Diversions

Perry Mason explains the Supreme Court’s health care decision

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I don’t generally talk about politics here, but I wanted to understand the ACA decision a little better. So I asked my brother the lawyer to explain it to me. Here’s what he had to say. -N

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or ACA, has passed the scrutiny of the United States Supreme Court. In this post, I’m going to try to explain why and how. And I’m going to try to do it using language that people who didn’t go to Harvard or Yale can actually understand.

Continue reading Perry Mason explains the Supreme Court’s health care decision →

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Notes from “Blog Design: You Can Make It Beautiful”

I took roughly 10 million pages of notes during the Blog Design session at the Type-A Parent Conference last weekend. That was partly because there were three presenters — Laurie Smithwick, Brittany Vanderlinden and Melissa Culbertson — and partly because there was a ton of great information presented.

I changed the look here a little bit not too long ago, but I’m not crazy about the changes I made. So I’ve been thinking about changing things up again, and Laurie, Brittany and Melissa left me with a lot to think about to that end.

As with the Facebook Page post, these are my mostly unedited notes. Let me know if you have any questions, and I’ll try to clarify!
Continue reading Notes from “Blog Design: You Can Make It Beautiful” →

baking

In which my baking offends the Queen of England

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“Happy Jubilee, Your Majesty! I’m so honored you could come by for lunch. How was your sandwich?”

“It was divine, thank you. Peanut butter has always been a favorite of mine.”

“I’m so glad! My daughter loves it. Could I interest you in a slice of Battenberg cake? I made it just for you.”

“How thoughtful! The royal chefs invented it to celebrate Philip’s grandmother’s marriage, you know. He’ll be pleased to know the Americans are enjoying it these days. Oh dear. And what is this?”

“It’s Battenberg cake! I couldn’t find marzipan, though, so I made a marshmallow fondant.”

“Marshmallow, you say? How … clever of you.”

“How is it?”

“Did Harry put you up to this?”

“Pardon?”

“This is an atrocity.”

“Well I suppose it does look like I wrapped it generously in Quilted Northern, but …”

“That does not begin to describe the horror. Your squares are rectangles, the cake looks nothing like a cohesive unit, and it is as heavy as the Imperial State Crown and only half as edible.”

“I’m sorry it isn’t up to your standards, ma’am, but I gave it a good try.”

” ‘Your majesty’ will do quite nicely. You may ring for my car now.”

And that’s how The Daring Bakers ruined my luncheon with the queen. In my head. The queen was actually rather busy this month with the Diamond Jubilee, which I’m certain is the reason she hasn’t responded to my lunch invitation.

This month’s Daring Bakers challenge was the Battenberg Cake, which as HRH informed me was invented to celebrate the marriage of Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine to Prince Louis of Battenberg. It’s a small cake that’s supposed to be pink-and-white checkered to reflect the Battenburg markings. I didn’t have much luck at it.

The Daring Bakers require me to tell you this:

“Mandy of What The Fruitcake?! came to our rescue last minute to present us with the Battenberg Cake challenge! She highlighted Mary Berry’s techniques and recipes to allow us to create this unique little cake with ease.”

All of which is true except the “with ease” part. Although I guess it was pretty easy. It just wasn’t terribly successful. I’m unlikely to try it again, but here’s a Battenberg cake recipe, should you wish to try your hand at it. It’s a very pretty little cake when made correctly!