Tag Archives: Cake Even

So What Have I NOT Told You About Myself By Now?

Several of my friends on Facebook tagged me for “Twenty Five Things About Me” (and possibly a blog friend or two – but I can’t remember…) Anyway – I feel compelled to do this. So here it is:

Twenty Five Things About Me

1. I have never colored my hair. Not once. Not even highlights. I made the conscious decision to wait until I got older and “had to.” My grandmother once said to me, “dear – I hope you won’t color your hair…I DO think that gray hair can be awfully attractive.” I concurred with her opinion as I was expected to, but in my heart, I knew that I will never go gray. I’ll go RED!

2. I pick favorites among my children. But it changes every 30 seconds – so I figure it evens out in the end.

3. I was the only girl in my high school class who didn’t wear boxers under her uniform skirt. I thought they made me look fat. Sadly this caused a very embarrassing incident for me in The Quad one day when a big gust of Spring air gave all of nearby construction workers a view of my not fat thighs.

4. I dream of having a career that I love. But I only started thinking about this in the past few years. Prior to that I was fairly apathetic about the connection of my job to my sense of identity. Sometimes I wonder if this is a sign of a midlife crisis.

5. I have already confessed to an obsession with recorded books. I listen to plenty of current fiction, but one of my favorite authors for listening is Jane Austen. Even though I have actually read all of her books and know the stories well, I find something very soothing about hearing them read in a clipped English accent. Is it me or do days of nothing but needlepoint and gossip by a roaring fire sound really appealing sometimes?

6. I wish I knew how to do needlepoint or embroidery. I would create fabulous throw pillows and whip up Anthropologie-quality tops out of plain vintage shirts and embroidery thread. I should have learned these skills when I had the time…

7. I like being by myself and tend to treat a night on my own like a personal slumber party. After I put the kids to bed and clean up, I’m all about raiding the refrigerator for junk food, giving myself a pedicure and watching “girl movies.” Of course, my husband doesn’t travel that often – so I might have a different attitude if these personal slumber parties were more frequent.

8. I can’t stand gum. I find it revolting. The way it looks just hanging out in someone’s mouth, the sound of it snapping and even the smell of it. ESPECIALLY the smell of it if it’s fruit flavored or even worse, bubble gum. The smell of bubble gum flavored anything makes me want to pass out. Not to make light of actual torture, which is not funny and a terrible reality from which I am lucky to be sheltered…but seriously, I think you’d have to pull out a few of my molars with pliers before I’d allow you to put a piece of bubble gum in my mouth.

9. I have an incredibly high suspension of disbelief threshold when it comes to books, movies and television story lines, but I do tend to obsess over everyday details that I find a little too unbelievable. For example, I can enjoy pretty much anything from Harry Potter to Lost; but I just can’t get past how the Cosbys had all those kids and a TV in their living room, but their couch always looked so clean.

10. I’m terrified of sharks. A condition that has grown worse as I’ve gotten older. All of those news reports about shark attacks in Florida a few years back didn’t help.

11. This blog is the first real writing that I’ve ever done outside of business documents.

12. My wedding cake was the best dessert I’ve ever had in my life: chocolate cake with fondant icing and a buttercream and marzipan filling. I knew that I wouldn’t get a chance to have any at the reception, so I asked my planner to make sure that there was a large piece waiting for me in my room at the end of the night. This was quite possibly one of the brilliant ideas I’ve ever had in my life.

13. My writing style tends to be a little verbose. So “25 Things About Me” can be loosely translated into “Twenty Minutes of Your Life That You Will Never Get Back.” Therefore I will be breaking this into two posts. Check back tomorrow more for 12 more things about me!

Home Alone: Day Four

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Day Four…and so far, no one has been voted off the island. Actually – the kids have been really good. I mean for them. So if you think that acting like something out of a Stephen King novel only 50% of the time is “really good,” then we are practically sharing a brain.

This morning George woke up at 4:30 with what I think was a nightmare, so I brought him to bed with me. It’s a guilty pleasure, having one of my tiny toddlers to cuddle in bed. Two of them is another story of course, but Eleanor didn’t follow him (for once). The big downside is that when the toddler in bed with you wakes up, there is no pretending that you can’t hear them. The direct eye contact makes that rather tricky to pull off. George opened his eyes at 6:45 and let me doze for about 15 more minutes though – so I can’t complain.

