La Chica Bakerita

RT 2011: Part 2 Texas

2011-06-11T23:19:00.000-07:00

Yeeeee-HAWWW! Here we are in Texas, the land of the free and the home of my birth. In church on Sunday a lady mentioned in her testimony that Texas was the best state. Only in Texas do you get so much state pride. In fact, when I had Texas History in school here, I thought everyone in the country took it. Our time in Austin was wonderful. We spent good, quality time with Bill's sister, Jamie and her family. Jamie's husband, Dallas is a dentist and he checked out Taya's teeth and gave her a thorough cleaning.

I thought it was really nice of him to do that, and it was cool seeing him in action. He wore some kind of glasses while he did that….can't remember what they were called…whirly-gigs maybe? no, that's not it…opticlas? I dunno.

Our first morning there we went to Round Rock donuts. The gods of fried-dough-drenched-in-warm-sugar-glaze has definitely given this place their blessing. I don't know if I would have even been able to say - ENOUGH! - so luckily we didn't go for a whole dozen and each got our own donut, er, donuts. The only problem was that they have no indoor seating, so we ate them outside at a concrete picnic table and it was SO HOT.

(Hmmmm, maybe the dentist pictures should come AFTER the donut pictures....)

After that we went to IKEA. I love love love IKEA. It's probably good that they don't have one too close to us, because I would be going there all the time. I was not sure how the kids were going to do there, but they had a blast! Jamie gave them each a paper measuring tape and they went through the store measuring everything, including the arrows on the floor. I think I've convinced Bill to take me to the closest iKEA we have - in Atlanta. I think the phrase "let's go to a Braves game while we're there" really won him over.

One night we went to Rudy's - a really great Bar-B-Q restaurant with a gas station attached (which somehow makes it that much cooler).

(I love this picture! Andy has a FIRM hold on Taya, but she just kept on smiling!)

It was really good food that comes in a plastic tray with butcher paper. They give you several pieces of white bread with which to eat your meat, and you order sides to go with it. We got the cream(ed) corn and it was really good. It was kind of like a thin custard with some corn in it. Super rich. Super good.

We had some authentic Mexican food the next day along with some horchata, which is a refreshing, sweetened rice drink, which usually has nutmeg. Kind of like the taste of rice pudding, but without the pudding...or the rice. It's been awhile since I've had some good authentic horchata.

We really enjoyed our visit with Jamie and Dallas. They have great games and we had a great time playing with them. Many memories are built around game play.

(I have to explain this. We played a pictionary-type game. The topic was hairstyles. Bill was the artist. Can you guess what they were? 1.) braid 2.) bald 3.) spikey 4.) ponytail 5.) afro (?!) 6. crew cut or buz cut (I can't remember) 7.) bun 8.) (this is the best!) BEEHIVE!! Bill did a great job because Dallas got all of them!)

Jamie and I were talking about how the little things that people say sometimes make the biggest impression on us. I remember Dallas telling me once that his mom would go and "inspect" after he had completed a chore, and that really made an impression on me. So I do that with Taya now. I also go and check out what she has done, and I think that makes her feel a sense of accomplishment and she knows I'm going to check out what she's done, so she wants to do a great job (at least that's what I tell myself is happening).

Here are a few more pictures of our fun time in Texas:

Sweet faces!

Yes, they were praying. I just had to take the picture - they were so sweet!

Having fun destroying our bed after church.

Tug O' War

Flying kids!

Ready for the pool!

Dinner at Rudy's.

According to Dr. Dal (and my dad) lemons aren't really good for your teeth...but every once in awhile a little extra citrus never hurts anyone.

Rudy's!

Anyone else think of Sasquatch?

There's just something about that pose...

She slept like this the ENTIRE night one night...I guess stuffed animals make great pillows!

Taya LOVED playing with Caleb! They made many Lego masterpieces.

At the pool.

Another Lego masterpiece.

Jamie making funny faces with Andy. He would mock what she did and said. Super cute!

Waiting for Uncle Doctor Dallas! I loved this giant tooth they had as a chair!

We left Texas and headed towards Roswell, New Mexico. There was just something memorizing about the landscape. It's kind of hilly, and really pretty, in a different sort of way. There was one little town that we went through that has pecan orchards. I wish we would have stopped to get some, but we went through so quickly that I didn't realize it was be so cool.

As I was looking out the window at the cows on the side of the road and it reminded me of something my dad said once. It might have actually been his father or his grandfather who actually said it. He said that a cow can have a huge open field of the greenest, sweetest grass and on the other side of the fence is a desolate field. But if there is a hole in the fence somewhere the cow will find it and go to the other side - without the grass - just because they can (and they are stupid). I wonder how many times we go through the hole in the fence just because we can.

We went through San Angelo (where I was born) so that I could look around the town that I grew up in. We got lots of pictures. Although it was SUPER DUPER hot, and I think Taya was kind of bored, I'm glad we went because I found out they are going to be tearing down part of one of my elementary schools pretty soon. I got to walk around it a bit and take some pictures. It was just how I remembered, but just a little bit smaller. It's funny how certain memories stick in your head about certain spaces. I was surprised that I didn't recognize more places, but it has really changed since we were there - it has been 20 years after all.

We got shaved ice one day in Round Rock, and it came with a paper umbrella. Taya liked to wear it in her hair like a flower, and she did until it just fell apart.

Texas is THIS big!

One of the streets

The former home of the BEST pizza place EVER - Shakey's!! They had really good pizza and these round fried potatoes called Rojos. Even the ketchup was special - it seemed to have a little kick to it. This is also where my love for salad in little wooden bowls came from.

I'm standing in front of the little apartment my parents lived in when I was born. Theirs was the top, corner apartment.

Our church building.

My first grade classroom!

The house we lived in.

The Concho River

The hospital where Ben (and maybe Alli) was born.

Our favorite Mexican restaurant.

We had a GREAT time in Texas!

Next stop - Roswell, NM (with a little visit to the UFO Museum) and Arizona!

Road Trip 2011: Part 1 Mississippi

2011-06-03T21:59:00.001-07:00

Road Trip 2011 is well on its way!

We headed out Thursday leaving about 12:30 from Memphis with a car loaded to the gills! Since we left later than we had hoped, we didn't have a chance to stop off in Hattiesburg to see family we have there - but don't worry Aint D - we'll be by to see you soon!

We even had to change out our coolers so that we could fit in our luggage - yeah, that's right - we know what's important. Although I think Bill was secretly hoping that we could have enough room for a few cases of bottled Barq's Rootbeer....

The trip down to the coast went great. Portable DVD players are AWESOME!

Road trips have come a long way since the days when my siblings and I made up episodes of Sesame Street and Mr. Rodger's Neighborhood in our heads to pass the time. Actually, my parents, in one of their (many) moments of pure parental genius, devised a way to tell us how much more time was left using what we were familiar with: Sesame Street = 1 hour, Mr. Rodger's = 30 minutes. I still sometimes think of time that way.

We arrived late that night and visited some with Bill's grandma and aunt and cousins. Then we went to the hotel-in-a-casino that Bill's aunt Liz got for us (with a view of the water where we just watched a couple of guys go fishing - can't wait to take Taya fishing!).

This morning we got up and had a high-protein breakfast (does having milk with your muffin and jelly donut qualify it as high-protein?), and then headed over to Grandma Nancy's. We visited there and then trekked over to Pirate's Cove where they serve the best Po-Boys west of, well, anywhere! Bill and I got the Roast Beef with gravy (SUPER TASTY!), and Taya had the cheeseburger Po-Boy. We washed it all down with a Barq's Rootbeer (from the bottle no less!).

(Not pictured: Barq's Rootbeer)

After that we headed to the beach. After a timid entrance - she was holding on to my hand and shaking when we first got in - she kept venturing out further and further and had a great time!

Bill had this towel over his head (after I warned him that his head would burn - badly), but he refused to let me take a picture of it that way. You'll just have to use your imagination...

We attempted to make a sand castle, but really it was just a pile of wet sand. It was HOT!

The boys got to go out pretty far, but she had to stay close to us.

I foresee more beach trips in our future...although I did learn that if you see a dead fish on the beach, do NOT turn it over even if your 7-year old cousin tells you it is a baby shark.

The ensuing smell is NOT. WORTH. IT.

(Sorry, no pictures of the rotting fish (or possible baby shark). As you did above with Bill and the towel, use your imagination.)

After the beach, we made our way to Grandma Nancy's for some more swimming and then more family came over that night just to hang out.

(Cousins!)

I got to drive a 2010 (maybe 2011?) Mercedes 747 (or something like that - I'm sure it was the latest and coolest model as Bill's late Uncle Dayton would buy the latest and greatest new vehicle every 5 years). I've always wanted to see what the big deal was about the luxury cars. It was nice. It made U-turns like a hot knife through butter, or maybe even the electric knife through Grandma Nancy's ham (...hmm, ok, maybe not so much...). And I've been getting that new (to me) car fever lately....better watch out, Bill! Speaking of ham...

Bill got to carve it...it was like passing along the (not so) proverbial electric-knife torch. I know what Bill is getting for Christmas this year!

We have had a wonderful time here on the coast! Taya got to meet a lot of new cousins and aunts and uncles and a grandma, experience the beach, see a few guys fishing, experience "soft water", take a bath in a Jacuzzi (thanks for that, Aunt Liz!), and have her first Po-Boy and Barq's Rootbeer (at the same time!). What a great start to our first family vacation!

Next stop - Austin!

Gotcha Day -thru- Easter

2011-04-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

We have had Taya home with us since April 6, and we have been having a GREAT TIME!

I flew to Utah April 2 to visit my sister (for her 25th birthday!) and my brother, his wife and kids. I also got to spend some time with Bill's sister and her family. While there, I got my first manicure (thanks Alli!) and got to eat this:

Um, yum? Oh yeah! YUM!

