Maybe my working from home is killing my reading. I don't seem to get through as many books as I used to when I would have to commute every day. :-)
In March I read Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. It is the story of one man's mission to educate children, especially girls, in Central Asia. He began this mission in the mid 1990's. After 9/11, this mission became more crucial, as Greg believes education is the best way to fight terrorism.
I highly, highly recommend this book and learning more about this organization.
https://www.ikat.org/
It is a true story that shows how one person's sacrifice and hard work can truly make a difference in the world. If this story does not motivate you to dream and keep working on a goal, I'm not sure if anything else could.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Precious Time
Last weekend I had the privilege of being able to visit MN and spend time with my parents and grandparents. (I also had the chance to squeeze in some tax-free shopping and see Kerry and Dave too!)
The time with my Zumwalde grandparents was complete with talking, card playing, some church time, and dinner. They are just too cute for words and I can't believe they still live at home by themselves. And people wonder where I get my independence from?!?!
The time with my Zumwalde grandparents was complete with talking, card playing, some church time, and dinner. They are just too cute for words and I can't believe they still live at home by themselves. And people wonder where I get my independence from?!?!
Card playing is always a must with these grandparents and there were a couple of memorable moments with my grandmother. She always is the scorekeeper, and it was quite humorous when after one round of play she began to update scores. I happened to glance over and saw that in my previous round I had a 44, but when grandma "added" my new score, I was brought down to 32. Hmmm, that's now how I remember scoring for Up & Down the River. I totally called her out on it and we had a good laugh. Then at another point in the game, my mom, my grandpa and I all had 2 cards in our hand, but grandma only had 1. And she had dealt that round. Hmmm, maybe grandma was not up to par in playing cards that day, but we sure had some good laughs.
After dinner, we then went to Cold Spring to visit with my Grandma Zenner. Again there was much chatting, a little dessert and irish coffee. This was the first time that I remember watching irish coffee being made where the sugar and whiskey is mixed together and set on fire. It's a patient process. We spent the night with my grandma and had a wonderful breakfast before I was back on my way to Chicago. 
My favorite quote from my grandmother was during her storytelling of going to a local restaurant. Apparently the food is fabulous, but they can't make a drink to save their life. It's gotten to the point where her and her friends have drinks before going to dinner there. Anyway, apparently they flunked on her drink and she was like "How the hell do you screw up a vodka tonic?" Oh my mercy. And people wonder where I get my snobby drinking from!?!?!
Such good times. Such precious times.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
St. Patrick's Day Celebrations
As most of you know, whenever St. Patrick's Day falls on a weekday, Chicago celebrates the weekend prior. So the big celebration was on Saturday. This Irish lass did not disappoint. I started the day with a bloody mary at my friend Janet's. We then went to O'Leary's for a private breakfast party. Complete with dressed up hosts, a breakfast buffet, a band, and Guinness already on tap. Yep, I was on my 2nd Guinness when the clock struck 9am.
Around 10:30am we then wandered outside to see where the day would take us. It was a rather cold, dreary, and misty day, so we decided to skip the river dying and found us another cozy pub. We sidled up to the bar at Pepper Cannister and were greeted by Ivan, the Irish bartender and Tony, the Australian at the bar. We almost walked out when I received my Guinness, because 1) they were only serving in plastic cups (the horror) and 2) it was served in a Bud Light cup. Please. I had words with Ivan. And he grudgingly obliged to pour it into a different non-Bud Light cup. All was right in the world again.
As late afternoon rolled around, we found our way closer to home at The Fieldhouse. We caught up with most of the crew from the breakfast party and enjoyed swapping stories from the day. But as the clock approached 6pm, it was time to tap out. So I was back home and in bed about 6:15pm.
Such a wonderful day.
So I had two casualties from the day.
1. I dropped my camera for the last time around 8am and it busted. I had saved all the pictures that were on it, so that camera found it's way to the garbage. I'm now on the hunt for a new camera - yipee!
I have to wait to get photos from Janet before I can post them - so come back in a week or so!
2. I had painted my fingernails green and put rhinestones on them. I made the mistake to do my nails that morning during the bloody mary, and unfortunately, the rhinestones would not stick. We had a good laugh throughout the day as I would realize I had lost another 1 or 2 rhinestones. It's the little things.
