Rest and Relief

After a CRAZY week, we are delighted to settle in at home and get some rest and relief.
We knew it would be a long week because Greg was working a large conference at the hotel that would require especially long hours. What we didn't expect was that both Addie and I would get sick at the same time. So, Greg started working last Saturday, with very little time at home, and Niki had an ear infection brewing. By Monday it had turned into a sinus infection and Addie started with the high fever. God was so gracious! Greg worked about 80 hours this week, but being at home just long enough to sleep meant he avoided catching the junk Addie and I had.

Just a little sampling of what he was working on: he turned this

into this!
Everything went well and he did a great job!












Meanwhile, at home, Addie and I were cooped up! Not only were we sick and quarantined, but it has rained here all week, so we couldn't even go outside a little bit. If you don't know what it is to spend day after day in the same 800 square feet alone with a cranky 2 year old, well.... lucky you. We watched a lot of videos to get through, and God was gracious to give me the strength one hour at a time. It reminded me of the days when Addie was really little and her reflux wasn't diagnosed. She was miserable all the time and we spent a lot of time cooped up in the house and miserable! But I'm glad for those days because they reminded me all week that God was faithful to preserve us through that and He would do the same this week.

All that to say, Greg's big event is OVER! And he is home on this glorious Friday night. Addie and I are feeling a little better, her fever is gone (for now) and I can breathe. So we're celebrating by pulling out the hide-a-bed in the livingroom and watching movies! It may sound lame to you, but it is pure delight to me!!!

Who knew that paradise was a pull out couch, chocolate, and a John Wayne movie with your husband?

Telling Secrets

Prepare yourself people, I'm about to reveal some facts about myself that I usually don't make public. But hey, in the name of blogging entertainment, I am now willing to let some info become public. Plus, I'm 30 now, and some of these experiences are far enough behind me to be much less embarrasing now.

It all started with this shirt, which my sister and bro-in-law gave me for Christmas. Why this shirt? Because the continual teasing about my appearance as a contestant on "The Price is Right" will never end. I am just going to accept it. That's right- I was on the Price is Right. No, you CANNOT see the tape. Why? Because I acted goofy, nervous, and wierd. It's embarrassing! However, I do enjoy playing the DVD home version of the game, which I got from Kim & Keith at Christmas. In the theme of the gift, they also got me this shirt.

Just one problem. Love the logo thing, not gonna wear the shirt. Why? Because it says "The Wife is Right." Hopefully if you know me, you know that one of my life goals is to learn and model what it is to be a submissive wife, as I am called in Scripture to be. I think God's plan of submission is a gift that frees me to be who He made me to be. And I think that promoting the attitude of "I'm right, not you" goes against what it is to be a Christian, dying to self and living for Christ and others.

Now, Kim & Keith know this, and knew I wouldn't go for the message, but liked the logo thing. And they told me they read the shirt as saying "The Wife is Right" as in "Greg picked the right wife", which was very sweet. But I still felt a little funny wearing the shirt in public when people would think I meant it the other way. So they returned the shirt and got me this one instead.

It just came this week and I LOVE it!
This shirt is much more appropriate, not because I am wonder wife, but because of my history wearing "Wonder" apparel.

See?




Stop laughing.



Don't make me regret sharing this information with you or I won't tell my other secrets. And there's some good ones people.






And yes, I did win something on the Price is Right. Everybody asks, I'm sure you want to know too. I won a paddle boat. Yes, a paddle boat. I know, it's almost too much for you, isn't it?

A Postponement in Moving... We Think?

Some of you will read this post and be very happy. Some of you will read this post and be disappointed. We actually feel somewhere in the middle about this information.





It seems we will not be going to Dallas as soon as we had hoped.





Last week Greg emailed his boss for permission to start applying for jobs in Dallas again. This is a step the company insists on before you are allowed to apply for a transfer position- you have to have your supervisor's approval. This is to make sure that the company doesn't hurt itself by allowing a transfer- having someone leave a spot and leave someone else in the lurch. So... he asked. He has done this several times before and it was never a problem, so we figured it wouldn't be a problem this time. Guess not!





His boss emailed back a no. We were surprised to say the least! Now, before you go calling Greg's boss a bunch of names, he gave some understandable reasons for his no.





#1 He doesn't have anyone to replace Greg. Last time we asked, Greg's part-time guy was well trained and would have been almost ready to take over in Greg's place. Since then, he's moved on and a newer, less-experienced guy is in his place. So Greg's boss would be left in a tight spot without anyone to take Greg's position.





