Extras | Do Better

meme episode II

September 20, 2008 at 6:00 am | Posted in essay | 14 Comments
Tags: meme

When I was a stay-at-home-mom my thoughts were consumed with what I’d bake next. Now that I’m working, all I can think about is shoes! shoes! shoes! I’ve never been a shoe girl. I think I might be becoming one. Here’s a little bit more about me…

Last Movie I Saw In A Movie Theater? Wall-E

What Book Are You Reading? The Shack

Favorite Board Game? Cribbage

Favorite Magazine? Anything with beautiful pictures

Favorite Smells? Vanilla

Favorite Sounds? My hubby’s car door…he’s home!

Worst Feeling In The World? Fear

First Thing You Think of When You Wake? Must.Get.Up.

Favorite Fast Food Place? Rubios

Future Child’s Name? Gunnar (not that we are having any more children)

Finish This Statement—“If I Had a Lot of Money,” I’d quit my job.

Do You Drive Fast? No, gas is too expensive!

Do You Sleep With a Stuffed Animal? No

Storms—cool or scary? Scary

What Was Your First Car? 1972 Mercury Cougar

Favorite Drink? Water

Finish This Statement—“If I Had the Time, I Would…” Bake and blog more. Get my kids 5 year scrapbooks finished. Wait, get my hair colored and a mani and pedi.

Do You Eat the Stems on Broccoli? Yes

If You could Dye your Hair Any Other Color, What Would It Be? I’m already dying it back to it’s natural brown, so, brown with highlights.

Name All the Different Cities In Which You Have Lived. Here and There. From the city to the beach. Capital city to the burbs.

Favorite Sport to Watch? Anything from a luxury skybox.

One Nice Thing About The Person Who Sent This To You. She is very creative and I love her food photos.

What’s Under Your Bed? Wrapping paper.

Would You Like to Be Born As Yourself Again? Sure. Yes. I guess.

Morning Person or Night Owl? Morning. Definitely Morning.

Over Easy or Sunny Side Up? What’s the difference?

Favorite Place to Relax? Home

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor? Vanilla Bean

My thanks to Feeding Maybelle for the tag. Play along if you wish!

Yum Yum Smiles

July 23, 2008 at 6:30 pm | Posted in Extras, Pies | 2 Comments
Tags: awards, chocolate cream pie, Dessert

You must have known it was coming. Photos of the winning chocolate cream pie with…

curls!!!

And speaking of winning awards…

I would like to thank Diannes Dishes for The Yum Yum Award!

and thanks to Megans Cookin for The Smile Award!

Characteristics for the Smile Award:

1. Must display a cheerful attitude. (not necessarily at all times–we are all human)
2. Must love one another
3. Must make mistakes
4. Must learn from others
5. Must be a positive contributor to blog world
6. Must love life
7. Must love kids

These are the rules:

1. The recipient must link back to the award’s creator (http://www.thebabblingsofmere.blogspot.com/)
2. You must post these rules if you receive the award.
3. You must chose 5 people to receive the award after receiving it yourself
4. You must fit the characteristics of the recipient of the award, as posted by Mere.
5. You must post the characteristics of a recipient.
6. You must create a post sharing your win with others.
7. You must thank your giver.

My first Smile Award goes to Diannes Dishes because her food is inspiring, her photos are wonderful, and her garden is a thing of envy.

I would like to pass The Yum Yum Award and The Smile Award on to:

Canela y Comino. I love how Gretchen shares about the people and dishes of Peru while honoring her very American upbringing.

Colette’s Bakery. She bakes and dances, has a fun family, and is only 16 years old. I love peeking into her life.

Couch Cubicle. This girl is a riot! She always makes me laugh with her funny life stories.

A Southern Grace. She has great food, great photos, and is a great story teller.

And my final Yum Yum award goes to Megans Cookin. It’s no surprise that Megan’s food looks yummy and tastes yummy.

If I could, I would pass on a slice to each and every one of you!

