an answer

So while reading this post by the blogger mentioned below, Stephanie Nielson*, I came upon a wonderful quote from Julie Beck:

Mothers who know do less. They permit less of what will not bear good fruit eternally. They allow less media in their homes, less distraction, less activity that draws their children away from their home. Mothers who know are willing to live on less and consume less of the world’s goods in order to spend more time with their children—more time eating together, more time working together, more time reading together, more time talking, laughing, singing, and exemplifying. These mothers choose carefully and do not try to choose it all. Their goal is to prepare a rising generation of children who will take the gospel of Jesus Christ into the entire world. Their goal is to prepare future fathers and mothers who will be builders of the Lord’s kingdom for the next 50 years. That is influence; that is power.

After making 3 trips to Target in as many days (not out of greed but disorganization), I am ready to do less shopping. Super Q's birthday is today and I'm ready for less drama and fewer meltdowns (please let 6 be the magic age for evening-out emotions). I'm ready for less stress, now that everyone's recovering from the hurricane, and I'm ready for less time inside and more time outside as fall makes its feeble-at-first entry into Houston.

*BTW, Stephanie Nielson is a blogger/mom who was severely injured in a plane crash last month. You can follow her story at: http://blog.cjanerun.com/.
There is also an etsy shop hosting a benefit sale for the Nielsons' recovery here.

enjoy the journey, live in the moment, carpe diem, etc.

Our friend Hannah's birthday is tomorrow; she would be turning 6. Thursday marks 1 year that she's been gone. The boys painted some rocks with very bright and sparkly paint; we plan to take them to Hannah's gravesite tomorrow. She was a big fan of colorful, sparkly makeup and "click-clack shoes" with gems and feathers on them. I think she'll like these rocks.

Hannah's been on my mind lately, along with Stephanie Nielson a person I have not met but who is included in my prayers. The delicate, inevitable mutability of life weighs heavy on my mind. I've been thinking about how to connect with my kids more meaningfully and more often. It sounds like a no-brainer, but sometimes it's difficult to choose between finishing the dishes and sitting down to play Legos. Not that I love doing dishes (quite the opposite), it's just that I know that playing Legos will only mean more dirty dishes later and a more tired Mommy to do them. So many religious and philosophical traditions emphasize living in the moment, soaking up everything happening right now. How do you do it and still keep your house clean? How do you do it when your kids are literally punching the wind out of each other instead of helping you make a homemade apple pie? How do you appreciate the magic of the 5-year-old mind when that same 5-year-old routinely melts down in the angriest, most irritatingly dramatic way possible? These are not rhetorical questions.

youtube epiphany

I'm not a huge YouTube person (lots of garbage to be found there) but it has its uses, such as my favorite hymn of all time sung by Sufjan Stevens. I need to just go ahead and buy or download every religious song this man sings because I could use more beautiful epiphanies in my life. I'm nervous about embedding the video (I'm pretty sure it will end up in my profile or somewhere) so here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqKwSffyr2k

Oh, and the hymn is "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing." The words are lovely and wonderful so I will share them here.

1. Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
 tune my heart to sing thy grace;
 streams of mercy, never ceasing,
 call for songs of loudest praise.
 Teach me some melodious sonnet,
 sung by flaming tongues above.
 Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
 mount of thy redeeming love.

2. Here I raise mine *Ebenezer;
 hither by thy help I'm come;
 and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
 safely to arrive at home.
 Jesus sought me when a stranger,
 wandering from the fold of God;
 he, to rescue me from danger,
 interposed his precious blood.

3. O to grace how great a debtor
 daily I'm constrained to be!
 Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
 bind my wandering heart to thee.
 Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
 prone to leave the God I love;
 here's my heart, O take and seal it,
 seal it for thy courts above.

* For an eloquent explanation of what Ebenezer means, click here.  My church's hymnal omits
verse 2, which is a shame because the phrase about Jesus's blood rescuing us from danger
(of all sorts) is striking and true.

emptiest Target ever

This is what a hurricane can do to your neighborhood Target. Empty the refrigerator shelves of everything but the VELVEETA (shown on the bottom shelf of the middle cabinet). You'd better pray such a fate never befalls you.

hurricane vacation

Today Super Q was asking if summer is over, a question that is always tricky to answer in Houston, because although summer vacation is over, the weather stays summery until after Halloween. And now we have a whole week off of school and unseasonably cool weather. I told him, "Well, summer vacation is over but it's still kind of hot. So we had school for awhile, and now we have hurricane vacation." That seemed to satisfy him. The weather has been amazing; truly a blessing for those still without power. 60 degrees at night! Unheard of in September, but literally a lifesaver for many people here.

We've been spending lots of time at the park and riding bikes "out front." I know we'll have to make up this time in the summer, but it has been so nice to be outside, burning some energy and chatting with friends. I'm also enjoying some at-home time to clean out closets and do some deep cleaning. (I don't want to drive anywhere and use gas. dh has a 20 mile commute and neither of us want to wait in line for 2 hours to fill up the tank.) I wish I could drive in and help in a meaningful way at a shelter or a distribution station, but I've got 2 kids (and 3 of the neighbor's) to take care of, so that will have to be my contribution for now.

we made it through

Hi, I'm writing this from my sister's house north of Austin. We did stay in Houston for the storm and lost power at about 3 am as the hurricane force winds hit us. By some amazing stroke of luck, we did get some sleep that night. The wind was howling but I didn't hear or see any large pieces of debris flying around. We got up, deboarded the house, and after hearing that power would be restored between 3 days and 4 weeks, we packed up and went to my sister's house. At that point the freeways were pretty clear, although we drove for more than 2 hours before getting to an area where everyone had power. 30 minutes from my sister's house I got a text message that our power was back on. dh's office doesn't have power, however, and the boys don't have school until Thursday, so we're staying another night here. It sounds like there are gas stations and grocery stores open near our house so we should be ok. I have to say that many people are going through terrible trauma right now. Please remember them in your thoughts and/or prayers. I feel like it was a near-miss for us and I hope to head back and help in whatever way I can. Thanks for your supportive comments and emails. This whole thing is surreal to me. Places I know and love are not there anymore. I don't know the status of the library where I work. It is just unreal to think that such a large city is practically at a standstill. My heart aches for those who chose not to follow the mandatory evacuation order. We've had so many storms almost hit us that they must have assumed this one would change course or not inflict very much damage. This is a sad time for a city I have grown to love.

outside in

Instead of plywood, we've opted for a tarp and 2 x 4 system. Not sure if it's going to do any good, but it gives our house a special under-the-sea kind of feeling.


