tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-159276712024-03-07T15:23:59.286-06:00Accepting the EchoIn the end, we're all just an echo of our past experiences and people we've met throughout our lives...Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747096555799522127noreply@blogger.comBlogger455125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15927671.post-10488130265800723992014-02-24T16:30:00.000-06:002014-02-24T16:30:43.742-06:00Foggy morningWell, apparently I didn't like the blogging thing very much since I never wrote anything after I "tried it out" again back in September. Oops.<br />
<br />
We did go on our trip to California and barely survived the beautiful bike ride (for real - it was HARD for people who are as out of shape as we are!). At the last rest stop I nearly plowed Levi Leipheimer over on my way to the glorious bowls full of M&Ms that I had spotted. I only recognized him after I heard someone asking to have their picture with him, but I was so tired and ready for the ride to be over, I wouldn't have cared if <a href="http://trekcore.com/gallery/albums/picard/picard_s3.jpg" target="_blank">Jean-Luc Picard</a><a href="http://trekcore.com/gallery/albums/picard/picard_s5hq_pbvariant.jpg" target="_blank"></a> was standing right there. Nobody was going to get between me and chocolate.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEJXDRYksRpK3pnZPi-EPZz5cMvdUibiIlpoulkgwyX95ePZysSd5f1SNjdO3Ns5Y8xvlWjd-qYDJhdvR_N3VDmVcSf_Xq1Yn6hyphenhyphenUaWc7vaX72QA-Sy5ZvZXxJsDM92omlWgTP/s1600/CA+Bike+Ride+-+Ocean+good.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEJXDRYksRpK3pnZPi-EPZz5cMvdUibiIlpoulkgwyX95ePZysSd5f1SNjdO3Ns5Y8xvlWjd-qYDJhdvR_N3VDmVcSf_Xq1Yn6hyphenhyphenUaWc7vaX72QA-Sy5ZvZXxJsDM92omlWgTP/s1600/CA+Bike+Ride+-+Ocean+good.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Half-way done - blissfully unaware of the upcoming pain...</td></tr>
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We're not yet building our house (we were hoping to break ground in December). We were set to start construction by the end of the year and then found out that our plat was wrong and that we need to request a variance in order to build it as-designed. We're in the process of getting signatures from our neighbors and a letter of support from our neighborhood association. If we're able to get them and get the variance approved, we might be able to start construction in May or June. *sigh*<br />
<br />
The husband and I have been trying out the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolithic_diet" target="_blank">Paleo diet</a> for the last 3 weeks, just to see what it would be like. It's been good for me - I'm eating much more healthy and I've lost some weight. I'm hoping to keep it up for a little while longer, but this coming weekend of Mardi Gras is surely going to kill that.<br />
<br />
I went for a bike ride yesterday morning and it was FOGGY. I took a couple of pictures - it rarely gets foggy like this so it was kind of a treat. :)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxxQ2jzaP6zEkvRMAZiZXW842E5dhmcdlp5xq0srkrmGYmNmiQhGZvNmyGyzPSOD3BrnoleYeeR2McrnNpg9zCaP3KeAJ9MYkG27fDNOSCCVQq53HMkrS-F69kWnVuAAHhsCLE/s1600/foggy+morning+ride.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxxQ2jzaP6zEkvRMAZiZXW842E5dhmcdlp5xq0srkrmGYmNmiQhGZvNmyGyzPSOD3BrnoleYeeR2McrnNpg9zCaP3KeAJ9MYkG27fDNOSCCVQq53HMkrS-F69kWnVuAAHhsCLE/s1600/foggy+morning+ride.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favorite bicycle bridge</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkijRbK0yYHDfeqv32mAWKZ7uXyggWdiAYRf-EheGaU23_wZf4NztE7A8aKX6k5iE8SmyaBJDMkoCKIpolbMn7Voyfh10qxSk0NBywtyhCFNMsQaL9ImXLvgH-8Opd_f4H1y4J/s1600/foggy+morning+ride+-+park.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkijRbK0yYHDfeqv32mAWKZ7uXyggWdiAYRf-EheGaU23_wZf4NztE7A8aKX6k5iE8SmyaBJDMkoCKIpolbMn7Voyfh10qxSk0NBywtyhCFNMsQaL9ImXLvgH-8Opd_f4H1y4J/s1600/foggy+morning+ride+-+park.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bicycle bridge in the background</td></tr>
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So, judging by past history, I'll be back again in about 5 months...Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747096555799522127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15927671.post-62451389905191988712013-09-24T17:13:00.000-05:002013-09-24T17:13:00.700-05:00Back in the SaddleQuick update to see how I like this blogging thing again...<br />
<ol>
<li>We've been back in school now for 4 weeks. Marxo was sick for almost an entire week, but other than that, it has been fairly uneventful.</li>
<li>Fellan has decided that he's really interested in riding his bicycle more, and that has given both the husband and me the kick in the pants that we needed to force more family bike rides on the kids. :) Plus, we finally invested in a roof rack for the car and we can now transport all 4 bikes on the car more easily, so that has opened up a whole new host of possibilities for quick trips to parks and such. I hadn't realized how limited our riding had become due to our bicycle rack situation. </li>
<li>Work is work.</li>
<li>House planning continues! We're in the last phases of design, then we'll move on to permitting, and hopefully, we'll be able to break ground by the end of the year. (crossing fingers)</li>
<li>The husband and I are celebrating our 20-year anniversary tomorrow and as a gift to ourselves, we're going to head out to California for the weekend of October 5th to ride in <a href="http://www.levisgranfondo.com/course" target="_blank">Levi's Gran Fondo</a>! It's going to kill us. Thankfully, the 103-mile distance was sold-out by the time we registered. We're only committed to a maximum of 65 miles. (but we reserve the right to wimp out and only do the 32-mile route...)</li>
</ol>
And that about catches you up! What have you been up to? Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747096555799522127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15927671.post-13661459446850490092013-06-13T06:35:00.000-05:002013-06-13T12:31:30.738-05:00Marxo's MasterpiecesOur elementary school participates in a program called "Writers in the Schools" during the 2nd grade year and now that school is finally over, Marxo brought home all the work that she did during the program.<br />
<br />
As I read through her writing, I got more and more impressed and, being a proud parent, I just can't let these masterpieces languish in a folder at home. :)<br />
<br />
Here are a few of the best (not corrected for spelling). The first two were written during a field trip to <a href="http://www.menil.org/" target="_blank">The Menil Collection</a> - I think they must have been prompted by something there...<br />
<br />
<u>Hiding</u><br />
I'm hiding I'm hiding<br />
and no one know where<br />
behind a red flare<br />
flash of lightning<br />
clouds that are clearing<br />
I'm not in the constalation<br />
I'm not in the building<br />
or vases of difference carved wood stamps<br />
or a marble pieces of glass or a kite<br />
I'm not in a match box<br />
I'm hiding I'm hiding<br />
and no one knows where<br />
can you guess where I was?<br />
<br />
I'm an old man. My name is Fred. I'm holding a walker. It broke away as I got older. Now I'm only holding the handles. It's hard for me to stand up. As I'm hunched over my back starts to crack. Soon my body will fall off. If it does I will have no way of telling my parents, brothers, and sisters that I am broken. I will be dead as soon as I brake. The end of my life is near.<br />
<br />
I dreamed<br />
I was the sun<br />
In the sky<br />
Dancing with the wind<br />
Happily <br />
<br />
<u>Ode to the Animals</u><br />
Thank you peacock for your beauty and royalty.<br />
Thank you flamingo for your balance.<br />
Thank you ox for your strength.<br />
Snake, your length is my love.<br />
Giraffe, thank you for making me tall.<br />
Mighty elephant I never forget where I came from.<br />
Thank you pig for your bacon.<br />
Cat, your love is my love.<br />
Thank you dolphin for your intelligence.<br />
<br />
<u>Love is</u><br />
Love is my family coming to visit me.<br />
Love is spending time with my teacher.<br />
Love is spending time with my family.<br />
Love is my big teddy bear that I caught at Mardi Gras. His name is Theodore. I call him Teddy or Theo sometimes.<br />
Love is kindness and care.<br />
Love is aebelskiver that we eat at Christmas time.<br />
Love is Mardi Gras that we only go to once a year. We catch doubloons, beads, and stuffed animals.<br />
Love is the earth.<br />
Love is everything.<br />
Love is a birthday.<br />
Love is my Jean K's gumbo.<br />
Love is a sunny day.<br />
Love is a hug and a kiss good night.<br />
Love is a drawing that someone gave me.<br />
Love is having a play date with my best friend.<br />
Love is my cats.<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Jumping on the couch</u><br />
I have jumped<br />
on the couch<br />
that was in<br />
the living room<br />
I know<br />
I was not<br />
suposed<br />
to do it<br />
Forgive me<br />
it was fun<br />
so awesome<br />
and so cool<br />
I felt<br />
like a bird<br />
floating<br />
in the sky <br />
<br />
<u>Funny Flamingo</u><br />
Funny flamingo looks like a yoga bird.<br />
Funny flamingo makes me feel flexible.<br />
Funny flamingo sounds like a graceful goose.<br />
Funny flamingo makes me feel like I have to sing.<br />
Funny flamingo tastes like a burnt chicken.<br />
Funny flamingo makes me feel like I lost my apetite.<br />
Funny flamingo smells like sweet bubble gum.<br />
Funny flamingo makes me feel hungry<br />
Funny flamingo feels like a soft feather.<br />
Funny flamingo makes me feel warm.<br />
<br />
<u>Map of my heart</u><br />
The map of my heart tells a goal. My goal is to love every pet, thing, activity and family member.<br />
There are spcial places for everything I've ever loved and owned. I love my family and pets and everything I've ever owned like my American Girl Dolls and my ipod touch.<br />
