I love a good fad diet

This one's from Cosmo. It's not too terrible. I included the ones I liked and made a few edits here and there.

1. Drink mainly water. Hard for me because I drink mainly diet coke.
2. Ban white bread and pasta.
3. Do 30 minutes of cardio a day.
4. Drink caffeine an hour before working out.
5. Do 36 pushups/squats every other day.
6. Sleep an extra 30 minutes a night. Not hard - I get obscene amounts of sleep.
7. Cut out one indulgence. Hmmm....cheese or chocolate?
8. Do 36 squats and situps

Luck be a Lady

Just returned from a fun trip to Vegas with T's parents and his brother/wife.

We stayed in the Bellagio, which is my favorite hotel on the strip. It seems a little less chintzy than some of the other places (hello - a Hooters hotel? seriously?) and the fountain shows are captivating.

There is so much to see on the strip. And once you get over the initial shock of being handed a prostitution flier, Vegas is a pretty nice place. Parking is free. There are skywalks that allow you to avoid getting creamed by a taxi on the street. And the food! I ate three weeks worth of wonderful meals.

Neither T nor I gamble, but we decided to play $5 on video poker just for fun. At one point we were up 25 cents, but we pretty much paid to have an hour of fun. It's true. It took us an HOUR to lose $5. I can only imagine if we had played more money or more often. No wonder people spend hours sitting at those machines. The smoke alone would kill me in less than a day.

While I enjoyed the fancy bed and bathtub offered by the Bellagio, I am looking forward to sleeping in our mismatched sheets. As long as the housekeepers refrain from knocking at 7 a.m. like they did this morning.

School Daze!

I'm in a school daze...and a school craze! Taze, blaze, malaise, killer gaze...

I went to orientation for my MBA program and met 85 of my new best friends. I also picked up a big stack o books, one of which I began reading tonight.

Looking at a syllabus again is daunting, and I'm hoping it's not too overwhelming.

But I'm also pretty excited. I genuinely liked my first reading assignment, which was about how good bosses lead with emotional intelligence (read: spend less time loving yourself, more time understanding your employees).

Haven't attended a class yet. Check back in with me in a month and see if I'm still a-MAZED by this experience.

Date Night

Sometimes T and I hang out in the bedroom and listen to music on iTunes or YouTube.

I would imagine it's akin to the old days of hanging out and listening to records.

Last night we started looking up songs we liked as kids -- and, naturally, they were both Huey Lewis Songs. I'm "Power of Love" while T is "Heart of Rock n Roll." The evening went down an interesting road from there and included Boyz II Men, Vanilla Ice, Kris Kross, Tenacious D and Flight of the Conchords.

I love our music nights. What can I say? I'm a cheap date.

Cake from Scratch

Over the weekend I made my first cake from scratch. I usually have the opinion that cakes from scratch are dry and not as sweet as a mix. And I was right, to an extent. The chocolate taste was really good, but it was a little dry. It's possible if I had used actual frosting it would have worked better. Anyhow. Enjoy!


Chocolate Layer Cake from the "Bitten" blog on NY Times.

Ingredients

* 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened; more for greasing pans
* 2 cups (9 ounces) cake or all-purpose flour; more for dusting pans
* 3 ounces high-quality unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped (I used Ghiradelli)
* 1 cup sugar
* 2 eggs, separated
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/4 cups milk
* 2 cups sweetened whipped cream

Method

* 1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter bottom and sides of two 9-inch layer-cake pans. Cut rounds of parchment or waxed paper to fit bottom of pans. Butter paper, and dust flour over pans; invert to remove excess.
* 2. Melt chocolate in saucepan or double boiler, stirring occasionally. When just about melted, remove from heat; stir until smooth.
* 3. In mixer, cream butter until smooth, gradually adding sugar. Beat until fluffy, 3 or 4 minutes. Beat in egg yolks one at a time, then vanilla and chocolate. In a bowl, mix 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to chocolate mixture a little at a time, alternating with milk. Stir until smooth.
* 4. Beat egg whites until they hold soft peaks. With rubber spatula, fold them gently into batter. Turn batter into cake pans, and bake 30 minutes, or until a toothpick in center comes out clean. Cool on a rack 5 minutes, invert and complete cooling.
* 5. Put one layer on a platter, rounded side down. Spread with whipped cream. Top with second layer, flat side down. Spread cream over top and sides. Serve in an hour or two.







