Book Lovers Never Go To Bed Alone

I am so behind on my blogging, thanks to the holidays! I still haven't posted the blog about Vivi's birthday, but I'll link to it when I finally do. Tonight I'm up late doing a little Cyber Monday shopping. We just got back from our Vegas vacation a week ago and I was finally able to do a little reading. I have been slowly trying to fill my library with quality, leather-bound editions of the classics. Barnes & Noble has been selling some really beautiful ones, and I bought Wuthering Heights, because I'd never read it. What a disturbing book it turned out to be! The characters are utterly worthless, evil creatures who are completely bent on creating hell on earth for everyone around them, most particularly those they love. It ends as well as can be expected though, and if I were to take a moral from it, it would probably be that no good deed goes unpunished.

I thought I'd share a fun little book-hack I've come up with. I always get these beauty catalogs in the mail that come with four or five of those paper samples of perfume or cologne. Usually these things fall out on the floor or in my lap or end up in Vivienne's mouth, thereby making her whole face smell like Justin Bieber's "The Key" or something else equally nauseating. I actually do like some of these samples and tend to go through them to see if I want a new fragrance on my Christmas list, but they tend to pile up. I got the idea recently to use them for bookmarks, for the dual purpose of holding my place and making my books smell lovely. I've started sorting through them each time they show up and putting my favorites in my books. I think this adds a fun little sensory experience to reading, as if your leading man is right there in the room with you.

Ah well, time to hit the hay, as they say. I hope I can get back on soon and post the rest of my blogs that are piling up inside my brain!

Autumn is Here... Time For Punkin' Bread!

The Amazing Disappearing Punkin' Bread!

I still need to write the blog about Vivi's and my joint birthday party, but in the meantime I'd like to share my Punkin' Bread recipe! I have already made this three times this fall, it's completely addictive and the perfect complement to a cup of coffee on a crisp Fall morning! I call it Punkin' Bread because my little punkins just love it! Bella christened it "punkin' cake" because it's so sweet. I make it in a bundt pan, and there is always enough left over to fill a small loaf pan, and I usually give the spare loaf away. It doesn't really need any kind of adornment but I usually put either cream cheese or butter on it because I like to mix salty and sweet flavors. This Fall though, I tried something different. The first loaf I made was for Vivi's party and I had also made a cake (obviously, it's a birthday party) and I had kind of panicked thinking I wasn't going to have enough frosting for the cake, so I whipped up a batch of buttercream frosting from scratch using this recipe. When the frosting I had turned out to indeed be enough for the cake I was left with a preponderance of unassigned buttercream frosting, which can be totally dangerous... Imagine Liz with a spoon and a bucket of buttercream frosting, huddling in a dark corner muttering "my precious, my precious!"... So I tried putting it on the punkin' bread, and it was mind-blowingly delicious. Since that was so good, this last time I made it I tried some browned butter icing, which is also excessively scrumptious! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! (Punkin' Bread and Browned Butter Icing Recipes follow)

Punkin' Bread!

Ingredients:
3 Eggs
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
2 1/4 Cups Granulated Sugar
2 15 oz cans of Pumpkin
2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350.

Beat eggs, add oil, pumpkin and vanilla. Add sugar and continue to mix until smooth.

Sift together dry ingredients and slowly add to pumpkin mixture until fully incorporated.

Grease the pan before adding the batter to bake - I use copious amounts of  Pam cooking spray.

Makes enough for two regular sized loaf pans, or a standard sized bundt pan and a small loaf pan.

Bake at 350 for one hour for cake/loaves, or 10-15 minutes for muffins.

I remove my Punkin' Bread by putting the cake carrier base over the top of the pan (while it's still warm, but not straight from the oven) and (using potholders so as to not burn your hands) turn the pan over on top of the cake base, it should slide right out, with a little wiggling.

Punkin' Bread stores well in a cake carrier or cake stand, out on the countertop for about five days, or longer if you can fit it in your fridge. It can also be frozen.


Browned Butter Icing:

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon butter
2 Cups Powdered Sugar
2-4 Tablespoons Milk

Instructions:
Melt butter in a small saucepan on medium-low heat until it is golden brown and bubbly, but be careful to not scorch it.

