A must make - Skillet lasagna with sausage and peppers

I impulsively bought a Cook's Country "Skillet Suppers" magazine in the checkout line at the store a couple of months ago and it hasn't disappointed. At all. The spicy steak soft tacos were amazing and now, well, this skillet lasagna is a new, promise to make again soon and frequently, favorite.

The magazine version of the recipe suggested the option of substituting the ground meat with 1 lb. of sausage removed from its casing (I used mild Italian chicken sausage) and adding a chopped red bell pepper with the onion. We loved the flavor the sausage added and even Emery could handle the mild spice.

Even better, it truly only took me about 40 minutes start to finish and didn't seem to create much of a mess in the kitchen.

This little girl, however:

does make quite a mess in the kitchen, and everywhere else these days, but we still love her!

Pretty amazing

This picture was taken over my birthday weekend and when I really sit back and think about it, I am astonished.

These three women all have given me the gift of true friendship over the years .... starting with Amy,  (in the middle), one of my closest childhood friends. We probably celebrated every single birthday together from 1st to 12th grade. Then there is Brooke on the far left, whom I met the first week of college and became a fast and extremely faithful friend. On the far right is Shannon. Our friendship began right after college and has taken us through just about a decade of fabulous adventures, lows, highs and everything in between.

And would you believe this - they ALL live in Chattanooga right now. It's not like this is Chicago, or Washington D.C., or some other places where gajillions of people live. Nope, the population here doesn't even reach 200,000 and yet somehow, we've all ended up here.

Most of the time I think I take it for granted that they are all here, right now, but every now and then I step back and really think about how I never could have planned this myself, wouldn't have even occurred to me, and I realize how pointless it is to worry, strive or try to manipulate my future to turn out just how I want it to. Seems to me God has it pretty well under control and is doing far a better job than I could ever do myself.

Shameless plea for help

I really didn't want to have to do this. It feels kind of low. Self-serving. Begging.

But here goes. Look at this adorable photo of Emery in MI.  Don't you like it?

Well, if you do, would you mind going to our local toy store's Facebook page and "liking" it? You first have to "like" the toy store, then you'll be able to "like" the photo.  I'm so close to winning a $100 gift certificate if I can get the most likes by Aug. 13.  (I'm in the lead! As of today, that is. Now they're actually starting to advertise the contest, which is not working in my favor)

I'll make it easy for you! Here's a link to the picture, though you'll have to click on the store's profile to like it first.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2319328703101&set=o.293835460000&type=1&theater

Thank you in advance for feeding my competitive spirit and my totally ridiculous notion that if I just got Emery the right toys, our days together would be even easier! (I know, I know, who am I kidding, she'll still be most interested in getting into the chocolate chips and emptying my nightstand over and over and over.)

Miscellaneous

How is it that I can lose shoes, dresses, dishes, and more ... and still this silly little eye that fell off a craft Emery "made" at the Y has been following me around the house for more than a week?

I had an old favorite for lunch today - scrambled eggs with pesto. SOOO good. Just add a dollop of pesto to your eggs as you're scrambling them and voila - green eggs minus the ham. Even got Emery to try the eggs tonight, and she's becoming quite the picky eater, so I must say I was rather proud of myself for gently coaxing her into loving them.

We love the library these days. Free, new, cleanish toys and really good AC.

A whole fried catfish! Matt and I dug into this for my birthday dinner out ... yummmm.

Even better, I was able to partake in some fried pickles on my actual birthday.

Last week we went to a huge used bookstore and got lots of credit for books I don't want anymore. Emery, who one month ago adored books and now barely gives them a glance, enjoyed cruising along the shelves much more than reading ...

The Y now has an indoor playground and this is where I found Emery the other day when I went to pick her up - just peeking out the peephole at me!

An Annapolis getaway

As if we hadn't had enough vacation in Michigan, Emery and I pulled out the suitcases (actually, we just left them out between trips - too lazy to unpack and repack in less than one week) again and headed up to Annapolis for a week. A week of me doing almost nothing, and Emery having a ball, soaking up all the attention and new surroundings and toys. I think vacation suits her well - she learned quite a few new words, rarely fussed and now plays peek-a-boo (or, as she would say, "peeta-boo!") like a champ.

Perhaps we have a golf fan on our hands - as soon as the British Open came on, Emery exclaimed, "WOW!"

Papa quickly became one of Emery's favorite people, probably because he never tires of playing with her. She would call for him all throughout the house and was especially grateful when he brought her a banana breakfast in bed.

Henny really wants Emery to love dolls, and I think Emery gave it her best effort, but this photo can't conceal her lack of interest I'm afraid.

Even though I recently cancelled Emery's morning nap, she did manage to work in an a.m. snooze almost everyday in Annapolis!

I've never taken Emery to the mall to play before, but since the Annapolis Mall has a new, very clean play zone, we gave it a try, much to Emery's delight. And if the dog days of August are as hot as I think they'll be, well, we just might be giving it a try at our mall, too.

Emery always eats well at Henny and Papa's, with a yogurt mustache to prove it!

20-some hours in Detroit ... and a little news!

