Catching Up

It's been a while since we actually "did anything" on the weekend. Russ has been working hard rotations, so he just likes to relax on Saturdays. But things have slowed a bit, and one of his friends from childhood was in town while her husband attended a conference, so we met up Saturday afternoon. They were staying downtown, so we went to pick up Sheryl and her adorable son, Nathan, for lunch. We took them to our favorite Mexican restaurant - Paloma Blanca! Then we visited the San Antonio Children's Museum downtown.  Nathan had a grand ole time, but Garrett is still a little young for most of the exhibits. He enjoyed watching all the other littles run around, though, before he fell asleep face-down in his carseat.

Garrett and Dad check out the freshwater aquarium.

The museum was pretty nice. On a scale of 1-5, I'd probably give it a 3.5.  It was pandemonium, but that's to be expected. The exhibits were ok, not terribly engaging, and a couple of things weren't working. But overall the place was clean, bright, and the kids seemed to be having a good time.  Places like that kind of irk me, thinking of all the germs that must be all over everything.  If you're ever in downtown San Antonio, and you have an inquisitive child who needs to burn off some energy, this is your place!

Russ, Garrett, Sheryl, and Nathan

A Household Favorite

A few months ago we discovered this gem. Garrett stops in his tracks to watch it, and smiles and chuckles all the way through. This particular one is his favorite, the "hip-hop" genre, but there are several to choose from: zydeco/Cajun (?), marching band, rock, Rastafarian, classical, African, and ... I think that's all we've found so far.

Big Bugs Band :: Hip Hop

Confession: Russ and I enjoy this as much, if not more, as Garrett.

Stamps from the Sky

There is little I like more in this world than a good aerial image. So you can imagine my delight when I was in the post office the other day and saw that they had a new collection of stamps: "Earthscapes." Oh man, so excited. So I asked the man if I could purchase these stamps, and he was all, "I don't have any in my drawer, let me check in the back." None in your drawer?! You BETTER have some in the back! Why would you tease me like this? But, thankfully, he reappeared shortly with a fresh sheet of Earthscape stamps. Once I got to the car, I devoured them (one can't stare at stamps for too long in public or people get weirded out). They're beautiful. I learned from USPS.com that the stamps are arranged in three rows because they are divided into three categories: natural, agricultural, and urban. My favorite? Agricultural, thank you for asking! Here are the little beauties - go get you some!

In other news, I really enjoy Google maps, too. Their aerial views? Great. Their street views? Genius. I have looked up all my old houses on Google maps...

190 Dogwood Circle, Brandon, MS :: My dad built a really cool brick planter in that quarter-circle space, but some owner since tore it down. :( Big mistake, in my opinion.

103 Glen Cove Road, Brandon, MS :: The first house where I mowed! And went through some awkward middle school years.

5428 Sophie Anne Drive, Zachary, LA :: My favorite house we've ever lived in.  Good memories here. Mom planted those crepe myrtles and sago palms as wee seedlings, and look at them now!

>>skip a couple of rentals in college<<

6713 Rockwood Road, Little Rock, AR :: Where I lived for 2 years while I worked as an engineer.  I enjoyed this house a lot, but I was very lonely here.

 >>skip a couple of rentals in Austin and San Antonio<<

our current home in San Antonio :: The first house we've had as a married couple and the house we brought Garrett home to!

An aerial view of our current home.  Aerials are my favorite.

Fun fact: My in-laws, Ken and Wendy have two energetic Corgies (nicknamed the Baurgies) who require frequent walks. While they were out for a walk one day, the Google maps truck came by and captured them for the world to see!

You can only see one Baurgie in this picture, Percy. Maybe they didn't have Rigel yet?

The Honeymooners

Sharing honeymoon pictures on Facebook always struck me as odd for some reason. The same goes for ultrasound pictures. However, since my blog readers seem to be close friends and family, I thought it'd be fun to share some pictures. I ran across these on a thumb drive while cleaning out the sewing room (it's looking quite nice - the sewing room).

:: Covered Wagon Ranch in Gallatin Gateway, Montana ::

Sunday, September 18 - Thursday, September 22, 2011

 waiting for our connecting flight in the Denver airport at the 

USO lounge (so nice - comfy recliners, big-screen TV, and homemade sandwiches!)

the view from the front of the lodge

our little cabin in the woods

I'm a cold-weather-wimp, so I spent a lot of time by our stove.

first morning hitting the trail :: first things first, suit up!

