October 2007
18 posts
Happy to be home
I’m FINALLY home. For anyone who has travelled internationally I’m sure you can relate to how it feels when you finish the longest leg of the trek and you have just a few hours left a head of you. You’re tired of planes but there is light at the end of the tunnel. I woke yesterday morning in Prague at 6am local time. I packed up, had breakfast and headed to the airport. I...
Apple Harvest Cake
Apple Harvest Cake Originally uploaded by ValerieBW I looked for this recipe for an hour last night, so it’s time I put it in a permanent, findable place. It’s one of my favorite things to make in the fall. As you can tell, I have had the for a very long time. The first time I made it was in our first little apartment in Sacramento, when Brad was in law school. I guess that would...
Cafe Rio Pork
Cafe Rio Pork Originally uploaded by ValerieBW Marie was craving her Cafe Rio fix, so I thought I’d do some scouting around on the internet to see if I could find a copycat recipe. I don’t know if this is a good duplicate, but it was definitely a hit. We ate them with tortillas, cheese, salsa, black beans and lots of cilantro. (via Wride Pride)
The Yankees Lost
Around here there is a lot of talk about the New York Yankees. Jorge Luis is one of their biggest fans. I think some of Maddie’s first words were, “Go Yankees!” She will sit with him and watch the games and cheer right along with him. This season the Yankees made it into the playoffs, but were eliminated in the first round. So of course Maddie heard the news that the Yankees...
High School Sweethearts - 10 years later!
Saturday was the 10 year anniversary of our first date. If I were as awesome as my friend CJ, I would have a picture for each year to commemorate the event…although now that I think of it, that wouldn’t work since two of those years Adam was on his mission. :0) In any case, we basically relived the event. We are back in our hometown, and fate played it so that all the dates aligned...
Why I love traveling
Ok, so I wrote that last blog entry and then my colleague that I’m traveling with called me and told me that there were some great snacks up on the executive level of the Hilton we’re staying in here in Prague. I was hungry and decided to go join him. We ate appetizers and sat watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory until about 7:30pm. My colleague retired for the evening and I...
Sometimes all you can do is laugh...
Sometimes all you can do is laugh… Originally uploaded by Adam W. Marie tells me I have permission to use this picture. Really, there isn’t much to add as this picture is worth several thousand words, but can I tell you how much I love Marie? She is a fantastic mother to these two little ones and does it with a smile (even for a picture like this). (via The ‘Cummings’...
Homesick
How is it possible that a strange location can make me homesick? I recall being in Munich in 2005 and missing my dad. The first time I went to Germany was with my family and for some reason being there without them in 2005 was weird for me. I arrived in Prague tonight around 5:30pm. The sun was going down and there was a mist closing in around the city. As we drove into the city from the airport I...
Gratitude
I had a rather random conversation with one of our vendors yesterday morning. I was exhausted yesterday morning but had one final meeting with the hotel so I was downstairs at 9am. Once my meeting with the hotel concluded this particular vendor chatted with me as he ate his breakfast. He was telling me about a book he’d just finished that he thought I should read titled, “The...
Quick (rather boring) Update
So, I’m still in Barcelona. Other than a handful of meals outside the hotel, I haven’t left the hotel in a week. I’m pretty much stir crazy. Things have gone well. I feel about this conference the same when I felt when I first learned to drive my parents old 1981 Ford Ranger truck: I knew once I’d mastered it that I could drive any manual shift car in the world. I survived...
Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal, Walnut and Coconut...
I made these this morning to take to the concert reception coming up on Saturday night. They are sooooo good!!! 1 cup butter 3/4 cup brown sugar 3/4 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 1/4 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon baking powder 1 cup chocolate chips 1/2 cup oats 1/2 cup shredded coconut 1/2 cup chopped walnuts Cream together the softened...
Dear Mother Nature, Can we have a talk?
Ummm…it’s still 80 degrees outside and it is October 22nd. Doesn’t Mother Nature know that Chocolate Day is just around the corner? And that we need to have an inside temperature of 66 degrees to dip chocolates? I’m putting in my order with her right now (and I hope that I don’t live to regret it) for lower temperatures pronto. (via Wride Pride)
Tortellini with Tex-Mex Cream Sauce
Tortellini with Tex-Mex Cream Sauce Originally uploaded by ValerieBW I found this in a magazine some time ago, and made it tonight. Everyone liked it and it was quick and easy. I used green chilis instead of the jalapenos. Buen provecho! I’m thinking that I might scan recipes as I make them and save them to sets. That way I can find them easily instead of flipping through notebooks one...
!Guapa!
!Guapa! Originally uploaded by ValerieBW Laura had a great time getting ready for the Heritage High Homecoming Dance; lots of shopping to find just the right dress and shoes; hours curling her hair and painting her toes. It was worth all the effort! (via Wride Pride)
B - Y - U ! ! !
Rise and shout, the cougars are out… And Harrison is well along the trail to becoming a Cougar fan. BYU takes on Eastern Washington today, and Peter and his fan in training will be front and center to watch the game. Well, as front and center as they can get… No tickets to the game and no Comcast makes Grandma Wride’s house the place to be as the Cougars beat the Eagles. ...
This week was red ribbon week at school. That means (for those who don’t know) that the kids make pledges and do silly things to show that they wont do drugs, i.e. PJ day, silly hat day, school spirit day, red T-shirt day. Andy decided to wear his “family camp” shirt. For two days he sang, “The big red t-shirt stands for the Barnard Family, hoorah.” He was so proud of...
Emma is 6 months old!
Happy Birthday, Chickadee! We love, love, LOVE having this cheery little girl in our lives. She is such a social baby who wants to be in on every conversation and will flirt and smile at you until your attention is effectually captured. Spencer loves her and wants to make sure she is included in just about everything, even making sure that Emma had her turn swinging in the blanket during FHE. ...
Mid-October 07
October 18th: I just took the last batch of cookies to the schools who helped the LSO with venues. I kinda doubt that it will help but it won’t hurt either. I’m just hoping that next year, when it comes time to divvy up the dates, they will remember cookies… Brad’s company was bought out by a much larger company. He has been poring over forms and letters to see if he wants...