Gratitude

Things I'm grateful for:

Girls who don't think they love each other but they really couldn't live without the other one.

Cute boys in my life. Mr. Upside-down absolutely LOVES being upside-down.
You should see his hair when he's done. POOF!

This is pretty unimportant in the grand scheme of things but it makes me quite happy when MY favorite people on my favorite reality shows win.
(Or, in Donny's case, the 2nd favorite. Sorry, I really liked Kelly.
Chef Garces on the left is from the Next Iron Chef.
I was not thrilled about the winner of Project Runway. )

I'm grateful to not be reading this book anymore. Even with the narrator change (which the author likes to do), I was not enjoying this one bit. I'd love to know the ending but I think I can get that information from the 'puter (as Max calls it) and stop torturing myself.

I am also very grateful that package that I sent to Peru actually arrived in LESS than a week and fully intact. Don't you love the stickers I put on it? (Sorry about the photo quality - I was w/o a camera for a week and almost went into withdrawals.) I figured if I couldn't appeal to the postal office's sense of religion (Virgin Mary stickers) then I'd appeal to their national pride (Peruvian flag stickers). Taping the dickens out of it probably helped too.

There's a lot more to be thankful for but these are just a few things.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!

Stiff

Stiff, by Mary Roach, was recommended by a partner in crime on Book Blogging Babes. I am not the most squeamish person alive (surprisingly, I am getting less squeamish with age) - maybe about in the middle of the "squeamish scale" (?!?) and I could digest most of this book without too many problems.

This book talks about the different journeys that cadavers take - whether it be cremation, dissection for education, as a crime solving tool and even ways that people are trying to make death & burial more environmentally friendly.

It gave a good history of burials and all sorts of body disposal techniques through the ages. Interesting read if you can digest it.

11 is heaven

Ah, Abby turned 11 on Friday. I am in disbelief. No turning back from the double digits darnit.
Here is what an 11-year-old looks like.

We went to eat with my in-laws and then to their home for cake and gifts. Abby received a "time turner" necklace (Hermione had one in Harry Potter) and Hermione's earrings that she wore in the Yule ball. (She will correct me if I'm wrong. Sorry Ab!) She was thrilled and can't think of a thing she wants for Christmas!

She is a great kid and we're glad she's ours.

Olive Kitteridge

I have been wanting to read this book for a while and finally got around to it. Abide With Me, also by Elizabeth Strout, is an amazing book that I read a few years ago. Well, this one did not live up to my expectations. Ms. Strout is an amazing writer. She could probably make doing laundry sound interesting. But other than that, this book left me depressed and empty. It is basically a series of short stories; Olive Kitteridge is a main character in some and only thrown in others for "continuity sake"? (I.e. I wasn't sure WHY she was thrown in.) This style made it very disjointed and sometimes hard to follow. The setting, Crosby, Maine, plays a big part in this book.

Pretty much everyone is unhappy and those who are happy are being thwarted in their efforts by the miserable ones. Parents are ruining their kids lives, spouses are stepping out on each other. I did see some growth/maturity in Olive by the end of the book (and hey, she started out in her old age so it was about time) but not enough to forgive her actions in the rest of the book.

As far as I'm concerned a book has three chances to win over the reader (in no particular order): 1) plot 2) setting 3) characters. The setting was the winner by far and that's not saying much. The plot and the characters fell completely flat.

Verdict: Skip it. Too much other good stuff out there.

Luck?

I have been running an infirmary going on 3 weeks here. Luckily (?!) it hasn't been the flu - nasty coughs, colds, some fevers and sore throats. My immune system finally gave in last week. Good timing = my husband has been in Germany for the past week. Go figure. Yesterday, my girls woke up EARLY (and on their own) and served me breakfast in bed. Last night, they asked me if I wanted it again. (I declined - but thanks.)

Aren't they so sweet? I'm a lucky mom to have such great kids.

Above photo is of the girls with their cousin baby Tessa.

Lemon buttermilk cake

Not to pat myself on the back (because really, I just follow the recipe) but this is one of the best cakes I have ever made. I piped the frosting because the blog I got it from did it. Delicious no matter how you spread it.

Lemon buttermilk cake:
1 1/3 c. sugar
6 tbsp. butter, softened
1 tbsp. grated lemon rind
3 tbsp. thawed lemonade concentrate
2 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/4 c. fat-free buttermilk (I couldn't find this so I used non-fat plain yogurt)

Heat oven to 350. For cake: place sugar, butter, lemon rind, lemonade concentrate, vanilla in a large bowl, beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs and egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda; stir well. Alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk (yogurt) to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture - mix well after each addition.

Pour batter into greased pan (You can use 2 9" pans - I used a bundt. It didn't fill the whole thing but it was fine.) Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. (I needed a bit more time for the bundt because of the thickness.) Remove from pan and cool and then ice.

Frosting:
2 tsbp. butter, softened
2 tsp. grated lemon rind
2 tsp. thawed lemonade concentrate
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
8 oz. 1/2 less-fat cream cheese (I used full-fat cream cheese)
3 1/2 c. powdered sugar
Place butter, lemon rind, lemonade concentrate, extract and cream cheese in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until fluffy. Add powdered sugar, and beat at low speed until just blended. Chill 1 hour and then frost cake. (If you're using 2 rounds, put frosting in between cakes and then frost all around.) I don't know if I'd chill the frosting as long next time.