Remove saucepan from heat and mix icing in the pan itself.

Add Powdered Sugar, do not mix

Add milk, one tablespoon at a time, mixing with a wire whisk.

Icing should be smooth and runny but not watery. For best results, store the icing in a tupperware in the fridge and warm it up by the spoonful, one with each slice of Punkin' Bread (in the microwave, 15-20 seconds on high.) You can put it directly on to the bread and warm them both together, or warm the icing itself in a ramekin and then pour it over the Punkin' Bread.

Punkin' Bread and vanilla latte!

When warming up the icing, put it on the punkin bread cold

then microwave them both together for 20 seconds

it's not as pretty, but just as delicious!

My Library

This place is my sanctuary. I love curling up in the papasan chair with a good book and a glass of wine or a cup of coffee. I have just recently added a children's section to the library, and moved the papasan... maybe one day I'll finally have the upright piano I want so badly and it can go on the opposite wall. I added a couple of Bella's overflowing collection of stuffed animals, specifically the ones that are literary based, next to their books kind of like the children's section of a bookstore. It's fun, and the girls love going in there and playing with the toys and reading! And it went a long way toward getting some of the stuffed animals out of Bella's room!

There Are Places I Remember...

The house I grew up in

It's been a while since I posted, I've been super busy so my blogs are back-logged. Back-logged blogs... say that five times fast... Anyway, on September 13 my oldest and dearest friend Ashley sent me a text telling me to pack my bags because we were going on a surprise trip down memory lane for my birthday! I grew up in Victoria, Texas, which is (for most people) a pit stop on highway 59 between Houston and Corpus Christi. It's too large to be considered a small town, when I was living there the population was around 40,000. However, since it's pretty far removed from other cities it functions very much like a small town and has that small town siren call that keeps natives coming back.

My sister Katie holds our cat Abe

It may not seem like a fun trip to most people, even to Ashley because she lived there much longer than I did, but she knew that I would really like to go there, and she even arranged a meeting with our 4th grade teacher, Ms. Prince, in whose class we met in October of 1993!

I was born in the Calhoun County hospital in Port LaVaca because my parents had been living in Point Comfort until right before I was born and my mom's Obstetrician was there. I lived in Victoria at 504 Joplin Street from birth until just before my 13th birthday. To this day Victoria holds the record for my longest residency in any Texas city, although I suspect it will soon be outstripped by Austin in a couple of years.

My family moved to Victoria because my dad got a job at the Brown and Root plant there, and none of the rest of our family lived there, so when we moved away in the Fall of 1996 there wasn't much reason to visit. We did go back and forth periodically for the next three years because it took us that long to sell our house, and I went back every once in a while throughout high school and in to college to visit Ashley and her family, but now that they've moved to the Austin area, it has been at least six years since I went back.

Some of my old class mates (5th grade) play on a piece of
playground equipment that has since been removed

Ashley took me to visit my old landmarks, we went to Vickers Elementary School, and checked out my old house, which is three blocks away. I used to walk to and from school until I was old enough to ride my bike. We visited the Victoria Mall which is basically the only thing to do in town most days. We visited my old home church, Trinity Episcopal, where I also attended school for second grade, by a stroke of good fortune the organist was there and he let us in and we roamed around, breathing in my past. It was really odd because they have never moved around the class rooms, and the second grade class room is in exactly the same spot it was in when I was there. However, there is now a portable building where there used to be a small playground, and they turned the old library into a computer lab. C'est la vie.

Ashley and I climbed an old jungle gym - this was silver
when we were in school

I have never had the courage to go up to my old house and knock on the door and ask to come inside. I know it would be completely different if I did, new furniture, new smells... That's why I was so happy to be able to go back into my old church where not much has changed. I had Miranda Lambert's "The House That Built Me" stuck in my head all weekend though.

My 5th grade class

Ms. Prince was my 4th grade teacher at the beginning of the year, and due to large class sizes they had to hire a new teacher half way through the year and I was moved to her class. Her name was Mrs. Miller. Mrs. Miller and Ms. Prince were my favorite teachers from elementary school. Mrs. Miller moved from Vickers to Howell Middle School in 1995 but I didn't have her in sixth grade. At some point in time she must have moved away from Victoria, but Ms. Prince is still teaching 4th grade at Vickers, she's in her 37th year of teaching!