Part of our hurricane preparation has been to move everything that was once in the backyard inside. It's like a garden party all the time! If we lose power, it will be like a backyard BBQ all the time, even to cook oatmeal.

to-do lists

Previous to-do list for today:

exercise
clean out closets
prime kitchen for painting

New to-do list:

buy ice, more canned food, paper plates, batteries
move all furniture and toys out of back yard
put plywood up on some windows
double check 72-hour kit
prepare mentally so I don't freak out and scare the kids

We've decided to stay here and "hunker down." This storm looks pretty scary, but I feel ok about staying. If we lose power for a long time, maybe we'll head west to my sister's house near Austin. For now, there is no evacuation order in place.

what we did after school

Today I decided I would try to be more fun, a Fun Mommy. So after school we had cookies and milk for our snack before sitting down to do homework and then chores. Super Q was supposed to trace some words, so I got him all set up using the window as a light box and taped his homework up there (isn't that creative and fun?). He had to sit on the top of a chair to reach. He promptly had about 14 fits about being tired/bored/"frust-a-rated". Flash was up and down from the table, overflowing with energy after a long bus ride. Fun Mommy was promising bike riding and roasting hotdogs over the grill if homework and chores could just GET DONE! While Fun Mommy was looking in the garage for hotdog skewers, Fun Mommy heard a sickening sound which sounded like a large glass bowl breaking. Unfortunately, it wasn't a glass bowl but a window. Super Q had finished his homework but the chair he was sitting on was still in front of the window. It is physically impossible for Flash to walk past a chair without doing some sort of snowboarding trick on it. This particular trick caused the chair to tip back and smash the window. Luckily nobody got cut. We talked calmly about how we were each 50% responsible for the window, me for moving the chair there, Flash for getting up from his homework and doing the snowboarding trick. At this point, though, scouts started in 40 minutes, dinner wasn't made, and Fun Mommy had tons of glass to clean up and a window to cover with plastic. Needless to say, Fun Mommy departed and made no further appearances tonight. Now Incredibly Annoyed Daddy is trying to fix the window in the other room.

what do you do to remember?

Thinking about Ike took up so much of my brain space that I forgot why I was sitting down at the computer in the first place. I wanted to ask what everyone does to remember September 11. This year I'm putting up a flag out front with yellow ribbons, I think. I usually talk to the boys in general terms about what happened that day. I'm sure I'll spend some time wondering about the military actions prompted by that day. I'll give thanks that we haven't had a day like that since then.

There are numerous memorial sites to visit online. I like this one -- http://www.legacy.com/Sept11/Home.aspx -- because it shows profiles and photos of the victims. For me, that was the most difficult thing about September 2001: hearing the individual stories. Yet those stories are the impetus for my annual remembering. That day was horribly sad for our nation. The families of those who perished have had many horribly sad days since then. That's why I take the time to remember.

we don't like ike

If you look way, way down near the bottom of the page, there is a little Hurricane Ike tracking widget. If Ike stays on his current track, he will hit Houston. The track Ike takes will be directly related to how many posts I will write in the next week.

pure illusion

Did you see this movie? (Marie Antoinette, with Kirsten Dunst). It was kind of fun to watch, albeit with about 8 more musical montages than I wanted. Beautiful costumes and sets, though. A book I'm reading, The Dirt on Clean, shines a harsh light on history and reveals Marie and her contemporaries (not to mention generations of people before her) as stinky, dirty piglets. Under the opulence there was apparently a thick layer of grime everywhere. I always chalked it up to ignorance about germs and everything, but according to the book, after the Plague everyone wanted their pores nice and clogged to keep out disease. Clear water was a health hazard. In fact, women would add powder to their bath water to keep it from cleaning their pores too well. Wearing linen undergarments took the place of bathing. The author writes of one person who wore an undergarment so long without changing that when he finally went to remove it, some of his skin came off with it. If you are putting off housework like I am right now, consider this:
"Shortly before Louis XIV died in 1716, a new ordinance decreed that feces left in the corridors of Versailles would be removed once a week." The Hot Wheels all over the house suddenly seem totally acceptable.

I'm ... free?

It's our traditional back-to-school picture, taken in the morning before school. Except this time there are two little boys getting ready in the morning. And so this time we were running for the bus and therefore missed the opportunity for a photo in front of the front door, hair still damp and brushed, smiling faces, backpacks on. So we had to take a photo after school, amid loud protests and, somehow, in all of that complaining nobody remembered to put their shoes on. Dang it! Oh well, in 20 years no one will know that we faked the picture.

Anyway, now I'm a free-wheelin' Mom with time on my hands, sort of. I've actually been helping in Super Q's classroom every day because, well, I feel really bad for his teacher, who has about 10 certified banshees in her class. In the past 2 days I have retrieved a safety pin (open) from a child's mouth, caught a child perched on the top of a chair grabbing at something hanging from the ceiling, and walked the entire class to P.E. with only the faintest idea of where P.E. is held. So the sting of being alone all day hasn't really set in. I'm enjoying it so far, because after 4 hours of kindergarten madness, I'm about ready for my book and my Coke Zero.

back to school projects

This is a reusable plastic pouch about the size of a Ziploc sandwich bag. The material is fused shopping bags (tutorial here). It's kind of hard to see the stitching, but I just zigzagged around it. Once I make it to the store to buy sew-on Velcro, it'll be good to go! I'm going to make 3 more and use them for baby carrots, grapes, goldfish, etc. for lunches. I'm enough of a cheapskate and a sometime environmentalist that it just kills me to think of the money I'm spending each month on silly plastic bags. I fully expect to turn into my Nana one day, washing waxed paper and foil and saving it in little piles under the sink.


These are for my newest nephew. I found the animal silhouettes here.



And last are the fruits of our annual back-to-school freezer paper T-shirt party. This year we used the church cultural hall instead of my living room to reduce the chances of fabric paint on the carpet and/or a stressed-out me. We accomplished one of those goals.

I was tagged by pancakes gone awry, and it's a good thing because I wanted to post but could not think of anything interesting to say. We've been cooped up in the house because of the rain and, no, I did not use that opportunity to make anything crafty or redecorate anything. Quite the opposite... we've been watching movies and playing xbox like nobody's business. I also made about 10 billion meatballs using a recipe from Fix, Freeze, Feast. Anyway, on to the tag:

Here are the Rules:
1. Link the person who tagged you.

2. Mention the rules on your blog.

3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks you possess.

4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.

5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.


I love that you can talk about "unspectacular" quirks, because that's the only kind I've got.

The first one is a system that I follow in my head with regard to food. I think of it as "calorie credits", sort of like carbon credits only involving peanut m & ms and Havarti cheese instead of energy use and emissions. It's not an earth-shattering concept, but basically if I know there is, say, a freshly baked delicious butter cake on the counter then I will eat celery, string cheese, and Triscuits for dinner instead of whatever I made for the kids in order to offset the large piece of cake that I will surely be enjoying later. It's probably a pathology almost worthy of inclusion in the DSM IV, but whatever.

