Favorite Christmas Memory

I have lots of Christmas memories and I hold each one dear in my heart. My family is my blessing and for them I am grateful. This year I have chosen to hold onto and remember forever - me and The Graminator singing loudly (and most decidedly off key) "Meet Me in St. Louis" on Christmas Eve.
I don't know how such a silly little thing can mean so much. Bless you Judy Garland.

Cards and Greetings

Today I go the first my first Christmas card of the season. Or should I say holiday card? Because while I'm not particularly religious (and had parents of varying faiths) I generally adapt to the tradition of a secular Christmas. (But to my Jewish friends and Loyal Readers, Happy Hanukkah!) In past years I have bought cards that had the message "Happy Holidays" or "Season's Greetings" not to be 'politically correct', but out of respect for my friends and their various multitude of religious, spiritual and secular beliefs. Plus it's cheaper than buying Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice and all other kinds of cards. So I can completely understand why the first card I received had "Season's Greetings" on it. Non-denominational means that all of your recipients can place their own meaning on the season and you respect everyone, equally. But it seems that while I took the card in the manner in which I'm pretty sure it was intended, a lot of people are mad about this same card.

Oh, did I mention that the card was from the President and Mrs. Obama? From the White House? Yeah. It's nice and I like it, but I'm pretty sure the Obama's didn't say, "Oh, yeah, don't forget Shae!". I think that I got it because as a Democrat and a caucus volunteer last year I made someone's list and that got me on the White House list. I'm flattered because, no offense intended, I never got one from the Clinton White House (and I voted for that dude twice!)

It's a lovely card, much nicer that any I have bought to send out. I usually get my cards at the Dollar store or on sale for 75% off after Christmas. Heck the last two years, I haven't even sent out cards, I've sent our economical and eco-friendly emails. This one is nice and thick and classy looking so I'm betting the Obama's didn't get them at "99 Cents Only". But I guess a lot of people are mad that the card didn't specifically say "Merry Christmas". Um, okay, but then the White House would have to send all it's Jewish supporters a Hanukkah card. And what if they send the wrong card out? I mean, not all people with 'Jewish sounding' last names are Jews and not all Christian sounding names are Christians. Think of the mess that could lead to. So I think the formal and lovely "Season's Greetings" card is both lovely and appropriate. But Fox News doesn't. So I hope the White House didn't send them one.

I do have one dilemma about this card. Does this mean I have to send the Obama's a holiday card now?

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The First Snacksgiving

So yesterday my family celebrated it's first Snacksgiving. Because it was just going to be the Golden Girls for the holiday, I didn't want to do the whole turkey thing. So instead of making one giant meal to consume (and have tons of leftovers) we decided to eat all day long.

First, wardrobe. I had a new pair of lounging pants that were all fleecey and cozy. (They also shed all over the house, but they were cute and comfortable while they did it.) I baked yeast cinnamon rolls and we settled in to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and read the Black Friday ads from the paper. This was the first year in a long, long time, that I actually sat down to watch the parade. I'm usually stuffing the turkey or, when The Graminator was living at her house, driving to her place to put the turkey in her oven. So it was nice to watch the NBC smug-a-thon and do running commentary. I particularly enjoyed John Stamos' performance from "Bye, Bye Birdie".

After the parade is the National Dog Show, which we love. John O'Hurley isn't quite as funny a commentator as the one in the movie "Best in Show" but he's still better than the Westminster guy. We were rooting for the Scottie, and she won. During the dog show we enjoyed the 'cheese and cracker' course of Snacksgiving. I made our Thanksgiving staple, which is homemade cranberry sauce over cream cheese served with Ritz crackers (I know it sounds weird but it's actually really good, and so addicting. Plus the cranberry sauce I made this year turned out extra good.) I also made spinach artichoke dip which we ate with flatbread crackers. Yum.

It was two o'clock when the dog show ended and The Graminator wanted a nap. Mom and I decided that a nap sounded good to us too, so we each headed off to our rooms for a little snooze as well. Our nap was interrupted by my bother calling to say that they made it to Modesto okay. Even with the interruption, we agreed that it was a lovely nap, so very indulgent and decadent.

After the nap, we cleaned up the kitchen and I started making the 'hot snacks' portion of the day. I made tenderloin of beef crostini with blue cheese and caramelized onions. (In the interest of full disclosure, while technically we didn't have a holiday 'meal', on Wednesday I did make an herb crusted beef tenderloin, twice baked potatoes and haricot vert. I used the leftovers from that for the crostini. I did all of the prep cooking on Wednesday so that Snacksgiving would be as easy as possible.) I also made some crab cakes and supplemented with mushroom turnovers and mini cheese souffles from Trader Joes. Oh, and deviled eggs, you can't have Snacksgiving without deviled eggs. We consumed that while watching the movie "Almost Famous" which is my favorite Cameron Crowe film and I thought my mom would enjoy the period piece featuring her favorite style of music.

After the movie, we cleaned up the kitchen (again, cleaning was minimal, mostly plates and utensils, no pans to soak or scrub.) we watched the CBS Monday sitcoms, which I DVR during the "Dancing with the Stars" season and enjoyed the 'sweets' portion of Snacksgiving. I made mini pecan pies in phyllo crusts and a pumpkin custard (okay, it was crustless pumpkin pie.) That way we had a taste of the holiday in mini-portion size.