#2 He reminded Greg of a commitment we had made last August to stay in this spot for a year. Quite frankly, and to our shame, we hadn't even remembered this commitment until he brought it up. Greg's boss said he'd be willing to release us from the commitment if someone was available, but since there isn't, he wants us to carry it through. We want to stand by our word and honor our commitment, so that's what we'll do!





In the meantime, if Greg's boss finds someone to take his spot, Greg would be free to apply for openings in the Dallas area. But we're not counting on it. Our hunch is that if he isn't forced to, Greg's boss would rather not spend extra energy to find a replacement for Greg before he absolutely has to. So, most likely we're staying put until August at the very earliest.





This is definitely a change in plans for us. We were really hoping to be able to transfer to Dallas sometime this Spring. But we know God has good plans and we want to follow those, not ours. We have said all along that we only want to go to Dallas if that is where the Lord wants us. So if it isn't for now, and He wants us here, then we will be here happily! We know God has a great plan for us being here for this time and look forward to seeing what it is!





We plan to enjoy Southern California to it's fullest, so you can look forward to more blog posts about fun adventures here!

A Happy 33rd

We celebrated Greg's 33rd birthday this last Sunday! Here is a picture of Greg using the cast iron skillet he got for his birthday. You would think this would be a gift for the wife, but no, it's for the Alton Brown apprentice. He was quite happy with it, and I am looking forward to using it too!

Greg also got pampered on Saturday, as he deserves to be, with a spa day at home. After soaking his troubles away with a bath, face mask, and cucumbers on his eyes, he came downstairs to a professional massuese who gave him his first ever massage. After the rub-down, he agreed that a massage is a glorious thing. I set up our apartment like a spa, with music playing, candles, and cucumber water and mint tea for the birthday boy. I know this sounds like a birthday for myself, but I promise these things were for him and he loved them!

Sorry I didn't post sooner and give you all the chance to wish him happy birthday, I was busy getting the Spangler Spa ready! Belated birthday greetings are always welcome!

Funny Sayings

Before I forget them entirely, I wanted to post some of Addie's most recent funny sayings. You know, those things kids say that are just so cute? Well, we've had a few lately that we wanted to share.

The first and second happened last month, and sprung out of our trips out in the car to go look at Christmas lights.
"Some"
We'd been out the night before looking at lights, which I diligently pointed out to our backseat rider. The next day we came home from some errands, Addie looked at our Christmas tree and proudly proclaimed, "Some!" I had NO IDEA what she was talking about. She did it several more times, always at the tree, and always saying "some!" Finally I figured it out when we went out looking at lights again. Everytime I pointed out lights to Addie I said "There's some!", and being no fool, she learned that you don't call them lights, you call them "some." Therefore, our Christmas tree was covered in "some."

"Honey Look!"
This is by far our favorite. Not wanting to point out lights on our light-looking expeditions as "some" anymore, I tried saying other things. See, Addie would sit in the back asking and hollering "Lights! Lights!" and wouldn't see them when we drove past. So I would say "Addie, look over there" or "there's some." Evidently I also said "Honey, look!" quite often, because as we drove down one street and Addie spotted some for herself, we heard a squeeky voice in the backseat belt out "Honey, Look!" Now, if you've ever had your two year old call you honey, you would know that it isn't funny at first, but a little creepy. But when she said it over and over, we finally started laughing. Just last week we were coming home after dark and someone still had their lights up, and once again Addie announced "Honey, look!"

"Thank You Much"
Last week Addie heard me thank the saleswoman at the store with "Thank you very much" and she decided she should say it that way too. I wish you could hear her little voice on this one, because it's really what makes it so cute. The "Thank You" part is said in a low and quick voice and the "Much" part is high, squeeky, and loud. It gets me every time.

"Book-Bary"
This started Sunday when we were getting ready to go to church. We were telling Addie that we'll need to take some books back to the church library, but we can pick out a few more to bring home. Once we were within sight of the library, she excitedly announced "Book-bary!" and wanted to go right in. Yesterday I told her we were going to go out and do some errands and she asked "Book-bary?" Again today, that's where she wanted to go. I haven't corrected this much because I think it's so darn cute! I guess I can always teach her to say the right word when she's older. :)

Epicurean Adventures

A popular subject around our house is food. In fact, it's miraculous that Greg and I aren't much larger in size, the way we like to eat!
And as most of you read about in our Christmas posts, Greg spent the holidays reading through Alton Brown's books on cooking and baking. This just wet the appetite all the more for experimenting with and eating more food. You never have to encourage me, and now that Greg is curious too, well...

