April Wrap-Up

I'm itching for a change. A big trip, a new adventure … a reason to do something different for a while. We don't really have the time off or funds available for a proper vacation, but maybe it's time to plan some day trips or something. There are still so many places in Texas we've yet to explore together, and we should get on that while we've got the chance.

Challenge: Sample Every Flavor of Blue Bell Ice Cream

HEB finally brought in a flavor I'd been looking for: Peaches & Homemade Vanilla! Basically just chopped up peaches in their standard vanilla ice cream. It was good; I wouldn't call myself the biggest fan of peach things, but the peach bits were sparse enough that I enjoyed it.

Completed: 60 out of 74 flavors

Challenge: Cook All The Way Through a Cookbook
I'm cooking through the "Bride and Groom First and Forever" Cookbook.

"Gussied Up" Marinara
This was mediocre. There are two things I could blame on this: 1) One of the ingredients was a jar of grocery store marinara, and I'm cheap so of course I bought the least expensive one, and 2) There was a list of suggested "add-ins" on the page — things like sun-dried tomatoes, capers, kalamata olives, raisins — and I might have gone a little nuts throwing extras into the pot. I like raisins, but maybe not in my pasta. They got inflated and soggy in the sauce. Blech.

But! One thing I did learn is that my grocery store carries organic fresh basil for 1 cent more than non-organic basil, and the organic basil was really nice. It didn't seem to turn brown as fast.

Completed: 35 of 150

Other Adventures
I had a weird moment with another woman at a concert. I complained about there not being any happy movie marriages. I shared a first glimpse at Citizens Fire Academy, my big adventure this semester. We laughed about what beauty products we liked in high school (and which ones we secretly still use). And we talked about good intentions and fear of failure.

Have you tried anything new in the last few weeks? Are you planning any summer trips?