Thursday 13: My Life in Shoes

This week I chose the 13 pairs of shoes in my closet that I wear the most. Some of these shoes I wear by choice, others are a requirement, but I wear them all for one thing or another.

1. I wear these shoes almost every week day. Not the cutest by any means, but I have to wear steel toed shoes to work and this was about the best of all the shoes I had to choose from. Yeah, they're a bit hashed.

2. These Asics were my first real running shoes. I still think they look hot and they're really comfortable. Sadly, they're at the end of their life, but I still like to walk or run in them on occasion.

3. These are currently my very favorite shoes to wear. They're easy to slip on and off and look good with everything. They are a metallic copper color, so they're not so boring as brown or black. Plus they were super cheap.

4. These are my "Danners." I wear these on any kind of outdoorsy excursion. They're also the shoes I wear as my spare when I go out fly fishing (gotta have some dry shoes to change into!)

5. These shoes are fairly new to my closet. I got them on the spur of the moment so I wouldn't have to wear my grubby work shoes on a date with Seth. Very similar to my copper flats which will need replacing soon anyway!

6. Of all these shoes, I probably wear these the least. Well, at least this time of year. That may change come summer time. Most of my nicer shoes (aka heels) aren't the best for wearing around all day as they start to give me blisters, so they don't come out of the closet too much.

7. I got these as replacements for my other running shoes. They're not the cutest with their Pepto pink color, but I wanted to try a "minimalist shoe" after reading "Born to Run" and I found these for cheap. So far they're working out great and the pink is actually growing on me.

8. These are my Simms fly fishing boots. I wear them just about every weekend. They've got the new Vibram rubber soles instead of felt and I love them!

9. These are my cowboy boots. I don't get to wear these much either, but they're really comfortable and I wear them any time I get a chance. No that's not real ostrich.

10. I wear these shoes anytime I need to do a lot of walking and/or socks are needed. They're my only pair of somewhat stylish shoes that I can wear socks with.

11. When I need to wear a nice pair of shoes, these are the ones I normally choose. They are fairly comfortable, look nice, and go with everything.

12. These are a second pair of steel-toed work shoes. I think they're cuter than my ugly clunky brown ones, but sadly they're less comfortable and are a bit too narrow for my feet and give me blisters.

13. Last, but not least... my stripey flats. I love these shoes. Like my copper flats, these go with almost everything and they're comfortable to walk around in. I got these as a spur of the moment necessity at Walmart a couple years back in Craig, CO. Sadly, they're starting to wear out and I have yet to find a replacement.

Because There's Nothing Better to do in Ogden

Before all you Ogdenites get all huffy, that title was sarcastic. There are tons of great things to do in Ogden including: beer bottle fights, drive-by shootings, and my favorite... drug deals down on the parkway. HA! Just kidding. I hear they have blue fish. Not just any town can say that.

Anyway, looks like we're going to do another 5k here shortly. I got talked into it by my sister, Annie. You'd think I'd know better by now. This one is on May 1st and is going to be up by Weber State. I'm assuming the proceeds go to help Shadow Valley Elementary as that's where this whole thing is going down. I could be wrong though. Head on over to RunWalkJog to sign up. (Be warned... the webpage listed on the form kind of sucks.)

Here is a map of the course:

Today's Special: The Motherload

Spring Chicken & Barley Soup: New Recipe. This turned out really well. Very fresh tasting and different than your normal chicken soup. The fresh basil, garlic and orange zest garnish was what made this soup stand out, so if you can't get those things or are tempted to substitute, DON'T. You will be sorry and I can guarantee this will turn out bland and not nearly as good. I would make this again and I think I would add more barley as there wasn't quite enough of it for my tastes.

Poached Salmon with Creamy Piccata Sauce- New Recipe. I especially liked the sauce in this recipe... creamy but not too heavy and the capers gave it a nice tangy flavor. I substituted onions for the shallots because I'm not paying $2.50 for 3 tiny shallots when I can buy a 3 lb. bag of onions for the same amount. Oh, this was my first time poaching salmon and though it turned out good, I think next time I will just sear it in olive oil in a cast iron pan like usual. I like the crust and extra flavor searing gives the fish. And it looks prettier and more appetizing too. Plus, it saves the cost of the extra wine this recipe used for poaching. Win-win.

