mhm, again :)

The Chosen - Chaim Potok
God Spoke Tibetan - Allan Maberly
It's Not About Me - Max Lucado
My Antonia - Willa Cather
A Place of Quiet Rest - Nancy Leigh DeMoss
The Pursuit of God - A. W. Tozer
The Story of the Trapp Family Singers - Maria Augusta Trapp
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith

I just finished reading The Chosen last night. That's a good one. It took me a while to get into it, but eventually it got interesting and I wanted to keep reading. I think I'll watch the movie sometime... though it does deviate from the book a little [at least I thought it does, don't remember]. I only have 3 more to read. Next up: The Story of the Trapp Family Singers.

In recent news:
Tomorrow is the Fall Teen Retreat at Camp Fairwood. I'll be there until Saturday then I'm going home with some Rice Lakers from camp and spending another week up there at the Kiffmeyer's. I love last minute plans.

baking fail

October is pastor appreciation month. We were planning on having a fellowship time at church yesterday in honor of our pastor. I volunteered to make the cakes. I was pretty excited about this, because I had some new recipes I wanted to try and also, I like making cake. So Saturday I spent the day baking.
One lesson I learned: try new recipes yourself before you make them for an event.
Here is my epic cake making adventure.

#1: Banana

I was planning on making a two-tiered banana cake, and I did. So I figured I would need to double the recipe. Um, no. The recipe is already meant for two tiers. So I ended up mixing up enough batter for four tiers. I only made three though, and just kept one aside. Simple solution. The fail part was the frosting. I have no idea how to make frosting because this stuff did not work at all and it was a simple recipe. Too much butter? Not enough sugar? Too much milk? What? I don't know. It was frustrating. It tasted ok [very sweet] but just wasn't creamy.

#2: Pumpkin Cheesecake

I have never made cheesecake before. This was the first. I should have kept it in the oven longer because it turned out the center was still gooey. Alas, it tasted splendid despite.

#3: Marble

I made a yellow cake recipe, and then a chocolate cake recipe. This was enough batter for 4 round cakes, but it was in one large pan. The edges cooked must faster than the middle so it was in the oven a long time. Because of this, it turned out a little dry.

#4: Blueberry Muffins

Simple enough right? Wrong. New muffin recipe. They were mixed up like a cake, not by hand. The batter was very thick so I added more buttermilk to fix it. I thought they would turn out fine, but after they were out of the oven, the tops all shrunk down so they were concave on top.

#5: Completely Successful Banana Cake

This was the extra banana cake. I decided to spread it with the extra [store bought] chocolate frosting from the marble cake and take it to youth group. Everyone liked it.

I still took the cakes to church, and everyone enjoyed them. So I guess I was the only one disappointed because I knew how they should have turned out and didn't.

Banana Cake Recipe [upon request]

2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe banana
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add banana, buttermilk, butter, eggs, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed till combined. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes.
Pour batter into 2 greased and floured 8x1.5 or 9x1.5-inch round pans. Bake in a 350 oven for 30-35 minutes or till a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans; cool on racks.

college apps

The first half of this week I spent filling out, completing, and sending in college applications. Man, those things are time consuming. I'm glad I'm done with them... for now. I applied at three different Bible schools. His Hill in Texas, and Ravencrest Chalet, in Colorado, are both schools of Torchbearers International. They offer a one year intensive Bible program in a small classroom setting, which I like. I also applied at Jackson Hole Bible College in Wyoming. Also a small classroom, one year Bible program. I discovered this one when we went to the Creation Museum. Ken Ham readily supports this school. It has an emphasis on creation and so they incorporate field trips to Mt. St. Helens and The Grand Canyon and other places as part of the program. This would be my first choice, but I guess I'll see where I get accepted, if at all.
Now, if only I could find a job...

in a pickle

Back in August my mom decided she wanted to can a bunch of stuff. We had a lot of tomatoes from our garden, and strawberries that we had picked and my mom wanted to make some pickles. So we had a few days of epic canning.

We went to the farmers market...

...bought some pickle cucumbers and peppers and onions for salsa...

...canned jam, salsa and pickles...

...and just yesterday we opened the first jar of pickles...

...which proved to be excellent!

...aaand we're back!

Oh road trips... how I love thee. The Creation Museum was pretty cool. It's actually located in Kentucky, not Ohio like I thought. We stayed in a hotel near the Cincinnati airport [which is actually in Kentucky] which was pretty close to the museum. We bought a family pass to the museum good for the next year, so we went and spent all day there yesterday and we went back today as well for a little bit. [Plan is to possibly go back in spring? Hm? Ok!] I think my favorite part was the Stargazers room. It was similar to a planetarium but it was a digital presentation on the solar system projected onto a domed ceiling. It was so incredible, it showed how huge and vast and amazing and uncomprehendible <-[is that even a word?] our galaxy and universe truly is. It makes me feel like a tiny helpless fly. We're a small little planet in a gigantic sea of God's glory. It's a cool place. The best part is the way it's a whole museum about creation and it all points to God. Because it's from a Biblical perspective; you won't be reading about evolution or millions of years there.

Hooray for nice hotels!


Dad thought this would make a cool picture I guess...


Sittin' in the hot tub.


The museum had lots of dinosaurs.

The museum was filled with scripture. One room, we walked into they had a video of people quoting verses from the Bible about God and His glory. It was so cool, just hearing the scripture being read as you looked at the apostles and read about what they accomplished for God's kingdom.

The tropic-like gardens and petting zoo outside were fun times.

On a different note: our family is shrinking. Oh sad. This was our little family vacation for the year. Notice how we are missing three members [or 5, counting spouses] and I am the oldest child of the four. Eh, I guess it's something everyone faces: growing up.

home for a minute

Friday I left Rice Lake and headed to Camp Fairwood. There was a work weekend going on there, so Ande and I drove down and my family drove up. We hung out, worked, and departed yesterday afternoon. So I'm home now, but not for long. Tomorrow we are leaving at 5:00 a.m. [or at least that's the plan] to go to Cincinnati Ohio to visit the Creation museum. Be back Wednesday evening.

Packers vs. Vikings

James, Jodi, Me, Ande.

Last night, we went to the Packers/Vikings game in MN.

Face painting.

Yeah, Packers lost... but it was a fun time.

St. Croix Falls on Sunday