Weekend Happenings

Good Friday morning!

RANDOMNESS #1 - MJ (My Josh) is in Orlando performing with the High School Choir this morning. If all goes according to plan, he will be riding roller coasters this afternoon.

He is REQUIRED to text/call/FAX me twice a day to let me know he is among the living. It is not an option.

I'm a menopausal mom living on the edge. I have a plane ticket, and I'm not afraid to use it.

RANDOMNESS #2 - Austin moved home from college last night, and it was lovely.

In other news, his "Welcome Home" meal was perhaps the WORSE meal I've prepared since I was six and I experimented with different sandwich ingredients.

I'm a BOGO shopper at Winn-Dixie (Buy One, Get One Free). I NEVER, EVER buy something I wouldn't use just to get the free item. NEVER, EVER!

Except this once.

They had a bin marked BOGO with Teriyaki Marinade. I LOVE Teriyaki Marinade. I am familiar with Teriyaki Marinade. Excuse the improper grammar, but I cook good with Teriyaki Marinade.

But another bottle caught my eye. It was the same shape as the Teriyaki Marinade, but the label was slightly different. It read Mexican Chili Lime Marinade. Hmmmm. Mexican Chili Lime Marinade?

I like Mexican. I like chili. I LOVE lime. The rest of the Faulkner Five... not so much. However, if it was just a hint of lime, perhaps they would go for it. I held the rogue bottle in my hands for a good two or three minutes before I put it in my buggy. I had made a decision.

If I cook with it, they will come.

They might leave the dinner table gagging, but they will at least come.

I also decided to use another BOGO item. It is usually a breakfast item, but I decided to spruce it up with Cream of Chicken soup, sour cream and Velveeta cheese. Cheesy Hashbrowns. (Can you tell I was emptying out the pantry, freezer and refrigerator yesterday?)

Sounds good, right? Once again... not so much.

I had bought a fairly large fruit plate the day before, because what the Faulkner Five lack in vegetable consumption, they make up for in fruit consumption. The tray consisted of cantaloupe, pineapple, green apples, red apples and red grapes.

The chicken was, in a word, horrible. How much lime do you have to put in a bottle to completely overpower Mexican AND chili flavorings?

The cheesy hashbrowns were missing something, too. Perhaps shredded Cheddar cheese? Velveeta was NOT the correct cheese choice.

The fruit was fine, but fruit alone does not a "Welcome Home" meal make.

I did bake (warm up) apple dumplings which were in the freezer, and cover them with sauce (which was in the refrigerator door). They were very, very good, but by the time I offered the dumplings, the family was afraid. Very, very afraid. And they said they would eat them at a later date. And they didn't.

I know what you're thinking. "If The Enchanting Belinda had just said out loud the words 'Mexican Chili Lime Chicken, Cheesy Hashbrowns AND Fruit Tray,' she would have known this was going to be a culinary disaster. Nothing goes together. It doesn't flow. It's a disaster waiting to happen."

Yeah. Thanks for the warning.

Thank goodness I had 24 boxes of BOGO cereal in the pantry. It has been my experience, you cannot go wrong with 24 boxes of BOGO cereal. Ever.

Crisis averted!

And refrigerator/pantry/freezer cleaned out!

RANDOMNESS #3 - My exercise buddy, Cam, and I exercised five times this week. That is always the goal, and when we achieve our goal, we sing and dance and skip and run.

Not really.

We slowly walk to our respective vans and drive home... where I (I cannot/will not speak for Cam) walk/crouch/crawl to the living room couch and rest my endorphin-less, exercise-weary body.

Yesterday, my exercise instructor talked to me about pressing onward and upward. To focus on more than just maintaining my 50 year-old body, but setting new heights and weights and goals to IMPROVE my 50 year-old body.

I was too sore and too tired to laugh.

"I'm afraid you will get discouraged if you don't continue to see improvement over the next few months."

I love my instructor, but she doesn't know me very well.

My main goal in exercising is NOT to have a 20 or 30 year-old body at the age of 50. Nope.

