Daytona!

Daytona Beach has been an awesome adventure! We are coming back tomorrow and I'll be sad to leave this beautiful place. We are all burnt except Jenna who is nicely tanned (how did that happen??). We lazily wake up every morning at 6am (Jenna wakes us up early) then go to the beach all morning. We've made sand castles and ridden the waves. Jenna was even brave enough to go out in the water with dada holding her! Then we come back, eat lunch, take a nap, and go out to the pool. Jenna has named them "big water" and "little water". I'll post pictures when we get back.

The condo we are staying at is incredible! There are 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, a pool table, and a full kitchen with granite countertops. You can walk right out to the beach too. Erik and I have taken romantic walks along the beach at night too. And at night Erik has played Lord of the Rings online while I read books. Yea! We've only gone out for ice cream once (which seems like some sort of travesty) but we plan on going out tonight.

On Wednesday we went to the NASA Kennedy Space Center and got a tour of the different plants they have as well as learned a lot about the space shuttle program. It was an excellent tour - well worth the cost. It made me want to be an astronaut!!

I'll post more when we come home tomorrow if I can dig myself out of my huge list of emails :)

Fun with the fam

The whole Cooper clan visited our house last week and we had lots of good times. Prior to the visit, we had a play date with all of Jenna's little friends. They played in our very stylish blowup pool all morning long (at least until I fed them some mac and cheese).

Mom, Dad, David, Joel and Megan all came to visit us this past week. We had excellent fun, played lots of games and even got to see Joel's new Reclamation game. He seems like a pro game designer!

The brothers (this is how Erik refers to them) also had good uncle time with Jenna. I snapped a picture of Joel reading to Jenna. He seemed really into the book :). Of course we went to Graeters twice in the week they were here. That was a treat :). One can never have too much ice cream.

Fortunately we played Railroad Tycoon twice and I was victorious both times. Unfortunately, I was often sick and just had to lay on the couch. That's what I did today - ALL DAY until I realized I had a craving for grilled cheese and pickles.
I've posted a picture of my grilled cheese, lettuce, pickles, and mayonnaise sandwich. Yum.... It was truly heaven.



In other news:

1. On the 23rd (Saturday) we leave for Daytona Beach for a week. I can't wait!!
2. I am praying that I feel better by then :). Or maybe I'll need a stash of grilled cheese and pickle sandwiches
3. Tomorrow the sisters and I will be getting pedicures. I can't wait!! I will actually have pretty feet :).
4. I got 81 today on Quiddler but it wouldn't let me use the word "mez". In MMO's that word is a common word!
5. Bug has learned she can leave her room at will. We have to help her understand that mommy and daddy need time alone too!
6. I'm trying to compile a list of books to take with me on our trip. Can't decide!!

Corny Missy

Jenna and I went to visit Missy for lunch at her work in Cleveland. Missy's company is so cool. They have a slide to go from the second floor to the first floor. Jenna and I slid down the slide even though she was a little scared at first (as you can see).







Now that it's summer time - it's the season for grilling! We have been grilling out a lot, and Erik even stained the deck so now we have a nice pretty deck to relax on. Jenna loves corn on the cob (who doesn't?) and eating outside. It's always great fun.

In other news:

1. Our family is coming to visit later this week. I guess I should plan some fun activities for us to do. Napping?
2. We have been attending a new church for the past few weeks. It is called Sawmill Covenant. The people are friendly and they always have snacks after church (a major plus!). Why have we been attending a new church? While we love the Vineyard but it is too big. Jenna might get lost in the shuffle. Plus at a smaller church we may be able to make more of an impact.
3. Tomorrow I'm having an ultrasound - I can't wait to see BNT!
4. I earned a miserable 10 points on Quiddler today. Losing so many letters at the end was not good for me! Why isn't roi a word? I know it means return on investment!
5. I'm reading the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind - great fun!

Mothering

Some houses try to hide that fact
That children shelter there.
Ours boasts of it quite openly--
The signs are everywhere.
For smears are on the windows,
Little smudges on the doors.
I should apologize, I guess,
For toys strewn on the floor.
But I sat down with the children
And we played and laughed and read.
And if the bathtub doesn't shine
There eyes will shine instead.
For when, at times, I'm forced to choose
The one job or the other,
I want to have a lovely house,
But first I'll be a mother.
--Author Unknown

That about sums it up for me!

My friend Jen had her baby today at 3:25am. They named him Emmerich. I haven't heard that name so I looked it up. It is a Pennsylvania dutch name that means hard worker (She is Amish at heart...quilting bees here I come!).

