Third Compartment

Coping with my current life has forced me to put aspects of it in three distinct compartments. The first is "dealing with cancer" since it is in the forefront. The second is "work" where I challenge myself to not let the first compartment overtake the kind of progress I am trying to make. The third compartment is a place where I've struggled to be in since December 2009 and that place is "just being me".

What is "just being me" about? It is where: I am not a cancer patient... I am not an employee... I am not a daughter... I am not a sister or friend... I am not a cooking expert or frustrated artist. I am just the core of me and not the shell of roles I have acquired on my journey. It is a place where I can look at me and recognize the Divine Spark I have been entrusted with on this Earth. When I look at that Divine Spark it is where I also get to gaze at it and find out what I am supposed to really do to give of my life and use it to its best.

Of course, I would be lying to you if I also didn't include a fourth compartment of being a partner/spouse to an incredible man who allows me the freedom to be in that third compartment. He would also not be intimidated by that surety in my sense of self as well the things I want to accomplish as it relates to my contribution to humanity. Sigh... I am working on one compartment at a time for now.

____

On Friday, I had the pleasure of hosting a small dinner party. It was a bit last minute by my plan ahead standards. We dined like kings on Italian fare. I put together an antipasto platter that had variety and also beauty in its presentation. The entree was red sauce with hot Italian sausage over thin spaghetti which was accompanied by slices of sesame seed crusted baguette broiled with a compound butter I made the night before. The wine flowed but not for me since any alcohol is prohibited with my chemo.

The following picture was of dessert. I purchased the mini cannolis and the petit fours. Dutch cocoa powder was dusted all over the white plates. I placed a fork over the plate and then dusted with powdered sugar so I could achieve a silhouette of the fork before I plated the tender sweets next to it.



Today was Mother's Day and I did visit my aunt to give her tulips and some petit fours. I also brought my uncle two chocolate glazed donuts as a treat. My aunt made us a sweet and sour fish lunch. It was quite tasty!

I shopped after at the local crafts shop where I was determined to buy garland and a wire wreath to make my new wreath for the front door. The set I had was tired looking and I was of the mind to improve my feng shui. My heart was charmed with a new welcome mat I found. I took one look at it and the French word "bicyclette" came to mind. It had to come home with me. The floral design on the mat matches my wreath nicely.



Whorls of hair have taken over my head thanks to the previous chemo. I am reticent to cut them since my hair will get thinner as the new chemo goes on. Today I surprised myself by taking the picture below. I wanted to share what I looked like at the moment. The curls in the back are full. It doesn't look like the "me" I know, but here you have it.



I guess it is not that bad. ;p

Love and Hugs,
Sprinkles

Third Compartment

Last Love Infusion No. 6

My last chemotherapy was today and I almost could not believe it. I can take down the countdown counter I've had for almost three months on the right hand margin of my blog. It was a day for extra adventures for sure!

I got up at 5am, got ready and wrapped the cake pops I made for my surgeon before making breakfast for my aunt who stayed over and Tawny who came at 7:30am. As we were walking out, my aunt was distracted from the large leaf plants outside my apartment and then took a tumble on the pavement. She nearly gave me a heart attack! She was okay and mainly felt bad because I gave her such a worry that I was raising my voice at her (with curse words) on the way to the cancer center. Tawny was the referee and told me to pipe down as I drove us which was only less than 10 minutes away.

My blood was taken for the tests results my doctor would see an hour later. We went to get my refill for aftercare meds and then we sat by the cafe for a few minutes before the research worker found me and said if I checked in early I could get done in time so that I could have my stress test in time. She admitted she had to go a wedding a few hours away that evening and had to be on a time schedule. I didn't mind because so was I.

Off we went to check in early. A nurse soon whisked me away for vitals and then let me back in the reception area with the girls. We didn't have to wait long for me and my entourage to be escorted to a bigger exam room. A different doctor asked me questions and did the physical exam. She pressed against my lower lymph nodes and I giggled a lot because I am very ticklish which made her giggle, too. For a woman, you'd think she'd be more gentle on parts she has, too! My surgeon has really big hands and I have never felt any discomfort with his physical exams. AND AND AND -- she used latex gloves before I realized it. Guess who is allergic to latex?! She left to get my surgeon so I could complain to the girls.

My surgeon received about 30 cake pops. My aunt helped me make mine with chocolate cake and frosting mixed together, rolled into balls and chilled. Lollipop sticks were then dipped into melted chocolate and inserted into the balls before chilling again. They were then dipped into more melted chocolate and placed into mini-cupcake liners. I found four different colors in a polka dot pattern. These were on a tray to let set overnight.



In the morning I packaged them in to cellophane bags and put silver twisty ties on them. I also added another layer of mini-cupcake liner before packaging them for aesthetic reasons.



This is the end product my surgeon received. I placed some red crinkly paper inside a red tin before placing 30 cake pops inside. A giant cellophane bag for baskets was then wrapped around the tin and then adorned with the red with white polka dot satin ribbon. My surgeon loved it!



Tawny and I had stopped at Ikea on Wednesday night to get an apple-flavored sparkler drink for our faux champagne toast today. I had to take this picture after we got back home. Sometimes the big events in your life is about creating an "experience". I know today I created an experience for me and perhaps for the first time for my surgeon. How many patients would think to bring faux champagne and plastic champagne glasses to celebrate her last chemo? He did the honors of toasting us. I loved it!



I had my stress test which went well. My entourage looked on while I was hooked up to various electrodes and breathing masks Afterward, we picked up lunch from the cafeteria on the premises to bring back upstairs outside the chemo section. We wolfed down our lunch because we were hungry and everything was good. I was happy to not to have to rush my lunch for once before my chemo. You may recall that I am usually rushing against the anti-histamine drugs before my chemo cocktails. It makes me sleep no matter how hard I fight it.

