Lemon Orzo & Asparagus Salad and a huge Sandbox

Happy Monday! Who am I kidding.. ugh.. it's Monday..

This weekend managed to be a very productive one! As I've mentioned in earlier posts we are doing a LOT around the house for the summer. One of the bigger projects is the backyard. We are expanding our patio area, I'm starting a garden, and we have ordered mini-man a swing set for his birthday, and the husbutt had the idea to put it into a big big sandbox (I'm talking 24' x 16' sandbox, aka an estimate of 14,000 POUNDS of sand). So this weekend was phase one, build the sandbox frame. We called in some back up (aka my parents), and decided to bar-b-q for dinner, so my mom and I cooked while all the boys built. 

So anyway, I decided to try a new recipe I found on Pinterest while the grill was going, and it was AMAZING. 

Its a (very) lemony orzo salad. Of course as usual I added a few of my own twists to it. We didn't have tomatos, just sundried tomatos, but since I'm the only one of the 4 people eating who like sundried tomatos, I had to leave them out. I also have one hell of a time finding Orzo in any of the food stores here (weird? yes I think so) but I found Riso pasta (aka shorter orzo) so I used that isntead. We added black olives (awesome move) and a bit more garlic than what was called for, and a little less olive oil. Point being, it came out great! 

It's a bit high in calories because of the pasta. I'm estimating one serving to be around 280 calories. But its defintely worth it, with a piece of grilled chicken cut up on top of it! 

Here's the link to the original recipe!

Ooooh the possibilities..

So this year is going to bring some super mega changes to our home. One of the biggest things I want to start is a vegetable garden. I grew up helping my grandfather with his, and let me tell you, those are some of my greatest memories. Homegrown tomato sandwiches always taste 1000x better shared around a table with family during the summer.

I'm thinking about growing Tomatoes (of course), zucchini, green beans, peas, eggplant, squash, and maybe carrots and soybeans. I'm just going to have to re-learn the seasons and planting styles, seeing I'm used to New York soil, not North Carolina clay. My lovely amazing Husband has offered to box out an area in the back yard to fill with soil and gravel, and my wonderful Mother has offered to help me get it up and going. I'm crazy excited! I definitely can't wait to start this!

Another thing we're doing, starting this weekend, is painting the living room and foyer! We're also looking into getting new couches for the living room. What does this all mean? I GET TO PAINT! I'm not talking about the walls, I'll help paint those too. I mean I get to break out my acrylic set and break in my brand new table top easel and go to town on some unsuspecting canvases. I'm too excited! I've decided to do a 4 canvas mural for the front foyer area! Now if we could just pick out the wall color.. 

More to come this summer? A bigger sitting area in the back, be it building a low deck, or extending out the cement area. Also, possibly lining the entire back fence with sunflowers. 

I have soo many things to look forward to! I love this feeling!

What does this have to do with diet and food and exercise? Not a thing, except the gard. But it makes me smile, which makes me happy, and keeps me motivated. Also, I warned you all I may go off topic sometimes :)