Chocolate Stout Cake

Yesterday, Tim got all Hubert Keller and decided to make a chocolate stout cake. The sifting, rising and baking was yesterday. Today was the cream filling and chocolate ganache topping.

This morning he beat the heavy cream with Dutch process cocoa for the beautiful, fluffy filling.






And I thought I'd document it thoroughly, in case you don't believe me.

Summer's best

We went to Eastern Market this morning in search of heirloom tomatoes. We found the tomatoes and so much more.

Since times are tough, I highly recommend a trip to Eastern Market. We got all the produce, bread and cheese you see here for just about $20. The added bonus is that most of it is organic and all of it came from Michigan farmers.

So--good for me, my budget, the environment and the economy! Bonus!

Fashion catastrophe averted

Yesterday, Tim and I decided to take a walk. Just after he went to change his shoes, I followed him into the same room and this is what I saw:



Internet, you will have to look past the yellow pants. He loves those pants and they are not up for debate. It's the pants and the shoes together that I took issue with. Once I calmly explained that not I or anyone else would be seen in public with that fashion faux pas, he changed his shoes. Just to shut me up.

I'm pretty sure he still thinks this is a good fashion choice.

A great weekend getaway

I don't know about you, but I'm such an Eastsider that traveling west of the Lodge is a real experience for me. I actually feel like I'm in another state.

So, to travel to the west side of the state this weekend for a wedding was quite an experience for me. And it was one I'd gladly do again. Although it was a bit tricky for me to navigate. I'm used to a lake being east. Having a lake mark west really threw me off.

If you ever have a chance, you should check it out. There's great wine tasting. St. Joseph has a charming little downtown area on Lake Michigan. And, perhaps the best part, there was excellent CHOCOLATE TASTING! Have mercy! The Chocolate Garden, Tabor Hill and the Chocolate Cafe were little bits of heaven on earth.



This was one of the wineries we visited that didn't have chocolate. But it had vodka and a dog named Dudley, so it was pretty cool anyway.

Some people have pyro tendencies

Me: I was thinking. When we take down the privacy fence in the backyard, we could put in a line of bushes to hide the ugly fence.

Tim: By "ugly fence" you mean the cyclone fence?

Me: Yes.

Tim: Huh.

Me: And we can burn the privacy fence, since we're not sure how to get rid of it.

Tim: Sure, but we'll have to make sure we don't burn down the neighbor's garage.

Me: ...

Me: I meant burn it in the fire pit. Not while it's still standing.

Tim: Oh.

May starts the best summer ever

I'm hugely excited about summer this year, even more so than usual. It's not just for the typical reasons, either (no more snow, guaranteed three-day weekends, gardening without mittens and a scarf, etc.)

This summer is packed with outstanding entertainment. I'm not even joking.

We start the May with the release of Angels & Demons, the prequel to The DaVinci Code. I thought Angels & Demons was outstanding--even better than DaVinci. The chases through Rome, not knowing if they can make it to the next clue in time...it was a page-turner. Read it before you see the movie. If you already read it, pull it out and read it again. It's worth it. If you're really lucky, you could fly to Rome and follow the Path of Illumination across the city. Just don't cause as much trouble as our boy Robert Langdon did.

Next of my list of exciting releases is the new book by Rick Riordan--The Last Olympian. If you haven't checked out this series yet, I highly recommend that you do. The author cleverly weaves Greek mythology into modern day life through the adventures of a young boy named Percy Jackson. Start with The Lightning Thief and work your way through. Sure, the books are written for the younger crowd, but who isn't a kid at heart? You'll love every minute.

And now for something more adult, every summer for the last nine years (yikes! I'm that old!) I've looked forward to the release of the next Stephanie Plum novel from Janet Evanovich. And if the title--Finger-lickin' Fifteen-- is any indication as to the hijinx and hilarity that ensues, I might call in sick to work that day just to read the book. June 3 is the day. Mark your calendars and, please, don't call me on June 4. I'll be reading.

Moving on to July to the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. We've been waiting an awfully long time for this one, so I have high hopes. I realize the release date was shuffled around a lot (I think it had a lot to do with Harry appearing nekkid in Equus), but I'm ready for my dose of HP6.

That's my summer in a nutshell. Books, movies and more books and movies. I love summer!

The best hiding spot ever

Last week, I used the last of my Christmas gift certificates at L.L. Bean. When I came home from work today, my package had been delivered.

I knew it was delivered because as soon as I pulled into my driveway, I saw this:



Do you see it? I bet you can't. It's hiding under the doormat that is just a little bigger than the box.


See it now? No thief would think to look there.

This reminds me of all the times I don't feel like taking my purse somewhere, so I leave it in the care covered with a tissue or a piece of paper. There! No one will ever see it now!

Saving it for a rainy day

Yesterday I was cleaning the guest room for the weekend visit of our friends. As I'm cleaning, I spot a box that's been sitting on top of our printer for a long time. So long, in fact, that I don't remember a time when it wasn't there.

Up until this moment, I've been willing to accept that Tim is going to work on the computer and needs the discs, cords or whatever is in the box to get the job done. Only thing is, I haven't seen Tim working on the computer.

