Posted to Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef

I became a fan of the Pioneer Woman after just one recipe on Christmas morning. I became curious about the Pioneer Woman many, many months earlier.

My sister-in-law (aka sister) has been a non-food blogger for years and maintains a long list of blogs she reads. I've been curious, but have never had time to investigate many of the blogs listed. The Pioneer Woman is on her list.

Then some time last year I think, my sister blogged about Monkey Bread. I had never heard of such a thing. I have since come to find out that I might be the only person in this country who hasn't heard of and had Monkey Bread. I grew up on the west coast. Apparently, people here on the east coast and those from the midwest know of it. How did I miss this?

In any case, my sister made some Monkey Bread using the Pioneer Woman's recipe and she posted pictures. It sounded and looked so good! My mouth started watering. Drooling really. But by that time I was already gluten-free. The Pioneer Woman's recipe called for cans of ready-to-bake biscuits. I have yet to find any such thing in the Land of Gluten Freeness.

I used to love baking. And I used to believe I was a good baker. Not only did my taste buds tell me that, but others told me. I believed them. Then, a few years ago, I was forced to become gluten-free. I was devastated. I put all of my effort and energy into things that came out of the oven tasting less than yummy. I even whined to a friend, "I used to be a good baker!"

I do miss the ease of just following a shared recipe and basking in the joy of warm, yummy goods straight from the oven. I have since learned to substitute with a wide variety of gluten-free flours. Texture still challenges me, but I'm working on that. And I have started to gather gluten-free baking cookbooks. And I began reading your blog. Your willingness to try and adjust and tweak the recipes has inspired me to keep my hopes up for my baking.

This is how I found your Buttermilk Biscuits. That was it. I could now try the Pioneer Woman's Monkey Bread for the first time.

It looked so good.

So, with the Pioneer Woman's Monkey Bread recipe and your Buttermilk Biscuit recipe to substitute for the cans of the ready-made variety, I was all set. I decided I would take the plunge on Christmas morning. Somehow, it didn't occur to me that this might be a bit ambitious for such a high-profile day. I had complete confidence that the biscuits would be yummy and the Monkey Bread delectable. I knew it. I just knew it.

My daughter worked with me make three batches of your buttermilk biscuit recipe on Christmas morning. She even delayed opening her gifts, because she wanted to help make something yummy that I could enjoy too. I stirred the sugar and butter on the stove. We tossed the biscuit balls around in the cinnamon and sugar and then into the tube pan. It took awhile, but every minute was full of anticipation and fun. It was Christmas morning after all! Finally it was ready for the oven. We slid it in and then we opened some gifts. We were there in front of the oven when the timer beeped. That Monkey Bread filled the house with the best smell for a holiday morning. It was the smell of love and family and happiness and warmth. And it was the smell of something incredibly tasty!

And it was! Absolutely delicious! We huffed and puffed on those gooey, sugary balls to get them cool enough to eat. My husband is a man of few words, but I've never seen him go back for so many seconds! And he is not gluten-free. That was the best endorsement I could have had, outside of my very happy and satisfied belly!

My belief in my baking was renewed. I am a good baker. And it just so happens that I am a good gluten-free baker! I still face challenges with texture and balance, but I know many good things will come of my attempts. Many, many thanks to you and the Pioneer Woman for making it possible and renewing that belief!

Gem from the Dinner Table

Last night at the dinner table, Dude was trying to ask me something. Finally, he got it out.

"Mom, were you born before or after the Civil War?"

Oh, I feel so young....

I stifled my laughter and said, "After. And after World War I and after World War II and after the Korean War and after the Vietnam War (mostly). But I was in college during the first Iraqi war."

Is this why we have kids? To help us feel young?

Maybe I felt that way this time. But I am not completely delusional.

I know all too well that, right around the corner, there will be something coming our of their mouths to make me feel old.

I guess that's better than not feeling at all. And I'm sure I'll manage to laugh with them about it then too.

And just remember that you, too, were born after the Civil War. Feeling better already, right?!

Obstacle Course

We are still digging out from record-breaking snowfalls. Government offices, schools, and many businesses have been closed for the better part of a week (or more) due to the snow.