After getting to spend some high-quality time with family, I flew to Las Vegas. Taya's guardian, Thompson dropped her off and Taya, Nid and I made cupcakes to take to her class.

We took the cupcakes to Taya's school the next day so she could have a good-bye party.

Taya's class sang a special good-bye song to her.

They really liked the cupcakes we made!

Bye Taya!

Taya loved her teacher, Ms. Dunn. I could tell she was a great teacher!

Bye Tanaka Elementary!

We had a going away party for Taya at Don's house that night.

These are some of the special people who have loved Taya since she was little.

Here is Taya with Linda (I finally have a picture of her!).

Finally, it was time to say good-bye to Las Vegas!

You can kinda see the LV Strip in the background here...

I'm leaving, on a jetplane.

We made it to Nashville safely, and decided to go to Cracker Barrel for dinner. Taya calls it Cracker Girl.

I'm not quite sure what this face was all about though... It kinda scares me a little....

That's MUCH better!

We are a happy family!

When we got home Grandma Cathy was there to greet us, and later Grandma Susie brought Taya some balloons and some hula hoops.

Grandpa Randy was showing off his Sweet Hula Hooping Skillz.

Go Daddy-o! Holla!

Grandpa Bill brought dinner (oh yeah!) and we had a great first night!

Who loves Taya?

Bill: I do!

The next morning, I made Taya one of her favorite dishes - Eggs with Rice! Nid had shown me how to make it properly when she was here, and I have made it several times since. I think it is something that makes Taya happy when she's missing Yai.

Taya likes to use a fork and a spoon together when she eats.

A little demonstration, please!

A few days later, Bill came home with a surprise from his teachers at work. A bike!

She was SUPER surprised! (Apparently Bill was too!)

Let's go for a ride!

Taya really loves having her own pets - Bella and Murphy.

Taya was playing with Murphy and threw something to him that fell behind the TV. They were both looking for it (Murphy's such a help around the house....).

That Saturday we had a party to celebrate Taya's homecoming and my, ahem, 31st birthday. (Bill announced it as my 29th birthday... I guess I'm getting to the age where he feels it necessary to start lying about my age...)

We didn't have any candles, so I just blew out one of my favorite Christmas candles (that I keep out all year round - sometimes I just like to smell it - it makes me happy - it also makes my chin itch when I burn it so I can't burn it too much - what? - that's not weird, is it?). (Actually, one funny thing that we've discovered is that Taya scratches her chin just like I do when she's having allergy problems! One more sign that this was meant to be!)

Grandpa Randy bought Taya some paper dolls. I don't think she had ever had those before!

I think the animals are still getting used to having Taya around. Bella (the cat) is being really patient with her, even though she keeps shooting me these who-the-heck-is-this-and-why-is-she-holding-me-like-a-human-infant looks. I just chuckle and shake my head.

Murphy loves his little pal and even forgave her when she threw up all over him a few nights later...

Good Boy!

We took Taya to the zoo. Bill had the week off for his Spring Break, so we were really able to have some family bonding time.

Afterwards, Grandma Cathy came over and we dyed Easter eggs.

This was Taya's first time!

Look at our beautiful eggs!

(Do you see the look on Bella's face that I was telling you about?)

Today was Easter, and we woke up to our Easter baskets!

Taya got lots of good things like a horn for her bike, a copy of her new favorite movie The Swan Princess (which she has seen about eight times already) and a new nightgown with a unicorn on it!

Bill and I even got baskets (gee, thanks, EB!). Can you see the awesome things Bill got? Yes, that's right, Goober Grape and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. Bill's hypothalamus still thinks he is 9 years old (heh heh heh).

Went to Grandpa Bill and Grandma Cathy's for Easter dinner. There were good friends, good conversation and good eats.

I love my dad's smile in this picture. :-)

Family and friends.

More family and friends (hello, Mike!)

Grandma Cathy planned an Easter Egg Hunt just for Taya! (Thank you Uncle John and Future-Aunt Kelly for stuffing the eggs with such great stuff!)

Happy Easter!

Taya LOVES to sing and will just hop in and start singing with us...even when she doesn't know the words.

For those of you who might be confused, that is not me by Taya. It's my good friend Katie! I have to admit, even I had to do a double take on this one!

The only person I didn't get a picture of was Amy, a.k.a. Aim-Bo. She was there though, and we sure love her! (Just didn't want you to feel left out Aim-Bo!)

Grandma Cathy is an excellent pianist and we always love to gather 'round and sing.

The only pictures I got with Taya's dress were with Uncle John (who celebrates a birthday tomorrow) and Future-Aunt Kelly. They have also asked Taya to be their flower girl. She is super-duper excited!

I LOVE this dress!!

It's twirly!

We are having such a wonderful time and can't imagine a more perfect child to have joined our family!

คุณขอบคุณ * Gracias * Thank you

2011-03-28T20:06:00.000-07:00

Sa wat dee ka!

For some reason, this is one of my favorite pictures of our little Sweet T. I think it's because it was such a great time for us - we had just met her, and we were loving spending time with her. And it really showed us what a cute personality she has.

I will be flying out to Las Vegas next Monday and will be bringing Taya home with me. While we still have some paperwork, home visits, and court dates in our future, I am happy to say that I will be bringing Taya home FOR GOOD. She has really been a trooper through all of this as she has been waiting a long time since we told her she was going to come and be a part of our family.

People keep asking me if I'm ready. I don't know if I am or not. I'm kind of trying to keep an open mind about my readiness. Is anyone ever really ready for a child to come into their life? In some ways our day-to-day lives aren't going to change that much. We'll still get up early in the morning, go to work, come home, have dinner, go to church on Sunday, go to Estate Sales, etc. But the way we do all of that will change. I don't usually deal very well with change, and I can be a bit wishy-washy....but I have neither wished nor washed throughout this entire experience. I have never wondered if I really wanted to adopt Taya. I have never wondered if she was the child for us. I have never wondered if we were making the right decision.

It has felt right from the very beginning.

There are a lot of people to whom we owe a multitude, a plethora if you will, of Thanks:

Apple - Taya's first mommy. แม่ or "meh".

Shortly after Taya was born, Apple discovered she had breast cancer. She worked hard for her little daughter, and made sure she was well taken care of. She passed away in August of 2009. Her last wish was for Taya to have a family.

Grandma Thompson - คุณยาย or yai, as Taya calls her.

This lady has loved and taken care of Taya since she was a baby. We are so grateful for her being willing to let Taya go and have a family - a mommy and a daddy. We know Taya will miss being with her, but we plan to keep her in Taya's life as much as possible.

Nid and Don - เพื่อน

We really could never say enough about these people. Nid has come to Memphis twice with Taya, has cooked us delicious meals, has let us use her car when we have visited, and has just been a real-life angel to us. Don has graciously opened his home to us and is one of the nicest men we know.

Linda - เพื่อนดี

I don't have a picture of her, but she is the one who started us on our journey to adopt Taya. Linda is Don's daughter, and the mother of the roommate of Bill's sister Jamie (did you follow that?). She first contacted us over a year ago about Taya, and then contacted us again in September. She is one of the sweetest people we know.

Our mothers - แม่

Our first examples of unconditional love, of self-less service, and of forgiveness. Both of our mothers have taught us so much and continue to do so. They have been our greatest cheerleaders, and they are both going to be wonderful Grandmas! Taya is going to be so lucky to have such wonderful and uniquely talented women as role models.

Our families - ครอบครัว

This picture is a bit old, missing several in-laws, miniature additions, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. but it represents what we believe family to be. We believe that we will be a family forever, and we can't wait to take Taya to the same temple we were married in and be sealed to her forever.

There are so many others, both family and friends, for whom we are so grateful. There is no way that I could name everyone, nor am I going to try as I would inevitably leave someone out. Please know that we are grateful for every prayer, every word of encouragement, every dollar donated (and room decorated!), and every positive thought sent our way. So many of you have made this adoption possible.

คุณขอบคุณ

Khop Khun Kaa

Gracias

Thank you

Zumba + Brownies = Full Body Workout

2011-03-23T19:24:00.000-07:00

I haven't been baking very much lately. Back when I was baking cookies for Buckley's and YoLo and even selling some at school, I would come home from work, throw my purse on the table (because that's where it belongs, duh), kiss Bill, and start to bake. I was often going non-stop until I crashed - usually around midnight or so. I'm not sure what I was thinking, and I stopped all of that madness before Christmas. I do miss being a part of the awesomeness of YoLo and having the connections to the wonderful people of Buckley's, but I'm a lot less stressed since I've stopped. And that's a good thing.

As I was driving home today, I started to get the itch to bake. I figured it had been awhile, and we are doing Zumba tonight for activity at church, so I figured the girls would need some chocolate afterwards to go with all that exercise. To balance things out. We could all use a bit more balance.

I think every person who enjoys baking is constantly searching for that perfect brownie. I have already found the perfect chocolate chip cookie (can I get a what! WHAT! for the Cinco Chocolate Chunkies?!?) so I thought I'd play around with some brownies today.

I decided on the basic One Bowl Brownie recipe, but instead of using unsweetened chocolate, I wanted to use some of the GIANT block of Callebaut chocolate that I bought awhile back (ok, I actually bought 4 huge blocks of chocolate...hey, a HUGE block of chocolate for $10 that is originally $50? only a fool would pass that up...or perhaps one with a little less tendency to shop impulsively...you decide.)

I used a hammer to break it up, and that worked pretty well, although I think the cat thought I was a little bit wacky.

After measuring out the amount that I would need (more on that later), I melted the chocolate and butter together and added the sugar:

After making sure it was cool enough, I added the eggs and vanilla:

(I actually have several friends who have chickens, and the eggs I get from them are MUCH prettier!)

