Some Holidays AND Cake in a Bowl

We did celebrate some holidays at my house, I just haven't posted about it. So here you go...

Pretty Girl and the Home Owner carved up some Pumpkins for Halloween.



































We had the usual Thanksgiving and I wanted to make the same cakes I did last year. One reason was the toffee cake came out perfectly last year so I wanted to have an old standby.



















The other reason was because my beautiful Chocolate Peppermint cake ended up in a bowl last year. All was going good until it started to break apart and slide off the plate. I thought I used the wrong cake pans, well, ok, I did use the wrong cake pans so I wanted to make it with the correct cake pans. Our favorite pastry chef lent me the proper pans and I baked the cake. It was a little iffy cutting the two layers in two but I accomplished that.

Here is the infamous bowl, on stand by, just in case.


















Here is the chocolate and white peppermint ganaches...



































And here is the marshmallow-like peppermint frosting. That's right my friends, there are three, count 'em, three frostings!!



















And then, all of a sudden, BAM!! All hell broke loose, I couldn't take pictures of it cuz my hands were busy, so here is the finished product...


















That's right, Cake in a bowl. DAMMIT! I'm not sure this cake can be made without it. At this point I don't care. This is what I did with the recipe...


















And here is Pretty Girl holding it while we drive to our Thanksgiving feast...


















Everyone loved it. They said they didn't want it any other way but in the bowl. So they all got there Thanksgiving wish. I will never attempt this concoction again. Next year...something new and different, I'm thinking a pumpkin chocolate dessert. We'll see.

AND ANOTHER THING....

Why is it that a television program is listed as starting at 8:00 p.m. and it actually starts at 7:58 p.m.? That is not 8:00 p.m. Just so you know!

MJ

So, I went to see This is It, the Michael Jackson movie. I have to tell you, it was awesome. He was amazing! He really was a genius. It made me sad all over again that he is gone. I think, if that movie comes out on video, I'll buy it.

The movie was about the rehearsals he did before what was to be his last tour in England. I guess all the shows were sold out. His producer called him MJ. Just the other night I watched the interview with Janet Jackson. She called him Mike. That seemed strange to me. No reason really.

When Michael rehearsed with his back up dancers they were more winded than he was. He always was a skinny adult but it was fascinating to me that he might be in better shape than the dancers. He always seemed to sickly. And what was up with the tape on his fingertips all the time? That always bugged me.

They were re-doing a great video for Thriller. Who didn't know how to dance to Thriller, or wish they could? He still had Vincent Price as the voice over but they filmed all the Zombies and dead people in 3-D. Very cool.

He was an amazing person, strange, but amazing. He will be missed.

Secret Service

Ok, it's time to get serious. I've been pretty bored lately, as you could tell, no good posts, or any posts for that matter. Now, I have to tell you KEZ started their Christmas music today. it's been this huge secret. Thank god they didn't start it the first of November. It was a complete secret as to when they would start that. I'm okay with telling you, I'm not ready for it, I think because of the weather. I drove home tonight and saw Christmas lights in the neighborhood. PEOPLE, IT'S NOT EVEN THANKSGIVING!!

You all have to help me out. I'm pretty sure the holidays are going to creep up on me and I won't be ready. Which is really weird, I'm usually all over the holidays. But the weather has really thrown me for a loop. It's really not holiday weather.

Work is so cold in the morning that we all huddle in a mass. Then in the afternoon we are fine. This happens every year but we seem to forget the the Phoenix Metropolitan area can have a 40 degree difference in the winter and a 20 degree difference in the summer.

Whatever. I'm not ready for the holidays and that's all I can say!

Baked or Fry's?

I can't figure it out. I'm very stressed that my neighborhood Fry's will inconvenience me if they strike Friday. Safeway may strike too. I don't want to have to shop at Alberson's. I'm not a fan. I know the stores won't close because they are hiring people at $9.50 an hour to cross the picket line and work.

I agree that Corporate shouldn't make them pay between $5 and $15 a week for health insurance when they have never paid for that before. Most of the checkers make between $7 and $12 dollars an hour (according to the media) and that added expense seems too much. They should be eased into it.

Since I hate to grocery shop I'm afraid if I go into the store and fill my cart the long lines will make me just walk out, even though I need the essentials (like low fat wheat thins, coffee creamer and dry roasted peanuts, possibly milk for Pretty Girl). I did that at Costco the day before school started. The lines went all they way back into the books! That's too many people.

I'm not good in a crowd or at the mall. Crowds make me feel clostrophobic. I always feel I'll never get out of there. I have a fear of gas stations too. I'm afraid I will fall victim to a drive by shooting. I can't explain it.

So I'll just wait and see what happens. In the meantime I'll stock up on the essentials tomorrow, Veteran's Day. Good thing I'm off work.

What's Scary?

So I changed my Facebook profile picture to Cousin Jim from the new Jack in the Box commercial.



Pretty Girl said it was scary and Pretty Teacher dislikes it. I happen to adore Cousin Jim. I don't know why! Probably the same reason I was so enamored with Heath Ledger as Joker in the Batman movie.
























He looks good to me!

I remember when the Pretty's were younger and they wanted to watch a scary movie. I rented the Birds by Alfred Hitchcock.

















That movie still scares me and I can't ever see birds on a power line without getting the chills. I'm not too fond of seagulls either! Anyway, they didn't think it was scary at all.

I guess what's scary to one person isn't necessarily scary to the next. For instance, some people love William Shatner. I can't stand to look at the man! He scares me!

I guess with Halloween coming up there will be way more scary stuff to look at. I'll let you know.

Soap on a Rope

The other day I overheard someone say soap on a rope. It made me thing back to when I was a kid and all the Christmases that I got soap on a rope and how cool I thought it was. But now I'm thinking what was the purpose of soap on a rope and why were kids so happy when they got it?