Beach Trip - Girls only!

A few weeks ago Barb took me and Carus (and Yoda) to the beach for a girls only beach day.

It was gorgeous! We stopped in Tillamook at the Tillamook Cheese Factory and we perused their gift store while eating some really good ice cream.  Then we went down to Lincoln City to walk along the beach for a bit before grabbing a late lunch/early dinner and heading home.  It was a really lovely day.  Thanks for taking us, Barb!

Go here to see the rest of the photos.

Grilled Chicken Marinade

In our attempts to recreate The Gyro House chicken for gyros at home (to save time and money of going there) we stumbled on our new go-to marinade for grilled chicken. It not only works for gyros, but for salads and wraps, and with many side dishes.  It's a combination of probably 6 or 7 different recipes I found online, some advice from a friend, and some trial and error but I think I have it to the point where I can share it.



Getting ready to make the marinade with the new measuring cups my mother-in-law bought me.  I normally just eyeball a LOT of my homemade recipes so I started with the low end measurement of what I thought I usually used and added up.  Good news is, I guessed the measurement right on most of the ingredients.  Score!

Grilled Chicken Marinade

3-4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half width-wise* (or butterfly them)
1/4 c. Olive oil
2 tbsp Lemon juice
1 tbsp Minced garlic (5-6 cloves)
1 tbsp Tahini
1 tbsp Red wine vinegar
1 tbsp Brown sugar
1/2 tsp Curry**
1/4 tsp Mustard powder
1/2 tsp Coarse ground pepper

Mix the marinade ingredients together well and then add chicken breasts making sure they're coated.

Place all of the ingredients in a plastic freezer bag and remove as much air as possible when closing the bag. Alternatively, leave all the ingredients in the bowl and then cover with plastic wrap, making sure that the plastic wrap touches the chicken.  Just pull off a piece of plastic a bit larger than you'd need and press it down on the chicken starting in the middle and working to the sides.  Tuck it into the side a bit.  You can cover the bowl with a second piece of plastic wrap if you'd like.  Having it touch the chicken removes the air and allows them to marinade better. (I've tested this so trust me.)

*Cut the chicken by placing your hand on top of the breast and carefully cutting the breast in half like you are going to butterfly them, but you just cut all the way through.  Hey look, YouTube link on how to butterfly a chicken breast.

**Even if you don't like curry, put the curry in.  Trust me.  You can cut the amount down, but DO NOT cut it by more than half (1/4 tsp curry).  Robert is not a fan of curry.  In fact, he has often proclaimed loudly how much he HATES it - but he keeps telling me to put more curry into the marinade. So really, trust me. I've tested this out too.

MOAR VACATION!

I was brilliant when I decided to take more days off then just what I needed for LeakyCon.  Seriously, brilliant.  I did not expect LeakyCon to be so utterly exhausting.  It's been very nice to have this week to recover and get a few things done around the house.

I spent Monday running errands - library, dentist, grocery shopping - and doing laundry.

The kids didn't have cavities (WOO), but I had one (BOO).  I knew about it already so wasn't surprised.  I got REALLY lucky though, and didn't need a root canal.

The numbing of my gums left me with a crooked smile though.  I wasn't really planning on immortalizing this picture of me, for obvious reasons.  Unfortunately, it was the only photo I took that day.  It's my Elvis impression.



Those four days of LeakyCon were so warm hot and sunny that the garden took off.  Well, mostly the weeds took off.  I spent about 30-45 minutes weeding Tuesday and got a pretty good sunburn on my back. I only got through weeding half of the garden too.  I found a slug; only one, that was hopefully the only one and the little bastard that's been eating my green bean plants. I flung him out of the garden with my garden shovel.  He hit a tree.  I have no sympathy.

Then as I went to weed around the green beans I was startled by a garden visitor.  He's the biggest frog (pretty sure he's a frog) I've seen around here.  I coaxed him into the bucket to bring him inside to show the kids and take a picture.  Cause that's what you do when you a) have kids and/or b) have a blog and/or c) like to take pictures.  Carus then helped me let him go under some bushes near my garden.  I would love for him to live in the garden.  He'll eat the bad bugs.  I haven't seen him since, but still hope he didn't go far.



A photo of the flowers we have sitting on the counter (Carus's dance recital bouquet) that I was messing around with some Photoshop filters with.


4th of July

We usually host friends and family for a BBQ, but Robert wasn't feeling it this year so it was just us.  We went to see Despicable Me 2 at the theater and giggled the whole time and then BBQ'd and hung out around here.  While Robert and Adam stayed home keeping the dogs company playing video games, Carus and I went down to her school where the local firefighters were hosting their 2nd 4th of July firework show.  Live music starts around 7:30 p.m. and then the fireworks, set off by the firefighters, starts at dark.  It was a lovely show that seemed to go on forever.  We got home around 11:30.  Leia, who doesn't like the booms, did okay curled up under her blanket in the crate we borrowed next to Robert.  If he left the room, she was right on his heels.


Today we went out to the in-laws house.  Robert is building them a shed.  He and the kids went out a few weeks ago and with Adam's help Robert was able to build, set and level the base and put down the floor and then build and place one wall.


Today Robert, Adam, and Alan built and placed two more walls.



Robert helping Alan get the walls held up just so so that when he nails down the second wall, they are where they are supposed to be and level and all that good stuff.


Adam holding up another spot, and Robert nailing it down and to the existing wall.


Three walls up!


The next day out will be to build the fourth wall with the door in it, and frame up the roof (and possibly start putting on the roof).  It's a 6 foot x 8 foot shed (compared to Robert's 8 x 12 shed).

I harvested some garlic this evening.  I got 31 heads.  And remember that HUGE one I showed you?  It's there on the end on the right side.  It's bigger in person - about the size of three "normal-sized" heads of garlic.


I'm very glad I've had this vacation time.  I needed the break.  I feel caught up on my sleep, finished 2-1/2 books (3 by tomorrow morning), went to LeakyCon (seriously, I must find a way to go next year or maybe the year after), met some awesome people and did get some chores done around the house and garden so I feel productive too.  I think I'm ready to go back to work.

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Doggies of the in-laws variety. Lady on the left and Coco on the right.

They came by for a visit today and Leia wore the poor old girls out.