Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
GRANDMA C IS 75!!
Grandpa conceived of and orchestrated an elaborate plot to celebrate Grandma's 75th Birthday which happened on 7/17/09. This involved covertly arranging for me (and whoever could make it) to come to Nevada and show up unannounced to surprise Grandma C. I was sure she'd catch on and figure that something was up, but Grandpa was a sly fox and kept everything on the down low!
My flight arrived at 5:30 pm and one of G&G's best friends Pat Benke picked me up, with the plan to be the flower delivery lady. Grandpa had ordered a beautiful bouquet:
And Grandma was VERY surprised! I came in via the side route, so Grandma wouldn't see me sneaking in. I rang the doorbell and then rang again, then rang again. The look on Grandma's face began as annoyance (who keeps ringing the doorbell FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!) and then utter disbelief! Grandpa meanwhile was in the background tearing up! It was awesome! Grandma just sort of sputtered greetings!
Because Grandma was completely caught off guard, she was still in "stay at home and relax" attire & hairdo, so she got wisked away to the "beauty parlor" to prepare for Bruce & Pat and Olive Benke to come over a few minutes later for some 75th Birthday celebration cheer. We enjoyed birthday revelry and toasted to a 3/4 century birthday for Grandma. And drank wine! The Benke's are truly family.
This is Grandma C (aka GeeGee) the next night all dolled up ready to go for steak & lobster at the Hacienda Casino (in Boulder City), down by the Lake:
We were expecting to be just our little clan, Grandpa, Grandma & me, but when we arrived at the restaurant, there were Bruce, Pat & Olive awaiting. What a surprise! It was just fantastic, and then there was the great food! Steak & Lobster for Grandma & a beautiful Parfait (the diet went completely out the window!)
The birthday celebration just went on & on. Art sent flowers:
There were lots of cards from family & friends. We talked to Lanie, Jess & Joey on the phone & Bill & Lois called, as did Rose Marie. The most touching call was from Aidan, who said "I love you GeeGee" and made Grandma cry. Here is a picture of the little one who makes Grandmas everywhere tear up:
We also had lots of fun just hangin around (like we always do). Grandma & I got to do some beading which is always a blast:
And of course we went shopping! We hit Fry's and Trader Joes and Bed Bath & Beyond. Our shopping mojo was a little dampened by the fact it was 118 degrees. So we all agreed to do double shopping with the next visit. (Right Grandpa?) :-)
And apart from the decadent birthday dinner, we were good little boys and girls on our "all-healthy-all-the-time-diets". This was to die for (One Pot Chicken). You can tell just by looking at it how fantastic it is!
In summary, it was just a wonderful time together in every way.
Happy Birthday Grandma C!! We love you!
My flight arrived at 5:30 pm and one of G&G's best friends Pat Benke picked me up, with the plan to be the flower delivery lady. Grandpa had ordered a beautiful bouquet:
And Grandma was VERY surprised! I came in via the side route, so Grandma wouldn't see me sneaking in. I rang the doorbell and then rang again, then rang again. The look on Grandma's face began as annoyance (who keeps ringing the doorbell FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!) and then utter disbelief! Grandpa meanwhile was in the background tearing up! It was awesome! Grandma just sort of sputtered greetings!
Because Grandma was completely caught off guard, she was still in "stay at home and relax" attire & hairdo, so she got wisked away to the "beauty parlor" to prepare for Bruce & Pat and Olive Benke to come over a few minutes later for some 75th Birthday celebration cheer. We enjoyed birthday revelry and toasted to a 3/4 century birthday for Grandma. And drank wine! The Benke's are truly family.
This is Grandma C (aka GeeGee) the next night all dolled up ready to go for steak & lobster at the Hacienda Casino (in Boulder City), down by the Lake:
We were expecting to be just our little clan, Grandpa, Grandma & me, but when we arrived at the restaurant, there were Bruce, Pat & Olive awaiting. What a surprise! It was just fantastic, and then there was the great food! Steak & Lobster for Grandma & a beautiful Parfait (the diet went completely out the window!)
The birthday celebration just went on & on. Art sent flowers:
There were lots of cards from family & friends. We talked to Lanie, Jess & Joey on the phone & Bill & Lois called, as did Rose Marie. The most touching call was from Aidan, who said "I love you GeeGee" and made Grandma cry. Here is a picture of the little one who makes Grandmas everywhere tear up:
We also had lots of fun just hangin around (like we always do). Grandma & I got to do some beading which is always a blast:
And of course we went shopping! We hit Fry's and Trader Joes and Bed Bath & Beyond. Our shopping mojo was a little dampened by the fact it was 118 degrees. So we all agreed to do double shopping with the next visit. (Right Grandpa?) :-)
And apart from the decadent birthday dinner, we were good little boys and girls on our "all-healthy-all-the-time-diets". This was to die for (One Pot Chicken). You can tell just by looking at it how fantastic it is!
