You are either in or you are out.

Project Runway was not on last night, which sucked because for once I got around to sitting down at the time it actually aired. Now I am in the sewing mood.

I have an addiction, you see. Not to cocaine, although sometimes I pay through the nose. BWAHAH That's comedy folks, and it's FREE. I have an addiction to fabric. I buy it and THEN figure out what to do with it. Not the best idea, but what can I say. I went to the fabric store the other day - the big secret one that only superdeedooper sewers (sewers not sewers) know about. Not really, but this store is a paradise for people who sew. I love going there. It was like looking at aisles and aisles of candy. The problem is, I have a taste for the hard stuff, I have this magical knack for picking out the expensive fabrics. Sigh.

I bought a bunch of things and I particularly liked the brown and red tones of this fabric. It photographs horribly, by the way. It's actually quite lush. I am doing some sketches, but we'll see what I come up with.

In news that had nothing to do with this, I am...party planning again! Told you the hiatus wouldn't last long. I can't help myself. It's a little different this time around, but it is in full swing. I'll let you in on the details once it's all said and done.

*p.s. if your name is Heather and you emailed me, my email is jacked and it ate it. Sorry. Email again please.

Blue eyed dressed for every situation, moving through the doorway of a nation

Things I don't understand:

1. Pooping at work.
Maybe it's a girl thing? Maybe it's just me? I don't like the idea of pooping in a public bathroom. I try to avoid it if possible. But some people are FREE FLOWING, and not at all clean about it. Ick.

2. Lost Texts.
All those texts and pictures that I sent to people who can't receive them, where do they go? Heaven? If so, God is laughing at the picture of Ernie Hudson that I sent Nanette's husband last year.

3. How different two kids can be.
Here is our dinner conversation from last night:
Me, to the Kid: "Stop cleaning and eat your dinner!"
Me, to the Baby: "Stop punching and eat your dinner!"

4. Why can't I eat cake everyday.
Why can't I eat it everyday, it's so tasty and wonderful, why??

5. How someone can hate Yaz.
Cause I get a kick out of seeing two people stand around. (see: my love of Erasure and Pet Shop Boys.) I looovve Yaz. They are reuniting and going on tour. Tour meaning 5 shows overseas, but I am totally there once I'm done abandoning my children and job and all.

6. How my MIL, who is from Hawaii, can NOT know what ahi tuna is.
"Is it some sort of...fish?" I've got nothing to say about this. Nothing.

(Project Runway) Christian: I love Asians. Asians are fierce.

This morning I scaled walls, and climbed through mud. Then I walked 150 feet across a tiny 8" wide wall high off the ground and tried to keep my balance and not die. As a bonus I got to stand in deer poop. I went back to the office and accused my boss of trying to kill me.

See? Sometimes I don't wear heels. Suffice it to say, I'm exhausted. I stopped at the Japanese market on the way home and picked up some teriyaki chicken onigiris. Which are basically just rice balls with teri chicken inside, wrapped in nori. I like how the packages have instructions on how to properly open them. Of course it never works out and I just have a mess on my hands. The kids love them though. Like tiny little pockets of chicken-y love.

I was going to pick up cheese while I was there, because I planned on making Croque Monsieurs tomorrow. Cheese was $3.50 at the Japanese market, WTF?? That's insane. I'm not paying that much for processed slices of plastic. Is that why Japanese people are skinny (not me) because they don't regularly eat crap like that? That onigiri only cost $1!

Oh well. I'll just have to pick up my fattening cheese somewhere else.
Croque Monsieur recipe, HERE.

Simon says:

I don't eat out that often. Which is obvious from all the recipes on this blog. But when I do, I like to really eat out. And I mean eat well. At great restaurants, where the food is top notch. Good dinner companions make the meal even better if you ask me.

Hilary, Jami, Nanette and I went to Simon L.A. as part of Dine L.A. It was a great way to get a taste of a chef's menu. I had the Lump crab salad appetizer, Braised Beef Short Ribs and for dessert, Chocolate Tart and Lemon Sherbet. The salad was FANTASTIC. And the dessert, was everything I love. The ribs? EH. They were good, I guess. Flavorful on the outside, but a bit too dry for me, once you hit the center of the meat.

Nanette took some excellent pictures, which I didn't have time for. I just wanted to eat. The four of us all have something in common. We bake. A LOT. So most of the conversation was about recipes we've tried, things we liked and didn't like, it was like a baker's convention.

