Evil Witch of the East Coffee Cake

Every now and then you crave something sweet, absurdly easy, terrible for you, but really delightfully delicious.  This cake is great warm from the oven, and keeps beautifully, for days in the fridge. It's great for a completely unhealthy breakfast, tea and coffee treat, or as full-on dessert. It's a little trashy though. I stole the recipe from my ex-boyfriend's mother, who was a wretched witch, trust me.

I was going to make this coffee cake when we were visiting my brother and his wife last weekend, but due to those little "sugar free" pudding packets, my plans were thwarted. No, this recipe requires full sugar, instant pudding, so don't go trying to be healthy. This is EVIL cake. Be careful shopping - the sugar free and "cook to serve" packets will try to trick you. I made it this week after spending spending an inordinate amount of time looking at the pudding shelf in the grocery store.



Evil Witch of the East Coffee Cake*

Cake:
1 box yellow cake mix (go with whatever is the cheapest)
1 small box instant vanilla pudding mix
1 small box instant butterscotch pudding mix
4 eggs
1 cup oil
1 cup water

Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1.5 cups chopped walnuts
1-3 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Mix topping, using more or less of the three ingredients to taste (it's just supposed to be a yummy mix, use lots of what you like). Set aside topping.

Mix up all cake ingredients until well-combined. Pour half the batter into an ungreased 9x13" pan. Crumble half the topping mix over the top. Pour the rest of the batter out on top, as evenly as you can (it will clump, that's OK - just try to get some mostly all over). Crumble remaining topping over the top.

Pop that evil beast into the oven for 10 minutes, then turn down the heat to 325 and let her cook another 35 minutes more.

*To make it Evil Witch of the West Cake, like I did for the photo below, substitute pistachio pudding for butterscotch. Green and deliciously evil.

 

Sometimes There Are Moments...

One thing I have discovered during this crazy adventure of becoming a parent and all the hullaballoo that comes along with it is that I sometimes don't want to be a parent. This is not to say that I don't adore my children and that I am not head over heels in love with every teeny tiny thing they do, but I miss being able to call it in every now and again. I miss being able to stay in bed on a Saturday and read a whole book. I miss being able to, on the fly, make plans at 5:00 for a dinner date with friends that night, and have the option of dancing afterwards just be open. I miss sleeping in until the last possible moment and running around getting ready in five minutes and flying out the door - and having that be OK.

I don't miss these things all the time, but lately I have been missing them a bit more than perhaps I ought to miss them. It could be that winter makes even the most energetic among us want to hibernate (shut up, it does and you know it) or it could be that juggling all the therapy schedules with fundraising for Henry's school, my own therapy, diet, yoga, and other aspirational plans is hard. I almost always lose the "who's got the most important appointment" game, and all the snacks wreck my diet. If I had will power it would be easier, sure, but hey.

Today wasn't one of those days, though. I was surprised. I was tired and cranky in the morning, and wanted to go back to bed more than anything. But Toby is cute, and we managed to make it to the kitchen for his milk with lots of smiles and squeals, and that set us on a good course for the day. Things went pretty smoothly, all day. Henry went to school. Toby and I shopped at TWO grocery stores. He napped. I napped. We woke up at the last minute and picked up Henry. Now, in a perfect world I would have not napped, been ready for the post-school snack demands, had everything together and my gym clothes on, and I would have made it to yoga. But that didn't happen, and instead of being annoyed or stressed, I let it go. I let the boys play and watch a couple of shows while I did a few things, and then we just unplugged for a while. We tickled and laughed and played. It was fun, and I found myself genuinely enjoying spending time with my children more than I have in a while. That sounds awful, but it's really just that I have so much on my plate these days, I find it hard to let go and just BE with them. This afternoon, I did, and it was awesome.

And then, after dinner and bath time, Henry and I bundled up and walked around the front yard finding out what the big stars were. His iPad is awesome, so you point it at the sky and it tells you what you are seeing. His favorites were Jupiter and Beetlegeuse (I am sure I spelled that wrong, screw it), and he was terribly disappointed that there was no moon tonight. It was a lovely, random, brief encounter that made me remember how much I adore this kid. He can be difficult, and his challenges are very real, but he is awesome. And sweet. And smart. It was the perfect way to end a great day.

There are a million kinds of moments in parenthood; I'm hoping that this year I will be able to have a lot more of today's moments, because they are wonderful and sweet and make all the early mornings worth it. OK, maybe not ALL the early mornings, but at least two days a week.

Am I not hip since I still want a Kindle? Oh well.

