Portlandby Angie
22 Nov 2007
7:11 pm0
Here we are in Portland, visiting Joseph & Kelly (Jim’s brother and sister-in-law) for Thanksgiving. It’s a big Hoffman family gathering, since Jim’s parents and brother, Jon, are all here to celebrate with us. Jim and I left at about 7am, and were met at the Portland Airport by Jon and Roger, who had just flown in from Utah as well. Here at Joseph and Kelly’s house, we spent the afternoon cooking, chatting, and taking turns with the little boys (Isaac and baby Eli). As Kelly and I were making dinner, we sent the men out to gather firewood, so this evening we could enjoy a fire in their old-fashioned wood-burning stove.
Dinner was… Jambalaya! Ok, I’m teasing. Well, we did have jambalaya for dinner, but that’s because we’re going to have our traditional Thanksgiving feast (read: “turkey”) tomorrow, when we’ll have the whole day together to prepare it. Now that we’ve eaten and cleaned up dinner, Jim and Jon are working on our cozy fire.
Despite our delayed feast, I’d like to end my Thanksgiving Day post with some of my most precious blessings: I am so grateful for my wonderful husband, my amazing family (on both sides!), and for the gospel that has blessed every day of my life. We’ve been so blessed, in this new phase of our lives, to have a job and a fair amount of security, and a wonderful ward and new friends to help us along.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Congratulations to Jon!by Jim
21 Nov 2007
5:11 pm3
I wanted to let everyone know that (my brother) Jon got the internship with Pixar! He’ll be coming out here to the bay area in January and staying until June. Pixar only takes the best of the best, so, way-to-go, Jon! Angie and I are both really excited and proud of you.
Say congrats to Jon yourself by leaving a comment!
Babysittersby Angie
21 Nov 2007
9:11 am0
How do people go about finding a new babysitter for their kids? I have no experience whatsoever, and I rarely babysat other people’s kids when I was a teenager. The silly thing is, we don’t have kids… but we do have a cat; so instead, I’m having a hard time working out the whole cat-sitting thing! Do you ask a neighbor you barely know – and give them a key to your house and everything? Or ask a friend or member of the ward, who lives much further away and must therefore take a drive to come visit your pet?
As you can see, worrying is an exasperating hobby of mine, so I’m sure this is not as big a deal as I feel it is… but our cat is pretty special to us, and we are new here and don’t know many people, so this whole process is a little unnerving. Any advice?
Should I really guess?by Angie
20 Nov 2007
8:11 am2
Call me a linguistic nut, but I am confused by the phrase, “guess what…”. Don’t get me wrong – I’ve used it quite a bit myself; and perhaps the very fact that Americans in general understand the convention validates its use. However, it does tend to create a conundrum for the person being asked: should I really guess (and risk getting it right and stealing their thunder!), or just say, “I have no idea,”? Some people respond to this plight by jokingly guessing outrageous things, but – by personal experience – I have found this to be less effective, since it sometimes irritates the person who has wonderful news to tell.
I’d like to know what you think. Do you use the phrase? Why do we say it? What’s the craziest guess you’ve ever offered or received? Do we really intend for someone to guess at all?
Name that Carby Jim
20 Nov 2007
8:11 am1
So the other day I was on my way to the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield. It takes about an hour and we were driving caravan-style with a friend of mine from work (Justin Bradley and his family). We were about 20 minutes from our destination when I saw pulling onto the freeway this red truck with a bright yellow sports car on the bed. I didn’t get a good look at the car because the on-ramp was one of those
circle-y ones and the so the front of the truck faced the whole time I drove by. I knew if it was being pulled by a truck, it had to be a nice car, so I got in the right lane and slowed down hoping to let the truck catch up with me so I could get a good look at it. Well, the cars behind me probably didn’t appreciate that and the truck was in the slow lane too, so there was really no courteous way to get the gander I wanted. So, on the next exit, I pulled off and immediately got back on. When we got close enough, I knew my effort had been worth it. Sitting on the bed of this truck was a brand new Lamborghini. I had Angie snap a picture of it on my (old) cell phone camera. Nice, eh? (Click on the image for the full size.) So, anyone recognize this model? Props to whoever can tell me what kind it is.
Money is Expensiveby Jim
19 Nov 2007
6:11 pm0
Well, first of all I would like to say, “Welcome to our new blog!” I hope you enjoy your stay. A few days ago I downloaded the latest version of WordPress and gave it to Angie to do with as she pleased. I’ve got an account and will post occasionally, and although this blog is for our little family, she is in charge of the everyday upkeep and such. As you can already see, she’s done a great job setting it up, picking a nice theme, etc. So, please have fun and come back often!
So, today I called around to get an estimate on some car repairs we need done. We went to San Francisco with Angie’s sister, Emily, and her roommate Kim. We wanted to go down Lombard Street, so I made the turn and we got in this HUGE line of cars. The problem is we have a manual transmission and sitting on those great big hills is bad for a clutch. After a few minutes of waiting, I started to smell a burning smell and I thought to myself, “this is bad.” We got out of line as soon as we could and drove around to the other side and laughed at all the people driving down Lombard Street who had to wait in line. Well, actually, we didn’t laugh at anyone, but we still did get to see it from the other side — not as cool as driving on it, but we were pressed for time. Well, I’ve noticed the clutch is a little softer than it was before and since both Angie and I learned to drive manual on this car it was due for a clutch replacement. I called one place and they quoted me $720. I thought that was a little high, so I called a couple others: $880 and then $817. Well, this was also on top of the $300 for brakes they were all quoting me on. After consulting with my car consultant (and co-worker Justin Bradley), I decided that until my clutch starts slipping, I don’t need a new one. And for the brakes… well, I’ll wait on those too. Sheesh! Money is expensive!
Try-Me-Night Review: Crock-pot Meat Loafby Angie
19 Nov 2007
9:11 am0
This recipe was pretty good, but I had some problems with it. I didn’t follow it exactly (which was, I’m sure, the source problems): I had some zucchini and carrots that I wanted to use up, so I grated them and added them with the onion. I should have realized that additional veggies would add liquid, and adjusted the rest of the recipe accordingly, but I didn’t. So, the meat mixture didn’t stay in a “loaf” very well – it kind of just melted all over the top of the potatoes. Because it spread out so much, quite a bit of the mixture touched the sides of the crock-pot and was burned. I just scooped those bits out, though, when it was done cooking.
Actually, the flavor was still quite good, and we really liked the way the potatoes were cooked. It ended up more like a beef & potato casserole than meat loaf, but it was tasty anyway. I will definitely try it again, because it was super easy, but I’ll follow directions better next time 🙂
For the full recipe, visit the “Try-Me-Night Recipes” page.