The Unsophisticated Palate

Kids Weekend

2009-04-12T21:10:00.003-05:00

So, I've worked twice the hours I was supposed to in the last two weeks trying to accomplish a miracle. Because I had to stay late again on Friday, Curly Sue and Little Man had already arrived when I got home. Friday was uneventful. We did dinner, kids went to sleep, the end.

Saturday was really fun. My mom was in town, so she, Panda, the kids, and I went to Scarborough Faire. It was so much fun. Curly Sue met a fairy right inside the gate, and it really made her day. The fairy gave her a stone and sprinkled fairy dust. Curly Sue carried that rock in her hand ALL day. Every once in a while she'd show it to one of us and tell us about her "magic rock." What made it better is that we saw the fairy about four more times throughout the day, and she gave a new stone, traded stones, and/or sprinkled fairy dust on Curly Sue every time. Did I mention she didn't speak but played a flute? It was really great.

F.Y.I. Curly Sue and I were gypsies. Little Man was a pirate:

Curly Sue's strongest memory (other than the fairy):

We rode an elephant. Enough said.

Panda also decided that the kids needed swords. We let them pick out their own swords. They were a big hit. Here are the kids in "the arena" learning how to swordfight with the merchant:

Overall, it was a really great day. I found out some disturbing things about little man like how bad his allergies are. At home, and on the drive over, he's perfect. Take him out of the car for 5 minutes and he looks like he's got pink eye, he gets lethargic, and doesn't feel very well. He also has this bizarre habit of chewing something up, then just spitting it out like a little baby would. He'd say he was hungry, I'd give him a bite of something, then turn around and he'd have food coming down his face. Really weird. I old his dad and got a "yeah, he does that." OK then...I'm not going to go there. Maybe that is a normal 2+ year old boy thing?

It was an adventure.

2009-03-28T13:06:00.003-05:00

So I was wandering around on the internet about six months ago and stumbled upon this post telling how to make a (diet) rainbow cake. What an awesome idea, right? So I bookmarked the post for later use, and finally(!) had the opportunity. Panda turns 22 on April 1, but we're celebrating today, so I made the cake last night. I used two, count them: TWO boxes of cake mix so that the cake would be big enough to fully show off its rainbow-ness.

In retrospect, that might have been a bit too much because now I have a LOT of cake and not so many people to eat it. All's well. At least it will look awesome. I went with this technique to layer the colors in a cool way, but as you can see, my counters are horribly unlevel, so I had to keep turning the pan to allow the batter to settle and my central point moved as I did so.

All was well and good at this point, besides the whole off-center thing. I lowered the cooking temperature on my oven and baked them longer to reduce cracking to a minimum and to help produce a more level cake. I think they came out fairly well considering.

The next step was to level the cakes because I wanted to make my life complicated and have a four layer cake rather than a plain two layer. Well, I learned something: I suck at leveling cakes. I really should take a class sometime. Here's a photo of the attempt. Look at all the pretty crumbs! It was very entertaining.

Next, I make Pumpkin Pie Spice Frosting because Panda had really wanted a spice cake and I went against his wishes to make the rainbow one. (I knew he'd feel more loved when he saw the rainbow cake's coolness, and he was.) So I compromised and made him spice frosting.

In retrospect, I should have put more frosting between the layers. Next time.

Here's a photo of the (lumpy, lopsided) cake. The frosting is AMAZING, and I don't even like frosting.

I'll post pictures of the cut cake later. This would definitely be a good cake to make for Curly Sue or Little Man's birthday.

Cake:

Duncan Hines White Cake mix

Betty Crocker Gel Food Coloring

Frosting:

4 tablespoons butter, melted
4 tablespoons pumpkin puree (I use Libby's Pumpkin Puree)
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3-4 cups powdered sugar

Mix all ingredients, adding the powdered sugar one cup at a time until the icing reaches the desired consistency.

A Little Gypsy

2009-03-23T19:58:00.002-05:00

Here are my Goodwill finds for Curly Sue to wear to Scarborough Faire. First, the skirt and top. The scarf on the side is big enough to tie around her waist or head or something.

And a cute (though badly photographed) crop sweater to wear over it:

Adore the cuteness! Now all I need is pirate stuff for Little Man.

OMFG O'Reilly said "nifty!"

2009-03-17T19:13:00.002-05:00

Flipping channels and Bill O'Reilly said "nifty." Holy crap! The only person I've ever heard say that (besides me) is my sister, and here is a 60 year old man saying it. It's just weird. And a little creepy. But mostly weird.

Just thought you should know. Don't you feel enlightened?

The cuteness! THE CUTENESS!

2009-03-17T18:53:00.002-05:00

This is my baby right before she nearly knocked herself unconscious trying to get to a bird. She doesn't understand the concept of glass and runs at it full speed. Every time. Yep. That's my baby.

And here's my baby later, getting into trouble. As always.

...And she's distracted already. Another bird. Poor baby. I don't think her head can take too many more encounters with the window. I really need to get a picture of that, though. It's hilarious.

It's HeEre

2009-03-17T18:47:00.002-05:00

I finally have a good rice cooker! Isn't it cute? It's even special enough to have a designated spatula spot.

And best of all, it was Isis approved before it was even out of the box.

Look at those happy whiskers!

*Sigh*

It's just so damn cute.

What? You thought I was talking about the cat? Pfsh!

Curly Sue's Cake Pops

2009-03-11T18:54:00.003-05:00

So, my mom's been trying to get me to post these for a while, so here they are. The cake pops I made for my niece's 4th birthday party. It was Tinkerbell-themed.

Making the rose shape was really easy. I bought a candy mold, put a bit of color in the bottom, dipped the pops, then stuck them upside-down in the mold to set. They would have come out cleaner if I had sized the cake balls themselves better, but you live and you learn. Just because I can, here's a photo of the birthday girl. She's the one in the middle. Her uncle (yes, it's true) is on the left, and one of her friends is on the right. (I'm horrible with names, so I can't remember it.)

Love SAC, baby, Love SAC

2009-03-11T18:04:00.002-05:00

So I have the world's worst sore throat. And fluid buildup in my ears. Apparently there isn't really anything I can do about the fluid (My sinuses regularly drain into my ears and cause pressure on my eardrums. It hurts A LOT.) I'm taking Singulair, but it doesn't seem to be working, so when the weather changed, I have pain...and drainage. These two things equal a throat that feels like it's being scraped by barbed wire every time I swallow. Joy.

Anyway, I have found that there is nothing better than a Love SAC when you're feeling bad. Yes, we bought one. It even matches the couch! While it may have a very large footprint, it has already become my preferred seating. It's like being snuggled all I want, but it doesn't spout sexual innuendoes or corny lines every 5 minutes like a Panda I could name. (I love it and it's cute, but it gets annoying and he knows it.)

Anyway, here's a photo of the SAC in its designated spot:

Notice the indention? That comes from me sleeping for 4 hours. I was tired. It's comfy. Now for the fluffed up version (We generally do this before we sit in it.)

Anyway, I have mac & cheese on the stove and it's "time to watch my stories" as Panda would say.

Love. Love.

I want to do this!

2009-03-08T18:44:00.002-05:00

I wish I lived in New York just so that I could be part of Improv Everywhere events.

Having great shopping opportunities wouldn't hurt, either. (Department store holiday window displays!) Well, Dallas isn't so bad. If I'm lucky, maybe I'll even get out of Texas someday. There's just too much out there, too many places I want to live, to just stay put.

THE Chair

2009-03-07T12:23:00.003-06:00

Yep. Still trying to get rid of it. I don't want to give it away because we need funds to buy its (admittedly bizarre) replacement. Craigslist just isn't doing it for us, though. It's a great chair, but it takes up a lot of space and we don't use it that much as we tend to cram together on the couch. (Yep, no personal space. We've been together too long to bother with such trivial things.)

It would be in mint condition if Isis didn't have ANY claws. I swear, we were thrilled when we got her from the humane society and found out she is declawed in the front. We were like, "Our furniture is saved!" But no. As cute as it is to watch her grip things with her little white paws (her front paws are only white on the ends, where fingers would be if she were human) she over compensates with her back feet when running around.

I know I could just get rid of the cat, but I love the little weirdo. I'll show you her powers. (It's a horrible picture, but I don't want to get the camera out. Bear with me.)

...and Panda has been doing art projects nearby, so I haven't been allowed near it with the vacuum cleaner. See the little scratches, though? There's a pretty good one on the side that you can't see. Did she hurt the pretty chair in a vindictive fit of feline fury, you ask? Well, no. You see, she is a house cat to the core, and originally, you could actually see outside through those windows. Whenever a bird happened to be nearby, Isis would shoot like a bullet up the chair...and straight into the window. Yep. Head-butted it every time. The bird would always leave, of course, and the cat would sit atop the chair and stare forlornly out the window for a while before wandering off until the next bird visited. The chair got hurt, true, but it's hard to be angry while laughing uncontrollably because your cat runs full force into the window then starts clicking at the birds she scared off. Some uber-stalker I have. She even has a stalking costume:

Yes, I am one of THOSE people. It's just too much fun to put stuff on her. In my own defense, I never take her out in costume, and they usually don't stay on very long anyway.