So the iPad has been unveiled. There are commercials and everything. It's pretty cool, but I still think I really want a Kindle.

I suppose that the sexy touchscreen would be fun, and having what is essentially a little laptop would be awesome. The color screen is indeed pretty. But no. I really REALLY want the Kindle.

I have been reading a lot lately. Ok, "a lot" for me given the babes to constantly cuddle. I've also started cleaning out my bookcases, and have discovered that I really don't need to hang on to so many of the paperbacks I have enjoyed over time. Sure, I might read something again someday, but I'm not referencing things, generally not passing them along to others, and not finding better storage. I tend to read, shelf, and eventually donate a LOT of paper.

The concept of digital books, therefore, fits right on into my world beautifully. I love the idea of toting around a smallish device and being able to read books, blogs, papers, whatever. Oh, and I love the samples, the mobile downloads, and the storage. I love that all these books sync with your iPod/iPhone and that you can get classics for free. Love all these things, which are essentially equal on all these devices.

The Kindle has me won, though, and here are the reasons why:

1. I love that screen. When I played with my sister-in-law's Kindle, I was amazed with how easy it was to read that non-lit screen. Sunshine? Sure! Pictures? Great in black and white. It is really cool, really easy on the eyes, and much mote like reading a book than a computer screen. I have not seen the iPad in person, but reading on the iPod touch is a little hard. Oh, and forget about it in the sunshine.

2. Eventually, I am sure I will get an iPhone. My future iPhone will do just about everything the iPad will do, and I won't want to tote around two similar devices. Or pay for monthly service for both, which brings me to...

3. The Kindle's upfront price includes the mobile access to downloads and updates in 3G. I love this. I think spending the $250- $500 is worth it, just to have both the hardware and the connection all at once. Not adding another monthly bill to my life = super-big plus.

Don't get me wrong. I'm an Apple lady. I am writing this on the iPod we got for our two-year-old. I love this thing, which makes me believe that the iPad will be awesome for those who want a "laptop light" to tote around. But I have an iBook. I want a reading machine so I can have fewer silverfish in my life, and read the rest of the three very cool books I have thusfar previewed.

I love that reading is back on my life, and can't wait to get cracking. Now, I just need that Kindle...


Sent from Henry's iPod

That's what I want.

While I have admitted recently that I have a love/hate relationship with technology, I also still want stuff. As promised, here is a list, in no particular order, of the material things I am craving:

1. Portable DVD players for the car. I never imagined that I would want to be in one of those minivans with movies playing in the back on the highway. (Yes, I said minivan, but that is another story.) I find it distracting to drive past a DVD player in another car, as I am always trying to figure out what they are watching. It’s a terrible hazard. But so is a screaming child, and while Henry doesn't really ever scream, it is a truth universally acknowledged that an entertained Henry is far more fun than a bored and cranky Henry. Oh, and we can’t handle listening to the Alphabet CD on repeat for 3 hours. Ever. Again.

2. iPhone. I want to be able to take pictures, post to the blog, update on Facebook and Twitter, make calls, text, email, AND shoot video – all on the fly. I have said before, and I will say it again: I don’t like the phone. It’s true! But the iPhone can do oh so many things. And honestly, I need something to do while I am nursing Toby. And I need a device designed for one hand to do it because the laptop is unwieldy. I know this practically negates everything I said here, but really, I do need an iPhone to make it all a little easier. Right?

3. A fancy schmancy washer/dryer. Kelly Ripa has convinced me. I’m sorry, but being able to wash and dry a load of clothes in like 35 minutes is amazing. You know it is. Quiet machines - oh, heaven. Saving energy and water to boot? Please. No brainer. Gotta have it.

4. A laser printer for the house. I want the cheapest, simplest thing around. I need to be able to print forms from time to time. Or recipes. Or letters. Paperwork generally. I actually do a great deal of paperwork (it’s weird), and it would improve my mood tremendously to just be able to DO it. I guess we do have an ink jet someplace we could get back in action, but laser is so much easier. And I never need to print in color anymore, so cheapo laser is perfection.

5. A king-sized bed. Toby likes to nurse and sleep with us. I think Henry may want to come hang in bed with us sometimes now. All this action in the queen is just not working so well. Those extra inches would improve my nights oh so much… Oh king bed, come to me!

Of course, these are the individual, accessible things I crave. I also want a new kitchen, new windows, a new roof, and a new color for the house (among our other home projects on the waiting list), but even just the list above makes me feel a little creepy when I write it down, so I will just stop now...