Today is President's Day and I have to work. No liberal leave or administrative leave has been declared, so I will be driving into the city for my meetings.

I had been out on the streets around our house a couple of times in the last few days. Even as late as Friday, most areas were plowed, but that does not indicate to what level of safety they had. In numerous places, the banks of snow (and ice) were higher than my line of sight while driving in my four-wheel-drive vehicle. With the added wind, several places had blowing snow over the road and in the shade, leaving patches of snowy and icy roadway. Driving around was possible, but I wouldn't have recommended it if avoidable.

And I *love* my four-wheel drive vehicle.

By Sunday evening, more had been done to clear the tall piles of snow blocking visibility. At a traffic circle near our house, the road crews had managed to clear the center of the circle and reduce the height of the side snow banks down to two feet tall or so. This was a vast improvement. Things are getting safer on the roads, but that's no reason not to continue to be careful.

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE my 4W drive vehicle?!!

This morning, as I headed to work, I paid attention to the condition of the roads as I approached the city.

As soon as I crossed the city line, the roads got worse. No exaggerating. As. soon. as. I. crossed. the. city. line.

Normally an undivided, four lane street was suddenly a two and a half lane street, with tall snow banks in the lane I typically use. Snow banks higher than my vehicle roof were everywhere. Normal right turn lanes were not cleared, backing up traffic worse that usual. Divided streets with two lanes in each direction *and* on-street parking were suddenly transformed into one lane of traffic, with cars buried in normal parking spots covered with snow, cars stopped or parked in the right most traffic lane, and chairs in the street. The chairs, of every type imaginable, were there to save parking spots in shoveled areas of the right most traffic lane. Plastic deck chairs. Wood dining chairs. Vinyl kitchen chairs.

There is never any warning when coming around a curve, you find the lane you are in is filled with snow and/or stranded/parked cars!

When in doubt, stay to the left.

Talk about needed to pay attention while driving! This is no joke of an obstacle course! This is dangerous!

Too bad the drivers don't seem to know how to drive cautiously.

I arrived at work safely and not too much later than usual. I'm sure the speed of my arrival had less to do with the condition of the roads, and more to do with the fact that today is a holiday. For some.

And as of 1pm today, more snow is expected. That's in 7 minutes....

If I had wanted a multi-faceted obstacle course, I would have signed up for boot camp.

Be safe.

Not Welcome

I offered to proofread his KSA, Knowledge and Skills Assessment for an application.

He sounded reluctant.

I offered again and left it alone.

Later I asked if it was done. He said yes.

"Oh, I guess you don't need it proofread then."

"Well, I still have until midnight tonight to make changes."

"Oh, okay. Well, then I'll look at it if you want."

He starts one paragraph by talking about a class he took in high school. He then progressing forward in time. Reviewers don't want to start at the beginning. They want reverse chronological! Ugh.

He is just shooting himself in the foot and is insistent in wanting to do it this way. Why doesn't he want to make it the best for THE REVIEWERS? Why doesn't he pay attention to any of the information given to him by the unemployment people??!!! They know what they are talking about.

I guess I can understand if he doesn't want to take my word for it. I'm a wife.

But follow the guidelines and suggestions given out by the job search people!

Stubbornness is not called for here. Give up on what YOU want and do it they way THEY want it.

UGH!

change of regime

I can't believe there was no communication. As of October 1, in just 9 days, the NICMOS team will be absorbed into the WFC3 team and Anton will go to WIT.

When did the NICMOS team get notified??? Did I miss a team meeting? If so, why wasn't it emailed around to the team???

This IMPOSES a change in the boss I report to for NICMOS. It affects me!

Management has got some serious communication problems. Do they think so little of the remaining members of the NICMOS team to completely neglect to notify them of this change???

Get a grip. Don't cuss. Don't fume. Just ask and listen. THEN DIGEST.

Remain non-committal.

Bury it.

Just like you bury everything else.

At least for this afternoon.

Don't pull a Cherry.

50 Things

...I want to do before I die....