We thought this was the same slide, it's in roughly the same
place, but I'm not sure it is, you can tell the top is
different in the two pictures.

The kickball field!

The interior of the sanctuary, from my family's
usual pew, on the same side as the pulpit
of course

Trinity Episcopal Church front

My dad stands in the parking lot looking very Episcopalian

Me in second grade as a private school kid

This is probably 4th grade... hard to tell...
I look like Ashley's mom I'm so much taller. I still kinda do.

This is what I wrote in the margins of my year
book next to Ms. Prince's name, "The most cool,
sweet, Christian woman I've ever known" other
than my mom, obviously!

Ashley, Ms. Prince and I reunite at IHOP! She looks
exactly the same as she did twenty years ago!

Mrs. Miller - probably my favorite teacher. I had her for
5th grade as well as the second half of 4th grade.

Texts From Kristen

I could start a whole new blog just for this topic. Kristen and I have been friends since Freshman year of high school, and this chick is bonkers. She is absolutely hilarious, incredibly intelligent and her humor is pretty much exactly like mine.

Kristen and I discuss the follies of the English language.

Kristen and I plan a slumber party and discuss rain hyperboles.

Kristen's son is FANTASTIC!

Kristen interrupts her own text to alert me to the fact that she has just seen my nightmare scuttle across her garage floor.

Kristen makes me an awesome drawing.

I got some texts from Evangeline too!

Kristen was there for me when I was venting about my barfy baby

Drunk Liz loves everyone twice as much as sober Liz does.

File this one under texts *TO* Kristen. I am amused with my own cleverness. Why do I continue to shop at this retail garage sale?

Traveling with Kristen is always an adventure!

We literally texted each other the same thing at the same time. Never regret tacos.

Elixir of Life...Espresso Double Shot Recipe

This is the pretty version, just for a pic.
I totally dumped this in an enormous,
ugly cup to drink it (see below picture)
Also, this one is not mixed up enough,
but it looks pretty all swirly like that.
#TruthInAdvertising I didn't drink it
like that.

At the beginning of the summer Eric and I were at the grocery store with the kids when he banished me to the nearby Starbucks for yawning too much. It was about 3:00 in the afternoon so they were not overburdened with an abundance of business so I took my time staring blankly at the menus. I knew I didn't want something hot; first of all, it was a cool 102 degrees outside, and secondly, if I'm super sleepy, hot drinks make it worse. I also knew though, that I didn't want one of their über calorie laden frappuccinos like my rail-thin husband likes to get. Having worked in the food service industry, I put a lot of faith in recommendations from employees so I asked them what I should get and after a short discussion of my preferences and sleepiness level they suggested a double shot. It sounded intense so I was dubious, but my eyes were glazing over and I was nodding off where I stood, so I didn't have much choice. The first sip was indeed intense, so I headed over to the condiment station and added at least 5 Splendas, after which it was actually pretty dang delicious. 

I have an espresso maker at home, because I asked for one for Christmas last year. If you want to make your own coffee at home and have it be as good as Starbucks, you have to have an espresso maker. Mine is a Mr. Coffee brand, and it's pretty low-level, but it works so that's what matters. If, like me, you were unaware, allow me to inform you that espresso is not a kind of coffee, it's a method of brewing coffee. After I got my espresso machine I scoured the grocery store aisles for what seemed like hours looking for the darn espresso coffee. As it turns out, espresso is the process of shooting high pressure, boiling water through finely ground coffee. The result is extremely strong coffee. Espresso is like the Emperor of coffee, the supreme high potentate of caffeine and the coffee universe eternal. I make my espresso double shots differently than they do at Starbucks, mostly because I have the time to. Frankly, I think mine are better.