Today I got 78 points in Quiddler and found out that gi isn't a word. I thought it was a karate uniform?

Beds and Cats

Tonight was Jenna's first night in her big girl bed. Currently it is about 10pm and she is still not asleep, rather talking in her bed, but it is a start. She asked to sleep in her big girl bed tonight so we obliged. We were going to transition her anyway in a few weeks. Our bedtime routine consists of brushing her teeth, reading a story and saying prayers. Here is a picture of Jenna and Dada reading a story and brushing teeth on her big girl bed. Then we put her to sleep in the bed for the first time. how exciting.

Her room is a bright purple color with yellow flowers stenciled around the top. We (I) wanted a flower/butterfly themed room as you can see. We got an old hand-me-down dresser from Missy and Erik painted it white and put cute butterfly knobs on it. So adorable!!

This post is titled Beds and Cats because all week this black cat has come by torturing poor Scruffles. You can see the video here. They have been screaming at each other through the window for days now! Erik has been chasing him away but I think it is pretty funny. It's wearing poor Scruff out though.
In other news:

1. I have morning sickness in the afternoon - Yea! As long as I'm sick I know the baby is doing okay.
2. I started reading the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. Pretty good so far!
3. I just finished Stardust by Neil Gaiman. Apparently it will be made into a movie. I think it will be pretty good. I liked the story.
4. I got 67 today in Quiddler. Apparently "goo" is a legal word.
5. I'll be trying to make Korean food on Thursday. I'll be making a Korean cucumber salad and Korean chicken bowls. The marinade for the chicken sounds pretty good and I'll be making jasmine rice to go with it. Hopefully it will be good.
6. Today we voted and Jenna got a cute sticker that said "I voted". Then to celbrate voting we went to Los margaritas - a yummy Mexican restaurant. Jenna actually ate a chicken enchilada and rice!
   

A message

Jenna has a message here - New Year's Day :)

"She had a pretty gift for quotation, which is a servicable substitute for wit" W. Somerset Maugham

Quotes I love them!!
One English teacher (long, long ago) said using quotes at the beginning of a paper is a way to capture your audience. I took that to heart and start every paper with a quote. Now I just need to find one for my dissertation...

I love quotes!
Quotes can be perfect at different times too. I love this one for inspiration:
"I have learned to hold all things loosely, so God will not have to pry them out of my hands" ~Corrie Ten Boom
for knowledge:
"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you will go".
~Dr. Seuss
And for fun:
"It's a moo point. You know, like a cow's opinion. It doesn't matter".
~Joey Tribbiani (Friends)

All my vast readership :) what are your favorite quotes. I've started a quote book and want to fill it up. Give me some quotes!!

68 points on Quiddler. I got to make wist though!

Candy

Since we went to Rome during lent I was unable to sample their delicous candy fare. So Erik and I waited until today to taste the array of candies we got from Rome.
I've posted pictures of the candy that I got from Rome. Most of the candy had a hazelnut/chocolate combination. The kinder bueno white, kinder bueno ricco di latte, and duplo were filled with hazelnut cream. Mars delight was filled with flakes, tronky had a crunchy outside and was filled with hazelnuts in a chocolate cream. Kinder maxi was filled with white chocolate. Magnum infinity was filled with chocolate and hazelnuts, Cuneesi Rum (small round candy) was filled with dark chocolate and rum. Finally kinder sorpresa was egg shaped and contained a toy inside (see picture).

Erik and I rated the candy as follows. Gina's rating:

1. Magnum infinity
2. Duplo
3. Mars delight
4. Kinder Ricco
5. Kinder white
6. Tronky
7. Cuneesi
8. Kinder surprise
9. Kinder maxi

Erik rated them:

1. Cuneesi
2. Magnum infinity
3. Mars delight
4. Duplo
5. Kinder Ricco
6. Tronky
7. Kinder white
8. Kinder surprise
9. Kinder maxi

So now you know what candy to buy if you ever go to Rome. It seems that hazelnuts to the Italians is like peanut butter to Americans.

We were celebrating by eating the candy since I was accepted to the FIE conference in Milwaukee, WI on Oct. 10-13. Yipee!!! I'm so happy :). We also celebrated by going out to Red Lobster tonight -yum!

Since I can't post without some pictures or videos of Jenna, here's a video of her making soup for Dada.

