An Early Valentine's Day Dinner

We've had a good weekend. Friday evening and Saturday during the day I took a one credit stress management class and I loved it. It really forced me to relax and look at how I have so not been taking care of myself correctly. It's not that I haven't been wanting to relax for quite some time, but when it's homework, it's easier to make things happen. Sometimes life just gets in the way, but I really need to take care of myself better so that I have more to give the people around me (especially my family). So, for my "self-care" assignment on Saturday morning, I went to Target (which was practically empty at 9 am) and got a coffee at Starbucks with a gift card from my birthday. I also had some Target gift cards, so I shopped around and picked up some scrapbook paper to put on the walls of the girls' dollhouse, as well as some stickers for them for Valentine's day and some cups for the bathroom. When I was done shopping I went to school. I found a lonely armchair in a corner looking out a window and read my book while I drank coffee and ate my blueberry scone. Class was good, too. We even did a progressive relaxation exercise and some deep breathing (shhh, don't tell, but I may have even started falling asleep).

We ended up going to the later church service this morning since I was exhausted and David let me sleep in a little bit (yeah for some more "self-care"). I needed that, and it felt amazing what with William being sir fuss-n-nurse-lot at night (not to mention the 4-yr-old that still wakes up repeatedly). In fact, it was so amazing that I felt enough energy to whip up the Valentine's Day dinner I was planning for this afternoon. We got a babysitter for the girls and William hung out in the kitchen with me and watched me cook. He was impressed. David went to the store for a quick trip and a couple of things for the meal while I started on dinner. He spent just under $22 for:
1 lg. container coffee
1 small jug white vinegar
1 lb swiss cheese
1 loaf french bread
1 bottle merlot
a smoochy Valentine's Day card for me (aww!)
Of course, not everything was for dinner, so it was definitely not too bad of a total for a date night, and we have enough left over for both of us to have lunch tomorrow, plus almost a whole loaf of french bread and more than half a block of swiss cheese!

So, with the stuff we had on hand plus what he picked up, I created a romantic date at home:
Our favorite part of the meal had to be the french onion soup (topped with french bread and swiss cheese) that was finished off under the broiler. The cheese was toasted brown on the top and the onions just melted in our mouths....
For the main meal, I prepared fried chicken, sauteed veggies, and home fries...
Then came dessert: whole wheat chocolate chip pan cookies drizzled with chocolate syrup, which required a nice, cold glass of milk...
After dinner, we watched a romantic comedy while we cuddled on the couch. It was perfect.

Oh, and our menu for the rest of the weekend was tasty, too:

Saturday's Spreads
B: Eggs, toast, and apple juice.
L: Leftover wheat bread and chicken soup.
D: Baked potato soup, wheat toast, and sauteed spinach.

Sunday's Sustenance
B: Peanut butter oatmeal and milk.
L: Leftover potato soup and wheat toast.
D: See above!