I love games, designing art, coloring, drawing, singing, music, school and everything else that I love. I enjoy doing those activities.<br />
Magically my heart has room for everything I love. <br />
<br />
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<br />Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747096555799522127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15927671.post-88144009275525362572013-05-09T07:00:00.000-05:002013-05-09T13:06:22.654-05:00Something that made me laugh todayI've been really busy at work lately, but thought I'd at least share this picture today.<br />
<br />
I'm working on a project that is for a big company who really takes employee safety seriously. It's nice, but this sign in the stairwell of our parking garage made me laugh this morning.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAreQETusarM_Ohk8K9J7dHcIdiYA9r904ZxTnvuA5aXBdYCM-VM4bbSFPJxxsJT8JZviRqw-KWojFzfCISYBjR5bTuq1Ip_0ktZ3UM71cQdwgZkN55J8cGKDNdsa4d4SD-zPb/s1600/Bees,+bees+everywhere.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAreQETusarM_Ohk8K9J7dHcIdiYA9r904ZxTnvuA5aXBdYCM-VM4bbSFPJxxsJT8JZviRqw-KWojFzfCISYBjR5bTuq1Ip_0ktZ3UM71cQdwgZkN55J8cGKDNdsa4d4SD-zPb/s320/Bees,+bees+everywhere.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747096555799522127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15927671.post-76827238931373019932013-02-28T06:22:00.000-06:002013-02-28T13:24:05.175-06:00Oh, Pioneers...When I was growing up in the 1970's, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_House_on_the_Prairie_%28TV_series%29" target="_blank">Little House on the Prairie</a> was going strong and I felt so proud to have grandparents who were farmers and who had lived that story. I even grew up in the town where the first homestead was filed under the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestead_act" target="_blank">Homestead Act of 1862</a>, and I've visited several times throughout my life.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSOo4Nf5Q-wbh-JYx8U5bx1OrQSb4IVMewL-ZLUKgTXB7gryYJMJc5phdBfPggbTfpirYGzehVTruSREUxn63cRHRq_lFpsbWWjg5Ai9AMES8jdhH3YAooCGfNUS-_hYbWVHgV/s1600/Norway-300x225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSOo4Nf5Q-wbh-JYx8U5bx1OrQSb4IVMewL-ZLUKgTXB7gryYJMJc5phdBfPggbTfpirYGzehVTruSREUxn63cRHRq_lFpsbWWjg5Ai9AMES8jdhH3YAooCGfNUS-_hYbWVHgV/s1600/Norway-300x225.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What makes you want to leave this? (Norway)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My view of history has naturally changed quite a bit since then and I can't help but feel some guilt about how the white men drove out the Native Americans and killed almost all the buffalo and helped to create "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_Bowl" target="_blank">the most extreme natural event in 350 years.</a>" Even the Homestead National Monument now has an "<a href="http://www.nps.gov/home/photosmultimedia/Heritage-Center.htm" target="_blank">Opportunity and Displacement Exhibit</a>" about the Native American culture that we destroyed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgazLmj4kGs9CR-1NXBn9WWR7zMr5fj1eYXqc6UK_QxRxBl5IhRfW2ibEovbQHSPjHP9K5nzlTOt36vWuYhNERmKVoWkHfUVUJrEyc2S94oL7gNg4mQ10-Uz9C2Mr-jEP2hAeUv/s1600/Loisach_River,+Germany.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgazLmj4kGs9CR-1NXBn9WWR7zMr5fj1eYXqc6UK_QxRxBl5IhRfW2ibEovbQHSPjHP9K5nzlTOt36vWuYhNERmKVoWkHfUVUJrEyc2S94oL7gNg4mQ10-Uz9C2Mr-jEP2hAeUv/s320/Loisach_River,+Germany.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...or this? (Germany)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But the thing that astounds me the most when I think about the pioneers is how desperate they must have been to leave beautiful places like the Northeast and Europe to come to the flatness of the Great Plains just to have a <b><i>chance</i></b> at a new life. So many of the pioneers died on their way to find land, and if they made it and weren't able to build a house and get some provisions set aside for the first winter, they weren't likely to make it, either.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKyFhOfsnEsQdCP5ZUyJbi1L27ZoK56CkwPfJeBTHXLbB-Kqc2wMLSkJMSFAh9o4IqIVaLQo4LPaORNKE13OPevhjnbZRt1_Nii099DCFcEVK7EBhNPbvop69iPgiLj6YiQEVB/s1600/greatplainswestofkearney_e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKyFhOfsnEsQdCP5ZUyJbi1L27ZoK56CkwPfJeBTHXLbB-Kqc2wMLSkJMSFAh9o4IqIVaLQo4LPaORNKE13OPevhjnbZRt1_Nii099DCFcEVK7EBhNPbvop69iPgiLj6YiQEVB/s320/greatplainswestofkearney_e.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">To come to this?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It takes some really hardy, no-<br />
nonsense people to survive and flourish in a place like that. As Garrison Keillor says, it's a place, "where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average." Well, I definitely think of it as a place where all the women are strong, at least. :)<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcWX9Jnc3pgkmi-Cm48inbKqpWjzusjcv4NbcKBYShPUmmwMj5MaevYUBc-3DDrB8IahSy7UD2O0xdy-YP4UBDxUWXJBNlyRy2bTnkgiR0KkQyitFSXgEeNpfcM_TB12enHce2/s1600/Great_Plains_Nebraska_USA1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcWX9Jnc3pgkmi-Cm48inbKqpWjzusjcv4NbcKBYShPUmmwMj5MaevYUBc-3DDrB8IahSy7UD2O0xdy-YP4UBDxUWXJBNlyRy2bTnkgiR0KkQyitFSXgEeNpfcM_TB12enHce2/s320/Great_Plains_Nebraska_USA1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This flat, unforgiving place.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On one of our most recent car trips, I read the first book of the Little House on the Prairie series out loud to the kids. I don't remember it being so interesting when I read it as a child, but I was fascinated by the description of everything it took to live off the land and sustain themselves over the long winters. Surprisingly, the kids were mesmerized, too - they loved it! <br />
<br />
I'm not sure what got me to thinking about this today, but it's something that I think about often. I'm still extremely proud of my ancestors, but I can't help but think, "Oh, Pioneers... you're crazy!" (and amazing)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhte82Bx9lW7NhDFrkY7eBSnilsXY-9B_5LHWvf66BOA6weClZha2p3NPXUBdcCmcoBi9aOPd0QVsuJCoSQ6a8K5vGWE9X8SPScDO_ubIVUi38IAbPdZ0V1ypVZLIrO8j5lFmty/s1600/Homesteader_NE_1866.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhte82Bx9lW7NhDFrkY7eBSnilsXY-9B_5LHWvf66BOA6weClZha2p3NPXUBdcCmcoBi9aOPd0QVsuJCoSQ6a8K5vGWE9X8SPScDO_ubIVUi38IAbPdZ0V1ypVZLIrO8j5lFmty/s320/Homesteader_NE_1866.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amazing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747096555799522127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15927671.post-43574230080293962732013-02-14T06:48:00.000-06:002013-02-14T10:49:41.616-06:00Happy Valentine's Day!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGiN_l3eSsOifa5qS9G1GRPUcLtB3h26d9YIRch3w3GfbSCICOpFIP3MsA7Pc-XgmIOWN7y63RxjN7XrMgjvi3pu2qZMiQuf2eRd3wkgfEMtDueYxI5BvVlWGfK8mbhF84mD2k/s1600/origami+valentines+2013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGiN_l3eSsOifa5qS9G1GRPUcLtB3h26d9YIRch3w3GfbSCICOpFIP3MsA7Pc-XgmIOWN7y63RxjN7XrMgjvi3pu2qZMiQuf2eRd3wkgfEMtDueYxI5BvVlWGfK8mbhF84mD2k/s320/origami+valentines+2013.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Origami Valentines</td></tr>
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Fellan has an amazing ability for doing origami. He first fell in love with making origami after getting an <a href="http://www.origami-instructions.com/origami-flapping-bird.html" target="_blank">origami flapping crane</a> from his school Librarian. She gave him one and he opened it up and taught himself how to fold it again. From then on, he has checked out every school library book on origami and has taught himself how to fold all kinds of things.<br />
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This year, he decided to make little boxes to hold Hershey's kisses for Valentines for his classmates. We noticed that he didn't put his name on them, so we asked him if everyone in class would know that they're from him. His response: "Oh yeah, I'm known for doing origami. I get in trouble a lot for folding paper when I'm supposed to be doing work."<br />
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At least he's honest. ;)Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747096555799522127noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15927671.post-23910259292046046912013-02-08T15:00:00.000-06:002013-02-08T15:00:04.725-06:00Beauty of HoustonAs I was <a href="http://acceptingecho.blogspot.com/2013/02/wow-they-finally-finished-bike-path.html" target="_blank">taking pictures</a> last Sunday morning, I stopped and took a picture of the path I had just ridden up and then turned to discover this spectacular sunrise through the bridge structure. Who says Houston is ugly? ;)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Encj6N6QgzDPOVc_6-gjPHPdiXlziYKnt3_WJ2rNg0zwTZbRzaB3hIPFscEUkKUwzgO_fV1xg3FVb57kpzEeV0fcGaZfQ7or4mukxv3DjvVepO9a0rJgqMtc86152d1N6epN/s1600/bikebridge4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Encj6N6QgzDPOVc_6-gjPHPdiXlziYKnt3_WJ2rNg0zwTZbRzaB3hIPFscEUkKUwzgO_fV1xg3FVb57kpzEeV0fcGaZfQ7or4mukxv3DjvVepO9a0rJgqMtc86152d1N6epN/s320/bikebridge4.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise through the bike bridge</td></tr>
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Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747096555799522127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15927671.post-39905638401816597342013-02-07T06:00:00.000-06:002013-02-07T06:00:05.859-06:00Wow, they finally finished the bike path!After we were awakened on Saturday morning with the news of our <a href="http://acceptingecho.blogspot.com/2013/02/a-funeral.html" target="_blank">friend's death</a>, we felt it would be appropriate to take a family bike ride in his honor that morning.<br />