On to the next bit of weirdness! I hate the unabashed celebrity worship that goes on in our country but I have a morbid and embarrassing habit of watching TMZ with dh. There is a sick symbiosis between obnoxious celebrities and paparazzi (both of whom rely heavily on the other for job security) that I can't take my eyes off. I don't even know who about half the famous people are, but the bread and circus aspect is fascinating, to say nothing of the bizarre outfits and overlarge sunglasses.

I drink herb tea every night, sometimes with a piece of delicious cake as mentioned above, or just alone. Yes, even in the summer.

I don't drive on high freeway overpasses. This one for sure is in the DSM IV, under "acrophobia."

I hate it when people tell me about their dreams. The kids don't know this about me. Suffice to say that many a breakfast has occurred with long, detailed dream accounts with me nodding and gritting my teeth.

I also hate it when there is loud birthday singing in restaurants. Especially when that singing is directed at me and an old sombrero likely crawling with vermin is placed atop my head.

That's six! I hereby tag

round tuit
artistree
the scoop
lost and found
crying over spilt milk
dille family

indulging myself here

I've been thinking a lot about my Nana P. lately, who is 92 and pretty frail just now. Everyone who knows her is convinced she is a bona fide saint, even though we don't really have saints in our faith. Anyway, this little story makes me think of her and I just wanted to post it, mainly for my own future reference.

Mother’s Christmas Mouse

By Betty LeBaron Mostert

Betty LeBaron Mostert, “Mother’s Christmas Mouse,” Ensign, Dec. 2007, 62

When I was a child in the 1950s and 1960s, our Christmas traditions were not elaborate—except for the stockings. Because we children enjoyed our Christmas stockings so much, we continued the tradition when we married and had children of our own. Buying surprises and assembling dozens of Christmas stockings, however, soon became too much for my aging parents, especially my mother, who had a serious case of rheumatoid arthritis that limited her mobility and energy.

Eventually, I volunteered to take over the project. Our annual extended family home evening, in which we acted out the Christmas story and opened our stockings, found me exhausted from the demands of being the mother of several small children and juggling the events of an active life. As I watched everyone dump treasures out of the gingham Christmas stockings I had carefully prepared, I was feeling a little sorry for myself.

As expected, my stocking was empty except for the standard candy cane and Japanese orange that I had placed there earlier. But as I shook them out, I noticed a little bedraggled mouse made of a walnut and hazelnuts. One ear was much bigger than the other, and the whiskers were crooked. The tail had been cut too short, and the loop to hang it on the tree was off center. I was confused. Had someone’s kindergarten project ended up in my stocking?

I looked up and saw my mother watching me from her wheelchair across the room. With a gnarled, bent finger, she beckoned to me.

“I wanted to do something for the Christmas stockings,” she said. “They made these little mice in Relief Society, and they were so cute.”

Her tears were close to the surface, and her gentle voice shook as she continued.

“I couldn’t get my fingers to work, so I made only one. It didn’t turn out, but I knew you wouldn’t mind.”

I looked again at the little mouse in my hand. She was right. I didn’t mind. In fact, her little bedraggled mouse became the most precious treasure of all that Christmas.

For more than 20 years, I have tenderly removed the tissue paper from the misshapen mouse crafted by misshapen fingers and carefully placed it on a branch. My angel mother has been free of her crippled body for several years, but her Christmas mouse reminds me of two profound truths.

The first is that my mother honored me by believing that I could look past the mouse’s crooked ears and feel the love and sacrifice that went into its creation. The second is that if I, as an imperfect mortal, am capable of finding beauty in a humble little mouse, how much more is our Father in Heaven capable of seeing past our imperfect efforts and understanding our pure intentions.

I know that when we do our best to give to others and to Him, our gift is not just good enough—it is of incalculable worth.

black bean salsa

This is what I've been eating constantly since I made a big batch of it 2 days ago. It turned out so tasty and colorful that I had to pass it on (and take a blurry picture of it!) Big thanks to my friend Meredith who gave me the recipe.

Southwestern Salsa with Black Beans & Corn

1 ½ teaspoons cumin seeds
2 cans black beans, rinsed & drained ((15 oz. each)
1 can whole kernel corn, drained (15 ¼ oz.)
1 red pepper, minced
1 small purple onion, minced (1 cup)
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
½ cup lime juice
¼ cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
½ teaspoon black pepper

Toast cumin seeds in a skillet over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or until brown and fragrant, stirring often.

Combine cumin seeds, black beans, and remaining ingredients; toss well.

Cover and store in refrigerator up to 1 week.

Yields: 6 cups (lots!)

stay away, Edouard!

So here's what all eyes in Houston are glued to: the track of Edouard, which is not yet a hurricane but apparently could become one. I spent the day doing all of the things that have to be done and require electricity (mainly washing clothes), gassing up the car, finding all the flashlights, etc. We just moved all the lawn furniture to the side of the house. There are gray clouds moving in a just a weird feeling in the air. We're prepared, though, so no worries. Just another "hurricane memory," as the kids like to call them. The last one was on Super Q's birthday, and we actually went to the park and almost blew away.

summer lovin'

The title of this post might suggest some kind of torrid romantic tryst in a tropical location, but... (surprise!) it involves books, food, and other stuff that I'm currently lovin'.





1. Any and all orange-type teas from Celestial Seasonings. I know, tea in summer in Texas? My rationale behind it is two-fold. First, dh must turn on all fans, ceiling and otherwise, every night, in addition to using the a/c. Brrrrrr. Also, I just finished reading the Ladies #1 Detective Agency series, the events in which seem to occur in between the brewing and drinking of something called "bush tea." Food in books always produces acute cravings for me (reading Chang Rae Lee was difficult, as I'm not much of a korean cook).

2. Now on to books. I borrowed Ladies #1 Detective Agency from my mom, thinking from the title that it would be some vaguely Miss Marpleish detective novel involving country tweeds, aging nobility, and possibly cats. I was pleasantly surprised that it takes place in Africa, is quite funny, not at all gory, and has 6 sequels!


Not to imply that I don't enjoy books set in England; I most fervently do. I just finished The Ladies of Grace Adieu. I had to include the cover photo because it is so pretty. I love morning glories. The book is full of beautiful art nouveau illustrations and design. I tried to read Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell but it was almost too rich, like a chocolate cake with very heavy, sugary frosting. Just too much. The Ladies of Grace Adieu lets the reader sample the wonderful imagination and style of Susanna Clarke without the sugar rush.

3. Speaking of a chocolate cake sugar rush, chocolate cupcakes have been all the rage here. And no, not homemade, strictly from a box because a friend recently gave me two very large boxes of industrial cake mix (not a joke--each box makes 8 rounds). The cake is sort of sub-par, but the mix is not the normal kind -- you only use water, no eggs or oil--so I'm not sure how to doctor it. Any suggestions for a filling or some kind of alteration to make this cake mix magically delicious?


