Life Archives - Page 15 of 34 - Trinkets of Thought

My Version of “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie”

July 15, 2010 by Maren 6 Comments

If you give a child a phone, he’ll smile for your pictures.

If he smiles for the pictures,you’ll have a happy momma.

The momma will be happy and the baby happy, unless you take it away… So you’ll let him play with it for a little longer.

When he looks at all the buttons, he’ll push them and call someone from your contact list.

When he calls someone from your contact list, you’ll stumble through an explanation that you didn’t mean to call them—your son did the dialing.

And when you try to explain, they’ll think you’re an idiot. Which will only confirm reality.

When you hang up the phone, your child will look longingly for the device you now hold in your hand.

And chances are if you give the child the phone again, he will smile for your pictures.

The MINI Cooper Minivan

June 29, 2010 by Maren 9 Comments

Main Entry: fud·dy–dud·dy

Pronunciation: \ˈfə-dē-ˌdə-dē\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural fud·dy–dud·dies

Etymology: origin unknown

Date: circa 1904

: one that is old-fashioned, unimaginative, or conservative

I am a fuddy–duddy.

In high school, cool teenagers place all mothers in a stereotypical mold. To a teenager, a mother has too many strict rules; crosses her brow too often; never lets you have any fun; and drives a minivan.

As a college student, our perception of mom changes. The child becomes grateful for the mother’s sacrifices; better understands why her brow was crossed often; yet she still drives a minivan. In college, you also swear you’ll never be THAT mom (you know: ‘the minivan one…’).

Yesterday, I became THAT mom. Kicking and screaming, I entered into the world of AMVOOA (Anonymous Mini-Van Owners of America.) Yet, somehow, I don’t think I’ll be able to anonymously drive something down the road that (in my mind) is about as honkin’ as a semi.

It’s funny how our perception and reality adjusts as we get older. ***Spoiler Alert: This is my “I-acknowledge-that-I’m-a-terrible-person admission of the day.***Prior to having Pierson, I saw dirty kids in the grocery store and swore I’d never be THAT mom. My kids would ALWAYS be clean and well groomed. HA! It doesn’t matter how often I change Pierson’s clothes (sometimes several times a day), he still looks like I dragged him through the dirt cycle of a washing machine, if there was such a cycle. My new standard: He’s clean if there’s about a dime-size spotless area on his outfit.

After all, Newton’s First Law aptly applies to my child. I think it goes something like this: Every (messy) object in a state of uniform motion stays in motion until it lands on Pierson’s shirt.

I’ve given up caring.

Our reality definitely shifts–I know mine has. I’ve become more understanding of mom’s with scraggly-lookin’ kids, and have given up my judgemental ways. So, the next time you see a messy kid in Kroger, smile. I promise the kid has been bathed recently. And the next time you see a lady driving a minivan, don’t judge. If she’s anything like me, she’s probably imagining she’s driving a Mini Cooper and is still cool. So, you should too.

Mumday Monday

June 21, 2010 by Maren 1 Comment

Family

Pavlova, I love thee. (A.k.a. My favorite Dessert)

June 4, 2010 by Maren 4 Comments

I recently have had a love affair with my favorite dessert. You know how it goes: You make it once for someone. Then you think about it for a week. So you make it again. And if that’s not enough, you think about it non-stop for the following week, and make it again. This is the story of my life the past couple of months in the dessert world.

It’s a dessert called Pavlova (a meringue-based dessert) and it’s a sliver of heaven on a plate. Every bite makes you say “MMMMMMMMMMMMMM.” It’s that good. I wish I could say that it is hard to make and I’m a great cook, but again, I’m one for EASY.

The recipe mostly comes from here, with a couple of tweaks.

Here’s what you need:

* 4 egg whites
* 1 1/4 cups white sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 teaspoon lemon juice
* 2 teaspoons cornstarch
* 1 pint heavy whipping cream
* 3 Tablespoons Sugar or Confectioner’s Sugar
*1/2 tspn grated lemon zest
* 1 tsp vanilla
* fruit- I prefer berries…blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries (cut up)

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Draw a 9 inch circle on the parchment paper. If you have a silpat sheet, it works great and you can skip the parchment paper doodling, as I did.

2. In a large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry.

I’m no ‘stiff but not dry’ expert, but mine looked like this when I was done.

3. In a blender, pulse the sugar for a few seconds to make it finer than regular sugar, but not as powdery as confectioner’s sugar.

4. Gradually add in the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until thick and glossy (It starts to look like marshmallow fluff). Don’t overbeat, though. Overbeaten egg whites lose volume and deflate when folded into other ingredients.

5. Gently fold in vanilla extract, lemon juice and cornstarch.

6. Spoon mixture inside the circle drawn on the parchment paper or onto your silpat sheet. Working from the center, spread mixture toward the outside edge, building edge slightly. This should leave a slight depression in the center. Pardon my rendition. I choose the ‘doesn’t-matter-if-it’s-not-perfect,-you’ll-be-eating-it’ approach.

7. Bake for 1ish hour. Don’t forget to put a little in a ramekin for yourself so you can ‘taste test’ it. THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT STEP. WINK WINK.

(I turn my oven off about 45-50 minutes into the process and just leave it in the oven to cool completely. I’ve had success using this method. You can also just cool on a wire rack. You can make this the day before, but do not refrigerate it. Store it in an airtight container.)

8. If you used the parchment paper, remove the paper, and place meringue on a flat serving plate. RIGHT BEFORE SERVING and not a moment before, Make your whipped cream. (Directions: In a chilled small mixing bowl and with chilled beaters, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add confectioners’ sugar and vanilla and lemon zest; beat until soft peaks form.)

I actually cut the meringue in pieces, then top each individual piece with whipped topping and fruit. That way, the meringue doesn’t get soggy and you can have left overs. But if you want to impress and there will be several people eating it, you can fill the entire center of the meringue with the whipped cream. Then top with fruit. Voila!

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