Not a Post for The Vegetarian

They get some frequent billing on this here blog....our great friends the Yoders. It's because we spend lots of time with that wonderful family. We spend alot of time hanging out at our houses and considering they are 8 houses down, it's a nice quick trip for either family. It's usually low key and casual and that's just like we like it!!

Our kids and their kids play beautifully...most of the time (Lilly can get a little bossy with Courtney and we're working on that); most everytime we get together, the 4 bigger kids run off to play for hours and hours and the adults are able to enjoy an evening without alot of refereeing and intervention. Then there's sweet baby Charlie who just smiles, eats and sleeps so all in all, it's a great match. We're also in cahoots with them on a little project that's underway - it's a secret for now, you'll just have to wait and see. Joe and Brian have good fun together as do Katie and I. We have quite alot in common -- we all love to cook and eat so most every plan we make involves a meal and well.....meat!!

Brian is the grill master...he's got every outdoor cooking mechanism imaginable...gas, charcoal, smoker, turkey fryer.....and on many occasions, there have been multiple ones in use on the same night.

So recently Brian and Katie watched Food Inc....and learned alot about cows and chickens and how they are raised and fed before well, you know....they eventually end up in the case at Publix. We'll skip the details there....I think you know.

Last Saturday we got together for a Meat Taste Test...chicken and beef....the details of each were kept top secret so a fair assessment could be made. We rated each on texture and flavor and compared our results. The results were fairly consistent across the board and the verdict is in....

Chicken - Organic, free range versus Mass Produced

The differences were very subtle but they were there for sure, most especially in texture....for free range, there was more of an "organic" feel to it...a difference in textures in the bites we took. The flavor difference wasn't as distinctive but when we considered the amount of chicken "flavoring" that's likely injected into the mass produced, we wondered how much that accounted for the CHICKEN taste. We also wondered how much we are now accustomed to the taste and texture of mass produced.....scary really. We're used to eating highly processed chicken.

Chicken Verdict -- organic had superior texture...not necessarily enough for the increase in price but considering the overall health factors for us and our children.....if money not a consideration....Organic, free range chicken ruled the roost (pun intended)

Beef - Grass Fed versus Dry Aged Grass Fed versus Mass Produced

The differences here were more obvious and much easier to distinguish than the chicken. The cuts were the same but thickness and marbling were different so this muddied the waters a bit. A definite "richness" varied in flavor and texture too.

Beef verdict - hands down grass fed won out over mass produced. For Katie and I, that's where the differences stopped. For Joe and Brian, they could tell a big difference in dry aged versus just grass fed. (Preference being Dry Aged) Not surprising....both Joe and Brian are quite the carnivores and clearly have a more sophisticated pallet than us girls. Price is a HUGE factor with the beef.....and adding the dry aged element raised the price even more of course. A little sad to say b/c we are Publix people and typically enjoy their meat selection but by far, Whole Foods won out in the beef contest.

If you are still awake and reading, the bottom line....you get what you pay for with chicken and beef and the moral of the story -- grass fed, farm raised, mass produced, chicken flavor injections...it's all so much better and more fun when shared and compared with really great friends!!!

If we leave now, we can still make the Pro Bowl

For those of you who don't know (and likely don't care)..It's been moved to Florida this year and frankly there's not a soul in this house who thinks that was a good idea!! Now make no mistake, we'll be watching it tonight but watching with some trepidation and a whole lot of begging from the 1st grader who will want to stay up WAY past his bedtime to see the game...it starts at 7:20 for crying out loud....REALLY?!?! Thank You Lord for DVR!!

The pro bowl should be in Hawaii for one thing.... and AFTER the Super Bowl for goodness sakes, but clearly we didn't get a vote. If we did, I think we might see a mighty fine player on the field tonight....and he'd be playing for the NFC of course. He's already showing some classic moves....



Well clearly this one isn't so classic but my boy with a #4 jersey....Green Bay no less....yes, I was proud even if only for the 3 seconds he wore it. He borrowed from a friend.Don't tell him I saw this picture -- he wouldn't dare do this in front of me. His favorite hobby is taking the opposite team from anyone I choose. It's a favorite past time for Winston and at times, rather annoying for his Mama!!

Now that's a classic drop-back right there....a little Peyton Manning-esque. And even though he's an AFC dude, we like him alot! A little shout out to our Indy pals -- the Yoders.
Hmmm....perhaps Sidney Rice here...an acrobatic move to catch a #4 stinger??? Maybe more like Steve Smith....he's flexible isn't he?!?!

And this one just reminds me of some side line warm up passes from just about any of those NFC quarterbacks...and just cuz it's my blog and my post....I'm going with a Favre reference again...he IS still wearing that jersey you see.

