It's not quite time to plant a garden here in Tennessee, yet. My neighbor actually swears you shouldn't plant anything until May 1st, but we don't always hold to that rule because I get in too much of a hurry. But April has proved his point this year, giving us weeks of glorious 70 and 80 degrees and then dipping down to freezing several days later, forcing us to pull out long sleeves once more.
Even though I haven't been able to plant anything yet, I have been able to prepare the space for the seeds and plants we'll put in there soon. So, every pretty day, we go out, and I remove a few weeds, add a bit of dirt, mix in the compost, etc. Well, much to my surprise, early in April, I noticed something.

When you're not supposed to go out, how do you go on a date?
This is a question going around a lot of my mommy groups on Facebook right now. After all, we're supposed to date our spouse, but when the whole world is shut down, it's harder than normal to find the time and means of doing so.
I had just about given up on sneaking in our April date this year. We would simply have to date every month but April, due to the stupid Coronavirus. Then, I had a realization.

I was doing my Bible reading the other day, and was going through I Kings, no big deal. I mean, these are stories I teach my second graders every year, so I've studied them before. However, almost every time I read through this section, I discover something new. Do you do that? I used to not believe people when they said they always found something new every time they read the Bible, but I'm seeing it more and more as I read through it each year.
That being said, here's what I noticed this time.

If you've been in a relationship for any amount of time at all, you know that there are things your significant other do that simply annoy you. It's not that he/she is trying to bother you--it's just the way they've always done it and don't think anything of it.
I'm trying to take a different perspective on it, though. Instead of getting frustrated that the dishwasher is RIGHT THERE and no farther than the sink that the dish was put in, I am looking at it as an opportunity.

This man. You guys, I am thankful for this man every day of my life.
Earlier this year, I had gotten it in my head to try and have a date every month of the year. Coronavirus might steal April from us. I'm not sure yet. But, up until the pandemic hit, we had been doing well. We went to a movie in January. We went to a bookstore and out for dessert in February. And we attended the school play after a nice dinner in March. Nothing fancy, but time to ourselves without the kids.

I'm sure, like everyone else, Easter looked a little different this year. Let me tell you, we're missing our church family like crazy right now. We're one of those families who is at the church building about every time it's open. I don't know what to do without that and am going a little crazy despite maintaining a regular "church" schedule through online avenues. It's nowhere near the same.
I'm also one of those who loves to dress up for Easter. All the way up to a hat most years. But who wants to dress up to stay home? And when it's raining all day long, that just puts an even larger damper on the matter, too.
​Anyway, that didn't mean we couldn't celebrate Easter anyway.

So, this recipe probably isn't much cheaper than a regular stir fry. And you can see there's no rice. But I had to give it a name, and that's the one that popped in my head.
My children won't eat this, because it has peppers and onions. But I tested it on some friends, and they liked it so much they went back for seconds. To me, that's validation. I came up with this several months ago when I needed to use up some peppers and tomatoes, and I enjoyed it so much I've made it several times since.
​Here's what you need:

If you have followed me long at all, you know I thrive on having a schedule. I like to know when things are going to happen ... in advance. And I like the structure and surety that comes with keeping things about the same time every day.
Needless to say, the last few weeks have been rough. I have days when I don't even know if it's Tuesday or Thursday only to find out it's Wednesday. Not having my normal "appointments" like preschool and story time and church services leaves me confused and willing like I'm missing something. Because I am.