Birthdays: My Baby Just Cares for Me

Birthdays in the Chaston household are a big deal.  My brother's birthday is tomorrow.  Amidst getting ready for school to start, we still are finding time to celebrate!  A Dairy Queen® cake is on the horizon for tomorrow!

Today's song is a bit of a stretch, but since birthdays start with babies being born, here's "My Baby Just Cares for Me" sung by Nina Simone.

Birthday Cake: Vanilla Ice Cream...Favorite?

My brother, Keith William, has a birthday tomorrow!  But we couldn't wait for cake.  We had to have it today.  And, of course, it has to be a Dairy Queen ice cream cake.

Every year we special order his cake because he likes DQ vanilla ice cream so much he has the chocolate layer replaced with vanilla.  So his birthday cake is a double layer vanilla cake with the chocolate caramel and cookie crumble middle!  We gave up writing on the cake long ago since his favorite candy is Heath.  As you see it's just not easy to write on.  Well, you can write on it, but you'd have to be really good for it to come out legibly...

I've highlighted "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" before, but seeing as Keith William's favorite flavor of ice cream is vanilla (no joke) and the second verse of the song talks about the finer pronunciation points of the word vanilla, I feel it is very appropriate!  Enjoy this classic jazz duet sung by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong!

Birthday Snickerdoodles: A Doodlin' Song

Birthdays in my family are special and this weekend is my brother's birthday so we have been celebrating for several days already!  One of his favorite cookies is snickerdoodles.  So I made them today!

In honor of this tasty cinnamon sugar coated cookie, today's song is "A Doodlin' Song" sung by Peggy Lee and Bing Crosby.  I figure "Doodlin'" and "Snickerdoodles" go together, right?


SNICKERDOODLES

Cookies:
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Crisco
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cream of tartar
2 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Coating:
3 Tbl. sugar
3 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl cream butter, Crisco, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

In a small bowl stir cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and flour together.  Add to butter mixture

Mix 3 tablespoons of sugar and 3 teaspoons of sugar together and put on a plate.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture.  Place on parchment paper lined baking sheets.

Bake for 8 minutes.

Amy's Birthday...Celebration!

As you know, we take birthday's very seriously in my family.  My sister, Amy, has her birthday next week, but we celebrate early, of course!

So today we went for lunch at Magleby's!  It was very tasty!

Since we celebrate birthdays "to the max" I thought "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang would be the perfect song for today!

Dreams, Wishes, and Cinderella

Birthday wishes are special, right?

Birthdays are days for wishes, right?  And birthday wishes are special, aren't they?

As a rational human being, I try not to wish.  Dictionary.com defines wish as "to want; desire; long for...."  I've functioned more on work and sweat, and the belief that to get where I want to go, I have to work long and hard, not just long for something to happen.

Where does Cinderella come in all of this?  When I was three, we had a VCR (state-of-the-art technology then) and a videotape of Disney's Cinderella.  I watched it over and over again, day after day.  My older brother remembers being sick one day and he ended up watching it with me three times in a row.  I think he wished (he he) that he was in school instead.

Usually, I'm somewhat controlled in my responses to music.  I have my favorite songs, but in general, strong emotion tied to lyrics or musical phrases does not move me to a changed emotional state--and even more rare is when I'm moved to tears.

Yet, the simplest of melodies and phrases often surprise me.  Ironically, the songs with which I experience the most emotion are from the Disney movies I watched in my childhood.

I have four contenders for the most emotionally moving songs from my childhood:

• "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" (Cinderella)
• "Part of Your World" (The Little Mermaid)
• "Belle (Reprise)" (Beauty and the Beast)
• "Reflection" (Mulan)

I think the one I feel most keenly about is "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid.  But today's post is on wishing, so I'll highlight "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes."  All of them still move me to tears--not for brilliance of performance or particular musical genius, but for the simple fact that the feelings are hopeful and accessible to me.