I also have to post my Quiddler score: 79 points. I did make the word "earing". Which I am surprised I was allowed to make. I thought the word was "earring". Oh well :)

Food Porn: chocolate

Not that I really need anymore (see previous post). But I created two chocolate pies - one for Easter and one for some friends from Toledo. both had a chocolate cookie crust. In the first (the single pie slice) I put cream cheese, heavy cream, vanilla, semi-sweet chocolate and cut up reeces cups. It had a slightly bitter/sour taste but was very rich. In the second pie, I mixed heavy cream, powdered sugar, vanilla, and semi-sweet chocolate, then added some shaved bittersweet chocolate. The filling on this pie was much better. Light and mousse-like.

All this chocolate is making me hungry...

In other news:

1. I have started reading the short story: "The Call of Cthulhu" by H.P.Lovecraft. It is a classic horror story referenced constantly in the fantasy world so I have to read it!
2. I got 83 on Quiddler today and used all my letters - yea!
3. Monday I find out if I have been accepted to the Frontiers in Education conference (fingers crossed!)
4. I've used an exclamation point in each of these list items!!!!

A tisket a tasket

Happy Easter! A time to celebrate that Jesus has risen by eating candy and chocolate bunnies (what does God think about this??).
Here we celebrate Jesus who has risen from the dead:
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you." ~Matthew 28:1-7

This is the key of our faith - Jesus has risen!!

In celebration of Easter, Erik bought me numerous amounts of chocolate which you can see from the picture of my Easter basket. Here is the candy he bought me:

1. Cadbury Eggs
2. Reeses peanut butter eggs
3. Reeses pieces eggs
4. mini Cadbury eggs
5. Butterfinger Eggs
6. Peanut butter M&Ms
7. mini Reeses peanut butter eggs
8. Wonka golden creme egg

I like chocolate & peanut butter and cadbury eggs. (obviously!).
For Easter we went to my parent's house and Jenna searched for her basket. She had candy, a princess backpack, a bubble wand, and a stuffed chicken in her basket. All day today she has been using the princess lipstick. Her stuffed animals have gooey pink stuff all over their mouths.

We also went swimming. Here is a picture of Jenna and I playing in the water. She loves the water!! I do too. At one time I was swimming twice a week and was able to swim a mile (72 laps). Now I can swim about 7 laps before I feel tired. Jenna pretended she was a fish and a motor boat. Mom, Missy, Jenna and I all went swimming and had a fantastic time!

I finally finished the Belgariad. What an awesome book! I was so happy with the way that it ended. I love books with happy endings! It's obvious that he opened the door for the next series but I'm not sure I want to start on that. I've heard mixed reviews and I'm not sure I want to read a rehashing of the Belgariad.

I've reserved Stardust by Neil Gaiman as there is a movie based on that book coming out this summer. It sounds good so I'll see. That might be my next read.

I got 75 points today on Quiddler. They let me play za but not yeo. I don't understand it. I've head of yeomen. Isn't that a word? So shouldn't a yeo be part of a yeoman??

Short?

I received this post card from my brother-in-law. If you can't see it (the picture didn't come out that good), there is a man riding a horse in the snow and the caption reads "The Trouble with a Short Horse", implying that I am short. The problem with said post card is that I am NOT short! I'm not even vertically challenged. So I'm not sure why I received such a post card. It was a nice thought though :) :).

We had a playgroup at our house with 4 little girls today. Jenna, Rachel, Grace, and Hailey. Grace was born 1/13/05 so is only a week older than Jenna. You can see the two of them crammed in the car together. We also bought a wagon for Jenna which was a big hit with all the little ones. Jenna, Grace, and Rachel are crammed in the wagon here. Hailey didn't want to get in, and Jenna looks pretty comfortable on her side anyway.

Easter is almost here and with it is coming some pretty cold weather. Today it is 34 degrees and it is supposed to snow on Saturday - bummer. One good thing is that we have Good Friday off so I won't be teaching. Although I'm not sure what else I'll do. Prayer and fasting - and no wild parties :).

I tried to make the word "lego" today in Quiddler and I wasn't allowed to have it. However, xu is a word. Does that make any sense? Who knows what xu is as opposed to lego? Even Jenna knows what lego is! Got 54 in Quiddler (not a good showing since some people got 113!).

Happy Easter!

