crazedparent

What to do when your kid is recovering from strep? Take a hike.

 

 Here's the thing with your kid getting strep throat.

Even if he's been on antiobiotics for 24 hours, you still don't want him around other kids just because what if he's still contagious?

But you and he have been cooped up in the house for three days while he recovers. And you look outside and the sky is being photogenic with its pale blues peeking through streaks of cotton clouds. The sun is lighting up your street. The air is sweet and fresh.

You simply have to get outside.

If you're like me, you simply have to get to the beach.

We took the boys on a docent-lead nature hike through Pescadero Marsh, which is located about 20 minutes south of Half Moon Bay along Highway 1. It was a slow, 2-hour stroll (with many stops) that started along the shores of Pescadero State Beach. We saw the sun glowing on creeks.

We saw birds and deer and bugs. We saw the first signs of spring as flowers busted through dried vegetation.

We saw trees that cried out for us to climb in their branches with a picnic and a good book.

We admired nature's art.

And finally, finally, we adored the beach.

We capped our hike with a visit into town for lunch at the Pescadero Country Store and with a bag of barbecued chips, a sandwich, fried artichokes and many glugs of water, one little boy was no longer under the weather. He, like the rest of us, was rejuvenated and ready to take on the world.

Or at least Monday.

(If you want to check out more kid-friendly hikes in the Bay Area, I highly recommend you sign up for the FaceBook page, Best Hikes for Children in the Bay Area.)

 

Things I don't need but really, really want: Vintage Leopard Print Coat

It is very difficult to deny my love for leopard-print anything. As such, it is also very difficult to not purchase this undeniably gorgeous faux fur jacket/dress.

Go with your heart.

Hearts abound.

During a recent morning walk, I came upon water drops -- from where, I don't know -- that had formed into the shape of a heart. The rest of the sidewalk had already dried. 

I was reminded of Confucius, who said: "Wherever you go, go with all your heart." 

Sometimes, a heart will also be waiting for you.

 

Dispatch from the Test Kitchen: Purple Ombre Cake.

 

When I saw this photo of rasberri cupcakes' purple ombre sprinkles cake a few months ago, I immediately began looking for a reason to try my hand at baking one.

 I decided one occassion would merit such fabulousness: my 40th birthday.

I celebrated my birthday last week and in the days leading up to it, the boys and I took several field trips to purchase a few items for the cake: 6" x 2" cake tins, cardboard rounds and purple food coloring.

I knew I wanted the cake to be four layers: one for each decade. I decided to use 6-inch baking tins because I didn't want an excessive amount of cake left over. (We still had a ton left over, even after sharing a quart of the cake with friends.) I also love the look of small celebration cakes--dainty but decadent. 

I used the Best Yellow Layer Cake recipe from Smitten Kitchen and divided the mixture into four separate bowls, each filled with one cup of batter. One layer was just the plain batter color. I used a toothpick, dipped it into the purple food coloring and mixed it into the second bowl of batter just to get a sense of how much coloring I would need for the different shades.

There is no exact science to mixing the colors. If you add too much and the color is super dark, use that as your final dark layer. Add less coloring to the next bowl for the third layer and even less coloring for second layer (which is more of a light lavender).

I used a basic buttercream frosting recipe to frost the cake, with a thin layer of Crofter's Asia Superfrood Spread (as selected by my big kid) in between each layer. My little guy helped frost the cake and handled all the sprinkles, which magically ended up stuck to his fingers and then, in his belly.

I wish I could frost a smooth cake. Thankfully, the sprinkles on this one hide the frosting work. 

 

A simple slice sure looks pretty on a plate. The third layer (from the top) could have been slightly more purple. But...I'll take it. Especially for a first attempt. And the taste was delish.

 

 

I'd like to try this again using turquoise as my color of choice. Now to find the next occassion.

 

I use to own these boots.

Vintage Collection boots (see more white winter boots)

Only mine were off-white. And I'm a tinge sad that I gave them away years ago.

Not that I'd wear them again. At least I don't think I'd wear them.

I'll stop: My poker face can't even convince me that I'm being honest.