This is about the time I also notice the box our Mac Mini came in the came area.

Now is about the time when I explain that I'm a Thower-Outer and Tim is a Squirreller. I've come to realize that this is good for a marriage--two people who have opposite tendencies. Plus, without my habits, the house would look like Redd Fox's house in Sanford and Son. And without Tim, we'd have nothing but the couch and possibly a throw rug.

So, here I am looking at the box for our two-year-old computer. I turn to Tim and ask, "Why do we have this box still?"

He gets this goofy grin and says, "In case we move."

What? First, the Mac we have can fit in my purse (almost). Second, the way the housing market in Michigan is heading, there's no way we're going to be able to move before this computer takes a shit. So, why the box?

"It's a nice box."

Oh, my.

Moving on to the second box. This box was way more interesting. The first item was an empty box of printer toner. Saved "just in case." Well, it made a nice home for a few dust bunnies. No chance. That box left the house. Next we pull out the cell phone boxes from the phones we bought about two years ago. Followed by the cell phone box that came with Tim's phone over a year ago.

Which begs the question--Are you saving those to move, too?

We came to an amiable compromise after some serious laughing. He can keep the Mac box and the most recent cell phone box, but in the Man Cave out of sight.

That's one of the great things about being married to a friend. You can laugh with each other and at each other. It's perfect.

The fire department is on speed dial

We had an interesting afternoon here, but before I can tell you about it, you need some back story.

Yesterday, I cooked for my in-laws. I made roast turkey with all the fixin's. Only I don't have a roasting pan, so I used a large rectangle pan instead.

Somewhere between the chicken broth and the meat juices, the turkey seriously boiled over into the oven. A lot. So much that the house smoked up while the turkey was still in the oven. When it was time to serve dinner, my nephew asked, "Are we having a smokey dinner?"

Today when I got home from work, I decided to fix the oven mess. I set the dial to self clean, locked the door and walked away.

About an hour later, we were in the kitchen making dinner when Tim burst out, "Holy shit!"

There were flames inside the oven. Great orange flames that licked the oven door window.

We managed to keep it under control--no fire department was necessary. And no damage was done to the oven (damn). The only issue right now is the house stinks like burnt turkey feathers. We tried opening the windows, but one can only do that for so long in March in Michigan.

While the turkey was pretty good, I'm going to have to get used to eating crow, I guess. You see, I made fun of Tim mercilessly on his last birthday because he had fire extinguishers on his wish list. And I'm doubly glad he got one.

Customer service all over the world

Our laptop has been in need of medical attention. The power cord had a short in it, so several weeks ago Tim ordered a replacement cord online from Dell, the company that manufactured the computer.

When it came, it didn't fit in the computer. Not much good for us. So, he sent it back, ordered a different cord and paid for next-day delivery service. We need the power cord today because we're going to Orlando tomorrow and he needs it for his presentation, but more importantly, I need it to keep up with my travel blog. We have our priorities.

So, the new cord was on our porch when we came home from work today. Only this time the cord fit into the back of the computer, but the two cords (one that goes into the wall with the convertor box attached and the other that goes from the convertor box to the computer) don't fit together. At all.

Calmly, Tim called Dell to explain the difficulty. Round about the fourth time he was transfered--including a stop in tech support, so they could help him PLUG IN THE COMPUTER--his temper started to fray. Imagine that.

I knew he finally had enough when, in a saccharine tone he said, "Yes, that would be great. Transfer me now. Yes, now. Chop, chop."

And then they hung up on him.

A permanent solution to an age-old problem.

On a mother/daughter shopping trip this weekend...

Mom: Look at this! It's a snore-no-more pillow. I should get one for your dad.

Me: You know how that pillow works?

Mom: How?

Me: When the person starts snoring, you take that fancy pillow and hold it over their face until they stop.

Mom: Huh. That would do it.

Signs of hope

It's been raining here all weekend. But that's alright by me. Know why? Because it isn't snow.

Friday was absolutely beautiful. It was sunny and warm. So warm, in fact, that I took our outside Christmas lights down (this is not uncommon, trust me). And it was even so gorgeous out, that I found a few things that made me smile:







Don't worry. I'm not fooled for a moment, though. I've lived in Michigan long enough to know that spring isn't officially here until Fourth of July weekend. It's just nice to have a little hope.

SPAM: An e-mail-type substance

Twice each day, the spam blocker at work sends me a report of all the emails it blocked.

I'd like to share some of the subject lines of those spam emails, as they are written, as well as my initial reaction. Some of the content is not for the faint of heart, so if you're uncomfortable talking about items in the "penile region" look away now and skip to the bottom.

Life with a small friend always seems smaller.
Being a short person, I disagree. You must be really tall.

Get a watch that will stay with you in all the troubles.
Right. Go with the watch. Screw the retirement fund.

Have the greatest manhood in your close neighborhood
Define "close."

Your little friend will grow like mushrooms after the rain bigger and bigger.
Hello? Walgreens? I need some penicillin.

WIth this you'll easily find approach to every female you want.
Is it a dictionary?

