Christmas Day

Christmas Day was filled with many blessings of family, food and presents. Brady and Rodi arrived at the Deckers around 10 and we preceded to read the Christmas story, retrieve our stockings and open presents. This was the first year our stockings weren't hung by the fireplace due to the flood damage-but Santa still found them to fill. Brady and I were surprised to receive a T-shirt quilt that my aunt had been working on-it turned out just beautiful! I also received a surprise GPS unit to help find my way on my out-of-town jobs (and even in-town jobs). After dad and Todd have gone with me to work-guess they thought mapquest wasn't all that it's cracked up to be. Brady proved to me that he indeed did have some Christmas spirit and surprised me with dance lessons-how fun! We continued the merrymaking at the Hansels later in the day where Santa had delivered the Wii...fun and friendly competition was had by all. Congrats to the bowling record holder Mary Jane! No one can step to her skills.

Ye Ole Festivus

On December 23rd we were able to get together with our good friends Dan, Steph and Larry for a pre-Christmas meal and merriment, also known as festivus-even though according to Dan we did not have the traditional festivus meal of spaghetti and meatloaf. Dan plays a darn good Santa at Christmas time always bearing many wonderful gifts-I know Rodi was not disappointed by her drum sticks and chicken jerky! Christmas Eve Brady awoke to his first ever bout with the flu so he wasn't able to go to Terre Haute that night, but joined us on Christmas day healed by cinnamon rolls and red velvet cake.

Merry Christmas from the Hansels

I've been calling Brady a scrooge a lot so far this month! He should celebrate festivus-a revolt against the holiday consumerism and materialism. So in rebuttal to my comments he assured me that he elfin loves Christmas...enjoy!!!

Slow, Local, Sustainable, Small Starts

Last night I felt like I was being transported into the paper I recently wrote for my class. Through Brady's contacts at HEC we were able to attend a lecture by Alice Waters at the IMA titled "Delicious Revolution: An Evening with Alice Waters". I actually hadn't heard of Alice Waters before this talk but have heard of her work. She is the founder of the Edible Schoolyard garden project in which students grow and prepare their own food. She is also an author, chef, local food advocate and food educator. After hearing her talk I really hope to visit her restaurant in Berkley, CA one day, and taste the wine and olive oil she was gushing about.

If I Had A Twin

If I had a twin this would be her...Guess if we were twins our parents wouldn't have named us both Angie! Here we are cheesin' at the Alumni Reception on Sunday night honoring two outstanding former track and cross country athletes from ISU. The weekend festivities for the NCAA Cross Country Nationals didn't disappoint-alumni party on Saturday night, Sunday night reception, and Monday the race. We even got to take in a sycamore bball game on Sunday. Race day was freezing but true CC weather.

Attic Treasures

Last week we had to venture into the attic because we kept hearing noises in the night-critter noises to be exact. Anyway-although our quest into the attic didn't turn up any good animal scat or glowing eyes we did find this awesome chest. Once I laid eyes on the chest I could hardly wait to get in down speculating on the treasures it held. It didn't disappoint. The top shelf held a large brown envelope addressed to the husband of the former owner of our house when he was stationed in California in the Coast Guard. In the envelope were old pictures and army memorabilia. But the sweetest item was a love letter from his wife. It was like a letter straight out of the "Notebook", and I couldn't help but think of them the rest of the night, and about how their lives once were. She is always so sad when she talks about the house she left which is now ours. Although I'm excited to call her to tell her about my find, I hope it doesn't make her too blue. There were also the original house plans in the chest and how much they paid for the land and to build the house-incredible!

Plastic Part II

My second gripe on plastic after the plastic water bottle usage comes the use of little plastic lunch baggies. While I was home on Friday night visiting my parents and brother-my brother proudly displayed a new man lunch bag that he purchased from REI on a recent trip to St. Louis. While the bag was very cool and green (like I said-a man bag), his baggie usage wasn't so cool. Apparently he uses 4-6 plastic baggies to separate everything into their respective food groupings, for example-using two bags to separate the pickles from his sandwich each day. God forbid the pickle juices co-mingle with the sandwich-ha! An article I found online on how to make a garbage free lunch noted that one reusable sandwich container can take the place of more than 200 plastic bags used over the course of a year. I'm a fan of reusable plastic or glass lunch containers. I'm not "baggin" on Todd, cause even I use the baggie when it's convenient.

