My Funny Girl

Sophie cracks me up. The things she does, the faces she makes, and the ways she tries to communicate with us make me wonder where in the world she came from. Most parents probably think this about their kids, though. I think Heavenly Father made babies funny like that to compensate for all the not-so-fun and not-so-fragrant times. And to convince us that we need more babies.

This first clip is of her eating Cheerios. She doesn't have teeth yet, but she gums them down pretty well . . . if she can get them in her mouth.

This one is of her playing peek-a-boo with a placemat she ripped off the table. My favorite part is when she raises it above her head, but doesn't get the mat in both hands. She thinks if she puts her head down you can't see her. She'll play peek-a-boo with anything -- even a necklace. :)

Today we walked down to the park, and Sophie had her first ride in a swing. She looked so short sitting in it, and she didn't even try to sit up. She just lounged. Lounged and swang. (swung? swinged?)

Gadget Line-Up and a Little Chinese Love

PoshMama article for this week:

Today is gadget day! I was thinking about what gadgets I couldn't live without, but convincing everyone that they need a can opener, a spatula and a whisk would be pointless. Instead, I thought about utensils that make cooking easier and more fun. (Psst, all of the gadget photos are links to where you can find them online.)

First we have this little guy right here:

I never realized how handy a dough scraper (or dough cutter or baker's scraper) was until I started using one. Sure it separates dough like a champ, but it also cleans off your countertops after you've rolled out dough. You don't even need to get a rag dirty, just let the mess dry for a few minutes, then scrape it all into the garbage can! You can use this to scoop up chopped veggies from your cutting board, too.

Next up is this sleek number:

Oh, how I love my microplane grater! I used to hate using citrus zest in recipes because it was so hard to scrape the stuff out of the grater holes. Not a problem here. This razor-sharp grater comes in all different shapes and sizes. I use mine mostly for citrus zest, hard cheeses, and fresh ginger, but you can use it for anything you'd use a grater for -- even whole spices like nutmeg or cloves. I always get giddy when I take mine out of its sheath and use it. (I'm such a dork.)

Now for the grand finale:

"A knife? Oh REAL creative, Nat."

I'm not joking around with this one. Do you hate chopping vegetables? Well, that's probably because your knife is about as sharp as the backside of a spoon. (Unless you honestly hate chopping vegetables, but if you had one of these babies, I don't think you would.) Good, sharp knives aren't cheap, but you don't need to buy 20 different ones. At the very least, invest in one good chef's knife to replace all the cheap-o ones you have in your "knife drawer". (I know you have one. Everyone does :))

The shape of the one above enables you to chop til your heart's content without your knuckles hitting the cutting board or having to use your pointer finger to press the blade down. The brand of the one above is great, too. Cutco is another great brand, and they're supposed to stay sharp forever.

Just be careful and don't cut yourself. It happens. Yep, that's my thumb.

And now I go completely off topic to introduce this week's recipe. Before I do, I do not, in anyway, proclaim to be an authority on Chinese cuisine. In fact, the Chinese would probably laugh at this recipe if they knew it had cream of chicken soup in it. BUT, in honor of Chinese New Year (Feb 7th), I thought you might want to brush up on your chopstick skills with this yummy stir-fry casserole dish.

(Since I posted this recipe on my blog already, I'll just link you to it :))

Goodbye Poundage

As of Saturday, February 2nd, 2008, I have officially lost all 60 pounds of my pregnancy weight. The last five pounds took 3 months to lose (well worth the goodies) and during the last week and a half, I've been wrestling with the last half pound. At that point I'd basically lost all the weight, but I hated seeing that .5 on my scale, mocking me.

Every morning I'd jump on to see if it was gone and then try all of my antics to make it go down (removing all clothes, jewelry, bodily waste, and not eating or drinking anything until the weigh-in.) On Saturday morning I jumped on the scale and Mr .5 was still there. AHHH! I decided, as a desperate last resort, to take my glasses off and put my contacts in. Then I jumped back on the scale. Mr. .5 WAS GONE! Hallelujah.

