Recipe run and a night out



We are doing our own Thanksgiving this year. Not that we don't usually do Thanksgiving but we usually spend the entire day and weekend with family and for the last few years we have spent it trying to recover from a loss of one of more of our children and missing family that has gone on before us (Dad, Grandpa S, Grandma P, Grandpa P), you get the idea. We have not really had the energy or will to enjoy the holiday and while we are always thankful, we were never really into the spirit of celebration.

So this year, instead of mourning our second set of twins that we lost in early September, we are going to celebrate how thankful we are. Thankful for our lives, togetherness, home, animals, jobs, friends, our bond as husband and wife, our temple marriage, the gospel, the time we have had with loved ones and the time in the future when we will see them all again and the miracle of adoption that we hope will someday bless our lives.

As part of our Thanksgiving, we are doing a recipe run. We have our standard fare of food that we make but we are expanding it to include new recipes from around the world and old family traditions. We have a fruit salad recipe from R's great great Granddad and while it contains more sugar than fruit, we are going to give it a shot! We have a recipe from R's great Grandma and one from his Mom. We also have 2 from my Mom. I am looking for a great cranberry sauce recipe and a new vegetable side dish if you happen to have one. BUT we are not limiting ourselves to those two. We have loyal readers in South Korea, Belgium, Canada and Netherlands in addition to our USA readers. Please send us your favorites!

We are starting to post some recipes on our website, so if you have something to share, please leave us a comment or shoot us an email. Remember to title your recipe or give us your last name so we can give credit where credit is due!
 
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We went to our first Hockey game last night. We have the pleasure of watching the Colorado Eagles play the Mississippi River Kings. Having never been to a hockey game before we had no idea what to expect. We had great padded seats in the adults only section in row 11 which is just high enough to see the entire ring but close enough to see their faces and hear them yelling. What a night!
 
There are only 3 periods in hockey which last only 20 minutes each. So you can make it through a whole game without really needing to get up and stretch. In hindsight, we should have done some research to figure out what all of the terms were (power play, hooking, etc.) but even being oblivious it was a lot of fun - there are some real die-hard hockey fans in Colorado! It is funny to watch grown men race around chasing a little black puck. They fall down and bounce back up as if they have springs in their knees and smash each other into the wall. Sometimes they get too rough and have to sit in the penalty box which is just like a time out! It cracks me us; they look so disappointed in themselves and contrite while in the box, but when they come back out, they are back to their same old tricks!
 
The announcer said a few times to the audience 'Keep your eye on the puck at all times. Under certain circumstances it may become airborne and enter the seating area.' I thought, yeah right. Four times the puck flew into the audience. Luckily no one was injured and it always went into first few rows and never above row 8, so I figure when we get tickets again in the future, they will not be below row 9!
 
I have never been to a sporting event before and was surprised at the enthusiasm from the crowd. Thankfully there was not a lot of drinking and they strongly discourage cursing (by kicking offenders out of the stadium). It was a great time. Not necessarily a kid sport since there were a LOT of penalties and two pretty good sized fights, but entertaining once the men started acting like men.

  On our drive home we hit the county line and noticed that is was just barely snowing (this was around 10 pm). We noticed that as we got closer to home it started snowing harder and harder. I am so glad R was driving! by time we made it 8 miles from home it was a whiteout and we could hardly see at all. 40 minutes later, we made it home. Yes, 40 minutes to go 8 miles; it was snowing a LOT! We woke up this morning to a winter wonderland and are not really looking forward to driving to church. However, we know that once we get there it will be worth it! Winter has arrived!

And we made it home...

Oh gosh, so much has happened in the last week I hardly know where to start!

Let's start at the very beginning
A very good place to start
When you read you begin with A-B-C
When you sing you begin with do-re-mi

The beginning. We finished our chores last Thursday and then did all of the extra things to prepare the farm for us to leave for a week. Yes, we went on vacation; our second in 13 years. That is actually misleading - we have gone on lots of vacations but all were to visit family or go back and help Mom and Dad with the ranch. Somehow digging a foundation under an already built house and hanging siding doesn't really count as vacation - but those are different stories for another time. This was a vacation - a real vacation - no family visiting or chores required!

My Uncle (Mom's Little Brother)- Gary pictured here...

has a fabulous vacation in Scottsdale, Arizona. We are talking 3 bedroom, pool, misting system, big screen... Paradise. We went for a week in February 2007 (before the Ranch) and it became our favorite place to go for rest and relaxation. Anyhow, Gary was gracious enough to allow us to use the house again, free of charge for a week.

