Weekend in Review - Feb 2nd - 4th

My weekend sort of started Thursday night.  I drove to Jackson to stay with my parents because I had to be at UT Martin by 8:30 on Friday morning. Because I was it town, I got to pick dinner.  My mom, dad, and I had Picasso's to go.  If you have never been and live around Jackson, it is definitely worth checking out.  My mom and I split the Roasted Chicken Salad Pizza.  It's a pizza... It's a salad... best of both worlds!  To top it off, my mom had made a chocolate pie!!!
Friday:
I was a guest speaker for the UT Martin Nutrition Symposium.  The day went very smoothly.  I then headed back to Memphis in just enough time for Tyler and me to meet Sarah, Ben, Tabitha, and Clay for dinner at Bonehead's before our church's Marriage Retreat.  I got the triggerfish sandwich with cilantro slaw.  I wasn't crazy about either of the dishes, but that doesn't mean that I didn't eat it all.  Our church, Christ Methodist, hosted a "Love and Laughter" marriage retreat this weekend.  We were there on Friday night until about 9:30. 

Saturday:
I have been greatly lacking on the running / exercising lately, so I woke up early for a run before the 2nd part of the retreat.  It was chilly and felt good to get out and move!
After grabbing lattes from Starbucks, we went to church for the retreat.  If you ever have an opportunity to see Ted Cunningham or have a chance to read his books, he is work the time.  Several couples from our Sunday School class were also participating.
After the retreat ended, we went for lunch at Whole Foods.  Yummy!  I feel that we go there more for a meal than for buying groceries.  Saturday afternoon was filled with Belle snuggles, dog part, and visiting a potential "little sister" for Belle. 

This is the cutest puppy!  She doesn't even have a name yet.  However, after deliberation, we decided that we do not need the additional physical and financial commitments of caring for a pup at this time.  As for now, Belle will continue to be a spoiled only child,  and that's OK with us.
That night, we met some friends for Lindsey May's birthday.  She picked Patrick's Irish Pub.  I had a delicious veggie plate of greens, lima beans, mushrooms, and cheesy shells-n-cheese (although that is technically not a veggie).  Tyler ordered a cuban pressed sandwich with curly fries.  Did I mention fried pickles as an appetizer?  So good!  Of course, I don't eat fried foods usually during the week, so I don't hold back on the weekends.

Sunday:
I made French toast and turkey bacon for b-fast before church.  As a tradition (or what is becoming a tradition), we stopped in to Panera before Sunday School for coffee.  It is way too convenient for Panera to be right next to our church.  After Sunday School and "big church," we saw that our friends, Abby and Carey, were visiting our church.  We met them for Mexican at La Hacienda.  I ordered a chicken quesadilla but truly ate more chips and queso than anything else.
After some leisure reading and napping, Tyler and I got some stuff done around the house.  We then took our only child to Tom Lee park and the bluffs.  What a beautiful (and windy) day!  So many families were out enjoying the sunshine.  Some even took advantage of the wind by bringing out some really cool kites.

After a walk and stop at Kroger, we came home to relax before a jog with Joe.  I wasn't expecting 2 runs in the same weekend, but now I have a 2 for 2 track record for the past 2 days.  We will see how long that lasts.

To round out the weekend, Tyler grilled some steaks that we had from Charlie's Meat Market.  

Steak plus sweet potatoes and asparagus plus candles equals one great way to end this weekend. 

It's on to the next week...