Happy Pro Bowl Day Ya'll!

A Plethora of Random

Hard to believe this little one is turning 5 in a few short weeks. I just can't wrap my brain around it. She's grown up so fast....I simply don't know where the time went. Her birthday is Super Bowl Sunday...bless her heart....we'll celebrate with her friends the Saturday before and she can't wait. Should be a fun weekend for Lilly girl.

Special Guest at Winston's basketball game a few weeks ago -- thank you for coming Ms Luciano and Rashad!! What a special treat. It meant so much to Winston.

Make your own Pizza night with the Yoders was super fun. A few Friday nights ago...great way to begin a long weekend. Joe and I have become a bit obsessed with the PERFECT pizza crust. We've made this dough recipe tons of times and it NEVER turns out the same way twice. When it's good...well, it's absolute perfection but when it's bad....it's really bad. The kneading and the punching and the rising....my goodness, it's alot of work but it's fun and usually worth the effort. We got a little crazy with topping selection too....we went for broke and added seared filet mignon, caramelized onions and browned chorizo to our toppings bar. Great fun and as far as I'm concerned, nothing is better than fresh mozzarella, tomato slices and basil shreds. YUM-MY.

B-ball still the sport of the day in our house. Winston loves to play and is learning alot. He's pretty good at it too. Raptor season is in full swing and so far, so good!

a few other notables...

Report Card for Winston -- excellent again. He's doing great, recently passed a very big reading benchmark and amazes me quite often with his mental math skills....the stuff he can solve in his head just blows me away. Clearly a gift from his Daddy!

Speaking of Daddies....my Dad is still hanging in there. Thanks to all of you for your constant prayers and concern. We've had some set backs these last few weeks -- first his counts bottomed out and he had to stop treatment and then most recently a bad case of shingles put things on hold as well. He got the green light this past week to resume so he's back in his regimen and while he feels horrible, we know he's getting the meds he needs to hopefully get back to some quality of life soon. God provided so generously here recently in such a huge financial way...one of his meds costs $7,300 PER MONTH (that is not a typo -- monthly cost for ONE of three drugs). This amount of money is simply staggering for anyone but for a retired family with limited income, this is simply a back-breaker. Insurance covered all but $800 of this but seriously....$800 a MONTH for a medication he will likely need for the rest of his life???....how does one afford to have cancer....and that's WITH insurance?!?!?! The current health care reform bill might not be the BEST solution but you will never EVER convince me that we don't need some kind of health care reform. It's simply the right thing to do. Okay I'm off my soapbox....back to my point....long story short...we've gotten approval from a cancer policy my parents have and they will be covering the extra cost of the meds for at least the short-term. PRAYERS ANSWERED. And really, what else can I say about all that.

Thank you and good night...

Time Heals All Wounds

Sorry to my 3 blog readers for the bloggy break this past week....busy with school, basketball and well, preparing my nervous system for that game last night!!

Will post some pics and updates this week....right now I'm nursing a broken heart for my Valiant Vikings. Hard to win a game with 5 turnovers but without a shred of doubt, #4 showed again and again why I'm such a fan. What a season it was....not the ending I'd hoped for but can't take anything away from the comeback year it was for a 40 year old Southern boy!!

More later.

Very Exciting Stuff

It's been a very good day. Thank you Lord for smiling on Minnesota today. It's good to be a Favre fan always but today it's extra sweet!!! To New Orleans we go!!

Because I'll want to remember this....

I got an email from Winston's teacher this morning. More about her and how AWESOME she is later....cuz really, she deserves a post all her own.

Anyway, she had the class write thank you notes after the Christmas break. She wanted me to see Winston's......

And oh how I loved it!! Here goes....

Dear Mom,

I like my little SEC mini football helmets they are fun. Some times I do 6 on 6 and have a football game. You are the best mom ever. You and me have a lot of fun together we eat ice cream together we go to the store together. You are the best person that ever lived.

Love,
Winston

The sweet is sometimes buried deep in that little boy .....but today, it surfaced and this Mom is so happy it did!!

He Shoots.....HE SCOOOOOOOOOOORES!!!

Even though the sounds of shoulder pads colliding and helmets crashing are still heard quite often on the big screen here on Marshside; as a family, we've hung up our cleats and pulled out the gym shorts and sleeveless jerseys.


Basketball is in full swing here....Winston is playing in a league for the first time ever and loves it. He's also working the remote pretty good in search of college hoops too.I won't be a bit surprised to find him laboring over some March Madness brackets any day now.