Peanut Noodles with Shredded Chicken & Vegetables- New Recipe. This turned out great. For me it had the perfect blend of peanut flavor and spiciness. For the vegetables I used 2 12 oz. bags instead of the one it called for, mainly because I wanted broccoli, carrots and snow peas, but I couldn't find them all together in one bag. So, I bought 1 bag of broccoli, carrots and cauliflower and 1 with just snow peas. I'm glad I did. I think the ratio of all the ingredients was better this way. Also, I thought the snow peas were really good in this so I'm glad there were more of them than the other veggies.

Creamy Cheddar Potato Soup- Re-evaluation. I made this soup a long time ago and had it in my Recipezaar cookbook. I don't remember it being anything spectacular, so I decided to make it again to see if it was worthy of keeping. It was a very basic recipe but very good and easy to tweak to our liking. I used extra sharp cheddar for more flavor and garnished with fresh dill and bacon bits. I think next time I'll add some peas or broccoli for even more depth.

Grilled Mustard-Glazed Pork Loin- New Recipe. Ok, so I actually made this recipe last week and I'm pretty sure I got this recipe off of the America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Country website and for some reason it doesn't like me anymore and won't let me on without paying. SO, I don't have the recipe, but if you want it, that's where I got it from. I thought this turned out really well. It was really easy and had great flavor. Also, if you're looking for a good recipe for green beans, try this one: Italian Green Beans.

Jo Mama's World Famous Spaghetti- One of my staples. I love this spaghetti sauce. It's got great flavor, it's easy and it makes a ton! I try to keep some in the freezer at all times for a quick dinner. It also works great in lasagna and manicotti.

Kitchen Staple of the Week:

Capers

Though they look a lot like small peas, capers are actually small pickled flower buds. I didn't start using capers until recently, but they've quickly become a favorite ingredient. They give recipes a great tangy boost of flavor. I've used them frequently in pasta and fish recipes as well as in dips like tartar sauce. They're very versatile and great staple ingredient to keep in the fridge. You can find them by the pickles and olives in the grocery store.

Thursday 13: Stuff I Have On My Desk Right Now

I was having a hard time coming up with a Thursday 13 this week until I looked at my messy desk at work. Here I've listed just a few of the random objects on my desk right now...

1. A big blue stainless steel water bottle.

2. Clear untinted safety glasses

3. 2 dead AA batteries

4. 2, 2 liter IV bags

5. A rubber diaphragm (not THAT kind of diaphragm)

6. A bag of o-rings

7. A radiation badge

8. Various copies of purchase orders

9. A big steel can

10. A dry erase board eraser

11. 3 clipboards

12. An engineering notebook

13. Crumbs from the granola bar I was eating while writing this post

What kind of crazy stuff do you have on your desk?

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Like an Olive Garden Commercial, but Cool

Seth and I decided Easter weekend was the perfect time to make a trip up to Boise to see some friends. My wonderful "animated" friend, Heidi and her witty husband, Paul were generous enough to less us crash at their place. Because of our trip up there last year, Heidi and Paul have also become friends with Seth's childhood friend, Cory, whom we also had the pleasure of hanging out with during this eventful weekend. Got all that?

Friday evening we all met together at Heidi and Paul's house where we were graced with the culinary genius that is Chef Paul. He made some amazing lasagna and avocado salad after which his apprentice (aka aspiring pastry chef), Heidi served up some deliciously rich brownies with whipped cream. Yes, it was as tasty as it looks.

Saturday morning Seth and I got up early (despite staying up way past our 9:00 pm bedtime) and headed out to do some fly-fishing on the Boise River. If you haven't already heard about the awesomeness that ensued, click here. As if we didn't already have enough reason to love Boise!

When we got back from fishing, Chef Paul cooked up another masterpiece for breakfast. I'm not exactly sure what you'd call this... a bit of a quiche of sorts. But who cares? It was so good!

So after breakfast Cory came over and Seth and I went with him to the Home Depot because he needed to get a saw to hack apart some tungsten. Don't ask. And in case you're wondering, the employees at Home Depot not only know about saws, but good medical t.v. shows as well. Did you see the one where the guy got his hand chopped off by the street sign when he tried to save that little girl? It was bloody but totally awesome.