I just hope that he doesn’t start making this a habit. He is already driving me crazy with his insistence upon me holding him all the time. In fact, George’s attachment to me has now reached a level that begs the question, “is it normal for a two year old to sit on my lap while I go to the bathroom?” I would guess, “no.” But hey – it’s his future on the psychiatric couch, not mine.

Eleanor and Oliver woke up shortly after we did, and before I knew it two hours had transpired. How is it possible that time can pass so quickly when you are literally doing nothing? This was great since I had plans to bring them back to the At Play Cafe at 10 a.m. and hoped to make it back home in time to watch the 11:30 swearing in ceremony.

In the meantime, I could watch the events on the large flat screen TV while my kids played. In fact, I would have been happy enough to just stay there through the presidential address. But I had no illusions about everyone lasting that long. Eleanor was already acting like she needed a nap.

The kids found a soulmate in a two year old boy named Max who seems destined to break several spines on the football field. He was little – but he was unstoppable. While they wrestled with Max, I caught up with my neighborhood friend, Tricia (also known as Reston Mom). A good time was had by all.

Soon enough Eleanor made it clear that she was done with the At Play Cafe, and I realized that it was already 11:30! So typical that I would spend a great moment in history engrossed in c-section comparison stories… But when I looked at the TV, I saw that we still had some time. Five minutes, two tantrums, one coatless child and a rousing game of musical stroller seats later, we arrived at our car. I had Eleanor under one arm, screaming something about wanting to walk and George was busily trying to unbuckle his seat belt. Only Oliver was content to be still – and happily contributed his 55+ lbs to my one handed double stroller pushing. I’m SO ready to retake that grade school presidential physical fitness test…

The minute we arrived home, I threw something in front of them that resembled lunch and then flew down to the basement in time to see the swearing in. Seriously – it was timed perfectly. I even got to hear the very beginning of Obama’s speech without interruption. Unfortunately George and Eleanor came down to look for me and I spent the rest of the speech with my ear against the television as they fired unintelligible questions at me. I think I caught about 60% of the speech. I’ll have to read it online later tonight to fill in the gaps.

I gave up at that point and switched the channel back to Noggin. But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to feeling a bit smug about seeing ANY of the inauguration. Sad really…

Like I said, Eleanor was really tired and went down for her nap without protest. George? Not so much. But at least he didn’t try to escape. Oliver and I took advantage of the quiet (aside from George’s blood curdling screams, that is) to watch Mary Poppins for the 50th time this week. I also thought this would be a great time to whip up some cupcakes.

I’ve probably mentioned before that I have very little interest in cooking. At some point I did, but since my free time has now decreased by about 99.9%, I’ve decided that I’d rather spend it outside of my hideous, tiny galley kitchen. Baking is another story though. I’m perfectly content with box cake mixes, and what’s a few minutes of mixing compared to the fun of eating two dozen cupcakes as a snack? Oliver concurred.

Now, I don’t generally keep much junk food in the house, and my kids don’t actually eat a lot of dessert beyond store bought cookies now and then. But I do tend to fall back on doling out the treats when left to my own devices. In fact, I have a long history of overfeeding small children when I’m at a loss for anything else to do. I tend to think, “hmm – what do I feel like doing right now?” The answer usually involves ice cream.

Once when I was in my early twenties, I took care of my five year old cousin, Emmett for a week while his parents were in Europe. Emmett was one of those kids who was a little on the chubby side. This all changed when he hit puberty and grew 24 inches. But when he was five, he was pretty stout. I’m sure that I got some directions about limiting his fat and caloric intake, but after a day or two of playing with action figures, I lost my mind. I won’t get into the particulars of our many visits to pizza and ice cream parlors – but it would be safe to say that by the time his parents returned, Emmett had gained 5 lbs.

I’m not sure if my kids will gain any weight this week. But I’m fairly certain I will.

Aside from eating too much, I’ve also seriously let myself go appearance-wise. Today is the first time since Chris left that I’ve even washed my hair. But it’s not as bad as it sounds. Since the winter air is so incredibly dry, one would never know that I should have been a complete grease ball by now.

While I’ve enjoyed a week of fabulous hair days, my poor daughter has not fared quite as well. I’ve written before about her fine blond hair and how it has taken two years to even look like she has actual hair on her head. And in spite of it being so obviously there now, static electricity has taken it’s toll on her wisps. Her hair is now perpetually plastered to the sides of her face. The look is similar to Taylor Momson’s awful new hairstyle (that would be Jenny from Gossip Girl’s Joan Jett ‘do).

