The Stolees

The Flying Puppy

2008-12-25T21:17:00.000-08:00

Christmas this year was spent at the Stolee family in Perham, Minnesota. The snow was especially deep as we were able to arrive a day early, avoiding the big snow. We were able to take advantage of the snow, and Cici enjoyed every inch. Take a look at some of the pictures we took as we let her go free in the backyard.

Happy Holidays, from Cici!

2008-12-19T17:10:00.001-08:00

Have a happy holiday season, everyone!

Special thanks to Matt and Adam for the sweater! It's really cold outside, and Cici needed something to keep her warm. She hates putting it on, but she's been very good with it so far.

It's been a while!

2008-12-16T19:54:00.000-08:00

Between Thanksgiving, finals week, projects, papers, presentations and a puppy, the Stolee household has been running ragged these past few weeks. Fortunately, we had time to set up some meager Christmas decorations. Because we've only been married half a year, we only put up half a tree.... but really, our little 12" tree is perfect for the space we have available. The tree skirt is a lovely fat quarter Becky gave me this fall and the ornaments are from my childhood. Derrick promises he will contribute decorations in the years to come. Our nativity scene was a gift last year and was hand-crafted by artisans in El Salvador, purchased fair trade, of course!

As finals week is wrapping up and we are both finished with big presentations today, we spent part of the afternoon relaxing. For Derrick, this meant some napping and some games. For me, it meant quality time with the oven - truffles, chocolate-dipped macaroons, and spritz were on the menu. Delicious and ready for the holidays!

That's it for now, but stay tuned for updates as the Holidays roll around and our lives get more exciting.

Canine or Feline?

2008-11-23T16:17:00.001-08:00

Family Drinks!

2008-11-20T19:10:00.000-08:00

Derrick and I came across some interesting marketing technique at HyVee the other day. Budweiser is now targeting their marketing at not just men, or women, or youth, but at entire families!

New York? Nebraska? It's all the same.

2008-11-20T18:20:00.000-08:00

This is among the many things I learned in Atlanta while attending FSE-16, a top-tier conference for software engineering research. This gem of information happen to come from our cab driver on our way to dinner one evening.

It was my first conference and I had the pleasure of meeting many brilliant people and hearing about many threads of new research in the field. It was a great experience that formed new ideas and inspirations for my research, which is always a good thing! It was great to catch up with some people and get to know others. The "thumbs up" picture on the left essentially sums up how I felt about the conference. It was taken at the Atlanta aquarium where we had the opportunity to walk around after-hours and view the marine life; it was a meditative experience, to say the least. I never would have guessed that a conference would be so exhausting, but all the research and new ideas eventually put me on academic overload. It was a good thing the conference only lasted two and a half days!

After the conference I went off to East Atlanta to visit Aunt Katherine and Dave. That was quite a fun visit! I became friends their two giant rottweilers who were as sweet as can be. We also went to a wonderful theatre production put on by women who survived Katrina. It was a very powerful event. Otherwise, it was great to catch up with family, eat thai food, drink lots of coffee, and eat delicious baked goods from an international bakery. In fact, it inspired me to make macaroons this year for Christmas. All in all it was a wonderful end to a wonderful trip.

Breakfast Cookies

2008-11-20T18:00:00.000-08:00

These are the BEST "healthy" cookies I've ever had. :) By "healthy" it has raisins, apples, carrots, and peanut butter in addition to the cup and a half of sugar!

1 cup crisco
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 3/4 cups quick oats
1 1/4 cup raisins
1 granny smith (or other) apple, finely grated
1/3 cup carrot, finely grated
1/4 cup coconut

Oven 350.
Combine shortening, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar. Beat in eggs.
In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon. Add to above mixture.
Stir in oats and the rest of the ingredients.
Drop by generous tablespoons on baking sheet, cook for 9-11 minutes (for dark cookie sheet, use 8-9 minutes). Cook 2 minutes on the sheet, then transfer to foil for cooking (cookies are too soft for wire racks).

5-6 dozen

Puppy Park

2008-11-20T17:44:00.000-08:00

Derrick took Cici to the puppy park for play time while I was out of town last week. He brought along his camera to catch her in action. We have one fast dog!

While we do not yet have a house with a yard, it is important for Cici to get some off-leash running time. There's an area for small dogs that we use to wear her out before taking her to the area for the big dogs - with a creek! It turns out our little hound loves to swim.

Our dog is truly a big dog in a small body. She has no problem running with the big dogs. This week, she even tried to keep up with some grey hounds! Here, she is pictured chasing a rottweiler puppy.

A Birthday Pie

2008-11-04T20:07:00.000-08:00

Katie made my birthday night extra special by making me a chocolate silk pie from scratch. It was quite delicious as well as beautiful.

	There were candles and everything. Now, this post has no Cici pictures, since it is dedicated to a delicious human food that is poison for her.

