Jon Stolpe
Jon Stolpe
Chef-Boy-R-Jon
If you knew me growing up, you’d understand that I was not a culinary wizard. In fact, my specialty by the time I married Leanne was microwaved hot dogs and Kraft macaroni and cheese. I’d like to think that I’ve come along way since then – but you can ask my wife.
Last night, I cooked an old family recipe – Swedish Pancakes. They’re really not that hard to make, but nobody makes them like my Grandma Stolpe. Her recipe will be at the bottom of the post. My side of the family has often talked about putting together a recipe book or web page or something to document all the family recipes – especially the Swedish Christmas tradition recipes like Swedish meatballs, korv (poor man’s sausage), raspberry creme, and rice pudding. The flavors of each of these dishes reminds us all of the great times together – times as kids surrounding Grandma and Grandpa Stolpe’s kitchen table at their Carol Stream, IL house, times as parents introducing our own children to these traditions, times we will never forget.
What foods spark these kinds of memories for you and your family?
So here’s the recipe from Grandma Stolpe:
SWEDISH PANCAKES
6 eggs
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups milk
3/4 cup butter or margarine melted
6 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Beat eggs and 1 cup milk. Add sugar and flour and beat smooth. Beat in melted butter or margarine and salt and rest of the milk. Bake in a hot fry pan until golden brown, turning once.
Until the next post….
Many Hands Make It Light
Thursday night, I received a phone call from my father-in-law asking if I’d be interested in some help this weekend doing a few projects that were on the “to-do-list.” I decided to take him up on it and boy am I glad, and he traveled in from Western PA to lend a hand.
Last night, we cut and weed whacked the grass. Today, we stained the deck, painted part of the basement floor, dry locked part of the basement walls, and hung up some lights in the basement. There is no way I would have even come close to completing all these projects without Dad’s help.
It is a reminder of how much we can accomplish when we do it together (see my post from earlier this week).
(Tomorrow night, we will celebrate by watching the Eagles-Steelers pre-season game. He’ll be cheering for the wrong team, and I’ll be cheering for the Birds.)
Until the next post….
Brotherly Love
Most people who know me also know that my family is spread all over the United States. My parents and one of my brothers live in Texas. My other brother lives in Wisconsin. My grandma lives in Illinois. My grandpa lives in Minnesota. My sister-in-law and her family live in South Carolina. And my wife’s parents live on the other side of Pennsylvania. We have often said that living in a mobile society really stinks. It is much more difficult to get together since we are spread apart. Another thing that we have often said is that we’re so thankful for phones.
Last night was a great example of this, I arrived home after my coaches’ meeting to a phone call from my brother David. It had been a few weeks since we had spoken, and honestly, the busy lifestyles that are part of both our families contribute to our challenge to keep up with each other.
Growing up, David and I did not always get along especially through high school. In fact, we are very different for many reasons which don’t need to be listed here. The cool thing though is that despite our differences, our bond in Christ is a certain common ground that allows us to look past our past differences and enjoy each other’s company. I love hearing how things are going for my brother and his family. I also love getting to share the joys and challenges related to my own family.
I’m very blessed to have a cool brother (actually two cool brothers) and a great family.
Until the next post….
It Takes A Team
I have been reminded the past few days about how important teamwork is in so much of what I do.
At home, Leanne and I have to be a team as we approach parenting, etc. Also, the kids and we have to be a team to keep things heading in the right direction at home along with juggling our various priorities, etc.
At work, I have to work as a team with my fellow co-workers to successfully provide building solutions for our customers. I also have to work with a team of fellow contractors, customers, and design personnel to correctly complete building projects.
At church, I get to work with an awesome team of coaches who help small group leaders as they lead their groups. In fact, I need to get moving to a coaches meeting in a few minutes.
Without teamwork, most of the things that we try to tackle will not work. I’m thankful to have so many great teammates.
Until the next post…
Despite My Self
This morning I read from John 4 about the woman at the well. In this passage, a Samaritan woman meets Jesus. This woman has had several husbands and is living with another man at the time of the meeting. Jesus indicates to the woman that he knows this. He also shares that “Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst-not ever.”