This is EXACTLY what Isis does!!

2009-03-06T20:58:00.003-06:00

more animals

Work

2009-03-06T18:19:00.002-06:00

Do I like my job? Well, yes. I like to think I'm good at what I do. The software learning curve is a killer, but I'll do the best that I can and see where I end up. One thing I do know: I'm a damn good editor. My boss and co-workers were very surprised when they saw the first document I reviewed. Apparently I notice things that other people don't. This surprises the hell out of me because I'm an extremely unobservant person in general.

It's true! I can never find anything, no matter how long I search, unless I knew where it was to start with. I also won't notice people I know, even if they walk right in front of me. Usually they have to touch me or stand directly in my line of sight for a few seconds before I'll notice them. It's really embarrassing when I'm looking for a certain person and can't find them, then realize they are right near me. As with so many things, I rely on Panda to compensate for me. His photographic memory makes up for mine retaining only information I deem useful or entertaining.

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to have a more entertaining job? Or at least a job where you make a bunch of money to do something you're good at anyway? That would be nice. Then I could buy shoes. Lots and lots of shoes. And purses. Yep, purses too. (I really like to shop, can't you tell?) I'm materialistic, and I'm not afraid to admit it. It's just the way I am. Why should I be ashamed? After all, I like being me.

I think my ideal job would be as a model. I'd get my vanity stroked knowing that people think I'm pretty enough to take pictures of (Panda always tells me I'm beautiful, but that doesn't count. He's a guy. Who spent most of high school wearing all black and lots of those shirts with obnoxious sayings on them.), and I'd get to wear all sorts of awesome outfits. Yep, right up my alley.

You know, I think I should post an embarrassing high school photo of Panda tomorrow. For reference, here's a mostly-recent photo of us. Panda actually looks decent, too. He has an uncanny talent for ruining what would otherwise be great photos by displaying some bizarre look on his face. Guess who picked out his outfit. Go ahead. Guess.

Aren't my shoes cute? I love those shoes. Too bad they are crippling if worn for more than 30 minutes. That's the beauty of a $10 pair of shoes, I suppose. They look awesome in photos that I'll have forever, and I'm not out much money when I give them to Goodwill. They really are cute shoes, though.

The Soup

2009-03-05T17:47:00.003-06:00

By popular demand, here's the recipe for yesterday's soup:

1 med. cauliflower

2 cups chicken stock

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp pepper

2 cups milk

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Cook cauliflower in chicken stock until tender. Do not drain!

Stir occasionally.

Saute onion in butter. Dump in soup.

Add flour, salt, pepper, milk, & cheese.

Stir.

Enjoy!

We've also been known to add other vegetables we have on hand. The soup pictured in yesterday's post also has celery, potatoes, and carrots tossed in.

Hi Mom!

2009-03-04T20:11:00.001-06:00

That's it. Really! I just had to do it. I promise to upload a photo of me waving like an idiot soon.

Classy Things

2009-03-04T20:01:00.002-06:00

No, not THAT kind of classy. I'm referring to academia in all its pointless horror. Well, not completely pointless. I just happen to be done with all of the practical things and am left to pay for pointless classes for the next year. Yay! Aren't I lucky?

Yep. I wouldn't mind so much if they were the good kind of pointless. I took a Pilates class last year. It was awesome. Best class I've ever taken. Who'd have thought I could actually be excited about doing physical work? I plan to take Pilates again. Someday. When I decide I'm no longer poor. Really! I will!

Those of you who know me, don't laugh too hard. You'll hurt yourself.

Speaking of things that are good for you. I made some awesome soup the other day. Well, Panda actually made it, but it was my idea. I even had to badger him from work with text messages to convince him that it would taste good. Was I right? Of course! I'm always right, you know. (Except when it involves reliance on my sense of direction. In that case, go the opposite direction from the one I say and ignore my bitching when you do. Trust me. I'll thank you later.)

Now introducing Cheesy Cauliflower Soup:

Feeling hungry? You should. This stuff is GOOD. Oh, and don't forget to ooh and ahh at my beautiful bowl.

Traffic and Beautiful Things

2009-02-27T20:24:00.003-06:00

First, click here to see the beautiful things:

Edgewaterjet

On to traffic:

So, I drive about 45 minutes to work each way, 5 days a week. Wednesdays and Thursdays I drive 30-45 minutes each way for class. I spend a lot of time in the car. How much is too much? Well, the driving itself doesn't really bother me. I find it fairly relaxing, but I'm beginning to wonder if all the driving is slowly leaching away my sanity.