As promised, here's a rundown (in the style of the New York Times' "36 Hours in 'fill-in-the-city-of-your-choice") of how Matt and I spent 20-some hours in downtown Detroit, sans Emery.

Thursday
12:12pm - Lunch at Slow's BBQ. It's become a real Detroit fixture, the restaurant that always appears in newspaper/magazine articles heralding the comeback of Motor City. I'm no BBQ conessiuer, but I think they're doing something right at Slow's. Usually there's a 2 hour wait. Fortunately the Thursday lunch crowd isn't so crazy, and we were able to get a table outside without any wait.

1:42pm - After leaving Slow's, we noticed a new coffee bar right next door, and by new, I mean really new - like not opening until two days after our visit.  Sad. But I had this memory of there being good coffee at Good Girls Go to Paris Crepes, so we hopped on over there after lunch at Slow's ... sadly, my memory deceived me. The coffee was just OK, and though this crepe looks delicious, it actually was not so great. My word of advice for anyone wanting to try one of their dessert crepes is don't get one with their watery chocolate sauce - make sure it's got something more substantial, like melted chocolate chips or Nutella.

2:02pm - After subpar crepes and coffee, we headed over to Belle Isle to check out its arboreteum. I know about as much about arboreteums as I do about BBQ, so I can't really make a fair assessment of this one. It was a nice diversion, though, and I really liked the lily pad pond. As well as the fact that it was then that I realized that if this was a "normal" date for us, it would probably be ending right about now - but we actually had 18 or so hours left!

Here's a picture of me in front of the lily pond.  Notice anything?

How about in this pic?

I have a belly!  And it's not from BBQ and crepes - it's a baby! Due January 17. Does this getaway count as our babymoon? I hope not!!

3:00pm - Checked in at the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit, a historic hotel recently renovated by Westin. At this point our adventures in Detroit came to a finish for the day. We would have been crazy to waste time outside when we could be taking advantage of rare peace and quiet, a toy-free bedroom and the chance to read and nap uninterrupted for a long as we chose!  We also had dinner at the the Spa 1924 Grille, and of course the most enticing items on the menu were off-limits for me - a Caesar salad with raw egg dressing, loads of shellfish offerings, wines, etc. But my wild mushroom ravioli turned out to be pretty amazing:

Friday

6:46am - You call this sleeping in?!  Ugh. But we were awake, since we're normally up even earlier than this, so we accepted it for what it was and took a run along the Detroit Riverwalk, which is in great condition and not crowded at all, which I guess speaks to the downtown population right now, but hopefully things are making a turn for the better, what with the Whole Foods opening downtown! That's major good news.

10:00am - Breakfast at the Russell Street Deli, a favorite spot of ours. At this point we're both feeling so rested and rejuvenated that thoughts of Emery begin creeping back into our head (who am I kidding?  I was thinking about her all the time!!)

We spent the rest of the day outside the city of Detroit, so my travel-log ends here. Though here's a shot of Emery on the boat with Grammie and Grandpa, on her way to see us upon our return. I can't get enough of her in her sunhat and lifejacket!!

So happy to be back in Daddy's arms!

Thank you Grammie and Grandpa Doescher for treating us to such a fabulous getaway, and for taking such great care of Emery!  Want to do it again sometime? (soon?? :) )

Fun in Fenton

We're at Matt's parents' lakehouse in Fenton, MI right now and I'm long overdue for a blog post on all the fun that's been had. The weather has been spectacular and there have been plenty of new faces to entertain Emery, not to mention new diversions like sand, water and boats!

Here are some snapshots of our time here so far, and stay tuned for another blog post on the overnight Matt and I had in Detroit, sans Emery! (I'm also a little embarrassed that nearly all of these shots are just of Emery, as if none of the rest of us are having any fun worth photographing ... mental note, in the future take more shots of other people!)

Emery's gigantic dog book kept her entertained, briefly, during the car ride up here.

This was a first - Emery went uncharacteristically ballistic when we put her in the hotel crib, so she wound up sleeping in our bed, then enjoying a banana breakfast in bed, too.

Emery's first visit to McDonalds!  (She only ate a granola bar I brought with us ... boring mom, I know)

Alphabet magnets on a cookie sheet also served as a good distraction in the car. If we can make it home with all the letters of the alphabet, though, it will be a miracle.

At last!  In Fenton, living it up at the water table, which also accompanied us on many pontoon rides.

Emery quickly became enamored with Matt's great-grandma (Gi-Gi) and is constantly checking in with her and begging to sit in her lap.

Unfortunately, Emery has remained an early bird in Fenton. Fortunately, that means we've had to escape the house a few times so as not to wake up the others, which means we've been able to have breakfast at The French Laundry, one of my favorite restaurants on the planet.

What 4th of July is complete without a parade?  Especially when you go to bed too early for fireworks! (parents included)

Amazingly, Emery has been a really good sport about the lifejacket!

Matt's mom found some enormous Legos at an estate sale and they've been loads of fun for Emery.

We spent a wonderful day in Birmingham, MI with a great friend and her little girl, who is just about a year behind Emery ... so wild to think of how much has changed since last July!

Al fresco dining?  You bet!!