Does everyone know about Pandora besides me. Brady introduced me to it this past week and it sure did make my work day better. Pandora is an online radio station thingy (free). You type in an artist and then it gives you a medley of songs like that type of music. I for instance typed in O.A.R. and got a great compilation of tunes including DMB and Counting Crows. Apparently Todd also knows about Pandora and when I was home we jammed out to some 80's (a small dance party was had in my old bedroom amidst the retro wall art, which Todd keeps threatening to paint over).

Spirit & Place

Sunday night Brady and I went to a presentation by the Spirit and Place Festival which runs through November 16th. This was the first time we have attended an event sponsored by Spirit and Place but the overall idea of S&P is to explore different ideas and creativity linking the arts , humanities and religion, and there are events all over town every day of the two week event. The presentation we saw was a panel discussion on the Spiritual Mandate for Creation Care. It was interesting but we didn't hear anything to life changing. The earth is going to pot, what are we doing, why don't Christians care and why should we worry about it anyway if it's all going to blow up one day soon. Well, a few of the panelist kept going back to a verse in Genesis, Genesis 2:15, God took man and put him in the garden to work it and take care of it. My favorite panelist was Matt Krick, a pastor from Mars Hill church in Grand Rapids, MI. Mars Hill did a great sermon series on God is Green that I could lone out thanks to Steph. Matt also provided a cool resource list of some books that he recommends. Try out "The Mad Farmer Liberation Front" for fun, a poem by Wendell Berry. Too long to post on the blog but a good read.

This week is busy-three jobs, a paper due next Wed. and a business plan coming to fruition. The Berry Nook may take it's small step into production in the spring-I think we're going to plant between 200-300 strawberry plants around our house for starters. Anyone want to come help plant? or till?

Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon

Well, we survived the mini this morning-although I can tell I'm going to be very sore tomorrow! It was a fun, flat course-passing through many neighborhoods in Indy that I had never been through. Brady was a good encourager and coach for me when I wanted to take it easy and cruise in-he insisted we must finish strong. He did get a little excited about a free chocolate Gu that was handed out towards the end of the race. I expressed that there should be no more talking in my dilapidated state and that he should go on, obviously feeling much better than I, but he insisted on staying by my side even when I got mean-ha!

Congrats to my former ISU teammate and friend Jeri for winning the woman's division! And thanks to our friends Alyssa and Travis for cheering us on! Go Trees!

Will the Real Indy Step Forward?

Typically Brady hates Halloween but this year was not the case. I was really surprised how much he enjoyed his stint as Indiana Jones on Friday for his work office party. He even put the outfit back on to go over to the Darlings to watch a Harry Potter movie that night! In his defense-he did make a darn good Indy! Although next year I hope to not be awoke by our bedroom lights being turned on and hearing the theme song to the movie Halloween morning! Ha!

Two Peas In A Pod

One would never guess that Brady was not a dog lover at one time in our young married lives-but after we got Rodi it was no turning back for him. I think he says more dogs are cute now when we are out and about than I do. I can only hope that one day he will want to add to our flock-unfortunately he is a one man dog at the time! Although...I am trying to convince him that we should raise some urban chickens in the spring. I think the unused doghouse in the backyard could be perfectly converted into a chicken coop-who's with me? Well we're off to run the half marathon this Saturday-my knee is feeling much better, I just hope I can keep up with Brady.

Perceptions and Personalities

Tuesday I went to IU to meet with my professor for the Independent Study course. It was an experience. I hadn't been to campus in a few years or more than a few-anyway-I felt totally old and out of place. Even the Prof made me feel rusty. I was wondering how old I looked to the students since they all looked about 16 to me-ha! Anyway-I have quite a bit of work to do on the paper/project after our chat, although he reiterated that he didn't want me to do a re-write. I did however get the Stats class waived which is a huge blessing, although I'm not sure that Environmental Engineering could be much better!

The dog trainer turned life coach that I've been working with over the past 2 months introduced me to the Enneagram and discovering your personality type. It is so interesting. Most of the time perceptions I think are based on our different personality types and by learning about different personalities we can better communicate with each other and grow as individuals into our strengths. Anyway-I would love to hear about what type you are-there is a free online test if you google it. I also have two books about it.

This week has been extremely busy for me. I actually have three jobs that I'm working on after a 3 month hiatus with no projects in site, mainly because of the economic situation. And last day of market is tomorrow with rain and chill in the forecast.

On a final note, I'm so excited for my long time friend, Ali, who just got engaged over the weekend! Congrats Ali and Mike!!

