Moody Gardens, Galveston TX

My friends Jessica and Jon invited me to go to Moody Gardens with them last year.  We took their cute baby girl also.  Moody Gardens is essentially two pyramids - an aquarium pyramid and a rainforest one.  The rainforest has monkeys, birds, sloths, flowers, butterflies, etc.  The aquarium has penguins, seahorses, fish, etc.  They also have a ferry you can take for a ride in the Gulf, and some other attractions like a water park and a dinosaur thing.  Some of my favorite photos were of the flowers and animals.

The gorgeous orchids of all varieties were everywhere.

So pretty!

Cute macaw - I liked the blue ones

Penguins in the aquarium

Cutie pie baby and momma

 

Bermuda

I went on a cruise with my dad and his friends Bud and Sandy to Bermuda last fall.  We left from Baltimore, and sailed for a day and a half to the island off the coast of North Carolina in the middle Atlantic.  We played a bunch of pool games, ping pong, did some swimming, and ate well while on the boat.  In Bermuda, we did some shopping, went to the house my Mom lived in as a child, and went on an island tour and snorkeling at the beach. 

Here we are in one of the many lounges, getting ready to play some trivia. 

Here we are in Hamilton, after taking a ferry ride to the island from the cruise ship port.  Dad and Bud are asking directions to the house my Mom lived in.

Here is Pembroke Hall, where my mom lived when she was 7 and 8.  They lived on the second floor.  She always wanted to come back, and they had this trip planned for her to get to see her home again. 

Bermuda is a volcanic island, which means the black rock is what we call Basalt.  Here I am posing with some of the basalt as we get ready to leave the beach for the day.

A view of Bermuda from the ship deck.  A terrific sunset.

Tiling a Frameless Mirror

Our master bathroom recently had the countertops installed, and I wanted to make our frameless, builder grade, mirror be a little more personal.  I had done a similar framing of a mirror using wood and glass tile (pictures here), but I wanted to try using only tile. 

I did take some in-between steps, as it takes a while to get everything you want done.  To begin:

No more ugly poop brown in a bathroom.

The counters were done, so painting the walls and then the cabinets ensued.

Now, the tiling of the mirror.  I started with a layout of stone and glass tile that I wanted to use, and laid it out to make sure I had enough.

Next, I began using all purpose liquid nails and glued the tiles to the bottom and sides of the mirror. 

When it came to adhering tile to the top, it was a little more tricky.  You can use tape to hold the tiles in place, but I found it more effective to add glue, put the tile in place, and remove it immediately from the mirror.  Then, I waited ~10 minutes until the glue became a little set on the outermost layer.  Then, I could add the tile to the mirror and it would stay in place! 



Mini French Silk Pie

I can't even remember where I got this recipe from, but it was a mini french silk pie that I made for Valentine's Day one year.  We decided to eat at home and cook up some nice steaks, and I found these for dessert. 

Recipe:
1/4 cup butter softened
1/4 cup and 2 tbsp sugar
1 square unsweetened baking chocolate, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
4 mini prepared pie shells

Cream butter and sugar together til fluffy.  Stir in vanilla and chocolate.  Add the egg and beat for 5 minutes until light.  Pour into cooked pie shells. Refrigerate, and top with whipped topping, chocolate shavings, and raspberries.

Pretzel Bites

I needed to bring an appetizer to a get together, and I found this pretzel bite recipe on pinterest.  It looked easy enough that if I went to the store, and the right kind of white roll dough was there, I was going to make it.  It's called Rhodes Texas White Dinner Rolls, and they came in a 12 pack.  I could chop each roll into 4 pieces, making for 48 bites - plenty! 

Recipe:
1 12 pack white dinner rolls, frozen
1 cup cinnamon suger (white sugar mixed with cinnamon to taste)
1/2 cup melted butter

Cut dinner rolls into 4s.  Let rise on a greased baking sheet for 30 minutes (cover with saran wrap coated with non-stick spray).  Once they rise, add them 10 at a time to a pot of boiling water, and toss for 1 minute.  Remove from water, let dry on paper towels/towel.  Place on a greased baking sheet.  Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes, or until top is golden.  Brush with melted butter.  Toss in ziploc bag full of cinnamon suger mixture until coated.  Remove and serve.  If you want, many combinations and dips can be made - salt and mustard, parmesan and marinara, garlic and cheese dip, etc.  For mine, I used a cream cheese mixture.    I simply mixed cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until I got the flavor I liked.

Cutting up the rolls

Boiling in water, drying on the paper towel/towel, and getting ready to go into the oven.

The topping/dip combinations.

The ones I made ended up just being cinnamon sugar and cream cheese dip.



They were a hit, and everyone was impressed that I made them.  Yum!

Joshua Tree, CA

In grad school, I took a class where we went on a trip to Joshua Tree National Park, to do some research and mapping.  Getting us all to the airport, on the plane, and to our camping site was a funny sight to see.  We had two tasks  - one to map the granitic-gneissic boundary of the pluton and metamorphic rock, and the other to map out some structural/geomorphological alluvial fans off the mountains.  We did a bunch of hiking around in the desert, and camped each night in the field.  My favorite part was mapping the pluton out.  Here are some photos.

An ocatillo cactus

Teddy Bear Choila cactus - I got my hand caught in one coming down a mountainside - ouch!

Our campsite

On our free day, we did a death march up a mountain, and then went and saw the oasis in the desert! 

A Joshua Tree

Chicken and Biscuits

Chicken and Biscuits - an easy weeknight meal.  I modified the recipe from here for my taste.  It turned out as a keeper, with the additions. I wanted carrots and peas, I used Greek yogurt as a bit healthier, and cooked my chicken first also.  No butter, cheese or milk either.

Recipe:
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1/2 cup Greek yogurt plain
thawed peas and carrots from the freezer bag (about 1 cup)
cooked chicken (2-3 breasts)
Biscuits from the can

Mix soup, yogurt, peas, and chicken together.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add biscuits to top, bake at 375 degrees F until the top of the biscuits are golden brown (about 35-40 minutes).

Mixing in the peas and carrots

Adding the biscuits to the top

Tops are golden brown

Served