Friday, May 27, 2011

More beach

Yep...more beach stuff!  Yeah, sorry I'm still not doing any cooking but don't worry the hubster arrives and that will all change tomorrow!

For now you get more cruddy phone photos for updates....don't worry, the camera should be coming too!


yeah, we're having sandwiches for lunch on WHITE bread. 
That's how you know you're on vacation, the healthy stuff gets tossed for the week.





the B's.....beach, book, beer
sorry...it's good stuff!!



My dinner last night.  Yellowfin tuna..........lalaaaaa  hea.ven!!!



One of my new favorite pics.  The boys walking back from dinner.  
I just really love this shot...I mean like really really love this picture!



This was Thursday
Water still "seaweedy" and the flag status went from yellow to red.
Still a bad day at the beach is better than no day at the beach...right??



AustinStone and Tdub started on a sand castle building project



and then there were three.
Yep the Abogg moved in to help in construction



And boy was he glad he did...he found 10 bucks buried in the sand



Apparently they are building a "reflecting pool" or so I was told



I thought this was more sand castle status 



Project complete
They built a sand bench with their feet in the reflecting pool



They are feeling very proud and even though there is an impending storm they are holding down their fort !



Searching the seas for signs of bad weather



I just thought you should see the three of them just sitting there on their sand bench
crazy boys!


They abandoned the fort when it was time to think about Dinner.
We went to this delightful place




Irish boxtys
....basically it's fried cheesey mashed potatoes and we found this quite humorous on the menu

IRISH BOXTYS An old Irish favorite, “Boxty on the griddle, boxty in the pan; if you can’t make boxty, you’ll never get a man”. Garlic Mashed Potatoes hand rolled in Herbed Bread Crumbs and Flash Fried. Served with Salsa, Guacamole Dip and a Horse Radish Sour Cream Sauce


No matter what they are deeeeelish!



This is the house bread and butter....waaaaaaaa and the angels sing!!!


This is Tdubs LARGEST plate of nachos.....EVER!



Irish pub...I had fish & chips
also amazing
There was also a photo of Courts Shepherds pie but for some reason it won't transfer...bummer
It was lovely!!


Peace, Love & Yummies!!!




Thursday, May 26, 2011

beachin'

well...you knew I'd have to get some beach stuff worked in here sooner or later so here we go.

Monday morning, the Abogg and his friend Tdub and I began our journey at the delightful hour of six a.m.
Why you ask??  My answer...Dallas traffic!   The goal to miss the Dallas morning traffic AND it's a good solid 12 1/2 hour drive.   Might as well get started early and get it over with.

Here are some highlights of our first couple of days
Disclaimer:  please bear with the poor quality of photos, the only camera I have with me is my dear little blackberry phone. ;0(



This is a crawfish po'boy 
You should have one at this place...it's amazing!



This is crossing the Atchafalaya River
The water is really really high!!



This makes me miss living in Pensacola
I love this sign...all the tackiness about it is so awesome!



So we roll into town and get the car unloaded and the boys and I are hungry
We go to Waffle house, it's right next door to our condo.
I have a BLT and hash browns smothered and peppered
Life is already good



I'm at the beach and now life is REALLY good!



I'm at the beach, reading my new kindle....Life is really really really good
(please ignore the lovely spider veins on my legs..thank you)



The boys are sleeping on the beach....shortly after this they proclaimed "it's hot"
Really????  hadn't noticed   heehehehe



well the nap energized them and now they are off to boogie board



Second morning from our balcony.....yellow flag again but it's gonna be another great day!


well, that's it, short and sweet today.  I've already run my 2 miles this morning and reserved our beach umbrellas and chairs so I'm off to the beach and the kids are all still sleeping.  I have 4 now...Court and AustinStone arrived late last night.   Stay tuned my peeps!!!

Peace, Love and Beachin' yummies!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Crispy Kale chips...what's the fuss about??

Hi dee ho peeps!!! Well I'm writing to you from the beach and I'm kinda lazy and forgetting to blog.  Yeah who can blame me when the view of my patio is the white sands and emerald water of the Gulf of Mexico!!  Before I left the storm ridden state of Texas I decided to try out some big craze called Crispy Kale Chips.  Let 's clear something up...As a general rule I do not like turnip greens, cabbage, turnips, Brussels sprouts, etc.  But all I heard is "oh Kale chips are as good as potato chips" and "they are so addicting and yummy and good for one".  Soooo I tried them.  Are they are as good as potato chips...heck no!!!  Are they yummy?? Heck yes!  Are they addicting?? Heck yes!

