"Ordinary" Day

Boston is my home, I love this city. It's been home for 13 years and I have walked past the block where the bombs exploded hundreds of time. I was just there yesterday with Adam for the marathon like any other person. What strikes me as I talk to friends and read on Facebook is just how common my experience is. It was completely ordinary that we were downtown today. Why wouldn't we be? It's also completely unremarkable why we started walking away from the marathon about 10 minutes before the explosion. My story is completely ordinary and it's been repeated thousands of times in the last 24 hours.

My April 15, 2013

• We helped some friends move some furniture
• I enjoyed french toast with caramelized strawberries at Ball Square Cafe
• We took the T downtown and walked over to the marathon finish line from Park Street
• We stopped by the new Restoration Hardware gallery in the old Louis building that just opened on Saturday
• We joined the crowds of marathon runners and their joyful families greeting them
• We stopped by Pret A Manger where I bought a bottle of cold pressed Fuji apple juice and Adam got a coffee
• I wanted to go to the new Nordstrom Rack on Boylston
• I was feeling super tired and I wanted to get home by 4pm in order to prep for a meeting I had tonight
• We walked away from the marathon finish line toward the Boston Public Garden where I took a photo of the adorable little straw hats someone had put on the ducklings statues
• We walked up Charles Street, I noticed a marathon runner and their family enjoying a big meal at Bin 26
• I stopped by Moxie to see if they had an iPhone gloves, but they were out
• We hopped on the T at Charles/MGH
• I fell asleep on the train and we got off at Davis Square
• We walked home and our cleaners were still here
• I went upstairs to work on my blog since it was the 10 year birthday of my blog
• Someone emailed me asking if we were still planning to meet since there was the bombing in Boston
• I thought "what bombing" and looked online only to find my Facebook newsfeed flooded with posts

As far as I can figure, the bombs exploded at 2:45pm, right around the time I was admiring the adorable ducks in this photo at 2:47pm. I had no idea what was happening until an hour later when I got an email at 3:53pm when I was sitting on my bed with my laptop.

At my meeting last night, one guys said he was standing right on the corner of the explosion with his wife 5-10 minutes before. She wanted to get some free fries from B.Good so they left and got fries and heard the blast. My friend Zristen almost moved her dental practice into the building right in front of the blast 5 years ago, but the deal fell through at the last minute. I have friends who ran the marathon yesterday and are all safe. The scene of the explosion is not some far off place that I've only seen on TV. That's my backyard.

However, I don't want to dwell on what could have been and how close we were or how close our friends were yesterday. I was lucky. All my friends were lucky and I'm grateful. I can't hide in my house and refuse to leave. I can't avoid Boylston Street and downtown Boston. Maybe it's foolhardy to feel this way, but I can't refuse to participate in this city's life.

Boston is my home. These are my people.

Happy 10th Birthday plasticann dot blogspot dot com!

Today is a momentous day in so many ways small and large, happy and now sad.

1. Tax day!
2. Patriot's Day aka Boston Marathon Day postscript: also the marathon that got bombed :(
3. First day of my "time off." I left my job on Friday and today (Monday) is the first day of my new life.
4. My blog turns 10 years old today. I started blogging on April 15, 2003 and today is April 15, 2013. Back then, plasticmom used to call my web log my "website."

My blog birthday kinda snuck up on me. I figured it out last Thursday as I was winding down at my last job and preparing to take time off. How apropos that my blog birthday falls on the very first day of my next phase of life when I actually will have more time to pursue the things I enjoy and have time to reflect. The downside is that I won't have as many funny coworker stories to work into my reconstructed conversations. I guess Adam will just have to step it up on the joke front.

"You can take the girl out of work, but you can't take the work out of the girl."

So, what was the first thing I did this morning on my very first day off. I woke up at 8:00am, grabbed my laptop and started making some graphs. Adam said, "you can take the girl out of work, but you can't take the work out of the girl." Behold, a graph of the number of posts over the last 10 years. I added some call outs of major events just like I would have done in the past on any revenue graph I created.

Reflecting on the last 10 years, plasticann's life and world in 2013 is very different and very similar to plasticann's world back in 2003.  What's important has stayed the same and that's a good thing!