My favorite part of Snacksgiving? The complete lack of stress. It was such a relaxing day (did I mention the Winter Sangria we drank starting with the "hot snacks' course?) No fuss, no muss, just good food, good conversation and good entertainment. Of course we missed the company of our larger family, but without them here, this was definitely the way to go. And because we ate small snack courses throughout the day, we never had that "oh my god, I'm so stuffed, I ate five carb dishes together" feeling.

I know what you are thinking, "But Shae, you don't get any delicious leftover turkey sandwiches". Well, we have that covered too. Today, after my mom gets off work, she's going to stop at Capriotti's and pick up a Bobbie. For those of you not from Delaware or Las Vegas, Capriotti's is a sub sandwich shop that makes their own turkey and roast beef (not sliced sandwich meat, but the real home roasted kind) and one of their signature sandwiches is the "Bobbie", which is turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and mayo on a roll. Yup, it's basically Thanksgiving on a bun. So tonight for dinner we are having 'leftover' turkey sandwiches without having to make the turkey. Smart, huh? The best of both worlds.

Whether you celebrated Thanksgiving, Snacksgiving or something else entirely, I hope, Loyal Readers, that you are as blessed as I am to have such wonderful family and friends. I am thankful for you. And deviled eggs. But mostly you.

Lonely Thanksgiving

Normally, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. But this year, not so much. See, if I could, I would have a giant Thanksgiving with tons of people. I love to cook and to eat and to share with everyone, and isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about? But my father was an only child with no cousins and my mother has only one brother and one sister, both of whom live elsewhere. And while my brother did get married this year, that means they split their time between families, and this year that means going to Modesto for Thanksgiving. My Uncle Stuart and his girlfriend Roberta usually come down to have the holidays with us (because Roberta is allergic to sage, I'm the only one who will cook a sage-free Thanksgiving meal for her.) But they have both come down with the swine flu and don't want to come and risk infecting The Graminator. So that means that this year, I will be cooking Thanksgiving dinner for three.

Now, I cook dinner nearly every night, and I usually make pretty good meals (so far this week we have had pork chops stuffed with apples, cranberries and pecans with an apple-balsamic reduction and crispy rosemary shrimp over garlicky beans and spinach. Just so you know that I'm no Martha Stewart, tonight we are having chili dogs). And I love the traditional Thanksgiving meal. But it's a lot of work. I make my own turkey stock for the gravy, stew down fresh pumpkins for the pies, etc. And I'm not sure I want to go through all of that for just the three of us (and The Graminator only eats enough to qualify as a half serving really.) Christmas will only bring Stuart and Roberta to the table (Will and Val are going to Modesto for that holiday too - we are trying to talk them into splitting it up next year so both families get them for one or the other holiday) but I could make the huge turkey dinner then. So what should I do for this Thanksgiving? The only recipes that I've found appealing so far have been one for Winter Sangria and one for Pomegranate-Rosemary Champagne Cocktail (hmm, do you sense an adult beverage theme?) So do I make a turkey? Do I make an alternative but equally festive meal? Do I just heat up a T.V. dinner and drink my way to Christmas? Help, Loyal Readers, what should I do?

So I have to add to my 'dream man' list of qualities I am looking for in a mate. In addition to smart and funny, he needs to have at least two siblings, with spouses and children, who want ME to cook for the holidays. Owning a large cabin in lovely wooded area (with Christmas being lightly snowy) would be a bonus. Yes, I want to live in a Norman Rockwell painting.

Long Time Gone

Sorry, my few Loyal Readers who still check the blogs to see what's going on, that I haven't been keeping up my end of the bargain.

After months of buying new accessories, pictures and painting huge swatches of paint on the walls, we finally started the redecorating process. Picking a paint was a HUGE ordeal! After starting with the idea that we wanted a blue-green, there was the search for the right blue-green. Not too blue, not too green. Then we found the perfect drapes for the Cape Cod concept my mother desired, only the blue stripe in them was blue, not blue-green. So we had to go back and find a blue paint. It took forever but we finally settled on a color called "Lament" (hmm, should we have taken that as a warning?) After months of not getting started, one Sunday I decided we would paint the hallway ceiling first. My mom was not happy about it, I think she would have preferred to procrastinate longer. But once the ceiling was painted she got into the swing of things and decided that the walls and doors in the hallway were next.

So off to Lowe's for a gallon of Lament in an eggshell finish and white semi-gloss for the hall doors. After getting it all painted, it looked very nice, but very, VERY blue. Maybe too blue for an entire house. So my mom decided that perhaps in the living room we would have one blue accent wall and the other walls would be perhaps a dried wheat color. So off we went again in search of samples, painting them on the wall. The first was too pink, looking like we painted the wall with my makeup foundation. The second, too white, it would have blended with the furniture. The third was just right. The only problem was that it was a Dutch Boy color called "Butter Cookie" and Lowe's doesn't sell Dutch Boy. But they said they can match anything so we get a sample can. Eureka, it was perfect. A lovely lightest dried wheat shade that went with the blue and the drapes. So off I go to buy two quarts in eggshell for the kitchen.

