Weekend Wrap-Up

This was no Spring Break, but a four-day weekend was just what I needed.  I didn't get as much school work done as I would have liked, but it was nice to just be home with Ian...and Booper and Betsy.  Here's what my weekend looked like...

Why didn't anyone tell me how totally awesome spaghetti squash was?!?!  Something about rock hard veggies has always intimidated me.  I bought a squash a few years ago, couldn't cut into it, and it ended up in the compost.  So recently, AKA a little over a month ago, I bought a spaghetti squash.  There it sat, on my counter...mocking me.  I was so nervous to make the darn thing!  I don't know why. 

So yesterday I decided to follow the directions on the little blue sticker.  I pricked the rind all over (this was scary as the rind was tough and my fork kept sliding all over the place...I definitely feared for my poor hand).  Then, I microwaved it for about 6 minutes until the rind was "soft."  Well, the sticker said it would be soft...I just found it to look greasy.  At this point I thought I had already ruined it.  I popped it in the oven at 375 degrees for 1 hour.  When it was done cooking, I cut it in half and just as all of those low-carb recipes promised, inside was all of that great stringy squash!  I removed the seeds and twirled out all of the "spaghetti." I was surprised by how much spaghetti was actually in there!  I wasn't sure what to do next so I tossed it with a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes and some Parmesan cheese.  YUM!  Lunch for the week!

After I loong day of helping Ian around the yard (PS, I'm trying to like yard work, but I reeeally hate it), and some heavy duty whining, Ian knew he had to get me out of thouse!  So, he surprised me with a day trip to Jim Thorpe.  We were thrilled to realize that we are less than an hour away from this charming town!  Not quite as many antique shops as we remember, but it's a beautiful drive and there's still plenty of little shops to catch my attention.   Yesterday, in our favorite shop, we bought a great piece of art.  I'll be sure to share it, soon.  If you do make it to Jim Thorpe, you must eat at the Hotel Switzerland!  I think it's just called Molly Maguires, now.  We recommend the french onion soup, hands down!

Oh yeah!  While we were there, we went into one book store with the most friendly woman working the register. She was excited to tell us that she hid Easter eggs all over the store filled with candy and discounts.  She told us to bring one up if we bought anything.  What a great idea!  I quickly found myself bored with book shopping and was looking for all of the eggs behind books, under shelves, cozied into nooks!  It got me thinking...I really miss Easter egg hunts!  I remember going to Seaside with my cousins...and hundreds of other kids...looking for colored eggs on the beach.  We really need a grown up Easter hunt.

Today we're spending Easter with family.  It has always been a Burley tradition to walk the fields on Easter before dinner.  The boys used to go out and search for prehistoric treasures...rumor has it, they always found something spectacular on Easter Sunday.  Now, their interest has turned more towards metal detecting.  I might sneak out with them, but I'll be looking for arrowheads!  I guess this is our grown-up Easter egg hunt.

Happy Easter everyone!