Epcot--Day 1

So we spent two days at Epcot, too. There was some Saxe independence on this day. Josh and I had to do our Team Possible Missions. We accomplished 4 of the 7 on this first day. Sadly, I didn't take any pictures during our missions. But they were very cool.

Let me sum up how we got our missions and how they worked. We checked in at Team Possible field location and were instructed to report to a separate field location after a certain time. At that point, we were issued a Kimmunicator (cell phone like device) and told which country in Epcot's World Showcase was under attack and which of Kim's nemeses was behind the trouble. Then the game became sort of like a scavenger hunt. We were issued clues and directions to find certain exhibits in each country. When we found them, the exhibit was sure to interact in some way with us. We saw a soldier in China nod his head at us (this freaked the surrounding tourists out); in Germany we triggered a woman chasing Dementor with a broom! This was happening in the upper story of a building and facing the "town" square. It was very cool--most were not "in the know" but if you were you felt like part of a secret club. I recommend this to any planning a trip to Epcot.

Other highlights of day one in Epcot: We ate lunch in the aquarium at "The Sea" in Future World and dinner in Mexico. Mmm--the Margaritas. I also got some nice pics of Allen and Josh:



































These were taken with the boys inside a "London" telephone booth.

At the end of the day, I was able to get a nice shot of the sun setting over France (notice the Eiffel tower):

Magic Kingdom--Day 1

Well, we spent two days in Magic Kingdom. This is the first of those days. Highlights: Lots of character interaction; first Space Mountain ride for Josh and Brian; Allen got his first Mickey Ear ice cream. Photos to follow:

Cinderella's castle
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Goofy signing Allen's autograph book ------------>

















One of the chipmunks playing with one of Allen's many cars (the number of cars with him grew daily) while the other signs the autograph book






















This is the video as we leave Space Mountain. Not terribly exciting, but proof that we rode the ride.









Allen with his first Mickey ear ice cream bar. Mmmm.

Disney recap

This will take several days and even more posts to properly replay and relive the past week.

Let's start at the beginning--Check in day.

Allen got a black eye within the first hour. He also had to wash his hands about 26,000 times. There was no stopping him, thus I took this picture at the sink.

He was also a very tired boy after the 5+ hour drive without a nap. We took the bus to Downtown Disney (turns out that by the end of the trip the Disney bus was his favorite ride). We ate at Planet Hollywood. Allen slept.

That pretty much covers Sat. 2/7/09. Magic Kingdom Day 1 will be next.

Kissy

Little Kissy Homemaker at the top of her game

Yeah, I'm gonna toot my own horn for a bit.

This morning by 10:00 I had:

1. washed the pans from last night's date night
2. sorted the laundry and put a load in
3. put clean sheets on the guest room bed in preparation for Sonny's sitter next weekend
4. started a pot of gravy
5. hemmed a pair of pants
6. prepared for the school and service meeting--we do bookstudy prep together

Then I slept from 10:30 to 11:20 when Dad called. Oh, I also managed to eat a bowl of cereal and share a banana with the dog.

I have laundry to fold, a bike to ride, a shower to take, and a dinner to make. (I'm a poet!) I bet I squeeze another nap in, too. I took two benadryl last night. It knocks me out for days.

I know it's not exciting but that is my day.

Catch ya later.

Well it's Wednesday

You know what that means--Date Night at the Saxes!

So, I gave Josh some choices for our date night fare. Usually, he just tells me to make what I want--his job is to eat what I prepare. The possibilities were: Talapia (which I made last night, instead), London Broil (preparation undecided) or panini style sandwiches.

He chose the sammies. So I'll be making a sandwich for him (roast beef and provolone with horseradish sauce) and either a turkey and cheese (goat, possibly) with tomato and grilled onions or a big salad for myself. I also bought french fries.

I have fresh lemon juice left over from preparing the talapia last night (lemon, thyme, garlic and panko encrusted and sauteed in butter) so tonight's cocktail will likely be Whiskye Sours.

I'm making banana-berry smoothies with low-fat yoghurt for dessert.

