My New Callingby Angie
6 Mar 2008
2:03 pm5
Well, when I wrote a while back about being asked to teach Relief Society at the last minute, I didn’t realize that it was an audition!
Yep, I have received a new calling and was sustained and set apart on Sunday as a Relief Society Instructor. I’m very excited! I’m a little nervous, too, but I hope that after a few lessons I’ll get over that. I get to teach once a month (every third Sunday), from the new Joseph Smith Manual. This will be so fun!
A Weekend in LAby Angie
2 Mar 2008
12:03 pm2
Oh, there is so much to write! We spent this weekend down in Los Angeles, where we saw my cousin, Melinda, perform with the BYU Young Ambassadors: It was a fantastic show, and Melinda was “practically perfect in every way” as Mary Poppins. “The New American Songbook” included a musical review of the 60s, 70s, and 80s and also show tunes from recent Broadway hits, including “Wicked” and Disney’s 2006 theatrical production of “Tarzan.” It was wonderful!
We drove down to Culver City (in West LA) on Thursday morning, which took us a little over six hours. We ate dinner with Jim’s Grandma & Grandpa Packard, and then drove down to Long Beach, to see the Young Ambassadors’ show. After that, we returned to Culver City to stay with Jim’s Aunt Debbie for the night. Friday morning we had breakfast at Dinah’s – a cafe restaurant that is famous in the Hoffman family for selling the most delicious apple pancake you’ve ever tasted.
That afternoon, we went to the Hyatt Hotel in Garden Grove, to see the ACDA Western Division Honors Choir Concert. We attended because Jim’s niece, Amber, was selected to represent her school in the Children’s Honor Choir this year! It was a beautiful, varied program, and the kids did an amazing job. Jim’s mom was also in town as Amber’s escort! After a mini-family reunion at Outback for dinner, Jim and I made the long return trip in the car back to Livermore. This time, we were driving late into the night, but at least that meant we weren’t fighting traffic! So, we arrived home a little before midnight, exhausted but happy to have had such a wonderful weekend in LA.
Where there’s smoke, there’s… Frisco burgers?by Angie
24 Feb 2008
11:02 am2
So, I made Frisco Burgers* for dinner last night. We don’t have an outdoor BBQ grill or a stove-top grill plate, so I used our flat griddle. I make the hamburger patties with 1 part ground sirloin to 1 part ground round or chuck (with no seasoning except salt), which makes for very tender, juicy burgers… however, those cuts are pretty fatty, and on a flat griddle there’s no way for the grease to drain away. Instead, it just sits there getting so hot that it reaches the smoking point and, obviously, starts smoking. A lot.
So, yeah, the smoke alarm went off. It was kind of embarrassing, but we (Jim, Jon, Justin, and I) opened all the windows and turned on the vent over the stove and laughed about it. And then it went off again. So, we turned on the ceiling fan and laughed about it some more. And then it went off again, and I was rolling my eyes instead of laughing. And then it went off again, and I was exasperated to the extreme.
I fully believe in having smoke detectors and I know they save lives – I just wish they had a button labeled, “I know there’s smoke, but it’s only because I’m trying to cook and making a wretched mess of things, so I really wish you would quit screeching and making me feel even more incompetent than I’ve already proven myself to be!”
At least the burgers tasted good.
*For those of you who don’t know what Frisco Burgers are, let me explain this marvelous Hoffman Family tradition: Instead of using hamburger buns, you place your patty and fixin’s between two slices of toasted sourdough bread. Hence the name “Frisco” Burgers, as in “San Francisco” – I have to admit, I didn’t “get” the meaning of the name until we had moved out here to the Bay Area 😛
Off the Cuffby Angie
17 Feb 2008
6:02 pm1
So, Jim and I had a lovely quiet morning – slept in a little, got up and got ready, walked to choir practice, had a nice rehearsal, peaceful walk home… Then, just a few minutes after we walked in the door, the phone rang. It was Carolynn Hoopes (one of the counselors in our Relief Society), calling to ask me if I could teach today.
Wow. I have never taught a Relief Society lesson before in my entire life, and now I had less than three hours to prepare one. Luckily, it was about Joseph Smith as a special witness of the Savior – so, having been a missionary was strongly in my favor. The chapter in the manual was beautifully written, so that made it fun, too. I regret to say that I have not been in the habit of reading the lesson before going to class, so I was even less prepared for the call than I could have been, but I am now determined to do my reading every week like I should.
