Yes, I know my birthday was months ago

Posted on January 26, 2010 by Rachel

Roger took me to Elevation Chop House for my birthday last year. The restaurant is next to the runway at a small airport, so you can watch the planes take off and land. We’d been wanting to eat there for a while, and it’s a cool place but unfortunately the food is overpriced and not very good.

HOWEVER…

They serve martinis and margaritas made with liquid nitrogen (that stuff Mr. Wizard used once to freeze a rose and then break it by smashing it onto a table). When you order one, they bring a bucket of their house mix and pour the nitrogen into it. It freezes immediately, and they scoop it out like ice cream. Yum!

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I didn’t see Elvis but…

Posted on January 25, 2010 by Rachel

That’s the Bellagio, and it was our home for the MLK holiday weekend. Well, more like our crash pad. Since we partied like college kids the entire time, we saw very little of our ultra fancy room.

This was mine and Roger’s first time in Vegas, and we were impressed. The hotels are beautiful. I kept thinking how small Vegas looked, but then I realized it only looked small because EVERY building is huge!

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Thinking of Ecuador

Posted on January 21, 2010 by Rachel

As many of you know, last June Roger and I went to Ecuador on a mission trip with my home church Wilmer UMC. You can read all about the trip on our Ecuador page.

I knew then the trip was changing my life, and it’s an odd feeling to be aware of such a change as it’s happening to you. But what I didn’t expect is the lasting impact it’s having on me. I find myself often thinking of Ecuador: the kids dancing at Colinas del Norte, Pastora Ruth singing to us after VBS, school kids racing to hug us.

I’ve struggled lately with being happy with all that I have when I know the people in Ecuador have so little. I nearly had a nervous break down Christmas shopping, because I felt like I was slapping God in the face by buying stuff that makes me happy but doesn’t feed or clothe me. Why should I have all these wonderful things (and that’s what they are – just things) when people in Ecuador face poverty with potentially no way out of it?

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Chicken Tamale Casserole

Posted on January 20, 2010 by Rachel

I don’t have a lot of notes on this dish, because I followed the directions exactly. And it came out delicious!

So instead, I’ll share a story… Continue reading →

My 2009 Reads

Posted on January 4, 2010 by Rachel

Happy New Year! I hope your Christmas and other holidays were great.

I managed to catch a nasty cold just in time for New Years Eve, and it was one of those that forces you to rest all day, even though you don’t really want to. But ironically, I think the rest helped me over all, because I woke up on fire this morning! I’m NEVER “on fire” at 6:00 on a Monday morning (OK, at 6:00 on any morning). Especially this particular morning since it was only 18 degrees outside!

New Years is a time to reflect, and in that spirit I’m reviewing the books I read in 2009. Not all of these were stellar choices, but I stopped feeling guilty about unfinished books a long time ago. If I’m not hooked by page 100, I’m done! Actually, I start getting skeptical around page 50. I’m too busy to waste time on a boring book, even if it is a “classic.”

Here’s a quick run down for my 2009 reads: