Move over, cheesecake!

I am on a cheesecake making hiatus. I have the most fun whipping them up, especially for other people (nothing good can come from one sitting around this house!), but I had a fiasco in December with a white chocolate peppermint number, and it sort of stole my thunder in the cheesecake department. The timing of this is somewhat crummy, because mini cheesecakes are such lovely treats for Valentine's Day, but .... look at this.
How people come up with such brilliant ideas, I'll never know, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Deliciously Dandy Ding Dongs may become my newest baking obsession. (And this is not my picture. It belongs to clabbergirl, the genius behind the recipe.)

Illness abounds

It's been almost one week since the fateful wisdom teeth removal, and my Jan Michael is as sick as I've ever seen him. I'm sad to report that oral surgery and a cold, even the very beginning of one, do not mix. In fact, they collide violently to create the perfect, raging storm of misery and vexation.

His cheeks are yellow and bruised; because of the wreck in his mouth, the details of which are too graphic for the sensitive reader, he has eaten only a few pudding cups and the occasional bowl of mashed potatoes in 7 days; he is weak and tottery; he alternates between being unable to breathe and having to use Kleenex by the dozens; sleep evades him, except for an hour or two in the early morning; when he speaks, he sounds like a croaking toad.

And while I hate to see him in such an awful state, it makes me so thankful that for the most part, we are both very healthy, robust kids who've never had to deal with anything more earth-shattering than a bad stomach flu or sprained ankle. There are so many people in the world who are chronically or terminally ill, who live with suffering and pain for months and years on end. There are people in places like Haiti who are having limbs removed in the middle of the street, and who have no homes in which to heal and recover. My goodness, the amount of inconvenience and hardship we experience is just a minute drop in the bucket, if that, and I'm grateful for the help we're given to put things in perspective.

But you can bet that neither of us will ever have any kind of surgery without an immune system that's in tip-top shape to begin with :)

The Wisdom Teeth Chronicles

Jan Michael had his wisdom teeth taken out yesterday. Besides the IV which they used at the office to knock him out, they also gave him medicine to take 1 hour before the surgery. It's generally used for people who suffer from insomnia, and am I ever sorry for anyone who has to take this stuff! It's a force to be reckoned with, there's no two ways about it! Anyway, since this would be the closest he would ever come to being under the influence of any alcohol or drugs, we thought it would be fun to document the journey from lucidity to complete oblivion. You can hardly see a thing in the first and last videos because I took them in the dark, but it's the middle ones that are especially laugh-enducing. My poor, poor, precious husband... :)

Weight busted!

First of all, this picture has nothing in particular to do with what I have to say just now, but it's my latest favorite, and so onto the blog it goes.
Tonight was the last meeting and weigh-in of the Weight Busters program, which we began so many weeks ago at the end of October. It's been such a good, healthy challenge for both of us, and we're so glad we decided to participate. Jan Michael was the winner - and is now the proud owner of a YMCA water bottle and pedometer, wahooo! :) - and I quite happily screeched across the finish line in 2nd place. As far as percentages are concerned, Jan Michael has lost 12.74% of his body weight, and I've whittled away 7.87%. One of the very best things about the whole deal was meeting some very fine people with similar fitness goals; now we have lots of new friends to chat with at the Y. And just to be sure we keep our exercise momentum chugging along, we've signed up for a 5 week cardio challenge, starting in a day or two. Look out, treadmills, here we come!

We want YOU...

to have a happy New Year :)

Christmas surprise

Way, waaay back in August, Shannon had the fantastic idea of surprising our parents with a family portrait for Christmas. The last professional shot they have of us was taken in 1994, when Ryan was 10, Shannon was wearing choker necklaces made of ribbon, Adam was shorter than me and had to stand on a box, and Jan Michael and I had only been dating for a few months.

We scheduled the shoot for a Saturday in early October, meticulously chose our outfits (including a tie for Gus) so we could achieve the perfect balance of coordination without looking too matchy-matchy (well, Shannon and I did this; the men could not have cared less, ha!), piled ourselves into one small Honda Civic and converged on the Capitol building for the best family picture session in recorded history.

I'm sure I don't need to tell you that Derek Pearson Photography is responsible for what you see below, and while I've said this before, I will say it again: You will not find a better photographer. He had the most fun and creative photo ideas, he welcomed and encouraged our own, he made us smile and laugh and feel completely at ease in front of the camera, and what we have as a result is a group of pictures that respresent who we are as a family, and a day of fun that we'll remember until we're old and gray. All family bias aside, what Derek is able to do every time he picks up his camera is amazing to me and makes me proud to be in his corner.

Poor Gussers was having some trouble with gas that day, which transalted into... POOR US!! Ryan had the good fortune to be able to leap away (and stay away!) until the smoke cleared.

We would pose, Derek would count down from 5...
We would run to another spot and pose again...
And this was the end result :)


Riverdance has nothing on us!

