Fried & Healthy?

Thursday - Nicole made something for dinner tonight I don't think I've ever had - a healthy version of fried rice. She used brown rice and then loaded it up with vegetables and it actually ended up being very good, and colorful too. We used a bell pepper, broccoli, peas, carrots, onions, egg whites, pineapple, & soy sauce and had a very healthy dinner. I was impressed and full and didn't feel gross afterwards.

Game On

Wednesday - Now that my grandparents have gone back to Virginia, Nicole and I will be getting back into the Grocery Game. We've been collecting coupons but we haven't worried about it for the last few months because my grandparents did all the grocery shopping and we just put whatever we wanted on the list. It was nice to not have to worry about paying for anything, but we enjoy looking for deals and grocery shopping and we're looking forward to getting back into playing the Grocery Game. Nicole got us back in the game in strong form by going to Publix and spending $7 while racking up over $24 in savings!

Whole Meal

Tuesday - I should probably be more embarrassed about this than I am, but we've figured out a way to get free dinner at Whole Foods on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. They are doing this thing called a Block Party - and it's a competition where every department in the store creates their own dish and they offer rather generous free samples to shoppers who vote on which dish they like the most. We go to the Whole Foods in Wellington on Tuesday nights, which is when they have their block party. And we go to the Whole Foods in Palm Beach Gardens on Wednesday nights, which is when they have their party. And no we don't buy anything and we don't care!

Some Pig!

Monday - We decided to head back to the Center Street Nook for lunch. It was great the last time we went and they came through again! I ordered a pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw and sweet potato fries and it was awesome. The BBQ had great flavor without being covered in sauce and it wasn't fatty. The portion was huge and this place just has a cool atmosphere and great service - I can't recommend it enough. I'm looking forward to trying breakfast there sometime.

El Taco Van

Sunday - If you haven't been able to tell already, we love finding local random food spots. And when we drove past this taco van, Nicole nearly jumped out of the car. We'd heard about these vans in the southern part of West Palm Beach but hadn't tried any of them and decided to do it after spending all day volunteering for a Make-a-Wish event at Mar-a-Lago on Palm Beach. The van had all kinds of weird tacos but we stuck with pork and steak. They were very cheap and very good.

Leading Leaders

Saturday - It was an extremely long workday. I spent the morning and evening planning and helping host a Leadership Enrichment Event we held for all our life group hosts. We had food, guest speakers, breakout sessions, videos, & more. It's always cool to see leaders make it a priority to learn about how they can be more effective in what they're doing and I'm glad to be a part of helping them grow.

Fired Chicken

Friday - So....I misread the instructions and cooking times for microwaving the frozen chicken nuggets. I thought the directions said: For 6 nuggets, cook 5 1/2 minutes. What the directions really said were: For 6 nuggets, cook 1 1/2 minutes. Whoops! The plate was smoking when the timer went off and my grandparents said they could smell something burning when they got off the elevator. Ironically, I had this fiasco while we were watching Chopped, a cooking competition on Food Network.

Bone-a-Fide

Thursday - For some reason, I've really been craving fresh fish lately. I always look on the menu for fish because it's healthy and filling and I like mixing it with vegetables and rice. For dinner, we went to Bonefish Grill and I thought it was great. As an appetizer, I had a cup of Corn Chowder with Crab, which was delicious. And I had Grilled Grouper with Mango Salsa and vegetables and jasmine rice. Bring on more fish!

Double the Fun

Wednesday - I don't think I've ever stayed at a DoubleTree hotel - but God bless them and their sales representatives. A woman came by our office today because she is trying to promote DoubleTree as a hotel we should refer people to for an event we're having in the Fall. As part of her sales pitch, she brought two huge bags of their famous DoubleTree Chocolate Chip Cookies! I grabbed one and headed to the kitchen where I put my cookie in the microwave for 15 seconds. AMAZING! I will now be recommending DoubleTree hotels to everyone I see, including random people walking down the street.

Play Ball

Tuesday - Nicole and I were walking around tonight in Abacoa and walked by the Roger Dean Stadium. We noticed there was a minor league baseball game and also saw that the tickets were buy-one-get-one-free on Tuesday nights. We were considering going until we asked the woman in the ticket booth how much it would cost and she told us that tickets were only BOGO if we had a Kraft Cheese wrapper! What on earth is that?! We decided to pass on the overpriced Class A baseball game and walked around the rest of Abacoa - and the rest of it is as lame as the game.

Crossing the Border

Monday - Nicole has been waiting for this day since we moved here but we finally made it to Tijuana Flats for dinner tonight, which opened a couple weeks ago. Nicole received a coupon that made all their entrees buy-one-get-one-free so we decided to head over there tonight. She had chicken & black bean tacos on whole wheat tortillas and I ordered a carnitas burrito on a flour tortilla. Her tacos were really good but my burrito was mediocre (too much tortilla and not enough filling) and they gave me about 3 chips, which were stale. Fortunately, our server was really nice and brought us a plate of fresh chips that were delicious. Nicole was a huge fan of Tijuana Flats in Orlando and I'm willing to give this one another shot. I think I'm learning what I should and shouldn't order there and I'll be more prepared next time.

Too Much

Sunday - I don't think there's anywhere more Jewish in Palm Beach County than Toojay's. They have brisket, tongue, challah bread, rugelach, latkes, matzo ball soup, and any other jewish thing you could ever imagine. I'm not sure why my grandparents like it so much but they're huge fans. We went for dinner tonight and I ordered a salad - Jewish food just doesn't do it for me.

