In this case, I'm waiting for the brownies I just baked to cool so I can frost them. I'm doing them all weird though. From scratch dark chocolate brownies with milk-chocolate-frosting-from-a-can, and box "milk chocolate" brownies with homemade peanut butter frosting that is so good I shed a little tear.
Unfortunately I was asked to make them for a birthday at work tomorrow so I can't even sneak one bite of the brownies in advance, but I can assure you that I will be licking the bowl of the peanut butter frosting. IT IS SO GOOD OH MY GOOD GRAVY THAT'S HOW GOOD IT IS. It's like sweet creamy peanuty air. ARGH.
The only other thing of interest that happened to me today was that the lobby of the dance studio was delightfully less crowded with dance moms than usual. I only rolled my eyes once while I was waiting for Elizabeth. And that was because I heard one of them say to the other "My husband was watching "Dance Moms" and laughing, so I watched some of it, but I didn't think it was funny and I turned it off. Those are crazy women." It was only one eye roll, but it was a big one.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Sometimes I am smart...
...and sometimes I eat waaaay too much watermelon. Which is not so smart. Arghghghghghh.
What can I say? I'm a sucker for a guy on the side of the road selling giant watermelons at 2 for $5. Even when its no longer watermelon season. So now I suffer from a way too stuffed tummy that doesn't seem to know that dinner was over two hours ago.
I spent too much of this past Labor Day weekend....laboring. We, as I mentioned before, suddenly found ourselves with all our belongings piled up in the half of the garage in which I used to park. I had just gotten used to being able to park in a garage, it was delightful, and now I miss it! So I went through a lot of boxes this weekend. I get the whole concept of the trash/sell or donate/keep piles, but what am I supposed to do with the stuff I want to keep? And why do I want to keep it so bad? I was able to part with the cheesy and crumbling Christmas Caroler I made in third grade from a light bulb and construction paper, simply by taking a picture of it. But for some reason I can't get rid of a tiny little bell I got from the Land of Little Horses in Maryland when I was 7. I mean the LoLH was awesome and all, but I don't get it. So I have these things I am not ready to get rid of, and maybe I never will be, but what am I supposed to do in the meantime? Since we do have the goal for me to park in the garage again someday, we have exactly two shelving units that we can fill, plus a shady shelf-less cabinet (I actually refuse to open it, I was just told that there aren't any shelves) that came with this house out there in the garage, and that's it. We have other storage spaces in the house, but they are in a pleasant non-cluttered state with designated items that they store and I want to keep it that way. David's closet has plenty of room, but he's told me its off limits to my childhood mementos. And there's no way I'm going up in the attic, even if it actually has pull down stairs to get to it. There could be bugs up there. They could touch me.
I guess I have to do more paring down. *SIGH*
What can I say? I'm a sucker for a guy on the side of the road selling giant watermelons at 2 for $5. Even when its no longer watermelon season. So now I suffer from a way too stuffed tummy that doesn't seem to know that dinner was over two hours ago.
I spent too much of this past Labor Day weekend....laboring. We, as I mentioned before, suddenly found ourselves with all our belongings piled up in the half of the garage in which I used to park. I had just gotten used to being able to park in a garage, it was delightful, and now I miss it! So I went through a lot of boxes this weekend. I get the whole concept of the trash/sell or donate/keep piles, but what am I supposed to do with the stuff I want to keep? And why do I want to keep it so bad? I was able to part with the cheesy and crumbling Christmas Caroler I made in third grade from a light bulb and construction paper, simply by taking a picture of it. But for some reason I can't get rid of a tiny little bell I got from the Land of Little Horses in Maryland when I was 7. I mean the LoLH was awesome and all, but I don't get it. So I have these things I am not ready to get rid of, and maybe I never will be, but what am I supposed to do in the meantime? Since we do have the goal for me to park in the garage again someday, we have exactly two shelving units that we can fill, plus a shady shelf-less cabinet (I actually refuse to open it, I was just told that there aren't any shelves) that came with this house out there in the garage, and that's it. We have other storage spaces in the house, but they are in a pleasant non-cluttered state with designated items that they store and I want to keep it that way. David's closet has plenty of room, but he's told me its off limits to my childhood mementos. And there's no way I'm going up in the attic, even if it actually has pull down stairs to get to it. There could be bugs up there. They could touch me.
I guess I have to do more paring down. *SIGH*
Saturday, September 3, 2011
We should never ask the children what they think...
