Spring Break Sneak Peek

Well Jeff had his Spring Break last week and now Cade is here for his. It's too bad they have different breaks this year, but we're grateful for Patsy and Jim who have come to visit and hang out with Cade during the days while we work.

For our first day of fun we went sledding with my parents. One of the hills had a giant jump on it. So giant that I refused to do it. Here are a few fun photos that my mom sent. Note the last one, my Dad. He had a crash landing that was NOT good. Poor guy is on the injured reserve list now. Hope he feels better soon! Cade also landed hard once, and aptly described it as folding up into a taco. He was hurt and shaken up, but he felt better quickly and went off the jump several more times. Crazy kids!

Since our fun in the snow the weather has turned gorgeous and there has been plenty of outside time. Garden of the Gods was a highlight for Cade, Patsy and Jim on Monday. I even got to enjoy some sun time yesterday! More to come-stay tuned.

Cade mastering the jump.


Jeff mastering the jump.



Dad getting mastered by the jump :(

Recipe Review-Dump Cake

Well this is about the easiest dessert recipe in the history of the universe! And delicious :)

Ingredients:

1 can fruit pie filling (I used strawberry)
1 can fruit pie filling (I used peach)
1 box yellow cake mix (I used butter flavor)
1 cup butter, melted

Directions:

In a greased 9 x 13 in pan layer ingredients as listed above. Do not mix but try to be sure all the cake mix is covered with the melted butter. Cook in oven at 350 degrees for 55 minutes. Cool. Enjoy. Maybe with ice-cream :) Two thumbs up!

Speaking of two thumbs up. Last time was a lie. Jeff HATES brown rice. You know, of the fiesta salad recipe variety. How could he have liked the fiesta salad, then? Good question. He didn't. Nice. AT least he was sweet about it, I guess? And that's all for now. I think we might have a snow day tomorrow. I hope so!

Springy

!
The pillow covers arrived! But guess what...the birds I thought were red? They were pink. Shoot! Never you mind that, though. I fixed them :) The first attempt at creatively fixing them was a complete disaster. Mind you I'm not crafty at.all. But I though, hey, maybe I can get some red fabric, trace the birds on it and iron them over the pink birds. Yeah. right. I tried it. Luckily I tested it before I applied it to the covers because the fabric I purchased totally melted! I even made sure to ask if it would work and the lovely lady at JoAnn Fabric said yes. She lied. Hmmm, what to do now? I know! Do they make fabric pens? YES, yes they do! So I bought a red one and a black one to try out. Perfection! I used the red pen and just colored over the pink. You can't even really tell. I am a genius! Also, I want to give credit to Elisabeth at http://www.etsy.com/shop/purplepajamas, who made the pillow covers, and who was so sweet and willing to refund me. The covers look awesome and I'm glad we are able to make them work!

Recipe Review-Fiesta Salad

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cooked rice (hmph-see below for unpleasant details*)
1 6 0z can tuna
1/2 c diced celery
1/4 c chopped green pepper
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. sour cream
1 tomato, diced
corn chips

Directions:
combine cooked rice, tuna, celery, green pepper and lemon juice. Blend seasonings with the sour cream and stir into rice mixture. Chill for 1 hour (or two days). Garnish with tomatoes and serve with corn chips. I kept the tuna and peppers separate so that Jeff could add the tuna to his and I could add the peppers to mine. I actually heated mine up and melted cheddar cheese on it. We both put taco sauce and sour cream on ours and crunched the tortilla chips up into the whole thing. (which probably helped mask the fact that the rice was still not totally soft. yay.) All in all it turned out really yummy and I would fix it again. Using minute rice. Two thumbs up.







*So, this is quite the recipe story. First of all, there is a HUGE difference between minute rice and the other kind of rice. I, being the kitchen savvy gal that I am, have never used the "other" kind of rice. Until now. I got the rice for this recipe in the bulk aisle at Whole Foods. Pretty awesome, right? No. Not if you don't know how to cook it. Which I didn't. And still don't. So instead of adding equal parts water and rice, bringing to a boil, removing from heat and simmering while covered for 5 minutes, I boiled and boiled and simmered and simmered and added more water and covered and uncovered and after an hour and 15 minutes I finally gave up and we had grilled cheese sandwiches. I left the rice in the pot while we ate and I think it somehow, finally, got mostly done. So I stored all the other ingredients and we ate this meal two days later. Oi Vey.

In other food news, how awesome are these pitas?!


and this decadent chocolate cake, which is almost as good as the one at Whole Foods, if I would just stop overcooking it!

