So Far, Perfectby Jim
15 Mar 2010
3:03 pm2
I just spoke with the doctor and he was very optimistic. He had to “do a lot of dissecting”, but he said so far everything was “perfect”. She starting to wake up now and I should be able to see her in an hour or two, when she gets a room.
The only bad (or semi-bad) news is that they want to keep her overnight. Dr. Lau assured me it was entirely precautious and that they just want to observe her for the night. Unfortunately, they don’t accommodate overnight visitors like they do back at Primary Children’s Hospital, so I’ll probably need to go home tonight and return tomorrow morning first thing. I’m not excited about bracing the traffic thrice more in the next 24 hours…
Thanks for all your prayers!
Almost Doneby Jim
15 Mar 2010
2:03 pm0
The status for Angie’s surgery has changed to “FINISHED”, which means the procedure is done and I should hear from the surgeon soon. I will post again when I have more news.
Getting Startedby Jim
15 Mar 2010
12:03 pm0
I just gave Angie a hug and kiss before she goes back for the surgery. The surgeon is expecting the procedure to be quick — about 45 minutes as long as things go well and not more than 90. She has to be put to sleep and get her anesthesia, so in total, she should be done in under 2 hours.
Another Surgeryby Jim
15 Mar 2010
10:03 am1
We just arrived here at Stanford. Angie is scheduled to go in at about 11. We just got Angie’s medical bracelets and we saw that they had barcodes on them, so of course we had to scan them using our new phones to see what they said. Yeah, we’re geeks.
I will be posting on our blog throughout the day, so you can check back here for updates. You can also sign up for email notifications when I post or follow our RSS feed. If you would like me to text you with updates, please call me or send me an email and i will try and keep you up-to-date that way.
Thank you all for your prayers and support!
WalMart – Taking a Leap of Faithby Angie
26 Feb 2010
10:02 am2
All you out there that know me well may know that I spent many years of my life as an anti-Walmart-ite: complete boycott, nasty grimace whenever they were mentioned, the whole shebang. Well, my tune has been changing over the last few years; I’ve read a lot of positive press, and have even started shopping there now and then, always being pleasantly surprised.
Today, I discovered a new reason to be a fan of Walmart: They are the first general retail chain to give a chance to a little Utah company called Lightstone (the makers of the Liken the Scriptures series). Beginning March 2nd, their nationwide stores will stock Esther & the King, “a musical adventure in faith,” through the Easter season. Hooray!!!
Yes, yes, I know I’m biased – the cast and crew of Lightstone’s films are filled friends of mine from BYU and Savior of the World …but, nepotism aside, I’m still so very pleased, because this is the type of wonderful, uplifting stuff we need on our favorite retailers’ shelves all over the country! Future contracts will depend on the sales of this first try – I hope it does well, so Walmart will stock more of Lightstone’s films.
iSomethingby Jim
27 Jan 2010
10:01 am7
We’re just minutes away from Apple unveiling a new product. The rumors are that it will be a tablet — kind of like a really big iPhone. I have to admit, I’m excited about a new product like this. I’ve loved my iPod touch and think something with the same interface (only bigger) will likely be a great product. But please, Apple, don’t name it something with an ‘i’ in the front like iTablet or iSlate. How long ago was that cool? Let’s see… the iMac came out in the 90s. What does the ‘i’ stand for anyways? I think the name ‘iPod’ was catchy, and I understand the importance of branding, but I think it is time to move on. The release of the MacBook was very welcome news to me. (Very classy name, in my opinion.) Please don’t spoil a new product with a name from the wrong decade.
“Breakfast Roll” Fiascoby Angie
26 Jan 2010
4:01 pm2
Sorry this post won’t be quite as exciting as the last one, but it has a happy ending as well!
My dad gave me this super cool new cookbook for Christmas called “The World Wide Ward Cookbook” and I had picked out a wassail recipe (since this morning would be cold and rainy) and a recipe for “Breakfast Rolls” that I wanted to try, as each of us in the RS Presidency was bringing treats to our Visiting Teaching Interviews today. The process for the rolls is much like cinnamon rolls, but instead of spreading butter, cinnamon, and sugar on before rolling them up, you spread cream cheese, ham, onion, cheese, etc. Instead of topping them with glaze or frosting, you brush with butter and sprinkle on poppy or sesame seeds.
My husband tries regularly to convince me that having guests over is not the time for a try-me-night. Somehow, I keep making the same mistake. Neon Sign Here: GREAT STRESS ATTENDS THE PROCEEDINGS when unknown recipes are tried on people you like very much but don’t know as well as your family. The wassail was great, but I had serious problems with the rolls:
1. Rather than a recipe for roll dough, it just said, “prepare a batch of your favorite yeast roll dough.” Well, my favorite rolls are my mom’s light and fluffy Sunday Dinner Rolls, and they have yeast in them… but they didn’t work. At all.
2. I decided to make the dough in the bread machine ahead of time, like I always try to do because I’m super lazy (and, in my defense, it has never before failed me). Unfortunately, it came out of the machine closer to a batter.
3. No matter how much I floured my table, hands, rolling pin, and the dough itself, it stuck to everything. When I thought I had things rolled out perfectly and spread and sprinkled everything on and tried to roll it up, it was stuck fast to the table again. With a spatula and lots more flour, I finally had everything rolled… but it oozed itself into a long, flat-ish loaf instead of a rolled up log.
4. As I sliced it up (achieving long ovals rather than lovely little rounds), each “roll” fell to pieces, stuck to everything it touched, and globbed itself into a lump of ingredients on the sheet pan.
5. Rather than rising, they settled into comfortable, gooey little puddles.
I think Heavenly Father was sustaining me because I would generally, at this point, have been in tears with frustration. I was up at 6:30 and fighting with these “rolls” until after 8am, I didn’t feel great, and I had other things to take care of before leaving at 8:45. Somehow, I held it together and decided that I didn’t care what they looked like and if they were just awful, I could live with that. I could always throw them out, and the presidency and first couple of sisters would be the only ones to know that, as much as I love cooking, I can’t BAKE my way around any kitchen in existence.
Amazingly, incredibly, absolutely flabbergastingly, they were a hit. They were light and fluffy like my mom’s rolls, and they were savory and cheesey and buttery. You would never know by looking at them that they had ever resembled a roll, but every single person who tasted them said they were great and they were almost all eaten up by the time we were done at noon. I re-christened them “Breakfast Biscuits,” and will definitely be making them again (without trying to roll them). Give me a few days and I’ll post my revised recipe on Sugar & Spice.