“Little Cooker” and the Cold
Last week, Lil C and I spent our afternoons (and many evenings) watching The Food Network. She calls herself the "little cooker" and I am strongly encouraging her in this interest since it may limit the time I have to be in the kitchen in the very near future. Plus, if she gets her own cooking show someday, she can buy me a beach house to thank me for all the patience I've shown in the kitchen over the years.
I imagine her starring in a show as a little ninja chef. Kicking recipe butts and taking names. Plus, she's really anxious to get her hands on my knives so it fits. Yesterday was not her best day in the kitchen, however.
One of the shows we watched last week was "Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee." Lil C liked her show so much that she kept asking me when it was going to be back on. I don't think she bonded with Sandra Lee so much as she just liked that the first episode we watched was all desserts. Since last week, she's been bugging me endlessly about making one of them so we decided to tackle what seemed like the easiest (the wine dumped over frozen yogurt recipe doesn't count because she couldn't eat it).
So, we went to the store yesterday and searched endlessly for phyllo dough. I can't imagine many people come looking for it because it was like going on a treasure hunt trying to find it. The recipe is called "Chocolate Mocha Phyllo Cups" and it looked super easy on TV.
We came home, washed our hands, and got to work. Phyllo dough is delicate so I peeled each of the three layers we needed off and put them in front of her. I sprayed them with cooking spray and let Lil C sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar. When it was time to cut them up and delicately place them in the cupcake holders, Lil C was a little antsy, and I spent my time doing damage control. We put them in the oven and got to work on the pudding.
Meanwhile, Big I confiscated her computer and closed out my recipe page. I knew they had to be in the oven for a couple minutes but I was going to check the details after I got them in. Needless to say, I couldn't find the page again soon enough so the kitchen's sweet cinnamon smell soon became a burnt nightmare and I knew the first batch was done for.
Lil C was busy stirring the chocolate pudding when I removed the burnt phyllo cups from the oven. It was as I was dumping the last one into the trash can and subsequently burning the skin right off my hands, when Lil C started sneezing. . . right into the pudding bowl.
Big I clutched her stomach and sort of groaned. I did the same and the pudding was dumped down the sink. So much for that.
I checked the pantry closet and found a package of vanilla pudding and changed the plan. "Let's make vanilla berry phyllo cups," I said.
This time, I did the cups and the pudding on the other side of the kitchen. It was obvious Lil C was breaking out quickly with a cold and I wasn't going to toss two desserts in one day. One is already a crime. She did help decorate the cups since she promised not to breathe while doing so, and after we washed her hands again for about 10 minutes straight.
With no additional "ingredients" this batch turned out perfectly. Plus, we created our very own recipe and they were absolutely delicious.
Today the little ninja chef is super sick with a nasty cold. I think we'll put the cooking lessons on hold indefinitely.
Party Like a Martial Artist
February 7th. . . Another misssed opportunity to test for Shodan.
On February 7th, three will have passed me by since my ACL tear back in October of 2007. There are only two opportunities each year. My next chance is in June. Testing in the summer usually occurs in August. Once again, I doubt I'll have enough training time in to be ready, even if I get back right away. What I thought was going to be a six month delay has turned into a two year delay.
It sucks.
So, while some are in the Big Easy testing for Shodan, I'm going to be partying. I may not be doing kata, but I'll be dancing.
Many years ago, I planned a really fun party night for Mr. BBM. It took me weeks. It involved friends coming from out of town, dinner and a surprise cake, and an eventual limo to take us for a night out on the town in Philly. Four days before the birthday bash, he came home from work sick with what he thought was food poisoning.
24 hours later he was having emergency surgery to save his life. It was a nightmare. He had to go on disability for a while and the birthday bash never happened. He didn't seem to care. Truth be told, his idea of a perfect birthday is a home-cooked meal and quiet.
Mine is different.
So this year, I'm planning my own party. Mr. BBM said he couldn't do it himself. I talked to a friend who knows where to go and she had a great idea. We're going to reserve a VIP room at a dance club and I am going to celebrate my solid-ready-to-get-back-to-karate-knee with some serious dancing.
You in?
Apparently it's Delurking Week so delurk already and say hello!