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As you may recall, the bike path has been <a href="http://acceptingecho.blogspot.com/2011/02/biking-in-houston.html" target="_blank">under construction</a> for several years and we've been having to find alternate routes to avoid all the mess for that whole time. But we haven't tried the bike path for a few months, so we thought we should go check it out and see how close to completion they were.<br />
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We made our way through Hermann Park and over to the "tunnel to nowhere" that we discovered about a year ago next to the path around the Hermann Park golf course. At the time, it had a fence across the entrance and it wasn't connected to anything. Lo and behold, though, a path has finally been installed leading to and from the tunnel so, full of optimism, we rode through it and set off to see if we could make it all the way to U of H again.<br />
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Happily, there are only a couple sections of dirt that we had to negotiate, so our bike route has finally been given back to us!<br />
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I was so inspired to know that we finally have our bike path back, I woke up early Sunday morning and got in another bike ride before the rest of the family got up. This time, I took my phone and got some pictures.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnucMJRw7yJcPxY8DRh2WqyZvJpvYDM_O1-8zKIjmQwFWjum_DOMrjb08H9Cz8djVPouDuoMvT4WzomqwtGHBte6E1uApGEpxAEghFenQMgleDmdMOoV609RoufpGmtbP1WSeU/s1600/bikebridge5.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnucMJRw7yJcPxY8DRh2WqyZvJpvYDM_O1-8zKIjmQwFWjum_DOMrjb08H9Cz8djVPouDuoMvT4WzomqwtGHBte6E1uApGEpxAEghFenQMgleDmdMOoV609RoufpGmtbP1WSeU/s320/bikebridge5.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No longer a tunnel to nowhere! Path from the golf course to the tunnel</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1natWfnWsIT6CP-CgArU6TMJyrFhn5Rybrrq3xQD2Mx5KvV0BAiI8YjQ7qq4a5T9X4U0pCGdJqKKtt4kj8CGzAmq253vsR53ESwFrIm8-opIql1njn3mJPMXnfCJMKxUxE_jc/s1600/bikebridge3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1natWfnWsIT6CP-CgArU6TMJyrFhn5Rybrrq3xQD2Mx5KvV0BAiI8YjQ7qq4a5T9X4U0pCGdJqKKtt4kj8CGzAmq253vsR53ESwFrIm8-opIql1njn3mJPMXnfCJMKxUxE_jc/s320/bikebridge3.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The tunnel (left-hand side of pic) leads to the Braes Bayou path and cool new bike bridge</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmiZit__1QknJcBeUW-d9AT08nKvJECs8rQ6YDm8aSEZ7VkVcLRSmDPEcKFVDw6V0ug_jr2TNn2GurakxXXRgsQh61u7NY5zChWNWbdKYF-qAgvjIIgPph8Zex2kQo_H3Wr2mf/s1600/bikebridge1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmiZit__1QknJcBeUW-d9AT08nKvJECs8rQ6YDm8aSEZ7VkVcLRSmDPEcKFVDw6V0ug_jr2TNn2GurakxXXRgsQh61u7NY5zChWNWbdKYF-qAgvjIIgPph8Zex2kQo_H3Wr2mf/s320/bikebridge1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The path now runs along both sides of the bayou, connected by this bridge</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bike bridge!</td></tr>
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Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747096555799522127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15927671.post-87744600328640209272013-02-06T06:29:00.000-06:002013-02-06T08:30:37.639-06:00A funeralToday I'll be attending the funeral of a friend of ours. We met him through the preschool our kids attended together and I was the assistant coach on our sons' T-ball team that he sponsored and was the head coach for. I have gone to many "Girls Night Out" evenings with his wife and our families tried many times, but unfortunately, only once were able to actually pull off a family bike ride together on a Saturday morning.<br />
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He was absolutely one of the nicest people I have ever met and his life was cut short in a horrible tragedy for which we still don't have any answers. The viewing was last night at a funeral home and several people spoke about their memories of him. Every single person talked about how infectious his love of humanity was and what an amazing gift he had for helping other people.<br />
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I've been trying to figure out what I can do to help his family get through this devastating event, but I know that his wife has been surrounded by her closest friends since it happened. She is well-cared-for and she seemed to be holding up fairly well last night.<br />
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As we were leaving from the funeral home, I realized that it's going to be the help during the day-to-day living in the next few months and years that will be most useful to her and the kids as they try to accept this new reality. And it made me really glad to be living where we do and to know that our tight-knit school community is ready and willing to help, just as he would have done if he were in our place.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747096555799522127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15927671.post-28104034411394963362013-01-30T10:13:00.000-06:002013-01-30T10:13:29.957-06:00Triathlon TrainingA couple of weeks ago, we got an e-mail from our YMCA informing us that there would be a free Kids Triathlon Training Program that would be offered for members this spring - which, for us here in Houston, is early February! The triathlon is in mid-April. Since we've talked with our kids about how good they would be at triathlons, we thought this would be a great thing for them to do. Luckily, they agreed.<br />
<br />This kids triathlon involves a 100 yard swim, a 3 mile bike, and a 1/2 mile run. The only thing I thought might cause them a little bit of trouble is the running part. I'd been out running with our son a few times last year and it seemed like he needed to stop several times during a run of only about a mile. So, this past weekend, I figured we'd better get the kids out and running ...and get our parental-selves off our ever-expanding rear-ends, too!<br />
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So, both Saturday and Sunday, we went running with the kids. I ran with Fellan and my husband ran with Marxo and we ran from our house to our elementary school and back - about a 2 mile run.<br />
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Fellan surprised me. On Saturday, he wanted to stop and walk about three times during the run, but on Sunday, I think we only stopped once. Then again last night the whole family went running after we got home from work and school and he again only wanted to stop once. Truthfully, though, I think he doesn't actually need that break, so we'll have to cut that out soon.<br />
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Marxo's running abilities have also been a pleasant surprise. I expected her to whine and complain about doing this training, but it turns out that she's motivated and excited about doing this triathlon! I feel like she might be the one person in our family who could probably be running faster than everyone else, but her endurance is a little lacking.<br />
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The husband and I are the ones who are really feeling beat up by this family running thing. By the time Monday came around, I could barely walk and after last night's run, my legs still felt like jello. It's good for both of us parents that we're starting this training with a fairly short distance. Hopefully this will help us to start getting ourselves back into shape, too. :)Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747096555799522127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15927671.post-16240276200603308612013-01-14T07:50:00.000-06:002013-01-14T10:51:01.693-06:00Beauty of HoustonOk, in an effort to make myself believe that Houston is not the Armpit of America, I decided I should take a picture of something beautiful about Houston this past weekend. This is a view of our street in the pretty part of the neighborhood. We live not too far from here, but don't have the full canopy of live oaks.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVV6wjFBxMVM-PTdgao2xO06QP_ygywS2YPfpgCzHZpxqLCMEHX10Ckp7TBa0zgk3lbKjA97gX7IWdzI33ulZeF0qM1Bg1O0IAw3b8ZfddbjZONP1ZBo5Wvfzg8womdjhDnvK_/s1600/BeautyHou-LiveOaks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVV6wjFBxMVM-PTdgao2xO06QP_ygywS2YPfpgCzHZpxqLCMEHX10Ckp7TBa0zgk3lbKjA97gX7IWdzI33ulZeF0qM1Bg1O0IAw3b8ZfddbjZONP1ZBo5Wvfzg8womdjhDnvK_/s320/BeautyHou-LiveOaks.JPG" width="243" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Canopy of Live Oaks</td></tr>
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<br />Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747096555799522127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15927671.post-84855457721605800372013-01-10T06:13:00.000-06:002013-01-10T17:13:36.884-06:00Why Houston?So, a little over a year ago, we bought the empty lot across the street from us with the intention of building a house on it. Actually, we want a pool and if a house comes with it, that would be great, too.<br />
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I didn't mention anything about it because I never felt like it would become a reality. Turns out that I was sort of right about it not becoming a reality - the design that our architects have come up with is so super-cool and spectacular that we can't afford it. So we're having to delay the project to come up with more money. We're not giving up, but we've had to accept the fact that we will have to wait one more year for our pool. *sob*<br />
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While we were in Colorado, we visited with some friends who kept telling us that what we really need to do is move to Colorado and build a new house. It's always a tempting thought, but we just can't imagine doing it. While we hate the Houston heat and humidity, we've gotten to the point that we love our neighborhood so much that we can't imagine living anywhere else. <br />