Here are some views I will not miss:

This is the area of my port on my upper left chest. A one-inch needle is inserted and connected to tubes that is connected to other tubes for my chemotherapy.



These are my actual chemo cocktails. Two bags come before these for pre-meds. The total actual drip is 4.5 hours except today. More on that later.



These machines keep track on how much time is left and beep if there is anything wrong or when the bags are empty.



This was a view from my chemo chair as evidenced by my running shoes. The chair across the way is what the chemo patients sit in. I need two pillows to sit comfortably -- one for my lower back and one for my head. The chairs recline to give your legs support, too.



Halfway through my last bag of chemo, I had an allergic reaction that could have been really serious had my nurse not come by for me to ask about the temperature of the building. I was felt hot. I then told her I felt like I could breathe through my nose, like I had a cold. My chest was heavy. She asked me if it was getting better and I said no. She stopped my chemo and gave me oxygen tubes for my nose.

My nurse ended up calling my surgeon and he said to stop it completely and give me some more of my pre-meds for the allergic reaction. (This particular cancer drug shows some allergic reaction in some patients during the seventh cycle. Super overachiever that I am, showed it in cycle six.) I told her I needed to empty my bladder which she said would give her enough time to get another IV bag set-up. Another nurse escorted me to and from. When I got back my aunt was sitting in the chair with a worried look in her face. (I could only have one guest at a time so Tawny and my aunt took turns keeping a vigil or sat outside together why I slept through my chemotherapy.)

My face had been swollen and flushed. Within minutes of receiving the anti-inflammatory drugs, I was relieved to breathe some and the heaviness in my chest was gone! Wow. It was amazing and almost instant relief. The bag was only for 15 minutes. By this time, my aunt had gotten Tawny who was allowed to sit by me. Tawny knew I was getting better when I was giggling again. We stayed an extra 10 minutes just to make sure I was back to some kind of normal.

Tawny drove my car to a Mexican restaurant where we met her husband Jeff for dinner. Jeff left after our dinner to deliver something downtown and us girlies went to my favorite place for boba drinks, slushy fruit drink smoothies with tapioca pearls at the bottom we brought home.

This day went very quickly. My aunt and I talked about the whole day after Tawny left. She spent the night again on my couch. I made it to bed determined to get seven hours of sleep and to take my medications in time in the morning.

My lovelies, I am relieved. I have a CT scan for my chest and abdomen in three weeks to see if there is any cancer left lingering within my body. Another week after that is the appointment with my surgeon to discuss the results. Before that, next week, I receive the results for the thyroid biopsy from this past Wednesday morning. I don't anticipate anything wrong with that. My nodule is 1cm large. When you're a cancer patient and anything else crops up, you can guarantee there will be some kind of further investigation to rule out anything. This is my story and so far I am okay with it.

Thank you for my love and support! I am wickedly blessed.

Love,
Sarah xxoo

Last Love Infusion No. 6

Feeling Good

Changes at work and my feelings of fatigue have kept me from updating my blog. I thought about it each night, but I knew I just had to rest to manage my energy...

Our temp is gone now; her last day was Tuesday. She was re-hired temporarily because I was going through my chemotherapy. I now find myself busier than ever. I would love it extra if my brain and fatigue would cooperate, but I just do the best I can.

For the past three days, I've felt so much better. My good energy has been extended in the evening. You can't imagine how wonderful that is! Yesterday I left work at 7:30pm and still had enough energy to go grocery shopping by myself until 9:30pm. Dinner was served at Sprinklesville at 10pm. Not too bad...

This morning I made the resolve to see my hairdresser Tania so I could get a couple of packages of Korean brand faux eyelashes. She was ecstatic to see me judging by the long hug she gave me. As we talked and I updated her on things, she couldn't keep from hugging me. She ended up giving me four boxes of eyelashes and trimmed my wig a little to her satisfaction for free.



Tania is a very Christian woman. She kept telling me how great I looked and how she could see an inner glow about me. I told her I was wickedly blessed and she agreed. I was humbled when she told me that I have a rare heart especially when I can go through what I am going through and still find a way to give to others. She had no doubt I would receive continued blessings.

My next trip was to the craft shop to buy some components for the gift for my surgeon next Friday, my last chemo. Oh -- I didn't tell you -- Tawny is coming to my chemo along with my aunt. I am very excited to have both family and friends represented. Tawny is working extra hours to make-up for taking the day off. I appreciate her sacrifice for me.

For my last chemo, I am buying some sparkling cider and some plastic champagne glasses to toast with the girls and my surgeon. I can't wait to complete my last chemotherapy, but I am reticent to see how I will feel the following week as the chemicals work through. Sigh. I just have to get through it.

I also have to get a biopsy on my thyroid next Wednesday morning. My primary care determined to rule out anything that may be there. I had my ultrasound at a separate facility last Tuesday morning and in the afternoon I received a call from my primary doctor's office with the recommendation. Many people have benign nodules on their thyroid. I am releasing my feelings on the outcome whatever it may be. There is no reason to worry about something I know nothing about right now. I just make the necessary appointments and show up.

This evening was time for some fun. Jeff and Tawny came over for dinner and Scrabble. I made a creamy lemon garlic chicken with pasta and broccoli and some garlic bread to go along. We feasted like kings! Oh my gosh was everything good. For dessert, I scooped some fudgey chocolate ice cream and for a lame attempt at healthy, I topped each heaping bowl with fresh raspberries. Hee.

We went two rounds of Scrabble. Tawny and I each got to start the board. For some reason, when we start the board we are actually able to branch out, but when Jeff starts the board, we get pigeon holed into a corner of the board. Next time, we are playing with nine tiles each instead of seven to make it more interesting.

This coming week is jam packed with stuff but I will try to update you with something even if it is just with pictures. I am doing mighty fine thanks to your prayers and support.

