Love for Nie . . . How will you help??

Click here for Gabrielle's blog and ways you can help this little family.

Tragedy is an interesting thing . . .

I had just finished making an enormous list of everything I needed to get done in the next week or so before school started. I looked at the list and cried because I felt so overwhelmed and wondered how in the world I was going to get it all done. To calm myself down, I sat at the computer and started through my favorite blogs. On Gabrielle's, I read for the first time about Nie Nie and her husband and their family.

My list suddenly felt insignificant, and I sat in my computer chair trying to get a hold of myself and grieved with Nie's sister.

I stuck that list on my bulletin board and then snuggled on the couch with my little girls and we read and talked about the changes that were coming up. Later I spent extra time with my 11 year old, getting him ready to go swimming at the neighbor's. I felt like crying as I put sunscreen on his beautiful skin. I picked up my goodlookin' football player from practice, so thankful for his growing strong, healthy body. I laughed with my, soon to be senior as we decided just how blond she should be on the first day of school. And I ironed my husband shirts happily thinking about times when there were no shirts to iron and feeling enormously joyful when I saw his smile come through the door that evening.

The list is still there and I am working on it, but it's importance has shrunk and the weight I feel when I see it is minimal.

My heart is still heavy as I think of this beautiful family whose lives will never be the same. I send them my prayers daily. I hope as I think of them, those thoughts will prompt me to be a little kinder, show a little more tenderness and simply spend more time enjoying those I love.

Back To School

Other than a mean boy on the bus, we had a great fist day of school. This is going to be a wonderful school year. I can just feel it!

FAB-U-LOUS!!

Yesterday we finished up the last of the school shopping. Erasers and pencil holders for the medium kids and clothes for the big kids.

The funnest part was shopping with Robin. She has worked really really hard this summer and and is fantastic shape. She's gone down a couple of sizes and when she tried on some skinny jeans (with fear and trepidation) . . . she looked great!! A little too good maybe. In fact, the first words out of my mouth when I saw her in the jeans were, "I don't know if dad's gonna go for that look." These are the shoes she bought to go with the jeans. They were out of orange in her size so she chose yellow.

Plum Tart

I made this yummy plum tart yesterday. I found it in Everyday Food two summers ago and I LOVE LOVE it. I've made it several times since then, with variations depending on the fruit I have.


It says it takes 40 minutes to prepare. It doesn't take me that long.


Top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. mmmmmmmmmmm!

What should we do instead?

The only thing we have left to do this summer is one last trip to the Gulf. We've sat, all summer, waiting at the ready for a hurricane to come into the Gulf. Our timing has been off however, and we missed the last two chances we had to go this summer.

We were hoping that Fay would help us out for this last weekend of the summer but alas, the forecast is flat, flat and more flat for Galveston. Booooo!

Farm Chicks

So I won a free package full of goodies from the Farm Chicks and I completely forgot to send a thank you note. (Please don't tell my mom.) The package arrived just as school was ending and our summer craziness and trips were beginning and I am sorry to say I have no other excuse.

The package they sent was so generous and fun. It included a little red tape measure, a darling grocery bag / tote, and the cutest magnetic shopping list. (I feel so much more organized shopping with a cute list instead of an old envelope from the electric company.)

My favorite things were these darling vintage wallpaper necklaces. My 17 year old had them around her neck before I had everything out of the box. I made her give a couple of them back. (Shhh . . . Santa wants them for Robin's stocking. )

If you haven't see their darling site yet, click on over and check it out. I would LOVE LOVE to be found at their antique show next spring and their preservation work is remarkable. Beautiful things, useful things, good things to eat and good causes, I love and admire these ladies and the work they do.

Thank you thank you Farm Chicks!!

Medal Count

I love this medal count graphic on the NYT website.

Thank you for chooseing Doc's . . .

My beautiful Robin just started a blog. She posted about a cute bag she made but didn't mention the thing that makes her bag way cool . . . that's right the Pretty in Pink button that had on my bag in high school and left at Mark and Robin's when I moved home. They brought it to me when they came to visit last spring.

Click here to see more of my Pretty in Pink button and to read Robin's sweet thoughts on life.

Friends and missions . . .

One of the first people we saw when we arrived in Lindale was President Zaffra, a former mission companion of Paul's. He is the Branch President in the Spanish Branch, with whom we share our building. It has been fun to get to know their family.

We had dinner with them last night and his wife showed us an album that she is putting together with pictures from his mission. It was simple, just pictures on pages but it made both our husbands so happy to be able to pull out this book and look at the pictures.