Happy 6th Birthday

July 13, 2008 at 9:09 pm | Posted in Cupcakes, twins | 16 Comments
Tags: birthday cupcakes, dogs, R2-D2, star wars, twins

My kids turned 6 years old today. It feels like a lifetime ago when they came into the world. So much has changed since then.

Here’s a photo of me on July 12, 2002 (my twins original due date), as we were leaving for the hospital.

And here were are today…

Then…

And now…

Think he liked the cupcakes?

Here’s how I made these R2-D2 Cupcake Toppers.

I made dog candies for my daughter’s cupcakes. She loves dogs.

One mom asked where I ordered the dog candies from! That was a nice compliment (I think). To make these I picked up a dog candy mold from Michaels. The hard part was doing the dogs one at a time. First the nose, mouth and eyes. Then the dog collar and tongue. Then the dog tag. And finally the whole dog. After each part I had to put my candy into the refrigerator so it could quickly set up.

It was a super fun day, but now I’m beat…back to the gym tomorrow!

told you so pie

July 10, 2008 at 12:45 am | Posted in Dessert, essay | 13 Comments
Tags: pie

See, I told you so, I’m no good at pies. Case in point, this chocolate cream pie. Or, as my daughter described it, “frosting pie”.

Allow me to describe: the crust…too much butter, not enough cookie crumbs, too thin, too hard, not good! And the chocolate cream was way too rich. Kinda tasted like chocolate fudge, and not so good tasting. And take a closer look at how the chocolate cream never attached to the chocolate crust. Not good.

Trouble was, the online reviews for this recipe were incredible. I must have done something wrong. And as it turns out, I did do something wrong. Even worse, I did more than one thing wrong. Did I mention that I don’t do pies! I’m no good.

With our church’s Pie Contest on Saturday, I was hoping to try several pies this week. The thing is, I am not hoping for 1st or 2nd or 3rd place…my hope is that my pie will be eaten and not thrown into the garbage!

And besides that fact that pies are not my thing and I really really need the practice, the bay area has been suffering through a heat wave this week, so turning on the oven is just not an option. Did I mention that I don’t have air-conditioning? As I write it is 12:45am and my house is still 82 degrees. I get very cranky in the heat….and apparently pretty whiny too.

perspective

June 15, 2008 at 8:00 am | Posted in essay | 4 Comments
Tags: infertility

I was so bummed when I saw this. But then I remembered reading this last night. And then I watched this.

So that’s why I’m posting this on my sidebar :

Infertility’s Common Thread

Because 10 years ago when I started infertility treatments there was nothing like this. And I wanted one. I needed one. And now there is one.

And even with 5 year old twins running around my house (IVF w/day 2 rescue ICSI),

it is still part of me.

Adventures in Suburbia: The Pink Box

April 25, 2008 at 6:41 pm | Posted in Cupcakes, essay | 8 Comments

My husband came home carrying a pink box. Some girls swoon over flowers. For others, it’s that famous blue box. But for me, it’s The Pink Box.

And now I’m home alone with The Pink Box. My hubby and dear daughter ran to Frys and my son is playing at the neighbor’s house.

And I can’t think about anything but The Pink Box.

So I pick it up.

Take a peek.

Look at it’s glory.

Then close it up and put it away because I have little self control right now. Yep, The Pink Box renders me completely incapacitated.

And since I can’t think of anything but The Pink Box, I might as well write about it. And I’m hoping that as soon as this post is up, everyone will be home and we’ll be able to dive into The Pink Box.

The Pink Box comes from one of our favorite bakeries, Icing on the Cake. Inside the pink box there is a black and tan cupcake, banana cupcake, chocolate sundae cupcake, mint chip cupcake and banana bread. They have the best banana bread!

Okay, I hear the car doors!!!!!

Adventures in Suburbia: The Missing Tooth

April 10, 2008 at 9:00 am | Posted in essay | 10 Comments

We were at the park yesterday. It was sunny but breezy. The kids were happily playing with their friends. The moms talking at the table. When all of a sudden my son starts crying and I see this:

Okay. That tooth was loose, but I would have guessed another couple of weeks before it would have fallen out. So, I wasn’t terribly shocked, just surprised.

