It's FEED ME FRIDAY! (Smoked Tri-Tip Edition)

So, we went camping last weekend, for Labor Day... it was a grand weekend. and full of food. But we did something different this time...

We smoked some meats BEFORE we went!

We did tri-tip and pork ribs. The ribs used my special rub, click HERE for the post and recipe. And the tri-tip? I called my momma for that one.

She uses:

for the marinade...
1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
1 c. soy sauce
1 bunch green onions, sliced (just the green part)
and for the rub... (poke holes in the meat and rub it in)
black pepper
garlic salt

And... like I always do... I adjusted it just a little:
for the marinade...
1/4 c. Worcestershire (Lea and Perrin's ROCKS!)
1 c. LITE soy sauce (Kikkoman's makes the very best)
1 bunch green onions, sliced (the whole flippin' thing)
4 cloves garlic (pressed or minced finely)
a pinch of ground cayenne pepper (for that little oomph!)
for the rub... (I don't have garlic salt, and wasn't about to buy any)
garlic powder
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper...
I mixed it all up, and rubbed the stuff WAY into the meat, massaging it throughout. I decided NOT to poke holes, as I didn't want any other "openings" for the moisture to get out later in the process... then... I put that puppy into a gallon Ziploc, poured in the marinade, threw it in the fridge, and flipped it over every coupla hours...

Hubs got the grill/smoker thingy going the next a.m. and we tossed it in there, along with some hickory chips. Mmm... boy! did that smell good. Smoked it for about 4 hours, basting it, when water was being added to the water bowl.

Anywhoo... here's the end result:

And when it was sliced:

Makes the best sandwiches... EVER!

Also, it makes for a much easier campout, with the meat done and everything... Woohoo! Means more time for PLAY!
Hope ya'll have a great weekend!

OMGosh! It's April, Already?

The past two weeks have been a major rush. Lots has happened, including the ending of March, Ricky Martin's coming out (Good for you, Ricky!), our week-long camping trip, and Easter. Now the kids are back in school (2 weeks of Spring Break is O.V.E.R., Baby!), and hopefully life will resume back to normal... must.get.the.camping.laundry.done.FIRST!

After I conclude this small feat (or maybe even before... let's see how my attention span is to cleaning...), I will post lots of pics and posts. Ha... ha... Seriously. I will.

Until I next see you (which will be soon, I assure you!)... I'm usually (at some point in my day) on Facebook or Twitter! But here's a teaser from camping pics... Well... *boggle*, I can't seem to download pics from Facebook to here!

So it doesn't work... you'll just have to wait. BUT... if you are a Facebook friend, you can see my mobile uploads... and go figure! Not of all the pics I took would upload. So bummery!

Did Ya Miss The Grueling Tales?

I have just been staying away from being on the computer so much. But I will post again at least twice a week.

Life has been busy. Between the girls swimming (yes... Stacy finally made grades), Marissa still wearing diapers (potty-trained but still wanting to wear them - pick your battles...), Juan and everything else, time is precious.

We've gone camping two times since the last post. Unfortunately I like to write in private, and others get up just as early as me on these trips. Bummer. But... on a good note, at least we found a nice place in San Diego to camp. Beautiful and like a mini resort. Not too far from the beach either.

My brother and his wife finally welcomed a new son to the fold. I had my other nephew (almost 3 years old) while the labor session was going. It was a good time for us to bond. After a restless night and not much sleep (mostly crying and dirty looks - it was rather funny), and clinging to me, he woke up with a smile and said, "Good morning, Auntie!" Definitely not expected, but it was nice.

Mother's Day weekend I was officiating, so I was on my feet and in the sun for two days. Hopefully, I lost a couple pounds or inches... whichever. How was yours? Toodles for now! lisa

Agua Caliente - Day Three

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Yesterday was fun! We had Jr & Renee follow us out (so they wouldn't get lost) to Julian, where we were going to visit.

Jr had to take down one tent and air mattress though, 'cause we made him. He ended up taking down one of the girls' tents, because they were moving into the larger tent, which he was using.

We were on a slant, so our pancakes were on a slant, too. They were slightly burnt, but good. Then we were on our way...

