Monday, February 28, 2011
Hi, my name is Imelda Marcos
Purty things make me happy. Tell me why I walked in to buy black dress flats and walked out with high heeled cream peep toes. Oh what a world. But a well dressed one.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
the little things
Sometimes it's the little things that just make the day that much better.
Busy nothings are made that much sweeter by delicious tasties.
Busy nothings are made that much sweeter by delicious tasties.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
haha! success!
I was searching for this earlier and couldn't find it anywhere and then like magic, it appeared. Miss Moss's color comparisons are just SO AWESOME I am reposting. Thanks to Jackie for originally showing them to me, because they rock.
Over here, click me!
Over here, click me!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
signs I'm aging
I know I'm getting older the more annoyed I get at students.
Today, I was super annoyed.
So in turn, I felt super old.
Today, I was super annoyed.
So in turn, I felt super old.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
scrumdiddlyumptious
There is a certain beauty to a really good Friday.
Things that make a good Friday better?
1) 68 degree weather
2) driving with all the windows down
2a) in February
3) singing to awesome music in the car
3a) while [see #2]
3b) see #2a
4) seeing Heather Strube
5) drinking a delicious cappuccino from Atwaters
5a) eating lime and lemon bites while [see #5] and [see #4]
6) sitting on my couch after a long day and watching nonsense TV
7) finishing a book I've been reading for way too long
8) typing a blog entry while lounging in bed
9) the promise of EVERY Roald Dahl audiobook delivered to me within the next week, care of my awesome brother
combine numbers 1 through 9. Perfect day attained.
[annnd one late edition:
10) a facebook status war with my brother that went 62 posts long across two different profiles.]
Things that make a good Friday better?
1) 68 degree weather
2) driving with all the windows down
2a) in February
3) singing to awesome music in the car
3a) while [see #2]
3b) see #2a
4) seeing Heather Strube
5) drinking a delicious cappuccino from Atwaters
5a) eating lime and lemon bites while [see #5] and [see #4]
6) sitting on my couch after a long day and watching nonsense TV
7) finishing a book I've been reading for way too long
8) typing a blog entry while lounging in bed
9) the promise of EVERY Roald Dahl audiobook delivered to me within the next week, care of my awesome brother
combine numbers 1 through 9. Perfect day attained.
[annnd one late edition:
10) a facebook status war with my brother that went 62 posts long across two different profiles.]
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
You know how much I like to follow trends.
So, I was listening to a report on TV the other day about the evolution of cookies. I know, I clearly had a lot of time on my hands. Anyway, the reporter was talking about baking "fads" and how cookie pressing is a relatively new obsession people are getting into. I think these people need to do better research. Cookies "pressing" in one form or another has been around forever. Case in point, and if I do say so myself, a delightful segway to my first real attempt at Arabic baking completely by myself. I mentioned awhile back how I had made ma'moul. Well I did, I was just incredibly lazy and never got around to posting photos. I should mention that I had a great deal of phone input from my dad, but really, I kind of needed it to get the proportions right. I mean, how exactly do you follow directions that have the specificity of "some four, a couple of spoonfuls of a few spices, crush the nuts, etc.?" All without any amounts! Those Arab women, they are protective of their recipes. Well, actually, to be entirely truthful they're not, my aunts and my dad love to share how to make things, but they want you standing next to them while you learn, showing you what "some flour" and "add al'tahi to taste" mean. Ha. How my father learned how to cook anything is amazing, his attention span is not that long.
Anyway, cookie pressing. Ma'moul is delicious, it's a semolina-based filled cookie. You fill the cookie with one of three fillings: walnut, pistachio or date, along with sugar and spices. We go with walnut or pistachio whenever we make it as dates are not always well received by our American friends. Ma'moul is really tasty and, I've discovered, equally fun to make. You squish out some of the semolina dough, fit it into the mold, add a spoonful of filling, and press the dough over the top. Hit the mold hard and the cookie pops out. You look like a master and really it's the press that's done all the work. Over the years I've taken out various levels of frustration by beating the crap out of the wooden molds you use to form the dough. So yeah, that reporter who said cookie pressing is a new fad. You're an idiot.
