LOL! Your post reminds me of the time I went to a Sicilian restaurant in London with my ex. Someone ordered a dish with the little cooked octopi (I prefer that term too) and they looked so cute, like little plastic bath toys. Well Dylan (my ex) was a little freaked out by them. He got up at some point to use the restroom and my friend Tavis and I hid one in his napkin. When he came out of the bathroom we told him he had something on his face and when he used the napkin the little octopus flew out at him and he screamed like a little girl! Oh, it was hilarious. Dylan was okay with that, he always did stuff like that to me so it was all in good fun. I bought a little toe ring after I arrived state-side that had an octopus on it... just to remind me of how funny that was. I'd try it, but I'm allergic to seafood. Anything that lives in the water makes me violently ill. :(

Oh no!!! Oh Jayne, I'm so sorry that your Shepherd's Pie didn't go so well. I make three different recipes for Shepherd's Pie - one is with ground beef and spicier peppers, the next is lighter and milder - with ground turkey and the last is vegan (it's called Vegherd's Pie). I made the turkey one the other day and everyone loved it! I love this dish - mostly because it can last Garry and I a few days and I can make it when company comes over and there's (usually) enough. That, and it was the first meal I made for Garry when we started dating about 2 years ago. I'm trying to think of the turkey one off the top of my head - I used a pound of ground turkey, a red pepper, a vidalia onion, 3 ribs of celery, 3 or 4 carrots... I can't remember how much stock was in it... I think 2 cups? (It probably only needs 1.5 C or 1 C to be honest - it was really soupy when I made it) Oh! and a small 8oz container of sour cream! I add worcestershire sauce in it (to taste) and that makes it really yummy! I think there was some garlic, thyme, salt and pepper too. Mashed potatoes I made like normal. So... yeah. I can't remember anything else... my cookbook is at home with the recipe in it. I'm sure next time it will be so awesome and delicious that everyone will forget about this faux pas. (I can never cook when I feel like crap either - that's how I end up burning the garlic in the frying pan)

I listen to music that isn't holiday related. I try to watch more movies or at least fast forward through commercials. Working out helps. I'm usually so tired aftwards I fall right asleep. I don't go out more than I have to. Apparently my car has a sign taped on the bumper that says "HIT ME!" especially during the holiday season. Especially on the off-ramp to the parkway right by the college. Especially when I am already in a bad mood from my co-workers chastizing me for not knowing what the new "It" thing is this year. Watching the cats play "Jaws" with the cardboard boxes. Making (by hand) a fabulous present for someone I love dearly and knowing that the greatest gift I can recieve (or want) is the look on his/her face when he/she sees it. Reminding myself that giving from the heart is better than giving from the wallet, and reminding myself that the people closest to me also believe this.

I imagine the first cake I ever made was probably yellow cake and from a box with chocolate frosting from a can. (Ew!) I can say the BEST homemade cake I've ever made (and according to my family the best they've ever had) is Oreo cookie cheesecake with dark chocolate raspberry cheesecake coming in close second. All my cheesecakes are made in a springform pan and are baked. Thankfully they don't need much in the way of decorating, but sometimes I'll do a chocolate drizzle over the top of the Oreo cookie cake and a raspberry syrup over the top of the raspberry chocolate. Depending on how creative I feel sometimes I'll add a little center decoration with either oreos or raspberries and crumbled dark chocolate or almonds.

This might sound a little weird, but I could just give you a big hug. When I started the gluten-free craziness the only thing I wanted in the entire world was a big hug (okay, and a piece of toast) but the hugs always helped. You can do it. You have to tell yourself that you're not "giving up" or "depriving yourself" of the things. The key is to start exploring other foods that don't contain white sugars or flours. Plain white popcorn is good with some spices (not salt) added to it (no butter or olive oil though...) or hot sauce. I know it sounds kind of gross, but if you like spicy food it's good and some hot sauces are either very low in calories or don't have any calories at all (but watch the sodium). I just *really* started my training for football season coming up in the spring - I realized I've gained about 10-15 lbs since the end of last season in June... I'm not thrilled. So I'm joining all of you with the dieting and exercise. I have a trip to Florida planned in April to visit my family... so I'm hoping to at least look good in the bathing suit I have.

