Late Night Friday Fun or How to Write a Blog Post in 10 Minutes

Well, well, well. We made it. Friday at last!

Yes. It’s still Friday. Oh sure, it is just about midnight, but I have vowed to post something new to ye olde blog and that is exactly what I am going to do. Never mind the fact that I have been messing with the space time continuum all week here, there, and everywhere.

What a week! It was good over all, but it felt so long. I had a strong start on Monday, though, and that made all the difference in me surviving a very long week. As opposed to two short weeks in a row. I mean 5 whole school days in a row! Wow! Wait. No. Thing 2 had 5, but Thing 1 only had 4. Plus, as the Mother/Chauffeur, let’s face it, all my weeks are long!

Honestly, this week was a roller coaster. It had me feeling like this on Monday because I finally managed to hit publish.

Tuesday was nice. I made the most amazing tacos for dinner and everyone loved them.

On Wednesday, the rain began.

I was exhausted and couldn’t nap because I am bad at naps. Also, grey rainy days always make me feel so very peckish. Of course, no good ever comes of this.

Thursday was also rainy, but it was an intermittent rain. There were nice little breaks interspersed among the torrential downpours. I had appointments to get to, so I decided to make the most of it.

I was feeling pretty positive on Thursday. I had a positive Parent Teacher interview experience. That is always such a welcome surprise. Thursday was alright.

This was me on Thursday night.

Also this

because balance.

Friday, as usual, arrived just in the nick of time.

My week might best be describes as emotional.

So when I decided that I was going to do as little as possible on Saturday, I most definitely felt like this.

Then I texted my NS BFF and told her I wanted cake.

Because I have a lot of feelings and they are all delicious.

And that is how you write a blog post in 10 minutes.

bows

Now about that cake …

*Full disclosure: This took slightly longer than 10 minutes because Giphy is an internet rabbit hole if ever there was one. Yay, Giphy.

A Day In The Life (In Pictures!)

**Late. Too late to fix evil rotating photos. You get the gist. I’ll find a plugin tomorrow and fix them. In the meantime, you can fill in the blanks!

Thankful Thursday: Bloggy Goodness Edition!

Oh gee! Is that the time?

Whoopsiedoodle!

Normally, I might ask, “How did this happen?” or wax poetic about the day getting away from me, but you know what? Thursday was a bit kooky and I know exactly how this happened and where my time went.

Today was a very weird day. It felt at once like a Friday (Yay!) and a Monday (Boo!). That is simply not a good feeling for tired parent brains.

We had the day off yesterday for Remembrance Day and tomorrow is an Assessment and Evaluation day for teachers, so for the second time this week the Things don’t have school.

Thursday was just a weird day from beginning to end.

The chaos of the morning took its toll and I decided it was better for my kids to make their buses happily than it would have been to have a couple of cranky curmudgeons, stressed to the max, running late.

This meant, of course, that Mom’s Delivery Service was going to have to hit the road with lunches, etc.

This also meant that my morning was gone in the blink of an eye.

Oy!

Oh well. That’s life as a parent. It’s a constant pull between enabling and teaching.

Is this the right time for natural consequences?

Am I doing them a disservice by bringing them the things they need?

Will they never remember to hand in those assignments that are in their backpacks?

Should I let them squirm a little wondering if they will have lunch today?

Let me save you some (precious) time.

The answer is no.

No. Natural consequences happen naturally all the time. The chaos of the morning was out of the ordinary today and certainly not the fault of anyone in particular. It wouldn’t have helped to assign blame. It would have added to the tension that was already brewing, though, and no one needed that.

No. I am not doing them a disservice by remaining calm and making sure they get to school on time.

No. One day they will remember all the things they need all on their own. (Though, not perfectly and every single time because they are human just like me. Just like you.) Since today was sandwiched between two “no school” days (and because it is a Fake Friday, the last day of the week) it was also the last day of the term and therefore the last day to hand in assignments and have them count towards this term’s grades. No brainer! If you understood executive function, you’d see things (Things!) my way. (Perhaps a post is in order.)