Julian is a quaint town of a whole 427 people. It is beautiful and the daffodils grow wild. According to the locals, the town is known for its lilacs and the branches are beginning to boo,, but we didn't see them...

Julian is also known for apples, and no one, but the Witch Creek Winery, from around there makes hard cider. Yep. I went to a wine tasting and west through robust tart to sweet. Yummy. I bought a bottle of the hard cider. And we bought a pie.

Lots of the shops have cute country stuff, including Gooseberry Patch cookbooks and anecdotes. Most also have Coca-Cola stuff, so they got me! My mom bought me a diner-style salt and pepper shaker set. I purchased myself a perpetual calendar that I'd never seen. Needless to say... I could've easily spent another couple hundred in there. The girls weren't into much except candy, so I didn't get them anything. My mom bought them the candy.

The markets didn't have much, so we got what we could on our lists. Luckily, Juan had found my bandaid stash in a diaper bag, so those weren't needed.

The museums were closed,l and we didn't venture out of town to the caves or the haunted stage. Maybe Friday on our way out of town we'll hit them.

It got kind of windy once we got back. Dinner was my simple meatball grill packets (meatballs, onions, corn-on-the-cob, and potatoes topped with honey & bbq sauce). Everyone loved them. So dishes were almost nothing.

We had pie and a bottle of hard cider (my Strawberry Arbor Mist died while we were gone...)... and sat by the fire for a bit. I went to bed early and took a pill.

The other day... when we were "poolin'", I had gotten a little burnt. I was starting to feel it when I turned in.

Thank goodness everything was either tied down or staked down when I went to bed. Even thought I'd taken a pill, the wind howled and blew the tent walls in and out. It whistled and gusted throughout the night, making it hard to get a good night's rest. The tent walls shuddered and blew up like a child filling its cheeks with air then blowing out, the cheeks going in.

Maybe today the girls will fly kites.

The baby kept scooting over, nearly pushing me off the ed. It's hard to sleep with a toddler, but I knew that anyway from home. By the time I got up, I was on the edge of my side, a familiar place for me, and about to go over. So I have up and got up.

Today, though, I'd like to try some trails. Wish me luck!

If i forgot to mention it, the baby complained all day about her "hurting feet." She claimed her feet still hurt and wanted to be carried around. They are scraped pretty well.

Agua Caliente Trip - Day Two

And here is a continuation of our trip. If it bores you... move on... lol!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

And yes, I forgot to bring some things (don't we all!)... the baby's bathing suit was a big one (Don't worry. I told her that babies have to wear "shorts" bathing suits; it's one of the "rules."), a corkscrew (had to bring my wine - Thank God one of them was a screw top!), a can opener (so we didn't have baked beans or tomato sauce - for the rice, etc.) Oh well... can't remember everything.

Tuesday wasn't bad at all, if you don't need a cell phone, texting, a computer and your friends... I don't! A few days away is a great thing. But there are those that just constantly complain. Juan's kids (Jr & Renee) did just that.

As a matter of fact, they are cutting the trip short and leaving today for those very reasons. Poor Juan... Jr also forgot his deodorant, toothbrush and "flavor" (tobacco) for his Hooka (He insists this is not smoking!). Great...

Renee just super misses texting.

My cell phone just sits in my car... no worries, no pain, no wistfulness of days gone by or phone calls not received or made...

Back to yesterday...

I got the baby to go into the wading pool. Turns out - she didn't want to go Monday because she saw this "lady making kids count" and she didn't want to have to count. She loved it. I can't get her into a pool at home, but this is a wading pool, and she can touch the bottom and have a lot hang out, still. Yippee!

The kids came from the big pool, saying it was way too cold. That's what all the other campers say, too. The wading pool is about 90. They are both supposed to be 90.

I went to the "therapy" pool (jacuzzi to me) for a little bit... NICE...

Ugh. You'd think I could get my own coffee right... too much sugar! (Drinking coffee right now...)

By the time I got back to the wading pool, the baby's toes were scraped on the bottom (the pool is very roughly finished). So she complained all day. Oh! And I forgot more - bandaids and Tylenol.

Everyone but Jr had a good time in the pools. Jr didn't go in at all.

We played games (Bullshit, Solitaire, Yatzee). We played frisbee. The girls caught softballs.

