I had never heard of geocaching and didn’t know what it was until two weeks ago. Geocaching is an outdoor activity in which “geocachers” search for items that are hidden by others, using GPS, that are logged by location on the internet.

(Here’s a brief video explanation found on Geocaching.com‘s website)

The hidden items, know as “caches” vary in size (from micro like a pencil lead refill box to large like a trunk or chest) and contain various items, such as a log for you to sign (kind of like “Natali was here!”) or items you can take (and you leave an item in return) or sometimes even items that are considered “trackables”. Trackables are to be moved from cache to cache, and some have an ultimate destination.

People who hide caches log them and their GPS location into a website (geocaching.com) along with clues and a description that help other geocachers locate their hide.

When geocachers find a cache, they log it on the website along with any relevant notes that may help others (though the goal is not to give away too information- the seeking is the fun of it!).

Why geocaching is so fun?
1. It’s a very inexpensive/free activity. We bought one iphone app for $10 and can now do this anytime!
2. You can do it almost anywhere- in any given location there could be as many as 100s of caches within a mile of you!
3. You can spend a day hunting for caches or 5 minutes finding one.
4. It’s a family friendly activity.
5. It’s neat being a part of a worldwide “game” that has been going on for ten years!
6. It’s fun to find the caches that are very creatively hidden- it trains you to think outside the box!

I have pictures of myself and friends finding caches, but I’m hesitant to post them, as I don’t want to ruin any of the hides for local cachers!

Just trust me- if you’re looking for something fun to do with friends and family, or even if you are solo and have time to kill- geocaching is a lot of fun! Give it a try!

This recipe is far from traditional Thai food, but does capture some of my favorite thai flavors. I was trying to come fairly close to California Pizza Kitchen’s version of Thai pizza. Try the recipe for yourself and let me know if you think I got close

What you’ll need:
1 pkg prepared pizza dough (I used whole wheat from Fresh and Easy)
1 bottle of thai peanut sauce (you won’t use all of it)
1 cup shredded cheese (I used 6 cheese Italian blend, because it’s what I had on hand)
1/4 cup of chopped cilantro
1/4 cup of chopped cashews
1/4 cup of grated raw carrot
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1 large cooked chicken breast cut into small pieces (1/2 inch chunks)
1-2 tbsp olive oil

What to do:
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees
2. Spread the olive oil on a cookie sheet or pizza pan, place the dough on the pan and stretch the dough until it reaches the edges of the pan (and doesn’t retreat as much)
3. Toss the chicken with a little bit of peanut sauce in a small bowl
4. Drizzle peanut sauce onto the dough and spread with a spoon back
5. Sprinkle the cilantro, cashews, onions, chicken and carrots evenly across the dough
6. Sprinkle the cheese over the other toppings
7. Lightly drizzle a little more peanut sauce over everything
8. Bake for 10-14 minutes (keep an eye on it after the 10th minute to know when to pull it out)
9. Let stand for 3-5 minutes before slicing.
ENJOY!

I have had tremendous trouble making bread before. The yeast didn’t seem to activate or my bread just didn’t rise, or it was dense like a brick.

But, this recipe (with a few added tricks up my sleeve) is pretty much fool-proof. It LOOKS amazing after you bake it (very impressive appearance with little skill required- can’t believe I’m admitting this, seeing as I want everyone to think I am oh-so-impressive in the kitchen- haha! j/k) and let me just tell you- the taste and texture? My mouth is watering just typing this out!

So, if you’re a bread expert or semi-pro, you can go straight to Ryan’s recipe. If you’re not, here’s my version. Either way- you’re going to love the results!

“The Bread” (below is my version, adapted from Ryan’s amazing recipe)
4 cups of bread flour
1 stick of butter, melted
1 tsp of dry active yeast
1 cup of barely warm water
1-2 tbsp of freshly chopped herbs (I like to use rosemary and thyme)
2 tsp kosher salt
olive oil

Key equipment:
Oven proof pot (dutch oven type)
Food processor with dough blade or mixer with dough hooks

1. Sprinkle the yeast on the surface of the cup of warm water
2. Set up your food processor and dump in the flour and salt
3. Melt the butter in the microwave
4. Chop the herbs and add to the flour
5. Pour the butter into the food processor with the flour, herbs and salt
6. Stir slightly with a spoon (just a very quick stir)
7. Pour in the water and yeast
8. In my food processor, I do three separate minutes, pushing the dough down the sides with a scraper as needed- essentially three minutes of “kneading” with the dough blade. (When I first made this recipe, I kneaded by hand for 30+ minutes for the same effect!) If you are using a mixer, run for 10 minutes or so.
9. Gather the dough into a ball and squish and squeeze for 1-2 minutes. When you pinch the dough and stretch it, it should stretch a bit and thin to where you can start to see a little light through it, not just break. If it breaks, knead a bit more.
10. Lightly oil your pot with olive oil.
11. Place the dough into the pot and brush lightly with olive oil on top.
12. Here is the trick for getting dough to rise: heat a mug filled with water to boiling (about 2.5 minutes) in the microwave. Leave the mug in the microwave and put your pot with the dough inside. The warm moist environment helps the yeast to do it’s job! Allow the dough to rise for a minimum of 2 hours.
13. After the dough has risen, (preheat the over to 400) hand knead one more time (1 minutes or so) then form a ball. Use a knife to cut an + shape into the top 1/2 inch of the dough. Return to the pot and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt. Place in the oven covered for 30 minutes, then uncover and cook 10-15 more minutes or until bread is golden on top.
14. Serve warm end ENJOY!

