Let's see what's in this bag?

We seriously have been so busy the last month or so.   I mean seriously busy.

We went to a food show on March 28th and the bag of goodies that we got there have been sitting on my office floor for almost a month. 

That's because I had to go to Tucson on March 31st to April 4th.  And then we had to go to Waco, TX on April 10th to April 12th. 

And we've been having all kinds of construction things happening around here that I needed to keep on top of.

And then, of course, I really do have a job.  A very busy job.

So anyways......I had the opportunity to get some house cleaning done and found this bag sitting on the floor and decided that I was going to empty this bag and photographically document the items that are in it. 

I seriously had no idea before I took the pictures what was even there......it was so long ago that we accumulated this stuff.  So here we go.......................

Here's the bag that contains all the mysteries:

When we peek inside, we see it contains another bag that contains some secret items:

 

The first grab out of the bag reveals a folded up piece of paper, a receipt from a stop that we made on the way home from the hotel the next day, some sales literature, and a USA Today that we grabbed on our way out of the hotel.  Our intention was to read that newspaper later.....but now I'm sure we don't give a crap what was in the news on August 29th. 

(P.S. the glass of beer in this picture was my refreshment as I enjoyed seeing what was in the bag)

Well this was certainly a surprise!  That folded up piece of paper in the picture above was actually a receipt for Pesto Sauce that we had picked up on our way home from the hotel.  OOPS.....that was due on April 12th.  (it was also necessary for me to stop looking in the bag at this time and get online and get this bill paid.  I also sent an apology e-mail to our sales rep that I hadn't paid it yet....oops)

The next grab out of the bag was some more product information sheets, our name badges from the event, and a back pack bag that was filled with some more product information sheets.

Inside that backpack was also a spatula.....yay a free gift!

 

I pulled out a sheet of paper that has some interesting items on it. 

One of these things just might end up on a Pizza of the Month. 

Not going to tell you which one it is though.  You'll just have to wait and see!

I also discovered some silver cleaning cloths and a bag filled with all kinds of special sponges

And we have some more informational product sheets

And last but not least......I found two $50 gift cards at the bottom of the bag.........

 

.....and all that's left is two empty tote bags

(which we can add to the collection of ones that we got at Pizza Expo!)

Also, this event is where we had our picture taken. 

 

Well this was cerrtainly fun and entertaining wasn't it?

Getting dirt underneath my fingernails

I've spent a couple of days outside trying to make the yard look as wonderful as the house does.

I've purposely not shown you a complete photo of everything done at one time, because I want to do a master reveal and show everything once it's been done.

But here's what I've (and sometimes we've) been up to:

 We got our brand new video doorbell put up.  Now we can answer and see who's at our door and not even have to be home to do it.  Awesome!

 Went to mulch the yard and the first bag of mulch I opened was filled with mold and mushrooms....gross.  I took this picture to send to the company and ask them if this is typical.  Actually, almost every single bag of mulch I had had a little of this in it.....just not as bad as this one.

 I did some planting and got weed and feed on that front yard.  Now I just gotta get all that grass to fill in again.  Looks like my lawn is going to need a little babying this year :-(

 We went and bought our first citrus tree.....a Calamondin (Paul's request).  We also are looking at getting a Lime and Meyer Lemon tree.  I really want an Avocado tree........that would be heaven!

 We dug up the Hibiscus bush that has been in this spot for over 18 years.  Bought this new trellis and........

 ......this beautiful climbing vine to take over that spot and fill that gorgeous trellis up

And last, but not least......cut all the branches off of this ugly crappy bush that I have hated since we've lived here.  Paul has willingly volunteered to get it out of the ground.  I won't be sorry to see this awful thing go......and now the grass will be able to grow over there again with that beast gone.

Lots more plans we have for this old house and still have a little more work on the front to do before I do the final reveal.  I loved this house from the moment I first saw it and I love it even more now that we've finally freeing her from the 80's.

Simple Syrups and miscellaneous things

Paul is always on the eternal quest to live a healthier life.  I'm glad he's dragging me along with him.  Sometimes he has really excellent ideas.  Sometimes his ideas suck.

His latest one though is a home run.  He needs to drink more fluids, but doesn't care for the taste of just plain water.  He doesn't like those packet drink things that you add to your water because they contain artificial sweeteners (which he doesn't like).  He also doesn't like sodas because they are too sweet.

So he found Simple Syrups.  They are homemade, natural ingredients, and can be added to water, smoothies, ice cream, or make snow cones from them.  So.....we decided to make one and see how it goes.

The first one we did was a Ginger, Lemon, and Honey concoction.  He really, really liked it.  Me, not so much.  Too much ginger for me, although I'm willing to try it again.  We've made this mixture for him about 4 times now, but now we were ready to try some of the other ones on our sheet.