4. Shins, shins, and more shins. Probably brought on by this lil' hedgehog, now appearing on a t-shirt of mine, thanks to Linz. Just can't get enough of the odd and wonderful lyrics and Beach Boy harmony! Also the Decemberists. I have to mention here that many fantastic bands are yours to discover at Screamer Radio, a little application that lets you stream (and record) some really nice internet radio. It's organized by genre, and I recommend Radio Paradise and Soma FM.

it's a dumpling bee!

So in China, women get together around big holidays and make dumplings by the hundreds. It's like a quilting bee, with lots of whispering and stories about troublesome children and laughing. Here's my favorite recipe. It looks more time consuming than it really is, and best of all, you can freeze them (before cooking) and cook them from frozen for a quick dinner.

Jiao zi (Chinese dumplings)

* Filling:

1 cup shredded Napa cabbage
1 tsp salt
----------------------
1 lb ground pork, or combination of ground pork and beef
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1/4 tsp pepper
2 T soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder (opt)

* 1-2 pkg chinese dumpling wrappers (you can also buy wonton wrappers and use a large round cookie cutter to cut circles)

*Dip:
equal parts soy sauce and vinegar
sesame oil



Sprinkle 1 tsp salt over shredded cabbage. Let it sit for at least 5 minutes. Take it in handfuls and squeeze out the excess water. Mix the squeezed cabbage with remaining ingredients by hand or in a food processor. Be sure to mix it well so the meat absorbs the other flavors.

To assemble: Place one tablespoon of filling in the middle of a wrapper. Moisten the perimeter of 1/2 of the wrapper with your finger (dipped in a small bowl of water). Fold and pinch at the mid-point. Make 2 pleats on both sides of this mid-point. Pinch. Repeat with the other half. There are some photos of how to do this here: http://chowtimes.com/2006/08/12/jiaozi-chinese-dumpling/

To cook:

Boiling method: Boil water or broth in a saucepan or stockpot. Add 8-10 dumplings. When they float up to the top, boil them for 1 more minute, then remove.

Potsticker method (frying/steaming): Heat 2 T oil in a skillet until hot. Turn heat to medium. Arrange dumplings into rows in the skillet, with sides touching. Fry until bottom turns crusty. Pour in 1/2 cup water. cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 6 minutes. Put a large plate on top of the skillet and turn the skillet upside down onto the plate to serve.

sleeping is for sissies

Bertram Russell once said,"Men who are unhappy, like men who sleep badly, are always proud of the fact." Unfortunately, I think this is true, at least among insomniacs. A room full of insomniacs is just as bad as moms at a baby shower: "You think that's bad? I was in labor for 18 hours! And then they used forceps!" It is in that spirit that I share the following: The night before last I slept for 1 hour and 30 minutes. And, no, I do not have a newborn. No, I wasn't about to take the LSAT. I was on an antibiotic, of all things, for a sinus infection. It was terribly potent and caused all sorts of gastronomic distress, numbness in the extremities, dizziness, and what can only be called sleep resistance. Every time I was near sleep I had that little body quake, the mechanism meant to keep you awake during something important like night driving or watching a neighbor's wedding video. I tried everything our bathroom pharmacopoeia had to offer, I read a boring text book, I counted backward from 100, I got on the internet (and, incidentally, found this amazing site about an old mental hospital in New York), I drank tea, and then I just stayed in bed for hours, simultaneously envying and getting irritated with dh, snoring blissfully by my side. Around 5 am it became a reverse psychology game with me. I was going to make myself stay awake until dh's alarm went off at 5:45, and would thus fake myself into falling asleep. My brain saw through this clever plan of its own design and I finally fell asleep at 6:00. At 7:30 the kids were up and dh was off on a business trip. But here's the thing: I survived! My kids knew I was really tired but I was still a relatively happy mommy. It's a major accomplishment for me because I have had frequent bouts of insomnia since I was 9 and I think it contributes to frequent bouts of pessimism. No small part of the credit here goes to Coke Zero and some tasty chocolate.

solar-powered clothes dryer

So ever since gas prices started skyrocketing, hanging out laundry is all the rage in our neighborhood. I love the fact that it takes about 20 minutes for a load of towels to dry. dh doesn't love the idea of a clothesline (thinks it's "trashy"--we won't mention the Mountain Dew and Twizzlers habit here) so I don't leave it up all the time. I looked in Flash's cubscout book and found a knot that unties easily so I can use my super secret clothesline at will.

overnight shenanigens

Guess what happens when you put palmolive liquid soap in the dishwasher? dh did and at 2:00 am, he and his brother-in-law (pictured above), up late writing code, found themselves mopping up the kitchen with bath towels. I woke up to a positively *sparkling* kitchen floor.

free time.... hmm.....

I guess I've had free time lately, because I'm a posting maniac this week. I just wanted to pass on this recipe from my favorite portly ex-boxer/ grill engineer/ cookbook author, George Foreman. I do love his little grill. I read in Newsweek that red meat cooked at high heats can increase the consumer's cancer risk. Here, then, is a ground turkey burger recipe that everyone in my family really likes:

1 lb lean ground turkey
6 oz lowfat Swiss or Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 egg white
1 T Dijon mustard
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp seasoned salt
4 onion rolls or hamburger buns

Combine all ingredients (except buns, of course) in a medium bowl. Shape into patties. Spray with Pam. Grill.

You can also omit the shredded cheese and form the patties around a little lump of blue cheese. Very tasty.

One more idea for the George Foreman grill:

Split focaccia rolls in half, layer meat, cheese, roasted red peppers, fresh spinach, etc, and use the grill as a panini press. Tasty goods.

wacky english

Just a random sampling of wacky english. Our anniversary's on Tuesday and we celebrated with a trip to Chinatown (not quite the same as last year's trip to the actual China, but tasty fun nonetheless). Here are some of the sights we saw:


1. This is a bubble tea shop. Bubble tea is a tasty fruit shake kind of thing with huge black tapioca pearls in the bottom (not necessarily made with tea). What, then, is a "dunobaby?"



2. Please, no "pop pop."




3. It may seem to be a package of white pepper, but it's so much more than that.



For more happy english fun, please to visit engrish.com

what we did on summer vacation

Last weekend we took a trip to the Texas Coast with the author of Round Tuit and her family after a day at the Cockrell Butterfly Center, where the above picture was taken. As always, we really loved it, and as always, I was freaked out by the giant millipedes (live, yes, they're live) that they also have. Ewwwww!

The beach was awesome... so awesome that we stayed much longer than was wise, and despite many applications of sunscreen, we all got BAKED. (Wait, is baked a euphemism for stoned? I can't remember, anyway, we got really sunburned.) Poor dh got no real beach time; by the time he arrived we were scared of the sun and literally going from shady spot to shady spot under an umbrella.

