Waiter, There is a Crab on my Sandwich

Mark and I went to coastal NC for a few days. We stayed at the Blockade Runner named after the Confederate ships (runners) that would sneak supplies past the Union blockades and to the Confederate armies. Just a fun fact. North Carolina is big on their history, especially their role in the Civil War.

We decided to eat as much sea food as possible, which we rarely do. At one resteraunt we ordered Soft Shell Crab Sandwiches, picturing a yummy sandwhich with crab meat, alfalfa, lettuce and pickles...all on a bun. When the waiter brought out our plates we were suprised to see a whole deep-fried crab, shell and all, sitting on the bun. Mark was a trooper and just tucked its little legs under the bun and ate it. I ate mine too, since we were there to try new things, but it was hard to get past the presentation... and the shell. It only tasted okay. Skip that one if you ever see it on the menu.






We also toured the Battleship North Carolina which was used in WWII. It took us two hours to view the whole thing. There were a lot of ladders to climb, a lot of doors to stoop through, and plenty of things to bonk your head on or stub your toe. It was really interesting to see how tightly everyone shared the space from the beds stacked 4 high and several people sharing one locker. They had a lost and found closet and if you left an item out, it was picked up and locked in this closet. You would have to do extra work to get your item back. Someone must have learned that trick from their mother and thought it would be a good idea to incorporate it into the Navy's rules.







The battleship is on the left across the waterway.

View of Wrightsville from the battleship.

That Was Yummy

My favorite magazine is Taste of Home. I probably love to read recipes more than I love to cook, but we tried a good one last night. We doubled the recipe and it makes great leftovers. Here it is:

Lemon Chicken Primavera
4 Servings Prep/Total Time: 30 min.

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked spiral pasta
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch strips
1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups 2% milk
2 cups frozen peas, thawed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Suggestion: We added 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and extra lemon peel.

Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the chicken, red pepper and garlic in oil until chicken juices run clear. Combine flour and milk until smooth; gradually stir into chicken mixture. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
Drain pasta. Add the pasta, peas, salt, lemon peel, dill and pepper to pan. Cook and stir until heated through. Sprinkle with cheese and parsley. Yield: 4 servings.


Nutrition Facts: 1-1/4 cups equals 405 calories, 13 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 74 mg cholesterol, 851 mg sodium, 35 g carbohydrate, 5 g fiber, 35 g protein.

Sue and Dallas Visit!

Sue and Dallas drove from Pinehurst and spent the weekend with us. We love it when they visit. You'd think a big dog like Dallas would go crazy in a little townhouse, but he's really good. Especially after we took the two dogs to the park.

We checked out the Durham area. We drove past/around Duke University, ate at a fun local restaurant for lunch and when we discovered a Rocky Mountain Chocolate store at the mall, I bought a caramel apple dipped in white chocolate and then covered in coconut. Yum!

Snowy Weekend

We received about five inches of snow this weekend. A lot of businesses around our house were closed or had shortened hours because of the weather, and as of today, schools and government offices are still closed... We took advantage of the crappy weather this weekend and stayed in.

We played The Beatles Rock Band until we finished the game. I love the Beatles and love the story mode, where it has cool videos and you can collect photos. Fun game. The person who suggests quitting or taking a break first is automatically dubbed Yoko Ono.

If you want to see a hilarious clip from Family Guy about Ringo's song writing, copy and paste this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68edB_Q1e4g

Kindleworm

I've been spending my spare time reading on my cool new Kindle that my parents gave me for Christmas. (Thanks Mom and Dad!)Here's what I've been reading:

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It is a futuristic story about a tyrannical government that forces citizens to offer up their youth for gladiator games, just to remind them who is in power. I loved the book but the ending was a little bit of a downer so I had to immediately read the sequel:
2. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. Loved this book too, but I have the same complaint as the first. I want a happy Stephanie Myer-type ending, dang it!
3. Dark Lover by J.R.Ward. If I don't know what else to buy, I'll go with a book about vampires. Even though these books are what Makayla would call"junk food for the brain," they are good reads. This one was definitely brain junk food.
4. Crossroads Cafe by Deborah Smith. Ahhh. A love story. It’s about a beautiful actress who is in a firey car crash and goes back to her roots. It’s about a man who lost his family in 9-11 learns to love again and forgive himself. It’s about biscuits. (With biscuit recipes at the very end) Bonus: It takes place in North Carolina.
5. Already Dead by Charlie Huston. If I can't decide what to read next, I usually pick something out of the vampire genre. It drives my mother crazy. This book is a mystery about a vampire who must find a rich woman's daughter who ran away without getting in too much trouble with the other vampire gangs. He brings the raw elements of inner city life (drugs, runaways, squatters, homelessness, bar restrooms) into the fantasy world of vampires and zombies. It was okay.
6. Vanish by Tom Pawlik. Except for a few people, the entire population dissappears. One by one, the survivors start to disappear. It shares the same spirit of a Stephen King book. That is, until the Pawlik tacked on a Charles Dicken's Christmas Carol ending. I found out he wrote another book called The Way Back after I read the book. If I knew he was that kind of author, I probably would have passed on the whole thing. He had me until redemption.
7. The Shining by Stephen King. If I can’t decide what to read next and am sick of vampires, I go with a book by Stephen King. This drives Mom crazy too, but she is the one who suggested that I read my first King book, The Stand. I’m still reading this one. Even though I’ve seen the movie and know what is going to happen, the book is still very scary.

New Moon

Mark and I joined the rest of the world and watched New Moon last weekend. You are probably wondering how I got Mark to go see that movie with me. It's simple. He lost a bet. A few days before New Moon was released, we were watching the Superhero Movie. Mark was convinced that the leading lady was the same actor that plays Rori on Gilmore Girls. Mark was totally wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Thanks to Kayla, I know the Gilmore Girls almost by heart. So we put a bet on it, and if I won, he had to take me to a movie of my choosing. If he won, I had to go to the gym with no complaints. (I know! But that is seriously what he wanted!) We looked it up on imdb.com and I proved victorious.

What I will say about New Moon, is that the second it is just as good as Twilight. Sorry fans, I laughed hysterically during the first one and Mom threatened to make me leave the theater. The movies are just extremely cheesy. Most of Myer's romancy stuff just doesn't translate well onto the screen...especially the frolicking. And the glittering in the sun. And the dialogue. Still, it something you have to see if you like books.

When You Feel Down....

It's rainy today. I went to the DMV to get my driver's license first thing this morning. It took me 20 minutes to get there and an hour to get home. It was the Garmin's fault. It kept telling me to do something, I'd do it, and then it would say "recalculating" like I made the mistake.) Then, while I was driving on some random two-lane country road, I ran over a squirrel. And I really, really feel bad about that.

Eventually, I made it home, and one of the fail-safe ways to improve your mood is to look at old pictures. Its true. I read it in an MSN article. :) So I picked one that made laugh out loud.

This picture is from when Mom, Dad, and Kayla came to visit us in St. George. Kayla was feeling a little grumpy that day (see other pic), but she still played along and sat on Brigham Young's lap. See..I feel better.