Rzepkowski Family Happenings

"The bomb diggety..."

2011-11-17T16:10:00.001-05:00

Kris left for a short trip to Chicago on Wednesday morning - VERY EARLY. When I got up with the kids I was surprised by a few love notes placed around the house and in the truck...

What a sweet husband I have!

I am a LUCKY girl!!!

Thank you Kris,
I love you!!!!

Gingerbread creations

2011-11-13T14:48:00.001-05:00

Making gingerbread creations has become one of our family's favorite Christmas traditions.
Here are a few pictures of our gingerbread from 2006 through 2010.

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

This year I took Mason and Anna to the George Eastman House not only to tour the house and learn about Mr. Eastman, but to view all of their Sweet Creations.

Watch this little video to see some of the cool stuff we saw!
If you have never been, you should check it out!

November 9, 2011 through December 14, 2011

Pretty Aprons

2011-11-08T23:00:00.000-05:00

I am pretty sure most of you know that I LOVE pretty aprons.
There are lots of websites where you can buy pretty aprons:

Flirty Aprons

Susan & Veronica

Girly Aprons

Jessie Steele

Or you could try to make your own pretty apron?

Well...in the Spring I had taken a trip to Joann Fabrics to get some kind of craft supply and was distracted by an apron pattern on the shelf. Right then and there I purchased the pattern and several yards of coordinating fabrics. I got the materials home, opened the pattern and started to read....

It did not take long to realize that I had NO IDEA what to do!

As it turned out, summer came and time flew by, and then this Sunday there was an article in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle - "Not your grandmother's apron."

This was inspiration an enough to get my head back in the game. I mean really if I an change a tire on a tractor, change our light switched to dimmer switches and install magnetic doorstops, I should be able to follow a pattern and sew an apron!

Sunday afternoon the kids and I had plans to go over to my Mom's house to visit and have dinner. I packed up all my supplies and brought them along. Mom can sew and I NEED her help!
Mom looked over the supplies that I brought along and then she got me started. We used some of her old fabric to "practice." Before dinner we had and apron and I had a much better understanding of the sewing vocabulary! THANK YOU Mom!

With my new found confidence following my sewing lesson, I decided to get started STAT! I started an apron project ON MY OWN! I even tried using bias binding, not my favorite part of the project.

Let me show you...

My very first, made by me, all by myself pretty apron!

This was a fun project and I will be making many more :)

Thanx again for the help Mom, I couldn't have done it with out you.

P.S. Anna now knows that I can sew and she has requested that I start making her some dresses and maybe a few matching ones for Chrissa, her American Girl Doll.

Fabric Mender

2011-11-05T05:30:00.000-04:00

Who knew? Who knew there was such a thing as Liquid Stitch - Fabric Mender? Well, I didn't! But, I found it at Walmart.
I have a FAVORITE pair of jeans and the denim was starting to get a hole. I did not want to put a patch on, but I did not want holey jeans either. It looks like white glue that you spread on the tear, allow it to dry.

This stuff works AWESOME!!!

Halloween 2011 recap

2011-11-02T09:03:00.000-04:00

The Zip Family Halloween 2011

We picked our pumpkins at Powers Farm Market this year. Usually, I insist on picking them fresh from the patch, but time was would not allow us that this year. We headed over to the farm market to select our already picked pumpkins. We also took a look inside the Powers Farm Market tee pees, a first time for Kris, Mason and Anna.

Time to dress up for the school Halloween Parade... Anna designed her own costume this year - WAY TO GO ANNA! Anna is dressed up as her version of Draculara from Monster High.

Anna designed her own costume this year - WAY TO GO ANNA! Anna is dressed up as her version of Draculara from Monster High.

Mason dressed up as a Ninja - a popular choice for boys his age this year. Weapons stayed home from school :)

While Kris was hunting on Saturday morning the kids and I headed out for a little Halloween fun...Trick or Treating at Wegmans - Holt Rd and Trick or Treating in the Village of Webster for the Trick or Treat Trail.

Mason's pumpkin - inspired from designs in the tee pees.

Anna's pumpkin - Dog face - he looks like her dog Whiffer.

Kris made his pumpkin look like a grumpy old lady.

Monday, October 31 and it is FINALLY time to Trick or Treat!

Adeline, Connor, Jay, Tarra, Mason, Austin, & Anna

The Dads (Rodd, Dave, and Kris) took all the kidstrick or treating - THANK YOU!
While us Moms (Joan, Linda, and I) stayed in to hand out candy :)

Oh and after trick or treating, Kris and I played a little dress-up in Rodd's fireman suit...

Kris tried to look the part, ready with the hose to put out the blaze, while I just tried to keep all the heavy gear from falling off or pulling me down :)

Lego Robotics

2011-11-01T05:58:00.000-04:00

This stuff is Sooooooo COOL!
Mason's school offered a program for 4th graders, but space was limited. If you were interested in participating you had to submit an essay and if more than 20 students applied 10 boys and 10 girls would be randomly selected to participate.

Here are a few video clips from Mason's Lego Robotics!

Mason loved this so much, he is hoping to get his own Lego Robotics kit?
Are you LEGO Smart?

Pottery Painting

2011-10-31T13:49:00.001-04:00

Here are my latest pottery creations! New light switch covers for the upstairs hallway. I painted these at Created By Us, in Fairport, NY. This is such a great place for a little creative outlet.

New Door Stops

2011-10-26T06:00:00.000-04:00

Okay so I have lived in this house for 6 years and it was BRAND NEW then. Six years really is not old, so you'd think everything, for the most part, would be similar to when we moved in, right? WRONG!
Maybe you can tell me where all of the spring door stops have gone?

I can't! Maybe the kids ate them, maybe they were used as weapons and lost in battle, or maybe they are buried in the bottom of a toy box?

It doesn't matter any way, they were not my favorite and I found their replacements...

Magnetic door stops! Who knew these were an option? Now those little kids, (not so little anymore) can NOT take them off to be used a toys AND the wind will not SLAM the doors shut when the windows are open, anymore!

I know, I know, I am a little late for this project as the windows will probably remain shut for the next 6 to 7 months as we prepare for winter. Oh well, I am one step ahead for the Spring cleaning :)

I am all set, I installed 7 of these gadgets on all the doors that they would work on. By the way, out of the 7 doors that I replaced I only found 3 of the original spring door stops, huh? Now I just gotta install a kick down door stop on the people door from the house to the garage...

Just a little simple home improvement project!

Mmmmmm meatloaf!

2011-10-25T15:55:00.001-04:00

Here is a recipe I just LOVE!

I am not sure where this one came from, but I am pretty sure it came from the newspaper when I lived in Chicago?

HomeStyle BBQ Meatloaf

1tbsp veg oil

1onion – chopped

2pounds ground beef

½cup dry bread crumbs

1/3cup BBQ sauce

2eggs

3tbsp ketchup

1tbsp steak sauce

2tsp salt

1½ tbsp liquid smoke

Heatoven to 325

Sautéonions in oil until soft

Inl bowl – onions, meat, breadcrumbs, bbq sauce, eggs, ketsup, steak sauce andsalt

Mixuntil well blended

Packinto an 8x4 loaf pan

Smoothon top

Brushwith thin layer of liquid smoke

Cookfor 40 minutes

Removefrom oven and let cool

Refrigeratefor 2 hours or overnight

Sliceinto 6 equal slices

Heatgas grill to medium

Grill-3 minutes per side

Brushwith liquid smoke

We love to put our homemade ketchup on top. Grandpa Rzep, "Lefty" shared his recipe and taught Kris and I how to make it the year we got married.

Student Council

2011-10-21T05:35:00.000-04:00

Mason is in 4th grade this year. Fourth grade is the year you are eligible to participate in Student Council.

I remember Mason telling me back in 1st grade that he wanted to be in Student Council.

In order to participate each interested student needed to have their parent's permission and they needed to write an essay explaining why they wished to participate.

Mason's favorite subject is not writing, but he has been writing one essay after the next...

After the essays were submitted each student would read their essay to their class. Then each class would elect 2-3 Student Council representatives.

Mason said Student Council was something he wanted to do, and as expected he is in Student Council. Mason is one of Mrs. Hoffend's 4th Grade Representatives! Way to go Buddy!

Mason is very much looking forward to the work ahead, the first meeting is this morning!

School Picture Day 2011

2011-10-19T10:00:00.000-04:00

Lookin' good!

Mason and Anna - October 19, 2011

They are growing up so fast!

Pink, Pink, Pink...

2011-10-19T09:11:00.000-04:00

...If you have a little girl maybe you think I am talking about a particular picture book... "Pinkalicious"
Although this is a great book, one of Anna's favorites, I am not referring to this book with a happy ending.
The pink, pink, pink, that I am talking about is in honor of breast cancer. October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This year, 2011, NBCAM is celebrating 25 years of awareness, education, and empowerment.

Unfortunately, EVERYONE knows someone affected by this illness. This illness has touched my family twice in the last 9 years.this illness. This illness has touched my family twice in the last 9 years.

Ann Agosti, my grandmother, fought her battle with breast cancer. Gram, age 78, died on January 6, 2003. Anna, my daughter, was born in August 2003. Anna never had the chance to meet Gram, or "Grand Nana" as she'd be named later, but they will always share a name.
I love you Gram!

Wendy Sue Vosper, my Aunt (by marriage), fought her battle with this illness. Wendy, at age 46 died on October 9, 2011. Wendy truly lived life. She was and still is remarkable and I am blessed to have known her. For those who did not know her, I will let you read Kris' Eulogy.

You can do something about breast cancer! You need to understand what breast cancer is. You also need to realize that screening and early detection is vital!

There are so many organizations out there trying to help fight breast cancer, even the National Football League. The NFL and American Cancer Society together make "A crucial catch - annual screening saves lives."
Here are a few other organizations:
Susan G Komen
Fight Like A Girl
Stand Up 2 Cancer
Pink Ribbon
National Breast Cancer Foundation

One common theme here:

As far as Breast Cancer goes, early detection is A BIG DEAL!

Happy Birthday Christine!

2011-10-15T05:00:00.000-04:00

Surprise...


Christine and Andy - Photo by Donna Nolan-Cheeseman (The Birthday Girl's Mom)

The Birthday girl and her Mom!

Andy, Christine's husband, threw her a surprise birthday party on October 1st at Pomodoro Grill and Wine Bar. Andy assembled a GREAT group of family, friends, and co-workers to celebrate with a few snacks and drinks. I was in charge of getting her there - on time, not too early and not too late. Good news, everything went as planned and she was surprised. We all had a great time! Today, October 15th, is Christine's "real Birthday."

Happy Birthday friend!

Christine and Tricia - Photo by Donna Nolan-Cheeseman (The Birthday Girl's Mom)

Time for a technology update

2011-10-07T18:51:00.000-04:00

Kris I know you are ready for a new cell phone, right? Kris has been struggling with his iPhone 3G and it's tethered battery for about a year now, UGH!

Kris was eligible to get an iPhone 3G from work when it was pretty new, but he had to leave our family plan with Verizon to start an individual plan with AT&T, leaving me to finish out my contract at Verizon. I was using a Blackberry Pearl 8100. When this phone was new, it was AWESOME, a great smartphone. However, as this phone aged it became FLAKY!!! I had about 9 months in my contract and the phone started getting the "hourglass of doom" more and MORE! I spent countless hours on the phone with Customer Service from Verizon and Blackberry, I also had to wipe it clean more than once! I waited and waited for this contract to end, and then the iPhone 3GS was released, and IT WAS TIME! In July 2009 I made the switch to AT&T and got my hands on the Apple iPhone 3GS! Kris and I were again able to save a few bucks having a Family Share plan and I LOVED my new iPhone 3GS - I still do.

Kris has been out of a contract with AT&T since January 2011, but he did not want to run out and get the iPhone 4 as it was already 6 months old. Apple had traditionally announced new products in June each year, so Kris said he could wait it out, "It's only 6 months.". I think he just did not want me to have the superior phone again, because my contract would be up in July and I would get the phone announced a month earlier. Well this plan did not work out as planned, Apple did NOT announce a new iPhone in June, they pushed it out - all the way to October. Apple did not announce the iPhone 5, but the iPhone 4S - a little disappointed, but still a huge upgrade.

Time to make a decision - which carrier? AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint? Sorry but Sprint was quickly ruled out. That left us with AT&T, our current carrier, or Verizon, our former carrier. AT&T has been good to Kris and I over the past 3 years. Let the research begin...

The cost of the voice, text, and data plans seemed very competitive.
Most of our friends and family, probably at least 95%, are Verizon customers.
AT&T was offering us the unlimited data package - grandfathered in to that plan, but after further review of our past usage we were not even coming close to the 2GB data limit on current data plans offered by both carriers.
AT&T is said to be faster, and does offer the talk and surf, while Verizon does not.
Verizon seems to have better coverage.

Kris and I still had a few questions, but we were leaning toward Verizon. We took a few minutes today to go to the Verizon store near our house to get a little more information.
Ultimately, Kris and I decided to give Verizon another try, mainly because their coverage is superior and much more reliable.

We have pre-ordered our iPhone 4S - now we just have to wait for them to be delivered!!!! They should be shipped next Friday, October 14, 2011!

After our new iPhones are activated, maybe we should have some kind of celebration - the end of an era.... no more tethered battery! Happy day or Kris :)

Speaking of cookies...

2011-10-05T17:59:00.000-04:00

I said before that I would share my favorite recipe for cut-out sugar cookies. I have tried AT LEAST 8 different recipes, and for one reason or another, I kept looking for my favorite, until now! I found this recipe on Cake Central - The place for everything cake!


Tasty Treats by Tricia - Pumpkin Cookies

I LOVE this recipe mainly because the dough holds its’ shape and doesn't spread during baking - making all cookies look like blobs! It tastes great and the cookies stay soft too!

No Fail Sugar Cookies – NFSC
Ingredients
6 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
2 cups unsalted butter
2 cups sugar (white granulated)
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract or desired flavoring (I like almond myself)
1 tsp. salt

Instructions
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Mix dry ingredients and add a little at a time to butter mixture. Mix until flour is completely incorporated and the dough comes together.

Chill for 1 to 2 hours (or see Hint below)
Roll to desired thickness and cut into desired shapes. Bake on ungreased baking sheet at 350
degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until just beginning to turn brown around the edges. This recipe
can make up to 5-dozen 3"cookies.HINT: Rolling Out Dough Without the Mess — Rather than wait for your cookie dough to
chill, take the freshly made dough and place a glob between two sheets of parchment paper.
Roll it out to the desired thickness then place the dough and paper on a cookie sheet and pop
it into the refrigerator. Continue rolling out your dough between sheets of paper until you have
used it all. By the time you are finished, the first batch will be completely chilled and ready to
cut. Reroll leftover dough and repeat the process! An added bonus is that you are not adding
any additional flour to your cookies.

Can you help support the Girl Scouts?

2011-10-02T15:21:00.003-04:00

Anna is part of Girl Scout Troop 674. This is her second year in Girl Scouts and her final year as a Brownie.

Anna and her Troop are participating in the Girl Scout Cookie Program. What can a cookie do?

With a Girl Scout cookie, a girl can dream more. She has more opportunities. She can give more to her community. She is more empowered. And she can do more than she ever thought possible.

As Girl Scouting prepares to turn 100, we are very excited to usher in a new era of the Girl Scout Cookie Program. Our cookie baker is providing new tools and marketing strategies that result in more girls, more customers and more cookies making the world a better place.

Anna is selling Girl Scout Cookies again. You can meet the cookies online. If you would like to place an order, let me know. The cookies for $3.50/box and will be delivered the first week in November.

Save the World It's The Only Planet With Girl Scout Cookies!

Thank you for your support!

Down to 2 cars

2011-09-30T15:40:00.001-04:00

Since September 2010 when we purchased our 2010 White Nissan Titan we have had 3 cars! That is a lot of cars for 2 drivers that mostly work from home. There are days when neither of us leave the house!

Last weekend Kris said "It is time to sell the Durango" so he cleaned up the outside, took a few photos, did a little online research on how to sell a car in NY State and then listed it on Craigslist.

2001 Dodge Durango SLT Plus 4x4-3rd row-Loaded - (Webster, NY)
Bright Platinum 2001 Dodge Durango 4.7L V8. Power windows, door locks, 2 key fobs, front and rear A/C (ice cold), 2 year old Nokian Vativa tires, dual climate control, power heated seats, CD/Casette player, cruise control, tilt wheel, Class III trailer hitch/wiring, new brakes/rotors, new ball joints. 116,000 miles. Great in the snow and for towing.

Kris and I bought this truck in August 2001, just before Mason was born. Both Mason and Anna came home from the hospital in this car, they were dropped off and picked up from their first days of preschool in this car. Camping trips, road trips from Chicago to Rochester to see family, road trips to Baltimore, Boston, and the Carolinas to visit friends and family,
so many memories!

The good new is the lady who bought the truck is SO EXCITED!

.

Awesome and Even more Awesome

2011-09-30T05:42:00.000-04:00

I have been reading another book from time to time:
The Book of (Even More) Awesome
by Neil Pasricha.
Publishers Weekly:

Pasricha was living in a "dusty suburb" and working an office job as the magic of his marriage sadly faded. So on June 20, 2008, he went online to recall bright moments: "I wanted to try to focus on the positive by writing about one awesome thing every night after I came home from work." His countdown of simple joys eventually resulted in 23 million hits at his award-winning site (1000awesomethings.com) and a bestseller, The Book of Awesome. Scheduled for publication the same week he completes all 1,000, this entertaining follow-up collection offers more reflections on life's little pleasures, such as "Getting the keys to your first apartment" or "Making it halfway." Not surprisingly, many of these short essays are food-related, such as "Eating cookies like Cookie Monster." With "The perfect egg crack" and "Kicking those clumps of frozen slush off the back of your car's mud flaps," Pasricha finds fun in frustrations, going from grit to wit. All 224 optimistic observations are neatly packaged in a great book design by Amanda Dewey. (Apr. 28)

I also enjoy the little things online 1000 Awesome Things! When n the go the App of Awesome is neat too!

You are the...

2011-09-29T07:01:00.000-04:00

Peanut to my butter!

I have no idea who wrote this (if you do, please share!) or where it started, but I LOVE IT! I purchased this canvas at T.J. Max as an anniversary gift for Kris, now it hangs in our bedroom!

Sometime in early August we received a Justice catalog in the mail. Usually, Anna gets ahold of thesse before I know they have arrived, but not this time. I leafed thru and found this t-shirt...

I LOVE IT! So, as you might have expected, I bought 2 of them - 1 for Anna and 1 for me :) I gave them to Anna for her 8th birthday at the end of August! So Fun!!!