We had a memorable dinner in a theme-y restaurant with many pirate mannequins (one of them danced) and shark stuff all over, etc. Then a trip to a marine research center where we got to pet some dead animals (a tiny shark, some fish, an eel) and some live ones (a sea cucumber -- GROSS! -- and a sea urchin). I think we all had a great time. We picked up some souvenirs, including a huge sand dollar that I suspect came from a different coast, but it's pretty. We also brought home the lacy, delicate designs of peeling sunburns on our backs. Flash's looks like a butterfly. Mine just looks creepy; the other day dh said, "You're MOULTING!" Nice.

since you asked...

Patty O. requested a favorite meatless recipe, so here ya go!

Four-Veggie Roast (from Martha Stewart, slightly altered)

2 large carrots
1 1/2 cups fresh green beans (6 oz)
5-6 small new potatoes, halved (8 oz) or 8 oz of Yukon gold or red potatoes, cubed*
1 small onion
1 T olive oil
2 tsp soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp grated ginger
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Coarse salt (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Thoroughly wash vegetables.

Peel and cut carrots into slices almost 1/2 inch thick. Snip

the tiny ends off green beans, and snap them into pieces

about 2 inches long. Peel onion; cut into wedges. In a

square or 9 x 13" metal baking pan, combine olive oil, soy

sauce, garlic, and ginger. Add all the vegetables. Stir

gently to coat with seasonings. Sprinkle with pepper and

salt, if desired. Roast the vegetables, uncovered, for 20-25

minutes or until just tender, stirring vegetables once or

twice with a long-handled wooden spoon. Test vegetables with

a fork to check doneness.

Serves 3-4

*Sweet potatoes can also be used.

something fishy... er, chickeny

When I saw labels on Tyson chicken claiming "no antibiotics," I was skeptical. Turns out I'm not the only one; they've been ordered to remove that claim from their label and advertising. This whole antibiotics/hormones thing freaks me out from time to time. I've been trying to cook with less meat, as the Chinese do. Rarely does a Chinese cook prepare a big slab of meat, unless it's a whole fish. I try to limit the amount of meat I use in a meal to 2 chicken breasts (or equivalent) and then fill the rest out with veggies and grains. No complaints so far, even from my Michigander dh who literally grew up on steak and potatoes every night.

marooned

Last night I watched part of this Frontline episode, titled Storm Over Everest. It's the story of a doomed expedition that encountered a storm on Everest on May 10th and 11th, 1996. I think around 10 people died, all told. One person was Rob Hall, an experienced climber and guide who stayed up there trying to help another climber. Because of the high winds and the unbelievable cold (minus 100 degrees windchill at night) no one was able to rescue him. Incredibly, he was lucid and his radio worked almost until the end of his life. He was able to speak to his wife through the radio via a satellite phone at base camp and basically say goodbye.

I can't stop thinking about it. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I have this tiny obsession with the idea of a person being stuck, marooned, out there somewhere. Like on a snowy, impossibly tall mountain, in a bog, on the top of a burning skyscraper or under the rubble in the aftermath of an earthquake. And I wonder, is technology a blessing or a curse in that situation? If one is truly marooned, unable to be helped or help themselves, does a last conversation or answering machine message bring a measure of peace? Do the people they leave behind find comfort in that last conversation?

I guess this line of thinking originally started when I found out about the earthquake in Chengdu, China. Chengdu is a city we visited last summer, one of our favorites. Incidentally, it is considered the "gateway to Tibet" for many people, so I guess that's the Everest tie-in. Anyway, I have really tried to limit my news intake regarding this horrible tragedy, knowing it would be very upsetting. I did hear coverage from NPR about a middle school that collapsed and I stood there staring at the radio for a long time. Chengdu is an amazing city. Some of the nicest people we met on our trip live there.

because you need more ways to waste time online

Ok, I am officially a 7-year old. Let me introduce you to a site that was first an "educational" place for my kids to have some computer time without coming across something scary. You make your own snowflake! And you don't make a mess! What could be better?
It soon became one of those irresistible kid activities, like Play-doh and sidewalk chalk where I get more into it than my kids and they have to beg me to stop. Don't forget to check out the gallery where you can see some amazing snowflakes most certainly crafted by adults who are shirking other duties.

the neighbors

So we have these neighbors with kids the same ages as ours and we've recently discovered the joys of riding bikes in the street. Dh doesn't really approve of this but I think it's ok as long as the boys heed my frequent and loud bellow, "CAR!!" whenever one is approaching. Usually it's all fine and good and the neighbor mom and I sit around and talk about stuff that moms who aren't very good friends talk about, like
1. kids
2. recipes
3. things on sale
4. cleaning

Which usually causes me to reflect on the lameness of my life.
Anyway, when the neighbor mom isn't home, sometimes the neighbor dad brings the kids out to ride. And we don't sit together and talk about stuff because that would be Incredibly Awkward. But he does let his very small children roam about my yard (no problem), dink around with tools in the garage (a bit of a problem), and drink my Coke Zero when I'm not looking (BIG PROBLEM). I try to just smile and do the gentle kind of reminder but not exactly discipline move that one must do when a child is being ridiculous in front of their parent but not reprimanded by that parent.
The thing about this situation is that the neighbor kids have an extremely overdeveloped sense of hearing and whenever our garage door opens, they fly to the front window and start screaming my kids' names. And also ask many many questions, such as, "Where are you going?" "Why?" And, always a favorite, "Can we come?" After 10 minutes of getting teeth/hair brushed, shoes on, ipods and books stowed, snacks packed, etc., the very last thing I feel like doing is answering these questions and then prying my children away from their window and into the car. I actually really like the neighbor mom; we can hang out in pajamas while we wait for the bus and she doesn't seem to notice that all I could find was church shoes and I haven't washed my face. (Although one time she did refer to making your bed each day as something "good people" do. I guess I'm a good person 1 day a week.)

three blue skirts

I don't know how long I've had this skirt pattern (Simplicity 5844); long enough for it to be found only on eBay. I've made it 4 or 5 times, and I just realized that the last 3 skirts were blue. I thought I'd put up a picture... The next one will be red.

8 lightning fast breakfast ideas

Maybe you're the type of person who rises, glowing, from your Downy-scented feather bed, ready to greet the glorious morn. I am more inclined to give the glorious morn a half-nod as I reach for the Diet Coke and flip on NPR. As I've written before, I loathe most breakfast food. I'm not really hungry until 10 am anyway and therefore not very sympathetic to the widely varying tastes of my family when it comes to breakfast. If I could feel good about serving cereal every day, I would definitely do it, but--as the dusty box of Kix in the pantry will attest--my kids will only really eat cereal of the high fructose corn syrup-drenched variety. Anyway, I was talking with my mom over the weekend about breakfast (she used to feed 8 people every morning, she's an expert!) and we came up with some great ideas...

