I've written about her on my other blog where I'm also having a giveaway. So go read, leave a comment and who knows....maybe you'll win!
When I wrote about missing Jack on his birthday a few readers and friends mentioned that they would celebrate him on his birthday as well.
Katie from Maine went on a weekend getaway with her family to Jackson, NH. She took a few pictures and sent them to me.
Thanks Katie for remembering Jack!
Oh and the recipe for Jack's Rainbow Cupcakes is finally up!
Stayed tuned for 7 days of Holiday Cookies on my other blog. First cookie up is Glittery Shortbread Stars.
Here is the recipe for Swirl Icebox Cookies that I made for The Ronald McDonald House. They were really fun to make and kids love them. They are a little labor intensive, but if you want to impress someone this is a great way to do it.
1. Mix butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed til creamy. Add eggs and salt; mix until well combined. Beat in milk and vanilla. With mixer running, add flour a little at a time til well combined.
Makes 4-6 dozen depending on size of logs. ha ha, I said logs :-)
This day last year we brought home a new baby boy. He's not so little anymore.
I had a good day yesterday. It started off by going to dim sum with my mom and sister. We had dumplings galore- shrimp, scallop, pork and shrimp, chicken and basil, and jalapeno shrimp morsels. We also had barbecue steamed buns, sea bass, and peking duck. It was all scrumptious! We ended the meal with fortune cookies (the title is my fortune) and pictures with the buddha.
My mom and I then went to T.arget to get gifts for my cousins birthdays. My mom and I have birthdays one week apart (hers is on the 5th). My cousins have the same birthdays as ours. So we usually all celebrate together, but this year we didn't- which is fine with me.
For dinner Mr. H, Aaron and I went to dinner at a local pizzeria. We had never been there before (I had a coupon), but it was honestly some of the best pizza I have ever had. Then we went to my mom's house for birthday cake. She is not a baker by any means, in fact it's very difficult for her to follow a recipe, but this is one thing she has figured out how to make (and she's good at it!). She made me Tres Leches cake with fresh strawberries. mmmmm :-)
Here are a few of my favorite photos from the evening:
That just means I have permission to eat as much cake as I want :-)
This seems all too familiar. I feel like I've been here before. Writing about this exact same topic. Using the same words. Oh, wait I have been here. Silly me.
I am leaving today to go see my grandmother. Only this time I am flying for only 2 hours instead of driving for 9- woohoo! Not that I actually did any of the driving on the last trip and it's not as if I could if I wanted to. I'm pretty sure I'd get lost and it would take me two days to find my way there missing the whole surgery- which is the purpose of this trip. We're all better off with me flying, I think. In less than 24 hours she will be cancer free. I am so excited and proud of/for her. She fought and she's a winner. I know her battle was not as long and difficult as others, but like the snow, it doesn't matter how you get it or how long you have it. I got her a book and I went to the hobby shop to get some pink ribbon for us to wear for her during her lumpectomy. I got her a turquoise kokopelli, which is a native American symbol of strength, protection (and fertility for those of us who need it). I packed my recipe for chicken and dumplins' and chocolate chip cookies and I'm ready to go.
I'll update if/when I can. The only computer I know of is at the public library, so I'll see if I can manage to sneak away for a bit sometime this week. Or like I said I may have Mr. H post an update for me if he's up to it.
One last thing before I go, because it's funny and a link to the recipe for Coconut Shrimp I promised you last week :-) Have a good week everyone and don't miss me too much (Honey, I'm taking to you- ILY)!
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Monica: peeling and deveining the shrimp we got from the farmer's market last weekend.
Aaron: "What are you doing?"
Monica: "Deveining the shrimp"
Aaron: (just watching)
Monica: "You know that's not really a 'vein' don't you?"
Aaron: "What is it?"
