Stay Out of the Kitchen!

Another pre-written blog from Gail:

 

If I were to tell you that I actually cooked something and it was edible and actually tasty, you would probably think I was a total nutcase. And had lost my mind entirely. Cooking was not something I excelled at... nor do I still excel at it, but I try pretty hard. Except on nights when we have fish sticks and mac & cheese. Those nights, I'm just phoning it in. Can't win every night, husband. At least I feed you!

 

Anyhoo... following that mindless ramble, I gotta pimp my friend, Rachel's, blog where she posts yummy recipes. I've actually made several of them (and tasted her versions of others) and she's got it going on. http://outofmealideas.blogspot.com/ Be sure to pop over there and whip yourself up something hearty and yummy!

 

My fave? It's gotta be the Greek chicken. Puff and I eat it probably twice a month, if not more often. And sometimes I even make the potatoes without the chicken. (They make a great side to eat with a grilled steak too!) And sometimes I cheat and use a regular baking potato (since our grocery store only sells red potatoes in bulk which pisses me off) but yeah... you should totally try this!

 

Greek Chicken

6 boneless chicken breasts
6 small potatoes, cut into quarters
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 lemon juice
1 heaping teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
paprika

Place chicken breasts in a 9x13 casserole dish. Place potatoes around the edge of the dish. Combine olive oil, lemon juice, oregano and garlic powder. Pour this sauce over the chicken and potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with paprika. cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Flash Bulb Friday!

A pre-written post from Gail:

Just because Puff and I got married, doesn't mean the fun had to stop! In fact, I actually find myself enjoying and relishing in our activities more now that we are united as a couple. Somehow, just being able to say that I went someplace with "my husband" gives me that warm, tingly, good feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Ready to vomit yet? Ha!

 

So, just a few months after our wedding, we took one more jaunt to the mountains. More windy roads lead to more Dramamine, and more hikes lead to more waterfalls. This time, it was Issaqueena. There's a tragic love story about those falls... a woman throwing herself over them since she cannot be with her lover. Thankfully, my lover helped me safely along the hike to the bottom. It would've been a shame to kill myself over him after only being married 2 months!

I'm Taking Over!

Gail is out of town! Which means I am in control! Well, as much control comes with having writing and posting privileges on Gail’s blog anyway. She and her Puff are safely in Europe and on a very large ship, cruising around Scandinavia. As I write on her blog, it is going to be odd to refer to her hubby as Puff, because when I write about them in my own blogs I call them Gail and Beamer… so if I mess up on the naming, forgive me.

I can tell you all that they arrived safely in Europe for their anniversary trip. Being the over-organized person that she is, I could tell you exactly where they are right now, because she left me a fully detailed eight page itinerary of where they would be, what they were doing… even where they were planning on eating. Gail and her Puff, they never leave things to chance… always have to plan everything out. I am a ridiculously strong J on the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator and even I am not that organized!

I will be writing periodically on this blog and the guest manager, for lack of a better term, for the next week or so. She has left some pre-written blogs that she wants posted on certain days, so I will be getting those up. I will be sure to distinguish what her blogs are from the ones I am posting. Also, Gail is a huge morning person, where I am very much a night owl… so all posts that happen while she is out of town will happen in the evening, not at the start of the work day… hope that doesn’t bother anyone!

Well, have a lovely evening folks. I am nowhere as witty as Gail, but I will try to keep it mildly entertaining while she is away.

-         Kimhead, guest blogger extraordinaire

Dont You, Forget About Me...

As I've briefly eluded in previous entries, Puff and I are about to jet-set our way to Europe to celebrate one year of married bliss.

 

Don't worry... Kimhead will keep up with the updates while I am gone and I will have tons of stories to share when we get back!

Please don't rob us while we're gone :)

One Whole Year!

Last week, Puff and I celebrated one year of marriage. It was a fabulous year full of vacations and festivals and nights curled up on the couch. The lows weren't too low and the highs were just right. We learned more about each other and when he told me that he loves me more now than the day we got married, I melted into a giant puddle of lovey goo.

 

We played our anniversary weekend just like any other weekend in our crazy world. Friday night, we drove 45 minutes to a car show and listened to oldies music and scoped out an Edsel and a LaSalle. Saturday, we browsed booths at an art festival and started to pack for our upcoming whirlwind anniversary trip. Sunday, we brunched at Dunkin Donuts (a total splurge for our diets) and spray painted patio furniture. It doesn't sound that over the top, but for us, it was just perfect. The upcoming two weeks in Europe will be over the top enough!

 

However, we did throw in one romantic gesture... a nice dinner out, just the two of us. We chose a local steakhouse, since Puff has been gushing over the ribeye he had there last November when we went for his birthday. We also wisely chose to go earlier in the evening to avoid the typical Saturday rush that was also overflowing with awkward pre-prom dates. A short wait for a table, and they stuck us in a small, dark, damp back room. I was disappointed that passerbys wouldn't get to see my cute dress and sexy shoes. I was also less than excited to be seated staring at a wall with a giant painting of an elk staring right back at me.

