Meal Planning Monday

We had such a great weekend with Connor's parents!  If you follow my on instagram (kmojard), you probably saw that I got seasick while fishing on the ocean.  I quickly recovered after taking some Dramamine and enjoyed the rest of the weekend!  Here's what we're eating this week.

 
Sunday: Leftover taco soup and queso with tortilla chips.  We love Velveeta's new queso cheese.  We add a can of Rotel and eat it with whole-grain tortilla scoops - so yummy!  We have literally been making it a few times a week for a snack, which needs to stop!  It's definitely not a healthy snack!

Monday: Gnocchi, sweet corn, and arugula in cream sauce.  I found this recipe in this month's issue of Better Homes and Gardens.  Connor and I have been wanting to try gnocchi so we're going to experiment with this recipe tonight!  It looks delicious!

Tuesday: Bubble-up enchiladas with Mexican rice and corn.  We never made these last week because our neighbor brought us dinner on the night we were going to make them. 

Wednesday: BBQ chicken with parmesan rice and baked zucchini.  This is a super easy and delicious way to make chicken.  The recipe is a slow-cooker recipe but I always make it in the dutch oven over the stove.

Thursday: Turkey burgers with sweet potato fries and salad.  I buy frozen turkey burgers.  You can throw them on the grill without even thawing them.  This is one of our favorite easy weeknight meals.

Friday: Lasagna with rolls and salad.  Target had their frozen meals on sale for $5 this week so I stocked up. 

Saturday: Restaurant?  We'll probably be going out to eat either Friday or Saturday night.  These meals are interchangeable. 

Sunday: Yummy leftovers! 


What are you eating this week? Go link up with Katy!

Zoo Photo Dump

I could have slept in today on my day off, but instead I popped out of bed at 6 AM, ready to take on the world.  Funny how that always happens!  I am headed to the ocean in a few hours, but I decided to first share my zoo photos with everyone from our field trip yesterday!

We had so much fun at the zoo.  I was worn out.  I'm ashamed to admit I may or may not have fallen asleep at 7:45 last night on the couch (maybe that's why I got up so early?).  If you're new here, I teach special education.  I have four sweet boys in my class grades Kindergarten - 4th grade.  We have so much fun together and they are always cracking me up!  They work so hard so I was glad we could have a fun day at the zoo.  One of my kids asked me every day for a month "Are we going to the zoo today?"  Well that day finally came yesterday and he came into my classroom dancing and jumping up and down.  I had a great day with my kiddos and it was sweet to see them so thrilled about seeing each animal and especially feeding the birds.  Here are some instagram photos I took of the animals.

Loved the sea lion show! Here he's waving "hi!"

Pretty parrots at the entrance.

It's Alphie!

Is this Lilly?  Seriously looks like my parent's Savannah cat.

Feeding the birds.  The kids loved this!

They really liked me!  At one point, I had three pretty birds on my shoulder.

It was a whirlwind zoo trip!  We didn't even have time to see the monkeys or hippos.  I really want to go back with Connor, but is it weird to go to the zoo without any kids in tow?  If you haven't entered my giveaway yet, go here!  Free $20 iTunes gift card with three ways to win.  I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Thankful Thursday

Right now {and always} I have so much to be thankful for.  God continues to pour blessings into my life and I wanted to take a moment to thank Him for all I've been given.  This list is only a tiny sliver of what I have to be thankful for, but it's what is on my mind right now.

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{1} Morning sunrises.  I have a 30 minute commute to work at the break of dawn (6:45, really) and a lot of days the sky completely takes my breath away.  I think sunrises are even more beautiful than sunsets!  It reminds me that His mercies are new every morning.  I really love that time in the morning listening to praise and worship songs with a beautifully painted sky and rolling hills surrounding me.  Now, it's another story in the afternoon when I just want to get home and sometimes get stuck in traffic!

{2} It has been {kind of} a three-day work week.  Today I'm taking my class on the field trip to the zoo so I'm not counting that as working!  Tomorrow we don't have school!  I am so excited to have a fun day at the zoo with my students and then a long weekend.  Can't beat that!  Follow me on instagram at kmojard, I'm sure I'll be posting pictures of the zoo animals!

{3} Baby Caroline is healthy {so far} and is preparing to make her entrance into the world!  I am trying to keep my phone with me 24/7 so I know when Beth {my sister} goes into labor.  I can't wait to meet that little peanut!  Another teacher at my school had a baby last week and it died two days later.  My heart is heavy for their family and it makes me even more thankful that Caroline appears to be a healthy baby girl.