Next comes the flour, but first I have to tell you about something that I have discovered.

Behold - The Kitchen Scale.

It is wonderful and so much easier (and more accurate) than using measuring cups.

Let me show you:

Put your bowl on the scale and turn it on:

Push the button to zero it out:

Add your ingredients and Voila!

It is really great once you know how much things weight (1 cup of most flour = 5 ounces / 1 cup of sugar = 7 ounces / etc.) Once you get yours (because I know you will), just play around with it and figure it out for yourself.

Stir, but not too much - just until it looks like all the flour is incorporated - and pour into your pan.

Here's another trick. I almost always line my brownie pan with foil and here's the best way to do it:

The best part about making brownies is what is left behind in the bowl:

Yummylicious!

The verdict on the brownies? Pretty darn good. Here's the recipe if you're interested. Because I used the semi-sweet chocolate instead of unsweetened, I decreased the sugar by 1/4 cup, although next time I'll decrease it a bit more since they were super sweet. Also, after I took my first bite of the semi-cooled brownie, I thought - EGADS! I forgot the salt! - I think salt would have brought out the flavor much more, so make sure to add a pinch of salt. It really brings out the flavor. (I won't tell you whether or not I dipped the brownie in a little salt...let's just say that I'm confident about that salt.) Overall, these are DEFINITELY a brownie I would make again.

Wanna bite?

Fun with the Faux Foodie!

2011-03-22T17:43:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody! It's time for another segment of Fun with the Faux Foodie! Tonight we are making Chicken Fettucine Alfredo, and it's going to be Yummylicious!

Why am I a Faux Foodie you may ask? Well, most bloggers who blog about food, which I occasionally do, typically use ingredients that are, well, let's just say more gourmet than mine. And they take pictures with a real camera that they give credit to in their About Me section of the blog. I take pictures with my phone (an hTc blah blah blah) and sometimes with Photo Booth. And they use things like gray salt (what the?). Ok, so I may not use gray salt, but do keep my salt in a really cute container that I painted myself:

(Wave to the camera phone!)

I'm also trying (!) to do Weight Watchers, so some of my recipes are a little bit doctored up and scaled down, if you know what I mean. So this afternoon Bill mentioned that fettuccine alfredo sounded good for dinner. This is probably Bill's favorite thing to eat, as he requests it about 57% of the time. So I decided that since he's been a really good boy lately (heh heh) I'd make it for him tonight. And, boy am I glad I did! Not only did he stop by the store for me, but he greeted me at the door (before I even got out of the car) with a - Hello, Beautiful Leslie! - and had the kitchen all ready for me to start. (Ok, so maybe part of that was because he was hungry and knew that if I didn't have to straighten the kitchen or get out anything he could eat sooner, but whatever the reason, I'll take it!)

Now, on to dinner. In true food blogger style, I'll take you step-by-step in the fettuccine alfredo making process:

First put on a pot of water to boil.

While the water is heating up, cut up your chicken into bite-sized pieces. (I dipped the chicken pieces in some flour with salt (plain old white table salt - the umbrella kind) and pepper.) Add the chicken to a skillet (non-stick T-fal that I got when Bill and I got married...just thought you might like to know) with heated-up olive oil and let the chicken sizzle a bit (does it count as frying? pan-frying? if there's not a lot of oil in the pan, but just enough to slick the bottom of the pan?) I turn it over after a minute or so:

Meanwhile, the water is ready for the pasta, so in it goes:

Give it a little stir so it doesn't stick:

After that goes in, it's about time to take the chicken out of the pan. Set this aside:

(Ok, so my picture-taking skills aren't that great - notice my shadow? Oh, but hey - there's my little salty friend in the background! Wazzup?!?!)

Add garlic to the pan:

But don't burn it like me. Ahem. Ok, starting over.

Much better. After it has sizzled for a bit, add a can of evaporated milk:

Then add 3/4 cups of parmesan cheese:

Add a bit of salt and pepper and let it simmer for a few minutes. (Mine got super thick, maybe from a bit of flour left in the pan from the chicken - ?)

Add the chicken and sauce to the pot with the strained noodles and stir:

Now, the final verdict:

I think this face says it all folks:

Bill said that he would come in and clean the kitchen during commercial breaks of the show he was watching.

(Bill: Is my show back on? Me: I'm not sure, but I just saw something blow up, so... yeah?)

Oh, the happiness!

From Christmas to Mardi Gras -OR- Laissez les bon temps rouler!

2011-03-10T20:48:00.000-08:00

Ok, so we don't actually celebrate Mardi Gras (although we have family down on the coast who do, and Amy used to go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans every year when she lived in Hattiesburg, and I made a couple of really good King Cakes a few weeks ago) but we sure do know how to let the good times roll!

Taya was super excited about her HUGE stack of presents to open Christmas night!

(That's my stack off to the right...oh how life has changed. That's ok, there was a Le Creuset dutch oven in one of my boxes; I was perfectly happy!)

Alli was pretty happy too...hmmm.....I'm starting to see some similarities between these two...

They certainly enjoyed hanging out with each other:

Before any of this could happen though, we had to start with Christmas Eve. I didn't get many pictures of our Christmas Eve party, but we had family and friends over to celebrate with us. Nobody will ever forget singing Christmas Carols at about 2 X's the normal speed (FarfarawayonJudea'sPlainShephardsofoldheardthejoyousstrain *quick suck in of breath* GlorytoGodGlorytoGodintheHigh-igh-est *qsiob* Peaceonearthgoodwilltomen ** Peasceonearthgoodwilltomen).... Ok, so maybe it was 4 X's the normal speed.

It was the computer's fault!

Regardless, it was a very nice devotional that my mom put together and it really brought the spirit of the season to our Christmas holiday.

That night, we got Taya ready for bed in her new pajamas (about 2 sizes too big), set out some milk and cookies (my friend Katie made those cute gingerbread men!), and wrote a letter to Santa. Taya composed it by herself!

We sent Taya to bed with a few Christmas stories. I stayed in her room until I was SURE she was asleep. I crept out and closed the door.

I've never had the chance to, uh.... well, I have to warn you that the following may be a spoiler for some.

Proceed with caution.

I've never had the chance to play santa. So this was my Kris Kringle debut. Bill was SUPER tired, but I was really nervous that something would go wrong and she would wake up, so I made him get out of bed and sit in the hallway with an eye trained on the door while I set everything up. I had told T that she had to come wake mommy and daddy up before she could go in and see if Santa came. We weren't sure what to expect, but about 7:00 the next morning a very sleepy Taya appeared in our room. I asked if Santa had come, and she said, "I wonder if he ate the cookies". I don't think she had any idea of what to expect. I asked if she wanted to crawl in for a bit, and she did. She crawled in and slept for another hour!! We probably would have slept longer, but my brother, Big C, called us about 8:00 to see how long we had been up. When I told him that we were actually still snoozing, he couldn't believe it. He had been up since before 5:00... heh heh heh...

It was a wonderful time watching T open her gifts. I don't think she had known what to expect! We've set quite a high precedent for the next Christmas!

Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of Christmas morning. We have a video, but no pictures. Ugh. Well, back to Christmas night. In my family, we like to draw Christmas out, so we don't open our under-the-tree gifts until Christmas night. (We even have a visit from what we now call Second-Day Santa who brings wonderful gifts the day AFTER Christmas! It all began a few years when gifts mysteriously appeared under the Christmas tree on December 26...)

What a princess!

She LOVED this Barbie set from my mom. And hey! There's G'Pa Earl!

It was also a really fun time to spend with family. Grandpa Earl came up from Mississippi to spend some time with us. It was great hearing some of the stories that went along with the pictures he brought.

My aunts and cousin Becky came up and brought the kids. We went to Incredible Pizza one day with all the family. Taya LOVED the bumper cars:

T also enjoyed getting to know Future Aunt Kelly. Taya and Kelly will both be joining the Ginn clan this year!

All too soon it was time to bring Taya back to Las Vegas. Our flight was out of Nashville, so we stopped in Jackson and ate a Casey Jone's Village. We got Taya some ice cream, and she sat down at the little table to eat it. She looked so contemplative; I wondered if she realized that she was leaving soon.

It was hard to say goodbye, but we were able to visit her again a few weeks ago.

She's such a Daddy's Girl!

We went to the Blueberry Hill Family Restaurant a couple of times. T ordered pancakes and eggs with ketchup. Now, I've heard of people eating ketchup with their eggs, but Taya started dipping her PANCAKES in the ketchup...hey, if that makes her happy, I'm perfectly fine with it.

We took her to the Children's Museum there and they had some really great things. This one was really neat - she got to be inside the bubble. AWESOME!

We took her to a movie (by the way, how were we supposed to know the movie theater was in a CASINO?!?) but we had some time to kill beforehand, so we went to Barnes and Noble and read a few books.

Silverlicious had just come out so we HAD to read it.

Apparently it was somewhat shocking....

We had a wonderful time with our Sweet T, and we can't wait to have her with us FOREVER!

Gingerbread Houses, Santa Claus, and The Enchanted Forest -OR- The Update, Part 1

2011-03-01T14:45:00.000-08:00

We have been having a wonderful time getting closer to and visiting with Taya. She and her guardian, Nid, came for Christmas, and it was wonderful! It was a very busy time, and it was amazing how well we settled into the "married with children" role.

We were so excited for Taya to see her new room. We had worked really hard on it, and thanks in a BIG way to Aunt Amy, it was FABULOUS! I plan to do a full blog post on the room, so stay tuned!

I think Taya was really happy to have a room that was her own.

My mom got an advent calendar for her and she looked forward to putting on a new ornament each morning.

Taya is definitely a Daddy's Girl!

All together!