* yogurt/granola/frozen blueberry parfaits
* refrigerator bran muffins (recipe here)
* boiled eggs (boil a dozen at the beginning of the week, peel what you need each morning, mash with butter and salt+pepper, heat up in microwave)
* egg mc muffin type thing on toast or whole grain english muffins
* breakfast tacos (scramble a dozen eggs, portion onto tortillas, add ham, grated cheese,and frozen spinach leaves. Freeze, heat up as needed)
* smoothies
* Please don't try the following sausage biscuits. They don't turn out well.
sausage biscuits (For these, I buy those cheap tubes of refrigerated biscuit dough and Banquet brown n' serve sausage patties. Pinch each biscuit dough portion in half. Place one half in the bottom of a greased muffin tin. Place 1 sausage patty in top. Put other half of biscuit dough portion on top. Bake at 400 for 12 minutes. Freeze and heat in microwave as needed. You can make 32 of these biscuits for about $6.00.)
* breakfast skillet (Microwave 1-2 cups of frozen hashbrowns and 1 cup of spinach. Heat some olive oil in a skillet. Add hashbrowns, spinach, and some fully cooked bacon or ham to skillet. Brown for about 4 minutes. Add 4-6 beaten eggs or 1 1/2 cups egg substitute. Scramble. Top with cheese if desired. Serve with salsa.)
* apple crisp w/ vanilla yogurt (or even vanilla ice cream!)

(Yes, we do love spinach at my house, even in the morning.)

p.s. the photo is of a Full English Breakfast. Read the wikipedia entry about it here. It's pretty interesting and only a little gross.

little pouch and washcloth

The general idea for this little gifty is from Bend the Rules Sewing. If you're reading this, Mindy, I guess it's not a surprise anymore...

the poor (or just cheap) gal's periodical

I was just craving some Adam Gopnik books or articles tonight when I remembered that such articles are practically on tap at our library website via the online databases. If you haven't drilled down into your library's website, I highly recommend that you do. If your library system subscribes to online databases, they probably also allow remote access to them. I chose "Academic Search Complete," which includes the New Yorker, typed in "Gopnik, Adam," and printed out 4 long articles to read in the bath. Such happy news for a non-fiction junkie. Best part: if you drop the pages in the water, it's OK!

skip this post if you hate minutiae

Queen Scarlett tagged me, and I actually have time to respond!

10 Years Ago...
I was living in Provo, UT, working in the Financial Aid Office (sooooo boring). Newlywed, quite poor, happy.

5 Things on my To-Do list today...
* finish laundry
* find campground for trip next week
* pay bills
* make breakfast cookies if I feel like it
* carpool
(it doesn't get more exciting than that!)

Snacks I enjoy...
* peanut M & M's
* chocolate cherry diet Coke from Sonic
* rosemary/olive oil triscuits
* kiwi
* swiss cheese

Things I would do if I were suddenly a billionaire...
* Pay off the cars, house, and parents' obligations
* College/mission fund for boys
* Donate to a foundation working to eradicate malaria and improve water quality worldwide
* Move to Hong Kong for a few years
* Invest

3 of my bad habits...
* Thin skinned, sometimes
* Not very patient with kids who tune me out
* kind of a pessimist

Jobs I've had...
* Many secretarial/clerical jobs
* Custodial lackey(3 months)
* destitute laundress (chief duty: ironing---I think there is a special circle of hell devoted to such a job)
* Lazy groundskeeper (with Kristi!)
* Librarian


5 Things people don't know about me...
* I am secretly following the slow implosion of Britney Spears
* I am seriously afraid of heights (like I can't even climb on an 8' ladder)
* I wish I had more kids (ok, most of you know that)
* I sometimes worry about my weight even though I am very critical of our skinny-centric culture
* I like some schmaltzy Church music

OK, round tuit, pancakes gone awry, artistree, the scoop, lost and found... consider yourself tagged!

... and the dipping oil

I forgot to mention that all of us are way in to dipping bread into oil mixed with all kinds of herbs n' stuff. Here's a dipping spice recipe that I got from one of those "copycat" websites (it was a while ago so I don't have a link to it). It is also great as a pasta topping or combined with tomatoes for bruschetta. angry chicken has some oil and vinegar dipping sauces on her site today; her post reminded me of the joys of dipping.

Carrabba's Dipping Spice

1 T minced fresh basil (or 1 tsp dried)
1 T chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tsp dried)
1 T minced fresh garlic
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano (or 1 T fresh)
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp minced fresh rosemary (or 1/4 tsp dried)
1/2 tsp ground sea salt or kosher salt
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1/2 tsp olive oil
1/8 tsp lemon juice

Combine first bunch of ingredients. Add remaining ingredients. To serve, combine about 1 1/2 tsp spice blend with 3-4 T olive oil in a small dish.

Yield: 1/4 cup spice blend

Crusty Hearth Bread

I had every intention of taking a picture of the entire loaf, but the kids were hungry and super grouchy today, so there was no stopping for a photo.

I've been making this recipe for about 16 years now. Hard to believe it has really been that long since I started college and received my first cookbook: Betty Crocker, of course. It earned me the reputation of the mother of the apartment, according to one of my roommates. Paired with a good, thick potato soup or chowder, it's so very satisfying. Also excellent with ham and muenster cheese on the following day.

So here's the recipe. I make it in the KitchenAid mixer, not by hand as the recipe indicates.

Crusty Hearth Bread

1 pkg (1 tablespoon) regular or quick-acting active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)
3 cups flour
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk
1/4 cup shortening
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
------------------
egg wash
kosher salt
rosemary, poppyseeds, dried garlic, etc.

Dissolve yeast in warm water in large bowl. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the flour, the buttermilk, shortening, sugar, baking powder and salt until smooth. Stir in remaining flour until dough forms. Turn dough onto floured surface. Knead gently about 1 minute or until smooth. Cover and let rise 10 minutes.

Grease a cookie sheet. Shape dough into round loaf, about 8 inches in diameter. Place on cookie sheet. Brush with egg wash* and sprinkle with rosemary, dried garlic, or poppyseeds (or a combination thereof). Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 350. Cut an X shape about 1/2 inch deep in top of bread. Bake about 35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter; sprinkle with kosher salt. Tear bread into pieces, or cut into slices.