What's Old:

• The most important people in my life are still in my life. Adam, plasticmom, MGDub, Wheezy, Zristen, Zave, Laurel, Steve, Zorinna, etc.
• I still love food. I love baking, eating, etc. Still love donuts, cupcakes, fried chicken, etc.
• My weight is about the same or at least within striking distance. I'll call it a win and I deserve absolutely zero credit for it
• I still live in Davis Square

What's New:

• Adam and I got married at some point in the last 10 years, well actually 8 years ago so I've been a Zakun for a while
• MGDub, Laurel and Steve moved away and I still miss them
• Zorinna moved back so that's a #WIN
• I've lived in six different places during the last 10 years and I've worked at five places
• I went back to school, got myself another fancy pants degree. Thanks plasticmom for footing the bill

Here's to the year ahead. I'm not sure what our crazy world will be like in 10 years. I'm sure by then we'll be flying around like the Jetsens. It's about time!

I live in a bubble

I'm in the middle of reading "Coming Apart: The State of White America." It reminds me of "Bobos in Paradise," but with a kinda dry and terrible title.

The main premise of the first 30% of the book is that the upper middle class has become more segregated from mainstream America over the last 40 years. The ultra elite control major education, business and political institutions, but have little first hand understanding about how everyone else lives.  Basically, the highly educated elite live in distinct bubbles geographically and they've formed a distinct culture of their own pretty isolated from mainstream culture.

Alright, now to the juicy part...just how "elite" is plasticann? I knew it was going to be pretty bad before I even started this Cosmo style quiz. Ummm....reading this book (check), found this book in the Kindle library I share with my family (check), attended two elitist institutions (check check), the fact the quiz is on pbs.org (CHECK), etc.

The [white educated wealthy congratulations you live in a bubble] Quiz
Here's where you can take this quiz online and they'll even score it for you. Before you judge my elitism, take the quiz yourself. If you're reading this blog and we're friends...you're probably a little bit elitist yourself.

How elitist bubble are the Bakuns? (Scale of 0 to 100, 0 is most elitist)

• plasticann: 20 points
• Adam: 28 points 

I can't believe Adam got more points than me. He's actually white and I'm not. Taking a look as the "categories," I think I best fit the "first generation upper middle class person with middle class parents." Adam best fits the "second generation (or more) upper middle class person who has made it point of getting out a lot." We both got some cheap extra points for a few kinda funny things.

plasticann:

• (+ 1 point) I knew that Branson referred to Branson, MO only because someone we met on vacation once said they had a second home in Branson and we'd never heard of it. We subsequently learned it's  HUGE vacation spot for country music fans. Thanks random vacation peeps for making me more well rounded.
• (+ 1 point) I ate at a TGI Fridays in the last year. I should mention that I ate at a TGI Fridays because I was in Peoria, IL for work. You heard it right...Peoria, IL home of Caterpillar and the Zipcar call center. We also went to Dairy Queen for a banana split which was a real treat.
• (+ 4 points) I personally know an "evangelical Christian" (+2) and I was one myself (bonus +2) Thank you Jesus!
• (+ 4 points) I have more than one friend with significantly different political views. Well, given that I'm a conservative living in the People's Republic of Cambridge, I have friends who have politically different views just because I'm the one who's different. If I was only friends with Conservatives, I'd be really lonely.
• (+ 1 point) I love factory tours and I can't believe I got a point just for having been on a factory floor at some point. Seriously...there are people who haven't been on a factory tour of any kind? Factory tours rock!!! Come on people, get thyself to a Cape Cod potato chip tour, the Toyota factory tour in Japan, even a micro brewery factory has got to count for at least half a point.
• (+ 1 point) I've taken Greyhound on a trip more than 50 miles. So my aversion to driving granted me one extra point.
• Total cheapo points, but I'll take them = 12 points

Adam:

• (+ 5 points) When Adam first graduated from college, he was working for Intervarsity as an on-campus minister so he technically lived below the poverty line for at least one year. Five whole points. Adam would have gotten a few more points if he'd lived below the poverty line both as an adult and as a child, but he grew up in Menlo Park, CA. Hah, enough said!
• (+ 4 points) Evangelical Christian bonus.
• (+ 4 points) Conservative living in liberal Northeast bonus.
• (+ 3 points) Adam scooped [premium] ice cream one summer so he technically had a job that made part of his body ache. If his body ached all over, he would have gotten extra points, but I decided it was just an achy arm. BTW, carpel tunnel doesn't count. 
• (+ 4 points) Adam watches a lot of mainstream movies. He likes go on Mondays, his day off.
• (+ 3 points) Adam watches quite a bit of television. He should probably get extra (+) points for reading Entertainment Weekly, but he would probably get negative (-) points for the way he methodically and systematically manages his DVR using Google Docs.
• (+1 point) Did I mention the Bakuns love factory tours?
• Adam deserves the + 5 points for when he lived below the poverty line, but the other ones are rather gratuitous and they total 19 extra points. Since Adam has made it point to get out a lot, I guess he deserves his extra 19 cheapo points at the end of the day.

Adam tried to argue for extra points on the domestic mainstream beer question. "Sam Adam's is mass market and domestic...they're huge now." No Adam, if it ain't Bud, Coors, Busch or Miller, it ain't mainstream. In Adam's mind, Sam Adam's is "mainstream domestic" because he likes to drink obscure Belgian Trappist beers. At the end of the day, the beer argument says it all, the Bakuns are elitists who live in a bubble, but at least we try to get out.

Sprinkledoodles

So....I gave up "mindless sweets" for Lent. I think that sweets that I make myself from scratch fall under "mindful" just because I have to intentionally make it before I eat it. That said, I'm trying to mindfully just sample when I make sweets this Lenten season.

I discovered a new food blog yesterday. Lottie + Doof and had to try out these colorful sugar cookies called sugar saucers. I generously encrusted my cookies with rainbow sprinkles and they turned out super pretty. The cookies have crisp edges, chewy centers and quite airy. Next time, I might flavor the dough with some almond extract for a different flavor. Adam says they look like "Clown Cookies," but since many people are freaked out by clowns, I'm going to call them "Sprinkledoodles."

Easy Chinese Corn Soup

plasticmom would make this for me growing up and it's my go to recipe when I want something warm and easy that reminds me of childhood.

Corn Soup Recipe:

Incredients:
1 can creamed corn
1-1.5 cans of chicken stock

2 tablespoon cornstarch
2 eggs beaten

Salt and Pepper to season

Optional Add Ons:
Diced Ham
Extra corn (frozen, fresh, canned)

Recipe:

• Bring creamed corn, chicken stock and optional add ons to a boil in a small pot
• Mix cornstarch with some water in a bowl, around a 1:1 ratio to create a slurry
• Turn off stove
• Stir in cornstarch slurry to thicken soup
• Whisk in beaten egg slowly into hot soup
• Season with salt and pepper
• Enjoy!

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to...Zvy's Birthday Conclusion

Zvy's birthday celebration last week started off rocky but ended up being successful. I'll frame it as Diamonds and Coals in honor of my alma mater.

Diamonds: The Dora decorations from Amazon were really inexpensive and a big hit.
Coals: The birthday girl was napping when we all congregated. Since she sometimes wakes up groggy and crying, it took her a while to get into party mode. A little cuddling with her mom and some TV cheered her up and then it was party time.
Diamonds: The beautiful purple/pink cake with flowers that Katie from Katie's Cakes made was also super delicious. Even the fondant decorations tasted good which is unheard of. The chocolate cake lasted an entire birthday week.
Coals: plasticann made Zvy cry by accident. The following is the reconstructed conversation

• Zvy: I want cupcake project
• Zristen: Zvy, not today. You can do it with plasticann tomorrow.
• plasticann: Zvy, I'll take this home with me and ...
• Zvy: Wah wah wah wah...wah 
• plasticann: ...take it home with me and study the instructions...
• Zvy: Wah wah wah wah
• plasticann: ...study the instructions so I'll be ready.
• Zvy: Wah wah wah wah. She's taking my toy!
• Zristen: Don't worry Zvy, plasticann is not taking your toy home.
• plasticann: I'm sorry Zvy, I mispoke. I won't take your toy home. [plasticann backs away from toy slowly]

Diamonds: Zvy loved all her new toys including the cape that Adam and I gave her. She kept asking for the cape which of course made my day.

Next year, I'll try not to make the birthday girl cry by accident. Hopefully, she'll also comprehend more so we'll have fewer of these pesky misunderstandings.

