this month

pop cultured, a photo by Digital Heather on Flickr.

This is the mailing list / newsletter for our customers this month. I came to work and was totally surprised. This totally makes my day!! I needed this. Thanks :)

Story of my life.

animal windows, a photo by Digital Heather on Flickr.

I first visited the museum of natural history back in 2004 when my husband and I were dating. I fell in love with it for so many reasons-- I love museums for one, but there are so many more reasons. I see this picture and feel two things. I want to go back to NY (for even more reasons) and I get the urge to watch Night at the Museum. I took this picture because seeing the multitude of windows simultaneously for the first time and every time stirs such a wonderful feeling inside me.

We're going back to New York for a wedding in October and I simply cannot wait. I love New York so much. I think I grew up wishing I could live there someday or was that just everyone else's dream in practically every movie? If you told me I'd be living in my hometown for 30 years, I would have corrected you. I had such big plans as a teenager and young adult. I was going to shake the dust from my kicks (and not just figuratively, I live in the desert) and move on to greener pastures (again, literally greener).

I'm not disappointed. And I'm not reliving my decisions and mistakes at 2:30 in the morning because my birthday is coming, I promise. I still tell myself that someday, I'll live in New York. And I will. I have said goodbye to so many people who have left to live life in a different place and sometime it will be my turn. My goodbye. My going away.

But anyway. Getting back to it. I love any excuse to buy a new dress or new shoes. I don't think I've worn a dress since my wedding and it's killing me. Okay, probably not. I'll also get to spend time with my mother-in-law which is nice.

I think another one of my recipes won, although I could be completely wrong. I noticed a--- we shall call it a glitch in the Matrix?-- and I think I found a correlation between a certain something and a recipe that wins. My finding doesn't make it win... it's just more of a "dog ear."

I'm only up to Day 12 - Classic Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

I'm not losing steam, just running out of train tracks? I have to finish this because I never finish anything. Story of my life. But also... my husband and I can only eat so much food. I wish I could donate perishable food. Maybe I can. Ideally, I could just invite my friends on Facebook to come over and eat a bunch of desserts and give me feedback. Sounds easy enough but people rarely take us up on the offer-- even when there aren't any ulterior motives or conditions. I have come to the conclusion that my husband and I are boring hosts. That's what I really wanted to say all along.

Goodnight.

nine days and 19 recipes left

pink popcorn, a photo by Digital Heather on Flickr.

I had some kind of stomach bug the other day and it completely threw off my rhythm. I have nine days and 19 recipes left. I can do this.

Oh, I didn't even tell you. One of my recipes won! I'm happy of course, but since winning wasn't the goal, I'm still pushing til the end of the month. If a second recipe won, I'd be on cloud nine. I don't think I've ever used that expression. What does that say about me / the situation. Hmm.

Called my dad on Father's day. He was hoping I was calling with baby news, but nope, not yet. He then proceeded to tell me the ins and outs of the time one of our horses was struggling to get pregnant. True dad fashion.

Food break down.

Day 08 - Old Fashioned Coffee Cake with Chocolate Icing
Day 09 - No-Bake Double Berry Cake Squares
Day 10 - Pink Strawberry Popcorn Balls
Day 11 - Heavenly Carrot Soufflé

More another time.

some serious mileage

making popsicles!, a photo by Digital Heather on Flickr.

I think I forgot I was taking a picture of the popsicle. If I didn't know any better, I'd say I'm a conceited camera hog or whore-- who knows.

The ants in my kitchen are back. I can't blame them. My kitchen has been smelling delicious lately. I'm putting some serious mileage on my kitchenware. I want a standalone mixer and I need a food processor. Notice I specified between the want and need. I also want a blender I saw the other day just because it's turquoise. I already have one. But you know me. Or do you?

Day 1 - Ciabatta Bread Pudding
Day 2 - French Lace Cookie Cups with Fresh Fruit
Day 3 - Cherry Craisin Oat Bars
Day 4 - Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding Cake
Day 5 - Peach Moo Milkshake
Day 6 - Chocolate Buttermilk Bread
Day 7 - Simple Potato Scones

Technically, I'm only two days behind.

normal or boring

ackbar in my pocket, a photo by Digital Heather on Flickr.

What do people do at two in the morning? Well technically, I wonder what they do from about 1am-4am. I personally don't think I could get any more normal or boring, but then again, I haven't tried. I sleep. If I can't sleep, I'm watching tv, reading reddit, online. Nothing special. Right now. Writing this. In the background, I have photos uploading so I can finish a recipe article (day 6, four down, gotta catch up). In another window, I have Gwen Mars playing and I'm certain I'm the only person who likes them and owns their cds. It reminds me of being a teenager (16 in 1999), and doing exactly the same thing, I guess. Trying to type quietly so my parents wouldn't yell at me for being on the computer so late although these days it's more like trying to type quietly because my husband and dog are light sleepers. I'm a loud type-r. Typist. I type loudly.

