Stranded

A wedding party stranded in the middle of the 10 fwy in El Paso, Texas... our trolley died.

Attending the Buttercake Bakery cupcake meetup

I am back! And I don’t mean I’m back in the blogosphere – I’m refereeing to the cupcake meetups . I haven’t attended a meetup in a long time for reasons that will remain unknown to my faithful readers (that’s if there’re any left). It was perfect timing too since it’s a week before Tara (the cupcake meetups organizer) says goodbye to the Ms. and becomes a Mrs.

What is the first thing that crosses your mind when you hear buttercream? What about buttercream cupcakes? I know that many of automatically think of its nutritional value such as cholesterol, fat, and calories. But with the economic crisis going on, who cares, right?

Buttercream Bakery in West Los Angeles was our next destination for cupcake sampling. I emailed the store a couple of days before, asking for additional cupcake flavors that are not mentioned on their website menu (flavors in their website include Buttercream, Coconut, Chocolate, Red Velvet, Peanut Butter, Mocha). I also asked if they offer vegan cupcakes simply because some of our members are vegan or are allergic to eggs. Within a day of sending my email, they reply with the following:

Zendi,

As far as cupcakes flavors we also make the following with a minimum order or 24 standard size: carrot, banana, lemon, german chocolate, pumpkin and gingerbread. Unfortunately we do not make any vegan products, but we do make flourless chocolate cake and macaroons that are gluten free.

Looking forward to meeting you all on Saturday!
Best,
Buttercake

Like every cupcake bakery, this place one was no exception; the place was small but cozy. There was a small designated area to display the cupcakes- unlike other places where the cupcakes take up an entire section of the store. The focal point in the cupcake section was the mini cupcakes display; the minis were adorable and apparently, they come in every flavor (on the plus side, they only cost 75 cents each). I ordered a vanilla mini cupcake and it only took two bites for it to disappear entirely.

Red velvet cupcakes however, they remain my specialty. I always order red velvet and that may be because I don’t have a sweet tooth; red velvet cupcakes are frosted with cream cheese frosting which has a tangy taste and it balances the sweet sugary taste.


I came up with a grading scale for red velvet cupcakes.

• 1 point if the cupcake is red
• 1 point if I can taste cocoa
• 1 point if the cupcake is moist
• 2 point if I can detect cream cheese in the frosting without overwhelming tasting the cream cheese
• 1 overall satisfactory taste

A possible of 6 points in total but I may add a point for decorative appeal; but, it has to be something creative and completely original.

Here’s my Red Velvet grade for Buttercream Bakery:

• 1 point; the cupcake was red
• 0 point because I couldn't taste the cocoa
• 1 point; the cupcake wass moist
• 2 point; I could detect cream cheese in the frosting without overwhelming tasting the cream cheese
• 0 point; for overall satisfactory taste (NOTE: it was not unsatisfactory).

4 total points from a possible 6 points.

The absence of my lifeline device

Have you ever had the feeling of being disconnected from the world? I'm not referring to the psychological disconnection with others - I mean the literal sense; the absence of a mobile phone.

Let me backtrack. One of my dear friends is getting married... Should I elaborate any further?

Here's a picture of how we started the evening celebrating my friend's last day as a single woman (a picture is worth a thousand words).


Yep, that above is a cake from Cake and Art in West Hollywood. Supposedly, the only other person who has order something similar was Cameron Diaz. Apparently, she bought it for Justin after his guest appearance on Saturday Night Live dressed as a “package.” Well, I don’t know about his package, but this one was yummy! We maimed the poor thing; we first consumed the package and then we attacked the legs. See for yourself:


After a fun night out with my friends and briefing Los Angeles finest evening establishments, I ended home without my camera and a dead cell phone. The next day, I did manage to call the places we visited hoping to get any news on my camera but it was fruitless. Who knows whatever became of my camera.

My phone on the other hand, well let’s just says that it had massive liquid damage so I went ahead and ordered a new one (it was about time to replace my old Motorola Razr). My brand new Pantech Duo took a total of 4 days to arrive.

It’s incredible how dependent I am to my phone. First of all, I only know a total of 4 phone numbers:

1. my mother’s number (only because she’s part of my family plan account)
2. my brother’s number (only because it’s similar to my mother’s number)
3. my parent’s home phone number (only because they’ve had the same telephone number for over 25 years)
4. my cell phone number (I know, incredible right?)

So getting a hold of my friends was out of the question.

To make things worse, my brand new phone was defective and I am not going to write about the inconvenience I experience just to have it replaced the same day it was delivered – there was no way I was going to wait a day longer.