1. Go to Space (preferrably do an untethered space walk, in which I am my own satellite orbiting the Earth)
2. Learn to speak, read, and write "fluent" French
3. Learn to play the piano proficiently
4. Read the Bible from cover to cover
5. Fly on the flying trapese
6. Visit the Galapogos Islands
7. Snorkel/dive the Great Barrier Reef
8. See molten lava flow into the ocean and sizzle
9. See the aurora
10. Hold and kiss a grandchild of mine
11. Drive an NSX at high speed, preferrably on an open road
12. Visit New York City
13. Personally see all the known surviving Clement Heaton windows and artwork (at least in the US, if not the world)
14. Visit the Taj Mahal
15. Stand on the Great Wall of China
16. Visit Bodio, Switzerland
17. Ride the train across America
18. Camp in the Banff National Forest
19. Crochet myself a nice afghan
20. Write a biography (maybe even autobiography)
21. Put my children's baby books together beautifully
22. Visit the Keck telescopes
23. Take voice lessons
24. Tour New Zealand
25. Visit the natural wonders of Alaska
26. Ride the Orient Express
27. Eat a fresh lobster dinner in Boston
28. Take swing (dance) lessons, preferrably with my significant other
29. Visit Paris and the Eiffel Tower
30. Send parents to see the Paris Air Show and family in France
31. Have a pedicure with no pressure to return to normal life immediately
32. Visit Niagra Falls
33. Witness a launch of the Space Shuttle
34. Read all of "War and Peace"
35. Go up into the Statue of Liberty

Activities for DC Area

DC

• National Fireworks on the Mall


• American History Museum (closing Fall 2006 for 2 years)


• Air & Space Museum


• Air & Space Museum Extension


• Mars IMAX Movie


• American Art Museum


• Hirschorn Modern Art Museum


• Spy Museum


• National Zoo


• Washington Monument - go up


• Natural History Museum(23 Apr 2009)


• Heaton window in DC church


• Cherry Blossoms


• Mount Vernon Estate (Virginia)

Baltimore

• Walters Museum


• Baltimore Zoo


• National Aquarium


• Port Discovery


• Fireworks at the Inner Harbor


• Maryland Science Center

Annapolis

• Downtown Annapolis


• Woodwind Cruise on the Chesapeake Bay


• Bay Bridge Walk

Ellicott City

• Walk downtown E.C.


• B & O Railroad Museum

Coming to Dinner

Look who's coming to dinner tonight!

This evening we arrived home pretty much as usual.  After decompressing for a bit, Chris happened to look out of our kitchen window.  Without warning, he shouts, "Come outside!"

"What?  Why?"

"Who?"

"All of you!"

"What's going on?  What's wrong?!"

"Just come outside!  Now!"

Let me just say that I really do prefer to have guests provide us with a bit of notice before arriving.

This one didn't bother.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Common Snapping Turtle.  Or maybe the Alligator Snapping Turtle.  I don't know which it is, but we do know for a fact that it snaps!

It was right in the middle of the street, at the height of "rush hour traffic" arriving home.  We did not want the turtle to get hit by a car.

Really.  We do not want to have the remnants being picked over by the resident, neighborhood turkey vultures.

We really, really did not want the turtle to get hit.  Not right in front of our house or anywhere else.

That is why Chris picked it up.

And got snapped at!

Wow, let me tell you that those turtles have necks that can extend out nearly as far back as to their tails!

And quick!  I didn't think a turtle could move that quickly!  Okay, so they can't run, but they can snap fast!

It scared us all!  The kids freaked out and Chris dropped it.  Luckily, it was only an inch or two off the ground when he snapped.

Apparently, they have an affinity for the ground.

Chris tried to coerce the turtle to the side of road with gentle prodding with a stick, but when it got really mad...

it hopped!

I'm not kidding.

It hopped and snapped angrily at the same time.  And fast!

Who would have thought a turtle can hop?  Certainly not the hare.

After getting the turtle only slightly closer to the side of our street to avoid disaster, Chris finally got our big push broom and "swept" or "pushed" or "prodded" it over into the grass lining the street.