Rey fell from the hammock that Juan had bought... the manufactured knots came out. It was hilarious! Thump! Right on her back. No, she wasn't hurt and didn't play it up either.

Then the hammock got fixed. We found a place the baby could fall asleep in! Yeah!

We rode bikes around the campground (the hills are tiring... I'm SO out of shape...).

Burgers were for dinner. Since Mom forgot the potato salad and salsa, we just had chips with it.

The baby was watching movies in the car. The battery went dead. That's ok. We used Jr's car to charge it up... So the baby watched movies in the tent. Until bedtime. (She didn't want to walk with her toes like that.) After the fire and s'mores, she went right to sleep with me.

The hammock was a big attraction for all the kids and Juan. I'll pass, but it was nice watching each of them in it. They'd swing, kick back, sleep and, overall, have a good time.

Jr was originally supposed to leave Thursday and Renee stay, but they've been sort of (very much) complaining a lot. Of course it irks me. Juan bought extra stuff just for them when they said they were coming. The complaining also get to me, but of course, they've made excuses as to why they have to leave.

Our Trip to Agua Caliente - Day One

So I haven't written in a while, but if you would like to follow my vacation that we took last week (we went camping at Agua Caliente), then please read. I will try to post a different day, in sequence, throughout the week.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

So the first day was...

not so bad, but very shocking for all of us. Maybe the name was an omen - "Agua Caliente", meaning hot water in Spanish. And as we came, I felt like we were getting in hotter water than I had ever imagined. Let's just go back to "it wasn't what we expected..."

First of all, we had originally expected 80 degree weather, but the everchanging forecast told us 60 degree weather with nights of 39. (Yuck!)

We set off anyway... Jr & Renee came, too... much to all of our surprise. They don't usually do much with us (although they are part of the family - my stepkids), let alone going away for a week.

The way was an hour more than I had thought, and much more south-east, too. This was definitely not Palm Springs, nor the surrounding area.

So we drove and drove, down past Fallbrook. Oops! We missed our exit. My fault... I was getting the baby (4 years old) another movie in the dvd player (aren't we spoiled?!?) and taking her toys, like she asked. So we drove to the next exit, got off and drove and drove... until my husband, Juan, found a decent spot to pull over. (We had a trailer and two more car loads were with us - following, of course.)

We discussed our new mapping and followed my mom - I asked not to be the lead anymore. And so we drove back, got our exit, and followed a gorgeous country road (thank God it was paved!!!) through a myriad of curves, winds, and various Indian reservations, all the while surrounded by lush oak trees, California poppies in full bloom, and daffodils growing wild (those lucky ducks! I have to plant my own bulbs...).

The baby had to go "potty." So as soon as we could, which wasn't that soon, we found a restroom,after pulling over another time to "discuss" (me thinks everyone keeps forgetting we have a trailer!). We found that open restroom next to a Sheriff's station. This was attached to Poncho Villa's Tacos (and Pizza & Lasagna), so we decided to grab lunch there. The food was wonderful! I don't think I thought it was going to be that good! Not one person was disappointed.

My machaca burrito was messy, dripping, and oozing with flavor, just the way it should be. The beef was tender and shredded to perfection. The blend of vegetables (corn, potatoes, onion, and yellow bell peppers) was spread throughout and carmelized to a sweet goodness. And the egg! Not too much and not too little... just enough to bind it all together.

Well... we left and headed more east, more south, through more winding, winding roads, around a mountain (elevations over 3000 ft)... that lead us to a desert.

I sure hoped this was going to be an oasis (a "haven in the desert" as the description called it...), but it was beginning to seriously look doubtful...

The first market we stopped at was closed, although it stated, "OPEN", on the sign. It had wonderful antique fire trucks (real ones!). I counted seven in all, ranging through the times. There were also horse-drawn carriages with statued horses (fake!) of times gone by. Everything was glorious and stating "DO NOT TOUCH." The baby still thought they were real, although they were crumbling. She was afraid they would bite her, so she didn't get too close for a quick pic. Picture taken... moving on...

