Root Stupid Canal

So I finally went to the dentist yesterday about my tooth pain. I went to a new place, Fairview Dental Care. Everyone was so nice there. I really like it there. (If you need a dentist choose them and let them know I recommended you. Then we both get a $25 credit on our accounts… just FYI…)

It turns out I need two root canals. TWO. Apparently some dental work I had done around 17 years ago just sort of expired and that’s what came out when my tooth “fell out”. I begged them to just pull at least one of the teeth out, but they said they didn't recommend it because I'm so young and apparently that particular tooth is important for chewing or something. The way I see it an extraction cost $159.99 compared to one root canal which cost $1,287.50. Times two is $2,575.00! An extraction is more my budget. Oh, and not only does it cost that much but they said it can't wait. BOO. 

Oh well. I guess I can try to write another letter to Ellen. I'm starting to think she sin't getting them. 

If you would like to help me out with my root canals you can transfer money to me via Paypal using the e-mail address Sara.Leeper@gmail.com. People probably won't give you money unless you ask. They probably won't give it to you either way, but you have a better chance if you ask. I guess.

Above: I wore this necklace that I made to the dentist. Everyone loved it!

Number Three: Bake Petit Fours

I didn’t actually bake petit fours. I made rainbow cookies instead. They are sort of the same thing. When I think of petits fours (which are these French pastry things… Petit four Wiki page) I think of several thin layers of pound or sponge cake with raspberry between the layers cut into teeny, tiny little squares, covered with chocolate and decorated. Rainbow cookies are much the same, just way more awesome.

Rainbow cookies are an Italian-American dessert, mainly New York-Italian-American. For the longest time I thought they were a Jewish thing, but on Long Island, Italian and Jewish are essentially the same thing. Seriously ask any Jew or Italian from Long Island. One and the same.

Anyways, Rainbow cookies are SOOO Italian that they are even made to look like the Italian flag. Each layer is colored either green, red, or white. Well, the white layer is actually yellowish and is not colored, but is just left in its original cake color to represent white. The layers are made from an almond cake and there is a raspberry or apricot jam between each of the layers. And then the whole thing is topped with chocolate. Sometimes people add sprinkles.

I grew up eating these every Saturday after services at our synagogue (which is why I thought they were Jewish). I would go from cookie tray to cookie tray trying to find as many rainbow cookies as I could. There were only a few of them per tray and always cut so small. Then my friends and I would take our cookie finds to the coat closet and share. Another great thing about them is they can be made to be kosher for Passover. Which I love because my birthday usually falls over Passover and I hate not getting to have cake, but I loves me a whole tray of rainbow cookies!

These were easier to make than I thought they would be. However still a little complicated. Well, more time consuming than complicated. I decided not to make mine Italian flag colored. They were supposed to be lime green, orange and purple, but I ran out of purple coloring and tried to mix blue and red, which didn’t work. So they are dark redish purple, green and orange.

I am very happy with the results. They taste is a little extra almondy, because I took the advice of the pastry chef who commented on All-recipes.com saying they always add almond extract. I might skip that step next time. Don’t get me wrong though, I could still eat the whole plate. But I won’t. I promise.

Get the recipe HERE

So one more goal down. 30 days left and 9 more goals to go…

Above: Never used parchment paper before, but it rocks!

Below: Just out of the oven!

Above and Below: At this point in the process it didn't look very promising. I was getting worried. Especially when the entire green layer broke in 3 pieces... but I glued it back together with raspberry jam.

Above: But hey, they turned out great!

Below: And Delicious!

10 Goals & Only 31 Days Left!

So guess what? I DID learn to knit. And I’ve knitted myself a nice, purple, cozy 4”x 7” rectangle! I also opened my Etsy store and begun planning a big surprise for someone (that I cannot discuss on here yet because IT’S A SURPRISE). Also, I got a bike so I am one step closer to riding my bike to work. It’s really cold out though so “Have A Lemonade Stand” and “Ride My Bike To Work” are not going to be fun. And who is going to buy lemonade from me in 32 degree weather?

I have just 10 goals of my 25 left to conquer. Will I really make it to Arkansas? Judging by the busy schedule I have these next 5 weeks, probably not.

I have just felt really unmotivated to write lately. You know how that is, yes? Have you never had anything you just didn’t feel like doing? Something you wanted to do, that no one was forcing you to do, but you just kept putting it off anyway? No? Then that makes you a freak mutant and I want nothing to do with you and your freak mutant ways.

Here are some photos because I said so. They have almost nothing to do with this post, but I worked hard on the descriptions to make them seem like they fit here. Ok, I didn't work that hard.

Above: My parents came to visit a few weeks ago. They are the ones who brought me the bike!

Below: Some new things I'm working on for my Etsy shop. Andy set up this amazing work space for me. He got me a table and little storage drawer things, a drill for screwing holes into LEGOS and other toys, and some other awesome stuff. He's really awesome.

Sara, You're Really Having Your Brows Waxed Again?

