(clap, clap, clap, clap) Deep in the heart of Texas!
Well, we have finally made our move.
At the beginning of June, we set out from Las Vegas and headed for the Lonestar State.
Right before we left, though, we stayed the night one last time at Blake and Lori's.
The next morning, we had breakfast with our dear friends, Suzi and Bobby Banto.
They have known me since before I was born. In fact, she and my mother have a picture of
me and my sister in the tub with her son as babies. Let's hope it doesn't fall into the wrong
hands. From there, we headed for the open road.
Our first stop was Kent's sister Lynette's house in Mesa, Arizona. By the time we got there,
we were more than ready for a dip in their gorgeous saline pool. I have already decided that
when I grow up, I want a pool just like that one.
The next day, we drove to Tucson and had lunch with some friends of mine, Kendra and Sean and their
two beautiful children, Fiona and Colin. The last time I saw them, Colin was just a baby! We
all dined at Rick's Cafe and had a great time catching up on each other's lives.
We made it to El Paso that night. Our plan was to take a bit of a detour and visit
Carlsbad Caverns. None of us had ever been, and it seemed like the right time to make
the trip. I am so glad we did. It was awe-inspiring. I had never imagined that such
grandeur existed below the earth's surface. We took the natural entrance in and rented
audio tour guides for the kids, both on Kendra and Sean's recommendation. As a result,
not only did we have a fantastic day, but we also learned a lot about the formations all the
way in as we hiked.
That night we stayed in Pecos, TX. After staying there one frightful, cockroach-infested
night, I cannot recommend it. At least not the Roper's Inn, anyway. Next time, I am
sticking with Priceline.
The last leg into San Antonio was pretty uneventful. The kids were anxious to get there
by this time, so we didn't take too long at our stops. When we finally arrived at our
destination, though, we found out that the Air Force Inn did not hold our credit-card-
guaranteed, booked-a-month-in-advance room. So we ended up at the Residence Inn up by
the Airport. Well, at least they had a pool, right? We would bounce around for a month
while we looked for a house and then waited to close.
Now that we are somewhat settled, life is getting back to normal. Kent is working hard at
the hospital and doing a lot of reading in the evenings. My job is to unpack boxes while
keeping the kids fed and occupied. We have a really nice community pool, which we have
tried to make a point to visit everyday.
Oh--here is our new contact info: 11503 Elijah Stapp, San Antonio, TX, 78253, (210) 637-9766.
We are five minutes from Sea World and pretty close to Six Flags, so if you ever come this way,
you have a place to stay :)
We do miss a lot of things about Las Vegas. It was very fun living there and we made a lot of
great friends. Of course, before we left, we had to make sure that our house there was
taken care of first. It turns out that advertising at military websites works very well.
Our renters are a very nice couple with five young children...from San Antonio! Pretty funny, huh?
Featured Recipe
While we were on the road and in various temporary housing locations, all I had with me in the way
of cooking apparatus besides the in-room microwave was a crockpot and an electric griddle. You
would be amazed at some of the combinations we came up with. On one particular day, we
were planning to be gone all day at Six Flags. So, using our leftover taco meat (yes, I browned
the meat in the griddle), we made the following soup. Arriving tired at our room that night, we
were greeted by the spicy aroma of it cooking. It was extremely satisfying, even to Olivia, who
still raves about it. Feel free to leave out the leftover taco meat (not in the original recipe)
for the following vegetarian version:
Tortilla Soup
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs chili powder (unless you are using taco meat)
1 tsp ground cumin (ditto for this and the oregano below)
1 tsp dried oregano
2 cans chicken broth
2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can refried beans
1 bay leaf
1 can of corn, drained
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
Place all ingredients in slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours. Ladle into bowls; top with crushed
tortilla chips. We added a dollop of sour cream and some fresh, cubed avocado. Delicious.
I forgot to mention that we used our new real estate benefit when purchasing our home. As a result,
we got a very nice sized rebate on the real estate commission paid to our buyer's agent's broker.
I thought it would be around $1300, which would have paid for window coverings for our new house.