She loved having her own bed! And there is Fivel in the background. It was the perfect addition from Grandma Cathy.

Check out the cute pink princess night light!

Uncle John, Future Aunt Kelly (so stylish!), and Grandma Cathy. (The picture by John hung in Bill's nursery!)

We took Taya to see Santa at the mall. She had informed me previously that she knew where he lived - The South Pole!

While we waited for Santa to arrive, she got to ride the merry go round.

She was the only one on it!

Waiting patiently for Santa. She loves Daddy!

We had a Gingerbread House making party for her and invited the girls who would be in her class at church. There was A LOT of candy!

My mom was a HUGE help in getting everything ready for the party. Thanks Grandma Susie! What would I do without you?!?

There were 12 girls at the party. The table was packed!

Eliza, my best friend in High School, brought her daughter. I can't believe we will have daughters the same age! (I have a picture of her somewhere from the night before she went in to have Iwa...I'll have to find it...)

The houses kept falling over....I think next time we will pre-assemble them and let the girls focus on decorating.

If you look closely, you will see that my ears are a little pink.... I had tried to help her out...but instead I made her house fall down. In my defense, her house would have been just fine, but while the girls were waiting for their houses to dry somebody started making fun of the houses I had "helped" with (which all had flat roofs), and so I tried to "fix" them by adding a pitched roof. When the girls came back inside, they said - Hey! What happened to my house?!? For the record, the flat roofs work MUCH better...just sayin'.

I think Taya had a good time, and at church that Sunday she already knew the girls in her class and she fit right in with them!

While they were waiting for their houses to set up they got to eat gingerbread cookies and drink hot chocolate. The weather was nice enough so they were able to go outside and play. Aunt Amy was outside chaperoning. What a good aunt!

She was good about making sure everyone got her turn on the swings. I bet she got her exercise that day! Kids LOVE Amy!

I think that smile says it all!

The next day we took Taya and Nid to the Enchanted Forest.

The French Club at St. Agnes donated the tickets to us. They put a poster together about French Christmas traditions and it was on display. (Taya looks so big here!)

The Gingerbread houses were AMAZING!! Maybe next year we'll make ours looks like these.....

What a wonderful way to start the holiday!

This One Goes Out to the One I Love -OR- I'm not afraid of the 7 year itch

2010-12-12T21:34:00.001-08:00

Today my sweetie and I celebrated 7 years of marriage. We were trying to think of some of the fun things we've done over the past 7 years...

Before we got married, we went to visit (meet!) Bill's family who was living in Florida at the time.

His mom took our engagement photos...one of these days I'm going to get the negatives digitized.

We were married in the LDS temple in Bartlett. It was a beautiful day.

This is probably my favorite photo. Partly because I made us go back in and come out so we could get that "coming out of the ceremony" moment, but also because my dad is back there holding the door open with a very interesting look on his face....what do dads really think on their daughters' wedding day?

We decided to go to Salt Lake City for our honeymoon...now I know why people go to WARM climates for winter honeymoons! We decided to save money and not rent a car and so we walked the mile or so each day to Temple Square. It was VERY cold! But we had a great time...just wish I had had a better camera back then!

I think we went to Dale's in Southaven for our 1st anniversary. It was where we went to eat on our first date before going to see South Pacific. I bet Bill's just glad I didn't "wash that man right out of my hair"!

We went back to Southaven our 2nd to "just get away" and saw Annie. The DCC puts on some great shows!

We went to Grandma Ginn's for Christmas after our 3rd anniversary. We later celebrated in St. Louis.

We went to Nashville to celebrate our 4th anniversary. This is at the Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre in Nashville. You get to enjoy a great buffet and then are treated to wonderful theatre-in-the-round. We've been several times and have never been let down.

We celebrated our 5th anniversary in 2008. We were trying to buy a house that year, so we didn't take any trips. But Bill surprised me at school with a beautiful bouquet of roses! My girls were swooning.

Last year, our 6th anniversary, we went to Nashville again and saw Fiddler on the Roof. Bill has planned most (ok, ALL!) of our anniversaries and he always does an excellent job!

I would have to say that this year has been the best anniversary. We had the wonderful concert Friday night, got pastries at La Baguette yesterday morning, and Bill's sister and her family came in for a quick visit and we spent today with family playing games and opening gifts. It's really been a great anniversary weekend.

It's been a fun and unpredictable journey. I had no idea on that beach the summer we got engaged that we would one day both be teachers and would adopt a little girl. But I'm so happy that this is where part of our journey has led us.

I'm excited to see where the next 7 years leads us because the first 7 years have been a blast!

The Concert

2010-12-11T08:16:00.000-08:00

   Last night was an amazing night! "A Concert for Taya" was HUGE success! It started with setting up the refreshment tables and the silent auction. My mom was in charge of the refreshments (cookies and a hot chocolate bar). She had lots of help from people like Jill, who coordinated the cookie baking, and Hazel and Linda who came to help set up. The colors chosen were red and white, and everything looked so festive. Our new friend Lorie came early to help set up the silent auction that she and Amy coordinated. We also had several students from St. Agnes who came to help us set up. Everything in the lobby of SAA looked so great!
   The auditorium was decorated simply with some beautiful poinsettias and a grand piano. People started coming in around 6:00 to mingle and look at the items donated to the silent auction. We had a lot of really great things in the auction - tires, handmade arts and crafts, gift cards for Buckley's and a Go Paint Party, make-overs, wedding cakes, and more! I made some Speechless Brownies and I was worried that there might be a fight between a VERY pregnant lady who was standing guard over them and anyone elsewho tried to out-bid her...in the end, someone sneaked in a last bid without her knowing! (Don't worry Natalie, I see some Speechless brownies in your future!) Natalie had the girls in the St. Agnes a cappella group Ladies First perform in the concert and they were great!
   The concert was wonderful. I think everyone in attendance was uplifted by the beautiful music of such talented performers. I am so grateful for their willingness to perform and share their talents and hard work with us. My mother-in-law, Cathy, who put the concert together, did a fabulous job. She sang The Prayer with the amazing Hal Otey (Lorie's husband!), and it was beautiful. She also accompanied my brother-in-law, John, who played Pachelbel's Canon. We also had music from The Messiah, Chopin, Lizst, Christmas Medleys, Christmas carols, a children's group (who about stole the show!), a group called Heart and Voice, and others. It ended with To Dream the Impossible Dream from Man of la Mancha, which was a beautiful tribute to the journey we've been on. It was sung by Hal who, with his wife, adopted a little boy three years ago, so they understand this journey we've been on.
   So many people have been so generous in sharing their time, talents and means with us. We give thanks to the volunteers from my school who came and helped, to the performers in the concert and those who made or donated items for the silent auction, to those who helped behind the scenes, to those who have contributed financially towards our adoption, and to all of those people who have been praying for us to start a family. We thank you from the bottoms of our hearts for your interest in our behalf.

  The video below is a slide-show Bill made depicting a little of our journey so far. You will see Apple, Taya's biological mother, who loved her so much and wanted the best of her but who passed away from cancer last year. There are also some pictures of Taya's guardians, Nid and Thompson, who have taken such good care of Taya and who have allowed us to start the adoption process with her. We are so blessed to have pictures of Taya as a baby.

A Multitude of Gratitude

2010-12-02T11:46:00.000-08:00

Over the past year since I began "La Chica Bakerita", I have had a lot of really wonderful people cross my path. First of all, my family. They have been my biggest supporters and fans. From surprising me with a Kitchen Aid for my birthday (thanks Amy!) to driving from Millington to East Memphis to help me bake (mom, you're the best!), to being taste-testing guinea pigs (I know it was a sacrifice, Bill) they have really been there for me and I love them all!

If you read the first post on this blog, you'll see that the awesome guys, Ken and Jeff, at Buckley's and Buckley's Luchbox reached out to me and allowed me to bake at their restaurant. They have been so generous and supportive, and continue to be so. It has been an honor and a privilege to have the opportunity to work with them.

I also had the privilege of getting to know Ken's wife, Lisa, and her mom, Mimi (or at least that's how I know her!). Lisa owns GoGirl Art. She does really fun paint parties and I've seen what the people come away with - it is AMAZING!! If you're looking for a fun Girl's Night Out, check it out! Lisa is a GREAT teacher!

I have also enjoyed baking for YoLo. If you haven't been, you've got to go! They support local memphis bakers and you get to choose what toppings flavors you would like on your delicious frozen yogurt. My favorite is chocolate with strawberries and brownies. Yum-O!

I am also extremely grateful for my school family at St. Agnes Academy. I have taught Spanish there for the past 6 1/2 years, and it has been wonderful. It is a great school, dedicated to the education of young people - based on the four pillars of study, prayer, service and community. Everyone has been so supportive - we truly are a family. I am so grateful that they are willing to host The Concert for Taya next Friday.

I have decided to take a break from baking for a bit - mainly because we are preparing for Taya's arrival and that is keeping me very busy!! I will continue to update this blog on our journey with Taya, and also any noteworthy (or otherwise) baking experiences I may have along the way!

¡Gracias a todos!

Come Join Us!

2010-12-01T11:22:00.000-08:00

The concert has been spear-headed by my very-talented mother-in-law, my mother (a.k.a. La Mama Bakerita) is in charge of the reception to follow, and my aunt Amy did the flyers and is organizing the silent auction. There is also going to be a grand piano brought over just for the event, and many people are giving of their time to perform.

There will also be a silent auction with lots of great items!

If you are interested, let me know!

We are so grateful to St. Agnes for allowing us to have it there at the beautiful Siena Performing Arts Center!

It will be a fun evening for the entire family!

Esperanza

2010-11-21T15:56:00.000-08:00

Some things are easy to wait for - like changing a poopy diaper. Or taking a test. Most things we WANT, however, are not very easy to wait for. But if they are good things, they are often worth the wait.

