Cupcake journal: the ultimate DNA test

I was cleaning up my daughter's room recently and came across something that positively delighted me: her Cupcake Journal. Oh, what's that? You mean you don't have a Cupcake Journal? Well, as you probably suspect, (obviously) it is a little notebook that has a cupcake on the front.

What you might not expect, however, is that it's her own special place to journal about all the cupcakes she has eaten. Yes, really. There were three entries so far and each one chronicled a few details and finer points of the last few cupcakes she has eaten. She even went so far as to rate the cupcakes.

If I ever wanted pure proof that she truly, really, absolutely, 100% is the child that I gave life to and is not the product of a horrible hospital "switched at birth" situation... This would be all the proof that I need. My daughter keeps a chronicle of her cupcakes.  (Genius! I SO wish I'd thought of it first!)

Oh, the best part of all: remember those über healthy banana muffins I made on Sunday? Those made the cut! And if you wanted to know what a kid who loves cupcakes thought of my flax seed/whole wheat flour muffins....well, she rated them "the best!"  Told you they were good....

Thank you, Nestle.

A few weeks ago, I played a little game with some girlfriends about holiday traditions. There were 3 questions:

IF NOT FOR YOUR KIDS, which holiday traditions would you:

1. want to ditch?

2. want to begin?

3. want to keep forever & ever and make them feel guilty if they don't do it too when they grow up.

My answers:

1. DITCH: I would totally ditch the whole mess of making sugar cookies and decorating. It is SO messy. You find sprinkles in all the crevices of your kitchen for months afterwards. Not to mention the sugar high and crash that ensues. Plus red dye frosting stains your countertops. Fights break out over who gets to decorate THAT angel because THIS angel has a broken wing. Did I mention that I do not like making cookies with my kids? I feel so guilty admitting this! I mean, what kind of mother am I? I could get my motherhood license revoked for this confession.

2. BEGIN: go to a midnight mass or candlelight service and then sleep in the next day.

3. KEEP: reading Christmas story from Luke and a big breakfast on Christmas morning.

Well, glory be! I have had the honor of revising my "Ditch" answer because Nestle has come up with the best thing since sliced bread. "Christmas Shapes Sugar Cookies". It's a package that has the shapes already cut out. You just bake and decorate with the pack of icing already mixed and ready to stain, eh, I mean spread.

Oh yes, I'm sure you've seen it and given it a little snide glance as you strolled past this "kit" on your way to the baking aisle to pick up your granulated sugar, vanilla, eggs, and flour to make a Homemade Christmas.

But, I have no shame. My "Mom of Excellence" status has been redeemed and I am back in my kids' good graces because we bought this kit and did the sugar cookie baking/decorating thing on Saturday. And I stayed happy and joyful and loving through the whole experience.

Nestle has saved Christmas, once again.

If you want, post a comment and answer my questions: Had you no children to dictate how Christmas is run around your home: What would you ditch? What would you start? And lastly, what tradition do you hope to keep for all time?

Treadmill + Cookie Dough = ????

Going to a cookie swap tonight. I made the dough this morning before I left for the Y to workout.

I picked up my friend Micah to go pound the treadmill and felt the need to alert her to the fact that I had just consumed an incalculable amount of cookie dough. Before I would drive any further, I needed assurance that if I upchucked on the treadmill she wouldn't abandon me. There's nothing worse than throwing up and having nobody there to console you. Am I right on that or what!

Thankfully I finished the workout, came home and cooked said cookie dough....well, part of it anyways. The rest is on my waist, hips and thighs.

Merry Christmas.

Have a laugh for Thanksgiving

My newest favorite blog to read is Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes Go Horribly, Hilariously Wrong. We have been reading for just a few days and some of the posts caused me to laugh so hard I had tears streaming down my face! Oh, they are good. Grammar mistakes, Spelling errors, complete lack of taste and class....all those things and more are celebrated on Cakewrecks. To me, the funniest ones are when the instructions given over the phone to the bakery employee don't translate well to the cake. For instance...if you say you want sprinkles on the cake, be prepared for the cake to show up with icing flowers instead and the words "I Want Sprinkles" spelled out.

