Blog Post 5 (in which parentheses have taken control)

Well, as you can clearly see, I made good on my First Ever Blog Post promise to neglect you.  What have I been doing all this time, you ask in outrage??  I was sick for 5 days.  Courtesy of my husband, who was also sick, but not quite as bad as me.  (curses!!)  But we’re both better now.  I was also just pretty busy.  Chad and I went shopping at Tyson’s Corner two weekends ago.  I did end up getting the Zoku Duo Quick Pop Maker!! (which was great because immediately after that I got sick and I always love popsicles when I’m sick).  Then last weekend we went to Borders twice (because they are going out of business, I’m sure you’ve heard) and we both found a few things to bring home.  It’s funny because even with their sale prices everything is still cheaper on Amazon.  I read two books (which, oddly enough, were not the ones I got from Borders).  I love to read, but I never have time anymore.  But they were really good books.  I liked them a lot.  (Hey!  Maybe sometime I’ll do a review blog post on one of them?!  There’s a fun idea.)  We went to Bed, Bath, & Beyond, Wal-Mart, Lowes, and Hobby Lobby, like, twice each.  Some other stores, too.  My mom and I got groceries a couple times.  Chad and I had dinner with both sets of parents.  We ate at the Greene Turtle & Rosalie’s and those were both delicious in the extreme.  We went for lots of ice cream (also delicious).  I baked a cake and made chocolate covered pretzels (yes, all delicious, too.  Gosh, is food my whole life?  Writing this all out makes me feel like I need to go weigh myself).  And, as you can probably tell, I’m getting into the mundane things things now that you have no actual interest in hearing about… if you haven’t already given up reading…                    

Hello?              

Wait! Come back!  I’ll be more interesting!! 

I just finished up writing all my wedding thank you notes!  Finally!  Whew…   I’m so late in getting it done.  I feel like a horrible human being.  Really, I am VERY thankful for everything.  And really, I did start writing these notes RIGHT after the wedding.  I have no idea why it’s taking so long to get them sent out.  And I will be so glad when they stop commandeering our coffee table.  So anyway, half of the envelopes are addressed, stamps are bought, and I just have to get the other addresses and I will be good to go!  Except (of course, there’s always something else) I really really want to get a return address stamp with our address on it (obviously, Elana) so that I can just stamp those babies and be done!  I think that would be really cool to have for all letter writing situations!  There are, like, a ton and a half designs over on etsy.com (which I just added to the Websites We Love section – don’t know how I forgot about it til right now??) but I don’t really have a particular affinity for any of the ones on there.  (Is affinity the right word?  I dunno??  My fingers just wrote it.  Don’t ask me.)  So I found a few websites where you can make your own stamp for something like $20.00.  I made up a pretty simple design (or seven), so now I just have to decide if I want to attempt to make my own and possibly have it be crap (and if so, decide which of my seven designs I want to use) (and if not, which one I will settle for on Etsy) (OR if I just want to drop the idea entirely and hand-write it 75 times).  Gosh, why can’t I just make anything simple??  It’s a curse.  I seriously over-think EVERYTHING.  Ask Chad.  (He’s nodding in the background.)  (No, not really, I just made that up.)  (I did warn you that I might do that.)  (He IS actually in the background though.)  (So it’s only a half-lie.)  (I have no idea why I feel the need for all these parentheses.)

Okay, so, looking back on this entry, I’m not entirely sure that I succeeded in my earlier promise to be more interesting.  I’m also not entirely sure that I had an actual point to make here.  That is a dangerous situation for me to be in because I have been known to take a simple conversation and turn it into this spiraling out of control, several topic, no end in sight, attack on the English language.  That is why I’m going to make this the end.  (Why are my conclusions always so awkward??  I have no idea how I passed my speech class.  And I’m doing it again.  Seriously, this is what my blog posts look like before I go back and edit all the randomness out of them.  I’m going to leave this one alone to set an example of the horrors you could be subjected to if I didn’t hold back a little.  You're welcome.  If I ever tried to be a real writer I think my editor would end up strangling me, or breaking my fingers, or at very least, ripping the 9 and 0 off my keyboard.)