Recipe Review-Lemon Tart

I made this tart for dessert night with the girls. It looks so pretty (as do the rest of the desserts) however it was SO TART! I couldn't even eat one bite without puckering like I've never puckered before. It was way too sour for both Jeff and I. I took the leftovers to work, though, and it was gone by mid morning, so I guess it was OK. I'm just more of a chocolate person, I guess.

Lemon Tart
http://www.designspongeonline.com/2010/02/in-the-kitchen-with-marjorie-taylors-lemon-tart.html

Pâte sucrée (I guess this means pie crust in fancy talk ;)

Makes enough pastry for 2 tarts (I bought my crusts. What? making the filling was plenty of baking for me!)

1/4 cup heavy cream
2 large egg yolks
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
A pinch of sea salt
8 ounces unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Whisk the cream and the eggs together in a small bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt and butter. Using your fingers, incorporate the butter until you have a coarse meal. Gradually add the cream and yolks, and mix until just combined. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Bring the dough together with your hands to incorporate completely. Divide the dough in half, shape into disks, and wrap one of them to freeze and use later.

If the dough is soft, put it into the refrigerator for a few minutes prior to rolling. Place it on a lightly floured work surface, and sprinkle with a little bit of flour. Roll it into a 1/4-inch-thick circle, flouring as needed. Started at one side, roll and wrap the dough around the rolling pin to pick it up. Unroll the dough over the 9-inch tart pan. Gently press the dough into the pan, being careful not to stretch it as this will cause it to shrink when baking. To remove the excess dough, work your way around the edge pinching off the excess dough with your fingers. Chill for 1 hour before baking.

Preheat the oven to 375

Line the tart pan with the pâte sucrée. Prick the bottom with a fork and line the shell with parchment paper. Fill the lined tart with dried beans or pie weights and bake for 15 minutes. Take the tart out of the oven and carefully remove the parchment paper and dried beans. Return the tart to the oven, and bake until golden brown turning as needed to ensure even color. Set aside on a rack to cool completely.

Lemon Curd (I guess curd is supposed to be an appetizing word?)

Makes enough filling for one nine-inch (23cm) tart, or about ten 3.5” (9cm) mini-tarts, depending on their depth

4 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup lemon juice, about 5 lemons (Jeff totally juiced these for me. He's my tart hero!)
5 ounces unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

A pinch of sea salt

Whisk the eggs, egg yolks, sugar and lemon juice together in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the lemon curd has thickened and coats the back of the spoon, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. (The consistency is like melted-ice cream)

Remove the lemon curd from the heat and add the butter a little at a time, stirring to incorporate each addition before adding more. Season with the sea salt.

Strain the lemon curd into the prepared tart shell(s) while the curd is still warm. Decorate the tart with thin slices of lemon and chill for at least 3 hours. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or crème fraiche. (more fancy talk)

No thumbs up from the Schurz home. Oh well.

Friends with Wings

Last weekend was amazing! Lindsey came to visit from Florida. She used to live hear-she was my cube mate. I can hardly believe she has been gone for a year :( We spent time grabbing coffee, perusing bookstores, brunching, parading, belly laughing, dining, desserting and more (including hula hooping, of which I videoed but can't find the video. Don't worry, I won't give up!) It was the best weekend I've had in a while. These friends are angels :)

Here we are dining in Old Colorado City. Lindz, Grace, Liz, Devin, Jeff and Me.


Lindz, Grace, Kev and Liz.


We walked around in Manitou and stopped at a couple of toy stores. Here we are trying out these amazing stick juggling things. They were so cool!


This is Davinci, Liz and Kevin's pup. He's so smart he can close the fridge and back door.


A family picture-Liz Kevin and Davinci.


We went to an awesome St Paddy's Day Parade in downtown Csprings. I had to get a pic of the Scottish Terriers. They are my brother and my fave dogs. SCOTTish TERRIers. Get it?


The gang: Kevin, Liz, Random Guy, Grace, LL, Me.


BFFs. LL and Liz.


The girls. Grace, Sarah, LL, Me, Liz.




Sitting on Liz and Kevin's balcony enjoying brunch.



Getting our Vitamin D!


Dessert night at my house. Stace, Liz, Lindz and Grace.


Of course Chloe and Clarence enjoyed dessert night, too.