I have been wanting to go to Simon L.A. since it opened if not just to see the "Junk Food Platter" they have for dessert. We didn't get that, but I was satisfied with everything I had. My only deal with Kerry Simon is the fact that he looks like Criss Angel and I feel like he's trying to Mindfreak me. With food.

Always look on the bright side of life

Here's how you know you go to the ER too much. When you call your cousin to pick you up and she says, "Why? Are you at the hospital again?" Sheesh.

No, I was not at the hospital (for once) but the past few days I have been more worried and stressed than I should have been, but that's just me. The worrier. I should just sit back, relax and just shut the f*ck up and bake. Which coincidentally I've trademarked as the name of my new cooking show, when Food Network comes a calling. I bet they'd would recast someone to make all my recipes for me. Someone perkier, skinnier and prettier. Cause who wants a cranky asian chick hosting a show. "I got your donuts right here, dammit", is probably not what they'd want to see on tv.

I made a batch of mini chocolate spice donuts this morning, which were cute. But right now, the intense rain is screwing with their properites and they are looking shrivelled. It's ridiculous. So I busted out the industrial sealer to see if that'd help everything stay fresh.

I am sealing up the donuts, and some Vegan Pumpkin Oatmeal Raisin cookies. I am also making some soup. I am on a roll here. Anyone want anything while my stove's on? We can make it on my new tv show, "Shut the F*CK up and Cook, with your host, justJENN," hmm...

Clark Griswold: There it is, kids, my motherland. Rusty Griswold: Dad, Grandma's from Chicago. Clark Griswold: Shut up, Russ.

I read this article on GreenSage - Sustainable Building for Design, but it wasn't the architecutre this issue that caught my eye, it was about food.

They showed nine familes from around the world, and showed how much they eat and more importantly, SPEND on food for a week. We're talking their whole family here.

While it's no surprise that Americans were at the top cost wise, I was surprised at the amount of fast food that particular American family ate in a week. Mostly because I try and stay away from all that processed stuff. If anything, I'd like to eat like the Italians, all bread and pasta, baby!! It was when I scrolled down to the last few families that I really amazed.

Go HERE to see the pictures.

You put your BALLS in it.

Thanks for all the suggestions! There's lots to do in this city, which is why I love it so much.

Since it was pirates/ocean/fish party...this is going nowhere, isn't it? Anyway, I made 'jello aquariums' for the pirate party. I took some plastic punch cups, filled them with blue Jello, and when halfway set, I suspended a gummi fish in the middle. Pretty neat.

Although if I was to do it again, I'd fill my big ass punch bowl with the jello fishies and make a REALLY BIG aquarium for people to dig out. Only thing is the gummis get...well, gummy. Kinda disgusting. I don't eat Jello anyway since it's just hooves and fingernails. Doesn't stop me from making jello, more jello and even more jello! Hooves are good for you! Blergh.

I also made Brown Sugar Meatballs. I usually make this from scratch and make meatloaf the same way for dinner, but since this is for a party, and had time constraints, this recipe worked. I have a weird thing about people digging out food. Like a whole salad in a bowl, or cutting at a big ol' piece of fish or something. I like individual things. Like the individual somen salads I made for the Best Shower Ever. I must have a phobia about people and touching and portions.

I joined 'Crockpot Challenge' on flickr, where you do a crockpot recipe a week, which isn't bad. I have a love/hate relationship with my crockpot. I'd much rather cook from scratch and do all the prep work, cooking, plating, etc. But I do use it a lot, out of necessity, if I have to work late, or if I am throwing a party. Crockpot challenge sounds like a new Food Network Game show. READY. SET. COOK...AS SLOW AS POSSIBLE.

Jello Aquarium recipe, HERE.
Brown Sugar Meatball recipe, HERE.

Harris: Well, I was thinking of taking you on a cultural tour of L.A..Sara: That's the first ten minutes, then what?

Recently, O.G. + family went to The Stinking Rose. An all garlic restaurant, it has some pretty good dishes that are tasty. I haven't been there in years, and despite the over the top theme-y, it was still good, I gotta say. But then again, I love garlic.

And yes, it was very stinky. The 40 clove garlic chicken is delicious. Other items ordered: Garlic Meatloaf, Garlic Crab, Garlic Pasta, and Garlic fries. We all passed on the garlic ice cream, though.

It got me to thinking, a friend is making a trip out here in a few months and I am trying to think of places to go that are only, or very, L.A. He already asked to go to Juju's cereal bar after seeing my post about taking the boys there. I was thinking a celebrated chef restaurant was probably in order too. Probably Pizzeria Mozza, if I can ever get a reservation earlier than 10pm.

