Family's Twisted Evil Genius

I finally downloaded Picasa and am very impressed. iPhoto has been bugging me. I like to organize my pictures into folders and whatnot. Now, it is nice that iPhoto will do that for me, but I really wish it would also just leave stuff alone.

I have also wanted a way to blog with my pictures easier than through a browser. Picasa has that! I integrates that blogger interface and makes it easy to post. There are some things that it doesn't do, such as post options and easy text alignment. Maybe soon. So, onto the post!

When Phoebe was a baby, I learned that you pushed down between your eyebrows to produce an evil face. Now that I have an 8-year-old going on 13 (I refuse to go any higher on that age), I now understand that it isn't evil face. It is actually the face you get when your child is being a total smart aleck and all you want to do is rip their lips off (of which I was afraid of when I was a child). This is what Renée will look like in her hey day of driving me nuts.

I love the second picture. It is as if Renée is saying two things: 1) "Why are you doing evil baby face to me, Momma?" and 2) This is the surprised look Momma & Poppa will get when I try to get out of being in trouble. "Who me? Innocent me?"

iPhone again

While visiting the doctor today, my iPhone fell and quit working. Not quite 20 days old and dead. I realize I dropped it, but just hear/read me out.
I miss my Edge iPhone. It was indestructible until I found out that toilet water will kill it. It fell from the top of our truck while driving. I saw it tumble in the road pebble and thought for sure it was going to be useless. Oh, contrare, monfrare! It had a little bump on the corner but none the worse. It later got a cracked screen while in my purse because my keys lodged in the speaker hole. It had a little part in the upper right that was fidgety, but still worked just fine. It took a lickin' and kept on tickin'. It just couldn't hold its liquor.
This 3G isn't the same quality at all. 2 totally different planets. I am disappointed with it and just get sick that I ruined my Edge one. I miss it. I miss the money I spent for this new one.
Apple gave me a new one and I appreciate the no hastle swap I got at the store. I didn't like that I had to wait all day long without a phone until my Concierge appointment. I tend to be very cranky when I have no communications.
I decided that I am going to make a little hip purse similar to this one. It will zip up to hold my phone and wallet, Renée's pacifier, and sunglasses. Nothing should fall to the ground even when I go to the bathroom. I have some tea towels I got on clearance that are too cute to be towels. Hip sling it will be!
I'll let you know when it is done.

River cleaning boat

 During Tim's visit we walked the downtown Riverwalk and saw what Tim called "the most coveted city job"-the river cleaner. That little boat is just way cool. I want to clean the river! The boat had arms on either side the ended with a tire. As it got into the straight, the arms extended, the tire rode along the sides, and net bags collected floating debris.

Artisan kaiser rolls

You guys all know how much I love my book, Artisan Bread in Five. Jeff, one of the authors, is having a kaiser roll dilemma. Here is my experimentation to make them. I just used my master boule recipe since I had it ready to go. I didn't want to make the kaiser roll recipe and possibly miss the opportunity to put my two cents in an get an autographed copy of the book!
I have made 5 different options for creating the look of the kaiser roll. Starting at the top and going clockwise:

• I sliced through with a knife. Problem is there are six lines since it was easier to make symmetrical straight cuts across the entire roll;
• I made a long log, twisted it like a donut, and then circled it back to make it a roll. Looks lumpy and cock-eyed;
• I made a ball, flattened it, cut 5 times to the center, and then folded each cut back to the center. Looks too much like a star instead of a kaiser. This might prove to be attractive for an astronomy event;
• I got out my trust set of biscuit cutters and mushed it in five times danged near to the bottom of the roll;
• Last, is the one I feel will be the best. I used my Tupperware scraper's circular section to mush down five times. It was easy to line up the center each time and make five symmetrical cuts.

For this experiment, I am going to coat them with egg white, but leave off any poppy seed topping.

60 minutes of rise time later. They don't look like they did a whole heck of a lot of raising. Maybe a little bit of kaisering, though:

Baked:
Knife cuts:

Donut Twist:

5 Cuts to center then folded:

Biscuit cutter:

Tupperware scraper curved edge:

Okay, I am a bit shocked that the donut twist one looks the best. I was for sure the scraper was going to be it. The biscuit cutter one is my winner for edibility because it pulls apart like a croquembouche. Our cousin, Katie, had that at her wedding for the groom's cake. Wow! What an impressive display it was! Spun sugar was all over it so it looked like it was 4 times the actual size.
This was a fun lunch time experiment to prepare for an afterschool snack. Jeff, good luck with your upcoming kaiser roll attempts! I can't wait to see what your final kaiser rolls look like.

Nursing unmentionable alteration

I hate bra shopping!
Absolutely hate it!
I hate it so much that if you need a bra, I will go shopping with you just so you don't have to hate it so much. Go with me and you will never have to leave the dressing room. I will hunt through racks to find exactly what you need. For myself, though, it is an outing in futility.
There was a parody song made about my bra shopping experience once: "I like big cups and I cannot lie..." Well, I can lie, they suck! I also have lost enough weight in the last 2 years that trying to find my size band with my cup is futile! "Shopping is futile," said the Borg Queen. Sure she did, she wasn't nursing and her outfit had built in support.
That being said, even conventional nursing bras are hard to come by. That is why I altered my existing non-underwire underwear. I got some swim suit bra hooks at Hancocks and sewed them on! I also picked up some extender that attaches to the hooks in the back. I can really adjust for whatever my water retention is for that day. Plus, it gives me plenty of play to fight fat back.
Best part: cost me $1.19!

40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 Minutes

beady floral decor

I am not a big home decorator. I just can't picture the way I want things permanently and am afraid to install or spend money on anything that won't fit the ultimate bill. Plus, the thought of having to fill in holes from hanging stuff on the walls makes me cringe. Just my quirk, I guess, and I am getting over it!
The hole in the kitchen ceiling was repaired by my dad and I. That was a major accomplishment. I bring this up only to demonstrate that I will have a hole in my ceiling forever, but cringe about a nail hole! Seriously, I am getting over it.
So getting over it, I put in matching hangers in the kitchen. One holds Momo's pot and the other holds a flower arrangment glass thingy from our wedding.
I have been changing out the flowers for the seasons. The leaves stay the same. It looks cuter each time I do it. Michaels had 40% off some seasonal decor and I picked up $3 worth of beady-type floral things.
That $3 worth was too much for the kitchen so Phoebe crafted up her own arrangement to put in her room! It was so much fun because we hadn't crafted together like that in so long. She is a busy girl with school, chess club, Girl Scouts, and earning all her AR points. She needs less than 150 points to make it to 500 for this year. She made the goal herself to get to 500 and has dedicated herself to accomplishing it. I can't wait for her to hit her goal!