I wish Lindsey would visit EVERY DAY! Love you, friends! :)

Recipe Review-Sun dried tomato dip

Sun Dried Tomato Dip

Jeff and I sampled a dip at Whole Foods and instead of buying thought it would be fun to try to make it. It was GREAT!

Unfortunately the ingredients are all “to taste” meaning I didn’t measure anything. So, I’ll give you some approximations and then you can make it to fit you!

7-8ish sun dried tomatoes (we got these from the bulk isle, dried, then soaked them in water)
8ish oz cream cheese
1/3 ish cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1 Tbsp ish dried basil (fresh would be so much yummier)
A little garlic salt
A little sea salt
Other spices/herbs to your liking

Blend all in food processor. Serve with chips, pitas, or whatever!

Two thumbs WAY up :)

A touch of Spring

We just ordered these pillow covers from Etsy. I'm so excited! It's the little things. :)

Community Supported Agriculture

I try to be green. I try to be healthy. I try to be good. I want to eat local. I don’t want to hurt animals. I want to save money. How on earth can I do all of this? Well, I’ve recently learned about a little thing (or, rather huge thing really) called CSA’s. Community Supported Agriculture. It’s strange, because about a month ago I was looking into new and different egg options, and even contemplating vegan cheese products. The more I learn about how our food is produced and how animals who provide for us are treated, the more disgusted and discouraged I get. I will spare you the details, but there are plenty of them out there for you to horrify yourself on your own. If you want to continue eating meat and dairy, I suggest you don’t do the research. In any case, I didn’t find much while I was googling local chicken farms or cheap cheese options. However, I was reading an awesome blog: http://www.designspongeonline.com/ , when I ran across an entry about CSA’s. Hello information! These farms are amazing! Even if you don’t want to change the way you shop or eat, I would still encourage you to check them out, just to see how cool they are. Check out http://www.localharvest.org/ . You can learn about community farms, farmers markets, grocery’s and co-ops and many other really cool things. What are CSA’s?

Over the last 20 years, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (aka a "membership" or a "subscription") and in return receive a box (bag, basket) of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season. For more info check out this link: http://www.localharvest.org/csa/.

One of the things that has become really important to me is finding eggs laid by happy, healthy, safe and unharmed chickens. Lo and Behold I found a place! Grant Family Farms. http://grantfarms.com/home.php. YAY! Sure, the price is a bit higher than your grocery store variety of “cage free” eggs (about $1/dozen more), but to me it is totally worth it. (again, if you do that research you will see why.) I’m really excited and I signed up for our share this morning. I honestly believe this type of thing creates a happier, healthier animal, person, community and earth. Just check it out-what can it hurt?!

Press release about Granddad's lifesaving treatment!

Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center
Candace Hoffmann
Public Relations
14502 W. Meeker Blvd.
Sun City West, Ariz. 85375
623-214-4359 or 623-679-5779
Candace.Hoffmann@bannerhealth.com

Surprise Fire Department
Kevin Pool
Assistant Fire Chief
14250 W. Statler Plaza
Surprise, Ariz. 85374
623.222.5022 or 623-764-0483
kevin.pool@surpriseaz.com

www.surpriseaz.com

News Release

Partnership between Banner Del E. Webb, Surprise Fire Department saves patient’s life: Hospital, FD first in state to trial new digital 12-lead field EKG

SURPRISE, Ariz. (March 2, 2010) – When Stanley Garretson woke up at around 4 a.m. on Feb. 24; he suspected something was very wrong. Within 15 minutes as he was struggling with the pain in his chest it dawned on him – he was having a heart attack. What he didn’t know was that a partnership between Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center and the Surprise Fire Department would play a huge part in saving his life. The hospital and fire department are piloting a new technology that enabled the immediate transmittal of a digital diagnostic quality EKG from the field to the hospital and other users directly to computer or smart phones. This resulted in the timely treatment of Garretson’s heart attack upon his arrival to the hospital.

Garretson and his wife, Ellen, were visiting the area from Nebraska. She called 911 and the Surprise Fire Department responded within minutes. Their four-person team went to work connecting Garretson to a new 12-lead defibrillator/monitor. One EMT connected the 12-lead EKG to Garretson’s body; another EMT checked his vital signs and oxygenation while applying oxygen; one of the paramedics prepared the medication necessary to treat a heart attack; and the other paramedic coordinated the transmission of the EKG and vital signs. That transmission went out to PDAs, cell phones and computers of medical personnel who could respond. Back at the nonprofit hospital, the ED physician, Dr. Stephen Hawkyns, was alerted as the EKG appeared digitally on his computer screen.