In Spanish the verb esperar means either "to wait for" or "to hope". For example, since my husband is tall and walks faster than me, I often call out ¡Espérame! (Wait for me!). Or, Yo espero que me traiga flores. (I hope he brings me flowers!) While these are synonyms in English, they definitely have different connotations.

Recently Bill and I have been hopeful that an adoption situation might work out. We have been waiting for a family for what feels like a long time now.

This was from a post that I started writing about 2 months ago. We had just heard that an adoption opportunity did not seem to be going our way. I had become discouraged because we had felt so good about things, but that evening we had received an email that indicated that it didn't look like one of the little girl's guardians was on board. After writing a bit, I went to bed feeling sad and a bit frustrated, although there was a small part of me that still felt things would work out. The next day, we got an email saying that the guardian who had been opposed was wanting to meet us and said that it was ok for us to come visit. We were overjoyed! We made plans and less than two weeks later were headed to Las Vegas to meet Taya and her guardians.

Everything just seemed to fall into place. The family and friends that we have met in Las Vegas have been so wonderful. Once there, we fell in love with Taya. And she seemed to fall in love with us too! Especially Bill. And the guardian who wasn't sure about it, told Taya to call us "mommy" and "daddy". Talk about a change of heart miracle! She could see that we would be a loving, caring family for Taya.

Coming home from that first trip was hard, but we have been able to talk with her on the phone and even Skype a few times. We have been able to visit again, and we are so happy to be growing our family! We are looking forward to having Sweet T here for Christmas, and then we are hoping that soon after, the adoption will be finalized and she will be able to come to us forever.

It has definitely been worth the wait.

Live, from Blogspot dot com, It's La Chica Bakerita!

2010-08-10T15:39:00.000-07:00

Tonight's blog post is broken up into two parts.

Part One: Opening Monologue

Part Two: Play-by-play of me making dinner

Have you ever wanted to have your own cooking show? I did. One of the cooking shows I remember watching as a kid was Justin Wilson, the Cajun Cook (you know, with the red suspenders and a little bit o' WIIIIIIIIINNNNNE!).

This guy:

I was always pretending to show people how to cook or bake something. But I didn't limit myself to cooking shows. Oh no. I was all about any kind of show-you-how-to-do-it type show. I would teach people how to make cookies, wash the dishes, make a bed, brush their teeth, eat brownies, just about anything. I guess it was kind of an obsession of mine that I was always on camera. In fact, when I was about 10 or so, the show Totally Hidden Video aired. Kind of like Candid Camera (which to this day has made me think that the word "candid" means "hidden"). There were times where I just knew we were on that show. I'd be looking around the pizza place or wherever we were to catch the people jump out to yell - SURPRISE! You're on Totally Hidden Video! Now, I can't actually remember anything that would have happened crazy enough to make me think we'd be on that show, but apparently, I had a pretty crazy life as a kid.

As I got older, I grew out of teaching people how to properly floss and feeling like I was constantly the subject of an elaborate practical joke, and I started pretending I was on Late Show with David Letterman. I'm still not sure why David Letterman was my adolescent hero, but that's a whole other blog post. The reasons why I'd be a guest on the show would vary from writing a book, to being in a movie with Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray, to losing 50 pounds by eating nothing by Little Debbie brownies. Oh yes, kids. I had a very active imagination. I guess it stemmed from feeling like I had something to say, but being too shy to say it. I was never shy in these little day dreams of mine.

(Insert really awesome song HERE)

I'm going to experiment with dinner tonight.

I'm making a chicken soup and rice dish, and I hope it turns out alright.

I will be giving you a play-by-play as the dish unfolds.

This is very exciting, and I hope you're all at the edges of your seat. Waiting. Hoping. Sending good thoughts our way that dinner will be a success.

This is kind of like live TV - that you DVR'd.

Ok, first I mixed together:

1 can Cream of Mushroom
1 can Cream of Chicken
6 oz. sour cream
1 can chicken broth
1 Cream of Mushroom can full of brown rice, plus a little extra (just looked like it needed it)

This I poured into a 9x13 dish. I topped it with chicken chunks. It was frozen chicken that I attempted to thaw (the edges were hot and white, the center was still icy. I admit, thawing frozen meat has never been one of my talents). This is what it looked like:

I covered this up really well with foil, and it's in the oven at 350' for 30 minutes.

30 minutes later....

The chicken is still pink, so I turned it up to 375 and took the foil off. I've set the timer for 15 more minutes. It's kind of soupy, but we'll see what happens.

15 minutes later....

The chicken seems to be done, so I felt comfortable tasting the rice. Bad idea. The rice is still undone, and has a weird consistency. It's also SUPER soupy (say THAT 5 times fast!). Back in the oven for another 15. (I'm kind of starting to think I'm going to need a back-up plan for dinner...)

15 minutes later....

Uhh..

20 minutes later....

It's starting to thicken, and the rice is a bit more edible...

10 minutes later....

I take it out of the oven and let it rest. It has actually thickened up quite a bit.

I decide to go ahead and have some. Bill is taking a nap (this is his second day of school, and he's all tuckered out!), so I don't wake him. Besides, that will give me time to swap it with something else if it's a disaster.

I take my first bite. Not too bad. It's actually pretty good. I sprinkle a few poppy seeds on top for good measure and dig in.

Final Product:

Would I make this again? Meh, probably not. It took WAY to long to cook. But it was good for tonight's dish.

Now, I know there were some of you who saw this as a disaster waiting to happen.

Like Amy.

(Remember Amy? My aunt? Of "the cake is ok. The cake is O. K." fame? Yeah, she laughed Out Loud (VERY loudly) when she read the recipe.) But it worked!

So, join us next time kids when we learn how to make homemade Chicken A La King, and then floss our teeth afterwards. Don't miss it!

A hodge podge of AWESOME

2010-08-07T13:56:00.000-07:00

Just take a minute to see if you notice anything off about this...

I won't tell you where I saw this sign. If you recognize it by the brand, then way to go company X for brand recognition. But I can't help it that the moment I walked into X-Mart, this was the first thing that caught my eye. The first thing I thought was - too bad I didn't come to Wal-X yesterday! I walked around to the side thinking it had to be a simple mistake, but there it was again. Inflation! In Action! Now, I often shop at Wal-Mart...(oops, I guess I gave it away! Too bad my delete key is temporarily out of order!) mainly because I can't resist the great deals. But now, I'm beginning to wonder...

Now, on to cake.

A few weeks ago I taught a class at the summer camp at my school on cake decorating. I had 3 awesome students and a magnificent assistant. This is one example of what we did one day. The top is a barn, then we have a sheep, a chick, a dog, a bunny, a pig and a couple of turtles. It was a lot of fun, and I think the kids really enjoyed it.

Fruit Tart Take Two.

A few days ago, one of my brother Ben's friends came over and we baked (hola, Carly!). His friend is in a local band called Bake Sale, and she LOVES TO BAKE (and even sells baked goods at their shows)! So I thought we could try the fruit tart again. We tried some new techniques - like freezing the butter and grating it into the flour (it really worked by the way!). It came out great, although a bit underdone since I ran out of foil and had to use parchment paper to line it before I put the beans in to bake it. Apparently, parchment paper does not conduct heat as well as foil...now we know!

We also tried mini banana pudding cups.

I've been playing around with some ideas about individual desserts, and this is one of them. I'm happy to say that Carly now knows how to make pastry cream, whipped cream, meringue, pie crust, and we even made butter! If you've never made butter, you've got to try it - especially if you have kids. It's so easy, and it's like magic! And it's possible you might even burn a few calories while you do it. If you've never tried it before, all you do is put some heavy whipping cream into a glass jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake and shake and shake until the butter separates and you're left with buttermilk and butter.

Speaking of my little bro, Ben...

He left this week to serve a mission for our church. We hosted an open-house farewell for him last Sunday. Ben said all he wanted was fruit, a few Bakerita treats, a cooler full of cokes, and coctail weenies.

Check.

The only thing we didn't have were the cocktail weenies. It just didn't seem to fit.

I tried my hand once again at cake decorating.

Ok, for those who are wondering, it's a semi-loose interpretation of a blue sky, the state of California (he's going to Sacramento), and a larger-than-life missionary name tag (he's going to be speaking Spanish). It's not bad, or at least not really bad....I just hope I don't see it on Cake Wrecks.

I'm really proud of Ben. He was in a band called Founders Welders, and was really invested in the local music scene here in Memphis. But he's chosen to leave that behind for 2 years.

Here's a before/after shot:

He's really a great kid.

My brother and sister got to go to the airport in Salt Lake and take him to the Missionary Training Center.

Hey Alli!

See you in 2 years, Bubba!

Experiments and New Adventures

2010-08-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

I've been experimenting a little this summer. For Ben's birthday dinner last week, I made this berry custard tart. I don't have a pie pan (or a tart pan for that matter) so I used a spring-form pan and made the crust REALLY thick. Here's what it looked like cut:

It was pretty good, and I've found a great recipe for pastry cream. The crust was kind of tough though. As much as I LOVE the idea of making pies, I'm just not good at it!

I've also been practicing more with cake decorating. I think I'd be better at it if I didn't get so overwhelmed with how messy it makes my kitchen (actually I think I am what makes our kitchen messy....I'm sure Bill would agree) and by the time I'm half-way finished with decorating, I'm ready to call it quits. But, I've been trying some new things with royal icing and I'll show you what I have come up with so far. Please note, however, that I am by NO MEANS an artist (just ask my students.....What is THAT Señora Ginn?......It's an airplane students! (¡Es un avión, alumnas!).....Oh....). But I think you might recognize these:

Know what they are?

Not sure?