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I just need to stop looking at pictures from anyplace else in the world because they put Houston to shame!! I mean, look at <a href="http://media.beta.photobucket.com/user/sandyman47/media/Landscapes/Beautiful_landscapes_14.jpg.html?filters[term]=beautiful%20landscapes&filters[primary]=images&filters[secondary]=videos&sort=1&o=2" target="_blank">this</a>. And <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Basin_and_Range_Nevada.JPG" target="_blank">this</a>. And <a href="http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photos/best-pod-november-2012/#/sunrise-bastei-saxony_61078_600x450.jpg" target="_blank">this picture</a> has been my wallpaper for the past few weeks. Every time we return from vacation and drive from the airport or the outskirts of town, I'm struck by how ugly this place is. It's too bad, really. If you read about the history and culture of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston" target="_blank">Houston on Wikipedia</a>, it almost makes you want to live here!<br />
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Actually, that's sort of the point we try to make to people about Houston - it's a good place to live, but there's not much reason to visit. And as long as you don't mind complaining about the heat and humidity to anyone who will listen, you'll be able to endure. <a href="http://houstonitsworthit.com/" target="_blank">Houston - it's worth it</a>. (!!!???) <span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Oh my gosh, if you don't click on any of the other links, you must read <a href="http://houstonitsworthit.com/submission/the-no-mountains-124#comments" target="_blank">this one</a>. It literally made me LOL. :)</i></span>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747096555799522127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15927671.post-33485353121587159912013-01-09T06:00:00.000-06:002013-01-09T17:32:14.935-06:00Back to workAfter 17 days off from work, I had to finally come back to work this week. We spent a nice Christmas at home and then headed off to Colorado for a freezing-cold ski trip for the New Year's week.<br />
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Unsurprisingly, I'm finding it hard to get back into the swing of work and that apathy has taken the place of any eagerness about blogging. Too bad, too - on Monday, I was <i>this close</i> to posting a snippet about our vacation that I'm sure would have been engaging and cute in its brevity, but that enthusiasm seems to have gone missing sometime around 4:00 Monday afternoon.<br />
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Ah well. I'll leave you with a picture of our Christmas Eve Aebleskiver instead.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjV3IttWB0t7kyZc6ytlxmLXDmGgx3XH6_CQnMsKI16xU2bMx6R277VS5Ml0QTBNBUaclmljNO7d2pXWPhhNX3a24xll6EmbKLz9garGjAtvo0Hd5w7oTqnxeS6aY_WO_7D8wr/s1600/Aebleskiver.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjV3IttWB0t7kyZc6ytlxmLXDmGgx3XH6_CQnMsKI16xU2bMx6R277VS5Ml0QTBNBUaclmljNO7d2pXWPhhNX3a24xll6EmbKLz9garGjAtvo0Hd5w7oTqnxeS6aY_WO_7D8wr/s320/Aebleskiver.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aebleskiver - worthy of a King, of course!</td></tr>
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Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747096555799522127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15927671.post-80450692550841878002012-12-05T06:51:00.000-06:002012-12-06T07:10:59.224-06:00Cultural Heritage ProjectMarxo had to do a cultural heritage project for school this week. It's due today, in fact. She had to answer a bunch of questions about our family and then do the "art component" of the project. (It's a <a href="http://www.houstonisd.org/portal/site/MagnetEnglish/menuitem.03934f85d248509aa4faf0a5e041f76a/?vgnextoid=b2e5eae7492ee010VgnVCM10000028147fa6RCRD&vgnextchannel=12df643c26ede010VgnVCM10000028147fa6RCRD" target="_blank">Fine Arts Magnet School</a>, which means that they actually get to do art in school like I did when I was growing up, unlike a lot of schools now who have cut everything extra out of their curriculum.)<br />
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For the art component, she was supposed to choose a medium (in her case, she chose playdough), make the project, and then write a two-paragraph essay about it. The first paragraph was supposed to describe why she chose her medium and the second was to describe how it relates to our family culture.<br />
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Being of basically mixed-breed ancestry on both sides, or in other words, "American", this type of project is always difficult for our kids. But we have a couple of traditions in our families that help to save the day.<br />
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My mom's heritage is the outlier in our case - she was born and raised in a town that was settled by Danish people and she therefore happens to be able to trace her entire heritage back to Denmark. I bet she's in a small minority of 4th generation Americans who can claim only one country in their heritage. Hmmm...<br />
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Anyway, as I was saying, my mom's heritage is Danish and when I was little, she decided to introduce a delicious custom to our family: eating <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86bleskiver" target="_blank">Aebleskiver</a> (pronounced, in my mom's hometown, as "Eb-a-skyoo") on Christmas Eve. Back when she did this, the only place to get an Aebleskiver pan in Nebraska was her hometown hardware store. I think they're a little more common now, but mine also came from Ace Hardware in Minden, Nebraska.<br />
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(As an aside, there's also this card game called <a href="http://somersetcards.com/" target="_blank">Some R Set</a> that I'll have to tell you about sometime - those cards could only be bought in one special store, too)<br />
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Anyway (again) Marxo loves Aebleskiver and she looks forward to Christmas Eve so she can eat her fill of blueberry Aebleskiver. Soon, we may have to start tripling the recipe to keep up with her!<br />
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The only other "tradition" our family has is that we are sort of required to attend Mardi Gras in New Orleans every year because the entire husband's side of the family gets together for that.<br />
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So, Marxo decided to combine these two traditions into her art project. (drum roll, please...) Presenting King Aebleskiver riding his Mardi Gras float!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhix-ZS2iCfBSj372V55KR5Sy5G12E7CO952k5ZOWoyxFCw5oMCHV3jg2z8Blv_bWiAtQqGbqbeoxS2Zt0Ui97xhpxmRuu1ASul9GHNHk9dWFW9MMEBixzKo-h4BaXkWoSHiDRx/s1600/King+Aebelskiver.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhix-ZS2iCfBSj372V55KR5Sy5G12E7CO952k5ZOWoyxFCw5oMCHV3jg2z8Blv_bWiAtQqGbqbeoxS2Zt0Ui97xhpxmRuu1ASul9GHNHk9dWFW9MMEBixzKo-h4BaXkWoSHiDRx/s320/King+Aebelskiver.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">King Aebleskiver on his Mardi Gras float</td></tr>
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Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747096555799522127noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15927671.post-68772006384907970292012-11-29T06:00:00.000-06:002012-11-29T13:03:21.100-06:00ThankfulOur church has a "bread ceremony" every November where everyone brings bread that they either make or buy that has some sort of personal meaning to them. One of the ladies at our church grew up in Brazil, so she brings a type of "cheesy bread" (can't remember the name!), another lady brought cinnamon raisin bread this year because it reminds her of her mother, and every week, I bake bread for our kids to use for their sack lunch sandwiches, so I just make a half-loaf of that and take it.<br />
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The people who brought bread then bring their loaves up to the front at the beginning of the service and tell about their significance and leave them in the front, then some people up front cut up all the bread while the minister is talking, and then everyone in the congregation files up to the front and takes a piece of bread and gets a cup of juice. Sort of like communion, but since it's a Unitarian Church, they don't call it that.<br />
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Anyway, this year, they also wanted a child from the congregation to stand up front and say what he/she is thankful for. They originally asked Fellan if he would do it, but he didn't want to. Marxo, however, enthusiastically volunteered to take his place and started rattling off a list of things she was thankful for.<br />
<br />
She wrote them down on a piece of paper and then memorized it (but took the paper up with her, just in case).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Uok13AErm7C_4Wbu-vWPg-u-mwV8wuRwzjJiAlh5eMfMbuPpCqMr6qCskZLtXqIU__tdcSSCPheYoHJvkt16OCBAH3BLydfyAUAPCqaBn8KCRPzMYurlCa1vYt4lej0WxuKj/s1600/Thankful.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Uok13AErm7C_4Wbu-vWPg-u-mwV8wuRwzjJiAlh5eMfMbuPpCqMr6qCskZLtXqIU__tdcSSCPheYoHJvkt16OCBAH3BLydfyAUAPCqaBn8KCRPzMYurlCa1vYt4lej0WxuKj/s320/Thankful.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marxo's "Thankful" speech</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It says:<i> "I'm thankful for my mom and dad because they give me food and a home. I'm thankful for my brother because if I didn't have him I'd have no one to play with. I'm thankful that we pay taxes so that me and my brother can go to school."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
