Category Archives: Food

January Fun in Greeley

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We’ve been having some fun times so far this January. For New Year’s Eve we went over to our friends Matt and Jamie’s house and played the Xbox Kinect which is the newest virtual reality game similar to the Wii that is very active. We were sweating and laughing and in general enjoying ourselves, especially as we played against a three-year old with boundless energy.

Britton and Matt playing Kinect on New Year’s

We stayed up until midnight and watched the re-run of the countdown and ball dropping in New York (since we are two hours earlier here in Colorado) and toasted to the new year.

Earlier that day we took our niece, nephew and my cousin Tommy who was in town out to lunch as part of their Christmas present. We decided to go to Pho Duy which is a new Vietnamese beef broth soup place in Greeley. Britton and I love going there so we thought we would show the kids. Plus, it was really snowy and cold, a perfect day for soup!


At Pho Duy in Greeley

Then this weekend we were invited to a re-wrap your crap party, AKA white elephant party at my friend Kelly’s house. We love these parties and have even had one at our house! After Christmas you always find stuff you really don’t need anymore or that is just plain silly so it’s a great way to have fun with the excesses.


Party

We ended up with a tea timer -for people who can’t remember to take their tea bag out of their cup! lol And another glass chicken/rooster. I am starting to amass quite a lot of weird chicken paraphernalia thanks to my love of our real chickens I suppose.


With some friends from work

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Christmas 2010

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We had a nice, slow Christmas this year and just stayed in Greeley. Even so, it was more stressful than usual with my mom having a hard time adjusting to life without my dad (the holidays are the worst) and all of us trying to help my brother along in his process of moving out and growing up. I really have been missing my dad a lot too even though he visits me in my dreams almost nightly. On Christmas, we were looking through our posts from last year and it’s hard to believe that he was doing so well less than a year ago.

Anyhow, this year Britton and I had two meals again. One at his family’s house and the other at my mom’s. We were hammed out! 🙂

We made a snack/cookies/tea/cocoa basket for everyone and had fun baking up the cookies together. And even though Christmas day was actually quite a nice dry one weather wise (in the 60s or so) we now have a white blanket on the ground just in time for the New Year.

Here are a few photos from the day. I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas holiday.


My aunt Laura, my mom, and Rob cooking


Me and my Grandma


Christmas dinner


Cookie Baskets (plus Schnoodle)

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The Empty Seat

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We had a lovely Thanksgiving meal and time with family at our house this year. Britton’s mom and our niece and nephew stopped by for a few and my aunt’s family (her husband and son Tommy) flew in from out of town to join us for Thanksgiving dinner.


The Kauffmans

We had a sort of pot-luck and we were in charge of drinks. So in addition to egg nog, hot apple cider, milk, izzies, beer and wine, I made some great sangria! We enjoyed our drinks and listened to music and talked for a while before we ate.


Sangria

Then we all sat down at the table for a meal. Except one chair wasn’t filled. And that was the chair for my dad. We decided to honor him and his memory by placing a plate at his seat at the end of the table. We remembered him there for all the Thanksgivings past and it was nice to think of his spirit joining us for the meal. The holidays are the hardest after you lose someone because these holidays are about family, about coming together and enjoying our time on earth. So when someone is no longer there with you, it stings a little more.


The Empty Seat and lots of full ones too!

But my brother Justin did a great job taking over some of Dad’s traditional roles like peeling and mashing the potatoes. I think Dad would have approved! They were great. And Laura’s husband Rob trimmed the turkey and we all said grace. We really hardly ever say grace, but it’s such a nice tradition. To be thankful for the bounty of food, everything we are blessed to have and to be in the company of friends and family.

And this year, I think grace was even more poignant without my dad. It seems perhaps that we tend to under-appreciate what we have until it is gone. Death has a way of waking you up to your life and aligning your priorities. Live it while you can! And maybe, just maybe, after you go, you will leave a mark on the people in your life so profound that you never truly die. For me on this Thanksgiving, that seat may have been empty but my dad will always be here with me on Thanksgiving or any other day.

BONUS: I had never made sangria before, but I think I made a winning mix for Thanksgiving. So in case you are wondering….here is:

Cassie’s Secret Sangria Concoction -err- Recipe

Franzia Chillable Boxed Red Wine (or white if you prefer)
Some Pineapple Juice
Some Cranapple Juice Concentrate
Lots of fruit and squeezed juice (Orange, lemon, lime slices, pomegranate seeds, pineapple)
Chill overnight
When you are ready to serve, add champagne and/or seltzer water to make it fizzy. By using the juice concentrate you don’t water it down too much this way.
Add fruit garnishes like lemon, orange, lime and maraschino cherries.

And, finally, enjoy!

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Thankful

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I love Thanksgiving. It is the only holiday that we make a concerted effort to simply reflect on what we are thankful for along with our loved ones and our abundance of food -our sustenance. It is not about excesses or commercialism. It is about remembering what is really important. And although Thanksgiving is not until tomorrow, I thought I would give thanks a little early.

I am so very thankful that I grew up with such a wonderful dad. While it still pains me that he is not here anymore, I have to remember that this pain is just love inside out.  

I am thankful for my health and the health of my loved ones. Without your health, life is much harder.

I am thankful FOR my loved ones. Without the people in our lives who we love so much, life would have little meaning. I would even include Schnoodle, Kitty and our chickens as my “people” in this one. 🙂

I am thankful for our opportunities. Even when we sometimes worry or complain about them, my life is better because of work, because of our rentals, because of the opportunity to live in Puerto Rico! How great is that!?

I am thankful for our comfortable life. I have a warm house, food at all times, clean running water, transportation, entertainment  and more. Some may say they are not all the most important, but they definitely make life a little easier. A foundation for you to achieve your own dreams. I am thankful for all the people in all sorts of various ways who help keep our lives possible in that way.

And I am thankful for you! By taking the time to read our blog, you show that you are interested in our lives. Thank you for supporting us, engaging with us in great dialogue, and even becoming new friends.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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