Junk Foodie

Much to our own detriment, we have been on a sweet kick lately. Since Toledo is a little behind the trends found on the coasts, we only recently have been able to experience a cupcake only bakery. We have visited "Cake In a Cup" on several occasions, purchasing favorites such as Red Velvet, Cherry Coconut, and "Devil Wears Prada"--a dark chocolate cupcake with a scoop of chocolate chip cheesecake embedded within the top of the cake, garnished with a dollop of ganache and a fresh raspberry. All of these cupcakes are all very tasty, however they are also very pricey. Most recently I have become partial to the Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Frosting. This interest sent me looking on the Internet for recipes, knowing that I could make several dozen for the price of a half dozen cupcakes at "Cake In a Cup." Yesterday, I decided to try Paula Deen's recipe for Red Velvet cupcakes. The cake is extremely moist, and the cupcake top crusts slightly like a muffin top. I think Tom ate at least 4 in one sitting.

From Shih Tzus to Stand Off

After arriving home from a long, tedious day at work, I opened the door, walked in, and immediately noticed a very distinct smell wafting throughout our house. As I entered the kitchen to put my purse down, it became very clear that I would soon have a problem on my hands. I continued through the kitchen and into the dining room where our Pomeranian, Tala, resides while we are away at work. I turned on the light only to find that my worst fears had been realized....she had gotten sick during the day, had messed in her pen, and probably had some sort of residual residue left on her hindquarters. I quickly ushered her outside, brought her back in, and tethered her to the island in the kitchen for fear that she would roll on the carpet or the couches. Cleaning poop off the kitchen linoleum I can handle, but not off the carpet or furniture. Tala pitifully laid on the kitchen floor as I rushed to get her bedding into the washing machine I had set on "Sanitize." I returned, only to try to triage her fur before we had to leave for dinner with friends. We opted out on dessert to get home to make sure she was okay, and decided for everyone's sanity, she needed a bath.

Tala after her bath....still slightly damp

She had been so pathetic before her bath, sulking, wanting to be carried. Cleaning the poop off and getting her fur blow dried seemed to make her feel totally reinvigorated. Tala was soon back to her old self, harassing the cat and playing with her multitude of toys.

Tala and Tommy in a stand off over the ball.

20 Cardinals Sitting in a tree...

It's cold here. So cold.

And the snow. Beautiful, white, glistening, everywhere, surrounding us, never-ending it would seem.

But in the midst of it all, are 20 Cardinals that have made their home in the Cherry trees in the backyard. Such contrast.

Proof of Life

Every year during the pre-holiday rush, all the holiday cards hit the shelves. To no avail, Stefanie finds some sort of Penguin/Bear/Snow-man/Moose themed card-pack that we must get. Every year, we fail to send out the cards despite the fact we take pictures of ourselves poised ever so carefully in festive colors and hues. Where these packs of holiday cards reside by the time Spring rolls around? I do not know. Rest assured these packages still have their manufacturers seal still on the box complete with Made in China sticker on the plastic wrapping. Consider yourself warned; though. Those of you daring enough to keep in contact with us may receive a barrage of snow-penguinian-bear-moose-man cards one year. It may be too much to handle.


At the behest of Stefanie, I will post a holiday picture of us. I was informed that one of her friends doubts her existence in Ohio since photo-evidence of her existence here has not been demonstrated. I enter into evidence exibit Figure 1 below. It could be pod-Stefanie, card-board-cut-out-Stefanie or real-Stefanie. Much in the same way a tootsie-roll center resides an innumerable licks away from its tootsie-roll-pop surface, so the enigma of Ohio-Stefanie grows deeper. ; )





We are sitting on the stump of the tree that I felled earlier in Fall. As a side note, It almost fell the wrong direction and would have crashed into our living room if a neighbor with more knowledge of forestry had not been driving by. The look on his face as I was under-cutting the tree with my handy-dandy brand-new chain-saw urged me to stop my actions immediately. I suppose it would have provided us the impetus to add a skylight if it had happened. Thank you Jon. Enough-with-the-hyphens.---

House remodel: Stair rail

So this is to serve as a first post. Stef and I have never blogged, face-booked or my-spaced; to any great extent. I guess it is time we join the rest of society on the internet. Moving on.

Stef and I recently moved to Waterville, OH and purchased a home in a quiet neighborhood. We've been slowly fixing it up. I didn't realize how much I like wood working and finish carpentry. There's something satisfying about seeing wood take shape into a larger theme. Colors, contrasts, shapes and lines with wood are good. Below is a portion of the hallway in our home that Stef and I have been re-working. We pretty much gutted it down to the subfloor and replaced most of the doors and fixtures.

See before. Ugh.














And after.


















The cat is not made of wood, but is organic none the less. I try to mold her by feeding her diet food, but she eats my ipod ear buds in protest. So far I'm losing; 4-0. *Shakes hands at cat.*

-Tom