I'll be absent

Just a reminder- I'm leaving Monday at 5:30 am and probably won't be posting to our wonderful blog! Crazy! Today I hope to do some packing and other odd jobs. I hope I don't forget anything. Don't worry, I've already purchased sunscreen and a goofy looking hat with a big brim since I will be exposed to extreme sun at 14 degrees north latitude. Anything else you think I should bring along? (besides clothes, that's obvious)

I hope you all are well
SarahA

Good times!

Here are some fun pictures from last weekend! Sorry we high-tailed it out of there so fast, I could see Micaela's fever rising at the time went on. She was better, and now is sick again with Croup Cough...I'm beginning to freak out because 1. She is ALWAYS sick and 2. If I miss anymore work I'm going to have a panic attack! Anyways, congrats to the Siverstson-WI is almost as cool as WA...but at least your in "visitable" range!

Packer fans?

Well, the job offer has come and been accepted...and we are now on the path to moving to Packer Country. That's right, folks, we are on the way to Green Bay, Wisconsin. And that is good. :)

David got offerered this job on Tuesday, and accepted it today. He starts in the fall. He will be a jack of all trades there, teaching lots of things, but he is excited about finally getting started.

Other than that, I guess there is no news to report. After waiting for that to come down the pike, everything else seems anti-climatic. :)

Anyway, I have to go; Julia is sick with a bad cold and has woken up about 4 times already and its only 8:15. Poor thing. It may be a long night. Fun times. David took his turn last night while I conferenced with nobody at school and then played VB until what felt like the wee hours of the morning, but was actually only 10:15 p.m. So, its my turn tonight. :)

Anyone else pumped for the winter storm? I am so excited! Stay warm, safe, and great! I love you guys. Thanks for being amazing!

Mandola

Wow.

That is an amazing picture Scanders! Congratulations on LOTS of new exciting things happening...you're going to be a poor student again...how fun!

Life up here has been a little less than fun, Micaela had an ear infection this past week, so I missed 3 days of work. It was 72 hours of crankiness and she could really only sleep sitting up, so I was propped up on the couch for three nights...not so fun! Missing work wouldn't be so bad but LENT is days away and the middle school musical started this week...so I'm feeling behind.

But, in one hour I'm hitting the road and traveling to see Scanders, SBooms (nice nickname) and the Seth. I'm very excited-even though I'm totally behind in everything and my daughter is still a cranky little punk...I'm taking the risk and going. I need a little mental break!

Here is a little story for you...in the midst of a crazy day getting back to work yesterday I led the program for Bethseda Birthday-which the group here at church that goes to various nursing homes once a month and hosts a birthday party for residents. We usually sing old hymns, read Scripture or poetry. I was so amazed yesterday at this group that was supposed to be "not so with it" yet the old chorus of "I love to tell the story, I'll sing this theme in glory! And tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love." is imprinted so deeply on their hearts that they sing along so strongly...many with tears in their eyes. I can only imagine the memories and feelings those old hymns conger up for these fragile souls.

It made me wonder what music will be brought into our nursing homes when we're old and fragile? Will an entire rock back have to come in to lead us in edgy worship? Its kind of a funny picture! Anyways, I'm amazed each month I go and play piano for these people that have seen so much and know so much...and love to sing the "old, old story of Jesus and his love."

This picture says a lot

Some of you may be able to guess where this picture is from. Yes, Guatemala, but more specifically Antigua, Guatemala. In two and a half weeks I will be boarding a plane to Guatemala for a month. Don't let the physical feature in the background fool you into thinking it is a mountain...it's a volcano. Guatemala is a little smaller in size than Tennessee and has 30 volcanoes. Antigua alone is surrounded by three of them.

I also picked this picture because of the cross in the foreground. Today I received an acceptance letter from Luther Seminary into the Master's of Divinity program. On July 9th I will begin studying the Greek language. In September I will move to campus and begin full-time. Lots of changes to look forward too.

