I'm a blog slacker

I don't know where the time went, but last I knew it was summer and now it's fall. We have dealt with a lot in the last few weeks. Illnesses & vacations & school starting; it's all so time consuming.

So what's been going on in the Keberle household? Let me tell you:

1. I had the WORST bronchial asthma attack ever. I could not breathe and had to have steroids. My breathing improved, but I still was congested and had to do the anitbiotic thing.
2. I had an abdominal ultrasound & Upper GI to make sure there is nothing wrong with my digestive system, because of some pain I've been expriencing. More than likely, it was just anxiety attacks.
3. Ian started preschool & is doing great with it. He's a little clingy when I drop him off, but is fine once he gets in the room. His class is going on a field trip to an apple orchard next week. He has homework assignments! He has to cut out pictures relating to the color & letter of the week. Oy! I don't even have magazines! I had to borrow some from my mom.
4. Our new MOPS year started, at least for the steering team. It's going to be a fun year and we have a couple new moms, which is fantastic!
5. My grandma came down for my cousin's funeral, so we had a nice visit while she was here. Tried to talk her into moving down this way when my aunt moves to Tennessee.
6. Just found out that the aforementioned aunt had a follow up scan from colon cancer treatment and the doctor found a spot on her liver. She's going to have another scan and surgery, but that's all we know for the time being. She still plans on moving.
7. My nephew turns 1 this coming saturday. Happy Birthday Joshua!

There's probably lots more, but I can't think of anything right now. I still owe you pictures from our trip to the cape. Hopefully they'll get posted soon.

What's for supper?

As a general rule, I don't really care for Denny's, but I couldn't pass up a deal like this on a night no one felt like cooking. 2 coupons, where if you have 2 adults & 2 kids, you eat for virtually nothing. If you do even better then we did and everybody gets water, then you only pay for a BYO Grand Slam ($5.99 @ our Denny's). We lucked out, because kids eat free w/o coupons on Tues & Thrus. The slam coupon expires soon, though, so get it while you can!

missing

Yesterday I posted about my cousin who passed away. Today, I'm posting about my other cousin, Melissa, who has been missing since January 27, 2007. This is from the OSBI website:

Melissa Sue Flores

The Washita County Sheriff’s Office has requested OSBI assistance in its search for a missing Cordell woman. Melissa Sue Flores was last seen by a friend in Cordell at 5 o’clock Saturday morning, January 27, 2007. The 27-year-old woman's vehicle was found at her ex-boyfriend’s home in Cordell. The sheriff’s office called in OSBI for help since several personal items were found in Flores’ vehicle. OSBI and area law enforcement have gathered evidence and conducted many interviews to try and determine Flores' whereabouts. Authorities have no suspects at this time.
ANYONE WITH INFORMATION ABOUT HER DISAPPEARANCE PLEASE CALL:
the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation at (800) 522-8017

If you are reading this, and you know of any information that could help put an end to my family's misery, PLEASE CALL. PLEASE. Help us bring her home.

caught off guard

I was totally caught off guard today. My dad called me after church to let me know that my cousin, J'Michael, had passed away. Although it is quite unexpected, there is some background to his death.

About 2 years ago, J was skateboarding home from somewhere (I don't remember whether is was a friend's or work) and he was hit by a car. He wasn't wearing a helmet and he suffered head injuries. He was in the hospital for a while and was left with sproadic seizures.

He just got married recently and his wife found him this morning. He had a seizure, then fell & hit his head. He was 28; days away from his 29th birthday. He lived in San Diego, near his sisters. His mom (my mom's sister) lives in Hawaii. I met J once when I was 8 and we went to California for a vacation.

He will be missed. For all he was and all he could have been. We loved you J'Michael. I wish we could have known each other more.

vacation ~ part I

Very late last night we got back from what was supposed to be a relaxing trip to Cape Cod. Keith, myself, our 2 kiddos & my mother-in-law. Drive out Sunday, drive back Friday. Miss 2 hurricanes. Simple enough.

Or so you would think. We had all of our plans in place.

Hurricane Bill gone -check.
Free lodging - check.
Swim gear - check.
Suitcases packed - check.
One toddler w/ a throat virus -check.

We went on vacation with our sick toddler, who was at the doctor saturday before we left. The dr then called, after we were already in MA to say it wasn't a virus, but strep. We then ended up with a sick 4 year old & a sick daddy. We spent the 1st 2 days @ the local urgent care facility, pharmacy & on the phone w/ the uc in Rochester. AND, a grandma who was counting the days on the calendar until she came down with strep. (I haven't even gotten it & I live with them!). So we kind of laid low until Wednesday.

Once everyone who needed them was on drugs, we started our vacation. A week that was supposed to be spent on the beach, included precisely 2 hours of beach-going. We did however visit quite a few museums & ate a lot of ice cream. So, it wasn't very relaxing, but it was nice to spend time with family. For some reason it seems that being sick at the ocean is easier then being sick at home.

I did manage to take a few pictures which I'll post later.

Summer Harvest

Here is a recipe that uses veggies from the summer abundance.



Vegetable Quiche

1 unbaked pastry shell (9 inch)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 medium chopped green pepper

1 1/4 cups chopped tomatoes

3/4 cup chopped zucchini

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

5 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese



Line unpricked pastry shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake at 450 for 5 minutes. Remove foil, bake 5 more minutes. Remove from oven & reduce heat to 350. In a large skillet saute veggies in butter, salt & pepper. Spoon into crust. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the milk & cheese; mix well. Carefully pour over veggies. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

Cakes

So, I took these cake decorating classes through Wilton from April to July. At the end of each 4 week course, we had a "final" cake that we made with all the skills we learned. Well at the end of Course 4, I gave my final cake to my friend Heidi. She liked it much & asked me to make her daughter's birthday cake. I said I would.



Well, this summer has been a little on the cool side, until the last 2 weeks. Then the earth decided to warm in WNY and it has been extremely humid & hot. Hope's birthday is today. Try making things out of fondant in 90% humidity. It don't work so good. My decorations were half dry & the flowers didn't hold their shape well.



After I baked the cupcakes, I put them on baking sheets to cool. Apparently my 17 month old thought they didn't look good there, so she put some in her belly. Had to make another batch. She also didn't like the frosting I put on, and but that in her belly as well. One more batch of frosting to replace lost batch.



And then on the way to deliver the cakes, they all decided to flip over in their case. Not good. Smudged frosting & lost flowers.



How did I remedy these weather & driving related mistakes. Did I cry? A little. But then I had a brilliant idea. Buy a cupcake tower & stack! This hides a plethera of incident induced blemishes. Here is my finished product.