Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Baby Landon
Last weekend we went with my parents to visit my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew to celebrate my sister's (belated) birthday. It was great to see all of them and spend some time with them. And of course, it was also great to see baby Landon and how much he has grown just since Christmas/New Year's. On Saturday we went to Tyson's Corner for some shopping (mostly browsing) then we enjoyed dinner at Osaka, a Japanese restaurant. Although the trip was short, it was a very enjoyable one and I can't wait to go back and see them all again. Here are some pictures from the weekend...
Sunday, February 7, 2010
A Snowy Walk on the Greenway
Andrew and I just got back from taking a walk on part of the Roanoke River Greenway. It was still mostly covered in snow but you could tell others had the same idea because there were lots of tracks (even tracks from cross-country skis). The snow made the walk a little harder than normal, but it was still fun. We took a few pictures along the way, so I thought I'd share.
I hope everyone enjoys the commercials - I mean, Super Bowl, tonight! It looks like we'll both be going to work tomorrow. However, we might be getting some more winter weather by Tuesday/Wednesday, so Andrew's week is looking promising. I've also got another 3-day weekend to look forward to next weekend, thanks to Presidents' Day on the 15th. So long for now!
I hope everyone enjoys the commercials - I mean, Super Bowl, tonight! It looks like we'll both be going to work tomorrow. However, we might be getting some more winter weather by Tuesday/Wednesday, so Andrew's week is looking promising. I've also got another 3-day weekend to look forward to next weekend, thanks to Presidents' Day on the 15th. So long for now!
Saturday, February 6, 2010
It Snowed...Again!
Yesterday and today we were hit with our fourth snow storm of the season. Around here we got around 10 inches of wet and heavy snow, while Andrew's parents in Pennsylvania and my sister in Northern Virginia have gotten at least 2 feet so far.
While some people are sick of the white stuff, Andrew and I both don't mind it and I think it's absolutely beautiful. I guess I understand some people's frustrations, but I think the best thing to do is just to find a way to enjoy it. Build a snowman. Go sleigh riding. Go on a walk in the snow. Watch a movie. Read a book. Cook. Organize your closet. Catch up on your laundry. Catch up on your sleep. Drink hot chocolate. Do nothing. I think one reason I don't mind the snow is that it forces us to slow down, unwind, and relax. I think some people are just too inconvenienced to appreciate that, though. The ironic thing is that they are probably the ones who need to chill out the most. Anyways, enough of my ranting about people who don't like the snow...
After we cleared the steps and the parking spots, we built a snowman. This snow was perfect for snowman-making,unlike some of our previous snows. He doesn't have a corncob pipe or a button nose, but I'd say he turned out pretty good, camo hat and all.
Between the snow this weekend and the Superbowl on Sunday, there is only one obvious choice for dinner tonight and tomorrow: CHILI! Chili is interesting because I think everybody makes it differently. I was searching online for some "secret" chili ingredients and I definitely found some interesting ones. They included things like peanut butter, molasses, cocoa powder, Coca Cola, cinnamon, and beer. Sounds weird, I know. So anyways, I thought I would share my chili recipe for this weekend (I say for this weekend because it is always subject to change in the future).
Ingredients:
2 lbs. ground venison
1 large onion, diced
1 large green bell pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (15 oz.) black beans
1 can (15 oz.) pinto beans
1 can (15 oz.) light red kidney beans
1 can (15 oz.) dark red kidney beans
2 cans (14.5 oz.) petite diced tomatoes
1 can (10 oz.) diced tomatoes and green chilies
1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon crushed basil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 (semi-heaping) tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 (semi-heaping) tablespoon brown sugar
Directions:
1. Cook venison with onions, green pepper, and garlic in a large pot until the meat is no longer pink. I let it cook for a while longer so that the water from the onion and pepper gets steamed off. This is because if I try to drain it I usually end up dumping half of the contents of the pot into the sink.
2. Add all of the cans. DO NOT DRAIN ANY OF THE CANS.
3. Add all of the spices.
4. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes (the more the merrier), stirring occasionally.
I just went downstairs to stir it and I gave it a little taste test...I can't wait to dig in!
While some people are sick of the white stuff, Andrew and I both don't mind it and I think it's absolutely beautiful. I guess I understand some people's frustrations, but I think the best thing to do is just to find a way to enjoy it. Build a snowman. Go sleigh riding. Go on a walk in the snow. Watch a movie. Read a book. Cook. Organize your closet. Catch up on your laundry. Catch up on your sleep. Drink hot chocolate. Do nothing. I think one reason I don't mind the snow is that it forces us to slow down, unwind, and relax. I think some people are just too inconvenienced to appreciate that, though. The ironic thing is that they are probably the ones who need to chill out the most. Anyways, enough of my ranting about people who don't like the snow...
After we cleared the steps and the parking spots, we built a snowman. This snow was perfect for snowman-making,unlike some of our previous snows. He doesn't have a corncob pipe or a button nose, but I'd say he turned out pretty good, camo hat and all.
Between the snow this weekend and the Superbowl on Sunday, there is only one obvious choice for dinner tonight and tomorrow: CHILI! Chili is interesting because I think everybody makes it differently. I was searching online for some "secret" chili ingredients and I definitely found some interesting ones. They included things like peanut butter, molasses, cocoa powder, Coca Cola, cinnamon, and beer. Sounds weird, I know. So anyways, I thought I would share my chili recipe for this weekend (I say for this weekend because it is always subject to change in the future).
