It Happened One Life

Today's my Katie-bug's 10th birthday! When she awoke, the balloon fairy had ravaged her room yet again, but sadly it will be for the last time. Just as candy doesn't taste as good when you're 10, so does the balloon fairy cease to come to spread inflated-rubber joy.

Right now, Katie, Kim and Ellen are trekking off to get the birthday present that means most to her...Gerbils. Yes, we acquiesced to her continued badgering for a pet and in the last week she's obtained a new tree frog (Lyra!) and now a pair of gerbils. She is bouncing off the walls in anticipation. Picture of the little guys to come soon.

We flew down to North Carolina (via Norfolk, VA) for a vacation with both "families" for the first time. So Ellen, Katie and I are in the airport, and the topic of a Simpson's episode came up. In this episode, Homer is waiting to buy a gun (long story) and everything he sees looks like targets, including some little ducklings walking across the street in a neat row. Ellen said "I'd shoot the ducklings first!" with such vehemence that I had to ask why she would shoot the little ducks. She replies "Because they grow up and become geese!"

Katie and I just started laughing, and then Ellen did too realizing what she said (although Katie didn't miss an opportunity to say "Uh, Ellen, they GOSLINGS grow up to become GEESE. Duh."

I write like
Isaac Asimov

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Could be worse. I could write like Alan Paton. Or Sue Grafton. *shudder*

At the request of Nathalie, I am posting a very simple recipe for what to do with nice, fresh strawberries this summer:

1 angel food cake (bake it if you want -- I just bought one. Much easier).
2 lbs strawberries
2-3 tbs sugar, depending on how sweet you like it.
2 tsp lemon juice

Wash strawberries. Cut ends off, and quarter or cut up smaller if you like. Put into large bowl and cover with sugar and lemon juice, stir well. Cover and let stand in fridge for 2-3 hours, stirring every so often. This lets the syrup form (it's called "Masceration").

For the whipped cream:

2 cups heavy cream
4-5 tbs powdered sugar
2 tsb vanilla

Mix all ingredients in bowl and using either standup mixer or hand mixer beat on high until stiff peaks form in the cream (figure about 3-4 minutes).

When the berries have formed juice and you're ready to eat, cut slices of cake, ladle over some strawberries and syrup and put a nice big blob of whipped cream on the side. If you want to get fancy, lightly toast the slices of cake in a toaster oven.

After watching the last episode of season 4 of Doctor Who, I was reminded how much I liked this show and decided it would be a good show for Ellen. We watched the first episode of season 1 ("Rose") today at lunch and she loved it. It's so up her alley--clever, sci-fi'y, and funny. I got a big thumbs up when it was done. Maybe we'll watch another episode later.

When the episode started, it was a little creepy and she didn't know what to expect, so all of a sudden I feel a hand reach out looking for mine. Too cute.

Katie's having a guitar lesson. Her teacher is saying "you need to practice this after I leave."

Katie: Can't i do it after I go out and play?
Teacher: No, you really should do it now.
Katie: Come on...
Me: Katie, stop whining.
Katie: I'm not whining, I'm trying to find a loophole.
Me (literally out loud): Oh, Jesus...

Do I really need this? Come on...

Katie and I are driving home tonight from Tae Kwan Do, when we pass the place near us that used to do a nice Dim Sum brunch. They've been closed more than a year now, so Katie was reminiscing.

K: You know what I liked that they had? There was this one thing that had sort of wet meat in soft bread.
D: Um...wet meat?
K: Yeah. It was sweet and the outside was white sort of?
D: a roast pork bun?
K: Yeah! That was it.
D: Wet meat....ew.

Bet that description would NOT do well on a menu...

Seems like every year for the past few years, I've made Ellen a crazy birthday cake layered over this snowman mold we bought around 8 years ago. Going through my iPhoto, I was actually surprised to find that i've now made 8 varieties of snowman cakes. It's odd that the only vaguely artistic mediums i seem to work in are food related (Pumpkins and cakes...). Perhaps, knowing me, it's not that odd.

Anyway, in what I believe is chronological order, here are the past 8 years cakes, with small descriptors:

Orignal Frosty cake, for her 5th Birthday. Just followed the cake-pan instructions to frost this one:

First full body snowman:

Second full body snowman:

After this last one, I decided to try fondant, which is a soft, rollable sheet of frosting that can be molded much more than icing. It's like sweet play doh. The rest of the cakes are fondant cakes.:

At this point, I started getting bored with snowmen, per se, so I started putting personalities on the snowmen cake molds. This one is a knight from Ellen's game Runescape:

Next, we have a Harry Potter version of the snowman:

This one is Ang, from Avatar (the TV show, not the movie):

And, finally, this year I decided to hit up the video game world for Mario. I liked this one the best:

If I do another one next year, I think i'll have to make it hover or something...

Happy 12th Birthday, kiddo.

Recently, I had to take a piece from Katie's computer to fix a client's machine that was down completely. When I got home, I had to explain to katie that it could be a week or so before her computer was working again. She said it was OK, and proceeded to use a laptop, and Kim's computer, and pester Ellen a bit who barely let her touch her computer.

However...at no point did she complain, or whine, or get angry. She was very appreciative when I hooked her computer back up and thanked me for doing it.

This is a message to my little katie-bug. Thank you, sweetie, for being so generous and so understanding. I think you get a special treat this week, and you deserve it. I'm proud of how you behaved.

Ellen's first report card for the new, big, scary 6th grade school. A picture is worth a thousand words.