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Today we took the first step in making Family Summer Vacation 2008 a reality.

Yep, Yankee Tickets.

We will plan a nice excursion to the Big Apple around these tickets, but the game had to come first. Last season in the original Yankee Stadium and all that. We're also trying to swing a stadium tour, but one thing at a time.

We went for the day-game-against-a-non-threatening-team in hopes of getting better seats. I'd say that was good thinking on our part. Check out our view of the field:

We'll be chatting with Bobby Abreu in right field, and possibly Hideki Matsui, if he backs up a few plays. Maybe catch a home run ball. We're sitting right about where Jeffrey Mayer sat, so maybe we'll create a scandal of some kind. Any of you Yankee fans remember Jeffrey Mayer?

What's for Dinner?

Tonight it's Lemon-Dill Chicken. Possibly my favorite meal of all-time to cook and to eat.

You start by sauteing an onion in olive oil over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, salt and pepper three or four chicken breasts, then dredge them in a mixture of flour and a goodly amount of dill. When the onions are good and soft (but before they get brown) add the floured chicken breasts and let them brown on both sides (the onion will be getting brown right about now as well). Add about two cans of chicken broth (enough to almost cover the chicken), a few glugs of white wine, the zest of a lemon, lemon slices, and a fair smattering of salt. Cover and let simmer for 20-25 minutes or so, depending of the size and thawed-ness of the chicken. Turn the chicken occasionally. Serve over rice.

When you're hungry and it's cold outside, it doesn't get much better. Mom taught me this one. I owe her.

Movie Quotes

As with any relationship that crosses long spans of time, Mark and I have developed our own language. Many of our catch-phrases come from movies - not big blockbusters, necessarily, just regular old movies that we saw on dates or in the early married days that have stuck with us for some reason. We say these things all the time - do any of them ring any bells with you?

1. "I'm sayin' what I'm sayin'."
2. "No really, what are we going to do?"
3. "Did he say...funky butt-lovin'?"
4. "He shoulda armed himself, before he decorated his saloon with my friend."
5. "Up yer butt, Joe-Boo."
6. "Now you listen to me, Mr. Manfredchensen..."
7. "I dry-gulched him." (We don't really quote this one exactly, so much as we use the great phrase "dry-gulch" as often as applicable.)
8. "Barnekey! Barnekey! That guy owes me money!"
9. "It doesn't hurt here or here so much. Just right along here."
10. "Oh wait. Was she some great big fat person?"

Conversations With God

I spent this weekend in at the 44th Annual Gatlinburg Missions Conference with my church youth group. We had four different small group speakers, all from different mission projects. They were all good - I learned something from each one. It is so refreshing to hear about people who dedicate their lives to doing good. To something other than the pursuit of wealth and fame.



One of the small group speakers was from the Samaritan's Purse ministry Operation Christmas Child, also known as their shoebox ministry. It reminded me of an experience I had with our shoeboxes last year, which I wrote about for our church newsletter. I'm posting it for your reading enjoyment:


*****************************************************************************

Conversations with God
Or
How I Learned to Properly Put God in a Box

“Well Lord, it’s shoebox time again. How many should I pack this year?”
How many empty boxes can you fill?
“Let’s see, I have five empty shoeboxes in my closet – how about three?”
Five.
“Four? You want me to pack four?”
Five.
“Five? That’s more than I wanted to spend. What if I pack four big ones?”
Five.
“Oh, alright. Five. Now. Let’s make a list. What should I put in them? Toothpaste, toothbrush, washcloth, comb…”
A Bible.
“…Band-aids, soap, notebooks, pencils…”
A Bible.
“…candy, a yo-yo maybe, a flashlight, some batteries…”
A Bible.
“Will you stop with the Bible talk? We go through this every year. What are the odds that my boxes will go to kids that can speak English? They won’t be able to read them.”

