Random pictures on one of my favorite topics...FOOD!

So I was cruising all of my favorite family and friend's blogs and I was thinking about all the fun family traditions that we have, with the thought that Thanksgiving is coming up in a few weeks. So naturally my thoughts then turned to FOOD. So I was looking through my old photos for family and food pictures and here's what I came up with -- Some of our families favorite food/family traditions.

5. Inari Sushi -- This is a picture of my Grandma Johnson making Inari. Inari is just beancurd pockets stuffed with sticky rice that is flavored with vinegar and sugar. I pretty sure its a Hawaiian thing. All I know is that my family eats it like they're potato chips. Any time we have a luau with my Hawaiian family members, you can bet there will be tons of inari....BTW I prefer mine with just a dash of soy sauce on it Yum!!

4. Aunt Kelly's Homemade Tamale's -- I am soooo picky when it comes to tamales. I've tried all kinds of tamales and the only ones I like are the ones my Aunt Kelly (and Andrea Brown) make. In fact two years ago I asked her to show me how to make them, because I was worried that if Kelly ever stopped making them, I'd never see a good tamale again. :( So in 2006 Kelly & Andrea taught me, my brother Ryan, and my sister Kiki how to make her tamales. You only make them around Christmas time and due to the significant amount of work involved in making them, you make about 50 dozen. We had sooooo much fun and the tamales were delicious. Last year, Ryan and I made them on our own and the turned out pretty good. I think we'll give it a go again this year. Delicious...BTW - I prefer to eat my tamale with a bunch of ketchup on it. It's perfect that way.

3. Hamburger Stroganoff -- Whenever you talk about the Dennis Schaub family and food you HAVE to mention Hamburger Stroganoff. This was the ABSOLUTE favorite meal of the entire Schaub Family. From the day we are born, until the day we die, when asked what we would like for our "special" meal, almost every single one of us will say "Hamburger Stroganoff". I don't know what it is about the meal, but it can't be beat for comfort food. I LOVE IT!! I'll have to post the recipe some time so ya'll can try it. BTW -- It is always served on sticky rice with a side of peas!

2. Schaub-ka-bobs -- You don't hang around with the Schaub klan (and I'm talking all 60 some-odd of us) and not know about Schaub-ka-bobs. These delicious breakfast morsoles are pop-up biscuits on a stick cooked over a camp fire. We serve them at every Schaub Family campout -- big or small. The kids absolutely love them (what's not to love about cooking something on a stick over a fire). And as an adult I can vouch for how delicious they are. When you slide the cooked biscuit off of the stick there is a nice long hole down the center that you fill with squeeze butter and honey, it's just heavenly. The heat melts it all and makes the last bite the VERY best part! YUMMY!

1. Mom's Homemade Rolls -- In heaven I'll be able to eat all the homemade rolls with butter that I can handle (and not gain a pound). If I was stranded on a desert island and I was only allowed one food, it would have to be my mother's homemade rolls. Just the thought of how the house smells while my mother is baking her rolls, brings tears to my eyes. These things are perfect in texture, taste, and consistency. I really have never tasted better. And for some darn reason, I can't seem to make them as well. I have no idea what I'm doing wrong, but I'm not giving up.



"Food Glorious Food"

Belated Halloween Pictures

This posting is not easy to make. Not that the subject matter isn't near and dear to my heart. Rather, I am SICK and tired of being on the computer. This week at work has been rather intense. I've pulled a couple ten hour days -- that's ten hours straight sitting in front of two monitors (I've even been eating my lunch while I'm working). So the thought of going home and spending any more time at the computer is not appealing. HOWEVER, I really wanted to share these photos cuz I had so much fun trick-or-treating with my brother Justin's kids -- Jacob, Tyler and Kara. So this is going to be a photo posting...

Kara was a fish - Jacob of Emperor Zurg (from Toy Story) -- Tyler was Buzz Lightyear

This photo shows the beginning stages of Sugar Coma...Hope ya'll had a great Halloween!

Proud to be an AMERICAN!

