Lara and Laura!

Hey guys, the next Cooking Craze night is Jan. 9th (Tues) at 6:00 p.m. If either of you want to join us just sign up online or give me a call!

Computers and Cameras and Cables-Oh My!

So, we've definitely slacked on the pictures lately. It seems like a drag to make a post without a picture, but it has been awhile so I wanted to post something. We took the digital camera into Best Buy last night. It works fine, but the USB port was not registering (we've tried 3 computers) so we can't upload any pictures. I'm glad we got the service plan on the camera when we bought it 3 years ago (it's a 4 year service plan) because it was sent in for repairs (for free). If the problem cannot be fixed, we receive the purchase price of the camera (from 3 years ago) to put towards a new camera. The store tech seemed to think that with the age of the camera it will probably be junked and we can pick out a new one. We do have the memory card so if it can't be fixed we didn't lose any pictures. Fingers crossed...For now I'm going to hold off on a Christmas blog post. I want to get the pictures on when I post it.

Engagement Pictures

We went and got engagement pictures taken tonight. They were digital so we got to see a few right away. Looks like we got some good ones, hopefully. We want to send a save-the-date card after the new year with a picture on it. If you are reading this we assume you are a friend or family member so please email us your current address to help with mailing. Remember, if you don't give us your address we will track you down! Also, if there is someone who you think we might forget who would want a pic please speak up. Thanks everyone!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Andy!!

Northern Lights

Got a phone call last night from a co-worker who lives 45 minutes from DBQ. She was telling me to go outside to see the Northern Lights. From our front yard we could only see a little glow so we hopped into the Jeep and drove out of town (and away from the glow of everyone's Christmas lights) to Sherill. From up on the ridge the view was amazing. The changing cloud cover kept changing the view too. We then drove down to Mud Lake and looked at them a little bit over the Mississippi, but by then the clouds had totally moved in. We then went to get a chili dog from this greasy bar we hadn't eaten at probably since college. Melissa, I hate to disappoint you...eating the chili dogs sober was not just bad, but actually gross. Kind of ruined the whole experience. I don't know if we will ever crave them again...

Blood Diamond

This one says "Worth-Just because you're necessary, doesn't mean you're important."

This one says "Meetings-None of us is as dumb as all of us."

In tribute to the movie Blood Diamond I thought I'd post a clip about diamonds courtesy of our friend Ross' webpage. There are plenty more of these found at the sites www.ishkur.com/posters and www.despair.com

I also posted a few more funny ones. Enjoy and thanks Ross!

Get your hair did

This morning I went and got my hair cut for the first time since before Andrew's accident. The woman who cuts it was shocked to see how long it had gotten. I knew I wanted it quite a bit shorter. I had been letting it grow simply because not going to get it cut or colored was an easy way to save $. Well, I ended up getting eight inches cut off. If I could have gone for two more inches I could have donated it to the hair charity Locks of Love. It may seem crazy, but I think I feel lighter on my feet, maybe the hair was weighing me down. I think Andrew wants a change of appearance too. Tonight he tried to put an earring into his once pierced ears...to his surprise and my horror, the earring slid right in. He looked at it for a minute before removing it. I don't think earrings will be on his Christmas list this year.

The Cooking Craze

Verna and I did the coolest thing last night, I'm really excited about it. We went to The Cooking Craze in Asbury. Each month the cooking craze has a new menu with 12 meals on it. You register to cook 6 or 12 meals and when you get there they have 12 stations with all the ingredients at each station. They provide not just the obvious things like aprons, etc., but also soft drinks and snacks. They also give you disposable aluminum pans and freezer bags to put your meals in. We each did 6 meals, but since each meal serves 4-6 people we divided them up even more and made about 10 meals apiece. Most of the recipes weren't too complicated, although the meatballs Verna made appeared to have quite a few ingredients. It really is a fun way to try to cook some new things without having to buy ingredients you won't use again. Three new things Andrew and I will be trying: Mahi Mahi Maui Style, Top 40 Ribs, and Stuffed Chicken Alfredo Shells. The cost of all this...if takeout Chinese or pizza costs us $5-$10 a serving, by comparison the cooking craze runs $2.75 a serving. I must say, it really is a good feeling to be driving home and know that the backseat of your car is full of meals. Next month: Seafood Enchiladas and Philly Cheese Steaks, Yum! Lara, tax season is right around the corner...I think you and Jeremy would really like this.

The new way to buy groceries?

On Sunday night I went online to our grocery store website and entered our shopping list. I uploaded it to the Hy-Vee website and on Monday @ 4:00 we went to the store. I went inside, they wheeled the cart up to me said that will be $5, and then I took the groceries and we left. It's a pretty cool service that I don't think we would use if we just needed a couple things, but we had purchased $90 in groceries! It ended up saving us at least an hour, plus the website saves your list so next time we can just hit buy milk, buy cheese, etc. and it knows your brands, sizes, etc. Not too bad. The only downside: two of the avocados and the cilantro we purchased weren't the greatest. Also, we didn't get the impulse buys ie. cookie dough, ice cream, rice krispie treats, all the stuff you don't need, but ends up in your cart. Call us lazy, but I think we are on to something good.

In my defense it wasn't our local branch...

We took the dog and ran some errands last night after work. Andrew was driving and we went through the drive-up at the bank. After the transaction was completed, the teller said, "Oh, I didn't see your little guy, would he like a sticker?" Andrew looked at the backseat puzzled, perhaps wondering what a dog would want with a sticker and I started to laugh. She was talking about me! I pulled off my stocking hat (gray with our work logo on it) to reveal my ponytail and the teller shrieked, "I'm so sorry!" She repeated herself like four times and by now the other two tellers had looked and were laughing too. Andrew said, "No she doesn't want a sticker" and with that we drove off. I haven't been mistaken for a little boy in over 15 years, but whatever. I can laugh about it now.