And the reason we should not ask the kids' opinions on where to have dinner on a Saturday night, is because of course they never agree. And since the parents couldn't really agree either tonight, instead of forcing 2 of us to come around to the preference of the other 2, we split up. David and Elizabeth went to Buffalo Wild Wings on one end of the shopping center, and Lilli and I went to the Five Guys on the other end. We really should do the one on one parent/child thing sometimes anyway, and everybody was happy. David had tons of TV screens, I had a decent burger. Elizabeth had access to smiley fries, Lilli got the hot dog she was desperate for.
I don't know what all went down at what we call "B-Dubs" (not sure why we call it that), although I suspect David and Elizabeth spent their time in silent mesmerization by the televisions, but I had a very entertaining time with Lilli.
First, she talked the entire time we were there in a very loud (and typically high pitched) voice, with the exception of the few seconds it took her to swallow each bite. After expressing brief annoyance with the fact that her hot dog had been cut in half the long ways, she spent significant energy trying to line up the two pieces of bun even with her bites, after somehow managing to consistently eat more of the bottom bun than the top one with every bite. Then, she refused to eat any of the "brown parts" of her fries (those brown parts were potato skin), but was quite willing to eat them after I bit off the offending portions. Ewwww. And she was chucking down the peanuts as fast as I could shell them. And the reason I offered to shell them was because she was trying to open them by bashing them with the face of this little Barbie and the Nutcracker Happy Meal toy Ken doll I found for her today while going through boxes. She was convinced that the "Nutcracker" should be able to get those peanuts open for her. After I explained to her that he couldn't open the nuts because his enchantment had been broken and he was now a prince, she gave him a look of total disgust, but at least stopped trying to disfigure him.
Ahhhh. Good times with Lilli.
I don't know what all went down at what we call "B-Dubs" (not sure why we call it that), although I suspect David and Elizabeth spent their time in silent mesmerization by the televisions, but I had a very entertaining time with Lilli.
First, she talked the entire time we were there in a very loud (and typically high pitched) voice, with the exception of the few seconds it took her to swallow each bite. After expressing brief annoyance with the fact that her hot dog had been cut in half the long ways, she spent significant energy trying to line up the two pieces of bun even with her bites, after somehow managing to consistently eat more of the bottom bun than the top one with every bite. Then, she refused to eat any of the "brown parts" of her fries (those brown parts were potato skin), but was quite willing to eat them after I bit off the offending portions. Ewwww. And she was chucking down the peanuts as fast as I could shell them. And the reason I offered to shell them was because she was trying to open them by bashing them with the face of this little Barbie and the Nutcracker Happy Meal toy Ken doll I found for her today while going through boxes. She was convinced that the "Nutcracker" should be able to get those peanuts open for her. After I explained to her that he couldn't open the nuts because his enchantment had been broken and he was now a prince, she gave him a look of total disgust, but at least stopped trying to disfigure him.
Ahhhh. Good times with Lilli.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
My To Do list is a mile long...
...but here I sit on the computer listening to my Frente! channel on Pandora and doodling around the internet. It's pretty nice.
I got a full night's sleep last night and then some. It didn't stop me from feeling like the walking dead today though. I'm not as young as I used to be. All nighters just don't work out for me any more. I said it before, and I'll say it again, staying up all night just isn't any kind of fun unless its Black Friday. After Black Friday I still pay for my foolishness, but at least I have great deals and good stories to show for it. I'll be heading to bed soon!
Lilli had her 4 year check up today! I still can't believe that she's that old. She's super healthy and right on or ahead on all her developmental milestones. She is in the 50th percentile for weight and the 75th for height (41 inches tall). I guess her days of being a 99th by 99th percentile butter ball are over. She had to get her boosters today and she did great. Luckily they had the combined vaccines in stock, so she only needed two pokes instead of 4, and then a little finger poke. My poor baby. She was a trooper though. A few tears and a "Owwwwww. That really hurt!" There was new stuffed friend waiting for her at home, and he totally changed her sad face to a happy one.
Guess I'll go pack Elizabeth's lunch for school so I can cross one thing off my list.
But first I'll listen to a little more Frente! It bums me out that iTunes doesn't have it, but it keeps me listening to Pandora.
I got a full night's sleep last night and then some. It didn't stop me from feeling like the walking dead today though. I'm not as young as I used to be. All nighters just don't work out for me any more. I said it before, and I'll say it again, staying up all night just isn't any kind of fun unless its Black Friday. After Black Friday I still pay for my foolishness, but at least I have great deals and good stories to show for it. I'll be heading to bed soon!