The man mixes the paint on a very busy night (the lady next to me was buying bright apple green for a bathroom, it was a really, er, bold choice) and puts a dot of color on one of the cans. It looks really light to me but paint dries darker so at first I'm not too concerned. But as I run my other errands (we finally found a great white chair for the computer desk) I keep thinking that it's not the right color. Maybe my mom gave me the wrong paint chip. But no, when I get home, it's the right paint chip but the wrong paint. Not the color we want at all. So my mom heads to Lowe's with the paint and sample to fight it out while I get the kitchen primed (since we are painting over semi-gloss, the paint store man says we need to prime). The paint and the sample were a different mix, the lady at Lowe's agrees, but with no instructions put on the sample can, she tried mixing it several times but can't get the shade we want. So after graciously allowing us a refund, Mom heads to the Dutch Boy store and buys a quart. I paint the kitchen by myself (using some Cirque du Soleil type acrobatics) and we step back to take a look. It looks nice, but it wasn't the exact color we wanted.

So, we decide to leave the kitchen alone, as it isn't seen from most of the other rooms and can stand alone. Plus we had already found this fabulous fabric for curtains in the kitchen window. But we still needed a color for the living room walls. So Mom headed to Lowe's and got yet another sample can. This one was definitely more brown. I could tell she wasn't happy but she was resigned to having to live with it. I can't stand to see anyone unhappy so I headed to Lowe's and picked two more sample cans (if anyone needs a small sample can of paint, please call me, I have plenty laying around). One, called "Baking Stone" looked great to me, but I picked up "Bayshore" as well, just in case. Mom agreed that the paint chip of Baking Stone looked the best. But when I painted some of the sample on the wall, it was quite obviously mixed wrong. AGAIN. It was about two shades darker than the sample chip and this weird brown/green. I opened the Bayshore with little hope. I painted a swatch on the wall. And do you know what? It was almost EXACTLY the color of the sample can of Butter Cookie that they couldn't duplicate. EUREKA!!! We had the paint!

So with a few days of vacation from the bread store we got down to the hard work. I painted the ceiling - not the most fun job in the world but it looks amazing. It's truly remarkable how much your ceiling yellows after the years and how white white can be. Buy the good Kilz ceiling paint, trust me it's worth the investment (and now I have to re-paint the ceiling in the hallway because it's a different white now). Then with the help of Will and Val on Sunday we got the living room painted (I could have painted it myself but I needed help moving furniture.) The transformation is incredible, it looks like a different house.

But we still aren't done. Because the two blue accent walls were primed before painting, they are now a slightly different shade than the hallway. So I have to prime and re-paint the hall. There is one wall in the living room that was painted a little sloppy so I need to go over it again. There are touch ups all over the place. We still have to hang the new pictures and accessories. We have to put the curtains back up. We were hoping to have everything done before Thanksgiving but we won't quite be done. But since it's just the three of us for Thanksgiving (I'll post that story later) we have some time to get it done.

There are also the Christmas stockings I have been crocheting, the Graminator and her memory slide, the charity events I've been helping out with and the NaNoWriMo that I'm way behind on. That's what I've been up to. What have you been doing?

Crazy for Popcorn

I love good popcorn. I'm just old enough to remember when movie theaters had real butter, not 'buttery topping' as the man at the theater described it to me recently. (And the popcorn came in tubs, not paper bags.) When I worked at The Comedy Stop there was a popcorn machine and while it didn't have butter we would sneak in sticks of butter for the corn ourselves. (Shhh, don't tell the management, I may want to work the club again one day.) Microwave popcorn, while edible, isn't quite as good as the popper kind (and don't get me started on air popped, that's just wrong.)

I like the flavored popcorn too. Cheddar, herb, Parmesan, caramel, kettle, chocolate, it's all good. (For the best white chocolate popcorn, go to Danielle's which is also the only place in Las Vegas where I can get caffeine free Dr. Pepper.) A few years ago Will and Val got some popcorn from her folks for Christmas from The Popcorn Factory which is how I discovered the delightful combining of cheese popcorn with caramel popcorn.

Anyone from the Chicago area is familiar with Garrett's Popcorn and their 'mix' which is half cheese popcorn and half caramel popcorn mixed together. I'm into salty and sweet together so this mix is extraordinary. But Garrett's is pricey and has to be shipped. Ditto for Popcorn Factory. I tried a cheap kind from the discount store last holiday ($2.50 for a three gallon drum should have tipped me off, but no) and was sorely disappointed. So imagine my delight when we went to lunch last Sunday (to Cafe Deia for tapas, future post on that later) and I spotted Dyer's Gourmet Popcorn. We had to stop and try some (okay, I had to stop and everyone got dragged along) and boy is it good.

They have several 'everyday' flavors like butter, white cheddar, caramel, caramel pecan (whole pecans, delicious) and they had the "mix". He also has some specials like pina colada, jalapeno and chocolate (which is more like a cocoa kettle corn that a chocolate covered). It's fresh (never more than a few hours old) They offer samples and we had fun trying it. And I got my mix. Oh so good, the caramel is a great but not overpowering caramel corn and the cheese is such a fun orange with great cheesy flavor. Yum.

Now, I wish I could be the business advisor there. He has a lot of things I would improve upon, first of which is a functional website. I swear, I could increase his business by 30% if he's let me make a few suggestions. But instead I'll just keep my mouth shut (mostly to chew the delicious corn!) But if you are ever hankering for some Chicago style popcorn while you are in Vegas and you are out by Durango and Flamingo, head to Dyer's. Get the mix. While you're at it, get me some too!

Whip It Real Good

Friday I went to the movies for the first time in forever (I believe it may have been the first time in 2009) which is unusual for me but with the business plus raising an 88 year old I never have time. But I had received a summons for Grand Jury duty so Mom was home to watch The Graminator and I had already done my hair and makeup (wow, makeup, I know but for me it's a feat) when the court called to tell me I had been excused and didn't need to go. So I decided to get some supplies for a cake I'm doing and go to the movies.

I went to see "Whip It", the roller derby themed directorial debut of Drew Barrymore. It was terrific and I give it two very enthusiastic thumbs up. *SPOILER ALERT* Don't read more if you don't want to know about the film!

Ellen Page (Juno) plays Bliss, a small town Texas teen who doesn't quite fit in. She's not a square peg in a round hole, she just hasn't found her niche yet. When a classmate says to her, "So, you're alternative now?" she answers quizzically "Alternative to what?" Bliss tries to be a good daughter, competing in the town's beauty pageant to please her mother, a former Miss Blue Bell herself who now delivers the mail and lives in a tiny house and pins her lost dreams on her two daughters. Bliss' father loves his kids but can't quite relate to all that estrogen so he watches a lot of football (and looks longingly at the guy next door with his two rough and tumble sons.)

Bliss and her best friend Pash sneak off the bright lights of Austin one Friday night to see an exhibition match of the Texas roller derby league. After the excitement of her first encounter with derby, Bliss tells the captain of the Hurl Scouts ( the losingest team in the league) that "You're my new heros." Maggie (Kristen Wigg from SNL) tells her to come to try outs and "be your own hero".

Bliss straps on her Barbie roller skates and even though she's too timid to hit anyone, makes the Hurl Scouts. Her journey to become "Babe Ruthless" through derby is a fairly typical coming of age story. All of the things that happen to Bliss probably would have happened to her in college anyway. But derby teaches Bliss to stand up for what she wants, to be her own person, even if that person isn't 'mainstream' and that men are pigs (sorry guys). Sure, she takes some hits along the way, but the derby metaphor holds. If you get up, keep going and get a little help from the team, you can "Whip it".

This movie was Girl Power to the max but so much fun that I think even men would like it. It's less about Roller Derby and more about learning about yourself and your relationships with people around you. How the people who may not understand you can still love you and how important family is, whether they are you 'real' family or your teammates.

Brilliant performances by the cast, including Marcia Gay Harden as Bliss's postal carrier mom (I adore her as an actress but find her arched eyebrows just a bit distracting), Andrew Wilson as the Hurl Scouts' coach (he's the third and most underused of the Wilson brothers, Luke and Owen. He has their talent and he's as good looking so I don't know why he isn't in more movies), Juliette Lewis who was awesome as "Iron Maven" the rival team captain who fears that Bliss is going to steal her last chance at a moment of glory, and Daniel Stern as Bliss' dad, who had one of my favorite moments of the film. (Putting out his own yard sign of pride.)

The credits end with the dedication something like (I'm paraphrasing, sorry) "For all the girls who think they can, you can!" and that's how I felt leaving the theater. Empowered and happy. I've heard that some 'real' roller girls aren't happy, that they felt the derby stuff wasn't realistic enough but again, the movie wasn't about derby as much as it was about people. And I learned more about derby than I expected. My grandparents used to watch derby when I was a kid but that's about all I knew. Now I understand how it's played.

Drew did a great job directing, relegating herself to a fairly minor character, the Whole Foods cashier by day and roller derby "Smashley Simpson" by night. The scenes were well shot, the pacing was great and the movie never lost it's focus on Bliss.

I don't roller skate (fear of falling down) and I could never be a roller girl (see fear of falling down compounded with fear of elbows to head, flying over railings and concussion) but I loved the power and freedom those girls had. So while I may not be a derby girl on the track, I'm a derby girl at heart. They all had such awesome names that I wanted my own derby name. So just call me "Ginger Wail" as I wail on you while I pass you on the imaginary track in my head!

Get Out

A friend's sister was a battered wife for apparently a very long time and the years of physical and mental abuse ended in terrible violence. I know what toll emotional and physical abuse can take, and I know what it does to your self-esteem. In my opinion, abusers NEVER change. They can promise you anything, but they will abuse again and again and they will try to make it all your fault. If you are the victim of abuse, get help and get out. Don't hide it, don't excuse it and don't live with it.

Needed a Laugh

I'm feeling a bit sad today. Alzheimer's is robbing me of my sanity while it robs The Graminator of her memory. So here is a laugh from Mitchell and Webb. I love those witty Brits. I laughed out loud. Thanks guys, I needed that.

Hair!

So my hair appointment took four hours yesterday. I went to Marcy at Shag Me, who also does my brother's and sister-in-law's hair so I knew I was in good hands. I just laid down the guidelines and then let her go to work. Here were my hair issues:

1. I have no forehead. It's more of a two-head.
2. I have a widow's peak.
3. I'm not going to spend hours each day doing my hair, so it has to be easy care. But...
4. She had to show me three ways to style it or else it was just gonna get pulled back all the time.
5. I'm not a blonde. Ever.
GO!

