Dear family and friends,
Merry Christmas! We know you've been awaiting our annual Christmas newsletter more than opening your presents...so here it is! Wait no longer! Click on the link below to go to our annual newsletter that doesn't involve reading long passages or conjugating irregular verbs.
(Okay, we know you haven't been waiting for our newsletter and that you have already opened your presents, but we'd like to think we're that important in your lives!).
We've been blessed this year and we wanted to thank all of you who have been a significant part of our lives. May next year be even better for you than this year!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
We love you!
Winter and Leland
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Things I learned on our trip to New Mexico
1) Armadillos are the only other carriers of leprosy, besides humans.
2) People in the south run over amadillos all the time. This tidbit was shared by our travel companion and friend, who we'll call My Sharona.
3) The word "pitch" can be used to describe the slant of a roof. They don't have a ton of pitched roofs in New Mexico.
4) A bechamel sauce is a white sauce. I know like 3 French words now. Yay for me.
5) They used a lot of Aston Martins in the opening chase scene of Quantum of Solace. My heart breaks to see them all bashed up like that.
6) The Chipotle Tabasco Sauce is thebomb.com. You can put it on everything. Lee just put it on his cereal and he loves it. Okay, I'm kidding. But he threatened that he would...if you don't try it!
7) I have read Great Expectations, though I couldn't remember that I had. You just don't forget names like Pip, Miss Havasham, and Estella.
8) Caramel popcorn is best homemade and right after it's been made, because it's warm and chewy. Thanks, Dr. Amy, for helping me blow my diet this weekend!
9) Caramel popcorn also tastes bests when you take the time to pick out the kernels that haven't popped. It saves your teeth.
10) Google Navigator is pretty dang awesome.
11) When making lemon pie, you need to keep stirring the custard even though it looks like it's ready. If you stop prematurely, it won't set up. My friend, Dr. Amy, makes a killer lemon pie. Seriously, people, it's amazing.
12) The people of the Chaco Culture built funny diagonal windows as astronomical markers. When summer or winter solstice came around, the sun would shine through to the adjacent room.
13) I should know more Cantonese than I do. When we got our nails done at the Asian Nails in Farmington, two of the nail techs were half Vietnamese/half Hong Kongese. They started talking to me and all I could do was respond back in English. I'm a bad Chinese person.
14) Yurts are a pretty popular building choice in New Mexico.
15) I kind of like companies that parody/mock other companies. You know that company "Life is Good"? Did you know there is a company called "Life is Crap"?
16) I think this is really funny.
17) The stars are really bright in New Mexico.
The end.
Love,
Winter (like the season)
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| My Sharona, the girl who knows stuff about armadillos |
2) People in the south run over amadillos all the time. This tidbit was shared by our travel companion and friend, who we'll call My Sharona.
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| Dr. Amy and My Sharona |
3) The word "pitch" can be used to describe the slant of a roof. They don't have a ton of pitched roofs in New Mexico.
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| Lee, next to a wall in Chaco |
4) A bechamel sauce is a white sauce. I know like 3 French words now. Yay for me.
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| I'm in four states at once! |
5) They used a lot of Aston Martins in the opening chase scene of Quantum of Solace. My heart breaks to see them all bashed up like that.
6) The Chipotle Tabasco Sauce is thebomb.com. You can put it on everything. Lee just put it on his cereal and he loves it. Okay, I'm kidding. But he threatened that he would...if you don't try it!
7) I have read Great Expectations, though I couldn't remember that I had. You just don't forget names like Pip, Miss Havasham, and Estella.
 |
| Nermal, the traveling monkey |
8) Caramel popcorn is best homemade and right after it's been made, because it's warm and chewy. Thanks, Dr. Amy, for helping me blow my diet this weekend!
 |
| Dr. Amy with a friend's baby |
9) Caramel popcorn also tastes bests when you take the time to pick out the kernels that haven't popped. It saves your teeth.
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| My Sharona at the Great Kiva in Chaco |
10) Google Navigator is pretty dang awesome.