No. No. That’s just mean. I don’t want them to worry that they won’t be fed. Who would want that? No one, right? I hope no one would want that. Life is stressful enough without tossing fear of food security in the mix. No. Just no.

All this to say, I thought maybe I would share some of my favourite parenting blog posts here tonight instead of writing very much myself. (Oops! Too late!) Sometimes the best cure for wondering and worrying about whether or not you are doing the right thing, is to read what other people are doing. Sometimes it makes you think. Sometimes it makes you laugh. Sometimes it makes you cringe. Sometimes it simply takes your mind off of your own private little internal conflicts long enough for you to realize there’s nothing to worry about at all.

So without further ado, I give you 5 blog posts I really appreciate.

First there was this gem from Yummy Mummy Club which made me laugh out loud, lament my own, ever present, Mt. Laundry, and then think, ‘Heeeeyyyy! She’s onto something!’

Next up this touching post from Curtains Are Open that highlights the, seemingly, crazy lengths great Moms will go to for their kids (and everyone else’s, apparently!) and the beautiful outcomes that can happen when you do.

Have you been spending too much time with your iThing and not enough time with your eyes on your Things? Maybe we should all consider this post from Mommy’s Weird a litmus test. We have the power to unplug. We do!

If you feel a sudden and acute lack of confidence about how you are raising your girls, at any time, please read this truly excellent post from Yummy Mummy Club. It’s all about the honesty. You’ve got this.

Finally, I enjoy so much over at Schmutzie.com so often, I would be remiss to not include it here. I especially appreciate Grace In Small Things because well, I really do appreciate grace in small things. Who doesn’t? Go read. You will not regret it.

So there you have it.

I am tired.

It’s so late.

I have so much to get done tomorrow.

Tomorrow will take care of itself, right?

First, this tired Mamma needs some serious zeds.

How was your Thursday?

Source

It’s iCal Day!

Happy iCal Day!

Are you aware of this fact? Did you ever notice the calendar is always on a specific date? July 17. Yup. It’s true. Go look. I’ll wait here. * drums fingers on desk *

No. No I don’t know why the little icons for Apple calendar app reads “Jul 17”, but it does and that’s today and that’s reason enough to celebrate, isn’t it?

No. You mean you need more?

Okay. I’ll find out.

Look!

Now you know!

Should we eat cake?

No.

• shakes head *

No that would be a silly reason to eat cake.

Though, one might argue that any day is is a good day to celebrate a thing with cake, but I digress …

Wait.

Oh! Ho ho! I knew it!

Oh sure! The number is changed to reflect a birthdate or anniversary or something worthy of cake, but that is most definitely an iCal cake!

This person and I could be friends, I bet.

Anyway!

Happy iCal Day! Happy Friday!

I know it is very silly, but I wanted to pop in and say hello and now we have all learned something, so there’s that. What can I say? I’m a giver.

How is your summer going?

Ours is going great!

We seem to have struck a nice balance so far of outings …

and down time …

… and activity!

I am enjoying the laid back nature of it all and I am managing to blog a bit or contribute a bit to other places.

The Peady #PhotoADay challenge is in full swing and more than halfway over. Have you been seeing the daily posts? I have very kind friends on Instagram and some of the photos are really fun! There’s still time to join in. Come on! The more the merrier!

I really do love summer.

Next week Chez Peady is hitting the road for a little getaway. I’ll try to write a bit from the road when I can.

So, tell me, what have you been up to?

Are you enjoying summer so far?

Do you have any little vacation plans? Or BIG ones?

What’s been your favourite thing so far?

Source

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Luke and Leia and Blogs – Oh My!

As promised, here are this year’s May the 4th (Be With You) treats!

What do you think?

Did you celebrate Star Wars Day?

Tell me all about it!

Now … umm … not to worry you or anything … but …

Beware the “Revenge of the 5th”!

*Source.

** Happy Cinco de Mayo, too! Imagine Cinco de Mayo falling on Taco Tuesday – so fun!

This Is Not The Post You Are Looking for.

