Our passports are collecting dust

We've had a whirlwind year of taking trips.  It's really been so much fun.  Luckily, we've had the staff available so that we could take off on a whim and do some serious travelling.

But.........we're not done yet!

We've been plotting with my sister for the last week about meeting up in Dallas.  Their goal was to see the Grand Prairie Airhogs game.  Our goal was to see the Steely Dan Concert, join them for an Airhogs game, and see the new Presidential library and museum that recently opened there.  I also had a secret plan to try and hook up with Aaron's friend Katy for lunch while we were up there.

Not sure if those plans are going to pan on out on their end or not.......and our original plan was to just go ahead with our original plan.  BUT......my husband just had to go and throw a monkey wrench into everything and state that "maybe we could take a week vacation and use our passports somewhere". 

That's where he made his first mistake.  Now we've been talking about where we'd really, really, really like to go.  We're still in the very early planning stages......but -- this is where we are thinking about going.

I'm not just going to come right out and tell  you......but here's some pictures for you to try and figure it out. 

Did you figure it out yet?  Stay tuned.......you never know where us crazy Gainors are going to end up?

We're #1

I just have to publicly declare that I am so PROUD of my husband!

Once again, our little business was just voted #1 by our customers.  My husband has worked so hard to try and make the best pizza anywhere and make sure that all our customers are ALWAYS taken care of.  He spends countless hours trying to make sure that we are the best.

I was so scared when we first started this business.  What if it doesn't work?  What if no one buys our pizza?  How are we going to do it?  He told me....."don't worry.  I know what I'm doing". 

He was right.  YES we have to work long hours some days.  YES we have HUGE stress levels sometimes.  YES you feel like you're beating your head against the wall somedays.  But yet, we also have a great life that gives us the luxury to enjoy spending time with each other and being lazy when we feel like it (sometimes).

So cheers to you --  my awesome husband -- who has worked so hard to make our little business a HUGE success!  I totally have the best life ever and totally have the BEST husband ever!

Been a long time

Wow....can't believe how long it's been since I've been here.

Guess all the busy just got in the way.  This would include working, cleaning, taking a trip, goofing off, and the list goes on and on

I've taken lots of pictures and had lots of plans of what I was going to put here.  The only trouble is other things got in the way.

So basically this post is written as a big excuse as to why you haven't seen anything exciting from me for awhile. 

Don't think I'll have the time to gather anything for today because it's a planned day off for me and the husband.  Tonight we'll be hanging out at a local establishment enjoying live music.  Couple that with the awesome Mexican food that they have.....it will be fun! 

Today's planned activities were going to be that we cleaned up the game room/office/exercise room/junk room and make it useful again.  I can tell you now that ain't gonna happen.

Paul is off running errands for PZ and I'm home paying bills and catching up on a few things (sure I am.......that's why I'm here blogging).  No really -- after I finish this update I've got to do a couple of things.

Then the other things on our list of things that HAS to be done today:  grocery shopping, discuss new electricity contracts for Grant Rd. and home, deciding on next month's Pizza of the Month, our travel itinerary for the next month, and lunch specials.

Then again.......maybe we'll just forget all the darn work stuff and lay in the pool all afternoon. 

We deserve it.

Paul and Debbie get a pool

We've been having serious discussions lately about whether to get a pool built.  We hadn't always been sure that we wanted to stay in this house and thought about moving to another house.  One that already has a pool.

But, lately we've also had these feelings that we really like this house and feel comfortable here.  Yes it does need a little updating here and there and some new flooring, but it's still a great house.

The last couple of years, Paul and I have made good use of our time off on the 4th of July and really enjoyed a REAL day off.  Last year, we built this on the 4th:

 

The year before that, we enjoyed our 4th of July off enjoying this fabulous oasis!

Well this year, we planned early.  We decided to find a small pool that we could float around in and enjoy without spending a lot of money.  My thrifty husband found a pool at the local sporting goods store and it was very reasonably priced at $115.   Not only is it great for recreational use, it's also good for that crappy skin stuff I have to deal with.  So this was how we spent our Sunday morning:

First you gotta lay everything out and figure out your game plan

 

 

Then you need to trim the trees because you realize it's blocking those good sun tan rays

 

 

Can't believe how easy it was to snap this thing together

 

Ready for the water

 

 

And it's really HOT out here.....can't wait until it's ready for us to get in it!

