Podcasts and Pumpernickel

I don't know how many of you out there are podcast listeners, but I just can't get enough of them. In fact, I have quite a few in my queue. I just won't say how many. But I do have a few favorites that I never miss an "episode" of that get regular rotation on my iPod. Here are my five favorites in no random order:

Betty in the Sky with a Suitcase - Betty is a flight attendant for a major airline. She tells funny travel/airline stories and interviews airline crew members from all over to hear their funny stories. Most episodes have a theme. And you don't have to be in the travel industry to enjoy it. Funny stuff! She has around one episode a month, so it's not a big time commitment.

Desiring God Sermon Audio - I am a big John Piper fan. This is his weekly sermon broadcast from Bethlehem Baptist Church. It is great preaching every single week. And you will be blessed and challenged every single time you listen.

Amateur Traveler Podcast - If you love to travel or hear about the best places to travel, this is the podcast for you. Chris picks a different destination every week from somewhere in the world. He interviews experts from that region regarding the best places to eat and stay and the best attractions to visit. I find it entertaining and informative.

Gardenfork - This is a video blog about gardening, cooking, minor home repairs, and other stuff. Most episodes are under 10 minutes long and it a lot of fun to watch. Eric does more cooking than gardening. The cooking appeals to me more anyway, but the gardening episodes I have seen have been very interesting and helpful to me. This is definitely a keeper.

ThreadBanger - D.I.Y. Fashion and Style - This is a crafty rockin' video podcast! Some of the things are a little out there for me, but this podcast will definitely get your creative juices flowing. Lots of great ideas and amazing work from some really creative people out there. The episodes last anywhere from 3 minutes to 10. If you are crafty, this is the podcast for you.

So go to iTunes and give some of these a try.



A great book I received for Christmas was Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery that Revolutionizes Home Baking. It sounded a little too good to be true, but boy was I wrong. You can actually have a great loaf of artisan bread without kneading and making a big mess. It's amazing! So far I've made a baguette and quite a few calzones with a basic bread dough. Last weekend though I thought I would try my hand at pumpernickel. I mean, who doesn't like a good pumpernickel? And what a fun word to say! Here is my first loaf of pumpernickel.



I am not very good at taking food pictures, but I was just so darn proud of my loaf that I had to post it for all to see. And it was tasty folks. Yes indeed. My friend Veronica can vouch for that.

The great thing about these recipes is that you mix everything up in the bowl you are going to store the dough in. Yep, just throw all the ingredients in and give it a good mix, let it rise on the counter for around 2 hours (enough to rise and fall), then put it in the fridge for up to two weeks. Whenever you need some, just tear off a chunk, let it rise for a little while and bake. I'm going to sprinkle dates and walnuts into the last of my pumpernickel dough for a desert like bread. I got three loaves out of that dough. Kneadless to say, I am very happy. Kneadless... Get it? :)

Winter Wonderland

I was hoping for one more good snow before winter left us. Well, we got it, and it was record breaking. Man, it was so pretty!

The snow was not good to our poor trees though. We had a ton of down limbs. Kevin knocked snow off on Thursday till his poor arms were ready to give out, but it didn't help. This is the front of our house.

On the knitting front, I have been in slouchy hat mode.

I recently finished a baby blanket and shipped it off to our good friends in Scotland who just had a baby girl. Since they did not know the babies sex until the birth, I chose a light green color.

A New Year - A New Blog

Sorry for the blog change, but I decided it was time for out with the old and in with the new. As most of you know, our lives will be changing dramatically this year. We want to keep our friends and family better updated regarding our adoption process. Also, it just can't be my blog without some cooking shenanigans and knitting accomplishments. Now I will give a short recap of the past couple of months:

Adoption:

We last submitted our home study in December for a sibling group of 4 kiddos - two boys, two girls, ages infant to nine. We are still waiting to hear back. There are so many factors they look at when deciding on potential parents. It's a tough wait for us, but they are looking at the best fit for everyone involved, so knowing that makes it a little easier. For instance, they may want to keep the kids in the area they are already in if they have siblings in another home that they need to stay in contact with. Or they may want to get them away from the area they are in because of their situation before they were placed in foster care.