After our successful trip to Home Depot we all jumped in the car and headed over to Caldwell for a tour of the wine country. It was incredibly beautiful there with rolling hills full of fruit orchards and grape vines. You'd think I would have taken some pictures, but somehow.... no.

We were all pretty hungry by the time we got back to Boise so we stopped into Heidi and Paul's favorite Thai restaurant, Siam. We got to try several dishes including Pad Woonsen with Tofu, Spicy Noodles with Beef, Combination Fried Rice, Cha Gior, Sweet & Sour Chicken and Heidi got a Som Tum (Papaya Salad) which we were all too wussy to try. I recommend the Cha Gior. Mmmm. (Uh... still no pictures). Oh, this is the place with the magical retro-active fortune cookies.

So we all head on back to Heidi and Paul's house after dinner and just hang out for a little while. Seth and I had never seen Cory's house so we went over there for a bit to check it out. We weren't surprised to find the place filled with dead hobos. Ok ok, it was nice and clean and was filled with the wonderful smells of his Indian roommate cooking dinner. Hard life, Cory. Hard life. A little disappointed there weren't any hobos though. Just being honest.

Somehow Seth and I made it back to Heidi and Paul's house in the dark without getting lost. I was even driving because you all know how cold this weekend was and the driver's seat in Blackie is the only one with a butt warmer. To our delight Heidi had made a fabulous cherry topped cheesecake which was waiting for us on the kitchen table when we got back. I told you she was an aspiring pastry chef. Again we stayed up way past our bedtime chatting and it was wonderful.

In the morning we were surprised and thrilled that the Easter bunny had found us all the way in Boise. Ok, it was Heidi and Paul but the baskets they gave us were so adorable and fun! We found them filled with various candy, tea selections and a jar of Mango jam made in Swaziland! I totally forgot about taking a picture of them until we'd already eaten half of the goods, but you get the gist.

 

After breakfast we talked for a bit more and then it was time to head home. We're always sad to leave Boise and our amazing friends and hope to get to see them all again soon. Thanks again guys, you're the greatest!

Retro-Active Fortune Cookies & the Women Who Love Them

We went to Boise this weekend to visit some wonderful friends of ours. There is more to come on that subject later as it deserves more thought and effort than two minutes of downloading pictures and a catch phrase. But I know you're all dying to see another post, so I thought this could serve as an appetizer for more to come.

Behold.... the Biggest Fish I've Ever Caught.

This is the shot equivalent to Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah's couch. I looked a bit insane. I realized my tonsils were showing so I had Seth take a more refined, dignified shot.

THAT is a 20" rainbow my friends. Caught on a Green Hornet in Boise's own Boise River.

This was all pre-determined by a fortune cookie. A RETRO-ACTIVE fortune cookie I got at a fabulous Thai restaurant we went to that evening AFTER I caught the fish. This is the real life fortune in the flesh:

I KNOW, right? Those retro-active fortune cookies are crazy accurate.

Thursday 13: Dreams

This weeks' Thursday 13 was a couple weeks in the making. I wrote down 13 dreams I've had lately.

1. I had permanent retainers on my top and bottom teeth. The retainers fell off and then my teeth started falling apart. I had fillings and crowns on all my teeth and they all started falling off and then suddenly I had braces and all this metal orthodontic stuff in my mouth that was falling off and I was bleeding and my mouth was just full of all this stuff and I was freaking out. So I went to the dentist but I was waiting and waiting all day but there were too many people so I couldn't get in and had to go home. But then I was kind of happy because I knew I'd get to call in sick the next day for work. I woke up before my teeth ever got fixed. I was relieved that I wouldn't have to pay a gigantic dentist bill. And that my teeth were still intact.

2. I'm in Las Vegas for some work related thing. I'm outside in the courtyard of one of the hotels and the sky is really dark and cloudy and it looks like there's going to be a big storm. All of a sudden there's this big gust of wind that blows all the clouds away in just a few seconds. Now it's sunny with blue skies. But then the storm comes back and it's so dense with storm clouds that they are near the ground and are more like shaving cream foam than mist. We all realize this is not a good sign and head for cover.