First she decided I needed bangs. Although I was a bit nervous (I haven't had bangs since the fifth grade) I said why not - my hair philosophy is that it's grow back out. She asked if I wanted long side bangs (no, because once they get into my face I get irritated and pull them back, see #4) so she decided on "Betty" bangs (after pin-up Betty Page.)

Once the bangs were cut (they still looked awkward at this point because they wanted to go back in the ponytail) we talked color. She decided on a dark brown with red undertones to match my natural hair color (since I can be lazy about touchups) and then lots of thick red highlights all over.

Once color was done (and an eyebrow waxing, I usually do my own but it was a 'pamper me' day) she started cutting my hair. Well, razoring my hair, into choppy little ends. Then she straightened and texturized it. Then she showed me not three but FOUR ways to style it. And the result?



I love it! It's totally not something I would ever have picked out for myself but it looks so cool. The color is amazing and the bangs hide my widow's peak and make my forehead look larger! I feel hipper and fresher than I have in a long time and even got flirted with by the guy at the pizzaria when I picked up dinner (new hair, new confidence, isn't that funny?)

I'll try to post better pics later, but that is one I took last night (please forgive the "no makeup" look.) And if you are ever in a hair rut, call Marcy at Shag Me Salon (702-823-5446). Trust me, you can trust her!!!!

Eclairs and Gougeres, Oh My

So I was obsessed with making gougeres (savory cheese puffs made with pate choux) so one day I just did it. I made a small batch, using pepper jack for the gougeres (which was not a strong enough cheese so next time I will use a sharper, more flavorful cheese.) I also made a vanilla bean pastry cream for the eclairs which I lightened by folding in whipped cream. (Sherry Yard had a name for this mixture in her cookbook but I can't remember for the life of me what it was.) Then I topped them with homemade dark chocolate ganache. They were sooooo good. I made them small, just a couple of bites big, and when I was eating them I wished I had made them HUGE - so it's probably a good thing that I didn't.

All the baking that I'm doing for GCS leaves me little time to bake for myself, but I'm still determined to make black and white cookies and French macaroons. But right this minute, I'm dreaming of big, spicy, gooey cinnamon rolls. Not the ones from the can, but homemade with lots of cream cheese icing. We have a VDE meeting on Saturday and if I have enough time on Friday night, I'm going to make some to take to the meeting.(I have several orders that have to go out on Friday so it's a big if.) As soon as the weather turns cool (it's in the high 70's, which may not seem cool to you but in Vegas it's practically sweater weather) I want to make cozy foods and bake like crazy. Guess I'm in the right business!

Okay, order to pack for shipping, then this afternoon I've got a hair appointment. I have no idea what I'm going to have done, but I'm ready for a radical change. I'll post pics, providing I look okay.

Things I'm So Sick Of

I'm getting really tired of a few things, so I'm going to get this off my chest. Feel free to add your own current peeves to the list!

John and Kate - Ugh! If I hear any more about these two morons I might just have to go postal. Does anyone besides me wish that CPS would take their kids away from them? Both of them need to learn to be responsible adults and quit airing all their dirty laundry in public. Stop acting more childish than your five-year-olds, get your act together and get some therapy for your kids, because they are going to need it! And while we are on the subject...

TLC - when did "The Learning Channel" become, as my mother calls it, "The Sideshow Network"? Shows about little people, families with dozens of kids, toddler beauty pageants and shows like "My Monkey Baby" (seriously, I can't make this up). I'm pretty sure it's only educational in the sense of what NOT to do!

Daily stories about the housing crisis - Is there anyone on the planet who doesn't know that the housing market is in the toilet? Do we seriously need daily reminders? It's bad, we get it, and not only do we get it, we're LIVING it! Enough already, at least make the gloom news weekly instead of daily. This goes for unemployment and slumping cars sales too.

Medication commercials - Okay, we need to ban pharmaceutical sales from television. Not only do I no longer want to hear about fibromyalgia, erectile disfunction, bladder control or cholesterol, but I also never, EVER want to hear the side effects of these medications again. I don't care how bad your nerve pain is, increased risk of suicidal thoughts or actions is not worth it. I also don't need to hear any more about priapism, vomiting, blurred vision, constipation or dry mouth. Remember the good old days when the doctor prescribed medication instead of the patient? Let's go back to that.

People who can't follow traffic laws - It's a law for a reason. For the safety and well being of ALL drivers. So quit running red lights, ignoring the 'right lane must turn right' signs, speeding through school zones, ignoring the right of way and all other gosh darned rude and illegal driving. We get it, you're life is far more important than ours is. But sooner or later you are going to hit someone or something and I don't want it to be me. You can be darned sure that these drivers are the ones complaining about the high cost of auto insurance and the litigious society we live in, but it's their danged fault. Stop it!

This is what's been bugging me lately. What's got a bee in your bonnet?

What I'm Working On

It has been busy around Glitter City Sweets, we doubled our sales in September and believe me, August was busy enough. I'm going to have to hire extra help for the holidays!

We are doing more custom cookies as our reputation gets out there and our marshmallow sales are still booming. We will be offering a homemade hot cocoa and marshmallow combination for the holidays along with pumpkin, caramel and peppermint marshmallows and a variety of holiday cookies. Whew. Bur I love the holidays!

Here is what we've done, just in the past two weeks.


These are table card cookies for a Bar Mitzvah in California. Mazel Tov Michael!


This is "Bunnicula". Apparently he is a vampire rabbit who sucks the life out of carrots. These were designed for the cast of the play based on the book of "Bunnicula". Notice that one ear has the play name and the other ear was personalized for each cast member. We hope those kids had a great show!



Cookies can serve multiple purposes. These, for example, were first an invitation to a birthday, then you can eat them. First birthdays are such a milestone and we are very pleased to be a part of such a special occasion. Happy Birthday Sofia and props to her mom Tami for such a fun invite.


These were favors for a big birthday. Life's a beach! Each cookie was embellished with royal icing on the umbrella, sailboat and starfish. Aren't they adorable? Happy B-Day Barbara.


Our corporate client list keeps on growing. Logo cookies are a great way to say thank you to clients or a unique way to introduce yourself. Who doesn't like getting cookies?


Custom "Welcome to Las Vegas" lollipops for a bride from Texas who came to Vegas to get married. She wanted these for the 'Welcome' bags for her out-of-town guests. I love them!


These lobster cookies are for a wedding in Rhode Island next week. They were sent off just yesterday. They were so much work but they were so worth it. And I love the personalized ribbon, it adds a very special touch. Mucho thanks to Diana at
Chic Favors and Invitations for the ribbons. I'm so happy to have found her and I know we will be working together a lot in the future. Sometimes fate gives you exactly what you need when you need it and Diana is one of those fateful things.


Same bride from Texas but these poker chip cookies were favors for the wedding. I wish Amanda and Craig much happiness, and thanks for letting GCS be a part of your big day!


Champagne anyone? A bit of bubbly for a 40th Birthday in New Jersey.


Huh? Why is there a picture of mushrooms in a post about sweets? Because they are MARSHMALLOW mushrooms. Popular in the U.K, but hard to find in the U.S., we were challenged by a customer to make her some. And they are both realistic and delicious. Even people who hate mushrooms will love these fun fungi!

Yes, that's just SOME of the things we have been up to. We now have handmade gummy candy as well. New products being worked on every day. I also want to thank Maura for her wonderful blog post about Glitter City Sweets, you are the bomb, girlfriend!

Okay, heigh ho, heigh ho, it's back to work I go, marshmallows and a special birthday cake are on the work orders today. Bless Georgie for letting me bake all the time now in her commercial kitchen. My 'couple hours a week' has become a 'couple of hours every day'. It's amazing the generosity you are given sometimes!

X's and O's

Since my last post seemed to stir something, I thought a bit of humor today was called for. You know how I love those Brits for their sassy comedy, so here is a bit of Mitchell and Webb to lighten the day.

XX (and no, I don't think you are twenty, even though you look fabu!)

What's Up With That?

For seven years I worked at the same job. I did my job (pretty well I think considering the evaluations I got) and made what I thought were a lot of lasting relationships. Then I left, not to go work for another company but to pursue my dreams, and I thought my "friends" would be supportive.

Now I understand how easy it is to have your life move on and forget the people you once had daily contact with. But I guess I thought I meant something more. Maybe we all want to feel that we are somehow important in this world and while I knew that life for everyone would go on without me, you still wish people would miss you, even if it's just a teeny tiny bit.

I have always been loyal to my friends. My blog and my life are a pretty open book. I don't write things anonymously and I have never revealed any of the secrets that I was privy to. That's who I am. There are others who write things under pseudonyms and tell tales out of school and I'll admit that while it's pretty entertaining it's not something I could ever do.

So it hurts me that my emails go unanswered and that my 'friend requests' are denied, mostly because I just don't understand. I always internalize and wonder what it is that I did. Of course it is a very small minority of people that I am talking about here but it wounds me none the less. To the best of my knowledge I have done nothing to these people so it leaves me in that odd limbo of hurt feelings and wild supposition.

But I am now another year older (yes, Loyal Readers, another birthday has passed, and the custard was delicious) and supposedly a bit wiser (although I'm not sure exactly when all that wisdom is scheduled to show up) and so, after this emo post, I shall let it go. I cannot control the actions of others (although my evil twin is currently conducting experiments to do exactly that) and I can only control my own (but just barely.)

And now my time for wallowing is done (I had a friend who only allowed 15 minutes of wallow time, which I follow and it saves me a ton of money on anti-depressants) and I must go decorate 150 lobster cookies for a wedding in Newport, RI. I am trying to make the world a sweeter place, one cookie at a time. I will post pictures soon of all the work I have done recently!

But Was The Custard Good?

Okay, let's settle this once and for all. Recently, writer/actress Mindy Kaling (better known as Kelly Kapoor on "The Office") was on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. On a previous occasion when Mindy told Craig that she was coming to Las Vegas, he recommended that she go to Luv-It Custard, a venerable institution devoted to deliciousness. (Craig loves Luv-It and we love Craig.)