Let's make some:


First you need some Kale....just wash it off and DRY IT REALLY REALLY REALLY good.
got it...it needs to be dry, otherwise you will get soggy and that's not good
oh, buy two bunches of Kale...just go with me on this one
and cut off the stems



lay down a piece of parchment paper on the baking sheet



spread the kale out 


drizzle on some olive oil...lightly drizzle it on and then toss the kale around in the oil



spread the lightly coated kale back out on the pan
and bake in the oven on 350 degrees for 12-20 minutes
Your baking time will depend on the amount of olive oil you use
Bake until crispy....then toss with some sea salt



how good were they?  well.... I got no after pic of them, nothing left but an empty plate
That's a snack I feel good about.
Oh, and since we are "spicy" around our house...the second batch I coated with this deliciousness
Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning 8 oz

It was EVEN YUMMIER!!!

Try some...make your family smile...and healthy!!


Now for today's edition of most ludicrous statement



SERIOUSLY????? Don't eat the dough raw????   
OK Pillsbury.....sure thing we won't eat that dough raw.  NOT!!!!
and yes.... I totally forgot we had bunny cookies at Easter and we just ate them....cooked and raw!!


Peace, Love & BEACH yummies!!!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Parmesan Herb "fries"

Morning my peeps!!!
There is much "fullness" in our house today....we love it when the kids are home and friends abound.  It makes the house seem so "useful".   Although I slept like crapola because my back is killing me and I'll update you on the crop circle that appeared in the yard from yesterdays post but first.......FOOD!!

Yep, I'm gonna share some food today.  You guys were so kind with your comments to me and you brightened my spirits so I'm gonna keep chugging along on the bloggy blog blog but I must warn you.... I leave Monday for our condo and I'll be gone for TWO WEEKS!!!!  oh yea baby.....there's no telling what kind of posts you'll be getting from me after Monday!  :0)  I'm riding down with the Abogg and his friend Tdub (I suspect I will need my own headphones) and then Court and the AustinStone will arrive Wed evening then hubster and his brother will join us on the weekend.   Poor me, I have to be the responsible adult in charge for two weeks. hee heee  I know I lead a tough life.  Now let's make fries!!! yep, next to pizza I could eat fries of some sort almost everyday.   I make them in the oven so they are nice and healthy and I use all kinds of veggies too! These are regular potatoes so let's do this

First you are going to gather up all the necessary items

First things first....cut up the potatoes.  I used my fancy smancy crinkle french fry cutter from 


In a bowl mix together your spices:
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp old bay seasoning
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese


Put your potatoes and 1 1/2 Tablespoons of olive oil in a big Ziploc bag then dump in your spices. 
Seal that baby shut and shake, shake, shake it like a Polaroid picture




Dump them out on a baking sheet and send those lovelies to the oven set to 425 degrees for 45 minutes.
Don't rush the goodness peeps...it's worth the wait.



Take those babies out of the oven and please don't  eat one right away 'cause they are some kind of hot!!
yes...that tip is from experience



plop them out on a plate and enjoy!!!



For informational reasons I will tell you....I used HEAPING measurements of everything but the rosemary.  I love rosemary but a little goes a long way and next time I think I might bump up the old bay seasoning a bit more.  We like that flavor but if you don't...hey, use something your family does love. Go with the flow....experiment....fall in love with a veggie all over again.  

Now....the mysterious markings in my yard have gotten worse...MUCH worse.  This is what it looks like now.

Sections of grass...mysteriously missing

Oh...here's the culprit



poor JimBob....comes to visit from Hawaii and we put him to work....HARD work






Silly JimBob.....I TAKE the pictures...I am NOT in the pictures
however this is proof for hubster that I deserved that back rub last night
(obviously I need to work on my hair roots too)



I believe I looked at JimBob and said "I think we're committed to this now"



a cleared out crop circle....this was my project of the day



well...now what the heck do we do with all this??? 
(there was lots more, we just moved the best looking grass to spots around our yard)



JimBob's area is coming along quite nicely



Now the new walkway is almost ready, just need to relocate the sprinkler heads



This side of the house gets like "zero" sun and turns into a mud pit when it rains so it's getting a paver walkway to make a 4 wheel drive vehicle unnecessary to get to the garbage cans.



my poor shoes.....oh well, at least it's not doggie doo!! :0)


On the bright side 5 pallets of concrete pavers and 3.5 tons of sand arrive in my driveway tomorrow....oh wait....where's the bright side???  Oh yeah, the bright side....we called in Larry our home handyman, he's sending a crew over.  JimBob and I are too old to be doing this kind of labor!!!   I love hubster when he sees my pain and knows there will be no end to back rubs he owes me for the hard work!!!  I'm better at just prettying up things after they are done!!   speaking of, I gotta run order the fire pit kit from the home of depot!!   Our neighbors are gonna love us....well, maybe they just won't hate us!!


Peace, Love and Yummies!!!