Favorite Vacation Photos:
I recently finished creating a folder of my favorite photos from our last vacation. There's still more than anyone would probably want to look at, plus I'd like to find out how to add a watermark before I post too many. In the meantime, I'm posting just a few more of my favorites from that trip. It's best to open them up to see the detail because some of them are kinda fun.

The brilliant sunset is taken near Crater Lake, in Oregon. If you open it you'll see a single star in the gorgeous sky.

The forest path is one that I'm thinking about using for my banner...not sure if it has enough color though. Let me know what you think.

The lighthouse is in Crescent City, California.

The one of Terry crossing the street is pretty cool. He didn't want me to take his picture , so he thought I wouldn't be able to catch him if he ran across. If you open the picture, he's in pretty good focus compared to everything else around.

If you open the one that looks like a bunch of sand and trees, you'll see me sitting at the bottom of the hill. Terry was taking the picture from the top of a huge sand dune near the southern part of the Oregon coast! I had no idea there were even sand dunes there until this trip.

I took several of the sailboats in the moonlight on the Columbia River in Portland. There were two boats that passed in front of each other. I couldn't resist with the reflection on the water. I didn't have my tripod with me (it was in the car) so I set my camera on top of a post and used my remote to keep the movement to a minimum. Not bad for makeshift, huh.

The last one is raindrops on a branch full of leaves in Redwood National Park. I just love the way they sparkle.

Anyway, these are just a few that I thought were kinda cool.

Great Friends!
I had lunch with an old friend today. David and I used to work together at Arvato in SoCal. Well, for part of the time I was his boss, but we were still great friends. He is such a fun-loving guy and great worker that we were so sad to see him go. The good news is that he's kept in touch with me and others from work over the years since he left and it was so much fun to catch up on the latest news with him. He's in town for several days taking care of his sister's 2 kids while they're on vacation. He's never had any kids of his own, so it's quite a challenge for him, but he's loving it and I'm sure doing a great job!

David and his partner are taking some huge steps in their lives right now. They live in L.A. and Paul just left a very high stress job to move to one that's a bit slower, with more creative freedom for him. They also bought a place in Chicago (where they came from) and hope to move back some day. The place they bought was 3 stories, with 3 "apartments" that were each 3000 sq ft, and they're remodeling it into a single family home. Yeah that's 9000 sq. ft! And from what I've seen of their other place, I'm sure it will be gorgeous! I can't wait to see photos when they're done.

He also had the scoop on several of my previous co-workers, so it was good to get a little bit of news about them too. I love the fact that we can stay connected to friends, colleagues, family, etc. through email, even if it's only sporadic. I'm sure we'd rarely do it if we had to actually write letters or pick up the phone. We had a great long lunch. I didn't want to go back to work, but decided that I had better (after a 2-hour lunch).

I LOVE user-friendly technology!!!

So have you downloaded Google Earth yet? It's absolutely amazing! I looked up the addresses of several friends around the world, literally...(those whose houses I haven't been to before) and it was so awesome to see physically where they live. You can see the trees in their yard, a pool, driveway, sometimes even a car.

It's a little scary to think of the detail in the program, but cool at the same time.

You can look up so many things. One tip I heard was to look up hotels where you're thinking of staying to see if they're near railroad tracks or busy highways. Sometimes I wonder why one hotel is so much cheaper than another in the same area, and this may help you to find that information. You can also look at the stars and sky with this. Check it out. You can spend hours there.

Another musician friend is playing in Phoenix this weekend.

He's got some great stuff! Stop by if you have a chance.

Looking forward to the Four Season Aviara Resort

I was cleaning up some of my photo files this weekend and realized that I didn't post anything that I took at Carlsbad, CA (Four Seasons resort) a few weeks ago. Here are a few favorites. The first is the view from the lobby's floor to ceiling window.

The 2nd is the centerpiece in the lobby that's changed out every week. They just put in the hydrangeas the day we were leaving and they were gorgeous! They're one of my favorite flowers. Do you think we could get them for my funeral some day? Blue and purple are my very favorite!

The 3rd is of the massive outdoor fireplace where I expect we will have some memorable gatherings with our friends at the Getaway in November. There are two just like this. Terry and I enjoyed sitting out there under the stars in the cool night air. We saw a few shooting stars and I could have fallen asleep right there. It was so quiet and relaxing. I'd love to have one just like it (o.k. maybe a little smaller) in our backyard.

