The Cast Iron Skillet

Katie has noticed something about me: I am certainly passionate about certain things, and I get really excited about camping, traveling, and even cooking. But what she's noticed is that when I get excited about something, I want to get all the gear necessary to make this new hobby or adventure the best it can be.

Around our house, Katie does most of the cooking. And it's a good thing b/c she's really good at it and she really enjoys it. I'll cook once or twice a week, and the grilling season is always fun for me.

Well I just read an article in a favorite magazine of mine and they talk about how men need to take over (and ownership) of their kitchen. It's a place, like the garage, where manly things can happen. And think of all the tools that you'll need...

And the first tool they said was an essential was the cast iron skillet. Now my father-in-law has told me numerous times that his cast iron skillet is his favorite tool in the kitchen. He's seasoned it over the years, and food continues to get better and better.

After convincing Katie of the necessity of this tool, I went looking for the non-seasoned cast iron skillet from Lodge, widely recognized as the best in the business. Well thanks to the yuppies who want everything done for them, Lodge is discontinuing their non-seasoned line. So I snatched up an 8" skillet and a 3qt. chicken fryer. Since then, I've done some research and have found a 12" skillet that I'll be getting soon.

I'm so proud and excited about my new hobby. In a different magazine, Katie and I found an article about a man who makes the best fried chicken in his cast iron skillet. Too many things falling into place at just the right time...

So here's me opening my cast iron skillet and fryer - cookware that I'll have for the rest of my life: (skillet, and fryer)












So next I had to season it by putting a light coat of cooking oil over the entire piece, inside and out. Putting this in the oven at 350 for one hour seasons the cast iron so that it becomes the original non-stick skillet.

During the process, the original finish starts to get baked to it's final color - black. Here it looks more brown, but I repeated the process again today and now we're starting to get to the final product. But like I said, continued use means continued seasoning, which translates to better and better flavor. I'm very excited about this new hobby.

Back By Popular Demand

Well, there hasn't exactly been popular demands for me to return to this blog, but it sounded like a good comeback line

It's been three months and a day since I've posted on the Game Plan. I had just finished my first marathon. Like my running habit, my blogging habit fell by the wayside. Summer was very busy for Katie and me. We've had a lot of fun at weddings and grilling out. I've played some golf and we had our first garage sale. We made it to Summerfest, a Brewers game, and have enjoyed my favorite show, West Wing, on DVD many nights.

At the end of July, we decided not to renew our lease at 6314 McKee Road b/c we had found a house to rent off Monroe Street. I'll update with some pics later on.

I guess the other big news for me is that I've decided to officially step away from college ministry. I have been a part of things since Blackhawk hired Matt Metzger to be the pastor for this ministry. I could go on and on, but again, I'd like to give it some time and write at a later date.

So I can officially say that I'm back. Summer just got really busy. Now I've got this great office to work from, and life just seems more organized. Looking back on some of the pics, I'm realizing we really had some fun, so I'll certainly get back to recap the summer. Until then, here's a few moments:

MCM 2007

I told myself a few years ago that I wanted to do a marathon before I turned 30. On Sunday May 27th, at 11:14 a.m. I made good on that commitment. I've been training for the 2007 Mad City Marathon since the end of February. Since then, Katie and I took a trip to Europe which really hurt training, although I did two runs, one in Munich and one in Freiburg.

The training really had an impact last Wednesday as my tapering was coming to an end. I had gone on a 4-mile run that felt fantastic. I came home and told Katie that I was ready - that the training had prepared me for Sunday's race. Saturday evening Katie put together a family dinner for the carb-loading.

Saturday night, I was a little nervous. Katie and I loaded the final songs on the new iPod Shuffle she got me for birthday/marathon gift. By the way: if you're training or working out, you need a shuffle.

I won't take you through the play-by-play of the marathon, but here's a summary: I went out as slow as I could for the first 6 miles and felt good. I sped up the next 9, and "cruised" for miles 15-18. Miles 19-21 got tough, and from 22 to the end, I wasn't quite prepared for how difficult that was. One coach of mine calls the last 6 miles the "survival shuffle." Now I can see why. I walked more than I wanted, and I was slower than I had hoped. At mile 22, I had a chance to finish under 4 hours for the race (which was my ultimate goal) but I couldn't quite hold on. I finished in 4:04, which I am still happy with for my first marathon.

Katie was a fantastic supporter the whole race. I will never forget her running across a field to get ahead of me, take a picture, and give me a high-five. My parents, sister, and the Robertsons were wonderful encouragement also. Special props for my sister who ran about 8 miles that day due to bike failures.

