Eliminated

I would like to begin this post by stating that I never did say I was an expert cake baker. As a matter of fact, I did say that I was a novice. So, please keep that in mind IF I post pictures of Juliet's birthday cake. Perhaps our camera will have a convenient "accident" before tomorrow. Suddenly icecream cake is starting to sound good. Really, if cake refuses to come out of a pan, aren't you somewhat limited? And if it decides to break in two, what's there to do? Really!!!! Cake-bakers, you no longer have a threat. I have eliminated myself today. Thank-you.

On Baking Cakes

The pressure is on! Can I deliver? Or will the challenge prove too great? It's Juliet's birthday on Sunday, party to be celebrated on Saturday, and I have to bake a cake! Has anyone noticed the new peer pressure that is now a part of being a mom and having birthday parties? It's the How-Creative-of-a-Cake-Can-You-Come-Up-With challenge! The old sheet cake covered with white icing and a few colorful sprinkles is now a part of a by-gone era. So what am I going to come up with? For about three seconds, I contemplated making a Winnie the Pooh cake since my sister has a cake pan in that shape. But then I thought about it. Really thought about it. Though the shape would be Pooh, by the time I had done slathering him with yellow icing, would it look like him? Most likely not. People would be wondering what kind of cake I had come up with. "Wow! She's going modern! A yellow blob cake!" So, no, no Winnie the Pooh. I went to the store and looked at the cake pans they had there. FIFTEEN dollars for a cake pan in the shape of a flower - that I would only use once because next year you can't use the same shape (it's in the rules). So what to do? My husband suggested I make an icecream cake - afterall, I am famous for them (she said with a trace of smugness). On the other hand, last year I did an icecream cake and I didn't have the common sense to write the "Happy Birthday, Juliet" inscription in a contrasting color to the icing. So you really couln't see what I wrote. I could simply change that, but after last years flop, I need to make up for it with something BIG. Something that will make everyone gasp at my astounding creativity. Thankfully, my sister Lora pulled through. She has a cake pan in the shape of a party hat (as you can see, she has been involved in these contests for a longer period than I have. I'm just a novice at this. She is an...expert). And so, expect a picture of a cake soon, so beautiful, it will make you recoil in horror when you recall the last cake you baked!
Disclaimer: No part of the above post was intended to cause any hurt feelings. I greatly admire cake bakers. Keep posting pictures of your cakes. It's just that you have... COMPETITION!

WHAT'S A WOMAN TO DO????????

