Throwing Rocks

   I strive to lead a very principled life.  After I had little people, I  looked for ways to enable and ennoble them; teach them good principles in a fun way that would build their character and their sense of self-worth while also helping them learn that there are (good and bad) consequences in all things.  I wanted them to learn how to look for the “good” in the world around them and then contribute to it.  I figure we have one shot at this life…let’s live it to the fullest, laugh out loud at least 10 times a day, and look for ways to ease the burden of someone else. I still shake my head at the one family night we had where I gave them each a bag full of pebbles and told them I wanted them thrown at people during the week.  Let me ‘splain…I first taught them that I was saying the word “rock”, but I was spelling it R-A-O-K…and that these letters were my acronym for Random Act of Kindness. I wanted them to empty the bag by giving (not literally throwing) a RAOK to each person they found that week to whom they could provide a kindness. I encouraged them to write down in a notebook/journal every day the stories of their RAOKs. I asked them to throw as many as they could and then bring their (hopefully empty) bag and their stories to the family meeting the next week. Each was asked to share as many stories with the rest of us as they wanted. The resulting RAOK throwing stories were amazing… helping a younger boy at school tie his shoes so he wouldn’t trip; whispering to a girl that her underpants were showing above her waistband so she wouldn’t be teased… the simplest things were SEEN and ACTED UPON.

With that in mind, I received an email today from my youngest daughter that simply said:

Within the body of her email, there were no words of explanation, introduction to or qualifications for her choice of subject.  She had simply pasted a link to Citizens Awareness Vanguard (CAV) blog.  Curious, I followed the link to their blog post from 7/16/2013 which was captioned, “21 Pictures That Will Restore Your Faith in Humanity.”  Because this post had had such a profound effect on my daughter to prompt her email to me, I scrolled through the 21 pictures that were posted.

I have no idea the political affiliation or leanings of this group. I deliberately didn’t look because I did not want to know before I wrote this. Instead, I want to place this CAV blog into the very basket full of “Humanity” that they depicted and thank them for one of the most wonderful pictorials I have ever viewed. The pictures that CAV has posted clearly demonstrate that people around the world are paying attention and acting upon opportunities to throw RAOKs; some of these people were even risking their own safety to serve a stranger.

The genesis of my blog today started with the single line, “This kind of just made my day worth it” and is ending with my faith in humanity being bolstered. I express my profound gratitude to every person who throws RAOKs; to CAV for the courage to recognize and share the pictures of people caught in the act of throwing a RAOK; and to my daughter for knowing the positive impact reading it would have on me. I encourage you to check out the 7/16/13 CAV blog post and then toss a few RAOKs of your own.

I hope this makes you smile (think & act); and as always,

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Vicki

A Post From a Prodigy

Every once in a blue moon a rare phenomenon occurs: pigs fly. And after these pigs are airborne, and a well-known hot place suddenly experiences chilly weather, another, more frightening experience occurs. Mommy falls ill.

As a child of a single parent, Mommy sick days are accompanied with rounds of “Oh no’s” and other questions regarding meals and lack of fun things to do. When I was a much younger prodigy, I quickly learned that belly-aching was not to be tolerated on any accounts, especially when Mommy falls ill. As a youngin, meals while Mommy was ill consisted of cereal, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches (still a favorite of this prodigy), and macaroni & cheese that was cooked under the supervision of the invalid. However, as a young prodigy, my viewpoint was extremely limited. I knew what it meant to be sick (like when sickness would visit this prodigy on days when a spelling test was scheduled at school), and I especially didn’t like it when Mommy was sick because she looked very un-Mommy and took on an appearance similar to The Blob from the old Steve McQueen movie.

The years have passed all too quickly and this prodigy ages quite nicely. Now I am a fully-functioning young adult quite capable of cooking meals and paying bills. And yet, when Mommy falls ill, for a moment, I regress to a younger version of myself, and my first thoughts consist of “Oh no” followed by questions regarding meals and fun things to do…for about a nano-second. Then the years of Kid-Able training kick in. Instead of cereal and macaroni and cheese, all the Life skills my Mommy has taught me over the years engage. I instantly go about doing the necessary laundry, dishes, and am more than capable of creating healthy (check that: REALLY HEALTHY) meals that are good for sick Mommy, such as homemade chicken noodle soup, which is super easy right from the pantry because we always have frozen, clearly-marked vegetables, and a pantry so highly organized that it puts the grocery store to shame!!!