Lilli had her 4 year check up today! I still can't believe that she's that old. She's super healthy and right on or ahead on all her developmental milestones. She is in the 50th percentile for weight and the 75th for height (41 inches tall). I guess her days of being a 99th by 99th percentile butter ball are over. She had to get her boosters today and she did great. Luckily they had the combined vaccines in stock, so she only needed two pokes instead of 4, and then a little finger poke. My poor baby. She was a trooper though. A few tears and a "Owwwwww. That really hurt!" There was new stuffed friend waiting for her at home, and he totally changed her sad face to a happy one.
Guess I'll go pack Elizabeth's lunch for school so I can cross one thing off my list.
But first I'll listen to a little more Frente! It bums me out that iTunes doesn't have it, but it keeps me listening to Pandora.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Still August
I may have taken a few days off for Anniversary celebrations, but August isn't over until midnight, and I can squeeze one more post in for the month.
Look what I made this morning!
Spaghetti and Meatball Cupcakes!
And when I say "this morning" I am not kidding. I was piping the "spaghetti" at 4 am. I won't go into the details of exactly why David and I didn't get any sleep last night. The nutshell version is that the storage option we were using for a bunch- a BIG bunch- of the stuff we have accumulated in the last 10 years suddenly became unavailable at 6 last night. It took us all night long making multiple car and Jeep trips to bring everything over here. Sadly I can't park in the garage any more. But I have big organizational plans for Labor Day weekend, so maybe by next week I'll be back there. Anyway, I couldn't let unexpectedly being up all night affect my plans for my friend L's birthday today, so there I was piping away at 4am on no sleep and with no arm strength for piping chilled frosting (to maintain the noodle shape better) thanks to lifting so many boxes.
To explain the cupcake thing, its a simple Devil's Food Cake recipe sized for 2 dozen cupcakes, topped with piped vanilla icing (straight out of a Betty Crocker can. My favorite!) to mimic spaghetti, a Ferrero Rocher candy standing in for the meatball, and slightly thinned strawberry jam standing in for the sauce.
They may look a little weird, but (admittedly tooting my own horn), they were pretty darn delicious.
Oh yeah. Why did I make my friend L "Spaghetti and Meatball" cupcakes? Simple. Because she's a girl who prefers savory things over sweet (although she does appreciate my cupcakes!), but cupcakes are what I do. So at least they look like they're savory. Also, I've discovered that I enjoy making foods that imitate other kinds of food. Last summer I made a sushi cake for one of my friends. Well, technically it was supposed to look like a giant piece of spicy tuna roll, and it even included green cookie dough "wasabi" and Hershey's syrup "soy sauce" for dipping.
Maybe I can develop some weird little baking niche.
Look what I made this morning!
Spaghetti and Meatball Cupcakes!
And when I say "this morning" I am not kidding. I was piping the "spaghetti" at 4 am. I won't go into the details of exactly why David and I didn't get any sleep last night. The nutshell version is that the storage option we were using for a bunch- a BIG bunch- of the stuff we have accumulated in the last 10 years suddenly became unavailable at 6 last night. It took us all night long making multiple car and Jeep trips to bring everything over here. Sadly I can't park in the garage any more. But I have big organizational plans for Labor Day weekend, so maybe by next week I'll be back there. Anyway, I couldn't let unexpectedly being up all night affect my plans for my friend L's birthday today, so there I was piping away at 4am on no sleep and with no arm strength for piping chilled frosting (to maintain the noodle shape better) thanks to lifting so many boxes.
To explain the cupcake thing, its a simple Devil's Food Cake recipe sized for 2 dozen cupcakes, topped with piped vanilla icing (straight out of a Betty Crocker can. My favorite!) to mimic spaghetti, a Ferrero Rocher candy standing in for the meatball, and slightly thinned strawberry jam standing in for the sauce.
They may look a little weird, but (admittedly tooting my own horn), they were pretty darn delicious.
Oh yeah. Why did I make my friend L "Spaghetti and Meatball" cupcakes? Simple. Because she's a girl who prefers savory things over sweet (although she does appreciate my cupcakes!), but cupcakes are what I do. So at least they look like they're savory. Also, I've discovered that I enjoy making foods that imitate other kinds of food. Last summer I made a sushi cake for one of my friends. Well, technically it was supposed to look like a giant piece of spicy tuna roll, and it even included green cookie dough "wasabi" and Hershey's syrup "soy sauce" for dipping.