We have a box of mission pictures and journals and stuff upstairs. I felt like this was Paul's stuff and I didn't really mess with it but I think I am going to start putting something like that together for him.

These are the problems I see:

1~I only recognize 3 people in any of the pictures. Paul, Elder Ward and Elder Zaffra

2~I don't recognize when or where any of the pictures were taken.

3~I don't recognize the importance of the pictures.

Does anyone have any tips?? Sara didn't you do something like this for Steve awhile back?

This may just be something Paul and I have to do together.

I wish Netflix offered high speed internet . . .

Last week our internet and phone (both by suddenlink) went down for about 24 hours and somethng went wrong with the Netflix shipping and it was a 5 day turn around on our movies instead of 2 or 3.

I had to call Suddenlink and after running through their phone maze they told me they would report that I had a problem but they didn't really see that had a problem but if it persisited to call back. The technician told me I might try rebooting my computer. (very helpful) Later when I called again, there was a snotty answering machine telling me that service was down in Lindale and that they would get it up as soon as possible and quit calling . . . that was the gist anyway.

Netflix on the other hand, wrote to me to tell me something was wrong, apologized, told me exactly what to expect and were giving me a 15% discount on this month's service and then wrote me again to tell me everything was back in working order and apologized again.

I realize they don't offer the same product but it was hard not to make comparisons on their customer service.

Shredded Pork Tacos

I'm trying to see if I can go for a week without going to the grocery store. I bought milk and fruit but I am trying to live out of my pantry, my freezer and food storage.

I made this for dinner tonight. Oooooo! It was so good.

Because of my plan to not go to the store, I used pork chops instead of a shoulder roast and I used this little bag of chili powder I bought at the Mercado last month instead of chipotle chilies.

Click here for the recipe.

More Chicken Fun Facts

Did you know that chickens are extremely sensitive to their environment? Heat, noise, change of routine all affect their egg production.

We left on our trip to Utah in the middle of June and the hens were laying 12 -13 eggs a day. When we returned home at the beginning of July they were laying about 6-7 eggs a day.

Just FYI 12-13 eggs a day is too many for the Rodgers family to consume regularly and 6-7 eggs a day is too few. I had to buy a couple dozen eggs last week, I wasn't very happy.

I have been told that as soon as the days cool down a little the egg production will go up again Yea! just in time for fall baking.

USA! USA! USA!

I love love the Olympics!! I love the youth and the competition and patriotism and I love the strength of everyone coming together for something wonderful; not for power or military might or politics.

The opening ceremonies are my very favorite! I love the artistry and the history and symbolism and the music and the beauty!

Did you see the fireworks foot prints running to the stadium!?! How do people think like that!?! So amazing!

I love learning about the directors of the opening ceremonies. It is very interesting how people are chosen and how their ideas come to fruition. I love to hear about the weight they feel by the fact that so many people will be watching; what they liked what they were disappointed in.

Click here to watch some of the highlights.

I also love the torch lighting. The one last night was great, but below is the best one ever! This makes me cry every time!

AAUGH! I'm such a sucker for this stuff!

Barcelona Spain Olympics 1992

Black and Blue

These are pics of some of our fruit picking this year.

There is huge wild blackberry patch nearby. They are smaller than commercially grown berries but they are very sweet and fun to hunt for. The wild flowers were still out.

We picked blueberries on the 4th of July. The big kids and dad were at work so it was just me, Sara, Dan and Gloria. Blueberries have no natural enemies here in Texas so they grow 7 feet tall, they never have bugs and the birds don't touch them.

Design Mom and 5 Minutes for Mom

Check out this great interview with my funny, smart and impeccably dressed sister Gabrielle.


5 Minutes for Mom Interview with Gabrielle Blair: Part 1 - Kirtsy from 5 Minutes for Mom on Vimeo.

Gyros

When we were in St. George we ate such good food but the gyros that Erin fed us one night was by far my favorite meal. I have been meaning to make it since we got home a month ago and I finally made it yesterday. It was so tasted so good to me! My whole family gobbled it up.

I got the chicken recipe from Erin who got it from Jennie who got it from epicurious.com.

Erin sent me to the Food Network for the Tzatziki (yogurt sauce). The sauce is an Ina Garten recipe.

And I baked the pita bread when we got home from church. It was super fast and easy and was so soft and warm. Oh!! I can't wait to make it again!!

There is something about the cool cucumber sauce that makes it perfect for a hot summer day!