I added a layer of raspberry jam



This is homemade whipped cream. Heavy and Heavenly.



I used a vegetable peeler on some chocolate to dust the top of the cake.



Oh, and don't forget the most important ingredient :)

hey neighbor

We used to have some really cute neighbors next door. They had a 4-year-old girl named Riley who had glasses, curly blonde hair, and a habit of walking into the house without knocking. We were given Valentines and invitations to her birthday party. My best memory of her was when she sat on a kid-sized recliner in a princess crown and sang, "Happy Birthday to Me" between bites of cake.

But they moved. And I think they stopped making payments on the house. The neighbors on the other side only live there part time so we don't see them much.

And those are the only neighbors we know.

We have never spoken to the people who live directly across the street. Or the drug dealer two doors down. I half expected them to come make introductions, but they seem pretty reclusive. And I guess we're just as bad; we haven't made any effort to talk to a family that moved in to a house kitty corner to us.

Is it a standoff? Is everyone expecting the other to flinch first? Or is there no reason to know your neighbors anymore? I'd like to think there is a benefit...seems like there is some sort of safety reason buried in there. We held a garage sale recently and I think some people lived nearby but they didn't mention it.

Maybe Christmas is the time? Make a plate of cookies and brave the cold call? Anyone have some neighborly advice?

Gingerbread!

Gonna make gingerbread this year. Don't usually enjoy it. Hoping that it tastes better when it's warm and freshly iced.

Eggnog Frosting

I'm in an eggnog mood.

Ingredients for the Eggnog Buttercream Frosting

8 Tbsp. (or one stick) of butter, at room temperature
3 1/2 to 4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
3 to 4 tablespoons eggnog
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg, for garnish (optional)


Directions for the Frosting

1. Place the butter and 1 cup of the confectioners' sugar in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds to incorporate. Stop the machine and add the remaining confectioners' sugar, eggnog and vanilla. Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 1 minute. Add more confectioners' sugar if the frosting is too runny to spread. Add a touch more eggnog if it is too stiff.

Well wishes

I finally got the gumption to put all the wedding stuff away. Not sure when I would open this box again. Maybe when someone else gets married and wants a bride and groom teddy bear pair.

As a part of this effort, I opened and read through all the cards again, which made me really sentimental. The messages were so kind and loving. And I remember sitting with T in our house going through each of these cards and the long list of gifts we received and feeling so BLESSED. Hundreds of people came and brought us gifts to send us on our way into matrimony. Hundreds were so very generous.

I felt remorse when I saw the generosity, and I felt it again the other night as I looked through the cards. Not because I didn't thank everyone - I'm pretty sure I did. But because I had honestly thought many of them wouldn't care. Or I assumed they wouldn't approve. Or that they would merely felt obligated to send us something. But they came. Or they sent cards. And they didn't have to.

I could not have guessed that so many people loved us and felt genuine joy for our happiness. Even this inscription from our guest book surprised me. It's from my brother's friend: "You love each other. Nothing else will ever matter more than that."

Favorite Spaces

Tony bought our house just over a year ago, and since then we have made a lot of changes. This post includes some "before" pics and also some pics of little spaces and things that make me happy at our house.

Gratitude

Usually, Thanksgiving makes me grateful for a couple days off work. And then it makes me regretful for how much I eat.

