What We Ate Last Week - May 2017 Week 2

So, this was kind of an exciting week on the job hunt front...

Brent was contacted on Monday by someone form DaVita and had a phone interview Monday afternoon.  The rep emailed him a couple things to study and then set up an interview for Thursday morning.  Brent said the second interview went okay.  He doesn't think he rocked it, but he thinks he might still be in the running.  They have other candidates to interview and then they'll (hopefully) get back to him about a third interview.  Fingers crossed.  Even if nothing else comes of it, it was nice to finally get a positive response back after all of the jobs that he's applied for with DaVita.  Also, nice to get a better idea of what the interview process is going to look like so it's not as nerve-wracking the next time.

As far as other leads, Brent is still waiting to hear about the Lacey/Olympia job opening back up, which would be awesome.  He never did hear back about his in-person interview, but we're not too terribly upset or surprised about that one.  Brent's instructors are also working with on a few internship options, so if he doesn't get a job right away he'll still be able to get some good experience (which could lead to a job).

We had plenty of leftovers this week, and we both kind of hit a wall energy-wise over the weekend.  So, we mostly did leftovers or stuff from the freezer for meals.  I did try a new muffin recipe this week though!  These Blueberry Almond Muffins were pretty tasty!  They're not very sweet, so I'd most likely add a little more honey next time I make them.  I liked how filling they were with all the oats, almond butter and almond meal.  I don't think Calvin was a huge fan of them though.  Ah well.

I hope you all had wonderful week and a great Mother's Day.

Keep giggling!
Michelle

What We Ate Last Week - May 2017 Week 1

Brent had his interview in Seattle this week and it went okay.  It would appear that it's actually more of a data-entry position and less of an actual Biomed Tech job, so that's kind of a bummer.  Given that little detail, they're also not really wanting to pay as much as we would like Brent to make if he was working/commuting in Seattle.  He hasn't heard back from them one way or the other, but he did send them a thank you email a day or two after his interview.  So, it's back to applying for jobs all over the country and hoping/praying that the Lacey/Olympia job opens back up soon and wants him.  We'll keep you all posted and ask for your continued prayers and good thoughts. :)

In the meantime, here's what we ate last week!

Monday 5/1

Breakfast:  Fruit, Yogurt, Carrot Cake Muffins - These were pretty good, I think...  Calvin needed a diaper change while they were baking, so I ended up accidentally over-baking them.  They were a little dark and dry, but the flavor seemed good.  I'll have to try them again.

Lunch:   Leftovers

Dinner:   Salad, Garlic Bread, Pressure Cooker Split Pea Soup - I'm borrowing a pressure cooker from my mom and was really excited to use it, but then I read in the manual that you shouldn't cook split peas in it because they foam too much.  So, I ended up cooking it on the stove, which took forever.  My grocery store didn't have any ham bones and I didn't want to buy a whole ham, so I bought a package of smoked ham hocks from the freezer section.  The soup was good, but it was too smokey and not as good as my mom's.  Kind of anti-climactic after all the time on the stove and all the time/effort to get the meat off of the ham hocks...ugh.  I'd like to try making it again, because I do like split pea soup.  I'll just have to either plan a ham dinner sometime before I want soup, or find our nearest Honey Baked Ham and buy a soup bone from them.

Tuesday 5/2

Breakfast:  Fruit, Avocado Toast

Lunch:   Sandwiches, Chips, Fruit

Dinner:  Salad, Birdseye Frozen Fajita Skillet Meal - Love these things!  We've tried a few flavors and they're nice to have in the freezer for those nights you don't feel like anything else.

Wednesday 5/3

Breakfast:  Fruit, Yogurt, Muffins

Lunch:   Sandwiches, Fruit

Dinner:  Salad, Leftovers

Thursday 5/4

Breakfast:  Fruit, Yogurt, Muffins

Lunch:  Sandwiches, Chips

Dinner:   Toasty Bread, Grilled chicken, Strawberry Poppyseed Salad - This was super yummy!  Our feta was old and not so good, so we skipped that. 🙁 I'm sure it would be really good though!  I added a little avocado and that was delish!

Friday 5/5

Breakfast:  Scrambled eggs

Lunch:   Leftovers

Dinner:   Fiesta Friday!!  Tacos!

Saturday 5/6

Breakfast:  Pancakes

Lunch:   Leftovers

Dinner:   Fruit, Turkey Avocado Bacon Ranch Wraps - We ended up spending the afternoon and evening with family, so just had hot dogs and boxed mac & cheese.  Oh yeah! lol.