Equipment you will need:

1. An espresso maker
2. A coffee grinder
3. Coffee mug
4. Tall glass or cup - the one I use is probably 32 ounces
5. Long handled spoon for stirring - I use an iced tea spoon
6. Straw (if desired)

Ingredients you will need:

1. Coffee - I use unflavored and I like to grind my beans from whole but if you prefer you can buy already ground coffee and it cuts down on your grinding time. I have found that flavored coffee, even if it's my favorite to brew, is not the best for this drink, the pure coffee flavor works best in my opinion.
2. 1 Cup Milk - I use 2% Organic
3. 1 Tablespoon Cream (optional)
4. 4 Teaspoons sugar or 3 packets of Splenda
5. 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract (optional)
6. Ice - wait to add this until the last minute or it will melt and your drink will be watered down

Directions:

Grind the coffee until the grounds resemble table salt in size. If you grind them too fine the coffee will be bitter, too large and it will not be strong enough. Brew the espresso according to your machine's instructions. While the espresso is brewing, put the sugar or Splenda and the vanilla (if desired) in the mug. When the espresso is ready, pour it on top of the sugar and vanilla and stir it well, it takes about 30 seconds for the sugar to fully dissolve, it will be less time if you are using Splenda. Once the sugar is dissolved, fill your large cup with ice, all the way to the top, and pour the espresso over the ice. Add the milk and cream and stir until the coffee and milk are fully incorporated (about 10 seconds) then add your straw and enjoy!

The reason I think my double shots are better than Starbucks' is because I mix the sugar in with the hot espresso rather than adding a syrup to the icy drink. Mixing the sugar in with the espresso while it's still hot allows the sugar to fully dissolve and permeate the entire drink with sweetness, rather than allowing the sugar to remain in granules on the bottom of the glass. This is an extra step they just don't seem to have time for at Starbucks. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this drink, it has gotten me through the summer, and has especially been a nice treat for me when I'm a zombie from crib training the baby or night time potty training Bella, yes, I'm dong both at once! That's why I neeeeeed this caffeine!!!

PSST! If you liked this blog and you would like some more Starbucks hacks, check out this blog!

Calories will vary:

Using 2% milk with no cream and Splenda: 125 Calories

Using 2% milk with no cream and sugar: 190

Using 2% milk with cream and sugar: 235

Using 2% milk with cream and Splenda: 170
Using almond milk with no cream and Splenda: 35

When I actually drink it, I need a bigger cup.
These old longhorn cups are the biggest
ones I have, so obviously, this is where my
coffee goes. Get in my belly.

UPDATE: I have found a way to make this drink SUPER LOW CALORIE by using unsweetened almond milk and Splenda. There are only 30 calories in a cup of almond milk. I have added this new option to the calorie listing.

There's A Hole In My Brain Dear Liza

Bella has this set of CDs full of children's folk songs given to her by a former coworker of mine. Most of them are... well... okay they're all pretty dang annoying. It's nursery rhymes and classic children's songs sung by a less than stellar chorus of preteen girls (or so it sounds). Bella absolutely loves these CDs, and literally blasts them throughout the house. I have to run in there to yell at her "TOO LOUD" and turn the volume down from earsplitting to bearable. Of all these irritating songs though, there is one I find to be the absolute worst. On a scale of annoyance, one being "mosquito" and ten being "process server" this ditty probably goes up to about a fifteen, or just high enough to compel you to run, screaming, onto a busy freeway.

You may have heard this song, I honestly hadn't until Bella played this CD. The song is called "There's a Hole in My Bucket". You may be familiar with it, but for those readers who aren't, the premise of the song is that this guy, Henry, has a bucket with a hole in it, and the poor imbecile has no idea how to fix it, so he goes to (presumably) his wife, Liza, and asks for her help, and she has to walk him through every damn step because he is seriously that clueless. On top of the whole foundation of the song being irritating, the song itself is INSANELY REPETITIVE. By the end of the song I'm getting twitchy and seeing oompa loompas in the corners.

The one redeeming part of this song is that by the end, Liza completely loses her shit and yells at Henry. I have to be honest though, if Henry were my husband I'd probably be stabbing him by the end of the song.


There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza,
There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, a hole.
Then mend it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Then mend it, dear Henry, dear Henry, mend it.
This is the obvious solution, Henry. Duh.

With what shall I mend it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I mend it, dear Liza, with what?
With a straw, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
With a straw, dear Henry, dear Henry, with a straw.
Sorry, I thought you had reasonable intelligence. Here's how you fix it, dude.