Ok, this one

is the cow head from Buckley's (minus part of his face) and the other

is from the logo for YoLo. (Read about them here). I was contacted by them about a month ago and they wanted to have a few of my goodies as toppings!! I will have Cinco Chocolate Chunks and Mint Chip Minis on the toppings bar! YEA! GO ME! ;-) They have opened in Collierville and will soon be opening in East Memphis. They also feature other local bakers and vendors in Memphis, and I know you're going to LOVE IT!!

Coming soon: The cake I made for Ben's missionary farewell, a baking session with a member of the band Bake Sale, and the quest for the perfect pimento cheese. Stay tuned!

Me: The Faux Foodie

2010-07-20T18:39:00.000-07:00

First of all, I'd like to say "Happy 21st Birthday" to my littlest bro, Ben! ¡Feliz Cumpleaños!

Ok.

I would probably not pass as a "foodie". That doesn't mean that I don't like food. I like it. A lot. It's just that on more nights than not, our dinner consists of at least one type of canned cream of fill in the blank. In fact, at this very moment, I've got an awesome Tuna Noodle Casserole with not one but two creams of ... (mushroom and celery) in the oven. I'm kind of proud of myself though, because instead of the typical crushed potato chip topping, I used Panko breadcrumbs...tres magnifique, n'est-ce pas?

I felt a little guilty when I was searching for what to have for dinner a bit earlier. Recently I've been watching A LOT of No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain, and I felt like I was cheating by making something out of a box and a can. Like, I wasn't making real food. And yes, I know Rachael Ray, it only takes 30 minutes to make a good meal, but many times you are supposed to use fresh ingredients, and a lot of times those things just go to waste in the fridge. Or by the time I've gone to the store and bought the ingredients fresh, I don't feel like cooking. I do like to cook - but I like to bake more. And when I'm baking a lot, it's hard to set that aside to cook up something for dinner. And you know, I bet when it gets right down to it, most people actually like food made from gelatinous cream of mushroom soup, or boxed macaroni. Admit it. You know you do.

The way I see it, you can keep your chicken stuffed in a pig's bladder or geoduck (which looks like a, well, click here and see for yourself). I'll keep my Tuna Noodle Casserole (with or without Panko) and leave the other stuff to the food snobs. Although, don't try to give me banana pudding made from a box, or a pie with filling from a can. That's gotta be all from-scratch, all the time.

Bon appetit!

Good, but missing something....oh, yeah - potato chips.

This One Goes Out to the One(s) I Love...

2010-06-29T22:33:00.000-07:00

Meet my little family.

Bill the Husband

(Wedding day - doesn't he look so young?!)

The Kids:

Murphy the Dog

(Murphy LOVES potholders.)

Bella Petunia the Cat

(Notice that Murphy gets a comfortable place on the floor while Bella is perched on the bed. On a pillow. This seemingly preferential treatment causes no-end of jealousy in Murphy. All you have to do is call Bella's name and he comes a-runnin'. It's bad, but it kinda makes me laugh. A lot.)

Regarding Bella's name. I deliberated for quite some time. When I told one friend about her, she said, "Oh, how Twilight of you." - which is what I was afraid of, but I couldn't stop calling her Bella, and so that is her name. She's kind of mean, and she likes to show me her teeth (as in bite me) so I'd say she lives up to her name. (Although Bill says it's because I provoke her. Now - would I do that?)

For now, this is my little family, and we get along just great. We all love each other (even when we wake up to find green caterpillar, uh, leavings on our white quilt courtesy of Bella - or are awaken by Murphy because there was some thunder in West Memphis - thank goodness for doggie valium!), and there's nothing better than sitting here, writing this and listening to the sound of the them sleeping (or in Murphy's case, snoring).

¡Les quiero, familia!

My Summer So Far...

2010-06-18T13:31:00.000-07:00

Recently, Hannah Sayle from the Memphis Flyer interviewed me! The article came out this week:

http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/sugar-sugar/Content?oid=2138304

All of the pictures are of another baker, but I think the article was really nice! I think she did a good job of explaining what I do and why I'm doing it. One thing she asked me is if I used local ingredients. I told her I was very interested in doing so, but didn't know much about where to find the local ingredients. Then I got to thinking about it and realized I know about 6 people who have chickens! So I've started using eggs that I get from a family who lives right around the corner from me.

Aren't they beautiful?!?

I was putting some hydrangeas that I had cut from our bush outside in a vase, and I found this little guy:

Oh, wait, that's me enjoying my hydrangeas from last year. (They don't actually smell like anything...)

Here's what I found:

Can you see him? Isn't he cute?? (In case you were wondering about the, ahem, excellent quality of most of my pictures, I just use the camera on my computer and take the pictures in Photo Booth.) I'm pretty sure it's either a Katydid, or a baby walking stick...is that the same thing? (My dad would know, he always thought they were pretty cool.)

So, recently I've been experimenting with new cookies. I tried a couple of different recipes for a butter-pecan cookie:

(I know, I should have been a hand model.)

I've also been working on a peanut butter cookie. I've been reluctant to try this - I think because my school is a Peanut-Free campus, and I'm hyper-sensitive to it. But it was time to try a new cookie.

(Okay kids, it's time to use your imagition.) Imagine this is a whole cookie:

Now, imagine it was topped with this:

Not this:

And then imagine it warm.

I know.

You're drooling like Murphy was last night...(actually, that was kind of gross, don't think about that.)

I'm trying to figure out a way to make a Fluffer-Nutter cookie. I never actually called a peanut butter sandwich with marshmallows that (we just called it a peanut butter sandwich with marshmallows), but I think a lot of people know it as that. You'll need to look for this one in the future. It might just put me on the map. I mean, why else do you think all I had was a tiny bite to show you??

Okay, I'm sure you've noticed that I've been avoiding a report on how I'm doing in the BBBBC. I'll be honest - not too well.

It could be part this:

(Sorry, just had to have 1 more picture of the cake!)

Or this:

(The Mirage - a chocolate mousse, macademia nut, ganache marvel - at Sugar Cakes Patisserie in Marietta, GA.)

Maybe a little of this:

(Yummy Australian meat pies, cakes and VEGEMITE at The Australian Bakery Cafe in Marietta.)

And perhaps a pinch of this:

I think you know what this is.

I am trying, and I plan to have at least lost something by the weigh-in in 3 1/2 weeks.

Well, I hear a storm coming, so it's time to give the dog his Valium.

Poor Murphy. You gotta love him.

Here Comes the Bride - MAKE ROOM FOR THE CAKE!

2010-06-05T19:03:00.000-07:00

I delivered my first wedding cake today. Don't worry - that's not it. I made a practice cake a few weeks ago, and my family came over for dinner that afternoon. Most of them were very diplomatic.

Except for my dad.

He just came right on out and said what he (and probably everyone else) was thinking:

It's kind of Brittany Spears/Trailer Park-esque.

Uhhhhhh...... Actually nobody else really knew what that meant, but I understood what he was trying to say. Here's a closer view:

Not the smoothest frosting, but at least you can tell it's homemade. Some of the shells looks like snails, and those mismatched pearls? Freshwater. Actually, I didn't think it was THAT bad.

Here's the cake that I delivered today:

Jo Ann (who ordered the cake for her son's wedding reception and is one of the wonderful cybrarians at school) supplied the flowers. The bottom tier was strawberry with white chocolate ganache filling, and the top two tiers were butter cake with chocolate ganache filling. It was covered in buttercream, (not But-R-Créme like at ***-Mart)

and the topper was the one Jo Ann used on her own wedding cake. What a neat tradition.

I'm very pleased with the final product. Although driving over to the reception was a feat! Amy (my aunt) was sitting in the backseat watching the cake, and my mom was navigating. Every time I would turn a corner or go over a speed bump, Amy would report to me with "the cake is ok. The cake is O. K.". I was making everyone nervous. It was probably one of the few times that I actually went the speed limit (but don't tell Bill!). It was worse than driving around with a newborn baby! Next time, I'm going to have a flashing sign in the back of the car that says - "Cake on Board-Will Slow for Speed Bumps so Just Go Ahead and Pass Me (For Cryin' Out Loud)".

Here it is again in case you missed it the first time:

I'm a proud mama.

BBBBC Week One! - AND- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Work Today

2010-05-19T12:03:00.000-07:00

So, this was Week One! of the BBBBC, and I have to say that I'm proud of myself. I did have a few slip-ups...although most were in the name of science - I had to make sure that my cookie and cake chemical formulas were well-balanced. They were. I exercised 4 times this week (let's give it up for Walk Away the Pounds!), I drank a lot of water, and I ate my veggies, meat, cheese and nuts (I did South Beach Phase 1). I'm down 5.6 pounds!! What! WHAT! It just goes to show that I can eat healthy, have a FEW treats, and lose weight. I have to say I'm relieved. I had convinced myself that my metabolism had quit since I turned 30 a month ago and that there was no help from me. I think what had quit for me was my common sense, and now that I have regained that, all is well.

Now, on to "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Work Today".

I ran over a chainsaw.

I dragged it for about 100 yards before I could pull over.

It dislodged itself from under my car.

I was really, excuse my language, *pissed*.

I got out of my car, walked over to that chainsaw, picked it up and threw it as far as I could. Which was about 5 feet. Take that, Chainsaw!

As I was getting back in my car, I noticed someone had pulled over and was putting it in their truck. I don't think it was their chainsaw, because they didn't seem upset that I had just thrown it, which made me wonder if maybe I should have kept it. That's probably what they thought I was going to do when I got out of my car and walked over to it. They were probably pretty happy when they saw me just throw it (Take That!).