In summary, it was just a wonderful time together in every way.
Happy Birthday Grandma C!! We love you!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
For this boy I prayed . . .
"For this boy I prayed, and the Lord granted my request." I Samuel 1:27"
I read this quote on McMamma's blog (Stellan's name page) and I was reminded of sitting in a rocking chair in the upstairs corner room in the house on Laurel street, rocking Lanie and praying for Grandpa W (who was not in very good shape at the time) and praying for a baby boy.
It makes me weepy to remember. But I was blessed with such an amazingly wonderful little boy who has grown to be a young man that I am so very proud of.
Momma
I read this quote on McMamma's blog (Stellan's name page) and I was reminded of sitting in a rocking chair in the upstairs corner room in the house on Laurel street, rocking Lanie and praying for Grandpa W (who was not in very good shape at the time) and praying for a baby boy.
It makes me weepy to remember. But I was blessed with such an amazingly wonderful little boy who has grown to be a young man that I am so very proud of.
Momma
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Ca, Lanie & Joe --remember this? HAHAHAHAHAH
I swear I never spent good money on this. Nor did I do this religiously for months on end.
But, I did find my old "logs" and apparently I did lose inches doing it. Of course my usual starvation diet de jour probably had more to do with the inch loss than anything.
I think I still have the tapes somewhere--Jess, whadayousay? Want to do "BodyFlex" wit yo momma?
hahaha!
But, I did find my old "logs" and apparently I did lose inches doing it. Of course my usual starvation diet de jour probably had more to do with the inch loss than anything.
I think I still have the tapes somewhere--Jess, whadayousay? Want to do "BodyFlex" wit yo momma?
hahaha!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Christmas at Grandma & Grandpa C's
How wonderful to be with people you love, especially during the holidays. Grandma & Grandpa invited me to spend Christmas with them this year while the rest of the fam was knee deep in "life". So I got to sneak away for a wonderful 5 days of relaxation and shopping and playing. Does it get any better than that?
Short answer: No.
One of the things Gee Gee (aka Grandma C) excels at is making Christmas warm and bright. She always has! We had a lovely turkey dinner and opened cards and homemade presents from Aidan! We are so grateful to have such a loving family that is growing! (Jessica: YOU'RE DOIN IT RIGHT!!!) I get teared up when I remember our little group of 3 around the dinner table raising our glasses to toast the holiday and express our gratitude to get to be together for another Christmas. There's nothing like family! Grandma's Christmas tree is well, untraditional, but nonetheless, festive, and it was way more than was going on at my house, so I'll call it very "christmasy". There were gifts from Aidan and lovely cards that awaited opening on Christmas day (which actually turned out to be not exactly Christmas day (it's a long story), but we are an airline family, so there really is no such thing as "Christmas Day", it's "whatever works". HAHA.
We got to go see Bruce and Pat Benke, two of the coolest people on the planet, but this only stands to reason, because they have the DNA of THE coolest person of all: Bill Benke. (Bill, we miss you so.) Olive was there and was looking strong, which thrilled my heart, because it's been a bit of a tough row to hoe for her lately. It was so wonderful to see her in such good spirits. Bruce showed me a power point presentation (once an exec, always an exec) of a trip they made to the Holy Land and I of course, invited myself to go with them on their next trip. (I'm slowly learning social graces and protocols, but haven't really "arrived" in that dept yet. Sigh.) But anyway, the dinner Pat put on was Mexican and was GREAT. Here's the recipe. Be prepared to be WOWed.