Birthday Dora joins the birthday bash

Little Hero Cape in purple and gold

Zvy’s Birthday is Tomorrow

I can’t believe it’s been 3 years since Zvy joined the Zority clan. Having no children on my own, I’ve tried to cultivate a relationship with both the Zority kids since once day “Auntie Ann” and “Uncle Adam” will need someone to push their wheelchairs.

So far, Zvy hasn’t taken to Adam as much as she’s taken to me. Score one for plasticann! Adam’s beard kinda scares her and reminds her of Santa Claus and she’s not into Santa. I have the advantage of being beardless, short and female. I’d like to think Zvy likes me because I’m cool, but I’m pretty sure it’s my gifts, treats and crafts. For example, Zvy prefers plasticann’s Caramel Cake over Adam’s Baked Pasta. Not surprising, but I'll take the point. She gets more excited about plasticann’s necklace crafts (kitchen twine, cheerios and pretzels) than giving Adam (or anyone) a hug. To be fair, the necklaces are pretty awesome: fun activity, cool accessory and a snack for later.

Tomorrow’s the birthday celebration and I’m more excited than I’d care to admit. Zvy has been counting down since 11 days ago and she knows exactly how many days until her birthday. It’s going to be a Dora centric celebration. (Zvy’s not terrible original in her obsessions) Dora cake, Dora decorations, etc. Until tomorrow...

It’s just stuff, don’t over think it

I watch a lot of Bravo and TLC so I’m always up on the latest reality shows. I saw an ad for “Animal Hoarders” last year and I remember thinking, “how cute, animals who hoard.” I pictured a nature show following a little squirrel around as the squirrel hoarded a stash of nuts. Adorable right? Turns out, Animal Hoarders is actually about people who hoarded animals. Not cute!!!

Recently, I went home to help my family clear out our home. It was a liberating and sad experience sorting through a lifetime of stuff. Carefully selected, packaged, collected and curated stuff. Stuff built around a wonderful life, but the stuff needed to go in order to move on.

Day one and two, we diligently sorted through the garage making piles just like on those TV shows. All the HGTV watching finally paid off. We only had two piles, Goodwill and Trash. We were too lazy to make a Sell pile. Soon we ran out of sorting space in the garage so we had to call the 1800-Got-Junk guys to schedule a dump truck.

With the dump truck scheduled, we were up against a deadline so I immediately moved into the “throw it all out NOW” stage. I bought two boxes of construction grade super strong trash bags and started bagging everything up as trash. It went like this, “Mom, keep or trash...one...two...three...it’s trash.” Repeat this a few hundred times. After a while, I was desensitized to throwing things out and I was going a nuts having to make a keep/trash decision every 3 seconds. I was pretty aggressive and pushy, but plasticmom was a good sport and we got it done. 

Dump Truck 1

We decluttered every closet, cupboard, nook and cranny and had the Got Junk guys come back with a second dump truck later that week. The week flew by and soon I was back at the airport waiting to fly home to Boston. I sat by my gate, stared off into space and started to cry [a little]. The week had been emotional and I was rarely still for long enough to really process. My stuff is the stuff of my memories, my past, my identity. As I went through a lifetime of stuff, the experience triggered a ton of memories and emotions. 





Glee when I discovered my beloved childhood toys including an awesome dim sum fake food set. Little fake dumplings and shu mai in a little toy serving box.

Sadness when I discovered too many brand new things that were being “saved” because they were too nice to use. There was no longer enough time to use up all these nice things we had been saving.

Frustration when I threw out yet another neatly packed up box of hotel soap, scratch paper, tissues, toothbrushes, combs, etc. 

Vintage Charmin circa 2000

Laughter when I discovered “vintage” Charmin toilet paper featuring their retro logo and baby mascot. Charmin switched to the bears in 2000 so this TP was at least 13 years old

Nostalgia when I found all our old family photos of good times and not so good times. 

I’m privileged to live in the first world. I’m no aecetic! I fully embrace my stuff and love of acquiring stuff. I’m consumeristic and I know. What struck me is how stuff is simultaneously meaningful and meaningless at the same time. Maybe the theme is, “it’s just stuff, don’t over think it.”

plasticann...age 3

It’s just stuff, don’t overthink it

1. Don’t wait to use my “nice” things, use it today
2. Love the little hoarder in me within reason
3. Let go of stuff with no regret, the stakes are not that high...it’s just stuff

Bonus: Stop hoarding soap!!!