I had no intention of saying any of this but I got an update that someone favorited a photo on my flickr. Not this one. Of me. Of all of me. It's nothing special but I wonder why someone would like it and favorite it at this hour. I'm so naive. (I had "naive" spelled incorrectly and didn't know until google chrome told me. I lost a regional spelling bee because I couldn't spell it when I was 13. And I still can't.) When I looked at their profile I couldn't see them but saw all of their other favorites. I think you get it. Am I flattered or disgusted? I dunno. I guess it's perfectly normal and I guess the wallflower in me wants to tuck it away as a compliment. In a book of compliments which I don't have but if I did it would be fairly empty. Oh sure. I get complimented. On how patient I am. Yep. Not really worth bragging or blogging about but here we are.

I need a housekeeper and a secretary

june 3rd fortune, a photo by Digital Heather on Flickr.

In the next month, huh? I can handle that. Whatever it might be. Pleasant is good. I wonder though... are fortune cookies and their subsequent fortunes influenced by where they come from? I mean... is a good fortune from Panda Express only moderately "okay" in comparison to a good fortune from somewhere better... like China Garden? I wonder. Am I short changing my good fortune and future every time I eat inferior crab rangoons to save a buck?

I somehow got into the superstitious habit of not eating a fortune cookie with a fortune I didn't care for. If it was something I really wanted to happen, I sealed the deal by eating the cookie. Sure, I bet a lot of people buy stock into whatever you would call this, but I actually don't care for eating fortune cookies. I usually force myself to eat it in the name of good fortune. Or, if I'm home, I make my dog do it. Whether she intercepts that good fortune is still a gray area.

But I've still got a month, so okay. In the meantime, this baking/cooking challenge is going okay.

It's day 5. I have done 5 recipes to completion but have only posted three.

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3

I started out a day behind and one of my dishes turned out pretty badly (I'm not trying a second time), so now I'm two behind. I'm not worried. I got this. I made two entirely different bread puddings this week. Did I mention I ate one almost by myself? Ugh. Okay well the dog helped me finish it but Jason didn't because my husband doesn't like bread pudding. Or so he thought. He didn't care for one but I made a different one and he ate half of it today. Recipe challenge or not, I consider that a gold medal. He's such a picky eater. I eat most foods and love to cook. This is God's sense of humor. I'm glad He gets a kick out of it.

By the time I have finished a dish, I've got a sink full of dishes and still have to actually blog my food, recipe, process, etc. It's tiring. All I want to do at that moment is eat whatever I made and slip into a coma from the delicious cooking fumes, wake up, eat more, rinse repeat. I need a housekeeper and a secretary. Inquire within.

And yeah, I've got to stop angry blogging about dirty dishes. Heather Housewife over here. That's my Old-Maid-playing-card persona. I'd look all frazzled with a mountain of dirty dishes in the background with the appropriate "stink-lines and -waves" for effect. I've got it easy. There are far worse occupations that also begin with the letter H. I'll leave you with that.

time for everything but the dishes

Baby Heather, a photo by Digital Heather on Flickr.

This is me making cookies when I was maybe 5 or 6. I don't understand the strange pose, but it's neat because I'm beginning a personal baking challenge that I'll come back to in a second.

This personal blog is over a year old already. That really blows my mind. I'll keep my cliches and idioms about "time" to myself.

This time last year, I was in the hospital and on the verge of losing my job/career to a dumb disease I never asked for. I feel like I toot my own horn to the beat of my sob story a lot. Do I? Well it's a personal blog for a reason, eh? Anyway. My point is I'm thankful. I say that a lot. But it's true. I have a lot to be thankful for. I'm thanking God every day. I used to hate working Sundays but I thanked God for my new job, working in a place I love and for people I adore. I have no qualms with working on the Sabbath. I spent a year in bed-- my Sundays are for living. Deal with it.

I've been busy, well busy for me at least. My 30 hubs in 30 days challenge for May was a disaster. I think I produced the least amount of material than any other month. I'm trying it again and to make it easier and more advantageous, I'm modeling it after a contest that's also going on. So for 30 days, I'm making a dessert every day. This was an awesome and terrible idea. Baking/cooking and then blogging about it can take a good chunk of my afternoon. Plus I'm still writing for work, working a few days a week and also spending time with my husband when we're both home.

There's time for everything but the dishes. I want a dishwasher so badly but it just has to wait, unfortunately. Anyway. I've made it three days with the dessert/writing challenge and so far so good. My only concern is gaining even more weight. I'm trying to lose weight (although when I say lose I mean through wishful thinking and not anything that I'm actively doing) and I ate the majority of the bread pudding I made the other day. Oh and well my other plan was to just hurry up and get pregnant and then when no one is looking just blame my weight gain on that. Blah.

I can't believe I get paid to prattle on...

My ciabatta bread pudding recipe/article

My latest popculture-work-blog about the history of the rerun.