Monday, December 14, 2009

[red hot rudolphs]

Peter here... Holiday cookies are such a tired convention (I'd say they're "sooo last year," but I'd sound like a blond Valley Girl--and that's sooo not me). And if I offended anyone out there who is in the midst of baking some holiday cookies, I meant no offense. I'm just really, really, REALLY excited about something that's going to become an annual Barber tradition.

And so, I present to you the first annual installment of (drum roll, please) the SARAH-BARBER-EXTRA-YUMMY-SUPER-DELICIOUS-INCREDIBLY-PHENOMENAL CHRISTMAS REINDEER CUPCAKES--(by the way, that is the official name, if you're wondering). OK, so let me explain what you're seeing (and unfortunately what you can't taste!): the faces are Oreo cookies with a "V" shape-cut, the antlers are pretzels, the eyes are white-chocolate chips, and the red noses are Red Hots. Oh yeah, and there's chopped up Oreo cookie mixed in with the cupcake batter, too.

All I have to say is that when I first bit into one, I went weak in the knees, uttered a whole lot of unintelligible noises, and felt like fireworks were going off in my mouth. Simply amazing. And if you want the recipe, don't bother. It's a closely guarded family secret that Sarah will take to her grave (not really, it's in a commercially available recipe book, but "family secret" sounded better).

Here's another shot of the whole "herd"--
Who needs cookies when you have a whole plate of these? I mean, seriously? Matter of fact, I think I need one right now...

Monday, November 30, 2009

[two reasons to be thankful this season!]

The second reason to be abundantly thankful this thanksgiving is because Peter and I (Sarah) are expecting the first and newest addition to our barber family! YES, THAT'S RIGHT FOLKS....we are having a baby!!!!!

We've been dying to share the news, and now that all our family knows, we're thrilled to get to spread the news to you! We actually just had our 12 week appt. today, and got to listen to the heart beat for the very first time--a moment I don't think either one of us will ever forget! Praise God lil' barber is healthy and has a rapid heart beat of 160.

The photo below is how we shared the news with Peter's folks and mine. The story goes like this. We found an online site where we could make and send personalized onesies--the perfect surprise gift! So Peter and I went ahead and made the three you see below and then sent them off to our parents with a note that said "Coming soon to a city near you" and then the due date, which is June 10th. We made sure to double package it, with the inside package requesting that they each call us before they open it--we wanted to be sure to hear their excitment.

All went as planned until our parents in Brazil didn't receive the package within the time we had expected. Sooooo....it was plan B with them and we'll have to share that story another time.

So there you are friends....we're so thankful for this new gift of life we have coming our way next June.


Friday, November 20, 2009

[two reasons to be thankful this season!]

God blessed us in two ways recently, and they're kind of related. I'll save the bigger one for last, so you'll have to read to the end of the post... The first was the purchase of a new car. We had been saving and looking for a new car for some time now, but we hadn't found what we had been looking for. Then, one of our friends recommended an auto broker who attends our church, and ta-da, a few weeks later we had a new car! The process was amazing and virtually painless. We highly recommend auto brokers now. We purchased a 2004 Toyota Matrix—with fancy tinted windows! We posted a few pictures below. And the next time you're in Denver, we'll take ya for a ride!



Tuesday, October 6, 2009

[fly fishing]

A few weeks ago I (Peter) had the awesome privilege to go fly fishing! A new buddy of mine, Randy Hellinger, offered to introduce me to the sport that is so popular here in Colorado. So one morning at about 4:30 in the morning (waaaay to early for me), Randy swung by, picked me up, and we were off on our grand adventure.

In about an hour and a half, after a pit-stop at Starbucks and some great conversation, we arrived at our destination: Eleven-Mile Canyon. Randy had enough gear to loan some to me, so the first thing we did was suit up: waders (mine were thermal!), boots, and fly-fisher vests. Now we were set! Or so I thought...

Before going on, I need to clarify something. I wouldn't necessarily call myself an avid fisherman, but I think I've done my fair share of fishing--even some peacock bass and piranha! So I was expecting a nice lazy day of throwing a line into the water, maybe getting a few bites, then calling it a day. What I didn't realize is that there's nothing lazy about fly fishing.

In fly fishing, you're constantly tying on flies (that's what they call the lures). If you snag your line on something, and the line breaks, you've got to tie a new fly; if the fish aren't biting the fly your currently using, you've got to tie a new fly; if you get your line all tangled up trying to cast (which I managed to do repeatedly!), you've got to...well, you get the idea.

