Stuff

I used to be better at blogging. I'd post photo quizzes, recipes, etc. Where have I been you might ask? Well, I am getting married in 23 days!! Wooooooooohooooooooo. That doesn't really answer the question but I'll pretend it does. Ryan and I are going downtown today to apply for our marriage license. Ryan is working hard to wrap up this quarter seminary despite some major setbacks. God is good.

• There isn't a single presidential candidate I like
• I can't wait to marry Ryan and see him EVERY day
  
• Work has been very busy and very frustrating at times, all stemming from the purchase of Benshaw by Curtiss Wright last summer. God has convicted me about my attitude and it's getting better.
  
• I'm excited to see my family in three weeks when they come for our wedding
• I can't wait to marry Ryan
• The salsa from this taco recipe is still my favorite, and it's really easy, and I cannot wait to bite into a Thai Burger again someday. They will be on the menu very shortly after Ryan and I return from our honeymoon. We hope to have his old roommates over for dinner so Ryan can brag about the upgrade in his living situation and I'll probably make those.
  
• CVS has been good to me (see here) with their Extra Care Buck deals and store coupons. Thanks to Crystal at Money Saving Mom for her regular posts on sales.
• The Bible study I was in just finished a 13-week series called The Truth Project, and it was very good.
  
• The Starbucks card I signed up for arrived this week.
• I can't wait to marry Ryan
  
• I complained in the past about airline delays. My last two trips went very smoothly with no delays! I went to Oregon with Ryan for Thanksgiving, and I went by myself for Christmas to Oregon.
• Yapta is a great tool. The price of our honeymoon flight dropped by nearly half over the last three months since we first purchased, and I have travel vouchers coming from United. I wouldn't have known about the price drop if Yapta wasn't tracking the flight for me.

This is a pretty cool video. You can't help get choked up (if you're a woman).

Copycat Recipes

My mom found a delicious recipe that copies Max & Erma's Tortilla Soup. The site also has many other copycat recipes from various chain restaurants. Check it out.

I'm Lost

Is the writers' strike over or was the new Lost season written previously? ABC has a trailer for the new season which doesn't appear to be a preview at all, and there is also a rapid fire, 8m15s recap of past seasons, and it's actually kind of funny with the way the narrator talks quickly and succinctly. Check it out.

Also, this baby is funny and cute.

Merry Christmas! I was in Oregon and am sad to be back since Ryan is still in Kansas through Saturday. I had a good time with my family though. We were apart this year since Ryan's family hadn't been all together for several years and finally were this year, and this was my family's first Christmas in Oregon. How was your Christmas?

We marry in 58 days!

Free $10 Starbucks Gift Card

Go here and fill out the information for a deal that was mentioned on this blog. I used an email address that I use for online things, and I put zeros in for my phone number.

Pumpkin Rolls

This is a recipe I must try. But when???

Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

The recipe yields a lot of rolls (48) and it would be a risk for me to have so many delicious rolls in my home, so maybe I'll do half or less of the recipe.

Prince Caspian

Here is a trailer for Prince Caspian, which will be released May 16, 2008. I look forward to seeing it.

Cooking Stuff

• In September, I posted that I wanted to make Mexican Pot Roast Tacos by Tyler Florence. I've made them twice, including while I was in Oregon last week, and they are fabulous! The eight different people who ate them also thought the same. I really enjoyed Tyler's salsa in the recipe and was impressed with it coming from canned tomatoes. It is absolutely a keeper, and I made no changes to it. It's quick too if you don't do the tacos. I used my own guacamole recipe but Tyler's is pretty similar to mine. I used flour tortillas instead of corn, and they were awesome fried the way he instructs.
  
• Two must-haves for these tacos: queso fresco cheese (Costco and Sam's usually has it) and Cholula hot pepper sauce. Most grocery stores have it for $2-3, and it's the kind with the round wooden cap. I love that stuff.
  
• The second time making the tacos, I used the leftovers on nachos using Lime Tostitoes. Excellent.
  

• Looking for a new cheesecake to try? A friend (hi meg!) gave me this cheesecake recipe by Nigella Lawson and it is also AMAZING. I couldn't find custard powder when I made it, so I used 1tsp cornstarch and a little vanilla. Also, My aunt just sent me this cheesecake recipe which I'm dying to try, maybe for the next fellowship dinner. Because it received a 4-fork rating after 145 reviews, you can tell it's a winner.


