I made this last night

Ingredients
4 chicken thighs
2 chicken breasts with skin and backbone, halved crosswise (I used a rotisserie chicken)
2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1/2 cup all purpose flour, for dredging
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 ( 28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons drained capers
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves

Fresh mushrooms

Portabello mushrooms

A dash of red pepper flakes.

Directions
Sprinkle the chicken pieces with 1 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour to coat lightly. (I'm not sure I liked that the chicken had flour on it . . . I think it made the actual dish a little to gummy . . .)

In a large heavy saute pan, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and saute just until brown, about 5 minutes per side. If all the chicken does not fit in the pan, saute it in 2 batches. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside. Add the bell pepper, onion and garlic to the same pan and saute over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, broth, capers and oregano. Return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn them to coat in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Continue simmering over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through, about 30 minutes for the breast pieces, and 20 minutes for the thighs.

Sautee sliced mushroooms in a little Chicken stock . . . (I didn't add them to the dish, I served them over the top of the dish if someone wanted them. Alex doesn't like mushrooms and I didn't want to listen to him bitch about "everything you make has mushrooms in it.")

Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a platter. If necessary, boil the sauce until it thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Spoon off any excess fat from atop the sauce. Spoon the sauce over the chicken, then sprinkle with the basil and serve.

It was pretty tasty . . . but I think if I ever do it again, I will skip the flour on the chicken . . . especially if I use a rotisserie chicken.

Today is my

younger sisters birthday.

Even though I'm not talking to her, and have no plan of talking to her . . . potentially ever again . . . I do think of her on her birthday and hope that she is doing well . . . and that life becomes what she wants it to be.

Today is . . .

My wonderful moms birthday!!!

Happy birthday Mom!!!

I had a bad day

Well it wasn't really a "Bad" day, it was a good day, but I had a bad time.

Mac and Ellen are getting married August 14, and I'm going to be standing up for Mac! I'm super excited! They deserve to be so happy. . . I just wish that the state would acknowledge their marriage . . . but that's a topic for another day . . .

Mac was bringing me a photo to put on the poster I'm making of them for the wedding, a sign for people to sign . . . It's turning out so pretty.

So Mac and I started talking and the topic came around to Thomas . . . My sweet Thomas!

And so I brought down his Album for Mac to look through . . . she wasn't able to come to his funeral because her father was having surgery and she needed to be there for that. I did understand that . . .

She was so wonderful about his book . . . she took the time to read everything and to truly look at it . . . I tried not to look at it . . . or read anything . . . but happened to glance at the page she was looking at, at the time. And it turned out to be the email Louise sent me telling me Thomas died. Words popped out at me, and I started to cry . . . And cry . . . and Cry . . . and Cry . . .

And Cry . . . and Cry . . . and Cry . . .

I miss him so much!

I don't know how to stop missing him . . . and I don't know why there are days when things are so much harder than others . . . why some days I think, "I'll be ok" and other days when . . . I just can't cope . . . I love having his book . . . all of his pictures . . . and every once in a while I will find another picture of him and get all excited . . . I love having my pictures of him.

8 months and 2 days today . . . that he has been gone ~

Our New Mexico trip

I didn't think I would like camping. . . . I'm kind of more of an "indoor girl" but with the trailer it was super fun!!!

Here is Tim in front of the next door neighbors trailer.

This is our trailer~ I hate to say this but our trailer was one of the biggest in the trailer park. . . and as far as trailers go, "BIGGER IS BETTER" We actually had room in our trailer to move around and think. . . . some people had to go outside of their trailers to be able to think!

these are the Sandia Mountains . . . really cool at sunset, they are more red, purple . . .not as green as our mountains . . . they were nice but you can't compare to the mountains in Colorado!!!

We didn't want to get lonely so we brought ~ Bailey

Juliette

And Jessie~

They did so good on the trip! And had so much fun at the camp ground running around and meeting new people!

It was a great trip!

I like "camping" now . . . just don't ask me to do the tent thing . . . NEVER GONNA HAPPEN!!!

My head is so full . . . .

Its about to pop . . .

So, let me back track a bit . . .

Tim wants to go get the trailer down in new Mexico . . . should be fun . . . but he picks this weekend to do it.

Well . . .
~this weekend is Tony's 20th birthday! and I know he probably isn't going to spend time with me, but if he wants to I want to be around for that.
~I have had 4 wedding consultations
~ Maggianos down town Denver is trying to give me a nervous breakdown

With so much wedding/party stuff and then Maggianos wanting me to do more for them, I feel totally overwhelmed! I worry that there is not enough of ME to go around.

When I come home it takes everything in me not to fall asleep on the sofa . . . I'm tired. I'm exhausted. I cook dinner and that's about all the energy I have . . . (What I don't understand is why I have to cook dinner every night, and then put it all away and clean the kitchen . . . Why is that my job . . . I am one of 3 people living here. . . And I work hard too. I think if I cook then someone else should put the stuff away and someone else should clean the kitchen but it all falls on me. But I digress . . . back to the topic at hand.)

But we are going to go pick up the trailer this weekend . . . and Tim is upset at me because I'm not more excited . . .

Have you seen me lately . . . I'm not excited for anything- I'm tired! I need help in the store . . . Mom keeps telling me, "I'm helping you." but she isn't doing all the things that I need or even want to have done . . . I'm tired.

I went and picked up a book on CD for the "going to new Mexico" trip . . . and Tim said "That's the first thing you've done that even makes me think you are even remotely excited." Excited . . . I think it's in there somewhere . . . but my primary emotions are tired and overwhelmed . . . I need a break! He keeps saying to me, "You need a break, that's why we are going." But then he is putting pressure on me to "Be excited."

Why do I have to be excited now??? I still have so much to do!!! I have to go to work and do a party, and the orders and get the rest of the store cleaned up . . . and then I have to go with Alex to his college because they "Randomly picked us to be . . . fucked up the ass" Hummm . . . maybe that wasn't it . . . I don't know . . . So when Alex and I go later today, I will bring my last years taxes and some lube~ just in case.

Then yesterday, When I talked to Tim, I told him I wanted to work a half day on Saturday . . . and he said that was fine, and then now he is mad at me for working an half day on Saturday (Because it will put us in New Mexico too late) . . . so now I have to talk to mom again and ask her if I can have Saturday and Monday off. I'm tired. I'm overwhelmed with stuff for the store . . . and I don't have any relief from that . . .

Driving to New Mexico to pick up the trailer and then driving back is probably not going to make me relaxed~ Have I motioned I have car anxiety??? Did we all forget that I HATE TO BE IN THE CAR . . . Don't get me wrong, I do want to go, I do want to spend some time with Tim, I do want to get the hell out of dodge . . . but . . . I didn't want there to be so much pressure on me to do this and "be excited" and "relax" and "have a good time" . . .

I love my blog. . . it's a good place to vent . . .

An old friend

Last night Jaqui and I got to have dinner with a friend that we pretty much haven't seen since high school!!!

Tracy Fassman/Blinder~ What a sweetie!!

We talked and ate and had so much fun!!! We will have to do it again soon!!!

It was wonderful getting reacquainted!!! I hope we get to get together again soon!