The Birthday Boy

Our family does "non-traditional" for birthday "cakes". None of us really like cake, so we either have ice cream cake or some other dessert. This year Cody chose cheesecake. I wish I could say that I baked six different cheesecakes and placed two slices of each on a serving platter, but the grocery store did that for me! Cody couldn't decide what kind he wanted, so since he was the birthday boy I cut a circle of cheesecake for him, which included the tip of each slice--he got mini-bites of each kind of cheesecake!

Cody's Birthday

I've hesitated in posting this because of my desire to be seen as a competent, well-organized women and mom. However, I have to admit that when a friend confides something similiar to what you'll read below, I have a small feeling of "whew . . . I'm not the only one who . . . " and hearing that a friend has an . . . unexpected experience . . . in no way lowers my opinion of her as a competent, well-organized woman, but instead, reassures me that even when I mess things up, it's OK! So I hope you'll enjoy this recounting of Cody's birthday.

We decided to have a quiet dinner at home with several long-time friends, so I was preparing prime rib, yorkshire pudding, a new recipe for brussel sprouts, fingerling potatoes brought fresh from the field in Colorado, where two of our guests were from, and birthday cheesecake (no, I didn't make it--although I love baking cheesecake--I got it from the grocery store).

I'd planned dinner for around 7:00 and was happy to see lights coming down the driveway about that time--it's such a busy time of the year with the sale and I was afraid something would come up and dinner would have to be very late.

I took the roast out of the oven, popped the Yorkshire pudding in, stirred the brussel sprouts, and went to finish setting the table, proud of myself because the timing for everything seemed just right--it would all be done when everyone was ready to eat!

I tuned to come back in to the kitchen, and saw that . . . the oven was on fire!!!!!!!!!! I ran in the kitchen, turned off the stove, got the Yorkshire pudding out, and sprinkled baking soda on the fire, putting it out immediately. Then I started opening windows and doors to let the smoke out before the smoke alarms went off . . . and Jenny, our beagle, ran outside into the darkness and wouldn't come back!!!

By that time I was actually laughing, because the situation had deteriorated so quickly--from everything-under-control-and-on-time to the-oven-is-0n-fire-and-the-dog-ran-away in about 30 seconds.

Thankfully, Jenny just ran around the house and came in with the guests, and I made some tortellini to take the place of the Yorkshire pudding. Our guests were very gracious and helped wave the smoke out, and patiently waited a few minutes while I made the tortellini. The night turned out great, and Cody will remember his 17th birthday!

(enough blogging . . . I have to finish cleaning the oven!)

December Nebraska Family Times

It's hard to believe another month is almost over and articles for the December issue of the paper are due next week!

When I put together "my" first issue of the newspaper, the task seemed almost overwhelming. As with most seemingly overwhelming tasks, however, when I was able to break it down into smaller tasks it was "doable."

This week I will e-mail regular columnists, reminding them of a Monday deadline. I talked with several people/businesses about advertising, so will also remind them of the deadline. Over the weekend I will start researching articles to include in the paper. I really enjoy searching different websites for information that I anticipate readers will enjoy and that will benefit them in their lives.

One of my goals is to give you information that you probably won't find in any regular, mainstream publication. I also want to provide information that you can apply to your life, your family, immediately.

Friends who know me well will not be surprised to learn that I have a detailed checklist (although not color-coded, as some of my lists are!) of articles needed and things I need to do to complete the paper.

This month also marks the debut of a new column, "Stupidity 4 Dummies." You'll laugh, or just shake your head, when you read of the antics of some people!

The paper will be printed Monday, Dec. 8th, and mailed out that week.

If you would like to see articles on a certain subject, please let me know! The paper is for you!