Mayor of Randomtown

I think it's time for another blog post. Do you ever go to a favorite blog and think, "Aw, man, she hasn't posted anything new yet?" I do that sometimes with this blog, and then I remember--you know--that it's mine. You know what's coming next. Bullets!

• Was your Christmas exhausting? Our was one big ball of presents and cooking. With ham. And carrots. And pie. And rolls. Mmmmm…..Wait. Where was I?
  

• Thank you again for all your maternity picture suggestions. They completely came in handy. The husband even teased me that he thought I'd make his wife strip down--and I totally thought of you guys!

Yeah, she's pregnant. And teeny-tiny. I might have to kill her.

• I got to photograph a little lady who played baby Aaron on LOST. Did you know they have more than one baby playing Aaron on LOST? Next thing you'll tell me is that Sawyer isn't a real person. Why would you hurt me like that?

• Isn't this little girl so cute too? I could have eaten her legs for lunch. See, now I'm thinking about Christmas food again. This has to stop.

• So now it's New Years resolution time. What are yours? Do you ever stick to them until the end of the year? Give me pointers, people.

• Hee, hee. People--this is just a ROBE. Say it with me. R.O.B.E. Also, you kind of look like a cult member.

Okay, that's it for now. Harmony... out.

Lemon Custard Cake

Subtitled: Brandi Don't Read This.

Made this cake for Christmas. It was such a nice, light dessert! And hello? Any recipe that calls for instant lemon pudding is okay with me.

Lemon Custard Cake

8 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons ice water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

Combine all above ingredients in a large bowl. With an electric mixer on the whisk attachment, start beating the egg yolk mixture on low speed. Gradually continue whisking while increasing the speed slowly. Beat until very thick.

Sift in:
1 1/4 cup sifted cake flour

In a separate large bowl, combine the following ingredients:
8 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt

With an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, start beating the egg white mixture on low speed. Gradually continue whisking while increasing the speed slowly.

Slowly add:
1 cup sugar

Beat until the mixture resembles stiff glossy peaks. Gently fold the egg white mixture into the flour/egg yolk mixture. Be gentle with the batter (do not overmix!) Pour the batter into an ungreased angel food pan. With a knife, carefully cut into the batter to remove air pockets (I even give it a few sharp raps on a folded towel on the counter to release any big air pockets)

Bake at 325 degrees for 60 minutes.

Remove cake from oven and invert immediately. Let cool for at least 2 hours while inverted. Once completely cool, remove the cake by gently cutting around the sides of the pan. Cut into 3 equal layers (I just did two, because I was a little stressed out) Spread with chilled lemon custard filling (recipe below) in between each layer. Dust with sifted powdered sugar before serving (which I didn't do--see stress excuse) Garnish with fresh raspberries and serve immediately.

Custard Filling
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
1 small box (3.4 ounce) instant lemon pudding mix
1 cup cold milk

Combine pudding mix with the cold milk. Follow box instructions for instant pudding. Let sit 5 minutes. Meanwhile, beat whipping cream until thick cream. Gently fold into pudding and chill.

Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

Hope your day was magic.

Paper Ornaments

The kids and I made these paper ornaments today. I wish I would have done them earlier, but it was a perfect kids craft project. Colin was allowed to use the stapler, which is usually forbidden. I was allowed to use my paper cutter, which I might declare to be my third child.

Tutorial found here.

Four-eyes

Look how I found him napping today. I'm still laughing.

Do you have this game? My kids love it. Duh.

Totally biased....

...but I think his hair looks awesome.

Colin, you are my blond surfer boy.

Flock of Seagulls, anyone?

Flashback right here.

And the winner is....

Woohoo, it's Brandi! I might have totally saw that one coming--hello Brandi comments! Send me a comment with your email address (I promise I won't publish it)and I'll get your address.

Thank you for all the picture links. My maternity shoot is next Saturday--I'll show you the results (unless they end up being naked results--then you probably won't see those) (well, I'll just send them to Jen and Monique. They love the naked!)

Side note: How awesome is my painting on the Random.org picture? Would you believe that was my fourth attempt? Arrows are hard, people!

December?

December? Nah, it still seems to be Halloween at our house.

Batman forever, baby!

2 Questions

Question #1: If you are stress eating, is it better to do it next to a small-ish, very cute girl? Does that burn additional calories?

Question #2: Do Kate's eyelashes, curls and flawless skin come in adult sizes?