Easter Eggs and Go Bucks

The weather has been beautiful and it is a perfect time for Easter Egg hunts! We had an Easter party at our house with Jenna, Nicholas, Kael, Mclaine (not pictured - she's only 6mos old), Avery and Emma. They had a great time searching for eggs filled with hershey kisses all around our house. On Sunday, April Fools Day, we had a neighborhood Egg hunt. The Easter bunny showed up too. She kept saying "Eeter bunny hides eggs". So cute!! I didn't play any practical jokes on Erik. Instead I read this list of the top April Fools Jokes of all time. There are some pretty funny ones. My favorite is the taco liberty bell :).

Currently we are watching the Buckeyes playing Florida for the NCAA basketball championship. They are now losing but I know the Buckeyes, we can come back. I can't believe we played Florida for both football and basketball. I want us to win one of them at least :).

In other news:

1. I am almost finished with the Belgariad. I'm in book 5 of 5 and this series is Awesome! Someday I'll reorder my booklist and it will be high.
2. April 16! That is the day I find out if I am accepted to the Frontiers in Education conference with my paper on the Bioinformatics curriculum I wrote. The conference will be held in Wisconsin. Cheese....yum.
   
3. Less than a week and I'll get to eat candy again. That was a good thing to give up for lent. Tough, but good.
   
4. I'm working hard on my ASP.NET course next session. I've taught the course using ASP but moving to ASP.NET is a big change. Just one small . and a NET :).
5. I got 12 points today on Quiddler but that was partly because there were only 3 vowels!
   

The reason for Easter:
"then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" ~ Acts 4:10, 12

Ecersize

I've been part of this cardio challenge for the past 12 weeks in which we work out for 30 minutes three times a week, put $20 in at the beginning and whoever is still in the challenge at the end splits the money of those who didn't make it. Erik and I are still in it but it has been difficult some weeks to find the time to exercise. In fact, Jenna has "ecersized" with me. Check out this video of the two of us doing situps. She even seems to like exercising with mommy :).

Next Wednesday I'll be hiding Easter Eggs all around the house for Jenna to find. She is excited and keeps saying "Easter bunny hides eggs. Fun time". Erik and I are going to hide baskets for each other and also hide hers. I hope she can find it?

We probably won't be doing iron chef again until after Easter. I'm sad but we will be doing fun things on the weekends (like going to church on Sunday morning!).

I had to upload this picture too. She looks adorable with the pigtails!

Got 54 in Quiddler today but I made all 5 letter words - that is awesome and I only lost one letter at the end - the J.

Pie Day

I meant to post a new blog on pie day but I ended up eating pie all day :). March 14 or 3.14! As you can see, Jenna and Mommy had a good time making a french silk pie. Now most french silk pies contain raw eggs, but we used pasturized egg beaters rather than the raw eggs. The effect was a delicious, smooth chocolate pie!

Currently I'm reading a new series by David Eddings called the Belgariad. Now that I've finished Stephen King's Dark Tower series, my need for fantasy has not been quenched. This series is excellent and much like Wheel of Time (another of my favorites). The good thing about this series is that it is 1/4 as long so I've burned through 3 1/2 books in about a week. I'm sure glad I didn't give up reading for pleasure for lent!

Giving up candy was easy at the beginning. Now the candy is calling me, tempting me. We have tons of candy in the house from Valentine's day and because I give candy to my students. However I have been very good and not touched any candy. It will make my Easter basket all the more delightful! Lent, while being a time of sacrifice is also a time of prayerful consideration. As I think about how I fill my days, I notice that much of my time is not on God's agenda. So I was trying to think of something I could do, with Jenna, to serve God. I thought (if I knew how to sew!) about making blankets for the needy in our community or for cooking meals for the needy and for new moms. I'm still mulling this idea over. Rather than reading "One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish" all day to Jenna, I should probably be doing something useful with my time. It is also a good thing to model to my little one.

I've started working in the nursery at church too. Every Saturday I work in the 20-24month room. Jenna has moved up to the big girl room where they do crafts and Bible stories. I just play with the kids in my room. It has been a fun experience!

Got 88 today on Quiddler. You know you read too much Dr. Seuss when you try to use Dr. Seuss words in Quiddler!! I tried to use gox. Not a word!

La Dolce Vita!

Rome was fantastic. The food was be best I've ever had. Of course, I love Italian food. We also ate Gelato almost every day and once twice a day. We went to the best gelato place in rome Gelateria della palma - amazing. I've listed my favorite sites in Rome:

1. St. Peter's Basilica
2. Sistine Chapel
3. Borghese Gallery
4. Colosseum
5. Pantheon
6. Catacombs
7. Trevi Fountain
8. Forum
9. Palatine Hill
10. Vatican Museum
11. Appian Way
12. Museum of Rome
13. Piazza Navona
14. Campo de Fiori
15. Spanish steps

These were some of the sites we saw while there. Check out our pictures here. Of course, everyone's favorite picture is the pose that the gladiator put us in. Now that is crazy.
We had an amazing time in Rome and recommend it - although the bus system was pretty confusing. We made up for it by eating plenty of gelato.