The boys’ hair isn’t as affected by the dry weather – but they are both long overdue for a trim. Right now their hair is so long that with a little styling mousse they could give Uncle Jesse from Full House a run for his money. Now that I think of it…THAT could be a fun activity (for me). My children should thank their lucky stars that I go back to work tomorrow.

Oh – so many other things to report today… From a disastrous outing to pick up pizzas for dinner to the discovery that Oliver is running a raging fever (great timing since he’s having testing done tomorrow…) But I’m not writing a diary here – and honestly, the past three days of “chronicling” have worn me out. I’m not great with blow by blow accounts. I’m far too long winded for that.

So this will be the final installment “Home Alone.” Even though it’s looking likely that I WON’T be going to work tomorrow (since daycare has that ridiculous “no fevers” rule), I’m considering today the finale of my long weekend with the kids. Chris gets back Saturday night, and while I’ll be SO glad to see him, I’ve kind of enjoyed this trial by fire. I’ve actually learned some things about my parenting (and coping) skills: It’s always best to remain calm, a little patience goes a long way, and when in doubt, indulge in an early happy hour (either wine or cupcakes – pick your poison).

Check Me Out!

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I have a new look! Thanks to Christy of Ruby & Roja – I now have a pretty storefront to lure people in. Little do they know that things aren’t always so pretty on the inside… Oh well – at least I’m good for a piece of cake.

As much as Christy claims that I was not in fact a nightmare client, I have to commend her for her patience and diplomacy. Who knew that there was so much riding on the correct shade of yellow? And there were a few close calls with topiary height (we almost ended up with something resembling lollipops). Not to mention the part when I brought in my mother to consult. Christy has just experienced My Big Fat Piece of Cake Wedding.

Seriously though – I’m making myself sound far more demanding and needy than I actually was…kind of. I just wanted to thank the people that made this possible (and give them a nice plug – as if they need it since they already have a waiting list). So I’d like to holla (that’s right – I said “holla” – “shout outs” are so five minutes ago…) to Christy and the rest of the design geniuses at Ruby & Roja! Thanks for making me pretty (at least on the outside).

More Star Wars Underwear, an Entire Chocolate Chip Pound Cake and Various and Sundry Extras

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Since the Darth Vader underwear was such a big hit (and surprisingly drove some traffic to my little blog – wonder what those people were expecting…), I thought it would be a shame not to give Yoda the spotlight.

After putting the twins to bed, I came downstairs to find Oliver, post-potty, sitting at his table, pantsless and playing with Play-Doh. I immediately put some underwear on him and then got inspired to get my camera when he was leaning over. I mean, I’m sorry but a chubby heiney (excuse any misspellings – but this word does not seem to be in spell check) displaying an image of battle-ready Yoda is just screaming to be photographed. Clearly, this can in no way match the black Darth Vader underwear – but it’s pretty awesome nonetheless. Poor Oliver – what did he do to deserve this?

I also thought I’d fulfill my cake related topic for the week by admitting that I have consumed an entire chocolate chip pound cake from Whole Foods over the course of two days. I don’t know what is more disgusting – the fact that I ate the equivalent of a pound of butter or that that I’m wishing that I had purchased two of them…

In case you are doing some online shopping, I thought I’d announce that two companies in my “market place” (i.e. ads for which I get a sales commission – which really just translates into discounted shopping pour moi) are having some good sales right now. First, Tea Collection, one of my favorite baby/kids clothes brands is having a Summer Sale with up to “75% off select items” through July 31. They will also be offering an “Every Day Deal” through the end of July in which one full price item is discounted for one day. And the Pink Olive Boutique is offering a “surprise gift” with a purchase of $50 or more through July 30. Why not July 31? I’m not sure – personally I would have rounded out the full month. You can access both sites from my side bar, and if you feel strongly against me getting a commission, not to worry – you can still get the discounts by going directly to their websites.

Lastly – I thought I’d let you know that someone from Portland Oregon actually found my website today by searching for “how big is a piece of poop” on Google. I’m so honored that I can be found on Google by anyone who would like to know the answer to this thought provoking question. It ties in nicely with my first post about looking for a domain name. So when I’m not amusing myself with domain name searches, I’ll be checking my site’s keyword searches for new and interesting entries. In the meantime, please let me know if you find me with any other poop-related searches. And if I don’t hear from you, have a great weekend!

"If not now, then when?"

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Okay – so I lied. One more post before Monday. How could I forget to mention cake this week? Isn’t it like – my theme? Anyway – I was catching up on a couple of friends’ blogs and two of their totally unrelated posts got me thinking.

