Updates!

Just wanted to update everyone on a couple old blog posts.

RECIPES
First of all, thank you so much to everyone that shared recipes with me via: the comments section, my email (mbabyrn@yahoo.com), and my facebook account. I am so appreciative of them. And by all means, please feel free to keep them coming. :)

I came across this photo online.
I LOVE chicken, but this photographer clearly had too much time on their hands.  :)

I have tried out two chicken meals since that blog post. One of them, was not even a recipe per se' but just something I came across at Wegmans. At the counter where they have some partially prepared meats, they had some stuffed chicken breasts that had bruschetta and pesto in them. I found myself drooling at the counter, and bought two of them to try. I poured a tiny bit of Wegmans Basting Oil over them and cooked them in the oven. I initially had no idea how to actually cook them, but after doing some 'googling', I figured it out. Justin actually LIKED it! It really was delicious. Also, many thanks to Lauren and Jeff Bryant for tricking my husband into eating ground turkey meatloaf. He loved it and was shocked to learn it wasn't beef. :)

FIRE
For those of you wondering how my family is doing following the fire at their home...
The house is sort of in a demolition phase. It has been emptied of just about everything. The rooms that had only a wall or two still standing have been completely demolished. With the snow on the ground now, its almost easy to imagine they were never there to begin with. We initially thought the kitchen would be salvageable as it was not burned at all. Unfortunately, due to the water damage from the room above, they now have to gut the whole thing. The kitchen cabinets and hard-wood floors are warped from the water and have to all be ripped out. My mom had hoped to 'update the kitchen' sometime in the future... while this obviously isn't how she envisioned it happening, it is 'the silver lining' in all of this. My family is living pretty comfortably in rental homes, trying to put together the many lists of items that were damaged and/or destroyed in the fire. This initially does not seem like it would be too difficult... But right now, as I sit in my living room and close my eyes... I cannot even begin to name all the things I know, or should know, are in this very room with me. Every piece of furniture, every light fixture, rug, plant, pillow, curtain, picture frame, nick nack, etc....  It's amazing how difficult it is to remember everyTHING that we surround ourselves with. While our things can provide us with a place of comfort, ease and bring a certain sense of warmth to our homes, they are still just things. Some more precious than others. And some very easily forgotten. Wherever you are now.... pick a different room in your house.... Just one room.... and imagine you had to write down everything in that room. EVERYTHING. Even just mentally do that. Then go into the room and see what you forgot. Guaranteed there will be more than one thing. I do not envy them having to do this with every room in the house... every drawer, cabinet and closet. But they are doing it... and slowly making progress. So if you think of it today, just say a little prayer for their strength as I'm sure they are growing weary of this whole process. I know I would be.

CLIMBING
In regards to the ongoing poll for climbing in the Himalaya. Justin has come to terms with the fact that it just isn't going to happen. Due to work schedules, money and the time frame, he would not be able to go for at least a few years. Therefore, I closed down the polling... the final vote breakdown based on 34 votes was:

32%- Go to the Himalaya!

58%- Don't do it!

8%- Justin should go, but Meredith should stay home.
I know some of you sneaky individuals found a way to vote more than once...shame on you. :)

Justin briefly moved on to say he'd like to go to Mt. McKinley in Alaska instead...

This idea definitely went over better with me (though I have no idea why), but again, the time frame is an issue and he does not think he will be able to do that climb in the next couple years either. So for now, he is staying with his feet firmly planted on the ground, for which I am grateful. I know he has a passion for climbing and will definitely be keeping his eyes and ears open for potential future climbs. I'll keep ya posted. :)