What Fun We Will Have

Hawaii 5 0 7

It is a rainy Sunday afternoon and all is well. In fact all is swell. After spending over two hours on the phone with the airline (done on company time) cashing in our frequent flyer miles for one free ticket and half price on the other ticket, (KICK ASS) we are heading to Hawaii in May to see my Mom. My Mom has been living in H. for over 14 years, which means we do not get to see one another nearly enough. When I went off to college it was a dream come true. Heading to H. for the summer, see you guys in two months, but now it is just a royal pain in the ass. Don't get me wrong dear reader, J. and I love vacationing in H. which means we have a free place to stay, a car to use, lots of home cooked meals, great adventures, and of course the most important thing time with my Mom. The problem is it can only happen every couple of years. Buying two full price tickets to H. is not in our family budget and taking a long vacation without the other one isn't an option. Mom travels back to the southeast twice a year instead of us jetting to paradise. The last time we went to H. was in June of 2004, which is just too damned long. So yippee let the planning begin. I will be reading up on all kinds of guide books hunting the best new restaurants, secret beaches where only the locals hangout, and day dreaming about when the three of us will once again be together in one of the most naturally wild, remote places in the world. Ok not sure if this is geographically accurate, but in the sums of my world travels it's definitely the case. So consider yourself warned this is just the beginning of postings about our upcoming adventure and if you ever find yourself heading over to H. for a vacation let me know I am happy to share our "best of" tidbits.

Aren't we the lucky ones?

Next weekend we are heading off to Center Hill Lake where we are renting a cabin with our friends A., T, and their two boys B. and R. Plans for the weekend? Lounging around, watching movies, eating, boozing, playing games and match box cars (B's favorite), and soaking in the hot tub. We may do something else but these are the "tops" on our list of priorities. A. who is currently on maternity leave, wanted us to all take a trip but since she was forced to use all of her vacation days before maternity leave kicked in, (Is this standard company practice, because if so it totally bites?) we are taking it now before she heads back to work in Feb. The last time we all took a trip together was in the summer of 2003 when A. was pregnant with B and we went to Chicago, so we are all stoked about our cabin get-away.

In preparation for our weekend away I made a loaf of Pumpkin Pecan Bread. It is very tasty and easy to make so I am including the recipe:

Pumpkin Pecan Bread
Ingredients:
1/2 stick of butter
1 cup pumpkin puree'
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 cup chopped pecans

In a saucepan melt butter over medium heat, stir in brown sugar cook 3 minutes stirring constantly. Transfer to a bowl and stir in pumpkin. Let mixture cool until luke warm then stir in the eggs. In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients. Add to pumpkin mixture and stir in well. Add the nuts.
Makes 1 regular size loaf or 2 to 3 mini loaves. Bake at 350 degrees about 1 hour, 45 minutes for mini-loaves.
*I usually double the recipe and make two loaves because the bread freezes really well. Make sure bread has fully cooled on a wire rack or plate, wrap in aluminum foil and place in a Ziploc freezer bag pushing out as much air as possible before closing. When you want to eat simply remove from freezer and let thaw for about an hour then place in the oven at 350 degrees until warmed.
Tasty as a breakfast bread and good enough to serve as dessert.

Futball
I am not an avid football fan but tomorrow night I will be cussing and hollering at the screen as my alma mater The Florida Gators take the field against the Ohio Buckeyes in the National Championship. For some reason when UF plays I get all fan-crazy, making bets with co-workers (*note to self: see if there are any takers tomorrow at work) and actually getting physically stressed (racing heart beat and sweaty palms) before kick-off. Now reader please understand I know very little about the semantics of the game, but fortunately my hubby J. is happy to rattle off statistics, explain all the bad calls, and failed plays while talking about so-and-so player like they are the best of friends. This is how I know the man has a much better memory than he let's on. Why do you ask do I get so fired up about UF football? Mostly because living in Gainesville is where I became a semi-adult, learned to live on my own, handle booze without throwing up, and met some of my closet friends to this day. It is where I still have so many fond memories and truly look back and appreciate that time in my life, where I learned a little in school and a lot about life and myself.