Surprise!

Friday evening after I got off work Quinn and I headed to Breckenridge, CO to surprise an old friend of ours. The friend we surprised was Matt Seidel. He grew up in Crawford, NE, which is only 30 miles or so from Harrison (the town I grew up in). We've been friends for 10+ years and he is just an all-around awesome guy (super nice, hilarious, etc). He moved to Sacramento, CA a few years ago or so and ended up joining a band. Arden Park Roots. They released their first album last year and this year they went on their first tour. They also have another band, The Livin's Easy, which is a Sublime Tribute Band. They do awesome with their own music and with Sublime's. Anyway, I've been wanting to see them play for quite some time and when I found out they were going to be in Colorado I was stoked! Many of their shows were on weeknights and the shows that were fairly close to where I live were taking place while I was in The Bahamas. Luckily their final Colorado show was in Breckenridge on a Friday night.

After 5 1/2 hours of driving (and giving my sister a major panic attack with my driving skills) we made it to the Three20South bar where the band was playing for the night. We got there at just the right time. The band was just getting ready to play so we got to say hi to Matt before they started. Unfortunately, our surprise was ruined. Matt had heard we were coming just a couple hours before we got there. By some odd coincidence Matt's mom and our dad ran into each other and dad told her about Quinn and I driving down to see Matt. Apparently neither knew it was a surprise so she called Matt and let him know. :) Oh, well. He was still happy to see us.

The band(s) did great and it was so awesome to see Matt in action (he plays the guitar)! The only downfalls of the trip were the fact that it was a very fast trip (we had to be in Harrison by 7:00 Saturday night for Pacen's 1st Communion) and we ended up staying in a creepy Motel. The Motel looked nice online when I made the reservations, but it turned out to be pretty trashy. I slept with a can of pepper spray next to me and Quinn slept with my softball bat, aka Baby Blue, next to her. We also had my self-defense class moves to protect us. :) Nothing happened, but I guess it's better to be safe than sorry, right.

So, everyone, be sure to check out Matt's bands. You can find Arden Park Roots here and The Livin's Easy here.

Quinn, Matt, and I

Matty in action!

Quinn and I with a creepy statue thing. :)

Our creepy motel room. (It was way worse than it looks)

"Surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us." ~ Boris Pasternak

"The secret to humor is surprise." ~ Aristotle

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

I think it's safe to say The Bahamas helped me get back to my old self (not completely, but pretty close). For a while I didn't feel like doing anything in the kitchen...not even eating, let alone baking or cooking, which is not like me at all. Last night I broke my "baking/cooking dry spell" (that lasted a month) by baking a Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie, from scratch.

Pacen has been asking me to make something with the Rhubarb that is growing in our backyard, and since I've never baked with fresh Rhubarb, or any Rhubarb for that matter, I kept putting him off. Well, I finally decided it was time to try and make something with the small bounty in our backyard. I debated on whether to make Rhubarb Crisp (one of my favorites) or Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie (another favorite, but not quite up there with the Crisp). Since I'd just bought some Strawberries from the store the day before, I decided to go with the pie. It turned out okay. Yeah, just okay. Pacen loved it and gave me an A+. I'm glad he liked it, but I just felt something was missing. Maybe it wasn't sweet enough. I just don't know. Oh, well.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

3 eggs, beaten
2 1/2 cups rhubarb, red, 1 inch slices
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups strawberries, fresh, sliced ( I used about 2 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup enriched flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp butter or margarine
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 Tbsp corn starch (to keep the filling from being too runny)

Let eggs sit out for around 15 minutes so they can get close to room temperature. Combine the eggs, sugar, flour, salt, and nutmeg; mix well. Combine the strawberries and rhubarb and let them sit for a while too. (You can make your pie crust at this time so you're not just sitting there waiting. The recipe I use for pie crust is below.) Line 9" glass pie plate with pastry, fill with fruits. Pour egg mixture over the fruit. Dot with butter. Top with lattice crust, crimping the edge high. Cover the edges of the crust with tin foil. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.

Pre-baked

After it was baked. (Yes, I am aware that I need to work on my crust edges.)

Mmmm, looks yummy

Most Incredible No Fail Pie Crust
(This crust is so easy to make and takes no time at all!)

3 cups flour
1 cup shortening
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg, beaten
5 Tbsp cold water
1 tsp vinegar

Cut together flour, shortening and salt until it resembles small peas. (If you don't have a pastry blender/cutter, like me, use a whisk. Yup, a whisk. Works for me!) Combine the egg, water, and vinegar and gradually add to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened and soft dough forms. Divide into 2 disks. Wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. Roll out and use with your favorite pie recipe. (I roll on a slightly floured surface.)






