A nice lunch on the go

Mark hasn't been flying much lately....either too much going on or bad weather or something else preventing him from taking flight. He has had this lunch flight on the schedule. We were supposed to be taking along a friend of ours, but unfortunately, he came up sick this past week so wasn't able to join us. We flew down to Georgetown for lunch. We had a nice little lunch at a restaurant in town named Wild Fire. After lunch, we walked around the square for a few minutes and then headed back for home.

Us in front of the airport.

Here's the airport from the air right after we took off....

After lunch I was very, very sleepy........good lunches make for good naps right?!! Mark had the airplane under control, so I settled in for a nice little nap for the flight back :)

It was an awesome day for a flight and it was good to get back in the air. It was also good to spend some quality time with my honey since we've both been working wierd hours here lately!!

Awww....aren't they cute when they're sleeping?!

Well, it's been too long and Mark is giving me a hard time for starting this thing and then not adding to it..... so for now, I'll introduce you to the rest of our family!

We have Sylvester - she is the black cat. And yes,she's a girl not a boy.......my mom got her when she was a kitten to help out with a mouse problem, and my mom named her after Sylvester from the cartoon, since she looked so much like the cat in the cartoon. My mom was perfectly fine with me taking her with me when I left home and she's been with us ever since. She's absolutely the coolest cat EVER. She loves people and actually loves riding in cars (thank goodness since she has made the drive from Florida to Texas!!).

Tweety is the tabby next to her. I know, how original right? Oh well, we love her just the same! She's not quite the social kitty that Miss Sylvester is, but she's sweeter and softer. :)

In a Nutshell.....

So I was perusing my sister Tiffany's website, and found this personality test. I was curious to see if it was any good so I went on and took the test. It's actually fairly accurate. There are some things not so right though. The thing that stands out most is the fact that "Intellectual" is only at 30%. I'm a stinking engineer and the description is a subset of my personality! I'm just curious which questions I answered wrong for that one?! The other one is stability. Reading the description, I'd probably rate myself fairly high.

The trait snapshot is a pretty darn good description. Except one thing. The "likes large parties" cracks me up. Let's just say, they probably got that one wrong. Anyway....here's me, in 100 words or less :D

Advanced Global Personality Test Results Extraversion |||||||||||||||| 62% Stability |||||||||||| 50% Orderliness |||||||||||||||| 66% Accommodation |||||||||||||||||| 74% Interdependence |||||||||||||||||||| 83% Intellectual |||||| 30% Mystical |||||||||| 36% Artistic |||||||||||||||| 63% Religious |||||||||||||||||||| 83% Hedonism |||||| 30% Materialism |||||| 23% Narcissism |||||||||||| 43% Adventurousness |||||||||||||| 56% Work ethic |||||||||||||||||| 76% Humanitarian |||||||||||||||| 63% Conflict seeking |||||||||||| 43% Need to dominate |||||||||||||| 56% Romantic |||||||||||||||| 70% Avoidant |||||||||| 36% Anti-authority |||||||||||| 43% Wealth |||| 16% Dependency |||||||||||| 50% Change averse |||||||||||||||| 63% Cautiousness |||||||||||||||| 70% Individuality |||| 16% Sexuality |||||||||||||| 56% Peter pan complex |||||||||| 36% Family drive |||||||||||||||| 63% Physical Fitness |||||||||||||||||| % Histrionic |||||| 30% Paranoia |||||||||||||| 56% Vanity |||||||||||| 43% Honor |||||||||||||||| 70% Thriftiness |||||||||||||||||||| 83%

Take Free Advanced Global Personality Test
personality test by similarminds.com

Stability results were medium which suggests you are moderately relaxed, calm, secure, and optimistic.
Orderliness results were moderately high which suggests you are, at times, overly organized, reliable, neat, and hard working at the expense of flexibility, efficiency, spontaneity, and fun.
Extraversion results were moderately high which suggests you are, at times, overly talkative, outgoing, sociable and interacting at the expense of developing your own individual interests and internally based identity.

