100 Things Worth Doing, Part III

More scenes I hope to see as my life flashes before my eyes, numbers 51-75:

51. Waking from a dream that was entirely in Spanish.
52. Plane ride back to California with a New York cheesecake on my lap
53. Bryan pulling a tablecloth from a dry bag on our surprise kayak camping trip
54. Answering a roommate ad to find one of the few friendly faces from 7th grade
55. Backyard picnic in my cap and gown, babies splashing in the plastic pool
56. Pulling a keg across San Francisco dressed as a plumber
57. Donning the newspaper crown for my editor photo
58. Making mud pies next to the Iris while mom weeded the bed
59. Pregnant in the bathtub, watching the baby roll over inside me
60. “What do you do?” “…I’m a writer.”
61. Climbing the pine tree in my PJs in the dark
62. Ordering the sushi myself
63. Karaoke in the living room until 4 a.m.
64. Me chewing on sour grass, the dog chewing at my shoelace knot
65. After an hour-long hunt, and countless “can I help yous,” finally figuring out where they keep the condoms
66. Breakfast by the campfire, fresh blackberries and cream
67. Lincoln Memorial at midnight
68. Christmas tree bonfire on the beach
69. Adirondack chairs on the lawn overlooking the lake, blanket over my legs
70. Swing dancing in the Music Concourse on Sunday afternoons
71. My first and only shot of whiskey in the Stanford dorms
72. Seeing a live cassowary
73. Homemade spaghetti and sourdough bread
74. Taking the train into the city after work
75. Having a single key on my key ring

As always, add a few of yours in comments if you haven’t already.

Easter Cakes Baked in Egg Shells

1cakesbakedineggs

For Easter, I decided I wanted to make these awesome cakes baked in egg shells.

jaimeeggshellcakes

I find them pretty magical, and fairly easy to make, if a little tedious. Then again, we did make a lot of them.

henningeggshellcakes

I tweaked the recipe a bit because I couldn’t find any egg nog, and I also wanted lemon cakes. The differences between my cakes and the cakes in the recipe are as follows:

-Doubled the recipe.
-Added low-fat buttermilk instead of egg nog. (Whole fat would have worked better, but the store didn’t have it.)
-Added juice of one Meyer Lemon.
-Added lemon zest of two Meyer Lemons for flavor.
-Forgot to oil the insides of the shells.

2eggshellcakes

If you don’t feel like making cake from scratch, a cake mix would probably work just fine. In conclusion, cake in egg shells kicks ass. Happy Easter!

3eggshellcakescollander

100 Things Worth Doing

More scenes I hope to see as my life flashes before my eyes, numbers 26-50:

26. Riding through the canals in Amsterdam with the baby
27. Picking confetti from my hair
28. Catching fireflies in Tuscany
29. Jumping on the hotel bed
30. Mixing Pimm’s Cups at my Great Gatsby birthday
31. Surge of joy on the swing set when I remembered there were no doctor or dentist appointments looming
32. Passing out signs at the Boston convention
33. Popping my first champagne cork
34. Swinging out above the river from a rope
35. Walking around the park at night with my tipsy college roommate
36. Giving the wedding toast
37. Dancing in the middle of jam circle–perfect partner, red dress
38. Dappled light on the deck with girlfriends
39. Swing band in our living room, sailors smoking on the porch
40. Slipping on my engagement ring
41. Watching the old couples tango over a bottle of wine in Argentina
42. My name beneath an article in the New York Times
43. Riding through the cave on an inner tube
44. Tea in the claw-footed bath with an ocean view in Malaysia
45. Wading in the backyard creek, hip-deep, my Keds sucking on and off my feet.
46. In line for the De Young Museum opening at 4 a.m., ludicrously painful stilettos
47. Archery in the mall in Asia
48. Flying on the swing ride at the California State Fair
49. Floating in the unearthly hot springs in Iceland
50. 4 a.m. tea and peanut butter toast with mom before an antique show

Emerging themes for me: travel, the sensation of flying, water, dancing, and being awake when I’d usually be asleep.

Again, if you haven’t already, please add a few of yours in comments.

Voices That Matter Interview

At SxSW, I did an interview with Michael Nolan. He works with Peachpit, the publishing house that produced No One Cares What You Had for Lunch.

I hadn’t slept in three days, so I was too exhausted to assume my Rich and Throaty Media Voice. Click through to hear the valley-girl lilt that persists into my thirties. For some reason, I always thought that one day I’d just awaken sounding like Maya Angelou. You want world peace, I want the voice of an 80-year-old black woman. We all have our dreams.

Anyway, here you go:

Maggie Mason, Part I
Maggie Mason, Part II

100 Things Worth Doing

Scenes I hope pop up as my life flashes before my eyes. Numbers 1-25:

1. Hank banging a bowl with a spoon on the kitchen floor
2. Cutting the cake with Bryan
3. Hot dog in Reykjavik at midnight, full sun
4. Cracking open a book with my name on the cover
5. Dancing on the bar at the office party
6. Jumping off the high dive terrified
7. Cheering Kazakhstan at the Olympics
8. Writing the very last check on our credit card debt
9. Seeing van Gogh’s Starry Night
10. Starting the conga line
11. Helicopter over Buenos Aires
12. Skinny dipping at night in the ocean, in the lake, in the hotel pool
13. Dancing atop the boat in a thunderstorm in Costa Rica
14. Speaking at a conference for the first time
15. Swimming in the open water with sharks in Belize
16. Laughing as I pushed the baby out
17. Napping on the balcony in the Philippines, warm air on my skin
18. Joining the chorus of hundreds counting down to the year 2000
19. Smoking a Cuban cigar on the balcony
20. Making cotton candy
21. Waking in a houseboat to see the reflection of water on the ceiling
22. Addressing Valentines
23. Haggling with my girlfriend in the Balinese markets
24. Bryan in a giant corndog costume in the Castro
25. Seeing the balloons drop

Tell me about your flashback moments in the comments.