Cupcakes!

I was in a baking mood the other day and made these:

They are plain white cake, with a non-crusting butter cream icing. The icing was really tasty, but really hard to work with. Part of the reason I made the cupcakes was to practice using my decorating tips. A crusting buttercream, made with part shortening instead of all butter, would have been easier to work with (i.e. wouldn't start melting in the bag because my hands are warm!), but just doesn't taste as good, in my opinion. So, I decorated about 5 cupcake and then just used my spatula to ice the rest. Since I can't have 15+ cupcakes sitting around the house to gorge myself on, I sent this batch to work with Steve. He said everyone liked them, and the tray came back empty, so I felt pretty good about how they turned out overall.

Some of These Things Are Not Like the Others

So you've seen Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty (which I enjoy immensely, but find a little disingenuous since Dove sells products that supposedly make you more beautiful), and we can all appreciate what goes into making a real person look like a model for a print or TV ad.

Here's another something along those lines. No one argues that the subject in question is a beautiful woman, but the folks at Redbook seem to disagree about exactly how beautiful she is before airbrushing. (Link was courtesy of The Common Room)

I don't really have too much of a problem with wanting to look like a model, minus a small spell of insanity during my sophomore year in high school when I got my friend Jessica to give me a makeover for YM's CoverGirl model contest. It was a short lived venture, because once I saw the polaroid of myself after the makeover, I knew I would never look like the girls that won that contest. And I learned that a lot of makeup was not at all flattering on a 15-year-old.

Anyway, I hardly ever wear makeup now, except for special events and when I'm feeling extra girly. Hubby says he prefers me without makeup anyhow. And I prefer to defer to what he prefers. Say that five times fast!

This post is getting long and rambling. And I have things to do this morning! Time to get my rear out of the computer chair!

Fresh Belly Pic

I have to say that I think I'm starting to look pretty ridiculous. What is that in there? A giant football?

Books, Books, Books!

So, I'm trying to read three books at once these days:

1. Putting Amazing Back Into Grace -- this one is a reread from 3 years or so ago. We used it for a small group study when I was first learning about reformed/covenant theology. It explained so much to me about some things I had been taught but I could never quite make sense of. (for example: if I am a completely sinful human, how is it that I was able to choose to ask Jesus to be my savior?). It is loaded with information, and I don't think I got it all on the first read through. I highly recommend this book.

2. Teach Them Diligently -- the best parents I have seen in action use Scripture all the time when talking to and training their children. Since I wasn't raised that way and I am shamefully undisciplined about memorizing Scripture I bought this book to give me a little nudge. I've just started reading it, but noticed there is a chart in the back that lists common discipline issues and matches them up with verses. Neat! And it is definitely motivating me to spend more time memorizing the Word.

3. My Life for Yours -- if you read this blog at all, there's no secret that I enjoy reading Doug Wilson's stuff. I haven't actually started this one yet, because I expect it to be a relatively quick and enjoyable read, even though his books usually give me a lot to chew on.

So that's what I'm reading these days. After these three I'll either have a newborn and no time for reading or I'm going to pick something fun and fictional to get me through the last of this pregnancy. I'm coming up on 35 weeks! I can hardly believe it. Oooo, I'm going to start a poll! Just for fun, vote over there on the right: is Jodi's baby going to be a boy or a girl?

Steve & Jodi Bremer ~ Est. 8-8-2003

I love you, Stephen. Even on our wedding day, I never imagined marriage could be this good. God has blessed me beyond what I ever thought possible.

Dessert!

I made this tonight for a neighborhood get together and it was a big hit. It's from my new Junior League Cookbook. I was a little nervous serving something at a party that I'd never made before, but it turned out great. And I should say that my "neighborhood" only consists of 3 houses, so that lessened the risk of embarrassment considerably.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3-1/4 oz. pkg. dry vanilla pudding mix (NOT Instant)
3 tbsp. butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 (15-20 oz.) can sliced peaches (in juice, not syrup) well drained, reserve juice
1 (8oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp. reserved juice
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Directions: Combine in large mixer bowl flour, baking powder, salt, pudding mix, butter, egg and milk. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed. Pour into greased 9" deep dish or 10" pie pan. Place drained fruit over batter. Combine in medium mixer bowl cream cheese, sugar, and reserved juice(3 tbsp.). Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Spoon to within 1" of edge of batter. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over cream cheese filling. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until crust is golden brown. Filling will appear soft. Store in fridge.

Jodi's Notes
--If you're not a fan of peaches, you could make this with pineapple too.
--I used an 8" cake pan to bake it in and it turned out great, but I ended up having to serve it from said pan because there was no graceful way to dislodge it and put it on something prettier. If you have a springform cake pan, it would work perfectly for this recipe.
--It took me awhile to find non-instant pudding mix (none at the commissary, but yay for Safeway!), and it came in a 4.6 oz box...I just guesstimated how much 3-1/4 oz was

What's Your Educational Philosophy?

This article on homeschooling pretty much hits the nail on the head. It reminds me of reading one of Doug Wilsons' books on homeschooling/classical education. To paraphrase, he said that public/state-run schools are mandated by law to tell our kids that God is completely separate from the classroom, and what Christian parents should be instilling is that God is the Great Designer behind every single thing that they learn. (edit: I should add that DW does not contend that one has to homeschool in order for their children to learn this. He does say, though, that as parents we are responsible for what our children learn even if they are in a public school).

From the article:
"Probably the most significant benefit of home schooling, though, is one I didn't mention in my previous column. Home schooling puts parents back in control of their children's education. That's not to knock the legions of dedicated public school teachers who do their best to educate kids. But when someone else is educating your child, it's that person's philosophy of education and his or her ideas about what's important -- not yours -- that govern what's taught." (emphasis mine)

I'll just stop typing now before I really get up on a soapbox.

My Wife

My Wife
Originally uploaded by Steve Bremer

My genuis photographer of a husband took this picture of me (thus the title of the photo) yesterday. I am normally the least photogenic person on the planet, so I'm quite amazed at his skills. I wasn't even really posing, either, I was commenting on the rocking and rolling going on underneath my shirt and he started clicking away with his camera.