Genius!

Check out this site! So cool!

They have offices around the world, so you'll have to choose the country closest to you!

I want to go....

...to Haiti to rebuild, to hold orphans, to comfort the seniors, to meet in fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ!
...to Africa, to build, to hold orphans, to meet in fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ!

Now how to choose...how to plan...how to go.

Sunday Lunch

Since it's easy, something Kent can do AND make breakfast for our guests, we had Roast and Noodles again today! It is a PERENNIAL favorite around here! Tiana ate, I think she said, 10 helpings of noodles today!

ROAST AND NOODLES3-4 lb chuck roast
1/4 c. olive oil
Kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
1 large onion, sliced
4+ cloves of garlic, minced
2 c. beef broth
2 c. red wine (I always use the cheapest burgundy available! I've used expensive wine and it wasn't as good!)
1 lb. wide egg noodles

Heat olive oil in large Dutch oven. Sprinkle roast with salt and pepper and brown in hot olive oil. After thoroughly browning roast, remove it from the pan and add the sliced onion, sauteing until well caramelized, about 20 minutes. Add garlic, wine and broth, bringing to a boil. Add roast back to Dutch oven, cover, set heat to LOW and simmer for 2-1/2 hours. Remove roast from liquid, add egg noodles, stirring well, add meat back to the noodles and let cook for 20 minutes until all liquid is absorbed. ENJOY!!

To counter the Creamy Almond Chicken

So, we're having company and to go with the Creamy Almond Chicken of the previous post, I thought it would be good to add a decently healthy dessert! I love this recipe!

Low Fat Apple Crisp

3 lbs. peeled, cored and sliced Granny Smith apples
1/3 c. brown sugar (don't pack!)
2 Tbs. cornstarch
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
For the crumb topping:
3 Tbs. flour
3 Tbs. rolled oats
1 1/2 Tbs. brown sugar
1 Tbs. butter

Preheat oven to 350º. Lightly grease 2 quart shallow pan with non-stick spray (or if you have DeMarle -- use it!)
Place the apple slices in prepared pan.
Combine the 1/3 c. brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sprinkle over the apples, tossing to coat evenly. Cover the dish with foil.
Bake for 30 minutes.
For the crumb topping:
Meanwhile, combine the flour, oats and 1 1/2 Tbs. brown sugar in a small bowl. Mash the butter into the dry mixture with a fork.
Remove baking dish from oven, sprinkle with the crumb mixture and bake uncovered for another 40 minutes.

A recipe...

I'm getting my next recipe swap pages together and I thought I might as well share this one with you, too! I got the recipe from a co-worker a few years ago and we love it! It is terribly bad for you, but so delicious! I'm planning on having this for dinner on Friday night!

Creamy Almond Chicken
1 stick butter, melted
2 tsp. celery salt
1½ tsp. oregano, finely crushed
2 tsp. paprika1½ tsp. curry powder
salt
freshly ground pepper
8 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
flour
3/4 c. sliced roasted almonds1½ c. half and half1/2 c. sour cream
1/4 c. sherry

Combine butter and spices; set aside.
Preheat oven to 350º.
Dredge chicken in flour and then roll in butter mixture. Arrange chicken in baking dish, scatter almonds evenly over chicken and pour half and half over all. Cover and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover dish, pour cooking liquid from pan into bowl. Whisk sour cream and sherry into juices until smooth. Pour over chicken and bake, uncovered, 15-20 minutes longer or until chicken is done. Serve with a light pasta side dish.

Bon Appetit!

ACCOMPLISHED!

The house is clean!! The luggage is back out in storage, as are the Winter decorations, the bathrooms are clean, the floor is mopped, the living room is dusted and I still have almost 2 hours to go until it is time to go to work! I need to stop at the Post Office, so it looks like I will have plenty of time to do that! I'm feeling pretty good today!!

My First and I'm proud!

So, using Nolan David to model it,  I present my first ever knit hat!!  It turned out so cute!  I made one mistake, but I think I can deal with that!  It was quite fun, but at the end it got just a bit tiring with needles that ended up being almost too small to do the job!  The yarn itself created the pattern in the hat, too, so that made my job that much easier! Thanks for taking a peek!

Rainy, dreary days, but it could be worse!

So we are right in the midst of January in the Northwest and that means it is soppy wet!  Tonight it was such a damp cold that we were more than happy to just hurry home to warmth after dinner and a stop for a few groceries.  It really has made exercising drop in priority on the daily to-do list, but as a bonus a fair number of cards have been created!  I've even managed to put together some pretty decent meals!  And have kept the house pretty clean!  Guess there is a positive to the grey!  Ahh... and candles, soft music, rejuvenation makes for a happy soul!

Wishing even now for a big rainbow colored umbrella!

Happy Smells

Ok, call me weird, but in the grocery aisle the other night, I smelled a smell that just made me happy! -- FRESH CORN TORTILLAS!!

That's all!

A funny thing happened on the way home!

So, on the way home from Sacramento Kent and I were "arguing" a bit about when we get in tonight. I was super confused how our flight would take 1 hour and 20 minutes from Portland to Seattle when it is normally just a 50 minute flight. Well, turns out he inadvertently booked himself on a following flight! Thankfully the flights leave about every 30 minutes so he's scheduled out on the next flight after us. For the most part, that gives Tiana and I time to get to the car and then we'll drive over and pick him up! Funny stuff!! Guess he felt he needed some "alone" time! Ha! Ha! Ha!!! Soon we're on our way, so better power this down so he can take it with him! Thought you could use a laugh!

And the Post Script: Kent ended up getting on the same flight as us anyway! Plan Foiled!! It was nice because our flight got in just a hair earlier so that means that we got our car just those moments earlier and now we can think about getting to bed!

Congratulations Kyla and Mark!

Today, Kent's niece got married in a beautiful ceremony near Sacramento.  It was a lovely day with just a few raindrops on their parade!  It was fun, too, because for the first time since Kent's dad passed away, the whole family was together.  Also, Mark's sister is named Kyla, too, and she has a daughter named Tiana!  We had to make sure to get photos of the two Kylas together with the two Tianas.  Wishing Mark and Kyla a lifetime of happiness!  More photos here.

Welcome 2010!

Good-Bye, So Long, GET OUTTA HERE 2009!!! It seems that everyone that we've talked to can hardly wait for 2009 to leave and so with hopeful expectation we prayerfully look forward to 2010!

HERE'S TO A HAPPY, HEALTHY, SUCCESSFUL

2010!!