Note: I forgot to take a more recent picture. The bread in this picture is the first loaf I made- I would recommend not letting it get so brown- I overcooked the first loaf just a tad. You just want slightly golden. Not brown

The first Tweetup the hubs and I attended was at a Fresno Grizzlies game and was hosted by the Fresno Beehive (if you live in Fresno and are not reading The Beehive- you need to start!). Our friends Morgan and Justin and Julie and Jimmy joined us. We all had so much fun that when another Tweetup opportunity came, I couldn’t resist signing up.

Alisa, a Fresnan who’d been away and recently moved back, offered to host a “Wine Tweetup”. The idea was to get together and taste some wines she’d recently purchased and share some delicious food and of course meet Tweeps. (People who are on Twitter ) Morgan and Justin decided to accompany us to this Tweetup as well.

I’ve got to hand it to Alisa. She hosted 30 people, most of whom had never met each other (at least in person) and had three wine tasting stations (whites, reds and dessert) each run by a wine connoisseur. Everything was well planned and so enjoyable! I’d never been wine tasting before- so it was a very neat, new experience for me (the hubs too). Previously, I thought I hated all red wines, (the ones I’d had made me think of drinking blood- they were thick, salty and red- eww!) but the Gypsy wine (which I learned can be purchased from Trader Joe‘s for $4.99) was smooth and fruity!

The food that everyone had brought was so tasty! Delicious dips and breads, shrimp, cheeses… so good! I baked a loaf of Ryan’s “The Bread” and it was well received. I was asked on at least two occasions whether I was “the bread girl” and compliments followed (thanks Ryan, for such a great recipe! I LOVE it!).

Another part of the Wine Tweetup experience was the each person or couple was assigned a specific wine to review in a one-minute video to be posted on Taste Fresno. (Taste Fresno is focused on local food and restaurants and allows users to review restaurants, post recipes and more- check it out!) I’m sure those segments will be fun to watch, as most of us did them after tasting all the wines, and very few of us were anywhere close to being wine experts! Watch for one video per week on Taste Fresno’s site.

I know there are a lot of Twitter “haters” out there, and feel that using it to post statuses is just narcissism, but Twitter can be used for so much more- not just to talk about yourself, but to learn from others and about events and even make friends!

Thank you Alisa for hosting the wine tweet up (read her re-cap and view more photos here), and thank you Morgan and Justin for joining us. Thanks to everyone who came and made it such an enjoyable night- it was great meeting so many of you! Can’t wait for the next Tweetup!

Thank you Jesus for the reason we celebrate this day!

When we came home from church, the sign and the balloons were still there, nothing had changed. I wondered if the family had been outside yet.

When I left for the grocery store at 3ish the sign had started to fall and the balloons were starting to sink a bit, but everything was still where it had been left.

When I came back from the grocery store, the balloons had sunken to the ground and the sign was half off of the garage, but it still looked as though nothing had been touched.

I panicked. I put myself in the place of this poor teenage girl who just made a big gesture “OHMIGOSH why hasn’t he CALLED!? He doesn’t want to go with me! He doesn’t like me! I’m so embarrassed!!! Why did I do that!” I considered banging on the neighbors door. I considered sitting outside to see if someone came home or outside. Then, I decided, it’s none of my business. (Dang common sense!)

The next day, everything was still outside, and the neighbor kids were playing catch out front. I couldn’t take it anymore- I HAD to ask. I wandered over.

“So, did ya say yes? Is she a cool girl?”

“Yeah. I did.”

“That was a pretty cool way for her to ask you huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool, have fun!”

And that was it, because, what else do you say to a 15 year old kid you’ve never met? Lol!

But, boy oh boy- my heart sure was racing thinking about what I would think if I had to wait for a day for an answer after a grand gesture like hers was! Grand, cute gesture. Hope they had fun.

So what IS the Hershey’s Better Basket Blog Hop?! I’m so glad you asked!! If you have a blog, you can help raise money for a GREAT cause!!! Hershey is donating up to $5,000 to the Children’s Miracle Network with this promotion – $10 for every blog that participates in the Better Basket Blog Hop. The post that you are reading right now is another $10 that will be given to children’s hospitals all over North America. An additional $5,000 to this charity would be the world of difference to many sick children.

SO this post right here is another $10! YAY! And now, I get to pass my virtual basket along to some of you… who hopefully will pass it along to others… who hopefully will pass it along to more people! Let’s get Hershey to their $5,000 goal!

In my basket, I would include See’s Candies marshmallow eggs, a freakishly large quantity of Cadbury eggs and a roll of Tums j/k (well, about the Tums) but since this is a virtual basket, I’m also throwing in Anthropologie gift cards worth eleventy billion dollars, and a new car. Yup- it’s a big basket

I now pass my basket onto:
1. Morgan at Mrs. Priss
2. Alyssa at Miss Alyssa
3. Sarah at Sarah Said.
4. Heather at Whittaker Woman
5. Kerri at Your Wishcake
6. YOU!!!!

Here are the rules below:

Hershey’s Better Basket Blog Hop Rules
Copy and paste these rules to your blog post.
Create a blog post giving a virtual Easter Basket to another blogger – you can give as many Virtual Baskets as you want.
Link back to person who gave you an Easter Basket.
Let each person you are giving a Virtual Easter Basket know you have given them a Basket.
Leave your link at BetterBasket.info/BlogHop comment section. You can also find the official rules of this #betterbasket blog hop, and more information about Better Basket with Hershey’s there.
Hershey’s is donating $10 per each blog participating to the Better Basket Blog Hop to Children’s Miracle Network (up to total of $5,000 by blog posts written by April 4th, 2010).
Please note that only one blog post by each blog URL will count towards the donation.