I'm not the world's kindest person. Stupid people annoy me to no end, and stupid drivers especially so. A couple of days ago a suburban pulled up in a driveway and waited to pull out onto the street. Well, the driver apparently couldn't see that the car's front end was halfway out into the lane I was driving in. I had plenty of space to move over and go around them, but I caught myself glaring disapprovingly. As though the driver could actually see me! The fact that I was wearing sunglasses only made it seem more idiotic.

Don't even get me started on the things I want to do to the majority of the populace who seem unable to comprehend what a Yield sign is for. A pox on all of them!

Well, here's to Friday. May next week fly by as quickly.

Haircuts!

2009-02-25T16:20:00.002-06:00

Better late than never. Here are photos of Curly Sue & Little Man's haircuts. Their dad with a look that was one small step short of horrified when he saw Little Man's hair. Yes, Little man did look cute with the rocker haircut, but is it so bad that he can see without fighting his hair?

Let's hear your vote:

Here's a cute one of Curly Sue:

And, last but not least, I give you proof that my sister gave birth to a couple of wiggle monkeys. Exhibit A: A photo of me trying to wrangle the monkeys for a Kodak moment that never happened.

Followers!!

2009-02-22T09:23:00.003-06:00

Yay! Did you notice I have a follower? Did ya huh? Did ya?

It's just Panda. I already knew he was fan long before I inflicted myself upon the internet.

But...a follower! It's still exciting!

Twilight

2009-02-22T08:52:00.002-06:00

So, I mentioned I saw the movie and started the book, right? Well I have now finished ALL the books. I loved them. Right up my alley. I can see, now, why fans were disappointed by the movie, but I still thought it followed the book pretty well. One thing I did yesterday was imdb.com to see what the actors look like in real life. I always do it when I see a movie with lots of makeup an photoshopping. It's like I need to remind myself that real people don't look like that. Have you SEEN the guy who plays Edward? He's FUGLY! He looks like a serial killer. It's hilarious. The makeup for the movie really is an improvement, and he's not quite handsome, even then. I'll show you what I mean, courtesy of theinsider.com:

This is actually one of the better pictures. Robert Pattinson isn't trying to look mysteriously handsome He seems to do this downward head tilt thing while looking up. It just looks creepy, you know? It's one of those looks where you want to smack the person and tell them to stop trying to be the center of attention before small children notice and start to cry. Yes, some men can pull off "the look" but Pattinson definitely can't and shouldn't try. Here's one of him trying to look cool. He doesn't do the head tilt thing, but he looks so...dirty. He looks like a junkie who wandered onto the red carpet and decided to pose for photos:

See what I mean about the fugly part now? Thought you would. Have a nice day.

Cheshire Cat

2009-02-18T20:34:00.002-06:00

I've been a bit busy lately. Between 7 hours a day at the office, 1.5-2 hours of commute, and 6 hours of class per week, it seems like I do nothing but work. I have a paper due tomorrow that I should have been working on, but did I? Nope. I went with Panda to see Twilight at the dollar movies. I have a thing for vampires, so the movie was crappy but I liked it anyway. I bought and read the book, too. Panda is nice enough to go buy me the second one in the series while I work on my paper. It's not all work for him, though. He's obsessed with the peanut butter cup cookies that Starbucks sells, and there just happens to be a Starbucks in Barnes & Noble.

Other than that, I have a cute picture of Isis to share:

Doesn't she look like she's smiling and/or waving? I just love it!

Butterflies and Bob Dylan

2009-02-14T22:26:00.003-06:00

Did I ever mention that I take horrible photos? Technically, it's the camera's fault. If it would take the picture when I actually PRESSED THE BUTTON rather than TWO SECONDS LATER, this shot would have been perfect and non-blurry.

Due to a disconcerting lack of pajamas for my niece and nephew here, I had to be resourceful. Well, I'm a pretty small person, so they can wear two of my shirts, right? Only one of the shirts that came out of the drawer was actually mine. Curly Sue was so proud to be wearing "Grandmom's shirt" that she decided to take a picture for Grandmom. Or, have me take a picture of her for Grandmom:

Have I mentioned that my camera was made by devious little imps specifically to frustrate me? This picture would have been PERFECT had it not been blurry. I shake my fist in frustration at the imps who design cameras!

Moving on...

My little mop-topped nephew would certainly not allow himself to be left out of this picture taking business. The result of his insistence is this girliest of pictures that I plan to torment him with later in life:

Now take that Curly Sue! Your little brother out posed you, and remarkably isn't blurry. Especially when you consider that I took pictures of the couch twice because he moved out of the frame in the time between me pressing the shutter button and the camera taking the photo.

