January 2006 Archives
redeem oneself or perhaps a chance to change a few things in one's
life. This year I'd like to change a few things in my life and here
are a few of them:
On the homefront:
Always think of family first
Be a better teacher for Finnegan
Be a more patient and understanding wife for Doug
Practice patience and a serene spirit
Do my physical therapy exercises everyday
Be a better cook
Professionally:
Don't take on more work than I can handle
Be a professional at all times
Produce excellent work
Meet my deadlines
Spiritually:
Take time every day for thoughtful contemplation
Reach out to others in need
Do random acts of kindness whenever possible
people who might actually read my blogs. Jeesh!
Whatever happened to freedom of speech? It took me along time to
work up the courage to start this online diary and
now some people don't like what I have to say. Well, I'm not going
to stop. I've never been afraid to speak my mind
so this will just have to do. I will however, consider providing
more anonymity to the individuals referenced in my entries.
With that said, who should I talk about today?
hmmmm . . . . . . . . just kidding.
Actually, my thoughts are still with the community of Sago, WV and
their heartbreak. It's a terrible predicament and one
that will be with them for some time to come. My thoughts and
prayers go out to the surviving miner and I hope he makes
it because his recovery will do a lot to bolster the spirits of the
community.
in his red footed PJs. I came home from my physical therapy
appointment this morning and he was walking around the living room in
his red PJs and I just couldn't take my eyes off of him.
He's getting around really well now and he can take up to 20 steps
before plopping down on the floor. He's on the move and will be
running around the house very soon.
crying for about 15 minutes he settled down in my arms and I closed
my eyes shortly after he did.
Despite the fact that there was plenty of photography work needing my
attention, slumber found me and I was lucky to get nine hours of rest.
At 7:00 a.m. I bolted out of bed fearing that I would be late for my
physical therapy appointment which I cannot miss because my therapist
will kick me to the curb if I am a "no show." He's the best
therapist I've had in the past three years and I'm getting better.
Fear is a great motivator.
After slogging past teenagers on their way to school and early risers
out for their morning Starbuck's fix, I made it to my appointment
with two minutes to spare. I should have been relieved, but my mind
was thinking of the West Virginia miners trapped in the Sago Mine. I
wasn't able to hear about the final outcome last night because I fell
asleep with Finnegan and it occupied my thoughts.
Eric and I started with the usual chit chat, "How was your holiday?"
"How is the little Guy?" Etc, etc. Then he told me that he had been
watching the Rose Bowl last night and I said, "On a Tuesday? I
thought the Rose Bowl was on New Year's Day?" After a long story
about the changes in the college bowl system, coaches and getting
tickets to the UW football games, I mentioned that I was watching the
news of the WV miners. That's when he told me about the sad turn of
events.
As Eric told me that the initial report of 12 survivors was in error,
there appeared to be a sole survivor who was hospitalized and
unconscious. Sadness washed over me like a cool spill of water and I
suddenly felt very tired. I remembered my childhood marked by mining
accidents, close calls and one of the greatest mining tragedies in US
history. But my family was lucky because my father's last day in the
mines was one he could walk away from.
The 1972 tragedy in Kellogg, Idaho still haunts me and I guess it
always will. The Deep Dark takes many lives in the excavation of
fossil fuels, gem stones and precious metals and yet the work must go
on. It's relatively low paying wages for hazardous work that the
miners risk their lives generation after generation. Yet, there
aren't any easy answers to fix the situation.
"Safety first" signs dot the walls of the drying rooms and shift
shacks of a mining company. But these reminders are not heeded by the
Earth which cracks and heaves in the deepest recesses of the mine.
At any moment the Earth can shift and send tons of rock onto
unsuspecting miners as they toil away. It's not an easy life, but
someone has to do it because we need coal to fuel our power plants.
We need precious metals for photography, electronics, and
medications. Technology has advanced greatly, but we still have to
dig our resources out of the ground by human hands. I just wish the
miners didn't have to risk so much in doing so.
some miners trapped in a mine in West Virginia and Doug changed the
channel just as the story was beginning. I told him to turn it back,
but he said that it was all bad news. I told him that I didn't care
and that I had a great interest in the story because I grew up in a
mining town and knew about these things. He didn't understand why I
was so upset and I decided to go upstairs and blog instead of get mad
at him. He also does this during commercials which infuriates me to
no end because I like to watch commercials. Thank goodness for TIVO.
So, here I am telling the world about how terrible he was. Actually,
it wasn't that big of a deal, but I did feel like my interests were
not important and that's what made me so upset. A while later, Doug
came up to my office and told me that he had TIVO'd the news for me
and that made me feel better because he knew that I am a news junky.
I can't help it. I've been working in the news field for more than
15 years and any news, good or bad interests me.
Now if there was a way to switch computer games while Doug is in the
middle of playing one of his games, hmmmmm......ha ha ha ha .. . . . .