O.k., I think that's finally it for posting today. I posted several times, so be sure to continue reading on for the new stuff.

Another candidate for the family gallery:

Hope and Steve's kids in 2005. Joshua, Kassidy & Jacob (or is it Jacob, Kassidy & Joshua)?

Lisa will have to help me out. Aren't they adorable?

Random Thoughts:

Wow! It's been almost 2 weeks since my last post. Where did the time go? So I just have a bunch of random stuff to post today.

First: Obadiah Parker made it to the 3rd round. Yay! Now they only have 5 more days of voting to get into the final 5 and they really need your help. Here's a note from Mat. "They've chosen the top 20 bands for the Austin City Limits Concert possibilities and have six days to get as many votes as we can to get in the top five. If we do this we will automatically go to Austin to participate in the final round. This is a really cool opportunity for us and we're relying solely on our fans to make this happen for us. You can vote everyday for every email address that you have. You can also spread the word anyway you can!"

Here the link. Click here to vote please!

Next: I came across this photo that Julie Thrush took of Terry & me when we were in Greer. I don't remember if I posted it before, but I really like it, so here it is again.

I got together with my mom on Friday night and got started gathering some family history. I sat with my laptop and just asked her questions about her and my dad and typed the answers. I'm hoping to continue doing this when we get together, because there's so much that we don't have documented about their lives and those of our family, and she rarely took pictures. I think it made her feel good that someone is interested in her life and I love getting the info down in writing. Since I've been blogging and taking more photos, and since Amy's been scanning the old Hann family photos, I realize just how precious all that information will be in a generation or two. I would love to find details about my grandparents and great grandparents, but there isn't much around. Someday, hopefully someone will really enjoy all this info. Even if they don't, I'm enjoying gathering it.

She also showed me some pics that my brother, Pat sent to her. This is the little house that he's living in now in Vermilion, Ohio. He really likes the fact that it's so quiet. It's also just a few blocks to Lake Erie and just steps to the post office, a little cafe, stores, etc. He seems to be much happier there. He's quite a loner and very sensitive to outside noises, so a detached home is the perfect option for him.

Next random thought...Terry and I watched Rain Man last night. I LOVE that movie! I'm not usually much for rating my absolute favorites of anything, because I have a hard time being that black and white, but Rain Man has got to be in my top picks for best movies ever. Dustin Hoffman is fantastic in this role and the story is just so sweet!!

I'm trying to go through my photos and determine which ones will go on the wall in our hallway. We have a decent amount of space for a little family gallery, but with the big families that we both have, it's hard to decide what to put up. I have an 8 x 10 of my dad at 24 and my mom at 13 that are great! They will definitely be in the mix. I'm trying to post them here, but I keep getting an error. I'll keep trying because they're worth seeing.

Maybe I'll choose a couple of the old Hann photos for the wall too. I'm looking forward to getting them from Amy when she's done scanning all the old slides. She's been sending some great ones...like this of the Hann boys in Tombstone AZ! (Terry is the cute one on the right.) And don't miss Tom behind the bar.

Obadiah Parker is up to # 6 and close to # 5, so keep voting all this week. Every day, every email.

Have you checked out their Wikipedia entry? Here it is

Click here to vote daily:

Consider this under the "Things you don't see every day category".

Just a few bits of fun while we're here in So Cal!

Yesterday we drove from Phx to Mira Mesa (just inland from La Jolla). On the way we came through Gila Bend, AZ (the Crossroads of the Southwest) and Terry told me that in the early 70's his Bourgade High School Basketball & Cross Country teams used to stop at the Space Age Lodge restaurant for dinner on the way back from their games & meets. You're probably wondering "Where in the world were those games?" Ajo, AZ - That's about all I can tell you, because I don't think I've ever been to Ajo. Anyway, I LOVE this sign and the place is still open & running! It's so mid-century! When I get home I want to convert the pic to black & white. It just seems appropriate.

After we got settled in our hotel, we relaxed for a little while (and Terry took a nap), then went down to La Jolla for dinner and some wandering. While we were there we saw some great sights.

First this guy came walking up from the beach in his wetsuit carrying what looked like a harpoon and a huge sea bass. Looked like he was going to have a great dinner with enough to share with friends.

