Precious Gems

Last night I was trying to find a particular video clip to show Brea.  In the search for it, we watched a lot of not-so-exciting video of Kaitlynn and Tate chasing each other around, playing with bubbles, and picking on the dog.  What we also found was this precious gem of Tate's life.

Making the Most of Your Time

I wouldn't usually say I utilize my time well, at least consistently. We had been wanting to go to the San Antonio temple for a while but had been unable to do so because of morning installs or our desire to sleep in on days off.

Yesterday we finally decided to go. So after getting to bed a little after twelve (I hadn't gotten home until ten thirty) we woke up at twenty after five so we could be out the door by six (or six twenty…). Two and a half hours later, two sleepy people arrived at the temple. We weren't exactly early but were still asked to be the witness couple which was kinda fun. It really had been too long since we had been and I'm so glad we finally could go. And the temple was gorgeous. As was the hot little blonde standing in front of it.

Friends in a Far Away Place

…well far away from Phoenix at least.

My first week in Corpus I was sitting in church and I saw someone that looked kinda familiar, but I had convinced myself it wasn't that person by the end of class. However, shortly after she came up to talk to me since it was, in fact, Whitney (Potter) Evans, who I had gone to high school with.

Now we weren't by any means close, but occasionally we would be around each other because of mutual friends. The good news is Brea and her have become friends and get to hang out every once in a while (bad news is we're leaving for Houston in a few days).

I got off early Saturday night and so we decided we'd go on a double date with Whitney and her husband, Ryan. We first went to a restaurant on the island called Scuttlebutt's which I thought was a bit overpriced at first, but then I saw the portion size and reconsidered. The food was delicious.

After dinner we went down to the beach for a little bonfire. Turns out, this was something neither of us men had any experience with. It took some time, repositioning of cars, and some lighter fluid but we finally got it going. We hung out, talked a bunch, and roasted some mallows until almost one in the morning. It was such a good time and it makes leaving just a little bit harder.

Breakfast of Champions

Growing up I ate breakfast every single day, no exceptions. I am not really sure when I lost that habit. I still try to, but if I miss it doesn't ruin my day.

But some days I want breakfast.

A few days ago I had a morning off so Brea went and got donuts (from Shipley's of course) for me and some of the other guys I work with. I ate two, but a few minutes later I decided I was still hungry. I decided to make biscuits and gravy.
And then omelettes.
And then hash browns.
And then bacon.
Perfect.

Pasta

Now getting to important stuff, I have tried several times to make pasta, all unsuccessfully.  Brea and I decided one night a few months ago that we were going to make crab and lobster ravioli.  I had a new cookbook so I decided to try that recipe for the pasta, and we found the info for the filling on the epicurious app, which I am so glad that Jeffrey introduced me to.  Here is the problem with pasta recipes.  They are INCREDIBLY varied.  For example:

Michael Symon says to use 1 1/2 C flour to nine egg yolks
Jamie Oliver says to use 5 C flour to eight egg yolks
The ravioli press says to use 2 C flour to 2 egg yolks

Maybe these work for others, but not for me.  We ended up with AMAZING filling which Brea made, and unusable pasta.  Luckily we had some jumbo shells and salvaged something of it.  A few days after, we gave it another try.  I found a youtube video (honestly, how did we/the world function before the Internet and that website) about how to make pasta in five minutes.  And he made it look easy.  So we bought and cooked two artichokes and some chicken.  We mixed that together for another great filling, and I attempted the pasta.  And amazingly enough, IT WORKED!!!!  Though the video said 1 C flour to 1 whole egg, I had to double that to get the right consistency.  But the ravioli turned out beautiful.  And few of my culinary accomplishments have been so sweet.  Not that I've had many.  But it was great to finally get it right after failing so miserably on multiple previous occasions.

The beginning of the filling.

The sauce.

The first attempt, after mixing the eggs and flour.

All the lobster and crab meat.

And the less pretty looking result of that.

The back up plan.

Still very delicious.

Do you see how beautiful those are?

I still can't really believe it worked.

RAVIOLI!!!!!

And trying to get the dogs to lick whipping cream off Olivia's face after dessert.

Stalking in the Modern Age

I bet stalking used to be hard. No cell phones, no Internet, things like that. Now a days we even have apps to help you with it. For example, Finding Friends. With this handy app, you can conveniently zero in on the location of your friends whenever you want (though they do have to give you permission at least once).

So I can check on Brea when she's home, Tom when he's working in Chicago, and Jeffrey and Olivia wherever they are (my sister isn't included in that list cause she hangs out with her ex's too much and doesn't want me to know…).