Later on, as I was driving home, a Ms. Rhodie car with a truck bed trailer crossed over the lanes in front of me. (It always gives me pause to see one of those truck bed trailers on the road - it's just so funny-looking.) If you're wondering what a Ms. Rhodie car is, it's a blue 1980 or so Oldsmobile Cutlass that Ms. Rhodie used to drive us kids around in Prentiss, MS. When we would visit Grandma and Grandpa during the summer, often she would watch us. Ms. Rhodie was a large-ish, old, African American woman who would do just about anything you asked her to do. Including eat sand. Yes, Ms. Rhodie would eat the sand pies and cakes that my brother and I would bake for her. I really loved her, and she loved us. Although, I wasn't a big fan of when Ms. Rhodie would kiss me on the cheek (which she liked to do), because Ms. Rhodie had a full-fledged man-mustache. I'm not talking Frida Khalo mustache, I'm talking Tom Selleck mustache. But you know, it worked for her. Somehow, it didn't seem weird or out of place. It was just part of who Ms. Rhodie was. And she was a good woman (although I always thought her house smelled like propane, which is what I always thought avocados tasted like, and so i never liked avocados because they tasted like Ms. Rhodie's house, until I actually tried one, and realized it was actually nothing like Ms. Rhodie's house, or propane). And so when I saw that blue Olds Cutlass with the weird truck bed tailer on the back, it took me back to the days when we would sit in the back of Ms. Rhodie's car, legs burning on the plastic seats, sipping a purple Slush Puppie after going to Hudson's Drug Store in Prentiss, MS. Ahh, those were the days.

I Have a Confession to Make - or - How a Chippity-Doo-Da saved my life

2010-05-18T12:23:00.000-07:00

I have a confession.

I cheated.

I was bad, and now I must pay the consequences.

I've been doing SO well, despite being surrounded by temptations day and night.

But last night, I gave in. I did it.

I ate a Chippity-Doo-Da, and it was worth EVERY calorie.

Oh yeah.

I've had cookies speak to me before (see a few posts below) but it didn't even have to speak. Just one look, one sniff, and I was hooked.

Now, on to how it saved my life.

Last night I was lying in the bed, reading my book, and I kept thinking about the CDD's in the kitchen. They were now calling to me. I knew I needed to bag them, but I was letting them "cure". I tried to ignore the urges, but they were too strong, and I gave in. As I was walking (ok, stumbling) through the living room towards the kitchen, I noticed that Bella (the cat) was hovering over something near the bookshelves. The way she was poised, I knew she had brought in some critter. Cats will do this from time to time, and she's a pro at what she does. I got closer so I could see what it was (usually it's something that's already dead), and I noticed it had a tail....that was still moving.....slithering actually. So I asked Bill to come see (actually I immediately freaked out and screeched Bill's name, and he came a-running). He looked and, yes, my worst fears were confirmed - it was a snake! Aaaaaahhhhhhh! Bill put on his gloves and then got something (out of the knife drawer) of the kitchen, and took care of the situation. Bill is my hero!

So you see, if it hadn't been for that irresistible CDD calling me from the kitchen, I would have never gotten up and I would have never seen Bella playing with the snake and I would have never called for Bill and if none of that would have happened, it could have eaten me! Of course, if you ask Bill, I'm sure he'll nonchalantly tell you it was a baby garden snake (are garden snakes brown??), and was harmless....but I'm of the school of thought that ANY snake in the house is a deadly creature.

So, thank you Bill. And thank you, Chippity-Doo-Da. You both saved my life.

La Chica Bakerita: The Jingle

2010-05-14T11:39:00.000-07:00

And now - for your viewing pleasure

La Chica Bakerita - THE JINGLE!

Starring: Various Homies

Buckley's Big Belly Bust Challenge! -Prelude

2010-05-10T20:42:00.000-07:00

Pretty soon I will be joining my mom in Buckley's Big Belly Bust Challenge. She was one of the few chosen to participate in the second challenge Buckley's is hosting, and when she arrived at the weigh-in, she was informed that she was to go out and get a team and meet back in a few weeks! So I (along with my aunt Amy) am going to be part of her team! The proceeds from the Challenge go to the Wings foundation. As you may know, my father has cancer, and so we feel a very close tie to this organization. It is just an overall good thing for us to do right now.

I'm ready to start, and I'm really excited about it except.....well, I just came up with a new cookie (the Chippity-Doo-Da), I have been asked to do a wedding cake (my first!), and, uh, hello! - I'm trying to run a bakery here!! BUT - I HAVE to do it. That's it. I have to. I just watched 2 episodes of the Biggest Loser (I am SCARED to DEATH of Jillian!), and I figure if they can do it - I can do it.

So I'm going to start posting my progress on here weekly....I know this is my blog about baking, but I believe in moderation in most things (some things you just have to do without - - - you know what I'm talking about) and if you have an occasional Cinco, or try a Chippity-Doo-Da, it's ok. It's just when you have a couple of them, uh, every night, that it becomes a problem.

So......Let the scaaaaales weigh innnnnn!

Cupcake Carnage

2010-04-30T16:29:00.000-07:00

I am constantly fantasizing about one day owning my own bake shop. I mean, who wouldn't? You get to spend your whole day baking, surrounding yourself with yummy treats that make people (and occasionally yourself) happy. So I really like visiting other bake shops and seeing what they have to offer, and what their bakery "feels" like.

Recently I spent the day with my mom and my aunt Amy (who is more like a sister). (Side note: This is a monumental year for the three of us. My mom turned 50 in March, I turned 30 a few weeks ago, and Amy turns 40 in September. I think we need to take a cruise.) We went to Mary Carter's Cake Decorating Supply Store, Lit, had lunch, went to an junk (I mean antique) shop and then made our way to a new cupcake boutique here in town. We decided that we'd get an assortment of cupcakes and take them back to Amy's house to eat. I wanted so badly to open the cute box and take just a small lick in the car - but I waited. Like a good little girl.

We approached our cake-ettes with anticip--------------------------------pation.

With a plastic knife, I cut eat cupcake into 4 equal (sorta) parts. Why 4 and not 3?? Quién sabe. We waited until a quarter of the cupcake was in front of each of us and then took a bite - discussing the texture of the cake, the creaminess of the buttercream, how the two elements worked together, and any other accompanying element that went along with them. As we purchased a half-dozen, we went through this ritual 6 times. We were too anxious to get a picture at the beginning, but this is what it looked like afterwards:

Oh the insanity!

In the words of the International Food Club that I sponsor:

We came.

We saw.

We masticated.

And it was good.

Amen.

Would it be wrong for me to use him as target practice?

2010-04-16T18:16:00.000-07:00

So.....Murphy went the other day to become de-manned. Yes, that's right, Murphy's manhood was snipped away Tuesday. People kept telling us that it was good for him and that it would calm him down (oh the happiness if that were true!) so we did it. And he's been wearing the Cone of Shame ever since:

I have to say, there has been a lot less licking, and Murphy really likes to lick.

A lot.

We had chicken for dinner, and he was trying to clean up after us, although the cone inhibits him from doing this very easily.

I imagine he just ends up scooping it up into his cone and swings it around until it lands in his mouth...think of those "wishing wells" at the zoo where you put in a quarter and watch it spin around and around and around...

We are not ones to feed him from our plates, but he never gives up hope:

He keeps running into things with his cone - the wall, the gate, our legs. Funny story: Murphy has a bed in our room that's in the corner between the wall and the dresser. Like most dogs, he typically does the turn-around-three-times-before-finally-settling-down ritual before drifting off blissfully to sleep. So last night was just like any other night and Murphy started his TATTBFSD ritual, except there was not much space between the wall and the dresser, or the wall and the nightstand. So I'm lying there reading and I hear rustle rustle THUMP! s-c-r-a-p-e...rustle rustle THUMP! s-c-r-a-p-e about four times before he finally gives up and just lays there.

Defeated.

Sighing.

Oh, Poor Murphy is what I say (while laughing hysterically (silently). Bill was asleep and missed the whole thing). It was one of the funniest, most pathetic things I'd ever seen. In. My. Life.

I love you anyway Murphy.

I mean, how could anybody NOT love this face, cone of shame and all:

BITE ME!

2010-04-12T18:44:00.000-07:00

So I'm making myself an oven-toasted cheese sandwich tonight to go with my corn flakes (we need to go to the grocery store) and I look down on my counter and I notice this:

Hmmm, something is missing from these cookies.....could THIS be the reason I gained 5 pounds this weekend?!? (No -actually that happened because it was my (30th) birthday, so I thought it was ok to have a piece of cake (or four).)

So I have this internal dialog going on in my head and I ask myself:

Me: Self, did you need to take a bite out of EVERY cookie?

Self: Well, yes, sort of. They're different see- one has blue sugar, one has cinnamon and sugar....

Me: Ok, ok, I can see that. But it looks as though there are 4 snickerdoodles that have a bite taken out, and there's a 5th that missing most of itself. What can you tell me about this?

Self: Well, you see, they're from the same batch, but they're quite different! I left one on the pan for 2 minutes, and one on the pan for 3 minutes. Another one was taken out of the oven 1 minute sooner... I could go on.

Me: Ok, that makes sense. So, which one did you decide is the best?

Self: Um, well, I kinda forgot which one was which...they all tasted the same...

So, in conclusion, do I HAVE to take a bite out of EVERY cookie?!?!

Well, no, because then what would YOU eat??

Why am I doing this again? -or- Isn't it funny how things work out sometimes? -or- Am I really going to be 30 in 1 hour?

2010-04-08T21:22:00.000-07:00

Just like any other endeavor, there comes a time when you think - is this all worth it?? Most of the time, especially when it's something good, the answer is YES!

This week has been a somewhat trying time in Cookie-Land. There were 2 days when almost nothing sold, and a day where I was not able to bake at all :-(. BUT - I had my first shipment of cookies and it was a success!! (Thank you Sam!) And tomorrow is Friday, and I didn't have cookies today, but people were asking about them, so it's all good. And there are some wonderful people out there who are kind and generous and good, (Ken and Jeff - you know who you are!) and they are helping this become a reality. And it is really incredibly amazing to see the goodness and support of so many people. (Can you hear the rousing inspirational music playing in the background?)

