Meal Plan Monday (ummm, try Thursday. . . .)! Weekend Update!

Update. . . I really did start this Monday, but I have been swamped this week at work. And at the moment I am listening to a meeting, but I really would like to get at least one post done this week! I have SO much going on at the moment, and I feel REALLY disorganized, which kinda makes me nuts!

So I was hoping to post a giveaway later last week, but the week got away from me and I have not found exactly what I am looking for quite yet, so maybe later this week!

We had a wonderful weekend, it was SO nice to get away and we really needed it. We actually decided to skip the movie screening on Thursday night, I made tacos and we caught up on stuff at home and packed for the weekend. Wednesday we actually went back to look at a house we had looked at Monday and wound up ordering in pizza with the boys parents and his dad wrote up our offer. We are waiting to hear on the house now so we will see. Fingers crossed, when I hear something I will go into further details.

Friday morning we got some errands done, the house picked up and then headed for Duluth. We listened to a great book on CD by James Patterson, he is a favorite of both of ours. It was a beautiful day finally and we really enjoyed the ride. We got up, got checked in at Fitgers, beautiful room with a gorgeous view, opened a bottle of wine and relaxed before dinner.

We had dinner at the restaurant in the hotel. It was okay and what I mean by that is, I didn't like it at all, but the boy thought his was okay. I guess I just expect once you start hitting that $100 mark, it should be a pretty decent meal with great flavors, good service and the food should be timed to come to your table appropriately. Duluth is about 2 hours North of the Twin Cities with not a TON to choose from, and this was just okay  in my book. Again though, our room was fabulous and the view incredible. I tried to make an appointment for a pedicure the next morning in their salon to no avail. I also thought the customer service (over the phone) was terrible, again, I think my expectations were a little high.

The next morning we enjoyed a quick continental breakfast in a beautiful room off of the lobby. They had these great homemade donut holes which were really good! We planned out our day and decided to head to the Glensheen Mansion for the extended tour. I didn't know a ton about the background of this home, but a tour of a mansion and grounds sounded like a good idea in my book!

We decided to do the extended tour which included the Carriage House, all three floors of the main house as well as the attic and basement and then of course we were free to spend as much time as we liked in the gardens and grounds. It was a very impressive tour. The home is now owned by the University of MN - Duluth and it is students that work there and give tours. Our tour guide did a great job and gave us some great history. I won't go into a great deal of detail, but the home was amazing and the history was fascinating. Right down to the reason why the U of MN - Duluth owns the home now (murders and mischief!).

After our two hour tour, we were pretty hungry, so we took the advice of our friend B who went to school up there and had some Mexican for lunch at a place called Hacienda del Sol. It was a little hole in the wall kind of a place, but it was very good and very filling. We were ready for some serious walking after that. We headed down to Canal Park to take in the boats going through the liftbridge, some people watching and the Maritime Museum.

Lots of walking, a little shopping, saw some great boats coming in, it was a beautiful day! We could not have asked for better weather and we really just enjoyed walking around taking in the sights.

We had toyed with the idea of spending another night, but that was when we were under the impression that my cousin and his wife would be in town (they just moved there from Iowa 6 months ago) and the boys brother would come down and spend the day with us. But as it turned out, my cousin and his wife were in Iowa for their daughters graduation, and the boys brother had a mix up and had to work. SO, we decided to hit the road and head back. We were planning on stopping at this little casino and playing a couple of games on the machines and grabbing a bite to eat, but then the boys dad called and he said that they were up at the lake and that we should head up. So we took the next exit and headed over there. We got there in time for dinner, so we went to grab a bite with his mom and dad.

The weather was perfect and we really enjoyed all day Sunday. We got a walk in, the boys parents did some landscaping and re-planting and we all got some reading in while soaking up the sun. We all mentioned just how good it felt. It was like I could just feel that Vitamin D soaking into my body!

This week has been beyond busy. I have a very busy week at work, lots of meetings and document reviews in preparation for two big meetings next week. I have also taken on a couple of new projects, which means that my work weeks have gone from 50 to more like 65 hours. I am really looking forward to a nice long weekend next weekend.

I am also really busy with Junior League at the moment as well. Turnover to the next Cookbook and Dinner Club Chair and then getting ready to take on my next role and planning for next year. We have two Presidential Socials, one in June and the other July, so I have started the planning of those as well. I am looking forward to the new role, I know that there will be some stress involved, but I am sure it will be a good learning experience as well. After my JLM meetings on Tuesday I headed over to Joe's Garage for the Monthly Pint. It was a beautiful night and it was so nice to just sit outside, catch up with people and enjoy a glass of wine and a bite to eat.

A couple of weeks ago, someone reached out to me through my wine club asking if I could help her with  some wine resources for a gala \ fundraiser that she was working on which was coming up in the next couple of months. As I read on in her email I realized that it was a new foundation that had just been started for Ovarian Cancer. She came to the right person. We have spoken and exchanged emails a few times since and I am not fully involved! I met up with the other board members last night for a big planning session and I have to say I am SO SO SO excited. Great girls, great cause and the gala is going to be SO much fun I cannot wait! We are still ironing out the facility details, but once we have a signed contract I will be sharing the details with all of my friends and help finalize some more of the logistical details. More to come on this I am sure.

So on with the lame meal plan for the week. . .

Monday
Plans - Catch up at home, work late
Dinner - Quick Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce with Spaghetti from June 2010 Cooking Light (very good, very easy!)

Tuesday
Plans - JLM Meetings - Monthly Pint
Dinner - Joe's Garage (fish tacos - SO good!)

Wednesday
Plans - Charlene's Light Fundraiser Meeting
Dinner - It just didn't happen. The boy had leftovers.

Thursday
Plans - Screening of Cyrus and a Q & A with John C. Reilly
Dinner - Gyros at Falafel King

Friday
Plans - a date with the boy, its been a long week already :)
Dinner - we are thinking Porter & Frye

Saturday
Plans - Graduation Party for my cousins daughter, can't wait, it is supposed to be gorgeous and I am looking forward to catching up with some family I have not seen in a while.
Dinner - Depends on how long we stay at the party I guess!

Sunday
Plans - Brunch, plant my herbs, clean the house (maybe, egads, pack some boxes)
Dinner (lets just call this brunch) - either Nicollet Island Inn or Jax Cafe (this is where my dad took my mom for their first date!)

So, now that the week is almost over. . . .well, I did start this back on Monday morning, it is just that darn work that keeps getting in the way!

Hope you are all having a good week!