Today was our second snow, or should I say "ice" day, of the year. Most years we never use our snow days, so we get an extra day off in April or May when we REALLY need it. This year, however, we have used both of our snow days. So, instead of getting a long weekend for Easter and for Memorial Day, we will be going back to school.
I did, however, get some extra sleep today, managed to get the kitchen cleaned up, washed a load of laundry and put away a little laundry, relaxed a bit, and saw a movie with the kids, my sister, and nephews, so ... it was a good day. But, we will all be wishing we had gone to school today in April.
Back to work and school tomorrow, so I had better get the kids and myself to bed!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Deeper
Tonight, I attended the Deeper Service at church. The Deeper service is a themed service that we have every so often. It is for the regular attendees/members of our church - a chance for us to worship, partake in communion, deepen our relationship with Christ, focus on Him, deepen our experiences and worship as a body of believers. It was a beautiful evening of praise and worship, artistic expression, and Baptism. During the service, we were encouraged to write a fear on a broken tile, and then to find a scripture on the wall, a verse from God's word, that puts our fear to rest. As the service continued, a group of members placed the tiles onto a large canvas. The tiles, each of which contained a fear, were placed upon the letters that spelled out the word "trust". The end result was a beautiful expression of faith; the mass of fears covered by the collective faith in God, his word, his promises. I was such a blessing to take part in this amazing service, and I look forward to the next one.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Great Start to a New Year ... 2009
The New Year has started off well for the Richardson family. We are settling back into school and work and into some positive routines. We've gotten the house back to normal and back together after the holiday festivities and decorations, we are keeping up with the dishes and laundry, the kids are helping out with the household chores, we've been cooking and eating at home, and things are running rather smoothly. Now, if we can just keep this up for 349 more days it will be a great year! I know that things will slip here and there and that "life" will get in the way of keeping everything in order, but ... I am going to keep trying to do my best to keep a positive attitude about it all and to not let "not getting everything done all of the time" get me down.
Blake and I have also been watching what we eat, have been drinking our shakes again (and more often), and are cutting out soft drinks. Next, we have to tackle the gym and get into a routine of working out. Prayers and encouragement welcome!
Blake and I have also been watching what we eat, have been drinking our shakes again (and more often), and are cutting out soft drinks. Next, we have to tackle the gym and get into a routine of working out. Prayers and encouragement welcome!
Friday, January 2, 2009
Blake's Eyes ... 20/20
Blake went to the eye doctor today, and his eyes are 20/20! It has taken a while for his eyes to heal, but they are great! He is so happy to be without the contact and seeing 20/20.
We celebrated with a night out together. We went to a small pizza place, Durkins, and had a great pepperoni pizza together, and then headed to the movies. We saw Seven Pounds, which was good, very thought provoking, but left you a bit down at the end. Blake really wanted to see Gran Torino, so we looked it up on the iphone, and headed to another theatre about 20 minute away to catch the 9:30pm showing. The theatre was crowded and the movie had already started, so we just had to get seated. We ended up sitting separately because there were no two seats together. Blake had the pleasure of sitting by a man with really bad breathe, while I enjoyed the movie next to a rather stinky woman. I don't think these late night movies are for us. Too many "stinky" people! But, the movie was great.
It's been a long time since Blake and I saw two movies in one night. In fact, until this week, it has been a while since I had seen a movie in the theatre. This week, however, I have seen four movies - both times, double features. First, Bedtime Stories and Marly and Me, then Seven Pounds and Gran Torino. It's been a big movie week for us.
We celebrated with a night out together. We went to a small pizza place, Durkins, and had a great pepperoni pizza together, and then headed to the movies. We saw Seven Pounds, which was good, very thought provoking, but left you a bit down at the end. Blake really wanted to see Gran Torino, so we looked it up on the iphone, and headed to another theatre about 20 minute away to catch the 9:30pm showing. The theatre was crowded and the movie had already started, so we just had to get seated. We ended up sitting separately because there were no two seats together. Blake had the pleasure of sitting by a man with really bad breathe, while I enjoyed the movie next to a rather stinky woman. I don't think these late night movies are for us. Too many "stinky" people! But, the movie was great.