I'd say Pinkberry, since the L.A. yogurt craze is still in full swing. However, let me tell you, after I tasted last week's coffee flavor debut, I am completely off of Pinkberry. YUCK. I never loved it to the point of craving, however the kids liked it - but too bad for them, we won't be back for a while. I think they just liked the mochi balls, which I can make for them at home anyway.

Then there's the Arclight, Amoeba, museums and theme parks galore, you know, the usual. We've pretty much done 'em all. If you are not from L.A., and you could visit, where would you go? Or if you are from L.A., what do you suggest? Obviously most these places are restaurants, but they don't have to be. I am just hungry right now, is all.

Would you say that I had a PLETHORA of pinatas?

Things that are weird #1:
The Baby has taken to randomly saying, "BOW CHICKA BOW BOW." Why, I have no idea. He's all Boogie Nights. Coincidentally he has also taken to going pantsless at any given moment, and showing off his 'peanuts'. (Much to the horror of the party guests.) Pants are for losers, I guess. It's like a 70s porn flick up in here.

Things that are weird #2:
When someone emails you and says, "Where can I buy lots of yeast. Like tons. LIKE FIVE POUNDS." Disgusting.

Things that are weird #3:
Did you know that there are non-violent pinatas now? Yep. You can no longer hit them with a stick, OH GOD NO. Pinatas are all PC now. I was at the party store and I asked, "What are all these strings hanging off this thing for?" Apparently now each kid gets to 'pull a string' til the candy comes tumbling out. Oh...joy. YAWN.

Things that are weird #4:
I often have a pencil behind my ear while at work. Much like Grace from Ferris Bueller, I often forget this and try to stick another one there, only to find that there is one already behind my ear. I often mistakenly try to stick my x-acto knife behind my ear too, to which I think, "Oh Christ, did I just stab myself?" VAN GOGH 4 LIFE. Er, this happens...daily.

Things that are weird #5:
My bougie Target, apparently.

Things that weird #6:
Check this rolling pin out. What do you think?


Now look at the price. WTF?? Is this thing filled with crack? Is it magic? Is it dual purpose like I can use it to kill a man? I don't get it!

CAKEtastrophe!

So the night before the Pirate party, all was well. Everything was made or prepped and the cake was done too. I was all set to go to bed at 10:30pm, as that is my bedtime and what I had planned on anyway. I went back into the kitchen to stick in the pirate flags and lo and behold...the cake EXPLODED. The whole front end just collapsed like, well, a sunken ship!

Here's where I think it all went wrong. I made the cake out of a stupid Vegan chocolate cake recipe that tastes great, but without eggs and butter, there is not enough structure to hold together an elaborate carved cake. I used that recipe cause I thought chocolate would be tasty, and since the Kid is allergic to chocolate - there in no chocolate, just cocoa in the Vegan Chocolate Cake recipe. Turns out it was a bad idea. Two, I had envisioned how I'd build the ship in my head, but against better judgement I went to the bookstore/internet and found recipes on building a pirate ship out of cake. All of them said to take two round cakes, cut them in half and glue the four pieces together. So I did. Then I carved the sides to a point, and it frosted up well, but the stickage, not so much.

Stupid recipes. I should have stuck to my architectural instincts and built it the way I had planned. Instead I got a cake explosion that looked something like this:

Poor Peter. Hook had him by hook or by crook. So at 10:30pm I decided what the hell, let's give it another go, and I baked/frosted/decorated a whole new cake in just one hour. It went much faster the second time and I built it structurally sound. And since it was going to be frosted anyway, I used a WHITE cake recipe this time. Whaddya know, it was PERFECT.

I used Tootsie Rolls for the cannons, and Whoppers maltballs for the canon balls. The 'water' is just blue non-pareils. TONS of them. I took the Kid's Peter and Hook figurines, obviously, to which he said, "HEY! Where're you takin' my stuff??" Sheesh. It's like do you want a cake or not, dammit??

Now I should have kept the crapped out cake and set it next to the new one and had the ships battle it out. I was contemplating burning ship remnants and dying pirates in the exploded cake ship, but this ain't Ace of Cakes up in here. I just wanted a simple pirate cake. And to get some shut eye.

Yo ho, yo ho, the pirates life for me.