But this year is a little different. We're facing a few unexpected challenges this fall, and they do have the potential to REALLY bring our spirits down. Luckily, I am married to T, who is especially skilled at calming me and easing my anxieties. He's also willing to make difficult choices and sacrifice for our little family.

So this year I'm especially grateful for him. Maybe I should bake him a pie or something.

Overwhelmed

Cannot relax today. Too many balls in the air. Topics include a new shower, Twitter and a dance competition.

Sleeper hit

T and I signed up for "Shaolin Power Hour" at our kung fu studio. It is a two-week fitness boot camp that lasts for an hour every morning.

It starts at 6:15 a.m., which means we have to drag our sorry butts out of bed at 5:30 (though it's been slipping to 5:40, 5:45). This does not bode well for me. I am historically a mean sleeper.

I have panic attacks about waking up early. And I attack others who wake me up or who prevent me from getting to sleep. I can be extremely grumpy in the morning, and incredibly irrational late at night. I think that means I am neither a night owl or an early bird. I'm a totally different breed of fowl. (A surly bird?)

HOWEVER. After four days of Shaolin Power Hour, I am finding that I have a lot more energy during the day. I still get sleepy around 10 p.m., but I'm not the kung fu zombie I thought I was going to be.

Holidaisical!

Starting to receive travel plans from my three out of state sisters...and getting so so excited for the holidays!

Makes me want to organize the guest room so some little nieces and nephews can sleep over and play rock band with crazy cool Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Tony.

Finally figured it out

For years I've been trying to determine how exactly I fit in among my friends and family.

I have labels for everyone -- the smart one, the emotional one, the easygoing one -- but for a long time I could not figure out which "one" I was.

Today it dawned on me, thanks to the help of a co-worker. It also explains why I have labels for everyone.

I'm the judgmental one.

Spooktacular

Now that we have our own house, we are finally going to fulfill one of my long-term dreams: hosting a giant Halloween party.

I love Halloween. It's pure fun, without the spending and politics of Christmas. (I still love Christmas don't worry!) We put a lot of thought into our Halloween costumes every year. This year the pressure's really on to have a great costume, since we will be the hosts extraordinaire.

The biggest challenge will be to decorate the house in the bestest, most bitchin' Boo-fest ever. I'm already researching ideas for decor, both cute and creepy.

Anyone have any easy or cool ideas? Anyone want to have a craft/decor day on Oct. 24? :)

New shelves!

Sometimes the stars align and T and I have the time and energy to put up new shelves. The result is usually wonderful and I am so very pleased.

Stick of butter...mmmm

This recipe for frosting is SO DELICIOUS. I got it from Sarah B, who got it from Sprinkles Cupcakes. Try not to let the obscene amounts of butter put you off. Totally worth it. I added frozen raspberries to this batch.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

1 cup softened butter
3.5 cups confectioners sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp milk
1 tsp vanilla


Beat butter, sugar, salt until smooth.
Add milk, vanilla and beat 3-5 minutes until creamy.

addiction

I think Diet Coke might be keeping me alive

The Audacious Cook

I don't usually have the patience to cook. I hate things with a million ingredients and hours of chopping. Our dinners usually consist of tortilla + filling + microwave. Anything that takes longer better include the crock pot.

But I kinda have the desire to bake. I like the idea of perfecting some wonderful dish, then making it for special occasions to the delight of all my sophisticated friends. Problem is, I don't have natural talent, and I am going to have to work for it. A recent attempt at cherry turnovers didn't end so great. It tasted OK, but looked pretty wimpy and a little soggy.

I'm tempted to buy the Julia Child book, since all of the NPR interviews with director Nora Ephron have said that taught her how to cook. And I do love things made with butter and cream. I'm not suggesting I try my own version of "Julie and Julia," where I blog my way through it, but I like the idea that maybe I could try some of the recipes and make something delicious.

One thing I have learned was that homemade whipped cream can cover up a lot of worries. And I know how to make that. So that's a start.