It's been a long time since Blake and I saw two movies in one night. In fact, until this week, it has been a while since I had seen a movie in the theatre. This week, however, I have seen four movies - both times, double features. First, Bedtime Stories and Marly and Me, then Seven Pounds and Gran Torino. It's been a big movie week for us.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Updates
Things have been rather busy, and I have not had a chance to blog recently, so I wanted to try to catch everyone up a bit.
Blake's eyes are improving. The left eye is finally starting to heal and his sight is getting better. Progress is slow, but we are seeing progress, so that is great! He goes back to the doctor tomorrow for another check-up.
Christmas was fabulous! We spent Christmas Eve at the Richardson's where we had a fabulous dinner along with our annual Chinese Christmas exchange, followed by service at the 8pm candle light service at our church. We then headed home to prepare for Santa's visit and Christmas morning.
Christmas Day was terrific! Megan and Connor woke up early and were excited to see what Santa had left for them and to open their many other presents. We enjoyed some time as a family Christmas morning, opening presents and spending time together. We had a fantastic Christmas brunch and then the boys took off for 9 holes of golf while the girls dressed and prepared for the Christmas afternoon/evening activities. Stephanie, Colton, Carson, Aunt Carol, Flip & Sharolyn joined Blake, Connor, Megan, my parents, and I for a wonderful Christmas dinner. I cooked my very first turkey, and it turned out great! It was moist and delicious! It was a terrific day with family and friends!
Blake's eyes are improving. The left eye is finally starting to heal and his sight is getting better. Progress is slow, but we are seeing progress, so that is great! He goes back to the doctor tomorrow for another check-up.
Christmas was fabulous! We spent Christmas Eve at the Richardson's where we had a fabulous dinner along with our annual Chinese Christmas exchange, followed by service at the 8pm candle light service at our church. We then headed home to prepare for Santa's visit and Christmas morning.
Christmas Day was terrific! Megan and Connor woke up early and were excited to see what Santa had left for them and to open their many other presents. We enjoyed some time as a family Christmas morning, opening presents and spending time together. We had a fantastic Christmas brunch and then the boys took off for 9 holes of golf while the girls dressed and prepared for the Christmas afternoon/evening activities. Stephanie, Colton, Carson, Aunt Carol, Flip & Sharolyn joined Blake, Connor, Megan, my parents, and I for a wonderful Christmas dinner. I cooked my very first turkey, and it turned out great! It was moist and delicious! It was a terrific day with family and friends!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Turkey - Day 4 ... Christmas Day!
Today is the day to cook the turkey! I am still praying that it turns out well. I will be serving my first turkey to my family, my parents, and my in-laws, so I hope that it turns out well!
I was afraid to risk carrying the turkey from the refrigerator to the sink by myself again (remember the vision of turkey and brine exploding all over my kitchen), so I asked my dad to carry it for me. He could not believe that I had carried it to the refrigerator myself. It was heavy!
I cleaned off the turkey and disposed of the brine. Next, I was to place half of an orange and half of an apple into the cavity of the turkey. Then, I was to tie fresh herbs together and to place them into the cavity, as well. After placing everything in the cavity, I reconnected the legs to the plastic holder and began to oil the turkey's exterior and then seasoned it with salt and pepper. Mom and I placed it into the oven about 11:30am.
Remarkably, the turkey turned out great! Sharolyn, thanks for the recipe and the instructions, and thanks for having left over gravy from Christmas Eve, as well! I did not have to boil the neck or innerds! Yeah!
Our Christmas dinner was fabulous. The party potatoes were moist and delicious, the rolls were fabulous, as usual, the broccoli was wonderful, Sharolyn's stuffing was excellent, and Carol brought some terrific roasted sweet potato wedges to add to our Christmas feast, as well. We enjoyed white cake with 7-minute icing, chocolate chip cookies, and white chocolate popcorn for dessert. We were all stuffed and happy!
Just before Flip & Sharolyn headed home, Blake surprised me with an iPhone! As many of you know, I have wanted an iPhone for quite a while, and because I was on Verizon Wireless, I was not able to get one. Well, Blake tricked me by giving me an iPhone box with a watch in it for my birthday and then an iPhone box with eye drops in it for Christmas, but then ... I recieved the iPhone on Christmas night! As soon as I discovered it, Megan said, "Well, what phone am I going to have now?" (as she is tied to my phone plan); and she was surprised with a new phone, as well. Blake got her an LG Vu. She was jumping with joy!