On the back of the Shuffle, Katie inscribed the following:

Plan, Work, Perform, Succeed. 26.2












There is nothing more satisfying than planning, working towards that goal, performing your best, and finishing with success.

Dad's Birthday on the Golf Course

My father-in-law would like to spend a few more days on the golf course than he actually gets to in a season. So his wife organized a 4-some last weekend for his birthday -- dad, Grant, Peter, and I.
Dad had the best round, shooting an 89. We all played really well. Luckily for me (and probably Grant and Peter, too) the course was wide open. I'm proud to say I only lost 2 or 3 balls.














Golf is such an addicting game. One good hole and you're hooked for another couple rounds! I had the drive of the day (310 yds), Grant had the chip of the day, and here dad had the put of the day.











Grant had a great shot on this par 3, 133 yds. The funny part was the next picture (click to enlarge) which shows how he used his driver off the tee.











This is our 18th. On our last hole, "We shoot 'til we're happy." If you look closely (click to enlarge), our four-some had 7 balls on the green. Happy Golfing!!

Munich and on to Frankfurt

The train ride to Munich was a little difficult because Katie had a migrane. She slept most of the way, and to make things worse, we could only find a seat in smoking. That was difficult for me, so we changed seats after the first stop. We had to change seats a couple more times because Katie was facing the wrong way, which made the migrane worse. When we got off in Munich, I realized we had left a bag on the train. I threw my bag off and ran back to the train. When I got on, I was frantically looking under the seats for it. Finally, I found it and got off the train (I was worried it might take me off to another city without my wife!!!).

Munich has been great. We had pizza again at our favorite place - Monaco Pizzaria. Literally, the best pizza I have ever had. Munich is by far my favorite city. Yesterday we rented bikes and really got to see a lot more of the city. We went to Nymphenburg, where the original ruling family lived. We had lunch packed and ate in the Enlish Garten. So many people out there - very social and recreational.

We finished off the day with a couple red brats. After taking our bikes back and walking the city, we will be on a train at 15:00 for Frankfurt. As the trip comes to an end and we prepare to fly out of Frankfurt, I eagerly await to begin putting more money away for our return trip to Germany.

Leaving Freiburg

Well Katie`s trip to the bath was eventful - not as close as she thought it would be. She walked a bit, but she figured it out like the seasoned traveler that she is. My day in Freiburg was relaxing, and it was very exciting to wait at the train station for her to arrive.

We had a nice date at a restaurant I had found. Sitting by the river (which flows through most of the city) will never get old.

The shops were closed yesterday, so we are going to check out of here, take our bags to the lockers at the train station, and walk into town for a couple hours. Then off to Munich.

First full day in Freiburg

On a strong recommendation from two women we met on our way out of Gimmewald, Katie decided to travel to Baden-Baden for the bath. We looked up a couple of the descriptions of what a bath entails (16 sections, 10-15 minutes each) and I almost joined her. Hot and cold baths, massages, all sounded very appealing, especially after our hiking in the Alps. But we figured Katie wanted this more than I, and I would rather wander Freiburg for a few hours.

I just got done with a 60 minute run. I headed out of Freiburg and ran the entire way along a river. I am guessing I went about 3.5 miles out and was never more than 20 feet from the water. At one point, I crossed in front of a dam across some rocks for a little variety. There were bikers, walkers, and runners everywhere. A very beautiful run.

Now I am off to the city. I still have a tram pass that is very convenient. My mission is to find lunch and then find a place to take Katie on a date tonight. The weather is expected to be 64 today - another beautiful one here in Germany.

On to Freiburg

We checked out of Ester`s Guesthouse this morning after purchasing some more of her wonderful homemade bread and yogurt. We said goodbye to our new friends from Seattle and were on the gondola down from Gimmelwald. The travels were decent. It was rather sad to leave the Swiss Alps. But a couple transfers later we arrived in Basel. Soon we were in Freiburg and our only small glitch was finding tickets for the tram to our hostel.

We are staying at the Black Forest Hostel and it is VERY cool. I have never been in a hostel before - very airy, earthy, and cozy. One small walk around town and we are calling it a day. Props to John Swee for recommending Freiburg.

Hiking the Alps

If you spend a day hiking in these beautiful Alps, you can say you`ve hiked them. After two days, you have gained a level of comfort. But when you have hiked three good days here in the Alps, you can really say you`ve been there - done that. That is how Katie and I felt coming off our final hike today.

I am sad to report that this computer is not reading my card - I cannot get any pictures to load. I really wanted to get a couple pics uploaded here for you all to see.