The original version of this said that she was thankful that we had money to pay for school, but we had to explain to her that everyone who owns property pays taxes and that's what pays for school. I love that she just incorporated that right into it and didn't try to find something else to change it to. Proud of my little socialist. ;)Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747096555799522127noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15927671.post-77747714459334715752012-11-12T06:31:00.000-06:002012-11-12T14:32:30.144-06:00Chick Flick(s)This past weekend, the boys had a Cub Scout campout, so us girls were left to our own devices for Saturday.<br />
<br />
I talked Marxo into going shopping with me because we needed to get some Christmas shopping done for my family. (Every year we trade off which family we spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with - this year, it's Thanksgiving with my family and Christmas with the husband's family. And, as long as we're up in Nebraska for Thanksgiving with my family, we also celebrate Christmas while we're there. Which means we have to have our Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving for my side of the family.)<br />
<br />
Anyway, we headed off to Walmart to get some shopping done and afterwards, we swung by IKEA to get a late lunch. I actually left from IKEA with only one purchase for less than $4. I was impressed with myself.<br />
<br />
By the time we got home, it was getting towards late afternoon and Marxo wanted to use the computer to look up some information on a school project she's doing for dance class. She's supposed to answer a bunch of questions about Gene Kelly. We (or at least I) had a lot of fun looking up videos of Gene Kelly dancing. That guy was good!<br />
<br />
Then it was time to figure out what to do for supper (turned out that some leftovers needed to be eaten) and then start our evening of movie watching! I figured now would be as good a time as any to introduce the concept of the "chick flick" to her. I wanted to watch Steel Magnolias, but figured that would be too sad for her. Then I was torn between a couple of different movies, Sleepless in Seattle and the original Footloose. We finally settled on watching both of them. <br />
<br />
We popped some popcorn, and ate some candy (that we had gotten earlier in the day at Walmart), and popped some more popcorn and had a great time watching the movies. And then we ate some more candy. :)<br />
<br />
Marxo thought Sleepless in Seattle was just "OK" and I have to say that I agree with her on that. But she really liked Footloose. I had a hard time watching a young Kevin Bacon taking out his frustration by dancing his way through a warehouse. It seemed a little melodramatic to me, but I guess as a teenager in 1984 when it came out, that must have been really cool because I remember everybody loved the movie back then. (while watching it, however, I realized that I had never actually seen the movie!)<br />
<br />
It was a fun evening, though, and most of all, I enjoyed just hanging out with my little girl. My mom will be sure to tell me that "before long, she'll be off to college!" And more and more, I realize how true that is.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747096555799522127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15927671.post-31106407641469396372012-10-11T16:38:00.002-05:002012-10-11T16:38:26.248-05:00Marxo is Eight!Today is Marxo's birthday! This picture was taken while they were walking to school this morning just at about the moment of her officially turning eight. :)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPy5nM3rLRwHTkHS4GmwrsOCUpKLFZzgGcdxtjvEK3Ba3QxFpJzjsMYf4TMDt994qWUP78xAg48RyPFABXUieS6wV1CZh5h8Abhre37UOq1nEw3ban_ZiUPrJyFcQ1ZwJSH7lm/s1600/Eight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPy5nM3rLRwHTkHS4GmwrsOCUpKLFZzgGcdxtjvEK3Ba3QxFpJzjsMYf4TMDt994qWUP78xAg48RyPFABXUieS6wV1CZh5h8Abhre37UOq1nEw3ban_ZiUPrJyFcQ1ZwJSH7lm/s320/Eight.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eight years old today!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747096555799522127noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15927671.post-61426783943445348092012-10-04T07:00:00.000-05:002012-10-04T17:56:55.535-05:00Help, I've fallen... off the face of the earthI'm pretty sure this happens every year around this time: I seem to completely fall off the face of the earth.<br />
<br />
School is back in session and 4th grade is kicking our butts. I can't believe the amount of work that is required of 9- to 10-year-olds these days. I remember 4th grade and I most definitely was NOT expected to spend time outside of school doing anything like homework. The reason I remember this is because I desperately wanted homework! I had a brother four years older than me who got homework every day and I wanted some, too! (yes, I was that kind of a nerd-kid...)<br />
<br />
But anyway, as I was saying, we've had some trouble getting transitioned into 4th grade with Fellan. The first week of school was awesome. The second week of school was abysmal. The third week of school was only slightly better, but we seem to have been getting a little better every day since. At this rate, though, it will be Christmas break before we get back to the high of the first week.<br />
<br />
I can't remember if I mentioned that we had some educational testing done for Fellan again this past summer. It was the same testing that we had done <a href="http://acceptingecho.blogspot.com/2011/08/much-news.html" target="_blank">last year</a> - we wanted to see if getting his eye problems corrected did anything for him and his dysgraphia.<br />
<br />
We finally got the test results back a couple of weeks ago. She confirmed again that he has dysgraphia, and had some good news and some bad news for us. The good news is that his overall IQ score has gone up quite a bit over the year and that's mostly due to the fact that his eyes are working together now and he's able to process some things better.<br />
<br />
The bad news is that he's still having the same troubles with writing. And since he has gotten older but his writing ability hasn't matured, it's actually considered to be worse this year. This is particularly bad news because the standardized tests for 4th grade include two hand-written essays as part of promotion requirements for him to go to 5th grade. (Damn you, George W. and your standardized testing!)<br />
<br />
We've met with his teacher and given her his test results and the recommendations from the woman who did the testing. Luckily, his teacher this year has had kids with dysgraphia before, so she's familiar with it. And she has no problem with modifying his work so that he can physically write less.<br />
<br />
She also told us that she knows there are ways to allow a student to type the essays for the standardized tests and then have a teacher/counselor transcribe them onto the official paper. But we need to get him classified as ADHD to have that type of accommodation. The school district apparently doesn't recognize Dysgraphia as an official diagnosis. The hoops we have to jump through...<br />
<br />
In other news, I have pictures from our trip to Colorado (which includes pictures from the US Pro Challenge bike race!) and pictures of a science project that has already been done for this year's Science Fair. So there's more to come, hopefully soon!Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747096555799522127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15927671.post-38676020705088008042012-07-26T12:00:00.000-05:002012-07-26T12:33:38.506-05:00Mugging for the cameraI didn't intend to leave that sad post up at the top of my blog for so long, so I'd better post something to lighten the mood. Which means, it's time for a kitten picture again!<br />
<br />
I think I've finally decided that the orange and white one in front here is my favorite...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI1y_PwxRVuW-p7sY9RVDpU0PxXKYy_fGttKFOFLLKoCi3fZFA7N4hZSBv_IEa9etGsaQXe4qsHZZ1ivzeL6JShgU3OZSSAkPPXlDzEVebCGwB9Hxbas_qBGZ7Xts7508i8LQN/s1600/seehowcuteweare.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI1y_PwxRVuW-p7sY9RVDpU0PxXKYy_fGttKFOFLLKoCi3fZFA7N4hZSBv_IEa9etGsaQXe4qsHZZ1ivzeL6JShgU3OZSSAkPPXlDzEVebCGwB9Hxbas_qBGZ7Xts7508i8LQN/s320/seehowcuteweare.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So Darn Cute!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747096555799522127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15927671.post-1763313870097986502012-07-18T06:26:00.000-05:002012-07-18T08:31:46.285-05:00Goodbye, old friendThis past weekend, our neighborhood grocery store closed.<br />
<br />
Fiesta was a great grocery store. Our neighborhood is quite a mix of ethnic backgrounds and monetary income levels and the store did an amazing job of catering to everyone in such a small space. The produce was always fresh and varied, there was a Hispanic section with everything you could imagine, an additional "ethnic" section with all sorts of imports, and one of the managers was the self-appointed wine steward for the entire neighborhood, getting awesome deals on really good wines and passing his knowledge and savings on to the customers. I could run to the store, grab milk, wine, grapes, flour, and parmesan cheese and be back home within 10 minutes. Plus, they played "oldies" music from the 50's and you couldn't go shopping there without singing along with the tunes.<br />
<br />
Last year, though, the abandoned old apartment complex across the street from Fiesta was bought by another grocery store chain, HEB. They made quick work of tearing down the old and putting up a brand-spanking new grocery store. It opened in November last year.<br />
<br />
Now, don't get me wrong, the <a href="http://www.chron.com/business/article/H-E-B-s-Montrose-Market-will-have-many-firsts-2261141.php" target="_blank">HEB</a> is a very nice store. They had a web contest where neighborhood people could choose from three different architectural designs before they started construction and they built the winning design. It has a large organic produce section, a bakery, a cheese section (complete with cheese expert who will help you find whatever you want), a big wine/beer section, a pharmacy, and an outdoor patio where they regularly have live music playing. It's pretty much everything you could ever want in a grocery store. They even built the parking lot around the huge oak trees out front and they have a permanent "food truck" in the parking lot. Very fancy and very politically correct.<br />
