AT THE BEACH!!!!

We have successfully made our yearly migration to the beach! By we I mean my mom, two of my sisters and my and grandma. We are also about a month early. All these things have to do with my summer schedule. I am taking an intensive greek class at that school in Austin ALL summer long. My mom didn't want me to miss out on the beach so we decided that us (college) girls would head to the beach early! YAY!

Catherine and I flew out of Midland International Airport Sunday morning, we met my mom and grandma in Dallas, they had flown from the San Angelo airport. Then we flew to Norfolk, VA where we met Candace who had flown from Houston to Miami to Norfolk. Quite an exciting way to meet up don't you think?

Well from Norfolk we jumped in our rental car and headed to Nags Head, NC, home of our beach house. It's only a 90 mile drive, but it was already dark and it's been raining since we got here...not much beach time :(

Oh well I'm still sitting in my bedroom with my windows open, listening to the ocean roll in and out, the rain hitting the shingles, and my sisters cleaning downstairs (hahaha), waiting on my mom to get back with some delicious Dixie BBQ, pork not brisket as we are in the South and not in Texas. All in all it's going to be an awesome 2 weeks (if it stops raining).

Pet Addiction?

So if you've even glanced over any of the pictures on here you might have noticed that I have pets. My two lovely labs Lizzy and Dixie and my fluff cat Pliny (Iske's brother), Pliny's mother returned home a couple of weeks ago, the prodigal pregnant cat. She was very very preggers so I brought her in, went and bought kitten food and made her a box in the garage. The next morning I come out to 5 tiny mewing babies. They are adorable, but really...I now have 7 cats.

Which brings me to my point, my pet addiction. I've found a new hobby as of late, I can't help myself but to stop anytime I see a lost animal running around. I pick it up, take it home, feed it and love it, and post on Craigslist that I've found it.

The first time this opened was about a month ago, I rescued 3 puppies that were chained together running down Victoria, well really the lab puppy and pit mix puppy were dragging the dachshund puppy along with them. I had them for 2 days and a night when their very grateful owners called me from my ad and came and picked them up.

Well it happened again last night, I was outside with Dixie admiring my new walkway lights when two big dogs came bounding down the street. A big German Shepherd mix and a Yellow Lab mix. They had collars but no tags, so I brought them in and put them in the backyard. My neighbor went walking Peanut and Dixie and happened upon the missing dogs owners out looking for them. Another happy ending!! I just can't help it, it's addicting to take in these animals, care for them, make sure they're not out in the elements and then reunite them happily with their owners. Is this wrong? I could get in trouble in the long run if owners don't show...then what do I do with the babies? Oh well, to quote Ms. Scarlett O'Hara, "I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow."

Lemon Poke Cake

I know, I know, I've been away for a while. I've been busy and distracted and bla bla bla...really I've just been too lazy to post anything. Sad. Well today I was pretty productive and made a seafood gumbo and a lemon poke cake. I used to make this lemon cake when I was 14 or 15 over the summer at the beach, so just the smell held some awesome memories for me. Well here's the recipe, and hopefully if there is any cake left I'll get some pictures up.

3/4 c water
1 .3 oz pck lemon jello
4 eggs
1 bx lemon cake mix
3/4 vegetable oil
juice of 2 lemons
2 c powdered sugar

Mix water, jello and eggs. Beat 1 minute on medium. Add cake mix, beat 2 minutes. Add oil and beat 1-2 minutes until smooth. Bake in a 9*13in pan at 325 F for 35-40 minutes. While cake is still warm poke lots of small holes all over the cake, mix lemon juice and powdered sugar, drizzle all over cake.

Aloha Baby!

Spring Break 2010 was an amazing week of adventures. The family and Sparky (Candace's BF) flew out to Oahu, Hawaii on Sunday.

The majority of the family drove from Monahans, Tx to Midland, Tx and caught a flight to Dallas. I drove from College Station to Stephenville, dropped off my pups and Cafrine and I drove to Dallas to meet them at the airport. From Dallas we flew to LAX, had an hour layover and then flew to Honolulu, Hawaii.