Pinhole Press

Custom Photo Flash Cards and More

I happened upon Pinhold Press today and I CAN'T believe I haven't heard of them before. They offer some really cool photo products that would make great gifts like the Photo Flash Card set where you can customize every ABC card with a photo. For example, P is for plasticann, M is for MGDub, G is for GJDubya, Z is for Zvy, etc. Based on this blog's naming conventions, the letter Z would be super popular. They also have a fun memory card game. Drat, I already bought Zvy and Zwan their birthday presents.

Zesty Cranberry Orange Scones Revisited

Adam and I celebrated New Year's Day this week with a full day of Downton Abbey Season 1. I baked up a batch of my Zesty Cranberry Orange Scones and made a big pot of tea as a complement. I brought the leftover scones to work the next day and one of coworkers declared them to be very delicious which of course totally made my day. This one was created back in 2006, but has enjoyed several appearances on this blog over the years.

September 13, 2004

The original scone recipe was from the Disney Family Cookbook. I had been baking the basic recipe for a few years since it was one of Adam's favorites. At one point, he convinced me to bake a big bag full of scones so he could freeze them and enjoy them whenever. I think he may have even purchased a toaster oven from the Davis Square Goodwill for $5 to properly reheat his scones.

One morning, I was at True Grounds coffee shop in Ball Square probably working on my business school applications. I bought one of their Cranberry Orange scones to enjoy with my coffee and I was super disappointed. It was DRY and CHALKY and totally not worth the calories. I was intrigued by the flavor combination so I adapted the idea to my own scone recipe and created the Zesty Cranberry Orange Scone.

April 28, 2006

By this time, Adam and I were married and he was working over at the Vineyard so I would send leftover baked goods with Adam to work. I frequently made these Cranberry Orange scones, but I usually skipped the orange glaze except for special extra sugary occasions. Adam's coworker and boss Andrew tasted one of these souped up glazed scones and declared "these are the best scones ever." I totally forgot that Andrew loved these scones until I searched my own blog archives today. It's a sweet memory of Andrew since he passed away a few years later from cancer so I love this small silly memory of Andrew from a time when he was a healthy young man.

January 30, 2011

On this day, I actually sifted the flour for the scones and I guess it improved the results. I totally forgot, I'll have to do that next time. Check out the cute photo though.

That brings me back to this week when my friend Jeff reminded me to send him the recipe. I dug through my blog archives for the recipe and in the process enjoyed a sweet trip down memory late.

#5 Guitar Pick Punch

Fair warning that I did buy this as a gift this year for some folks so sorry about the spoiler if you're out there reading this. I saw this gift idea in Real Simple this year, it's for this cool hole punch that punches out guitar picks out of pretty much anything. Old gift cards, cardboard, hotel room keys, credit cards, paper, salami, etc. Available locally at Urban Outfitters.

#4 CC Made Caramel Popcorn Spiced Almond

We were out in the Bay Area this week to see Adam's family for Thanksgiving where I bought two bags of my favorite caramel popcorn from CC Made...made right in the Napa Valley. I bought two bags so I'd have enough to share since the warmly spicy sweet flavor makes this popcorn highly addictive. Sure enough, my father-in-law confessed to eating a bunch of it the next day. Fortunately, I planned for it by buying TWO bags. No worries Dad, I got you covered. If you gift this one, be sure to buy some for yourself

#3 Bag O' Dumplings

Every so often, I like to throw in a kooky gift idea just to see if it sticks or [pot]stickers in this case. If someone showed up at my party with a bag of frozen dumplings as a hostess gift...I'd be delighted because I could always use a quick solution for dinner. If you brought me good quality frozen dumplings like ones from QingDao Garden, that would be even sweeter. Everyone brings wine, candles and candy. Differentiate your gift with something more substantial that's truly a gift to the host. Put it in a gift bag or slap a bow on it.

On that note, I'm off to find some lunch because I must be hungry.

#2 Salt Pig

Oink oink! We have a nice Emile Henry salt pig in an Apricot color that I really like. We keep it by the stove filled with kosher salt. There's a nice wide angled opening so you can reach in and grab some salt while you're cooking. It's wide enough for big hands too. The inside of the salt pig isn't glazed so it absorbs some moisture and prevents the salt form clumping. Overall, a great design and a unexpected gift for someone who loves to cook or at least loves salt. They're a little pricey for something that holds salt, but you can buy "seconds" online at Emily Henry.

