Mediterranean Chicken Salad

"Yes Dear"

I’m finding tonight’s events both strange and intriguing.  You see, I’m sitting in my craft room teaching my husband how to sew.  He’s just concord the intricacy of threading my sewing machine, and is now practicing stitching straight lines.  At one point he looked at me and said “You know babe, this isn’t brain surgery.”  A moment later, a line of foul words erupted when the needle broke on a straight pin.  I laughed so hard my eyes were tearing. 

He is so out of his element that it’s actually quite endearing.

You’re probably wondering why a 40 year old man has suddenly taken a keen interest in sewing.  Well, he wants to stitch a binding on a small US flag to give the rivets more strength.   This weekend, we’ll take the flag and attach it to our new sail boat.    

Well, I shouldn’t say she’s new.  She’s just “new” to us.  In reality, she’s actually pushing 30 years old; but I still think she looks quite young and spritely for her age.

We took her out for her first maiden voyage a few days ago.  I was the acting skipper, and I’ll admit there was some nail biting while we backed her away from the dock and slowly meandered out of the marina.  But, there was also the moment of exhilaration when we turned off the loud clunky engine, and waited for the sail to catching the wind.    

It was magic!

It was a moment that we’ve dreamt about for years.

It was a “together” moment.  A moment that helps strengthens our relationship and ensures that we’ll continue to growing together. 

I was at a wedding shower a few years ago for my sister-in-law.  One of the games entailed giving marital advice to the bride-to-be.  I’ll never forget my grandmother’s response, “Don’t complain.   Press and lay out your husband’s cloths.  Make sure his meals are prepared on time.”  When everyone laughed, she righteously huffed, “Well it worked 50 years for me!”  If she sounds a bit outdated; you should probably know she’s turning 100 in September. 

Anyways, I honestly can’t remember what I wrote.  But afterwards, when I was telling DJ about the game, he came up with the best advice.  He said, “Over the next 30-40 years, people tend to change; so the trick to staying married is simply learning how grow together and not apart.”  I know that‘s easier said than done.

In reality, I know this is just a boat.  My favorite part of American Beauty is when Kevin Spacey announces, “Caroline, it’s just a couch.” 

In my heart in my heart, this boat represents something more than being "just a boat."  It’s a realization our dreams, and memories that are yet to be made with friends and family.  Not to mention, for as long as we talked about a owning a sail boat, we’ve also seriously talked about retiring on one.  This is just our first joint step down that path.

Mediterranean Chicken Salad (1 serving)

1 Grilled Chicken Breast, cooled and sliced

1 cup cooked pasta, cooled

 5-6 grape tomatoes

A healthy sprinkle of, sliced olives, diced green pepper, and crumbled feta cheese.

 1-2 Tablespoons garlic olive oil or an Italian dressing.

1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped.

Place the pasta on your serving dish.  Top with the tomatoes, green pepper, olives and feta cheese.  Place the chicken slices on top.  Drizzle on the oil/dressing.  Sprinkle on the chopped oregano.