Snow Daze 08 December 2006

I love a good snow fall. It makes winter more bearable. It's better to look outside and see a blanket of white than to look out and see dead, brown grass. Plus, snow has this special way of making everything seem more magical.

Anyways, last week was one of the best snowfalls I can think of in recent years. All day Wednesday before Oneighty, the news stations kept warning of a snow storm that kept growing in size. They started by promising 1-2" of snow. Then 2-4". A couple hours later it jumped to 4-6". Finally 8-10". And thankfully, we got every bit of 8" of snow and everything shut down.

So, for 4 days, my schedule was free and clear and it was awesome. I braved the elements and took my family to buy our Christmas tree at a cool little tree farm that gave you free hay rides and hot cider. Everything was covered in snow and looked beautiful. We fired up the fireplace, made some Christmas treats, pumped up some good holiday music and decorated our tree. I tried something a little different this year and trimmed the tree by thinning out some of the branches. It think it turned out pretty well.

I watched some movies, played poker with some friends, played alot of Nintendo Wii (which is pretty cool by the way) and just took it easy. It was awesome to have another 4 day weekend the week after Thanksgiving. I am sure you loved being out of school too.

A couple of side notes:

Don't bother seeing "Happy Feet". I took my daughter to see it and it was terrible. That is unless you like environmental rants.

Do check out my list of Christmas recipes. I posted these last year and you can find them by scrolling down this page. I strongly suggest that you give them a shot this year, as they will help your holidays to be a little happier.

If you have never seen it, watch "It's A Wonderful Life". It's one of the best movies of all time and a must-see Christmas movie.

I hope you have a Merry Christmas. If you still haven't gotten me a gift, "Batman Begins" on DVD would be a good choice.

ja

I Believe I Can Fly 03 November 2006

In my last post, I talked about heroes and what super power I would select if given the choice. I chose flying, for reasons previously mentioned, and I said that it seemed like the best choice unless someone could convince me otherwise.

I got to talking about the gift of flight with a friend and came to realize that a couple of assumptions that most people make about flying that probably aren't accurate.

Think about this- what if you could only fly as fast as you could run? If you wanted to fly to school, you may have to leave an hour earlier than you normally do just to make it in time to get to class. That's not really what I would consider a plus. And what if flying took effort like running did. By the time you got wherever you were going, you may be exhausted. Or sweaty.

And just because you could fly doesn't mean that you would be impervious to the weather. If conditions weren't right, flying could be a miserable experience. Let's say it's below freezing- would you fly all bundled up in a snowsuit? Not real cool. Flying in the rain would also be a real drag, cos the physics of flying wouldn't really give you the option to fly with an umbrella.

I feel pretty confident that if you could fly, your speed would be fairly quick, but the weather deal might put a little damper on the whole deal.

Just the same, I still think I would select the gift of flight over any of the other super power options. At least I could still fly....at least part of the time.

ja

Heroes 6 October 2006

Thanks to all of you who came to Flex 2006 a couple of weeks ago. It was a great night. Was strongman Dennis Rogers awesome or what? That guy had a grip like vise. I was thinking about it and it is almost like he is a comic book hero. You know, like many of our favorite super heroes, he was born with this unique gift of having his muscles work together at a more optimum level than the rest of mankind- giving him a strength that allows him to pick up refrigerators with one finger, bend pry bars and rip phonebooks like they were toilet paper. He didn't have to work for it- he just has it. Awesome.

There is a new show on tv called 'Heroes' about a bunch of ordinary people who find that they have extraordinary powers and abilities. Stuff like being able to fly, hear other people's thoughts and travel through time. All this hero stuff has got me thinking about what ability or power I would want to have if I could have a super power.

There are plenty of options to choose from: invincibility, ability to fly, super strength, ability to disappear, super speed, elasticity, shape-shift, super hearing, ability to freeze time, ability to read minds / thoughts- the list could go on.

It really is a tough choice, but I think that I would probably select the power to fly. To me it would probably be the most enjoyable. Some of the other options might seem like they would be more useful, like super speed for example. If you needed to run to the store for something or get to a friend's house quick, you could get there in a flash. Practical, but not necessarily the most enjoyable. Or take super strength. Sure it would come in handy, but I think that you would be the first person that people would call whenever they needed help moving. Might get kind of old after a while.

I really think being able to fly would be the best. Think about it- you would never have to be afraid of falling off anything, you would never have to take the stairs, you could always have a good view at football games or concerts and getting around town would be alot more enjoyable. Plus, it's just fun. Unless someone could convince me otherwise, I'm pretty sure that flying would be the best super power to have. If only.....