We learned our boots needed to be pointy to get them in the 

stirrups easily and have a little heel to stay in the stirrups.

Tres uncomfortable.

Saddle up! I am quickly realizing how uncomfortable horseback riding is.

 

 our guide's horse - so beautiful

 

at the trailhead

 

the view :: At one point, we could see into Yellowstone National Park.

 Our cabin had no "distractions", i.e. no TV or wifi. So maybe we're not country people after all?

We spent one afternoon in town. We looked through some shops, and ...

Russ did some big game hunting.  

We also enjoyed some much-needed cell phone reception.

 and back to our front porch for some relaxation

 last day of trail riding, this time in a more wooded area

 Our guide, Brian, rode a mule that day. He said a mule could handle

 the perils of a steep, wooded area better. I was also relieved to find out 

he was packin' heat should we encounter any threats, ahem, bears.

Speaking of bears, we stopped along the way to explore an abandoned 

bear cave. I was sooooo scared that bear would show up. 

:: New York City ::

Friday, September 23 - Sunday, September 25, 2011

the view from our hotel room :: Manhattan is out there somewhere.

 Liberty fabrics :: Friday we headed over to SoHo to go a fabric/yarn 

store I had drooled over online for years (Purl).

Then we had THE BEST Italian food I've ever tasted at Lupa Osteria Romana. 

I was still a vegetarian at this point, so I had swiss chard ravioli with cream sauce. 

Russ had something with sausage, I think?

 Next stop, American Museum of Natural History! It was everything I'd imagined and more. 

Bonus: we got free admission with Russ's military ID. 

Complaint: the ONE thing I wanted to see the most, the wax cavemen exhibit, was closed for a convention. Boooo.

view of Columbus Circle from the Museum of Arts and Design :: Saturday we 

joined up with Russ's family to celebrate the bat mitzvah of his cousin, Julia.

those Baur boys, Dan, Russ, and Jason :: They're all married now!

Julia and her Rabbi read from the Torah.

 Julia's parents read.

 the first time I saw my new last name

 Sunday we did a little more sightseeing. This store, M&J Trimming, was amaaaaaazing.

Russ in Times Square

 

Hope you enjoyed! We sure did!

 

Gumbo Yumbo

It's a little laughable that I'm doing a post on a recipe since I'm a pretty unremarkable cook. But, I did spend my formative years in south Louisiana, so my gumbo ain't half bad. First, a few fun facts about gumbo:

• One can find written references to gumbo made with owl, muskrat, and squirrel. No. Thank. You.
• No one is sure if gumbo has its origins in Cajun or Creole tradition.
• This is, hands down, my favorite Louisiana dish. 
• If you're ever in New Orleans, stop by the Gumbo Shop for some killer gumbo. 
• It's uncouth for a gumbo recipe to call for both file and okra. So, naturally, my recipe has both. 

Here's my recipe...

[Easy] Gumbo

1. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a medium-sized pot. Once it's melted, add 2 tablespoons flour. Stir regularly as the flour browns. I like mine the color of coffee with a little milk in it. Make sure the browning is happening slowly as it will burn quickly. This is a roux, in case you didn't already know that. :)

roux

2.  Once you have the roux the color you like it, add 1 chopped medium onion, 4 chopped ribs of celery, and 2-3 minced cloves of garlic. (A lot of cooks put in a bell pepper, too, but I hate bell pepper!) Cook veggies until they are limp.

3.  Add 1 link of sausage (You choose the type. Some like it andouille which is pretty hot. I use turkey sausage for a leaner, milder gumbo.) and 3ish chicken breasts cut up. You can add the meat cooked or uncooked, that's up to you - I added cooked chicken only because my pan didn't have a lot of room and I wasn't sure how long it'd take the chicken to all cook. Continue cooking until the meat is done.

cooked veggies and meat

4.  Add 2 cans diced tomatoes, 1 small bag of frozen okra, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon gumbo file / ground sassafras (might have to order this online), 1 teaspoon Tony Chachere's seasoning, salt to taste, and enough chicken stock or water to cover. If you like heat, you can add Tobasco sauce, too.  Let it all simmer very low for at least an hour, preferably 3 hours. Check it every now and then and add water/stock if necessary if it gets too thick. If you like shrimp, add 1/2 pound about 20 minutes before serving.

yummers

5. Serve over rice & ENJOY!