I would wear them.

Shameless and full of glee. 

Taking photos.

 I love the compactness of using my iPhone to snap quick moments, and the fact that it's almost always accessible...in a pocket, in my purse, in my hand.

But I miss being behind the camera, setting up shots, and capturing moments. Or at least trying to capture moments. 

I broke out the instruction manual for my Canon PowerShot SX10IS so I can refresh my memory on features to try out.  Bay Area winter weather is providing us with spectacular blue skies and cloud formations. And perfect light.

There's no time to waste.

 

So much to love.

I love the start of a new year.

Even when something daunting is presenting itself for the coming months, I feel so fresh, energized and inspired.

It's not so much the proverbial clean slate that causes my brain to rush at full throttle with thoughts of what I want to do over 365 days. It's the reflection of the year that has past and rediscovering what I loved about it. 

The things that I didn't love so much? Well, those can roll off the tongue and cause me to twitch.

I want to focus on what I loved. Because that is what I want to carry into the new year. 

I recently read a few blog posts that reflect on gratefulness in life. Like  Lisa Kothari's Weekly Attitude of Gratitude and Bungalow Bliss's goal to "grow with gratitude." And Karen Walrond's Gratitude. 2012 newsletter, for which I am so thrilled to be a participant.

I am not alone in this desire to look at the goodness in life.

There was so much to love about 2011,  so much that I learned, and so much for which to be grateful:

• My family. Period.
• That change is always scary but when it is meant to be, you'll know in it Technicolor (killer smiles don't hurt either).
• That focus and determination, albeit crazy hard at times, work when you're making a change.
• That wonderful friends are priceless.
• That my toe doesn't hurt anymore thanks to medicine that actually works.
• That I have the best walking buddies (dogs included).
• That I miss snapping photos with a real camera.
• That no matter how much time away I spend from San Francisco, I still melt when I witness a crisp winter sunset over the bay.
• That life truly is good.

Embrace the new year.

Little thoughts.

 

More often than not I wonder what's to become of this little piece of Internet space that I call my blog. This is what happens to many a writer and blogger.

We think too much.

Our minds become occupied with randomness and the need for control and organization. What should this be? It needs focus! It needs a new brand! A new banner! A new style! I could do this! That! The other! I need to write! I need a schedule! Who even reads this anymore?! Who cares! I need to just shut it down! Forever!

And then the epiphany.  The lovely little leaf on the ground that looks like a heart and beckons for an extra peek.

This little place is my place. Like a good friend who understands that our lives will forever be entwined, however busy, but we can float in and out of each other's worlds.

And when we catch up? It's as if a day never passed us by.

 

It's cold; I need coffee.

The season changed in name back in September but the weather finally caught up this week.

I don't make coffee in the summer, preferring to sip my latte at the local cafe where I spend my mornings making noise on my laptop. Once mornings begin with a chill, I crave the scent of freshly-brewed coffee in my kitchen.

We've an assortment of coffee makers in our home, from a French press to the classic Italian coffee pot. But my favorite, right now, is a Chemex. My husband bought it for me last spring as an anniversary gift because I am fascinated with different coffee brewing techniques. 

I only drink one cup of coffee, and with the Chemex, I can brew just that. Or enough for two of us. No wasted beans. No excess coffee that I end up pouring down the drain. 

Most imporant? The scent of freshly-brewed coffee in my kitchen. 

(Those are beans from Philz Coffee in the background. I'm fond of the medium roast blends; Tesora is tops on my list.)

Raising gentlemen...

I'm tired of hearing the phrase "Boys will be boys." 

Being a boy does not make it okay to swear like a sailor when you're ten. 

Being a boy does not make it acceptable to be loud, rude and unruly just because.

Being a boy does not mean you have to be messy, unorganized and late.

Boys are not frogs and snails and puppy dog tails.

When you're trying to raise gentlemen, the phrase "boys will be boys" is like nails on a chalkboard.

And right now? I need headphones.

 

I should point out that I'm not having these issues with my boys. Well, save for the messy part. But I truly take issue with the phrase as a blanket excuse for certain behaviors.