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Tragedies like this really make you appreciate your family and friends even more. The day after the weather hit, my sister, Tiffany, and my niece, Kristen, got here safely from Virginia Beach. They live in Pennsylvania, but will be moving to Virginia Beach in the next month and decided to drive down for a week-long visit. It has been so good having them here — it’s been almost a year since we saw them last!

I ♥ being an aunt.

Tiffany and Kristen are staying with my other sis, Sarah, tonight (my niece, Elizabeth, is loving all the time with her cousin!), so JD and I were on our own again for dinner. I was starving after our hour+ walk with Mr. Tex, and craving a big salad.

Mixed organic greens, sauteed shrimp, black olives, cucumber, celery, cilantro, feta cheese (pasteurized) and toasted walnuts drizzled with light raspberry vinaigrette. Twas perfection!

Celery, walnuts and raspberry vin also made an appearance in another salad I fixed this week.

The goods:

• 6 ounces wild Alaskan salmon, chopped
• 1 strip bacon, crumbled
• broccoli, onions and celery, chopped
• a few sprinkles chopped walnuts
• about 1/2 cup organic low-fat plain yogurt
• a splash or two of light raspberry vinaigrette dressing (Sweet flavors with fish = awesome!)

This salad was so tasty. I loved the crunchy components, and the bacon definitely gave it a little something extra.

I have one more day of work before my early weekend officially begins. I’m taking off Friday so I can spend some more time with Tiffany and Kristen before they leave to go home. Rumor has it we may go to a strawberry farm and do some picking. I  just might have Tiffany teach me how to make her delicious homemade strawberry jam. My last batch ran out months ago, and I’d love to stock the freezer with some more! (Hint, hint, T!)

I’m also going to have Kristen help me complete this monster:

She loves puzzles, and asked if we could put this 750-piece replica of New York City together. We started it Monday night, and it is definitely a doozie. Do you see all those blue pieces?! I’m determined to finish it though.

I hope you all have a great rest of the week! Lots of happy birthday wishes go out to one of my favorite bloggies, Becca!

Question for the readers: What kinds of activities do you like to do with your family?

]]> http://www.twopoundsawk.com/2010/04/28/family-ties/feed/ 2 http://www.twopoundsawk.com/2010/01/29/snow-and-ice-make-the-day-nice/ http://www.twopoundsawk.com/2010/01/29/snow-and-ice-make-the-day-nice/#comments Sat, 30 Jan 2010 04:45:37 +0000 Meg http://www.twopoundsawk.com/?p=604 We have some wintry conditions blowing through the South, so work called it a day early before the roads got too icy for all of us to get home. What a nice Friday surprise! My husband luckily got to leave early as well, so we had a relaxing day in the warm comfort of home. So nice!

Tex loved having us home! I spent a little time on the computer while he snoozed, then I joined him for an afternoon nap.

He’s not spoiled at all.

While we napped, JD braved the roads and got us 6 movies to watch! The weather is expected to stay around through the weekend, so we thought we better have plenty of things to do if we get stuck in the house. He played some Wii while I made myself get up and get moving on the elliptical. My legs have been so sore from climbing the stairs to the 10th floor at work, so I thought a good workout might ease the pain in my calves a bit (which it did). Elliptical time is also great for catching up on some reading!

Ok, let me just say, “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” had me so freaked out! The first few chapters are about what can be wrong with your baby, and how all these factors (one being cleaning the cat litter box) can be harmful during pregnancy. I hope it gets a little lot more positive in the later chapters! Luckily my sister called, and was able to talk me down from the ledges. Thanks, Sis! Being pregnant is such a joy, but it can be frightening too!

Tonight’s dinner was simple but satisfying — salads with sauteed shrimp, walnuts, raspberry vinaigrette and a few sprinkles of Parmesan cheese.

We saved some of the shrimp to dip in homemade cocktail sauce, which is super easy to make! You just mix horseradish, lemon, hot sauce, ketchup and Worcestershire — tastes way better than the bottled stuff in my opinion, and you can make it as spicy as you like.

While we watched “A Perfect Getaway,” (I’d give it a 6 out of 10…pretty good, but predictable) JD and I shared a dessert of fresh cherries.

We are on to movie number 2 now — “Defiance.” Here’s what it’s about:

Daniel Craig stars as Tuvia Bielski, an ordinary citizen turned hero, in this action-packed epic of family, honor, vengeance and salvation. Defiance is a riveting adventure that showcases the extraordinary true story or the Bielski brothers, simple farmers — outnumbered and outgunned — who turned a group of war refugees into powerful freedom fighters. Tuvia, along with his unyielding brother, Zus, (Liev Schreiber) motivate hundreds of civilians to join their ranks against the Nazi regime.

What a powerful story so far!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, whether indoors or braving the cold outside! Night!