By way of a disclaimer, I do not have a princess complex.  I don't believe in being rescued.  I don't believe in "happily-ever-afters" either.  I believe in being responsible for my choices.  I believe in making choices that foster happiness and joyful progress.  In many ways, Disney renditions may include magic and rescue, but they are hopeful and highlight personal responsibility.  These are the memories I value from the Disney animations I watched in my childhood.

So I do not believe wishing will make anything happen, but I believe that having real hopes and aspirations that drive us to work hard can bring about what we truly want.  So here's "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" from Disney's Cinderella.

German Chocolate Cake: You Make Me Feel So Young

So the above cake is my birthday cake: delicious German Chocolate Cake with a ganache layer and a coconut layer cake!  So sweet!!!

As this is a birthday post, I think "You Make Me Feel So Young" sung by Frank Sinatra is a perfect song for today!

Yeah for birthdays!

They Can't Take That Extraordinary Birthday Hat Away from Me!

We have some special birthday hats in our family: umbrella hats!

It's an awesome tradition and umbrella hats are far superior to regular cardboard birthday hats.  Although I do remember as a young girl having a crown birthday hat...

It just wouldn't be a Chaston birthday without the umbrella hat!  So, "They Can't Take That Away from Me," seems a perfect choice for today's jazz tune!  I know I've already highlighted it, but it's such a versatile and beloved standard that I think it deserves another listen!

Birthday Pizza: You're the Top!

In our family we love pizza, but not just any pizza.  We love Happy Joe's Taco Pizza!

Every special occasion involves Taco Pizza, including birthdays!  If ever you are in the Midwest, you must try Happy Joe's Taco Pizza...it's literally the best pizza ever!

So since I am talking about the top pizza of all time, here's "You're the Top" sung by Ethel Merman!

Giant Cookies: Not Just for 'Round Midnight

I LOVE these for my birthday "cake."
This is obviously not this year, since my hair is short.
I love my long hair, but sometimes I still miss the perky, short style!

The first time I ever had a Great American Cookie was at a moving "goodbye" party for two of my friends when I was ten.  I think the cookie was the length of the table, or at least to a ten-year-old it seemed that big.  I must have drowned my sorrows in eating cookie because I don't remember much else besides saying goodbye and crying.

Yet, the love of the Great American Cookie has lived on!

Unfortunately, I don't currently live near a Great American Cookiem much to my dismay.  I causes some sadness in my life.

My most vivid memory of Great American Cookie is from my 18th birthday.

I had finished high school through American School a little over a year earlier.  Instead of going to college right away, I chose to devote my time doing correspondence college courses, harp, and voice--learning recording and going to master classes.  Yet I still didn't have my driver's license.

After I opened my presents, Erik excitedly declared--as only he can say it, "Now you can order things on TV!"

There on the shelf was a beautiful, rectangular Great American Cookie that said "Happy Birthday, Jillaine!"

But the day was to get more exciting.  That day Erik and I went to our first driver's ed class but ended up switching classes and starting with a different teacher a week later.

So I remember two things about my 18th birthday: False start of Driver's Ed and Great American Cookie.

Somehow not living near a Great American Cookie makes me want to introduce one of my favorite jazz songs: "'Round Midnight" (sung by Ella Fitzgerald).  I love it for all of its harmonic complexity and the fact it was written by Thelonious Monk, my favorite jazz pianist!  I absolutely love to not only hear him play, but watch him play in recordings!  No sadness here as I approach my birthday without a Great American Cookie!  Only great memories and great music!

Pulling the Birthday Card: Sentimental Journeys

In our family, we have a tradition called claiming the "birthday card."  For the week before and week after someone's birthday, they can say they don't want to do something by "pulling the birthday card."

In general we use it for little things.  For example, if mom asked Erik to take the garbage out on the day before his birthday, Erik could smile and say, "Birthday card!" We'd all laugh and someone else would take the garbage out!

It's all really in good fun.  We also pull the "birthday card" when the family can't decide what to watch or what to eat near someone's birthday.  The default is the birthday person gets to choose!

I don't know how the tradition started, but we sure love the "birthday card!"

So this has gotten me in a sentimental mood, I think I must be ready for a "Sentimental Journey" courtesy of Doris Day.

