Category Archives: Lists

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

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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

hey good lookin’, whatcha got cookin’?

08 Thursday Dec 2011

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

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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!

the “30″ for 2011

01 Saturday Jan 2011

Posted by in Journey, Lists, Randomness

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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 are a couple of the items I “accomplished” in 2010…

The Year that Was (2010)

  • Took 3 fabulous trips – Vegas in January, DC in April, Europe in August and September
  • Started a permanent job at LSS
  • Tried 5 new restaurants: Al Vento, Lyndale Tap House, Uptown Cafeteria, Burger Jones, Tavern on France, Sushi Tango, etc
  • Finished my CEOP classes with the Covenant
  • Painted the hallway + bathroom
  • Cleaned and Reorganized the basement
  • Bought new couches
  • Took two getaway weekends with Josh
  • update pictures on smug mug

And a few of the items that I’m attempting for 2011…

The Year that Will Be (2011)

  1. reorganize + repaint the 4th bedroom
  2. manage stress – or at least attempt to
  3. try 5 new restaurants
  4. create a great salsa recipe
  5. plant flowers this spring
  6. get a kindle
  7. get a new roof
  8. save more, spend less (except on necessary new roof)
  9. create personal recipe book
  10. host a family holiday
  11. blog at least once a week
  12. make pickles and jam this fall
  13. make it to the playoffs in Fantasy Football
  14. get a Mpls library card
  15. develop my own ebelskiver recipe

2010 in review

31 Friday Dec 2010

Posted by in Celebrations, Family&Friends, Fantasy Football, Good Things, Journey, Lists, little miss grumpy, Lucy+Bex, Making a Home, Memory Lane, Money, obsession, quoteable words, Randomness, Recipes and Food, Rest and Work, things i wish weren't true, things we will wait in line for, Worship + Ministry

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Its almost the end of 2010 and this year we opted to send out a photo Christmas card with no letter – deciding instead to post the Bettin VerHage year-in-review here.

peaks, valleys and the moments in between make life what it is – amazing, frustrating, full of grace, sometimes ordinary. 2010 was no exception in our little corner of the world…

peaks
celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary with a great party
traveled through the baltic states and enjoyed three weeks of european fun
we both won giant stuffed animals at the state fair
took an Easter trip to DC to spend time with family + old friends
josh won the Benchwarmers Fantasy Football League Championship
kara finished up her Covenant Orientation classes
lots of trips to see family
we both turned 33
anticipated the birth of our nephew henry (coming in Jan 2011)
fireworks at the Lake on the 4th
kara was officially granted a ministry license with the Evangelical Covenant
enjoyed some amazing meals at the Grand
celebrated the birthdays of our nieces Eva + Emily
kara went to vegas with her sister
learned a new board game called Dominion that quickly sucked us all in
our first shared season tickets for Wild games (and seats on the aisle!)
thanksgiving in Jackson and Christmas in Galesburg
bex + lucy and their silly, sweet dog “personalities”

valleys
mourned the loss of our dear friend jon following his death in april
another year of missing those we’ve lost
learned the terms “ice dam” and “claims adjustor”
ongoing ear + eye infections, coughing, and “crud” for a typically sick-free household
kara’s fantasy football team was the source of much frustration
lucy had surgery and had to wear the “cone of shame”

life in between
started a meal co-op with friends
contemplated the need for a snowblower
josh marked 8 years with the same company (Seagate)
sang karaoke
finally finished some of those little house projects
kara exercised her creativity in planning worship + designing communications at our church
josh continued his monthly board game gatherings with the guys
bought some new couches + a christmas tree
kara dusted off the golf clubs
josh became a crossword enthusiast
read some great series…Hunger Games, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo…
made some new friends
hosted lots of wonderful houseguests
kara returned to Lutheran Social Service as a full time employee
threw four baby showers
caught up with old friends
learned new things
enjoyed spending time with our small groups
tried new recipes – baking a real cake for the first time
led the outreach commission at our church
josh started soccer again after last season’s injury
thoroughly enjoyed outdoor baseball in the new Twins stadium
sang with worship team
camping with friends on a desperately hot weekend

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year – may 2011 be a time of blessings, growth + new adventures for all of us.

top 10

13 Monday Sep 2010

Posted by in Good Things, Lists, Randomness, things we will wait in line for

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10 things we already miss about Europe

  1. everything tastes better during our travels – the prosecco, the olives, the bread
  2. canals and lovely water everywhere
  3. Josh and I spending all our time together
  4. being surrounded by different languages
  5. time to rest, to run around new cities, to think about the future
  6. little cobblestone streets + old old buildings
  7. the compelling “need” for us to buy a volvo, a mercedes, a bmw
  8. the thrill of not quite knowing what each day would bring
  9. the vacation-appropriateness of eating chocolate, drinking early, taking naps
  10. the bread

10 things that make us happy to be home

  1. bex + lucy
  2. coming home to Fall
  3. sleeping in our own bed
  4. a very clean house (here’s hoping i can keep it that way)
  5. fast internet access
  6. putting those plans for the future into action
  7. seeing our family + friends
  8. the start of the football season
  9. real diet pepsi
  10. sticking to one time zone, one currency

five

26 Friday Feb 2010

Posted by in Lists, Movies, Randomness

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i ripped off these leading questions from a design blog i often read (and tweaked the last one).  thought it would be fun to post my own answers…how about you?  how would you answer these questions.  blog stalkers, feel free to post your answers in the comments section :)

Five things I’m looking forward to…

  1. lots of trips this year: March in Chicago, Easter in DC, Europe in late summer
  2. my birthday (only 32 days to go)
  3. a return trip to the Grand soon – our meal the other night was superb
  4. the return of Glee
  5. spring

Five things I did yesterday…

  1. bought daffodils
  2. drank a lot of coffee
  3. realized i really love my job
  4. laughed with friends
  5. downloaded a new game for my iPod

Five things I wish I could do…

  1. fly
  2. take a nap
  3. own a house on a lake
  4. hire a personal assistant
  5. keep my house clean

Five places I’d like to travel…

  1. outer space
  2. scotland
  3. really anywhere in europe
  4. japan
  5. prince edward island on an Anne of Green Gables nostalgia tour

Five favorite movies or books…

  1. Love Actually (movie)
  2. Pride + Prejudice (book + movies)
  3. Johnny Got His Gun (book)
  4. Nancy and Plum (book)
  5. (500) Days of Summer (current movie love)
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