My Year in Status

I feel so sad at how little I've written in my own blog this year. If I had time to blog, it was often devoted to Jingle's Reflections, which although fun, doesn't allow me to express things from my point of view. My "blogging" was replaced by brief Facebook statuses when the desire was there to reach out to the virtual world. But I find it harder to post a status update because it almost feels like a competition... am I 'witty' enough? Will anyone care? How dumb/pathetic/stupid does this make me sound? Then again - when I decided to post things that in hindsight I may have thought second about - those were the status updates that got comments. Whoo hoo! People "like" me. I find Facebook in general to be a little awkward as a social network and I see the different ways that different generations use it. My younger cousin uses it to literally connect with everyone, and then tell everyone about everything that she does. That is a bit much for me. I wonder what she will think when she looks back at 30, 40...60... shoot - what will kids do in 60 years?? Will landlines and books become retro and cool again?

I do enjoy reconnecting with people, even though most of the time, once I do, I don't know what to say beyond 'hey'. However, when people do comment on status updates I find it fascinating that all kinds of people from my past say things. Most recently, I had my best friend from when I was 6, my BF from when I was 13, current friends, and old high school friends all giving me advice on how to cut Jingle's fingernails. How cool is that? (yeah yeah - it may sound weird, but it was cool to see a mosh of old friends responding and caring to respond)

So, now - in order to tie my Facebook Status into my Blog, here is "My Year in Status" which was so kindly provided by a handy dandy facebook app. Although, I find it odd how the app decided which status updates should be included or not. For example - where's the post about my banging my head on the Starbucks case when looking at the pastries? Or the one about my boss sending me an email that said "Last world Friday"...because really, Mrs. Mingle's Year in Status is really not accurate without updates such as those is it?

Have a Happy 2010. Here's to more blog entries, less facebook statuses, more conversations, less texting. oh, who am I kidding. TTYL. LOL.

Mrs. Mingle's Sandbox Bakery Review

Before you read the review below, I must provide a little background...

1. The Mingles LOVE Bakeries
2. This bakery opened 2 blocks from our house
3. This bakery has been the talk of the entire neighborhood for months. I recently found myself in a conversation with a woman on the bus talking about when the bakery would open, who owned it, how old the owners children are....
4. It opened on Monday, and by Monday afternoon, many parents had posted on our neighborhood Yahoo group what they ate at the bakery that day.
5. Katy and I were laughing about #3 and #4 above and she said that I had to provide her with a full review of our first trip to Sandbox Bakery.

So, after months of not posting anything, it is ultimately food that drives me to write. Very fitting for a Mingle don't you think?

As we headed out the door on our family field trip to the newly opened Sandbox Bakery, not even the rain droplets could dampen our spirits. We had eagerly been awaiting the opening for a year and finally the day had come. When we first walked up to the bakery we were greeted by a very friendly canine (surprisingly unleashed) who seemed about as happy to see us as we were to see the bakery. After petting the dog* we stepped in front of the bakery and, as if by magic, the glass door slid open to allow us into its inner sanctum. As we eagerly looked into the pastry cabinet, deciding our future (sweet or savory?) it was clear we had a difficult decision ahead of us. There were Jingle size muffins, almond croissants, scones, cheese Danishes, morning buns...

Although everything looked delightful, I think that as a newly opened bakery they may need to get used to the heat settings of their ovens because a couple of the items looked a little over done. After careful consideration we each chose to go the savory route and picked out a cheese scallion scone. After further consideration we also decided that we would not get our son his own bakery item, but instead would make him eggs when we got home. There was also a choice of two coffees (personally dripped as you order) – there is Ritual Coffee or La Paz Coffee. The latter name, I am not certain of, except for I know it reminds me of the breathing exercises pregnant women use during the birthing process. However, despite the fact that the coffee beckoned to us, we did not order any on this first trip based on the fact that we had already made ourselves a pot of coffee at home just to give us the energy we needed to get to the bakery before 7:00am.

Upon returning home we consumed our edibles to great satisfaction. The scones were light and soft with a nice balance of cheese and scallion flavoring. I am excited to make another (and another) visit to Sandbox Bakery, until I determine which pastry is my favorite.

*The friendly dog appeared to belong to the owners and had escaped from their house to follow the smells to the bakery. Who could blame him?