To die for.

Happy Bday Brad!

I'm 40 NOT 40 going to 40 mention how old 40 my husband 40 is today. Nope 40. Not 40 me.

I can't even believe it! I had to share the pic above - holding little Samantha in the hospital about 8.5 years ago. He looks sooo YOUNG and his hair is soo poofy - or thick? It's classic. I love it. I love HIM! Sam printed it out for him yesterday (while home sick from church) and wanted him to put it in his office. He may need some convincing to do so.

He is a fabulous guy, I'm glad he was born and glad he's MINE!

Stay tuned for the AMAZING cake recipe that I made him.
It was unreal.

Chicken and cookies

I am super behind posting some recipes. What could you possibly be eating without them? :) I know, I'm flattering myself. Honestly, the main reason I post is so I can find the recipe!

This oven "fried" chicken is a family favorite and oh-so-yummy. I'm just going to link to it here - from Food Network. My notes: I've never used bone-in chicken. I can get about 6 breasts out of this recipe (I make a bit more of the breading just for fun). I couldn't find plain pita chips this last round and used the garlic/parmesan flavor and it was awesome. Go easy on the cayenne if you're sensitive to spicy food. I think the breading, the cooking spray and baking it on a rack makes all of the difference.

And for dessert, delicious oatmeal raisin (or oatmeal chocolate chip) cookies:
1 c. butter, softened
1 1/3 c. light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
3 c. rolled oats
1 1/2 c. raisins
1 c. chopped nuts, optional (I used chopped pecans)

Preheat oven to 350. Cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk the flours, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats, raisins and nuts. Place dough into the fridge for 30 minutes. Scoop onto cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes - taking them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked looking on top. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to the rack to cool.

I divided my dough - added raisins to 1/2 and chocolate chips to the other half. Add as much chocolate/raisins as you prefer.

It's high time for a new camera. Zooming is not my friend right now.

Books

When We Were Romans by Matthew Kneale is a book written from the perspective of the 9-year-old son (spelling, grammar and all) of a paranoid schizophrenic mother who is convinced that her ex-husband is not only stalking them (including a younger sister) but all-out trying to kill them. They flee from their home in England to Italy where the mother used to live. Little money. Little food. Little know-how.

It's not the greatest novel but it was interesting because the boy went from trying to protect his young sister from his mother's behavior to trying to protect his mother. It was kind of sweetly tragic.

I just finished reading The Snakehead by Patrick Radden Keefe. The cover sums it up well: An epic tale of the Chinatown underworld and the American dream. I knew nothing about this subject going in and I was like a deer in headlights. Keep in mind that this was in the 80s/90s - not recent. It talks about the Chinese gangs, human smuggling (the heads of the smuggling operations are called "Snakeheads"), money laundering, murders and all things vile. It was well written and thoroughly researched. Could have been 50 pages shorter.

What I really liked about this book is the discussion on immigration, especially illegal immigration. Obviously a hot topic right now. There is a fair discussion for both sides. To whom do you grant asylum? It took a look at policies over the years that the government thought would help when in reality it only exacerbated the problem. If you read this, definitely read the epilogue because the author's personal viewpoint is worthwhile.

Little Wantha

Brad's Uncle Bud passed away this past week. He had been through some very very difficult things in his life and recently was suffering from some tremendous health problems. About a month ago, he was diagnosed with lung AND esophageal cancer. We were all hoping and praying that he'd be able to treat it and move forward but it was not to be. Last weekend, he couldn't breathe and so they took him to the hospital where he died a few days later.

We told the kids what was going on. We let the girls know (Max = no comprendes at this point) that he wasn't going to make it. When we finally got the call that he had died, Sam went into a tailspin. She just sobbed and sobbed. But she insisted on going to gymnastics. I was completely prepared to let her stay home. She put a call in to her Grammy Linda (Follow this: Grammy Linda is Auntie Paula's sister. Auntie Paula is married to Uncle Bud.) and couldn't even speak she was crying so hard. This is happening in the parking lot of gymnastics. Again, PLEASE stay home Samantha! No Mom - I want to go. I let her coach in on what had happened. Apparently she did well but had a little moment on the uneven bars.

I went and saw This Is It that night and by the time I got home, the kiddos were in bed. But this sweet note was waiting for me. She is such a sensitive, thoughtful little gal.

She is doing much better since then. But the other day Abby was saying our family prayers and did not mention Paula at ALL and afterwards, Samantha said, incredulously,
"DO YOU THINK YOU COULD HAVE MENTIONED AUNTIE PAULA? ...and for her not to feel LONELY at this time?!"

So funny. You go girl.

P.S. Confession: I did not run the 5K that was held today. I've not felt 100% all week. It was very cold on the course (my inside sources tell me) and I know it would've set me back another week. Max and Sam are not well and I had a bunch of other very legitimate obligations to attend to.
= full disclosure
If you never speak to me again, I'll understand.