Grocery shopping used to be somewhat enjoyable. To be honest, let's say it was enjoyable the first month of marriage. (I think most "chores" are kind of fun the first month of marriage because everything is new and exciting). After some time, it just became another chore. I don't mind it now but it isn't something that I look forward to. But every Monday me and Jules drive off to Shoprite, and shop for an hour or so. I used to go at night but now Jules likes going with me - especially since they always have cheese to sample there. It is the little treat I look forward to... I remember when Mike and I were first married Mike used to come with me. That quickly ended since I couldn't handle having him place random impulse purchases in our cart. According to Mike, if something is on sale, there is something wrong with it. "Why else is it on sale? They are just trying to get rid of it. It's no good." Well, after going into cardiac arrest everytime we went grocery shopping I BANNED him from coming with me. Every once in awhile he offers to do the grocery shopping for me and I haven't taken him up on it yet. Anyway, I have a real dilemma when I go grocery shopping lately. To go organic or to not go organic, that is the question! When money is tight, I skip the whole organic thing and tell myself that all this organic stuff is a load of hooey. According to my Cooking Light magazine, there are no known nutritional advantages to using organic products. So, I recite facts along those line and feel better. See? No one is going to make a fool of me! Ha! This organic stuff is all a BIG hoax. Then the next month rolls around and I start to remember that book I heard about that states that chickens are fed all sorts of strange food just to make them really big and that there legs can barely hold them up because they are not proportioned correctly (so they have big breasts (okay, this sounds weird but I can't get around it) - that's what American's eat. Off on another sub-topic here, aren't chicken thighs way better than chicken breasts? I can't figure out what the deal is with everyone liking white meat). And that sends shivers down my spine (that chicken can barely walk because their ...fronts are so heavy). Off the shelf come the cage-free eggs. This ought to be a little healthier, I tell myself. And then I remember someone telling me that cage free eggs really mean that the chicken farmers just have to have an opening in the barn so the chickens can go walk around and scratch in the dirt outside. Except that hardly any of them do that! They stay in the barn. Sigh. So what's a woman to do? And what in the world is the difference between cage-free and organic eggs? And what about milk? Do they really pump cows with all kinds of stuff so that they produce more milk? Are all those hormones dangerous? But organic milk smells funny, says the city girl (me). This is when I really do believe that ignorance is bliss. Okay, one last argument on the other side: So, let's say all of this artificial stuff isn't the best for you, but it's not terrible. Aren't we living longer than we ever did? (I am not getting into the whole ethical treatment of animals here. Maybe another time. I don't know (and probably don't want to) enough about it). And then I hear about people who say you should shop at your local farmer's market (are there any where I live???). For me, that would mean another shopping trip - and I don't want to! The best way for me to save money is to STAY OUT OF THE STORES! So one less place to go to would be beneficial. For example, diapers are cheaper at Walmart, but whenever I go there, I can't leave that place without spending at least fifty bucks (all necessary purchases, of course). I think I managed to spend under fifty dollars ONE time, and I was so excited, I did a cartwheel in the parking lot. Okay, slight exxageration there. Anyway, there's my rant of the week. Off to go grocery shopping! :)

Itchy Fingers

I think Juliet is carrying on the impatient streak that I have. Today I bought her her very first Thomas the Tank Engine train with a simple set of tracks that take the train around in a small circle. I planned on saving them for her birthday, but she saw me put the train set into my cart at Walmart, so that ended that idea for she instantly wanted to hold it. As I drove home, all I heard was a little girl repeating over and over, "Open, Open." Once home, I opened the box and set it up for a very excited little girl. I put Thomas on the track, turned him on, and let him race around the track. Every time Thomas came to Jules side of the table, she simply could not resist "helping Thomas along" with her little itchy hands. This resulted, without fail, in dislodging him off the track and having me put him back on. This happened again and again... I suppose in her mind, he needed her help!

Gardening with Bare Hands!

There's dirt under my fingernails and that means I have been gardening! Every time I go out to putter around in the garden I tell myself that THIS TIME I AM GOING TO WEAR GARDENING GLOVES! It's hard to get the dirt off of my fingers if I don't put them on. No matter how hard I scrub them, the dirt in the lines of my skin won't leave. According to my mom, the only way to get rid of it is to soak your hands in water. I ain't the bubble bath type of person (I've tried it numerous times only to be disappointed in how boring it actually is - to me the whole bubble bath idea sounds nicer than it actually is. All I do is get hot and bothered, and then I try to read a book while relaxing but then you get the pages wet when you turn them, because OOPS, you put your hand in the water), and I certainly would not have the patience to soak my hands in a pail. I think I would last two minutes before calling it a day. I have a very impatient streak in me that some of my sisters also have (you know who you are). For instance, I can never paint my fingernails because I never wait long enough for them to dry. NEVER. Every time I paint them, I tell myself that I will wait at least ten minutes before actually touching something...but then I'll see the comb on the floor, and I'll think: "I'll just pick this up VERY carefully." Yeah, right!) So now I've given up on having nicely painted fingernails and instead I opt for painting my toes (in the summer cause that's when people see them). You can actually walk around with freshly painted toe nails without ruining them so that's why my toe nails usually are painted in the summer. Anyway, don't you think they look much nicer with say, a nice peach or rosy pink hue? Otherwise I think toes are kind of ... nasty. Just my opinion. But back to the dirty hands. I simply can't seem to garden with gloves on. I don't know what it is. I think it's harder to plant flowers with gloves on, so off they go, and I plant with my bare hands. Another thing that really is bothering me is I planted an azalea bush last year and it's flowers are of a peachy-orange color. It's bothering me because it won't match my other color scheme. My house looks great with purple and pink flowers and now I have this azalea bush that is the wrong color. My husband would probably say I'm nuts for even thinking such a thing but does anyone else plant flowers that are a particular color that go with their house? This only goes for the front of my house. In the back of my house I have a perennial garden, and I basically plant any flower, any color. It's kind of fun.