And I haven't even mentioned the casting! Fly fish casting is not like other fishing. There's no weight on your line to help you cast, so with fly fishing you have to kind of whip your rod back and forth and, as you do so, gradually let out the right amount of line you need to cast to the spot where you want it to go. Sounds complicated, doesn't it? It's not really--it's just really active. And then, if you do manage to cast the fly exactly where you wanted to (which didn't happen all that often for me--especially in the beginning), you have to pick it back up and do the process all over again because the fly has moved down river. Think of it like this: it's about 60 seconds of casting for about 10 seconds "fishing." This video that Randy took of me might help explain things a bit better.



So you're constantly tying lures, constantly casting, and then you're constantly on the move! The fish (they're trout) are lazy--they like to hide out behind boulders and stuff where the water is nice and calm and they don't have to swim very much. So they just sit there waiting for bugs to come floating by in the faster moving water, and when they see something they like, they dart out and grab a snack (or lunch, or dinner, or breakfast--I don't know what kind of internal clock fish go by). Anyway, so as you're fishing, if you don't get any bites after a half-dozen casts or so, it's time to move on to another spot. Needless to say, fly fishing is a very active sport!

I have to say though, I had a very good teacher. Randy showed me how to do everything, from tying the fly to casting correctly. He coached me through my rough spots (believe me, there were many), and kept encouraging me when I was getting close to giving up. Thanks to his good teaching, finally at the end of the day, I was able to actually catch a fish!

Here's me "hauling in" my catch!

This is once I had snagged him (or her--do you know how to tell?!)

And here's what I have to show for eight hours of fishing!! I actually took it home and it's now mounted on my wall. Just kidding--it's illegal to do that! Don't tell PETA!

So there you have it, my grand fly fishing experience!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

[a little bit of everything]

so these past two or three weeks God has been moving in our lives. i say moving because i'm not sure yet what He's up to...but I know this...God is always moving.

some of you who read this may know that in January i started up my own freelance graphic design business. its called simpleroot media. (www.simplerootmedia.com). for us crazy designers, it only took me about 5 months to get my website up to a place where i'm satisfied with it, along with my logo. i think i re-did it 4 or 5 times....often at the amuse of my husband.

all thats to say, God's been doing some really neat things with my business, and just within the last two weeks i've gotten 3 new clients. how cool is that!! i'm pretty pumped and excited about it--i love designing! its what i was made to do! (well, part of the time)

another cool thing lately is that i got my hair chopped. yes, that's right folks...shorter than i've ever ever gone before. (photo below). at first i was a little freaked out about it, but now its growing on me. i think i even like it now. peter thinks its adorable, so really thats all that matters.
oh, and i just had to include another reason why this time of the year is awesome....FOOTBALL! i'm pretty pumped about it. i even got a comment today from one our associate pastors "gotta love a chick who knows the football schedule" yup, sure do.

well, peter has promised me that he'll be adding a post here shortly regarding his much anticipated and highly sucessful fly fishing trip he took a few weeks back. i'll leave him to tell you the rest.

all our love,
s&p

Friday, September 4, 2009

[boy how time flys]

ok friends. i owe you another apology. we haven't stuck to our guns like we promised. if it helps, in the last month we've moved, moved and moved, and the BLOG updates kind of took a back seat.

well, here's what i've got for ya. like i said, the big news as of late is that we've moved. we're no longer in west littleton, we now reside in a city a bit east of there called lone tree. its about 20 min south of downtown denver. its great. slowly turning into our newest home. i'll get some pictures up soon.

peter and i also BOTH celebrated our birthdays in august, so that was another fun event. he got me a gift where i was able to be a "sou chef" for a day in a fresh market in downtown, which was AMAZING to say the least. what an experience. such fun! who knew that when you cut a pepper, your NOT supposed to take your knife and cut a circular whole in the top to pull of the stem. Nope. You're actually supposed to slice it down the side in quarters. after the last cut, the top just left. and BAM...no having to stand and slowly maneuver that part out. i also got to make a flour-less choc. torte and some fresh baguettes. wish i had a photo to share but somehow it vanished off my camera card.

peters birthday we celebrated by going to a Brazilian steakhouse about 40 min from here. he had no idea we were going and was super excited to say the least. i also made him his favorite dessert, choc. pecan pie. (photo below) it was lots of fun. i can't believe just a few years and we'll be celebrating 30! :) (shhhh....don't tell him i spilled the beans)



well folks, thats it for now. next post will be coming shortly...this time from the peter man himself.

lots of love here in CO,
barbers

Monday, July 27, 2009

[Picking up the pieces...]