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| Shiprock, NM |
11) When making lemon pie, you need to keep stirring the custard even though it looks like it's ready. If you stop prematurely, it won't set up. My friend, Dr. Amy, makes a killer lemon pie. Seriously, people, it's amazing.
 |
| Singing with our Sing-a-ma-jigs! |
12) The people of the Chaco Culture built funny diagonal windows as astronomical markers. When summer or winter solstice came around, the sun would shine through to the adjacent room.
 |
| My Sharona, Dr. Amy, a friend's baby, and I at Chaco |
13) I should know more Cantonese than I do. When we got our nails done at the Asian Nails in Farmington, two of the nail techs were half Vietnamese/half Hong Kongese. They started talking to me and all I could do was respond back in English. I'm a bad Chinese person.
 |
| In Blanding standing next to my parents' old restaurant |
14) Yurts are a pretty popular building choice in New Mexico.
 |
| This is not a yurt. This is Lee holding up the wall...with his manly shoulders! |
15) I kind of like companies that parody/mock other companies. You know that company "Life is Good"? Did you know there is a company called "Life is Crap"?
16) I think this is really funny.
 |
| Taken somewhere in Farmington, NM |
17) The stars are really bright in New Mexico.
 |
| Lee and I at Chaco |
The end.
Love,
Winter (like the season)
Thursday, December 9, 2010
How to Do a Proper Fish Dive
Lee's younger sister, The Ballerina, is studying ballet. It's always fun to see her dancing. Lee knows all about ballet because Lee's oldest sister (we'll call her The Prima Ballerina) also studied ballet for a very long time and was very good at it--Lee went to a ton of ballet recitals.
One of the moves that he is particularly fond of is the fish dive. It took a couple of tries...
Well...not quite. Oops!
Oh, that's much better! Ta-dah!
(I would like you to notice Lee's reverse lunge--I think he nailed the move, don't you?)
And of course, Lee wanted to give it a whirl too!
**Please do not attempt this at home. This stunt was performed by professionals. Well, at least the Ballerina is a professional. Lee just likes to lunge.**
One of the moves that he is particularly fond of is the fish dive. It took a couple of tries...
Well...not quite. Oops!
Oh, that's much better! Ta-dah!
(I would like you to notice Lee's reverse lunge--I think he nailed the move, don't you?)
And of course, Lee wanted to give it a whirl too!
**Please do not attempt this at home. This stunt was performed by professionals. Well, at least the Ballerina is a professional. Lee just likes to lunge.**
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Homemade Chocolates: Chocolate Dipping Day!
Have centers. Need chocolate dipper.
Chocolate dipping day has come!
We had finished up the night before with all of our centers and arrived early in the morning armed with everything:- Orange cream
- Lemon cream
- Mint
- Raspberry
- Bavarian mint (it's a creamy mint center)
- Caramel
- Caramel with burnt almond (it's burnt because I accidentally left the almonds in too long)
- Peanut butter truffle (with sea salt sprinkled on top later)
- Marshmallow (to make into a rocky road chocolate)
- Chili truffle (yes, it's got kick to it!)
- And yes, bacon truffle
Mom K hires a chocolate dipper, we'll call her Ruth, every year to dip the centers professionally. Ruth has worked at Cummings and Mrs. Cavanaugh's, so the chocolates look fancy schmancy. She is amazing!
This whole dipping day thing is quite the process. I would liken it unto an assembly line.
No, actually it's more like a sweatshop.
There are always plenty of hands (and tasters) to help with the chocolate sweat shop. (The Ballerina is not pictured in any of the pictures because she took ALL of these pictures! Isn't she talented?)
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| The Fiddler ready to go |
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| The Fiddler's Son helps with tasting! |
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| The Cookie loves to try the "eyeballs". |
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| Thing 2 is serious about chocolates |
There are so many things going on to make it all work:
- Chocolate being tempered and stirred
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| Thing 2 looks SO excited to be stirring |
- Centers being cut and formed and ready to be dipped
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| Mom K is showing me how to form the centers |
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| Peanut butter truffle |
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| Homemade marshmallows |
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| Turtles! |
- Chocolates being "bottomed" so the centers don't dry out
- Chocolates being dipped and topped as necessary
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| Ruth dips, Thing 2 places a pecan on the top |
- Moving boards with centers to and fro
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| Hmm...maybe we should be exercising instead...? |
- Placing chocolates in cups
- And chocolates finally being placed in tins until they are boxed up closer to Christmas.
It was a LONG day, but we got everything done! Yay! Aren't these chocolates just beautiful?
We were pooped, but we love love this family tradition!
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| Lee is barely able to keep his eyes open! |
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