Hey, all (not to be confused with “hey ya’ll”)!
Today is mine and Eric’s 6-month wedding anniversary. Eric is really against calling things ‘anniversary’ if they don’t actually mark a year of something, so we are technically celebrating our ‘6-monthiversary’ in the Ringer house. It’s hard to believe that just 6 months ago, we weren’t married. It’s crazy.
So what did we do to celebrate this monthiversary? Well, I spent the day babysitting a 4-year-old with a fever (let’s pray I don’t catch whatever she has!), and a very squirmy baby. But, praise the Lord, I got off work early today, so I had time to go for a run before Eric got home. Now, the weather was absolutely insane today. I checked the forecast this morning and saw that it was going to be a really nasty day with temperatures just above freezing and a lot of precipitation. Cold rain is the worst. But I guess there was some sort of shift in the winds and we ended up with some crazy huge snowflakes all day long. The world has never looked more like a snowglobe. It was incredible and beautiful and a very good reminder of the Lord’s ability to create something so quiet and wonderful.
That being said, I’m not a huge fan of cold weather. In fact, if you asked anyone, they could probably tell you of a time when I complained for hours about being cold (a trip to Michigan in January, anyone?). I can’t help it, folks. I’m always freezing. But I do love snow. Love, love, love it. Unfortunately, every time that it has snowed this season, the sidewalks have gotten crazy slick and I haven’t been able to go out and enjoy it. But today’s weather was weird, so the snow only stuck to the grass, not the sidewalks, which left miles and miles of safe paths for running. I used to be really good at running outside. I’m pretty sure I ran the streets of Lexington during the great ice storm of 2009, believe it or not. But these days I’m a cold weather wimp. I’ve taken to the treadmill at the Johnson Center, even though there are few things I enjoy less than exercising in the presence of others. Today, however, I laced up my new running shoes, put on my embarrassing cold-weather-running gear (spandex is no woman’s friend), and cranked my Glee playlist for a run through the snowglobe. It was incredible. Cold, but incredible. And judging by the number of runners I passed on the sidewalks, everyone else thought this weather would be good for a run, as well. I tell you all of this to make you think that I’m a really impressive runner because only really impressive runners push through the snow.
So that’s that.
Back to the monthiversary. My wonderful husband brought home flowers (which make it seem like spring may indeed be on its way!), which were welcomed with open arms (and an open vase). And it seemed as though we should have some sort of special meal to mark the occasion. Unfortunately, I had not really taken this into consideration when doing the grocery shopping for the week, so we were left with a thrown together experiment that turned out to be really yummy. While considering what to create, I took a good look through our fridge and cabinets, pulling out items that were leftover from past meals, hoping I could put them together. Unfortunately, I only ended up using one leftover ingredient, so the canned adobe chipotle peppers and the queso will have to face another meal. But I was thrilled to relieve the fridge of a half can of diced tomatoes. And what use did I have for leftover diced tomatoes? Flatbread pizza, of course!
Eric and I suddenly love pizza. Well, I guess it’s not so sudden for me, as I’m pretty sure it was my favorite food all through elementary school as a result of getting it for every slumber party for 6 or 7 years. But during my college years, I have defied stereotypes and eaten very little pizza. I just feel like it’s expensive. It probably isn’t, considering how much food you get, but I just didn’t eat a ton of pizza. But my parents reintroduced us to our love of pizza this past summer when we tried out Domino’s new recipe. It’s seriously fantastic. And I think my family ordered it every Sunday afternoon from then on. So, Mom and Dad, I blame you for my constant pizza craving.
Anyway, I tell you all of that to make our flatbread pizza dinner seem more appropriate for the evening. And really, it was delicious and took about 3 minutes to prepare, which is a winning meal, in my book. So feel free to try it for yourself on a busy weeknight.
We spent the rest of the evening watching Smallville (thanks, Netflix) and consuming oatmeal cinnamon chip cookies and hot chocolate with cinnamon sticks. If you’re interested in cookies, you should check out the recipe on the baking blog I share with my pal, Becca (soon-to-be-Campbell). http://eatitupwithus.blogspot.com/
Thanks for reading and loving us over the past 6 months (or 22 years). Now go make some flatbread pizza.
Flatbread Pizza
2 flatbread pitas
EVOO
4 cloves garlic (we really like garlic around here, so feel free to adjust to your tastes)
1/2 can diced/crushed tomatoes
crumbled feta cheese
chopped green onions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Brush tops of flatbread with EVOO. Crush garlic (this is where a garlic press proves to be one the greatest inventions of all time) and spread over flatbread. Cover with tomatoes. Crumble feta cheese and green onions on top.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until crust reaches desired crunchiness level.
Serve with salad and dessert (of course!).
-Ally
lauragoes says
Ally and Eric, first off, happy monthiversary. Secondly, Ally, I have to give you props for running outside yesterday. I went to the JC and was a treadmill wimp. I appreciate your outside dedication, though!
Allen says
and they said you would never make it…6 months suckahs!