Noah once asked me how all the animals would get to the ark. I told him to keep building, and let me worry about the incidentals.
“But it’s a waste of money! The kids can’t read English. Bibles will just take up space in the boxes.”
Ask your son.
“Ben? OK.”
************************************************
“Hey Ben – what do you want to put in these shoeboxes?”
”How about Bibles?”
************************************************
“Ok Lord, you win. A Bible it is. But I’m way over budget here. How about you help me find five Bibles, real cheap? Maybe like those New Testaments with the Psalms? Those must be cheap.”
A Bible.
“Right. New Testament and Psalms it is. Let’s go shopping.”
************************************************
“Let’s see – here’s a New Testament for $5. That’s $25 total if I buy five. I guess that’s doable, if that’s what you really want.”
No. Keep looking.
“Here’s one - $3.99 each! Even better.”
No.
“Oh wait, they only have three. I need five.”
Keep looking.
“Look at this! Wow! Big, soft cover Bibles for $1. Are you kidding me? And they’ll just fit in my boxes!”
Told you so.
“Wait, these are King James Bibles. Isn’t that kind of hard for a young boy to understand….I’m thinking an NIV would be better. What’s that noise? Are you…are you rolling your eyes at me?!?! That’s really loud. OK, I’ll get five of these.”
************************************************
“Did you see our shoebox dedication this morning? Pretty cool, wasn’t it? What a great ministry. I guess that’s it until next year.”
You’re not finished.
“Not finished? What else can I do? The boxes are gone. My part is done.”
You’re not finished.
“What do you want me to do?”
Pray.
“But I already have prayed. At the dedication. And before the dedication, for that matter. I’ve already prayed for those boxes.”
Pray more.
“What should I pray for?”
What do you want?
“I want whoever receives those boxes to be blessed by them. OK then, I’ll pray for the boys who receive the boxes. I pray they will be blessed by them.”
What else do you want?
“What else? I want their families to be blessed as well, I suppose.”
What else?

”Umm…what else? Oh – I know! I want the Samaritan’s Purse workers to be safe as they travel and as they serve.”
What else?

”That’s all. I can’t think of anything else.”

What do YOU want?

”Me? I don’t want anything. This isn’t about me.”

Yes it is.
“Me? Really? Well, I would like to know who gets my boxes. Who they are, where they live, that kind of thing.”
How can you know that?
"Ummm…they could send me a letter? That’s it! I would like a letter from them.”
OK. Pray for those things every day.
“Every day?”

You make me repeat myself a lot. Every day.
************************************************
“What’s this?”
Open it.
“It’s a letter from France. Who do I know in France? I thought I was boycotting France…”

Open it.
“Wait, there’s another letter in here. This one is from Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso!!! That’s in Africa –did you know that?”
Are you serious?
“Right, of course you know that. This must be from someone who got my shoebox!”
Open it.
“Right. It says….what does it say? Oh my gosh…it’s in French. I can’t read French!?!!? Wait a minute… are you…are you LAUGHING at me??”
You just said you wanted a letter, you didn’t say it needed to be in English.
“You think this is funny, don’t you?”

Hilarious. What does it say?

”Didn’t we just establish that I don’t speak French?”

But you took French in college.
“OK, let’s not go there. How can I read this letter if I don’t speak French?”

Look it over. What does it say?

”Well….I think it says thanks. I think it’s a thank-you note.”
It is. I told you not to worry about languages and understanding.
“Wait a minute! There’s a web site that will translate this for me! Did you know that?”
Are you serious?
************************************************
“Ok, I’ve translated the letter. The shoebox was received by a boy named Trene. Do you know him?”
Of course.
"He’s about to finish school. I’m glad I included a notebook and pen and pencils and stuff. Maybe he can use them.”
Yes, he can.
“What about the Bible? Is he using the Bible?”
What do you think?

”What do I think? I think…I think… I think I’ll pray about Trene and his Bible. How’s that sound?”

That sounds great to me.
“Can I ask you a question?”
Of course.
“Why did you choose to bless me in all of this? Isn’t this ministry about helping others?”
It is. But I’m just as interested in you as I am in them.
“You are? Wow. Thank you.”
Vous êtes bienvenu.

********************************************************************************

These are pictures of the letter, and the picture that was painted and glued to the stationary. I have it framed in my living room now. It reminds me of the power of prayer.

My Valentine's Day

So, this post is a week late. Couldn't be helped.

I had a great Valentine's gift this year. But to really explain it, I have to go back to my birthday in 2006.

I'm the only girl in the house. Which means we don't do a lot of manicures and shopping. Lots of throwing balls and wrestling. And that's OK - I'm not the girliest girl on the block, by any stretch.

But for my birthday in 2006, Mark and the boys decided to do something they had never done before. They bought me jewelry. And to insure they wouldn't completely botch the whole thing, they took my mother-in-law along as an advisor when they did the shopping.

On my birthday, they very elaborately presented me with their gift: a beautiful gold circle of life necklace with matching earrings. Earrings that dangle. I really, really loved it.

My mother-in-law pulls me off to the side and tells me "You don't know what went in to this. Your youngest son made that saleslady take EVERYTHING out of the cases so that he could inspect each and every item they had in that store. He was not satisfied until he found the perfect thing. It was the sweetest thing I ever saw." The image of Daniel taking such care to pick out a gift for me moved me to tears. Still does. I'm crying right now thinking about it.