It was a good Chritmas at the Richardson house! Good food, good gifts, good family time, good memories!
I was afraid to risk carrying the turkey from the refrigerator to the sink by myself again (remember the vision of turkey and brine exploding all over my kitchen), so I asked my dad to carry it for me. He could not believe that I had carried it to the refrigerator myself. It was heavy!
I cleaned off the turkey and disposed of the brine. Next, I was to place half of an orange and half of an apple into the cavity of the turkey. Then, I was to tie fresh herbs together and to place them into the cavity, as well. After placing everything in the cavity, I reconnected the legs to the plastic holder and began to oil the turkey's exterior and then seasoned it with salt and pepper. Mom and I placed it into the oven about 11:30am.
Remarkably, the turkey turned out great! Sharolyn, thanks for the recipe and the instructions, and thanks for having left over gravy from Christmas Eve, as well! I did not have to boil the neck or innerds! Yeah!
Our Christmas dinner was fabulous. The party potatoes were moist and delicious, the rolls were fabulous, as usual, the broccoli was wonderful, Sharolyn's stuffing was excellent, and Carol brought some terrific roasted sweet potato wedges to add to our Christmas feast, as well. We enjoyed white cake with 7-minute icing, chocolate chip cookies, and white chocolate popcorn for dessert. We were all stuffed and happy!
Just before Flip & Sharolyn headed home, Blake surprised me with an iPhone! As many of you know, I have wanted an iPhone for quite a while, and because I was on Verizon Wireless, I was not able to get one. Well, Blake tricked me by giving me an iPhone box with a watch in it for my birthday and then an iPhone box with eye drops in it for Christmas, but then ... I recieved the iPhone on Christmas night! As soon as I discovered it, Megan said, "Well, what phone am I going to have now?" (as she is tied to my phone plan); and she was surprised with a new phone, as well. Blake got her an LG Vu. She was jumping with joy!
It was a good Chritmas at the Richardson house! Good food, good gifts, good family time, good memories!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
My First Turkey - Day 2 & 3
Today I purchased a brine for the turkey. According to the instructions, I have to mix it with a gallon of boiling water, allow it to cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate it for 24 hours.
Day 3 -- Today, I have to add a second gallon of water to the brine and then place the turkey and the brine in a bag to marinate overnight.
I pulled the turkey out of the bag, cleaned it, removed the neck, and after some looking, located the other "turkey parts" that needed to be removed. Until now, I did not know that the "other parts" were stored in the turkey butt. Couldn't they have stored them in the cavity with the neck? Why did they feel the need to place them in the butt of the turkey? That is not where I would have chosen to place them. Anyway, I managed to removed everything and place it in a ziploc bag for later use. According to my instructions, I will use the neck and inner parts to make the gravy. Joy!
After cleaning the turkey, I placed it in the brining bag and filled the large bag with the brine and an additional gallon of water. Next, I had to get this 19 lb turkey and 2 gallons of brine from the kitchen counter with the garage refrigerator without dropping it. For a second, I saw the bag breaking and brine and raw turkey going all over my kitchen. Luckily, that was only a split second fear; I made it to the refrigerator with the turkey, bag, and brine. No mess! The turkey will marinate for 24 hours before cooking.
Day 3 -- Today, I have to add a second gallon of water to the brine and then place the turkey and the brine in a bag to marinate overnight.
I pulled the turkey out of the bag, cleaned it, removed the neck, and after some looking, located the other "turkey parts" that needed to be removed. Until now, I did not know that the "other parts" were stored in the turkey butt. Couldn't they have stored them in the cavity with the neck? Why did they feel the need to place them in the butt of the turkey? That is not where I would have chosen to place them. Anyway, I managed to removed everything and place it in a ziploc bag for later use. According to my instructions, I will use the neck and inner parts to make the gravy. Joy!
After cleaning the turkey, I placed it in the brining bag and filled the large bag with the brine and an additional gallon of water. Next, I had to get this 19 lb turkey and 2 gallons of brine from the kitchen counter with the garage refrigerator without dropping it. For a second, I saw the bag breaking and brine and raw turkey going all over my kitchen. Luckily, that was only a split second fear; I made it to the refrigerator with the turkey, bag, and brine. No mess! The turkey will marinate for 24 hours before cooking.
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