Cake pops and ultrasounds

Bright and early this morning was 18 week ultrasound day.  Dutifully, the Russian arose early to accompany me to the doctor's office.

Among the anatomy and measurements, pictures were taken.  Baby didn't want to be bothered by us, and had it's hands up by the ears.  (Maybe to tune us out?)  Baby also chose to face away from us for most of the scan...but here's the best face picture we could get.

See the elbows sticking out?

We also chose to find out the gender.  Baby cooperated in that regard, at least.  I know I could just tell you all, but I can't resist the urge to make cake pops.  (Or go shopping*.  Do you know how hard it is not to buy everything in the baby section?)

Using the cake pop maker I received from my fantastic sister for the wedding, sadly, no frosting was required.  (Sorry all of you who like the frosting/cake mix.)

Mmmm, tasty.  I'll post results in a few days for those who are too far away to get one.  If you want to know earlier, come grab one or three from me. :)

So what's your guess as to what we're having?  Think we're having a boy?  A girl?  For the very limited number of people who know the answer, don't give it away!

*The cutest outfit at Target is a little white bag-like coat-ish contraption** with a little brown bear and the words "snow cute."  Even the Russian told me it was adorable.  Anyone know what the little slits are for that go through the front and back?  It's like the perfect size to shove your hand in...but that seems a bit awkward...

**Unfortunately, it's gender neutral, so I didn't buy it, though now I'm tempted to go back...

Coupons

I've never been one to cut coupons.  It wasn't really a part of my upbringing, and frankly, it's a hassle that hasn't really appealed to me...although the price at the register each week doesn't appeal to me either.

Lately, I've watched some episodes of Extreme Couponing... you know the show, people go and buy $1,000 worth of groceries for $100.  They're a little crazy.  They clear shelves.  They get things for free.  They build up negative money to pay toward non-couponed items.

I have no wish to be an extreme couponer.  But not using coupons (ever) makes me feel guilty that I haven't used a coupon in 15 years.

Latin American cooking

The long sought-after achiote (annatto)

I've been craving ecuadorian food lately.  Fortunately, I have a few cookbooks of amazing ecuadorian recipes.  Locro de papas (drool), empanadas de viento (slobber), llapingachos (aaaah)...

The mood was upon me.  I began my quest to sooth my palate.  Unfortunately, although I have the cookbooks, I lack a few ingredients.  Specifically, I lack achiote.  Achiote, or annatto, as it is called in English, has a slight taste and a lot of color.  Locro de papas and llapingachos just aren't the same without their reddish orange color.  Trust me.  I made them both.

No matter.  I can find it, right?  I googled.  Yup.  This should be easily solvable.  Most people say look in the mexican section of the stores.  Mexican section?  Well, that should be easy.  So, I went to the store.

Nope.  Not there.  Store number 2... not there.

Store 573...still no annatto.  Does this even exist on the continent?  Did I make it up?

Well, apparently it's a staple in mexican cooking as well as in ecuadorian cooking.  I have my trusty mexican friends, I can ask them!  Brilliant!

So off I go to ask my friends.  Finally, I'll have a breakthrough!  Mexican friend number one:

Me:  Hey, have you heard of achiote?

Friend:  Uhm, what?

Me:  Achiote.

Friend:  What's that?

Me:  They use it in mexican and ecuadorian cooking...it's red.

Friend:  Oh.

Me:  Do you know where to buy it?  Maybe...?  Probably not...?

Friend:  No, not really...

Alright.  She doesn't know.  Strike out one.  This shouldn't be that hard.  Really.  I decide to email a friend in Ecuador.

Me:  (summarized because I wrote in Spanish)  I'm looking for choice to make llapingachos and loco de papas.  But I can't find it anywhere!  Maybe online?  I dunno.  Can you help me out?

The response:  Well, it comes from such and such a plant.  We usually buy it in powder or paste.  Maybe you can look at the grocery store?

Gaaaah!  This isn't helping.

Fast forward a month and I'm in a specialty and organic store, perusing loose leaf tea.  Side note:  Tropical Breeze and Sunset in Seattle are well worth their price.  So is Market Spice.  Back on track, I happen to notice they have bulk spices.  Hmmm....the wheels in my head start turning. Maybe, just maybe, since they specialize in the hard to find, they have what I'm looking for.

I edge my way down the aisle.  I scan the rows.  No achiote.  My eyes almost miss the Annatto Seed label.  Boom!  Yes!  Sold!

Two days later, at work, I finally see Friend 2 who's been sick on the days she typically comes to help me.  Does she know what achiote is?

Me:   Have you heard of achote?

Friend:  Achote, si, it's a green plant...

Me:  Uh, this stuff (showing the seeds)

Friend:  Oh!  Achiote.  Si, si, lo usamos to cook.

Me:  Where do you find it?

Friend:  Just at the store, by the sauces.  But it usually comes as a little block of paste.