Ingredients:
2 lbs. ground venison
1 large onion, diced
1 large green bell pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (15 oz.) black beans
1 can (15 oz.) pinto beans
1 can (15 oz.) light red kidney beans
1 can (15 oz.) dark red kidney beans
2 cans (14.5 oz.) petite diced tomatoes
1 can (10 oz.) diced tomatoes and green chilies
1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon crushed basil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 (semi-heaping) tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 (semi-heaping) tablespoon brown sugar
Directions:
1. Cook venison with onions, green pepper, and garlic in a large pot until the meat is no longer pink. I let it cook for a while longer so that the water from the onion and pepper gets steamed off. This is because if I try to drain it I usually end up dumping half of the contents of the pot into the sink.
2. Add all of the cans. DO NOT DRAIN ANY OF THE CANS.
3. Add all of the spices.
4. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes (the more the merrier), stirring occasionally.
I just went downstairs to stir it and I gave it a little taste test...I can't wait to dig in!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
My New Game
Last night at dinner my grandmother commented on how it has been a while since my last blog post, to which I responded by explaining that we really haven't been doing anything exciting enough to write about. Our day-to-day activities haven't strayed too far from the norm. Wake up. Go to work. Go to the gym. Come home. Eat dinner. Relax. Go to bed. Repeat. Our weekends have consisted mostly of working, cleaning the house, and doing things to prepare for the next week (laundry and grocery shopping) or things that we don't have enough time or energy to do during the week. I know it sounds pretty boring, but I don't really mind it and I don't think Andrew does either because we both like having a steady routine. And if I had to guess, I'd say our routine isn't that different from everyone else's (I hope so anyways...). So while I haven't really had much to write about, all is well in the Hartman household.
To keep myself entertained, my newest game is coupon clipping. Yes, I called it a game. Right now Andrew and I are working our way through Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps. We're currently on Baby Step #2, which means that we are putting as much money as we can toward paying off our debt (student loans). So the more money we can save, the better, and the faster we can get through this.
One of the ways we can save money is to always look for ways to reduce our grocery bill because it's something that we can sort of control. Before we go to the store every week, I plan out what we are going to eat for dinner every night and make my list accordingly. Sometimes I'll browse the Kroger add and see what's on sale for that particular week and plan our meals around that. But one thing I have stumbled upon recently is coupon websites. There are all kinds of websites out there that will let you print manufacturer's coupons. I even found this one really great website that adds coupons to your Kroger Plus Card and they are automatically applied to your bill when you checkout (you don't even have to print the coupons out). So oddly enough, this has turned into somewhat of a game for me because I want to try to save us as much money as possible. Between using our Kroger Plus Card and redeeming coupons, we saved about $17 this week on groceries. If you saved that much every week, you would save almost $900 a year. That's a lot.
One of the websites I found has some good tips on coupon clipping. You shouldn't feel like you have to use every coupon, especially if it's not a product you use regularly. If you buy things that you wouldn't normally buy just because you have a coupon, then you're really spending more money than you would have in the first place. Another tidbit is to make sure that you are actually saving money when you use the coupon; sometimes the generic brands will be cheaper without a coupon than the brand names are with the coupon. So maybe I'm just really weird, but I find this kind of thing fun (I'm probably just weird).
Here are some of the websites I have found to be good:
To keep myself entertained, my newest game is coupon clipping. Yes, I called it a game. Right now Andrew and I are working our way through Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps. We're currently on Baby Step #2, which means that we are putting as much money as we can toward paying off our debt (student loans). So the more money we can save, the better, and the faster we can get through this.
One of the ways we can save money is to always look for ways to reduce our grocery bill because it's something that we can sort of control. Before we go to the store every week, I plan out what we are going to eat for dinner every night and make my list accordingly. Sometimes I'll browse the Kroger add and see what's on sale for that particular week and plan our meals around that. But one thing I have stumbled upon recently is coupon websites. There are all kinds of websites out there that will let you print manufacturer's coupons. I even found this one really great website that adds coupons to your Kroger Plus Card and they are automatically applied to your bill when you checkout (you don't even have to print the coupons out). So oddly enough, this has turned into somewhat of a game for me because I want to try to save us as much money as possible. Between using our Kroger Plus Card and redeeming coupons, we saved about $17 this week on groceries. If you saved that much every week, you would save almost $900 a year. That's a lot.
One of the websites I found has some good tips on coupon clipping. You shouldn't feel like you have to use every coupon, especially if it's not a product you use regularly. If you buy things that you wouldn't normally buy just because you have a coupon, then you're really spending more money than you would have in the first place. Another tidbit is to make sure that you are actually saving money when you use the coupon; sometimes the generic brands will be cheaper without a coupon than the brand names are with the coupon. So maybe I'm just really weird, but I find this kind of thing fun (I'm probably just weird).
Here are some of the websites I have found to be good:
- http://www.hip2save.com/ - they update you multiple times a day to let you know about all kinds of good deals at different stores and different coupons available online.
- http://www.coupons.smartsource.com/ and http://www.redplum.com/ let you print out manufacturer's coupons.
- http://www.shortcuts.com/ - you can add coupons to your Kroger Plus Card (or other grocery store savings cards) and they are automatically redeemed when you checkout and use your card (no printing required!).
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Merry Christmas!
We hope that everyone has a great Christmas and enjoys some extra time with family and friends. And don't forget what Christmas is all about...
(If you get this through e-mail, you will have to go to our blog's website to see this video - www.andrewlauren.blogspot.com)
The Story of Christmas
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Luke 2:1-20
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