Reasons Why

We had a lovely, albeit somewhat expensive, weekend. (I guess that's allowed sometimes.)

On Friday:
1. D and I went to the fire station to learn how to install the car seat. It takes up most of the back seat of the car. No kidding. We almost drove to a dealership to look at bigger cars... But we refrained. I'm glad it's done.
2. Dinner at Tapatio's - our favorite authentic greasy burrito joint. (Chipotle is probably our favorite, or at least it's D's favorite - but it's not as legit.)
3. A hawk sighting. We have two small hawks (either Coopers or Sharpshinned - we're not sure which) nesting in a nearby tree. It's fun to see them fly around. We caught them building their nest a few days ago. (And no, Ma, we don't think they are a threat to anything except the songbirds on the street.)

On Saturday:
4. Our friends Scott and Andrea donated a day of service to us. Scott helped David build new shelves for the storage room in the basement (which means that we can actually clean it up and organize all our junk!), and Andrea helped me do some serious spring cleaning, getting to all the places I can no longer reach (or bend) due to Baby belly. What a blessing!
5. An hour or so of "us time" (and were very aware that it would be one of our last) before we went out for the evening.
6. Dinner at Stir Crazy with the crowd, and then the new Pixar movie, UP, in 3-D. It was, of course, lovely. (Does Pixar ever fail?) The first ten minutes made me cry - and made me love my Vid more. Go see it.

On Sunday:
7. Both the sermon and the worship were good at church. The sermon was challenging and the worship was refreshing, and I stayed focused on both (a miracle, with how often my brain is thinking of Baby and/or house problems...).
8. A lazy, restful afternoon, complete with nap.
9. Some more good work done in the basement and in the nursery. (I received my new cloth diapers in the mail the other day - so cute!)
10. A delicious dinner - roasted chicken, corn on the cob, fresh bread, and a super yummy, easy salad. (Recipe below.)

Now I'm blogging and he's guitaring. It was warm enough out that we only now just closed the windows. And I am about ready for bed. It really has been a wonderful weekend.

**The Super Yummy Salad**

Ingredients:
1 bag of cherry tomatoes, chopped in half
1 cucumber, cubed (You can peel or not. I peeled it in stripes, because I don't like the skin much but I do like the dark green color and a bit of texture.)
1 8 oz. package fresh mozzarella
2-3 leaves of fresh basil
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
few grinds black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette

Prep:
In a medium bowl, put tomatoes and cucumber. Cube fresh mozzarella. (I used 5-6 oz.) Add to bowl. Chop basil leaves. Add. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning, salt, pepper. Drizzle the oil and the balsamic vinaigrette over the vegetables. Stir to coat. Let sit for five minutes before serving. Yum! And yes, super simple. If you want to add other veggies, my guess is that fresh corn cut from the cob, and maybe carrots or bell peppers would be good.

PS I learned how to spell vinaigrette while writing this post. Who knew there was that i hanging out in the middle?