However, the rebate came in at over $2100!
Because it has been a while since I sent out an update, I missed sending a link to Montana's Spring
band concert. So, here it is. I don't know who the loud lady is at the end of the clip cheering
for her kid ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC-m4bS7Ijg
Can you believe how high the gas prices are? I have actually found a guy who shows people how to convert their cars and trucks into water hybrids. At first, Kent thought I was crazy. But now, the idea is growing on him. He volunteered to try it out on his Toyota Tacoma first, since it is more of a gas guzzler than the Odyssey. We still have yet to purchase the e-book from www.fuel-of-the-future.com but when we do, we will let you know how it goes.
Well, that's it for now. Thank you for being such an important part of our lives.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Easter and St. Patrick's Day News
Kent is enjoying his last few months with us as he prepares to begin his residency. Once he gets to San Antonio in July, he will basically be working non-stop for three years. So, he wanted to go on a vacation. We settled on going to Utah for Spring Break. The kids have never been skiing, and it is time for one last visit to friends and family before we go, so we thought we would do both. We were also hoping to go camping, but it has been snowing so much there, even in the southern part of the state, that we are ditching those plans.
Since I have had the pleasure of helping so many people save money over the past four years, I have been busy working on a website which focuses on money management. So far I have about 30 pages up, so I decided to let the cat out of the bag. You can take a look at www.smart-money-management.com. I am very excited about being able to help even more people get where they want to be financially through this new site. These are such turbulent times and so many people are in debt or are not able to live the lives they want.
Also, very soon (hopefully by the time this goes out), I will be adding a new wellness page to my music therapy site, www.musictherapy.cc, after being the guest presenter on two teleclasses offered by my friend Dr. Robert Pendergrast. Robert recently opened the Augusta-Aiken Health and Wellness Center, an integrative medicine clinic, and is educating the public about the many ways they can be in charge of their healthcare decisions.
Speaking of music therapy, my good friend, Barbara Reuer, a skilled and renowned music therapist and Executive Director of Resounding Joy, just sent me an announcement for their annual benefit concert in Solano Beach, CA on April 19. In case you are not familiar with this wonderful organization, Resounding Joy is a California nonprofit corporation that brings together community and faith–based organizations to train, equip, and mentor volunteers to provide supportive music and recreational music-making services at no cost to adults and children in need. Bello Mondo—Italian for beautiful world—is the theme for their fifth annual gala celebration of another remarkable year of growth and your opportunity to help create a more beautiful world for adults and children waiting to receive the healing power of music-making. To purchase tickets or make a donation, please visit http://www.resoundingjoyinc.org/emailings/031508/031508.html
Montana is doing really well on drums. His band director has been on maternity leave and so he has had a substitute for the past six weeks. The substitute called me one day and told me that he has a real gift for it and that she hopes he sticks with it--no pun intended (well, maybe just a little bit). I really should video him and put it up on YouTube or something. Maybe next time I will be ready with a link for you. It is pretty neat.
I apologize for not including a recipe in the last few newsletters. To make up for it, I have three for you this time.
The first one is a really easy treat you can make with the kids (just borrow the neighbor's if you don't have any). My good friend Kendra used to make these for Easter but I am really not sure if she used the same recipe:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs
2 eggs, well beaten
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/2 to 2 cups peanut butter
4-5 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 Hershey chocolate bar
1 6 oz. package chocolate chips
Mix the eggs, salt, pb, sugar, and vanilla in order listed. Form dough into egg shapes. Melt the chocolate bar and chips in a double boiler . Dip egg shapes into chocolate mixture. Arrange on waxed paper until set.
The second recipe is supposed to be made with cornish hens, but when I tried it I only had a whole roasting chicken on hand. It was still very yummy. This dish could easily star at a Passover supper:
Honey-Herbed Cornish Hens
4 Rock Cornish game hens (6 lbs total), rinsed and patted dry
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS lemon juice
2 TBS honey
2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped (use 1 tsp if all you have is dried)
2 tsp fresh oregano, chopped (ditto)
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
Using kitchen shears, cut out the backbone of each hen and split through each breastbone. Trim any excess skin and fat. Brush the olive oil onto a shallow pan (15x10x1 inch) and place in the oven. Then, heat the oven to 400. In a small bowl, wisk together the next 4 ingredients. Season the game hen halves with salt and pepper.
