You’re in for a treat today, as I’m going to share my famous salsa recipe!! I’m home for a week, so I have time to make this. My off days were actually Wednesday – Sunday this week, but scheduling released me first thing Tuesday morning, so I got an extra day at home. Woo hoo! The flights were oversold going home, but I took the chance in hopes to get a seat. I don’t pay anything as I get to fly standby, also called non-revving, also called jumpseating. This means space available. Who gets the available seat is based on standby priority. Currently for active employees, the more senior you are, the higher priority you have. Then comes family members and registered guests, then comes retirees, and in the very, very last place are the buddy pass riders – which are NOT free and will be discussed later on. One pax did not show up, and I got the seat!!

Back to my salsa, I use a Vitamix instead of a blender, so the directions are for the Vitamix. I think it’s important to place the ingredients in its correct order, as it would pulverize the jalapeños without leaving burning chunks in the salsa. This recipe was found in the Vitamix Getting Started book, and I made quite a few modifications.

Kim’s Famous Salsa! 🙂

Ingredients:
1/2 large white onion, peeled, quartered
1 jalapeño pepper, seeds & membranes removed
3/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 lemon (squeeze juice out)
1 teaspoon salt
6 cloves freshly pressed garlic
7 small-medium tomatoes (on the vine), quartered

Directions:
Place onion, jalapeño, cilantro, lemon juice, salt, garlic, and six of the tomato quarters into the Vitamix container in the order listed. Select Variable 1. Turn machine on and slowly increase speed to Variable 5. Blend for 20 seconds, using the tamper to press the ingredients into the blades. Reduce speed to Variable 3 and add the remaining tomato quarters. Continue to blend until desired consistency is reached, using the tamper to press the ingredients into the blades. Do not over mix, leave chunky. One batch will yield 4 cups (2 pints).

If you use a blender, please let me know how it turns out! Also, if you want some more flavor, add extra salt. I added cilantro leaves on top to make a prettier photo… 🙂 ENJOY!!!

Today is Memorial Day, and I’m a proud Army brat! My father served our country for many years, and I am very thankful and grateful to him and all those who did serve and are currently serving. God bless you all!

I didn’t fly today, so I used the time to do some grocery shopping for our crash pad and help restock some basic items. Our roommates all agree to share our groceries and household items. It works out very well, as food is generally never wasted. We share milk, eggs, cheese, fruit, storage bags, dish liquid, etc. If there are specific items we bought for cooking, we’ll just let each other know. That way, we don’t have 3 separate milks, 3 bags of cheese, etc.

Speaking of roommates, Colleen sent me the recipe I wanted to share! Please let me know how you like it, and I thank Colleen. Warning: it’s addicting!

Texas Caviar with scooping chips

Ingredients:

1 14 oz. can black-eyed peas, drained
1 14 oz. can black beans, drained
1 15 oz. can white shoe-peg corn, drained
4 green onions, chopped
3 medium bell peppers (green, yellow, red), chopped
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped & seeds removed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
1 8 oz. bottle Zesty Italian Dressing

Directions:

Combine all ingredients. Chill covered at least 2 – 24 hours. Mix lightly. Serve with Tostitos (scoopers work best). Enjoy!

Yesterday, I took 1100 OPR (On Premise Reserve, remember?), so I could sleep in a little and possibly pick up a good trip or coast through and wait for future. Around 35 new hires were going to be called first for future (as the next day was their very FIRST day – YAY!), so I would be near the bottom of the list leaving me with either hardly any choices or nothing. I try to avoid riding daily, as daily scheduling will call me when it’s my turn for any trip that comes up for that day sometimes with barely over 90 minutes notice. My classmate Sherry took OPR, too, so if a trip comes open with at least 2 positions, we’d get to fly together! Well, that happened, and we took a great 3-day to PVD (Providence, RI) with a 35-hour layover!

This morning in PVD, I was on Facebook and read a post by my other classmate, Courtney, who announced she’s in PVD and wanted to know who else was there! I texted her, and we met downstairs for breakfast. Sherry texted me during breakfast, and of course I told her about Courtney, so we all met downstairs to catch a bus into downtown to look around.

We were dropped off near a beautiful and picturesque park – complete with a fountain and part of a boat sticking out of the ground! We continued to Waterman and found ourselves at the campus of Brown University where they were holding their Baccalaureate service! Coincidentally, today is the one year anniversary of our graduation from US Airways!

We stopped at a local coffee shop for some – uh… coffee and chatted about love and marriage. During our conversation, a sweet little old lady from the next table over was clearly listening in and chimed in! She told us that she would have been married 71 years (I believe I heard correctly) if her husband hadn’t passed 15 years ago. She emphatically told us to stick together (to our spouses) no matter what as they went through many hardships together. Afterwards, her granddaughter informed us that her grandmother was a holocaust survivor…. We all felt to humbled and wanted to cry. We also wanted to take a picture with her, but felt it would be tacky – although we really, really wanted to. You just never know who people are around you.

Courtney & Sherry at Brown University campus

Sherry and I took the bus back to our hotel area, while Courtney continued to explore downtown. We saw the new X-Men movie “Days of Future Past” which was great! We also did a little shoe shopping at Nordstrom Rack. My roommate had a nice pair of Clark’s that looked comfortable and stylish, so I decided to look for them. Would you believe that they only had one pair of the Clark’s and they were my size? I think it was meant to be… 🙂

First Baptist Church in America – it really was as there was a historical sign, too!

I’m very glad I took this trip, as we have one more day tomorrow. When I get back, I’ll post the Texas Caviar recipe since I did receive permission to share. Have a very blessed Memorial weekend!

