recipe: avocado and hummus wraps

During our Bryce Canyon hiking trip we ate these wraps for lunch while on the trail. They were a bit messy since we overloaded them with vegetables, but the taste made up for it. They'd be a lot easier to prepare in a "controlled environment" and I'd recommend them for a quick and easy lunch.

Ingredients:
(makes 1 serving)

-whole wheat tortilla
-chopped bell pepper
-chopped cucumber
-chopped spinach
-sprouts
-Trader Joe's hummus (Eggplant and Tomato Basil have the least amount of oil)
-1/2 mashed small avocado

canyons are gorge-ous

Trip Report: Bryce Canyon National Park

Zach and I spent this past Memorial Day weekend camping and hiking at Bryce Canyon. The trip was an overwhelming success since the weather was beautiful, the park wasn't that crowded, and we had two great hiking days. 

On Friday we drove down after work and arrived at our campground with plenty of time to setup camp and explore our campground before sunset. This was the first time we've camped without making a fire and roasting marshmallows! I was missing that tradition a little, but I know our bodies will thank us for the change in the long run. Everyone around us had large raging fires with burgers and treats which were a big contrast to our little backpacking stove diligently heating up a pot of mushroom soup (which was yummy).

Once the sun went down we went to bed so we could get up early to hike. It got pretty cold at night so we wore all the clothes we brought and wrapped up in our sleeping bags to stay warm.

On Saturday we woke up early for our first day of hiking. We hiked from our campground along the rim trail to Fairyland loop and back for trip totaling about 10 miles. We followed a park ranger's advice to hike the trail clockwise in order to travel in the direction with the best views, and we were very impressed with the gorgeous landscape along the way.

On Sunday we opted for a shorter hike (about 6.7 miles) along the Navajo loop, Peekaboo loop, and Queens Garden loop. This hike was great because we were hiking down at the bottom of the canyon. We were surprised at how green it was in the canyon, since from the top of the rim it seems very dusty and desert-like.

After the Sunday hike we drove home and spent the rest of the long weekend recovering, cleaning the house, relaxing with Cheetoh, and preparing meals for the next week. 

Notes:

Bryce Canyon was a great park. They had good amenities (including free hot showers at the general store) and good campsites. The park was really small so we were able to hike all of the "must see" trails. For this reason, it may be a while before we return since I feel like we saw all there is to see. I would definitely recommend stopping by the park for a day if you're in the area, since the hoodoo structures are remarkable and truly one of a kind.

Christmas Tree

This week we bought our first Christmas Tree! We decided to go with artificial because we like white trees but hate the flocking material they use on real trees to make them white. Tessa just added the ornaments today, and it looks beautiful.



We also put some sticky Santa and Reindeer decorations on our sliding door:

Turkey Day!

Zach and I had a great Thanksgiving this year, albeit not without its own drama. We woke up bright and early to get a head start on cooking for the day. We threw the pumpkin pie in the oven and began preparing the other dishes, including our 11-pound turkey whom we nick-named Tiny Tim. After the prescribed cooking time we checked on the pie, only to find it liquid and completely uncooked. The oven wasn't even warm! We tried setting the temperature again, only to determine that the igniter on the gas line wasn't working properly. We made 10 or so attempts, then decided that Thanksgiving would have to be postponed until we could get someone in to fix the oven. We left a message for the maintenance folks at the apartment, hoping they might take pity and help us out.

No sooner had we wrapped up all of our half-prepared dishes and declared Thanksgiving canceled for the day than who comes knocking at the door? The jolly maintenance man! We let him in and of course when we try the oven it works immediately. Thankfully he was a good sport and told us this happens all the time and that our oven should be fine for the rest of the day. Thanksgiving was back on!

We spent the remainder of the day cooking and eating our delicious food. Not without a few more scares from the oven, but we persisted. All in all, a very successful Thanksgiving.

Here is a picture of our spread (we won't post any of us with the food, we look pretty haggard from our first Thanksgiving cooking experience):


Here was our menu for the day:

• Roast Turkey with Truffle Gravy
• Grandma Erma's Spirited Cranberry Sauce
• Maple-Pecan Sweet Potatoes
• Wild Rice Stuffing
• Brussels Sprouts Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette
• Vanilla-Bourbon Pumpkin Tart

The Cleanroom

As most of you know, Tessa and I work for the same company, in the same department, on the same manufacturing floor. Our company makes medical devices, and this means that our manufacturing floor is not located in a dimly lit , grimy factory. Instead, we work in The Cleanroom!

In the cleanroom, hairnets, gowns, and gloves are required; handwashing and shoe-covers are a must (see picture above for the upper half or our stylishly immaculate digs). Before entering, we have to go through a process called "gowning" which involves donning our hairnets and putting on our shoe-covers in an elaborate dance across an imaginary line separating "clean space" and "filthy space". We then have to thoroughly wash and air dry (paper towels give off particles) our hands, then suit up in our choice of white pinstripe, sky blue, or janitorial navy (seen above) gowns. If we need to bring anything into The Cleanroom it must be wiped down with 140 proof alcohol (actually it's 70% isopropyl, not so good for drinking). Needless to say, my computer is spotless. After checking the door light to make sure the exterior door isn't open, we enter the chaotic yet productive atmosphere of The Cleanroom. We pick up gloves on the left and snap them on as we walk to the makeshift engineering workstation ahead. And thus our day begins.

We wanted to bring you a glimpse of the place where we spend nearly half of our lives. Notice we are smiling in the picture above. Despite the long hours and stressful situtations we love our jobs and the people we work with. The Cleanroom is our home away from home.

Summer is Finally Here!

4th of July in Phoenix

Tessa and I went to Phoenix to visit my parents for the 4th of July weekend. We had a great time swimming and chilling by the pool. The weather was relatively cool (still 100 degrees!) for this time of year, so the water was still cold enough to be refreshing. We went to see Cheap Trick in concert on Saturday in Scottsdale. They were awesome! We took the video below while they were playing Dream Police. The quality of the video isn't very good, but the band sounded great.

On Sunday we bottled some wine my dad made (picture above). We had some drama when a few of the bottles exploded while we were corking them, but nobody got hurt and the wine tasted good.

The weekend was much too short. We enjoyed seeing my family and celebrating Independence Day together. The next time we see them will be for our wedding!