Happy Christmas!

Wishing you all Love, Laughter and Happiness this Christmas and Always.

The Stomach Flu Blows {chunks}

Twas the day before my birthday and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, except for the dog and the cat who were wrestling in the hallway.

I had just gotten home from work to the tantalizing smell of pot roast and roasted mixed veggies wafting from the kitchen. I was expecting one of my best friends and her husband to join us for a pre-birthday dinner. As usual, my mom handed Lily off to me and headed home. Lily and I played, and then went outside to wait for Daddy to get home from visiting his parents. After Jim got home, Lily and I resumed playing, and as we sat on the couch, with her facing me on my lap, all of a sudden a weird look came across her face… and a waterfall of macaroni, cheese and green beans cascaded into my lap. Holy projectile vomit Batman!

Let me pause here for a moment… I had heard the term “projectile vomit” before, but until this moment, when I was literally COVERED in a clearly discernable variety of lunchtime foods did I truly appreciate the horror of the term.

Three more times the waterfall hit me in the chest, arms and lap, as I yelled for Jim to get towels. We headed straight to the bathtub and got cleaned up. I prayed that this was a fluke, but because I had heard that there was a nasty 24 hour stomach flu going around, and we had just had a play date on Sunday. Keep in mind, 30 minutes from this time I was expecting company to help us eat the pot roast that was not sounding nearly as appetizing as it had when I walked in the door after work.

Melissa and Peppe arrived, gift and cake in hand, just as Lily had her second wave of sick - all over the clean shirt that I had idiotically put on.  Awesome.  This time, Lily and I went straight into the shower, clothes and all, while Jim helped us strip and rinse our clothes, then handed me my pajama pants and one of his old t-shirts.  I knew we were in for a long night.

Best friend that she is, Melissa decided that she and Peppe would tough it out, and we all ate dinner in the living room, while I cuddled Lily on the couch, swaddled in towels.  After a couple more rounds of baby-sick (caught in towels this time), Melissa put candles on my birthday cake, and I blew them out with a naked, towel-wrapped baby on my hip.  After they left, I ditched my clothes, Jim covered the couch in sheets and towels, and I got ready for a long night.

And then Jim started feeling ill and had to head to bed.

Fantastic.

To make a long story short, Lily was sick from 5:30pm to 1:00am, a time filled with feeding her water from a medicine dropper (only after learning that letting her chug water or pedialyte from her bottle only amounted to another round of vomiting) and napping. After each sick, she would rest her tired head on my chest, and I rubbed her back and whispered sweet words to her. All in all, she was quite a trooper given the circumstances.  After 1am, I could tell that she was completely empty, and since I had been so diligent about keeping her hydrated using the medicine dropper, I knew she was ok to sleep in her crib.

As I headed into my bedroom to check on Jim and get some sleep, I heard him in the bathroom losing his stomach... his night was just beginning.  So I slept in the guest bedroom with the baby monitor and left my poor hubby to battle his tummy.

Thankfully, Lily was able to keep liquids down when she woke at 7am, and after an hour of no sickness, I knew my birthday wasn't a total loss.  I stayed home from work so I could keep her on a liquid diet of breastmilk and water all day.  Poor Jim slept most of the day.

The plus sides to this whole situation are that I got to spend my birthday with my family instead of in the office, I was able to keep a sick baby hydrated through a nasty stomach flu, got a few hours of decent sleep, didn't get sick myself, and stayed completely calm and collected through the whole experience.

I think this experience only brought Lily and I closer together.  She needed her momma, and momma was able to stay calm and successfully comforted her through the night.  That makes me feel pretty good.

I'll call this a win.



>^..^<

I like to play with my balls...

Get your mind out of the gutter!  I'm talking about my Big Crazy Balls from Lucky Hanks on Etsy!  Geez, what were YOU thinking?

I originally wanted to contact Theresa at Lucky Hanks because I wanted to review her wool dryer balls, but then I saw her Big Crazy Balls... the resulting review {and giveaway, ending 12/15 at midnight!} can be found on SIMPLE.

I wanted to share some excerpts from the conversations behind the scenes of this project.  Bear in mind, I don't know Theresa except from this review... but I've come out of it with a friend for sure!  We have a lotta balls between us.