Love,
Sarah xxoo

Feeling Good

Love Infusion No. 5

Unsure of how I felt today, I continued as if I were sure of myself and how I would deal with my fifth and second to final infusion of chemotherapy...

I got up and took my water pill before getting online to read a bit and getting on facebook to update "my status". For my breakfast, I ate a chopped avocado like cereal by adding almond milk and two tablespoons of agave nectar (low glycemic sweetener). Then it was time to take a shower.

At 6:30 I received a knock on my door. It was my uncle who had come to pick me up. He was an hour early! OMG. My aunt told him the wrong time. I still had to put my make-up on, get dressed, vacuum, and make sure I prepare my bag for the day. Sigh. No worries. I adjusted. I decided to skip vacuuming and made my uncle some fresh coffee instead. He drank coffee and watched the news while I got myself together.

My uncle was not spending the day with me at the cancer center -- just giving me a ride. This would cause me great stress as I would worry if he was entertained enough or was eating enough. I turned down Tawny's husband's offer to take me, too, as I would feel the same way. I was stressed when he took me for Love Chemo #3. He was working part of the time during the day and I got worried if he was missing something important when we moved from one part of the building to the next as we progressed through my day at the cancer center.

Men get bored easily and need constant forms of stimuli as well as usually have some form of Attention Deficit Disorder. I don't want them to feel like martyrs or taking one for team. This is ingrained behavior from childhood...to wait on men. Jeezus -- sometimes I wish I didn't fully nurture this gene, but that's the way it is. Why? Because it is stupid. Good for the men in my life though. Bastards. Ha. OKAY TO BE FAIR -- I treat all my friends/family this way. More on this later...

I carried this basket of cookies as a gift for my surgeon and his staff:




Eight designs and everything on the cookie is edible:



I had the nurse who took my blood draw pick one out. She was working the check-in desk, but took time out to draw my blood at my request. We've gotten to know each other and she gave me a spontaneous hug before I left. It made me smile as I made my way to pick up a refill prescription before a small break at the cafe. My surgeon appointment check-in was 30 minutes away.

Like last time with the bakery box filled with chocolate ganache cupcakes I made, I got curious stares and a worker was curious enough to ask and show the other workers at the cafe. One of the ladies behind the counter wanted me to make one that said CANCER SUCKS. Why the hell would I do that? Yes, we all know it does, but why feed others words that are negative? I am all about moving away from fear and moving towards joy. It can be a difficult journey so I am not adding that ever.

Actually seeing my surgeon was later than I had hoped. I don't like delays. There was no student doctor or any other doctor to see me before my surgeon. He was it and my favorite nurse attending me. (I told my nurse who happens to be Russian all the Russian words I knew and was complemented on my pronounciation -- yay!) My surgeon is very pleased with my progress and seems surprised at the low presence of side effects with the exception of increasing fatigue. He doesn't fully understand how I've taken it on as a project to mitigate the side effects as much as I can through diet, supplements, sleep and behavior modification. I am a research fanatic.

I asked him some questions like:

1) Can I consume alcohol? Yes -- I can have a glass of wine if I want.
2) How long are the chemicals in my system after my last chemo? Six to seven weeks. The fatigue could last much longer. Grrr. I intend to be the exception not the norm thanks to the overachiever I am.
3) Did he enjoy my chocolate ganache cupcakes from the last visit? He looked at me with a half smile and said he very much enjoyed them and said that I definitely have a talent. Gawd..If he only knew the craziness I am capable of at any given moment! He seemed a bit embarrassed which I took as he ate a few too many even though he shared with his staff. There were about 30 of them. LOL

I was worried about my food intake today because it is advisable to have a full tummy during chemotherapy. I had a protein with fiber shake before my exam and ate a special granola bar while I waited to be called for my chemo. Serina didn't come to take my lunch order as she's done for all my treatments so far. I found out later when she came to see me that she was swamped at work. It was no big deal as the infusion center provides bagged lunch choices.

There was a delay for my chemo which I suspected because my surgeon was delayed as well as the floor was short of staff. This both upset and pleased me. It upset me because I wanted to get out at 5pm and pleased because I didn't have to rush through lunch and it had some time to digest. This must be key for when the Benadryl drip was administered, I wasn't as immediately sleepy.

Before my "chemo cocktails" were facilitated, I wrote my friend Jill a note and placed it on the counter next to me with a bottled water, one of my cookies and a small piece of chocolate. It was waiting for her when she arrived at 1:30pm when I was already asleep. (See what I mean about nurturing????? I always think of ways to make feel people appreciated and special. What you give out to the universe is what you get back. I get back a ton!)

After a bathroom break during my chemotherapy, I was able to see my fellow GLAMcer friend sitting in one of the infusion chairs. I visited for about five minutes. She gave me her professional card and added her e-mail and cell phone number. We are going to make walking dates after work since we work around the same area AND we live near enough. Talk about cool bananas!

During Jill's visit, I managed to stay awake longer than previous times. We laughed a lot. She was stunning as always. She left at 4:30pm to pick up her kids. It was like the changing of the guard. Serina came for a short spell at the same time. I urged her to go home and wash the day off with a shower. She looked exhausted and frustrated. Serina received two cookies to take home.

All my drips were finished by 5:30pm. My aunt and uncle were waiting for me outside. They drove me home and stayed a little over an hour. My uncle looked tired from waking up too early and from his exercise at the gym. My aunt brought me some food so I wouldn't have to cook that night or a few more meals. She is very sweet. I brewed them coffee and gave them a piece each of the cookies I made which makes the amount of cookies Sprinkles has in her home to zero.

I spent the evening reminiscing about the day and just relaxing. Ended up snoozing on the couch for a few hours before washing the day away. I wholeheartedly recommend taking a shower at night every night to wash any negative energy you've taken on throughout the day whether that is contact with other people or of your own doing. Why would you want to take all that crap to sleep and marinate in it? Of course, I take a quick shower in the morning, too. It just makes me feel good.