It's Hard to Keep an Old Runner Down

Well, I told Brady Thursday night after we did a work-out for our upcoming mini marathon that I was indeed injured to my dismay. A very hard thing for a determined runner to admit-even a somewhat retired one. At the NCAA Pre-Nationals CC meet on Saturday I coerced some advice from the ISU athletic trainers telling them I was an alum. Sounds like it might be tendinitis (my right knee). And of course the advice consisted of rest, ice and Advil...so I'm going to take a few days off and hope that Brady doesn't get too far ahead of me in training and that I can still do the race. Tonight I biked 10 with him instead of running like a good injured runner would do.

Covered Bridge

The annual Covered Bridge Festival took place this past week. Wednesday I met my parents in Brazil for the somewhat annual tradition of attending-although I missed quite a few years during college. This year we chose to go to Bridgeton-last year it was Mansfield. Maybe next year it will be Rockville. The best part of CB is of course the food much like any other festival. We had cinnamon rolls and an Amish pretzel for the morning snack, BBQ dinners for dad and I, ham and beans for mom for lunch, and pumpkin ice cream for afternoon dessert. Can you say umm umm good! Bridgeton is known for it's grist mill that produces cornmeal and flour among other things-they have been a vendor at the Broad Ripple market this season. Also this past year a new covered bridge was constructed in the place of the one that was burned down from arson. This is also a favorite fishing spot of dad and Todds.

Oktoberfest

We held our first annual Oktoberfest on Saturday with brats, polka and beer to boot. Brady cooked the food to perfection. We had a good turn out and were able to enjoy some friendly competition playing volleyball. Hope to see those who couldn't make it next year.

Because I was so busy playing and not taking pictures during Oktoberfest I have don't have any to document the day however, I did take pics at the farmers' market that morning. Only two weeks left and I'm ready for a break. For those that don't really know what I do there, you will see the pic of the nifty info booth where you will find me or one of my trusty volunteers. One might think that there isn't much ones needs to get info about at the farmers' market but you'd be mistaken. We get a lot of questions (and complaints-ha).

Retro Desk

A few weeks back Dan and I went antiquing at Midland Arts and Antiques downtown Indy (Dan finally took a day off work). Lots of cool stuff, tiny juice glasses and lots of great furniture. Some may know that recently I've been wishing for a better work space with more room, and since my paper is almost officially finished (I have to go through and document my sources tonight) shouldn't I celebrate by getting a new desk? Anyway-here is a pic of a retro desk that I took a liking to. The chair isn't bad either!

Request for More Pics

The Hansels and The Deckers at Shades State Park on my Dad's 65th Bday!

The Bottled Water Habit

As a part of the Independent Study course that I'm taking this semester I am reading two blogs, "No Impact Man" (aka NIM) and "Slow Food USA". They are both very cool. If you ever want to check them out they are linked on the side of my blog. Anyway-today NIM was urging us to tell others to kick the bottled water habit and I thought that I would pass on some interesting factoids that he listed. I must give a shout out to my in-laws for kicking their bottled water habit. Nice job guys!!


"We have a chance here to make a real difference on keeping our drinking water clean and drinkable while reducing carbon emissions and plastic bottle waste."

-Bottled water is up to 1,000 times more expensive than tap water.
-Forty percent of bottled water is tap water anyway.
-Bottled water is less stringently regulated by the FDA than tap water.
-The production and disposable of plastic bottles stresses the habitat we depend upon for our health, happiness and security.
-The transportation of water around the world by ship and plane causes unnecessary carbon emissions.
-Bottling companies are buying up water rights around the world which means free water may not be available at all in the future.

Think about it.

The Beauty of Autumn

Yesterday we went to Shades State Park to celebrate my dads 65th birthday. It was a perfect day full of good food, celebration of life, beautiful weather and a wonderful family. We played Frisbee, ate, tried to keep talk of politics to a minimum and went on a couple trails. To their delight my dad and brother even got to wet a line in the creek. If you look closely at this picture you will see Todd, Rodi and someone painting a picture on an easel by the edge of Sugar Creek.

Dinner in the Garden

The benefit dinner last night for the Broad Ripple Farmers' Market was so beautiful I just had to share some pics with you. Thanks to all the folks who came out to volunteer their time-I really appreciate it. Sounds like we're going to make this a annual event. You can see about the only thing left growing in the garden is okra.

Spring and Summer Highlights

With autumn fast approaching I thought I would recap some of our highlights from this past summer and spring. Especially since I just started blogging I must catch you up!