I woke up this morning at 4:30am. I started my day with fervent prayer and then got ready to head to the voting polls. I was outside of the East Valley Bible church on Elliot Rd. between Country Club and McQueen by 5:30am. I was probably about the 30th person in line. So I stood outside in the dark for another 30 minutes while I watched the line behind grow, and grow, and grow. By the time they opened the doors at 6:00am there were probably 150-200 people in line to vote. Fortunately, they divided our group up -- come to find out there were two precincts voting there (one from Mesa and one from Gilbert) -- so I ended up being about 12th in line. I eventually made it up to the check-in table and gave them my driver's license (I still can't figure out how people have so much confusion regarding what ID they must present at the polls. You've got months to figure it out -- there are no surprises!). I'm given my ballot and I head to a booth to fill it out.

It's hard to explain the feelings I have when I vote. I am so proud to be an American. I hold my right to vote as sacred. I am blessed to live in this country and therefore have a responsibility to be a conscientious citizen. It is my duty and my privileged to vote. So I do...

I hope that you voted today as well!
I LOVE THIS COUNTRY & I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!

I've been TAGGED

I've been tagged by three different people...Diana, Deena, and Ellie. Sorry it's taken me so long to respond. I really enjoyed reading everyone elses "tagged" items so I thought ya'll might like to see what I have to write about.

7 Random/Weird Facts About Me

1. I have a problem collecting cups in my bedroom. Huh?!?, you ask. I have a tendency to get a cup of water and take it to my bedroom to drink while I'm getting ready for work/getting ready for bed/cleaning/reading/etc. Then I never remember to take it back to the kitchen. Pretty soon I've got like 8 or 9 cups sitting in my room. Eventually I've got to collect them all, and take them back to the kitchen for washing.

2. I LOVE action and superhero movies. In fact, I don't really like chic flicks, and romantic comedies are usually annoying more than they are appealing. I LOVE watching things like Bourne Identity (loved all three movies), Iron Man, Transformers, Van Helsing, X-Men, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Casino Royal, etc.

3. When I get very, very nervous or anxious (or unsure of myself) I hum. I don't actually hum any tune or anything recognizable. I just hum. I guess it helps to take my mind of whatever is bothering me.

4. Last year during a routine physical exam with my doctor, she found two lumps in my left breast. I had to do the whole mammogram & ultrasound thing. And eventually I had 4 small biopsy done. Fortunately they were diagnosed as benign masses. However, I'm now on the Breast Center's hit list so I've got to go in every year for a mammogram. It's one of the only things that mars the month of October. :(

5. I love jewelry. I guess because it's one of the few things that tends to fit me no matter what. Despite being poor as a church mouse, I find that I can still accumulate jewelry at a surprising rate. Most of all I enjoy picking up jewelry when I travel. I love having the travel memory associated with a piece of jewelry. That way every time I wear it I can recall the wonderful memories associated with it.

6. I once read a Reader's Digest article about a women who kept a personal record of "50 Things I Want To Do Before I Die". I've always remembered the article and I've got my own list of 50 Things. One of my "things" is to cook/bake something so well that I feel confident entering it in a contest.

7. I LOVE learning new things. It's actually one of my life's passions. It doesn't really matter what it is, I want to learn about. I tend to ask people all kinds of questions and I enjoy all those "How Is It Made" shows on TV. It almost this compulsion I have to learn about everything. I could sit and pick someone's brain for hours about what they do. Last time I went to my eye doctor's I sat and asked him all about what happens physiologically to your eyes and vision as you age. It was a very interesting conversation!

Well I think that's enough about me and I'm sure I have once again confirmed that I am WEIRD!

Now I get to tag 7 other people. I'm not even sure that there are 7 people who read my blog. Oh well, I'll try. I tag...Kiki, Jeanna, Natalie, Kimber, Susan, Jamie, and Heather.

Aunt Megan's Annual Halloween Party

It's that time of year...Aunt Megan's Annual Halloween Party! Unfortunately this years festivities were rather tame because I'm just getting over the flu. Yuk! Anyways, last night we all met at my parents house for a spooky supper and some fun and games. The decorations this year were fairly limited to a blowup-glowing pumpkin in the front yard (my mom's newest purchase), some spiders and pumpkins in the dining room and a few rats, spiders, and owls scattered in the entrance.