Cold Season

2008-10-24T09:53:00.001-07:00

It's cold season, and unfortunately grad students are not immune. It's a good thing I made a large vat of Dad's chicken soup this weekend - it seems to have healing properties.

POTAGE DE POULET

8 Cups water
1 Whole chicken
1 T Salt

Combine above, bring to boil, simmer for a couple of hours
Remove chicken and set aside to cool
Add whatever you like, but the following are (strongly) suggested:

1 Leek, sliced across about every 3/8", wash the leaves individually
1 Onion, sliced or diced
1 Carrot, peeled and sliced
parsley, fresh is good
spinach leaves work well also
celery stalks, sliced across, (smaller leaves are good big leaves are bitter)
bit of ground pepper

Simmer in broth till veggies are soft
De-bone and remove skin from chicken and break up into spoon size pieces, add to broth.

Not such an angel

2008-10-22T07:19:00.000-07:00

It would seem that our little angel is not such an angel afterall. When putting on my fleece vest this morning, I found a chunk had been taken out of the arm hole - right in the front!!!

Guess that'll teach me to pick up the living room more often.

Life and Puppies

2008-10-20T19:48:00.001-07:00

It may seem that all we talk about these days relates to the puppy. Well, that's probably true. Her energy and thirst for attention certainly keep us on our toes. Cici does play a role in most parts of our lives now. For instance, she currently helps Derrick study, and occasionally helps me with my homework, too. She's also very good about helping to clean the dishes as they are loaded into the dishwasher and does a great job washing the kitchen floor. If we let her, she's also capable of scrubbing toilets, killing insects, and scrubbing the walls (with her tongue).

We're currently debating whether or not she actually has any German Shorthair in her, or if she's really a lab and dachshund mix. She's essentially a black dachshund with longer legs and an incredible ability to jump. She periodically jumps and misses the futons completely. It would be great to catch that on video sometime, but we've had no such luck.

For things non-puppy related, we're finishing up our Fall"Break" tomorrow and start back to work on Wednesday. At a Newman Center tailgate, Derrick was lucky enough to win some great Husker volleyball tickets so we'll be going to a game Wednesday evening. I have always wanted to go to one so here's my chance!

Recent Happenings

2008-10-08T06:40:00.000-07:00

Fall is here and the semester is in full-swing. Between making presentations, writing proposals, taking (or giving) exams, problem sets, and lab assignments, Derrick and I are busy bodies. It's a good thing I relieve stress in the kitchen, otherwise we'd never have anything to eat!

A new HyVee was built just down the street from us and we went yesterday to check out the grand opening. We found some great sales and are thrilled to have a nice grocery store so close to home! The store was clean and had fantastic samples, especially around the meat counter. Tonight we will have a pork loin roast and Mediterranean risotto.

Other than graduate school and kitchen adventures, this little monster had been occupying the rest of our time. :)

She looks so calm in pictures, too...

A New Puppy

2008-09-25T19:55:00.001-07:00

Katie and I could no longer resist our incredible urge to get a puppy when we visited the Humane Society and saw this cute thing. Cici is her name (changed from the Humane Society's records of "CC"), and she is a little ball of energy until she wears out and just wants to cuddle. She fell asleep on Katie while we watched the office.

We are very excited about the new addition to our family. Head over to Flickr to see more photos of the puppy.

Eagle Cliff

2008-09-16T05:10:00.001-07:00

	After that tough trek up Twin Sisters, Dan, Colin, Katie and I decided to take the steep hill above the cabin. Eagle Cliff was the name, and it was the tallest point in the Estes Park valley. We saw everything from Long's Peak to the YMCA and Estes Park downtown.

	One more big post about our hike up Long's Peak on the way.

Twin Sisters Hike

2008-09-13T21:30:00.000-07:00

	Think way back to when we promised to have photos of our hikes in Estes Park. Here they are. The first hike was up the Twin Sisters. The four-mile hike was extremelytechnical, and had a 2700+ foot elevation gain. There are some panoramas to the left(that Flickr decided were too big even for a Pro account) and some hike progress below.

	The hike was intense, but sufficiently prepared us for the big hike the next day.

More Wedding Photo Previews

2008-09-02T16:10:00.000-07:00

Kameron Baynes has updated his photo journal with a few photos from our wedding. To the right is a fantastic example of the joy we felt on that day. Right at the top of his post is an incredible photo that captures the emotion of the first time we saw each other.

We are continuously impressed with Kameron's work and cannot wait to see the final product in a few weeks.

A Preview of Weddding Photos

2008-08-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

Our photographer was awesome at the wedding, and we are confident that he did a really good job. Apparently, he thinks he did a good job since he used one of the photos for a promotional poster:

See our photographers website for more pictures.

Challah

2008-08-21T18:14:00.001-07:00

I made a challah. This bread recipe did not take as long as the whole wheat but was more intensive in the shaping of the dough. Apparently there are many different ways to braid the dough with different numbers of strands, but I went with a classic three-strand braid.

