Saturday we fixed some plumbing. The project is now complete! We had to reroute the hot water to the kids shower, the kids sink and the dishwasher. Done!
Then I played Mom a bit and carpooled kids to parties, went to Target, etc. If you have an aqua kitchen, look for cute clearance items at Target like canisters and paper towel holder, etc. But don’t look there for a headband with a large funky black flower, because you won’t find it.
Sat night we went to a party for a Ragnar Relay friend. It was billed as a “beer pong” party. I’ve never played beer pong and neither has Brian, and I don’t drink beer – but we went and we learned. I’d prefer a germ-free margarita version.
Sunday I started the day hungry and with a bit of time to kill, so I made Speedy Banana Bread Pudding for me and Alice. No one in my family eats the end pieces of the loaf of bread (but me) so we usually have a bunch saved up in the freezer. I defrosted a bunch of slices (8?) and a mushy banana I had stored there that Alice left in her locker. I mashed the banana, tore up the bread, added a few eggs, a bit of milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground ginger. Then I cooked it up in a buttered pan and served with maple syrup and almond slices on top. YUM!!
Brian and I have been wanting to repaint our front shutters. They were forest green and faded in 10 years of Florida sun to light green. We found a spray paint at Ace Hardware for outdoor vinyl in a violet color and sprayed those down. Bright and cute! I’ve already overheard the neighbors complement them.
That night I was a kitchen beast. I had Indian food cooking to store up for work lucnhes, Mexican food for dinner that night, and choc chip cookies for the kids’ lunch boxes in the oven. We followed the Nestle Toll House recipe, but instead of 2 sticks of butter we used 1/4 stick butter, 1/4 cup oil and 1 banana. They kept a great consistency and the added banana flavor was light and subtle. We also added cinnamon.
Today – Monday – I started the day with 2.2 miles around the park with Brian. For me it was a hard push, for him it was “slower than after I got a cramp in my calf at the end of the marathon.” 
I came home, stretched, did 60 bicycle crunches, showered and went to work.
I’m lucky running didn’t bother my feet because Friday I was at IKEA for a couple hours with a client/friend in 2.5″ heels and got a couple blisters. But she gave Wendy a polka dot hanging paper lantern for her room, and the smile on her face was worth it. Plus, I let her climb on her desk and use the drill herself to hang it.
Tonight Brian is grilling turkey burgers, and I have an alum foil packet with asparagus and garlic in the toaster oven for me (drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with chili powder and pepper) and edamame steaming up for the girls.
Work has been busy! Working on a couple new web sites. Learning a bit about MX Servers. Life is busy, but good!
Actually her nickname is Woozle. (Wendy Woozle, Wendy Woo, Wendy Wu Warrior Princess…) But Winnie the Pooh is scared of both Heffalumps AND Woozles.
Thanks for stopping by my blog! What a great substitution for the Toll House recipe! I’m going to have to try that sometime! I love that you call your daughter Heffalump! That’s so cute! Apparently this little guy on my bed was featured in Pooh’s Heffalump Movie…which I never saw, but that’s what his tag says! His name is Lumpy, lol (again, the tag…I just call him my heffalump…do I sound like a 5-year-old right now? Lol!)
i love that you guys did purple shutters! i always want to do fun, crazy, loud colors in/on my house but i don’t think it would go well in my kind of neighborhood. florida, beachiness, easier to get away with. i already got some “what the heck” comments when i painted my kitchen bright yellow and orange stripes!