However, it seems to me that the kids really don't care what decorations are in place. They were much more concerned with their light-sabers, crowns, and Zurg hoods. The crew was dressed to the 9s. Jamie and Reed always have the best costumes for the family. Two years ago they were the Incredible family (the whole family) and this year it was the "Attack of the Clones" with a little old school Darth Vadar thrown in. They looked FABULOUS and the kids LOVED their light-sabers. Justin and Rachel brought the Toy Story crew. Rachel got Jacob the coolest Emperor Zurg costume from eBay (note to self and others: check out eBay for costumes at a screaming good price) and Tyler still loves Buz. That also gives Tyler and Jacob a good excuse to wrestle. Little Kara spent about 60 seconds as a puppy dog, but much preferred just being an adorable baby girl. And Austin has been Spider Man for the past two weeks, ever since Rachelle and Ryan got him the costume. He's got all the Spider Man stances and web slinging motions down now.

The kids loved the treasure hunt, including clues and treasure maps. The annual donut eating contest was a huge hit, again! We still haven't mastered the "no hands" rule, but we keep hoping every year. And last but not least, a little eyeball relay.
All in all it was another successful Halloween party!Left to right: Spider Man (Austin), Ellie (Little Red Riding Hood), Audrey (Fancy Nancy), Aniken (Ethan), Paduwan ? (Kaylie), Zack (Obi Wan), Reed (Darth Vadar), Jamie (Amidala?)

Happy Halloween!

The wisdom of a three year old..

Yesterday was our regular Sunday dinner at my folks' house. I happened to be sitting downstairs on the couch watching t.v. and the kids wrestling around on the floor. My three year old niece came up to me and started petting my skirt (I was wearing a black velvet skirt). This is the conversation we have:

Audrey (she has an adorably high little voice): "Aunt Megan, you need a daddy."
Me: "A what?"
Audrey: "A daddy. Where's your daddy?"
Me: "My daddy is the same as your daddy's daddy. It's Grandpa Schaub and he's upstairs doing dishes."
Audrey:"No! A DADDY! You need a daddy."
It took me a minute and then I figured out that she meant "husband". Aha!
Me: "You're right Audrey. I need a daddy. I'm looking for one. Do you know where I can find one?"
Audrey, with a very sad look on her face: "No."

New Kids On The Block !!!

It was like I was 16 all over again. Last night I went to the New Kids On The Block concert with one of my best friends from high school, Heather Gordon (now she's Heather Morrison). As many of you may or may not know, NKOTB has reunited, cut a new album, and they're back on tour. I was sooooooo excited about it all and it has brought hundreds of wonderful memories flooding back to me -- Saturday mornings glued to the TV to catch the NKOTB cartoon, buying every teeny-bop magazine on the shelf cuz they had an "awesome picture" of Jordan/Jonathan/Donnie/Danny/Joe, making puffy paint decorated boxers to wear during our trip to LV for my first NKOTB concert. I could go on forever.

Anyways, nuf said about that, you are all probably dying to know how the concert went. First, Heather and I find, on our arrival, that our seats have been changed, for the better!! We're center, row 35...TOTALLY AWESOME! Now we can see everything and as you can tell from the photos the show was everything we were hoping for and then some (some of the pictures in the slideshow got chopped off, but trust me, they are great photos). They did a nice job of mixing up their old stuff with their new stuff.

Here are a few pictures.

Now I have to tell that the crowd at this concert was decidedly different than at the last NKOTB concert we went to in 1990. 90% of the crowd was middle age, most of them were not cute-little-perky-teeny boppers (that's a nice way of saying they made me feel svelte, which is not an easy task, AND they were wearing lycra and leather, can you say EWWW!!), there were several men there (looked to be mostly husbands and boyfriends, etc.), and I counted at least 10 pregnant ladies. Definitely a different crowd, but surely no less noisy. Man could those women SCREAM!!

Anyways...I LOVED the concert. It was a totally blast. It was fun to watch them all sing and dance. Heather and I (and all 20,000 other concert attendees) sang along to pretty much every song.



I've got at least 200 more pictures and about 11 more videos tucked away on my computer. If you're really interested in seeing let me know and I'll "hook ya up".

It would seem that the NKOTB has not lost there appeal, even after 15 years. Viva la New Kids On The Block!