<br />
So when the HEB opened, everyone started wondering when Fiesta would go out of business. I mean, who would go to such an old, run-down store right across the street from such opulence?<br />
<br />
Me. That's who. And apparently everyone else who ever frequented the Fiesta. Every time I went to the store, the HEB parking lot was full, but the Fiesta parking lot was just as full as it had ever been. And I would run into the same people I used to run into at the store. After the initial fear wore off, we all became confident that our beloved Fiesta would be able to weather the storm. It seemed that the people who shopped at HEB were not former patrons of Fiesta. We weren't sure where they were coming from, but don't question a good thing.<br />
<br />
And then it happened. It was rumored that a developer bought Fiesta's shopping complex. But no announcements were made and business continued as usual. Then it was confirmed that Fiesta's shopping complex had been bought. But no announcements were made and business continued as usual. Then suddenly, at the beginning of July, Fiesta announced that its last day of business would be July 15, 2012. They're going to build a big apartment complex on the site.<br />
<br />
Trying to look on the bright side, I told myself that at least now I wouldn't have to feel guilty about the little shopping that I had already started doing at HEB. I mean, when you have a cheese expert available to you, why not take advantage of that? And if the organic section is as big as the whole produce section in the little Fiesta, doesn't it make sense to go there to grab the ingredients for your salad?<br />
<br />
So, this past weekend, we stoically made our last shopping trip to Fiesta and bought several things we didn't need - as a sign of solidarity. And even though I was sad to see the rusty old shelves peeking out from the last of the canned goods, I thought it wouldn't be all bad to have a bright (naturally-lit-through-skylights!), fresh environment to add to my shopping pleasure. Here I come with my guilt-free conscience to HEB!<br />
<br />
But last night we needed to run to the grocery store for milk. Like we end up having to do about three times a week because our refrigerator is so small (don't get me started about our refrigerator...) and we were struck with the sudden knowledge that we wouldn't be able to just run into the store, grab some milk and be back to the car in the span of about two minutes. We wouldn't even be able to make it to the dairy section in the span of two minutes after parking, walking through the parking lot to the store, and then walking through the entire store (with intentionally mis-aligned aisles, which must somehow either make the store not seem so cavernous or make people buy more stuff, but end up just pissing me off), and a wave of sadness and regret washed over me.<br />
<br />
New is nice, but our friendly neighborhood store, that timed their over-buying just right and ran extension cords from generators to their cash registers during the power outages of Hurricane Ike to make sure nobody went without staple foods, will always hold a special place in my heart.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg65SVHWjiB3jBbazmJL_rf1SeoG5Q2CC89GTU1CAHQGa5HX0hX0nkuQCEwaexqkUh3kglA55IdkERkwJsE3nvsOT02qqkxpoQGQSSmURNZW3ccT0hwyTiXJCHlPN3s4xhm7pb3/s1600/fiesta-dunlavy-dawn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg65SVHWjiB3jBbazmJL_rf1SeoG5Q2CC89GTU1CAHQGa5HX0hX0nkuQCEwaexqkUh3kglA55IdkERkwJsE3nvsOT02qqkxpoQGQSSmURNZW3ccT0hwyTiXJCHlPN3s4xhm7pb3/s320/fiesta-dunlavy-dawn.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RIP, Fiesta</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747096555799522127noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15927671.post-36793944431341624832012-07-12T06:37:00.000-05:002012-07-16T13:11:13.410-05:00Kittens - Week 3Today, the kittens around the corner are 3 weeks old! I texted our friend earlier today and made her send me some pictures so I could update my blog. ;)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7z2oj4Rf9UpHYsojiMOLVz1Wo5PJWq6CPs4HAXntgxf39NGTx-KaY3X1_FNPzjke_tKq5mRDG4T5QoCEmG7fUOq-AtWQd0pf1oXyVEFBjM_jixhNntsj1iVPiHR3EhQ-Km8fr/s1600/kittenswk4-peek.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7z2oj4Rf9UpHYsojiMOLVz1Wo5PJWq6CPs4HAXntgxf39NGTx-KaY3X1_FNPzjke_tKq5mRDG4T5QoCEmG7fUOq-AtWQd0pf1oXyVEFBjM_jixhNntsj1iVPiHR3EhQ-Km8fr/s320/kittenswk4-peek.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peek-a-boo, I see you!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOmpoXCj59jVeoueQiwnBQUGUfqDMD5aseRM_pTGJvOILSbkPNuHQpDVrbdc_oHM5KDzb1mLCwyq1v2uthNgfrPyI4PPPUfiIlCW4dciOsWtbW-ZXCYSZpr6fSvxJmUk_XCRB0/s1600/kittenswk4-lunch.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOmpoXCj59jVeoueQiwnBQUGUfqDMD5aseRM_pTGJvOILSbkPNuHQpDVrbdc_oHM5KDzb1mLCwyq1v2uthNgfrPyI4PPPUfiIlCW4dciOsWtbW-ZXCYSZpr6fSvxJmUk_XCRB0/s320/kittenswk4-lunch.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lunch</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We visited the kitties on Tuesday evening and hopefully we'll get to see them again tonight. They're still just a little wobbly on their feet, but there are two of them that don't mind getting picked up and cuddled. I plan to take full advantage of that tonight!Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747096555799522127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15927671.post-6602180578076777742012-07-02T23:05:00.001-05:002012-07-03T07:45:28.934-05:00Not-so-smart Spot<div class="mobile-photo">
</div>
<div class="mobile-photo">
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Spot is such a cute little kitty, but she's not really very smart...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSVBAJRTYaRal-g9tdjr4SqhPJobV9PV496BsAR5vORLFCsm71jRtjguPWsHRXUlSJlrlGykDc2A2-mUgU9HFyWn3IOzLw2UFpF7EzjB1A4praSyVW_nnaLspjaj5wxa3UUApU/s1600/image-746094.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5760789584285516146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSVBAJRTYaRal-g9tdjr4SqhPJobV9PV496BsAR5vORLFCsm71jRtjguPWsHRXUlSJlrlGykDc2A2-mUgU9HFyWn3IOzLw2UFpF7EzjB1A4praSyVW_nnaLspjaj5wxa3UUApU/s320/image-746094.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wow! What is out there?!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
She loves to sit inside our shower and look through the glass blocks at the TV or whatever happens to be on the other side.<br />
<br />
While
I was taking these pictures, the husband started playing with her
through the glass blocks. Not so bright, but oh-so-cute! :)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Ai1r1uWbEIv596CXRilysQHnxMHwlqIO4YLNDHbsgZ8cQdAL17Hw-7JI2Ppu0-rEGFGwC4ZFLCW21bzDOwugJoj_DDaV6HkuGtDcVCIgVuFgzbBw6ELNGKSmvgcgMQwjYeK3/s1600/image-747728.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5760789592877930178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Ai1r1uWbEIv596CXRilysQHnxMHwlqIO4YLNDHbsgZ8cQdAL17Hw-7JI2Ppu0-rEGFGwC4ZFLCW21bzDOwugJoj_DDaV6HkuGtDcVCIgVuFgzbBw6ELNGKSmvgcgMQwjYeK3/s320/image-747728.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm gonna get you!</td></tr>
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<br />Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747096555799522127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15927671.post-71576630404394717382012-06-27T05:32:00.000-05:002012-06-27T08:33:23.223-05:00Kittens around the cornerA friend of ours who lives around the corner from us ended up adopting a stray cat that was wandering the neighborhood. The poor cat was really hungry, but very sweet and she just couldn't resist. (Actually, it was her daughter that couldn't resist! But anyway...)<br />
<br />
They took the cat to the vet to have it checked out and discovered that the cat was pregnant and due within about a week! *Surprise!*<br />
<br />
Of course, by this time, the daughter was even more in love with the cat and so they took her home to prepare for the birth.<br />
<br />
And we waited, and waited, and waited some more.<br />
<br />
Finally more than two weeks later, the kittens arrived!!!<br />
<br />
We were just as excited as they were to hear that mama had delivered two healthy kittens early last Thursday morning and the kids got to go over to their house to see them before they headed off to summer camp for the day.<br />
<br />
I, on the other hand, had to wait until that evening to visit the newly-expanded family and by the time I got there, there were two more kittens!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRRRS7YNjQaBq8eMkGfRSXhevvK0TyXl1XubQecEqNKwD1R1yGdqeRqp7I5trYFcaCfKV0x2jqzj4DylSXM43jP2hZ_Wg5KskVnzKledZJbQ6_cArOr_pOO26ZAG0u-H6ovwqN/s1600/Fifi+kittens.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRRRS7YNjQaBq8eMkGfRSXhevvK0TyXl1XubQecEqNKwD1R1yGdqeRqp7I5trYFcaCfKV0x2jqzj4DylSXM43jP2hZ_Wg5KskVnzKledZJbQ6_cArOr_pOO26ZAG0u-H6ovwqN/s320/Fifi+kittens.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mama, with 3, 4, 2, and 1</td></tr>
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The first two had arrived early in the morning, but then the second two came out late that afternoon.<br /><br />
We have been having fun for the last week, making nearly daily visits over there to see the kitties. Last night, we paid them a visit and their eyes are <i>just</i> starting to open. Mama kitty is doing a very good job of taking care of them and I can't wait until they get a little bit older and bigger so that I can hold them and cuddle them without Mama getting too upset. :)Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747096555799522127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15927671.post-36790596036009687712012-06-25T06:33:00.000-05:002012-06-25T15:17:05.808-05:00Homemade Runza Recipe with PicturesToday I'm providing another public service announcement for Runza-loving Nebraskans who don't happen to live in Nebraska anymore and can't just drive through the Runza drive-thru on a whim. (My previous public service announcement on how to re-heat frozen Runzas is <a href="http://acceptingecho.blogspot.com/2008/01/how-to-re-heat-frozen-runzas.html" target="_blank">here</a>.)<br />