All the KidAble principles that were such a huge part of my Life growing up aren’t just tested when Mommy is ill, but they’re applied!  And goshdarnit, Mommy was right all these years…I am really capable! The mind reels at the thought!!!

Because I innately know what to do and how to function because of all the super-fun and super-simple Life skills I was taught as a part of my KidAble upbringing, the household doesn’t fall apart because Mommy is ill.  (She even uses KidAble passwords so I can easily take care of writing the blog while she’s sick!)  And I know enough to make sure that she knows I will let you know that I know that I am the sunshine in the lemon storm of sickness this time.  So, as My Mommy would say,

Thanks for reading.  Hope this brought you a smile and, as always,

Prodigy (not Vicki this time!)

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Lemon-day Picnics

My mantra “Look for the sunshine” is an abbreviation for “When life gives you lemons, Look for the sunshine…because lemons only grow in the sun.” This hails from something I overheard a sweet, elderly neighbor say when I was a child growing up in West Virginia. I loved it so much and I didn’t forget it. She said, “When life gives me lemons, make lemonade”. About 15 years ago, a sweet friend used a similar statement, “When life gives you lemons, look for the sunshine.” Both of these incredible women deserve the credit and my eternal gratitude for helping me to remember to look for and find positivity in adversity always.

I went through a rough patch for several years…it seemed that “looking” didn’t always mean “finding” the sunshine while enduring a particularly crap-filled lemon storm. But, I had a revelation and began to think like a little kid…Easter eggs aren’t just lying around on the ground…I had to hunt for them.  My buddy isn’t just standing in plain site during a rousing game of hide-and-seek. Rather, I have to “SEEK” and “FIND”.  Both of these examples evoke visions of working hard in the form of opening doors, looking in dark places, moving to a different place, and sometimes reaching out to grab it.  After this light bulb moment, I decided to force myself (and work) to find the sunshine in the myriad of life-lesson lemon crap storms that were assaulting me.

After a while, I didn’t have to work as hard to find the sunshine.  I became conditioned to find the promise (sunshine) in almost any situation. I was better able to cope with lemon storms by having a positive outlook even as it was raining yellow.  Thus, my mantra was born. In this process, I realized that the steps “seek & find” were the secret to success in anything (but that’s another blog for another day because it’s a little too deep and this is a bright and sunshiny topic today!).

So, relating my sunshine mantra to a KidAble LIFE!!! and today’s topic…Lemon-day Picnics. When they are small, our wee ones can find abject joy in the simple things…like a picnic in the middle of the family room floor for absolutely no reason, but most especially when they have had a lemon-storm (crappy) day. I remember after we moved to a new home that was far away from the old one.  Nobody had any friends so we instituted lemon-day picnics every Friday night. The timing was great because our picnic coincided with a PBS showing of the the New York ballet. My wee ones loved the ballet and so we would sit in the dark, eat our picnic, and watch and discuss the ballet, the costumes, the sets. Usually, at least one of the wee ones ended up dancing which would cause peals of laughter. This always opened up dialogue about their day, their week, their challenges.  As a family, we turned lots of lemon storms into lemonade at these picnics.

Well, my youngest baby is now twenty-something and we still have lemon-day picnics on the floor, though not as frequently.  In fact, we had a friend over for dinner not too long ago and decided he needed a pick-me-up, lemon-day picnic (because he was having a rough time)…so that’s what we did.

We tossed a blanket on the floor, made homemade lemonade, some goofy sandwiches, a peach upside down cake and trifle in a jar (they’re sitting on the blue cooler in the picture). We took off our shoes, sat on pillows on the floor and had a blast as my baby re-told story after story about our lemon-day picnics she remembered from growing up.

The sunshine mantra has served and continues to serve my family and me well, and I share it with you; make it yours too if you want. Become a force for good, for positivity in the lives of your wee ones. Help them learn to “seek & find”. Together, we can improve ourselves, our families, our communities, and gee-wouldn’t-it-be-great, the world.