Maybe I can develop some weird little baking niche.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
10, TEN, the big 1-0
Happy Anniversary to my gorgeous husband!
He is a wonderful husband to me and daddy to our girls, and I am very lucky!
So, in case we ever lose track of just how many years we've been married, we have this:
It was actually a wedding present from my mom, and each year we take a picture on our anniversary, and add it to the book along with some notes on where we're living and what we've been up to that year.
One thing I've noticed in this book is that my husband has been consistently photogenic for the last 10 years, and my appearance...varies.
It's a good thing he loves me flaws and all!
Anyway here's the last 10 years of August 25th
It's been a wonderful 10 years!
2 states, 2 apartments, 2 houses, 2 girls!
Not bad.
He is a wonderful husband to me and daddy to our girls, and I am very lucky!
So, in case we ever lose track of just how many years we've been married, we have this:
It was actually a wedding present from my mom, and each year we take a picture on our anniversary, and add it to the book along with some notes on where we're living and what we've been up to that year.
One thing I've noticed in this book is that my husband has been consistently photogenic for the last 10 years, and my appearance...varies.
It's a good thing he loves me flaws and all!
Anyway here's the last 10 years of August 25th
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005 (Elizabeth is in this one also. Any guess where she's hiding?)
2006 (5 year anniversary weekend on Captiva)
2007 (a month and a half after Lilli's birth)
2008
2009 (the first anniversary to be blogged about)
2010
Annnnnnnnd.......2011!
It's been a wonderful 10 years!
2 states, 2 apartments, 2 houses, 2 girls!
Not bad.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
For David
I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it again at some point, but I have at least one song, if not an entire playlist that I associate with almost every person that I have ever met.
In honor of our anniversary tomorrow, this one is David's.
Here are my disclaimers:
1) I'm not going to give you the liner notes (unless you're David), you'll have to guess if you're wondering which parts of the songs fit and which don't.
2) For the most part I just picked whichever video wasn't obscene and would let me embed it. I realize videos go up and down on You Tube a lot, so I've shown the titles so you can check out the songs on your own if the links break
3) I always encourage people to go buy the song if they like it. I own a copy of all of these.
Disclaimers are done, here is David's playlist!
Can I Have this Dance- High School Musical 3
Mario Kart Love Song- Sam Hart (posted this one before, but I like it)
Lollipop- Sophie Green
Chosen Family- Leona Naess (only the first 3 or so minutes of the below)
Don't Let Me Fall- Lenka
Hold Me- Jamie Grace (feat. Toby Mac)
The Heat- Anjulie
Paradise- Ana Serrano van der Laan
Arms- Christina Perri
You & I- Ingrid Michaelson
Baby- Zeep
(Just Like) Starting Over- John Lennon
Lucky- Jason Mraz (feat. Colbie Caillat)- I recommend watching the official video, but the official video won't let you embed it. grumble.
The End of the World- Lenka (one note on this video, I picked the Sims version because I was entertained. Feel free to head to You Tube and pick a different one)
There. Those are some songs that make me think of my honey.
Ten years!!!!
In honor of our anniversary tomorrow, this one is David's.
Here are my disclaimers:
1) I'm not going to give you the liner notes (unless you're David), you'll have to guess if you're wondering which parts of the songs fit and which don't.
2) For the most part I just picked whichever video wasn't obscene and would let me embed it. I realize videos go up and down on You Tube a lot, so I've shown the titles so you can check out the songs on your own if the links break
3) I always encourage people to go buy the song if they like it. I own a copy of all of these.
Disclaimers are done, here is David's playlist!
Can I Have this Dance- High School Musical 3
Mario Kart Love Song- Sam Hart (posted this one before, but I like it)
Lollipop- Sophie Green
Chosen Family- Leona Naess (only the first 3 or so minutes of the below)
Don't Let Me Fall- Lenka
Hold Me- Jamie Grace (feat. Toby Mac)
The Heat- Anjulie
Paradise- Ana Serrano van der Laan
Arms- Christina Perri
You & I- Ingrid Michaelson
Baby- Zeep
(Just Like) Starting Over- John Lennon
Lucky- Jason Mraz (feat. Colbie Caillat)- I recommend watching the official video, but the official video won't let you embed it. grumble.
The End of the World- Lenka (one note on this video, I picked the Sims version because I was entertained. Feel free to head to You Tube and pick a different one)
There. Those are some songs that make me think of my honey.
Ten years!!!!
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