I love vacations!!!

Our trip to Texas was WONDERFUL!!! It was the greatest vacation, maybe not ever, but the greatest one we've had in a long time! Like I told my dad, I can switch to the "no-kid" mode really fast! :) It helped to know that they were in excellent hands! Chris's parents watched them for us. So nice! They had fun with Grandma and Grandpa and cousins. Hopefully they didn't wear out Grandma and Grandpa too much!

We flew from Pasco into San Antonio. That is a neat city! We went to the Alamo and walked around downtown for a while. Then we drove to Corpus Christi. The condos that we stayed at were right on the ocean. BEAUTIFUL!!! Like I mentioned in a previous post, my _____ camera was broken so I don't have any pictures!!! But it was incredible! There were two decks off our room that overlooked the ocean. I never thought of myself as a "water person" but man, I loved seeing the ocean!!! mmmmm...

We didn't do anything real fascinating, just relaxed. Chris had a few hours of meetings. Other than that, we went for drives, ate at some great restaurants, walked on the beach (my favorite!!! The sand seriously felt like cornstarch!!! It was so soft!!!), sat in the hot tub... just enjoyed doing whatever we wanted to do! Ahhhhhh. Hopefully I'll be able to go next year...

Buffalo Wild Wings Asian Zing Sauce Recipe

Here's one of our latest favorite recipes. When Chris was at training in St Louis, he discovered Buffalo Wild Wings and RAVED about their Asian Zing wings. He was pretty stoked when I found a recipe online for it. When we were down in Texas, I went to Buffalo Wild Wings so I could try them for myself. They are delicious! And, truth be told, I like this recipe even better than the original!

1 TBSP cornstarch
4 tsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup chili-garlic sauce (it is REALLY hot with this much sauce!!! I like it, but if you don't like heat, maybe start with 1 TBSP and add to it???)
1 TBSP soy sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic, minced (I used garlic powder)

Dissolve corn starch in rice wine vinegar in a small bowl and set aside.

In a small saucepan combine remaining ingredients.

Add cornstarch and rice wine vinegar mixture and stir well.

Heat mixture on medium heat, stirring often until sauce reaches a boil and thickens.

Remove from heat, allow it to cool. Yield: 3/4 cup.

I mix it with cooked "boneless wings" (they're really just breaded chicken tenders). SO GOOD!!! Serve it with ranch.

*!+^#&?! camera!!!!

My ______ camera is broken again!!!! I'm P O ed about the whole thing. *grrrrr* This is the second Olympus camera that we have owned that has broken. Needless to say, our next camera will NOT be that brand! So until we purchase a replacement, my blog with be without the extra visuals.

Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce Recipe

I was asked to put this on my blog MONTHS ago and am now just getting around to it. *blush* My apologies to those who've been waiting! But here we go: the recipe for the alfredo sauce at Olive Garden. DELICIOUS!!!

3/4 tsp garlic puree (I use minced garlic)
1 stick butter
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 TBSP Fontina cheese
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Brown garlic in saucepan. Add butter til melted. Add heavy whipping cream and milk. Add Parmesan and fontina cheeses with salt and pepper. Stir on Medium-high heat til thickens. Turn off heat and continue to stir.

Serve with noodles, chicken, artichokes, sauteed mushrooms, etc. Yield: 4 cups.

Enjoy!!!

It's all over... I'm hooked!!!

So several family members have been telling me about how great the Twilight books are and how I have to read them. I kept putting them off. I didn't want to be one of "those people" who obsessed about them (because I secretly feared that I would too!). I didn't even want to go watch the movie with all of the girls of Chris's family during Thanksgiving. I stayed home instead.

Then I saw a preview of the movie later at my house. I was intrigued. I reserved a copy of the first book at the library. Just a few days after that I started reading it. I finished it in ONE DAY!!! I knew I was in for it then! I wanted to read the next three books right away but the library was all checked out of them! "What do I do?!?!" After a few emails and a few phone calls, I tracked down someone in town that had the books. I started reading the second one that night and two days later, I had finished the entire series. Four books in four days!!! My poor husband! I started the books as soon as we put the kids to sleep and stayed up until I finished it (usually around 3:30am!). He was ignored for those four nights. He was a good sport about it though. He knows me well. He knew that the faster I finished it, the sooner I could turn my attention back to him and our regular life. How pathetic! :)

But I really did love those books! I'm hooked! I even went online to look up when Twilight was going to be released on DVD and found a partial book that Stephenie Meyer started but most likely won't finish. It's the first Twilight book, but from Edward's perspective! It's called Midnight Sun. I read it too! :) You can find it here: http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/pdf/midnightsun_partialdraft3.pdf . It adds a really interesting twist on the story - knowing what he was thinking. I loved it! I wish she would finish it! Along with re-write the other books but from his perspective too! I know that's just wishful thinking... obsessed, pathetic, adolescent wishful thinking! I guess I'm still just a love-sick teenage girl at heart! Maybe somethings never change.... :)

But here is me in my reading spot. Chris felt inclined to take a picture. He entitled it "a lazy Sunday afternoon".

Can you see what I see?

Nate rarely sleeps in the same place two nights in a row. He has a bunk bed, so each night, he chooses if he wants to sleep in the top bunk, the bottom bunk, or the floor. (Yes, he's our son. Chris and I occasionally do this too!)

The other night, Chris went into Nate's room to check on him before we went to bed. He came out laughing and told me to go in there. "See if you can find him" is what he told me. It took some looking...



There he is! He was under his bed sleeping! Funny boy!

Jenny: The Babysitter

As of a few weeks ago, I became a babysitter! I watch Decker Hanson: Sammie & Devan Hanson's son and Sheri & Zane Bock's grandson.

I never thought of myself as someone who enjoyed babysitting, but he has changed all that! He is the best little boy! He smiles and plays all day long. He has the funniest little personality. He and Jordy are buddies. Here's a picture of them playing together (I couldn't take the picture fast enough). They would each lay down on a blanket head to head and have "pillow talk". It was adorable!