Of Crashed Computers and Rainbows
I have yet to get my computer back and I am starting to freak out. I start back up with teaching again next week and I don't have my syllabus finished yet. I'm teaching the same course as last semester, and only one this time, so technically, I have a completed syllabus. But I have things I need to change and stuff that needs to get done and copied before next Tuesday. I am about to have a major freak-out.
Mr. Computer Doctor Man had to wipe my computer completely clean and install an entirely new hard drive. While Mr. BBM was able to get most of my teaching documents off while in safe mode before taking it to him, I have no way of using those documents because my daughter's laptop doesn't have any of the programs I need to get it done.
I spent this morning revising my syllabus with a pen and hoping I get my computer back today. He's been saying, "I'll be finished with it today" for a good week now. More actually.
I could just type the sucker up but it's six pages and my daughter's computer doesn't even have a word processing document, so I guess I couldn't actually just type it up.
In addition to the teaching related freaking out, my leg is turning lovely shades of yellow, purple, red, blue and green. It's like a rainbow, but not quite so pretty. I peeled up the edges of the steri-strips the other day because they were driving me insane. This morning, I woke up to find that the one strip is peeled up clear to the incision and it's sort of goopy, oozy and thick bloody under there. It is totally grossing me out. Dried blood I can deal with; live blood, I can't.
Once I get my computer back and my stitches out I am popping open a bottle of champagne to restart the New Year. 2009 can not continue at this pace. It must get better; my sanity is at stake.
And Then There was Barfing
Last night the local wore off and I started to hurt. I took some meds and went to bed. This morning, it's that burning incision fun every time I bend. I'm not complaining. I expected worse. With this, I can deal. I am definitely more sore today though, than I was yesterday.
To add to the fun, Lil C woke up this morning, ate her breakfast and then promptly barfed all over herself. 10 minutes later she did it again. There is no way this leg is bending enough to clean a floor, so it was a good thing Mr. BBM was here to clean up the floor. I sat on the edge of the tub and gave her a much-needed bath.
We've spent the day lounging and watching the Food Network. We decided after several episodes that neither of us can stand The Barefoot Contessa and her snotty attitude. We also decided we're going to try to make phyllo dough pudding cups when we're both feeling better. When Lil C wasn't lounging on me, she was kissing me a lot. I sense fun things in my future, don't you?
Tomorrow morning, I'm allowed to remove the bandages, check out the swelling and take a much-needed shower. I'm thankful I won't need a lawn chair this time around. It's the small things that make me happy people.
Keep your fingers crossed (or your eyes if that's more your style) that the barfing stops with the little one.
Be Careful What You Search For
The computer doctor says my laptop will be ready for redeployment tomorrow. He said my computer was loaded with spyware, adware, etc. and that Norton is to blame. Apparently my anti-virus software isn't very anti anything except doing what it's supposed to do, keep my computer safe. The computer man says he's putting some fabulous anti-virus software program on my computer and that should do the trick. Here's hoping.
I am usually really careful about where I go on the internet, but while shopping for Mr. BBM for Christmas, I made a terrible blunder and I wonder if that's why my computer decided it needed a visit to the sick bay.
I was researching medicine balls and trying to find the best deals. We have a Dick's Sporting Goods store locally and so instead of running out to the store, I wanted to look up what they had first. I don't know about you, but I don't call the store "Dick's Sporting Goods." I call it by its first name like I do with anything or anyone familiar. And that's just what I typed in: insertfirstnamehere dot com. You get it? Good, because I'm not saying it.
Anyway, Dick's is not only the name of a sporting goods store. It's also a nickname for a certain male body part and let's just say that my eyes began to burn when the resulting website popped up. I'm sort of prudish like that. I don't recommend you do this because your computer may suffer the same unfortunate fate.
When Mr. BBM was getting ready to take my computer, I started rubbing my forehead. "Oh man, I hope he doesn't look at the websites where I've been."
"Why?" Mr. BBM asked and then I told him about my unfortunate encounter with the naughty site. He felt it necessary to tell the computer doctor and the guy laughed and said, "You wouldn't believe how many people do that!"
Here is one girl who won't be doing that again.
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