{4} Sunshine and the ocean.  Friday morning we're driving down to Connor's parent's house for the weekend.  It's so nice that they live near the water!  The boat is all ready to go and we will definitely enjoy some time on the ocean.  I'll probably spend more time working on my suntan than fishing :).  I won't be back til Monday so see you then!

{5} 19 more days of school stand between me and summer.  I love my kiddos but it will be pure bliss to have two months off to rest and relax.  It can't get here soon enough! I've been a slacker blogger due to a busy schedule, but I plan to get very organized with my blog this summer.  I promise it will get better!


On another note, if you missed my post yesterday, check out my very first giveaway here!  There are three ways to win a $20 iTunes gift card.           

What are you thankful for today?  It's so easy to get caught up in everything going wrong in our lives.  Step back and reflect on all you've been given.  Leave a comment and let me know what you're thankful for!

Jason Mraz and a GIVEAWAY!

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Hubby and I LOVE Jason Mraz.  On one of our first few dates Connor played the guitar and sang "I'm Yours" to me.  How could I not fall for him after that?  When we saw Jason Mraz live at the Crawfish Boil and slow-danced to "Lucky" we decided to make it "our song."  We're pretty big fans.

I've been hanging on to an iTunes gift card {thanks Emily and Scott!} since my birthday in December, waiting for the perfect CD to buy.  Well, when I saw that Jason Mraz had a new album out, I decided to dust off that gift card and finally make a purchase.  It was worth the investment!  I haven't listened to the whole CD through, but I instantly fell in love with "I Won't Give Up."  Take a listen!  The video is super sweet too.    

So to the giveaway part...I never did a giveaway for reaching 100 followers so here is a random giveaway!  I'm giving away a $20 iTunes gift card to one lucky blogger!  You guys are just so wonderful so I wanted to do something to show my appreciation!  I am blessed by each comment, reader, and blog friend I've made since starting this blog in January.  Thank you!  If you win, you can buy Jason's new CD too, or just buy whatever music you like!  It's almost summer so you know you need some good music to listen to on summer vacation {or stay-cation}!  Here's how to enter:

  

Mandatory entry

Be a follower of my blog via Google Friend Connect and leave a comment saying so.

+1 entry

Leave a comment telling me what CD or song you would like to buy on iTunes.

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Blog about this giveaway and leave me a comment with the URL.

  

That's three ways to win a $20 iTunes gift card!  This giveaway will end Friday {5/4} at midnight.  I'll be using True Random Number Generator to pick the winner.   

Good luck! :)

Meal Planning Monday

This is my first time participating in this link-up!  I always try to plan out my meals a week ahead so I have everything ready and on-hand for dinner each night.  Here's what the Ojards are eating this week:

Sunday: Cereal  {We usually eat a big lunch on Sunday, so we typically have popcorn or cereal for dinner}

Monday: Enchilada Soup {My favorite!}

Tuesday: Parmesan-crusted Tilapia {Can't go wrong with Rachael Ray}

Wednesday: Teriyaki Flank Steak {My mom's recipe.  Just thinking about it makes my mouth water!}

Thursday: Bubble-up Enchiladas {Hubby's favorite}

Friday & Saturday: We'll be out of town so who knows!


What are you making for dinner this week?  Go link-up with Katy!

Happy Monday!

Prom Night!

No, I'm not in high school {I promise!}, but tonight is prom night!  Connor's med school is throwing a prom and I'm all for any reason to get dressed up.  I miss the days in college when we had a sorority/fraternity party every other weekend.  Well tonight I get to do that again and I'm excited!  Do I know what I'm going to wear?  Nope.  Do I know how I'm going to wear my hair?  Heavens no.  Thankfully I have several dress options from college and a sister who lives down the street with a closet at my disposal.  I'll figure something out {I hope!}!

Well in honor of grown-up prom night, I'm going to share a few pictures from my high school proms.  I'm not going to lie, these are quite embarrassing!

Wow, could my date in that first picture look any more miserable?  Anyways, I'm looking forward to a fun night with friends and dancing.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Wednesday Lovelies

Here's what I'm loving today!

My hubby.

Well, I really love him every day!  But yesterday (4/17/12) was the day we got engaged two years ago!  That was one of the best days of my life and I still can't believe we're married!  You can read about our love story here and here.  

At our engagement party!

Essie Tart Deco.

I bought this color at Target on Sunday and I'm in love.  I painted both my fingers and toes in this cheerful and bright color.  

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Honeycrisp apples.

Best. apples. ever.  Also bought these at Target since they're hard to find in regular grocery stores.  They're quite pricey but worth the splurge every now and then!

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Lori's Giveaway.