Once the pan has heated, carefully remove it from the oven and place the hens, skins side down, into the pan. Brush with half of the honey mixture and bake at 400 for 30 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven, turn the hens over, and brush them with the remaining honey mixture. Return to the oven and bake an additional 20-30 minutes or until the internal temperature registers 180 degrees on a meat thermometer. Transfer to platter. If you wish, you may drain the pan drippings, skim off the fat and serve them in a gravy boat alongside the hens.
Last but not least, is a delicious asparagus soup. Hopefully you will be able to get a good price on asparagus right now. Usually I only buy the small stalks, but for the soup the larger ones will do just fine. All of my kids ate this except for Olivia--but she is my pickiest eater, remember?
Asparagus Soup
1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed
2 TBS unsalted butter
1 medium-sized onion, diced
3 cups chicken broth
1 medium-sized potato, peeled and diced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried dill
1/8 teaspoon white or black pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
Cut tips from asparagus and steam separately until tender to be used as a garnish. Chop remaining stalks into 1/2 inch pieces. Melt butter in a 4-qt saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook 3 minutes. Add asparagus stalks and cook an additional 2 minutes. Add broth, potato, salt, dill, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to med-high and cook 10-12 minutes uncovered until potatoes are very tender. Remove soup from heat and puree until smooth. Stir in heavy cream and serve warm or chilled, garnished with the steamed tips.
My friend Teri sent this to me. It is about a woman who found this lion hurt and about to die. She took him home and took care of him. When the lion was better she called the local zoo. This was the reaction she got when the lion saw her again: http://www.telestereo.com/Archivos/video.html
Since I have had the pleasure of helping so many people save money over the past four years, I have been busy working on a website which focuses on money management. So far I have about 30 pages up, so I decided to let the cat out of the bag. You can take a look at www.smart-money-management.com. I am very excited about being able to help even more people get where they want to be financially through this new site. These are such turbulent times and so many people are in debt or are not able to live the lives they want.
Also, very soon (hopefully by the time this goes out), I will be adding a new wellness page to my music therapy site, www.musictherapy.cc, after being the guest presenter on two teleclasses offered by my friend Dr. Robert Pendergrast. Robert recently opened the Augusta-Aiken Health and Wellness Center, an integrative medicine clinic, and is educating the public about the many ways they can be in charge of their healthcare decisions.
Speaking of music therapy, my good friend, Barbara Reuer, a skilled and renowned music therapist and Executive Director of Resounding Joy, just sent me an announcement for their annual benefit concert in Solano Beach, CA on April 19. In case you are not familiar with this wonderful organization, Resounding Joy is a California nonprofit corporation that brings together community and faith–based organizations to train, equip, and mentor volunteers to provide supportive music and recreational music-making services at no cost to adults and children in need. Bello Mondo—Italian for beautiful world—is the theme for their fifth annual gala celebration of another remarkable year of growth and your opportunity to help create a more beautiful world for adults and children waiting to receive the healing power of music-making. To purchase tickets or make a donation, please visit http://www.resoundingjoyinc.org/emailings/031508/031508.html
Montana is doing really well on drums. His band director has been on maternity leave and so he has had a substitute for the past six weeks. The substitute called me one day and told me that he has a real gift for it and that she hopes he sticks with it--no pun intended (well, maybe just a little bit). I really should video him and put it up on YouTube or something. Maybe next time I will be ready with a link for you. It is pretty neat.
I apologize for not including a recipe in the last few newsletters. To make up for it, I have three for you this time.
The first one is a really easy treat you can make with the kids (just borrow the neighbor's if you don't have any). My good friend Kendra used to make these for Easter but I am really not sure if she used the same recipe:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs
2 eggs, well beaten
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/2 to 2 cups peanut butter
4-5 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 Hershey chocolate bar
1 6 oz. package chocolate chips
Mix the eggs, salt, pb, sugar, and vanilla in order listed. Form dough into egg shapes. Melt the chocolate bar and chips in a double boiler . Dip egg shapes into chocolate mixture. Arrange on waxed paper until set.