The pirate party is over! I think it went pretty well, but who knows. The food turned out as I had hoped, which is always a relief. Here's a rundown of my menu:

mini fruit skewers - pineapple, grapes and strawberries
Salami and cheese on a mini skewer
Cap'n Crunch chicken wings
Pasta Salad
FAUX Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwiches
A variety of cereals
Sweet bread rolls
Spam Musubi
Brown Sugar Meatballs
Celery & Carrot Sticks
Jello aquariums - blue jello w/gummi fish
Punch
Pirate fondant Cupcakes
Pirate Ship Cake
Watermelon Ice Cream Bombe

This party was easier than any other party I've done - I think it was because the bulk of the work was done the day before.

The pirate cupcakes went fast. Doing the fondant days before was perfect. I just frosted the cupcakes and plopped them on at the last minute. I still think fondant sucks cause it tastes horrible, but as far as decorating - yes, there's nothing better to work with.
The peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were faux because some of the kids had bad peanut allergies. So I used Sunflower Seed Butter! To make it even crazier I put it on rainbow bread from King's Hawaiian Bakery. Yes, it really is that neon color. Oddly the enough, the adults were the ones who ate the sandwiches and the kids stayed away from them. Hm.

And the pirate cake turned out...ok. There was a horrible CAKEtastrophe, but more on that tomorrow. Otherwise, here is a picture of the final product.

I put his four candles on a Watermelon Ice Cream bombe and we all sang him Happy Birthday. It was all good. All in all, the Kid was happy and that's all that matters. Oh - and the winners of the party favor giveaway are...Leslie & Doahleigh! Email me your addresses, thanks for playing!

And now, as I type this, I am entering retirement. Slipping into my blissful, party-less life. Until November that is. Blergh. More party pics here, and more party stories tomorrow...

My girl wants to party all the time

What an odd coincidence that notmartha linked me about the mini donuts (thus sending my stats through the roof), when just today...I made mini donuts AGAIN! Today I took the day off and took the kids to Disneyland. Then I came home and made 64 mini donuts. I know. I don't know what I was thinking either.

Perhaps I failed to mention that I was also making mini donuts for the birthday party. I know, diabetic coma, sugar overload, etc, etc. However, since I wanted to show donut love (my new band name), and not just serve sweets at the party, I made the mini donuts into party favors. I got these tiny cute tupperware-like containers, stacked four mini donuts inside and tied a ribbon. Yes, adults get favors at my parties too, not just the kids. My SIL says she wants them for her wedding favors. HA.Since I will be tied up for the next few days, (seriously, figuring out how I want to build this cake is consuming my thoughts) here's your chance...to win!

Leave a comment on this post. That's it. I dunno, tell me what kind of party you'd want me to plan for you. I won't do it of course, but it may give me ideas for other parties. See, I'm just using you like that. Or tell me why you keep coming back here, or maybe what you WANT me to blog about, cause I'm kind of running out of ideas and boring myself, frankly.

While I keep saying, THIS IS MY LAST PARTY - uh, it's really not. I actually have a few more tricks up my sleeve coming up. But more on that later. For now, I am giving away a donut party favor to have of your very own (yes they keep well), AND I am giving away a kid's party favor (pirate plate+pocky). That's two chances of winning!

Leave a comment. I'll be back in a few days, after all this party stuff is over. Or when I've recovered from complete exhaustion.

Ain't no party like a Scranton party, cause a Scranton party don't stop, yo.

More from 'Tales of Jenn Going Overboard," I decided that I really wanted to work with fondant and make cupcakes. I have worked with fondant before, but never dyed it. I wasn't keen on the idea, but it turned out to be amazingly easy. I kinda knew what I wanted to do, but basically it was all on the fly. I rolled it out, cut out tiny shapes, and came up with this:

These will go on top of cupcakes that will be baked sometime before or after I take on the task of BUILDING a cake for the party. This will be served in addition to the Watermelon Ice Cream Bombe (as specifically asked for by the Kid), and the jello aquariums. Yes, I realize that the party attendees will all leave in a diabetic coma, but I can't stop myself. CAN'T STOP.

In other news, the Baby woke up crying at 5somethingAM today. He said he had to pee, but he really didn't. What he really had to do was tell me, "Lions have tails." Good lord. Could that information not have waited until a decent hour?? I think he knows I have party stuff to do and he is sabotaging my sleep. No cupcakes for that sucka!

Pirate Cupcake how to, HERE.

Good grief.

Sanrio. What is better than Sanrio? Nothing, frankly. Except when it does joint projects with other companies. Sanrio+Disney stuff is awesome. As are Sanrio+Sesame Street items. Sanrio just adds this extra design work that gives it a little push of overtop swoony cuteness. The joint projects produce the most amazingly cute things, which also happen to be well designed. However, most of it is not availiable in the United States.

