Well, it’s a bit of a boring menu plan this week. But here it is, nonetheless.

Monday: It’s our anniversary, so I’m thinkin’ I’m not cooking.

Tuesday: Manicotti (that we didn’t have last week), salad, foccacia

Wednesday: Chicken rice casserole, green beans, carrots

Thursday: same

Friday: dinner with family

Saturday: dinner with family

Sunday: Leftover chicken rice casserole that I’ll freeze after Thursday’s dinner

Check out Menu Plan Monday for lots of (hopefully more interesting) menus this week!

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Wow, it’s been quite a week.

Last Saturday, a quick Facebook check of people’s status updates turned into a week-long drama when I read that one of my friends (also named Jennifer) was “making an emotional plea for her friends to go rescue 5 dogs that were dumped at Lake Conway. Very sweet, but very skinny and tick-laden.”

Oh boy. Well, we couldn’t just ignore that, now could we?

There is so much I could write about this past week’s experience that I hardly know where to start, and if I wrote it all at once it would be way too long. There are several topics floating around in my head:

• The pitiful state of animal control and rescue in Faulkner county
• What I think needs to be done about it
• Our own frustrating and at times infuriating journey that led us to today
• Our observations about and interactions with the dogs themselves
• The actual rescue

I think I’ll start with the happy ending and work my way backwards, because it’s late, and posting pictures and writing about them is the easiest kind of blog post.

To give proper credit to the happy ending: first of all God, who reminded us that He works things out just when we think they’re crumbling apart, and His instruments: Lynda from Memphis Area Golden Retriever Rescue (Lynda is a local contact), and Donna from All About Labs.

Here are the dogs at the lake:

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… for a bow! Oh boy, now I can go bow shopping! But I suppose it would be more economical for me to learn to make them.

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Here’s what you’ll find us dining on this week, assuming I stick to the plan. (Last week’s roast didn’t happen, so it got moved to this week.) As always, check out Menu Plan Monday for hundreds more menus.

Monday: Breakfast for dinner—Whole-grain pancakes w/ strawberry topping, scrambled eggs

Tuesday: Pot roast w/ carrots and potatoes, green beans, rolls

Wednesday: same

Thursday: same

Friday: Spinach manicotti, green salad, Focaccia

Saturday: same

Sunday: Chicken tacos, fruit, chips & homemade salsa

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Recipe: Wheat-Oat Pancakes (more…)

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She’s finally figured it out! Yea! Of course, that also means my smoothies aren’t mine anymore.

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Anna’s favorite thing to do right now is toddle around and giggle while waving in the air various items she’s found that she thinks she’s not supposed to have. She’s really quite pleased with herself. Here she is with my hairbrush and Kleenex pack out of my purse.

She’s going to love playing outside now that she can walk. I got her some new little canvas shoes for going out. She helped me water my flowers this morning.

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Monday: Hamburgers (leftover in freezer), potato wedges

Tuesday: Brisket (leftover in freezer), baked potatoes, carrots

Wednesday: Lemon-pepper chicken, sugar snap peas, carrots

Thursday: Chicken strips, sugar snap peas, baked sweet potatoes

Friday: Pot roast w/ carrots and potatoes, bread or rolls of some kind

Saturday: same

Sunday: same if enough leftovers, breakfast for dinner if not

Visit the original Menu Plan Monday for more ideas.

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That was what weather.com had for the forecast today. I love how they put things sometimes. And, might I add, it’s about time. Looks like a nice week ahead.

My Stella d’Oros like it.

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I ran my first 5K last Saturday. I ran my second 5K today.

A lot happened between them. A lot I’d rather have not happened. But I don’t get to decide these things.

The first was on Tuesday. Our pastor, his wife, and their teenage son lost their 20-year-old son/brother to suicide. From my very limited knowledge of the situation, they knew he was having a hard time this year, but this was still completely unexpected and none of his family or friends saw it coming. Our church is grieving hard for this sweet family.

And then our own tragedy hit Thursday—one that was much smaller in the grand scheme of things, but one that has consumed my focus because it affected me personally. Our sweet Sasha died around 7:00 Thursday morning. We were expecting her death at some point because of her cancer, but we were not expecting it that day. In fact, she had been doing great the few days preceding her death and seemed so healthy and full of life, just like our old Sasha. I didn’t know until afterwards about the “final rally” before death that happens in many cancer patients. I’m glad I didn’t know. If you want to read more about what happened, you can read David’s post here.

It’s day 3, and it’s not getting any easier yet. I wonder how long it takes? A week? Two weeks? A month?

I had already registered for the Paws on the Pavement 5K, which benefits CARE (Central Arkansas Rescue Effort) for Animals. Had this been any other 5K, I probably would have ditched it. But it seemed like an appropriate thing to do to go ahead and run it, given the cause. I could run this one for Sasha. And I did.

I don’t know why I did this to myself, but I just kept imagining she was there at the finish line waiting for me, the way she did when she was separated from one of us and would watch anxiously until we returned, wagging her whole body at the long-awaited (even if it had only been 2 minutes) reunion. Ok, maybe that was the wrong thing to do, because it was all I could do to keep from bawling after it was over and she wasn’t really there, and wouldn’t ever be there, except in my head. (Don’t worry—I let myself cry on the car ride home.)

But I finished in 29 minutes 2 seconds. That’s the best time I’ve ever done. Last week, I was running for me. This week, I was running for her. I guess it made a difference.

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Last week’s Chicken Francese was a success and something I’ll definitely try again. It took me a long time because I had to keep looking at the recipe, but meals always go faster the more you make them. We ended up not grilling on Sunday due to the weather (picked up Moe’s instead—yum!) so I don’t have grill food to carry us into this week. If it’s nice this weekend, maybe we’ll ditch the tacos and grill instead.

As always, check out Menu Plan Monday for more ideas.

Monday: Homemade pizza, salad

Tuesday: Broiled chicken sandwiches (see recipe below), sweet potato wedges

Wednesday: same

Thursday: Baked ziti, green beans, salad

Friday: same

Saturday: Beef tacos, fruit, chips & homemade salsa

Sunday: same

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Recipe: Broiled Chicken Sandwiches (Better Homes & Gardens) (more…)

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