(Yikes! I need a haircut.)

So I decided that it’s time for another haircut. Someone very nice in my office had a gift certificate good for a haircut and (gasp) an eyebrow waxing and she gave it to me. I know, anyone out there that remembers (how could you forget?) about my first very unfortunate eyebrow mishap which left me with an Uno-Brow (pronounced “ooo-no” like the game, and meaning one- not “Uni-brow” meaning two eyebrows united to form one) will think I am nuts for letting hot wax even come near my face. I've let my hair and eyebrows go crazy over the past 4 months or so. I look like Lanie Boggs in She’s All That before the makeover. So not hideous, just in dire need of a haircut, eyebrow touch up, makeup and maybe a new shirt. Anyways I think it’s time I just get my eyebrows taken care of. Maybe go a little crazy with the hair. Pray for my eyebrows.

(Right now I have eyebrows. 

They grew back quite nicely after the mishap thanks to RevitaBrow.

I took a picture to remember them by just in case.)

On another note, I finally opened up my Etsy Shop, the Banana Boutique. I am very excited about this because I have wanted to have an Etsy shop for a while and have been working on it since August. I only have eight items in there now, but I will have more in there as soon as I take some photos of my new pieces.

Banana Boutique has lots of handmade jewelry crafted by yours truly.  I love super cute things and vintage Disney park and film stuff. So there is a lot of that in there. I also love those plastic bell clip charms from the 80’s that were obnoxiously large and we wore on obnoxious brightly colored plastic chains. I am using them to create some fun stuff. Check it out because the holidays are coming and you will need to buy stuff for people. You may as well spend your money with me. At least you know it’s going somewhere awesome; my pocket. 

Link to my Etsy Shop: Banana Boutique

Cinderella Bottle Cap Necklace using an image from a vintage 1978 Disney children's book

Hello Kitty Large Charm Necklace on a metallic pink chain with a heart shaped toggle clasp.

Spider Cupcakes II

So I made the cupcakes. I had to change a few things though. For instance, I made this big deal about accuracy and spiders having 8 legs. That only works if you buy enough pocky to make a zillion legs. I bought 3 boxes. I should have bought about 6 boxes, so my spiders have only six legs. I was WAY too lazy to make the eyes from chocolate, so I found some sugar “creature features” at Michael's that Wilton makes to use as the eyes. Also, I couldn’t find black cupcake liners (well I could have, but I forgot to look while I was at Michael's and didn't feel like going back over there), so I used black liners that had a Halloween pattern on them instead. The cupcake batter sort of soaks into the liner so it’s still really dark anyway.

I brought the cupcakes in to work early this morning and heard someone say “Whoa! Who made these spider cupcakes!?”  SUCCESS.

Above: Aren't they beautiful?

Below: Lilly "helping" by eating the cupcake batter

Above: The eyes I used

Below: Spiders pre-legs

Below: Assembling legs

I'd say my awesomeness level is pretty high.

Halloween Spider Cupcakes

I really wanted to make some type of Halloween cupcake this year, so I Googled "Halloween cupcakes" and found a bunch of photos that gave me some ideas. 

I am really scared of spiders. Some of them jump, some are poisonous, some are the size of my head. I am really scared that a spider the size of my head with giant fangs filled with poison venom will jump and fly at my face while making a screeching sound and then chew my head off. Or something equally as ridiculous, yet scary enough to make me shudder. So, naturally I am fascinated by them and I decided to make spider cupcakes.

I looked around for the best way to make them and I like the use of Pocky for the spiders legs the best instead of limp licorice or straight pretzels...

Here is a random story before we get started... last year I put a fake spider on the windowsill thinking it would scare Andy, which it did not. The fake spider however is still there and has gathered dust, so it's started looking a little hairy and a little more real. At least once a month I go to open the window, forgetting it's there, and it scares the crap outta me. I have successfully scared the crap out of myself with this stupid fake spider at least six times. And yet I leave it there on the windowsill. 

Ok, here we go...

Disclaimer: I haven't made these yet. I hope to make them this weekend. I have no idea how they will turn out, so I wish you luck if you decide to try this before I do.

Ingredients:

2 Boxes Chocolate cake mix

24 Black cupcake liners

A bunch of brown/black sprinkles

White chocolate for melting

Milk chocolate for melting

Chocolate frosting

Vanilla frosting

4 to 6 Boxes of chocolate Pocky

1 Bag candy corn

1 Piping bag with small round tip

Most of the above quantities are total estimations. Good luck.

You might need at least an hour to two hours for this project.

Makes approx 24 cupcakes. Probably more. 

Directions:

1. Make cupcake mix as directed on box

2. Fill each cupcake liner in pan about 3/4 with cake batter. You need to fill the liners higher than usual so that you have rounded tops later.

3. Bake as directed on box (might need a few extra minutes in oven)

4. Take out of oven and let cool

5. Assemble legs from Pocky and melted milk chocolate. Let dry on wax paper. I would go into detail on how this is done but I just don't feel like it at the moment.