I'm not thrilled with a snapper in our yard, but it is better than in the street.

This is not my average snapper for dinner!  I prefer the fishy kind.

Progress Log

I am just starting a progress log, at the suggestion of Henriette Anne Klauser in her book, Writing on Both Sides of the Brain.

I want to write fiction, and a memoir of David's cancer. I already have opportunities to write non-fiction, technical and scientific articles at work. I want to expand on that. I want to have a voice and share it. I want to think creatively and let the words flow.

This is the beginning of monitoring my progress. The next exercise I am tasked with is freewriting or rapidwriting.

14.02.2009 photo book

Fifes and Drums 

Henry James by Jacques-Emile Blanche

Walt Whitman by John White Alexander

Automatic Telegraph Reciever, Samuel Finley Breese Morse 

Men of Progress by Christian Schussele

The South Ledges, Appledore by Childe Hassam

The Victorian Chair by Childe Hassam

Obama by Shepard Fairey

Peacocks and Peonies II by John La Farge

Night in Bologna by Paul Cadmus

Marilyn Monroe by Andy Warhol

Maya Angelou

La Barba???

Luce Foundation Center, Presidential Cupcakes

Untitled (blue bowl) by Mauice Heaton

Best Intentions

Try using NovaMind or the free software options of FreeMind, Pimki, WikkaWiki, VUE, XMIND to develop plot diagram.

Write Away by Elizabeth George

Characters

1. Real people have flaws.
2. We all doubt ourselves over something.
3. We grow and change through events.
4. We all live with conflicts.
   

I am... 24

I am... 24 and...

a worker
a wife
a sister
a daughter
a friend
a granddaughter

I am... me

I am...

a daughter
a sister
a granddaughter
a wife
a mother
a lover
a friend
a dancer
a thinker
a scientist
a reader
a crocheter
a worker
a sinner
a dreamer
a student/learner
a nerd
a techie
a writer
a scrapbooker
a cook
a baker
a cuddler
a hugger
a housekeeper
a pet owner
a crafter
a walker
a jogger
a driver
a kayaker
a caregiver

2009 Spelling Bee

Missy is in fifth grade for this spelling bee.

Unfortunately, she was out on her first word.  As disappointed as I was, I didn't feel too bad about her missed her word:

goatee.

I don't really expect a fifth grader to know how to spell it.  But, apparently, it is fair game and it got her out.  Her best friend made it to the second round, but was eliminated with 'futon'.

Here is the entire list used in our spelling bee:

Round One:

chocolate

balcony

ninja

gospel

canary

frolic

broadleaf

thermal

diplomat

prescription

easel

dejected

goatee

hustle

tutu

reckless

denture

earthenware

topical

chinchilla

forlorn

powwow

spectrum

candidate

Round Two:

hassock

talc

denim

renovate

falsetto

totem

ravel

pragmatic

finale

herbivore

safari

futon

ventilate

tundra

palette

alamo

Round Three:

collage

fatigue

gazelle

portfolio

bequeath

stoic

All words in the third round were spelled incorrectly, except for the winning word 'portfolio'.

I still have some favorite words for spelling bees:

persimmon

pomegranate

muscular

chandelier

Age

I must be getting old.

And I'm OK with it.

Really.

I'm perfectly content to bundle the kids up and let them happily play out in the snow.

Without me.

I gave my blessings and concerns about trying to sled down the gravel driveway with only half an inch of snow.

Good luck to them.

Without me.

I'm perfectly content to get a hot mug of coffee and sit by the window and watch it snow.

From inside my warm house.

Sometimes, it's actually easier to be old....

Sometimes....

Sparkling Iciciles

This morning was spectacularly beautiful.

The temperature was right at freezing and it was raining steadily and heavily so at times.  Normally, these two conditions don't elicit excitement from me, especially in concert with each other.  But this morning was different.  It had one additional factor---ice.

Now, usually icy conditions strike fear into my heart.  And I was indeed concerned this morning.  Driving in icy conditions is about the last thing on the planet I will do willingly.