As I'm running for cover I realize I need to return my rental car because it's due back in just a couple hours. But on my way I'm captured by this group of drug dealers or something and they make me take them back to my room. My dad had given me this big assault rifle to take on my trip along with a big tough looking Harley style motorcycle. The drug dealers are here to take the gun and the motorcycle. I give them the gun hoping they won't shoot me and then they go outside to make a getaway on the bike. A minute later they come in pointing the gun at me telling me they can't start the bike and that I must know how to do it. I've never actually driven the motorcycle but remember it has a choke on it and figure maybe that's all it needs. So I straddle the bike, push the choke, hold down the clutch and pump the starter with my leg. The motorcycle fires right up and I suddenly get a crazy idea. The motorcycle is at the top of a circular stairwell and I speed off circling the stairs and somehow make it out the door without crashing or getting shot. I make it back to the rental car place just before it closes.

After that all I remember is walking around all the Vegas shops, first trying to decide what candy to buy... though I end up being partial to Red Vines and a bag of "fun size" Hershey candy bars. Then I decide to wander around the clothing stores and end up losing one of my hot pink alligator skin print high heels, so I'm walking around in just one shoe. I end up talking to a salesman that says that all my life's questions will be answered by running a marathon. I think he's full of crap and just trying to sell me some ugly workout clothes. I eventually find my other shoe and get back to my hotel with the candy, just in time to hang out with my friends.

3. I'm on vacation with Seth's family and we're staying in a big cabin in the woods. It turns out it's also kind of a hunting trip. Seth and I are in the basement of the cabin and looking up the long set of stairs we see a huge bull elk has wandered in the front door of the cabin and is standing right at the top of the stairs. He doesn't see us so I quickly get out the hunting rifle. I'm not nervous at all as I put the scope crosshairs right on his head and fire away. He drops like a rock and we run up the stairs to see our spoils. Seth's sister Collette is there and thinks it's cool I've shot my first elk. She asks me what we're going to do with it. I tell her we're not sure, but probably just cut it up into steaks and such and stock up the freezer. At this point I realize I never finished my Hunter Education class and I'm worried I'm going to get in trouble for shooting the elk, so I make everybody say it was Seth who shot it, just in case.

4. I'm sitting outside of a bar by a Pathfinder-ish car that's mine when a tough looking guy comes over with a pistol and tells me he's going to rob the place and I better keep my mouth shut. I guess I'm some sort of hostage, but we walk into the bar like nothing is going on and I quickly walk around telling the people who work there that the guy over there in the red and white t-shirt is going to rob them. Nobody calls the police or anything and they don't seem too alarmed. I end up going outside with the guy and a bunch of other people and the guy gets away in the Pathfinder without any money.

5. I'm feeling kind of sick so I go into my doctor's office to get checked out. I mainly just have a small cold so they give me a shot in my thigh right there in the lobby. I ask them if they can renew a prescription I have that my dermatologist gave me and they say they can't and I have to go back to a specialist. I'm a little bummed, but leave. I walk down the stairs outside the building to the parking lot and get in the car. I notice the dashboard has big piles of cinnamon collecting like dust around the vents. I decide I need to be more careful with my drinks I bring in the car because they're causing the mess.

6. I'm at my parents' house with my sisters, Corinne and Annie. There are dust devil type twisters inside the house (mostly in the main living area) and it's stormy, with dirt and papers and stuff blowing around. There are also "alien" type plants... plants that are very colorful and seem to have a mind of their own. We're kind of scared of them and stay away. Corinne ends up sitting there at one point scraping some sort of blue paste/goo off of something (screws maybe?) with a credit card and wipes it off into a big pile on her jeans... the goo is supposed to be for a sick neighbor to help her feel better. I think we end up taking cover in the basement where it's not so windy and stormy.

7. I notice Seth has a tattoo of Tweety Bird on his abdomen. I wonder why I've never noticed it before and am a little appalled that's what he chose. I thought he would've gone with something more manly and original. (I'm sure this dream was spurred by my Tattoo post the day before).