Jessica:
Hi Theresa!  I never thought I would say something like this, but I LOVE YOUR BIG CRAZY BALLS! HA, that was fun!  Ok, down to business....

Theresa:
...Last Christmas I had a really good conversation going with family about my wool dryer balls. 
"people love my balls" 
"people can't wait to get their hands on my balls" 
"I ship my balls all over the world, even Australia" then after that there was some joke about my balls "going down under" 
LOL it really never gets old.... 

Jessica:
I want to get MY hands on your big crazy balls. I was originally drawn to your shop because of your wool dryer balls, but then I saw the big crazy balls and fell balls-deep in love.  

Theresa:
Anyone can have fun with my balls. Just wait till you have your next party with friends, everyone will be asking 
"where did you get your new balls?" 
"your balls in the living room really spruce up your sofa!" 
"you get to write about whose balls?" 
"you let your daughter play with what again?" 
this one is really good... "Honey go lie down on the sofa and rest your head on my balls while I make dinner" then you can tell your friends that your husband fell asleep on your balls. 
LMBO. Laugh my balls off - of course. giggle giggle

Jessica:
Gotta hit the {ball} sack for tonight. HA!

Theresa:
You are an amazing writer. Just the person I would want working on this piece about my balls.

Jessica:
I'm on the couch cuddling your balls right now, they are keeping me warm. For real though, they are! 

After reading this and my review, you know you want to get your hands on Theresa's balls too.  Enter the giveaway, and go shopping at Lucky Hanks today!

Cheers!

>^..^<

Recipe of the Day {Cranberry Oatmeal Tuxedo Chip Cookies & Cranberry Vanilla Latte Cookies}

Oh yes.  These are THE BEST COOKIES EVER.  Seriously.  I've been making these for 4 or 5 years, and they are still a huge hit with my family and friends.  They scream comfort.  They ooze happiness.  They make yummy in your tummy.

The only catch?  You have to go to my review site, SIMPLE Reviews, to get your hands on the goods.  Google doesn't play nice when posts are copied word for word (why can't I plagiarize my own works if I want to, hmm?), so it just has to be this way.

Click here for Cranberry Oatmeal Tuxedo Chip Cookies!

And to go along with this recipe, here's a link to my Cookies in a Jar post too!  There, you will find a recipe for Cranberry Vanilla Latte Cookies.  I'll admit, I haven't actually BAKED any yet, I just made the recipe into a pretty jar gift.  But they sure sound scrumptious.

Cheers!

>^..^<

Community Tap and Table :: Bacon and Beer Class {November 16, 2011}

Community Tap and Table :: For Beer Bellies with a Cooking Problem

Community Tap and Table is a hub for gourmet food and beer food pairing education in Sacramento, Lodi, Stockton and the greater California Central Valley.

Come on in, grab a Session, sit by the fire and get comfortable... it's going to be a long night!

On Wednesday night, Jim and I had the most amazing food and beer experience.  And we owe it all to Community Tap and Table, a gourmet cooking and craft beer club based in Sacramento, California, serving Sacramento, Stockton and Lodi (and the spaces between).  This is the most awesome club to ever come into existence!

We attended the Bacon and Craft Brews class, a hands on, full contact bacon-frying, beer-drinking extravaganza.  This 8-student class teaches how to properly cure and smoke pork belly into savory bacon.  The pork belly they use is local, antibiotic free and humanely raised.  Community Tap & Table sources as many local ingredients as possible.

The cooking class portion of the evening was completely hands on.  Each guest volunteered for a cooking station, and off we went with recipes and amazing ingredients in hand.  I have to say, this was a blast!  Jim and I didn't know any of the other students, but we had a great time with all of them just the same.  Banter flew, bacon fried, beer flowed.  Bliss.

When the cooking was complete, the students came together at the dining room table, and our hosts did a guided beer pairing......


The Delicious Menu
Fried Green Tomatoes with Clove and Lemon Aioli :: Paired with Trumer Pils
Bacon, Cheddar and Chive Biscuits with Butternut Squash Gravy :: Paired with Sam Adams Cherry Wheat
Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon and Sauteed Onion Brussels Sprouts :: Paired with Full Sail IPA
Quince Cobbler topped with Candied Bacon :: Paired with Dogfish Head Pangaea

Is your mouth watering yet?  Mine is.  This was one of the best meals I have ever had in my life.  And I like to eat.  A lot.  I have the belly to prove it.