Overall, my day was great! Thanks for all your facebook comments & facebook private messages and supportive e-mails, my lovelies. Every bit helps me get through the day.

Hugs and Kisses,
Sarah Sprinkles

PS...My friend Jill said something more unusual than she does. When she opened the package of cookie and tasted it. She said it reminded her of me. Huh? She said she could close her eyes and immediately knew it was me. The flavoring she was tasting were vanilla and almond extracts. The cookie itself was not overly sweet because of the added royal icing or hard sugar icing on top, but there was definitely butter. Hee.

Love Infusion No. 5

Word Play

Do you remember the last time I cooked a meal for visitors that didn't involve my chemotherapy? Me neither. Tonight was the first time since last year I am entertaining purely for fun.

I started out early by going to do some shopping and ended up at the grocery store. By the time I finished around noon I was wiped out. I put my groceries away and ate lunch before taking a nap for some recovery time.

Tawny and Jeff came at 6pm to enjoy a home cooked meal of broiled marinated flank steak. It was accompanied by seasoned green beans, a wedge of cold lettuce for the quickest and simplest salad and my lazy (yet healthier!) mashed potatoes. Red potatoes were boiled until fork tender then placed on a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil and drizzled with some olive oil that has been spread out to coat pan. I then smashed each potato with a potato masher once. More olive oil was drizzled on the bed of mashed red potatoes followed by a good seasoning of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Finely chopped fresh rosemary was sprinkled on top for flavor. The oven was heated to 450 degrees and the potatoes were cooked until crisp about 30 minutes. I added some chopped red pepper and scallion rings for color and a fresh finish before scraping the potatoes off the sheet pan and into a large serving bowl. Yes, all of it was yummy!!

For dessert, I made what I now call my Raspberry Angel Napoleon. I sliced angel food cake and layered them with sugar-free whipped topping and fresh raspberries. I topped each serving with shaved 70% dark chocolate and some disco dust because I like sparkly. You've heard that before, haven't you?



The rest of the evening was spent playing Scrabble. We did two rounds that involved painful deliberations from Jeff. Where I play for a certain flourish with words, he was playing for high points. He won both rounds. Bastard. Ha. At some point when there were less tiles to choose from, my letter choices started to spell out Russian words or for Tawny what she perceived as Vietnamese words. She did have one set that spelled out "SO NASTY" and used the word NASTY on the board.

I was very interested in playing with these two brainiacs since we have never played Scrabble in the 12 years we've known each other. More importantly, I wanted to spend some quality and normal time with them. I am sick of having our only communication via instant messages or cell phone texts. It is just not the same when you are in person. Our recent get-togethers have also involved something with my cancer treatments. My treatments are almost over and I need to start transitioning into normal. I don't know if that is the appropriate word because my life is no longer normal and I can never return to what I knew as normal...

Cancer changes your perspective in life. It makes your world both myopic and expansive. Myopic in the sense that it weeds out the bullshit that used to bother you and expansive by lowering the fence on what you can accomplish. Things I thought I could not do before are doable. Getting back my health -- my strength and building upon that will be key. I've staged mini-milestones (in three phases) for myself for the next six months. Of course, the milestones need to be flexible because I don't know how my body will react to my last set chemotherapy. I believe I've built enough of a cushion before the second phase. The skeleton plan so far makes me feel good of what I can do to get ready to shape the future life I will lead. There is no word beatific enough for me to describe how I've imagined that life will be.

Kisses,
Sarah xo

Word Play

Worn Out

Wore myself out the last couple of days. It was no surprise that I needed to be horizontal on the sofa for a few hours today and be away from the computer. My "To Do List" had a couple of items which prevented a whole day of relaxing.

Cleaning my tub and sink with Lysol formulated with bleach took my breath away. I had to turn the fan on and not breathe too much while I scrubbed the tub. It wasn't really dirty but I am OCD. My bathroom is one of the cleanest ones around!

My bald head was nice to have while putting on my make-up. It made it easier and not have to move hair around. The wig went on nicely right after. Having a bald scalp feels a little freer if I may say. It is not as bad living with it as I thought it would be. Good thing.

I had called the pharmacy earlier to get my prescription refilled so that when I went through the drive-thru it was ready. After that quick stop, I drove to the Asian store for some proper noodles for a Filipino dish called pancit and a couple of boxes of my favorite tea.

Soon after I was cutting veggies and chicken breasts in my kitchen to saute with garlic and onion. The thin rice noodles were rehydrated with hot water for several minutes then drained before I put them in the big pot with the veggies and chicken. A handy can of chicken stock gave the noodles the rest of its hydration to flavorful plumpness. The noodle mixture was properly seasoned with soy sauce and a bit of fish sauce. It was yummy! When I plated some for my dinner, I topped it off with some ponzu sauce since I didn't have fresh calamansi or tart citrus.

I took my place back on the sofa to rest a couple of hours later and I texted my BFFs while watching TV. Tawny texted to say that she and Jeff were walking around the apartment complex and wanted to visit me. I warned that my wig was off but put it back on during the visit to show Tawny. They visited for about a half hour. Tawny left with a container of pancit for her lunch at work tomorrow.

I'm tired right now. My posts may not be every day starting tomorrow just because of work and chemo; however, I will try my best to post even for a few brief paragraphs.

Love,
Sprinkles xxoo

Worn Out

Tulip Temptation

Give me an occasion. Any occasion. My creative compulsion will answer the faintest siren's call. It has lain dormant for almost three years. Now it has been unleashed to frighten me with its power and (grudgingly) its magic. My recent posts have reflected my giving into the sweetest temptations. Today fared no better.

Kristey had invited Myrna and me for dinner so we could enjoy the outdoor tiki bar she and husband had built in their large backyard. The last time we visited, the rain had discouraged any stay outdoors. Like last time with the Brownie Beach Cake, I volunteered to bring dessert.