OR....if you want to celebrate the Olympics, make sure you take a photograph of the Olympic Rings into the bakery or you're liable to end up with a cake that says "Olympic Rings" on it.

So, while I'm "off" for the next few days, catch up on some hilarious readings over there. She has a Thanksgiving theme going right now (check out the cakes that are presumably "turkeys" but don't resemble the bird too much...and read her captions to get the full effect.)

Ode to Sweet Potatoes

Forget every word I ever said about Christmas being so awesome.

Thanksgiving is where it's AT!

And this is why:

And now I'd like to show my love and support for this favorite dish by commemorating it with a haiku:

Sweet potato love

Don't want to live without you

You're my favorite "veg"

Call me Irresponsible

Back in October, my parents were in town. Dad asked how Will was doing with his sleep @ night and early morning rising. (Remember all those posts?) Well, I was happy and proud to report with a big smile on my face that he was over all that and sleeps in until the rest of the family is up and that all is well on that front.

Do you think my dad was glad to hear that? NO. Instead, I was....

CHASTISED! I was chastised for being an irresponsible blogger! Apparently, he was under the impression that we were still undergoing Tough Love: Operation Sleep Later here in order to get him to sleep longer in the mornings.


Dad was very concerned about the crying babies left in their cribs all over America whose mothers read the blog and were heeding my advice on how to get their babies to sleep in. (I didn't have the heart to tell him that my readership doesn't quite reach that far...)


SO, I am clearing the air. We are all good here. No more early morning wakeup calls. We've even made the turn on the time change and I'm very proud to report that we all woke with a frantic start at 7:00 am this morning (way too late to get John ready for school!).

It was frantic, but just wonderful in a frantic sort of way to wake up with the sun shining through the window. Well worth almost missing the bus!

Blue Ribbon-winning Pie Recipe

Last night, our neighborhood (which rocks, by the way) had a Fall Party at the playground. There were goody bags for the kids, a pumpkin decorating station, costume parade, pumpkin carving contest and a chili cook off and pie contest. (No, unfortunately it was not a pie-eating contest.)

Well, Maddy and I entered our favorite "Chocolate Chip Pie" in the contest and guess who won the blue ribbon and Target gift card?

WE DID! She really earned it--she shopped for the ingredients with me at Kroger, then I measured them, but she poured them in. I put it in the oven (this was the point in which I badly burned my arm on the rack) and then we took our delicious prepared pie to the playground for the party.

Here's the recipe. It is so good and so easy. You don't even need to get out the mixer. You can't mess it up--try it for the holidays coming up!

Chocolate Chip Pie
(recipe from my sis-in-law Aimee)
2 eggs
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. corn starch
8 oz. choc chips
1 stick margarine or butter, melted
9" deep dish pie crush (overachievers can go homemade...I default to the freezer section)
2 tsp bourbon (optional)
1 c. chopped walnuts (optional)
Garnish with whipped cream

Beat eggs and stir in sugar. Stir in melted butter and corn starch. Gently mix in chocolate chips (and walnuts and bourbon if you're going that route).
Bake 350 degrees for approx 45 minutes.

YUM-OUT.

Fall Fun

Prayer Requests: Hot or Not

Jon Acuff's post on Stuff Christians Like this week about turning prayer requests into gossip sessions got me thinking about a "presentation" that my friend Amy & I did a few months ago. (Lest you think we're more important than we truly are, it was a presentation to 7 people. At our church. In the basement.)

Anyways, we've co-lead the prayer portion of our weekly Bible Study for a while now and were asked to share some of our ideas/thoughts on group prayer time with the other leaders.

Since we must always act like we're in middle school and can't just do what we're asked to do, we made up a little game to play instead. We called it "Prayer in Small Groups: Hot or Not". We gave the group (yes, all 7 of them) little signs to hold up that said "Hot" and "Not." You get the picture. We would read off an idea about how to do prayer during Bible Study and they'd hold up the "hot" or "not" sign.