Thanks for reading.  Hope this brought you a smile and, as always,

Vicki

PS – You can find the recipe for the Peach Upside Down Cake (which is paleo and gluten free) on the Battinburg Cakes blog or through BattinburgCakes.com.

Baking with Our Babies

What is a Kid Able Life???

Vicki/English vs English/Vicki: A life that is intelligent and workable for adults, but one that enables our prodigy to have success from the earliest age, teaching them independence and self-confidence without actual sit-down teaching; hence, helping a Kid (to be) Able on their own to learn and perform necessary Life skills.

Ever try to bake a cake with your prodigy?  Mine started baking with me at about age 2-1/2 or 3.  How is that even possible? you ask.  Simple.  Make the kitchen Kid Able. Let’s take one piece of baking a cake…measuring out the dry ingredients.  Often when baking a cake, we use cake flour, which comes in a cereal-sized box.  My 1-cup measuring cup doesn’t fit into the box, so to get an accurate measure, I have to make twice as many trips using a 1/2-cup…tougher still when it’s small-fry busy britches who is trying to do the measuring accurately.

Now the cake flour box has a quasi-large opening.  How much more difficult is it to measure say, the salt?  Now really.  How difficult is it for you to measure out the salt…to maneuver that large, round cardboard salt container having that little metal funnel/bridge on the top?  As an adult with all of your coordination skills fully developed…how frequently do you spill when you try to pour salt into a teeny weeny 1/4 or 1/2-teaspoon measuring device?  Better yet…how difficult is it for you to simply get the little metal funnel/bridge thingie open?  My hand doesn’t even fit all the way around that large, round cardboard salt container.  Okay – show of hands…how many of us end up spilling salt on the counter when we try to measure it out (or worse, into the bowl with the other cake ingredients because we are dumb enough to measure over the bowl instead of the counter?

If you have difficulty doing this seemingly simple task correctly – ask yourself, how can your wee prodigy do it correctly when they don’t have fully-developed coordination skills, little hands, and are probably standing on a chair to reach the countertop?  Isn’t this kind of like, oh I don’t know, a circus contortion trick for little ones?

My Answer:  Make it kid-able.  First, obtain a wide-opening flat plastic storage container that has a seal-tight lid (I don’t want to get into a trademark war with the “Tupper” or “Steri” people, so I’m refraining from using their brand names).  Anyway – find yourself some of those plastic containers. You can usually find them really inexpensively at the dollar stores (or if you can find some that aren’t all sticky at a thrift shop – better and better…that’s what hot water, bleach or dishwashers are good for; cleaning up thrift shop finds).  Now, empty the salt (or the flour, or the baking soda) into your new container…better yet – let your crumb cruncher do it…they are helping!!!  I usually go one step further with the flours…I empty them into a gallon-size zip-closed plastic bag first to help keep it fresher longer…but that’s just me.

Okay – so now you’re asking me, “What’s the point?  It’s still a large salt container?”  Yes, it is still large, probably round or oblong, and it is a salt container.  But this is where the similarities end and a KidAble LIFE!!! begins.  This new container allows the salt (flour, etc.) to be scooped from the container which remains firmly on the counter (or table or floor – see pictures).  Once your prodigy have developed higher coordination skills, you can teach them to level off the measuring spoon/cup and push the salt back into the plastic container without spilling because the plastic container has a really, really wide opening.

Let’s add on one more KidAble LIFE!!! opportunity in our container principle.

Prodigy learn really, really quickly how to associate a picture with its real-life counterpart.  I mean come on…we show them story books with pictures from the time they pop out; showing and telling them what a bunny is, a truck, a ball. They can learn very young to associate the picture of a bunny with the little fuzzball hopping across the yard.  They can do the same thing with salt if we use a picture.  Simply cut the picture of the sweet little girl holding the umbrella off of the cardboard salt container and (using rubber cement) glue it to the side of your new plastic salt container.  Your prodigy will quickly learn to associate the girl holding the umbrella with the word “salt” until they can read.  This improved KidAble LIFE!!! plastic salt container can be kept in the pantry or in the cabinet at a level low enough that your prodigy can actually go and get it, and toddle it back to you all by themselves when you are going to bake a cake together.  You pop your prodigy on a stool (or better yet, bring their kiddie picnic table in from the patio and then you work at their level also)… you take the lid off the plastic container (or don’t fill it too full, put it on the floor and show them how to do it [might want to loosen it for the really young prodigy])…anyway, get the lid off, and let them measure (and when they’re a little more coordinated) level away. Watch and applaud their success as all the excess salt stays off the counter or table or floor and only 1/4 or 1/2 teaspoonful goes into the cake batter.