Sunday 5/7

Breakfast:  Pancakes

Lunch:  Car snack on the way to church

Dinner:   Salad, Fruit, Roasted Broccoli, Cheddar and Sweet Potato Stuffed BBQ Turkey Meatloaf - This was really good!  We invited Brent's parents over for dinner and we all enjoyed it!  I was worried about it being dry since the turkey was pretty lean and the only added moisture was from an egg and some bbq sauce, but it was plenty moist!  I'll definitely make it again!  In addition to what's already listed, we also had garlic bread since there was a loaf on the bakery clearance at Fred Meyer this week. :D

Well, it looks like we should have some more nice weather the first half of this week.  I hope you all get a chance to enjoy it!

Have a great week and keep giggling!
Michelle

What We Ate Last Week - April 2017 Week 4 / And a Little Update! :)

I feel like we've been busy this week, but it was really only Friday and Saturday that were busy.

Brent had a random bonus day off on Friday, so we enjoyed having him home an extra day.  While he was home, he got a call from Fred Hutch in Seattle to come in for an interview!!  We've been kind of playing the waiting game ever since he found out that there's a hiring freeze for the job in the Olympia/Lacey area, so it was nice to get a positive response back after all the applications he's been sending out.  So, he's going in on Tuesday for a job interview in Seattle - any and all prayers/good thoughts/positive vibes/etc. would be much appreciated.  He's only got 5 more weeks of classes left and then it's off to work (hopefully) or an internship.
On Friday we also went down to Auburn to have a family dinner at Rio Blanco to surprise my Aunt Linda for her birthday, which was Thursday.  I love going to Rio Blanco - it's so yummy!  It's my family's favorite restaurant, so it's a fairly common pick for special family dinners.  It's nice to be able to live so close to extended family and be able to celebrate with them!  I'm really hoping that Brent can get a job locally so we can still be around the majority of our family.

On Saturday, we had a family BBQ to celebrate my Grandpa's birthday!  Grandpa is my dad's dad, and he turns 94 today (May 1st)!!  As usual, his birthday "cake" was strawberry shortcake - it's his favorite dessert!  We also brought some A&W root beer.  His mom used to work for A&W, so it's his favorite brand. :)
Saturday was also a special day in our little family!  6 years ago, on April 29, 2011, Brent and I went on our very first date.  It was half blind date since I knew who I was meeting up with, but Brent didn't.  He had suspicions, due to the mutual friend who set us up, but wasn't 100% sure.  Some day I'll have to put our story on here. :)

Here's what we ate this last week, enjoy!

Monday 4/24

Breakfast:  Oatmeal, Fruit, Yogurt

Lunch:  Salad, Fruit, Leftovers

Dinner:  Salad, Garlic Bread, Spaghetti Squash Casserole - This is one of my favorite ways to eat spaghetti squash. I crushed some croutons up and sprinkled those on top with the cheese that's called for and broiled it for a few minutes at the end.  Yummo!

Tuesday 4/25

Breakfast:  Frittata and Fruit

Lunch:  Fruit, Chips, Tuna Sandwiches

Dinner:  Fruit, Salad, Leftovers

Wednesday 4/26

Breakfast:  Avocado Toast and Fruit

Lunch:  Salad and Leftovers

Dinner:  Salad and Hawaiian Hamburger Steaks - These were pretty good, although I'm not sure how I liked the Italian seasoning in there...it makes me feel like I'm eating meatloaf with pineapple, which is a little weird...  Still good though!

Thursday 4/27

Breakfast:  Fruit, Yogurt, Oatmeal

Lunch:  Fruit and Leftovers

Dinner:  Leftovers/Clean the fridge!

Friday 4/28

Breakfast:  Fruit, Yogurt, Oatmeal

Lunch:  Salad, Sandwiches, Chips

Dinner:  Family Dinner at Rio Blanco to celebrate Aunt Linda's birthday!

Saturday 4/29

Breakfast:  Fruit and Pancakes

Lunch:  Birthday BBQ lunch for Grandpa!
Dinner:  Leftovers

Sunday 4/30

Breakfast:  Fruit, Pancakes, Yogurt

Lunch:  Sandwiches and Chips

Dinner:  Migas!!

Well, we're off to a new week friends!  If the weather report holds any truth, we should actually start to feel like spring this week - there's even a chance of hitting the high 70s!  I hope you can get out and enjoy the spring, wherever you are!

Have a great week, and keep giggling!
Michelle