cinco de mayo

I had never participated in cinco de mayo before this year.

Geeze - now I know what I have been missing.

Yummy

Mexican

Food

and

Drink!

First we started off with free flour tortila chips and pico de gallo. Can we say to die for???

Here is a recipe that is close to what we had:
pico de gallo
Ingredients

• 6 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 red onion, minced
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 pinch garlic powder
• 1 pinch ground cumin
• salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Stir the tomatoes, onion, cilantro, jalapeno pepper, lime juice, garlic, garlic powder, cumin, salt, and pepper together in a bowl. Refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving.

And now onto the drink portion...
1/2 priced margaritas! The glass was completely full but by the time I took the photo the free half of the drink was gone :-)

After that we then had an amazing meal! I had a chicken enchalada with beans and rice. Not one bad bite in the entire dish.

I think we should make this an annual event even if I am not hispanic :-)

Have Uzi will Travel

One of my cats did a funny the other day and I just have to share.  This story is about Buddy. She is our upstairs kitty. This means she has reign of the main floor in our home.  It was getting near bed time and during the night she sleeps in my daughters bedroom.

Hubby and I begin to look for her to put her "in" for the night. He finds her lounging on my son's bed. He goes in to shoo her back to the other bedroom and she squeals and growls like she is being killed. (This is normal behavior for this rescued kitty that was tortured in her previous home by an adult male.) She runs back into the other bedroom, we shut the door and head to bed ourselves.

As we are getting ready for bed, hubby notices something on his side of the bed near his pillow. It seems that Buddy has not so nice feelings for hubby. She placed a toy Uzi gun on his side just for him!

Hubby shows me and I BURST out laughing.  Seems that Buddy has plans for my husband and they aren't to friendly.  I just said he better watch his back.  His response: "Damn cats!"

Garden time

Yes I know I should NOT let my vegetable garden go weeks without attention. This tangle of weeds is the result. Way at the far end of this mess you can see my pretty clump of chives but other than that - HIDEOUS.

We started Friday night. After a quick dinner, I said let's head out and start on the garden because I knew it was going to take a long time to fix. We started by weeding the potatoes. The weeds were taller than the potatoes so it needed serious work. Plus after potatoes are up you need to mulch them with straw.  We were approximately 1/2 way done weeding when rumble rumble (thunder). I looked up at the sky and said "REALLY?" This is the ONLY weekend I have to work on our vegetable garden so if you want me to feed my family please hold off on the rain.  The response? More rumbling. I told hubby to pull faster and start putting down the straw. So he is putting down the straw and we run out! I finish frantically pulling as the lightning starts to kick in. We rush into the house to more rumblings. I was shown who is boss...

Fast forward to the next morning. We had an early morning rain shower but by noon it had cleared up and heated up. Boy was it H-O-T! We dug in on weeding, mulching and planting. Here is a section of garden we previously had planted. I weeded and mulched the radish, lettuce, onion, and garlic plants. Looking better.

Approximately 5 1/2 hours later of solid work by hubby and I we finally planted the last kernel of sweet corn.  So in addition to what was mentioned above and the sweet corn. We also have green squash, yellow squash, honeydew melon, cucumbers, green beans, beets, two kinds of tomatoes, 2 kinds of peppers, and carrots.  Can you say exhausted? Neither one of us could hardly move and I acquired a nasty sunburn on my back. Look at the final product. Looks pretty nice right now!

I made a nice bucket of adult beverages and we rested on the deck while drinking them. We then went out for dinner as neither one of us could cook a thing. We have been on Advil for a couple days now trying to work out the kinks in our backs, necks, arms, legs.  I will try to update the garden topic occasionally throughout the year as it takes a LOT of our time.  The fresh produce is very worth it though for healthy eating.

Carry on versus Check bags - US airlines

Airlines...

There are so many things to complain about with them where does one start? I mean really, where else can a company get away with charging what they want, make you wait, sometimes completely cancel your flight and least of all the FEES. Add on top of that TSA's supposed security to keep you safe. I mean seriously having a baby leaves you with more dignity than going through security lines.  Remove this. Take this out of your bag to show the world. Don't let anything touch in your plastic tote. Cripes, I had 3 grey totes just for myself to get through the screening process!!! But I am digressing, the purpose of this post is to discuss checking a bag versus carrying a bag on board.