Here's your chance to play along. No, there will not be prizes. (I'm not drawing any income on the blog just yet, though I do have two followers now. )

HOT OR NOT:
1. Sharing confidential prayer requests from your group with others (like your best friend or your husband).
2. Prayer Request Prompt: In light of the scriptures we’ve studied this week, how do you need the Lord to change your heart?
3. “I have an unspoken prayer request.”
4. “I feel like this is a close enough group to share this: We need to pray for Betty Jo. Her husband has left her for a younger woman and he left her with a pile of bills to pay and her son was caught smoking at school….and…..and…”
5. Prompt: How can we pray for you this week, specifically? What is coming up in which you need to see Jesus work in your life?
6. “I just need to go off on my co-worker for a minute. She is always listening in on my phone calls and reading my emails over my shoulder and telling me how to do my job and....and.....and......and....."
7. “My hairdresser’s 2nd cousin’s UPS delivery man's dog had puppies and I don’t think one of them is going to make it….”
8. “60 second cleanse”: If the ladies are extra chatty and you think they’ll have a hard time settling into the lesson, give each person 60 seconds (use a stopwatch) to ramble or vent about whatever is on their mind.
9. PYOP: Pray your own prayer request. Instead of going around the circle and giving prayer requests, then praying, just go around the circle and pray for yourself.
10. Pray until you pray.


OK. Tally your score. You should have 5 HOTs and 5 NOTs.

Here's the answer key:
1. NOT: the last thing we want is somebody’s husband approaching a woman at church to ask how her mammogram was.
2. HOT: specific is good
3. NOT: Come on! We're all big girls! We have kleenex. We can handle what's really going on. And, like Jon @ SCL says, if you say "unspoken" we're going to assume the worst....laundering money in the basement coupled with a drug problem!
4. NOT: Get out the gossip goo for this one.
5. HOT: yes, specific is good once again.
6. NOT: This is venting, not a prayer request.
7. NOT: We call this one the "far fetched" prayer request. Deflecting attention off yourself.
8. HOT: Helps us all get the chattiness out of the way.
9. HOT: This made people uncomfortable at first, but it really provided some true encounters with Jesus and also made for a more succinct prayer time.
10. HOT: Don’t be afraid of the “awkward silence.” Keep praying until you feel the Lord’s presence! This has been really helpful in our group’s corporate and individual prayer times.

Facebook Flair

One of my latest "hobbies" has been facebook. Just joined (was I the last Gen-X'er on earth who hadn't joined?) this fall and it's been fun to catch up with old friends and keep up with current ones.

So, on facebook, people send "flair"....it's basically a button they've picked out or designed that suits my personality or a cause I believe in. Here are a few of my most recent favorites...

The one at the top is especially fitting to post here. My friends are all leary of going anywhere with me since I always have a camera ready and my mind is always looking for blog-worthy moments.

OK, onto some others:

I do like to sing. Any genre. Just for fun. Karaoke is especially fun.

Last week in my "I've been tagged!" post, I mentioned what a sun-hog I used to be (still am?) in item #6. I believe my UV ray-free friend Amy made this one for me.

Owensboro, KY is THE BBQ CAPITAL of the world! (No, not Memphis! Not St. Louis!) If you've ever been to my hometown, then I'm sure you've been to Moonlite.

Long before Troy & Gabriella, there was Zack & Kelly. SAVED BY THE BELL. This was a major part of my tween years. And teen years. Oh, who am I kidding? I loved it in college and still watch the reruns on TBS in the mornings!

I've Been Tagged!

OK, Hollye has tagged me. I've never been tagged before, so this is all very exciting. Here goes:

1. I never flew on an airplane until I was 19 years old. My initiation flight? To Moscow, Russia. I'm an "all or nothing" kind of girl.

2. I mentioned in yesterday's Ellie Mae post that I didn't eat a green salad until I was 24 years old. I now love it & wish I'd tried it sooner! All those wasted years... Other foods I didn't try until late in life? Grapes and strawberries. Cantaloupe. Zucchini. The list could go on & on. My "diet" in high school consisted of Dr. Pepper and Star Crunches, Grands rolls, meat and potatoes. Oh, and sweet tea.

3. I love giving birth and the 2 days you get to spend at the hospital afterwards. Seriously. It is very very fun and exciting to me! There's nothing like that feeling when you get the epidural (I asked the anesthesiologist for baby #3 if I could name the child after him, I loved him so.) There's nothing like relaxing after said epidural and realizing that you get to meet your newest family member in a short while. AND, there's absolutely NOTHING like when they lay that messy, screaming baby on your chest for the first time. I have chills just reminiscing about it. I cried all 3 times when they made me leave the hospital. When we had Will, it felt like we'd been at an all-inclusive, expenses paid resort for 48 hours! (compared to being at home with 2 big kids and a newborn, that is.)

