Author Archives: karabettinverhage

i’m too old to play eponine i guess

23 Thursday Feb 2012

Posted by in Celebrations, Good Things, music, obsession, things i wish weren't true, things we will wait in line for

≈ Leave a Comment

Turns out that a 34 year old Eponine performing among the middle and high schoolers in our church’s youth production of Les Miserables this weekend is not what the directors were going for.  *the disappointment is starting to fade*  But you better believe that we’ll be there to cheer those kids on – and both Josh and I will try to only silently sing along with the kids.

So, if you’re in the area – join us either on Sunday morning (2/26) or Tuesday evening (2/28) at Johnson High School in St. Paul for what, I’m sure, will be an enormously entertaining couple of hours.  Check out the link below for the details.

Admission is free + you can silently sing along to all the songs + you can support some super amazing kids who have put a ton of time and energy into this + I promise not to jump up on stage and belt out my favorite numbers.

Les Miserables Event Flyer

the 30 for 2012

04 Wednesday Jan 2012

Posted by in Good Things, Inspiration, Journey, Lists, obsession, Recipes and Food, Rest and Work, things we will wait in line for

≈ 5 Comments

I need these bookends of time – that sense of finishing and starting again.  So invariably I love this time of year.  I don’t make resolutions, but I make a little list of those things I want to attempt – all the while leaving space for what will and won’t happen in these next 12 months.  Here’s the wrap up of a few things I did this past year from last year’s list (and a couple of new things we didn’t even anticipate!)…

The Year that Was (2011)

  • Started the process to adopt a baby
  • Became an Auntie again
  • Created a great salsa recipe
  • Won TWO fantasy football league championships (and won the consolation bracket in the third)
  • Got a new roof
  • Tried 5+ new restaurants: Meritage, Ruam Mit Thai, Tilia, Wondrous Asian Kitchen, Manny’s Tortas, The Local, etc.
  • Learned how to make churros
  • Joined another small group at church
  • Got a kindle
  • Officiated my first wedding
  • Successfully baked my grandma’s famous chocolate cake
  • Bought a share of a cow from a local farm + have a freezer full of awesome grass-fed beef!
  • Created a personal recipe binder
  • Reorganized our house + got the nursery started
  • Camped in some CRAZY mud on memorial day

And a few of the items that I’m attempting for as part of my “30 in 2012″…

The Year that Will Be (2012)

  • Finish the nursery
  • Plant flowers this spring
  • Go the playoffs in our Benchwarmer FF league
  • Make pickles and jam this fall
  • Attempt to make/create/do at least 15 things I “pin” on Pinterest
  • Learn how to make krumkake and lefse
  • Finish some volunteer leadership roles + take a little break
  • Sew a quilt
  • Stick with yoga
  • Merge our many itunes accounts + music/movie/audiobook devices
  • Read 35 books
  • Learn how to bake bread
  • get a fabulous new camera

christmas highlights

31 Saturday Dec 2011

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a Comment

we had a really good december – worked hard at trying to keep things fairly balanced between obligations and opportunities for quiet + reflection + fun.  here are some of my favorite highlights from this past month:

