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Here it is, just another lazy day in April. For this installment of my life, I thought I would share my recipe for a delightful chicken salad and also, share a photo of my new dining room table (sans chairs). I know. It is terribly exciting.

Laura’s Colossal Chicken Salad

INGREDIENTS
4 slices thin cut chicken breast
½ cup diced onion
⅓ cup sliced almonds
2 tsp each of: salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, cilantro, and natures seasoning
1 ½ tbsp of Hellmans Mayo
½ - 1 cup of fat free plain yogurt (will vary depending on your preferred consistency)
2 tsp of spicy brown mustard
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)


DIRECTIONS
Coat the bottom of a large pan with EVOO. Put half of seasonings (omitting the natures seasoning) on the chicken. Put chicken in the pan (seasoned side down) and add the other half of the seasonings (again, omitting the natures seasoning) on the exposed side of the chicken. Turn the burner on to medium-high. Cook both sides of the chicken until golden brown (about 5 minutes on each side) with a nice white center (test by cutting into your thickest cut of meat).

Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and place in a medium-mixing bowl. Add your wet ingredients (mayo, mustard, and yogurt) and mix thoroughly. Then add the onion, almonds, and natures seasoning. Cover and let refrigerate for 1 hour (or more) before serving.



I like to have my chicken salad over a bed of lettuce and with a little fresh grated parmesan. Yum!

I've been asked to post a picture of my lovely new dining room set. Unfortunately, it is all packed away so I have to post a picture from the web. It doesn't matter. It's still a great set and it sits 6-8 people (depending on whether the extension is in place or not). Without further ado, here it is:



Have a Happy Thursday! And please, if you comment leave a name!

Goodbye Kurt

Yesterday famed and inspired author Kurt Vonnegut died. Today we say goodbye and hope that this will bring a new generation of young readers who will absorb Mr. Vonnegut's words of wisdom and social parody. If you haven't yet, go out and buy a copy of "Slaughterhouse-Five". You won't regret it.

Seriously.

Whomever decided that joy is the feeling toward homeownership never actually went through the process of purchasing a house. This has been a hair-pulling fiasco. I don't know how so many military couples cope through the various moves and homes they go through during a 10-20 year contract term. Phil and I have only been at this for (almost) 6 years and it never seems to get any easier. This, however, is the first time we have purchased a home. For the last 5 years he and I have been happy home renters, but lately we felt as though we were missing a step in our relationship. Some people think that step is a baby (sorry, it's not going to happen any time soon). We felt that the particular step we were missing was that of home ownership. Here we are. We have finally advanced to the next level and that is: more taxes. Ahhh. Such is life.

On other fronts, the Self Challenge has been, well, challenging. Phil, Zoe, and I have been running/walking 3 times a week for at least 45 minutes. I have shin splints and excruciating leg pain. I keep hoping that this will get easier, but it seems as though it just gets harder to gain the stamina I need to keep up with the three days of cardio and three days of weight training. I can't imagine what I'm going to feel like once I start working 40 hours a week.

For those of you keeping up, I am currently knee deep in the ellusive job search. (Here on to be referred to as "Job Hunt 07" or "JH 07".) In any event, the hunt is going to say the least. I hope that after the relocation is over with I will be able to give advice to others about finding a job in a different state. Until then if anyone else has some hints please let me know.

My last topic of the day is about furniture. Phil and I have more space than furniture in our new home. Even though we aren't moving for a month, we felt the need to check out our furniture options here in Texas because it would give us time to debate on the perfect dining room table, living room furniture, etc. Our journey led us to Cost Plus World Market (worldmarket.com). For those of you who have been to WM you know how easy it is to get lost in the sea of unique paintings, aromatic candles, and divine wine collections. In short, we spent a good couple of hours (over a period of 3 days) perusing the store. They have some wonderful items on sale, including their furniture. Some pieces are 45% off of the original cost (this applies to the dining room sets). In any event, we purchased a lovely 7 piece dining room set in antique black. By the way, if you want a good workout, buy a dining room set and then move it upstairs with your husband. To air on the side of safety, make sure there are no sharp instruments or animals nearby. And don't wear flip flops. Falling upstairs can happen and it hurts.