We arrived around 8pm...which back home in Texas is 1AM and not a good time to call the boyfriend :). My mom had a special surprise for us and she had rented 2 Sebring convertibles! A red one and a white one. I rode in the red one all week! Being thoroughly exhausted we drove to our hotel, got somewhat settled and then the family headed out to P.F. Changs for dinner.
The next week was full of activities, adventures, learning experiences, and no end of hilarious moments! To summarize:
Monday: loaded up the family in the convertibles, put the tops down and drove completely around the island. We stopped at beach on Northshore where Cassandra lost a battle with the waves. Grabbed lunch at a local surfer grill and shared our lunch with the numerous cats and chickens roaming the patio. We also drove to the military base...they won't let you in...then we made a stop at the Dole Plantation, I found pearls in some oysters, had some of the best pineapple ice cream I've ever tasted and enjoyed listening to the history of the plantation. We stopped for a photograph moment at a small cove, I fell out of a tree, and then headed back to the hotel for Happy Hour!! We definitely got happy...everyone was pretty toasty for the rest of the night, so we walked to dinner at Duke's.
Tuesday: We made a more historical visit this day, we went to Pearl Harbor. We boarded the USS Missouri, took a boat to the Arizona and learned about the Zeros that bombed Hawaii at the Pacific Aviation Museum. We headed back to the hotel for yet another Happy Hour and had dinner at Tony Roma's...not Tony Romo's because as my dad said...we would choke.
Wednesday:
On Wednesday we went to the Swap Meet at Aloha Stadium. Lots of shopping, but not a lot of money spent :) my favorite! The rest of the day was spent at the beach where we ate a fresh pinapple! Then more happy hour and dinner at the Yard House, and because it was St. Patty's day, Sparky and I had an Irish Carbomb. I had fish and chips and the rest of the family had Shepherds Pie. I also enjoyed a Maui Brewing Coconut Porter.
Thursday:
Thursday started out as a beach day, we rented an outrigger and with the help of the captain and his first mate, rowed somewhat in sync out into the breakers. I was the lead...and believe me, it's a lot harder than it sounds to get everyone in rhythm. We caught a few waves, and turned it. Then we loaded up and headed to the Polynesian Cultural Center to learn about the history of the Polynesian Islands from natives (with a BYUofH spin of course), we enjoyed a luau and then watched HA! The Breath of Life. This lasted until around 9:30 so afterwards we just went to bed.
Friday:
We had made plans for a "hole in the wall" food tour with Michael Gray for Friday, and believe me it was the best idea ever! We stopped at some cool bakeries, walked around Chinatown and learned alot about the history of the food we were eating. It was amazing! Then more happy hour, and we ate at a surfer grill that I can't remember the name of right at the moment.
Saturday:
Saturday was adventure day! We went to the beach and surfed, then went parasailing. That what truly one of the most amazing experiences of my life! I suggest you try it! After that we changed and headed up the Diamond Head. The hike up Diamond Head is supposed to be 45 minutes, well we made it up in 18. Talk about being in pain...the burn was powerful and I felt bad for the soldiers and mules who used to make the climb daily. After Diamond Head we...you know where this is going...went to Happy Hour. For dinner that night we went to a local diner. It was probably some of the best food we'd had the entire trip.
Sunday:
Sunday was a rush of packing, repacking, and hustling to get to the airport by 11AM. We flew out of Honolulu at 12:45 and landed in San Francisco for a 2 hour layover. We landed in Dallas at 5:40AM Monday morning. Quite a trip.

Pictures should be up soon!

Pliny Thursday

Pliny guarding his closet fort

Cute Little Boutiques

Have you ever driven by one of those cute little boutique stores with their antiques and adorable home decor?

Well I made the mistake of driving down Longmire yesterday and was tempted by one such store called the Checkered Corner. I went in to peruse the merchandise and left with some purchases.

One purchase is the mug you see here. Isn't it adorable with my initial and everything!! I just couldn't pass it up! And it was on sale (shhhhhh)! My other purchase was a candle whose title is "sandcastle". I don't know if it actually smells like sandcastles, but it does remind me of the beach so I'm happy with it.

These little antique stores are really my weakness, I can't pass up the original art and other unique things they have!

Well I'm off to enjoy a fresh cup of tea in my new mug!

Craving Coconut

As I was sitting in my kitchen messing with my computer I had a sudden urge for coconut, so I thought about what I could make and macaroons immediately came to mind! So here's my recipe! And they are tasty and satisfied my urge! Also...I have no idea what to do with the 4 left over egg yolks...any suggestions?

Super Easy Macaroons
1 14oz package angel flake coconut
2/3 c sugar
6 tbs flour
1/4 tsp salt
4 egg whites
1 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 325F.
Mix coconut, sugar, flour and salt in a large bowl. Stir in egg whites and almond extract until well blended.
Drop onto a parchment lined coookie sheet. I use my tablespoon to do thing, makes them all even and pretty.
Bake for 18-20 minutes or until edges are golden brown, watch them after about 12 minutes, I burned my first batch.
Immediately move to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.
If you feel crafty, drizzle some melted chocolate over them, or dip them half way in chocolate...the possibilities are endless