Here's a very special holiday greeting from The Lathrops to all of our loved ones!  This is the updated permanent link.  It may take a few minutes to download, but try to be patient because it's totally worth the view!  Happy Holidays everyone!

http://www.box.net/shared/3f7e5ygkvu

I try to stay on top of things and, believe it or not, I try not to complain about how busy and tired I stay.  I love my family and I love taking care of Simon and the kids.  Simon is always telling me to chill out and take a break, but I feel like the house of cards will collapse if I do.  Since we moved, however, everything seems disorganized and difficult to complete.  I'm constantly behind.  Simon and the kids help around the house A LOT.  But the laundry always seems to get away from me.  I do one load and three appear by the next day.  I do three, and there are five waiting for me.  The clothes seems to be breeding!

Yesterday when Melissa was here to get the kids to spend the holidays with her, she helped the kids go through all of the dirty laundry and she took everything that was theirs with her.  As a gift to me, she's doing all of the kids' laundry!  How cool is that?!

Melissa, thanks for picking up my slack!  You rock!

This is one of those recipes that will leave people asking you what chef school you attended.  It's full of anti-oxidants, simple to make, and extremely tasty!  I broil the chops instead of doing them on the grill...

Teriyaki Pork Chops with Blueberry-Ginger Relish

• Prep Time 30 min.
• Cook Time -
• Serves 4

1. Ingredients

1. 4 bone-in center-cut pork chops, trimmed of fat
2. 3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
3. 2 tablespoons dry sherry (see Ingredient note)
4. 2 cloves garlic, crushed
5. 1 teaspoon brown sugar
6. 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
7. 1 cup fresh blueberries, coarsely chopped
8. 1 shallot, chopped
9. 1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
10. 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
11. 1 tablespoon lime juice
12. 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
13. 1/4 teaspoon salt

2. Cooking Directions

1. To marinate: Place pork chops in a large sealable plastic bag. Whisk soy sauce, sherry, garlic, brown sugar and crushed red pepper in a small bowl. Add the marinade to the bag, seal and turn to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.
2. To prepare relish: About 20 minutes before grilling the pork, combine blueberries, shallot, chile, cilantro, lime juice, ginger and salt in a small bowl.
3. Preheat grill to high. Remove the pork chops from the marinade (discard marinade). Grill the chops 3 to 5 minutes per side. Let them rest for 5 minutes before serving with the relish.

Yield: 4 servings

 

Jordan showed us the awesome grade she made on this test last night.  Check it out!  Way to go Jordan!

http://www.box.net/shared/jnxjr471nk

Here is a story Josie wrote recently entitled "Santa Gets Stuck in a Chimney."  Enjoy!

http://www.box.net/shared/static/il2u1r14pa.pdf

Perhaps I have more pet peeves than the average person and I can list most of them if you like. But not today.  I believe at least part of it is because I get wrapped up in the principle of things.  Then again, there are also some rather silly things that irritate me, but that's another blog post.

This week's pet peeve is PEOPLE WHO COME TO WORK SICK EVEN THOUGH THEY RECEIVE PAID SICK LEAVE!!!   At OSU, staff members receive 22 hours of continuously accumulating medical leave a month!  Medical leave is paid for sick staff members or any immediate family member.  There's no excuse for being contagious at this place.

There's no gold medal or any other award for coming to work sick.  And, if a person has paid sick leave, some semblance of a reward is received by staying home and still getting paid.  Unfortunately, there are some unbelievably stubborn, selfish people that don't see it that way.  Somehow, showing up at work is supposed to convince co-workers that the sick person is a harder worker or is somehow indispensable and can't be spared for even one day.  I call bull shark.

Here are the major points I would like to make directly to those sick-at-work people:

1)  I don't want to get sick!  It is extremely selfish of you to come to work and share your germy love with the rest of us. 

2)  As patient zero, you should be penalized in some manner.  Corporate policy should state that for every day missed by one of your co-workers that contracted your illness, you will lose a day of sick leave.  Your co-workers will not have to use their sick leave because of you.

3)  If you refuse to behave logically and stay elsewhere, don't touch my stuff, don't answer the phone, don't come near me, in fact, don't even speak to me.  I'm mad at you for coming to work sick!

In closing, all of us should get a flu shot, take our vitamins, drink lots of water, wash our hands, and stay away from others as much as possible if we do get sick!