Mindy was angry that Craig had recommended it, not because it wasn't good, but because it was in the "most dangerous and sketchiest neighborhood I have ever been in, in my life". This has caused a wave of Mindy hatred in Vegas. Now, I will admit that I'm not a fan of hers to begin with and I thought her personality in the interview left a lot to be desired. And I find it hard to believe that she's never been anywhere worse. But people, Luv-It IS in a sketchy neighborhood!

For those who have never been, Luv-It sits about a half a block east of the famed "Strip" on Oakey, which puts it in what is referred to by reporters and police officers as the "Naked City". This is an older (I.e. run down) area known for drugs, prostitution, crime, etc. Yup, dangerous and sketchy by just about any one's standards. Most dangerous? Not hardly, I can take her to a few places where you wouldn't want to slow your car down, even for a flat tire.

Mindy kept saying things like "I expected Vegas to be like in the movies, like Ocean's 13". Well, it can be. if you never leave the Strip and stay south of Sahara, then it's exactly like the pictures in the movies. But outside of the tourist bubble, it's a real town with real people and yes, real crime. (Uh, hello, CSI is based here too, remember?)

But back to Luv-It. I never recommend it without warning people about the neighborhood. It shares it's parking lot with a 'gentleman's club' (a stripper club) and a convenience store with a sign that says "we don't sell single cigs" to let the wandering homeless know that they need to wash enough windshields to buy the whole pack of 'cigs'. Luv-It has a walk-up order window and no place to sit so you have to eat the frozen custard in your car, or while milling about this parking lot. (It is also right by my old eye doctor's office, which is why I loved the eye doctor as a kid. A doctor that never gave shots and was next to the best ice cream in the world? Rock on.)

For those in the know, Luv-It also exists in what I think of as a sort of 'green zone'. Crime does not occur at Luv-It. It is beloved by all and so it is respected enough that you can go there in peace and safety. Which is only one of the reasons for long lines nearly every day of the year.

The other reason? Luv-It is freakin' AWESOME! Delicious homemade frozen custard. I cannot say enough about it, it really is the best I've ever had (and I have eaten me some ice cream, no doubt). We are going this Sunday to celebrate, well, never mind what, but I am already torn because one of the flavors is fresh Banana Nut, but I also want my traditional Desert Sundae (custard, hot fudge, homemade marshmallow cream and pecans, to die for!) Would I be a pig if I got my sundae and brought home the banana nut?

So people, don't ready the tar and feathers for actress Mindy Kaling just yet. She's just another vapid Hollywood celebrity who wants everything to be pretty instead of real. If she doesn't want to go to Luv-it, it just leaves more custard for the rest of us! (Oh, and by the way, she did admit the custard was worth risking her life for, so there.)

Here is the interview.

We Had the Time of Our Lives

I know millions of women are mourning the passing of Patrick Swayze and I just wanted to throw in my tribute as well.

I first became aware of Patrick when I was a pre-teen and he made "The Outsiders" based on the S.E. Hinton novel, then the short lived television series "Renegades" and then the teens against the entire Communist army film "Red Dawn" (soon to be remade but it, like "Fame" can never be surpassed.)

I fell in love with Patrick when he played Orry Main in the mini-series "North and South". You see children, way back in the Eighties the mini-series was a beloved staple of network television and as a TV obsessed teenager, I watched them all. But "North and South", based on the John Jakes novel, was one of my all time favorites. It had it all - sex, revenge, lying, overacting and overwrought dialogue, all set in the Civil War. It was brilliant and starred lots of Eighties celebrities, like Genie Francis, Jonathan Frakes (who married Genie Francis), Kirstie Alley, James read, Elizabeth Taylor, Hal Holbrook and Forrest Whittaker, just to name a few. But it was Patrick as Orry, a man driven by demons of war and the loss of the woman he loved that had me the first time I saw him in breeches.

But my innocent crush turned into full blown lust when I saw "Dirty Dancing". I still maintain that it is one of the most brilliantly cast romance films ever. I do not mean this as a slight on jennifer Grey but I think they were really smart to cast her as Baby because she was, well, plain. So many of us could relate to Baby's awkwardness because we felt less pretty than our sisters or best friends or the hot blond dancing partner. Every girl in that audience could see herself as Baby and when Patrick took a shine to our ugly duckling and helped her become the woman she was growing into, we all cheered. Plus, the sex scene, well it was the hottest thing this little girl had ever seen (at least up to that point.) A one point in the film, Baby hides Patrick's character Johnny from her father. Johnny gets mad because he thinks she is ashamed of him, afraid to admit that 'he's her man." I leaned over in the dark theater and told my friend, "If I was sleeping with Patrick Swayze, I'd put a sign on my front lawn!"

Sadly, I never got to put that sign on my lawn. Patrick was a happily married man who was married for over thirty years. That's like 210 years in Hollywood. And some of his post-"Dirty Dancing" films weren't the caliber that I know he was capable of. (Although if "Road House" is on I still try to catch the "Patrick is buck naked scene".) But he will always be my knight in shining armor, who would rescue me if anyone ever tired to stick me in a corner.

Rest in Peace, Patrick.

I Believe....

...that the people who care about you will help you, support you and cheer you on.

....that the people who only pretend to care about you will eventually show you their true colors.

