Miss Precocious

A dialogue:

Me: (out of the blue) Anna, how do you spell cow?
Anna: C... O...
Me: (Oh my goodness! She's brilliant!)
Anna: P-Q-R-X-Z-A-P!!!!! That's how I spell it. How do YOU spell it?


(P.S. Don't you love how the title of this post could be both literal and ironic?)

Happy day to me!

Happy Ash Wednesday from me to you!


Click here to visit the wikipedia entry for my name. I found it informative, and it even included a reference to my namesake from The Fresh Prince. :D

Click here to read up on the real reason for this day.

I will not be celebrating in the traditional way. Will you?

Sweets

I've been trying to watch my sugar intake lately because I realize I am on my way to quickly becoming an addict. So, among other things, I've been limiting myself (or trying to, anyway) to having dessert once a week. (I don't think I can—or should—go cold turkey. I don't agree with total deprivation.) Anyway, I've made two little delights lately that were de-lish, and I wanted to share.

First, little Lemon Pudding Cakes.

These were fun because it's all one batter, but it separates when you bake it into a cake layer and a pudding layer. I've made them twice and used the raspberries the second time around and it gave it a nice little punch.

Click here for the recipe.

Next, I tackled some from-scratch Caramel Pecan Monkey Bread. (Don't you love the sound of this new eating plan I'm on?)

 Ingredients

• 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup water (110° to 115°)
• 1-1/4 cups warm 2% milk (110° to 115°)
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
  CARAMEL:
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  ASSEMBLY:
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, butter, sugar, eggs, salt and 3 cups flour. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a firm dough.
• Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
• For caramel, in a small saucepan, bring the brown sugar, butter and cream to a boil. Cook and stir for 3 minutes. Pour half into a greased 10-in. fluted tube pan; sprinkle with half of the pecans.
• Punch dough down; shape into 40 balls (about 1-1/4-in. diameter). In a shallow bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Place melted butter in another bowl. Dip balls in butter, then roll in sugar mixture.
• Place 20 balls in the tube pan; top with remaining caramel and pecans. Top with remaining balls. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.
• Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. (Cover loosely with foil if top browns too quickly.) Cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. Serve warm. Yield: 1 loaf (20 servings).

Next time around, here's what I would do. I would make split up the balls of dough and make two loaves in two bundt pans. Mine grew so tall that the top layer browned before the bottom ones were done, so I think making two shorter loaves would solve that problem. I'd also once-and-a-half the caramel recipe and save some to drizzle on top in order for every piece to reach the desired level of goo. (If I were to make just one big loaf, I wouldn't put the caramel on top because it would ooze out of the pan.) I would also use 1/2 t. cinnamon or not at all, as I prefer less with the caramel and pecan flavors going on.

And... now I'm really hungry.

Annacdotes, Part 7

1. Don't you love it how things get mixed up in kids' brains? This is how Anna refers to the things we know as wheelchairs. "Hey Mom, what was the name of that man we met in the wheelbarrow chair?"

2. Anna went to a friend's birthday party and later told me how they played the game Simon Says. She also told me, however, that the other kids played but she didn't. When I asked her why, she said, "Because I just wanted to dance around and stare eagerly at myself." I don't know where she gets these phrases.

3. I went in to check on Anna the other night before I went to bed. When I got in there, her breathing was a little different, as though she might be awake. I froze, waiting for more clues before I made a disturbance, so that if she was awake she might go back to sleep without a huge ordeal. But she finally broke the silence and whispered, "Hey Mom?" I said, "Yeah?" She said, "You're so pretty." And then she rolled over and went back to sleep.

4. Words and phrases she's been saying lately that make me smile: investigate (this has morphed into in-vegetable-gate a few times), able ("I'm not able to see"), resist, perhaps, actually, suddenly, and I'm sure many more.

5. Anna just couldn't keep her hands off some glass Christmas decorations we had. I heard her messing around with them on the tree and went in to talk with her (for the 18th time) about being really gentle with them, blah blah blah. I gave her a very mild reprimand and then left the room. She came after me and was a little pouty and said, "Mom, I wish you'd just tell me I did it right."

At first I felt like I had just been named Worst Mother of the Year, which is the award they give you when your 3-year-old can comprehend and express the fact that you're not giving them enough positive reinforcement, but then I laughed. How does her brain come up with this as a good response to getting in trouble for doing something naughty?

6. When we were sitting down for breakfast one morning, Anna announced that, in addition to what we were having, she would also like 29 cups of sugar and 29 cups of salt. (She really does love tastes of both, but I put my foot down at more than 50 cups of anything to eat for one meal.)

 

This picture is filed under "Pictures that will Possibly Mortify Anna," just in case I need some leverage when she's a teenager. But I'm posting it here because it's a cool jumping picture—and the face she's making makes me laugh out loud EVERY time I see it.

Here we go again...

...but-not-on-our own... Going down the only road we've ever known...(Whitesnake? Anyone? Okay, so that just popped into my head when I typed the title of this post, and I had to keep it going. {crickets})

So ANYWAY, remember when I said that Trevor and his team raised all of the money necessary to shoot their film next week? Well, that is now not the case.

They are working like crazy to get the last $700 by tomorrow. So if you were meaning to donate but never got around to it, here's your chance:

http://www.sandbagsfilm.com/donateform.php

And if you're now just deciding to do it, go right ahead. They can use every. little. bit.

Click here to visit the film's website.

As a token of our appreciation, here's the picture of Trevor that I love so much from the film's website:
Isn't it great? Doesn't it just look like he's saying, with a slightly British accent, "I'm a director."

Anyway, we'd like to give another HUGE thank you for those who already donated. Your generosity is amazing.

Art Market

Hey everyone! I have some good news. Trevor's cousin runs this fun art market in Salt Lake (in the Sugarhouse area) a few times a year and one is coming up this Friday. I'm going to be selling some of the felt growth charts and hair clips I have made at the art market, and I'm excited/nervous to see if I sell anything. I started making these growth charts last December to give as Christmas gifts, and I couldn't stop. Below are a couple pictures of the ones I made just so you know what I'm talking about. The ones I'm selling now look a little different than these, but it's the same idea.


Anyway, if you're interested in seeing them and/or what else is at the market, stop by on Friday. There are always really fun things there. Also, if you purchase something from the "Hearts for Haiti" booth, 100% of the sale will be donated to Haitian relief. So come check it out.

I think I will also rummage up some kind of blog or something to post the growth charts on as well, in case people are interested in buying them that way. But all in good time...

THANK YOU!

Trevor and I wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who donated. Through the generosity of so many good friends and family members, he and his team reached their goal and now have enough money to make his thesis film. We SO appreciate it and are touched by your kindness and friendship. We'll keep you posted on how it all goes.