Check it out here!  It might possibly be my favorite giveaway ever!  She's giving away all her summer staples to one lucky girl!  

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Summer.

It's only FIVE weeks away!  I'm so excited about all of the fun things we have planned and things I will {hopefully} cross off my to-do list.  

Linking up with Jamie!

BBQ Baked Beans

Barbecues are a rite of passage for the summer season.  Friday night we had our first one of the year and grilled hamburgers with friends.  I absolutely love baked beans so I decided to make some to go with the burgers.  Connor won't eat them so I can only make baked beans when we have company.  Every time I make these I get asked for the recipe so I decided to share it!  My mom makes this recipe and it is so yummy!

 

BBQ Baked Beans

2 16 oz. cans pork and beans, drained

3/4 cup KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce (or your favorite BBQ sauce)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 tbsp apples, peeled, cored, and chopped

2 tbsp golden raisins

1/2 small onion, chopped

3 strips bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces

Combine all ingredients except bacon in a bowl.  Pour into a 8 x 8 casserole and top with bacon.  Bake at 350°F for 50-60 minutes.  Enjoy!

 

Thanks to everyone who gave me book suggestions last week!  I am a serious book nerd so I'll probably be finished with all of them in no time.  Last night I downloaded Divergent by Veronica Roth on my kindle.  I love love loved the Hunger Games series and I heard that this series is similar so I'm excited to read it!  The first few chapters have been good so far!

Hope you had a fabulous weekend and are energized for a new week!

Friday's Letters

Dear Husband,

Why won't you do the color run with me?!  What a fuddy dud.  You'll be jealous when you're sitting on the sidelines watching me run and get covered in paint.  I've been wanted to do one ever since I heard about them and it's finally come to Birmingham!  

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Dear Blog, 

I have been so good about writing all my posts for the week over the weekend!  It's been so nice to be ahead of things and have every post scheduled to publish at the beginning of the week.  Let's hope I can keep this up!

Dear J. Crew skinnies,

I really want a mint colored pair of you, but I refuse to pay $125.  Anyone found some cheaper versions of colored denim?

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Dear Radley,

You are the cutest sleeper ever!  Your dad and I have been trying to let you sleep in the bed with us at night, but for some reason you can't stop giving us kisses and let us get some rest.  I guess we'll just have to settle with you sleeping in your crate beside our bed.  

Go link up with Ashley!

Book Review: Loving

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I haven't done a book review in quite some time.  Mostly, because I haven't read any exceptionally good books lately.  But Karen Kingsbury's last book of the Bailey Flanigan series came out a few weeks ago and I just finished it - it was my favorite one in the series by far!   Here is the synopsis on Kingsbury's website:

"The answers Bailey Flanigan once longed and prayed for are finally becoming clear. In Loving, the fourth and final book in the Bailey Flanigan Series by New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury, Bailey is planning a wedding and making decisions that will shape her future. Bailey enjoys the beginning of her new career and time spent with Brandon while Cody faithfully coaches his team on and off the field. But has she agreed to marry the right guy? Will she spend her life with Brandon Paul in Los Angeles, or will her heart draw her back to Bloomington, Indiana and Cody Coleman, her first love? Bailey has learned much and grown over the years, but the greatest challenges, the richest joys, and the deepest heartaches are still to come. Featuring members from Karen Kingsbury's popular Baxter family, Loving completes Bailey and Cody's story---the finale thousands of fans have been waiting for."

I loved the book and was really glad Bailey finally made a decision on which guy to end up with (it only took her all 4 books to figure it out).  I still think Bailey and Brandon's characters are too perfect and their love story is over the top cheesy.  I'm not going to lie, I gagged several times reading their conversations and the things they did together.  But overall the book was a great read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I haven't heard word on what Karen Kingsbury's next series will be about, but I kind of hope it's about Andi (Bailey's best friend).  I like her and I think Kingsbury built up her character in Loving to set it up for the next series.  We will have to wait and see!


Have you read any good books lately?  What should I read next?  I need suggestions!

My Dream House

Hey Y'all!  I'm linking up with Brittany again for Time Travel Tuesday.  Today's theme is our dream house and I have to admit, I've thought about this one a lot.  Hopefully one day my dream house will become a reality!

I really only have two musts for my dream house.  One is a huge whirlpool bathtub.  I love bubble baths!  My other must is a craft/art room.  Right now all of my supplies are stuffed in a closet and I look forward to the day when I have them beautifully organized in my own little craft room.

Here are some pins of my dream house inspiration!

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You can view all of my dream house pins here.  Go link up with Brittany and share your dream house!