Catch Up Blogging

So we have some long overdue blogging. Forgive us, but life has been busy in a super fun way. So let's jump right in shall we?

Once upon a time, all the way back in early April, there was this holiday called Easter. With rabbits, eggs and Crucifixions, oh my! We headed to Staunton, Virginia to visit the family and good times of course ensued. The weather was a wee bit chilly, so that kept us indoors a bit more than we would have liked. But the dreary weather didn't stop this wee one from braving the elements.


My self esteem took a beating when I realized that a 2 1/2 year old can outlast me in cold weather. I am totally screwed if Survivor ever took an Artic theme.

Anyhoo, on Saturday, Bob Andrew, Somanna and I ventured into Harrisonburg to dine at Taste of Thai, which specializes in seriously fabulous Thai food. I hope the pictures will convey what words, sadly, cannot.





Bros before Ho's!


My Favorite Curry:)

Andrew drove us to Harrisonburg with his new permit skillz in the new-to-my-rents Lincoln town car. I opted to sit in the front passenger seat, trying my darndest to look as young as possible, quite a challenge when you are riding in the AARP's official mode of transportation.

Hey there little guy, I'm gonna need to see some identification if you want that Senior Citizen discount!

And since I opted to sit up front, it thus became my responsibility to supervise Andrew's driving. I actually had a tough time with this because a.) Andrew's a good driver and b.) that town car is one smooooth ride. Bob & Somanna passed out five minutes after we got on the interstate. Meanwhile I'm peeling my eyelids back Joan Rivers style trying to stay awake. Thanks for the support fellas!

After we returned from our scrumptious meal, we lounged around and shot the breeze. Later on we watched Bolt, a super cute and very funny animated film. Sunday we went to church and afterwards celebrated Elder Bob's birthday with some homemade carrot cake.

In case you were wondering, uh YES, it was as good as it looks!

Overall, we had a nice relaxing trip and it's always fun to hang with la familia.

Plus Bob & Rosie shared with us, rather Joe shared with us, that they are indeed knocked up so for those of you counting that's baby # 4 and we are all hoping for a girl! Because believe me, they have run out of boy names that they can agree on.

Congrats yall and yay for babies!! (from other people! Yay!!)

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Music Video Thursday

I long to be a Bollywood Extra. I could totally rock out these moves. Somanna gets mad when he sees me practicing, but I tell him to be grateful his wife is so embracing of his culture.

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(No) Word Wednesday

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Aging & Crankiness

Age-induced crankiness has been rearing its wrinkled head lately.

Por Ejemplo, Saturday I called up the lovely ladies at Bare Minerals to inform them that while I love their product, I have enough to last me until the Messiah cometh and therefore I would like to cancel my reoccurring shipments and just order when I run out.

The following absurdity, I mean conversation ensued:

Sales Lady: Thank you Ms. Witch for calling. I have your account pulled up and see that you are already scheduled to receive a shipment every six months, which means your next shipment is not scheduled until August 2009. Now six months is our maximum limit.

Me: Yes, I saw that online. Which is why I'm calling you because really I don't think I'm going to run out before then, so I'd rather just cancel it and order when I run out.

SL: I see. And do you use the product everyday?

Me: Yes, I do. But I really have enough.

SL: (in a quiet, condescending tone) And how much coverage do you use?

Me: Well I'm not as ugly as I sound, so I like to think it doesn't take that much.

SL: Oooohh, so you use a light coverage? A more "natural" approach?

Me: Yes. And I detect your skepticism there Tammy Faye.

SL: Hmmm. (pause) Well, you do receive 20% off your purchase as a club member and if you were to cancel, you would lose that discount.

Me: (exasperation setting in) That's fine.

SL: Aww are you sure? Because that would that quadruple your price and you wouldn't be able to continue receiving your discount.

Me: Yes, I understand this concept. I am quite familiar with it actually. I believe its called a sale. But no thank you.

SL: (ignoring my futile refusal) One way for you to maintain your club membership status would be when you receive a package, simply mark it as return to sender and we will refund all charges because we do back our product with a money back guarantee for all purchases. Then you would not receive another installment until February 2010.

Me: That sounds like a lot of work. Really I just want to cancel this. When I run out, and if I've managed to recover from this call which is highly ticking me off, you'll still get my business.

SL: Do you wear any other make up? Eye make up or lip wear?

Me: No, I prefer to frighten small children. Thank you, but I'm not interested. I just want to cancel this.

SL: Oh ok, no problem Ms. Wykee, I'll be sure to get your request processed. Now do you have a skin care routine?

Me: Seriously? NO. I do not. I am an unabashed hippy and vanity is evil multi-billion dollar industry that exploits the environment, while devastating Western white girls self-esteem.
(guilty pause)
I prefer Estee Lauder.

SL:And are you happy with their product?

Me: No, my face swells in horrid red whelps. But once the redness fades, I like to think of it as "at home Botox." Listen, can I just cancel this? I really have to go.