May, McDonald's and Shoelaces 18 May 2006

This May has to be one of the craziest months I have had in a while. It has felt like one event right after the other, due to all of the graduations, graduation parties, birthday and Mother's Day celebrations I have had to participate in. Crazy.

This is a big month for a lot of you too- I know many of you who will be graduating high school (congrats) and moving on from Oneighty, while another bunch will just be starting your Oneighty career (welcome to you guys). Whatever this May holds for you, I hope it is an exciting time.

A couple of random items to throw your way:

1. Next time you are surfing the web, check out http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/ianknot.htm. This guy is obsessed with different ways to tie shoelace knots. If you are like me, you probably thought there was only one way- you know, the one where the rabbit goes around the tree and through the hole- but I (and you) was sorely mistaken. Ian lists 15, that's right- 15, different ways to tie a shoelace. He claims to have the World's Fastest Shoelace Knot, so I gave it a shot. It took me only a few tries to get it and I have to admit- it is the fastest. Anyways, it's pretty entertaining, so give it a shot.

2. I found this online today. It's an ad from India for a new McDonald's that opened there. The tagline says "Just opened, near Kimaya Kothrud. I'm lovin' it." Correct me if I'm wrong, but that looks like a baby from Sephen King's "IT". Freaky. I don't know about you, but after seeing this, I'm thinking Arby's.

Disney world 05 February 2006

Right before Christmas, I got to visit the most magical place on earth. That's right, Disney World. I have now been to Disney World 4 times- May 2002, August 2004, November 2004 and December 2005- and each time I am there it seems to get more special. I got to thinking about it and between my 4 trips to Disney World, I have spent just over 1 month of my life there. When you spend that kind of time someplace, it inevitably becomes familiar to you. When I first got into the Magic Kingdom, I found myself thinking about just how familiar everything felt to me. It was cool see and do the things that I had spent so much time thinking about since my last trip there. Aside from a few things, the parks feel virtually the same every time I go. I think this trip seemed extra special cos it was the first time that my daughter had visited Disney. Having a little kid around who clapped when we would ride Winnie the Pooh and would try to bite off the nose of every character we met made it really fun.

It was a full week of Disney action. A full week of riding rides, visiting characters and eating amazing foods (mainly soft-serve waffle cones). We went to a different park everyday and on most days we would hit multiple parks. And it was everything I thought it would be. So, for those of you who love Disney and haven't been in a while, I thought I would post some pictures of my trip for you to enjoy.

This is a picture of the greatest ride in the world- the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Seriously, guys, this ride is amazing. You board this elevator and strap on a seat belt for an insane ride up and down an elevator shaft, falling faster than a free fall. It is random every time, so you never know how many times the elevator will fall and shoot back to the top. I purposely leave my seat belt loose so that I can be sure to get that extra thrill of coming out of my seat on the way down. The building that houses this ride is designed like a vacant 1930's hotel and looks amazing. I would go to Disney World for this ride alone.

Here I am standing on Main Street USA in the Magic Kingdom. This is a great spot in the park cos you know that you have finally made it and are about to have one of the best times of your life.

This was one of several occasions that we met Mickey, not to mention the loads of other characters that we saw while in Disney World.

This shot of Main Street USA is from the night of Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Not long after this was taken, it started snowing. Of course, since it was Florida it wasn't real snow, but thanks to the snow machines on top of the buildings, we couldn't tell the difference. It was awesome.

These are shots of some of the most special places in the Magic Kingdom- Cinderella's Castle, Splash Mountain and one of my favorite places to eat- Pecos Bill's Tall Tale Cafe.

The sad thing is that I won't be back there for probably almost another year. Oh well, absence makes the heart grow fonder....

ja

Holiday food recap 16 January 2006

For those of you who read my blog on the 'Best Holiday Foods in the World', I thought I would do a photo recap of a couple of the recipes so you could see what get a picture of some of the lesser known foods I mentioned look like.

First, I know several of you made Green Wreaths. I also know of a correction I need to make to the recipe. I said to use 1 tablespoon of food coloring in the recipe, but you are going to want to just keep adding food coloring till it gets to the shade of green you want- err on the side of going too dark. Your mouth should be green after eating these.

Second, here is a picture of Monkey Bread and Sausage Balls- the best Christmas morning meal. These are cooked to perfection- do not, under any circumstances, overcook either of these. You will regret it.