Good friends

This morning I was talking to a mama on the phone. Me talking on the phone with a mama friend was something special in and of itself, but more on that later. She was talking about another mama moving away, and how sad it was because it's so hard to make new friends as an adult. Bingo! (She is such a smart mama.)

One of my half-written posts is about my aversion to the telephone. Here's the quick version of that: I hate the phone. I don't know why exactly. I don't like my cell phone or the house phone (yes, we still have a land line). I don't like picking up voicemail or listening to the answering machine. I'm not into making calls, and I tend to not even like getting calls about 95% of the time. I tolerate the phone as a necessary evil in my life, but I really dislike it tremendously.

When you really try to avoid the phone like I do, it makes it tough to hang out with people. Other people like the phone, and it is a very useful tool for making plans and keeping in touch. I'll give it all this, but I still hate it. So it's really tough to make plans and playdates, and moving beyond the kind of acquaintance, getting to know you kind of interaction gets pretty stunted.

My mommy groups have helped tremendously with overcoming this difficulty. I've found that mamas that I see because we have a regular meeting time and place have, by default, become my sort-of friends, and what's very cool is that many have become really-truly friends. Of course, I still feel like there are a lot of people in my extended community that I ought to see more often (or at all), but don't. Even with my mama friends, my reticence to get on the dang phone ends up making it tough to make friendships stick very well, especially now when life is shifting and there are fewer organized times and spaces for interactions -- meaning I've got to be more proactive in the reaching out and planning. I'm working on that pretty actively now.

I've been able to start the seeds of a community of mamas around me (or at least see that the seeds have been sown) but now it's time to get down to the business of really making that work. It's kind of exciting, especially now that I am not working and can be more flexible with the schedule. (I'm also a little more desperate for things to do, as trying to entertain Henry on my own every day is just plain crazy. Kid needs more variety than that, and frankly so do I!)

I am working on all this, because I really really like so many of my mama friends, and miss so many of my friends that I just don't talk to much anymore because of the differences in our lives. Getting out there is so good for me, and having kid-o's to hang with is so good for Henry. I see him learn words, social skills, even motor skills just about every time we hang out with kids, his age or not. It's going to be a little tougher pretty darn soon (Toby, hear that -- soon! Come on!) but I feel sure it will be worth it.

So if you want to hang out, go ahead and call. I'm into answering the phone right now.

Ack!

Has anyone else seen these Electrolux commercials with Kelly Rippa running around being super-mom to music from a 50's TV show?  I can't watch them without feeling like I have a split personality - on the one hand, I am completely offended and appalled, and on the other, I totally want to buy those darn appliances she's hawking. 

I would love a washer and dryer that are that fancy.  Seriously, it would indeed change my life to be able to do a load in half an hour and steam wrinkles out of Bret's nice shirts and pants.  (I would still prefer a gas range to the fanciest flat top, even if you can supposedly boil water in 90 seconds...)  We don't have a microwave, so I have gotten used to things taking time,  but I would be a liar if I said that our beautiful new dishwasher wasn't my favorite inanimate thing in the house because of it's quiet efficiency.  

As a life-long feminist (and a big old nerd with a Masters degree in Women's Studies), I can't help but be totally appalled with myself for wanting stuff openly utilizing such arcane stereotypes and reviving the cult of true womanhood to get me to want the products.  No joke, I have taken whole classes on this crap (for an amazing look at the intersections of marketing, technology, and feminist theory in the US, check out this book), and it's still working on me.  Ack!

Confessions

In the spirit of full disclosure, I have to come clean. I have changed positions on a few things recently - I have been vocally and vehemently opposed to a few things, and I have to admit, they have won me over.

1. I love LATCH.
I refused to believe that it could be at all easy. I refused to believe those straps could even feel a little bit tough. Seat belt installation is no biggie, why mess with it? Um, rock-solid car seat installation in no time (and I had to figure out how to get the things out of storage under the car seat, switch the sides of the straps, and learn how to take the headrest off the backseat of the car.) I am officially a convert. Congress, excellent move.


2. HDTV is, in fact, better than regular TV.
It looks way better. It really and truly makes a difference. (Sorry honey, this does not mean that I think we need to buy one, but you win the debate in the abstract.)

3. Minivans are really nice.
I've been driving my mother's while in Vero. Other than the fact that I keep hitting the curb with the back wheels when I turn right in a parking lot (this would be driver error, I believe), I love it. So roomy, so comfy, and oh Honda Odyssey you don't kill the planet like you somehow ought to at that size (and you have a cute little "eco" light to tell me when my driving is very efficient!). Talk to me in six months when we have two car sets in the back, I may even want to trade in the Outback - scary, huh?