Winston is a Raptor - he is playing with a local church league with his best buddy and loves it. He had his first game this past Saturday and it was really fun. I don't know why I was surprised to see Winston's aggressive, fearless personality so prevalent on the court....but I was. I was kind of thinking he'd never played this game very much and was still learning the rules and skills so he might be a bit more timid...

What WAS I thinking....I thinkl he just might be the kind of kid who is built for sports and competition and I just hope his interest in sports remains strong .I am a firm believer that sports can help keep kids out of trouble as they grow older and teach valuable life lesssons about character, determination, commitment and hard work not to mention the great exercise too.

Okay so back to the first Raptor's game....Winston scored the first points of the game for his team -- who knew the boy could shoot hoops?!?! He was quick, nimble and very aggressive. He loved it....and had big fun. He's on a co-ed team and I think interacting with girls in a sports environment is fantastic for Winston. Lilly and I watched the game and I had to keep an eye on the clock so I could cover her ears when the buzzer buzzed...she's not a fan of loud noises!! She did cheer her brother on and had fun too.

Joe had big fun too --- he has taken quite a liking to the ole Nikon...he has been behind the lens ALOT more than me and got some awesome pics and video too. A video below shows Winston's second successful shot....

I'm sure we'll enjoy our next 8 weeks in the world of little people b-ball....and still keep our eyes close on those NFL playoffs.....cuz pigskin....it ain't over yet folks!!!

My Vikes and the fantastic #4 make their playoff debut next Sunday against quite a stout looking Cowboys team....as for me, I'll need a heavy dose of medication and plenty of room to pace during that one.....a nervous fan I'll be!!



GO RAPTORS!!

GO VIKINGS!!

"I'd Like to Thank the Academy..."

Winston got a Smithsothian Volcano kit from his Aunt Julie and Uncle Jeff. It's been quite the hit around this house since we got home from our VA holiday.

Last Friday, Lilly and I went with the Yoder girls to see The Princess & The Frog and returned to find quite the project in the making in the garage. Between the volcano kit and our newest Nikon tricks, I'd say this is quite impressive for an afternoon project. Winston researched volcanos on the the internet, came up with the Narration and well, I'd say we might have an Oscar winning movie on our hands....at the very least, an advanced A+ grade on a Science project about volcanos!!

Check it out - it's really HOT....molten lava HOT!!

That's a Wrap on a Merry Merry

After a lifetime Christmas mornings - all 40 of them in fact, I spent my 41st Christmas day without my parents for the first time ever. Dad was not in any shape to travel this year. It wasn't what I would have wished for but we managed...all of us. In fact, we did more than manage - Christmas was really really great...just different great. A slide show has finally been completed for visual proof but to me it doesn't always tell the full story. Some of my favorite highlights of Christmas 09:

Santa was sure good to me - I was surprised with a new SLR camera on Christmas morning. I am quite the rookie still with that shiny new Nikon d5000 and sporty new lenses but I plan to spend some quality time with the owner's manual and get the full bang for all those bucks in due time. THANK YOU SANTA!! Almost time to dust off the cropping tools and get back to scrapping some beautiful pages!!

We spent Christmas afternoon and evening with our dear dear friends, The Yoders. Katie knew this Christmas wouldn't feel the same for our family and included us in their family plans. Brian donned his Chef's hat and made an outstanding meal. We didn't break our Rib Roast tradition either -- his was fantastic!! A day of laughter, excellent food, many wii matches and celebrating friendships that feel like family - how blessed we are. Thank you Yoders for including us in your family holiday.

We spent 4 days in VA celebrating Christmas over and over....and over. The Great Physician answered many prayers and as a result, Dad enjoyed a week free from chemo and feeling the ill effects. The timing of our trip was perfect as he felt good enough to attend church services with Mom. We enjoyed a family day with Mom, Dad, Janet and Larry.

We celebrated in Dry Fork style too which is always a hoot and full of the unexpected. I'll have to devote a whole blog post to Joe's Mother's Christmas antics....just trust me when I say, that lovely lady must surely begin her gift planning in June....her creative ways to give money continue to amaze the entire family. It's always super fun and NEVER dull.

An added bonus were the remnants of snow still left on the ground in VA. A storm dropped 10 inches the week before Christmas and we were all thrilled to arrive home to find lots of snow still there. Winston doesn't remember the snow fall from our days living in NC and Miss Lilly had never seen the white stuff. While it wasn't a true glimpse of real snow, they did get lots of time in outside playing on snow banks left by the snow plows. Hey, we'll take it anyway we can get it!! Super fun times with the cousins.

So all in all, it was different but so very good. We look ahead to 2010 with hope.....and with thanks for the blessings and lessons of 2009. We wish the very same for all of you.