Finally, here is a shot of my Christmas Eve snacks. Of course, I watched 'It's a Wonderful Life' and polished off about 8 wreaths, a half dozen frosted cookies and ate about a half pound of cheese and summer sausage.

If you gave any of these recipes a shot this Christmas, email me and let me know what you thought. For those of you who did try them, I hope it made your Christmas that much better.

ja

The Best Holiday Foods in the World 05 December 2005

Christmas is without a doubt the best holiday of the year. With Christmas also comes some of the best food of the year. So today, I want to highlight the foods that I look forward to having every year during this Holiday. I included a 'How to Make 'Em' section after each item, so that you can enjoy them for yourself this year. If you have any questions on making them, shoot me an email and we'll talk. If you try one or more of these, let me know. I would like to hear your thoughts. I promise your Christmas will be better this year if you invite these foods to celebrate with you. Enjoy!

01 Green Wreaths
Without a doubt, this is the number 1 food item for me around Christmas time. If you haven't had a green wreath, your Christmases have not been complete. I could eat these things by the pound. Come to think of it- I have.

How to Make 'Em
1 stick margarine
6 cups large marshmallows
1 T green food coloring
2 t. vanilla
7 cups corn flakes

Melt margarine. Add marshmallows and melt. Next, mix in food coloring and vanilla. Stir in the corn flakes. Mix well. Drop by small spoonfuls on waxed paper, and add 2-3 “Red Hot” candies to top.

02 Holiday Sparklers
Another Christmas staple at the Andersen house- Holiday Sparklers. This drink will compliment most of the meals/snacks you will have around Christmas, but it is also good enough to drink on it's own. Best served chilled and in a wine glass.

How to Make 'Em
Sprite
Cranberry juice

This recipe can be used to make 1 glass or a 5 gallon pail- just fill your container a little over halfway with Sprite and then fill the rest of the way with Cranberry juice and enjoy.

03 Sausage Balls
There are few things better than waking up on Christmas morning, opening your presents and then going in to the kitchen to tackle a couple dozen sausage balls. This is really a food that you could have at any point throughout the year, but I am convinced that you would be breaking some moral code if you did. Best leave them for your Christmas celebrations.

How to Make 'Em
1 lb. (4 cups) grated cheddar cheese
1 lb. uncooked sausage
1 ½ cups Bisquick (or less)

Leave ingredients out so they get to room temperature before mixing. Mix with hands, and roll into small balls (or use small cookie ball scoop). Spray cookie sheets, and bake for 11-13 minutes at 400 degrees. Let them sit on paper towels to drain before eating.

04 Monkey Bread
There are times in life when you stumble across a particular food that seems to have been created as the perfect compliment to another food item. Such is the case with monkey bread and sausage balls. Now, some of you might already know the joy of tearing into a freshly-baked batch of monkey bread, but I can guarantee that no one reading this, nor anyone you know, has ever filled their plate with monkey bread and sausage balls. You see, I believe that this combination was divinely inspired. No exaggeration here. Divinely inspired. So after your presents are opened and you head in to the kitchen for your sausage balls, make sure to compliment them with a healthy portion of monkey bread. Wash it down with a tall glass of orange juice.

How to Make 'Em
2-3 tubes of refrigerator biscuits
cinnamon
sugar

Topping – ½ stick margarine
½ cup sugar
¾ t. cinnamon

Cut each biscuit into 4 pieces; shake 2 at a time in the cinnamon-sugar mixture (equal proportions of cinnamon and sugar). Each piece of biscuit should be covered in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Spray bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray, and put biscuit pieces into the pan. Warm topping ingredients; make sure to only melt them, not boil. Pour over the dough. Bake for 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees, and let cool for 5 minutes.

05 Christmas Nougats
Typically, most people have a bowl full of some type of Christmas candies at their house during the holiday season. I think that one of the best candy choices you can make are Peppermint Christmas Nougats by Brach's Candy. These candies are a nice break from the norm of Christmas-colored M&Ms and little candy canes, although I am not knocking those other options. M&Ms do have a special place in my heart. These candies are unlike most others that you can have during the rest of the year and help to make this holiday special.

How to Make 'Em
Go to your local grocery store and buy a bag. Fill a decorative bowl with individually wrapped nougats and place on a coffee table or entry table. Refill
as necessary.

08 Christmas Eve Snacks
At my house, every Christmas Eve, we have a little meal that doesn't really have a main course, but instead is a collection of snacks. This is a fun little meal, but not one that you sit at a table for. No, this is best enjoyed sitting on the couch, with your Christmas lights on, watching 'It's a Wonderful Life'.

How to Make 'Em
Summer Sausage
Assorted crackers
Assorted cheeses (cheddar is your best bet)
Apples (both red and green, sliced)
Caramel sauce (for dipping apples)
Oranges (sliced)
Grapes
Holiday Sparklers (see above)
Cookies
Green Wreaths (see above)

07 Frosted Cookies
I am sure that you have all at one point or another had frosted Christmas cookies, but that still doesn't take away from their goodness. These are a great treat at a Christmas party. I prefer stars and snowmen-shaped cookies. They are the biggest and you get the most frosting on those two options. Oh, and one other side note- you are better off not picking one with little red hots or other hard little candy accessories. Look for the simple ones with just frosting. Two colors is better than one.

How to Make 'Em
- Make a pre-mixed package of sugar cookies
- Coat each cookie with a generous layer of frosting. Keep a healthy balance between frosting and cookie- there's nothing worse than a thick cookie with a paper-thin layer of frosting.
- Spread frosting to 1/4" of cookie edge, leaving enough room to grip the cookie and not create a mess on your fingers

08 Snowballs
My grandma introduced us to these little suckers. They are a great treat late in the afternoon on Christmas. You will want to break these out about 3-4 hours after your Christmas feast.

How to Make 'Em
¼ cup butter
½ cup sugar
1 egg yolk

Blend the above ingredients. and add ½ cup crushed (and drained well) pineapple. Fold in 1 beaten egg white. Layer onto vanilla wafers with the following formula – 3 wafers, 2 layers’ mix. You are basically building a little tower- 1 wafer, 1 layer of mix, another wafer, another layer of mix and one final wafer on top. Place on cookie sheet and let refrigerate overnight; spread all sides with whipped cream and sprinkle with coconut (coconut optional- I think it is a mistake). Top with half of a red cherry.

Survivor 31 October 2005

I started watching Survivor several seasons ago. For the longest time, I never got in to the show- just never took the time to start at the beginning and watch a full season. Which is really something that you must do if you are going to watch a show like Survivor. So anyways, a couple of years ago, my schedule worked out and I was able to watch the first episode and now, 5 seasons later, I am still watching.

It really is a pretty enjoyable show- not the best show of all time, but a very good one nonetheless. It is one of those shows that makes me wonder what I would do if I was ever selected to be a Survivor castaway. How would I handle the other castaways, the elements, the lack of food, the wild animals? I like to think that I would do really well in that environment. That I could rise up and make it the whole 40 days and earn the title of Survivor.

My first thought was that before I went on the show, I would make sure I was in what is known as 'peak physical condition'. I don't think that this is an option. If you want to make a real go of it on the show and not be miserable, it seems to be in your best interest to at least be in shape. Now, don't be fooled, being the most athletic person out there doesn't mean that you will sail to victory. On a number of occasions, I have seen the most athletic guy lose a challenge to someone with far less strength. However, I think that it would be important to have stamina when it came time for an Immunity Challenge.

Next, I think I would get some books on wilderness survival- you know, like how to build a shelter out of branches, how to properly tie a sailor's knot, how to start a fire with your bare hands, that sort of thing.

Now, this next one is key and yet for some reason, no one has ever done this yet on the show. On the first day of the show, they will often drop you off at the island or wherever with only the clothes that you have on your back and you can't keep anything that you packed. Just in case of this, I would wear a poncho over my clothes on the first day. A big water-proof poncho. I wouldn't care if it looked ridiculous or if it was hot, cos inevitably, there will be torrential rains at some point during the 40 days of the show. It happens every season, at least the ones in tropical locations. Everyone always is soaked, cold and miserable. Not me. I would be sitting there, under my poncho, completely dry.

I don't know about the lack of food part of the show. That could be tough- going for 40 days without and Mac and Cheese. Plus, I am a pretty skinny guy as it is and 40 days without food might make me look pretty scary. As a general rule, they don't give the best food rewards either. Often times, you will end up with beer and Pringles or chocolate. I don't know about you, but those are the last things that I would be wanting if I had been without normal food for weeks.

I have to say that the best part of the watching Survivor is talking about it with my friends who also watch. And, to top it off, at the end of each season, my good friend Shane and I have a Survivor finale party with our families, where we cook up a bunch of food, place our bets on who is going to win and finish off the season. He throws one good finale party- complete with ice cream sandwiches. It's definitely the highlight of the season.

If you haven't ever seen the show, give it a shot. Just wait till next February when the new season starts so you can catch it from the beginning.

Oh, and Happy Halloween.

ja

Mucho Gracias, Senor. 13 June 2005

This blog is to enlighten those of you who have never had the sheer joy of eating at a little Mexican restaurant called Senor Tequilla's. I was introduced to the Senor by Whit last September and I have not looked back since. I go a minimum of once a week, but there have been weeks (like last week) that I eat there 3 or 4 times. I get the same thing every time I am there- start with a 1/2 bowl of queso, then two cheese enchiladas with queso on top, with a side of beans and rice and then finish off the other 1/2 bowl of queso for dessert . It has yet to get old. The Senor has this queso that would blow your face off. I was a little skeptical my first time, cos the queso is white and I usually stick to yellow, but I now know that there is none greater than the white queso. Also, the beans have this special little 'tang' to them. It is sort of an indicator of what kind of experience you will have- the stronger the tang, the better the meal.

As I write this, it is 11:32am and I could go to visit the Senor right now- I feel this way pretty much every day at this time. Do yourself a favor and go. They have two locations for your convenience; 51st and Harvard (my home court) and 71st and Sheridan. I promise you won't regret it. Oh, and one other tip, stay away from the meat and just stick to bean and cheese items.

Ole.

ja

The Worst Blog Ever 09 June 2005

A friend of mine left me a voicemail this past week. It was short and sweet, but still powerful. He simply said, "You have the worst blog I have ever seen.", and then hung up. After thinking about it, I realized there is a good chance that he is right.

Lately, I have been playing alot of Halo 2. I have now been playing it for 5 1/2 months and I love it as much today as I did when I first played it during Christmas break. For those of you who have no clue what Halo 2 is, it is a first-person shooter game for XBox and has by far the best multiplayer game setup of any game I have ever played. I wish this game would have come out while I was in college cos I would have been able to play all day. There is no greater feeling than getting setup to play and just dominating a level. It is that feeling that keeps me coming back for more, even when I am off my game. XBox live makes it great cos no matter what time of day it is, you can sign on and get in a game with guys from all over the place. If you play on Live, look me up- my gamertag is 'The Notch'. We could get a game on...

Anyways, hope you guys are having a good summer so far.

ja

An Apology 08 March 2005

Well, first off, I think an apology is in order. It has been far too long with no new blog entries from me. Trust me on this though, it isn't for a lack of things going on. On the contrary, it is because I have had alot going on. Don't believe me? Let me convince you.

Right after the holidays, my house sold. This meant finding a new place to live, packing all my belongings and moving. Now that may not seem like much in and of itself, but couple that with the fact that my wife was pregnant and it becomes a much bigger deal. Well, it didn't take too long to find a new place and move in and it was a good thing too, cos only five days after we moved into it, my wife went into labor and had our baby. On February 10, we had a little girl. It was a pretty amazing experience. Her name is Nora Kate and she is really pretty cool, although she doesn't do much besides eating, sleeping and going to the bathroom. So now, we spend alot of time with bottles, burping rags and Winnie the Pooh diapers. It is wild to think that she will be a month old on Thursday. It feels like we just had her.

Well, I think it is pretty obvious that I have had an action packed couple of months, so hopefully you will forget this ever even happened. You can expect to see more blogs from me in the future. And that, my friends, is a personal guarantee.

ja

a white christmas, please 15 December 2004

I don't know about you, but as far as I am concerned, Christmas is the best holiday of the year. Seriously. There is no other holiday that affects as much change as Christmas does. For a complete month, we get Christmas lights, Christmas music, Christmas parties, and everything else that goes along with this great holiday. There is usually just one element missing here in Tulsa during Christmas- snow. Sure, there's plenty of hustle and bustle and plenty of Christmas spirit and those things are great and Christmas wouldn't be the same without them, but the magic of Christmas is only complete when there is snow on the ground. I wish that every year, we could expect snow during Christmas, just like we expect all of the other elements of Christmas. But, at the same time, I guess it wouldn't be quite as magical when it did snow because we had been expecting it all along. In a way, it is kind of fun just waiting to see if this is going to be the lucky year that we get snow. It makes the times that we do all the more magical. I have no idea what the chances are of getting a White Christmas this year, but you can be sure of one thing- it's what I am asking for.

ja