4. I play the piano by ear and took lessons for about 14 years.

5. I love to burst into song at any moment, for any reason. I have a very extensive catalog of music in my head that I tap into. In high school, we'd play "Stump Ellen". People would try to name a song that they didn't think I knew and try to make me come up short. I have always wanted to be a piano bar singer. :o)

6. Just started wearing sunscreen in the last few years. Bad, I know. In high school, I was a tanning-bed-goer, a lifeguard, a baby oil & foil tanning fool!

7. Had our family picture taken with Magic Johnson when I was in 5th grade. My mom won a freethrow shooting contest (with a GRANNY SHOT!) to win the grand prize at a basketball camp my brother was attending. I'll have to find that picture and post it--it's awesome.

I am tagging: Allie, Todd, Raegan, Kate, Lindsey, Misty, and Kaleb.

Ellie Mae Clampett goes to town

Just in from a truly delightful dinner out with 2 old girlfriends. Emily, Courtney, and I comprise 75% of the "Fab Four." Leigh is the missing 25% and she is still in KY...so we were very sad to be Leigh-less, but we carried on best we could.

Anyways, the self-proclaimed "Fabulous Four" originated in high school, though we have been friends since the 6th grade. Oh, the inside jokes that we possess....they're endless, they are. One of us could start a laughing riot by merely saying the word, "Cheetah!" or "Moreland Park scariness!" or "treehouse crashing down!" or "1 McDonalds birthday cake and 4 forks!" or by naming some poor lad's initials. (BTW, "Cheetah" was a game I made up when we turned 16. Driver gets car up to 55 mph on the Owensboro By-pass, passenger sticks head out window and feels the full effect of a cheetah running at full speed. No, our parents didn't hear about this for years after or else we'd still be grounded.)

So, we dined at a rather "fancy" restaurant tonight. I'll preface this by saying that a big night out for Michael & myself is at Carrabba's or Amerigo's (remember that detail for a little later in the post). Those are mighty fine dining establishments and we like the food there. Let me also preface this dining experience by saying I ate my first true green salad at age 24. The Fab 4 has always been fully aware of my food likes/dislikes/fears/anxieties/pleasures, so I know they were prepared to be entertained by my perusal of the menu at City House Restaurant.

But, I get ahead of myself. First, let me say that a sighting of the Fab 4 is about as rare as spotting the Loch Ness Monster or Big Foot. We just don't get together as often as we ought to. So, when I walked into City House, the girls spotted my latest hairdo and wasted no time in saying I had the same haircut as Suri Cruise.

(Note to self: make hair appt with Hannah tomorrow).

Next, our waiter approached the table with a menu in which I could pronounce no more than 4 items/ingredients on the entire page. He began to explain the specials.

Ever heard of "Sweetbread?" That was the first appetizer he mentions. Well, I do like sweets and I do like bread, so I thought this was some sort of "Cinnabon" concoction.

Um, NO IT'S NOT. Sweetbread is basically a pig's pancreas. Encrusted with something. Sauteed in something else.

Another good one: Montasio Cheese Frico. Now, that's basically fried cheese sticks. Yum.

I could go on & on. He would tell us the fancy name of something and I would respond with a strange look and ask for "layman's terms." We fessed up about half-way through the menu description, in which I was getting the impression that he was going above & beyond his call of duty (i.e. he's used to more sophisticated diners), that we felt a little country bumpkinish/Ellie Mae Clampett about it all. Jokingly, I said, "Do you have some pasta with red sauce?" to which he replied, "Have you ever been to Amerigos?"

OK then.

I recovered from all that and ate my "Pizza Margherita" (aka cheese pizza) and Grits. Yes, I had pizza & grits (Courtney did too!) for dinner. Emily is by far the Fab 4 member with the most sophisticated palate, so she quite enjoyed her quail and okra.

The night continued on with lots of laughter and old stories...