We also saw a few sea lions and one got out on a rock right by where we were standing. Isn't it gorgeous? They're so fun to watch.

Later we walked a few hundred yards down the beach and were able to watch these harbor seals coming out of the water for the night. They're so cute. I can see why they call the babies pups, because they're just that adorable!

Later we visited several galleries, including the Morrison Hotel Gallery, which is full of photos of famous musicians. Some are from album sittings and others are just casual shots taken by well known photographers. Check out this one of John Lennon.

Now we're at the Four Seasons Resort. The room is beautiful, especially the luxurious bathroom with a deep soaking tub and separate shower. While we were sitting here, a member of the staff just brought in a bottle of Evian and 5 fresh apricots. We didn't order these, my assumption is that they're from the sales staff that we'll be meeting with tomorrow. It's a nice touch, huh? Too bad we just had some snacks and are planning to go out to dinner with Don & Carol tonight. Oh, well, we'll take them home & enjoy them.

Today we wandered around an arts & crafts fair and I picked up some snazzy new earrings. I also came across a booth of MJ's Ornaments. These are similar to the site I ordered from last year, but I don't think it's the same person. MJ makes custom personalized ornaments with photos that you send to her. I was very inspired. Her prices aren't bad, but I'd love to learn how to do this myself. Linda, we need to figure out who can teach us how to do this!

So we had quite a variety of adventures this weekend. It was a blast! Hope you enjoyed the recap.

Sometimes I really LOVE my job!!!!

One of the aspects of being an Event Manager is the long tedious hours of site visits at resort after resort at vacation destinations. It actually is pretty tiring, especially if you have a lot of places to visit, but it's one of my favorite parts of the job.

Fortunately, this weekend I'm going on a 2nd visit to the place we chose for a fund-raising retreat that Leadership Catalyst is doing in November. My hubby and I will visit the Four Seasons Aviara Resort in Carlsbad, CA and get to stay overnight and pamper ourselves in one of their gorgeous rooms. We'll be meeting with our coordinator from the resort as well as our friends, Don & Carol to look at the meeting room and discuss questions that we have about the event. Don is our tech expert and will help us make all the necessary decisions and ask all the right questions about our audio-visual set up for the event.

Since we'll be over there anyway for our Monday meeting, we decided to make a weekend of it, even though we just got back from vacation a few weeks ago. We'll be staying just north of San Diego for the first night, because we can't afford to PAY for a night at Aviara. Well, I guess we COULD afford it, but don't really WANT to spend that much money for one night in a hotel room.


I hope we get a chance to check out this awesome fireplace while we're there. Doesn't it look so inviting for when the temps dip below 70 degrees? The highs are expected to be in the mid-70's and lows in the mid-60's, which is pretty close to paradise, I'd say. Even as I type this I have to force myself to pack a sweater and long sleeves for the evenings. It's just so hard to imagine after 105 degree high temp today.

I'm sure you can tell that all these pics are from the resort website, but I'll be taking more while we're out and about and I'll try to post while I'm there.

Another cool thing...I get to use a work day and don't have to take vacation...because I really AM working. YES, I AM and please don't tell my co-workers how much I enjoy it. I think they're jealous already.

Makes me glad I'm not in So Cal anymore!

Earthquake news here: Now a 4.6 quake isn't usually too big of a deal, but it's interesting that the White's Canyon Bridge was affected. Terry used to use this bridge almost daily on his way to work. It's just a few miles from where we lived.

I'll be emailing our friends who live near there to see if it impacted them much. I'm guessing it may have woke them up, but that's about it. Mainly it's just unsettling and makes you wonder when the next BIG ONE is coming...not a fun thought if you live in that area.

Still glad that I don't have to deal with those issues anymore.

Yogurt and Citrus Chicken or Turkey (with grilled vegetables):

Here's a tasty new recipe that we tried and really liked! I thought of Amy & Andrew when I saw the instructions, because it says to cook it on a George Foreman grill and that's what they have. We don't have one, so we cooked ours on a regular gas grill.

I'll link to the actual recipe, then tell you how we adapted it. It came from the April 2005 Oprah magazine (yeah, I have a hard time throwing magazines away-this one was hiding and I just rediscovered it.)

Here's a link to the original recipe on Oprah's site. The picture looks better online.