Nominated for MSC
Unless MSC stands for Massive Shoe Collection, I'm not interested.

PDF it and it is a lot of another
You first.

I've also had offers for master's bachelor's and even an associate's degree (can you believe I took a pass on an associate's degree???) as well as other enhancement, growth, diet, timepiece, plutonium offer emails. What's the best offer you've had? It won't be as much fun, but try and keep it clean.

Clarification

Heretofore and forever more, my husband requests that I not refer to him as "my beloved" in this blog. He said I should call him Tim (which is his name--a novel thought). I disagree. I think he should be called Fuzzy Face.

Getting hit by lightening? Way more likely.

I'm not a lucky person. It's very rare that I ever win a contest, drawing, raffle, anything. This proves it:



Out of more than 20 numbers, I only hit one. And it isn't even the power ball.

I have a problem with authority

I've discovered something about myself that I never would have guessed--I have a problem with authority. A big one.

It really just hit me this evening as we were driving home from the mall. As we passed an elementary school, I could see a list of rules on the wall and I thought, "They didn't have that when I was a kid." You just behaved yourself in school or your parents would hear about it when you got home. And then you were in real trouble.

I also noticed recently I don't like people in a position of authority telling me what to do. I'd rather be asked. I don't like signs that tell me to go a certain route, when that route is obviously illogical. And I really don't like the local newscasters telling me how to feel about a story. Cut the drama.

I think I'm getting old and crotchety.

Lacking inspiration

I made a goal for myself to improve intellectually. Huh. I typed that without giggling.

Anyway. I love to read. But, I put a rule on myself--for every fun, trashy, or "my English professor's eyes would roll so far back in his head, he'd have to shave his eyeballs just looking at the title" book, I have to read a classic or something that will help my writing skills develop. I'm using The Bookman as a guide.

The only problem is, I've started Atlas Shrugged, In Cold Blood and Lincoln at Gettysburg, and I can't manage to get into I-can't-put-it-down mode.

I would rather fold laundry. Count calories. Pick my toes. Clean the basement. Clean anything.

Sad, isn't it?

A hectic day

I don't know how people with kids do it. I had a busy day at work, came home, cooked dinner, sat down for one hour. Got up, fixed a treat for work tomorrow (more to come on that) got in a workout, cleaned the house, packed a lunch (even more to come on that) and got my clothes ready for tomorrow.

I'm exhausted. Parents, I salute you.

As for the treats for work tomorrow...I have a blog at work. It's about the work-life balance, or lack thereof. As part of my blog, I asked co-workers to send me healthy, sweet treat recipes because this is what I look like when my sweet tooth is in full force:


One employee submitted a recipe that called for dried prunes, dates, cocoa powder, maple syrup, almond butter and a few other sticky things. My beloved saw the ingredients on the counter, mainly the prunes and dates, and asked with a very concerned tone, "Are you having trouble poopin'?"

I can see how he'd get that impression.

Oddly enough, the ingredients stopped up my food processor pretty well. In fact, I'm pretty sure we came close to burning out the motor...

After making the treats, it was time to pack lunches. As of yesterday, eating got more complicated. We're trying a new thing where we eat four, small, 300-calorie meals a day at work and one, 600-calorie meal at home (dinner). Do you know what it's like to not only figure out what you'll be in the mood to eat tomorrow, but also to add up the calories?

And tomorrow is Fat Tuesday. Paczki day.
My entire allotted calorie bank for the entire day. So not worth it.

Right. I'll just keep telling myself that. Maybe I'll start to believe it.

Winter: a cruel tease

I saw two robins last week. I'm always buoyed by the sight of them; spring is closer and winter is in its last throes.

Not in Michigan.

Now, just six days after the robin sighting, I'm sitting in my house, looking out the window and seeing nothing but snow blowing around. It only took an hour before the ground was covered and my hopes for an early spring dashed. I know it's still February. But when you go through a cold snap like we did (it was so cold for a few days that the snot inside our noses froze while walking to the garage), any sign of spring is something we grasp, hoping we'll see the last of our shovels, ski coats and rock salt for a few months.

No such luck.

Just checked out the window again. It's still snowing. Only now, it's coming down sideways. Fancy.

Sigh.

Reading, writing and re-writing

I was in a meeting last week with one of the best editors I've ever had. He told me that writers are only as good as the books they read.

At that moment, I was grateful that I wasn't in the middle of a grocery store bodice-ripper.

I agree with him to some extent. I know I've read books where the author turned a phrase particularly well, allowing the reader to get lost in the prose and beauty of a story- inspiring me to do the same in my work (I'm a writer. No, seriously, I am. I actually pull a regular paycheck.) But I also disagree with that statement. We all need an escape from whatever reality we have. Sometimes it's fun to pick up a fun novel and read for the joy and entertainment of reading. I call those books, "brain candy."

So, now I'm reading In Cold Blood as well as a book about how Abraham Lincoln crafted the Gettysburg Address. I aspire to be a speechwriter, so this second book seemed right up my alley.

I suppose at some point I should just pick one book and go with it, but that's not me. Ask my hubby. At any given time, I'll have two or three books going at the same time. I'm a multi-tasker.