Wordless Wednesday.

I did it. I created a recipe!

I love cooking. Yes.  It's true.  I wouldn't have admitted that four years ago.  I've certainly come far! That being said, I'm afraid to create my own recipes.  I like to find recipes and use that as a base for the food I'm going to make.  I've never been adventurous enough to go into the pantry/freezer to say "OH! I know exactly what I'd like to do with this!" Yesterday I took a leap of faith and trusted myself enough to try something completely different.

The result was... A success? I guess.  I mean, it was edible.  I'd definitely make it again. Of course I would tweak it a bit as per the suggestions of my lovebugs.  But, it's something.  And I am ever so proud of myself for doing it.  I don't know that I'll be doing it again any time soon, LOL.

That's my proud moment of the weekend.  It's just been a whirlwind of chores since the road trip and I'm thankful for a Monday to catch up on the chores that I neglected over the weekend.

Mini Road-Trip!

On Thursday, we made another whirlwind road trip to Dallas.  We left around 0900, making a stop at Shipley Do-Nuts for our road trip tradition: sausage and cheese kolaches and donuts! The kolaches were simply delicious and probably my favorite item at Shipley. We packed snacks and lunch foods so that we could save money along the way but we always budget in a stop at Shipley.  You've got to enjoy the fun little things; it puts a smile into our day.

Best kolaches EVAR!

After the fiasco of the June road trip to Dallas, we opted to use the Austin toll road to bypass I35 traffic in Austin.  This proved to be the best decision of the day.  It shaved off a small chunk of time but the stress level was at a minimum which made the extra miles and money worth it.  Admittedly there is not much to see along the toll road so finding some good road tunes is a must.

80s pop? Yes, please.

Nothing to see here... Except corn that is dry and brown.

The car shade is broken, so a makeshift fort will have to hide Lola from the sun.

Yummy watermelon for an after lunch snack. Perfect.

Skyfall? YES! My second favorite Bond theme!

We arrived in Dallas just after 1400 and we weren't going to be able to check into our hotel until 1500.  Hubby decided to talk to them to see if they would be willing to let us check in early because it was an extended stay place.  Not only did they let us check in early, they had to move us to a smaller room which we got for less than the original room would have cost us. We settled into the room and headed down to the pool for a quick swim before meeting some friends at The Tilted Kilt.  We came back to the room after a quick trip to Target for some necessities and attempted to get Lola to bed.  Not only were we trying to get her calmed down enough to sleep, we had to feed the three-week-old puppies that we are fostering.  It was not an easy feat but we accomplished it!

Road trips are exhausting.

Sisters. :) 

Friday morning I went to the airport alone so that the others could sleep.  I arrived early and had plenty of time to spare because the plane was slightly delayed due to weather.  A lovebug arrived and we headed back to the hotel to get the others and head back to SATX.  Mass mayhem! We loaded up and were on our way! Nodding heads and snores filled the first half of the trip.  We stopped for lunch and to feed the puppies.  We arrived home around 1700 and all were in bed before 2100.  What a whirlwind trip.  

So exhausted!

The weekend has been spent cleaning and doing laundry.  The week will bring room organizing.  It's nice to have my lovebug home.  I am so thankful of the time that she spends in MN.  It's so good for the two of them.

I'll be spending the week finalizing school and menu plans.  Yikes! Exciting times.