Don’t worry, though, I know how to get you there.

I am helpful, like that.

First though, I need to say something and I really hope you can hear me, because I mean it from the bottom of my, ever loving, geeky, little heart.

Okay?

Ready?

Here it is.

I never find your lack of faith disturbing.

You are all such an amazing support.

Thank you!

Now quick, before the “Revenge of the 5th” (Or is it “Revenge of the Sixth”? I’m still undecided.*) head over to Life in Pleasantville and read my very first post.

*But I do have this handy funny ha-ha so let’s just go with “Revenge of the 5th”.

**Don’t forget to come back tomorrow to see what’s new at Chez Peady, though, because of course we celebrated today!

I Moved My Cheese

It may not look very different to you, but behind the scenes there have been a lot of changes taking place here at Tempered with Kindness.

So far 2015 is shaping up to be a year filled with changes.

Change is bad.

Wait. I’ve said too much.

I know change is good. I know. I do. Honestly, I do.

But.

Change is difficult. Can you give me that at least?

Challenging.

There. Is that better?

I declare 2015 the year* of challenges and changes.

I will be challenging myself, personally, to grow and learn and change for the better.

I will be challenging myself, professionally, to grow and learn and change for the better.

I have goals – both personal and professional – and I intend to reach them.

I will be sharing more about these things in the weeks and months to come and hopefully you will begin to notice and like the changes you see as they become more apparent.

I hope you will stick with me and maybe even share my little blog with friends who have no clue of its existence and maybe one day if I am really lucky I will be able to stop making my “tens of readers” joke and have a more substantial readership.

Granted, for a blogger with tens of readers, I happen to think I have the absolute best tens of readers a blogger could have.

No. Strike that.

I know I have the absolute best tens of readers.

Thank you for that. I appreciate it so much that you take time out of your day to pop into Tempered with Kindness to see what’s new in cake, see what the Things are up to, check out our latest Taco Tuesday adventure or see where I am in my personal journey to healthy and happy.

It really means a lot.

Somedays it means everything.

I have made some really great friends through my life online. If you know me – in real life – you know that I am very much a wysiwyg kind of person. I like that about me. I strive to keep my wysiwyg self as a blogger too.

My focus here at Tempered with Kindness is to shine a light on the positives in the everyday.

This doesn’t mean I don’t acknowledge or experience the negatives in the everyday.

I do. Of course I do! I am human. Real flesh and bone.

News of the world can overwhelm me to the point of a heart gripping terror in the middle of the night. The things we do to each other as humans seem to have reached a pinnacle of awfulness and yet, I know, as bad as it has become, we are capable of so much worse.

I vow to never make it worse.

A person can only absorb so much.

I am sensitive and I’d like to stay that way.

So …

I make a choice.

In the coming weeks and months I hope to continue creating something special.

Something worthy of your time and energy.

Something positive and happy-making.

Something good.

Kindness is such a simple concept.

It’s time to make it mainstream.

So, are you with me?

I can’t make any promises, but I can guarantee you this, if you stick with me, you will have made at least one Pollyanna the happiest Pollyanna on the planet.

Thank you for your continued support and encouragement.

You will never know how much it means to me, but if we ever meet out on the real world and I get a chance to give you a big squeezy hug, you might get an indication.

Now, I must go and talk myself into attending my first opportunity for growth, learning, and change of the new year. Tomorrow is Podcamp Halifax and though I have had my ticket since the day – nay, the minute – they were made available, I am feeling terribly, ummm … well …  chicken *buk buk* … about actually going.

Time to dig deep and drum up some of those “Peady Powers” to use on myself. I probably should do that more often, too.

Yeesh! So many ways to learn, grow and change.

How is 2015 going, so far, for you?

Have you committed to anything major that is making you feel a bit stressed out? Are you going to do it anyway?

*I swear to Jobs that “year” typo-ed “tear”. Mmm hmm. Oh yeah, I’m perfectly fine with change. Suuuure I am.

NaBloPoMo No Mo’

This is it. I have reached the end of my NaBloPoMo journey and I am happy to report that I survived!