  • light spectacular: josh was in charge of organizing our annual christmas lights tour – and what an amazing job he did.  He programmed in addresses to our GPS and as we rounded the first corner in the suburbs, he said to me “now, this might be a little different than you were expecting”.  Turns out he had found homes that had the light + music shows – just like I had seen on youtube.  I wish someone had had a picture of my face – it can be difficult to surprise me, but I was pretty speechless and just said “NO WAY” with my mouth hanging open as we watched  thousands of lights twinkling with the beats of the music coming through our radio. It was seriously awesome and will probably the go-to activity for Decembers in our future!
  • stay-cation: we took the week in between Christmas and New Year’s off – and stayed home! It was fun to sleep in, take naps, have dinner with friends on a Tuesday night, see a morning movie, have a beer with lunch, etc.  I could really get used to us having lots of time off – but alas jobs and upcoming babies will probably delay such activities (all the more reason to do it now!)
  • A snow-less holiday season: as much as i love some snow around Christmas – last year’s massive snow attack made me wishing for a precipitation free year this year – and we had one!  It was nice as we were travelling and rushing around finishing errands to not worry about the extra time and care necessary in navigating the Cities with ice + snow
  • getting things out on time (mostly): it was kind of amazing that I actually got many of our christmas cards out on time (still have a few more to get into the mail this week!) and ended up getting cookie boxes ready, too!  I start with such high hopes and usually run out of time – but for some reason this year I even ended up being able to add homemade treats to stockings too!
  • on display: we ended up in the front row for Christmas Eve service this year – all of us “kids” sitting next to the acolytes (who spent time during the service texting) and trying not to get into too much trouble.   we were at the church i grew up at as a little kid, which more or less is the exact same service every year – and while I was underwhelmed at the sermon (come on, you have a full sanctuary – inspire us, challenge us!), it was full of the same things I love: the smell of that church, my family sitting in those same chairs, and lighting those candles and trying to drip wax safely without getting caught.  It is, of course, still magical as we act a little bit like kids again and hear the story of Jesus’ birth.
  • babies + trucks:Henry was really engaged with gifts this year – at only 11 months he was very much into touching all the presents and playing with his new toys.  We got him a fun little recycling truck and that kid was so interested in pushing that truck around the room that the rest of the family opened gifts and he was content.  Alison and Brian were excited to get all sorts of new things to entertain + teach Henry with (and we will save that drum set for another holiday!)

christmas remembered #3

23 Friday Dec 2011

Posted by in advent, Family, Memory Lane, Randomness, things we will wait in line for

≈ Leave a Comment

one part of our family performs a Christmas program every year – after candlelight service + before opening gifts.  The first year Josh met my family was the year we decided to mix it up a little and do Veggie Tales Christmas.  Little did Josh know that it included a role for him – featuring a solo.  and a Jamaican accent.  maybe it was the folly of youth or his desire to have everyone like him – but as I recall he fearlessly rocked it!  I still remember listening to him sing as some kind of Jamaican fruit or vegetable with a look of surprise on my face – so much for the quiet and behind the scenes guy that I thought he was! :)

baking results

20 Tuesday Dec 2011

Posted by in advent, Family&Friends, Good Things, Recipes and Food

≈ 2 Comments

here are some of the items we made/baked this Christmas season.  The now-named “peanut butter uglies” did not make the cookie plate this year – strictly a behind the scenes treat for people who are at our house…too unattractive to give away!  Perhaps I can re-conceptualize the recipe for next year as Josh thought they tasted decent.  still haven’t gotten to the krumkake but might attempt that next week since we have some time off at home + a new year’s party to prep for.

sugar cookie snowflakes, cake balls, caramels + banket

 

 

 

hey good lookin’, whatcha got cookin’?

08 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by in advent, Good Things, Inspiration, Lists, Recipes and Food

≈ 3 Comments

Its Christmas baking time again at our house – almost time for the annual cookie exchange and this is gonna be my year to actually distribute treat packages to people – at least ahead of the game a little bit!  Thankfully Alison bestowed a few covered cookie pans to me this fall + was extremely convincing in my purchase of a KitchenAid mixer – I have been giving that shiny red mixer a workout this week and am thrilled I bought it! I’ve been propping up with ipad in the kitchen and started streaming Felicity via netflix and have been cranking out the goodies. I never got into Felicity when it was on tv and it makes me wonder if we were all that self-absorbed and impulsive when we were that age! :)

Here’s what we’re making at our house.  okay, let’s be honest – i am the primary baker + josh is functioning as the dishwasher and treat taster (though I tried to give him the title “sous chef” in order to make his dishwashing duties seem more glamorous – he wasn’t buying it and last night asked if he could help with something besides cleaning up my messes…)

Pictures of the final treats will be up next week…

  • Martha’s Golden Caramels – the first batch yielded 201 caramels but man are these physically tiring with 70 minutes of literal constant stirring
  • Peanut Butter + Pretzel Balls – taking Josh’s peanut butter bars to the next level
  • Peppermint Cake Balls – rolled 150 of these and are ready to dip
  • Banket – attempting the real deal with this Dutch favorite this year!
  • Krumkake – using my new-to-me krumkake iron from Grandma and Grandpa O
  • Sugar Cookie snowflakes – my standard over the past few years
  • Cake Batter Fudge – pinterest is dangerous friends…all these new ideas to attempt

you better believe these are going to be making their way into the hands of people we know – too much temptation for us to keep them around the house!

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.