The end result was beautiful and delicious. This is definitely a recipe that will be repeated.

We are going to try out the Flickr slideshow feature!

Editor's note: this was actually written by Katie, if you couldn't tell.

The Honeymoon

2008-08-18T20:32:00.001-07:00

	Katie and I started honeymoon by driving up to the lake and staying at the cabin. The week was full of hikes, swims, and a lot of reading. It was the stress-reliver we needed after the wedding. Here, Katie readies her Garmin GPS for our hikes in the woods. We probably got every trail that existed, except for a couple that Grandpa was still finishing. We also read about 5 books between the two of us. Most were Katie's, as I started the epic thome of Les Miserables. Finally, every night we watched one of the episodes of Star Wars in order to complete Katie's induction to the Stolee family.

One day we took a hike to the Crane Lake Gorge and had lunch at the Voyagaire. Next time we will wake up early enough for breakfast, as the lunch left something to be desired. The gorge was beautiful as always.

	After our trip to the gorge, we took a quick hike to Lilac Lake. Unfortunately, the bugs were way too bad to stick around for very long. We went back to the cabin as I worked on a second hiking stick. Grandpa lent me a fun tool for shaving it down, but it made quite a mess.

Domestication

2008-08-11T10:07:00.000-07:00

	It's just about that time, you know, three weeks into married life, to put on my apron and begin practicing my audition for The Donna Reed Show. To begin my studies, I have tackled homemade bread (this is, of course, after the bran muffins, lentil soup, applesauce and oatmeal cookies, all of which have gone undocumented). The recipe for Tassajara Yeasted Bread came from my Yoga Journal and really packs a punch (you actually get to punch the dough). The result of my labors, some 4.5 hours after it began, was two delicious yet dense loaves of whole wheat bread, sweetened with molasses.
Additionally, Derrick has been practicing for his audition on Design on a Dime by constructing a bookcase using about 1,000 plastic pieces plus the wood and installing curtain rods to hang our beautiful quilts.

Our apartment is now outfitted from floor to ceiling, room to room with beautiful quilts. From left to right is a quilt from my grandmother commemorating our wedding day, a wall hanging gift from my Aunt Janet (again for the wedding), and a bedspread from Derrick's Grandma Bakken (with a foot board quilt by yours truly). All are beautiful decorations in our home.

The Wedding

2008-08-08T09:45:00.000-07:00

	Katie and I were married on Saturday, the 19th of July. On Friday, we had the rehearsal with a delicious dinner at Lazlo's in the Haymarket.

On the wedding day, I couldn't eat a thing due to nerves. The ladies had pleasant distractions like hair appointments and long dressing activities, while I spent most of the day just wasting time. However, once things got started it went remarkably smoothly. The only emergencies were minor, and quickly remedied by our fantastic wedding planner, Angela Brandt. She safety-pinned my tie when it had no clasp and found a spare camera for the guest book when mine ran out of battery. The guests arrived and sat in the solemn and beautiful chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center. Then, the grandparents and parents were seated and the service was ready to start.

	The nuptial mass was a very spiritual experience for the both of us. It was beautiful in every way. Logan read in his excellent baritone, Father Buhman's homily was energetic as usual, and Katie was the blushing bride I always knew she would be. In the end, we were officially married. And, we were the happiest people there.

After the service, it was time for a few more pictures and relaxing before the real party began. Most people headed to the Ridnour room for a cocktail hour while we had fun in John Paul II Hall.

	The reception was fun for all around. We barely had a chance to sit down and eat before we were pulled away for the boquet and garter tosses, our dances, cutting the cake, and the heartfelt toasts from our brothers and friends.

Most of all, the reception was a successful party because of all the people there sharing their support. Thanks to all our family and friends who were able to come, and also to those who could not and wish us well!

Pictures from the Reception

2008-07-23T07:52:00.000-07:00

Katie and I have had enough time to pick some of our favorite pictures from the reception. Jon Dokulil did a great job of snapping pictures, especially for an impromptu duty. Thanks, Jon, for really owning this job at the last minute!

Here are some highlights:

Homecoming

2008-07-20T13:31:00.000-07:00

Returning home after the wedding night, Derrick and I found a surprise upon opening the entryway. Click through these pictures to see the unexpected decorations.

The pictures hide my unwashed wedding hair and show off the fabulous manicure and pedicure from Friday (as well as wedding bands, woo!) Every good manicure deserves some camera time.

Thanks to all my girls for putting all this together and turning our home into a romantic getaway! I couldn't have asked for a better surprise nor for better friends. You're the best. Hope everyone had fun last night! :) Stay tuned for reception photos.

A New Blog!

2008-05-29T11:24:00.000-07:00

Hi, everyone!

This here is a new blog for Katie and I to share important events in our married life. It will be full of all that boring, family stuff, and none of that boring math/computer stuff.

Enjoy.