Vacation Day 1: Family Arrival

Today my Mom, her husband Alan, and my adorable niece Abbey flew in from Missouri to stay with us for a week.

I love all my nieces and nephews, but this beautiful little angel is the one I think is most like her Aunt G.

We ate a ridiculous mountain of shrimp for dinner then topped it off with a lemon pound cake. After dinner we sat and listened to Big Jim tell stories of his bear hunting days in Alaska.

Somehow our conversation turned to music and Alan mentioned, with emphatic enthusiasm, that he just bought a Keytar. You remember Keytars, right?

So, this is how I think Alan must dress on his days off...

Being music minded at this point, we headed to the piano for the duet of all duets.

We are currently waiting for Justin Bieber's agent to contact us for a contract, but we are available upon request for weddings and bar mitzvahs.

Confessions of Quirky Quirks

It's been a while since I tossed my pride aside and Confessed some of my more embarrassing moments or traits. Over a year in fact. So here are a few Angie quirks that may not have any reasoning behind them, but they make me me.

1. When I write out a grocery list it has to be perfect. If I don't like the way I wrote something I will rewrite the entire list. Jim knows this and is always adding things in his own handwriting which drives me crazy, but I refuse to let myself rewrite it at that point because somehow I think that would make me weird.

2. If I get a coffee at Starbucks or the gas station or somewhere with to-go cups, I refuse to drink out of it until the hole lines up with the logo. It's the first thing I check.

3. I cannot look at anyone with bushy eyebrows because it makes my eyes water.

4. I love tomatoes and eat them almost every day, or at least several times a week, but chop them up and add them to other ingredients and I'm suddenly repulsed.

5. I say people's names excessively when I talk to them. And a lot of the time it's the first and last name together. I didn't really notice it until several years ago an employee said "you say my name a lot" and I was kind of like "really?" and she said yes then someone else confirmed. But I don't care. I like names.

6. I wouldn't really label myself as a clean freak, but I absolutely won't cook anything until I clean the stovetop.

7. I sometimes base my day's decisions on what my morning horoscope or tarot card reading said. It's the first thing I do in the morning.

8. I have issues with spending money. The other day I labored over a $6 t-shirt. I walked to the store in the mall intending to purchase one. Decided against it. Walked almost all the way back to my car before deciding, yes, I do really want it, and walking all the way back to purchase.

9. I'm a winker. I don't know how this happened or where it started but it's there. And I'm certain I don't even realize it half the time, but when I do I'm usually embarrassed afterwards. Like when I was recently introduced to a young, male employee of a sister-store. Hi, I'm Angie. {wink} Welcome to the company. {wink} Geez.

10. I still hold my breath when I drive by a graveyard because it's something I was told to do when I was young and I just never stopped.

11. Touching food is no problem for me, I can even de-gut a raw chicken without a thought, but once the food has been eaten off a plate, that plate disgusts me and I will only touch the edges. If any of my fingers or thumbs touch leftover food I want to gag, even if it's my own plate.

12. I smile when I watch TV. Like the whole time I'm watching TV. A big crazy-person smile. I have to keep water handy because my mouth dries out.


Trust me, there's more crazy where that came from but I don't want to scare you away. Feel free to list some of your own quirks so I feel better about myself.

Creamy Tomato Penne with Grilled Chicken

Ingredients:
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Grill seasoning
Penne pasta
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne

That sounds like a lot of ingredients but this was a cinch to make. Really.

Pound chicken out to an even thickness to ensure even cooking. Season both sides of chicken liberally with a grill seasoning. I used McCormick Grillmates Garlic and Onion Medley, but really any would do. Heat a grill pan over medium heat or grill outside until just done, about 5-6 minutes per side. Set aside to cool a little before you cut it.

While the chicken is cooking, heat some water for the pasta, mince the garlic and chop the herbs.

In a saute pan, heat butter and oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes making sure the garlic doesn't brown too much. Add the chicken broth. I always make my broth with bouillon because it's a fraction of the price and lasts forever.

Continue cooking the broth over medium heat until it reduces by half. It should be thick and will not immediately run back together when seperated by a spoon.

Add the tomato sauce, cream and herbs. Bring to a simmer and add the cooked pasta. Top with the grilled chicken.

Insanely good stuff and I don't think there is any way you can mess this up.

Shooting Expedition

A few days ago we decided to go target and trap shooting. Our friend Sean knows someone with some acreage up in the mountains, away from civilization and gun restrictions, so we packed up and drove an hour or so out of the city. The property was straight up hill from the road. Straight. Up. There was no way to drive it so we all grabbed as much as we could carry and started hiking. Sean is one of those people that is just always full of energy, so while the rest of us stopped for breaks, we sent Sean ahead to look for a clearing. We had a very nice view.

The Jims got us all set up and ready to go. I don't know what we were shooting exactly. Two pistols and two shotguns, that's all I know for certain. That and one of the guns was kind of powerful because I had a nice bruise on my shoulder the next day.