2013 Gift Ideas - let's get started

McCrea's Caramels

I hear the shop local thingamajig is the next thing or maybe it's the just past thing or current thing. I also like to think buying local artisanal foods make them nutritionally virtuous. Adam and I stopped by the Williams Sonoma at Copley yesterday where they had Mr. McCrea himself from McCrea Candies passing out delicious samples of their caramels handmade in Boston. Mr. McCrea was generous with his samples so we tried the Black Lava Salted Caramels, the Highland Single Malt Scotch Caramel and I just tried the Fusion Ginger. The Black Lava Salted Caramels are insanely good and I made one last 30 minutes by taking tiny bites. Big salt granules embedded in a creamy soft caramel. Excellent product and a great gift for the holidays. It's easy to pack for travel since it's not fragile or "liquid" and a little goes a long way. Locally available at Pemberton Farms or check out their online store. That's why I'm kicking off 2013's list with McCrea's Caramels

Cardamom Raisin Rice Krispy Treats

I was trying to find new uses for my ground cardamom so I found and adapted a cardamom rice krispy recipe online. It's not super spicy, the spices lend more of a warmth to the rice krispy treats and the raisins add sweetness with it being too cloying.

Cardamom Raisin Rice Krispy Treats

1 bag marshmallows
3 Tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 cups rice krispy cereal
1 cup golden raisins or any raisin

Microwave butter in large bowl for 30 seconds
Add marshmallows and microwave for 90 seconds, stirring halfway to combine butter and marshmallow
Stir spice/salt mix into the melted marshmallow
Stir in rice krispies
Stir in raisins
Press mix into a 9x9 plan pressing down the rice krispy mix

Hypothetical Alternative Mixins:
Diced up crystallized ginger to make it even more spicy
Lemon Zest
Coconut
Diced up dried mangos

Day in Marblehead

Upon hearing the Zoritys had taken an impulsive road trip to Vermont, Adam and I decided to get a Zipcar and a last minute Saturday day trip. Salem was the original idea, but I nixed it since ghouls and goblins and witches kinda freak me out. We ended up driving up to Marblehead and checked out the shoreline, a few small towns and enjoyed some delicious food along the way. Our first stop was Popo's Hot Dogs in Swampscott where we enjoyed pretty yummy Chicago hot dogs and a soft serve ice cream. We stopped in Maison de Mer, a little French themed store, on the way back to our car and I picked up an adorable tray. (As I've said before, you can never have too many trays.) Then we headed up to Marblehead driving around the coast and admiring the giant mansions. (We noticed a lot more "Romney/Ryan" and "Scott Brown" signs in Marblehead than in Cambridge and we're contemplating spending election night in Marblehead with our own kind.) I scored some shiny new blue rain boots at the Marine West boating supply store and the salesperson there hooked us up with some recommendations. We headed over to the lighthouse to admire the view and sit on a bunch of benches dedicated to dead people and enjoyed a delicious fried seafood platter at The Barnacle.

Caramel Apple Ice Cream Party - 4th Annual

We're going to try to take down this 3 gallon tub of caramel apple ice cream. It's our fourth year and our fourth attempt. Do you think we're gonna make it?

Doo Wee Rice

Adam and I checked out Doo Wee Rice in Powderhouse circle a few weekends ago and it was pretty tasty. We ordered the fried chicken wings (yum), braised pork bao baos (OK) and the chicken and rice (yum). The wings were my favorite. They give you 9 wings for $6 and they offer a whole bunch of sauces. The Vietnamese style sauce we got was light and fresh tasting so thumbs up on that one. The price was right too boot, we got out of there for under $20.

My only complaint was the service. The young woman at the counter was super passive and it was really unclear how to order. Here's my advice: walk straight up to the counter in the back of the room, order your food and aggressively just take a table that's empty. There's no procedure and the employees probably won't directly your to a table or manage a situation where a table is contested. There's no clear line, so you should just go for it and apologize later if needed. Hover over other people if you need to get a table. Just get into your "I'm at an Asian street market" mindset. If you get thrown out for rudeness, I'm not responsible.