Monica: "It's the intestinal tract. All the yucky stuff the shrimp eats"
Aaron: "Oh, the poop"
Monica: "Well yeah kinda." (Still cleaning several shrimp later...I came across a shrimp with a HUGE 'vein'/ a lot of poop)
Aaron: "Whoa, that one must have been constipated like me!"
Monica: ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!
I don't like black eyed peas. I never really have, but I'm going to eat them this year. Maybe that's what has been my problem- I never ate them in the past. Every year on New Years Day, my MIL makes this nasty cold black eyed peas salad. (Can you tell I don't like them?) Everyone eats them but me. I pass. Last week I made our neighbors some cream cheese pumpkin bread. (Don't ask for the recipe, cause I made it up and I don't even know if it tasted good.) She returned the favor by bringing us a rice dish. I thought "Great, now I don't have to cook dinner." Then I took a closer look and saw it was black eyed peas and rice. Um, no thanks. I read the card she sent along with the dish and it said to eat on New Years Day, but I tasted it first. It was good! I am surprised. That doesn't mean I'm going to start eating them on a regular basis, but maybe this year I'll give them a try. I don't think my life can get any worse, so black eyed peas and rice is what I will be eatin'. We'll see if they bring me good luck.
(my neighbor)Cook rice. While rice is cooking, fry the bacon. Pour off some of the grease. Add onions, saute with bacon. You may use some pea juice from the peas to cook onions. Add soy sauce, thyme poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper. Add peas, then fold in rice. Serve on New Year's Day for good luck!
Alright, since nobody except Anonymous cares about the photos I took in the last post, I'll post about how my appointment went on Friday. It's taken me a couple days to gain the courage to post about it, because it was a very emotional day and I didn't want to dwell on it.
It was not a bad appointment, but it started off with me wanting to cuss out the receptionist and walk out. It takes a lot for me to get that angry, but they managed.
I had an appointment scheduled for the 6th and they had to reschedule for the 16th at 8:15. I am NOT a morning person, but they assured me I would be her first patient of the day and I would have as much time as I needed with the doctor. Since I filled out all my paperwork the week prior, I didn't need to get there early. I arrived at 8:05 and signed in, feeling good about the appt. After waiting for 10 minutes (now 8:15- my appt. time), the receptionist handed me a clip board and told me to fill out the new patient paperwork. I assured her I already had and that they were with my records. "What records? Did you bring those with you?" Are you effin' kidding me? They LOST my records. They didn't know who I was. I should have known when they didn't call to confirm my appt. the day before that something was not right. I refilled out the stupid paperwork, but not until I gave her the look from hell and sighed very annoyingly, a few times. I waited and waited and all the people who had come in after me were already called back and were leaving. Some new patients that had to fill out paperwork that arrived after I did, had already been seen. A mother with her crying newborn (sitting 2 seats down from me) had already been seen, and I was still waiting to see the fucking doctor!!! At 8:50, I told the receptionist I had to be somewhere at 10am. She assured me I would be seen right away and I was. There were no empty rooms for me to go in, so they made some bitchy pregnant women who was wandering in the hallway, move to another room. HA, take that!
As I waited for the doc in the cold exam room, I just started to cry uncontrollably because I was so upset. The doctor walked in about 5 minutes later and I wiped my last tear from my face. She asked if I was okay and I said I was just a little frustrated. I wish Mr. H was there with me. Although if he was there, he would have cussed them out and we would have left way before I ever had the chance to be seen. Dr. I apologized for her staff and made it very clear that it was unacceptable and she would take care of it. We talked briefly about my history and what my purpose for being there was. I really like her and she made me feel important. She wants to help me find a reason why my cervix is incompetent (she also apologized for this terminology and said is made me sound like I did something wrong when I hadn't), and she wants us to have a baby. She immediately wanted to run tests, did a pelvic exam and swab, and scheduled me to come back in on the 27th for an abdominal U/S to check my non-pregnant cervical length. She wants me to get an HSG (hysterosalpingogram) after I have my next period. She wants me to start on my own, so she's giving me until my next appointment to start and if I don't, then she'll give me something to ovulate (not Clomid- the last thing I need is to get pregnant with multiples, she says). She wants to talk with my peri to discuss a TAC (transabdominal cerclage) and when would be the best time to do it. She is thorough and aggressive and I don't feel like she's wasting my time. I feel like for the first time, she has my best interest in mind.