"KING RANCH CHICKEN
Cook 1 large fryer. Bone and cut into bite-sized pieces. Soak 12 corn tortillas in boiling chicken stock until wilted (Don't leave too long as they'll fall apart.) Place layer of tortillas in a 9x12 baking dish. Layer chicken pieces over this. Then add in this order:
1 large chopped onion, sautéed if you want it softer (I don't)
½ lb. Grated cheddar cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
Sprinkle garlic salt
1 can diced green chilies
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Crush and pour 1 can tomatoes with green chilies on top. Bake 30 minutes at 375 degrees. Serves 6"
Also, did you know that Grandma C is the best cook ever? In case you didn't realize this, the only reason I love to cook is because Grandma & Grandpa were my biggest cheerleaders when I was "experimenting" with cooking as a teenager. They threw all kinds of $$ into this (can you say, Time-Life auto renew Foods of the World Cookbook Set, I think I'm still getting those books every month, 35+ years later at $25 bucks a pop). Seriously though, what kind of parents would invite all of their friends over to be guinea pigs for their daughter's hopeful Chinese dinner (neither tried nor true). What risk takers! Anyway, did you know that Grandma C helped me peel 2,000 tiny black canned beans? This was because there were no "asian" grocery stores to buy specialty chinese "bean paste" in Boulder City Nevada in 1972. It was kinda "the sticks" back then. (Actually, I had no idea then what real "sticks" was. The entire state of Nebraska is what I could consider to be the ultimate "sticks". But I digress.) So it was a huge dinner party for G & Gs friends and I wore a silk kimono and was so exhausted from all the bean peeling I could barely enjoy the party. But the food was surprisingly good. I can't claim any sort of authenticity (with the exception of the kimono imported from one of my Dad's trips to Tokyo, but I have a recollection of it being different, unique and actually tasty! In other words a big success and I've loved cooking ever since. (I guess that makes me a recognition junkie?) I wish my memory would incude the actual menu! I just remember the "bean paste". HAHA.
So that leads me up to where I was originally going with this, and that is that we had such fantastic meals every day while I stayed at G&Gs. My favorite, shrimp curry, was, as usual, spectacular. For those not "in the loop" about the best dish ever invented, it is a milder, curried form of Pappadeaux's Shrimp Ettouffe. Heaven on a dish,to be honest. Here is a picture:
A close second is of course, Grandpa's Costco steaks: seared, medium-rare. OMG.
But the real jewel this year was the bar-b-qued turkey that Grandpa made on Grandpa's 27+ year old Sears Kenmore gas grill. A grill that is so crusted over with the remnants of a bazillion Christmas' past & dinner parties past, that it is barely recognizable. Of course it is the deep layered crusting that makes everything that comes out of it so INCREDIBLE. You can't buy this with all the money in the world. Although Grandma has already found one on eBay, and I'm seriously considering it, my hesitation is that I want G&G's crusties, not some strangers' crusties. (It's a family thing, amen?)
So here's a picture of the what will, I'm sure be handed down for generations:
And here's a picture of the master chef and THE Christmas BIRD. Wonderful.
We had a lovely dinner set on a lovely Christmas table and the holiday really was warm and bright!
Another fun thing we did was something called Skype. Skype is an internet program which makes video conferencing possible with people who live somewhere other than where you are, i.e., DALLAS. And because of this, we got to see Lanie, Joey & John, just for a few minutes, but oh, it was so precious. WE LOVE YOU SKYPE. We want more skyping with everyone. So clean up, put your shirts on and GET ONLINE!
Aother BIG DEAL was the shopping spree that those present at holiday time get to partake of when they visit Grandpa. It is a tradition. (And a wonderful one I might add). This year's trip was to Fry's (in year's past it has been to Crate & Barrel, Nebraska Furniture Mart, Chipperfield's Sears in Wahoo, Hinky Dinky, and I could go on and on and on and on.) We hauled away quite a bundle of electronic "toys".
The reason you don't see us in the above picture is because we are inside doing some serious damage to Grandpa's checking account!
Also, while I was G&G's guest, I got to stay in the "apartment", which is a 5 star suite for VIPS only. I was so very comfy. (I was not permitted to pee however. Well, actually, I was, but only briefly, 'cause it would be using up precious black water area for Quartzsite. After so much Reisling, of course, I simply could not comply with this rule. The outcome of this indiscretion was that Grandpa had to do an extra dump and fill at Quartzsite. Sorry Grandpa! But I really couldn't help it.) When it was time to "tuck in" each night I would open up the Truth for Life website and drift off to the incredible teaching of Allister Begg. One of the nights I literally sobbed till I couldn't breathe, his preaching was so powerful. Wireless internet is a WONDERFUL thing. It was the first time I had online access in the motorhome, and everybody that knows me knows that the internet is BIG in my life! So now I have this plush warm private apartment, the best preacher in the known universe, a full tummy, a pleasant Reiling buzz and the prospect of repeating it all again tomorrow. Oh my gosh, it was heaven on earth. No work, no worry, no stress. Just play.
Can I come again next year? (After revealing the details about Christmas at G&Gs there may be a mob next year!).
Love you guys,
Next post QUARTZSITE (probably in June at this rate!).
Caren
Short answer: No.