Anyway, here is how our hiking went (pics to follow):
Thursday we had our most difficult day. Open this map (you have to zoom in once, and zoom in at different places to see detail). We started in Gimmelwald (bottom left) and went up to Murren. Then we cut left (on the map) and followed "3 and 4" up and around to Schiltalp. This is an easier hike in the summer, but there is still a lot of snow, so it was a very difficult day. There were parts where we were on our hands and feet crawling up the hill. It was great, but very tough coming down. The altitude really got to us. As anyone who has been in altitude knows, we were having to stop to catch our breathe, but weren`t necessarily tired. Still, the stops were necessary. The hike was 16 km round trip.

Friday we needed a more casual hike. Katie wasn`t feeling well with her sinuses acting up. On this day, we hiked up to Murren again, and continued (right on the map) across the top of the valley, on the dark red and black line towards Grutschmit. We walked along side a train the whole way and had excellent views of the Big Three (Eiger, Monch, Yungfrau). I cannot even begin to explain how beautiful the scenery is. When I have more time, I will describe the layout here in this valley and the surrounding mountains. So we walked to Grutschmit and took a gondola down to Lauterbrunnen. Then we hiked back (left) towards Stechelberg. At the station, we took another gondola back up to Gimmelwald. On that rectangle that we just hiked, the top part was an elevated view of the valley. Once we were on the lower part, we saw paraglider everywhere. Note: I will paraglide next time I am here. And there will be a next time. This hike was about 12 km.

And today we took it easy. We were up early and took a gondola up to Schilthorn. This is the top of the skiing here. And boy is there skiing. We actually felt very out of place taking the gondola up because we were the only ones without ski gear. Just wait until you see the pictures from this restaurant. It is also where part of a Bond 007 movie was filmed, On Her Majesty`s Secret Service. We took the gondola down, and were feeling the need for an early afternoon nap from that fantastic breakfast. We woke and hiked from Gimmelwald to Murren and then up to Sonneberg (just above Allmendhubel in bold type). It was our shortest of hikes, but had great views of Murren.

When you look at this map, Katie and I really explored the entire thing. Kind of crazy. We are very proud.

Again, I am so sorry I cannot get pictures posted. I will try again soon.

Tomorrow (Easter) we leave for Basel and Freiburg. We canceled our trip to Dublin - more on that later. It was too much of a hastle and we would be wasting time that we will spend (gladly) back in Munich.

Auf Wiedersehen.

Europe Trip

Well I didn`t know what the internet situation would be here in Europe. Frankfurt and Munich were tough because we were so busy exploring things that we didn`t have time. Plus you need to pay for the internet service and use junky computers with funny keyboards. It just didnt fit into our schedule.

Here`s what happened:

Munich was fantastic. Our hotel was a little hike away, but to get there we had to walk through their version of State Street meets Michigan Avenue. Our hotel was verz nice, and I give up on the YZ thing. There was a market right up the street and a Starbucks on the other side. I went and got coffee everz mornign for us. We did Mike`s Bike Tours on Sundaz and that was excellent - easilz the best waz to see Munich. So manz people bike. Our tour guide, Steve, was an Irish guz from Dublin. He was verz helpful. We were whipped out after the tour. The next daz we did Neuschwanstein Castle. That was amazing for me. It`s just so grand and majestic. Onlz 1/3 was finished, so that was a little disappointing.

Zurich was rather uneventful. I got my Swiss Army knife and Katie got a verz cool jacket - militarz stzle. Everzone in Munich had militarz coats - their stzle here is verz cool. Now I have expereinced what Katie means bz dressing `Euro`.

Then it was off to Interlaken - our gatewaz to Gimmelwald, where I`m writing from. I wish I had time to explain the trip to get here. Everzthing went well, but there were quite a few parts. The Alps just got bigger and bigger. First thez were covered bz the clouds. Then this morning we saw them in their entiretz. I can onlz hope our pictures do some justice. This morning we hiked to Murren, which is a ski resort. We went through and hiked up as far as we could. And let me tell zou, I just skipped over the tough part of the daz. The hike was èasy` but that is when there`s no snow. The altitude was getting to us, and we had to stop numerous times to catch our breath. The sights were amazing - I`m sorrz I cannot send zou anz now. Here was the bad (reallz bad) part of the daz - we got fried. I think Katie has here first everz Farmer`s Tan. Our faces hurt when we came off that mountain.