Just for fun, here are before and after shots in the same shirt:

I'm no Miss America, but anything is better than the Why-the-heck-is-my-stomach-still-huge-after-I-just-gave-birth belly. And yes, that was right after Sophie was born. We were in our parking lot after coming home from the hospital. I'm still wearing my pretty plastic bracelets. All I have to say is THANK YOU NURSING.

Speaking of Sophie, I can't believe how big she looks now compared to when we brought her home. And look at the way her body is shaped. She went from being curled up in a ball to flailing her arms and legs around all the time.

And the Winner is . . .

Using my trusty random number generator, it pulled up 80. Comment #80 belongs to.....

CHRISTINE who said, "I HeART that Vintage Rhoda ring... PReTty!!"

Congrats Christine!

Thanks to everyone who entered and for all the nice things you said! I didn't realized I'd get so many entries... 289. WOW!

If you'd like another chance to win, I'll be doing a couple more giveaways during the next two months:

Feb 21st: $50 gift certificate at Bloggy Giveaways
Mar 10th: $30 gift certificate at I Love Giveaways

Just a reminder, I'm still offering free shipping to all of the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival participants. Enter "CARNIVAL" in the comment section when you check out There are also specials going on during February!

Strawberry Holiday Trifle

I've gotten a lot of requests for this recipe since I posted a picture of it and didn't mention how to make it. Sorry about that. There's a small (very small) perfectionist part of me that didn't want to post the recipe until I had a good picture to post with it. I have no idea when I'm making this again, so I won't hold you in suspense any longer. :)

With Valentine's Day coming up, I thought it would be the perfect treat to share. Actually it's good any time of the year and any time of the day. Even for breakfast. This trifle is really, really good. You might be surprised at the length of the recipe, though. It's not hard to do, but it's time consuming. The custard and sponge cake are both made from scratch. Once you get everything baked, cooked, and cooled, it comes together in about 10 minutes.

Strawberry Holiday Trifle

4 pints strawberries, rinsed, hulled and chopped
3 T. sugar
¾ c. slivered almonds
Cool whip
¾ c. strawberry wine or equivalent (jam maybe? I usually leave this out)
1 Recipe Custard
1 Recipe Sponge Cake

Combine strawberries and sugar. Refrigerate for a couple of hours until they get really juicy. Spoon one cup custard on bottom of trifle bowl. Sprinkle with ¼ c. almonds. Layer ½ of cake cubes over custard; brush cake with ½ of wine. Spoon 2 c. berries over cake layer; top with 1 c. custard. Repeat layers. Top with remaining custard. Cover and chill. Top with cool whip and sprinkle with remaining almonds. Makes 15 servings.

Custard:
2/3 c. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
¼ t. salt
2 c. milk
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 T. butter/marg.
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. whipping cream, whipped (or Cool Whip)

Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, salt and milk in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly. Stir about ¼ of mixture into egg yolks; add egg yolk mixture back into saucepan, stirring constantly. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 2 min. Remove from heat; add butter and vanilla, stirring until butter melts. Cover with plastic wrap, gently pressing it onto surface; chill at least 2 hours. Fold whipped cream into custard. Makes 3 ½ cups.

Sponge Cake:
2 eggs
1 c. sugar
1 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
½ c. milk
2 T butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat eggs at high speed with electric mixer 3 min or until thick and pale. Gradually add sugar; beat 4 min. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; gradually fold into batter. Combine milk and butter in saucepan; cook over low heat until butter melts (or zap in the microwave). Gradually stir milk mixture and vanilla into batter. Pour into 2 greased and floured 8” round cake pans. Bake at 350 for 16 min or until toothpick comes clean. Cool on wire racks for 10 min. Remove from pans; cool completely on racks. Cut into 1 in. cubes.