One of the things Gee Gee (aka Grandma C) excels at is making Christmas warm and bright. She always has! We had a lovely turkey dinner and opened cards and homemade presents from Aidan! We are so grateful to have such a loving family that is growing! (Jessica: YOU'RE DOIN IT RIGHT!!!) I get teared up when I remember our little group of 3 around the dinner table raising our glasses to toast the holiday and express our gratitude to get to be together for another Christmas. There's nothing like family! Grandma's Christmas tree is well, untraditional, but nonetheless, festive, and it was way more than was going on at my house, so I'll call it very "christmasy". There were gifts from Aidan and lovely cards that awaited opening on Christmas day (which actually turned out to be not exactly Christmas day (it's a long story), but we are an airline family, so there really is no such thing as "Christmas Day", it's "whatever works". HAHA.
We got to go see Bruce and Pat Benke, two of the coolest people on the planet, but this only stands to reason, because they have the DNA of THE coolest person of all: Bill Benke. (Bill, we miss you so.) Olive was there and was looking strong, which thrilled my heart, because it's been a bit of a tough row to hoe for her lately. It was so wonderful to see her in such good spirits. Bruce showed me a power point presentation (once an exec, always an exec) of a trip they made to the Holy Land and I of course, invited myself to go with them on their next trip. (I'm slowly learning social graces and protocols, but haven't really "arrived" in that dept yet. Sigh.) But anyway, the dinner Pat put on was Mexican and was GREAT. Here's the recipe. Be prepared to be WOWed.
"KING RANCH CHICKEN
Cook 1 large fryer. Bone and cut into bite-sized pieces. Soak 12 corn tortillas in boiling chicken stock until wilted (Don't leave too long as they'll fall apart.) Place layer of tortillas in a 9x12 baking dish. Layer chicken pieces over this. Then add in this order:
1 large chopped onion, sautéed if you want it softer (I don't)
½ lb. Grated cheddar cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
Sprinkle garlic salt
1 can diced green chilies
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Crush and pour 1 can tomatoes with green chilies on top. Bake 30 minutes at 375 degrees. Serves 6"
Also, did you know that Grandma C is the best cook ever? In case you didn't realize this, the only reason I love to cook is because Grandma & Grandpa were my biggest cheerleaders when I was "experimenting" with cooking as a teenager. They threw all kinds of $$ into this (can you say, Time-Life auto renew Foods of the World Cookbook Set, I think I'm still getting those books every month, 35+ years later at $25 bucks a pop). Seriously though, what kind of parents would invite all of their friends over to be guinea pigs for their daughter's hopeful Chinese dinner (neither tried nor true). What risk takers! Anyway, did you know that Grandma C helped me peel 2,000 tiny black canned beans? This was because there were no "asian" grocery stores to buy specialty chinese "bean paste" in Boulder City Nevada in 1972. It was kinda "the sticks" back then. (Actually, I had no idea then what real "sticks" was. The entire state of Nebraska is what I could consider to be the ultimate "sticks". But I digress.) So it was a huge dinner party for G & Gs friends and I wore a silk kimono and was so exhausted from all the bean peeling I could barely enjoy the party. But the food was surprisingly good. I can't claim any sort of authenticity (with the exception of the kimono imported from one of my Dad's trips to Tokyo, but I have a recollection of it being different, unique and actually tasty! In other words a big success and I've loved cooking ever since. (I guess that makes me a recognition junkie?) I wish my memory would incude the actual menu! I just remember the "bean paste". HAHA.
So that leads me up to where I was originally going with this, and that is that we had such fantastic meals every day while I stayed at G&Gs. My favorite, shrimp curry, was, as usual, spectacular. For those not "in the loop" about the best dish ever invented, it is a milder, curried form of Pappadeaux's Shrimp Ettouffe. Heaven on a dish,to be honest. Here is a picture:
A close second is of course, Grandpa's Costco steaks: seared, medium-rare. OMG.
But the real jewel this year was the bar-b-qued turkey that Grandpa made on Grandpa's 27+ year old Sears Kenmore gas grill. A grill that is so crusted over with the remnants of a bazillion Christmas' past & dinner parties past, that it is barely recognizable. Of course it is the deep layered crusting that makes everything that comes out of it so INCREDIBLE. You can't buy this with all the money in the world. Although Grandma has already found one on eBay, and I'm seriously considering it, my hesitation is that I want G&G's crusties, not some strangers' crusties. (It's a family thing, amen?)
So here's a picture of the what will, I'm sure be handed down for generations:
And here's a picture of the master chef and THE Christmas BIRD. Wonderful.
We had a lovely dinner set on a lovely Christmas table and the holiday really was warm and bright!