How empowered and capable did your young prodigy feel as a result of this huge success?  What joy do you feel when you see that look of triumph on the shining face of your prodigy? Why is my world built to be a KidAble LIFE!!!?  Do you even have to ask?  Nuff said.

There’s a million ways to apply the philosophy of a KidAble LIFE!!!  The only limitations are those imposed by the adult ego…yes, I said that right…the adult ego is what limits us.  It’s sometimes hard for us to let go of our need to feel superior to someone and I will be honest, it is humbling as an adult at first to establish and maintain a household around the changing needs of a KidAble LIFE!!!  But hey – you probably already put those human-proof locks on everything when they were toddlers, and in my never-to-be-humble opinion, these KidAble LIFE!!! principles are waaaayyyy less humbling and not nearly as frustrating as those crazy things! And honestly…I’m addicted to the joy of their success. (..and I can NEVER get a doorknob to turn with those plastic covers on them…my hands are too small!)  Besides, as prodigy mature, the KidAble LIFE!!! principles adapt.  Once they can read, pictures aren’t necessary anymore. (as an aside… I actually taught my 2 year old how to sort clothes by putting cut-out pictures on laundry baskets…towels went in one bin, colors in another, reds in another, and whites in another still.  We actually had fun sorting laundry together!!!)

If the mature adult in all of us can get past our own ego and realize the joy we feel when our prodigy succeeds…and actually allow ourselves to let it be their success and not take the credit for it…well, I know for me it’s totally worth every effort.  Besides, let’s face it – the salt really is easier for me  to measure from a wide-mouth plastic container, too!

More examples, pictures, etc. in the coming blogs and on other web pages.  Look around.  Ask me questions.

Thanks for reading.  Hope this brought you a smile and, as always,

Vicki

 

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My Thursday Morning Miracle

A man died in front of me this morning; the victim of a single- vehicle crash. Myself, along with several other drivers, scattered quickly on the freeway to avoid a similar fate. We watched helplessly as his truck, which was on its side, was quickly engulfed in the red flames spewing forth from the undercarriage.  Because of the intensifying heat, the threat that the gas tank would blow, and with the ever-increasing flames blocking all forward escape, we quickly retreated our vehicles along their prior  path; inching along the berm, dodging the incoming gawkers who were now as trapped as we.  All attempts at rescue were met with and rebuffed by the unrelenting flames.  We could only wait helplessly for those with rescue tools to arrive…and I began to pray.

Dismay and disorientation faded as the sirens blared and those with authority arrived and took charge. 

What seems an eternity was actually less than 15 minutes; the dense black smoke changing  to white steam as the flames were quenched.  In minutes, the fire was doused and all thoughts of rescue were replaced with efforts of recovery.  We silently watched as a sheet was carried from the squad car and the officer’s profile disappeared as he bent to cover the remains.  The surreal feelings were replaced with reality as we were asked to relive and recount our experience to those in charge.  Walking around the high-speed roadway upon which we drive each workday, many of us called loved ones and employers to let them know we were well, but would be unavailable for a while. 

We began to count our blessings of the morning, re-playing “if I had only” or “if I had not” scenarios that may have placed us closer in harm’s way.  Less than 15 seconds became the consensus of the difference in time between being involved and being a witness. 

It was heartening to hear  a number of people thinking well of the driver, lifting their voices to God for his loved ones who did not know yet of his passing; that he would never again be there to speak with them, hug them, or share their joy.  The unbridled sentiments for these people unknown to us was refreshing until I realized what I didn’t hear…nobody spoke of the inconvenience they felt at being stuck on the freeway, of being late, of missing work, of _______; you fill in the blank with what you would have complained about, because I can’t.  I didn’t hear it; I didn’t think it, and I don’t want to think about it now.  More than one person stated aloud that our inconvenience was nothing compared with the fate of our brother in the truck and his family.  I didn’t hear any complaints.  Instead, the curse of construction was now a blessing because there was a porta-potty in the center divide that we could use; the early hour was heralded because the heat of the day was not upon us and it was not yet humid; the threatening cloud cover and thunderstorm predictions were held at bay and regaled as a blessing for those tasked with clearing the scene and we were free to walk around rather  than be trapped in our car, windows up, air conditioning running.  Each and every person I encountered was finding the sunshine and sharing their find so that we could all enjoy it’s warmth. 