1 | cup water |
2 | tablespoons melted butter |
1 | |
3 1/2 | cups bread flour |
1/4 | cup sugar |
1 | teaspoon salt |
3 | teaspoons yeast |
12 servings
2 hours 20 minutes 2 hrs prep
- Place all ingredients in above order in bread machine.
- After dough cycle completes, remove and shape as rolls, placing them in a pan lined with parchment paper.
- Let rise for 30 minutes.
- Brush tops with butter prior to baking (I use about 2 tbl spoon melted margarine).
- Bake 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees until golden brown, on the highest rack possible in your oven.
- Brush the tops with honey butter to give it a slightly sweet taste, as soon as you get them out of the oven. Now eat, and enjoy!
presence in my life. He is the most amazing creature and he is my son.
A few weeks ago, he started taking his first steps and it was pretty
exciting. Now he can walk up to 16 steps before falling and then
he's up again.
He knows how to squat and he can walk with very good balance. His
legs are getting long and thinner than the short chubby baby legs
that he had just a few months ago.
The best part of my day today was when Finnegan peaked around the
corner at me while I was typing on the computer. I looked up at him
and as I caught his gaze
a smile washed over his face and he lit up like the late evening sun
rays shining through the clouds after a Spring rain. He is so
beautiful and every day I am in awe
of the miracle that brought him onto our lives.
Finnegan is my most precious gift and I love him more than I ever
thought possible.
play group that met twice a week. We'd walk on Tuesday's and then
have a play date on Friday afternoons. Last June or so, I stopped
going to the play dates because our Summer schedules were filled with
vacations, swimming classes and just enjoying the good weather.
Anyway, a couple of weeks ago Doug and I attended a holiday party
hosted by one of the moms and I asked her when the play group was
going to get back onto a regular
schedule. She may a furtive look at another mom from the group and
then stumbled through a pretty lame lie that basically confirmed what
I had felt all along; I was not welcome.
I didn't quite understand what she was really saying because I had a
migraine at the time and the medicine made my thinking pretty cloudy,
but Doug saw right through her
explanation. We left a few minutes after this exchange and as we
walked to the car, Doug and I realized what had happened. At first
my feelings were really hurt because I didn't fit into this group.
But then I got mad because I knew that I didn't fit in from the very
beginning and I had tried very hard to fit it, but it didn't work.
The other thing that made me feel especially bad was that these women
didn't ever consider is that maybe I didn't fit in because I was
suffering from Post-Partum depression so badly that it greatly
affected my personality.
Before I attended these outings I was a mess. I would stress about
all the little things and cry over simple things. During our walks,
I would tell them about my tough morning and they really didn't
believe me. I felt like they were just listening to my story long
enough to get to their venting.
I have not contacted any of the moms from the play group since the
holiday party and I don't really think that I will invite myself
because I'm obviously not wanted. Fortunately,
my neighbor, Heather has been a great friend. She and I go swimming
on Tuesday nights and she has me going to her Auto immunity support
group meetings that she started and her family came over to our house
for New Year's Eve and we had a great time. Heather was also the
person who recognized my post-partum symptoms and made me go to the
doctor. I am forever grateful that she did this. She's going to be
a doctor in a few years and already she has helped me.
It's hard to find a morale in this story because it's late and I'm
tired, but maybe the answer is that it's harder to try to make
friends than it is to stumble upon them. Our new neighbors are
really great and they feel like family. I actually know four women
within a couple of blocks whom I could confide in and trust them with
Finnegan. I guess they are my new "playgroup." It's good to be
included.
Cinnabon cinnamon rolls clones
These rolls are the best, they taste just like Cinnabon rolls. I've tried many versions and this one's my favorite. Try these with a chocolate martini and you will be in heaven! We had these on New Year's Eve and they were a big hit. Another very cool thing about these rolls is you can make the cinnamon rolls and then freeze them. Take a couple out of the freezer before going to bed and then pop then into the oven in the next morning. You'll have big fluffy rolls for breakfast. Yum!
This recipe was adapted from the Gordonfamily.com/recipies website.
It's really tasty!!
Ingredients
Dough
Amount Measure Ingredient and Preparation Method
1/4 Cup Water (2 oz)
1 Cup Whole Milk (8 oz)
1/2 Cup Butter, unsalted sweet cream, melted (0.25 lb, i.e. 1 stick)
1 Egg, Large Grade AA, well beaten
1 tsp Vanilla Flavor (preferably alcohol free)
1/2 tsp Salt (0.0075 lb)
1/2 Cup Sugar, preferably Superfine Granulated (0.224 lb)
4 1/2 Cup Unbleached White Bread Flour (1 1/4 lb)
1.5 tsp SAF Perfect Rise Gourmet Yeast (1 envelope, 7 g)
Filling
Amount Measure Ingredient and Preparation Method
1 Cup Light Brown Sugar, firmly packed (0.4255 lb)
5 Tbsp Cinnamon, Korintje Grade AA (0.0745 lb)
1/2 Cup Margarine (0.25 lb, i.e. 1 stick)
Cream Cheese Frosting
Amount Measure Ingredient and Preparation Method
4 oz Cream Cheese (0.25 lb)
1/2 Cup Margarine (0.25 lb, i.e. 1 stick)
1 3/4 Cup 10x Powdered Sugar (or Sugar Fondant) (1/2 lb)
1 tsp Vanilla Flavor (preferably Alcohol Free)
1/8 tsp Lemon Flavor (preferably Alcohol Free)
Instructions
This recipe has been sized so that the dough may be prepared using a large capacity (2 pound) bread machine.
