Yesterday was a weird day for me.
Yesterday would have been Mom and Dad’s 30th anniversary.
Some families don’t make a big deal about anniversaries.
Last year Mom planned her ultimate weekend. The uncles and the Aunts were here burying Nana. I know it sounds bad but it actually was a healing moment for Mom.
My Poppy died in 2006 and his funeral was on May 5. My Mom HATED that their anniversary was now such a sad occasion. So, when Nana passed and there were no burial times available I suggested their anniversary weekend. You know bring 2 people who loved each other so much, back together, was symbolic of true love. Perfect for their anniversary.
Mom liked it. So she planned the whole weekend with things she loved.
She took my 2 aunts to Linden Gardens for brunch and a walk. It was a lovely day. We even used the picture my Aunt took for Mom’s Celebration program :).
They went to The Bench for breaky,
Dirty Laundry Winery for sips and giggles. She invited everyone to the Dream Cafe to listen to some live music and taste some yummy desserts.
She took my Dad to a champagne breakfast at another of her favorite wineries and I made Mexican for their anniversary dinner.
This year was different.
I am so proud of my Dad. He was awesome. I know it was a hard day but he smiled through the pain and like usual was a fantastic host. He went up and saw mom, but for the most part he handled it way better than most would, I suspect.
I love you so much Dad and I am so happy you/we made it through another terrible first. We are strong and we will get through them all.
This year we had something else to celebrate! My FIL’s birthday was yesterday and for the 1st time in 5 years we got to help him celebrate!
Yesterday was also Cinqo De Mayo. HBear had been learning all about this holiday and really these little holidays make dinner sooooo much more fun to plan LOL. We had something I made last year. Baked Chicken Chimichangas. They are DELISH! You can see them HERE. I also made a Citrus Black Bean Salad and 2 kinds of fresh salsa (my Pico can be found HERE) to go with them. Of course my MIL thankfully offered to bake a cake…. because I seriously suck at baking!
Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker
1 cup ripe mango, peeled, cored and diced small
2 cups pineapple, diced small
½ cup red onion, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
3 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Salt, to taste
Mix together all of the ingredients and season with salt.
Serve with your favorite tortilla chips.
Citrus Black Bean Salad
Adapted from The Garden Grazer
Salad:
15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
8 oz. cherry tomatoes, diced
1 cup corn, cooked and cooled
1 orange bell pepper, diced
1/3 cup red onion, finely diced
3/4 cup loosely packed cilantro, stems removed
1 avocado
Dressing:
Juice from 1 large orange
4 tablespoon lime juice
1/4 tsp. cumin, or more to taste
1/2 tsp. agave syrup
1/8 tsp. salt
Make the dressing: in a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients until agave is incorporated.
This is the grinder my in-laws got me from the Turkish spice market! I was so excited I ground up a half a bag of cumin! LOL
Set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine the beans, tomato, corn, red onion, bell pepper, and roughly chopped cilantro.
Add the dressing and toss to combine.
Best if chilled 1 hour (can be longer) before serving.
Stir well before serving, and top with diced avocado.
HBear wanted to get Grandpa a gift from JUST her! So I suggested writing him a poem. She was all like, “but I don’t know howwwwww.” That is a long whiny how if you didn’t get that LOL
So I said name something red, blue, and sweet haha. Ta Da her 1st poem!
Checking out the Poppyseed layer cake with chocolate frosting… yup delicious! Thank you Grandma 🙂
Today is class picture day! HBear looked so cute 🙂 As I was looking through this post I realized HBear wore the exact same dress last year for my Nana’s burial. LOL She is like Catherine (you know the real Princess lol) she knows how to recycle an outfit hahaha.
This is her little friend… He always looks so dapper! LOL
Happy Birthday to my FIL, I am so lucky to have you in mine and my girls lives.
Happy 30th anniversary to my Mom and Dad… I know that is not what you are supposed to say, but, I don’t KNOW what you are supposed to say.
So instead I will say this l.o.v.e, thank you for showing me what a strong marriage looks like, I hope Ninja and I make you proud 🙂
