Before I go on vacation...

Here are some things I've been  meaning to blog about but haven't had the time. Since I'm leaving for Christmas vacation tomorrow I thought I'd get everything out of my system in one fell swoop.. here goes, in no particular order:

 #1 Our new breakfast experiment. Whilst in Germany with Pete's sister and family we observed the German breakfast style (which we loved) enabled by a refrigerator box laden with all the necessary goodies. I've picked up a "food grade" container

 and started my own "breakfast in a box" tradition. It makes putting a quick breakfast on the table easy for busy mornings!

*** the cheapest place to buy such food grade containers is Smart & Final

#2  We had a lovely evening with the Lawsons a few weeks ago. Took a trip to the Stanford Theater... a must for any Classic Movie fan. 

#3 Pete and I celebrated Hanukka :)

#4 Alicia and the Formicas were up to visit for Karen and Bill's wedding. We had a great time hanging out...

#5 Sue Bell got, not only a cell phone but an iPhone... our Tuesday night dinners have become techie sessions!

I think some other things have happened too... but these are the ones that pop out from the picture collection... The next pictures posted on this blog should have some snow in them!!!

Garage Happiness

Here is the evidence that Pete and I are finally getting serious in the war against clutter on the Garage front. Pete was on the moral support brigade and brought his laptop out to keep me company as I plastic-bin-ified the garage shelves. Who knew Rubbermaid's could be a religious experience.

Whoops.... how did we get to the middle of November already?

Where has the fall gone? Looks like I haven't blogged since the summer... Here's a quick catch up:

We picked this "little"t-shirt for Pete at Oktoberfest. Apparently a medium isn't the same size across the Atlantic.

Both Pete and I got sick out post trip bounce back. It hit me first then Pete - lucky me I scored breakfast in bed before the plague moved on.

The weekend after we got back Pete made one of his dreams come true, he took his car on the race track. See more details here: http://phandel.com/PetesRace/

Since then it's really been a steady stream of work, learning German, trying to catch up with old friends and organizing the office. Well, think I'm caught up.... just in time to get behind again over the holidays :)

The Handels are traveling....

We're traveling! If you want adventure details check out handeltravels.blogspot.com.

Pete's Birthday

We thought we'd herald Pete's next year in true German fashion by heading up to the city and enjoying authentic German cuisine. Yay, schnitzel and lederhosen! The Schnitzel Haus totally delivered and we all rolled home stuffed to the brim with spatzle.

#11 - from freshly downloaded pics

A weekend with Chad and Allie. We took sharks tooth cove by storm, camping out next to the waves... a little too close to the crashing waves for a very good nights sleep but I guess you can't have it all.

Summer Recap

Awe man it's September already... where did the last half of summer go? And I haven't blogged since July - sigh - August archive will forever be a black hole of nothingness. (no back posting for me - cheaaaaaaaters!!)

As recompense here is a list (in chronological order) of the top #10 things we've done (and taken pictures of) since I fell off the blogosphere. 

#1 I had a birthday - in the midst of my Summer CRASH German Course one evening not pounding in vocab words was a welcome break. Pete took me to a french restaurant around the corner - we had to order the Ratatouille, in honor of the new Pixar Movie.

#2 The Mystery Insect Infestation - Something was biting Pete (not Julie), and inspired a top to bottom room cleaning, we washed everything - every piece of clothing we own - documented here...

#3 A fun summer evening, complete with baking letter shaped cookies for dessert. This picture was taken after we had succeeded in breaking the letters in all the key recognition locations.

#4 Our good friends the Formicas moved to New York (Their very interesting blog: http://ruimpact.blogspot.com). WE MISS THEM!!!! Lots of friends gathered to say goodbye.

#5 Our good friend Doug Sauder preached at PBCC! What a treat.

#6 We've been married a whole year now!!! We celebrated by taking a trip to Napa - Camping, wine tasting, spa-ing :

#7 Two families of friends moved to the Pacific Northwest this summer: The Ballouns and the Fairbanks. Here is a pic from the Ballouns going away.

#8 We finally sat down and organized our wine cooler... Here is Pete in oenophile heaven.

#9 Jess and I had a lovely evening in downtown Campbell. We treated ourselves to desserts at a cool restaurant don't worry, we still have half the dessert menu left to explore if anyone is up for it :)

#10 Pete moved closer to his dream of official wine industry member status whilst pouring wine for Picchetti this summer.

We've had a busy blessed summer - thank you Lord! Now... on to the Fall!

Quincy Coleman show with Jason and Natalie

We had front row seat for a house concert in the city featuring Quincy Coleman. Very fun :)

iPhone has arrived

 

Amy, Pete and I went down to the Palo Alto Apple Store to check out the iPhone launch. Amy picked one up on the spot (once the line wrapping 'round the block cleared up). It was quite the experience, complete with news media vans, mad cheering, jostling and police monitoring. We even witnessed an early purchaser "torturing" their 5 min old iPhone for a video podcast.

Hey Saylor, can you Handel a hike??

We went on a great hike with the Saylor/Morris clan. Wonderful 7-8 mile jaunt. Being the techno geeks that we are we had our GPS along to catalogue the trip...

I'm in business

I found this shop while in San Francisco for the evening with my friend Ru. We had a great time checking out Osha Thai (my yelp) and The Bubble Lounge

Alum Rock Hiking

After a weekend of eating and lounging we decided to day was the day to incinerate a few of those additional calories...

Half Moon Bay - Obester Day

Yesterday after an errand filled morning Pete and I decided to head to HMB. The agenda - Obester, late lunch at the San Benito House Deli (our yelp) and a long read at the Ebb Tide Cafe. We had a great time!

Napa

Went to napa with our great friends Matt and Ru, had a great time in the cellars of Del Dotto. We also drove by Frog's Leap and Caymus (both looked good but were closed by the time we arrived :( But we persevered, knowing dinner was awaiting us at on of our favorite places: The Culinary Institute of America's Wine Spectator Graystone Restaurant - YUM!

Here is a pic of our chocolate soufflé.

Piper Message to Share

I was really touched by Piper's message this morning. It was great to remember the temporal nature of our earthly relationships and readjust focus to the eternal. I was especially convicted to be careful in prioritizing my marriage relationship over my God relationship (so easy to do!).

Here is the full version
Excerpts only (for the time challenged)

Garage Sailing :)

Allie and I went to about 30 garage sales this morning between 7 and 10 AM. We originally went looking for a desk for Allie, but I was the one that ended up spending the most cash...
• set of wicker chairs
• two bright red room screens
• an assortment of classic children's toys (bit 'o clarification- No munchkin is in the plan yet - all our married friends seem to have one or two in progress though and we've gotta keep the kidos occupied)
• a bread-maker - I think this was the find of the morning, still in it's shrink wrap, warranty card unsubmitted - $4. We tried it out as soon as I got it home... and despite an abbreviated rising period (we were in a rush), it was surprisingly eatable for a first attempt.

Hooray!

Learning

My good friend's son was recently diagnosed with Autism. What does that mean? On so many fronts it is a terrifying label. Alicia suggested I watch a video that she had seen on Autism. It helped me understand a sliver of what it would be like to carry the label. Here is a 10 minute version:



Your prayer is always appreciated!

Happy Mother's Day

Okay so it's not really a Mother's Day song... but it's always better when mom and I are together :)

Acordance Geekdom

Accordance Software just added a really neat feature to version 7.1. Build Your Own Bible Modules!!! We've just imported the public domain version of Luther's German Bible into Accordance. Anyone interested in adding can download it here: http://homepage.mac.com/handel/LutherBibel.zip. (I don't think you have to have version 7.1 to do this - we've already created the accordance ready file.) If you find any errors please let us know and we'll make a corrected version available as soon as possible.

Arnold Abode

We visited our friends Jason and Stefanie in Oakley, CA on the way back from Redding. They have such a cute new place! We were proud to be some of their first guests.

Congrats Dave and Jen!

This weekend included a trip up to Redding to witness the nuptials of our good friends Dave and Jen. We are sooooo excited for them. The wedding was a beautiful event and a fun time to catch up with friends who we see less often now that we attend PBC Willow Glen (instead of PBC Cupertino).

Not Another Latte Post!!

Okay I admit it I'm a little obsessed... but I've been working hard at my barista skills and have to say that I'm a little proud of how this one turned out...

- Thanks so much to Adrian Drury, for giving us his old espresso machine, we are taking good care of it.

Act One

Pete and I went to a really cool presentation last night. Our friends Nate and Lindsey Marshall had organized a weekend conference by Act One a non-profit Christian organization aiming to " train and mentor Christians of all denominations to work in mainstream film & television". It was so inspiring to Christian artists so passionate about reaching Hollywood for Christ and being salt in a very secular (yet infinitely influential) industry. Let's support these folks!!

Flying High

Our friend Chad flew Allie, Pete and I to a Nickel Creek concert in San Luis Obispo, which is just an hour trip in his little Mooney plane. We had an awesome time.

-Thanks to Dave Misson for being our "taxi" driver!

Dish Hike

Pete and I took off to Palo Alto this Saturday and enjoyed the recent rash of good weather as we trekked up to the "famous" bay area landmark - the Stanford Dish.

Creme Brule

I just bought a little Creme Brule Kit, complete with butane torch! Our first occasion for use was a little dinner party this week. Despite the creme's stubborn refusal to congeal we had our way with our new browning device in the end :) Who said Creme Bru'Soup was so bad after all???

For geeks like me...

Okay this is for all of us who loved the "how to fold a t-shirt" video... I know you're out there!



The Hole - video powered by Metacafe

The amazing exploding foam latte my husband just made for me :)

Biblical Dinner

Our Bible Study decided to do a traditional biblical meal and seder this year for Maundy Thursday. We were lucky enough to snag Bernard Bell (I think it was the lamb kabobs that finally convinced him;) to give us some guidance on the flow of a traditional seder and instruction on the transformation that Christ brought to the meal during the Last Supper, the night before His crucifixion. He lead us in communion and we had a sweet time of couples washing each other's feet. What a special night!