The second recipe is supposed to be made with cornish hens, but when I tried it I only had a whole roasting chicken on hand. It was still very yummy. This dish could easily star at a Passover supper:
Honey-Herbed Cornish Hens
4 Rock Cornish game hens (6 lbs total), rinsed and patted dry
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS lemon juice
2 TBS honey
2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped (use 1 tsp if all you have is dried)
2 tsp fresh oregano, chopped (ditto)
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
Using kitchen shears, cut out the backbone of each hen and split through each breastbone. Trim any excess skin and fat. Brush the olive oil onto a shallow pan (15x10x1 inch) and place in the oven. Then, heat the oven to 400. In a small bowl, wisk together the next 4 ingredients. Season the game hen halves with salt and pepper.
Once the pan has heated, carefully remove it from the oven and place the hens, skins side down, into the pan. Brush with half of the honey mixture and bake at 400 for 30 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven, turn the hens over, and brush them with the remaining honey mixture. Return to the oven and bake an additional 20-30 minutes or until the internal temperature registers 180 degrees on a meat thermometer. Transfer to platter. If you wish, you may drain the pan drippings, skim off the fat and serve them in a gravy boat alongside the hens.
Last but not least, is a delicious asparagus soup. Hopefully you will be able to get a good price on asparagus right now. Usually I only buy the small stalks, but for the soup the larger ones will do just fine. All of my kids ate this except for Olivia--but she is my pickiest eater, remember?
Asparagus Soup
1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed
2 TBS unsalted butter
1 medium-sized onion, diced
3 cups chicken broth
1 medium-sized potato, peeled and diced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried dill
1/8 teaspoon white or black pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
Cut tips from asparagus and steam separately until tender to be used as a garnish. Chop remaining stalks into 1/2 inch pieces. Melt butter in a 4-qt saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook 3 minutes. Add asparagus stalks and cook an additional 2 minutes. Add broth, potato, salt, dill, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to med-high and cook 10-12 minutes uncovered until potatoes are very tender. Remove soup from heat and puree until smooth. Stir in heavy cream and serve warm or chilled, garnished with the steamed tips.
My friend Teri sent this to me. It is about a woman who found this lion hurt and about to die. She took him home and took care of him. When the lion was better she called the local zoo. This was the reaction she got when the lion saw her again: http://www.telestereo.com/Archivos/video.html
Monday, February 18, 2008
Hello World!
Okay, here we are finally. I think we are the last people on the planet to have a family blog (I have a couple for business purposes, but I have been told those don't count). Anyway, I suppose we should put up a picture or two of the family, too.
Right now our family lives in Las Vegas, but in the summer we will be moving to San Antonio, Texas so that Kent can do a residency in anesthesiology. We are excited and sad at the same time. We will miss being close to family and all of the friends we have made here in the valley. Moving has always been a part of our lives, and probably will be as long as we are attached to the military. It is a great adventure.
Over the next few weeks, I will add more photos and fun stuff. Maybe I will even put the recipes up from my newsletters. If you are not receiving Rana's newsletter, you are missing out. Just send an e-mail to ranazb@hotmail.com and ask to be placed on the friends list.
That's all for now.
Love always,
Kent and Rana
Right now our family lives in Las Vegas, but in the summer we will be moving to San Antonio, Texas so that Kent can do a residency in anesthesiology. We are excited and sad at the same time. We will miss being close to family and all of the friends we have made here in the valley. Moving has always been a part of our lives, and probably will be as long as we are attached to the military. It is a great adventure.
Over the next few weeks, I will add more photos and fun stuff. Maybe I will even put the recipes up from my newsletters. If you are not receiving Rana's newsletter, you are missing out. Just send an e-mail to ranazb@hotmail.com and ask to be placed on the friends list.
That's all for now.
Love always,
Kent and Rana
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