The picture of Toojay's was my picture of the day - but that's only because I couldn't take a good picture of the TV. I was glued to the final round of The Masters and I was rooting hard for Phil Mickelson. I've always been a big fan of Lefty because of his personality and because of his character off the course. It's so awesome that he won this week after all he's been through with his family in the past year (his wife and mother are both battling cancer) and he took the spotlight away from Tiger (who's family has been through so much because of his poor decisions). The image of Phil embracing his wife, Amy, on the 18th hole is my true picture of the day - and it's one of the best pictures you'll ever see in sports.

Eat Your Heart Out

Saturday - At our church picnic, Nicole signed up to participate in the pie eating contest. She was competing for a gift certificate to The Cheesecake Factory and the two ladies she was sitting between were no joke. They were racing to see who could finish a giant slice of chocolate cream pie in the fastest time. Nicole gave it her all but fell just short to a big black girl who basically ate her entire slice in one bite. It was impressive and rather frightening. I'm also really impressed with the kid in this picture who was throwing down some italian ice.

By the way, we brought home the title for the bake-off! We threw away our Pink Lemonade Cake and made a Brownie Layered Cake with Brownies, Peanut Butter, Chocolate, Cream Cheese Icing, and Chow Mein Noodles. It was quite a hit and Nicole deserves all the credit for pulling it together.

Lemonade Stand

Friday - We're entering a bake-off for a picnic on Saturday and we decided to try out a new recipe. We found a recipe for a Pink Lemonade Cake in the Deen Brothers cookbook and it looked like it'd be a winner. I don't know if we used the wrong ingredients or if something happened with the oven but it turned out to be a total flop. Instead of rising into two nice layers, they looked more like pancakes. So much for that idea!

A Tradition Unlike Any Other

Thursday - This is the best week of the year in sports. The Final Four is one weekend and then it's followed by The Masters. There's not a sporting event I get more excited about than the wonderful old tournament at Augusta National and I'm not sure there's a prettier place on earth than Augusta National. It's one of the rare events in sports where the people are more excited about the venue than they are the participants. I listen to the intros on ESPN and I get chills. I hear Jim Nantz announce the action on the course and it just seems natural. And I can't wait to hear the Sunday roars!

Heat Wave

Wednesday - I'm not sure if Glenn Beck told them to or what, but my grandparents don't seem to be interested in using the AC anymore. When the high never got above 70 degrees, that wasn't really a problem and our room stayed comfortable. Now, the high is getting into the low 80's and it feels like our room is at about 80 degrees! The fan is getting plenty of use until the grandparents head back to Virginia at the end of the month.

Blue Blood

Tuesday - I've never worn this shirt with so much pride. It's been nine years, but Duke University is back at the top of the college basketball world. My hands were shaking in the final 3 minutes of their game against Butler, but I was so proud of the way they fought and pulled out the victory. It's been an amazing ride for the senior class of Scheyer, Zoubek, & Thomas and they couldn't have given more to their school. Butler was an incredible story - but the storybook ending wasn't to be. I'll take it!

Back to School

Monday - I had the day off from work so I was able to spend the day with Nicole! She was working by taking care of some kids so we had the fun responsibility of picking them up at the bus stop. All the parents at the bus stop hug their kids and kiss them when they get off the bus and carry their backpacks home for them. We greet the kids Nicole is responsible for and they proceed to spend the rest of the afternoon hanging out with other kids in the neighborhood.

Risen Indeed

Sunday - Is it sac-religious to take a picture of the sun on Easter Sunday and talk about the celebration of how the Son is risen? I didn't think so either. Actually, this is probably more fitting as a good Friday picture because it's the sun going down. I'm showing my lack of faith by not being up to take a picture of the sunrise and my lack of participation in any local sunrise Easter services.

Good Vibrations

Saturday - Beach weather has arrived in South Florida! It was an amazing day outside and we spent most of the day at the pool and at the beach. It was a great time to get some reading done and Nicole got a serious tan - and by serious tan, I mean miserable sunburn. You should come play in our backyard.

I'll Take Seconds!

Friday - For lunch, I had one of the most amazing meals I've had in a long time. We tried the Leftovers Cafe after seeing it next to CG Burgers the night before and we thought it would be a good lunch spot. The service was spotty but the food was amazing. Nicole and I both ordered a Tostada with crab, avocado, gouda, tomatoes, peppers, onions, and salsa. Phenomenal! It also came with a side of coconut rice that was delicious. What a meal!

Meat & Potatoes

Thursday - We tried a new burger place in Jupiter tonight called CG Burgers. It's a new restaurant in the Abacoa area and the menu/website made it look similar to Five Guys. It turned out to be okay, but nothing all that special. I had a standard cheeseburger and fries and Nicole had a turkey burger and the salad bar. The most impressive thing was the salad bar - with pasta salads, artichokes, fresh mozzarella, roasted peppers & more. I hope I've made it sound good because we probably won't be heading back.

Sweet Treats

Wednesday - Have you seen these delicious goodies? The Easter Bunny has been leaving them around for us and they are amazing. You might be looking at it and thinking that it's just a peanut M&M. Not so fast, my friend! Those are Dark Chocolate Peanut M&M's and they have a more intense chocolate flavor that makes them wonderful. It's tough not to grab two or three every time I walk by the bowl.

Short Cut

Tuesday - It had been a while and it was time to get a haircut. Kimberly (who is Nicole's friend she used to work with at Aspen Falls) does an awesome job and she is really nice. Hopefully I can go another couple months before my hair gets disgustingly long again.

Blue Skies Smiling at Me

Monday - I love it when you can literally say, "There's not a cloud in the sky." When I took this picture with my cell phone, that statement was true but it doesn't look like it because I took the picture through the windshield.