trait snapshot:
clean, self revealing, open, organized, outgoing, social, enjoys leadership and managing others, dominant, makes friends easily, does not like to be alone, assertive, hard working, finisher, optimistic, positive, likes to stand out, likes large parties, respects authority, practical, high self esteem, perfectionist, dislikes chaos, busy, not familiar with the dark side of life, controlling, high self control, traditional, tough, likes to fit in, conforming, brutally honest, takes precautions

Sunset Flying... with the Camera ;-)

Angela was out of town for business again this week :-( I used the opportunity to spend some "quality time" (whatever!) at work, and got some things done that have been buggin' me. Then to close out the week I decided to take the camera up with me and see if I could get some good shots of the sunset with the inside of the plane visible... not exactly an easy picture to pull off. Ok, maybe it is... but not for me yet! So anyway, I played around with some settings, and took as many pictures as I could before the sun disappeared. It was a fun flight, and here's one of the better shots.


I learned some things, and I'm excited about going up to try it again!!!

Airshow Time ! ! !

This post is a little late, but things have been busy... Anyway, last weekend Angela & I joined some friends of ours for a trip to the airshow up at Alliance Airport. The Thunderbirds highlighted the show, and with the vast majority of the gang interested in photography, we came away with a ton of pictures! I'm getting interested in photography again, so I'm relearning a lot... there's a lot to learn too ;-) Here's a sampling from the day...




Angela came up with a way cool idea to snap a few shots of the guys taking pics of the show... so she grabbed the point and shoot and captured some pictures of us being camera nerds! Brian (a guy I work with) is on the right, and Jeff (sitting) is on the left reviewing his work.

A Relaxing Weekend Bathed in God's Beauty!

Mark and I have been so terribly busy with work and home and family and other such things that take up time. We were both in such need of a break from life and the busyness that comes with it. This past weekend, we had a long weekend with Friday off so I decided that it was time to get away .....("Wanna Get Away?" :))

I've been interested in some of the nearby state parks for a while now so it seemed a perfect time to visit one of these parks. The one I've been most intrigued by is Possum Kingdom State Park. It is on a lake named Possum Kingdom Lake and is about 1 1/2 hours away from us.

As I was packing on Friday, I was thinking....'There are so many things we could do here. I know Mark wants to get stuff done around the house...should we really go?'. Well, then I knew we had to go at that point, but it was still work getting going. We finally took off late afternoon for the park. Driving out there, it wasn't too far away. Yet I was surprised when we got up in the area (west-northwest from our house) at the amount of elevation change! I thought west Texas was flat. I know Fort Worth is pretty flat. But it was actually quite a pleasant drive up through some hills, the Palo Pinto mountains actually, near the lake.

The first night it got dark pretty quickly so we set up tent shortly after arriving and made dinner in the dark......First night was split pea soup....one of Mark's favorite!

The stars are so much brighter once you get away from the city lights and I just love seeing the stars. Also, there was a storm out west of us, so we saw some facinating lightning before going to bed that night.

The next morning, we woke up to see how beautiful the place was that we were staying.

Here's our view from the tent. We stayed just several feet from the lake front...mmmmm.......
And enjoyed watching the sunrise over the lake, while sipping our campfire coffee...of course.

We took the bikes out with us and went on a small bike ride in addition to a hike on a trail in the park. It was warm, but not too hot in the daytime. Here's a picture from the highest point on the trail, overlooking the lake below. Also, one of us on an interesting rock formation a little ways down the hike, again with an awesome view.
Probably the site that the Possum Kingdom Lake is most famous for is a rock formation named "Hell's Gate". It's basically a place on the lake where two masses of rock stick out from the land rather close to each other and rise several hundred feet in the air. It looks like a gate to the lake, which I assumed is where it got its' name. However, I did a little research and legend has it that the name came from an incident back in the early 1800's with some fur traders that had stolen some fur from the Indians. When the Indians came after them, they found themselves at the edge of one of these rocks. One of the traders was heard to say (as he jumped to his death from the cliff) that he would rather go through the gates of Hell than return the stolen fur to the Indians. ....Who knows if it's true, but makes for a good story!
An overlook near the gate.
Lastly, I had to show it just because....we're in Texas and as the saying goes..."Everything's bigger in Texas"!
Here's to an incredibly enjoyable weekend of relaxing, slowing down and enjoying the simplicity that life can be at times like this, if you allow it!