*For an excellent website about egg washes and "crust embellishments," click here.

random acts of medicine

I happened to watch 60 Minutes last night, and saw this segment about Remote Area Medical, or RAM. It's something like Doctors Without Borders, originally formed to provide free medical care to people in Third World countries. The demand for such care, however, is so great in the US that 60% of their operations are now based in our country. They serve hundreds of uninsured/underinsured people and must turn away hundreds more. I was impressed by the founder who lives in an abandoned school and showers with a garden hose. This is the kind of charity I want to spread the word about, hence the post.

emotional hair cream purchase

So the hair cream appearing above is called "Ends Well" and it's made by Grassroots. It does a decent job of smoothing my hair which is becoming increasingly frizzy and out of control as the humidity increases here. It doesn't work as well as the $3.00 creamy gel stuff that I usually buy at the supermarket, yet I fully plan on keeping a tube of this "Ends Well" concoction on my bathroom counter until I'm old and gray. Why? Because it smells EXACTLY like my Nana and Poppy's bathroom in Thatcher, Arizona, in a house that no longer stands. The interior of this house (for some reason) always appears in my mind's eye as the setting for Franny and Zooey,
their master bedroom being the place where Franny receives the crucial (and fake) phone call from Zooey. Anyway. I've been interested in reading this book titled The Scent of Desire: Discovering Our Enigmatic Sense of Smell by Rachel Herz. I wonder if she covers the topic of purchases made solely on the basis of scent-induced nostalgia. I've read that certain hotel chains and clothing stores are investing in "signature smells" to be piped through the store. Right now our house's signature smell is sweaty children, after a day spent at a tiny creek near our house, throwing rocks in the water and replenishing the ant farm.

Yeah, but do I have to SAY it?

In the past few weeks I've had 2 separate situations where I tripped over my words... not just tripped but actually exploded with laughter in the middle of saying them. I just can't say absurd phrases without totally losing it. The first was in the drive-thru line at Wendy's. My sister wanted me to order something called a "Baconator" for her husband. (p.s. she didn't really know what a Baconator was, nor had he requested this, but she knew he would LOVE it, apparently because of the bacon factor). I could not get the word "Baconator" out of my mouth and could not stop laughing. The poor man at the window must have thought we had just come from Happy Hour and shouldn't even be driving, much less ordering, irresponsibly. We were weeping by the end of it.

Then I had to call a lawn service for my neighbor (long story). The service is called "Git-er-done Lawn Care" (only in Texas), and wouldn't you know it, the guy answers the phone with a simple "Hello," which means I had to ask, "Er, is this... (peals of laughter) um... (hysterics at this point) Git-er-done?" I don't know what he thought at that point, but he was nice and answered my question anyway.

I'm doomed when it comes to restaurants such as Taco Bell or even Denny's. There's always something that looks good but I cringe at the thought of actually ordering it ("Moons Over My Hammy, " anyone)?

semi-private

So I already used something from the trip to SAS Fabrics by the Pound... and made some new curtains for the bathroom. Here's hoping that the "rain glass" behind those curtains + the sheer fabric = enough privacy. Not like anyone wants to see us performing our daily ablutions, but, you know, just in case. I love quick sewing projects. In fact, quick projects are pretty much the only ones I can stand. No cross-stitch, no knitting (sour grapes because I can't even CAST ON!), no tatting. No macrame (hee-hee, I just love thinking about macrame. What could you possibly use it for except a hanging plant holder?)

Next project is refinishing the kitchen table. And cleaning out the garage. And maybe Pergo?

semi-annual trim fest!

So every time I'm in AZ visiting my family I make my way to this smallish warehouse of fabric remnants, ends, and trim and buys bags and bags of stuff. This time it was lots and lots of trim, including one roll with the words "disco wheels" printed on it. I think dh is going to be the possibly unwilling recipient of some kind of car accessory made with that trim. Everything is SO cheap (15 cents a yard, 99 cents a yard) that I just buy whatever I like and find a use for it later. My mom kept asking me, "Oh, so what are your plans for that trim?" I couldn't ever really answer her. Decorative washcloth? Change purse? Stuff it in a plastic bag and stick it in the bottom of the craft closet? Anything's possible.

sew fun!!

Couldn't help the pun there. What follows is documentation of actual free time. I needed to post it to remind myself that such a thing exists.

Exhibit A is a reversible apron. Exhibit B shows some lightweight baby wraps to be used as a cover-up when nursing or to swaddle a baby in Arizona heat without smothering her.

office hours

What does every young boy really really want? Razor scooter? Video gaming system? Tickets to a baseball game? No, it turns out they really want a 6' molded plastic table.

2 nights ago we purchased such a table and set it up in the playroom. On it we set up all of the arts/crafts/messy/shiny type stuff that normally resides on and around the kitchen table. When the boys woke up, I introduced them to their new OFFICE. And I haven't seen them since. They do come out to present me with chunky bracelets made of pipe cleaners and foam beads. I have noticed a number of signs on the door of their office proclaiming which "cool friends" are allowed in, describing the number and type of booby traps that surround their lab (it's an office and a lab now), and requiring a passcode before entering. The best part is no screens (TV, computer) of any kind are involved in their office work. Wonder what the water cooler conversation is like. I'll ask them if they ever come out again.

McCain...yay?

So SuperTuesday wasn't actually that super. Kind of normal around here. Bit of church service in the morning, play dates for the boys in the afternoon, migraine after dinner, quasi-nap on the couch while the kids watched "Over the Hedge," and then The Colbert Report with Wheat Thins before bed. No biggie. Oh, right, and the Republicans seem to have their candidate.

I've always liked McCain, and not just because I'm from Arizona. He's not the waffle-proof guy I thought he was, but I think he would make a good president. Despite what the Romney campaign's database seems to think, I'm not a registered Republican. (They keep calling and when I break the news that I'm not a Republican, the response is always, always, "You're NOT?" To which I respond, "No, so how did you get my number?" Click.) Anyway, I'm sure Romney's a great guy, but watching him debate/interact with people and reading about him always leaves me with a taste in my mouth similar to that of finishing off a Twinkie. It was sweet, slick, and tasted good but not really that good for me. I'm just not sold on Romney, I guess. At least McCain has years of voting records to show his true colors. With Romney, we're looking at past quotes and contributions, and I'm just not sure what his real beliefs and agenda are. I will admit the corporate ties give me pause as well.

the pie has left the building

OK, so after shelling out 24 bucks for a PTO pasta dinner and sitting by the door selling tickets for 2 hours and not getting a bite of any of it my rage was assuaged somewhat by a FREE PIE ! (Flash won the door prize). It was one of those pure refined sugar/refined petroleum super-long shelf life frozen pies with scary stabilized whipped cream on top, french silk flavor. Normally I can control my appetite and portion sizes, but the past 4 days have been ALL ABOUT THIS PIE... to the point of making myself sick. I'm happy to report that the last of the pie was consumed whilst watching Northanger Abbey on PBS tonight. So it's back to peanut M & Ms and Coke Zero. It was a sweet ride, the week of THE PIE.

me! me!

Another idea snatched from Kristi's blog. This one is a fun little meme:

On My Bedside Table:
Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict
Harper's magazine
A Passage to India
Wired magazine
scriptures
lip balm
ear plugs


Next Up from Netflix:

Meet the Robinsons
Fantastic Four: The Rise of The Silver Surfer
Waitress
Herbie Goes Bananas
The Man with the Golden Gun
Timeline
Aliens of the Deep
The Forsyte Saga
(can you tell we all had some input here?)