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Last week, I started thinking about Runzas and how good they are. And I realized I didn't have any frozen Runzas in my freezer with which to satisfy my craving. So, I posted a plea on Facebook, asking my Nebraska friends if any of them had an authentic-tasting Runza recipe they could send me. Within just a few minutes, a lady from my hometown church sent me a recipe and it was vouched-for by another friend who had used her recipe, so I figured I'd better give it a try.<br />
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So, this past weekend, I made Runzas from scratch! It took about 4 hours of total chopping/cooking time (which would definitely be shortened by buying shredded cabbage!) ...but it was totally worth it. Please keep reading to follow along with my quest to reproduce the incredible Runza.<br />
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RUNZA RECIPE<br />
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<u>Dough:</u><br />
1 pkg active yeast<br />
7 c flour, divided<br />
1/2 c sugar<br />
1 T salt<br />
3 T butter<br />
<br />
Mix together:<br />
1 pkg yeast<br />
2 c warm water (120*F - 130*F)<br />
1/2 c sugar<br />
1 T salt<br />
2 c flour<br />
Add 3 T melted butter and 5 c flour. Knead and let rise 2 hours or until doubled. Push down and let rise 5 minutes. Divide into 15 balls. Roll thin.<br />
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<u>Filling:</u><br />
2 lbs hamburger, browned<br />
2 c finely chopped onions<br />
5 c chopped/shredded cabbage (1 head)<br />
2 T water<br />
Add water to browned hamburger and put onions and cabbage on top of hamburger. Steam 15 minutes and drain.<br />
Add:<br />
1.5 t Worcestershire sauce<br />
1.5 t oregano (or less)<br />
1.5 t black pepper<br />
1 T seasoned salt<br />
<br />
Put 2 generous spoonsful of meat on each rolled dough. Roll up. Let rise a short time (5-10 minutes). Bake at 375*F for 20 minutes. Can be frozen before or after baking depending on your preference.<br />
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Seasoned salt:<br />
2 T salt<br />
1 t sugar<br />
1 t paprika<br />
1/4 t turmeric<br />
1/2 t onion powder<br />
1/2 t garlic powder<br />
1/2 t celery salt<br />
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The ingredients:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfZWdrx0TNtK-e9lwTy4uGflaxDmXqBiJrNx5vB2upfl_KYXvpiMObbrNSV6DyIcSoLgVP3pTrJ__Lc-WLqGRJbvWSdC_QRE3SbyPPqvZ_zu3zC7D7jdSrlV9JM3COaZkIRtKA/s1600/Runza1-ingredients.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfZWdrx0TNtK-e9lwTy4uGflaxDmXqBiJrNx5vB2upfl_KYXvpiMObbrNSV6DyIcSoLgVP3pTrJ__Lc-WLqGRJbvWSdC_QRE3SbyPPqvZ_zu3zC7D7jdSrlV9JM3COaZkIRtKA/s320/Runza1-ingredients.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ingredients</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When I went to buy the ingredients for the Runzas, I couldn't find any shredded cabbage, and not having ever cooked with cabbage, I wasn't sure if I would need one head or two heads to get 5 cups of chopped cabbage. Turns out only one was necessary. (Will be looking up cabbage recipes to figure out what to do with that other head this week!)<br />
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Also, yes, that onion is the same size as the head of cabbage. I think the tag at the grocery store said they were "Colossal Onions". I just had to take another picture for scale.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzzp66OZhPwIr26TPv_cemncIE_SWel5oF471SljiICWUBkrOZPblIg5MK3Uz-A6d2TyBQMYbrTO2380ykJePU5WNVpToKQkKeJFZUbZFxvY_czNl1M84HrfOgVeNbopmXU1_0/s1600/Runza6-colossalonion.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzzp66OZhPwIr26TPv_cemncIE_SWel5oF471SljiICWUBkrOZPblIg5MK3Uz-A6d2TyBQMYbrTO2380ykJePU5WNVpToKQkKeJFZUbZFxvY_czNl1M84HrfOgVeNbopmXU1_0/s320/Runza6-colossalonion.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Colossal" Onion</td></tr>
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I figured the chopping of the cabbage would take quite a bit of time, so I started with that. I cut it up, and cut out the core.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuhBqmfb37CK_7G7i0ivvfDf4On0PQNVSbJ9k6QvhR8tOzQ6sFGBBSBLfscA0ewwY7WkMM8wf_NfZfkPPZU6Cc36Ssk9oPOpfbZvYNXRSPI_3Ymqhlba-FpcgWzHqIfyQRyb_l/s1600/Runza2-cabbage.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuhBqmfb37CK_7G7i0ivvfDf4On0PQNVSbJ9k6QvhR8tOzQ6sFGBBSBLfscA0ewwY7WkMM8wf_NfZfkPPZU6Cc36Ssk9oPOpfbZvYNXRSPI_3Ymqhlba-FpcgWzHqIfyQRyb_l/s320/Runza2-cabbage.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cut up cabbage</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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And then chaos ensued.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyYbAc3y7ot1TZnl8GbzUYOQXhe-qDy7HE-K0YyAvuFZ34cTo3bZbRzE1sIzogR4idsqbAK9EGLrUb013Hu9r3OPWdmb_wYH9Pb-ECtbhxd_p4GXVUZB3u8C2EhSGdVtva8AOP/s1600/Runza3-cabbagecarnage.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyYbAc3y7ot1TZnl8GbzUYOQXhe-qDy7HE-K0YyAvuFZ34cTo3bZbRzE1sIzogR4idsqbAK9EGLrUb013Hu9r3OPWdmb_wYH9Pb-ECtbhxd_p4GXVUZB3u8C2EhSGdVtva8AOP/s320/Runza3-cabbagecarnage.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cabbage carnage</td></tr>
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My original plan was to use the shredding blade on my food processor to get the cabbage pieces small enough, but with my cheap food processor, I ended up with big chunks of cabbage in with the shredded cabbage. So then I tried just chopping it by hand, but that was going to take forever. So then I ended up using the chopping blade to get it semi-small. And I took those pieces and chopped them to the right size by hand. It took a long time. Next time, I'll drive to a different store and buy some pre-shredded cabbage!<br />
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The onion chopping went much more smoothly. I got out my mini-chopper to make sure that the onion pieces were finely chopped and I ended up only using half of the colossal onion to make 2 cups of chopped onion.<br />
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Then it was time to make the dough. I've never made dough by adding yeast to a mixture of water, sugar, salt, <i>and</i> flour, but I followed the directions exactly and then added the remaining flour and butter and let the stand mixer do the dirty work.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXjhAzSCXoPf61EXvlmXjnOZCqxPWBoip78M-uVNr_mixP-ZpTx_Cpnu1diB_k90gKsnPrUnfJ88_qE3mbPzDCcr42mklXmB6habB2PJBRhdmD0rHrkJuW1hX9BySo9YUKcxtP/s1600/Runza4-mixdough.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXjhAzSCXoPf61EXvlmXjnOZCqxPWBoip78M-uVNr_mixP-ZpTx_Cpnu1diB_k90gKsnPrUnfJ88_qE3mbPzDCcr42mklXmB6habB2PJBRhdmD0rHrkJuW1hX9BySo9YUKcxtP/s320/Runza4-mixdough.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love my stand mixer!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsbT91bNirBpMjQTU7n5nzsIp928Gqf1AMNMGQZedLZAiM5vcyamw74F8b14DVrIw2s9DtPNjgV7XCdamaKVdZXhpE8xQBoAwe26p1RknEjPbWLn8SBNPnpE-z1FUow1A42bhs/s1600/Runza5-dough.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsbT91bNirBpMjQTU7n5nzsIp928Gqf1AMNMGQZedLZAiM5vcyamw74F8b14DVrIw2s9DtPNjgV7XCdamaKVdZXhpE8xQBoAwe26p1RknEjPbWLn8SBNPnpE-z1FUow1A42bhs/s320/Runza5-dough.jpeg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dough, ready to rise</td></tr>
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And then I took a break for about an hour and fifteen minutes before I started on the filling. :)<br />
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The filling was pretty easy to cook up. I browned the ground beef and readied the chopped cabbage and onions.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy13eiXiLStU-9LKhNBu8U__wCf06IR-mGNKNUMnXQokM3V5sZgIURtnlZRohZa65DjFEXyzqctmM7w-iIy4e3MXKtJP3k6sHc9JMGsyLGWvcEhsFag12XVhY-dzTw4DveUt-1/s1600/Runza7-gb%252Ccabbageonion.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy13eiXiLStU-9LKhNBu8U__wCf06IR-mGNKNUMnXQokM3V5sZgIURtnlZRohZa65DjFEXyzqctmM7w-iIy4e3MXKtJP3k6sHc9JMGsyLGWvcEhsFag12XVhY-dzTw4DveUt-1/s320/Runza7-gb%252Ccabbageonion.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cabbage/onions ready to go in</td></tr>
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And since it said that the cabbage and onions were supposed to steam for 15 minutes, I figured that meant they were just supposed to sit on top of the ground beef. So I plopped the whole bowl of cabbage/onion on top and put the cover on.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA-172kcFcZvu6Ot5Y6lf8gyuEk-OiI5VhRVYyRHAzlupH8GHgS1cHsCdQIbsggtZ0lKr5X0aXU3QGqCevrj6m_OBIciBdtY9xSgEWZ6pEPaP6OFX92Z3RohzG2QyJdbptTb6l/s1600/Runza8-readytosteam.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA-172kcFcZvu6Ot5Y6lf8gyuEk-OiI5VhRVYyRHAzlupH8GHgS1cHsCdQIbsggtZ0lKr5X0aXU3QGqCevrj6m_OBIciBdtY9xSgEWZ6pEPaP6OFX92Z3RohzG2QyJdbptTb6l/s320/Runza8-readytosteam.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prepare to be steamed</td></tr>
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Sure enough, after (a little over) 15 minutes, the cabbage looked nicely cooked.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx94SWqy2JCdgS8dTjX9s1__nq8zEz93wIBknMAe6uD3fjTwvDwBCaEdXVx2B4yGXyJtUWKxTpinUUcPWoiXr2OqHC_vxp7J_g2ENT5Km-_rRe2F-FWwPYfU7VqTri5byaK3l7/s1600/Runza9-steamed.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx94SWqy2JCdgS8dTjX9s1__nq8zEz93wIBknMAe6uD3fjTwvDwBCaEdXVx2B4yGXyJtUWKxTpinUUcPWoiXr2OqHC_vxp7J_g2ENT5Km-_rRe2F-FWwPYfU7VqTri5byaK3l7/s320/Runza9-steamed.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm steamed!</td></tr>