The next day, we left for my parents' house for Thanksgiving week. I wore the necklace and earrings all week, and on Friday, I lost the earrings.

I know I had them on that morning, because my mom pointed them out to Natalie at breakfast. When I went up to shower that night, they were no where to be found. We had played an impromptu game of kickball that afternoon, and we can only assume that they fell off some time then. We searched every inch of that yard that night with flashlights, and the next morning in the daylight. And then we had to leave. Without the earrings. We never found them.

I have made some humdinger mistakes as a wife and a mom. Things I regret saying, things I regret doing, things that kill me to think about. But the thing I feel the most guilt over is losing those earrings. It was the most careless thing I have ever done. To have my family give me something that meant so much to THEM, something they put so much thought into, and then just to lose it like that. In less than a week. I never forgave myself.

Some things have value because they cost a lot of money. But some things have value because of the feelings and the sentiment attached. Those earrings had a lot attached to them.

Then a week or so before Valentine's, a friend at work mentioned my necklace (I still wear the necklace all the time), so I told her the whole horrible saga. And apparently she mentioned it to Mark in passing. And apparently, Mark didn't know I still carried so much guilt about it.

So guess what I got for Valentine's this year? Yep. New earrings. Only this time, they took me along to pick them out. (See, picking out some jewelery was one thing, picking out earrings to match a necklace was much more of a challenge. Too much of a challenge for my guys.)

We found some gold hoops with the same gold pattern. Not an exact match, but workable. And these earrings have a clasp - a really tight clasp. I was so happy - I wore them out of the store.

It feels like we completed a circle somehow. A circle with a really tight clasp.

The Joy of Raising Boys

We've made great strides lately in getting the boys to keep their rooms picked up and their clothes neatly put away. For example, look what I found in Ben's closet tonight:

My Liquor Store Find

I am somewhat of a novice in the wide world of libation, so if this is old news to anyone, please excuse. But I am so excited about something I found in the liquor store recently - I had to share!

See, I love to cook with wine. But I don't drink wine. So I end up buying a big bottle, using about half of it, and tossing the rest because I couldn't use it fast enough. Big ole bummer. But, my new best friend at the liquor heard my plight and directed me to what you see pictured left: mini-bottles! And I thought that was just for the hard stuff.

Turns out, Sutter Home makes a four-pack of mini bottles of their chardonnay. I set one next to a standard sized apple so you could get a feel for the size (they don't give the ounces - 187 ML - who the heck knows the metric system?) Should be just enough for about two dishes, which is just about all I need in a week's time. How sweet is that??

I bought two four-packs. One bottle is open in the fridge. I put the others in the basement. I like to pretend I have a really tiny wine cellar.

Smokin' Good Ribs

The ribs were overdone on the outside - we should have pulled them off way sooner - but past that tough exterior was some awesome meat. We tossed them in Tennessee's Best Apple Butter Barbeque Sauce and lived the dream.

After this bad boy cools, we'll be pulling it off the bone and saving it for sauce and sammies next week.

We had a few bumps along the way, and learned some lessons, but the ribs were more than edible and we should get some decent meals out of this big ole' butt. Good times.

Hit Counter Hit

This is not so much a new post as a cry for help. I'm noticing hit counters all around the blogosphere are inoperable. I plan to do what I do in any emergency - report the issue and let people smarter than me come back and tell me what to do. Comments are requested - where is my hit counter?

Man Food

Me man. Me cook meat.

We broke bad at Lowe's yesterday and bought a charcoal smoker. We have no idea what we're doing, but we have some instructions, and a grasp on the basic concept that meat, heat and smoke will produce a fair supper. We are currently smoking two racks of baby back ribs (which we hope will be tonight's supper) and a pork butt roast (which we hope will be BBQ sandwiches for various and sundry meals next week.) We are approaching this as a learning experience, which means two things: we didn't buy very expensive cuts of meat, and we have a back up plan to eat at church tonight if necessity dictates. I will keep you posted.

Cub Scout Memories

Ben's first Boy Scout meeting is Monday night. As a Boy Scout, he has to remove all of the adornments he enjoyed on his uniform in Cub Scouts. Mr. Miller was kind enough to make Ben a means to display all of his awards, patches, belt slides, etc., and yesterday we put this together:


I couldn't keep the flash from reflecting on the wood, but you get the idea.

Weekend Baking

I love to get in the kitchen on the weekend and play around. This weekend, I did some things I'd been wanting to try for a while.