R and I had this summary of a conversation on Thursday night. Me: What time do you want to leave in the morning? R: 5, I'll set the alarm for 4. Me: Are you nuts?! We are on vacation and you want to get up at our normal time set the alarm and I will get up. You can drive first! R: OK.

Fast forward to 2:00 on Friday morning. I wake up with excruciating pain in my ankles. It literally feels like some one is stabbing my ankles with a knife. Mind you - I quit taking the steroids on Tuesday. I tapered off like I was supposed to, but instead of tapering off over 1 week and quitting, I did 2 days and quit. Who knew? OK, so the doctor probably knew, but I didn't.

So, I am awake, groaning in pain on the couch in the living room, trying to be quiet so we can leave in 3 hours. R woke up and came in - we decided a hot pad might help and the couch was making my neck hurt. More pain pills and back to bed. 3:30 I am up in the living room again, but on the floor this time. The alarm goes off at 4.

I can hear it and know the following is going on: R wakes up, thinks - crud, she was right, this is too early! 'Honey, turn it off and we will leave later. You were right.... Honey? Honey!' He turns off the alarm and finds me on the floor in the living room. You must realize that the pain is nerve pain, so rubbing stimulates the nerves, which cannot feel 2 sensations at once. So the rubbing my ankles blocks the stabbing pain and makes it feel better. I hobble into bed and we sleep until 6. At 6, he rubs my ankles again and we say our morning prayer. The pain leaves about 5 minutes after our prayer and we are on the road by 7.

I called the doctor when they opened and asked about the pain. Doc confirms it is nerve pain and I am probably over the worst. Probably - there is a comforting word... We say another prayer that 'probably' means 'absolutely' and continue on the drive.

We arrive in Scottsdale around 10pm, shower and fall into bed.

We spent Saturday - Tuesday afternoon at the house. We swam, slept, ate, watched TV, slept, swam, relaxed, talked, laughed and just plain enjoyed each other and the house. We are so blessed to have been married for 13 years, still in love and still enjoying each others company and humor.

We also went to IKEA. I love IKEA! We got everything on our list. Nothing super exciting for normal folks, but for us... Wonderful. New knives, pots and pans, silverware, pot holders, candles and candle holders, living room lights, lazy Susan, colander, picture for the master bath, duvet covers (one for winter and one for summer - now we have 4 choices! YAY!), a throw pillow and of course another cook book! Ah, heaven!

We also found all of the furniture we want for the nursery - I found everything for under $1,000! And it matches and it is new! I am so excited for the day that we can go back to IKEA and come home with a crib!

We left Tuesday morning and drove up the the Grand Canyon. We hiked and took photos, stayed the night and drove home Wednesday via the back way (over the Rockies). We went from 105* to 48* all in one day. It was funny, we stopped for dinner in Gennese and I had on shorts and a light shirt with flip-flops... It was raining and cold! I felt like a tourist! People kept looking at me oddly until they saw the truck and Colorado plates - then it registered - flat lander!

We got home about 8 and were able to visit with Mom. Yep, she was nice enough to watch the house and ranch for us while we played in Arizona. She fed, milked and watched out for everything. We are so grateful, I cannot express how much. You cannot know the feeling of leaving home and knowing that everything will be taken care of, that your possessions, animals and memories are in good hands and will be safe (it is possible that she spoils everyone more than we do). I am so glad that she was willing and able to stay at our place and keep track of all of our critters. With out her, we would not have been able to even go!

We spent today running errands, playing with horses, burning brush and relaxing. Tomorrow is the CORE training at LDS FS in Aurora and we will be approved for adoption! More on that later.

Saturday is hay day. Yay! *sigh* We should be getting about 100 bales to fill the barn but alas, I am still on my 10 pound restriction, so other than moral support, I cannot help load or unload. I hate being useless and not able to pull my fair share. Maybe I'll make a cake or something for R to make up for not being able to help.

We have been trading milk for eggs. Each week a neighbor (they live in Eaton) drives up and gets 2 gallons, in exchange, they give me 2 dozen eggs! If you have never had farm fresh eggs, please look on craigslist and find someone that sells them (usually about 2-3 dollars per dozen). Buy a dozen and if you are not hooked and in love, let me know and I will send you 3$! I turned to R and said: think of something that I can make for you to make up for not being able to help with hay. R; *wiggles eye brows* we have fresh eggs.. Me: yep. 2 dozen, she dropped them off today. R: enough for quiche? Me: *laughing* yes, I suppose so. R: Sweet! Problem solved and guilt gone! Yay! One of these days, our website will be up and I will share the quiche recipe!