The thing was, he spit the tooth out. Somewhere. On the big grassy field. And I wanted that tooth!

Our friends were great. Without even asking, they all came over and started looking. For a tooth. A baby tooth. In a big grassy field.

We looked.

And we looked.

Some started dropping out. Others took a break. The moms and I went back to the table. Oh well. We tried.

A few minutes later I heard, “WE FOUND IT”!

What?!!!!

“COLE FOUND IT”

Many thanks to our friend Cole! Because of his persistence my son and his tooth were reunited.

P.S. As I post this adventure, I realize that the tooth is still in the cookie bag that I carefully stored it in while at the park. The tooth fairy forgot to come. And my son hasn’t asked why.

And a huge thank you to my friend Angela! She grabbed her camera and made this funny little event a wonderful memory! Thanks Angela!

Adventures in Suburbia: The Lid

April 3, 2008 at 9:30 pm | Posted in essay | 17 Comments

I walked into the kitchen about to offer my hubby a cup of tea, when I see this…

And then I turn it over and see this…

Now, it’s after 9pm, so I’m finished eating. And I had a great day. I got in 3 ten minute miles (ran for 3 miles) plus some great core work at the gym this morning. I worked in my front yard’s flower bed all afternoon. And my hubby and I got in a lovely (yet extremely rare) 2 mile evening walk after dinner. So, I feel great!

And of course, it’s 9pm and sure, I could eat something. But I don’t even want to. However, I don’t want to see this sitting on my counter either. (And everyone knows that a lone lid of haagan-daze on the counter means that the ice cream is being eaten directly out of the container, somewhere.)

So I make just one cup of tea. For Me. By the way, this is my new favorite flavor…

Oh, it’s so good. And now that lid is back on the haagan-daze. And I can go to bed knowing that at least for now, I’m doing better.

She’s having a baby Meringues!

February 26, 2008 at 2:33 pm | Posted in Dessert, essay | 10 Comments
Tags: baby shower food, meringue

My little sister is expecting her first baby in the fall! I am so excited to meet my little niece or nephew. So excited in fact that I’ve been searching Gymboree and Janie and Jack for cute newborn outfits. I’ve browsed Pottery Barn Kids‘ selection of nursery items. And baby shower food keeps running through my brain.

I think these Meringue Kisses are the quintessential baby shower food. They are light, airy and crispy. Slightly sweet with a hint of flavoring…they are so cute stacked on the dessert table. Add the strawberry extract and lots of pink food coloring if expecting a girl!

Meringue Kisses

3 egg whites at room temp
1/4 t cream of tartar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 t vanilla extract (or strawberry extract)
1-3 drops of red food coloring (depending on how pink you want these)

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats. Beat egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar. Increase speed to high and continue beating until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar beating until stiff peaks form. Mix in extract and food coloring.

Spoon meringue into pastry bag. Bake for 3 hours or until dry and crisp. Cool on baking sheets. Store in airtight container at room temperature. Can be made the day ahead.

From Semi-Homemade Desserts by Sandra Lee

I’m having so much fun in manual mode that I had to share these photos as well.

The single meringue

And the triple shot

Chez Panisse

February 23, 2008 at 7:15 pm | Posted in Extras | 4 Comments
Tags: chez panisse, restaurant

Today we went to Chez Panisse for lunch! World famous Chez Panisse! Executive Chef and Owner Alice Waters‘ Chez Panisse! In a word, wow! Fresh from the garden, fresh from the sea, locally grown, organic, environmental harmony and optimal flavor all combined to make a fabulous lunch!

I enjoyed a fresh (and I mean straight from the garden fresh) green salad and then fish over polenta with a side of spinach. For dessert my dear hubby and I split (and by split I mean I had a bite of) the chocolate (brownie? I don’t know what to call it, but brownie is the closest thing I can think to call it) with cognac and white truffle oil ice cream. I also tried a bite of Crystal’s apple tart and.it.was.so.good.