And that`s all we have for now. Zou can`t imagine how much we`re leaving out. But we are exhausted and I just wanted to write so zou could get it todaz - in our time. Sorrz we didn`t write sooner. Esther`s has internet, so we`ll trz to write a couple more times. If I can, I`ll send zou a link of a map where we`re hiking. It`s so amaying. What the visitors saz is "I will be back" and that is so true for Katie and I.

If you`ve made it this far -thanks. I truely wish I had more time to write and post pics, but such is life for a traveling team like Katie and I.

Tomorrow I will post a couple pictures to prove that we`re really hear. How`s that for a teaser?

Our Arrival!!

As Katie and I checked in for our international flight, we learned that had been moved up to business class, but we wouldn't be sitting together. The lady said it would work out fine - suggesting we'd "make it work." Sure enough, two gentlemen were kind enough to let us switch so that we could sit together - did I mention business class?

In business class, my feet couldn't reach the seat in front of me. For our meal, I had a choice between cheese tortilini and filet migon (I chose the latter). Everyone was taking off their shoes - it's a German thing. The things we learn when we travel...

I won't go on and on, but the flight couldn't have been better. The lay overs were managable, and it actually seemed painless when we finally reached Amsterdam. The one our flight to Frankfurt was easy.

When we finally figured out which train to take out of the airport, we were on our way. As we left the dark terminal on a high speed train, we popped out into my first sights of Germany. The train sped it's way through a forest of trees - birch and pin oaks. What an amazing introduction to the country!! The trees were all seemingly perfectly straight. Browns and whites were streaking past us as we made our way to the city. Two stops later, we were at the main train station. Our hotel is literally across the street. We just got done walking the downtown. Hard to describe - wonderfully new and fresh. We ate an appetizer outside at a nice cafe, and now we're off for dinner.

Thanks for checking in with us. Pics might be hard to come by but we'll do what we can.

Until then, hope you're well.

Hans and Katie

My Wife and March Madness

It's 7:29 am on a SATURDAY and my wife is checking online to see how how she's doing in the NCAA basketball pool. That's about all I have to say.

March Madness

Well, it's that time of year - March Madness. I'll write a little more when I have more time, but for now, a couple interesting articles I found today. Is your productivity lacking because of your bracket...?

The (Overblown) Cost of March Madness

March Madness by the Numbers

I Got Quesadillas

I got quesadillas for dinner tonight. Does this deserve a blog entry? If you knew how good I eat b/c of my wife, you'd understand.

Katie and I had a pretty full day. Nothing stressful, but we had church, errands, homework, and then Katie went for a run (yeah, a COLD run). When she went for a run, I cleaned a little and ran to see a friend who was in town. When I got back, Katie was in the kitchen still in her running clothes. She said her run was "excellent" and in the same breath, she said she was making a treat for us tonight. Our plan was to stay in and watch a movie or West Wing. And Katie was making quesadillas!

All I want is for everyone to know how great of a wife I have. After a long, cold run on a Sunday afternoon of a busy weekend, my wife is making our night all the better with her excellent cooking. Tonight, I got quesadillas.

Cut and Paste Pics

I love photography. I love candid shots of people. I love pictures that make me appreciate beauty. So I found these off wtopnews.com I hope I'm not infringing on any copyrighted material, so I've cited my sources (I hope).

Lunch Time!
Panda cubs drink milk at the Giant Panda Breeding Center in Chengdu, China Friday Feb. 9, 2007. A mini-baby boom last year has pushed up the number of pandas bred in captivity in China to 217, state media said Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2007. Some 34 pandas were born by artificial insemination in 2006 and 30 survived, both record numbers for the endangered species.(AP Photo) CHINA OUT

Toddy Tapper
A toddy tapper climbs a palm tree to collect toddy in the outskirts of Hyderabad, India, Friday, Feb.23, 2007. Toddy, or palm wine, is a traditional intoxicating drink created from the sap of various species of palm tree. The drink is particularly common in parts of south India. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A)

'The Queen' Arrives
British actress Helen Mirren, won an Oscar for best actress in a leading role for her work in "The Queen." (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

'Happyness' Stars Arrive
Will Smith, nominated for an Oscar for best actor in a leading role for his work in "The Pursuit of Happyness," arrives with his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, and son Jaden for the 79th Academy Awards Sunday, Feb. 25, 2007, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Real Time Adventure

I love this weather!! I just got done with a post talking about the last snowfall. Well, this still counts, I guess. Weather forecasters have been telling us for days that this weekend will be a mess. I ran out for a couple things, and stores were busy today b/c people were "stocking up" for the weekend so they don't have to go out. I went to Blockbuster, and so did half of Madison.