Latest Interests:
deep sea creatures
spice rubs

On My Mind:
the presidential election


Learning:
to use creative discipline with Super Q

[Thinking about] Making:
light fabric baby "wrap" for my sister's new wee bairn
curtains for the computer room


Looking Forward To:
pasha's visit!
any and all weekends

Enjoying:
the last of the Ferrero Rocher jumbo pack
the cold weather

Amused By:
the presidential election
the fallout from the writer's strike

fortune cookie mystery solved

Having never seen fortune cookies in Hong Kong or mainland China, I have often wondered why they are associated with Chinese food. The answer is here. Now, on to the next mystery: how did large spring rolls come to be called "egg rolls"? In China, an egg roll is a crisp sweet rolled-up cookie.

Austenmania!

I just read on Kristi's blog that there is a Masterpiece Theater Jane Austen marathon afoot! My heart started beating faster when I read that and then I checked out the offerings and couldn't be more excited... Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Sense and Sensibility--a super economy sized jumbo pack of love, loss, snarky sisters-in-law, poor spinsters, handsome men with 10,000 a year, and the most awesomely subtle proto-feminist that the 19th century ever produced. I love PBS.

chocolate cake = panacea

In response to Patty's question, I did make the "towering" chocolate cake mentioned below. She asked how I made it, so here it my cheater "recipe" made up on the fly from stuff I already had:

1 devil's food cake, with 1/2 of the water called for replaced with milk and 1/2 cup chocolate chips added

1/2 recipe buttercream frosting with 1/4 cup toasted almonds added

Ganache:
3 tablespoons corn syrup
6 ounces heavy cream
12 ounces dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small saucepan combine the corn syrup and heavy cream. Bring to a simmer and add the chocolate. Stir until smooth. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla extract.

Make the cake in 2 layers and bake according to box directions. Remove from pans and chill for a few hours. While layers chill, make buttercream and ganache. Slice cakes laterally in half. Put buttercream/almond mixture in between the layers. Spread ganache on top and let it drizzle down the sides of the cake. If you want to spread it instead, add powdered sugar until it reaches spreading consistency (while mixing with hand mixer).

I had leftover ganache and my family was mad that I sent the remaining cake home with my friend who had the birthday (how could I?) so I made another cake, this time from the back of the Hershey's cocoa tin, and man, it's really good. Here's the recipe:



* 2 cups sugar
* 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
* 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 eggs
* 1 cup milk
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 cup boiling water
* "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING(recipe follows)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.

VARIATIONS:
ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.


"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

By the way, I don't usually spend this much time baking. After that much time in the kitchen, I spent much of the next day catching up on "Reviews of new food" at the McSweeney's website.
I was laughing out loud like an insane person. Little warning: the reviewers occasionally find a spurious reason to put the f-word in their reviews, so watch out.

thank heaven ... for grown-up girls

Sometimes I'm just so grateful for my friends here. Although I haven't met many people here that I feel as close to as my sister or certain college friends, I'm just so blessed to have a strong web of church friends, neighbors, moms of my boys' friends. I had a smallish birthday party for one friend today, and it was just so nice, for lack of a better word. An almost spring-like breeze waving through the house, chicken salad and lemonade, grandmothers and moms and wee little babies, toddlers knocking stuff off the coffee table. And then later a towering chocolate layer cake (because there must be chocolate if I'm hosting something, I know it's a cliche by now, but it's become axiomatic in my house). Just laid back and relaxing, talking about mom stuff and politics a little and mutual acquaintances. Just nice.

the haunting, part 2

This disturbing image courtesy of Tony. Thanks, Tony.

the haunting, part 1

This photo has been haunting our house for weeks now. I can't even remember where I found it. All I know is it saved as "David formal." I innocently emailed it to dh, resulting in many printouts of his face popping up in tote bags, briefcases, and behind cabinet doors. The other day, dh was telling Flash, "I really love you, buddy." To which Flash responded, "yeah, right!", and opened the cabinet to reveal yet another printout of David formal. We're still laughing about that one, and David formal still haunts the house.

whew!

The Christmas wrap-up (it's a tired pun, isn't it?)

Best food: these aMAZing truffles with crushed chocolate wafer filling provided by our neighbor. Must locate recipe and eat as many as possible before 2008. Also red chili tamales made by my friend Heather.

Best gift to me: hand-held shower thing installed by dh so I can wash my hair in the bathtub more easily. Now the shower is all his -- to use and clean. Also this funny shirt from my sister.

Best gift given: light-up frisbee (kids loved it!), Ratatouille

Best feeling: watching our kids' excitement, feeling so much love for the Savior

Best song: "Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel", monk chant version, provided by my friend on a 3 year old compilation CD. Not sure who sings it, but it's getting some pretty heavy play around here. Super Q's favorite is some Mannheim Steamroller version of "Carol of the Bells" with lots of old-sounding techno tidbits. We listened to it about 30 times on the way home from my library gig. It kept him happy, but I was about ready for a Prozac Icee when that trip was over.

even gingerbread men need to economise

more f minus comics can be found at fminus.net

Thanks to Tony, the artist, for letting me use his comic!

xanadu, how could you?

Last night I sat down with some gifts to wrap, hot cocoa and my new arrival from blockbuster: Xanadu! Do you know it? It was a favorite with me and my sisters in 1980. And now, 27 years later (ok, I am officially OLD), Xanadu has let me down. It's a horrible movie, rife with cliche, including but not limited to: a frustrated artist stuck working for The Man, washed-up but very talented musician ready for a comeback, and otherworldly magical being who doesn't know about "feelings." Throw in some roller disco, big band music, legwarmers with pumps, and Zeus, and you've got a recipe for a fantastic journey only an 8 year-old in 1980 could love. And we did love it. Watching it last night, I surprised myself with my ability to recite parts of it verbatim. Yikes!

For an even more blistering take on Xanadu, click here.

instantly forgettable!

Oooh! Finally my scanner is fixed and I can post this hilarious DVD cover. Sincere apologies to Patty; I couldn't resist. This thoroughly legal and certainly not pirated movie is one of many we bought in China over the summer. First there's the lavish praise supposedly quoted from L.A. Weekly up at the top. Reading on, the text there on the bottom indicates this movie is actually "The 6th Day" starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Yet the proof of purchase up top by the barcode tells us we're buying a copy of "The Ladykillers." One can only imagine what a mash-up of the three films would look like. Wait... Naomi Watts and Arnold Schwarzenegger? King Kong, maybe?

In a similar vein, while in China we saw many, many fine examples of wacky English. You can see what I'm talking about here.

I hasten to add that my written Chinese is on par with that of a 4-year old, so no offense intended here.

early Christmas present

Oh dear! My favorite band singing "Away in a Manger." Thank you, Santa!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgrpJfFx9NI