I witnessed a miracle this morning…the unselfish goodness of my fellow beings.

I haven’t had many of these moments in my lifetime.  I want to cherish it’s memory for as long as I can.  So, I stop writing here for today because I want to end on that lovely note; before the real world creeps back in and shatters the peace that I feel.

My day began as any other.  I then found myself among strangers who quickly became kindred souls.  I am sad that my brother will never know the profound effect his passing had on dozens of us.  His misfortune allowed us to be surrounded by others who seek for the sunshine in life’s lemon storms.  I encourage you to do the same.  Live as if it is your last moment; make sure those you love know how you feel; be well, and, as always,

 

Vicki

How-to (because of pet peeves) tie a perfect knot or bow

Pet Peeves…We all have ’em. Some of us just have a more visceral response to them.  Unfortunately, my #1 pet peeve seems to be all the rage these days, especially where I live.  My #1 pet peeve actually deals with pets, as luck would have it, and makes my teeth hurt because, when I encounter this peeve, I clench my jaw as a visceral response.

#1 Peeve: Animals dressed as humans
What is up with that????  Rover  has got to feel completely stupid when he gets primped and dressed.  He certainly looks stupid.  I’m sorry – A Yorkie Superman?  A Harry Potter Shi Tsu?  Really???  Yuk, Yuk, Yuk!!! It was bad enough when we had talking horses; now, we have to dress them too??? It’s just not natural for animals to wear clothes.  Why do we humans suppose other species want to dress like we do? Could it be because we are taking our fashion clues from the people of WalMart with their cutting-edge fashion sense??? Do we actually think cats are lying around in all their scorn for anything human and thinking, “Gee, if I only had a feather boa I would be abject perfection”…Really??? I guess it should be expected because so many of our prodigy are trying to dress like animals…spiked collars around their necks, prodigy being taken for a walk on a leash in airports. Ok – I may be beginning to understand this one. No-not happening. I watched in disbelief as some pooch barked “yes” to her wedding dress on a popular Friday-night TV show and who was later assisted down the aisle by her owner to greet her tuxedo-clad poochie pal. The Boss of all Cakes actually did a TV show making dog-edible cakes as a symbol to celebrate yet another pet wedding.

As a left-field aside, let me clear one thing up right now…Yes, our website, Battinburgcakes.com displays some of the sumptuous treats we make and yes, we make specialty cakes, and yes we have made and will continue to make specialty birthday and party cakes in the shapes of and decorated as various animals (in fact, I am making a “pigs in the mud” cake for a July 4th party – go check out the pictures on our Battinburgcakes.com website after the 4th. It will be really cute.)  Having said that…we reserve the right to refuse to make a cake if we think it’s stupid…and pet weddings cross over to that side, I’m afraid.  Now, I’m all for fun…believe me…we once made a naked male birthday cake for a female stripper; (how did we do that, you are wondering?) c’mon…nude male cake…think chocolate-covered banana and coconut, and nope…not gonna find the pictures for this cake on our website!!!  Strictly a family show, G-rated, sorry. 

OK – I got that cleared up…now back to my animals dressed as humans rant.

Across the globe, the blogosphere seems replete with blog after blog celebrating website after website dedicated to humans posting preening pet poses, when in fact, the poor animal looks like it is embarrassed and merely enduring this very human practice of wearing clothing (yes, the websites are really there & yes, you really can submit a photo if you are so inclined…I won’t give you the website names because I don’t want to contribute to that behavior, but feel free to Google it…I’m sure Google knows all about it.)  What has happened to us??? Are we really so bored with our own lives that we have to live vicariously through our pets???  I don’t get it and I hope I never do. ‘Nuff said.