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Time to add the spices. The recipe called for "Seasoned Salt", which I assumed probably means Lawry's Seasoned Salt, but I didn't want the MSG from the Lawry's, so I hunted up a recipe for seasoned salt and mixed it up beforehand. (recipe included above) My homemade blend is in the little jar in the middle.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfq3qq4A2MopU-4AWCkvXyg0TpeCC3gVLJU0pW6QAYAvRrLCZBB4bi_A7mJfXRqR8wGGkwA13i1hVlEp73GwSA1nZcH0SL5lfZGRRMJVR2m-_pP5nKQqjqh5W3z_2vK4KUd2Qr/s1600/Runza10-spices.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfq3qq4A2MopU-4AWCkvXyg0TpeCC3gVLJU0pW6QAYAvRrLCZBB4bi_A7mJfXRqR8wGGkwA13i1hVlEp73GwSA1nZcH0SL5lfZGRRMJVR2m-_pP5nKQqjqh5W3z_2vK4KUd2Qr/s320/Runza10-spices.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spice magic</td></tr>
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All stirred up. Looks promising!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB3jYzDzG3AA_4JUqxPFjGQdUz5F6SLh81QY1F2ufklsrpMzYsZSFHLR0VXneNdcDCIHtw9amn_vG22hL3qZ9u89GP_GG-LiFjJL0wBeN0RwLslMyptXdoSZcL4i0urSI13IRr/s1600/Runza11-filling.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB3jYzDzG3AA_4JUqxPFjGQdUz5F6SLh81QY1F2ufklsrpMzYsZSFHLR0VXneNdcDCIHtw9amn_vG22hL3qZ9u89GP_GG-LiFjJL0wBeN0RwLslMyptXdoSZcL4i0urSI13IRr/s320/Runza11-filling.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished filling</td></tr>
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By this point, the dough had been rising for 2 hours, so I got it out of the cold oven where it had been rising and punched it down before I remembered to take a picture.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNu8DerMZzZWn-OV8lvnPquuxCWoOtMqrFgP7J5THj3hU9f_p51dlinJiHv3Mu8PaxC7doD1bl8wiHhisQblyLvpWfT_VjCAwDT9Dy0tvB_uOvyZUFVgMJzVf_KtIYBH4HALNH/s1600/Runza12-risendough.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNu8DerMZzZWn-OV8lvnPquuxCWoOtMqrFgP7J5THj3hU9f_p51dlinJiHv3Mu8PaxC7doD1bl8wiHhisQblyLvpWfT_VjCAwDT9Dy0tvB_uOvyZUFVgMJzVf_KtIYBH4HALNH/s320/Runza12-risendough.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dough after rising</td></tr>
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Honestly, though, it didn't really deflate at all so this is pretty much what it looked like after it had risen. I had to go back and look at the "before picture" to make sure it had risen at all because I was expecting much more volume.</div>
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At some point during the rising of the dough, I figured out that I don't own a rolling pin, so I had to get creative... </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCk3ew7qHxFHvJDnKS19hUdYowWt924DEFFPor9sqk5jH107e3AITGNC-fP2bcwyBEpt7zHvX8B_-HBfPgNomUOUGzUSi5qTl6j7dQRZJUjulYl7ibd5gK6cevKDgLhlcnqASz/s1600/Runza13-rollingdough.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCk3ew7qHxFHvJDnKS19hUdYowWt924DEFFPor9sqk5jH107e3AITGNC-fP2bcwyBEpt7zHvX8B_-HBfPgNomUOUGzUSi5qTl6j7dQRZJUjulYl7ibd5gK6cevKDgLhlcnqASz/s320/Runza13-rollingdough.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rolling pin, a.k.a. Pellegrino bottle</td></tr>
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The recipe says to divide the dough into 15 balls and roll them thin. Ok, this is the only part of the recipe I didn't follow exactly, I mean, 15 balls?! Are you kidding me? How do you possibly divide a huge mound of dough into 15 equal-sized balls? Instead, I took the dough, divided it in half (or as close as possible), then divided that half into half (or as close as possible), and then tried to make 4 similarly-sized balls out of that. This then made 16 dough balls of what turned out to be varying sizes, so maybe I should have just gone with 15 anyway...</div>
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Now for the hard part: filling the Runzas. I was fairly worried about how this was going to turn out. My favorite Runza is the Cheese Runza, so I put some American cheese in each one, too.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG8NuAmiAKRT7y9a7oQxnUrp2t6On5DC90OofeGxYvCuoqngzNMuyVPV9oUoWUiZFy6pzadfvRJWQsNj9tBMiRFtXXkTasSWpid6XKL08oxsncGa9MP-wTeCkqOKQ69CN-mrHF/s1600/Runza14-fillingdough.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG8NuAmiAKRT7y9a7oQxnUrp2t6On5DC90OofeGxYvCuoqngzNMuyVPV9oUoWUiZFy6pzadfvRJWQsNj9tBMiRFtXXkTasSWpid6XKL08oxsncGa9MP-wTeCkqOKQ69CN-mrHF/s320/Runza14-fillingdough.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Filling the Runzas</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqVdn6j01DvkfAcoXod9oMTX6N1JKwe-Zcual1vj4tXiW5avPAMn-KcN7h1lHs2EiARoCoN-AB8YhpKorx28bMs9Eqm5LMzch4swq27dmi5VvTcsCGO4lM7Tt8F2cqsI_qvwJm/s1600/Runza15-filledrunza.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqVdn6j01DvkfAcoXod9oMTX6N1JKwe-Zcual1vj4tXiW5avPAMn-KcN7h1lHs2EiARoCoN-AB8YhpKorx28bMs9Eqm5LMzch4swq27dmi5VvTcsCGO4lM7Tt8F2cqsI_qvwJm/s320/Runza15-filledrunza.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Filled and pinched shut</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDVpmv3a2sRMTsf2FivArThn-RWPqj2fOX3zz7mKzV4fIahy4P-V5is1fsep3AY0LvKWmPINyzJX9xTXwgdjKZkiE5f-T_ZRzy8S4kWuSpEvRmSAtxrQEvpY4hsR7jtPioUxIz/s1600/Runza18-bakingsheet.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDVpmv3a2sRMTsf2FivArThn-RWPqj2fOX3zz7mKzV4fIahy4P-V5is1fsep3AY0LvKWmPINyzJX9xTXwgdjKZkiE5f-T_ZRzy8S4kWuSpEvRmSAtxrQEvpY4hsR7jtPioUxIz/s320/Runza18-bakingsheet.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And placed onto a non-stick baking sheet</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The husband took some action shots while I was whining about how long
this was taking and how I figured they probably wouldn't even taste
right and I had done all this work for nothing.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipykeMKH794Cag2g4SjaUiLPcaO6Aq0LxZEcftIjsIAaNcuO6xVvzqf1U11GwrgK7pg6S6yMEEdvQF3vvKoLCrsTqoZSZAv0Xk8rcYOA7LV2zyMoRlM5tfIMklCg4TRVFP3PFj/s1600/Runza16-actionpinching.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipykeMKH794Cag2g4SjaUiLPcaO6Aq0LxZEcftIjsIAaNcuO6xVvzqf1U11GwrgK7pg6S6yMEEdvQF3vvKoLCrsTqoZSZAv0Xk8rcYOA7LV2zyMoRlM5tfIMklCg4TRVFP3PFj/s320/Runza16-actionpinching.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Come on, stick together, you stupid dough!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTAjjGCJxtg0Xp4t7Xa4mOlHZ5KglVVXbHR2RqB69az_ySr7A-RG0bUAEbTT43yjvDwlxap5zfHXUzhksEZzo8jefd3HUI7nqZEs7Fjb4vdibJM7Pci0NFwnfu3YgaBCp8lPrh/s1600/Runza17-actionrolling.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTAjjGCJxtg0Xp4t7Xa4mOlHZ5KglVVXbHR2RqB69az_ySr7A-RG0bUAEbTT43yjvDwlxap5zfHXUzhksEZzo8jefd3HUI7nqZEs7Fjb4vdibJM7Pci0NFwnfu3YgaBCp8lPrh/s320/Runza17-actionrolling.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How many more do I have to do?!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Finally, I finished them all and figured out a way to get them to all fit on the baking sheet! Into the oven they went and I anxiously waited to see what would come out.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXyu-cX-Fjc82FVltooohObB7cEcJJ8OCFKeie52zgDylRiKj_8_OzhB9gyYRKZNW5e95LCzFLvjveYIR_tjMPt4qhD_Hzld6kneD2W_TZNIQj-FGB7sr8fnvmsfFhqX3Nrc1C/s1600/Runza19-inoven.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXyu-cX-Fjc82FVltooohObB7cEcJJ8OCFKeie52zgDylRiKj_8_OzhB9gyYRKZNW5e95LCzFLvjveYIR_tjMPt4qhD_Hzld6kneD2W_TZNIQj-FGB7sr8fnvmsfFhqX3Nrc1C/s320/Runza19-inoven.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty maids all in a row</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
They looked pretty good when I took them out...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6cuGkHWl_E37N8cKjOu4fF7QdF0GIHCkxriaVlWkWA3OGuv2wal0ZA989sT5oaXJso9ihUMAtnAvtfJ8ztKRbn-USulQdbkR89u2siAUy8ZR9ld1rvwU89kDS_qeHi3xP1OUG/s1600/Runza20-heaven.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6cuGkHWl_E37N8cKjOu4fF7QdF0GIHCkxriaVlWkWA3OGuv2wal0ZA989sT5oaXJso9ihUMAtnAvtfJ8ztKRbn-USulQdbkR89u2siAUy8ZR9ld1rvwU89kDS_qeHi3xP1OUG/s320/Runza20-heaven.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Well, they look like Runzas, but how do they taste?</td></tr>
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I was so worried, taking that first bite. Could it be possible to have actually recreated the taste?...<br />
<br />
YES! I was stunned. They tasted just as good - dare I say, even better?! - as an authentic Runza. I ended up eating one and a half of these marvelous creations and spent the rest of the evening flying high about my accomplishment.<br />
<br />
And now we have some Runzas in the freezer, just waiting to satisfy those cravings for The Good Life. :)<br />
<br />Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747096555799522127noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15927671.post-53856707497571674032012-06-21T06:09:00.000-05:002012-06-21T07:16:36.319-05:00The Eyes Have ItAs you may recall, Fellan seemed to be having some eyesight problems last year and we took him to have his eyes tested by a <a href="http://acceptingecho.blogspot.com/2011/11/cross-your-fingers.html" target="_blank">special eye doctor</a>. She determined that his eyes weren't working together correctly and prescribed him some prism glasses to use while he was reading or doing school work.<br />
<br />
Well, she wanted Fellan to come back for a follow-up visit sometime in June and we just had that appointment on Monday. Turns out, his eyes are tracking together perfectly now, and he no longer needs to wear his prism glasses. Which is good, because he hasn't been wearing them for the past month and a half or so. I guess he had pretty much figured out that he didn't need them anymore!<br />
<br />
She did say that he's a bit far-sighted now, so she prescribed him some reading glasses for that. We'll have to get that prescription filled pretty soon because Fellan cannot be stopped when it comes to reading. He's become a reading maniac. And it's so nice to see. :)Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747096555799522127noreply@blogger.com0