I was reading another post where the guy couldn't believe people check bags in this day and it got me thinking - it may still be the way to go.

I just was out of town last week so this is fresh in my head - think ice cream previous post. MMMMM, oops digressing again.  Since I was gone for a week and didn't want to go out and find 3oz hair sprays, face moisturizers and such that I would just check my bag.  So I just packed my normal things in a suitcase and headed to the airport to check my big @ss bag. It weighed in at 33 pounds so I had a long way to go until 50.  After dropping off my bag, I only had my backpack to deal with but as I referred to above it still took 3 grey totes by the time I unloaded the laptop, took off my shoes and coat, and emptied my pockets of cough drops and cell phone.

We get to the gate and this is where I really start thinking. There are people with bags, purses, and TONS of carry on suitcases.  They all seem to want on the plane first. Heck when I have to pull along my carry on suitcase I want to be the first one on also. If you aren't one of the first people on the plane, good luck finding a spot for that piece of carry-on luggage. It could be either ahead or behind you but good luck retrieving it when you land at the next stop. People are pushing and shoving and if your bag happens to be other than right above your head, you won't get off the plane anytime soon.  Plus you pretty much can throw your back out trying to get your carry-on suitcase 6 + feet in the air into the nano compartment. For a tall guy this may not present a problem but for a gal, it is a challenge. Especially if she is traveling alone and doesn't have that tall strong partner to hoist it over her head.

If you are lucky enough to get on the plane in time to get your bag in a good spot above your head, then comes the horrible part. Waiting for the ENTIRE REST OF THE PLANE to load.  This I would estimate to be around 25-30 minutes. Add to this banging around of other folks trying to get into their seats, you having to get up and down for those folks beside you, getting kneed in the back a few times. It just doesn't make for any fun.

I also read that a few airlines are starting to charge for carry-ons. You do all the work and they STILL charge you. Wow, what a crock.  The whole shipping your suitcase by UPS. Sounds like something UPS or Fed Ex thought up to get more business. How inconvenient is that? I'm sorry but I don't want to be without my stuff I must pack in my suitcase for a week either side of shipping. Plus I don't want to make yet another stop before my trip out of town to mail it. Just sounds like additional stress to me.

As I wrap up all this serious thought, I decide maybe it is time to take my backpack and leisurely get onto the plane. How nice not to have to drag along anything but my backpack and worry where to place it. Right under the seat it goes as I make two folks get out of the seat so I can get to my window seat... yes, I do believe a checked bag is the way to go. Until something else better comes along like beaming me to my destination.

Ice Cream!!!

Wow.

That is all I can say.

I went to Leatherbys in Salt Lake City.

They make their own ice cream in their restaurant.

Saying it is amazing is an understatement.

As Amy said, "It's a bit like heaven."

Yep, that pretty much sums it up.

If you ever get out to that area, I would HIGHLY recommend stopping in for one of their specialties.  I had Jill's concoction.  I had to take a photo of the creation!!!

I brought a doggy cup home for my co-workers. They were yanking it out of each others hands to fight for it. It is THAT good.

Good Friday

Too me there is never much good about Good Friday. I wonder how that name was chosen. I mean Good Easter sure but not Good Friday. I mean really being a Christian, it is so sad the torture Jesus had to endure for the rest of us sinners. I am always in sort of a down mood on this day. Introspective. Knowing I should do better. Realizing what was done for me and mankind.

It also helps make Easter a much more joyful day. Plus I get to sing my favorite favorite FAVORITE Easter song. Jesus Christ is Risen Today.

Happy Easter and God's Blessings to YOU!

The Plague

I celebrated my birthday with my sister and daughter.  Weeeeee, it was fun.

I caught the plague. Really - it has been awful. Headaches, coughing, PHLEGM from hell, nose blowing.

Therefore, I have not felt like blogging.

Also work has been killing me. Hubby gets mad that I don't rest and fight off the plague but I can't when work demands this project get done. Sigh...

I'll have a good blog next time.

Promise. Cough. Sputter.