In July we went on a great mission trip to Flagstaff Arizona with friends from church. We were able to serve at an local Indian College in Flagstaff and spend time with the Refuge-a church plant from our local church. We got the treat of visiting the Grand Canyon on the last day of the mission. So beautiful! Brady and I extended our trip and were able to visit the Petrified Forest and Sedona. The most quirky thing we did was stay in the historic Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, AZ-if you've seen the movie Cars the motel may look familiar.










To celebrate our last tax season we went to the Outer Banks of NC in April. Here Brady is at the Wright Brothers Memorial and I'm trying to fly a kite on the beach-I had trouble keeping it up.

In May we made a point to visit some political arenas. Obama rally in Bloomington and Hillary rally in Indy for me. I'm proud to say that this is my first election to be voting in-very exciting!




This Friday I'm helping put on an outdoor benefit dinner for the farmers' market-I feel like I'm planning a wedding. I'm a little stressed but thought blogging might take the edge off-ha!

Girl Time

Friday night I got together with two great friends and former roomies from college days, Erica and Stacy. They both live out of town so it is few and far between that we see each other these days. They are both moms so they are busy with their work and family commitments. I was happy the have the time we did to enjoy a meal together, look at pictures and catch up on the past few months. Kelley and Angie we missed you guys.

Bear Turns 7

Happy Birthday Rodi! Our girl is getting up there. She's starting to get a little gray on her muzzle. But she wears it well like her father! To celebrate her birthday we plan to take a long walk and get a birthday bath. We got new carpet and tile installed in our living room this week and Rodi thinks we had it laid for her. She has thoroughly enjoyed lounging on the new digs.

Rodi's favorite game: To be chased and chase

Ro favorite snack: Pig Ears

Ro favorite lap: Brady's

Ro favorite place to nap: Our bed

Ro favorite toy: The squeaking hedgehog

Ro favorite walk: Eagles Crest Nature Preserve

Ro favorite human friend: Dan (she might think Dan's a dog though)

Ro favorite dog friend: Lucien

The Outdoorsman

Brady and company went on their second annual overnight backpacking trip this weekend exploring the Knobstone Trail in Southern Indiana. Packs were carefully loaded with enough water, rations and other supplies that they would need for the long hike. The wives of course were worried that they had not packed enough bug spray, sanitizer, food and water. Can you pack a toilet in there? I was informed that you must bury your poo. Ewe! Brady's dinner consisted of potatoes, spices and tomatoes grilled in the open fire-yum. Brady reported that it was a great scenic trail for those that have not trekked it. He had some good male bonding and even came back with a beard to boot!

Creeping Myrtle

Over the past two weeks I have been slowly digging up creeping myrtle along the front of our house. You might think it wouldn't take this long to dig it up but this plant is a tough little burger. When I finally get all the old unwanted myrtle and weeds dug out we are going to install some new landscaping. We had an official plan drawn up and it looks great. Once we do the manual labor I don't know if it will look the same as the drawing, kind of like when you do your hair after getting a cute cut, but we're gonna try. I went to price some of the plants-who knew landscaping was so expensive.

Hum-where do these green gems fit in the new budget?

On a second note I am taking an Independent Study class through IU this semester to finish my Masters. The title of my study is "A Focus on Local Food for Future Sustainability". I have a mid-semester paper due October 15 and then a final paper due at the end. My final paper will include a business plan for a small berry farm. More on "The Berry Nook" later!!

Happy Birthday Brother

Happy 25th Birthday Todd! Hope you had a great day. Here's to many more birthdays! We missed you this past weekend. The pecs are looking pretty good in 95!

Weekend on the Farm

This past weekend the Hansels and Deckers went to Union Mills Indiana for a weekend away. We had high hopes of going to the beach on Saturday but the record rainfall put a damper on that. Despite the rain we still had a good time, playing Catch Phrase (which the girls won) and Cranium, antiquing, reading, eating, sleeping and more eating. We did not go hungry that's for sure! Perhaps the biggest laugh of the weekend came when Brady warned us not to disturb a large flock of gulls for fear that we might get pooped on....well, we ran them off anyway and sure enough he was the one that got pooed on! Sorry Brady...

Pick A Peck of Apples

This week I have been harvesting apples from our three apple trees and getting back to my roots a little. I taught myself to can through the help of Ball's Blue Book of Preserving. Anyone can learn to can but it sure is a process-all the boiling, washing, cutting and pealing. I have a new respect for all the canning and growing my grandparents did. I would say that my two favorite apple dishes are Apple Pie and Apple Crisp although I will also eat one right off the tree. Some wouldn't be so brave as these apples are very organic in nature and you may have to nibble around a worm hole! It's just a little protein people-no worries.