Monday, July 25, 2011

Scales, Guts and Skin

High five to me!!
I did something I am still having a hard time believing that I did!
I spent Friday fishing with my DH and my neighbor. We caught fish all day, sometimes two at a time. Mostly blue fish and croaker.
I have had a hankering lately for fish tacos. See where this is going??
Saturday I woke early and wondered if my fishing gurus would be available for instruction on how to properly clean and fillet a fish. Then I realized I had the best instructors on the planet and lots of them! YouTube!! (How did we do anything before YouTube??)
Yep! Found specific video for blues and croaker and, with my ever- doubtful husband in tow, I set out on a mission. I removed scales, sliced carefully, laid open, used my flexible fish knife at just the right angle and filleted all those fish. They weren't all perfect by any means, but this was for fish tacos! It didn't have to be perfect and it was a learning experience.
The fish was lightly dusted in House of Autry Seafood Breader and fried to perfection. (I don't fry so this too was a learning experience!) I placed the fish in the bottom of a tortilla and topped with a shredded cabbage and carrot mix, generously used fresh salsa full of cilantro, red onion and lots of tomato, and drizzled with my own sauce creation that was a mixture of buffalo sauce and sour cream. OMG!! They were good. My doubtful DH was in awe and said anytime I want to make these again he's all for it!!
So I caught, scaled, filleted, cleaned, cooked and served MY fish!!! Woot woot!! Who would have ever thunk it?

Surf Fishing

I have neighbors that finally seduced me into their world. The seduction was a long process. I spent last summer watching and explaining politely that I do not fish. I do remember saying something about "next year" and apparently they did too.
First trip out and they indoctrinated me. There was nothing even slow about their instruction. "Here's a rod, there's the bait." Really?
Fast forward a few weeks.
I rummaged around the garage and found a surf rod. In the corner, under the water heater,  a tackle box sat forgotten and barely used. I picked up a couple of rigs and a few weights and for less than the price of a movie ticket, I can fish any time.
I love the beach. I think by now if you know me, you know I love the beach. The beach cleanses me and heals my soul. Everyday I go fishing I stand in the surf, rod in hand waiting for my line to vibrate. The first fish I caught, I don't even remember it. What I do remember is watching the dolphins play.
 I am an avid beach goer but I can tell you honestly, that I have never seen such activity in the ocean. The dolphins were breaching, fish were jumping and as I watched a pair of dolphins go across the water and do a routine that would have brought a Sea World audience to their feet, it brought tears to my eyes. All these years I have spent sitting in a chair, reading a book, boogie boarding or playing in the waves and I could have been standing in the surf holding a rod and watching the ocean come alive. For me, it was like a religious experience. One that I wanted to experience over and over.
Yesterday my DH and I went to the beach for a day of fishing. We didn't catch much. As a matter-of-fact, we began to wonder if there were any fish left in the ocean. I caught a flounder and he caught a houndfish and a crab. We also got caught in a rainstorm. As I stood in the surf, rod in hand waiting for the line to vibrate, the storm began to move on and what did it leave behind?
A rainbow appeared, and then, for a moment or two, there was a double rainbow. The drops were passing and as the ocean smoothed and turned from green to blue the dolphins again began to dance. They were framed against the horizon by the rainbow. The beauty of nature takes my breath away every time. These are the moments that bring me back to stand in the surf, rod in hand waiting for my line to vibrate.
A bad day of fishing is still just another beautiful day spent at the beach!!!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

U up yet?

My DH sent me a text from the road this morning at 7am as they began day 2 of their journey to visit the Motherland.

"Were driving. U up yet?"

Of course the message comes through with a "ding". I am awake now, thanks! I acted like any good brat, ignored the message and tried to get back to the art of sleeping in late.

I listened to the dog snore. I could hear the other dog, in the next room, snoring too.
I heard a bird singing outside my window.
I wondered if Judy was still shooting squirrels.
I wondered if the trash men were going to come before I got the bins out front.
I thought about which beach I would go to today.
I thought about the squeals of delight brought about from a boogie board and some waves.
I wondered if my children had brushed their teeth. I wondered when the last time was that they had brushed their teeth.
I wondered if Rick Perry would win the GOP nomination. I thought it to be a good thing that he didn't let the coyote attack his dog!!
I thought about getting new knobs for the dash of the Jeep.
I remembered today was supposed to be the hottest day of the year.
Should I go surf fishing?
Do I really want to cut up fish for bait?
Am I going to be able to rip the hook out of their mouths without assistance or therapy?
Should I paint today? What should I paint?
Maybe I would clean? Ha! Maybe pigs would fly out of my @$$ too!
I wondered what the muted people were saying on the TV.
Bailey's or coconut creamer in my coffee?
What was I going to have for breakfast?
Would I eat breakfast?
I could live on cereal for the next 2 weeks!

Obviously, the sleeping in thing, well it didn't work out. Thanks dear. Maybe tomorrow.

Monday, July 11, 2011

You are going where? With who?

OMG! My husband, in a very thoughtful, quiet moment made a huge announcement. He is going to KC to visit with family and taking the kids. ALL of them. It took a few moments for my over-tasked brain to understand what he was saying. The end product of that process and the root cause of the underlying confusion was in the details. He is taking the kids and I am remaining home. Could it be true? I had him repeat the info slowly. And then again. And by-crackity I was right! I had heard him correctly and my brain was not playing a cruel joke of "Aha- psyche! Got ya!" He is really going to take the kids and I will remain here..... ALONE!! Now, I will be working quite a few shifts at the hospital but that part doesn't matter. I will be kid-free for almost 2 weeks.
Wow!

How do I...? What will I...? Where will I....?  Oh my... I don't even know where to begin.

I still need time to process this. And it doesn't start till tomorrow. Today I still have to get these kids out of bed and motivated to face the day!!

Friday, July 01, 2011

Miss this...

As always, when life slows down I miss the day to day writing of the happenings in our world. I do not promise daily updates. I do not promise weekly updates. But I will make an attempt, to every now and again, post updates on our lives for friends and family that we have had to leave behind.

Here goes....
This will be a transition year for all my kiddos. The Girl will go to the middle school, Tyler will start at the intermediate and Trey will start kindergarten. Woohoo! They will all be in school! That is huge for us as parents! I can't wait, and neither can they.
My DH is still stationed here with helos and loves it. His friends from the command come and go, but they all eventually return, even if just for a visit.

I have taken a job as a school nurse but still couldn't part with the L&D position. School nursing is a great job and I am in the same school system as my children. Having the same schedules is a blessing and I love it. However, I love L&D and haven't been able to give that up yet either. I am now an extremely flexi employee at the hospital. Since I have the summer off at the school, I have been able to pick up more hospital hours. That's nice for the piggy bank!

I have again taken a few weeks off mid-summer. We had thought we were moving to New Orleans and if that were the case I was going to head to Maine on our summer camping trip. The move has been, delayed, so with gas prices being what they are I am thinking of camping locally, but as of yet, I am still unsure where. I have thought about Amish country and Hershey PA or maybe just visiting VA state parks. Perhaps the mountains? Maybe even KC to visit with Kev's family (but it is their year to come here!!). I am never good with plans. I may not know till I get to the interstate and have to choose left or right.

So that's it. That is all I have for this moment in time. I may add more today or it may be months before I sit here again. For now I need to go make breakfast for my boys.