6. Make the white chocolate dots for the eyes on wax paper from melted white chocolate (can use a different color such as yellow, green or red for eyes if desired)- Let the white dots harden then add little milk chocolate dots on the larger white dots. This works best with a piping bag. Let dry on the wax paper. 

7. Frost the cupcakes generously with the chocolate frosting. 

8. Fill a small wide bowl with chocolate sprinkles.

9. Dip frosted side of each cupcake in the sprinkles rolling it around to cover.

10. Carefully push the Pocky legs into the cupcakes. It might be helpful to make holes for the legs first. Remember: Spiders have 8 legs and if you're going for accuracy, so should your cupcakes.

11. Using the piping bag, add a small dot of vanilla frosting for each eye and attach eyes. The frosting is your glue. You can finally eat glue. You should feel happy about this.

12. You can add candy corn fangs or other features if desired. Use the piping bag and pipe on small dots of icing to attach fangs and other random things you come up with right now because you want to keep attaching things since you're having so much fun.

13. Admire and eat your spider-cakes. Do not eat the cupcake liners. They don't taste very good.

Now for your enjoyment, a few Halloween photos from my childhood:

I'm the one in the poodle skirt. My sister is Pebbles Flintstone. Batman and the devil are our friends Alanna and Julian.

With my cousin, Laurin, when we were like two and half. I am Minnie Mouse and she is an inside out shirt. Really though I'm not sure what she was supposed to be. Maybe a ghost? I am not sure she remembers either.

My Tooth FELL OUT

My tooth fell out. Not the whole thing but a large chunk of it. It is severed in half vertically not horizontally. I haven't been to the dentist in almost two years because it is so expensive. I am grateful that this is the only problem I am having since I do not have health insurance and it isn't something more serious. Judging by the pain in my tooth, I think I may need to have a root canal. When I was 17 I was hit in the face with a volleyball in gym class and I had to have a root canal then. This hurts much the same way that did, which is A LOT. I really need to go to the dentist and I am avoiding it for three reasons: 

1. It is expensive and I can't even afford an office visit and a cleaning much less dental surgery. 

2. I am soooooo lazy and I'd really rather not think about it. My tooth fell out about three weeks or a month ago and it hadn't hurt much since then so I've just tried to keep food out of the hole and forget about it. I just want to ignore the whole situation. I am so good at ignoring things. I was pretty sure this would work.

3. I don't like going to the dentist. I don't like to hold my mouth open for so long, it makes my jaw hurt. I don't like saliva pooling in there and I can't swallow or spit and the dentist has the spit sucker thing in the wrong place. I don't like the taste of the gritty toothpaste. I don't like it when they scrape my teeth or poke at my gums. I don't like how the dentist asks me questions while he is working on my mouth. The least he could do is phrase them so they only need a yes or no answer. I don't like the GIANT needle they use to numb you. I don't like how dry and crackly my lips are when it's all over. I don't like that all I have to show for it at the end is a toothbrush. I may be 27, but I'd still like a sticker. Or better yet, some chapstick for my dry crackly lips that were not dry or crackly before I saw you, Dentist person.

My main concern right now is just the money thing. Who has an extra $2000 laying around for dental surgery? I know that I will need a filling, or a crown, or root canal, or a fake tooth. Whatever it is I need it will be expensive and there is no way around that.

I have already contacted a few talk shows that offer help for small things like this. I'm not sure if they will help me, but I really hope someone does! It would really make the whole situation a little more fun and exciting if I got to be on TV! The chances of that happening are very slim. So slim you can't even see that sliver of the pie chart with the naked eye (the pie chart which hasn't been created but gives you a visual of my chances- OK, fine. I'll draw a pie chart). I am hoping to make a video to also submit to the shows. Maybe that would help convince them a little?

Whatever the case, I think the tooth fairy should come and give me a little something-something for my tooth chunk. I hear from kids these days that she has been pretty generous. I remember getting $1 from the Tooth Fairy, but I've met some kids who lost their tooth in recent years and made up to a hundred bucks! So not fair, but that's inflation for you, I guess. 

OK so now it is time for your opinion. Should I...

A. Make a video for the talk shows and cross my fingers they will help

B. Stand on a corner with a sign saying "Help me get dental surgery" and a bucket

C. Have a lemonade stand to raise money

D. Keep ignoring it

E. Buy some chapstick

Please comment with your response.

Bellow are some photos I sent to the Ellen DeGeneres show to try and get her to help me out. I also sent  in to a few others including one I'd never heard of. These photos were just for Ellen though.

Above: There is a post-it on my chin. I try to point out where the tooth chunk is missing. It's really difficult to see in this photo. This makes it look like it isn't as bad as it is. It's not so easy to take a picture of the back of your own mouth.

Below: When I took this photo my mouth hurt so much I didn't even want to open it. The note says "that's a tooth not a scribble" and refers to the little picture I tried to draw of a tooth.

Below: That pie chart you requested