My #2 pet peeve has nothing to do with animals, thankfully, though #2 for me is like nails on a chalkboard when I read it.
#2 Peeve:  People who misuse or mix up two words…”you’re” and “your”.  Okay, it has been a while since I was in grammar school learning this great language of ours, and yes, I am too old to have seen the TV show called “Conjunction Junction” or something like that…did they also teach contractions on that show or do we no longer teach contractions?  This “you’re” contraction is so bloomin’ easy – I mean, c’mon…prime time TV taught it a decade ago when, in the immortal words of our “Friend”, Ross Geller, [quote] You’re means ‘you are’…your means ‘YOUR’!!! [unquote]. My youngest prodigy believes that everything in life relates to Friends. She wins a point.  Every single time I see the word ‘your’ used incorrectly, all I hear is the screeeecccchhhh of the fingernails.

So – why am I displaying my pet peeves on the Kidable LIFE!!! Blog; a blog dedicated to bettering myself, my prodigy, and sharing the things I have learned ???  Because my #3 peeve is actually related to princess prodigy and one with which I can help spread some of that lemon sunshine I love so much. (This one has no effect on my teeth or my fingernails; thus motivating me to fix it.)

#3 Peeve is the mess that is created by incorrectly tying bows and knots on the back of a dress, especially when it is on the dress of a little princess prodigy. Those twisted, uneven, and unsightly knots and bows seem to be 100% adult failure in my never to be humble opinion…failure to have ever learned how to do it correctly; failure to notice that it’s crooked; and/or failure to care about either of the other two failures.  There are only two things worse to me (and you know what those 2 things are)…only 2 things worse than seeing a primped and prancing princess prodigy, smiling sweetly as she slowly strolls down the aisle, carefully casting clusters of beautiful blossoms before the blushing bride; only to have her pass so you can now see the mess that is the sash haphazardly tied around her waist. So, I’m going to tell you a story and then teach you how to tie a perfectly flat knot or perfect bow every time.

The story:  I have the most wonderful cousins in the world; more like sisters. One of my cousins is brilliant; actually earned her advanced math degree in college. Well, she has a little girl prodigy who is always impeccably dressed like a princess and who, because she is so poised, is regularly asked to be a flower girl in weddings.  My cousin, unfortunately, has a perfect blind spot where those pesky bows and knots are concerned though. I have shown her again and again how to tie the perfect bow; she has actually performed the task with me watching, but then the knowledge promptly falls right out of her otherwise steel-trap skull. My cousin actually called me from across the country once to talk her through tying a bow as her prodigy was lining up for a wedding!!! SUCCESS!!! I consider that a very bright sunshine moment because cousin dearest noticed that the bow was a mess!!!  Success!!!  So, this tutorial is dedicated to my wonderful cousin…now she may continue to call me any time for help…or just look online if she has the time…I am empowering her (and you).  The power is now hers.

I hope you both find this useful and that you enjoy it…and, as always,

  Vicki
HOW TO:  Tie a perfect knot or bow Steps 1 through 3 for both knot and bow:

Step 1:  Left tie over right.

Left Over Right

Step 2:  Take the tie in your right hand, go underneath the tie in left hand; up and through; bring out on top; tighten against the body.

Step 3: Holding tension, place ties directly on top of one another; smooth as flat as possible. 

TO MAKE A KNOT:

Knot Step A: Take the tie underneath, go around the top tie from right to left; then back underneath and through the hole.

Knot Step B:  Fuss with the middle part until you get it nice and flat with the ties coming out fully on both sides.  This should be very flat against the body at this point.

TO MAKE A BOW:

Bow Step A:  From Step 3 above: On the bottom tie, make a loop by pulling the tie up from the bottom so that the end of the tie remains hanging down, e.g. use your thumb to “gather” the tie together. DO NOT loop the tie upwards so that the remaining tie is on top of the loop.  This is critical to a perfect bow.

Bow Step B: WARNING: The picture above in Step A shows the left-hand tie over toward the left. This is only to demonstrate the loop.  Note in the picture below that you will now take the left-hand tie and go clockwise around the loop; over the loop, around the loop from top to bottom clockwise.  DO NOT go around counterclockwise.

Bow Step C: Keeping the ties as open and flat as possible, make the second loop by pushing the tie from left to right through the hole by the body.  Fuss with it; pull the edges of the loops, smooth the hanging ties, until you have the perfect bow.