Anyway, cookie pressing. Ma'moul is delicious, it's a semolina-based filled cookie. You fill the cookie with one of three fillings: walnut, pistachio or date, along with sugar and spices. We go with walnut or pistachio whenever we make it as dates are not always well received by our American friends. Ma'moul is really tasty and, I've discovered, equally fun to make. You squish out some of the semolina dough, fit it into the mold, add a spoonful of filling, and press the dough over the top. Hit the mold hard and the cookie pops out. You look like a master and really it's the press that's done all the work. Over the years I've taken out various levels of frustration by beating the crap out of the wooden molds you use to form the dough. So yeah, that reporter who said cookie pressing is a new fad. You're an idiot.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
with open ears and shut mouth...oh the things I hear.
So, I'm a blue.
What the hell does that mean right? During staff training this year I presented a session on "finding your color," basically a lot of hoopla on how to identify your personality and work habits based around four colors. Now, don't get me wrong, I am the type of person who generally finds crap such as this completely ridiculous. I go off, laugh, chucking at the shumks [oh man, chuckling at the shmucks, exhaustion doesn't suit my typing skills] who put stock in the self congratulatory language of the handouts telling them how different, special and unique they all are. However, I have found myself referring to the information I gleaned from this session on more than one occasion in the past couple of weeks, and every time I do it makes me almost cringe inwardly. 1) because I find people who quote frequently from emotionally stunting information like this annoying (i.e. my astrologer says I'm an Aquarius with a receding moon and star pattern, [wtf?] that's why I'm having difficulty with the chi you are sending across the room at me today) really? Please. And 2) I don't like trying to explain the intricacies of life with information that has been boiled down onto four sheets of paper. It seems a bit...impersonal.
Anyway, there is a point to this explanation. I have been having difficulty (being a blue, I know bear with me) recently dealing with the overwhelming desire to want to smack a few people I know in the face. Being blue means I apparently feel for others. I'm a caretaker, I like listening and supporting those around me. I hate conflict and thrive on making other people feel special. My god, I sound like a freaking martyr don't I? It feels that way sometimes, believe me. However, because I also have a lot of green tendencies (and yes, you can laugh at me for continuing in this vein of color spectrum worship) I sometimes get annoyed as shit at myself for totally lying on the tracks and letting people steamroll right over me. Being a good listener and such is fine, but sometimes I just want to tell people to shut the hell up and get over themselves. Is that so wrong? No, no it's not.
We had some hard decisions to make at work yesterday, but we made them, and, I thought, all felt pretty good about it. Well, turns out some of those tough choices we made are being turned on their head. I do actually agree with one of the reversals made, however, I don't with another. I personally feel like my coworker is pulling in a little too much care for others - which, to be frank, is not really in his nature. Not to say he doesn't give a crap about other people, because he does, a great deal, but it's not generally his style. Anyway, the green part of me want to smack him upside the head and tell him to stick with his gut and cut the proverbial fat. Some people just shouldn't be working for us anymore. The other part - the one that cares about others and wants everyone to leave with a delightful feeling of joy surrounding them (yup, that cheesy), is silently congratulating him for standing up for his students and making the unpopular decision. I'm totally bipolar today, it's awful.
In related news, work is sucking lately, I'm so busy I almost don't have time to think. Case in point, I discovered, quite by accident that I had left something rather important in my office over the weekend. What might you ask, did I leave behind? About a half pound of seafood that somehow got lost in a bag of crafts that I had sitting outside my door. Yup, came in on Monday after a day of it sitting there and was greeted with the most delightful smell. Sometimes, you just can't get over how dumb you are. Monday was one of those days. It also proved to me how easy it is to get stuck doing way to much and forgetting even the most basic of tasks...like unpacking your purchases to make sure you didn't leave anything important in them (like, say, an aforementioned bag of food, or, I don't know, your keys and cell phone which apparently you also left behind and didn't notice until you found them two days later amongst containers of glitter and cardstock), yup, that moron is me.
Tomorrow is another day...a busy one. But I am bent and determined to finally try my last batch of melting cakes. I want to try another one dammit, one that is cooked properly and actually sticky to the degree I want in the center. I swear, it's the small things in life that matter...like undercooked cake middles.