 

 

This next shot is taken from Paul's brand new 20th century phone.  I'm including it so he can see that he was successful in snapping and sending me the picture!

 

 

And when the temperature looks like this:

 

 

It's really time for this:

 

 

 

It might not be much, but to me......it's the best pool in the world.

  I'm sure we will really be having a great 4th of July this year!

 

 

Talking with the children

You think that the relationship with your children when they are babies are the best.....but little do you know, it's when they grow up that it takes on the most meaning.

They grow up and your whole relationship changes.  The conversations that you have with them is amazing. 

I just got off the phone after spending 1 hour talking with the youngest child.  Now that he's moved away, it's fun to catch up and hear the things that he's doing at work and the life he now lives.  It's weird to not be a part of his day to day any longer when he lived here, but fun to hear all about what's going on with him.

I have the opportunity to see the oldest a couple of times a week.  He is always so willing to help us out and do things around this place that we don't have time to do.  He's quiet, thoughtful, and very meticulous about updating or repairing the things we need done.  Seriously, I don't know how I could repaint a room without his help.   I still enjoy having him over for dinner when I'm making something that I know he can't say no to.

I love these guys......I am glad that they are my children.  I am glad that I have had the opportunity to be the major influencer in their lives and have made so many wonderful memories for them to last their lifetime.

I am so glad I have the opportunity to be their mother!

We can dance if we want to

Well I'm going to tell you straight off that the title has nothing to do with this post.

I just have that silly song in my head -- so it sounded like something I should use for an interesting title.  Now that you've seen it.....you're going to start having that song run through your head now too.

This post is about how incredibly lucky I am to have my life.  No, I'm not mega rich nor mega successful.  But one thing I do have is a fabulous person to share my life with, two boys that still think I'm great, parents that I can still talk to on the phone, a sister who seriously just makes our times together hilariously funny, and a relatively successful business that provides us with the things that we need in life.

That business also provides us the opportunity to just take off for a day (sometimes) and do something spur of the moment.  Although, we're not gonna count how many days in a row we worked long days to get to this point.

That spur of the momentness occurred yesterday.  We had sort of alotted some time out of the week and we knew we wanted to go do something.....just had no specific plans in place.

After hearing that wonderful husband of mine picking at my ear for a week about seeing Cheap Trick....we hopped in the car and headed for Austin.  Bought the concert tickets online before we headed out the door and booked the hotel in the car on the way. 

Took a leisurely drive to Austin and stopped for lunch along the way.  Went to the concert and had a GREAT time and then stopped for a feast to eat in our hotel (bologna, cheese, beer, pretzels....haha!). 

The hotel we stayed at was a converted apartment complex, so we had a one-bedroom apartment complete with a kitchen filled with supplies, refrigerator, and microwave.  Located in a nice quiet neighborhood.....it was a great place to stay!

We stayed up late watching a movie and eating our feast and didn't get up until 10am.  How nice it was to just leisurely get up and not have any stress about having to be anywhere in a hurry.

The drive back was filled with lots of business planning, a lunch at a small cafe in a tiny town, and memories of what a great time we have with each other.  Really.....isn't that what your life should really be about and not all the fancy possessions?

Now.....just to torture you.....

"We can dance if we want to
We can leave your friends behind
'Cause your friends don't dance and if they don't dance
Well they're no friends of mine"

Cooking with Chiles

Since we had brought home 3 bags full of frozen green chiles from New Mexico, it was time to start working on using them up.

First recipe was to try a Green Chile Chicken Salad.

The ingredients were chicken, cilantro, green chiles, shallots, mayonnaise, white wine vinegar, and lime juice.

Holy cow......it was delicious!  We loved it, although it was a tad spicy.  Paul put his on jalapeno bread and I put mine on a bed of fresh spinach.  Threw on some kettle fried chips and it was a fabulous summer meal!  The eldest child came by today and finished it off in a couple of sandwiches and declared that it was delicious!

Seriously, some of the food I eat these days I NEVER in a million years would think I'd ever eat it.  Sometimes it's really amazing as you grow older and bolder.  Just wish the spicy stuff didn't mess with my stomach like it does.......that's the bad part of getting old.

I think the next green chile creation will be a green chile stew, which I hope will duplicate the one that we ate in Santa Fe.  Details to follow, cause I know how interested you really are in all of this!