Imagine my surprise when I went to Knott's Berry Farm months ago, and tucked away in a nondescript store there was...SANRIO+PEANUTS goods. Oh, I could die of cuteness. I felt like I had come across lost treasure. I even found myself looking around to make sure no one else knew how good this stuff really was. It was tucked waaaayyy in the back, as if they just wanted to get rid of it all. There were just a few things, but I wanted it all. I settled on just this train case. I have a horrible love of make up bags - I'm sure it's gotta be the 'smallness+organization', two of my favorite things.

I immediately went on ebay when I got home to see if there were any other Sanrio+Peanuts items out there. Nothing! Now I want to go back to that little store and buy up everything in sight! Oh cute, useless items. How I love thee.

Liz: Why are you wearing a tux?Jack: It's after six. What am I, a farmer?

My days of having an in house babysitter are almost over. Therefore I am overloading myself with extracurricular activities. Normally I wouldn't dare go out on a weeknight, but with someone else putting my kids to bed, I am free, FREE I say! It's odd being out without the kids, but a nice break, as well. This is how I've been spending my evenings:

Last week I went to see Wicked. It was really wonderful, just as everyone has said. The voices were fantastic. Who do those tone deaf American Idols hopefuls think they are kidding? It was playing at the Pantages, I love the architecture of that old theatre, the carved ceilings are amazing.

I went to the Grove, where I planned to shop til I dropped, yet I found nothing to buy. This is probably a good thing. While I really wanted to eat tons of crap from the food stands, I had to wait, because afterwards I met Nanette and Jodi for dinner at Cobras Y Matadors. The Spanish tapas were so good. Even with tiny bites I still ate my fill. We had marinated skirt steak, bacon wrapped shrimp in a garlic cream sauce, sweet papas fritas, a fritatta dish that I ate most of since Jodi SHUNS the egg, and for dessert, French toast. It sounds like a lot but the dishes were small. Still, my large stomach says otherwise. Blergh.

Another day I found myself at Third St. Promenade, specifically, Santa Monica Place. Holy crap, is it the end of the world and no one told me? That place is a craphole. I understand that they are closing at the end of the month, but come on, CLOSE NOW. We are talking deserted stores, non-working escalators, trash everywhere, it's horrible. However...I did buy an amazing pair of shoes, and with gift cards - it cost me nothin'. 3" high, chocolate brown, satin stilettos. Simply stunning. I couldn't decide between the brown or black satin and the cashier asked me 'what color is your dress?', I explained to him that, uh, these were for...everyday wear. There is no dress. He cracked up and happily rang me up.

Other things I'd like to add to my agenda before this coach turns into a pumpkin - go to the Arclight, get a pedicure (so I can wear my shoes), and, well, eat some more. Usually I cook everyday, so to go out to eat, well, this is my chance to eat WELL. I tried to get a reservation at Mario Batali's Pizzeria Mozza, but the only time availiable - 11pm. That is just too late to be out and about. This girl's gotta get some shut eye.

Oh, great. You killed the invisible swordsman!

It's taken me a while, but I am finally getting the details of this party down. Since it is the last party of the year, (yes, I consider this an extension of the holiday season) I think I am relieved and reluctant to finish it off.

I changed the menu 4 times, each time making it EASIER on myself. That is a good thing. There will be many things on skewers, cause that's how pirates eat. (I'm reaching here.) However I decided yesterday that I am going to MAKE a fantastical cake. I usually buy the cake since King's has the best cakes - but seeing as how this is a Peter Pan party and no one seems to carry Peter Pan-ish things, I decided to just go for it. Let's hope this works out.

Luckily pirate things are on the...outs? I say that because I was wandering through Potterybarn Kids and lo and behold, pirate things were 90% off! You know I love the melamine, and these pirate ship plates were marked down to 99 cents. (They are still regular price online, which is weird.) So I bought some for the kids party favors. I tied 'em up with some strawberry pocky, cause they seemed...swordlike. Whatever.

I also found these CUUUTTE animal picks, again, only $1 for about 20. I don't know what I'll use them for, but I love them. Obviously there will be much stabbing going on at this party.

Note to self: Watch the Baby, as he will surely take someone's eye out, first thing.

So I return them to the sender, and the note attached will read, How I love to hate you

Things I love:
Tall, decaf, white chocolate, peppermint, mocha. Winter is over, but what they don't tell you is that this is NOT seasonal. So get it year 'round, bitches!

