Good Day, Sunshine.

I've had the most fantastic weekend. It was perfect,wonderful, happy, and joyous.

What did I do?

Well, I stayed home, of course!

My life is really hectic. I work early (7 AM), and leave work at any point between 3-4:30. Then I pick up the kids and do the Mommy thing until about 10 PM. I'm not saying this to gain sympathy - I know I'm right in the thick of it with all the other Moms out there. I'm more trying to get the proverbial "amen, sista!" My day is almost more hectic when I get home. As soon as we walk in the door we wash our hands (who knows what kid came to school with which virus that day), get milk, then dinner, then I start dinner for the ball and chain. Oops, someone spilled their applesauce. Oh wait, no you cant have any fruit snacks until you finish those chicken nuggets. Then Daddy walks in the door and it's like I don't exist, until they realize they're hungry again. Then it's playtime, an apple, playtime, an orange, more playtime, clean time, more apples? Nope. Too late. Then baths, books, bedtime, lunches, laundry, cleanup, and a "do I know you?" to my husband.

So, a weekend like this, where I went no where (except for Lowe's), got some sun (tan lines to prove it, my dermatologist would NOT approve), and watched the kids play in their new kiddie pool, seems like a trip to the Bahamas. Well, maybe that's an exaggeration, but it's close.

Now, we did do some productive things. I finally got around to planting my herb garden (two kinds of basil, dill, chives, and mint). I got caught up on laundry (we took a weekend away recently and I haven't been caught up since!) And, I did some cooking.

On Friday I made these, which is yet another wonderful thing to do with rice. Excellent, excellent, and totally modifiable. I ended up adding some lime juice and cayenne pepper. Made some fresh guacamole to go on top, along with some Newman's Own salsa, the husband was a happy camper. I also ended up making this rice dish, which is now 48 hours old (in the fridge) and tastes better each day.

Saturday I made these cookies, which will forever be called the cookies that I will never make again. Oh, don't get me wrong, they were excellent. I just can't have them in the house ever again. The frosting was screaming to be used on scones. I will have to remember it for that. I'm thinking a nice cranberry walnut scone (or muffin) with the orange frosting/glaze.

Today, I made pizza on the grill and pasta salad. Usually, I like to make a good leftover dinner on Sunday. However, the nice weather just screamed for our grill, so I gave in. We still have some rice pilaf but we needed something else for lunches. So, I made my pasta salad.

Practically Fat free Pasta Salad:

(1) Boil 1 lb of pasta (as instructions dictate). I like tri-colored rotini, but monotone and bow ties will do fine. I don't care for macaroni or ziti-like pasta for this, it doesn't grab the dressing as well. Drain in colander, rinse with cold water, and place in large bowl. Add 1/8 cup olive oil.

(2) Chop and add your vegetables. Now, this is where YOU can get creative. In today's bowl, I added:

• 2 small tomatoes, seeded and chopped.
• 1 large cucumber, seeded and chopped
• 1 small red onion, finely diced
• 1 large green pepper, seeded, and finely diced
• 1 1/2 dill pickles chopped
• 1 can large black olives, cut in half

YOU can add whatever you like and have on hand. Some ideas include carrots, celery, baby corn, corn kernels, feta cheese, Parmesan cheese, artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, black beans, kidney beans, ham, turkey, shrimp, the sky is the limit! I just wouldn't add chickpeas as they tend to get dried out and not good. I also would caution the tomatoes and cucumbers - do NOT add without seeding first. Those "innards" of the cucumbers and tomatoes just bleed water into the salad. This will make it uneatable in the coming days.

(3) when all has been incorporated, add 1/4 cup water and two packets of zesty Italian dressing mix. Toss together, and add red wine vinegar to taste. If you want to add to the flavors, consider Brags Amino Acids, Chipotle Tabasco sauce, salt, pepper, garlic, and cilantro.

This makes a LARGE bowl of pasta salad that you can eat off for days. It is low in fat, diet friendly, and a great way to use up unused vegetables.

Now I must go back out and enjoy the last few minutes of my weekend. If your weekend was even half as wonderful as mine, you are lucky indeed. Hug your family, they're what you do this for.