All this talk about food is making me very hungry and it is lunch time.

Ciao,
Kristen

dessert first

Okay Paula and Allegra--I forgot to include the dessert plan. I made an apple crisp. A very cheater (yet still tasty) apple crisp. T. Marzetti (they make the caramel dip for apples) make this "easy to bake" (their words, not mine) apple crisp mix. It turned out to be fairly easy. Peeling and slicing 8 apples (they were small) was a little tedious, but other than that it was easy peasy.

Dinner last night was very tasty. I'm not huge chicken parm fan, but I loved this recipe. It came from Giada's Everyday Italian cookbook (a first anniversary gift from a dear fan--thanks J). Before I share the recipe, I will say that while I did pound my chicken breasts, I did not use cutlets (as my loving husband pointed out to me, is essential for a true chicken parm) I will use cutlets the next time. Giada's timing is more in line with a cutlet.

So here goes: (my additions/changes in purple)

1 T olive oil (I know I used more, but I don't really measure much)
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley (from my Aero Garden!)
pinch of red pepper flakes
4 chicken cutlets about 3 oz each (so she did call for cutlets, I had cutlets...I really need to read more carefully)
3/4 c marinara sauce (I used my gravy--again I don't measure)
1/4 c shredded mozzarella cheese (I used thin slices of mozzarella and an Italian 3 cheese blend--no measuring)
8 tsp freshly grated parm (this is getting silly--I used parm and romano and I have no idea how much)
1 T unsalted butter; cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. In a small bowl, stir the oil and herbs to blend. Brush both sides of the cutlet with the herb oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. (I added the S and P to the herb/oil mixture.) Heat a large, heavy oven proof skillet over a high flame. Add the cutlets and cook until just brown, about 1 min. per side. Remove from heat.

Spoon the marinara sauce over and around the cutlets. Sprinkle cheeses over and dot with butter. Bake until cheese melts and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. (I had to cook mine for more like 12 minutes. They weren't cutlets. I made a mistake!)

So dinner was yummy and the evening was lovely, if I do say so myself.

See how my garden has grown?! I have the grow light extended as high as it will go. This has definitely been a worthwhile investment for this cook. If you have the space for it, I recommend it. There is nothing like fresh herbs!

Sonny and date night

Well it seems that I will be cooking for both my men today. I'll get to Josh in a minute, but it looks like Sonny needs more boiled chicken and rice/potatoes. He was in for his recheck this morning and the vet recommended keeping him on this bland diet for a little bit longer (another week!). He checked out okay, but the vet thought it might be better if his diet continued to be bland. And he lost another lb+. Good for him, I guess. He's still overweight. I asked the vet tech how they make that determination. She said the vet really wants to be able to see a visible waist on the dog. I said that I'd really like to see a visible waist on me. She laughed, but she was built like a broom.

On to the date night menu. Chicken parm with a side of angel hair pasta (every time I make chicken parm, Josh says, "You know what would be really good with this? Pasta; you know chicken parm with a side of pasta.") I will make a Caesar Salad for my man...including the anchovies. I had three different sales people (at one time!) help me find the anchovies--they weren't with canned fish (like tuna and sardines). I don't care for Caesar salad so I will have a simple garden salad with tomato and cucumber.

To start, I will make these frozen roasted veggie and three cheese "purse" appetizer thingies. We've had them before and liked them but we haven't had them in a while.

I will make Manhattans. I will wear a skirt and I will have candles lit and music playing when I greet him at the top of the stairs with his cocktail. (Yes, we are that corny. But it makes for a very romantic evening.)

So we will enjoy our cocktails, company, and appetizers. The evening will continue and I will make dinner. I try to have as much prep work done in advance. I think we'll have our salads while the pasta water comes to a boil. When I drop the pasta, I will get the chicken started (I'll already have it prepped...just not cooked.) Hopefully it will all come out at once.

Now I just need to put clean sheets on the bed, vaccuum, dust, clean our bathroom, and have a Bible Study. I will need this date night!