Playing for Grandma

We talked to G'ma and G'pa in PA today. Aidan was practicing his guitar at the time so he said, "Let me play for them!" So here is Ed holding the phone so Aidan could play for them! A has his first actual recital on Sat. We'll see how it goes. He's only been playing since about Sept but really does well. He is doing Suzuki method and so it is classical not rock. Lots of Twinkle Twinkle variations and good posture stuff. He loves it but really wants to let loose and ROCK OUT MAN!!

Week 3 and Week 4

Here are the latest cards in my Deck of Me Challenge for 2008. Week 3 was what area of your life would you like to spice up? Week 4 was to pick 3 words that describe you and scrap them. You couldn't pick Mom, Wife, etc. I picked Simple, Content, and Blessed.

So why those 3?

I think I'm pretty simple in that I'm a jeans & tee, steak & potato, tv on the weekend kind of gal. I guess I'm kinda low maintenance and I'm okay with that. Jeannette (my sis) says I'm a LLBean kind of girl. Not sure about that but I would rather have a good beer and watch football than champagne and opera.

Content and blessed: I have so much and so much to be thankful for. My kids are healthy, our home is beautiful and warm, we don't make a bankload but want for nothing, I can play and help at school with the kiddos. I lay my head down at night and don't question my next meal or Ed's safety. I have good friends who are honest with me and love me. I guess maybe I'm just at a point where the sailing is smooth and I am peaceful. It feels good!

DRUM ROLL PLEASE

THE OFFICIAL COOKIE COUNT IS IN.....

DELANIE SOLD....404 (YES, FOUR HUNDRED FOUR)BOXES OF GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ed and I are totally blown away and proud of her!!! It isn't that she sold so many but that she really set a goal, worked toward it, and even surpassed it. What a gal! I guess we'll keep her!

forgive the funky

Okay, I'm new at this whole blog thing and I know the post about Don and Beth has some funky photo line up. Forgive me! I tried to edit but I'm in my 40's and don't always know how to work these things! I do have some more photos and stuff I want to post so don't give up on me yet!
D

Safe Travels for Great Friends!

We had to say TTFN to our friends Don and Beth. They are off on another adventure and we will miss them being around. We were lucky enough to get to hang with them at Moose's Tooth and Benihana too just before they set off down the ALCAN. It isn't always easy to find people really click with every member of a family but these guys did. We're hoping they'll get back up here in the not to distant future so we can play some more and share some Alaska time.

.

Busy Weekend planned!

Well, our weekend will be starting a bit early! It promises to be a 4 days of very good beer and much better friends!

Tonight we will be headed to The Snowgoose Restaurant for the release of Sleeping Lady Brewing Co's Spartan Warrior Imperial Stout. This beer is dedicated Jeffrey Bission (our friend Jim's son-in-law)and all of the Ft. Richardson soldiers that didn’t come back with their unit. Proceeds of the sale of each pint of beer will be donated by Snowgoose to a memorial on Ft. Richardson for these brave fallen soldiers. We'll be hanging with our favorite Army fam Don and Beth and hopefully get to meet and say thank you to other soldiers. If you are thinking you need a reason to drink a good beer, this is a great one for a great cause.

Friday and Saturday we will be volunteering at The Great Alaskan Beer and Barley Wine Festival! This is The Premier Beer Event of the year and one Ed and I have attended more years than not. The last few years my folks have been blessing us by watching the kiddos overnight so we could both partake and stay at a hotel for the evening. This is HUGE to us and we really appreciate it! THANKS MOM AND DAD!!!

You can check out Jim's aka Dr Fermento's blog for some fantastic info on the festival. He's a pro at writing about beer and his helpful hints can be applied to any event where alcohol is the main focus. Check it out! http://drfermento.net/

Sunday will be a bit of a sad day, not because the GABBWF will be over but because we will be going to Beth and Don's going away party. There are people who have touched my life who I tend not to be affected by their departure. (Not sure if my military brat background is responsible for this or not but whatever.) Not in this case!! Beth and Don will be sorely missed by our whole family. Who will Aidan sword fight with such vigor without Don around? Who will open their door even before they shower and just hang out with me? Who will help Delanie pay for her college education if she can't Kinky Sit? Who will give us an excuse to ALWAYS order Salmon Spread!!!!! Needless to say, I'll be sad to see them go and there will always be free use of our pop-up camper when they come to visit!

So that is my weekend in a nut shell. Hope you all enjoy yours!

Chicken Chili Kind of Day

I love me some chili and one of my favorite recipes is for Chicken Chili. Laura Isaacson got me hooked on this and of course had to let me know how to make it. We have it with brown rice or sometimes with corn bread muffins. The kids really like it even though it has good for them stuff in it. I always make at least a double batch since it freezes so well and Ed likes to take it to work for lunch. So I'm passing this recipe on to you! Thanks Laura! ENJOY!

Chicken Chili (serves 8+)

1 28 ounce Italian Style Stwed tomatoes

Up to 5 skinless/boneless chicken breasts

1 can defatted chicken broth

1 lg yellow onion, chopped

2 Tbs chopped garlic

2 med zucchini cut in 1 inch cubes

2 red bell peppers cut in 1 inch cubes

2 small cans chopped green chilis

1 can sliced olives

2 Tbs chili powder (or to taste)

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp oregano

1/8 tsp allspice

1 can dark red kidney beans (drained)

1 Tbsp lemon (fresh) juice

4 Tbsp parsley

Fresh ground black pepper

Garnish w/chedder cheese and sour cream

1. Bake chicken @ 375 for 20-25 min in a covered shallow pan.

2. Place 1/2 cup chicken broth in lg, heavy pot. Add onion and garlic. Cook 3 min over low heat stirring occassionally.

3. Add zuchini, red peppers, & remaining broth. Cook covered 8 min.

4. Add tomatoes w/liquid, spices, chilis & olives. Simmer uncovered for 3min.

5. Add chicken, kidney beans, lemon juice and 2 Tbsp parsley, and pepper. Simmer 10-12 min, stirring occasionally.

Adjust seasoning to taste and stir in remaining parsley. Serve over rice garnish as desired.

Kitty Love

Delanie cat sits Kinky for our friends Beth and Don. She's actually been raking in the dough since they pay her so well and are gone a lot. They will be moving away soon so it looks like this was the last chance to get some cute photos. Kinky actually lets Delanie hold her which I guess is a rare thing.

Cookie Monsters and 52 Card Pickup

Well, Girl Scout cookies are now up for pre-order. My daughter, Delanie', has set a major goal of 350 boxes!!!!!!!! What?! She sold 258 last year and so now she thinks she has to do better than that! So we went out the the Air Guard base for drill weekend and she walked to tons of offices/shops asking if folks wanted to pre order...Sure enough she got orders for over 240 boxes!!!!! What does she say to me as we're adding them up? "I may have to raise my goal!" Whoa there girly! (actually I hope she does do better but I'm not looking forward to the distrubution come March)

So I joined this 52 week challenge where you alter playing cards. Each week we get a theme and then share our creations. You can read more about it here http://learningtotaketime.blogspot.com/ So far I've done my first 2 weeks. Now the tricky part will be figuring out how to add them to this blog.

Getting started

Well, I've done it now! Elizabeth actually convinced me that this wouldn't be such a bad idea, starting a blog. We'll see. For now I'll just say this isn't for anyone in particular save me and my family and friends. Maybe it will help us keep our world small enough to manage the miles apart. I'm sure many of my random blatherings won't make much sense to anyone but don't give up on me. More later when I get my thoughts together.
d