These are the ingredients:
2 lbs of 1/2 inch thick turkey cutlets
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
zest & juice of 2 large oranges
2 cups of plain lowfat yogurt
2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
1/4 cup packed fresh mint leaves, chopped

Here's what we did. First off we tried it two times. Once with the turkey and once with chicken thighs (bone-in) and (boneless-skinless) chicken breasts.

When we used turkey:

1. First I grated the ginger and chopped the mint. I probably could have used more mint since the recipe says packed and I didn't pack it too much in the measuring cup.
   
2. I placed the cutlets in a plastic ziploc bag. Using a small bottle of unopened syrup (instead of the mallet or rolling pin), I pounded cutlets to around 1/2 inch thickness. I got tired of pounding to get them to 1/4 inch.
   
3. I forgot to season with salt & pepper, like the recipe said.
4. In a small bowl I combined orange zest and juice, yogurt, ginger and mint. Stirred until blended. Poured yogurt mixture into a large Tupperware container because there was too much to fit in a ziploc bag. Added turkey cutlets and turned to coat thoroughly. We were hungry, so instead of refrigerating 2 hours we went for about 20-30 minutes. (If I had waited any longer Terry would have eaten the whole bag of pretzels with dill dip - our appetizer.)
   
5. Since we didn't have a large panini griddle or Foreman grill, Terry preheated the gas grill to high. Removed cutlets from marinade, and allowed excess yogurt to drip off.
6. Terry placed all cutlets on a preheated grilling pan (with holes) set on top of the grill, covered and cooked until done, about 10 minutes or so.
   

The results were very tasty, although the pounding of the cutlets seemed to break them up and they weren't very pretty. We may have started out with some that were too thick to begin with.

When we used chicken:

1. We were able to skip the step about thinning the meat, which saved time. Unfortunately if you're using a panini or Foreman grill, you may have to do that for it to cook right. I'm not sure, since I haven't used either before.
   
2. I forgot to season with salt & pepper AGAIN, like the recipe said.
3. In a small bowl I combined orange zest and juice, yogurt, ginger and mint. Stirred until blended. Poured yogurt mixture into a large ziploc bag. Added chicken pieces and turned to coat thoroughly. This time we refrigerated overnight instead of the minimum prescribed 2 hours.
4. The next night, we preheated the gas grill to high. Removed chicken from marinade, and allowed excess yogurt to drip off.
5. Terry placed thigh pieces on the grill first, on indirect heat and cooked about 40 minutes, then added the boneless breasts and cooked on direct heat until done, about 10-15 minutes. They came off perfectly moist and flavorful.
   

The results were much better and absolutely delicious! The taste of mint and orange especially permeated the meat and was so fresh. This is definitely being added to our recipe box. This would be a good one for those watching their diet as well, since it's low cal, low fat and healthy, healthy!

We served the first meal with whole grain rice & sliced water chestnuts and fresh cut cantaloupe on the side. The second night we had fresh grilled vegetables as our side dish.

Maybe next time, if I actually USE the salt & pepper, they'll taste even better! We'll see...

MMMMMMM

OP is now at # 6, but needs a lot more votes to get to number 5!!!!

Keep those votes coming....every day - don't forget. Vote HERE

OBADIAH PARKER HAS CLIMBED TO #8 SO KEEP VOTING!!!!

The voting for the first round ends on August 20th so keep going there every day to vote.

Right now they're less than 100 votes behind # 7. Also, don't forget that you can vote once a day from every email address that you have.

So if you have more than one, like work, home, or others, vote from each one. They have to be real addresses though (no cheating). You'll get an email from them and have to click on a link to confirm your vote.

Anyway, go HERE to vote now!

See below for info to vote for Obadiah Parker:

Another group of talented friends: Here's a note from Mat.

Upcoming Concert dates:
August 24 - Scottsdale
Martini Ranch

August 31st - San Diego
Martini Ranch

We're also working on adding another date or two during that week (maybe Las Vegas?) so check our website for details and updates.

Also, we're trying to win a spot to play at the Austin City Limits Festival in September and we need your help! The contest is based on four rounds of voting by fans and judges. We have from now until August 20th to get as many votes as we can from our fans to make it to the second round. You can vote every day for each email address that you have access to. This would be a really great opportunity for us to play at ACL so we appreciate your guys' support! CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR THEM.