Angela's New Ride

Angela was out of town last week on a last minute business trip. Apparently she brought back more than she bargained for because she's been home sick all this week... poor baby.

We've received a few requests for pics of Angela's new Rav4... so by popular demand here's her new ride... you go girl!

Early Morning Flying

Angela & I planned on taking an early flight out for breakfast this morning. We haven’t flown in a few weeks & picking a place to stop and eat is always a good excuse to get out. It just so happened that the plane was available to allow us to get breakfast and still make it back in time for late church services. Well… the weather was pretty misty/foggy this morning which can make visibility from the air a little difficult and the potential was there for it to get a little worse… so we detoured and ate breakfast first to give the fog a chance to figure out what it wanted to do. We then took a quick flight just cuz, and then headed home for a bit before church.

Angela’s new Rav4 has one of those warning lights on the dash for tire pressure… both of us sort of snickered a bit when we found out there was a light for tire pressure. Well… yesterday it came on but we were away from the house. We took a quick walk around to check the tires, and not a one looked any lower than the others. I forgot to check the pressure before we headed to the airport this morning and made a mental note to check it later. When walking out to the car after breakfast it became obvious there was a tire with an issue… huh, guess that warning light works! At least it’s just a screw in the tire and will hold air for a couple days. Filled it up with air and now that we’re back home I’ll pull it and take it up to Costco for a patch (free flat repairs for members :-)

I’m off to pull a tire… and try to miss as little of the NASCAR race as possible while doing it! Wish me luck! Hope you have a wonderful day!

-Mark

Strawberry Soda

We drink a lot of milk, water and tea here at the house. I pretty much don't keep soda at the house since neither of us really drink a whole lot of it. It's really too sweet for my taste except on rare occasions...(root beer floats are an exception :D). The last time I got sick, I found and tried a recipe for homemade ginger ale. Ginger is supposed to be good for upset stomachs, coughs and sore throats, and since I don't believe storebought ginger ale has an actual ginger in the ingredient list, I decided to make my own. (I also get bored when I get sick!!)

So, anyway, the ginger ale recipe wasn't too bad really. Today, I was bored with our usual list of drink options, so I decided to try something new..... strawberry soda. Who knows what it will turn out tasting like, but might as well try and see what it turns out like! Here it is brewing on the back patio table.


And in case you're wondering what goes in this brew:

• 1/4 tsp regular yeast, (not rapid rise kind; also, I hear the yeast used for making beer leaves less of a "yeasty" taste but I've always just used the regular kind of yeast you would make bread with)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• ~10-12 frozen strawberries that were nuked in the microwave for a minute to thaw and then mashed into pulp and juice
• water to fill up the 2-liter bottle

Combine all ingredients in the bottle, shaking to mix the sugar and yeast with the water and strawberries. (It's easier to shake up if you fill the bottle partially with water, shake until dissolved, then fill the rest of the way with water). Then let sit (without opening the bottle top) for somewhere between 12-36 hours (time depends on environment, mainly temperature), until the bottle feels hard on the outside - like soda you buy in the store. Then put it in the fridge and drink when it gets cooled off.

The way it works:
When the yeast and the sugar combine, they produce two biproducts. Carbon dioxide, which gives you the effect of soda, is the main biproduct. If you don't refrigerate after the bottle gets pressurized, the yeast will continue to "eat" the sugar and continue to make carbon dioxide and eventually blow up the bottle from the pressure. I've not ever done this, but could be messy, entertaining or dangerous depending on where you are and what you're doing :) (Of course, this is also why it's a good idea to use plastic and not glass for your brew container).