Years of knowing Kristey has allowed me the intimate knowledge of her favorite color - purple and her favorite flowers - tulips. When we worked together, I had the pleasure of seeing her enjoy the bouquets of tulips her husband would send her on several occasions. I thought I'd try my hand at it from a different angle, an edible one.

The following is from my youtube page. It was not my intention to create a video with the pictures, but the amount of photos left me no choice. The quality isn't what I would like as the videos you can upload are 2MB max unless you want to break it down which I did not. Enjoy!




Kristey was very pleasantly surprised and enjoyed the filled tulip cups. The doily tray and plated photos were taken at her home.

Tulip Collage


xo Sprinkles
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Tulip Temptation

Monogram Monday

My oven received a workout yesterday. First the scones, second the lasagne and third the birthday cake for one of my buddies at work, Michelle. I don't know what possessed me -- everything was made from scratch! The weekend started productive and continued until midnight last night when I put the finishing touches on the cake.

Creativity allows you flexibility to adapt quickly which makes me very thankful for mine. The cake was supposed to have zebra-like stripes on the edges, but I couldn't get the proper shade of black with the kind of icing I made. It required a special candy colorant to achieve the desired color. Out came the plain piping tip to drop white dots along the perimeter of the bottom and top of the cake. The top part was mainly to hide where the hot pink icing met the white color.

Without the zebra stripes, I couldn't do my original design on top. Armed with a piping bag filled with dark chocolate, I dropped a monogram design, frame and swirls onto acetate (clear plastic). A few drops of coloring in bowls of melted white candy coating produced the colors I filled the negative space created. Once all the chocolate hardened, I peeled the plaque off the acetate and flipped the whole thing flat side up on the cake.



A little vodka and gold petal dust allowed me to use a brush to paint golden accents on the plaque.



Here is the birthday girl indulging me in a pose with her cake!



The cake was enjoyed by many. Chocolate butter cake was filled with whipped heavy cream and crushed Oreo cookies. The whole thing was covered in a special buttercream frosting that was light and not too sweet. The cake, filling and frosting recipes came from The Whimsical Bakehouse.



Yum!

Monogram Monday

Scone Heaven

A proper scone is a dear friend of the Sprinkles' taste buds. The last time I was tantalized by a good scone was during my trip to England two and a half years ago. I fell in love with it again this morning after making my own.

Feast your eyes, my lovelies:

Fresh from the oven



Abundant scones in ceramic dish



Light and tiny pockets of air all over



No English cream or strawberry jam this morning. I think butter and my aunt's homemade mango jam are officially the Sprinkles Way. Damn, they were heavenly!





Richard Bertinet's Scone Recipe is from Gourmet magazine editor Ruth Reichl's PBS television series Adventures with Ruth. The episode was filmed in The Bertinet Kitchen in Bath, England... Scone food porn pictures were shamelessly and deliciously brought to you by Sarah Sprinkles.


Happy Sunday!
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Scone Heaven

Post Halloween

Just got home an hour ago from the other side of the apartment complex. I should be in bed now, but we have ended Daylight Savings Time and I had an extra hour. Might was well post while it is still fresh in my mind...

Tawny had an intimate evening of old horror flicks planned for her guests. Her apartment was dark, many candles were lit, had a bubbling cauldron by the dining area, snacks and sweets all over the table for us to nibble and plenty of good cheer.

I brought two dishes. Once was a plate of refrigerated croissant dough torn at random pieces to wrap around sliced smoked kielbasa sausage that were no bigger than two inches long. The nibbles were baked, speared with toothpicks before I arranged them around a ramekin of spicy mustard.

The other dish was a more spooky fare that tantalized my creativity...

BEFORE PICTURE




AFTER PICTURE



How? First I sliced the package of cream cheese into two equal parts and rolled them into a ball. They were placed together and mushed down a bit into the serving dish. I wasn't sure how it would work but I drew capillary-like furrows into the cream cheese before drizzling some barely warmed homemade red pepper jelly from my aunt over the mounds. I topped them with two small rounds of red pepper I cut to fit underneath the gummy eyeball candy. This was served with buttery crackers.

The craziest part of the evening was when I found myself unable to get out of Tawny's bathroom. I somehow managed to lock myself inside. Her husband and relatives were just in the bedroom next door looking at something on the Internet so I knocked, but no one answered. I didn't know they had left to go back into the living room where the TV was a bit loud. By this time I was giggling so hard I barely could talk on my cell phone. Tawny knew where I was and couldn't fathom why I was calling her from the bathroom. She was cracking up on the other line as she made her way to rescue me. It was several minutes before we could speak from laughing painfully. There is never a dull moment in Sprinklesville!
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Post Halloween

Dumpling Love

Jonesing for dumplings. Yeah, I know. "What happened to rice?" Ever since I've been exclusively eating brown rice (short grain and Jasmine long grain), I haven't been craving it as much. So now enter the dumplings or maybe is it the endless possibilities of the fillings?

Last weekend I made a seasoned pork and shrimp filling that I stuffed into square wonton skins. Several have been cooked in a chicken broth, ladled in a bowl and sprinkled with fresh chopped baby bok choy and several more steam-fried and finished with Indonesian soy sauce (thick and sweet).

Below are frozen rows still waiting to be cooked.



This evening had me making pumpkin dumpling raviolis. If I have to do this next time, I would just stuff one round skin and fold in half like the wontons. This was either too much dough or not enough filling in the dough for me.



Oooh. Pumpkin Ravioli Patch. Pillows and pillows.


I didn't feel like defrosting the red sauce from a previous batch in the freezer so I melted some butter with olive oil and added chopped spinach in a pan. When the pumpkin raviolis were done boiling, I quickly tossed them in the pan with spinach before plating them and sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on top. This would have been tastier with toasted pine nuts. Instead of a butter/olive oil mix, you could brown the butter and some sage together before incorporating the the dumplings with it.