• Other new recipes I've made recently include Caesar Club Sandwich (a "make again" recipe, was really good), Creamy Red Pepper Soup (pretty good - I added heavy cream to it). My friend who doesn't like soup liked it (I didn't know he didn't like soup when I planned the food, oops).


• I must rave about some Award-winning Thai Burgers - an explosion of flavor! My mom made them for us in Oregon, and she found the recipe in the paper. The creator is from Portland and she won $50,000 for the recipe. If you're interested, here is a video of her making the burgers on TV. My mom read elsewhere that lime juice loses most of its zing 40 minutes after juicing (is that the right time, Mom?) so add the lime juice to the topping and mayo just before assembling. The rest can be made ahead. Also, the burger mixture is best if it sits and chills a few hours or overnight before grilling. The flavors are more developed. Pic from the KATU website.

Updates

I haven't posted in a while...but I knew I had an excuse :-). Things to update:

• I'm getting married! (duh). Ryan and I are getting married February 23, less than three months from now! We are thrilled at God's timing and can't wait to be married. Pre-marital counseling is well underway, lots of wedding details have been settled so far. Ryan will have a quarter break for seminary, and we're honeymooning to Estes Park, Colorado. I'm honored to have Ryan's three sisters along with Erin and Danila as my bridesmaids.
• I was thrilled and thankful that Ryan and I didn't have any delays flying to and from Oregon last week for Thanksgiving. I head back for Christmas in three weeks. We had a great time with my family, and it was a delight to see my nephew Cohen grin and coo all throughout the week. Adam loves being an uncle. The misty waterfalls were beautiful and wet. The food was fabulous and abundant. God is good. More pictures here.
  
• I continue to be amazed at the work of God in His church in Airdrie, Scotland - He has been bringing many new members this year. Many. Praise be to God for building His church. He said He would do it.
  
• Ryan's sisters are visiting from Kansas this weekend. I'm so excited to spend more time with them! (We really like each other :-)). My menu plan is:
  
• Tuscan White Bean & Garlic Soup by Giada (make ahead) for lunch Saturday
  
• Cranberry Pot Roast (unbelievably fabulous roast....oh my) with some sort of made up Smashed Red Potatoes with chives for dinner Saturday, and green beans (probably with toasted pine nuts and garlic - an easy way to step them up). Individual Chocolate Melting Cakes are for dessert. I only have the Pot Roast in Word, which I can email. The recipe originally came from a NW B&B cookbook, and I adapted some pot roast techniques from America's Test Kitchen, including a roasting temperature of 300 instead of 350 and only bringing liquid halfway up the sides of the roast. I've cooked the roast for 4.5 hours in the oven that way and it really gets to the wonderful fall-apart melty stage. I also nearly doubled the cranberries.
  
• Lunch on Sunday will be the award-winning Thai Burgers I raved about in a post to follow soon.
  
• My recipe links became funky since I last checked. I revised the links, so they should come up cleanly now. I might revamp the way I share the links because I have many non Cooking Light recipes I like to keep handy that I have online elsewhere. I learned I can make free webpages using Google - maybe I'll try that.
  
• I have succeeded twice in cutting Ryan's hair. I think I'm too impressed with myself, according to Ryan.

A big cooking post to follow. . .

He Asked! I said Yes!

San Diego

I finished my photos from San Diego put pics in an album here. The surfer is Andy - he's good!

Airline Delays

I spotted an article about the increasing volume of airline delays which have occurred this year. They say 25.2% of flights have been delayed. I must be picking the wrong routes because 30% of my flights have been delayed this year (not all that much more, I know). Or, to put it another way, three out of four trips have been affected by delayed flights, where I got home late or arrived at my destination late (1 am instead of 9pm for example...). When you have no choice but to connect in another city, delays can mess you up big time. Fortunately, I never had to stay overnight anywhere, but I enjoy flying a whole lot less this year than I have in other years. The flights are packed, I get stuck in the middle seat, a plane I'm getting on hasn't arrived from another city, I run to another terminal to catch a flight I to which I was bumped (original connection already missed) only to have that one delayed 3 hours, having to change planes once boarded because the radio doesn't work, and more. When flying to Oregon, the plane Ryan and I were on was 14th in line to take off because of runway construction in Minneapolis. I now avoid Chicago and would rather fly in the morning than evening. It seems there is a similar trend with flights as there is in doctor's offices - the afternoon appointments are nearly guaranteed to be late because they are behind from the morning. It seems weather-wise, spring and fall are best because there are no snow storms or thunderstorms.