Each time any of us sees this one and witnesses Jan Michael's astounding pike, we fall over in gales of laughter. We've questioned him extensively as to how he managed such a position, and for the life of him, he can't remember :)
3...2...1...
Lift off!

This is the one that made the final cut. It's hanging in a beautiful frame over our parents' fireplace. And they love it.

WWU crew Christmas

We're woefully behind in sharing all of our holiday fun, so for the next few days we'll play catch up. In the middle of December our dear college friends converged on Mark and Jessica's house for our annual Christmas party. The guys exchanged gifts (Best Buy gift cards all around!), while we ladies had our own exchange.... and I made out like a bandit! I certainly did not deserve to be showered with a candle, lotion and fancy bar of soap, tea pot, two different kinds of tea, homeade scones (which Jan Michael and I devoured before bed that night, ahem) and a beautiful handmade card, but we have very generous friends :) It's a huge treat to spend an evening enjoying each other's company - it's part of what makes our holiday season such a delight.

Oh, Derek......

I'm coming for you, Tom Jones!

Merry Christmas for us

We had the sweetest, jolliest Christmas - all 7 of us at my parents' house for 3 days of wonderful family togetherness. I'm hesitant to say a lot about it because I'm afraid that too much description will somehow diminish my memories of it, if that makes any kind of sense. For now, I'll keep our time close to my heart and just give a small glimpse into our days:

Merry and bright

One of our holiday treats this year was a trip to Seattle to see 'White Christmas' at the 5th Avenue Theater. We began our fun with lunch at Elephant & Castle (thanks, Dad & Mom!) and then meandered down the street for the matinee (thanks again, Dad & Mom!) We laughed & sang along & oohed and ahhed as snow fell over the audience in the final scene. After that, everyone made their way back to our house and we had a slumber party, which involved pizza and gabbing, and lots of cookies & coffee & lying around in our jammies. I love these memory-making family times; they're the very best presents ever.
Adam was with us, too, of course, but is lurking around in the background somewhere. I may have mentioned once or twice that my family can be....pills, for lack of a better word, about having their picture taken. Ryan even suggested that I go on a picture-taking hiatus until he turns 30, which is about 4 years away, and which is also completely preposterous. Sorry, little brother! :)

Date #3

I'm so tardy in showing off our third date, it's almost time to talk about #4! But first, last week we decided to decorate gingerbread houses. Then, because I'm cheap and the already-baked-just-needs-to-be-assembled-and-decorated kits at the grocery store were not, I bought just one and we shared. (Sharing is more fun anyway!) We had some structural difficulties because we couldn't be bothered to let the icing dry before slapping on the roof, and then I grew impatient about placing the gumdrops just so, and so.... we hurriedly tossed some candy around the bottom... and then the poor house met it's demise....
because....
we ate it.

Date #2

For this week's date, we took our annual trip to the Garden d'Lights, which grows bigger and more lovely every year. Then we ate oatmeal. Then we wrapped ourselves in Christmas blankets and played Super Mario Brothers on the Wii. Splendid, from start to finish.

December dates

Just recently we've decided that we will go on one date each week for the whole month of December, and each date will have something to do with Christmas. Tonight was dinner and meandering around Fred Meyer (we're fancy around here, remember), looking at aisles and aisles of holiday everything. I even managed to sweet-talk my way into an early present [Jan Michael didn't take much convincing :)] - another Christmas moose (or two!) to add to my prized collection. Hooray for December dates!

Pink Glove Dance

As the kids of a Mom who has survived a fierce battle with breast cancer, this is the kind of thing Jan Michael and I really appreciate. Right this second is the perfect time to cut a rug in honor of such an important cause, don't you think?

Oh, and click in the middle of the video just after you push play. That will take you straight to youtube so that you can watch it from there and see the entire thing. For some reason when I post it here, the right side of the screen is cropped out and you miss seeing some of the dancers. And a big thank you to Anne for sending the video and text!

"Emily (MacInnes) Somers, created, directed and choreographed this in Portland last week for her Medline glove division as a fundraiser for breast cancer awareness. When the video gets 1 million hits, Medline will be making a huge contribution to the hospital, as well as offering free mammograms for the community. Please check it out. It's an easy and great way to donate to a wonderful cause, and who hasn't been touched by breast cancer?"

Thanksgiving

- Puppy kisses
- Coffee and gingerbread
- Brothers & sisters, talk, talk, talking
- Old records on a brand-new record player
- Brothers & sisters, Dad & Mom, gabbing upstairs & downstairs & all around the house
- Billiards in the basement
- Basting and chopping and mixing in the kitchen
- Thankful prayer
- Feasting, oh the feasting
- More & more puppy kisses
- Dinner-induced napping
- More & more yakking
- Dining room table poker
- Apple pie & trifle & cheesecake & coffee dessert-ing
- Apples to Apples playing, all 7 of us
- Family hugs & kisses & see you in the morning
- Sleep, sleep, sleep

Another happy, HAPPY Thanksgiving for the books!