It ended with some dessert. (Duh!)

I got to use my fancy "E-Z Tip Calculator" as well. (That's a whole blog post in & of itself.)

And of course, what meeting of old friends is ever complete without the ever-present promise of "We have to get together again SOON! Oh yes, once a quarter. Absolutely. On my life, starting right now. We are going to get dinner every single quarter of every single year from here on out...." Or something like that.

And you know what? I really hope we do. It's not lip service with this group.

They make me proud to be from Owensboro, KY. They made that school bus just a little safer for me in the 6th grade. High school cheerleading was a little less "mean girls." They danced at my wedding reception. Chicago for our 30th birthdays was unforgettable. Emily & I ran the Country Music 1/2 marathon together and Courtney was there to cheer us on. They were there when John was born, when Maddy was born (Courtney was driving me around town when I was in labor!!!), when Will was born. There are many more chapters to be written, you know!

In light of all that, dinner every quarter seems a little sparse!

Wow. That got kind of sentimental didn't it?!?

Why does this excite me so?

It is a sad state of affairs when the gas price "DROPS" to $3.69 and you're pumped up about filling up at the pump.

Remember when it hit $3.00/gallon after Hurricane Katrina 2 years ago? The first time I had to fill up the van and the dial went over $50, I had heart palpitations. Now, a $50 tank of gas is so passe, so like, you know, last year.

(P.S. just so you know, I did finally get my pedicure. The gas shortage ended and I found a spare hour to treat my toes to a little well-deserved pampering.)

A tribute fit for a princess

As a true fan of all things Princess Diana, I always knew something was missing.

Really, they have the commemorative stamps.

They have the commemorative calendar.

They have the commemorative doggy t-shirt.

And, of course, they have the commemorative boxers.

Heck, even Elton John TRIED to commemorate (I'm trying to see how many times I can use the word 'commemorate') her by re-writing one of his most famous songs, Candle in the Wind, in her honor.

However, I always just had this feeling that something was missing.

AND...

I found it.

Where, you might ask, did I stumble upon the perfect tribute and commemoration?

At my local Dollar Store's Going out of Business Sale.

They had a hefty supply of the commemorative Princess Diana gift bags that I always knew would finally put some closure on our loss. I cannot tell you how many times I went to the closet to wrap a gift for a loved one, thinking..."this gift is nice and all, but the gift wrap doesn't properly show the respect that the People's Princess deserves."

Well, no more. The final chapter of Diana's legacy includes gift wrap.

And I couldn't be more pleased.

Food for Thought

Actually, this has nothing to do with food. It's more of a "Thought for Thought."

Saw a great magnet this weekend:
"Life is all about how you handle Plan B."

AMEN to that!

I also heard another good quote/thought at Bible Study last week from my friend Connie:
"I need to put my big girl panties on and deal with it."

I have had several instances here lately that have caused a Plan B and required me to don the big girl panties and deal.

(See, I can be serious too! I'm not always all fun & games...)

Need an example? Wendy's shorted me a hamburger today at lunch. Didn't discover it until I got home from the drivethru.

OK, so maybe this post was about food after all. And, actually, maybe I am always fun and games.

Cupcake Wars

My post about crafty Kim & crafty Catherine caused quite a stir last week.


My friend Amy, not one to be outdone on anything, much less out-crafted, let me know that she has a little Martha in her as well:

Here are the ladybug cupcakes she did for her daughter's 3rd birthday.

I guess I've been outcrafted and outcooked once again...did you see the storebought cake we had for Will's 1st birthday? At least it wasn't half-eaten like the one we served my mother-in-law...

Most Observant Wife

ME:
"Hey! You shaved your fu man chu thingy off your chin!"

MICHAEL:
"Hey! I sure did! About 3 weeks ago!"

Dress Code

Last Sunday, we had to go to "early church", which, I might say is very early. So, in order to be ready to leave our house by 7:40, I got up before any of the kids were awake and got dressed and ready for church.

Apparently, pigs were flying or hell froze over or some other extreme "this'll never happen" happened, since Maddy had NEVER seen me dressed before she was out of bed. I'm normally in my PJ's well after the house is up & going and I am always the last one in the shower.