Things I hate:
Etsy. Any idiot can sell their idiot stuff. I have had an account for years and never sold anything. Then I realized...I didn't pay my bill. HAHAHA! So, now, bill paid. I still never sell anything on that thing, regardless. I'm just glad the etsy police didn't come after me and crochet me to death.

Things I love:
Crate&Barrel/Williams Sonoma/Sur La Table/Dean & Deluca catalogs. They are like porn. I can't get enough. I just want every kitchen item ever made. I need a kitchen with a house. Not a house with a kitchen.

Things I hate:
The fact that I am being forced to make a model at work. It's like I'm suddenly 20 years old again, dammit. Somehow they found out that my true skill is weilding an xacto knife. I should kept my ninja-esque knife skillz a secret.
(Extra Hate: It's a residential project. The last time I worked on residential was TWENTY YEARS AGO. Sick of it.)

Things I love:
Valentine's Day. I don't know why - it's gotta be the pink, OF COURSE! I have been sketching Valentine's Day cards all day. I don't think people even send them anymore but they make me happy. This one is fishies:Things I hate:
Coughing. It's back. >hack< Phooey.

Time to make the donuts

Thanks for all the ideas! Lisette read my mind actually, cause yes, I am making jello aquariums and pirate cupcakes. So there you go. We'll see what else I can put together.

The Kid is pretty emo. He gets it from his stupid mother who also cries at most everything. (That'd be me.) He cries when I drop him off at school EVERY DAMN DAY, like I'm never going to pick him up. Meanwhile the Baby is all 'see ya wouldn't wanna be ya.'

Sometimes it takes forever for me to get to work, I don't coddle him, but I do sit for a bit til he is sorta ok with the idea of me leaving. Today he wasn't having it and I cut a deal. I don't normally do that but I had to get to work, so I promised him that if he didn't cry, when he got home he could make...donuts. Oh to see his little face light up. I stood by the door and said goodbye and he just stared. His lip quivered but he DID NOT CRY. Ohhh how he wanted to, I saw it! But he didn't. That boy wanted him some donuts.

My dream came true and my friend bought me that Williams Sonoma donut maker for Christmas. It kinda works like a waffle maker and it is even more awesomer that you could ever imagine awesome being. They are just 1.5 inches round, and when you glaze them and put sprinkles - TO DIE FOR CUTE. Even better, the fact that they are baked, so there is no disgusting frying involved. They taste just the same though!
I made up a batch of vanilla glaze and chocolate glaze, and put out 4 of their favorite sprinkle toppings (we have 8 bottles of sprinkles up in here. Yikes.), and I let the kids go at it.

They had tons of fun, and man, were those mini donuts tasty. I HAVE to incorporate these into the pirate party somehow. And even better? There was no crying. THESE ARE MAGIC DONUTS, DAMMIT.

Er. We'll see what happens at school tomorrow. Yikes.

No one would surrender to the Dread Pirate Westley.

Random stuff.

My hairdresser always goes on about my hair. "You have the most perfect hair. Just PERFECT." I wish someone would say that about my fat ass, but oh well. Back when I was pregnant my hair had even more volume, was more shiny and more...as she said, perfect. Let's hear it for hormones, peeps. As of 5 hours ago, I have a cute Katie-Holmes-ish flirty bob. Sans the crazy.

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The Kid's bday party is coming up fast. I haven't done jack. I am too busy trying to get back into the groove after the Death Flu. It's a Peter Pan/pirates party theme, but...what do pirates eat? Please, spare me the pirate jokes.

---

It's been 2 weeks, and my MIL has completely potty trained the baby. Here's the kicker. We went out to dinner and he yelled, "I GOTTA POOP." Damn. I felt like saying, 'Just go in the diaper, already.'

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According to Nanners it's National Delurking (beg for comments) Week. So delurk, and let me know what you think I should cook for this party. For now I'm saying pirates like to eat sandwiches.

Pizza The Hutt: Tell him, Vinnie.Vinnie: Or else Pizza is gonna send out for YOU!

What does, "I saw this and it screamed JENN, to me," really mean? I kinda feel like I should be insulted. Even when it's something cool. Weird.

My kids love to cook, I assume it's from watching me in the kitchen and all. While most things are too difficult or dangerous for tiny hands, I try and come up with ways to allow them to help out when they can. We recently went out to dinner where they sold us a 'Make Your Own Pizza'. The kids loved it, and I got shisted out of $8 for some bread and cheese.