My caseworker's email address sets off an automatic trigger of emotion in me. When her bolded email address pops up on my aol account, my heart starts racing.

Cooking:

I received Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking for Christmas and I was beyond ecstatic! I made her famous beef bourguignon a couple of weeks ago for dinner. For those who have seen the movie Julie and Julia they will remember the familiar scene where Julie falls asleep and forgets about the beef bourguignon in the oven and burns it. Well, I did not burn it, but I did spend 3 1/2 hours of my life preparing and cooking it. It was worth it though! Delicious!

Knitting:

In these past 6 months I have knit a ton. I don't have a lot of pictures as proof, but I have knit. I really really have! Here are a few things:

I knit this sweater for my adorable niece Macy. I don't have a very good picture of her in it, so when I get a better one I will post it.

And here she is sleeping with the turtle I made her for Christmas. Thank you Kim for getting this great shot for me! I darn near teared up when I saw it.

I'm going to take some more pictures this weekend and post next week.

Legally Blonde

A couple of weeks ago my friend Veronica and I went to see Legally Blonde the musical at Bass Hall in downtown Fort Worth.  She bought us both tickets for my birthday/Christmas/Admin's Day.  I was so psyched!  I love the movie, so I knew that I would love the musical too.  Great music and great dancing!  We had a blast!



Here we are standing outside on the balcony waiting for it to begin.  I wanted to wear pink, but I don't own a pink dress.  Gasp!  I really am a fan though.  We did see quite a few girls/ladies wearing pink which is Elle's signature color.  It really was a great girly evening!

Now That's What I Call Breakfast!

My friend and co-worker subscribes to The FOOD Network magazine.  Great magazine!  It is loaded with tons and tons of recipes.  Definitely not like some magazines that are mainly full of ads. 

Well, I was skimming through her June/July 2009 issue and found an amazing recipe.  I sometimes like bizarre recipes; things you would not normally think to pair together.  One of my favorite sandwiches that I eat from time to time is PB, banana, honey, and bacon.  Love it!  People think I'm weird, but honestly, the salty bacon pairs so nicely with the sweetness of the PB and honey.  So when I saw this recipe, I just had to make it.

I introduce to you the maple French toast and bacon cupcake:



Seriously people; this is the bomb!  The creator of the recipe was trying to recreate her love of french toast and bacon smothered in maple syrup.  I think she hit the nail on the head!  You can't tell from the picture, but there is also bacon in the cupcake batter itself.  And believe me, you will want it in there!  These babies are RICH!!!  The salty bacon really helps to even things out.  I brought these into work and they were a hit.  They completely finished the entire dozen off! 

I have been knitting, but my latest project was a sweater and that does take some time.  So here it is:



This is my "I'm so glad it's 90+ degrees and I am taking photos in a 100% wool sweater" smile.  I think I'm going to get a lot of wear out of this one as soon as winter hits. 

Since I was already sweating, why not put on some wool socks too.



I finished these two months ago, but kept on putting off taking my picture out in the heat.  So much for that. 

(Photography by Kevin)

And since my niece is now almost 6 months old, she was due for another knitted item from her aunt. 



I didn't realize at the time that the flower on her dress was going to come out that big.  I debated sewing it to the top, but I really thought it needed some color.  And the massive flower on her head was not my doing.  Macy can thank Mimi for that one.  She looks adorable in anything though.  My dad was a little disturbed that she was wearing a halter.  Baby's can wear halters and it's okay, right? 

Sound of Music | Central Station Antwerp (Belgium)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYAUazLI9k

Most people who know me well know that one of my favorite movies of all time is The Sound of Music. Love Julie Andrews, love the music, love it! Well, I just have to share this video that my sister-in-law Lisa sent to me from YouTube. Even if you aren't fond of the movie or the song, watch it all the way through. You won't be dissapointed!

Here's a little info on it:

This video was made in the Antwerp , Belgium Central (Train) Station on the 23rd of March 2009.
With no warning to the passengers passing through the station,
at 08:00 am a recording of Julie Andrews singing 'Do, Re, Mi' begins to play on the public address system.”
As the bemused passengers watch in amazement, some 200 dancers begin to appear from the crowd and station entrances. They created this amazing stunt with just two rehearsals!