Scattered, it is! (READER BEWARE: LONG BLOG TO FOLLOW)
This morning, I actually thought about breaking all my various current quips and stories into multiple blogs, such as:
The next baking disaster
Lazy Saturday Morning
Dog Update/Trip to Vet
Fence Expedition
But, since my blogs tend to be scattered anyway (and they are, well, mine!).. I stuck with scattered. So various quips and stories are all going to be combined here for your reading pleasure!
The baking disaster is by far the longest, and since I've promised it to coworkers, I'll end with that.
Lazy Saturday Morning
For today, I'm enjoying one of the few lazy Saturday mornings planned for the next few months! I slept in, am doing some chores around the house, and finally unpacking a few more boxes. At least we don't still have the old house to worry about! Well, except that it would be nice to actually get some of our deposit back... I'll have to keep bugging the old landlord about that!
Dog Update/Trip to the Vet
I'm pleased to report that FINALLY, our dogs are 1) learning better leash skills for navigating retractable leashes around trees (necessary in our tree-filled back yard), and 2) peeing and pooping better on leash! I also took the dogs to the vet this week, but I was pretty nervous with Katie. She did okay (although, they took her to the back to do what they needed to, since I'm more antsy and afraid she can often be protective of me..).. Anyhow, they did say she is a little bit overweight, so more exercise and less food are the prescription of the day for her! Kobe, on the other hand, was doing remarkably well. The vet was very pleased with the progress he has made (walking again, no lasting effects from his surgery earlier this year). He's a pretty healthy weight (exactly where he was a year ago when I brought him to this vet for the first time). Both are now up on all their current shots, etc. Not a cheap trip - but at least they are doing well!
Fence Expedition
We have successfully turned in an application for a fence to our HOA. Whew! We had to get quotes, signatures from neighbors, and practically give up our first child to get that accomplished. We did lots of explaining of why we need it, what it will look like, etc. The "Architectural Review" committee meets once a month on the 3rd tuesday. I was hoping to get it done for may - but I submitted on Friday, and they have a "must have application 10 day in advance" rule that they are being sticklers about. Boo :( So we won't have our application reviewed until June 16th. I guess that's better for budget reasons, but our dogs REALLY need to run! And I'm barely able to walk for 30 minutes these days without getting a bit tired and dizzy! Oh well, at least we're making progress towards a fence. That will give me something to do after we get back from our European Cruise!
Baking Disaster
I signed up (I don't quite know why)... to bring a cake to work for an outdoor picnic. I probably signed up because they were giving away blue ribbons, and I'm pretty competitive. I also like to bake, or so I tell myself on occasion. I digress already. I decided to make carrot cake, based on Wendy (an old coworker)'s recipe. First decision down - whew! I went to the store on Tuesday evening after copiously (so I thought) making a list of what I needed. Carrots, oil, cream cheese...
I didn't get started until late, and my first task was grating 2 cups worth of carrots. I started digging around the kitchen for the grater I like best and wanted to use... and couldn't find it! Grr... Okay, so I'll use the cheese grater. I sat down and was watching biggest loser while grating carrots. I'd get to the end, and Kobe would come over and beg me for the end pieces, so I threw a few his direction. After a sore arm/hand and 2 cups of grated carrots, I went back into the kitchen and began combining the dry ingredients. Flour, sugar, baking powder... but low and behold, the recipe also called for baking SODA - and I didn't have any of that on hand.
A quick search turned up a few ideas for substituting and using baking powder instead of baking soda, so I got that all worked out (of course, the "may alter taste" bugged me a little, but it wasn't the end of the world- - at least I could still finish this "cake" I signed up to do.)
Okay.. dry ingredients blended... added all the wet... and while the mixer was running, I had to do some digging. At first, I could only find one round cake pan - and you have to have two for a traditional cake! Of course, with all the unpacking, they weren't all together, and I didn't know where they belong in the new kitchen anyway! FINALLY, I found two pans, and the cakes went into the oven. Whew!
After waiting for them to bake, watching more biggest loser, etc - I looked at them after the time the recipe said, and they looked like they were done to me! So, I flipped them out onto cooling racks.
More biggest loser, and I hear Katie scrounging around in the kitchen. I chase after her to make sure she hasn't eaten my freshly baked cakes -- and she hasn't! I almost celebrated, until I realized that the entire soggy middle of one of the pans completely fell through the cooling rack. TOTALLY undercooked... What to do, what to do.. Okay, oven was still warm, so I went ahead and put them back in their pans and back in the oven. I wasn't planning on staying up until 11pm to bake the drat cakes, but no choice left now!
So, while the cakes finished baking, I got out our nice new wedding gift- a cake dish basically - and put the butter and cream cheese on the counter so they would be room temperature, and I could ice in the morning.
I got up, successfully managed to make the icing and put everything together (and the cakes only looked a little odd from the prior night's craziness).
I put the pan, with the cake in it, on the floor in the car. I'm half way to work, and I stop a little too fast, and the glass pedestal dish topples.... The top is still covering the cake, and the cake is just against it at this stage.. So I think it is still salvageable.
I get to work, and as I am walking to my office, I drop my keys. Since I'm one of the first people in the office anyway, I decide I'll put the heavy cake down first, then come back to get them. Okay, cake is down, I go pick up the keys and notice that they are my husband's.... which is weird, but maybe I picked his up by mistake?
Nope. I get to my desk, and sure enough, I have his keys and mine too! DRAT! So... the cake is at least temporarily okay, but now I have to head back home (adding another hour or so in worse morning traffic)... I try calling hubby, but can't get through. FINALLY, I'm about 1/2 way home, and he says he'll start looking for the spare key. I'm now 3/4 of the way home, and he has found the spare, so I don't have to drive the rest of the way home! Yay.
Cake didn't win the blue ribbon, needless to say. There were three categories - Pie (3 entries), Cookies (3 entries), and cakes (8 entries). I'm almost glad it didn't win - I would have been really embarassed! I apologize to anyone who may have eaten the disastrous cake! I have yet to try a piece myself, but included a picture for your viewing picture (especially since I now have a new camera!)
I got to see a cool park (Pullen Park in Raleigh) at the company picnic. Reminds me of Walden park in Wichita, Kansas, which I grew up with (paddle boats, picnic areas, train ride, etc). It was only 75 degrees outside - - but I got a heck of a sunburn on my neck! I did ride the train, and participated in some work activities, such as the three-legged race, bingo, and a water balloon toss. We also got to leave around 3pm, after the picnic- so it really wound up being a pretty decent afternoon (and the weather was GORGEOUS).