Brown University Baccalaureate service

Containers are your friend! Yes – the plastic kind and/or the glass kind (Pyrex) as I like to have a variety. To prep for trips, I’ll bake casseroles, then put them in containers to freeze. I also freeze most leftovers to make ready-to-go meals and always label the contents. When I go on trips, I typically grab 2-4 frozen meals in addition to sandwiches wrapped in heavy-duty foil because foil is your friend if you have access to an oven! Also, when I buy a meal on the road, my rule is: $10 or less can be eaten in one sitting; if it’s over $10, I must make 2 meals out of it. The following is an example of how to re-use your container and foil for leftovers:

 A great way to use the foil is to place your leftovers in the middle, then fold over the foil on all sides to make a flat square. You can pack foods easily this way! Don’t forget to cut your portions into bite-sized pieces with the restaurant silverware before you store them as plastic knives usually won’t “cut” it…

Another way to find leftovers is to go to a cook-out and bring some containers! Some of us were playing sand volleyball today, having our phones out as we were all in line to get called by scheduling. A nice lady offered to watch our phones and would let us know when one of our phones would ring. After a fun day of playing, we decided to all buy food for a cookout, and I brought my containers for my leftovers. You can certainly make the most out of being on reserve!

Cookout leftovers – 2 ready-to-go meals!

I had to return to base yesterday as I went on duty at 0001 today, and I got in early enough for my classmate to invite me to a Home Depot Do-It-Herself workshop. We had a great time making an herb tower as Home Depot provided all the materials and let us take it home for free!

 After trying this out and enjoying it so much, we’re going to invite our FA friends to join the next one in which we’ll learn to make outdoor end tables! Since I stay at a crash pad, I’m sure my roommates will enjoy the herbs I’m growing which are 1) herb mix on the bottom, 2) thyme, 3) parsley, and 4) basil on top.

Today, I wasn’t going anywhere, so I contacted some friends, and those who were available all went to Food Truck Friday here in Charlotte, NC. Every Friday, they have about a dozen food trucks that park in a circle, and you buy foods from different vendors. It’s located in a grassy lot, so it’s like a community picnic. What better way to spend a gorgeous Friday afternoon with friends and FOOD! Remember, we’re like fire fighters waiting around, and since I wasn’t used today, I’m getting paid for this…! 🙂

Food Truck Fridays in CLT

I recently got tagged (called for a trip) by daily scheduling to work a trip. Easy one leg to JFK (New York), overnight, then work the leg back to CLT (Charlotte)/base the next day. Because I got 2.5 hour notice, I just packed some generic food. I recommend the following when you don’t have time to prep your meals: Cup O’ Noodles, Vienna sausages, and fruit.

 This is really great to pack when you’re in a hurry, and it can be eaten as 2 small meals! Of course, fruit and Vienna sausages are ready to eat as they need no refrigeration or cooking. With the Cup O’ Noodles, you can pretty much have access to hot water just about anywhere – including heating water through a coffee maker. In fact, I’ve heard people talk about cooking food using coffee makers. I’m not brave enough to try that, but I will try heating up foods wrapped in aluminum foil and setting it on the heating element. I’ll let you know how successful that is.

Anyhoo, when I arrived at the JFK gate, a pax asked me if it was the correct gate – as flights sometimes change gates due to many reasons. I confirmed it was to my knowledge, and he hesitated as if he wanted to tell me something else. I encouraged him by asking if there’s anything else I can help him with. He was visibly upset because his flight to CLT was canceled due to a maintenance problem, but they put him on the next flight. This caused him to be 3.5 hours late to a wedding in which he was the best man! He kept talking about how he was going to give US horrible reviews.

I informed the flight crew of his situation as we wanted to make our flight “extra special” just for him! We gave him a goody bag and wrote a note on a napkin that apologized for his inconvenience. We mentioned that we’re giving him a special gift in hopes it will ease his frustration. This put a huge smile on his face, and I even got a hug when he deplaned!

I realize that some pax could be upset, some could be hurting, and some could be having a bad day. Although I cannot fix their problems, I can brighten their day by treating each pax with lots of respect, care, and cheerfulness! I hope our special pax gave US good reviews! 🙂

This morning, I had 0530 OPR. This is On Premise Reserve which is just a 4-hour airport duty shift. I had to get up at 0345, which is always painful for me! 🙂 There’s nothing better than walking in the crew room only to find some of your favorite FAs! I’d say we look rather perky for 0530!

0530 OPR selfie!

There are 4 of us for each 4-hour shift, but one already got assigned a trip. Remember what I said about seniority? Well, I was the most junior of our bunch. When a trip/assignment comes open, the most senior person gets first dibs on whether to take it or pass it. Ryan, on the left, ended up wanting a trip. Osei and I got out of OPR with just a nap and some socializing! 🙂

After taking another nap at my crash pad (our home away from home), I decided to look for some sand volleyball. I packed some food which includes this delicious Berry & Fruit Smoothie that I love to take on trips or to play outside!

I got this idea from a nice FA who always made smoothies for her trips! She puts them in these quart-sized plastic containers and freezes them. She places these frozen containers in her lunch box, and as time goes by on our trip, they thaw, and she has cold fruit & vegetable smoothies! Me, I’m a fruit person, but I haven’t tried any veggie ones yet…

Berry & Fruit Smoothie

Here are the ingredients I like to use:
2 cups frozen berries (slightly thawed)
1/2 cup water
3 peeled tangerines
1 banana
2 tsp sugar in the raw
2 scoops protein powder (optional)

I place all ingredients in my Vitamix (as I don’t use a blender) in this same order. I slowly turn it to 10 (high) for about 30 – 45 seconds. That’s it! Keep in mind, it will fill an entire container. I just drank half and put it back in the freezer.

Let me know how you like it! 🙂