Today I had an awful Quiddler score. Apparently OK is not a word?? I use OK all the time! I definitely think it should be a word. So I got a 39 out of a max of 67. That's a pretty bad score!

Bonjourno!

Our first day in Rome was spectacular! Rome has more character than any city I've been to. The narrow streets are lined with historic buildings and apartments where renters display flowers and greenery on their balconies. The people are friendly, even to tourists who are so obvious as us. I never thought I looked much Italian until I came here. Of course my mom could come here and tourists would probably stop and ask her for directions in broken Italian - she could come here and not miss a beat.
The Borghese gallery was magnificent today. Statues, artwork, and paintings fill the mansion; everywhere you rest your eyes is beautiful! My favorite was a marble statue of Apollo chasing Daphne. As she is running she turns into a tree and the artist (Bernini) captured the transformation exactly in his work.
I've already had some genuine Italian lasagne and it really was incredible. We haven't gotten gelato yet :). We did however get terribly lost. The bus system is somewhat difficult to navigate. But taxis have been a godsend! Speaking of God, this is truly the center for Christianity. When you walk down the cobblestone streets it is not uncommon to run across nuns or stores filled with priest robes, goblets, and church accessories (including pope hats!).
Well I must be off to bed for our adventure tomorrow. We will see the Vatican and Sistine chapel and attend mass at St. Peter's Basilica (and hopefully try the gelato!).
Ciao!

Rome...here we come!

Wow - only 2 days until we fly to Rome. It hardly seems possible! Here is our itinerary:

Saturday:

• Arrive in Rome at 8:15am
• Drop off bags at hotel
• Brunch?
• National Museum of Rome (10am – 2pm)
• Snack/second lunch?
• Borghese Gallery (reservation required), 15:00, must be there 30 minutes beforehand
• Dinner
• Night Walk Across Rome (pg 71 Rick Steves book)
• Spanish steps
• Trevi Fountain

Sunday:

• Vatican Museum (free and packed) (8:45- 13:45). May do this on Tuesday if too busy
• Sistine Chapel
• Lunch
• St. Peters Basilica (Mass starts at 9:00, 10:30, 11:30, 12:10, 13:00, 16:00, 17:30) open 7:00-19:00. Cost €6 to climb dome
• Trajans Column (7:15 – 18:00) free and always viewable, 1 hr to tour if touring market as well – Closed Monday
• Capitol Hill Museum (9:00-20:00)– closed Monday
• Dinner

Monday:

• Colosseum (9:00 – 15:15), Guided tour €3.50, 45 min
• Forum (may want to do this first and purchase tickets at Arch of Titus or buy Roma pass) (8:30-18:15) Guided tour €3.50, 1hr
• Palatine Hill (9:00 – 18:15) Guided tour only once daily €4, 90 min
• Pantheon (8:30-19:30), free and 15 minute walk from forum. Rome's best gelato at Gelateria della Palma, two blocks in front of the Pantheon (Via della Maddalena 20).

Tuesday:

• Appian Way
• San Sebastian catacombs
• Dolce Vita stroll

We will miss Jenna terribly but it will be fun to go. I'm so excited - this trip will be a long awaited and much needed vacation. Jenna has driven me nuts all week with her terrible twos so I need this vacation. She's almost as bad as my students :).

In other news:

1. Check out this guy who does beatboxing with a flute - now that is talent! Forget American idol!
2. Finally finished the Dark Tower by Stephen King. Has a better story been written? Not sure. It was marvelous!!
3. Lent started today. I'm giving up candy. Bye Bye M&Ms, Reeces cups, etc. I will miss you. It will be good for me though! I eat too much candy.
   
4. Erik and I made new Everquest characters. I made a Warden wood elf namd Caedwynn and Erik made a Monk wood elf named Caedmon. I thought of naming myself something like Call so we could be Caedmon and Call but I thought that might be slightly cheesy. So I went with a name somewhat like his. I picked out his name this time. His other characters are named Kire and Karazduk. Need I say more...
5. I got 60 points on Quiddler today. A terrible showing since I lost the V which was worth 11 points. I did make the word bloat. That is how I felt after I ate too much biscotti and hot cocoa tonight :).

