Sunday, April 25, 2010

Happpiness, baking, and tiny dogs

Thank you for your kind words on my last post.

I know grief is a process and it's certainly not always linear no matter how hard we wish it were. I often find myself telling others to just let feelings happen and go with them because they need to happen but sometimes it's hard to follow that advice.

However.

I am doing much better. So much better, than instead of stress baking I did a little 'just for fun baking.' Not a new recipe, but a new, arrangement, for lack of a better word.

Today we also participated in World Malaria Day on our state Capitol lawn as part of a launch for the broader Imagine.No.Malaria Campaign from the United Methodist Church (imaginenomalaria.org if you're so inclined). DH performed his song "One of These Tomorrows" with a youth band as part of the celebration. I teared up just listening.

One Of These Tomorrows...

We'll be ok.

Click here if you want to listen to it again :)

There's very little space to feel sorry for your infertility woes when you're thinking about the fact that in Africa, a child dies from malaria every thirty seconds. It's preventable and treatable and it shouldn't be this way.

On a happier note I'll leave you with two things:
A pic of Penelope, our tiny little rescue dog, who came to us in such bad shape they had named her "Hope" because they just hoped she'd live a few more months. We were told she was 12.

Ha.

That was five years ago and ain't no way Penelope was any 12 years old when we got her.

And thank God for that, because when I got her, I needed something small to distract me from my fertility woes (you know, we'd been trying three months and it hadn't happened so I was experiencing woes). She is small, that's for sure (see pic below). But she's also a great comfort, in a way only a dog can be (I feel like Mickey Rourke here, egads). And I do love her and I still need her.

Isn't she tiny but also adorable?



And now, for my baking adventure. I give you: cake ball banana split. The 'container' is white chocolate, and yes that's a tiny banana slice in there. It's hard to see the 'vanilla ice cream ball' but it's there behind the banana... and a red M&M makes the 'cherry' (to give you perspective). It was fun to make, but I didn't eat it....

Also--we're on the countdown to NYC so I'm getting in my uber happy place!

17 comments:

  1. That is one adorable little pup! I have a little dog too - I just love them. They're SO squeezable!

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  2. You amaze me on so many levels~
    Hope your trip to NYC is fun-filled!! Let me know if you want any suggestions for fun spots - though I am sure the travel books tell all, but I can give you the insider hints :)

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  3. Sheesh, when do you have TIME to do this baking?! Crazy lady!
    That tiny dog is adorable- we have 2 big dogs and although they're lovable they're not the little tiny balls of comfort that we've had in the past.
    Good for you for getting involved in the malaria campaign, I know that there's so many "things" that move me but yet it's hard to commit to "doing" something. We recently have donated to the "one girl" initiative to help the trafficking of girls in Nepal. Definitely something I can see us doing more about...
    Anyway, congrats on your involvement in something so big and worthwhile!

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  4. That dessert looks to die for! Why didn't you eat it?

    This week at school we hosted Dr. Rick Hodes who works out of Ethiopia primarily with TB of the spine, he does remarkable things with the people who suffer. For literally pennies and dollars a day he can save a life, it is the same with Malaria. It is just so sad. What a great person you are for getting involved.

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  5. You are such a kind and giving person and I am continually impressed and amazed with how generous of spirit you are. That cake ball banana split looks amazing and I'm wondering too why you didn't eat it? I'm glad you're looking forward to NY :)

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  6. adorable puppy!!! i want her!

    and the cake is impressive but i wouldnt have eaten it either...HATE banana!

    glad it was a happy wknd
    xoxo

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  7. You should start a second career in food styling! All your food pics look like they came out of a magazine.

    Your little dog is so cute! When adopted our "bad" cat the shelter told us they thought she was 5. We'll, that was 13 YEARS ago and she's as healthy as a horse. And still ruining furniture. *sigh* the things we do for our pets...

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  8. You made that? Wow - mad skilz! Have I told you about a blog called "StressCake"? She's a semi-professional baker (she assists Gale Gand all the time!) and always rates her posts using a Stress Baking Therapy Factor - which is always funny. Check it out:

    http://stresscake.wordpress.com/

    And I love your little doggy friend! How about a close up of her?

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  9. Love your tiny little pup! I have my 2 big dogs and my sweet little chihuahua too...very different personalities but boy do I love them all! What a pretty little thing:-)

    Glad things are lightening up a little (not getting better, not getting worse, but lightening maybe?). Enjoy NYC!

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  10. What a sweetie your wee Penelope is! I love that photo - a wee dog in a big picture :-). I also love the cake ball shot - almost as much, and that's saying a lot from a dog-lover. Why, oh why, did you not eat it? I doubt I could be in the same room with such a thing for more than about 5 seconds before I polished it off! You must have some resistance there!

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  11. What an adorable little doggie! We are proud "pet parents" of a rat terrier and a Boston terrier, and they make my world infinitely more enjoyable. When I'm at my lowest, they are crawling onto my lap and cuddling with me.

    The cake ball is great! : )

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  12. So glad to hear you're feeling a little better. While it never leaves me I hit the crappy patches now and again too.

    And dude, I had 'the woes' prematurely too. I bawled when it didn't happen the first month. BAWLED.

    That dessert looks like all kinds of ridiculousness. And after just finishing my shrub-like salad for lunch, it makes me want to cry a little bit too. ;)

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  13. I love, love, love the "banana split". If that bowl is from what I think it's from (a mold with three of them on there that I saw in the store a couple weeks ago but managed to resist buying), then I'm just realizing that I've been making the cake balls way too large!

    Regarding Penelope, I think my tiny cat (6 pounds) is larger than her! :-) She's a cutie, and I'm glad she's now happy and healthy. Have you seen the new TV commercial about shelter/rescue dogs? Makes me cry. Dogs are definitely a great comfort during the grief that life brings.

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  15. Penelope is a cutie-patootie, that's for sure! I'd say you resurrected her. Isn't it amazing what a little TLC can do?

    Hope you have fun in NY. Get away, clear your mind, refresh your spirit :)

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  16. I am so glad to read that you are doing better and you are counting down to your trip. Having something to look forward to always makes me feel better! And the dessert looks like something out of a magazine! You are so talented and I praise your efforts to raise awareness about Malaria. Stay on your cloud and don't let anyone knock you off! You deserve this time, enjoy it!

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  17. I love that you have something to look forward to right now. It is always a good spirit lifter.

    Your little buddy is too cute. I can't tell if he is loving the trail or ready to be done with it. (-;

    How did you not eat that? Creativity at it's finest!!

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