike pork.  The things we do for love….

He’s such a meat n’ potatoes kind of guy and he loves his mom’s fried pork chops.  He is not that picky, but doesn’t like ethnic food.  So the night he left, I made homemade healthy Pad Thai.  I didn’t think Pad Thai could be healthy, but after finding this recipe (it’s Vegan – no egg) I AM A BELIEVER!  Psst…go easy on the lime juice.  4 T. is a tad too much!

I tried a bunch of other recipes including, Sweet potato hummus (A+), Low Calorie Red Velvet Cupcakes (Yuck!! They took FOREVER to make and I couldn’t even finish my first one – and the TEXTURE!!!! Gross), and several other new recipes.  I really love to cook, I just need to work on my timing.

My family and friends always help time fly by when Zach is gone – my brother Blake took my mother and I out to dinner to the Old Spaghetti Factory one night, and then treated me to Sub Zero ice cream afterward.  First timer, and I really enjoyed it!  Funny story – Blake must go there a lot, because when the young man behind the counter saw him and I together…he thought Blake was cheating on his girlfriend with me.  I am four years older than my brother, and often when we are together alone people think we are a couple.  Every time Blake is absolutely MORTIFIED at the thought of dating his sister, and gets super embarrassed.  Regardless, I love spending time with my brother.  We talked about relationships, future plans, and other random topics of discussion.  He is so fun to spend time with.

Meanwhile…Zach was having the time of his life on the slopes:

Saturday I got a hair cut, got my carpets cleaned (that’s a completely different story for another time), and ran errands.  Saturday night, I was planning to have a Girls’ night, but Zach surprised me by coming home much earlier than expected.  Hey, I wasn’t complaining. I had only seen Zach for three days in between his weekend trips. So instead, we met up later with our friends Angie and Jordan.  We dined at David’s for some Chinese food and hung out afterwards at our place.  Angie brought cookie dough dip – which I ate TOO MUCH of.  Delicious!  (The recipe is on Pinterest if you want to try it for yourself.)  We had every intention of doing some crafts while our husbands played Halo…but instead ended up talking the whole night.  Actually…Angie and I ended up talking – our poor husbands had to listen to us all night.

Sunday after church I decided to complete my craft that was meant for Saturday night.  It was actually a lot easier than I expected – the worst part being waiting for the paint to try.  Say hello to my chalkboard platters, which I have every intention of using…for something?  I suppose if I have a selection of cheeses for a party to display?  I found this idea on Pinterest…

I finished two for myself while watching the SAG Awards red carpet show with Zach.  I always find CHEAP trays at Home Goods – both of these babies for $11…

The last moments of our weekend were spent lounging, cooking/enjoying black bean and chicken tacos, and catching up!