Toodles!

Happy Valentine's Day

To celebrate Valentine's Day Erik chose strawberries as my iron chef secret ingredient. It was an awesomely sweet time! Of course we ate a lot of sugar for this iron chef. I also lost 10% of my score since I finished in 1 hr and 10 minutes rather than 1 hr. Ouch - that hurt my ratings. Even so, I got a very high rating on the fruit salad I made as well as the other sweets. Here is what I made:

• Mixed berry fruit salad with cinnamon honey dressing
• Layered strawberry, ham and cheese sandwich
• Strawberry cream cheese stuffed french toast with strawberry whipped cream on top
• Strawberry white chocolate bars
• Strawberry lemon trifle

Everything was delicious but very filling. Wow - I was stuffed after that :).
Yum!
Well we've been snowed in these past two days andDevry's classes have been canceled. I was planning on going to Dayton today but the roads were awful. In the morning I went to Jen's house for a kids Valentine's party and got stuck on her road (they didn't plow it). That was fun.
Lately Jenna has been obsessed with playdoh. I've included a cute picture of her playing with Playdoh. She has been playing wth playdoh every day. She also loves to help dada with work. Here is a video of her putting stickers on dada's nose while he is trying to work. It was too funny. I just had to take a video.
Got 84 on Quiddler today. Who knew SOOEY was a word?

Break

I haven't blogged in almost a month! Time has flown quickly with Jenna's birthday party and then Uncle David coming to visit. It has been a fun month. I can't believe my little girl is now 2!! Time has flown. She has grown into a beautiful little girl who moves and talks constantly. She really always talks. Except when she went to the doctor - bug was stoic the entire time. I hope the doctor knows that she is not mute :). Here is a picture of Jenna and the bear. While Uncle David was here we had Iron Chef Beef. It was an awesome competition. It was a heated battle and I pulled out a victory 15.9 to 15.3 - just barely. I made the following:

• Orange, pear and beef salad
• Teryaki beef tartelets
• Basil pesto beef pasta

And David made:

• Beef stir-fry
• Barbecue beef pizza

Everything was delicious and I loved having a competitor. Well now that I'm back to blogging, I"ll try to be more consistent. And we'll have more competitions. Who knows, maybe Erik will compete.
I got 74 onQuiddler today with only one 5 letter word - clout.

Buffalo Chicken...twice

Both Erik and Jenna were sick this past week. Erik had such violent vomiting episodes that he broke blood vessels around his eyes. Jenna had bad diarrhea and was also very sick. One night the both of them curled up by the fireplace and just stared at the fire for an hour. It was so sweet!

So I ended up cleaning up Erik's buffalo chicken sandwich in a not so appetizing manner. I don't think we will be going to Max and Erma's for awhile (the origination of the buffalo chicken sandwich). As you can see, Woody was also sick and wanted to sit by the fireplace as well. Since that night with dada, Jenna has been even more persistent about praying for the fireyplace :).


Prior to the bouts of sickness (of which I thankfully escaped! Praise God!) we had another iron chef. This one was APPLES! Erik brought home gala apples, granny smith, and a few other kinds.
Apples was such a good ingredient because they are so versatile. In fact, this was the most successful iron chef and I received my first 10 rating ever!! Now I know how gymnasts feel when they earn their first 10 score. Perfection - at last!

The items I prepared were:

1. Apple and craisin potato salad
2. Honey pecan crusted chicken with spiced apple rings
3. Apple stuffed crepes with homemade caramel sauce
4. Mini apple tartlets
5. Cinnamon caramel stuffed apple pie

The crepes were INCREDIBLE! Erik and I both rated it a 10 on taste. This was the first recipe of all the iron chefs I have looked up as I did not know the recipe for crepes off the top of my head. I made crepes, filled them with an apple, sugar, cream cheese and cinnamon mixture. Then made a caramel sauce out of butter, sugar and heavy cream. The caramel sauce drizzled over the crepes was a party in my mouth!! The final score totals were: 16.4 from Erik and 16 from me. An honorable mention was the mini apple tartlets. I made a pie crust then cut out little round shapes. Put those in a mini muffin pan, topped them with chopped apples, sugar and cinnamon then covered it with a crunchy pecan brown sugar mixture. Those were good too but nothing beats the crepes!!

Today on Quiddler I got 79 out of 75 points and was able to make the word bruin. I was just playing around and didn't realize that was a real word!!