This sheet:

 

So here are the necessary ingredients to make two different simple syrups

 

We now have a jar of Raspberry, Orange, and Honey on the left and......

Cherries, Lemon, Vanilla, Honey on the right

They will need to sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours and then we strain the fruit from

them and will have a delicious syrup to add to our water

 

Here's some of the other exciting things that have happened this week:

 

Of course the big news in Houston this week is the epic floods.  I took this picture from a second story window at midnight as the water creeped up the driveway.  The power was out and the rain was coming down in bucket fulls.  Only damage was a little water that did get in the trunk.  We were lucky compared to lots of other folks in this area.

This was the second day after the store.  We got another torrential downpour.  Only took 8 minutes of raining to fill up our street and make me be stuck at home.

Luckily the water receded within 2 hours of the storm and we are now looking forward to some sunshine and drying us out.

 This is the husband's work.  He's seriously thinking about going back to our square cheesybread.  He took a picture to show me what it would look like.  Looks yummy to me.

 Another picture taken from the hubby.  He bought a new mixer at the Pizza Expo in Vegas and we are now going to sell our old mixer and get it out of the store.  Do you know anyone who needs a mixer? 

 Remember that Pork Loin Roast I got the other day for $3.75?  I just happened to be going through my collection of recipes and found this one that I had printed and stuck away.  PERFECT!  Now I know what I'm doing with that pork roast.

And last, but not least.  I finally got my butt in gear and made some homemade Tomatillo/Guacamole salsa.  This stuff is so freaking delicious (and addicting).  We'll be enjoying the rest of it tonight with some chips and quesadillas.

It's a crazy life we have......but I love it.

 

 

Did he really say 10 days???

Yes he did!

We are talking about a 10 day vacation!  Something we've never had the pleasure of experiencing.

We've been talking the last couple of days about the remodel schedule and travel schedule for the summer.  Looks like we're going to have an amazing staff this summer and that means.....the Gainor's get a vacation!

One thing on our travel calendar is a road trip.  We want to head to Gainesville, Florida to check out pizza ovens in operations.  We are planning on buying new ovens.....but want to see them in a busy pizza shop.  We know someone in Gainesville who is willing to let us check them out.

Tentative plans on this road trip would be:
1.  sometime in May
2.  a stop in New Orleans
3.  a stop in Sarasota to see Paul's foster family that he lived with
4.  a stop in St. Augustine.....because that's our dream retirement city.
5.  we also might take a short jaunt up to Savannah to visit friends.  However, we'll have to take a look at how many days we get and what we need to do.

Our 10 day vacation is our big vacation for the summer.  We have enough airline miles now to be able to take an international flight..........so now the talks have begun on where we should go.  We are hoping to be able to fit in a couple of cities on this next journey.

Here's some of the cities we have discussed:

 Amsterdam

 Athens

 Paris

 Prague

Rome

I am so excited that we have the opportunity to be able to do this.  Stay tuned......can't wait to start planning for this awesome vacation.

And in other news........

 Misty loves the new porch swing

 I scored a pork loin at the grocery store today for only $3.23......love to find a great deal!

And.....I have a big ole pot of pinto beans in the slow cooker.  I mixed it up a little this time and also put some kidney beans in there.  It smells yummy here!

Have a great week!

What's up with us?

And in no particular order.....here you go -- a small pictorial of some of the highlights of our week:

 We got a new roof

 This is Paul's picture.  He found over 30 packets of empty croutons in our last case.  He was taking photographic evidence of the crime and sending it to our sales rep for credit

 Looking at some cabinets for our kitchen renovation.  Although, my sister said these looked dated.....but we happen to like these maple colored cabinets.  Stay tuned.....kitchen and bathroom renovations coming soon...........................

 Planting flowers for my landscaping and yard decorating projects

 A sneak peek at some of the changes.  Our new storm door, front door, paint, and I FINALLY got my porch swing hung up!!!!  Still have lots of work to do...

Our gorgeous new house so far.......we totally love the way it looks

 

Lots more work to be done.......but so excited we're finally on our way!

Our little stash of treasures

On our recent visit to Waco, we stopped at a couple of antique stores, a flea market, a tourist attraction, a museum, and received a gift from a friend.

Here's some of the treasures we came home with:

 We purchased lots of DVD's.....some of these were brand new.

Now to find the time to watch them.

 My husband found this.  I was a little disturbed as to why he would be interested in this.

Always a great find when you can find any of these in the antique stores

 

 Paul felt the need to tell the world that he's a pepper

I felt the need to purchase a t-shirt from the very expensive tourist attraction

 

Joetta suprised Ronda and myself with this awesome gift that her friend made.

Love this!

 

We also stopped at a restaurant supply store (of course) and made

a few purchases, but I won't bore you with those pictures.

 

And last, but not least, I'll share this picture that we had taken

of us at Minute Maid Park the day of the food show.