So last Saturday Greg decided he'd like to try making some rolls. He used the bread machine- don't be THAT impressed, but still. I decided I have won the husband lottery, being that my husband wanted to use a Saturday to bake. I mean really.

So here are the rolls. They looked beautiful, they tasted terrific!


















Then a few days later I tried a new recipe from my most recent "Simple and Delicious" magazine. Before I tell about the wonderful meal, we have to have a sidebar here. If you are the main cook in your family, or have to cook at all really, I would highly recommend a subscription to this magazine! It is the secret of my cooking success! Every two months a new issue is delivered. It is full of great recipes from cooks all over Northern America. They send in the recipes, the magazine's Home Economists try them out (yeah home economists!!!), then they print the good ones. Because professionals test them first, the recipes are well written and easy to understand. This is key for cooking success! They are also the BEST- do you hear me?- the BEST recipes ever. And with a new magazine arriving every two months, I always have lots of new things to make and try. We have rarely been disappointed. And all for $20 a year (or $30 for two years)- you can't beat it. Just go to tasteofhome.com and sign-up! You won't regret it!

So this week was no exception in our continuing delight with Simple and Delicious. On page 10 they had a recipe for "Saucy Mushroom Chicken" from Aline Eyre of Sarnia, Ontario. I thought it looked pretty good, worth a try.
Well, Aline Eyre, you have got some skills. This was some gooooood chicken.
It was saucy, garlicky, mushroomy yumminess!
Served over mashed potatoes and accompanied by the lemon-pepper green beans from page 16.... it was delish! (this isn't bragging because I take no credit. Now, if I had invented this "Saucy Mushroom Chicken," then I would be bragging- but I would deserve it).

Is your mouth watering yet?
In a grand tradition inspired by our friends Ron & Joan, Greg applauded the meal. (Joan once told me that Ron had liked a dinner so much he stood up from the table and applauded. We thought it was so great that now Greg does it too).










So.... do you want the recipe? Well, here it is!





Saucy Mushroom Chicken (which should really be called "So Scrupmty You'll Faint Chicken")

6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (5 oz. each)
1 teaspoon each onion powder, paprika, dried basil, oregano & thyme
1 teaspoon each salt & pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine or additional chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Step 1. Flatten chicken to 1/2 in. thickness. Combine the seasonings; sprinkle 2 tablespoons over both sides of the chicken.

Step 2. In a large skillet, cook chicken in 1 tablespoon oil in batches over medium heat for 3-4 minutes on each side or until juices run clear. Remove and keep warm.

Step 3. In the same skillet, saute the mushrooms, garlic, and remaining seasoning mixture in remaining oil until tender. Stir in flour. Gradually stir in broth and wine or additional broth and cream. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Step 4. Return chicken to the pan; heat through. Serve with mashed potatoes if desired.

Yield: 6 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes

Hope you all enjoy it! If you make this, let us know how you liked it!

The Last of the Floats

Sorry folks, this is the last of the pictures I will post of the floats!

Here is the airplane float from the city of Glendale (yeah Glendale! That's where Addie was born!)
A boat with a rabbit captain. Loved that they used sprays of white, blue, and purple flowers as ocean waves!
This float was sponsored by a new casino coming to Las Vegas. It was very pretty!
We like this picture because of Addie. While we were posing and taking pictures, she was stealing drinks from mommy & daddy's cup. Little sneak!

Egypt was my favorite

So the Egypt float was my favorite. They used mostly tropical flowers, which are so bright and brilliant. Here is a shot of one end of the float. You may not be able to tell, but it was very big!
And here a detail along the side.
Up close, you can see they used button mums in an assortment of colors, but they also used halved kumquats, which I thought was GREAT!
This wasn't the Egypt float, but another one I liked. This was just the back of the float, if you can believe it!

Cool Floats

This was one of my favorites- the giant shoe covered in carnations (which is one of the few things carnations are good for).
The little village atop the shoe. I want to live here I think.
The Loooooooove boat.
Roar! I wish this lion had eaten up the crowds!