We also talked about freezing my eggs and Mr. H's sperm. This all has to be handled through a fertility clinic (right next door) and my insurance doesn't cover it- at all. The first appointment for consult and u/s is $675! That was the amount I paid in rent for my first apartment. It has to be paid in full, but at least they take credit. I have an appt. scheduled for Jan. 17th. That was the earliest they had, but I have to call back on Monday to speak to someone about a surrogacy program. Since the eggs and sperm are a back up plan, and will only be used if I absolutely cannot carry a child, then we will implant those into a surrogate, later down the line. Do I have any volunteers? I inquired about the costs of IVF- $13,000 (not covered by my insurance). Hopefully since all we are doing for now is collecting and freezing, it won't be so much. Dr. I made it clear that this has to be done prior to getting pregnant, and since my appt with the fertility clinic is not for another 2 months and the egg retrieval at a later date, I may have to put off TTC a little longer. Ba-humbug!
I asked most of my questions, but since she hadn't reviewed my records because they were misplaced (not lost) asking specifics would have been a waste of time. I will save those for next week. The receptionist called me Friday afternoon to let me know my file was found and all was good. She then apologized for not having them when I arrived at my appointment. That made me feel better.
In the meantime, since Thanksgiving is 4 days away, and I promised to give you the recipe for Cinderella cake in the last post, head on over to my new baking and cooking blog "Lick The Bowl" Good for some sweet Thanksgiving treats.
Every once in a while when my Grandma visits everyone will gather around and make tamales. We've been doing it for several years but usually my grandma does all the work. My Mom had to have jaw surgery and my Grandma is visiting so she can take care of her so we decided to make tamales. The ones on the right I made plus about 3 more dozen. They're so time consuming but worth it. If you don't know what tamales are, they are corn masa (dough) filled with pork, or beans, or other meats and wrapped up in a corn husk then steamed. Fantastic! That's all I really know how to explain them. And my Grandma's are the best I have ever had.
My friend Kristi asked for a good cookie recipe, since I had posted a recipe for my dog. How about a good moist cupcake instead? Since it has carrots, it's healthy, right?
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp. fresh orange juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. flour
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine sugar, oil, orange juice, vanilla and eggs. Stir in baking powder, soda, cinnamon and salt. Add the flour and mix. Stir in shredded carrots, coconut and nuts.
Spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray or line with muffin liners. Distribute the batter evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let cupcakes cool then frost generously with cream cheese frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temp.
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
In a medium bowl, whisk cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla together til creamy and smooth. Use immediately or store in refrigerator in airtight container.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick spray. In a large bowl combine oats, butter and water. Let stand for 10 minutes to soften oats. Stir in cornmeal, sugar, bullion, milk, egg, cheese and bacon. Mix well. Add flour one cup at a time, mixing well after each addition to form stiff dough. Dough will be sticky.
On floured surface, knead dough and add enough flour (1-2 cups) until dough is smooth and no longer sticky. Knead for about 4-5 minutes. Roll out dough to 1/2 inch thickness, cut dough into shapes using your favorite cookie cutter. Place on cookie sheets about 1/2 inch apart. Cookies will not spread.
I love cooking and baking and trying out new recipes, so I decided to add a new label to this blog featuring things I have created in the kitchen. I hope you enjoy and maybe even try out some of the recipes in the future. Kristi (Not What I Expected) was talking about making pot pies and trying to make things in advance to prepare herself before the baby comes. We talked back and forth about making, baking and freezing pot pies, and I had to have one. Here is my very easy and yummy version of chicken pot pie that I made last night.
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