I was very nervous but the lesson went well and, amazingly, took just the right amount of time! It was a scary experience but, overall, a good one. To thank me for my impromptu lesson, Carolynn and her kids walked over to our condo after church and brought us an angel food cake and a huge package of fresh strawberries! That definitely made it all worth the effort.
Goodreadsby Angie
15 Feb 2008
3:02 pm0
For a long time, I’ve been looking for a program that I could use to organize my books, rate and review them, and share preferences with others. A couple of different friends recently introduced me to a website called Goodreads and I have very much enjoyed listing and cataloging some of my favorite books there. I even found this super cool flash doohickey that can keep track of what I’m currently reading (or have read, or want to read, depending on how I code it):
And, yes, it is quite normal for me to be in the process of reading three or four or five different books at a time. I don’t know how much good my thingamajig does, just sitting here in this post, but maybe I can figure out how to display it in the sidebar somehow… Anyway, this project has also made me realize that I read far too much fiction and could really use some good moral fiber in my literary diet, if you know what I mean. I have already begun to try to remedy that, but I’d be open to recommendations!
My New Toyby Angie
11 Feb 2008
12:02 pm2
I got a present from Jason for Jim’s Birthday 🙂
You see, Jason and I were discussing what Jim might want for his birthday and I mentioned that he’s kind of sort of maybe saving up for an iPod Touch, so money toward that might be nice. Jason asked if Jim might like an iPod Shuffle, but I said no, it was the calender and other stuff that he wanted more than just a music player…why? Well, Jason had received a free 
Shuffle as part of a rebate package and didn’t know what to do with it, since he already has an iPhone. We discussed the prospective usage of a “little” – 1G – iPod with no touch screen or display and I said it would be great for listening to audio books or music on walks or while gardening… Long story short, Jason decided that I should have it! Sure enough, he brought it this weekend and walked me though setup and downloading iTunes and all that jazz.
Well, now I have an apology to make to my sisters and cousin for having given them flack about iPods and iTunes: I have a real aversion to proprietary hardware and software and formats, so I never jumped on the iEverything bandwagon. Anyway, I humbly admit that I really love my little Shuffle and it’s super cool and I’m very glad to have it. I’ve already been to the library to borrow some audio books (that I will delete when I return the CDs) and “Emma” by Jane Austen has made it onto my iPod first.
A Busy Weekendby Angie
9 Feb 2008
10:02 pm1
Jim’s Grandma Pat passed away a week ago, so several of our relatives were in town for the funeral today. It was a rare time (and the first time in a long time) that all six Hoffman siblings and their parents were together. Everyone had arrived by Friday afternoon and Jon had managed to arrange for us to all tour the Pixar Animation Studios with him. It was so amazing to see the concept art and maquettes that decorate the entire facility!
After the tour, we went out to eat at a restaurant called KC’s BarBQue. I had found this place listed on citysearch (since Jim requested BBQ for his birthday dinner), with 41 five-star recommendations out of 45 reviews, so we were really looking forward to it. When we arrived at the spot, however, we almost drove away: it was in a terribly run-down part of town, and it looked like little more than a hole in the wall, wedged in between a tire place and a paint store. Inside, however, it looked like a cross between a museum and an antique shop! The food was fantastic and the staff were very friendly and helpful. I would definitely recommend it (for lunch or an early dinner – it was kind of scary walking to our car in the dark in that part of town).
This morning, we drove up to Galt, which is about an hour northeast of Livermore. There we attended the funeral services and graveside dedication for Grandma Pat. There was a small luncheon for family members, where I got to meet several Hoffman relatives (more than I can remember names for!), and where Jim’s family got to visit and catch up with cousins and friends that they haven’t seen in years. I never knew Pat, but it was wonderful to hear so much about her and to see so many family and friends enjoying one another’s company and comfort.
Before heading back to Livermore, we drove over to the Heritage Oak Winery to visit Tom and Carmela Hoffman – relatives who were not able to attend the funeral. Their lands and trees are beautiful and very peaceful. They let us pick dozens of ripe oranges from their tree, and we enjoyed an incredible sunset together as the lovely, exhausting day was closing.