For the past thirty days I have written (mostly) a post a day as a part of National Blog Posting Month.

What an exhausting challenge!

Seriously. All you writers who write under the pressure of a deadline all the live-long day – every single day – my hat* is off to you. You are one very dedicated and disciplined bunch of people. Good for you!

I have learned a lot during these thirty days.

I have unlearned a few things, too.

I’ve had some pretty good confirmations, as well. I procrastinate. It works for me, sometimes, as procrastination does. When it works out, I get a rush of adrenaline that makes all the suppression of fleeing the scene worthwhile. When it doesn’t work, well, may we never know!

Oh yes, that random positive reinforcement is quite the thrill, but it is certainly no gentleman.

Clearly, whether it is right or wrong, I work well under pressure. When there is nowhere to run to, baby, no where to hide, I find my stride.

This, as you can imagine, can be very draining on a person’s energy stores. There were nights when I was up way later than I should have been. There were mornings that came way too early. Early Band** days very nearly did me in.

My husband and my Things were the most supportive humans on the planet (they usually are, by the way). They were cool with my vanishing to write or upload photos. They really were, but I was not comfortable with missing anything important, so I was very much burning my candle at both ends. Thank goodness this is a 30 day month. I honestly don’t think I could handle 31***.

I think this was a really good exercise for me. I wrote every day and I believe the practice was good. I felt a sense of accomplishment/panic every single time I hit “Publish”, but I kept right on hitting it. Go me!

I am sure I will have that oh-no-I-slept-through-my-exam panic at least once this week, as I plan on not posting every day for December. I’ll be sure to keep you posted.

I mean, I love writing for this little ol’ blog and I love the people who read, comment, and even ask me to write a little something here or there for them, but I have very strong feelings about not being chained to my computer (for work or hobby or otherwise!). If anything was highlighted this month, it’s that there is a whole world out there just waiting to be experienced, nurtured and changed.

Besides, when I get to be Empress of the Universe and fulfill my destiny as a professional philanthropist, I won’t have time to be attached to my computer.

 

But feel free to call me.

 

Now, please point me in the direction of the best darn gluten free cake you can think of because this gal needs to celebrate!

 

 

 

*I’m not actually wearing a hat, but if I am getting a hat in your imagination make it something cool and festive, okay? Thanks!

**More so.

***But I would, because PRESSURE!

 

Source: http://www.alec-longstreth.com/writing/2008/chained.jpg

Source: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/techno.sm9_.gif

Let there be cake!

Today is a very special day because two of my favourite people in the world – my NS BFF and my Ottawa BFF – celebrate their birthdays on March 6th. Isn’t that an awesome coincidence? I think so.

I always took it as a bit of a “sign” that Ottawa BFF was put in my path. She is generous, kind, smart, funny and knows more about wine than I could ever hope to know. We actually met because of one of her acts of kindness. Remind me to tell you about it sometime.

My NS BFF and I met in the first few weeks of our first year of university and we have been friends ever since. There’s nothing like a dry sense of humour and a mutual love of music to bond two people together so quickly! Also, you know someone is destined to be your BFF when you can call each other out on your B.S., pretty much right off the bat, which we did and it was awesome! Of course, there’s a story there, too, but I’ll also tell you that – wait for it – another time.

In honour of these very special women on their very special day, I am sharing a recipe for the most decadent and amazing chocolate cake in the universe… EVER! Yay, cake!

This cake is my NS BFF’s “Birthday” cake, made by her Mom every year. Isn’t that sweet? Since she is my BFF, I will not be telling you how many times this cake has been made. (Though, if you really wanted to, you might be able to figure out a round about number when you see the copyright information, but I digress..)