Aimee is not a big fan of shooting. It took a lot of peer pressure, but we finally got her to shoot each pistol once. Here is Aimee immediately before, and immediately after shooting. You can obviously tell she's having the time of her life.


The boys sharing a private bonding moment.

Snapshots.

But the most important thing to note about our shooting expedition is that, while not the most consistant shooter, I still reign supreme as the best bullseye.

Not that I'm competitive or anything.

10 Things That Make Me Happy

1. I have family coming to visit ONE WEEK from today!

2. Inside jokes.

3. Real wood fireplaces.

4. Positive quotes.

5. That there is a new Hobby Lobby being built just 5 minutes away from my house.

6. The color turquoise.

7. Reading any sort of information about Queen Elizabeth I.

8. Celebrity gossip.

9. Rollercoasters.

10. Having fresh flowers on my dining room table.

Bye Bye Birdie

On Friday I went to a production of Bye Bye Birdie while I was in Boise. My friend Amanda was in it and invited me to come watch. She's the one in the middle.

Isn't she adorable?

When I lived in Springfield, MO I knew someone who was very involved in the local theatre and ballet group there so I went several times. This was the first time I had gone in about six years and the first time I had ever seen Bye, Bye Birdie.

This is a hysterical show. I laughed so hard! My mouth hurt from smiling so much, especially when they started singing this... Gray skies are gonna clear up. Put on a happy face. Wipe off the clouds and cheer up. Put on a happy face. I had no idea that song was from this play.


I had such a wonderful time. If you ever get a chance to see this, you should go. In fact, we should all go out and watch more musical theatre. It's fun and cultured and just lovely.

Sunday With Friends

What does someone who spends one third of her life in airports and airplanes do on her day off? I go to an airshow and take pictures of airplanes, of course!

At least I wasn't alone this time. I went with these three yay-hoos.


That's Aimee and Sean. You may have seen them before. We like them, they're good eggs.

Our local Airforce Base was hosting an airshow over the weekend. On Saturday I actually had trouble getting home because the show ran long. The air traffic was closed off until they finished which left us no choice but to circle around for 45 minutes.

On Sunday we met up with Aimee and Sean for a little fun and sightseeing.

We toured, we walked, we sweated, we laughed, we walked, we sweated. Is sweated a word? If not, then we perspired grotesquely, especially those 10 minutes we were trapped inside the back of a 200 degree airplane with sixty of our closest friends.

My favorite part had to be the flight simulator. I am always up for eating nachos and a frozen lemonade then spinning upside down over and over. Lucky for Jim I have a stomach of steel.

We ended the night with a movie where Sean was repeatedly harassed by the security person who comes in every twenty minutes with a portable nightlight. Either he looked sketchy or she was suspicious of us looking at each other and laughing every time she came over.

Today At Work

I rode a unicycle for the first time ever. Kind of. I sat on it and fell off of it a couple times but never really got around to riding it per say.

I arrived at one of my stores this afternoon and after loads of work, tons of phone calls, and gobs of reports and really official work stuff (just in case my bosses ever get wind of this) one of the guys says to me out of the blue "Do you want to ride a unicycle?" And I was all "Um... YEAH!" So off he went and came back with the first unicycle I've ever had the pleasure of meeting face to face.

I fully expected to hop on up and start peddling my way around like a circus clown, but the unicycle is much trickier than I thought and I am far less coordinated than I like to admit. Eventually the guy who started this whole thing felt bad that I couldn't even move forward an inch so he suggested I hold onto his shoulder while he walked alongside me. Even that only got me about 2 feet. Disappointed in my lack of sideshow talent, I handed it back over.

Then he zipped around and I was jealous.

10 Things That Make Me Happy

1. Chickens. It is a much sought after dream to own some one day (I even know what I want to name them already).

2. Office supply stores.

3. Stormy weather with lots of thunder and lightning (assuming all my loved ones are safe).

4. Pretty paper.

5. Those rare and precious times that my computer doesn't freeze up on me.

6. Any episode whatsoever of Mr. Bean.

7. People with real individuality.

8. That I have a piano in my home again and that I actually played it tonight.

9. The quilt on my bed that my Grandma Lillie handstitched.

10. Dainty floral teapots with matching teacups.

Technology Overload

As I mentioned a couple days ago, I won an iPad. I was so excited because I'm kind of dorky in that way. But as I sat on the sofa surrounded by my laptop, my iPad, iPhone and Blackberry, I realized I need a technology intervention.

The first step of the official program is tough. Deactivate your Facebook {sigh}. I have nothing against Facebook, and it enabled me to reconnect with people I haven't talked to in 15 years, but do I really need to know that someone I never talk to is eating the worst burrito they've ever had, or that someone I used to work with is stuck in traffic in a city I don't even live in? Yes, I do, which is why I was on Facebook all the freaking time.

Really, I felt the need to step back from a lot of things. Reevaluate what I do with my time. And maybe, JUST MAYBE, I will actually start doing all the things I've been wanting to do with all that extra time.

June - At a Glance