Braver-Stronger-Smarter

I know we've talked about this before. I was laid off for most of 2009. It was a very difficult time for me personally and I can't even begin to tell you about how much I changed in those 9 months. And all that change was for the better. No regrets.

That Christmas, my Mom gave me the best Christmas gift EVER. The one that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Here's a picture of the wall hanging with the most incredible thing ever on it:

It spoke to Mom when she saw it. It was how she viewed me during that time. Which means she saw in me what I really wanted to see in me.

I look at the picture every day. And every day, it continues to inspire me to be better. To be braver, stronger and smarter.

Two years ago, my father-in-law, Keith, was diagnosed with a form of Lukemia called CLL. Thankfully, Keith continues to fight the disease and has managed to avoid having to go through chemotherapy. He goes to the doctor every other month for more lab work, each time knowing that this may be the time they tell him everything is about to change. That he will have to endure chemo and his hopes of fishing and traveling will have to be put on hold. That bravery and strength will have to take over as he begins the most difficult part of the battle.

In 2010, when Stand Up 2 Cancer became an international phenomenon, Keith knew instantly that it was an organization he believed in. His doctor believes in it and that's where he will donate all his spare dollars to. It is the only organization that gives 100% of funds raised to collaborative cancer research. Most others have tremendous overhead that's paid first.

Over Christmas this year, we were told that this will likely be the year Keith will have to do chemo. I felt an overwhelming need to do something to help. Something to support him. I am not a doctor. I already cook special foods for him. I don't live close enough to transport him around and don't make enough money to hire some help for them. The only thing I knew to do was to support what he believes in. Do my part to help fight his battle. I wanted to give to Keith AND to his chosen organization: Stand Up 2 Cancer.

And to let Keith know that he is not alone in fear and that I know he is as brave as I am, I decided to run a half-marathon. 13.1 miles to show Keith that as a family we are braver than we believe, stronger than we seem and smarter than we think. And that together, we will fight this fight with him.

That's how I formed the Braver-Stronger-Smarter team via Stand Up 2 Cancer to raise funds for the organization. And because I can't ask for money just for the sake of it, I am going to run 13.1 miles to earn it. To be brave. To be strong. And to be smart (that's the fundraiser part, not the running part!).

You will notice the new widget at the side of the blog. It's going to stay there until May 15 when I run the Colfalx Half-Marathon. Every dollar helps.

So, how 'bout it? Will you Stand Up 2 Cancer with me?

Almost Perfect Spanish Rice

I love Spanish Rice. And I eat it whenever it's an option. My earliest memory of having Spanish Rice was when I was really young and all four of us grandkids were at Grandma Melanie's house. And Leslie was there but still allergic to everything and she made Spanish Rice for us. I remember thinking "Spanish Rice comes from far away. She must know how to make this stuff because she can speak French too." I was young enough to be clueless to the world of cookbooks.

By the time I was old enough to ask Grandma for the coveted Spanish Rice recipe, she had already been diabetic for years and the flavor of the rice had changed. Needless to say, she probably never really had a recipe anyway. Although, I heard that my cousin Allisongot her hands on it! But I have something that Allison doesn't have. The Spanish Rice "pan." The significance of which was lost on me until I began to love cooking and appreciate really good cookware!

The infamous Spanish Rice pan is a REALLY old red/orange cast iron Le Creuset pot with a lid. It even says "Made in France" on the bottom! And the Spanish Rice that had been baked in it for 30 years or longer that came with it washed right out...Grandma's eyes were pretty bad. She couldn't see to wash the dishes so I think she just wiped them out. Gross, I know!

I have attempted, and failed miserably) at Spanish rice more than a hundred times. Last night was my first attempt in the special Spanish Rice pan. I don't know if it was luck, the lessons I learned from failed attempts, or maybe Grandma working me through it with the special pan, but it turned out almost perfect.

No recipe, no calls for help, and no cookbooks. Just the perfect pan and a million fond, loving memories of Grandma Melanie. She was the only thing missing that made my Spanish Rice fall short of perfect! I miss her every day but know that she'd be really proud of my Spanish Rice and love of cooking. And she'd be tickled that I love her pan too.

And it was so good, that Chris said it goes on "the list." A pretend list of the foods I will serve the the pretend restaurant I will pretend open someday!

Here's what I did:
Cooked 1 cup brown rice in 2 1/2 cups water with a touch of chicken bullion
It said to cook covered for 40-50 minutes. After about 30 minutes I added a cup and a half of chopped onions.
When the rice was done and onions super soft, I added 2 cups of petite diced tomatoes (from a can-Hunts is my favorite). I had drained the water from them but ended up adding it back in.

I let that hang out over low heat and added a little garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, a little chili powder (not much) and a hint of ground red pepper.

After it was all cooked, I put it in the special Spanish Rice pan and squished up 8 saltine crackers and sprinkled over the top and browned in the broiler. It yields about 5 cups of Spanish Rice and was wonderful as a side dish with our grilled chicken.

It was even better today as a main dish for my lunch! And Chris' too! Two dinners, two lunches, and just enough left over for lunch tomorrow for me...as long as I get to the kitchen first!


p.s. Grandma used to say she was "tickled" a lot. I think that expression really spoke to her and perfectly described how she felt. I get it now. It seemed fitting to use it today.