Monkeys

Hey hey we're the monkeys...people say we monkey around!!!

After years of coffee making on the cafe team at church, I recently decided to switch to volunteering with Baby Church. I'm assigned to my favorite age group, that 1-2 year old cruiser stage where they're much more interactive, but they're still pretty little and very cute. Even better, that age group is called the "Monkeys" which is just the best name ever since I can amuse myself by saying "monkey business" and "monkeying around."

A few weeks ago, I had my Baby Church visit / tryout which cause quite a lot of commotion within my family and friend set.

1. plasticmom (who was in town visiting) offered to stop by to "supervise" me during my Baby Church. She wasn't volunteering to help with the kids, just to "supervise" her own kid just in case I needed the moral support.

2. Halfway through my Baby Church try out, Adam stopped by the room to "check in" on me. First of all, the kids all thought their own dads were coming when they saw a tall man and then they all started crying when they realized the tall man was not their dad. The Monkey room supervisor looked at Adam weird and I had to explain that he was checking up on me, not the kids.

3. My friend Zave "stopped by" at the end of Baby Church because he'd heard I was volunteering and he "had to see it for himself."

All in all, I think I did pretty well with the kids. Family and friends...apparently don't have much faith in me or they just like to "helicopter." I think I'm probably the first Baby Church volunteer to have 2 people check up on me which is a little embarrassing, but at least they care enough to check up. If anyone else wants to "check up" on me, I'll be hanging out with the "monkeys" this Sunday at church where we "monkey around" and are up to no good with our "monkey business.

Pumpkin Spiced Rice Krispies

One of my coworkers made these genius Rice Krispy treats by simply adding some pumpkin spice. You can probably use cinnamon and it would be just as delicious.

3 tablespoon butter
1 bag marshmallows
7 cups Rice Krispy cereal
1 teaspoon pumpkin spice mix or cinnamon

1. microwave butter in large bowl for 45 seconds
2. add marshmallows and microwave for 90 seconds, stir halfway through to melt butter and marshmallows.
3. stir in pumpkin spice mix
4. mix in cereal
5. press into pan
6. cut and enjoy

Holiday Musings on Eggnog

We got back last night from our Christmas break visiting Adam's family. We enjoyed delicious meals, wound up kids high on sugar and lots of chuckles including this reconstructed conversation about holiday adult beverages.

Adam: Are you serving punch at your holiday party? I hear it's the cool new thing.
Zara: People don't drink punch, they don't want all the extra calories. People drink vodka and the men want manly drinks.
Dad: [totally serious] ...manly drinks like eggnog?

Speaking of eggnog, I made a delicious Pannetone Eggnog Bread Pudding for Christmas breakfast. I added orange zest and a handful of extra raisins to pump up the flavor.

Eggnog Pannetone Bread Pudding

12 ounces day-old panettone bread, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
6 large eggs
2 cups eggnog
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest from 1 orange
1/4 cup raisins


Prep:
1. Cut up bread into cubes, place in 1 gallon freezer bag.
2. Whisk together all ingredients and pour over bread in freezer bag.
3. Let soak in fridge overnight.


Bake:
1. Butter a 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish or deep-dish pie plate. Pour bread custard mixture into dish and cover with foil.
2. Place foil-covered dish in a cold oven. Set oven at 350°F and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until pudding is puffed and golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes longer until middle is set and baked.
3. Enjoy.

Stopping at 50

Dear friends,

I've decided to just stop at 50 gift ideas this year. This gives me time to focus on my winter holiday related activities like eating desserts, cheering on Adam while he shovels snow, staying cozy in my house, tackling my own gift list and working on next year's recommendations.

plasticann

50. Vintage glass bowls

Fish & Eddy's is one of my favorite stores and last time I was in NYC, I stocked up on these vintage floral glass bowls. I was admiring them at MGDub's apartment so I marched over the next day to buy my own. They're very cute and make my bland looking leftovers appear cheerier.

49. My favorite pens ever

I love these Hi-Tec-C pens and I use them exclusively since they actually make work more fun and colorful. I recently tried the MUJI pens, but they're just not the same so I just ordered myself a fresh batch of Hi-Tec-Cs today. They come in fabulous colors and any pen addict will appreciate them as a gift.