The straw is too long, dear Liza, dear Liza,
The straw is too long, dear Liza, too long,
Then cut it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Then cut it, dear Henry, dear Henry, cut it.
Liza is gritting her teeth now. Seriously, he can't figure that out?

With what shall I cut it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I cut it, dear Liza, with what?
With a knife, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
With a knife, dear Henry, dear Henry, with a knife.
Fuck, Henry! For real? My mom was right, I should have married Sam Wainright.

The knife is too dull, dear Liza, dear Liza,
The knife is too dull, dear Liza, too dull.
Then sharpen it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry
Then sharpen it, dear Henry, dear Henry, sharpen it.
Liza is getting a little frantic now.

On what shall I sharpen it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
On what shall I sharpen it, dear Liza, on what?
On a stone, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
On a stone, dear Henry, dear Henry, a stone.
I'll sharpen your face if you don't stop asking me questions you dolt!

The stone is too dry, dear Liza, dear Liza,
The stone is too dry, dear Liza, too dry.
Well wet it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Well wet it, dear Henry, dear Henry, wet it.
Liza starts twitching and giggling maniacally to herself.

With what shall I wet it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I wet it, dear Liza, with what?
try water, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
try water, dear Henry, dear Henry, water.
This is total sarcasm dude. Ten points for Liza.

In what shall I fetch it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
In what shall I fetch it, dear Liza, in what?
In a bucket, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
In a bucket, dear Henry, dear Henry, a bucket.
Now Henry is getting attitude. Watch it, man. She's a ticking time bomb now.

There's a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza,
There's a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, a hole.
Use your head, then! dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Use your head, then! dear Henry, dear Henry, use your head!
Liza's face erupts into flames.


Now if that doesn't set your teeth on edge, then you have some serious issues of your own. But, if you're like me, then after listening to that whole torturous song, you are now walking in circles and counting the clowns under your bed. As a friend of a friend once told me, if you only see three clowns then you're still missing two.

Seriously Henry? I could have fixed the damn bucket myself by now.

Texas, Our Texas

Austin Skyline viewed from Lady Bird Lake

This weekend my home state seemed even more beautiful than normal. Eric's mom took Bella for the weekend, so Saturday morning we got up early with the baby and went running at Lady Bird Lake (formerly known as Town Lake). The sunrise was absolutely glorious. For the first time I saw a train pass over the bridge across from the Palmer Events Center, so of course I had to snap a picture. The beauty continued all weekend. On Sunday the skies were promising rain, and washing the scenery in a beautiful blue-gray that somehow caused the grass to look greener and made everything look sharper. On the way to get Bella from Eric's mom's house, we passed through several small farming communities. Usually it's nothing but corn as far as the eye can see, but this weekend it was cotton. A field of cotton that is almost ready to be harvested looks like a field of fluffy snow. The plant turns a dark brownish-grey color and the leaves die, it sounds ugly but I find it bewitching. I couldn't help myself, I made Eric stop several times to take pictures, like a tourist.

It's a Train!

I love my home state, but more than that, I love my country. There is amazing beauty in every state I've been to (admittedly I haven't seen them all yet). Eric's mom's family is from Pennsylvania, and if you have never been there, put it on your bucket list. Pennsylvania has some of the most idyllic farmland I've ever seen. It is full of rolling hills covered in lime green grass and pastoral red barns. It has old, small towns filled with churches, schools and homes built hundreds of years before Texas was even a part of the United States, and that kind of history is impressive to me. I also love the mountains in Virginia. Driving through the Appalachians during a rainstorm in Virginia one summer, I saw steam rising from the hills, and it made them appear as if they were alive and breathing. The Pacific Northwest holds incredible natural splendor as well. From enormous waterfalls hidden in vast pine forests, to lush volcanoes and long, rocky beaches, you can really start to feel close to God out there.

Cotton in rows

Even though I haven't been to Pike's Peak, it's no wonder to me that Katherine Lee Bates felt inspired to compose the lyrics to "America The Beautiful". You don't need to travel to Colorado to witness the splendor of creation in America, because it's evident in every state. In times as uncertain as these, I find comfort in the constant beauty that surrounds me, it's like a promise from God of good things to come.

Sunbeams from the heavens

Bella loves the wind in her hair!

More snowy cotton

Moo Cows