Now to clean-up the dishes...


FYI & Warning - You will have loads to freeze of both these dumplings for future use:

Wonton Filling: fresh ground pork, fresh chopped peeled shrimp, finely chopped waterchestnuts, finely chopped shallots, sweet rice wine, ground ginger, pressed garlic, sesame oil, salt & pepper.

Dumpling Ravioli Filling: cooked squash, potato flakes, grated Parmesan, finely chopped shallot, pressed garlic, nutmeg, salt & pepper.
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Dumpling Love

Sunny Somewhere

Very beary delicious brownie! You can create this beach scene, too, if you're pressed for an idea to bring for dessert and if you have a dose of baking insanity (aka Sprinkles Magic).

I brought this to Kristey's house last Saturday for an evening with her and Myrna. We also got to see her backyard beach and the tiki bar upgrade her husband made. They are officially ready for serious entertaining in their big yard.

Wouldn't you know it? Rain. We had to enjoy everything from the confines of her living room instead as the dark sky and continued precipitation discouraged any outdoor appreciation.

Luckily, these bears were there to remind us that is was sunny somewhere:

The beach sand was made with processed mini graham bear cookies (eek!) and those that survived the food processor were allowed to bask the indoor sun and enjoy the water made of blue tinted sugar gel. (Hint: Spread gel first before the sand - you'll thank me for it!) Their towels were cut from the bottoms of cupcake liners. You know my drink parasols had to be included as their umbrellas! The sand barriers in the back were mini stick pretzels lined against the cake. Underneath is a vanilla frosted fudgey (dense not cakey!) brownie cake.



More details...Notice the green decorating sugar near the pretzel sticks -- I needed "grass". Basking bears were stuck to the paper with a dot of white vanilla frosting. The floating rings in the blue gel were made of oval dollops of shimmering pink gel with the bears plunged in.



The girls laughed, took pictures and later we all had a sampling. I made them transfer parts of it in separate containers for themselves so I wasn't tempted at home.




Bringing you a smile and scenes of the sun,
Sprinkles
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Sunny Somewhere

Hot and Cold

Feeling the artificial breeze move across the top sheet covering my body reminded me that I had a mission this morning. The air conditioning had gone on the fritz again yesterday. It wasn't blowing any cold air and indoors registered 82 degrees when I got home. By 8am today, the humidity had thickened within Chez Sprinklesville. Oppressive! A small oscillating fan I kept in the storage room outside moved with me from room to room lessening my discomfort.

I rushed through breakfast scarfing down cold cantaloupe pieces and a stick of cheese. The cloying warmth didn't encourage any cooking. A quick shower followed but I stopped myself from the instinctual urge to shampoo my hair. The last thing I wanted was to use a hot hair dryer on it and I refuse to go out with wet hair.

An hour after I visited the main office, one of the maintenance guys came to investigate. He soon discovered the problem outside - a burnt wire! Thank goddess it was easily rectified to bring back the cool in Chez Sprinklesville. When it was chilled enough I trekked to the other side of town to spend the afternoon and early evening at my aunt's.

I gave my uncle his Father's Day gift one day early (a rare bottled six-pack of San Miguel beer imported from the Philippines) and a humorous card filled with heart Sprinkles he had to dump out from his netbook. They scattered all over as he opened to read the card. Whoops!


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Sharing some pics...

Stuffed Bell Pepper with Rice and Kale. Two of these were perfect for lunch during the week.



This was done for instructional purposes only. Zucchini ribbons are a great alternative to pasta. These were too thin really to blanch for a minute or two. I should have eaten it raw with the hot tomato sauce I made. If you were to use a mandolin slicer or a vegetable peeler, you can get thicker and more firm ribbons to blanch and hold their shape better. I used a saladacco (spiral slicer) which can also be used to do spaghetti-style noodles.


Yes, I used chopsticks. I included the pic of my personal stash. Round chopsticks not square, mind you, are my preference.

AND THEN....(There is always an AND THEN, right?)

My eyes bore into the title and picture of this DVD at the craft supercenter during a trip with my aunt to today. What was the author thinking? Why did the producers allow this? Egads!


Just sayin'.
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Hot and Cold

Arts in Angles

Crazy ready. I was already prepared to leave when Kimmee arrived minutes after Tawny at my apartment around 9am. There must have been an astrological alignment that caused such a rarity of meeting, more importantly: Sprinkles was not only being on time but crazy ready!

I drove us to Ybor City where Tawny gained us access to the garage parking of her new art center: Arts on Ninth. She and I were just there for the soft opening last evening. The grand opening is next weekend which will have some media coverage, a band playing live and lovely beings who share the love of art.

We made our way to La Creperia for some much needed breakfast and cups-after-cups of jolting java. The waitress now smiles more as she recognizes me from my recent visits. I finally made my introductions to her so I could call her by her name for future visits.

There was a Fiesta of sorts in Ybor where food and product vendors were setting up their wares for another event. I swear it has been nonstop since the weekend before the Super Bowl was here. Several snaps were taken on the way back...

Please forgive me but after searching 15 minutes to get the name of the shop that housed the following two pics, I gave up at trying to find it. Recognize them? They are like that old Brit show Spitting Image where the puppets were also in Genesis' "Land of Confusion" video.

Meet Sir Paul..


And Robert DeNiro with The Godfather in the background.


From my vantage point at the crepe place, this guy had made several passes back and forth. I was pleased to be able to capture him as we walked back. I totally dig the bubbles he was blowing as he walked by us.



I love trolleys especially the ones in New Orleans. Settling for this now.


The tiles were begging to be pictured. These are found in front of the movie kiosk in Centro Ybor.


