Never So Happy to See A Friday

It has been a crazy busy week at work.

You all are so complimentary of my cooking, but I have to admit, some days I don't have much of a cooking vibe and I phone it in with something I know my husband will like but takes no effort....Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.  He is very particular about his mac 'n cheese - Kraft Original only - no homemade, no other brands, no other flavors, no different shapes...Kraft Original. And he definitely is NOT going to eat it leftover. Thankfully, I am not so picky and no leftovers were wasted.  I simply added a packet of tuna,  some frozen peas and mixed it together.

Grabbed a few apples and I had three yummy lunches. Yes, I confess, I break the cardinal rule of office etiquette and microwave tuna at work. Fortunately, I mostly work alone and when I don't my co-workers don't mind.  In fact, I think my boss was legitimately envious of my lunch the day he was in :) 

Being wiped out from work all week I was grateful for easy familiar meals. Before you say "oh no, there is the sweet potato hash (oatmeal, etc.) again." I would like to draw your attention to the glasses.  My husband took me out to eat one evening and the restaurant was right next to a flea market. I sweet talked him into popping in for a minute to look for a new glass...I ended up with 3 glasses and a plate that matches mine.  Score! 

I am a morning person, which is a good thing since I worked early every day this week. Monday, I worked 11+ hours on our office newsletter - 24 pages of information for our county teachers' institute.

Eating at my desk.  I didn't mind at all eating the faux tuna casserole three days in a row.

A long day on Monday, meant I got to see a pretty sunset on my drive home I would have otherwise missed : )

Next morning, up and at it again. My husband is claiming this glass for himself, but I had to at break it in, at least.

One final glass of water with a side of chicken tacos topped with fresh peach salsa.

Enchilada Turkey Stuffed Peppers are a go-to healthy comfort food. I always use poblanos for this recipe, but I only had three and needed five.  I substituted Cubanelles for the other two. It was my first time using them, They were good and like the poblanos they don't have that sharp over powering taste that green bell peppers can have when cooked.

I still had some of the egg roll wrappers left after making them for my niece. I made up some more egg rolls. This time I baked them instead of frying. I just sprayed them with a touch of cooking spray and baked until crispy. The turned out really well and I felt much better about eating them - both mentally and physically. I need to figure out the exact calories, but my educated guess is about 100 calories each.

Yesterday my co-worker and I decided to go out for lunch. She loves sushi. I've had it a couple times and like it, but never go out for it. My lunch special came with miso soup.

I was a little grossed otu by the way the soup separated as it sat. Reminded me of fat separating from broth. I was not a fan of the fermented flavor of the miso. At least I tried right?

I did however enjoy my spicy tuna and California rolls. I need to use wasabi more often.

Next to the sushi place was a cute store with home decor items. I was intrigued by this sign...I feel like it could have many meanings - live with excitement, run away, etc.

Perhaps the highlight of the week was finally getting our big dead tree removed from the front yard. We have been in desperate need for awhile, but I hate calling around for estimates and kept putting it off. I finally made a few calls last week and found a great price. I was super happy they could do it within the week (the service we used before was booked until the end of October!) Unfortunately, I was not home to see it in person, but my husband did a great job documenting the process! 

They were supposed to start before I left for work, but apparently they had a "tree fell on a house emergency" they had to take care of first. I was afraid to ask if the tree fell on the house when they were cutting it!  So, when I left for work...

They made it out in the afternoon and my husband got home just in time to see them get started.

He was super impressed with how the guy in the bucket was able to pretty much cut down the tree one handed. He just stuck out the chain saw and down fell the branches.I am sure it is a bit more complicated, but that is what it looked like.

 

My neighbor was impressed with how the other guy got paid for just standing around smoking while the guy in the bucket did all the work.

Our great deal on cutting down the tree was partially because they were not taking away the wood. I was told, however, the pieces they left would be a manageable size. I wonder who will be moving a 5 foot length of trunk with a 2+ foot diameter. I couldn't even roll it much less put it in a truck!!

I called the next morning to find out when they would be returning to grind the stump. I asked if when they came back they would cut a couple of those huge pieces another time. The office girl then put me on with the owner, who explained we were getting a free stump grinding because of the office girl's mistake when she wrote up our estimate. I was happy he was honoring the estimate, but was disappointed that he wouldn't send the crew back out to cut the logs again (cause he'd already lost money on the job). Apparently, the cutting and the grinding are two separate crews and the grinding crew doesn't carry a big saw.

I left Millie out to investigate. She was in 7th heaven - I've never seen a dog that likes to chew up sticks like she does. Hmmm...I wonder if she would work on those logs for us.

Millie weighs about 80 pounds so you can really get a sense of how big those logs are.

I am very much hoping for a relaxing weekend (other than cleaning up that tree mess) and a much less hectic week next week. What are your weekend plans?