The key to proper food and beer pairing is having both food and beer in your mouth at the same time.  I know, that sounds weird.  But trust me, after this experience I am fully a believer.

The clove and lemon aioli tasted like the holidays, adding a lovely refreshing-spicy tang to the fried green tomatoes.  The lemony flavors of the Trumer Pils were very complementary to the aioli, and the carbonation made the clove feel even more spicy and prickly on my tongue (in a very pleasant way).  Very nice.

The thought of the sweet butternut squash gravy on those savory biscuits is seriously almost too much for my empty stomach to handle.  I am tempted to quit writing, head straight to the market for ingredients, and whip up a batch right now.  Adding a swig of the Cherry Wheat into the mix was damn near orgasmic.  I have to seriously applaud Darin for this pairing.

The macaroni and cheese was very tasty, especially with the addition of the sweet and spicy red pepper sauce.  But the Brussels sprouts were the ones to shine in this course. Never before have Brussels sprouts tasted so friendly and pleasant.  There was no hint of the typical bitter flavor that turns most people away.  Bacon makes everything better, even Brussels sprouts.  The citrus-hoppy Full Sail IPA was a lovely complement.

Candied bacon is probably my new favorite thing, especially on top of cobbler.  I hadn't had quince before, but it is very similar to pear, just a little more spongy and firm.  The word delicious doesn't even begin to describe this beautiful symphony of flavors.  Tempting toothsome treat.  There, that works.  Pangaea's sweet and spicy ginger flavors added a nice dimension, but I preferred subsequent bites without it; however, it was a nice palate cleanser between sweet, savory bites of cobbler and bacon.

Aren't you jealous that you weren't there?  Well, check out the Community Tap & Table event calendar and get your awesome gourmet food and craft beer experience scheduled!  Their offerings are not limited to bacon and beer (you mean there's more to life than that?).  They offer seasonal classes, brewery tours, private parties, personal chef services, and more.

Emily and Darin host most events at their home in Sacramento, a spacious, inviting and beautiful home perfect for entertaining and educating. Emily is a food maven with impeccable taste. Darin is a Cicerone Certified Beer Server. Together they are a perfect storm of food and beer deliciousness.

All proceeds from Bacon and Craft Brews classes benefit the UC Davis College of Brewing.

And now... the photos!  I do have to apologize for the photo quality - I brought my compact camera instead of my SLR... oh well, I'll just have to take another class so I can get better photos!

We learned how to season, cure and smoke pork belly to make our own bacon. 

Choose your own apron!

Jim was in charge of frying bacon for my biscuits, making the butternut squash gravy, and making fried green tomatoes!

I was in charge of making the bacon, cheddar and chive biscuits.
Don't mind the missing one... it, um, fell in my belly.

Fried green tomatoes, with clove & lemon aioli.  Paired with Trumer Pils.
(sorry for the weird camera quality... overexposed and washed out, bah!)

Bacon, cheddar and chive biscuits with butternut squash gravy.
Paired with Sam Adams Cherry Wheat.

Bacon macaroni and cheese with red pepper sauce.
Paired with Full Sail IPA.

Brussels sprouts with onion and bacon.
See, bacon really DOES make everything better!

And the coup de grace... Quince cobbler with candied bacon!  Pure heaven.

Cobbler was paired with Dogfish Head Pangaea.

The Bacon and Craft Brew class of 11/16/11!

And our lovely hosts, Darin and Em.

The beers.

>^..^<

A Christmas Card Idea {Religious Humor}

CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE!

Before you get mad at this hilarious image... I was raised Catholic (recovering), and yes, I have an awesomely liberal sense of humor, and no, I don't mean this to be offensive.  Just laugh, cause you know it's funny!

Cheers!


>^..^<

Game Night Guest Post at Thrasher Home {Adoption Awareness Blog Project}

Head over to Thrasher Home, a blog by one of my fellow SIMPLE Moms, to read a guest post that I wrote in support of her Adoption Awareness Blog Project!  It's about Game Nights, which I love!  In it I disclose my 5 favorite games... go find out what they are!

Cheers!


>^..^<