That ship has sailed.

My main goal in exercising is to be in shape for my non-existent, future grandchildren.

I'm doing squats and lunges so I'll be able to keep up with non-existent, future toddlers and preschoolers.

I'm doing bicep and tricep curls so I'll be able to hold non-existent, future fat, wiggly babies.

I'm doing ab work so I'll be able to... Hmmm. I'm not really sure why I'm doing ab work. I'll have to think about that one. (My exercise routine may have just become a little easier!)

I walk two miles around the track at a fast clip so I'll be able to walk from parking lots to soccer fields, basketball courts and football stadiums to watch non-existent, future tweens, pre-teens and teens as they participate in their interests.

I've already had my 20 and 30 year-old body. I'm working on my Nanna B Body... and it's going to be FABULOUS!

RANDOMNESS #4 - I Can't Wait - From 41 to 50 Years - Since I'm only 50, this topic ends today. (I know you are thrilled.)

This is me... turning 50. I wanted to give you a visual.

This has nothing to do with today's post, but I just really loved the cake Katie made for my birthday last year.

I told you yesterday the "I Can't Waits" slow down considerably in your fourth decade of life. They do.

I imagine it is because before you can actually get the words "I can't wait" out of your mouth, the event you couldn't wait for has already happened and the next event is fast approaching.

That's right. Things speed up. They speed up to the point "I can't wait" is replaced with, "Whoa, Nelly. Let's slow things down a bit, shall we?"

But things don't slow down.

Holidays, seasons, birthdays and milestones come and go in a flash. Days which once seemed to hold 42 hours, now only have 12 hours. There simply isn't enough time to do anything... much less everything.

My fifth decade of life was dedicated to re-training my "I can't wait" mindset and body to become a "breathe, watch and enjoy the moment" mindset and body. (And it has literally taken me the entire decade to achieve this goal.)

Sometimes, I fall back into old habits, but not for long.

Someone asked me last week, "I bet you cannot wait until you have grandchildren," and I almost said, "Oh. You are right! I can't wait!"

But something stopped me. Am I willing to fly through the next few birthdays, graduations, holidays, milestones which are approaching fast and furious to focus on something that may or may not happen in the future.

Nope.

I don't think so.

Been there. Done that!

If I have to be (or get to be) 50 years-old, I at least want to have learned something from the past few decades.

I can wait for my date with Mikie tomorrow night. I can wait for Josh's High School Graduation next month. I can wait for Austin's College Graduation next year. I can wait for Roxie to turn 16 and get her driver's license.

I can wait for all those things floating out in the future, because I have today. In fact, today is all I have, and I don't want to waste a minute of it.

Not one precious, fleeting, tiny minute!

Weekend Happenings

Austin will be working and dating this weekend.

Josh will be doing Orlando-type things this weekend.

Roxie will be hanging with friends this weekend.

And Mikie and I will have not one, but TWO, dates this weekend. I'm not sure what we're going to do tonight, but tomorrow night is set in stone. We even have actual tickets.

We'll be attending the 16th Annual Garden & Art Party Live and Silent Auction benefiting Alzheimer's of Central Alabama Saturday evening.

I look forward to this night all year long! It is so much fun, and while we didn't "win" everything we bid on last year, we did receive/win two very nice "dates" to use some time during the year 2011. And we enjoyed them very much.

It's going to be held at the B & A Warehouse again this year. It is such a neat venue. It's all hip and twinkly lights and so not me, but I love it. And if we go early enough (which I plan to do), Mikie and I will be able to walk around Railroad Park which is located right across the street.

It will be a twofer for me since I have been trying to get someone/anyone/Roxie to go to Railroad Park with me ALL week long.

I'll let you know all the details Monday!

I hope you have a lovely Spring weekend. I'll be back next week with Mindless Monday, some pics and Randomness. May will be full of Mother's Day ideas and traditions, Graduation ideas and traditions and End-of-the-School-Year ideas and traditions. In other words, it's going to be a busy, busy month.

Take care, and I'll talk to you Monday.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda