Tuesday Prize Day

Tuesdays have long been my favorite day of the week, ever since my sister (many years ago) happened to notice that her birthday that year fell on a Tuesday. For weeks before her birthday, she would celebrate Tuesdays with her family and loved ones. Sometimes she would write a note for us, sometimes she had a little treat. The entire family joined the Tuesday celebration bandwagon and Tuesday Prize Day was born. When I went to college, my mom would often make sure my care packages would arrive on Tuesdays or my dad would send me his weekly e-mail on Tuesday. I started celebrating the day with my friends, leaving them notes in their mailboxes or buying them a coffee. My friends started celebrating it themselves and before we knew it, Tuesday Prize Day was sweeping the nation. :) Okay, maybe not sweeping the nation, but it is definitely celebrated at various points throughout the country by various groups of people.

Dave and I, along with Jodi and her beautiful family, still celebrate the joyous Tuesday by having dinner together on that special night of the week. This last Tuesday, Jodi and little Blake came over for the Richert's Mac and Cheese special (recipe found below). Dinner went great, Blake entertained us while eating and Jodi and I were able to catch up on what had been happening during the week. Uncle Dave then decided to have Blake help him wash the car and that is when the fun really began. Blake took his job so seriously, telling me that he was, "going to make the car all shiny." He only got slightly soaked during the process and was enthralled with the bucket of soapy water, especially once the water turned dingy brown. It was so much fun to watch him, and Dave really enjoyed having his help, even when Blake overshot the car with the hose and ended up getting Dave wet instead. It was a great Tuesday Prize Day.

Mac and Cheese Deliciousness:

Ingredients:
One pint grape tomatoes
Large elbow macaroni
One can evaporated milk
1/4 cup egg substitutes
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cut grape tomatoes into halves and place in an 8 x 8 glass cooking dish that has been greased. Salt and pepper tomatoes.
Bake tomatoes for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Cook elbow macaroni in large pot of boiling water for about seven minutes. When pasta is done, drain and turn stove top heat down to medium. Return pasta to pot and add evaporated milk, egg substitutes, cheddar cheese, and tomatoes, stirring continuously. Remove from heat, serve it up and sprinkle bread crumbs on the top.

Easy, fast, and oh so delicious. I like to add about 1/4 cup of crumbled Gorgonzola cheese to the recipe to give it a little bit of a bite. Yummy.

Años Viejos, Pyromaniacs, and Fireworks...Oh My

I have to admit, it has been quite awhile since I have actually been awake to ring in the new year and say goodbye to the old. Dave and I have always been a bit more concerned about the eight hours of sleep necessary to enjoy life rather than seeing the ball drop. But this year...is different. It is 12:58 and the neighbor's hired band just started, there are rapid fire explosives (aka fireworks) going off in three minute intervals, and the car alarms throughout our block seem to be answering the loving call of said fireworks. There will be no eight hours to start off the year for the Richert's this time. Nothing about our experiences in Ecuador could be classified as typical, and New Year's Eve is proving to be no exception. The evening started out quite and low key, dinner at home with a movie. There were the occasional firework, but that isn't anything atypical. I was even contemplating continuing the tradition of snuggling into bed by 10:30. Before I called...

Yes or No?

A couple weeks ago, slipped in the far reaches of my mailbox, I found a note that took me back to the good ol' days of elementary school. You know what I'm talking about. Remember how you would just be sitting at your desk, one leg pumping back and forth, pencil eraser nudging your bottom lip, as you tried to puzzle out those mind-boggling multiplication tables? And then, out of the corner of your eye, you would see Andy passing a note to Melissa, who would then pass it on to Mark, who would then palm it off to you right before Mrs. Nelson turned around from the blackboard. Your name would be written all in cursive and curly-q's on the clumsily folded paper. Carefully, stealthily, you unfold the paper to find: Well, InterAmerican sent me a 'check yes or no' note, and it raised the same sensation of anxiety that those old love notes of yesterday used to inspire. Instead of the traditional, "do you like me?" question, it was the "will you continue...

Christmas in Colombia (The post is better late than never...)

As promised, here is the Amazing Richert Christmas Adventure 2008, with special guest star, Sherry Silvers. Bogota, Columbia. As you can see...this city and I were obviously made for each other. Bookstores, libraries, and coffee shops were on every block. Yes, the majority of the books were in Spanish which causes some slight difficulties, but I don't like to focus on those kind of details. I'm more of a cup half full kind of gal. Also, the city is bike crazy. There are hundreds of miles of bike lanes; we saw bike lanes throughout the city and even along the highway. They just created a bike/walking lane in the middle of the highway, incredible! They even close off some of the major streets every Sunday and holiday so people can ride their bikes through the main arteries of town without dealing with the potentially dangerous obstacle of cars. The city had me at hello. Dave found a wonderful place for us to stay that was right in the heart of the historic district of ...

Living The Good Life

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