Gone Phishin'

This weekend is Phish weekend in our neck of the woods. My husband preps for the shows by listening to Phish 24/7 (which is pretty much the normal anyway...) and spending a ridiculous amount of time at the beverage center picking out what beers he wants to bring with him. I, on the other hand, prepare as I prepare for most life events...by baking! In years past I have made sugar cookies or cakes iced with the Phish logo. Last year, I made cookie bars topped with milk chocolate that I piped into the Phish logo. This year I decided to get really creative...

My idea was to create a dessert for each night that was a take on a Phish song. I challenged my husband to come up with the song choices for me. He came up with Bathtub Gin (which will be the inspiration for Sunday night's dessert) and Reba (tomorrow). Tonight was my idea.

As our 4 year old is coming with us tonight, I decided to make a very kid friendly treat - cake pops! Although as adorable as a traditional pop, these are a whole new level of cake pop.The inside is a maple cake crushed together with maple buttercream frosting and chopped up bacon. They are coated with a darker chocolate and topped with caramelized bacon sprinkles. 

What song could these possible be a take on you ask?! Why, Meatstick of course! Because it's meat, it's on a stick, and how could these crazy pops not "shock your brain"?!

5 Great Blog Topics (Or, Reasons I Haven't Been Blogging)

Sometimes I realize that the busier I get, the more great ideas I have for blog posts and the less time I have to post them. Here I'll share the cliff notes version of the roles I've been playing in my recent insanity that I may or may not ever get to extrapolate on...

1. Mommy  - For awhile this blog was meant to be a place to share all of my trials and tribulations as a working mom, but somewhere along the line it became more about recipes, food, and crafts because those are more tangible topics that I can post about in less time with a tired brain. I will say that when the baby bear was first born I made a post about how much easier having two was than I expected. I wouldn't necessarily say my opinion has changed, but each and every month brings new challenges to the parenting and working dynamic that I aspire to share...someday...somehow...
2. Doc -  As I encounter more and more patients, parents, and family with basic pediatric questions (breast-feeding, summer safety tips, nutrition and weight issues, how to handle viral infections, etc) I wish I could feature some here, but my patient panel keeps getting larger and my home time keeps getting slimmer. 
3. Chef - Many of my recent posts have been on "real food", but I have so many more things I've learned that I wish I could share (reading labels, what different chemicals and additives are, etc). I've also been cooking up some really great seasonal recipes that I would love to share if I could add an extra few hours to my day.
4. Party Planner Extraordinaire - If you've been reading my blog, you know I love throwing parties. Most of my big parties thus far have been bug's birthday parties (Elmo, Owls, Bugs, Mickey and Minnie, and Brave), but I did get the chance to throw my sister's Red Sox Bridal Shower last summer.  Now I am working on my sister's baby shower which is fun, exciting, and time consuming. 
5. Phish Fan - Being a fan doesn't sound like it should be a job, but the way I do it is. My husband's planning begins and ends at what beer to bring, but I spend time working on making a kid friendly experience for our older daughter and planning food/snacks to bring for us and any friends we expect to meet. This year I also have to make a "mommy plan" to take care of pumping while I'm away from the baby bear.

So there you have it, five topics that could each make great posts (or series of posts!) that I have no time to share...if only someone could invent a way for me to need less sleep...