This is a correct bow; flat, loops the same size, ties hanging down & open; knot square. This picture looks funny because my wonderful prodigy had put her dress on backwards and had her arms outstretched when taking the picture and the lighting was really bad.  I stink at photography and can’t be trusted to get the object into the shot.

Vicki

PS – Thanks to my youngest prodigy for putting her dress on backwards so she could film this while I did it. She’s a trooper!

A Day to Honor Fathers

Ok – It’s Father’s Day and I would like to pay homage to all of the men who have served as father figures in my life and in the lives of my prodigy by asking a few simple questions…especially since men really like to solve life’s problems for all of us…the little dears!!!

Why is a necktie still a popular gift when businesses usually only require men to wear casual clothes to work?

How come Father’s Day is the only time tools, especially the powered ones, go on sale?

When mom’s get breakfast in bed on Mother’s Day, how come we don’t serve dad his Father’s Day breakfast on the lawn?

I will leave you to ponder those imponderables for a moment while I give a little advice to all parents…having been a child once myself and subsequently having had my own prodigy, I know one thing very keenly…children spell love with four letters – T.I.M.E.  Children don’t care how much money parents have, how attractive they are, or whether they live in a mansion or an apartment.  All they know is that if we love them, we spend T.I.M.E. with them. T.I.M.E is the stuff from which memories are made.

My father would have loved those imponderables (and probably would have tried to provide a ready answer).  Unfortunately, he is now in the next world and can’t answer them.  He had a wickedly sardonic wit that I grew to share. He would hear a funny story or joke and, out of the blue, would call me to share it.  We would laugh until we cried!!!  Now, when I hear a funny story that would have made my father “bust a gut” (e.g. his way of describing laughing until you cry), I wish I could share it with him…so I call my youngest brother instead as he also shares that wickedly sardonic wit!  Together, we take the T.I.M.E. to keep my father’s memory alive. 

So to my bio father, and all of those other wonderful father figures who have shared their T.I.M.E. with me and with my prodigy in the absence of their father, I say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.  You unselfishly gave of yourselves expecting nothing in return and on this day to honor fathers, I honor you. 

Hallmark has yet to make a card big enough to express this.

As always,

Vicki

 

BattinburgCakes.com

We launched our desserts website today (www.BattinburgCakes.com) and received our first online order!!!  We have been baking and catering for about 8 years now…and decided it was time.

Getting my arms around all of the busyness of this online world is quite hectic to be sure!  It’s very time consuming to figure out tags and how to attach pictures and videos…the prodigy of course has already got it all nailed…who do you think built the website??? How did prodigy today get so incredibly computer savvy?  Didn’t our generation invent computers?  I know I didn’t invent them, but I did spend hours and hours playing pong and Dungeons and Dragons.  I remember when the first “floppy disks” came out…they were actually floppy.  They were the size of a half sheet of notebook paper and we spent so much time worried that we would crease them – because then our game was destroyed!  My first “hard” drive was REALLY EXPENSIVE and consisted of a whopping 10K of space…you read that right – not 10 mb – 10K of space.  That was HUGE back then – and it was hard, didn’t bend, and I felt so very secure because of it!! It was a very extravagant purchase (and I was quite the envy of all of my friends and roommates). Ah; the 1980s. Except for the hair (and the clothes and the music and the movies) – good times!

But I digress…

The goal of this blog is to work in conjunction with the new BattinburgCakes.com website so that I can share what I know, what I learn, and thank those other people who have been awesome enough to help me along my way.  Yes…I want to share with my prodigy (so they can race past me again, no doubt, and then beat me at my own game!!!), but mostly I want to share with you, my friends.

So share I shall…Evidently, a good baker never gives up her secret special recipe…it’s kind of like Coke not coughing up their ingredients list for Pepsi to steal – I don’t drink that stuff anymore, so it mattereth not whither Coke & Pepsi goeth.  As I pondered what to share first, prodigy and I decided to share one of our best secrets – THE MOST AWESOME BUTTERCREAM RECIPE EVER!!!