...that life is, in turns, a constant surprise, a disappointment, an adventure and an experience.

...that you should never read the ending first.

...that dessert is the most important meal of the day.

...that I work way too hard to please other people, but I'm okay with that most of the time.

...that great writing can change your life, but mediocre writing can be pretty darn entertaining.

...you can't live life without trying.

..that little pleasures should never be belittled.

...that roller coaster rides and lives are rarely long enough.

...rewards will come from unexpected places.

...that I believe.

LBS Burger

The family goes out to eat nearly every Sunday. Visiting the same restaurants can get old after a while, although every now and then you can discover something new at an old favorite restaurant. (If you haven't tried it, go for the fried chicken at Memphis Championship Barbecue. I don't really like fried chicken but theirs is phenomenal. And it's served family style with all you can eat mashed potatoes, green beans, chicken dumplings, corn and rolls. Oh My Gosh good!)

So we try to discover new places, with varying degrees of success. After reading a friend's blog, we decided to try LBS Burger at the Red Rock Station casino. She proclaimed it the best burger in the city, even better than Burger Bar (Hubert Keller's restaurant) in the Mandalay Bay. Now when it comes to burgers, I'm a bit of a purist, so my favorite burger in Las Vegas is at a dive bar near my house. While they are a little pricier than when I first started going, you can still get a 1/3 pound burger with fries for less than eight bucks. And it's a great burger, hand pattied with all my favorite fixings (again, I'm a traditionalist, I like lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions and all the condiments) and it's on a toasted bun, which for me is what takes a burger to the next level. I would eat the burgers at this place more often if they didn't also have the best chili cheese fries in Vegas. Trust me when I say this causes no end of internal conflict.

So when someone tells me that they loved a burger place, I'm a tad skeptical. I'm not one for lots of exotic toppings or patties made from exotic animals. Beef, bun, cheese and my traditional fixings and I'm happy. But the pictures on her blog looked yum-tastic and we needed to get out of our rut so we decided to try it. The decor at LBS is southern Gothic meets rock n' roll. Black lace on the windows, furniture that would look right at home in the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland and way too loud music playing. (It was great music but just too loud). The economy has thinned out restaurant crowds so we got right in.

What to choose? The menu is descriptively delicious which makes you want everything. Burgers aren't cheap, averaging around eleven dollars. They did have sliders on the menu which come in three, six or twelve packs. After asking the waitress the size of the sliders (we have been to restaurants where the slider was the size of a regular burger) we decided to share a twelve order and get a few sides to share. We chose chili-cheese fries, onion rings and fried cheese curds (thank goodness casinos are required to have defibrillators on hand!) You can customize your sliders so we got six with American cheese and six with white cheddar. They come with fried onions, pickles and "LBS sauce" which is the same ubiquitous mayo-ketchup mix you get everywhere else.

The sliders were on shiny egg buns and a nice size of about three inches in diameter. Their meat is "dry aged 21 days" and while I don't know that dry aging has as much of an impact in a burger as it does in a steak, the burgers were nice and beefy.
The onion rings were some of the best I've ever had, large, well battered, shatteringly crisp and oh-so-delicious. The onions inside were nicely soft but didn't just fall out. (This was both good and bad, as I wanted a couple to fall out so I could give my brother the shell and eat the onion myself. he like onion rings but his digestive system doesn't like onions so I try to 'shell' a few so he can have some of the taste without the distress. We are kind of like Jack Sprat and his sister - yes, I know the story is Jack Sprat and his wife, but he had to have someone help him before he got married, didn't he?) The fries underneath the chili were good, but the chili itself was too sweet with too much cinnamon (great for you Cincinnati chili lovers, but I'm a Texas red kind of girl so this needed more heat, less sweet) although the roasted jalapenos and sour cream were a nice touch.

Cheese curds are a delicacy that some love and some hate. I personally like the 'squeaky cheese' and try to stop in the Cache Valley store every time we drive to Salt Lake to buy some. They are best very fresh so the store connected to the dairy is the right place to buy them. But even if the cheese curds at LBS weren't 'squeaky' fresh, they were delicious none the less. Deep fried cheese isn't high on my list because it usually involves mozzarella, a very stretchy cheese but fairly bland in flavor. The white cheese curds at LBS were nicely stretchy but with more flavor than mozzarella. The only downside was that the "tomato relish" on the side was really just a marinara. I just ate them plain.

Desserts seemed pretty standard except for the daily pie. When I inquires to that day's flavor and was told it was peach raspberry, we signed up for two (they are small, just about 3-1/2 inches so the waitress explained we would need two for the five of us. Why they get skimpy at dessert is beyond me, when all their other portion sizes were huge.) It comes out warm, with vanilla ice cream. It had a lovely flaky bottom crust and a crunchy sweet oatmeal streusel topping. The tangy raspberries were a perfect foil to the sweet peaches. Lovely and delicious and even though we were stuffed from lunch there was no pie left over (which proves my theory that you ALWAYS have room for dessert.)

So, best burger in Vegas? Not really. But a good burger with some good sides, yes. Besides the loud music, the only other downfall was the price. Even with us sharing everything and having only water to drink, the bill came to over eighty dollars for five people. Not exactly budget friendly. But we will probably return, at least for the onion rings and pie!