 

When our waiter came to the table, he casually asked if we were there to celebrate our anniversary. We piped up with a resounding, "Yes!" The only other table occupied in the room, was another couple who leaned over and congratulated us and told us they were celebrating their 34th anniversary. When we told them it was our first, they beamed and wished us the best of luck. We were pleasantly surprised by an on-the-house order of onion rings that came out as an appetizer. We dove into giant, overflowing salads and I ate every roll they brought. My filet was perfectly grilled and seasoned. Puff practically licked the plate after downing 12 ounces of meat. The waiter eventually came back and asked if we like chocolate. A beautiful little cupcake, hot and moist, and doused in caramel and chocolate sauce was soon in front of me. It didn't sit on the table for long.

 

The waiter did win more points (on top of the free food points) when he asked me if I was OK and I said, "I'm perfect." His response? "Well, of course you're perfect. We all know that! He wouldn't be with you if you weren't!" A quick pat on Puff's back and a wink sealed the deal fo him to get a good tip at the end of the meal.

 

Some casual conversation later, we motioned for the waiter to come over to bring us our check. As he rushed past our table, he mentioned that the other anniversary couple, who had left about 20 minutes earlier, had taken care of it for us. Our mouths dropped and we were sure we had misheard, so we sat there until the waiter came back. Puff asked if he had been kidding. The waiter seemed as surprised as we were. He had asked them if they even knew us, and they pointedly told him no. It was true... I wouldn't even recognize them again if I saw them. The waiter double checked to make sure they really wanted to pay for our upwards of $70 meal. They said yes. And that everyone deserves a free ride once and awhile.

 

After leaving a generous tip, Puff and I left the restaurant with not only our stomachs full, but our hearts as well. The gesture from that kind couple was over the top and more wonderful than they even know. I just hope I can pay that kindness forward sometime soon. It was a perfect end to our anniversary dinner and a perfect reminder of the good that still exists in people.

 

Flash Bulb Friday

This past March, Puff and I had a romantic weekend in Highlands, NC. (See here) But it wasn't the first time we had ventured to that part of the world. The summer of 2009 marked one year of putting up with each other's bickering. Er... no wait. I'm pretty sure we spent that summer madly in love and trying out new things and going new places. Yeah... that sounds about right!

 

So, yes, the summer of 2009 left more time for Puff to come up with more extravagant dates and trips for us to take. On the brink of me pushing his bachelor days out the door (aka: Gail moves in to The Bungalow) we had a brilliant, long, and exhausting day trip to the mountains of NC. Waterfall after waterfall. Hike after hike. We ended our day here, at the Lower Cullasaja Falls.

 

Dodging cars on windy mountain roads just to stand on a narrow strip of an overlook to snap this picture, I could not have been more content. Those days of rushing around to see as much as we could see were priceless. Puff was still trying so hard to impress me after dating for more than a year. And I'm happy to report, that even after a year of marriage, he still continues to surprise me.

Fall Into the Gap

If you ever find yourself in the upstate of South Carolina and are in the mood for an easy and beautiful walk off the beaten path, but not too beaten, make your way to Jones Gap State Park.

 

 

According to the state parks website (www.southcarolinaparks.com) this park is part of the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area (which probably means nothing to you, since it means nothing to me... and I've been there 3 times) and it's a mere $2 to get in (on the honor system). With an easy roughly-an-hour drive from downtown Greenville, it is the perfect place to go spend a bit of a day to cool off in the shade, take some pictures, and get your hike on. And the best part? They have a bathroom. That earns a gold star from me!

 

One recent Sunday morning, Puff and I decided it had been way too long since we'd been to the mountains. We like to hike to waterfalls, although the term "hike" is all relative to the person using it. We had both had long weeks at work and our bodies weren't into something requiring too much strain and effort, but we wanted someplace pretty and calm and relaxing. Jones Gap won the coin toss and we set out, picking up highway 276 through Travelers Rest and the other small towns along the way. (Note to self... don't stop at the XXXX brand gas station en route - on the left of the highway - because the cashier will blow cigarette smoke in your face and there will be a creepy old dude hanging out in the parking lot who will stare, unashamedly, at your breasts. Wait until you get further up the road in Cleveland and stop at the gas station - also on the left - and check out their pet emu in the back!)

 

The rhododendrons were just starting to bloom (we've never made it in season, but I hear it's gorgeous) and there weren't many people out and about that morning. We stopped and talked to a ranger who was just hanging out on the bridge and stopped to snap way too many photos of the gorgeous river with its rocks.

 

 

They all started looking the same after awhile, so we set out on the blue marked path that runs along the banks of the river. There are campsites there and pets are allowed too. I kept telling Puff that it will be a great place to come with our kids someday since the path is relatively flat and there are great picnic spots near the entrance. After about an hour, plus a quick detour off on the red path, we called it a day. The day was warm, but the trees provided a wonderful respite from the growing heat. Had it been even warmer, a quick dip of a foot in the river would have been the perfect way to cool off.

 

And even as we were leaving the park, we got one last surprise from Mother Nature... our car was covered in caterpillars. I'm not sure if that's supposed to be any type of sign of good luck or forture, but I'm going to take it that way. Happy travels!