03.31.05

dinner

Posted in Uncategorized at 10:47 pm by Anne

So last week I invited my family over for dinner at a friend’s new house. It was completely inadvertent but now everyone thinks I’m lame. The conversation went a little like this:

Me: We should all try and get together for supper soon.
Her: yeah, that’d be fun
Me: Well, how’s your schedule look this next week?
Her: Nothing going on until saturday
Me: Okay then, let’s have dinner on friday. will that work?
Her: Ok great. Your house or mine?
Me: Hmm. I like your house better than mine.

ba-dah-bing-bah-dah-boom

and I am in charge of drinks (cosmopolitans) and dessert (lemon cake).

Let me tell you about the cake. I looked thru all my books and also on some choice web sites until I settled on this recipe. I just baked the layers tonight and they are cooling with a healthy brushing of some lemon-infused sugar syrup to maintain and enrich moistness. In the fridge I’ve got a dish of lemon curd (recipe from the cake bible)that will go between the layers and for the frosting, I’m going to whip a simple cream and fold in the remaining curd of lemony delishiousness.

Emma is such a good baby. Except for when she cries inconsolably. We had a moment earlier today when I was getting things together for supper and she was laying on the couch. Tummy time turned into screamy angry time and she became so riled up that it took a good five minutes to bring her back down again, to the non-shrieking world.

Lily is a good girl too. She pee’d in the potty again (yesterday) and today told me she wanted to go doo doo in the potty. So I helped her get situated and left her alone a few minutes. When I ducked back in, she was standing by the toilet and rooting around in one of the drawers. “I thought you had to go potty!” I exclaimed and she looked at me really earnestly and returned to the potty chair. I left again. Next thing I know she’s dragging the chair to the living room. I give her a few moments and find her using it as a stool. Apparently she didn’t really need to go doo doo after all.

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icecream pie

Posted in Uncategorized at 2:50 pm by Anne

So over the weekend I saw an intriguing recipe for an icecream pie. The crust is made of crushed pretzels, melted butter, and sugar, and pressed into the bottom of a spring form pan. Then, to a gallon of strawberry icecream, one adds a half cup of tequila, a quarter cup triple sec, and some pureed strawberries. Pour it into the crust and freeze until firm.

I made it yesterday and it wasn’t nearly as good as it sounded.

The recipe came out of the april issue of Southern Living.

In case you were wondering, the beeeyatch issue has not been resolved. Today I caught Lily with the telephone. And she was speaking into it. The word. over and over and over again.

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111228408021937616

Posted in Uncategorized at 9:37 am by Anne

Do you think that we as a nation, as a people, as parents, as human beings can learn anthing from the heartwrenching Schiavo case? It has filled the media airwaves for the past two weeks and hopefully has opened our eyes to a new cultural dilemma. Is euthanasia something we want to endorse? Is it within our rights to decide the fate of an individual who cannot speak for him/herself? Why didn’t her husband file for divorce (which should have been required by law once he took another ‘wife’ and fathered a child with her) ? Her parents were happy to continue taking care of her. And since when is giving food and water to someone who cannot do it themselves considered so difficult a task? I’m not a crazy person but I do cherish life and it seems like this case was mishandled in so many ways and that nobody will come out positively.

May she finally rest in peace.

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03.29.05

baby day

Posted in Uncategorized at 11:37 am by Anne

After three egg hunts, two egg decorating stints, and two large feasts, I’d say we made out like bandits this Easter. Lily and Emma received two of the prettiest dresses imaginable as gifts and Shan and I finally learned what a pleasure it is to struggle, plan, show up late, and try to keep food and dirty fingers off of dress clothing while a crowd of people ebbs and flows all around us.

The bunny cake I baked twice, once with the remainder of some boxed cake mix and the other from an included pound cake recipe. The boxed cake yielded a very soft and weak bunny that refused to stand up on it’s own but the pound cake, which stood up beautifully, was dry and somewhat tasteless. I’ll just need to keep experimenting with it, maybe use a different recipe and greatly reduce the time amount called for baking.

Yesterday morning I rushed with Emma to her 4 mon. checkup and walked away somewhat proud of my big girl. She ranks in the 75th percentile in weight and height and has a very strong neck. Lily was never this big as an infant! It will be so interesting to see how tall these girls are as adults.

Now we are awaiting the arrival of a play date for lunch. She is bringing chicken salad and I prepared a fruit salad and some chocolate chip cookies. Now if this damn headache would just go away.

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03.28.05

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Posted in Uncategorized at 7:50 am by Anne

bunny cake after 

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Posted in Uncategorized at 7:49 am by Anne

bunny cake before 

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Posted in Uncategorized at 7:46 am by Anne

Hope everyone had a happy easter 

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03.24.05

Dessert was…

Posted in Uncategorized at 8:12 am by Anne

good. But the chocolate zabaglione that was folded into the mascarpone didn’t set up quite as nicely as I thought it should. A little on the runny side so in all tasty but not as pretty as it could have been.

This morning I made ricotta pancakes to use op the cheese I had made the other day. They were okay. A little bland, since I didn’t make the blueberry syrup to accompany but exceedingly delicate. The first bit of batter went into the waffle iron and came out nearly burned all the way through so I changed tact and made pancakes.

Emma slept some in her crib last night and more in the bed with us. Something was bothering her since she woke up a minimum of eight times( thereby waking me up) and only calmed upon nursing. Not conducive to sleep at all and I hope it was just some kind of random anomaly that doesn’t repeat itself.

Lily stayed up way past her bedtime, since we had guests over, and wound up conking in bed with me and Emma around 11. Shan moved her to her own bed and sometime in the night comforted her after she woke up mewling, and she wound up sleeping the rest of the time in her own room. Until 8 this AM! Holy cow I am very pleased with this. So is the trick that we have to exhaust her each night?

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03.23.05

111161998527073680

Posted in Uncategorized at 5:19 pm by Anne

and here 

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Posted in Uncategorized at 4:56 pm by Anne

my fig tree in spring 

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