The other bi-product is sugar alcohol. However, unless you let it sit for a long time (taking care to make sure the bottle doesn't explode!) you will only get trace amounts of it. Not enough to notice at all. Apparently this is how you make homemade beer. I didn't realize the sugar alcohol was a biproduct until someone I work with that prides himself on a good homemade brew brought it up. Learned something new :)

Anyway, I'm setting it outside to try and speed up the whole "bubbly" process. I'll let you know how it turned out!

Shelling Peas

I went to the farmer's market this morning. I love going there on Saturdays in the summer as often as I can. It's pretty much as true to a old-fashioned farmer's market as you can get. It's outside and each farmer has a table with their farm name on the front. I like getting to know the farmer's and seeing what new they have from week to week and getting to try stuff I'd never find in the store.

A couple of weeks ago I started to see peas show up, as summer finally began ripening them and this week I bought a basket of black-eyed peas. I love peas. Cream peas are my favorite, but just about any type of peas will do :)

Now, you can get black-eyed peas in the grocery store either as frozen peas or dryed peas, for less work and less money. But I really enjoy buying the basket of peas to shell. I like knowing that I'm supporting the local farmers to continue doing what they do. But more than that, it brings back memories from when I was a kid.

Summers meant picking veggies and shelling peas and shucking corn (and mom always had her requesite three or four bags of fresh creamed corn, which Jason always claimed made him sick to his stomach!) and other such vegetable duties, shared by the whole family, to freeze up and last through the winter.

Yes, it's more work to shell the peas yourself, especially when you realize that you can shell peas for half an hour and only get enough to make for dinner that night. But there's something relaxing and satisfying about monotonously shelling peas and seeing them mound up as you continue through the basket of pea-pods sitting beside you.

My Husband is Awesome!!

So a few weeks ago, I was doing laundry like a good little wife, when a loud, obnoxious, and somewhat frightening noise began singing from the washing machine. I reloaded the clothes to make sure it was properly balanced, I did a lighter load to make sure it was not me just trying to stuff it silly. Nevertheless, the noise was there and getting worse.

So, I searched the internet and found we probably had a blown bearing. We took the thing apart to fix it....the parts, after all, would be only a fraction of the price, and we are do-it-yourselfers, for the most part. Well, we took it apart (I should say Mark did), and found out it was more than a bad bearing. The major structural member in the washing machine was broken...in two places! And better yet, after researching, apparently, our 7 years with the washer was much longer than the 4-5 years average of most people. It was a design flaw that is held under warranty, but only if you pay the $200-$300 to have a professional Sears guy do the work! Well, we had the thing taken apart already, so we just went ahead and bought the parts to do the work.
So here's a pic of the before and after.....if you look, the grubby three legged piece on the right-hand washer is broken on two of the three legs.

Here's the new washer. Ain't it purty? We now have an aircraft grade washing machine....if there is such a thing. The not so bright engineer at Sears decided to use untreated aluminum/iron metal for a structural piece that is submerged in water and suds on every wash. So, we did what any good airplane builder would do....we alodined and primed it!! Should last more than 7 years we are hoping....I'll get back with you on that status in a while ;)Anyway, here it is all put back together. Mark is checking for leaks and making sure it works OK before buttoning it back up. After one minor leak that was fixed, it's good to go! I'm on my second load of the night.....I never thought I would be so happy to be able to do laundry!!

I made him good dinners and lunches for the week while he was gettin' 'er done....so I didn't completely slack, but I'm so thankful I have a hubby who can do this kind of stuff! Thanks babe!!

My First Post

Living so far from my family, I thought this would be a neat way to share what's going on with Mark and I. The site is definitely a work in progress so it'll probably change some along the way. I'm new to this blogging thing myself, so I'll have to get used to getting on the computer and writing random stuff and showing random pictures but I'm sure I'll get used to it soon!

Of course, I like to take pictures, so I have to load at least one to begin with :)

It was such an awesome day today! We had the windows open all day and the breeze through the house was wonderful. While outside at one time, I saw a beautiful orange butterfly and decided I really wanted a picture of him. However, by the time I got back outside, he was gone. So of course, I had to take a picture of something.....off to the flowers...:)