Here's the Isn't it funny how things work out sometimes? part. Each day that I do this it (potentially) brings me closer to us starting a family. Whether it be us raising money to go through a different adoption agency, or somebody hears about our hopes to adopt a baby and knows someone who is hoping to place a baby for adoption - I know something is going to come from this. It just is. And I'll write a post about it when it does! But there's another aspect to our story. We recently found out my dad has cancer - right in the middle of all of this beginning - and it's pretty advanced. At this point, we're hoping that his doctors can treat his pain, and then move on to helping him heal. This has been pretty devastating for our family (especially since my dad's only 50!) but we all have faith that things will be ok. I don't know what that will mean, but I know that they will. My parents have been SO GLAD that I have this opportunity to expand La Chica Bakerita and bake in a large, commercial kitchen, and get my name out there in the community, and that my mom can do this with me. It has just been a miracle the way things have worked for us at this time.

Ok - so now on the the last part. In just a short little while, I'll be 30. That's ok, I'm fine with it, really. I made a list last year on my 29th birthday of things I wanted to accomplish during this past year. Not one of them has been completed (that 50 pounds I wanted to lose? - I kept them and added a couple to keep them company) but I've been able to do things that I did not even know I wanted to do! So tomorrow I'll make a new list of things I'd like to accomplish during this next year, and look forward to not doing any of them, but accomplishing better things instead..... Although maybe this year will be the year the 50 pounds get gone for good! We'll just see about that...

Five little monkeys jumping on the grass, one fell down and broke his...

2010-04-02T20:26:00.000-07:00

...

...
...
...

Finger.

Yeah, that's what I thought he was going to say. My little nephew M, my brother C, and my sister A flew in this week from Utah. It's been so much fun having them - but it's been especially fun hanging around my 3-year-old nephew. We walked to the park (which is at the end of our street - you can almost see it from out house) and only about 5 steps into our journey, M informed me that his legs were tired and that I needed to carry him. We also went into our backyard and played on the playset the previous owners left for us. There are some bumblebees that live in it, and M asked if Bill had closed the door to the beehive and if the bees had left it open. He also told us 3 original stories this afternoon, each of them starting with - "I'm going to tell you a scary story... When I was a little kid..." and ending with "and that's what happened when I was a little kid". Each one had something to do with elephants and robots and M driving a car, and featured anything he saw around him - our dog Murphy (peeing on the fence), the grabber that my dad uses to pick things up,

Bella the cat (hiding in the bushes), the Easter baskets on the table, etc. My brother and M are staying here tonight, and C has informed me that M will be waking us up in the morning (probably and the crack of 5:00 a.m.) and we will be taking him out for donuts. I have been constantly entertained all day long - and I am now exhausted. I don't know how parents do it - but I still look forward to it.

2010-03-30T20:58:00.000-07:00

I've decided that cookies are like children. Take my Cinco's for example. In order to make Cinco's, I follow a specific cookie recipe. In order to make children, a certain DNA recipe is followed. I use the same ingredients, the same measurements, and the same process for each batch of Cinco's. When 2 people have a child, the same DNA in the same amount and basically the same process (which I will not get into - this is a G-rated blog!) is used. But each time, the results can be COMPLETELY different! Just like children, cookies can be larger, smaller, darker, heavier, lighter, prettier, uglier, crunchier, gooey-er, etc. Okay, maybe the last 2 only apply to cookies, but you get the idea. So if you happen to get your hands on some La Chica Bakerita cookies, and notice that they all look a bit different, then you will know that you are eating the real thing - it is baked with lots of love (really!) and while each one is hand-dipped and weighed (I make my mom weigh EACH and EVERY cookie-dough ball!!) each one has the potential to look COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from his/her cookie-sibling. But you can rest assured that each one is MUY DELICIOSA!

That which we call a rose...

2010-03-28T21:52:00.000-07:00

By any other name would smell as sweet. If this is true in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, does it also apply to cookies? Recently, I purchased a cookie at [insert name of big-time coffee conglomerate] located inside [insert name of major chain retailer]. I actually don't drink coffee, but I occasionally enjoy a nice cup of hot chocolate or even a spot of herbal tea. Anyway - they didn't have what I was looking for, so I thought I'd get one of the cookies in the display case. I mean, a cookie by any other name would taste as sweet, right? Or maybe I should say - a cookie is a cookie is a cookie. Well, no, actually, that's not the case. When I took my first bite of the cookie that looked so inviting in the display case, all I could think was - EGADS! I just spent $1.91 (including tax) on THIS???!!? Ok, so maybe I'm a bit of a cookie snob, and maybe I believe cookies (and all other baked goods) should be made with real ingredients (flour, sugar, BUTTER, eggs, you see where I'm going) but this, I am afraid to say, was not made with many things I recognized. Or perhaps it was, but had been sitting in the case so long that it was no longer recognizable. And I know it was not just me who felt this way - my aunt and mom both could not chew the piece they put in their mouth.

Moral of the story - just because someone calls it a cookie and covers it with M&M's does not necessarily mean you should eat it.

What do you call a bird that is afraid of heights?

2010-03-26T13:41:00.000-07:00

I was driving to work the other day, and I noticed some nests way up high in the trees. It kind of frightened me just to look up at them. I'm pretty afraid of heights. I'm not a big fan of ladders, or bleachers, or step stools for that matter. My dad's pretty afraid of heights too, and loves to tell the story of the time we went to the Grand Canyon and he looks over to see me holding onto my little brother's shirt so he could get a good look over the side...don't know what I was thinking - for some reason the GC didn't really bother me too much....

So back to the joke (which is where I was headed). I'm driving through our neighborhood and see these nests that are REALLY HIGH, and I thought - now what would happen if a bird were born and he/she were afraid of heights? I thought it was a legitimate question. So, as often happens as I drive to work, my mind started wandering, and it landed on this joke - What do you call a bird who is afraid of heights? ..... A CHICKEN! I mean - OSTRICH wouldn't make sense- right?

I have a tendency to amuse myself with my own wit (even if nobody else is amused). Like the time my little brother (same one that was at the GC) was asking me a bunch of questions and I said - What do I look like - Wikipedia? Ok - I thought it was funny, and still do. Even if Ben doesn't. Meet Ben:

Cookie Marathon

2010-03-18T11:22:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry, did you say something?

I'm sorry, can you repeat that?

Yeah, that's what I thought you said.

Last night my mom and I baked cookies for the debut of La Chica Bakerita at Buckley's Lunchbox. We baked A LOT of cookies! I am very picky about the cookies that I will sell, and if they don't meet my standards, they don't get to meet the public. I started with about 9 dozen cookies or so - and none of them met those standards. So back to the mixer I went!

Actually, I knew that I was going to need to make up some more dough. When you bake (and I am by no means an expert), the ingredients you use will make a HUGE difference in the finished product. Even if you use the same recipe with the same ingredients (butter, sugar, flour, eggs, chocolate, etc.) different brands can create quite different results. For example, last week I made up SEVERAL batches of Cinco Chocolate Chunkies dough to test out the convection oven. EVERY batch of Cinco's that came out were not LCBCCC (La Chica Bakerita Cinco Chocolate Chunkies). They spread out, were thin, and quite dark - good, but not my Cinco's! I kept mixing batch after batch, but I was still getting the same results. So I did a little investigating, and soon found that the sugar I had recently bought was a little different from the sugar I was used to. This sugar was sparkly - which means that it had larger crystals than the sugar I'm used to which resulted in a flatter, darker cookie. I was finally able to remedy the situation. Oh, the happiness!

So the moral of this story is: If at first you don't bake C's, try, try again.

Son, you got a panty on your head...

2010-03-13T10:15:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my mom and I went to The Lunchbox so I could mix up the dough for Monday's sample-tasting. I know my mom had a great time working in a professional kitchen with stainless-steel appliances and a walk-in refrigerator. She could spend days in a place like Lit looking at all of their restaurant supplies. So we went to Buckley's Lunchbox (hereto after referred to as BLB) and hauled in all of our stuff (my red KitchenAid, bowls, 2 1/2 pound baggies of mixed chocolate chips to go in the cinco's, etc.).

Jeff had ordered some supplies for me and had them labeled! (That's A LOT of butter!!)

We were ready to go! I decided that I would weigh my ingredients rather than measure with a measuring cup - and it really is MUCH easier (and consistent). My mom is my official scooper, and I had her weigh the dough so that we were consistent (and, no worries, she is a meticulous hand-washer!).

(Don't you just want to pick up one of those dough-balls and EAT IT??!?!)

We went by Buckley's afterwards to pick up a newsletter so we could read the article Ken did about La Chica Bakerita. We drove all the way home before we read it - although mom kept peeking at it. She started laughing when she read on the front cover Baking for Babies and had to find the page the article was on. When we got home, we sat down together on the couch with Bill and started reading. It starts "Remember the movie "Raising Arizona" when the crazy couple wanted a baby so badly they would do anything to get it - 'Go get me a baby, H.I.!' ". Nice. Families of quintuplets, beware! The rest of the article was really nice. I hope that all of this will lead (one way or another) to a baby. I think it will.

New Beginnings

2010-03-09T02:33:00.000-08:00

Well, I will soon be selling my cookies at Buckley's Lunchbox! We're going to start with the Cinco Chocolate Chunkies and see where that leads us. The good people at Buckley's (Ken and Jeff) have GENEROUSLY offered to allow me to bake and sell my cookies at their restaurant! I'm excited to see where this leads. What began as an idea to raise money for adoption has grown so much more than I thought possible!