What's the solution? I don't know - the whole industry is a mess with unions, legislation and more. A handful of customers who are upset enough to avoid certain airlines won't make much of a difference. Passenger traffic is continuing to increase, of course. My best bet is to take direct flights when possible, but there are none to Oregon at this point from Pittsburgh. I'm flying to Oregon for Thanksgiving and Christmas and should be prepared to be delayed. What has your experience been?

Mexican Pot Roast Tacos

I saw Tyler make these tacos on TV today and they look fabulous! I hope to try them soon.

The Exploding Whale

My aunt found this video for me after telling Ryan and me about a story from the 70s of a dead whale which washed up on shore at the Oregon Coast. Officials' best idea for disposing of it was to blow it up. Here you have it, Readers! Do watch.

"Well, I'm confident that it'll work..."

Oregon Photos

Here are a few more photos from Oregon. More may be found here.

Oregon!

Ryan and I went to Oregon for a few days to spend time with my family. It was perfect. I am now back and wish I was still there. Pictures will come. For now, some highlights:
- Ryan is so "in" :-)
- We looked at old "us" videos from my childhood, including hugely embarrassing footage of my awkward teenage years (attitude + perm + braces = _____ ). The funniest (and well, scariest) part was when Ryan told us about the dream he had after that about me, as a teenager, running in a race with one leg and being disqualified because I lost my shoe, wore a flip flop instead, jumped in the race later and won. Fortunately, Ryan did not run away.
- the dogs still rock
- the coast was gorgeous.
- my mom's BBQ ribs are soooo good
- much laughter was had by all for all kinds of reasons
- I wore comfortable shoes to the airport. No running was necessary this time.

Wear the right shoes

I am back from Kansas. I flew out last Wednesday and drove back with Ryan yesterday (14 hours). The Clarks shoes to the right are completely cute and comfortable except when running nearly all the way around Chicago's airport to get a flight. I landed at 1 am instead of 9pm after delays, weather, missed connections and a plane which took 2 hours to taxi from the hangar to our gate, but I was glad to at least get in that night. I got my luggage the next afternoon. Ladies, imagine meeting your boyfriend's family for the first time without your regular makeup and toiletries! EEK!! Ryan's sister, Lori, was fabulous though and loaned me a bunch of stuff and I looked fairly normal. The weekend was wonderful with Ryan's family. There was much laughter! Next week, we go to Oregon for a few days to spend time with my family. I'm so excited!

Also, my nephew was born last week! Andy & Erin had their first baby, Cohen Andrew, and he's a cutie. I have tickets to go out to San Diego in about 5 weeks.

Lastly, Ryan is back for good! Our three month separation (with synod in between where we saw each other) while he interned out west is over. O.V.E.R. Seminary classes don't start for a couple of weeks so we will have some good times together, including making Bobby Flay's fish tacos sometime.

Pics

Here are some cool pictures of Antarctica.

Oh Papaya

One of my favorite fruits is papaya, but only with lime juice. Because of my severe lime leanings, I might like it better than others. I've had people try it though and most liked it. I halve, seed, peel and dice the [large] papaya and juice a lime over it. I'm pretty generous with my lime juice. Give it a try!

New job...of sorts

I work for Benshaw, and we were acquired this week after many months of work and negotiations. We have some new bosses, and the substance of my work will change, some for the better, some worse. Either way, there is a long transition period which has begun, and it's kind of like the calm before the storm...only not knowing what the storm is like or how long it will last! It's a good move for Benshaw. Curtiss-Wright was first founded in 1929, having roots in the work of Glenn Curtiss and the Wright Brothers. They have some really fascinating products and technology, particularly in the areas of the military and nuclear technology. The company's history is interesting.

Benshaw acquired by Curtiss-Wright

Curtiss-Wright Corp. said Wednesday it acquired Benshaw Advanced Controls & Drives for about $102 million in cash, to expand its product offerings in the commercial power, control electronics and systems markets. The business will become part of Curtiss-Wright's Flow Control segment, the company said in a statement. Benshaw is a Glenshaw-based electronic controls manufacturer.
Founded in 1983, Benshaw employs approximately 410 people. "The addition of Benshaw to the Curtiss-Wright family of companies provides a major opportunity to expand our product offerings in the commercial power, control electronics and systems markets," Curtiss-Wright Chairman and CEO Martin R. Benante said in a statement. Curtiss-Wright also has a Pittsburgh presence, with its Curtiss-Wright Electromechanical Corp. division based in Cheswick.