So I thought of a more economical way to have our own, make your own pizza night, at home. We always have an overabundance of tortillas - we're Mexican like that - and I thought it'd be quick and easy to use that as a thin crust pizza. There's no real recipe here, I just put the tortillas out for the boys, and supply an array of toppings, sauce and cheese. Mind you these kids hate sauce so it's just like a damn open face quesadilla up in here. Still, it's fun. And that's all that matters.


I'm telling you, tortillas are the best food ever. You can use 'em 100 different ways. And I do. Someone should do a '100 days of useful tortillas'. However, that someone is not me. Hmm. Tacos. Arm bandage. Plug a hole. Use it to remove a lightbulb. Etc.

Make your own pizza instructions, here.

We're back! Only this time we're seniors. And we're gonna' rule the school.

Today was the first day back to work after the Death Flu. It wasn't that bad except for my nagging cough. My co-workers looked at me like I had TB. I kept saying, "I'm fine." >hack< "No, really." >cough<

It was also the first day back to school. As expected the Kid had a tough time, and there was much crying. Meanwhile the Baby was moving on up to the East side, as it was his first day of the big boy class. The minute he sat down some other kid took his dinosaurs. I was ticked but the Baby was surprisingly zen about it all. This from the kid whose favorite word is PUNCH. He's all grown up. ~sniff~

While I love the rain, I'm glad it has subsided, now it's just freakin' cold. It was crazy down here and we were having constant power outages. Do you know what you can do when there is a power outage? Jack and shit. All my designs are on the computer. I can't bake without electricity. I can't read a book without light. It was AMISH 4 LIFE up in here. I'd churn my own butter but I couldn't see anything.

This sickness and rain has given me a serious case CABIN FEVER. I can't wait to go out on the town. I have big plans for this week, BIG ONES. If only I can get over this TB. >hack<

Really beautiful and really mean. Like Diana Ross.

I went to the movies twice in the past two days, which is quite a feat considering I go about once a year. What better way to spread my coughy germs around. UGH.

First, off, I saw I Am Legend. I LOVE Will Smith, and wanted to see this movie quite badly...but why? I did not know the premise, I knew nothing about it, except he's the dj I'm the rapper. Meaning, my love of Will Smith left me sitting in a movie...about zombies. Holy Christ, I hate scary movies, I mean, seriously, I can't handle them. Halfway through the movie I am starting to realize that this is no boating accident, there are some real motherf*ing zombies about to show up. I freaked. I kept looking longingly at the door, knowing that just next door Nicolas Cage could show me where the National Treasure was instead. While I Am Legend is not a horror movie by any stretch, and I'm sure it's not scary for a normal person, I just about peed my self and I think I may have had a small coronary from the stress of it all.

Aside from my zombie error, I went to see Juno. I thought it was fantastic, just great, clean writing. Excellent cast, great twists and turns, I thought it was just really well done. I hijacked O.G. from her inner sanctum and took her with me. O.G.'s a busy woman who's got no time for you, but she loves her some indie-esque films and makes it a point to see ALL NOMINATED FILMS before the awards ceremony. This year she's been a little slack in the viewing. She told me that one of her New Year's resolutions was to see more movies. The others, you ask? Gain weight (we should all have this problem) and lastly, spend 15 minutes in each room and clean out one drawer.

That last one seems extremely specific, but whatever. So I killed off two of her resolutions by taking her to see Juno and then to eat at In and Out afterwards, to fatten her up. While my stomach will surely be getting it's revenge on me later, at least I can sleep well knowing that I helped and Old Lady achieve her goals. Hopefully she's been cleaning out her sock drawer for the last 15 minutes, and we can call it three.

Tracy: LIKE it? I love this cornbread so much I wanna take it back behind the middle school and get it pregnant.

I have to show you what I found today. I've been saving a gift card for just the right time. Today was it. Le Creuset was on sale and I was all over it. This gorgeous green oval baking dish was marked down to $33. And with my gift card I paid a grand total of $8. I love it so much I want to curl up and take a nap in it. Gorgeous.

For New Years, while the meal was all Japanese - the dessert, not so much. I had lady fingers left over from when I made the Christmas Trifle, so I went and picked up some marscapone cheese. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do, I kind of developed this recipe on the fly. What came about was a delicious concoction similar to an ice cream bombe, sorta like a tiramisu, but without the alcohol. (I am not a fan of alcohol.) All the guests seem to love it and everyone asked for the recipe. So I had to...make one up.

