Jennifer's 365 Project

In the afternoon after Quinn's 2 1/2 hour long nap, we headed over to Heritage Park. They have a nice pond with ducks (and lots of duck poop), a path that loops around the pond and new playground equipment. Quinn especially liked the blue car there.
When we got home I made the next Blue Apron recipe for the week - Chicken and Buttermilk Biscuits. The biscuits didn't come out very pretty when I made them, but they were super tasty.

The recipe called for mayo and I absolutely refuse to eat mayo, so I substituted it with Greek yogurt which I suspect made the sandwich a little odd tasting. But not terrible. The collard greens and carrots slaw was tastier than I would have thought (I'm not a fan of vinegar or vinaigrette). Way too much vegetable for just me to eat, which Chris does not eat either of those. But tasty.

Quinn would not eat the vegetables either.

I liked the meatballs from last night more, but tonight's recipe was still pretty tasty. We even have leftovers. They sent chicken breasts and Chris and I usually eat chicken tenders, so we have a whole breast left over between the two of us.

We took a quick stroll around the pond at Heritage Park. The ducks aren't out in full, but there were a decent amount lying in the sun, enjoying the day.

Since the weather was warm and rain wasn't supposed to start until the afternoon, I decided to start week one of the Couch to 5K program. Since I don't actually like running around in public, we'll see how long I actually stick with running around outdoors in the neighborhood. I suppose if we had a treadmill I'd feel more comfortable, although I've heard that treadmills arent as much work as running outdoors.

But it was good weather and nice to get out, despite how dreary it looks in the photo.
Then we ran some errands around noon and took a stroll at Heritage Park where the ducks usually swarm people for food.

And all that running and walking so early in the day meant taking a nap for several hours on the couch while it rained outside during the afternoon. Which I suppose isn't a bad way to spend a rainy afternoon.

The weather is supposed to be pretty warm for the next few days. We both have the day off, so I headed out in the morning to walk through Palmer Park and enjoy the morning.
When I got back home Chris and I headed out to Heritage Park, which is also nearby, for a tasty outdoor lunch. The ducks there get pretty aggressive as the season goes on. Everyone ignores the signs and feeds them.
We did some shopping and various things around the house, then took another walk after dinner at another park. It's pretty great having so many small parks so nearby.

Took a nice stroll around the pond at Heritage Park.

What better way to spend the day then wandering around from park to park? Ok, that's not exactly what we did, but close.

We drove over to East Paris Park after we hit Horrocks to pick up a few things. This park is small and pretty open. In fact, there's now a portion the trail that is akin to walking in several people's backyard, now that brush has been cleared away.



That feeling is in pretty stark contrast to the Paris Park Nature Preserve just down the road. Since we were in the area, we drove over to the reserve and walked a bit over there as well. It's my favorite of the two, but it does have a lot more mosquitoes.


Out last stop was Heritage Park. It's a cute little park with a large pond that attracts a lot of ducks and geese. When we arrived it appeared to be their nap time, which meant we could read in peace and not get stalked. These guys get fed a lot and they will stalk you if they suspect you're hiding tasty treats.

Today's the first decent, sunny day we've had since being back from California. Snow on Monday, Rain and hail on Tuesday, and an overcast Wednesday. This week has been lacking sunshine.


So to celebrate, we had lunch in the park. Sure, it was chilly, sure it was a little windy, but I'll be damned if I miss an opportunity to enjoy the sun a little before another bout of rainy or cloudy days.
There were lots of ducks out, mostly waddling their way ever closer in the hopes that we would give them some food (as seen in the distance on the grass of the first photo). Adorable, and no doubt disappointed that we didn't share our food with them.

The weather lately has been pretty hot and humid in West Michigan.  So when this lovely Monday came around I had no choice but to enjoy being outdoors and have lunch in the park.

We headed to Heritage Park where there is a small path and a pond with lots of ducks.

True to duck nature, as we walked the path that encircles the pond they slid into the water and headed toward us in the hopes of food.