8. Seth and I are flying up the side of a snow covered mountain in a small helicopter (Seth is the pilot). We are low to the ground, site-seeing I think. As we come over the summit (which isn't very high) there is a small suburban type neighborhood. All of a sudden there are chunks of snow coming at us, kind of like if a large snowman exploded. It's too late for us to get out of the way so we fly directly into the snow chunks. The snow catches the helicopter propeller and sends us spinning out of control, almost in slow motion. We crash into the side of house and I'm panicked hoping Seth is ok. I'm completely fine and start pulling the siding off the house trying to dig him out. I quickly find him and he's ok. We get up and survey the damage. We're standing there talking for a while and finally some people from a nearby home come out and start chatting with us as if we were just out for a stroll and hadn't just crashed in a helicopter. The paramedics and/or police are never called and the incident is brushed aside as if it were some minor kink in our plans for the day. Sometime later on Corinne shows up and we're making smoothies. For some reason we end up washing long stemmed roses of varying colors in the dishwasher.

9. I'm at Ruby River with a bunch of my co-workers. My hair is wet as if I just got out of the shower so I try to find the restroom so I can dry it and try to make myself a little more presentable. I can't find the bathroom and ask a guy that works there where it is. He has no idea because he's never actually used it. I wander around for a while and finally find it. There are 2 bathrooms across the hall from each other, with only light blue curtains for doors, no signs as to which one is the women's. I choose the one on the right and go in. The bathroom stalls also only have curtains as doors and the toilets are really low to the ground. The toilet seats are made out of wood and are old and rustic looking...with light blue, almost translucent, faded chipping paint. They look old-fashioned. It's not until I'm squatted down on the low toilet that I realize I'm in the men's bathroom as there are several other guys in there. I don't worry about it too much and figure it's not my fault because there was no sign on the door. I finish up and do my hair and go back to the table with my co-workers. We end up talking about the "Eye of the Tiger" song from the Rocky movies and how awesome it is. Later on we're all back at my parents' house and we're having a pre-wedding dinner for one of my co-workers. He's going to marry Kate Gosselin and he's getting upset because nobody is giving him much support on his decision.

10. Seth and I are at a public swimming pool. We go inside the clubhouse and they're having some sort of an "open mic" thing for entertainment. There is a somewhat overweight middle-aged lady in a swimsuit and knitted cover-up thing. She goes into the men's bathroom and says something about that's the one she's supposed to go into (implying that she's a cross-dresser). He/she comes out of the bathroom and she's still soaking wet from the pool. She picks up two small kid-sized plastic chairs with metal legs and walks over to the piano to do her act. She starts playing the piano using the legs of the chairs instead of her hands, but it is really good. She's playing a really hard classical piece and we're all amazed.

11. Seth and I are wandering around a fly-fishing shop looking at all the merchandise. The shop also has room we rent for the night to sleep in. I have 2 clarinets with me and they both have reeds made out of cork instead of bamboo or whatever they're normally made out of. The reeds are all chipped and broken on the end but instead of making the clarinets sound horrible and squeaky, they sound surprisingly good. I play along a little bit to a CD of pastorial music. In the morning we get up and meet my family at a farmers' market type grocery store. I wander around for a while and end up finding these gigantic blue apples about the size of a volleyball. I show them to Corinne and think about buying one, but then get distracted because I can't find Seth anywhere. I remember that he said something about having a dentist appointment. At this point I'm wearing a dress and small heels and I run across a large parking lot with slushy snow on the ground over to the strip mall where Seth's dentist is. They say he just left so I go back over to the fly shop to see if he's there. He's not there but somehow he's made it back over to the grocery store so we go meet up with my family again. I never did get to try that blue apple.

12. I go back to Lumenis (my old job) to visit. Everybody is wearing the standard required blue scrubs, but I am wearing red ones that are slightly faded. There are 2 young toddlers working there, a boy and a girl who are apparently "dating." They've just had an argument so I take the girl aside in a sort of closet to give her some privacy from the listening ears of her fellow co-workers. I give the girl a pep-talk and make sure she's ok before leading her out by the hand to get back to work.

13. Seth and I are in a somewhat affluent neighborhood. I can't remember what we were doing there, but we end up sneaking inside this house to hide from someone. We hear someone come in the room so we try to hide in a closet, but the person comes right up to the door and starts cleaning or something. We realize there's no way we can get out without being seen, so we just come out and leave. The Hispanic guy that was standing by the closet doesn't seem to care. We run across a couple yards and find a house that is all opened up, or doesn't have any walls. There is a bunch of furnishings and nick-nacks out, like it's some sort of garage sale or shop. We think about stealing something, but there's nothing there we really want or would risk getting in trouble over, so we leave.

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