My Sneaky Husband

Well, I'm going on four years of marriage this summer and I still am learning new things about the ole' hubby. It was only recently that my husband confessed to something that I believed for a good eight years or so - before he told me the truth. It was Valentine's Day, our fist Valentines as a dating couple. I know not everyone celebrates it, but I figured at the time that we had been going out for, let's see, two months or so, so I bought Mike a teddy bear and a mug. Now that I think about it, those presents seem rather...silly. But hey, I bought them for him because what else do you buy a man for Valentine's Day when you are dating? Anyway, I gave the presents to Mike and he thanked me then said he had to go to his car to get my gift. He came back in with a black hat in hand and gave it to me because "I know how cold these Canadian winters are". (I was living in Canada at the time). The hat was a perfect fit and I proudly wore it the rest of the winter. So a couple months ago, Mike confessed to me that after I had given him his gift, he felt bad because he HADN'T BOUGHT ANYTHING FOR ME! So what would someone like Mike do? He pretended he had bought something, decided to rummage in the car and see what he could come up with while I waited inside. Lo and behold, his sister had just bought him a winter hat that was a little small on him, so I became the recipient. What I cannot fathom is how he manage to NOT tell me after all these years! Nevermind that everytime I saw a picture of me wearing the hat I would get a serious case of the warm fuzzies ("Oh, the sweet days of young love"). I wouldn't have cared about not getting a gift from him - after all, isn't he gift enough? Okay, okay, that's buttering up, I know; couldn't resist. Yup, my husband can be very sneaky!

Is it reality?

I've just finished breezing through one of my magazines, Better Homes and Gardens. I do enjoy getting it in the mail because I like to get decorating ideas and I love the beautiful flower gardens. There are some things that annoy me, however. First of all, I think what is pictured in the magazine is a far cry from reality. Have you ever noticed that practically every room has a fresh bouquet of flowers in it? It sounds romantic - you stroll outside into your perennial garden with a pair of scissors in hand and you artfully arrange one bouquet after another...(No matter that you have 10 rooms to fill with fresh flowers). You carefully place the bouquet in a highly visible spot and make sure it fits with the color scheme. Here is what I think really happens: The photographer who plans on taking pictures of the newly renovated home as well as the interior decorator who is going along for the ride stop at the florist and buy large quantities of fresh flowers (the florist wishes everyday there were photo shoots taken in town). The interiour designer fusses for an hour or two until she has placed the flowers in the most advantageous spot. The house now looks perfect. Secondly, how do they get these houses so clean and organized? You know there is a closet full of JUNK just bursting at the seams somewhere in the house! The couple who own the house hired cleaners the day before the shoot and they have taken the kids to a hotel to stay the night so the house remains spotless. Then, in the early morning, it's time to get their hair and make up done and the perfect casual ensemble must be put on with elegant ease. TADAA! We now have the effortless look in place! Now all that needs to be done, is to have the children sit at the table in their newly renovated crafting room, pull out a sheet of blank paper and start creating a masterpiece. There! The perfect family in the perfect house. And for their good behaviour, Mom and Dad (if there is one), take the kids out for a treat for posing so casually for the picture ("It really doesn't look like we planned this weeks in advance, does it?!"). I suppose it wouldn't do to have an upside down house pictured in a magazine, but when I look at some of the pictures, I can't possible imagine a kid or two living in such a house (especially with all those glass vases filled with fresh flowers perched on end tables)! See, told you I have a serious cynical streak in me.