That was a lovely photo essay and finally! A picture of you! :) It's bizzare with Amy's and having dreams about you - (I'm backtracking a bit and catching up on blog posts) because a while back I had a dream about you and your family and my name happens to be Amy as well. I happened to be nearby for a football game and you mentioned something about going to a festival in the same town. I made mention that Garry and I would be there and we could meet up and have lunch or something. Funny though, in my dream you definitely were the same person in your picture. Anyway, it was a fun festival day. Julia and Alex wanted nothing more than to eat a huge disc of fried dough and they had little wooden swords and Garry pretended to be a dragon and they chased him around everywhere pretending to be knights - and Julia had big fairy wings on. Maybe there's a Fairy Festival or a Renaissance Faire near you? We have a Fairy Festival in Binghamton - it is a LOT of fun.

That sounds awesome! I'll have to bring that up to my group!

We're in the works of planning our Yule ritual this year. Some years I'm on the planning committee, sometimes not. We gather at our local Universal Unitartian church and have a lovely ritual usually filled with music (people bring hand drums, guitars, flutes and the like) singing and - of course - LOTS of food. Everyone brings a dish of some sort to set on a main table and we eat and eat and eat. Another friend of mine hosts a "Longest Night" party the evening of the Winter Solstice. We (again) bring lots and lots of food and eat and eat and eat... and then eat some more. We stay up all night to welcome the sun and longer days returning. For now I have a very tiny apartment so I will probably not host. However, I like to help with the planning of these events and always bring something tasty to eat!

YUM! That looks very tasty...

LOL It looks like the meeting we had yesterday at my office!

Awwww... Looks like you got a little George Harrison on your hands. :)

Wow... that food looks soooo tasty... *drool* I love your paper castings too! They are adorable! I might make some for my tree and decorate them to go with the gilded Victorian theme I have going.

If you get a chance you can check out women playing semi-pro full contact (American) football. The league I play in is called the WFA (Women's Football Alliance) and they have teams all over the country. Granted it's not as glam as roller derby, but it's still pretty cool to watch. The best part about it is seeing women from all different backgrounds come together to play as a team. Some people have parents that aren't terribly excited about their participation but they do it anyway because it brings them something that no other sport or hobby can. Then there's others (like me) whose parents are thrilled to death that their daughter is a lineman. :) Hope you start feeling better soon.

Very cute! So now you've officially inspired me. Garry and I bought a fabulous camera on Friday and all weekend I took pictures of food and posted them on my new blog. www.apartmentkitchen.wordpress.com Nothing terribly exciting yet and I'm definitely not anywhere near the photographer that you are. But, I have to start somewhere right? Thank you Jayne. :)

LOL!!!! That was Garry and I about two weeks ago. They didn't show the beginning where when they get the first symptoms and you tell them to take it easy (ie not going out with your buddies, get to bed at a decent time) they totally ignore you, stay out until 3am with the guys and then wonder why the next day they feel so terrible and then YOU get sick too!

Wow, those cookies are so adorable. I just love the pictures and stories you post about your family. It makes me feel like home. My family lives out of town so it's just me, the boyfriend and our two cats. We have lots of friends, but don't get to entertain much since we live in a tiny apartment with a kitchen that has (I kid you not) only a 2x2 workable counterspace which is mostly taken up by my microwave. We're going to go look at a house today. It's just on a whim (something my mom found online and sent me the link) but it's a little scary. Your post today helped get rid of some of my jitters. I can't wait to read about your cookie making marathon! I don't think I'll make *quite* as many as you, but if I come across some good recipes I'll let you know!