Up Close and Personal

Here's the globe on the back of the Sesame Street float. If you could look closely, you'd see that each European country was covered with something different. There were canellini beans covering Italy, and Brussel sprouts over another (I think Belgium). Very creative!
Just one section of one float, look at those beautiful flowers!
A frog on another float, playing a horm covered in... something blue. I don't know what it was.
Roses cover the corner of another float.

The Awe is in the Details

One of the reasons I enjoy the floats so much is not just how big and impressive they look- it's the incredible attention to detail shown in their construction. Sure, some shoot confetti and are animated and stuff, but my favorite is just looking at the pretty flowers up close.
So for example, here is a float that featured several hot air balloons. See the purple one?

Well here's an up close shot of it. Every different purple section is a different purple flower and the lines in between each section is still another purple flower!
This train, which was one of Addie's favorites, is also a good example.
Up close you can see that the front of the engine was covered in yellow mums and then there was this beautiful arrangement of roses and gerbera daisies, orchids and tiger lilies. The round spool-looking thing was covered with some kind of crushed flower seeds. It was so pretty!

I really think my favorite though was this wheel from the Trader Joe's float. It's just a wheel, yet it's so perfectly put together. They used seaweed, but it isn't just slapped up there, it's carefully laid on, piece by piece, in a careful little design. It was great.

Crowded!

Whew! Even though we were glad to go see the floats, it sure was crowded. It was a day to practice one's patience if ever I'd seen one.
The floats are lined up one after another down two roads, and the viewing public walks on the same roads, on either side of the floats. Well, the roads weren't THAT wide, the floats are HUGE, and there were a LOT of people! So a lot of people want to walk along a narrow walkway, and everyone wants to stop and take pictures. It made things pretty crazy.
We wanted to push Addie in her stroller rather than carry her, but when she sat down, she was surrounded by people and couldn't see the floats. So.... eventually we walked around with her standing in the the stroller. It was a pretty decent compromise.
Crowds, crowds,
and more crowds!

And these were the areas AWAY from the floats. Closer to the floats, we couldn't get enough distance for a picture! All you would have seen is some person's back, and we thought we'd spare you from that.

But again we say, still worth it. The floats are amazing, beautiful, and worth every bit of effort to see!

Pasadena on the First?!

Being as brave as we are, or crazy.. depending on who you ask... we decided to go down to Pasadena on the 1st to see the Rose Parade floats up close and personal! We had done this once before and really enjoyed it, but that wasn't on the first (a day most locals would want to avoid going to Pasadena on). But we decided to brave it, knowing that there are still strong odds we'll end up moving to Dallas before another January 1st comes around, and this might be our last chance to do it.
As we drove down Colorado boulevard, just a few hours after the parade had ended, we were horrified at the amount of TRASH left behind. Wow! There were still motorhomes parked everywhere, because lots of people park overnight hoping to get a good parade spot the next morning. And all those motorhome people and the crazies who sleep on the street all celebrated the new year with A LOT of confetti. We saw it everywhere.
Then we waited in a veeerry long line to take the bus to the float viewing area. Did I mention it was reeaaaalllly long? And this was just the line to get on the bus! We waited in another one to get the tickets too!
Well, it was still worth it. After all, these are the ROSE PARADE FLOATS! They are amazing! And there is nothing as good as viewing them after the parade, because TV does them no justice and even if you're at the parade in person, you only see them as they go past, not up close.
We were glad we went, even though it was very crowded and crazy. We'll always be glad we took the opportunity to do this one last time!
I mean, look how big this Indian float is! So cool! (for the record, he was fifty-something feet tall).


Lots more pictures of the floats will be posted over the next few days! Enjoy!

Celebrating New Year's

Sorry it has taken me so long to post our pictures from New Year's! We had a great New Year's Eve at our house, joined by the Kropfs and another set of neighbors, Mark & Bethany Kelley.
Of coure, the most exciting thing for us was the food.
Deviled eggs & ham, shrimp cocktail, veggies with special dip, a cheese ball, and Brooke's 7 layer dip with chips. Yum!
Addie approved.
Here we are playing my DVD game of the Price is Right, which my brother-in-law Keith gave me for Christmas.
Mark & Bethany try to guess what some horrible, useless "prize" is worth.



Leter we played "Balderdash," which is especially fun when you make Brooke & Chris stay up way past their bedtime. We all celebrated at 12:00 and quickly went to bed. :) What a bunch of old people!