She insisted several times that morning that I needed to "go get ready for church....almost time to leave mom....go get dressed....get your nice clothes on...come on, time to do it..." She was convinced I was still in my PJ's. ALL THE WAY TO CHURCH, she continued to heckle me. "I can't believe you're still wearing your jams, mom! What'll people think?"

Lest you think I was going super casual that morning, I had on black dress pants, black heels, a nice sweater/tank, and PEARLS. Since when would I be wearing heels and pearls with my PJ's?

She finally backed off...when we were pulling into the church driveway. I don't think she was ever convinced that I had real clothes on, but by that point, I think she had given up trying to convince me since we were already at church.

God's redemptive plan: a story told in chocolate

A little theological lesson for you today readers.

My parents came to town to visit this weekend. They were trying to find their way to Steinmart on their way into town and got a little lost and ended up in the Puffy Muffin bakery parking lot.

God does indeed guide our every step. Even our "mistakes" (in this case, taking the wrong turn) can be redeemed, readers! Here's the glorious way God redeemed dad's wrong turn:

If you'll remember my last post, one of my top 5 favorite desserts hails straight from their bakery.

My dad, an avid "welcometomyblog" reader, remembered the post and showed up at my house carrying a....

CHOCOLATE GANACHE CAKE FROM THE PUFFY MUFFIN!

Top 5 Favorite Desserts

I love desserts. LOVE desserts. I decided to make a list of my top 5 favorites.

5. Fried Ice Cream from Chi Chi's. (are they even around anymore? Perhaps I just liked wearing the sombrero and the way they'd sing "so it's your birthday, so it's your birthday, happy birthday to our guest, Chi Chi's Wishes you the best! Ole!" as much as I liked the dessert. It was a package deal.)

4. Very Best Chocolate Cake from J. Alexander's. This is served WARM, a la mode. You must close your eyes and have complete silence when you take your first bite to truly savor the experience.

3. Chocolate Cobbler from the hospital cafeteria where my mother-in-law works. Don't laugh. It's true. I'm serious--I have never tasted such deliciousness. It has just the right ratio of crunchy crusty cobbleryness to ooey gooey chocolateness. I even enthusiastically bought one from the hospital to take to a Christmas party. Unfortunately, it comes in a cardboard baking dish and everyone made fun of it and called it "Cardboard Cobbler".

2. Chocolate Ganache cake from The Puffy Muffin bakery. I already have Maddy rehearsing her line to Michael for my upcoming birthday. "Mommy loves the chocolate ganache cake from the Puffy Muffin." Crossing my fingers she gets it right...would hate for her to mangle the line and have me end up with "Muffins from the Publix bakery" or some other such tragic birthday dessert. [You caught me! Alterior motives in the blog...I know Michael will read this and then have no excuses come September...]

1. Cookie Monster from Cheddar's restaurant. You have to look long & hard to find one of these restaurants in my area, but when you do, you'll never want to leave. Here's the description from the Cheddar's website:

THE COOKIE MONSTER WOW! OUR LEGENDARY DESSERT Homemade chocolate chip cookie cooked in a skillet, topped with premium vanilla ice cream, homemade hot fudge, fresh whipped cream, chopped nuts and a cherry. Fresh baked, so please allow a few extra minutes.

My college friend Brandi & I used to go to Cheddar's a lot. Being typical cheap/poor college students, we didn't have a lot of extra cash for eating out, but we knew the value of the cookie monster. It's a dessert meant to share because it's rather large--I mean, it comes in a skillet for crying out loud! But, it's really good, so you want to eat it all. In order to make cookie monsters a reality in our lives, we'd each order a cup of soup or a side salad instead of an entree so we could afford the extra room in our stomachs and our wallets to have our very own cookie monster!


EDITED: WAIT! I just did a little web research on Chi Chi's. Apparently, they closed down completely in 2003 following a Hepatitis A outbreak. That's a little frightening. Maybe I need a new #5.

And, finally, a note to my readers: Have I missed one? You can comment and let me know YOUR favorite dessert. I know you're out there...and I know you have a favorite dessert and I know you have a computer since you're reading this, so you have everything you need to post a comment. Give a shout out to your favorite sugar concoction! Show your appreciation to the culinary world of refined ingredients!