I think more like it didn't rise properly. When it came out of the oven it tasted fine (and like normal bread which made me rather excited) but when I went to cut it, the loaf didn't hold it's shape too well and shrank after cooling off. Bummer. Here's the recipe. 1 C sorghum flour 1 C potato starch 1/2 C millet flour 2 tsp xanthan gum 1 1/4 tsp fine sea salt 1 tbs instant dry yeast - or rapid yeast sesame seeds (to top bread, optional) 1 1/4 - 1 1/3 C warm water (110 - 115 degrees F) 4 tbs EVOO 2 tbs honey (or raw agave nectar) 1/2 tsp mild rice or white wine cider vinegar (or lemon juice) Ener-G Egg Replacer for 1 egg whisked with warm water This is the site I found the recipe on: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2009/02/delicious-gluten-free-bread.html I followed the non-bread machine directions. Thanks a bunch! With Thanksgiving coming up I'd like to make it for my family.

This may sound like a very silly and basic question, but I tried making my first loaf of bread the other night and failed miserably. The yeast didn't "proof" properly I think. I'm on a gluten free diet so I have to make my own bread (or buy icky rice bread) and I found a great recipe that includes sorghum flour, potato starch and millet flour. It tasted okay, it was just mushy in the middle. I used dry active yeast... how do I proof it correctly so I can get a proper loaf of bread? I've been a month without bread... your help would be greatly appreciated!! PS, I'm baking it in the oven and not a bread machine.

What's really fun is when you tell your doctor that you don't want to continue being a whore to the pharmaceutical companies and that you want some real answers. I've been on the pill for 10 years now and my doctors think I have endometriosis (I won't have a definitive diagnosis until I have a laproscopic surgery). To "treat" it they wanted to regulate my cycle so I only had 1 or 2 periods a year. I was on Seasonique at the time and I was a puffy, emotional train-wreck. I explained these symptoms to my doctor and she said to see my family doctor "so he can give me something for it" so I could take the increased hormone medication she wanted to prescribe me. So, I've been off all birth control for a month now and I'm trying a special diet for people who have endometriosis. It's a nice, natural (and healthy) way to treat the symptoms. I feel a lot better - partially because I took control of the situation. Whatever you choose to do, I wish you the best of luck. I have no doubt you'll tell your doctor (exactly) how you feel about what's going on and make a good decision. :)

If you're not having trouble swallowing (I had strep throat with mono when I was in high school so I couldn't eat anything other than Slim Fast for 2 weeks) eat some homemade soup. The best kind is with at least 5 different veggies (I make mine with 7), some chicken (or veggie) stock, garlic and rice. Use whatever spices you have handy (usually a little salt, black pepper, parsley or basil, and a bay leaf is what I use). It'll help get a lot of nutrients and vitamins in your body all at once without having to eat a huge meal. If you like beans add those too (instead of meat) for protein. Small white beans or butter beans tend to work best. I hope you feel well soon. It's a terrible virus, but after about two weeks (of the full-blown, sleeping for 20 hours a day part) it gets more managable. I had a whale watch trip scheduled when I had it and desperately wanted to go, but I went with my gut and stayed home. The more rest you get the better off your body is. Even with kitties treading across your abdomen. :)

You could try women's semi-pro football. It's full contact, but the games tend to last about 3 hours total (and there's only 10 weeks in the season from April to June). It's fun, I play for the Binghamton, NY team - but there's a team in Montclaire area in NJ. You'd have to go to the games since they're not televised unfortunately. If you're looking for something not sports related you could try Dancing with the Stars, and then have him take dancing lessons with you. (I do yell at the tv during that show like it's a sport though... "that's not a ball change!... What kind of passo is that?..." etc.)

I remember reading a very similar entry in your blog LAST Steptember :) The cookies will get done and it will be good. Can't wait to see the lovely pictures!

It looks like the Hungry Hungry Caterpillar!

Lol! Yeah, I could see them putting their figurines in a newly designed backdrop. Which reminds me, tonight is Star Wars character night at our local baseball stadium here in Binghamton. Should be loads of fun!

Design software?! What's the name of the company? (I'm always looking for different kinds of software to play with)