(Okay, I lied.  I did go back and edit some of it out.  Yeah, it was that bad.)

Yes, Please.

I usually have a list going of things I’ve seen around that I think are awesome and that I need (want).  Please?  <insert irresistible smile>.  But I think at the top of my list right now is the (drum roll…) Zoku Duo Quick Pop Maker.  ($36.95.  Williams-Sonoma.)

Oh my, the popsicles this thing makes look good.  Like, really good.  The main reason this is at the top of my list right now is because it is smack dab in the middle of summer and it is HOT out, and don’t you always crave a nice icy treat when it’s this hot out?? Yes, please!  Plus, this baby is available at Williams-Sonoma, which just happens to be one of the places we received a nuptial-prompted gift-card.  One of the many wedding gifts we love!  (I will definitely talk about more of them in later posts).

What sets the Zoku maker apart from other ice pop products is the speed with which you can create popsicle masterpieces.  The Duo (with 2 popsicle slots) can make 2 popsicles in as little as 7 minutes!  This is because you keep the Zoku base in your freezer so it is super cold when you pour the liquid of your choice into the molds.  With the Duo, you can make up to 6 popsicles at a time before refreezing is required.  There is also the normal Zoku Quick Pop Maker, which can make 3 at a time and up to 9 before refreezing! ($49.95.  Williams-Sonoma.)  There are also several “add-ons” for this thing to make your popsicles even cooler (and your wallet even lighter)!

They have a set of Zoku Tools that allow you to make prettier ice pops, adding stars or hearts to your popsicle or slanted layers. ($19.95. Zoku Store.)

Extra Sticks & Drip Guards are available if you are going to make more ice pops than what sticks already comes with your Zoku Maker.  ($11.95.  Zoku Store.) And a Storage Case to keep them in!  ($19.95.  Zoku Store.)

Williams-Sonoma also has a Character Tool Kit which would be super cute to do with kids cause they can make all kinds of cool/funny faces.  (14.96. Williams-Sonoma.)

And (I could go for this one, too) there is a Zoku Recipe Book that gives you lots of cool ice pop flavor ideas. ($16.95.  Williams-Sonoma.)  You can also find some really yummy-sounding free ones on Zoku’s Website and on Williams-Sonoma’s Website.

There’s no way I’m kidding myself into thinking that my popsicles would look anything as nice as the ones they show in all the advertisements, but I’m sure they’d taste just fine.  

There are only a few things holding me back from running down to Williams-Sonoma right now and picking this baby up.  The first was a good question from Chad: "Are we (his nice way of saying 'you') going to use this a few times and then forget about it?"  That is a fair question since it does tend to happen with me sometimes.  I get really excited about something and have to have it and then barely use it. (sigh...) I think I would use it a lot!  Especially since it's so fast and easy!  But would I??  

Also, a few reviewers had a lot of trouble with their Super Tool (which is a tool that comes with the Maker that allows the popsicles to be pulled out of the mold).  Apparently, if this doesn’t work, there isn’t any getting those ice pops out.  You basically have to defrost the entire thing.  Furthermore (and this is much less of a concern for me, even though it really should be), you cannot make sugar-free popsicles with this maker.  It seems that something about the sugar is what allows them to easily be pulled out of the molds after they are frozen.  If it doesn’t have enough sugar content, you can’t get the popsicles out.  Zoku’s website has some healthier recipes, though, that still have enough sugar to make a good popsicle, and with the Tools, you can add in shaped (or not shaped, if you’d prefer) fruit pieces to your ice pop!  Pretty and pretty healthy!

What do you think?  To buy or to pass by?  Anyone have one of these?

Hmm… maybe I will just pop (pun! hehe!) down to Williams-Sonoma after all…