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…).

Corpus Part 1

Brealynn and I first came to Corpus Christi over spring break, so about a month and a half ago.  I had started with a new company and since we were/are super poor, I went out to go work for a week and thankfully Brea with me.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we broke down in Corpus Christi.  My first thought was that the transmission had gone, but after thinking it over in my head some more I realized it was probably just an axle.  So after a two night stay we were back on the road again, and only a few hundred dollars more poor.

This really is a big state to drive across.

The first night in town we stayed in the most terrible hotel possible.  A tiny little Motel 6 just off the freeway.  Really it was bad.  Just, so bad.  I couldn't stay another night there, nor could I let my wife stay there.  We ended up switching to a Travelodge which for the fifty dollar a night price, I don't think you could beat.  It was so much better.

The week passed without too much eventful.  There was a little learning curve with the new companies and the way they wanted things done.  The guys took us out to dinner twice which was really nice, and Brea might have started crying when I told her they were taking us to Johnny Carino's and she could get some lobster ravioli.  They were really nice to us and tried to talk to Brea a little so she felt included which I really appreciated.

We went out for dinner one of the nights we were there, probably Saturday, and decided to try a little restaurant down on the beach that had pretty good reviews.  The hostess was terrible and there were a lot of people waiting.  There were mostly big tables though so a guy asked if we wanted to sit with them.  Brea said it would be okay, and I figured it would either be nice company or a nice story so we said yes.  

The food was alright though not wonderful (except the shrimp).  We did however get to see drunk ladies dance to the not very good band which is always fun.  And really it was nice to eat with that couple.  They were far enough away that we really could stay to ourselves, but we also got to talk a little with them, and they were pretty cool.  And it was a little fun to eat dinner with some strangers.

Yep, we made them take a picture of us kissing.

Our new pals.

Sunday happened to be stake conference so we missed church.  Instead we went to Shipley's for some donuts.  Of course.  However when we arrived, they were out of chocolate filled.  I began to weep.  Okay, not really, but I told her how sad I was, which I was.  She told me to hang on for a minute, walked to the back, and said they had some empty ones that she would fill for me.  And they were oooh so tasty.

Delicious.  The donuts were pretty good too.

We decided to stay an extra day so that we could go to the aquarium and it was really cool.  The Tempe one competes with it, or is maybe better on the inside.  But on the outside, they have a dolphin show, an otter exhibit, a place to pet the rays, some birds, as well as a big gator (which led to Brea saying that if she did something crazy, it would be gator wrestling...yeah right).  

Fish Feeding

The sea turtles were really cool.  The other ones stared at you wherever you went.

The dolphins were so cool.

That smile made it all worth it.  Even if it was crazy windy.

Wrestle gators my foot.

The only thing with bigger eyes than my wife and sister.

Blue Bell at the aquarium, how great is this place?

It was really just fun to be there.  We went to the beach one of the days, and even though Brea was bored most of the time, it was fun to go somewhere for a bit.  Fun to go to the beach again.  And fun to go back somewhere that I hadn't been for probably twenty years, to look at the aircraft carrier that I slept on when I was in scouts (the same trip as when the boys in the ward made fun of me for asking who "fluffed".  thanks mom).   

Some pretty decent brisket and ribs.

I look like such a creeper in this pic.  Good thing she looks good.

Of course we had to take at least one picture kissing on the beach.  Or two.  Or three.

Hey I slept on that ship!!  Probably the same year Brea was born....

We were on the beach, alright?  No making fun of me for having my jeans rolled up.

Maybe a titch racist?

On the way home we stopped in San Antonio and had lunch at this vegetarian restaurant that was supposed to be one of the best restaurants in the city.  Brea had a salad with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing, that she said should have just been called "dirt salad", but her eggplant parmesan that was very delicious and my food wasn't too bad either.  We made it safely back home, even though El Paso.  All together it was a really nice trip, and really nice to take a little "vacation" together.

You're even Texas proud in the bathroom.
And you see the "Get Busy!" sign?  Ha ha.

Our vegetarian cuisine.  And yes, the place was full of dirty hippies and granolas. 

Funny to shop here again.

You know you're in Texas when they have smokers in front of the grocery stores.

The Road Less Traveled

So I made it to Texas again. Didn't even break down in El Paso. It's been nice. I've been busy and working in a city about forty miles west of Corpus Christi. 

On the way back last night however, I took the wrong road home. And by "wrong", I mean it would have gotten me there, it was just not the way I wanted to go. So I decided to get off the 44 and take Farm to Market 70 down to Farm to Market 665 (yes there are a lot of these roads). It is probably ten miles or so. 

At the time of this picture I am the blue dot. I am also confronted with a giant closed road sign. Super annoying. However, I am all alone out here and in no particular rush to get home this evening. So I see Co Rd 28 on the map (and in real life) and decide that I should go down this road. 

Now if you need the translation, Co Rd means "this is not really a road for cars, but for horses and oxen". Unfortunately Google did not mention this previously. So off I went down a single lane asphalt road that became dirt road as soon as I passed Co Rd 97. 

Ever determined the Camry fought along. Soon enough I arrived at Co Rd 95. And it got a bit worse. Soon I ran into this: 

Did I continue? Did I have any other option at this point in my journey/adventure? The answer is yes. At least until I got here. This is where, much to my dismay, I throw in the towel and retrace my steps. 

Possibly because I have the memory of this movie lingering in my mind: