Monthly Archives: February 2008

BOWLING!!!

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Saturday we met at the local bowling alley for some bowling with our church friends. I venture to say it was a ward event:

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This is a personal best and achieving these sames results may never happen again, so documentation was a must. I have to say, it was Rick’s worst…the following 2 games proved to be more fruitful.
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Rick’s exam is over. We’ll find out how he did in about six weeks. Wow, it’s been so great to have that pressure lifted and behind us. Thank you for all your prayers and support. He has the week off, so we’re heading south to Beantown for a few days. We’ll update you on that later! Have a fantastic week!

February 22, 2008

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February 22, 2008. It’s a big day for the Zinkes! It is a bigger day for Rick. He’ll take the National Board Medical Exam, come Friday morning. The exam is 8 hours long and it is pass or fail. As you can see, our future rests on this exam. The exam covers all the information he’s learned since he started medical school in the Fall of 2006. (No pressure, Rick!) I am not too worried about it though, he’s brilliant. He has been studying 10-12 hours a day, six days a week for the past three weeks. I am pleased with his diligence, focus and dedication in his pursuit of a medical degree. He has worked so hard and I believe in him, with all my heart. Even though he has been so busy with school, he leaves his books at the door when he comes home. He has been so mindful of me during a very stressful time in his educational pursuit. I thank him for that. It means the world to me!

I ask of you, my beloved family and friends, to keep Rick in your thoughts and prayers for the next couple of days. We he needs all the extra help he can get! Thank you so much for your love and support. It means a lot to us.

Favorite Games!

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Games…I love them! Some of my all time and recent favorites:

That was then:

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I picked up this copy at Savers for $2.99. It appears as though someone bought this in 1973 (that’s a total guess..but the collar is a dead give-away) and never played it. It was in mint condition, aside was the wear on the front cover. A classic find! My copy of the game states that it is suited for ages 8-adults. It appears that 7-year olds are now smart enough to play this game, according to the new box.

This is now:

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I have to make mention that Rick and I play this in bed before we fall asleep! Nothing like a good naval battle before dozin’ off to dreamland. It is therapeutic. It is unusual that I ever lose a battle..and when he beat me, I was NOT A HAPPY CAMPER!

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I have been playing Rummikub since I was a teenager. My mom is the official “Queen Dudette” of Rummikub. She never loses a game, ever. This is a perfect game for 4 people. It is an inexpensive tile game that even has 2 smiley face tiles. (That’s the best part!)

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Blokus: the new rage between the Zinkes and the Smiths, well, at least for the Zinkes. We love it. It’s all we ever really do when we get together in the evenings. All it takes is one round to figure it. The best part for me is watching the guys get all worked up over some plastic tiles! Justin starts blowing steam out of his nostrils and Rick turns all serious. I just laugh to myself and think, “It’s just a game!” Here are the simple RULES. Another perfect game for four people.

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I have never liked Scrabble. (Due to limited three and four letter words in my vocab, it’s pathetic!) However, Speed Scrabble is a hoot! Here are the rules for the game. Rounds are generally quick and my favorite use of the letter “z” is ziti. Don’t be surprised if you want to play just “one more round!” It is not uncommon to spend a couple of hours tangled up in this word game. HAVE FUN!
[oh wow… I am noticing a common theme of my favorite games: they’re not very interactive. Is that bad? Am I anti-social? Anti-interactive? They are generally silent games, that require some skill or strategy or mental strength. I don’t care, I enjoy them.]

Fruit Sorbet

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You’d think with all this snow and chilly weather, we’d be sippin’ our cups of joe, right? WRONG! Rick and I are officially addicted to this stuff: HOMEMADE FRUIT SORBET. We can’t get enough. We’ve had it 3 of the last 4 nights. Fresh, healthy, quick and easy. I like to make food that you can’t screw up. Fruit sorbet is one of those foods-hard to go wrong.

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Makes over 4 cups

Add to the blender in this order:

1 orange, peeled

2 tablespoons honey, maple syrup or sugar

4 cups ice

Slowly puree the orange and then increase the speed to blend in ice. You will probably have to stop the blender and push down the ice with a long wooden spoon but it’s worth the little effort! If you find that it’s not mixing, add a little bit of liquid like water or orange juice, to help the ice move in the blender. If a pocket of air forms, just remove the blender give it a good bang on the counter top. It should have the consistency of a thick sorbet, that won’t pour. It should be so thick, you’ll have to spoon it out. RICH!

Other flavors:

1 orange + 1 lemon, peeled and de-seeded (Our favorite!)

strawberries and lime juice (holy smokes..I am speechless…this is our new favorite!)

peaches

pineapple

mango

Really, any fruit you want! Wait…banana may not work. Ick, that sounds gross!

New Snow + New Snowshoes =

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If you’ve ever experienced a Vermont winter, I’m sure you would agree that Vermont certainly doesn’t shortchange you on the snow! Although the snow is not so enjoyable while constantly digging the car out, scraping windows, shoveling driveways, or bundling up just to take the trash out, it certainly can be enjoyable in other ways! So in the spirit of enjoyment, we took advantage of the 15+ inches of new snow that fell this week and strapped on our new snowshoes. Luckily, we didn’t have to go far for some backwoods snowshoeing adventure, as we basically have a forest in our backyard!rickssnowshoes.jpg

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Off trail. Uphill. Downhill. Strap ’em on and get a-hikin’! Isn’t she cute? That’s my little snowbunny!

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What better way to make your wife scream than to take a few steps out onto the ice of a partially frozen stream. It was solid where I was standing, but underneath my left pole…that was another story…he he he!
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we love our snow tires…

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Rick and I decided that the greatest purchase we have made in Vermont is our snow tires! They have been our most reliable friends and we simply can’t live without them! There is no way you can be a Vermonter and not own snow tires…unless your best friend owns a tow-truck! Well, it snowed and we had to dig out our car from the snow this morning. While scraping the snow, Rick said, “So, do you still love Vermont?!” I was like, “Totally…this is why I love Vermont!” (I even packed my snow shoes…just in case I would be having to hike into work today. I didn’t have to use them and I was disappointed.)

 

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Every Thursday I drive past this ice formation on the freeway. I am so captivated by it that it has become a distraction and I fear I may drive off the road. It’s amazing!

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Anyway, Vermont is beautiful after a fresh snow storm. This morning, I was driving on the freeway, behind a semi-truck. The snow was blowing off the truck, creating a white fluffy cloud in front of me. The road started to climb and I felt like I was being elevated into snow heaven! The music of John Williams “Hook” only added to the moment and I couldn’t help but smile and say, “This is what life is all about!” It was glorious!

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I have a client that lives out in the “woods” and from their property is a wonderful view of an open meadow. This picture doesn’t do justice…guess you’ll have to come out here and see for yourself!

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I feel so blessed to be living in such a beautiful place I can call “home”. It’s perfect here. I will cry and throw a fit when we have to leave!