It's kind of fun when so many people clearly all in the same situation. Katie and I came home from the gym today and the plow had created this 2-foot road block in front of our driveway.

So I backed up across the street, took a running start at it and plowed through. Yeah, it would've been better if you were there. So thinking of such a dilemma, I had Katie take a picture of the Outback taking on the small snowbank. Yes, I realize it was small, but would you do this with your car?



The approach.









And we have contact.

So this is a Real Time post, here on the Game Plan, because Katie and I are hunckered down for the night. We had our homemade pizza and just got done watching a documentary - Mad Hot Ballroom. Great film!!

Now we're about to watch Ronin - DeNiro on a Saturday night is always a good thing.

Katie Turns 28

On Tuesday, we took the day off work to celebrate Katie's 28th birthday. She decided to go to Milwaukee's Art Museum. As you probably know, Katie is a wonderful artist and loves art history, also. As we were walking through the museum, she would comment how certain pieces were done before other ones - just by their style. Needless to say, I was learning a lot that day.

Art is so interesting, especially when you're observing it with someone who knows what they're talking about. And when you read about the artist, the time period, and the culture associated with a certain piece, we begin to see the world through the eyes of very talented artists.

This is a progression of Katie's 3 Pears:

One Last Snowfall

I realize I'm in the minority on this one. But I can't get enough of the snow. I hold on to winter as long as I can. Just tonight, Katie and I were coming back from Tex's Taco Tub (it tastes better than it sounds). As we were driving, the snow was really starting to fall. I just LOVE my Outback in weather like this.




So when we got home, I opened the front door to look at how everything was becoming covered with this white blanket of snow. Have you ever looked outside late at night during a good snowfall? Everything is quiet. Cars don't speed by - they seem to creep down the street, packing the snow all the way down the road. It's quiet, so the world seems a little bit smaller, cozy.

I know I'm in the minority on this, but I really love my Wisconsin Winter.

What's Happening in the Schools

In my search for a teaching job, I’ve been subbing in the Verona Area School District. I just got finished with a long-term sub position in elementary P.E. and realized how much I missed being in the schools. It’s been a very frustrating endeavor applying to schools and hearing how many other candidates put their resumes in for the same position. Lately I’ve been thinking about “outside the box” ideas for teaching. I’ve had a home school opportunity come my way, and the idea of running my own business and having it be in the field of education is very appealing to me. I’ve also looked into an outdoor education program, and really like the possibility of doing something like that.

To be honest, it’s really hard to trust God for this when I haven’t really seen anything work out yet. The long-term sub thing was great, and maybe that was my “re-entry” into the field. I just don’t know where to go – is it time to leave Madison and maybe even Wisconsin? I know (many) other 20-somethings are struggling with the same issues and situations, but it doesn’t give me much comfort.

What I do know is that I love teaching and I love physical activity. I also know God cares about me and my family a great deal, and I must continually put this before Him and be a good steward of my time and resources.

In my subbing days, I’ve been all over. One of the coolest things I’ve seen was at Glacier Edge Elementary. It’s a new school in Verona, so they have all the newest technology. The have a mobile computer lab for the whole school to use. It’s a cart that is equipped with a printer on the top. When you open the side panel, this is what you see:

This is 22 Apple MacBooks. They all plug into the cart to recharge before they travel to the next class that needs them. Each student gets their own computer. If there’s work to print, they can wirelessly print to the afore mentioned printer on top of the cart. Pretty cool set-up.

One of my subbing assignments last week was a math class for 7^th grade. During one of the classes, two girls were playing with the teacher’s pet lizards, who have a cage along the window sill of the room. They took out the lizards, and so I decided I had to have a picture with them.

Schools are really exciting places to be. There’s political crap that certainly gets in the way. That’s why the idea of my own program with home school students is appealing. Outdoor education probably would be free of some of the same politics. No job is perfect, I’m just very anxious to find a place to get my teaching career started.

Link Winter Retreat

I have been doing college ministry at Blackhawk Church for over 6 years, and I absolutely love the retreats. They've changed a lot over the years from just hanging out to very spiritually focused. I'd say this year was something of a mix. We went for a more spiritual direction, but as always we left plenty of time for hanging out and enjoying each other's company.

Here's a few pics from the retreat.

Craig, Nick and Travis on a chair. Matt Cranney is there, somewhere.






See, I told you he was under there.








Cranney, Craig, and me.









Al, Matt, Casey, Zach, me.










Brian and me.









(l to r) Mari and Jenny. The Pewaukee Connection: Dan and Andrea Wolck, and me. Metzger and me.