SL: Oh yes Ms. Wysh. I canceled your order several moments ago.

(I swear I could hear her blinking over the phone. Crickets chirped while I reminded myself to count to ten, in Spanish, so that my blood pressure would subside. I also tried to smile in a Wednesday Addams sort of way, so as to avoid future wrinkles which will inevitably require more of this beauty product to cover up. And thus more of these ridiculous conversations.)

SL: Would you like your confirmation number?

Me: (in my best Bea Arthur growl impersonation) Yes.

SL: Ok well here it is: d0mba8s*. Thanks for calling!

Bitch!

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A Hodgepodge Post

Some recent observations:

1.) My obsession with food continues to grow. I not only walk around most of the time physically hungry, but lately I find myself mentally hungry. I want to know more about how food works, where it comes from, how you cook it, how you grow it, how it interacts with our bodies, how it tastes. I don't know much about these things, which when you really think about it, is downright bizarre isn't it? I eat food everyday and yet I don't even know where it comes from or how it is made? Hence, my recent reads, which you can check out here, here or here.

This obsession strikes me as both a bit odd and yet a natural progression. I've always had a "healthy appetite" in the colloquial sense. (Translation: I happily stuff my face.) But "healthy" in the dietary or environmental sense? Psshaawww. This has been a more recent undertaking.
But I'm learning that
a.) it's more do-able than you think
b.) more fun
c.) food tastes better!

And that is really all I'm after: Deliciousness 3.5x's a day.

2.) Having a kitchen larger than your dorm room closet is much more conducive to cooking at home. So that's what I've been doing more of: cooking. And I need all the practice I can get. One day I plan to do a post on kitchen disasters because I have a higher than average percentage, trust me. All highly comical.

3.) The world of cooking shares several commonalities with the world of fashion. Snobbery is abundant, trends rampant and common sense hit or miss. There's whole lot of Ego in the kitchen and I'm not referring to the waffles.

4.) I made my first omelet ever this week! On a whim and in an effort to use up some of the goodies in our fridge, I threw together some of the fresh eggs from my dad's chickens (another post) with some onions, tomatoes, spinach, and of course, cheese. Shaloot said it was purty good. (His jaw dropped when he found me cooking up bacon. I believe his exact words were "Did hell freeze over or did I miss an American holiday that I knew nothing about?")

Of course, there's always room for improvement, but I am rather proud since I can't stand eggs. I hear you already, how do you not like eggs? I just......don't. Never have.

According to my birth mother, eggs were fed to me....once. And promptly ended up back on her shirt. A couple more cycles of that and she got the hint. I do not like eggs Sam I am. But girl pass me the ham!

5.) Cupcakes are DA BOMB! Especially White Chocolate Sour Cream Amaretto Cupcakes!



A co-worker of mine recently made these delicious little bad boys for a baby shower at work and I knew instantly that I had to have this recipe. So I geared up to labor (get it?!) and make cupcakes from scratch for my friend Elise's baby shower, only to get the recipe and find that it calls for pre-made cake mix!

Are ya friggin kiddin me? Cupcakes that taste that good and I don't have to sift flour, sugar and baking soda? Sign me and my carpal tunnel wrists up!

And I'm signing you up by giving you the recipe below. Enjoy and be sure let your ego soak in all those compliments you'll get when you make these!

White Chocolate Amaretto Sour Cream Cake:
1 box French Vanilla Cake Mix
1 box white chocolate instant pudding
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teasp. salt
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup amaretto
1/2 cup oil
1 cup sour cream
1 teasp. pure vanilla extract
1 teasp. almond extract

Now here are the directions:
Take all those ingredients and Mix them in big-ass bowl. Then turn on your mixer while jamming out to some classic '80's tunes on your Pandora station (musical style optional).
Then pour the batter into your cupcake pans, filling about 3/4 of the way.
Bake at 350 for about 15 mins or so.

For the Frosting:
3 sticks of butter (oh you know its gonna be good!)
1/2 cup of Crisco (my arteries shudder, but it tastes so good!)
(1) 2 lb bag of powdered sugar
6-8 Tbsp Milk (or half-n-half....if you're completely abandoning your diet)
2 tsp. vanilla (or almond) extract.

Combine butter and Crisco with vanilla and mix well. Add half bag of powdered sugar and 3 tbsp of milk. Mix until thoroughly blended. Add remaining sugar and 3 tbsp of milk. Mix until thoroughly blended. Test for consistency. If it's really thick, add more milk (up to 8 tbsp.) This can be refrigerated until ready to ice cupcakes.

Happy Baking!

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Music Video Thursday

A more mature person might find this highly annoying.

But I'm not there yet.



A real post is on the way, I promise. Girl Scout's Honor! (or something). And it includes cupcakes, baby showers, furniture make overs and an Easter Recap. (You know that holiday that was like a month ago?)

So Stay Tuned!!

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A little preview of an upcoming blog post...

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