The Dresser

2009-02-14T11:46:00.002-06:00

One beat up dresser from Craigslist:

Check.

Trip to Home Depot for stuff you think you'll need.

Check.

Trip back to Home Depot because you forgot something.

Check.

Two weeks of staring at the dresser without doing a darn thing.

Check.

Tuh-Da!!!!!

So, I finally started, and it's finally done. I think it looks great, but also know I would have done a better job had I actually done some research instead of thinking, "How complicated can it be to paint?" Turns out, painting isn't as simple as it seems. You're supposed to do things like sand between coats or it won't come out smooth. (Who knew?) I had a lot of fun on the project, though, and have plans to refinish our TV stand and coffee table.

Before you ask, yes, that doesn't just look like the wrapping paper you saw at Target. That IS the wrapping paper you saw at Target. Except now it's all nice and cemented down by six layers of Mod Podge.

Oh, and the blue isn't quite that bright. The flash on my camera is magic and changes the color for your viewing pleasure.

Until next time,

-the unsophisticated

Our Song

2009-02-14T11:13:00.003-06:00

You know how some people associate scents with memories? Well, I associate music with memories. To this day, there are certain songs that I can't hear without remembering cruising around with my sister and our friend Sam picking up guys from the local military academy. The song that Panda and I chose as our song is the same way. Whenever I hear it, I remember what it felt like to dance with my husband the first time. I remember how exciting it was to finally be married and look forward to all the fun we are going to have together.

We make it a point to always have fun. Otherwise, what's the point?

Speaking of points, here's the reason I wrote this post:

When I got in my car to go home after work yesterday, I was looking forward to seeing Panda and the universe seemed to know it. When I started the car, our song began on its first bar as if playing just for me. It was too perfect for words. Yay for the ending of a good week!

P.S. Don't you think Panda looks a bit like Romeo?:

And so it begins...

2009-02-12T19:23:00.005-06:00

Our yearly apartment search has begun, and it started out with a bang. We looked at The Meridian in Carrollton. It's only about 10 minutes from where we live now, but the location isn't as busy and the complex is very well maintained. It's our fallback if we don't find anything else we like. Our rent would go up to about $790 before fees, but it would be worth it.

We plan to look at more apartments managed by the same company in Farmers Branch and Addison tomorrow and Saturday. We'll make a decision by Saturday afternoon and (hopefully) be able to sign on the dotted line for a great place that minimizes both of our commutes. Of course, I think my commute is more important because I have to do it every day rather than just two or three times a week like someone I could name, but that's neither here nor there. As long as I don't have to pay $4 a day in tolls to get to and from work, I'm good. Keeping my commute down to less than an hour is part of the plan, though.

Want to know our criteria? I thought so. We have such standards:

1. Nice, well-maintained community

2. Good location (a.k.a. quiet)

3. Big kitchen

4. Plenty of storage space

5. At least 1,000 square feet

6. Closet accessed through the bathroom rather than from bedroom

7. Centrally located between Arlington and Richardson

8. Rent as as close to $750 as possible (though cheaper is always acceptable)

9. Split bedrooms (You know I don't want to listen to the air compressor at 2 a.m.)

So...yep. It's a stiff order for the money we have to spend. Times like these really make me look forward to the coming days of making decent money without having to spend 6 hours a week studying useless things.

Anyway, Panda is going to meet me in Addison when I get off work and we are going to see as many complexes as we can before the offices close around 5:30. We'll get up on Saturday and go see the rest of the apartments on our list, then make our decision. Wish us luck! I'll report back tomorrow.

Finally! A Name!

2009-02-12T17:54:00.000-06:00

It's just a name, right? Well, I'm horrible with names. Like many people, I have trouble remembering the names of people I meet. It even took me two and a half months to get around to changing my name after I got married. The name for this blog (which is awesome, of course) took 3 whole weeks to come up with!

Like all of my greatest ideas, the name came to me as I was laying in bed, nearly asleep. Some people get ideas in the shower, where it's fairly easy (though slippery) to grab a pen, and write down the brilliant idea before it is forgotten. Not me, though. The lightbulb in my head likes to go off just as I'm falling asleep, so that I have to drag myself out of my snuggly bed or permanently lose the great idea. I generally don't bother to get up, so be proud of me for getting off my lazy butt so that the world can read my ravings!

The definition of this blog's wonderful name, courtesy of Dictionary.com:

Unsophisticated, adj.

1. not sophisticated; simple; artless

2. without complexity or refinemetns

3. unaldulterated; pure; genuine

Palate, n.

2. the sense of taste

3. intellectual or aesthetic taste; mental appreciation