[I've shamelessly stolen this list idea from Amanda - thank you, friend!]

Thankful Thanksgiving Eve

Today I am thankful for a body that is able to wake up with the sun and for eyes that can drink in God's beautiful, beautiful creation.

Cranberries

I've been feeling a little sheepish for carrying on so gleefully about all of the Thanksgiving dessert I'm about to indulge in (4 days & counting, ahem!) and thought that instead of sharing another cheesecake recipe, I'd post a tried-and-true, simple & quick, really scrumptious recipe for cranberry sauce. It would be nice, I thought, to show everyone that our Thankgsiving dinner will include something other than butter and cream cheese and pudding. Then I looked at the nutritional information and discovered that one serving of this stuff probably has the same amount of calories and fat as a doughnut. Sigh. Well, I tried, anyway :)
Baked Cranberry Sauce (again, from Taste of Home)

1 pound fresh or frozen cranberries, thawed
1-1/2 cups chopped pecans
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup orange marmalade
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Pour into a greased 11-in. x 7-in. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until cranberries are tender. Serve warm or cold. Refrigerate leftovers. Yields 10 servings.

Let us eat cake!

We have the great fortune of celebrating Thanksgiving twice this year, which means....two days of dessert! The Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle will make its appearance at feast #1, and for the second go-around, we'll enjoy a parade of cheescakes. After searching high and low, I've found a set of mini springform pans - only about 4-1/2 inches across. This means I'm going to try a few different kinds and we can all have tiny pieces of each. No one should have to suffer through only one cheescake choice, after all!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Deluxe (from the Taste of Home website)

3/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
32 gingersnap cookies, coarsely crushed
3 tablespoons brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter, melted

3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1-1/2 cups canned pumpkin
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
4 eggs, lightly beaten
Sweetened whipped cream, optional
Pecan brittle, optional

Place a greased 9-in. springform pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil; securely wrap foil around pan. Place pecans in a food processor; cover and process until ground. Add gingersnaps, brown sugar and butter; cover and pulse until blended. Press onto the bottom and 2 in. up the sides of prepared pan; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the pumpkin, cream, syrup, vanilla and spices. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Pour into crust. Place springform pan in a large baking pan; add 1 in. of hot water to larger pan.

Bake at 325° for 60-70 minutes or until center is just set and top appears dull. Remove pan from water bath. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Chill overnight. Remove sides of pan. Garnish with whipped cream and pecan brittle if desired.

My date with a pig-out

Thanksgiving is only 8 days away, so let's talk about dessert! First, though, I must qualify the previous post about our weight loss challenge by saying this: It is my intention to eat everything in sight on Thanksgiving. This is not an exaggeration, and I'm really excited about it.

I found this recipe (and the picture, too) on the Food Network website. It's by Paula Deen, which means it's bound to be yummy. It will also be astronomically high in calories and fat, but for me that's the very definition of a Thanksgiving dessert, so I don't mind a bit.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle

2 (14-ounce) packages gingerbread mix
1 (5.1-ounce) box cook-and-serve vanilla pudding mix
1 (30-ounce) can pumpkin pie filling
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 teaspoon ground cardamom or cinnamon
1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping
1/2 cup gingersnaps, optional

Bake the gingerbread according to the package directions; cool completely. Prepare the pudding and set aside to cool. Stir the pumpkin pie filling, sugar, and cardamom into the pudding. Crumble 1 batch of gingerbread into the bottom of a large bowl. Pour half of the pudding mixture over the gingerbread, then add a layer of whipped topping. Repeat with the remaining gingerbread, pudding, and whipped topping. Sprinkle of the top with crushed gingersnaps, if desired. Refrigerate overnight. Trifle can be layered in a punch bowl.

And away we go!

Quite literally, actually. Three weeks ago we started a Weight Busters Challenge at the YMCA, which means that for three weeks we've been taking all kinds of 5:00 a.m. spin classes and running a thousand miles on the treadmill and making the supreme sacrifice of only eating one measly vanilla tootsie roll on Halloween. Each week we're given exercise and nutrition assignments, and we earn points for each task we complete. We're also weighed each week and earn points based on the percentage of weight we've lost. The person with the most points at the end of 12 weeks is the winner and right now.....

Jan Michael is beating everybody by a country mile. He'll wish I would have kept that quiet, but it's so neat to watch him work so hard and see such amazing results. Besides, I'm a proud wife and must crow about him :)

Anyway, this is such a super time of year to be involved in this kind of thing, what with the heaps of holiday food lurking at every turn. It's nice to know that when January rolls around, we'll be ahead of the game instead of scrambling to whittle away the damage of several eggnog cheesecakes and piles of Christmas cookies.

So, wish us luck (although Jan Michael doesn't need it), and eat something terribly fattening in our honor, since there won't be much of that coming our way in the next couple of months :)