A Response

Hello all! I am responding to Sarah's question! First of all, we DID in fact have a fun SuperBowl party at our house, but it did NOT include the fabulous afore-mentioned Prairie Dog recipe. Yikes! It is also rather amusing that you pose the question, Sarah, about the unused merchandise because our party guests posed the very same question!! And yet, we were unable to come up with a concrete answer -- our hope was merely that it wasn't just thrown away!! Ok, and in response to your final most EXCITING question, my favorite cake has got to be word for word identical to yours! Carrot cake RULES!!! I challenge anyone who disagrees!!!

Ok, I'm off to enjoy what's left of my Sunday evening before another long week starts at work tomorrow a.m.

Love, love, love!
SBooms

random fun stuff

Hello friends-

1. To answer Sarah's question, my favorite kind of cake would be angel food. My mom makes it with a really thin glaze that is delicious.

2. Sarah's second question about the prairie dog dip touched me very deeply. I know that the actual prairie dog meat was substituted with hot dogs and that makes very much sense because prairie dogs are HOT DOGS!

3. I thought I would show you a couple of pictures dealing with some frolicking that happened at my school. We (the Student Council) organized a Snow Week and one of the events was a snow sculpting contest. I was very nervous about what would happen, but I was PLEASANTLY surprised! Some of them turned out really really cool. Ours however was going to be the Kool-Aid man, but turned into a big red blog of snow. FUN!

4. Happy mid-February. Even though it is cold, you should all go play in the snow. It was very good for the soul.

Love,
Breanna

Please respond

Did anyone try the prairie dog recipe at their Superbowl party. I intended on serving it to my many football-loving guests, but alas I had to work and was unable to catch even one commercial of the Super Bowl. Somehow my week has managed to start well even though I haven't been able to be apart of the post-game talk about commercials and who won. (On a Super Bowl side note, do you wonder what they do with all the merchandise that was made for the losing team? You know they have hats made for both teams in advance that say they both won, so what do they do with the loser merchandise? Would they really just throw unused items away?)

Even if you don't have the answers for the above questions, I would like a response to the following question: If you could have any kind of cake, what would you like? I've been thinking about all the cakes that people used to make in the good old days when Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines weren't around. If I were to choose a cake...what would it be? Well, I'll tell you my answer, if you promise to share yours. Carrot cake, homemade with real grated carrots, raisins, spices, and of course cream cheese frosting. Nummy!

A recipe to try for your upcoming party

Prairie Dog with Chilean Hass Avocados
Guacamole:
2 ripe Hass avocados, peeled and seeded
1 plum tomato, cored and diced in 1/4-inch pieces
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, finely choppes
1/2 tsp coarse salt
Dash white pepper
Juice from 1 lemon wedge

Tomato and Corn Salsa:
3 plum tomatoes, diced in 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/4 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
4 tbsp fresh or frozen cooked corn
1 clove garlic, minced
4 springs cilantro, chopped
1/4 tsp coarse salt
Dash white pepper

Hot dogs:
6 beef/veggie hot dogs
1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
6 hot dog buns
1/4 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:
Prepare guacamole: With a fork, mix togeth avocados, tomato, garlic, onion, salt, pepper and lemon juice to achieve a smooth consistency. Chill, covered, until using

Prepare salsa: In a bowl, gently mix togeth tomato, onion, bell pepper, jalepeno, corn, garlic, cilantro, salt and pepper. Refrigerate until using.

Prepare hot dogs: Slowly sear hot dogs in oil in a frying pan until slightly browned. Place hot dogs in buns and add guacamole on one side of the hot dog and salsa on the other side. Spring Cheddar on top.



No lie, this recipe was in today's Star Tribune Taste section. If I were to make up a prairie dog recipe, I don't think it would have so much spice. I would make something that involved bland Midwestern ingredients because I think that's what prairie dogs would like. But, it's good to have some additional spice. At least the recipe didn't involve real prairie dogs.

So, I've been excited to go to Taize France since the opportunity came up in November. I just got an email today that the trip has been canceled. I'm so bummed! I know in the big picture, this is not that big of a deal...I'll get over it. But, the money given from my church is still mine to use for whatever continuing ed. I can find...so that's what I'm hunting for right now.

And its so cold here...about -5 today (that's without windchill of course) and its supposed to get worse, "hazerdous to be outside" is what the weatherman said last night. On a high note...my kid is cute when she's all buddled up!

Hope you are all warm and happy today!