Back in the non-vacation world

I like getting back from vacation on a Friday evening. Even a 2 hour flight delay didn't seem so bad when I had all weekend to "recover". And a great weekend it was. Bike rides, brunch with friends, dog park, and general easing back into routine.

And then vacation happened....

It was a glorious week in Weston Florida. Sun and warm for 7 days straight. 2 cases of strep throat. a few sunburns. and about 10 bottles of wine [+ one bottle of Evan Williams for Dad].

Day one - arrival: Nothing to exciting.

Day two - boating with the cousins: We piled into "Red Rocket" minivan and drove up to the Kairalla's house in West Palm Beach. We spent the day out on their boat. Mark gave us the "tour" of the coast. Kris grilled us some lunch and made sure our drinks were always fresh. And the kids played in the water, on the sandbar, collected shells, found crabs and starfish. That day really summed up the whole trip: Family, Fun and Sun.

Days three through the end: Pool, Beach and Butterfly world
Lots of time was spent at the pool. Syd and Cass loved to play in the pool. They made several friends while doing so. The rest of us (even Dad sometimes) hung out around the pool and read books, or talked, or just relaxed. It was good.

One day we went to Hollywood Beach. The public access we found was in a mostly residential area, so at 10 AM we pretty much had the beach to ourselves. We walked along the beach, found shells and played in the waves.

We also took a quick side trip to Butterfly World. Syd and Cass enjoyed seeing all the different butterflies and birds. Cass even fed some lorikeets -- and one decided to perch on her head.

Good times, good memories. Ahhhh, vacation.

p.s. We went to see The Hunger Games movie too. Super!

And then a weekend of summer....

Beers on the patio Friday night at Muddy Waters (great, except for the smokers). Steeltoe Size 7 on tap.

Saturday the patio furniture came out. I ran in sleeveless top and shorts (and was hot). Dinner with Nicole (again on the patio) at Wakame.

Sunday brunch with the Morans on the patio. The food was devoured, so it must have been good ....or everyone was hungry.

Recipes:

Egg Bake
1 roll/package of crescent rolls
1 cup ham (or other breakfast meat)
1 cup cheese
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk

Roll out crescent rolls in a 9x12 greased pan. Sprinkle ham and cheese on top of rolled out crescent rolls. Whisk together eggs and milk. Pour egg mixture on top of ham and cheese. Bake at 425F for 15-18 minutes.

Karin's alterations:
1 bit of chopped bacon & a few shakes of Italian seasoning: Both were sprinkled on top of the crust.
1 egg for a total of 5 eggs.

[Note: I made my own "Karin size" egg bake -- 2 eggs, splash of milk, chicken sausage, chopped olives, spinach and a dash of baking powder for rise. It was delicious]

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Baked French Toast

1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 loaf french bread, cut into 1 inch slices

Combine brown sugar, butter and cinnamon; spread evenly in a greased 8x8 or 2 qt baking dish. [Note: I added a dash of nutmeg too]. Combine eggs and milk in a shallow dish; place bread in dish and soak for 5 minutes, turning once. Place soaked bread over sugar mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 350F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve brown sugar side up. ...no syrup needed.

One weekend of winter...

At the cabin this past weekend, the family enjoyed some snow fun. This winter has been seriously lacking in the snow department (especially in Minneapolis).

I arrived with Jack on Friday evening and we took a quick stroll on the hard packed snow before it got too dark. I had my headlamp just in case. Snow crunch. Pine scented air. Ahh.

Everyone else arrived later in the evening. Jackson met Leo and they got along just fine.

Saturday we were up early and headed to Koni K's for breakfast. The rest of the morning was spent out in the snow. With temps pushing 50, it was hard to go back inside (and also wet and sandy). Sledding, snowball fights, snowmen, etc. More of the same in the afternoon -- including fort building and massive snowball fight (me vs. everyone else - Sydney was on my side to start, then switched when we started getting pelted by Grandpas stockpile)

More fort building on Sunday morning before we all packed up and went home ....and anxiously awaited Spring's arrival.

2012 Polar Plunge

I finally have the photo I wanted. See:

Weather: 21 degrees F. Scattered flurries. Winds making it feel somewhere around 10 degrees F.

Met up with the jump team for a Mimosa before heading to Lake Calhoun. It was busy. ...and cold. Shae, Kami and I were the only gals jumping. We headed out to the tent to get ready with about 5 minutes to spare. We hurried out. Since there was no one in line to jump as we exited the tent, we walked right up to the platform. Clearly it was not our turn to jump, as they weren't ready for us and asked what our team name was so they could announce it. Shae said "let's just jump", so we did.

It was breathtakingly cold.

Singular thought from the time I arrived at jump platform to the time I was shoulder deep in water: Those exit steps are SO FAR AWAY.

Singular thought upon realizing I am shoulder deep in water: Breathe.

It was a mad dash from the steps to the hot tubs. Once the team was warm we all said "can't wait until next year".

It was a great event and the Special Olympics is a fabulous cause. The vibe at the Plunge absolutely reflected that. It was fun. And I might do it again next year. I felt like the whole thing went by so fast ...but I was up to my ears in freezing cold water.

Meatloaf battle...

Thanks Alton Brown for a good meatloaf recipe. It may have sparked a "meatloaf-off" (like chili cook off) competition. Hmmm.

scenes from winter in the city