When yesterday rolled around, I still had no set plans for celebrating, but that quickly changed. Around 4:30 I opened my last bottle of Guinness 250. I had saved one bottle just for St. Patrick's Day, and it did not disappoint.
From there, I met up with some friends for dinner and then when they had to go to their bowling league, I decided to go along as a spectator. Well, the league needed subs, so a couple of us filled in and had a wonderful time celebrating the holiday with old and new friends. Awesome.
I hope you were all able to celebrate with family and friends!
Around 10:30am we then wandered outside to see where the day would take us. It was a rather cold, dreary, and misty day, so we decided to skip the river dying and found us another cozy pub. We sidled up to the bar at Pepper Cannister and were greeted by Ivan, the Irish bartender and Tony, the Australian at the bar. We almost walked out when I received my Guinness, because 1) they were only serving in plastic cups (the horror) and 2) it was served in a Bud Light cup. Please. I had words with Ivan. And he grudgingly obliged to pour it into a different non-Bud Light cup. All was right in the world again.
As late afternoon rolled around, we found our way closer to home at The Fieldhouse. We caught up with most of the crew from the breakfast party and enjoyed swapping stories from the day. But as the clock approached 6pm, it was time to tap out. So I was back home and in bed about 6:15pm.
Such a wonderful day.
So I had two casualties from the day.
1. I dropped my camera for the last time around 8am and it busted. I had saved all the pictures that were on it, so that camera found it's way to the garbage. I'm now on the hunt for a new camera - yipee!
I have to wait to get photos from Janet before I can post them - so come back in a week or so!
2. I had painted my fingernails green and put rhinestones on them. I made the mistake to do my nails that morning during the bloody mary, and unfortunately, the rhinestones would not stick. We had a good laugh throughout the day as I would realize I had lost another 1 or 2 rhinestones. It's the little things.
When yesterday rolled around, I still had no set plans for celebrating, but that quickly changed. Around 4:30 I opened my last bottle of Guinness 250. I had saved one bottle just for St. Patrick's Day, and it did not disappoint.
From there, I met up with some friends for dinner and then when they had to go to their bowling league, I decided to go along as a spectator. Well, the league needed subs, so a couple of us filled in and had a wonderful time celebrating the holiday with old and new friends. Awesome.
I hope you were all able to celebrate with family and friends!
Spring!
I'm not even going to think about the fact that we're supposed to get snow over the weekend, because when I walked outside today, it smells like spring/summer. Things growing, the warm sun, fresh breathable air.
Yes!
Yes!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Congratulations Cousin Tim
I couldn't help but post this email I received this week about my cousin Tim, from his proud parents.
Tim was among a select group of Army junior officers NATIONWIDE to receive this award! In fact, he was 1 out of 6 in the Army National Guard to receive this award. Go Tim!!
Go to the following website to read more about the award and see Tim's name under Army National Guard:
http://www.armyg1.army.mil/macarthur/default.asp
The objective of the award is to recognize company grade officers who demonstrate the ideals for which General MacArthur stood - duty, honor, country. The award promotes and sustains effective junior officer leadership in the Army.
Please continue to keep Tim and all of our service men and women in your thoughts and prayers!
Tim was among a select group of Army junior officers NATIONWIDE to receive this award! In fact, he was 1 out of 6 in the Army National Guard to receive this award. Go Tim!!
Go to the following website to read more about the award and see Tim's name under Army National Guard:
http://www.armyg1.army.mil/macarthur/default.asp
The objective of the award is to recognize company grade officers who demonstrate the ideals for which General MacArthur stood - duty, honor, country. The award promotes and sustains effective junior officer leadership in the Army.
Please continue to keep Tim and all of our service men and women in your thoughts and prayers!
Recipe: Ranch Potatoes
This recipe is courtesy of my sister-in-law, Andrea. Delicious.
6-8 medium red potatoes (quarter, boil and mash)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/4 cup crumbled bacon
2 tablespoons parsley
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Stir mashed potatoes with the mixture and put in a 9x13 pan.
Top the mashed potatoes with a mixture of:
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 cups corn flakes
1/4 cup butter
Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.
6-8 medium red potatoes (quarter, boil and mash)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/4 cup crumbled bacon
2 tablespoons parsley
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Stir mashed potatoes with the mixture and put in a 9x13 pan.
Top the mashed potatoes with a mixture of:
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 cups corn flakes
1/4 cup butter
Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.
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