So we left there and drove further... to the market just outside of our destination. It was small, but expected. It was a little after 3pm (on Monday) and they said they'd be closing "real soon." They also informed us (when we asked what time they opened tomorrow...) that they were closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays (GREAT!).

Then we got here... not what we expected. No lushness, small sites (camping spaces), LOTS of rocks (all large gravel in one site), prickly brush... but... we changed to one other spot and made it all work. We were determined to make the best of it. Only Jr & Renee wanted to stay in the car.

The pool closed at 5pm... the were all disappointed. Oh well...

My portion of dinner (rice, beans, and tortillas) was done promptly at 7pm. Juan wasn't done with his until 7:30, so mine was part cold, part lukewarm. (You try keeping it hot in the gusty winds and chilling evening!)

It was pretty warm when we got here (warmer than expected). But the night was COLD! I was so tired, but sleep was not my friend. The baby wanted to play, don't know until what time, and I was too cold. Eventually, I finally crashed, but woke to the pitch blackness, because I had to "GO"!

I waited it out as long as I could, then gave up and braved the cold and the dark. (The baby had been playing with the flashlight, so I didn't know where it was...) I felt the pavement and let that take me to where I needed to be. Small noises spooked me, a howling here (there were coyotes around), a "caw" there... but I made it! I stayed in the warm room (attached to the hot springs' jacuzzi [therapeutic pool] room) as long as I dared, then trudged back.

Had it not been so cold, I would've stayed out longer to star gaze, but I'm a wuss. Save that for another day/night. I got back into my warm cocoon and again (eventually) fell asleep. Waking up throughout the night, I finally got through to the morning... maybe tomorrow night I'll take a pill!

Finally! My New Year's Slide Show...

Finally, it is here (took me FOREVER to do it, too!) A small glimpse into our campout on Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena, beginning the morning of New Year's Eve. Enjoy the floats, the bands, and my kids for inspiration! Just click on play, then light the fuse and begin!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

I can't wait to scrap these photos. I think I'm probably going to do a full series of Rose Parade books... Toodles for now! lisa

Camping is FUN!

Last weekend, we headed out to the "hot" town of Bakersfield, to a camping site called "Buena Vista." This is on Webb Lake, off the Kern River, in Kern County. It was warmer than my house (105 degrees), but with a breeze, it felt much cooler than home. We got there at 5pm with the heat still on, unloaded the trailer, set up the tents, and started dinner. How peaceful can it get?

Like many others in today's economy, we didn't venture too far. However, there is just too many of us to have a "stay-cation". I'm glad we got away.

There were 10 of us total. My mom and her hubby, the five of us (Jr & Renee didn't come), and my sister, her boyfriend and a family friend. A rather diverse bunch, we enjoyed each other immensely and didn't grate on the nerves too much. Jolene and Cynthia taught John and the girls a new game. It was fun to watch, and I love getting "silly" pics!

Although I love my phone, television, computer, and scrapbooking/crafting/sewing stuff... it was so nice to have the quiet and enjoy friendly time with everyone. We were worried that Ms. Marissa might have a hard time, but she absolutely loved it. She wants to go "again and again and again and again!" I told her daddy... when her birthday comes, don't ask her where she wants to go. I'm not camping in January! But the little girl loved it! She loved playing with her flashlight, playing in her mini tent (only for daylight hours), sleeping in the sleeping bag, and going to the lake.

I got some really great photos. The last day, there wasn't anyone else in the swimming area, so I got to take my camera wading in the water, and got those really awesome shots... I really do miss my SLR! Right now, I've got a simple point-and-shoot digital. The delay kills me sometimes, and I don't have as much flexibility with it, but I'll just have to save up... uh... yeah! As it is, I've added the Cricut Camping Cartridge to my "wants" now, so I can scrap it all with my Circut flair!

But, we all had a great time, and can't wait to go again. We'll be going again in September to Agua Caliente in Palm Springs. These are natural mineral spring pools that stay around 90 degrees! Yippee! Woohoo! I can't wait. To have a spa session with everyone else for just the price of a campground. What a deal!

Anyway, we did have a wonderful time, enjoyed the peace and quiet, enjoyed each other's company... got great pics (even of some people acting rather "silly"), and then had to pack up and come back to reality. Uh... the life! Toodles for now! lisa