This morning dawned gray and rainy, and after a little bit of a sleep-in, we got up and got to business.  Yesterday was jam-packed ~ and pretty awesome.  But it left us only today to get everything done.

We went on a ten-mile hike yesterday morning, down through the beautiful greenery of Valley Green and Fairmount Park.  Lucy was in doggie-heaven, running here and there, lapping up water from the streams, chasing birds and squirrels, going ‘cracker dog’ in the sandy patches of the trail.  By the end, her long pink tongue lolled from the side of her mouth, and when we got back to the truck, she curled up in a ball in the back seat, completely content.  If that had been her only treat, it would have been a good Lucy day.

However, we spent part of the afternoon with her doggie boyfriend, and his parents and various friends baking cookies.  Extremely fun, and once again, Lucy had a ball.

In the evening, we went to dinner with my oldest friend from high school, and her man.  After which, we sipped adult beverages around our fire pit, while Lucy explored the yard (read: tried to dig lots of holes in the ground while her dad wasn’t watching).  Eventually, the rain drove us inside, and after our friends were safely on their way back to the city, we watched “Horrible Bosses” and napped on the couch.  Hilarious movie, btw ~ & I completely love Jason Bateman.

Today, we decided to be incredibly proactive, and we prepped lunches for the entire week.  Mostly, we are trying to be strict with our budget, because we have a couple plans that need financing, so while doing an endless amount of laundry, we made a pitcher of iced coffee for the mornings, hard-boiled eggs for mid-morning snacks and made a base salad to have with slices of pork tenderloin.  Because I loved the apricot and pistachio salad from Easter, I made a version of that and some homemade salad dressing.

I’m very much looking forward to lunch this week!

What I used:

1 cup baby spinach (because that’s what I had left in my fridge)

1/2 bag of butter lettuce and red lettuce

1/3 c dried apricots, sliced thinly

1/3 cup shelled and chopped pistachios

fresh parsley leaves, torn

fresh mint leaves, torn

snipped chives

fresh dill

*** I bought small packages of each of the herbs, and used about half each, except for the dill, which I used sparingly.

For the dressing (from Good Housekeeping)

In a jar that seals tightly, combine:

1/3 c EVOO

Finely minced peel of 1 lemon

2 tbsp lemon juice (I find that about 1 tbsp comes from each half of the lemon)

2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

Shake well, and allow to sit for 2 hours, or as long as three days.

And now, it’s Sunday Night and time for “Game of Thrones.”  Goodnight!