Who Am I?

Lunch

Sooooo excited to have these ingredients for lunch! 

These were fun. Kids liked them (and so did I).

This was just mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, basil, course salt, and a drizzle of balsamic/EVOO. Perfect. 

Chocolate Salted Caramel Layer Cake

This was a super rich dessert. Tons of butter and sugar. So you can imagine that we all devoured it :) With a glass of milk. 

I just made a round, chocolate box cake, per Jonathan's request. He prefers a light, non-dense cake, unlike me. I cut it in half horizontally. Then I added a salted caramel filling. Next time I will make that layer a bit thinner, because it was super rich. I topped off the cake and frosted it with chocolate cream cheese frosting. Awesome combination. We will make this again. 

Salted Caramel Filling:

1 stick butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup milk

2 cups powdered sugar

Pinch of course salt

Melt butter in saucepan. Add brown sugar. Boil for two minutes, stirring constantly. Add milk and stir/heat till boiling. Remove from heat and cool. When cool, slowly beat in powdered sugar. Incorporate salt. 

Father's Day Meal

Father's Day dinner. Jonathan's request. Roast with onions, carrots, mashed potatoes and gravy, Caesar salad, and rolls. We all loved eating it, but probably enjoyed smelling it equally as much :) There is nothing quite like the smell of a house with a roast cooking in the crockpot. 

Swiss Chard!

Our garden is actually growing stuff!!! SO exciting! Here is a pic of some beautiful Swiss Chard. Wilt/sauté this a bit and add some salt and butter and I'm in heaven! Keep it coming :)

Bikes

Wahoo! I figured out how to fit all 4 bikes (mine and the kids) into the back of my van. And since I have 3 kids, there are still enough seats/buckles for everyone! Now that I know the setup, it's easy enough to get the bikes in and out. This opens up a world of fun! We can take our bikes wherever and enjoy a ride :) Legacy trail is awesome and flat. And has a splash pad at one of its stops!

Light

I've been thinking a lot about this concept lately. I love the idea that we can ALL shine bright. We can all be wonderful. Someone else being good at something doesn't diminish my worth. We can build each other up and rejoice in each other's successes. That's the kind of person I want to be. 

Olive Bread

https://www.facebook.com/thepioneerwoman/videos/10153847714912858/

This has always been one of my FAVORITE recipes! I could eat it every day. Thanks P-Dub. I've probably already posted it before, but here it is with a cool video. Make it today :)

Delay

I had my last fill amount (60cc) removed from both expanders yesterday. I feel good about the decision. But, now my skin is stretched out and the expander shows through the skin, with ripples. If that even makes sense. So, we're hoping my skin will recover, tighten, and firm up again. Time will tell. I really wish I never got that last fill :( Wish I could go back. But here I am. Dr wants to wait 3 full months from now for pre op and surgery. So that delays things from the original August surgery date. The new date should be September 12. It can't come soon enough.

In the mean time, I started physical therapy today. Went about as expected. I'm sure the exercises/stretches I was given will help my chest/arm range of motion. And I really hope it helps my ankle. She used this metal tool to press back and forth into the tendon. It hurt so bad!!! Supposedly it helps promote healthy tissue development. Not looking forward to that next week. But I'm glad to get the ball rolling and discover if this is tendinitis, or if I'll need surgery. Let's hope for the first.