Another fun thing we did was something called Skype. Skype is an internet program which makes video conferencing possible with people who live somewhere other than where you are, i.e., DALLAS. And because of this, we got to see Lanie, Joey & John, just for a few minutes, but oh, it was so precious. WE LOVE YOU SKYPE. We want more skyping with everyone. So clean up, put your shirts on and GET ONLINE!
Aother BIG DEAL was the shopping spree that those present at holiday time get to partake of when they visit Grandpa. It is a tradition. (And a wonderful one I might add). This year's trip was to Fry's (in year's past it has been to Crate & Barrel, Nebraska Furniture Mart, Chipperfield's Sears in Wahoo, Hinky Dinky, and I could go on and on and on and on.) We hauled away quite a bundle of electronic "toys".
The reason you don't see us in the above picture is because we are inside doing some serious damage to Grandpa's checking account!
Also, while I was G&G's guest, I got to stay in the "apartment", which is a 5 star suite for VIPS only. I was so very comfy. (I was not permitted to pee however. Well, actually, I was, but only briefly, 'cause it would be using up precious black water area for Quartzsite. After so much Reisling, of course, I simply could not comply with this rule. The outcome of this indiscretion was that Grandpa had to do an extra dump and fill at Quartzsite. Sorry Grandpa! But I really couldn't help it.) When it was time to "tuck in" each night I would open up the Truth for Life website and drift off to the incredible teaching of Allister Begg. One of the nights I literally sobbed till I couldn't breathe, his preaching was so powerful. Wireless internet is a WONDERFUL thing. It was the first time I had online access in the motorhome, and everybody that knows me knows that the internet is BIG in my life! So now I have this plush warm private apartment, the best preacher in the known universe, a full tummy, a pleasant Reiling buzz and the prospect of repeating it all again tomorrow. Oh my gosh, it was heaven on earth. No work, no worry, no stress. Just play.
Can I come again next year? (After revealing the details about Christmas at G&Gs there may be a mob next year!).
Love you guys,
Next post QUARTZSITE (probably in June at this rate!).
Caren
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Saturday, January 3, 2009
I HAZ PACKAGE!
So, I'm at work like any other Friday, and afterwards, I stop at target to pick up some New Year's resolution diet food and to check out their sale purses, cause mine has had it. While I'm there, I get a text message from Lanie: "You haz package?"
I reply "I no haz package". Next mssg: "UPS says you do".
So now, I'm rushing home cause "I haz package".
Sure enough:
Upon closer inspection I notice it is from John:
And I'm wondering? WTH?
So I open.
!!!!
And there's dis card.
And now I'm bawling. I can barely make out the words "COACH".
And then I think, "no it can't be, it's just a pretty Coach box that Lanie has from buying something she probably shouldn't have, but I'm also starting to have butterflies in my stomach, because well, maybe, no . . . can't be.
Then, I openz:
And there is wrapping paper with little "c's" all over it and a gold sticker that says "Coach". Now the butterflies are in full out freak mode and starting to make their way up . . . and my cheeks are wet and my nose is running
OMG, I felt like Carrie Bradshaw when Aleksandr gave her the bazillion dollar designer dress with the big bow on the box and she was completely swept away.
Thank you girls and Joey. The best surprises are the ones that really are completely unexpected. (And floor you). What a huge surprise and I'm still overwhelmed by this generous gift. Thank you thank you thank you.
Love you all,
Mommy, Momma & Mom
P.S. Thank you.
I reply "I no haz package". Next mssg: "UPS says you do".
So now, I'm rushing home cause "I haz package".
Sure enough:
Upon closer inspection I notice it is from John:
And I'm wondering? WTH?
So I open.
!!!!
And there's dis card.
And now I'm bawling. I can barely make out the words "COACH".
And then I think, "no it can't be, it's just a pretty Coach box that Lanie has from buying something she probably shouldn't have, but I'm also starting to have butterflies in my stomach, because well, maybe, no . . . can't be.
Then, I openz:
And there is wrapping paper with little "c's" all over it and a gold sticker that says "Coach". Now the butterflies are in full out freak mode and starting to make their way up . . . and my cheeks are wet and my nose is running
OMG, I felt like Carrie Bradshaw when Aleksandr gave her the bazillion dollar designer dress with the big bow on the box and she was completely swept away.
Thank you girls and Joey. The best surprises are the ones that really are completely unexpected. (And floor you). What a huge surprise and I'm still overwhelmed by this generous gift. Thank you thank you thank you.
Love you all,
Mommy, Momma & Mom
P.S. Thank you.
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