Inside Arts on Ninth: Two artists who happen to be roommates living in the same house as Tawny's eldest son agreed to showcase their work as the first artists at the center's debut. Damon has shown all over the world while Reuben was awed at his work hanging in public for the first time. They are quite impressive and genuinely nice guys.



The building's owner is letting the art center borrow these breathtaking chairs from the 1920s. They were recently steam cleaned to bring out the fabric's splendor. For now, they are displayed in the middle of the Skylight Gallery. It is called that because of multiple skylights above the two-story ceiling.



The gilding on the scallop design is beautiful and has held its age incredibly well.


Drove Kimmee back to my place and left Tawny with her hubby who was busy preparing his area for the grand opening. Hours later Tawny came to pick me up so I could spend more time at the art center. We ended up in their studio room to make beaded necklaces. Tawny asked me to design a necklace for her mother-in-law using certain silver tube beads as focal points which she later strung and finished. We drove around a crowded Ybor to see the different kinds of character of people milling about before making our way back home.

My mind was filled with how I would stretch out my Filipino cooking series at the art center. Tawny and the other partner John had railroaded me last night at how I could start my cooking classes. Egads! I am still trying to figure out how much I can produce in sellable art for the shop.

In other AGOL news, I ended a casual relationship with someone after a year. He seemed to take it well enough. His voice during a call on his way home suddenly didn't affect me like it normally had and that's when I knew. Several days later, I discussed it with him. Perhaps the re-feng shui'ing my home feng shui'd him out the door? Ha! Also, a decision about my blog: a complete redesign is coming. I've already sent color and element ideas to Tawny's daughter who designed it originally. She has college finals at the moment so I will have borrow patience until she completes those. We have plenty to look forward to, don't we?
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Arts in Angles

Mardi Gras

Laissez les bon temps rouler!
Let the good times roll!

I, Sarah Sprinkles, only need the slightest glimmer of an excuse for any kind of party. This time it was for New Orleans' Mardi Gras. My Asian Mafia had a special lunch. I brought the main dish of Gumbo over rice. Bridget was able to find a local bakery offering King Cake pastry which was crucial to an authentic Mardi Gras celebration. We also had fruit, veggies and chicken wings...

Work has been very demanding especially now that my boss is emerging as the golden boy within our new group which means that his employees have to keep up the good work and surpass each success more success. The pressure is on all time.

In a recent post, I mentioned losing someone in the office. We lost an amazing human being named Dan who also happened to be Korean Kim's boss. The last time he went out to have a good time with friends, I was there. One of the last times I saw him, he was walking around in a bit of pain but still carried around his signature smile and humor. He had survived leukemia and now was attacked by numerous tumors in his spine. There was no way he would survive the surgery or surgeries to remove them. Around twelve weeks later, he was gone at having just turned 50 years old.

This well-loved man saw me in a few compromising scenes at work during my naughty joking moments with the Asian Mafia. He would not let me forget each one and would break us into laughter every time. Actually seeing his handsome smiling face in an elegant black and white picture, dressed for his daughter's wedding, displayed at his memorial service undid any resolve I had to maintain composure. I could only imagine what his life partner Bruce was going through. He will surely be missed by many.

With all this heavy stuff, I couldn't stand it any longer. We needed a small break and here came Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday)...

A bit of Mardi Gras tradition: King Cake!


This was a Sunday afternoon cooking effort crammed into a weekday night timeframe right after shopping for the ingredients. Don't believe me? Here's Paula Deen's recipe link for Gumbo.

AGOL's homemade Gumbo reheated in crock pot which made anyone near the conference room where this was set-up hungry and curious as to where the aroma was originating. You have to watch out for sneaky Filipinos, you know.


Korean Kim was the lucky recipient of the plastic baby embedded in the cake symbolizing luck in the new year. It's a good sign when she is trying to sell her home to move into something newer and smaller.



Check out the beads I gave out to the girls around Kim's neck. I also made flowers out of metallic goldtone pipe cleaners to embellish and fulfill the Green/Purple/Yellow Mardi Gras colors. The girls thought I was insane. Maybe a little. They came away from the lunch with a memento they can hang in their cubicle.
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Mardi Gras

Recap

It would seem all I've been doing the past couple of months is play catch up. I want to update, but my new workload doesn't allow me a clear enough mind in the evening to post. Let me do my best to recap.

On Tuesday I had lunch with Jill at Thai Terrace which is equidistant to both of our work. The last couple of times we had tried to get together, she or I have had to cancel. I enjoyed seeing her again. We now have a commitment to have lunch once a month; the first Tuesday of every month is now blocked in our calendars.

On Wednesday I brought slow-cooked bratwursts to work. My large crockpot was filled with 15 links of Johnsonville bratwursts which were pierced with a fork to allow the Beer Jacuzzi mixture of three large cans of Wisconsin beer, a fair sized onion sliced and two cloves of garlic pressed plus one stick of butter to permeate it. That was at 10pm. These babies were cooked outside on high for two hours before turning it down low to simmer and marry while I slept...I brought the crock inside at 4:30am and then proceeded back to sleep for an hour. Eventually the brats were broiled in the oven for a little browning and set to cool enough to sit in fridge at work and to reheat for the gang at lunch. No, I did not forget to bring the Beer Jacuzzi liquid -- those onion pieces were gold! I brought some potato rolls while the rest of the Asian mafia brought veggies and rice. Our lunch fed 9 people. I bought petit fours and mini cannolis for a sweet treat. This is why you do not go to the grocery store hungry as I did on Tuesday: Unnecessary crap ends up in your cart.

Tawny added me on twitter and I returned the favor. On hers she is following Barack Obama. I clicked to follow him, too. Well now the auto response was to follow me. Barack is following your AGOL. Not personally of course, just on twitter.

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Today began with Bridget at my desk so I could train her on the online queue she now has to manage for software pre-approvals. The queue used to only have about four items -- it has now grown to a dozen which requires extensive baby sitting. I had four online queues to manage so giving her that one made sense so I could concentrate on the three.