Following the encounter, the woman tells others that she has met the One who knows everything about her – the Messiah. I get the feeling that she was extremely excited about this meeting. If I read correctly, she did not walk away ashamed; she walked away feeling loved, accepted, and known.
I have many perfectionist tendencies; however, I am far from perfect. It’s incredible to know that Christ loves me and accepts me despite my self. It’s also amazing to realize that all I will ever need comes from Christ.
Until the next post….
Vince Antonucci
This past Sunday, we had a guest speaker at our church from Forefront Church in the Virginia Beach area. Vince Antonucci spoke about “How Can I Follow Someone Who I Can’t See?” Vince’s preaching style is unbelievable. I’d love for you to get a taste of Vince. Go to the website below, and I think you’ll be challenged and you’ll meet Jesus in a new way – The Jesus You Never Knew. http://www.soiwonder.com/messages_jesus.html
Until the next post….
Hersheypark
Yesterday, I took Isaac to Hersheypark for the day together. We had a great time just the two of us. According to Map My Run, we walked about 4.23 miles – see the map above. We got to see three shows including the 3-D show which Isaac really enjoyed. Isaac tried out two new rides (with me) – the Tidal Force and the Roller Soaker. Isaac also tried out a few parts of the new Boardwalk water part of the park that was added over the winter. They did a great job with this whole area which includes several cool water slides, a few different water playgrounds, and a cool boogie boarding surf area.
Here are a couple of the tips that have made our trips in the past a real fun time:
1. If you’re planning on getting wet, get there right at the opening and go for the water stuff first. We went on Canyon River Rapids, Tidal Force, and Roller Soaker without any wait. Later in the day, the lines for these rides were huge.
2. Now your show times and use the shows for entertainment and downtime. We have especially enjoyed the shows at the Aquatheater.
3. Food is expensive in the park, so eat a good breakfast before you arrive. We have discovered that Subway in the park is one of the most reasonable places to eat.
4. Save time for Chocolate World. We have hit this free ride at the end of our day every time we’ve gone to Hershey. The best part is that it ends with a free Hershey’s chocolate treat. Chocolate World is actually located just outside of Hersheypark. It is open year round, so if you’re just passing through, it’s worth a quick visit.
It was a SWEET day with my son.
Until the next post…
Revenge of the Nerds
Check out the link to the KJ-52 rap video below. The song reminds me of my high school days a bit – first, because my buddy Brian Willem and I used to enjoy and write our own wraps; second, because I probably fit into the nerd category at times during these high school days. Enjoy, and let me know what you think.
Map My Run
One of my buddies turned me on to a cool website. If you are a runner, biker, hiker, etc. and are curious about how far you actually went on your outdoor journey, you can go to http://www.mapmyrun.com/. At this website, you can trace your route on a map, get your distance, see your elevation, etc. It is pretty cool. Yesterday, I did a 3.33 mile hill interval workout. I hit a maximum elevation four times of 277 feet. And had a minimum elevation of 153 feet. Check it out.
Until the next post…
Take Me Out To The Ball Game
Thanks to a generous man from our home team (small group), I took the kids to see the Reading Phillies play the Erie Seawolves last night. The Reading Phillies are the Double A League farm team for the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Seawolves are affiliated with the Detroit Tigers. Shane Victorino (the Philadelphia Phillies right fielder) was on a rehab assignment here, so there were lots of cheers for him.
If you’ve never been to a minor league baseball game, I would highly recommend trying it. It is so entertaining. Besides the game which the Phillies won 8-6, there is literally on the field entertainment between every half inning. We saw the crazy hot dog vendor throwing hot dogs in the stands from his ostrich, inflatable blow-up bobble head people dancing on the field, vegetables racing around the field, people shooting foam baseballs into the stands via sling shots, people shooting t-shirts into the stands via train/air cannon, etc. The food is reasonably priced. We didn’t have to pay for parking. And we arrived home just 40 minutes after getting into our car.
What’s best about the whole thing is that I got to spend six solid hours with my kids (counting the car ride to and from the ballpark). I look forward to making more memories like this.
Until the next post…