So there you have it...I am no longer a Rhubarb baking virgin. :) It was actually easier to work with than I thought it would be, so from now on instead of mowing over my Rhubarb plants, I'll actually take the time to pick it and use it.

Rhubarb Pie-Ku
"The knotted leaf Unfurled to red stalk
Cleaves the earth with such happiness" ~ Anne Dimock

Paradise

Well, I've been back from The Bahamas since Saturday and I miss it so much! I fell in love.

I fell in love with the crystal clear water.

I fell in love with the sea life.

I fell in love with sailing (I already loved sailboats, but now I know for sure that sailing is definitely for me).

I fell in love with almost everything about The Bahamas. (The traffic is something to be desired and Nassau is a little dirty, but everything else I saw was amazing.)

I've been obsessed with the Ocean since I can remember and I've always felt that I was meant to be near the Ocean. Now I know for a fact that I want to be near the Ocean. I want to move somewhere warm that offers great diving. Some place that has the crystal clear water, the abundant sea life, and that's oozing with personality.

As for the trip...it was AMAZING! I lived on a sailboat (The Morning Star) for a week and it was great! We headed South from Nassau along The Exumas (some out islands). The furthest South we went was Staniel Cay. Staniel Cay is home to Club Thunderball. For those of you who are James Bond fanatics, you know that Thunderball was filmed in various areas of Staniel Cay. We spent port night at Club Thunderball watching one of the NBA Finals games. While at Staniel Cay we got to snorkel in a cave under an island...it was awesome! We mostly stayed on the West side of the islands, but a few times we went East of the islands to do some wall dives. The first couple times we did this we encountered very rough seas. Only one person got sea sick...and it wasn't me! I got "rocked" to sleep and sunburned my back bad! As long as we were on the West side of the islands everything was smooth.

Here's a map of The Exumas

I made 12 dives the whole trip and saw numerous kinds of sea creatures, including an Eel, Sea Turtle, Sharks, many Grouper, Angel Fish, Flamingo Tongue, Conch, Rays, and the list goes on! I made my first night dive, first wreck dive, first drift dive, and first dive over 60'. All the dives were awesome, but my favorite was when we saw the Sea Turtle. She was beautiful! Some other things we got to do were feed the Iguanas on Allan's Cay and feed the swimming pigs near Staniel Cay. I saw the most beautiful sunsets and the stars were absolutely breathtaking (on the nights it was clear) as was the full moon reflecting off the Ocean.

Pretty much everyone on the trip was cool. There were a couple people who were annoying, but I guess that to be expected. The crew was absolutely amazing! Grayson was our captain, John was the chef, Adam was the master diver, and Jamie and Mike were engineers/mates. They all made the trip very enjoyable and made sure we all had a good time.

Thursday night when we got back to Nassau the crew took some of us to a bar called Crazy Johnny's. Crazy Johnny's plays mostly 70s and 80s rock and we danced our butts off! It was a BLAST! I was sad to leave and if I didn't have the responsibility of a child I think I would've stayed! It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, thus far. I can't wait to go back!

The Morning Star!

Crystal Clear blue waters in the Exumas.

The water was like glass this day!

Beautiful Bahamian Sunset

Captain Grayson doing a trick with an orange. He made it float & spin in mid-air using a SCUBA tank.

Grayson with a Grouper he speared while free diving.

Isn't she majestic

Pretty fish

Shark dive!

This is in the cave at Staniel Cay. The sun was shining through a hole in the ceiling onto the coral. So pretty!

"The reason I love the sea I cannot explain — it’s physical. When you dive you begin to feel like an angel. It’s a liberation of your weight." ~ Jacques-Yves Cousteau

"It is not the ship so much as the skillful sailing that assures the prosperous voyage." ~ George William Curtis

2 days!

Two days left until I'm here.
Nassau, Bahamas. (Thank you sumolounge from flickr for the use of the picture.) I can't wait. I will be living on one of these for a week!
The company that owns those boats is Blackbeard Cruises. I found out about this trip through Western Divers. Western Divers is where I became SCUBA certified. If you haven't ever gone SCUBA diving before I suggest you try it sometime! It is so fun and relaxing. I'm hoping this trip helps to get Kurtis off my mind for a while (at least a week anyway).

I'm ready for sunshine (it's been dreary here). I'm ready to feel the ocean breeze on my face. I'm ready to feel the sand on my feet. I'm ready to see the full moon reflecting off the ocean (it's suppose to be full while I'm there). I'm ready to relax. I'm ready to dive. I'm ready to sail. I'm ready for fresh sea food. I'm ready for Rum and fun! I'll be sure to post pictures after I return.