Presumably, the road temperature was a bit warmer than the air temperature this morning.  Once I found that the roads weren't particularly icy and driving wasn't as hazardous as I feared, I started to look around me.

And I saw the ice.  

First on the bushes, glistening on the stems.  Then on the trees, weighing down the branches dramatically, especially the pines.  Then as icicles, hanging daintily from mailboxes.  Lots of small icicles along the bottoms of the street signs.  All of the trees and bushes were sparkling as far as the eye could see.  Everything was a bit brighter and shinier than usual, despite the overcast skies and the rain.

It was magnificent.

I was still cautious with my driving.  Apparently, not everyone else was.  

According to the radio report, my usual route to work was considerably backed up, due to an accident.  As I approached the intersection to my second-choice route, I found that it, too, was considerably slowed, most likely from those avoiding the main route.

So, I took my third choice in routes to work.

I got in safely and only twenty minutes later than usual.  I fully expect I would have been stuck in traffic much, much longer than that if I had tried to crawl through my first-choice route.

The city had no ice.

No icicles.

No sparkles.

None of that beauty.

The city was five or six degrees warmer than where I live.  Those few degrees made all the difference.

I am so incredibly thankful to live where I do.

The neighborhood was beautiful again this morning, but in a way I don't usually see.

Remember to cherish beauty when and where you find it!

Gifts - Late 2008

Buy at Target:

• 3M Sawtooth Picture Hangers
• 2 lego bins
• 4 tube squeezers
• chip clips
• mini jams
• english toffee

Buy at Hallmark:

• little Webkins
• ornaments

Buy at Old Navy/Payless:

• Sweater/shirt for C
• Slippers for V
• Slippers for J

Grandma:

• Mimi's gift card
• Lebkuchen

Rosie:

• Lebkuchen

Elizabeth Allison:

• (beaded bracelets to make)
• blendy pens
• [travel brush/mirror]
• dolphin mosaic
• sour candy factory

Sarah Rose:

• (beaded bracelets to make)
• blendy pens
• [travel brush/mirror]
• fairy window mosaic
• sour candy factory

Sarah Ellen:

• blendy pens
• doll clothes

Matthew William:

• blendy pens
• assembly cars

Mom & Dad:

• Gardenia creme
• chamois
• Victorian stuff
• Toaster/gift card
• (licorice)
• (English toffee)
• (shake flashlights)
• (scented pouches)
• (magnetic clips)
• (chip clips)
• (tube squeezers)

Chris:

• (altoids)
• (scented pouch)
• clothes
• password directory- borders/B&N
• (chip clips)

Vanessa:

• (shake flashlight)
• (coloring stickers)
• (flossers)
• (trail mix)
• (tic tacs)
• ([travel brush/mirror])
• (lego pen)
• (mosaic coloring book)
• architecture set
• architecture book
• Lego Ferris Wheel
• scarf - handmade
• robe
• book fair book

Jeremy:

• (shake flashlight)
• (coloring stickers)
• (flossers)
• (trail mix)
• (tic tacs)
• (iron bead project)
• (mosaic coloring book)
• (lego pen)
• (lego mini figure)
  
• lego coast guard
• scarf - handmade
• bug vacuum

Joint:

• [Monopoly]
• [Fridge Crawlers]
• [Blendy Pens]
• Classic bound stories
• Brown Bears

Legend:

(stocking stuffer)

[Nick contrib]

have in hand

sent

Thanksgiving Dinner

Us:

• Turkey
• Corn bread stuffing
• corn bread
• green bean casserole
• wheat-free pecan pie
• cranberry relish

Them:

• 
  

Christmas Visit

Things To Do:

Visit Mickie

DC:

• White House - 10 Nov 2008, sent Mikulski email requesting tour
  
• National Christmas Tree
  
• American History Museum
  
• Udar-Hazy Center A&S Extension Museum
  
• Luce Center - Heaton bowl
• National Building Museum
• Mount Vernon?
• Naval Observatory?

Baltimore:

• Baltimore Museum of Industry
  
• National Aquarium
  
• Port Discovery
  
• Walters Museum
  

Other:

• Annapolis
  
• Downtown Ellicott City