My group had lunch with our old director. You may recall he was let go in July. He is living it up. May I say how much more enjoyable lunch was today thanks to the temp being absent. There was no tension, no having to mind our p's and q's during the conversation. The food was yum, too.

Part of the afternoon was spent going over my queues with Bridget so she could keep an eye on them while I take an extra day off tomorrow. My basic advise to her was to not bother unless anyone was screaming which is a good advise as any. Ha!

I ended up staying staying until 7:30pm to finish up things. My eyes were so fatigued that looking at the screens was making me nauseous and dizzy. I love having dual monitors; however, sometimes switching your gaze quickly from one to the next for hours can be sickening. Conceding defeat, I drove home to take care of Cabal, make a hasty dinner and get back online for a last minute work e-mail. It was for a fun morale boosting event I am partially facilitating next week. My new work duties has taken precedence over fun work stuff. It should have gone out earlier in the week. That's the way it goes.


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Recap

Chocolate Ganache

There is something sexually satisfying about combining heavy cream, semi-sweet chocolate chips and a touch of instant coffee over a double-boiler around 5am. As the ingredients absorb the heat from the boiling water through the metal bowl resting over the metal saucepan, they slowly give up themselves to melt into one another. The gentle force my mini opaque white spatula creates by stirring them together causes a seductive affair where it gives strength to the chocolate to fight being surrounded by the heavy cream. The molten chocolate fortified with the bitter coffee granules overtakes and creates something far more incredible with the warmth of the heavy cream. Chocolate ganache. Creamy rich chocolate lava. Oh, baby!

(Fanning myself!)

Why would I be making such a concoction that early? Well, it was not to spread on someone. Ouch! and an overabundance of chocolate on your partner is not sexy. Maybe licking a bit of their fingers or lips, but not all over. That's my feeling anyway. Do what makes YOU happy though. Anyhoo...The ganache was spooned over the chocolate cupcakes I made last night. Half the batch was given to Rob at lunch and the other half was for a select few at work. These little pleasure pills were not for the feint of heart. Ha!

The week ended with an insistence of busy. Through our help desk system, I now had four queues to work through each day. The main thing was making sure the types of items being requested was correct for the request or more importantly in the budget or in budget review in Finance. My company is a different place; every little thing is carefully scrutinized. An edict from our UK mothership I suppose. No matter. It keeps me busier and more connected with people which I didn't realize I missed until I was knee-deep in research.

My boss has been acting strangely ever since we were informed of our rolling up into the North American division. He's also felt my absence in the day-to-day interaction. I am busier now, I reminded him. I gave him a cupcake which he devoured quickly and called me evil. Heck, I was called evil all day for the cupcakes.

Bridget and I met Rob at the sushi joint. He was running late and I ordered for him. While we waited, Bridget was able to try edamame (steamed soy bean pods seasoned with salt) for the first time in her life and love them. I requested a particular waitress who treated us with extra care. She remembered me from a previous visit. Rob gave her a cupcake and she only accepted after she confirmed I made them. She had seen them on the table wrapped in French-wire ribbon next to Rob's place setting. With Rob being very athletic, he was hungrier than usual since he didn't eat a good breakfast. The insufficient caloric intake caused him to shake a little. He solved the issue by wolfing down his sashimi plate, half of my meal and two cupcakes. The sick part is that he'll burn it all off by the next day... Our meal was fantastic, the company incorrigible and Rob surprised us girls by picking up our bills.

Others left early as it was Friday, but I used to my advantage to work quietly and get ahead of Monday. My drive home was spent leaving voicemail catch-ups to my friends and thinking about vanilla. I have had a raging need to bake. It is probably a metaphor for something else. Sigh.


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Chocolate Ganache

R&A's Baby Shower

Baking...Wrapping Gifts...Hanging out with my friends. What a great day!

This evening was a small co-ed baby shower for Rebecca and Ant. Their formal frou-frou brunch at a tea shop was earlier in the day. I was surprised they weren't as tired looking when they arrived which was great for the rest of us eager to celebrate with them.

I made decadent Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes for the cupcake tree. After one bite, I remembered why I don't make them often. You could pop them like pills they are so good. I sprinkled little dragees on top for decoration. The only thing that would have been better for me was if I had driven across town to find dark blue liners instead of the pastel ones. I was the only one really concerned about that detail.



Here are the smiling expectant parents. One of their funny gifts was a two-pack brick of Cafe Bustelo coffee (very strong!) for the late nights when Garrett decides he wants his parents not to have sleep.



This diaper cake I made faked out a few guests who thought it was a real cake. It almost didn't survive the car ride over. In case you want to make your own, here is the pattern I followed. In lieu of the booze, I put in a bottle of Pedialyte for the baby and put teething rings on the cake instead of stuffed animals. I would have loved to have made this Hawaiian version, but it was too girly.



Let me make this next pic clear: I DID NOT DO THIS! As pervy as I am it was not my doing that the sprinkles on the table ended up in compromising positions. AND NO I AM NOT DISAPPOINTED THAT I DIDN'T THINK OF IT FIRST. Mostly.



Kathy and Jamie put on a great party; there were about a dozen of us being crazy. Jamie was a good cookie by fulfilling my wish of cooking the bratwursts in beer and onion Jacuzzi. He put those babies in the slower cooker for several hours before grilling them. Hot damn they were tasty! Kathy drank a lot of wine and was still in one piece before I left. She came up with the best guess of what the first baby's word would be: mothertrucker. That is the exact word Ant says all the time.

For this original circle of friends (at least the last 10 years), this is the first baby among us. It makes me proud to say that I am very excited and in no way feeling bitter or sad. They are truly deserving and their baby boy will have one of the best set of parents a baby could have. How many days until their due date in November?


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R&A's Baby Shower