“This team along with this new equipment is critically important to achieving success for our patient, “said Nathan Lewis, RN, pre-hospital coordinator at the nonprofit hospital.”

The strength of this new machine, called the LifeNet system, is that it uses digital packet technology, providing a very clear, diagnostic quality, digital image transmitted from the field to the ED and other members of the cardiac team.

“Put simply this system’s technology is the difference in quality between a cassette tape and a CD,” said Lewis. Both Banner Del E. Webb and Surprise Fire are very impressed so far with the ability of this equipment.

“The team, with their ability to have and use this new equipment, brings a new level of care to Surprise and the surrounding communities,” said Surprise Fire Department Chief Michael White.

“Our partnership with the Surprise Fire Department is already saving lives,” said Banner Del E. Webb’s CEO John Harrington. “The team of EMTs, paramedics, our ED and cath lab staff all understand that time is heart muscle when a patient has a heart attack. The quicker the response, which this technology clearly allows, the more heart muscle is saved.”

When Garretson arrived to the hospital he coded at the door, but the ED team were ready and waiting for him. Time is heart muscle when a person is experiencing a heart attack. Dr. Manoj Rawal, director of cardiac services at the hospital, was standing by in the catheterization lab prepared to insert a stent. Garretson arrived at the ED door at 5:32 a.m. and had a lifesaving stent procedure completed by 6:45. The clear, diagnostic quality EKG was transmitted to the hospital at 5:17 a.m. and automatically retransmitted at 5:26 a.m.

All in all about 15 minutes were shaved off the usual time for this process.

“They saved my life,” Garretson said. “Everyone has been so nice and supportive through this entire experience.”

Banner Del E. Webb is a 404-bed, acute-care hospital offering heart care, emergency care, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, cancer care, obstetrics and gynecology, outpatient services, rehabilitation and behavioral care. Banner Del E. Webb is part of Banner Health, a nonprofit health care system with 22 hospitals throughout the West.

Editors/Producers: Mr. Garretson, Surprise FD personnel, BDWMC physicians and staff, Nathan Lewis, CEO John Harrington and Chief White are available for comment/interview about this case, the partnership and this lifesaving technology.
-End-

The Good

My Granddad survived a heart attack! It is quite miraculous, it seems. I'm so thankful. Here is the story in his own words:

Hello All,

Bill has done such a great job of reporting the activities here in Arizona, that I do not feel it is really necessary for me to provide one of my glowing essays pertaining to the happenings of our yearly trip to the south. However, I will attempt a brief synopsis of days gone by.The first few days were relatively uneventful. We made it to Colorado Springs the first day with no problems and parked on the curb at Terri and Jeff’s. Jeff was working, but Terri, Marc, Gail, Ellen and I enjoyed an evening meal at the local Red Robin eatery. The next day, Saturday, we took life easy, then watched Brooke play basketball (she is very good by the way); then in the evening watched Brent’s team win a very tough game by only two points. Sunday we drove to Cripple Creek where we met Marc and Gail for breakfast and a bit of time making our usual contributions to the school funds, etc. We drove back to the springs in a wicked snow storm with heavy snow and snow packed roads. This weather was forecasted, but we, of course, went anyway. Once we made it back to the city, Jeff and Terri let us share their very comfortable living room where we watched the Super Bowl.Now we were snowed in at the Springs, but about 1:00 the weather broke, so we headed out. The first night we stayed in a Rest Area just north of Raton Pass. It snowed off and on all night, but by 8:30 or so the roads looked OK. We drove all day in occasional snow and ice…the kind of ice that covers your windshield no matter what your defrosters are doing., and I was starting to feel a touch of the flu. Anyway we made it to an Indian Casino in New Mexico, where they had hook-ups for only $10 a night, and there we stayed. Since my malady was slow to leave, we stayed there two night, and even managed to help out the Indians with a very small donation. The next day, the 11th, even though I was still a little rocky, we drove the 400+ miles on into Phoenix and checked into our RV Park.Once we got settled in here, the next few days are a bit of a blur, with Bill and Virginia and Marty and Susan doing their very best to keep us occupied. I do remember that we made three trips to the Indian Casino, and the third day Ellen and I recouped our losses from the first two trips and even made a little extra. This, of course is why I remember it. Bill, Virginia, Ellen and I did enjoy one evening of dining at Hoagy and Donna’s along with some other friends from McCook. I also played golf one day and Ellen joined with Marty once for a day of Bridge.