Bittersweet

It was so wonderful having Mom and Dad here. I wish they lived closer. When they left this morning, it was very bitter sweet...more on the bitter side I guess. We had so much fun and enjoyed each others company so much that it was sad to see them leave knowing that I probably won't see them again until Christmastime. There were a few tears shed. But at the same time, it's good to get back to some sort of routine, even if it is only for a day before I leave for Cleveland.

Here are some of the highlights of the long weekend. By the way, Mom knows about this post, but Dad doesn't and I'd like to keep it that way. Giggle with me, but please don't share or embarrass Dad by telling him you saw this!

1. Dad burned his toast on day one. That's actually become his signature trademark in every place I have ever lived. When I moved to Dallas, he burned it so badly (at 6:00 am on a Saturday) that it set off the smoke alarm and woke my neighbors (they never did like me!). It happens in every house/apartment. And it's been the same toaster for 5 years. You'd think he'd figure it out eventually

2. I made a short timer's calendar for Dad's retirement. When Mom and I went to pick it up at Staples, we saw living irony:
That's right! It's a Salvation Army Donation-pick-up truck that reads "Give. Shop. Help Others" on the side. It was in a strip mall parking lot (shop) getting towed (help others). We had to laugh a little and take a picture.

3. We had some amazing meals. I mean REALLY amazing meals. I am still full. And I have the urge to eat every two hours and rinse it down with a nice glass of wine. That will pass!

4. The theme for most of the weekend was "who has a cooler app for that?" Between our iPhones and Dad's Droid, we had some fun with this. Dad has an app that will show you the star constellations overhead based on your current location. It was pretty cool...Here's Dad showing Mom on our way home from our wonderful (and indulgent) dinner out:

Aren't they the cutest couple ever!

5. We laughed A LOT! I mean all out giggle fest. On Saturday we cooked a turkey on the Weber grill and it was fantastic. We had perfect weather and our deck is in the shade. We went to Home Depot almost every day. Mom and Dad bought us a fire extinguisher for our kitchen. While we were cooking outside (boys) and baking inside (girls) Dad had some peanuts and a glass of wine and unpacked the fire extinguishers for us. Here's what we got:

I am sure none of you are surprised that he did that! I haven't laughed that hard in a long time! This is the picture I would ask that you please not mention to Dad... I'd hate for him to revoke my dad-blogging privileges!


6. We took a cog train to the summit of Pikes Peak (14,110) feet. It was amazing. And here's something that I'll bet you didn't know (or at least I didn't know!). The woman who wrote "America the Beautiful" wrote it after her awe-inspiring stagecoach ride to Pikes Peak. Here are a few of the photos we took.





You think that view's pretty fantastic, but here's my favorite!

A Moment to Breathe

Work has been absolutely insane this week. I worked until almost 7 pm last night, just to get caught up. And it worked. I finally have a moment to breathe (or blog!) before I dive in to the next project due on Tuesday.Mom and I had a great time over the weekend and week. She worked so hard and whipped my house (and me) into shape! Case in point, the family room.

We have always loved that clock! With a few new pieces, this is my favorite room EVER!

We just love our new furniture, and the tables/ottoman

from Mom and Dad make the room perfect!

Then there's our "front room." That's what Grandma Melanie always called her formal living room. Being lazy and not wanting to add "formal" to "living room," and not wanting to confuse the rooms, we have adopted the same terminology. So, I introduce to you, the Front Room.

I know. I should have turned the pillow so the zipper was on the bottom.

And just one more picture for today (it's the last room that's been finished.
The Dining room. Well, I guess we have two of those so you can have two more pictures! You want to come visit and eat in our dining rooms, don't you!








Cute dogs and all!

Ok,this is the kitchen table that we are absolutely in love with! It fits our space perfectly.

Ok, that's the tour of the main floor. I have some work to do upstairs this weekend. Mom and Dad are driving here in September and bringing several pictures for us to hang in the house. Until those arrive I am hesitant to hang anything else. I'd hate to have to have to fill in holes and repaint the spots. Mom and I did enough of that this week! I work hard to get the rest of the house in order and blog the pictures next week!

Until then...

The weekend

I don't have a lot to say other than I am totally procrastinating today. I am really excited for Mom to come tomorrow. And I can't wait to get more of the house "in order" this weekend. Hang some pictures, touch up some paint. It should be a GREAT weekend and I am really looking forward to spending some quality time with Mom.

We are even going to do a girls night out one night. SO excited!!

Insert Clever Title Here

I wanted to start out by saying that I have the greatest blog readers EVER! You all made such great points. And in case you are all curious, Chris and I put our notice in on Saturday. We were informed that on August 24 we will be required to vacate the apartment and turn in our keys by 6:00 pm, regardless of the status of our new home. It's a calculated risk and we are willing to take it!

Then we went and bought a washer and dryer. Of all the things in all the world that I would love to shop for, those appliances don't even make the list. It's difficult to spend money on something I know I will never love. Needless to say, we didn't buy expensive ones. But did opt for new rather than used.

Now for this week. It should be rather busy with several month-end projects to wrap up by Thursday, and my in-laws coming for a visit on Friday afternoon. They'll stay with us through the weekend, then have their own plans for the week. It will be great to see them.

Oh, and my good friend Lisa had her baby on Saturday night. So I should probably add a visit to meet baby Koen one night this week. They also have 17 month old Kyler. For those moms out there, if I make a dinner to take to them, what should I make for a munchkin? I know that he likes graham crackers, macaroni and cheese and pickles. Maybe I'll just take those things!

I hope everyone has a great week!