So, without further ado, I give you:

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

This is a rich chocolate cake that freezes beautifully and looks as good as it tastes. (Serves 8 to 10)

2 cups all-purpose flour, unsifted

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

3/4 cup sour cream (190 ml)

1/4 cup butter

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 eggs

4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, melted (3 x 85g squares)

Frosting

1/2 cup butter

4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate

4 cups powdered sugar

1 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Measure all ingredients into a large bowl and beat for 1/2 minute at low speed, scraping the sides of the bowl constantly. Then beat for 3 minutes at highest speed. Pour into greased and floured cake pans: 2 9-inch pans or 3 8-inch pans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack. For the frosting: In the top of a double boiler, melt butter and chocolate over barely simmering water. Remove from heat and cool. Add powdered sugar, then blend in sour cream and vanilla, beat until smooth.

Important Rules that Make this my BFF’s Birthday cake

Use a bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 – 70 minutes. Bundt pans make cakes fancy without anything “extra” at all.

The cake itself is very rich and doesn’t really *need* frosting. NS BFF’s Mom uses a chocolate glaze rather than the frosting.

My thoughts

A little dusting of confectioner’s sugar would be beautiful and is one way to lighten up this cake. Filling the centre with fresh raspberries or a variety of berries is also a nice healthy garnish.

This recipe is from a cookbook called “San Francisco à la Carte”* (p. 432), and though I have a scanned copy of the recipe, complete with sweet and personalized hand written notes from my NS BFF’s Mom (I like to think of these as “historical documents”), you can still find this cookbook by searching online and maybe, if you are lucky, at a second hand bookstore or yard sale!

As often happens in my life when I delve deeper into things I am interested in or working on, I discovered two very fun facts today about this book.

The first is that it was a Junior League of San Francisco project. I had no idea, as I had never seen the actual book before.  This is interesting to me because another friend of mine – a new IRL friend – is a Junior League member here in Halifax and when I found the book online I had one of those “Eureka!” moments.

The second is that this cake recipe is featured in the beginning of “San Francisco à la Carte” in the suggested menus section, under “Barbeques-Picnics” as a part of a “Wine Country Picnic” menu. Ha! If that isn’t just perfect for my Ottawa BFF, I don’t know what perfect is!

Happy Birthday to my BFFs! My life is better with you in it and I am ever grateful for your presence.

Now, let there be cake!

* “San Francisco à la Carte” Copyright 1979 by the Junior League of San Francisco, Inc. A Main Street Book published by Doubleday

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss! (Part Deux: Cupcakes!)

You already know we love celebrating Dr. Seuss’ Birthday, and do so every year, but this year in addition to our dinner of Green Eggs and Ham I decided to bake some cupcakes for dessert and let Thing 1 & Thing 2 decorate them in the style of Thing 1 & Thing 2. I mean, how else would Thing 1 & Thing 2 decorate anything other than in the style of Thing 1 & Thing 2? It’d be impossible! That being said, allow me to clarify. *MY* Thing 1 and Thing 2 decorated the cupcakes in a way that would pay homage to the very famous Thing 1 & Thing 2 from Dr. Seuss’ “The Cat in the Hat“. Clear as mud!

It was totally on the fly and I used a cupcake mix and canned frosting – yeah I did – and you know what? They were awesome! The kiddos loved them, loved decorating them and thought they were scrumptious!

I had never used Duncan Hines Frosting Creations, before, but I read a cautionary tale about the product over on Curtains are Open and took it as a challenge. This tells you so much about me. Really it does.

I knew there was a blue flavour (Yes. Blue is a flavour. Usually “blue raspberry”, which is just weird, but I digress…) and was so excited to read that it was *not* raspberry, but rather cotton candy. Sold!

Anyhoo…

I followed the instructions and the flavour packet actually mixed in very well (using a butter knife – fancy!), but it lacked a certain over-the-top blueness that I felt was required to properly convey the idea of a “Thing”, so I added extra royal blue food colouring and it turned out just right. Then I handed the cupcakes and frosting over to Thing 1 & Thing 2 and armed them with butter knives and this is the end result.

Frosting with “cotton candy” flavour + a royal blue boost.

See the spiky and twirly hair? All done with a butter knife!

I’m not going to lie. I wanted to run away with this one!

Here is the finished product. What do you think?

This one is my favourite. I was so pleased with how this little impromptu dessert turned out!