Gah.  I still haven't seen it at the store.  At least she knew what it was and where to find it.  If I luck out, she can just buy the next installment of it for me.

Fall coats!

Last week, if you had been looking for me, you would of had to search in dressing rooms.  The shopping bug hit me and I couldn't stop my credit card from swiping it's way to a merry fall wardrobe.  One thing I did not expect to buy, yet somehow couldn't help myself:  Coats.

The first store I walked in might as well of had a spotlight and flashing neon lights on a clearance rack.  Granted, most items weren't that amazing to look at if one was over the age of 12.  However, at a hastily shoved on end, a ruffled, white coat caught my eye.

Ooooh, that's cute.  I snatched it up and meandered on back to the dressing rooms.  Within minutes, and with a friend's squealed "it's so cute," it was mine.

Then we moved on to the second store.  Not only were there coats, there were capes.  Capes:  a fusion of a coat and a poncho (in my mind).

Now, ponchos are a weakness for me.  I just can't pass them up.  They come in a close second to scarves...just ask anyone who saw me during the years I spent around Ecuador.  Markets are filled with ponchos and scarves galore!  They're so pretty, I can't help but buy them.  It might be a compulsion...plus, at $2.50 per scarf (typically), and that price goes down the more you buy...

It's called haggling.  Don't judge.

Anyway, if you look in my closet, you'll find 10 to 15 ponchos...and boxes of scarves.  But let's not dwell on that, shall we?

Cute?  Definitely.

Warm?  Hopefully.

Necessary?  Uhm.... The manfriend said I could buy it.

(In my defense, I did pass up two coats I really liked at the same store.  Plus, the white coat was 50% off.)

Ignore the really bad lighting (hence, no head).  That's lighting in a dressing room for you.  But isn't it awesome?

The angles of advertising

We all know that advertisers lie to us, right?  Tricks abound to sell products.  Teeth look whiter with red lips, so the before is pink and the after red.  Facing the camera at an angle takes pounds away.  Black and dark colors thin you out.  Vertical stripes make you taller, leaner, whereas horizontal accentuate the girth.  Cut off the face, and the viewer identifies more with the individual in the picture (yet without a head, we lose interest in the product - hence, partial faces everywhere).

Usually, if you know what to look out for, like product placement in ads and movies, you can keep a leg up on them.  (Doesn't snickers cake sound good?)  Add to this growing pile of ways to lure the general public in, the art of Photoshop.  An extra few pounds?  We can stick that in right here.  Remove an inch off a leg?  Easy!  Want to remove a mole?  Done!  Cellulite?  Gone!  We've all seen, or at least heard, about photoshopping gone wrong...

However, sometimes advertisers just get lazy.  Take a look at what I found with my paper today... by all looks and appearances, a typical add for this revolutionary new product that will make you look 50 pounds thinner.  (Okay, 10...but 50 sounds better.)

Now, typically, I'd assume that there's photoshop and angles and optical illusions - which there are.  See how she's pulling her shirt down in the after picture?  The straight lines make her seem thin.  The before picture is slouching and sticking out her stomach?  The horizontal stripes appear to move outward around her midsection, creating that extra oomph we consumers need.

Notice anything else?

Take a good long look.  This isn't the same person!

Check out the jaw line....the hip/leg area...the protruding collar bones on the after girl.  The hair probably isn't even the same length and that's why it's tucked behind...apparently her boobs lost some luster as well, as they shrank in size but gained perkiness.

Okay, okay, I could give it the benefit of the doubt - she must have just gotten lipo (and a boob job) with the tummy tuck system.  It sucks the fat out of your whole body!  Yup, it's all the rage.  That is why you should buy the Tummylicious.

(Did they really think we wouldn't notice?  Too lazy to photoshop?)

Holidays: I'll never understand

I know time seems to go faster and faster as we get older.  Holidays come quicker and quicker.  When I walked through the doors at the Walmart, the Halloween items were staring at me with their ghoulish faces.  A bit early, wouldn't you say?

Image from Walmart.com

Eventually the thought hit me that Halloween is at the end of next month, so it's not too outlandish.  (Well, except for the costumes.  Apparently we all have to be loose women or vulgar men for the holiday*.)

But then I found this:

This, this is what I found...not just a shelf, or even just a row...but a section.  Christmas?  Already?  We're still three months and two major holidays out!  Speaking of which, we apparently have Halloween and Christmas...and no Thanksgiving items*.  Not one.  I'm sensing inequality here...it's like the month of November doesn't exist...

*A petting zoo with a "horse" on your man-parts?  The one eyed monster?  (I'll leave that image up to you.)  Snow White in the equivalent of a bikini with stockings?

**I didn't even see pumpkins that could double for Halloween and Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving gets overlooked so often, though it's a great holiday where we get to celebrate family, be thankful...and stuff our faces!