Christmas in January

Right outside my door!

Woke up today to a "Winter Wonderland!"  It felt so much like Christmas that I listened to Christmas music as I got ready for the day.

There were even gingerbread cookies in the oven.  How could it feel anymore like Christmas?

So it may not be a birthday tradition, but Christmas is the celebration of Jesus Christ's birthday.

So here's "Winter Wonderland" sung by Ella Fitzgerald.  You may have noticed, but Ella is one of my favorite jazz singers!

(Birthday) Fruit Pizza

I absolutely love berries, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and pizza.  Naturally, that means I love fruit pizza!  Today I got an early birthday treat of Malawi's Berries and Cream fruit pizza.

I'll be honest, I only recently became a fan of fruit pizza.  My past experiences were less than satisfactory--they really just didn't taste good.  However, after Erik and I made one over the summer, I became a devoted fan.

So here's to a new birthday tradition: amazing, refreshing, delicious fruit pizza!

So how do jazz and fruit pizza correlate?  They're both tasty, of course!  And today's tasty jazz tune is "They Can't Take that Away from Me" sung by Ella Fitzgerald.

I'm Dreaming of a White Birthday...

I really can't believe it just keeps snowing...and snowing...and snowing!  It snowed again today!

I grew up in Iowa and got quite used to having snow on my birthday.  I loved it--except in Kindergarten.

That year, school was cancelled on my birthday and I couldn't take my class treat--cupcakes--to school.  Sure, I took the cupcakes the next day, but it just wasn't the same.  And neither were the cupcakes, for that matter.

Plus, I had to wait ALL day for my dad to get home from work so I could open my presents.  Apparently, dads go to work even when school is cancelled.  Talk about torture for a six-year-old.  Life doesn't get much harder than resisting the desire to open presents until 5:00 p.m.

Back to today's snow, it actually was rain earlier today.  I thought dressy heels would be okay in the rain in the church parking lot, but I kept slipping and sliding.  Fortunately, I never actually fell, but the slipping did cause me to re-evaluate my decision to wear the dressy heels...but risking life and limb for fashion is sometimes a necessity.

So maybe snow isn't quite a birthday tradition, but I definitely associate snow with my birthday.  Except for the three years I lived in Georgia.  It didn't snow on those birthdays.  Ever.

So here's to hoping I have a white birthday.  I do think I need a song with a color in the title...I've already highlighted "Blue Skies."

Okay, I give in.  Today's song is "White Christmas" sung by, of course, Bing Crosby.

And here's a heads-up surprise:  I'm releasing my version of "White Christmas" later this year on Jazzy Christmas to You III.

Pesto: A More Recent Birthday Tradition

I don't know how it started, but for a few years now, I've always made sure I have a pesto dish around my birthday.  This is incredible pesto linguine with fresh spinach and cracked pepper.  It was delicious!

So it may be an unusual birthday tradition, but it's still a tradition!

When I think pasta and pesto I think...Italian!  One of my favorite "Italian" love songs is "Return to Me."  When I was learning art songs in high school, I learned to sing phonetically in French, German, and Italian.  I also learned to sing "Return to Me," though not an art song, in Italian.

So here's Dean Martin singing "Return to Me!"

Birthday Traditions--Early, Early, Early!

They came from the store, but they sure are tasty!

It's my birthday in two weeks, but in our family we celebrate early--way early!  After all, how can you confine the joy of a birthday to just a 24-hour period?

With all this studying, I'd forgotten that my birthday was so close (well, close in Chaston time).  So it was great to have my birthday start out with a surprise cupcake/cake!  You can't see the chocolate cupcakes in the picture, but they are my favorite--I've already had one.  I absolutely love to eat these cupcakes after they've been frozen and barely defrosted.  Such a great treat in between studying!

We have a lot of other birthday traditions, so I'll be talking about a different one up to my birthday in two weeks!  Some are just small things, but they are significant to us!

So what jazz song makes me feel celebratory?  Definitely "It Don't Mean a Thing If it Ain't Got that Swing" sung by Ella Fitzgerald!  Enjoy!