Okay – that’s not a completely true statement.  What this recipe makes isn’t really a “buttercream frosting” at all. Technically speaking, its an old-fashioned butter and confectioners’ sugar icing that’s been around for a loooonnngggg time…we just tweaked it a bit to make it work every time perfectly.  At any rate, we think this is the tastiest, creamiest frosting we have ever tasted.  We use it on many of our cakes and cupcakes.  It crusts well, pipes well, and holds it’s shape well…just not in high humidity or high heat. The only thing we don’t use this frosting for is to pipe figures…it’s just not quite stiff enough for that and to stiffen it would wreck it.  So, we enjoy it as it is.  One bit of advice when making this…to achieve the desired creamy texture…be absolutely sure that you beat the frosting for the amount of time called for in the recipe.

BattinburgCakes Buttercream Frosting
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 to 8 cups 10XX sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cut the butter into chucks and place into a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the 10xx sugar; then add the milk and vanilla straight away. On medium speed with an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes each), until the icing is thick and has a spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the 10xx sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly.

This frosting will set if chilled (which is perfect if you have to ship it), so use it and store it at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Try it.  I know you will love it.

Oh…before I forget…please check out our website http://www.BattinburgCakes.com.  Like us; Twitter us (or whatever that’s called! I think “tweet” sounds stupid and I refuse to use it).  BattinburgCakes.com has a beautiful pictorial of our latest and greatest confections.  You can also find BattinburgCakes on Pinterest and Facebook, too.

Now…go forth, smear buttercream frosting on everything except the cat, enjoy the rest of your day and, as always,

Vicki

What is a Kidable LIFE!!! ?????

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.  Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.  Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.  Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.  Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. ” Calvin Coolidge

• Where did KidAble LIFE!!! come from?

A prolonged lemon storm….literally.  It seems I have been on my own as long as I can remember.  I have been forced to find ways to streamline the most mundane or complex things.  As a result, I know a lot of stuff about a lot of stuff; and for the stuff I don’t know, I figure out how to figure it out. I grew up being told that “can’t” is not in my vocabulary.

Over the years, many friends have told me that I needed to write a book….Then one day, my father came to my home for the first time after I was a mom of an 8 year old.  He saw and experienced many of the things I was doing in my home and he said I had created a KidAble LIFE!!! (definition: a life that is intelligent and workable for adults, but one that enables prodigy to have success; hence, kid able).

KidAble LIFE!!! stuff is just stuff that makes sense, but that most people don’t seem to think about doing because it hasn’t been done before.  My father surprised me unknowingly echoed the same sentiments of my friends when he commented that I should write a book.  That was 13 years ago (I’ve been a little busy being a working single mom).  I thought about the book over the years, and even went so far as to jot down some concepts that I would want to put into the book.

Let me level with you…I have had a fundamental/visceral problem with writing a book.  I don’t believe I have any creds to substantiate anything I do such that people would want to buy a book.  Many of the things I do I either scalped from a friend or I saw what a friend was doing and I adapted it to work for me, or I did a LOT of research to find a simpler way.  All the research over the years…and yes, I’m still researching, but the Internet sure makes research much MUCH simpler than going to the library like I did for all those years!!!  Anyway, I just didn’t feel “right” about publishing a book, but I couldn’t stop thinking something about the concept of sharing what I’ve learned was right…my lemon stories may benefit someone else.  After all, I am a devout follower of Christ and believe it is my duty to serve my fellow humanoids.

Fast forward…right before he passed away a couple of years ago, my father out of the blue said to me, “You know, Vic, you really should write that book.”  No other frame of reference.  No other details.  No discussion before or after his statement. He obviously had been thinking about it too.  So…shortly thereafter, I sat down with my now 13 years’ older prodigy and together we brainstormed a table of contents. With the surge of blogs and web pages that are taking the world by storm, we decided to go electronic instead of bound text.  This gets me through my visceral problem, except now instead of just sitting down and writing, I have had to learn a whole new technology for delivery.  But I am happy with the direction we are heading and I’m so very happy to be doing this.

I hope you find something of value for you that will help to answer a question, ease a burden, or just give you a ray of sunshine on an otherwise gloomy moment.

I know me and I’m sure I will continue to morph as I rapidly approach my empty nest and move into my grandKidAble LIFE!!!….so stay tuned and grow with me.

Thanks for reading.  Hope this brought you a smile and please,

Vicki