Well friends, here we are again.

Almost two years later than our last post, but eager to try this BLOG thing out again. Peter and I are both horrible at keeping the people we love connected, and this seems like an easy avenue to do that...of course....we have to actually update this thing...which we are committing to do at least once a week. Granted our life isn't that exciting to warrant a once-a-week update...so we'll try to make this puppy as exciting as possible. It may mean a random post every now and then....but who doesn't love brainless humor or information every now and then...right?! :)

So... here's to a second chance...thanks for grace!

Now...sit back...fasten your seat-belts...and get ready to FLY through the last two years of Peter and Sarah Barber! We'll bring you up to speed as best we can!

[May Maddness-part2]

What else could we have fit into May you ask....well....a trip to South America of course!

That's right! We left a week after graduation for BRAZIL!!

At the end of May, Peter and I boarded a plane set for Fortaleza, Brazil, where we enjoyed a fabulous 11 day trip! It was really special to visit the in-laws, but our main purpose for going was to be apart of the wedding of Josh and Karina.

Crazy right?! Yes, it was. But it was a blast. Not to mention it was my VERY FIRST time to Brazil and to South America.

Most folks have asked me what my biggest "awe" factors were or the cultural differences I noticed, and I would have to say, that aside from the traffic (which if you have ever been to ANY third-world country, you understand there is no such thing as structured traffic. Everyone one (and thing) competes for the one sliver of road that appears not have any pot-holes. Which is another oxymoron--since they are everywhere!) But...like I was saying...besides the traffic...I think the most interesting thing I was struck by was the "normalcy" of the culture.

For some reason, probably because I'd never been to anther country other than Mexico, I had this preconceived notion that the people there were going to be so different. But that wasn't my experience. Even though they spoke a language I didn't understand, I still felt like I "understood" them....maybe through body language...but perhaps more simply, because they too, were people.

I also had an amazing time at the traditional Brazilian steakhouses, which for this good ol' Midwestern girl, was NO problemo at all. Love me some steak!

The most treasured part of the trip for me was getting to see where Peter grew up. To step foot in his home (which was wonderful and Mom and Dad Barber were awesome!), see his bedroom, meet his dog Daisy, visit his church, and meet some of his childhood friends was truly priceless. THAT made the trip. Not only did it give me a glimpse into a Peter I've never really known, but it gave me such an appreciation for his childhood. It also gave me the precious gift of memory—a mental picture of life in brazil.

And how could I forget to mention the wedding...josh and karina! Oh, that too, was so special. Apart from the fact that it started in the weeee hours of the morning, when most people would just be waking up, it was a wonderful day. For the most part, the wedding went off without a hitch....only 3 bridesmaids, instead of the guesstimated 5, were late that morning. haha. And the rain thankfully stayed away for most of the morning. It truly was a wonderful day, honoring and celebrating with Josh and Karina Barber, who are now back here in the States, living near Grand Rapids, MI.

Below are just a few photos of our time in Brazil... enjoy!
Overlooking Jauazerio do Norte

Side yard of Barber's house

Another city shot from high

At the statue below overlooking the city

Famous statue called "Padre Cicero"

The pilgrims tie these ribbons and write padre cicero


We went to these waterfalls one day

brave Peter took a jump...

and so did the other barber men...

Karina doing my nails...she paints these beautiful designs!

Came upon a pick-up game...really wanted to join in!


but we did get to play some soccer there....awesome!

traffic at night

day of wedding, setting up all the chairs

the wedding cake!

the happy married couple!

the beautiful bride and my new sister-in-law!

[May Maddness-part1]

If your familiar with "March Madness" then perhaps you'll understand why this post is called "May Madness."

May 2009 literally came and went. We ran and ran and ran from one thing to another. Hence the "May Madness" emphasis. It began with the closing two weeks of Seminary for Peter. The usual last minute all-nighters, 40 page papers and books to read were all apart of those first two weeks. I think Peter somehow strategically fit the majority of his Spring semester into
those final two weeks because he just about worked non-stop. The good news is he survived...and so did i...and on May 15th 2009, we (Peters Nana and myself) proudly watched Peter walk across the stage and receive his Master's of Arts in Leadership diploma!!!

Here area few pictures of that special, special day!



The "Grads"

So proud of my man!

Nana came out to celebrate this special day with us!