Dough preparation
Remove a large egg from the refrigerator and permit it to reach room temperature. Gently melt the butter. Add the Water and Whole Milk. The resulting liquid mixture should be permitted to cool so that it is between 75F (24C) and 85F (30C) before proceeding further. Then add the remaining ingredients, in the order listed above, to the bread machine and prepare using the dough setting. (Follow your bread machine instructions for dough preparation.)
To help you achieve the very best results, see also our additional notes on ingredients and preparation.
Filling preparation
Remove the margarine from the refrigerator once you've started the dough cycle and allow it to reach room temperature. In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon.
After the dough cycle has completed, roll and stretch the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 15" by 24" (38 cm by 61 cm) rectangle.
Mark off 1" along the 24" edge of the dough, closest to you. You will not spread any Margarine or Sugar-Cinnamon mixture on this edge so that you can seal the roll. Spread the softened Margarine over the dough with a rubber spatula and then evenly distribute the Sugar and Cinnamon mixture. Be careful to leave your 1" edge clean. As a final step, use your rolling pin to lightly roll the Sugar and Cinnamon mixture.
Starting at the far edge of the dough, roll it up tightly. Begin at the far edge and roll up the dough toward the 1" clean edge. The clean 1" edge is used to seal the finished roll. Trim the left and right ends of the roll. The result will be a 24" roll. Trim off the left and right ends of the roll so that you have a flush end at each end of the roll. Then mark the roll every 1 1/2 inches (3.8 cm). Cut the roll into 1 1/2" long portions. This may be done with a knife, as they do at the store. However we've found it easier to use dental floss. (We use cinnamon flavored dental floss just for dramatic effect!) Cut the roll by placing the thread under the roll at your mark, crisscross over and pull it to cut. You should get 15 rolls.
Line your baking pans with parchment paper. Place 5 rolls into 8" square baking pans 1" apart. (One roll in each corner, and one in the center.) Cover with a lint free cloth and let rise in a warm, draft free place until almost double, approximately 1 hour. After rising, rolls should be touching each other and the sides of the pan. This is important for best results. This gives the resulting rolls the soft, moist outer edge that most people prefer.
After rising, bake in a convection oven at 310F for 15 minutes. If you are using a conventional oven, bake at 335F for 20 minutes. The resulting rolls should be only lightly browned. We bake only one 8 inch square pan of rolls at a time to obtain uniform results.
Cream Cheese Frosting preparation
There are several steps involved in the preparation of the frosting. But it is not difficult, and you'll be surprised at the wonderful results you achieve. For the fluffiest frosting, use Vanilla and Lemon flavors that do not contain alcohol. A total of 50 minutes is required to prepare the frosting, from start to finish. We normally prepare the frosting while the rolls are rising.
Generally, we use 10x Powdered Sugar. However, Sugar Fondant yields a smoother frosting. Please refer to our notes.
Remove the cream cheese and margarine from the refrigerator and place it into the mixing bowl. Leave it for about half an hour so that it will not be too cold.
Use the Flat Beater (or Paddle) to blend the cream cheese and margarine for 6 minutes. Use a speed of 65 RPM, or the "slow mixing" speed on your machine. We use setting #2 on our KitchenAid Mixer.
Switch to the Stainless Steel Whip and whip the cream cheese and margarine mixture for 10 minutes. Use a speed of 150 RPM, or the "medium fast whipping" speed on your machine. We use setting #6 on our KitchenAid Mixer.
Add 1 cup of the powdered sugar and mix for 1 minute using the Stainless Steel Whip at 65 RPM. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of powdered sugar and mix for an additional minute.
Lastly, add the Vanilla Flavor and Lemon Flavor and whip for 1 minute using the Stainless Steel Whip at 150 RPM.
Here's an easy to follow table for the preparation of the frosting:
Add Cream Cheese and Margarine to mixing bowl and let stand for 30 minutes.
Mix using Paddle at 65 RPM for 6 minutes
Use Stainless Steel Whip at 150 RPM for 10 minutes
Add 1 Cup Powdered Sugar.
Use Stainless Steel Whip at 65 RPM for 1 minute
Add 3/4 Cup Powdered Sugar.
Use Stainless Steel Whip at 65 RPM for 1 minute
Add Vanilla and Lemon flavors.
Use Stainless Steel Whip at 150 RPM for 1 minute
Transfer the finished frosting to a convenient covered container and refrigerate it. Once the rolls are finished baking, frost them while they're still very warm and serve them immediately. Yum, yum