I started on Friday night with homemade pizza. Didn't really break any new ground here. Pizza is pretty much a staple on Friday nights these days. Both Ben and Daniel had the same second grade teacher - Mr. J - who prior to becoming a great teacher, worked for General Mills as a miller. As such, he learned a whole lot about baking and flour and gluten and...you get the idea. During both years the boys were in his class, we got to go to special baking classes he hosted for school families. We learned how to make bread, yeast rolls, and of course, pizza. I have to say, it's better than any pizza you get at restaurants, and a whole lot better for you. The crust uses wheat flour, you make your own sauce, and you use as much or as little cheese as you want. It doesn't look like all that in the picture, but trust me, it is tast-ee.

This morning, I did an experiment with one of my favorite Barefoot Contessa recipes: Banana Crunch Muffins. I've been reading a lot about King Arthur Flour's white whole wheat flour, which is touted as having the same effect on baked goods as plain all purpose flour, but with much more nutritional value. I've used it quite a bit in recipes that call for it, but had never taken the plunge and subbed it in a recipe that called for good ole white flour. I have to say, I couldn't tell the difference. These muffins are full of banana chunks, walnuts, and granola, and now they're full of fiber and other good stuff as well. Breakfast just got better at our house!

Finally, I tried a recipe this afternoon that I found in Cooking Light Magazine: Cardamom-Lime Sweet Rolls. I had never had cardamom, but the idea of lime in a sweet roll intrigued me. Sad to say, I think I killed the yeast (they didn't rise at all) but they did taste pretty good. I'll definitely try again and be more careful with the yeast. I used the white whole wheat flour again (I figured if I'd never had them before, how would I know the difference?)

What I'm Reading Now

Run, by Ann Patchett. I've only just started this one, so I can't say for sure how good it is. But I'm excited about it because Ann Patchett wrote Bel Canto, which is one of the best books I have ever read. Ever.

I've found that some books are good because they tell really good, really unusual stories. And some books are good because they tell very normal, everyday kinds of stories in a beautiful way. Bel Canto did both.

It's the story of a party held at the South American Vice President's house. He brings in an international opera star, and multiple foreign dignitaries, to celebrate the birthday of a famed Japanese businessman. All things are going as planned, when a group of terrorists break in and take everyone hostage. Only they aren't terrorists in the modern sense; they are actually a rather humanitarian group whose goal is the release of a comrade who is imprisoned by the government.

All of these people are locked up in this house together for something like forty or fifty days. Wonderful things begin to happen - that's all I'll say. Bel Canto is some of the most lyrical prose I've ever read. Read it if you haven't. It's a rare treat.

I have also read Patchett's The Magician's Assistant - not as good, but definitely in a similar style. I really like her stuff. Let's hope Run lives up.

Speaking of Cheesy Shows I Watched As a Kid

http://www.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK//video/trailer/me60811758/

Good times!

The Mixer

I can't believe in all this time I haven't blogged about my mixer yet. It is my most prized kitchen possession. Pictured atop my side bar, it is a KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer in chrome. I almost went with the candy apple red, but then decided chrome had a much more classic feel. Boy did I call that one.

These mixers are ridiculously expensive, and it took me a long time to talk myself into taking the plunge. A long time, plus a rebate offer, a 20% off coupon, and $150 in gift cards cashed in from a couple of different credit card rewards programs. You might say I wanted it bad.

It is the greatest small kitchen appliance of all time. It's like having another person in the kitchen, but one who just does the mundane stuff and doesn't get in the way. I carve the turkey, the mixer mashes the taters. I prep the pans, the mixer finishes up the cookie dough. I'm hardly even a factor in kneading pizza dough anymore. I just stand there and take the credit.

Funny story: Before I got the mixer, Daniel and I baked cookies using a hand mixer. When I told him I was getting this super-powered stud power tool, he was actually sad. He said "You won't need me to help bake cookies anymore." Thinking quickly on my mommy feet, I replied "No, YOU won't need ME to help bake cookies anymore. " (I know, that was one of my better moments.) So instantly, he gets excited about baking cookies all by himself.

I buy the mixer on a Monday night, but we get home late and can't bake. The next night, I have Bible study, and can't bake either. But Daniel is so pumped I don't want him to wait anymore. So I do the smooth hand-off to dad and say "Just measure out the ingredients, turn the mixer on low, and let Daniel do the rest." And so he agreed. When I got home, I asked "How was it? How did the mixer do?" I hear Mark from the next room, "That thing is AWESOME! We didn't even have to scrape down the sides of the bowl! Not even once!"

Ah. The joy of cooking.

Editor's Note: Special thanks to Ferdlings for fixing the picture. Looks much better now.