Not having a phone for four days is like missing four days out of your life. I don’t necessarily sit around at home and wait for life to pass by; my schedule is filled with activities and well, you get the idea right?

-Zen

Perspectives of a toddler

I love kids and kids love me (or at least I think they do). I grew up raising boys, my three younger brothers. My youngest brother, whom we all thought was going to be a girl when my mother was pregnant, is 10 years younger than me.

Needless to say percentage wise, there is more testosterone in my family than in the Pentagon... Wait! this is not what this blog is about... no, it's not... I trailed off there for a second.

Since my family is overdue on human additions to the family (several family members have adopted puppies to compensate), we get thrilled when adorable 1 1/2 year old by the nickname Little D. comes and visits us. Everyone fights over him.

I remember babysitting and looking after my younger brothers, so babysitting comes natural to me (maybe that's why kids love me, or at least I think I do). So, it comes to no surprise that when I was asked to babysit Little D, I took on the job instantly.

Curious 1 1/2 year olds need constant watch because they tend to go off and explore their surroundings. Little D kept me on my feet. I read to him, I played with his toy cars, I fed him, we played with my abdominal exercises ball which he just loved, he played with my dogs and most interesting of all, he was a photographer.

I taught little D how to use my digital camera. As soon as he was free to do as he pleased while I prayed he wouldn't harm my digital camera, it was on! All I heard was "cheeesfff, hehehehehehe", *flash* "cheeesfff, heheheh" **flash flash** as he chased my dogs.

For about 15 minutes, he took my camera where no camera has gone before. When he was done, he placed my camera neatly back to where it belong. This is my favorite picture.


Barely 2' tall, in the picture above little D tried to open the door to go outside, but before opening the door, he turns around and snaps this shot. My dogs Sam and Chrissy look ahead making sure little D doesn't open the locked door.

Here's a slideshow of Little D's masterpieces.



-Zen

Sad news from a,,,

I almost did not post this....

I received an email yesterday from a friend and former co-worker.

Here's an article from the LA times...

Authorities were searching for a hit-and-run driver who killed a woman and one of her twin 4-year-old sons Tuesday night in Carson and left her husband and the other son hospitalized with serious injuries.

Midi Mikasa, 34, of Carson died at the scene, authorities said. Her son Nathan also died, according to the Los Angeles County coroner's office.

Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators said the driver of a pickup truck ran a red light and broadsided the family's minivan about 9 p.m. on New Year's Day at Albertoni and Main streets.

The driver ran from the scene and remains at large, said Sgt. Michael Zymkowitz of the Carson sheriff's station.

"It was a pretty horrific crash," he said. "Nobody would like to come upon a scene like this involving children."

Both adults were wearing seat belts and the boys were in child car seats, deputies said.

"Based on the damage to the vehicle, it was a high-speed" crash, Zymkowitz said. "There were no skid marks or anything like that that would indicate the [driver] saw them."

Mikasa's husband and surviving son were at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center near Torrance, where they were listed in critical condition. They were not identified.

Authorities declined to provide details about the suspect or the pickup, which was left at the scene. The collision occurred just south of the 91 Freeway and about four blocks east of the Harbor Freeway.

On Wednesday, a colleague remembered Mikasa -- a petite woman with long, dark hair -- as warm and compassionate, dedicated to her work and devoted to her boys.

From 2004 to 2006, she was a clinical research nurse at the UCLA Center for Vaccine Research, and treated everyone from patients to custodians with kindness, said Susan Partridge, the center's associate director and Mikasa's supervisor.

"She was very outgoing toward all. She really got along well with every level of person here," Partridge said.

At the center, Mikasa experimented with vaccines against anthrax and bird flu and was known for taking meticulous research notes. She left in 2006 to help with a family business, Partridge said.

According to Partridge, Mikasa graduated from UCLA in 1995 with a degree in English and American studies; she earned a bachelor's of science degree in nursing at USC in 2002.

Mikasa was a volunteer worker and active in her church, Partridge said.

She said she was inundated Wednesday with calls from Mikasa's "broken-hearted" former co-workers.

"Most of the people here were speechless," Partridge said of the roughly 30-person office, where photos of Mikasa's twin boys are still posted in the break room. "I don't think anyone's gotten much work done today."

Authorities said that anyone with information about the driver of the pickup is asked to call sheriff's investigators at (310) 830-1123.

I used to work for UCLA Center for Vaccine Research and I worked with Midi a number of times. My heart goes out to her husband , surviving son and family. She was a lovely person, always smiling and trustworthy.... This is tragic, to have her life end like this, to have her family torn apart... so so sad... I'm without words.

-Zen