Minnesota Votes

Here are some of the challenged ballots from the very tight Senate race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken.

It really is a shame that the Lizard People didn't have the funds or organization to get their message out. Maybe we wouldn't have this mess.

It's going to be a crazy week

Tonight Val will fly out to Houston.

Val's stepdad's mom passed away this weekend.

While Val is in Houston we will be having swimming, den meeting, more swimming, pack meeting and all now with the 2 year old in tow.

McCain and Me

Ways I am like John McCain:

• I am white


• I have met George Bush


• I will never be President


• I didn't really know anything about Sarah Palin before September

Ways I am NOT like John McCain:

• My wife and I only own one home.

That's right, today it is official. We closed on the house in Minnesota. No just waiting on the money to get wired to Missouri.

Thanks to everyone who has kept us and our housing situation in your thoughts and prayers. We look forward to visiting Monticello sometime and not having a place to stay.

For family far and near that ask about what to get the boys

It is that time of year.

Only 3 weeks until Cooper's Birthday, 7 weeks until Christmas.

I have made wish list on Amazon for both of the boys, you can find them on the right hand side of the blog.

Here is a little information about what both of the boys are into right now.

Cooper:

He is into Legos right now. He especially likes the Lego Agents, but likes all kind of legos. He is also into Indian Jones. He dressed up as Indiana Jones for Halloween and is having a Lego Indiana Jones Birthday party. Right now from Mom and Dad he is getting the first Indiana Jones Movie and a membership to the Lego Brickmaster club for his birthday.

One thing he has been interested in for a while is getting a Venus Flytrap.

He's doing pretty good on clothes, although is always open to unusual socks and could maybe use a hooded sweatshirt.

Christmas this year is going to be all about the Wii. Grandma and Grandpa have already bought the Wii for our family (shhhh) So you will see many items on his wish list that relate to that.

Lincoln

He loves the movie cars and the characters from the movie.

He is into trains and trucks. He also likes legos. We have some arguments over legos in our house.

Oh, and for better or worse he loves Sponge Bob. He sings the theme song (we have Cooper to thank for that).

Recommended reading

Hey, everyone, it's Val here. It's been a long time since I've blogged...I've been too busy eating Chad's yummy food!

2 great books that I just read....

1. Walking the Bible by Bruce Feiler . This book is incredible. It wasn't what I was expecting. It is about a man who travels the Middle East, trying to trace the Old Testament and the actual historic sites where the events in the Bible took place. It is a good "tour guide" to the region, but it is so much more. The author is Jewish, and he discusses the bigger questions about why the Bible is still important to us today.

2. Better by Atul Gawande. A doctor discusses issues of medicine and life. Very readable and inspiring, especially if you are in the healthcare field...but even if you're not.

1 book that I'm reading...

Listening to Prozac by Peter D. Kramer. This Harvard psychiatrist gives a very interesting history of how psychiatric medicines such as anti-depressants came to be. He grapples with the questions of what mental illness is, and how do we decide whether to use a medication or not for psychological problems. It is a long book, but a page-turner, as was Walking the Bible.

Halloween fun...and more!

Here's some pics of the guys at Halloween. Lincoln was "SuperWhy"and Cooper was Indiana Jones. They went to Mahomet and trick-or-treated with their Illinois buddies. Mommy and Daddy got to have 24 hours or so without kids...thanks Grandma and Grandpa!!

Here's the "more"...it's looking like our house will be sold soon. Don't want to say more until the ink is dry.

Broiled Pork Chops with Pineapple Couscous

This was more of a "what do we have around the house" than an actual recipe, but I thought it turned out pretty good.

I used boneless pork chops and for a sauce I used:

Hoisin Sauce (about 1/3 cup)
Lime Juice
Sesame Seed Oil
Minced Garlic
Minced Ginger
Soy Sauce

Salt and peppered the chops and covered in sauce. Broiled, turning and basting periodically.

If I was making this recipe again I would probably try adding some chopped scallions to the sauce.

For the couscous I had a can of pineapples (used some for calzones the other night), which gave me about a cup of pineapple juice. Used water to get to 2 cups. Boiled that mixture, remove from heat and stir in 1 cup couscous (ours was whole wheat)

Took about 20 minutes to absorb to which I then added the pineapple chunks.

election update

Maybe I am the only one who finds this funny, but this is my mock up of an actual sign I saw at our polling place today.

"If you don't vote, you're a moron"

(HT: Cindy)

Happy election day. Remember that if you vote you can also get free coffee, doughnut, and ice cream.

my new, favorite Christian music based podcast

Recently I went back to Minnesota to take care of the house up there.

Had a talk with my pastor about church and such.

I told him we found a church that we are probably going to be attending. And I told him that the service we attend they sing hymns. My wife and I like hymns.

He asked, "Do you listen to hymns on the radio?"

To which I said, "Well I don't listen to contemporary Christian music on the radio."

Now, thanks to my wife I've found my new, favorite Christian music based podcast.

It's called The Bored-Again Christian. And so far we listen to one podcast on our drive back from Illinois and I am hooked.

It is entertaining and it has started to introduce me to an eclectic mix of Christian music. I didn't fall in love with every song, but I did fall in love with a couple. I've already bought one on iTunes.

So for those of us looking for something beyond Chris Tomlin and Jeremy Camp, I have found it.