It's really very tasty, especially for those who love coffee. The soaked ladyfingers, mixed with the sweet cheese and ice cream, well. It's heavenly. And the recipe couldn't be easier. Make it. Your friends will think you are some great pastry chef, when all in all it took about 15 minutes.

Frozen Tiramisu Terrine recipe, HERE.

Today I didn't even have to use my A.K.I got to say it was a good day.

I had another post for today but I will have to save it. For today is a glorious day. I left the house! Whee! While it does not feel good to still be coughy and off work, it does feel good to spend time with my kids and this empty city. The open freeways (even with rain) make me the happiest girl on earth.

I opened the door this morning and yelled, "WHO WANTS TO HAVE FUN TODAY?" Lucky they both said yes or I guess we'd go give blood or something. I took them to Juju's Cereal Bar for a mid morning snack. It's the cutest little shop, all the cereals you can imagine with all the TOPPINGS you can imagine. The menu is kind of overwhelming, I suppose I should have planned it out beforehand. Here are our orders:

The Baby: Cap'n Crunch&Trix+strawberries&mini marshmallows+whole milk
The Kid: Cap'n Crunch&Eggo Waffles+mini marshmallows&yogurt chips+whole milk
MIL: Honey bunches of Oats&Granola+strawberries&cranberries&almonds+lactaid
SIL: Cinnamon Toast Crunch&Eggo Waffles+chocolate malt balls&mini marshmallows&nilla wafers+chocolate milk
Jenn: Frosted Flakes&Puffins+sugar wafers&almonds+nonfat milk
As you can see the MIL wins for healthiest and the SIL wins for the most sugar. I couldn't decide what to get and the cashier said, "add some fruit" I said, "nah" and he laughed and told me to go with caramel as a topping to keep with the sugar theme. It was sweet, and a fun place to eat.

Other stops include Famima - they love those $1 Tomy bubble toys. There was only a minor meltdown when the Baby found that he didn't get a CHIPMUNK. He has a weird sudden fascination with chipmunks, I think it's the Disney movies. Then I dragged the kids to Surfas because I have a few tricks up my sleeve for - yes, the LAST party of the season - the Kid's Peter Pan/Pirate themed birthday. Once this is done I consider myself free of the party planning committee. Thank god.

Ice Cube was right. Today was a good day.

You're ugly and I know it for a fact cause I got the evidence RIGHT THERE.

Batten down the hatches. The storm of the century is coming to L.A. this weekend, and of course, I am in recovery and wanted to do all sorts of fun things with the kids. Phooey.

All this staying indoors has really tightened up my relationship...with my television. We've been strained lately, having moved from crappy cable (I would kick Time Warner in the balls if it had any) to Direct TV. Watching things in HD is thrilling, but it is very difficult for my small brain to comprehend all the different channels it has to offer. Instead I'll just stay on one channel for fear of never being able to find it again, thus my 5 hour marathon watching of Jon&Kate+8.

These people are horrible but I can't stop watching! The kid stuff is all too familar, minus 6 kids, of course. I would die if I had 8 kids, I really would. But I do feel for her and am glad she got that tummy tuck. I mean, having two kids in a row, my body looks like crap too. And they innundate you with those ads to get rid of your 'mom' body, and I'm starting to think, yeah, tuck me up too, baby.

Since there is no Office, the only other show I am watching is Project Runway. I love this season so far, and am glad to see some real sewing talent. The show is way too close to home, as every 'challenge' reminds me of design school. I am glad those days are behind me. I am also glad that spit lady is gone because spitting on clothes is nasty.

My old standby for comfort tv, is the Food Network. Watching it in HDTV is amazing. Everything is so crystal clear. I can see every crack in Paula Deen's face, it's awesome. I also watched her make fudge with cheese and butter and it made me want to vomit. Spectacular.

What's everyone else watching? Anything to recommend? Now's my chance to load up the dvr, otherwise it's all Yo Gabba Gabba and Wiggles from here on out...

Body blow

Here I am. Down for the count again. Something is wrong with my body where it rejects being healthy, totally. I think the worst of this flu is behind me, but the aches and pains still linger. I just want it all to end.

I recovered for one day to make the New Years food, and promptly passed out. I woke up 12 hours later, but I still feel EH. Here's a look at the table, click on the picture to see what's what.

Remarkably the kids did not get sick. I am obviously still not all mentally there as I insisted they get ready to go to school, brush their teeth, get dressed, only to check the calendar quickly and realize...they don't start school til Monday. Good lord. I need to lie down again.