Then we got to the morning of the 24th…OH MY WHAT A DAY. I awoke from a deep sleep about 4:00 with very unusual chest pains. I got up, took two aspirins, and some alka seltzer, just in case it might be gas. I knew very shortly that gas was not the problem. By now Ellen was up and wondering if she should call 911 and I soon said yes!..I was starting to sweat, and the pain was becoming nearly unbearable. The paramedics were here in probably less than 4 minutes, clambered into the RV and began to hook up their equipment and to ask me questions. Questions that I could barely answer as I was in so much pain and starting to fade away.With their assistance, I was able to stumble down the stairs and pretty much collapsed onto the gurney. They soon had me in the ambulance, and with the fire truck and Ellen following along, they sprinted for the hospital. I remember being rushed into ER, but not much else until they decided I was dying and they would have to use the paddles on me. At this point I was semi conscious and I saw them bring the paddles in. Then there was a blinding flash of light, about the size of large wash tub, an explosion of pain throughout my body , and the propulsion of my body up off the bed…unfortunately this process was repeated, several times, as I was not responding properly, and for some reason, I began to count the return of the paddles…I thought I counted eleven, but the cardiologist thought it was only nine…anyway, why should anyone be counting? I was supposed to be unconscious.The next thing I remember is that I was trying wake up again and discovered that I could not move any part of my body. I couldn’t move my fingers, I could not open my eyes…it was indeed a horrible feeling. Then sometime later I awoke to find that I could at least open my eyes and move my fingers. What a relief that was! From this point on, the hospital staff were amazed at my recovery, and by afternoon I was able to breathe on my own and they removed that aspirator tube that had kept me alive.It is truly a miracle that I am alive today, but for some reason, the ambulance crew experimented with their new equipment, it worked; and all the proper people (including the chief of Cardiology) were on hand at the emergency room. I am a lucky man. Oh yes, I was also told today that recovery rate for this kind of heart attack, if not treated in less than 3 minutes is only 9%. What else can I say, except thanks for you prayers. Ellen has been a “rock” and Bill and Virginia and Marty and Susan have given tremendous family support. I could not, and I cannot ask for greater assistance than they have provided.As Bill has done a super job of covering all the technicalities and the day to day events, I think this will conclude my report. Thanks again for all your support and your prayers.

I love you all,

Stan

Pretty cool, huh? He's famous, too. I'll post the press realease as soon as they email it to me!

The Bad, The Ugly

Well, it has been quite a couple of days. Thanks for your well wishes and concern. We were in an accident with another vehicle and it was pretty bad. No one was hurt, but it was still the worse crash I’ve been a part of. Tow trucks came, police, fire trucks, the works. We waited on the curb for a while, gave our statements, watched the truck get loaded onto the tow. It was really scary and traumatic, but could have been much much worse. At this time we are playing the waiting game. Waiting to see if our new truck (that we had for about 20 minutes L) will be totalled or repaired. I’m guessing we’ll know by next week. Then will be decision time and more waiting. Our experience with insurance is NOT good at all, so we aren’t counting on this being smooth, easy, stress free or really good at all. There are pieces of good news in the midst of it all, though. The accident was our fault and we have certainly learned a thing or two. No one was hurt and we are so grateful for that. Everyone we’ve had to deal with so far has been so kind. The policeman, fireman, tow truck man, repair shop man, insurance woman. They have been understanding, used kind tones and reminded us that these things happen all the time. “They are called accidents for a reason.” “Try to relax.” “We’re glad you’re all OK.” “I’ll let you know if I hear anything sooner.” “We’ll do our best to help.” These are a few things we’ve heard. The accident was really scary and I’ve been stressed, a little in pain, and very weepy since then. But hearing these things as well as being surrounded by friends and family who are willing to help is a big sigh of relief for us. Also, we purchased gap insurance, which we debated but decided to go with, which we are so thankful for. I believe this means that if the truck is totalled the insurance will pay off the entire loan. Of course if we have to buy a new truck again, we will be out quite a bit of money, but at least we won’t owe money on the current loan. If they truck is fixable there is no telling how long it will take or what will be involved and we will be out a pretty steep deductible, but at least we would know what the end holds. It’s hard to know what will be better at this point, so we just wait. In the meantime we were able to get a rental car so that is good. I’ve found it’s very hard not to think of “what if.” But we can’t do that. The past is the past, the future is unknown, so all we can do is focus on today. I probably won’t bother to bore you with details as we know them, but if anything newsworthy happens I’ll let you know.