Work with me here KitchenAid....

For the longest time I have been having difficulty baking cakes. They have been coming out a little tough and much thinner than a normal cake. Nana suspects that my oven isn't properly calibrated and I deduced that I was using the wrong attachment on my kitchenaid mixer. I had a friend come over for dinner last night and I made green chicken enchiladas and a mocha cappucino cake. I canged the attachment on the mixer and took the cake out a little early and taaadaaa!!! a masterpiece was born. Seriously it is kind of incredible! I made everything from scratch, including the frosting. It was so much fun to make but the real satisfaction is in the taste. But I have to say I'm pretty proud of the presentation as well.


I'm happy to say that with just a few adjustments the cake frustrations have come to an end!
* The picture is crooked because it was taken backwards on my laptop because I didn't have time to run downstairs and get my nice camera*

Kingsley Zissou, mommy loves you...

So, now that I am done with work and nana is back home I have been able to start a routine again. I have been able to get back to walking every day. It is so very hot here that there isn't really a good time to schedule it so basically I get up in the morning and see if the weather is tolerable and I feel the concrete and make sure it's not too hot for the pads on their little paws and if the conditions are ideal then we suit up and start our loop around the waterfront.

This is a picture of Kingsley Zissou pouting... like always.
Penny is spry and always ready for anything. It is a complete production getting them ready for a walk. Once I grab the harnesses she lets me put hers on without a fight, I swear she's the little angel. (well, when it comes to this) Kinglsey however, starts jumping up and down and basically screaming. He looks at me and then bounces on the window as if to say, "COME ON!!!! LET'S GO MOMMY!!!!" And then the fight to put his harness on begins. He flails himself on the floor and rolls around so that I can't really get a grip on him and then once the harness is on it's time to lock them together with the coupler. This again is incredibly easy with her, he runs all around the house frantically like he's afraid I'm not actually going to take him out. He bangs on the door as a reminder that I am supposed to go outside.
We finally got out and the weather was wonderful, for DC that is, and then he began to become exhausted. He has much more hair than most dogs and he gets very hot easily. Poor Penny has to be the little leader out there and drag him along the last stretch. This is hysterical to watch because they are literally fighting with each other. He is whining and she gives him a look like, "come on! we're almost there you big baby!" (funny fact is he outweighs her by 8 pounds... at least) We finally come through the door and this is what he does. She is still running around the house, ready for anything and the little one who was so eager to go for the walk is well..... a little tuckered out to say the least.

He always sprawls out in the most dramatic way on either the hard wood floor, the kitchen, or a vent if he can find one that's open. He cracks me up! He is a complete and total handful and as Nic says, "Kingsley Zissou, you are your mother's son." and fittingly Kinglsey responds with an indignant sneeze in Nic's direction. :) I can't believe that this October they are going to be two years old!