First of all, my friend Tricia made me really start jonesing for some fattening baked goods (no luck here in the evil vegan empire of my brother Matt) with a post on a local DC phenomenon, CakeLove.

Then another friend, Ainsley discussed having a childhood dream and asked whether you followed it, forgot it or would like to revisit it. This is something that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. How exactly did I fall into the career that I have now? It’s certainly not fulfilling a lifelong dream – or even a new one to be honest. I’d like to find that thing that I was “meant to do,” but what is that? And how do I get there from here?

Warren Brown, founder of CakeLove and host of Sugar Rush on the Food Network, has a lot to say about finding your life’s passion. Reading this made me feel kind of inspired (and hungry). Particularly his question, “if not now, then when?” How do you really know that it’s the right time to follow a dream? I guess you don’t, but when it comes to finding your passion in life, what better time than now? My parents had a dream to move to Key West and my mother in particular wanted her own shop for a long time. Now they are living both of those dreams. It hasn’t been easy – they have plenty of setbacks (especially right now), but if you’re passionate enough, then you keep going. Right?

The other thing that Warren Brown said that really rang true for me was that you have to “answer to yourself.” No one is going to come along and hand me the answer to my question. I can’t wait for someone to tell me what I was meant to do. In fact, that kind of lethargy got me onto my current career path. Don’t get me wrong – I don’t hate my job. I just wouldn’t say that I’m passionate about it. But it does offer a good work environment with flexibility which is a huge priority for someone with three kids that aren’t out of daycare yet. So I’m not quitting anytime soon. But in the meantime I would like to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. That way I’ll be ready when the right time presents itself. And who knows – maybe when I figure things out, the right time will be now.

Off to find me some Fourth of July cake! Happy Fourth!

I Make the Best Cake Icing and You Can Too

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It’s been a really fun week starting this blog – but I have to tell you, I’m exhausted. It was my original intention to sit down every night and spend 20 minutes on a paragraph or two about thoughts I had that day. But due to some strong OCD tendencies, I find it very difficult to just whip something up. Do you know that the two longest posts I wrote were the ones that I expected to be quick, amusing anecdotes about my family? Either because they involved my children or because I automatically felt the need to over-explain my initially unimpressive parenting style, I just couldn’t keep it brief. And then I had to obsessively edit them – making changes even after I had posted them to my blog. I work full time, have three children AND just happen to have had a week on my own while my husband was traveling for business. Who do I think I am – a professional writer? I can’t stay up all night blogging! So future weeks will bring some attempts to simplify things a bit. I’ll restrict myself to just a few rambling stories and the other days will be devoted to something else. What that will be…I’m not really sure yet – but hopefully it won’t involve too much scrolling.

My brief thought for today is that while writing this week, I enjoyed reading other blogs even more than I did before. On my own blog, I have a short list of sites that I’ve stumbled across and I have an even longer list bookmarked in my favorites. And they are incredibly diverse. Of course I love the design blogs with their pretty pictures and products I might never have found on my own. But I’ve also discovered a number of personal blogs that I find inspiring. Some of them are fashion or art focused, some of them have a journal format, some are written by people much younger than me, and some are straight up humor. But they all create a feeling of community – one in which all are welcome to comment and keep coming back. People that might never give each other a second glance on the street have this whole world of ideas and pictures and laughter – and everyone is invited.

Before taking a break this weekend I really feel like I should include at least something about cake. Here it is. When I make my own cake, I refuse to use frosting from a can. I don’t care much for it, and I know a really easy recipe for something SO much better. Buy a box of Domino Confectioners’ Sugar. On the back or the side you will find the recipe, but if you use a different brand, these are the directions:

Ingredients
I lb. confectioners’ sugar (approximately 3 ¾ cups)
½ cup butter softened
3-4 tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla

Instructions
Combine in large bowl, with mixer at low speed, confectioners’ sugar, butter, milk and vanilla. Beat at medium speed 1-2 minutes until creamy. If desired, add more milk until frosting is spreading consistency. Makes enough to fill and frost 2-layer cake, 13x9x2-inch sheet cake, or 24 cupcakes.

You can add different flavorings in place of the vanilla and use food coloring as necessary. People tell me that they have never had a better cupcake when I make that icing. Try it and you too will become a true believer.

Have a great weekend!

The Big Piece of Cake

Never settle for a small one, and demand a corner piece with a flower.