What the hell does that mean right? During staff training this year I presented a session on "finding your color," basically a lot of hoopla on how to identify your personality and work habits based around four colors. Now, don't get me wrong, I am the type of person who generally finds crap such as this completely ridiculous. I go off, laugh, chucking at the shumks [oh man, chuckling at the shmucks, exhaustion doesn't suit my typing skills] who put stock in the self congratulatory language of the handouts telling them how different, special and unique they all are. However, I have found myself referring to the information I gleaned from this session on more than one occasion in the past couple of weeks, and every time I do it makes me almost cringe inwardly. 1) because I find people who quote frequently from emotionally stunting information like this annoying (i.e. my astrologer says I'm an Aquarius with a receding moon and star pattern, [wtf?] that's why I'm having difficulty with the chi you are sending across the room at me today) really? Please. And 2) I don't like trying to explain the intricacies of life with information that has been boiled down onto four sheets of paper. It seems a bit...impersonal.
Anyway, there is a point to this explanation. I have been having difficulty (being a blue, I know bear with me) recently dealing with the overwhelming desire to want to smack a few people I know in the face. Being blue means I apparently feel for others. I'm a caretaker, I like listening and supporting those around me. I hate conflict and thrive on making other people feel special. My god, I sound like a freaking martyr don't I? It feels that way sometimes, believe me. However, because I also have a lot of green tendencies (and yes, you can laugh at me for continuing in this vein of color spectrum worship) I sometimes get annoyed as shit at myself for totally lying on the tracks and letting people steamroll right over me. Being a good listener and such is fine, but sometimes I just want to tell people to shut the hell up and get over themselves. Is that so wrong? No, no it's not.
We had some hard decisions to make at work yesterday, but we made them, and, I thought, all felt pretty good about it. Well, turns out some of those tough choices we made are being turned on their head. I do actually agree with one of the reversals made, however, I don't with another. I personally feel like my coworker is pulling in a little too much care for others - which, to be frank, is not really in his nature. Not to say he doesn't give a crap about other people, because he does, a great deal, but it's not generally his style. Anyway, the green part of me want to smack him upside the head and tell him to stick with his gut and cut the proverbial fat. Some people just shouldn't be working for us anymore. The other part - the one that cares about others and wants everyone to leave with a delightful feeling of joy surrounding them (yup, that cheesy), is silently congratulating him for standing up for his students and making the unpopular decision. I'm totally bipolar today, it's awful.
In related news, work is sucking lately, I'm so busy I almost don't have time to think. Case in point, I discovered, quite by accident that I had left something rather important in my office over the weekend. What might you ask, did I leave behind? About a half pound of seafood that somehow got lost in a bag of crafts that I had sitting outside my door. Yup, came in on Monday after a day of it sitting there and was greeted with the most delightful smell. Sometimes, you just can't get over how dumb you are. Monday was one of those days. It also proved to me how easy it is to get stuck doing way to much and forgetting even the most basic of tasks...like unpacking your purchases to make sure you didn't leave anything important in them (like, say, an aforementioned bag of food, or, I don't know, your keys and cell phone which apparently you also left behind and didn't notice until you found them two days later amongst containers of glitter and cardstock), yup, that moron is me.
Tomorrow is another day...a busy one. But I am bent and determined to finally try my last batch of melting cakes. I want to try another one dammit, one that is cooked properly and actually sticky to the degree I want in the center. I swear, it's the small things in life that matter...like undercooked cake middles.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Really world? Do we need more of this drivel?
So it's late. Really late anyway, for me. Being almost that unmentionable age where you suddenly notice you're "old," and still being awake at almost two-in-the-morning nearly makes my stomach turn. But also, in a weird way, makes me feel like I'm hanging on to my youth. Oh the irony. Actually it's probably not irony, but it sounds a whole lot better saying things like "oh the irony" as opposed to something lame like, "how bizarre is that?"
Currently I'm sitting on my couch watching "White Collar," which, I must say, is an excellent cable show. The need to mention this particular series is to offset it against the drivel that I just saw a commercial for: Face Off: where up and coming makeup artists compete to create "the next great face," with challenges like making an elephant man and the how-to of creating burns...really? What is the TV world coming to? Oh, I know, a place where they have shows like The Unpoppables. What, might you ask does that deep, meaningful television masterpiece cover? BALLOON ARTISTS. Yup, the same guys that twist inappropriately long balloons into misshapen dogs. I rest my case. We're getting dumber and more accepting of trash TV by the minute. I truly miss being young and only having Nickelodeon Kids and PBS to choose from.
Recently I have been dreaming of places like this:
And this:
Where I see things like this:
Winter in Baltimore is brutal. February especially makes me wish I could defect to somewhere that's warm all year round. It's like a cloud of depression just hangs over the city. We're supposed to hit 57 next week and I'm almost salivating at the idea of temperatures over freezing. I don't think my extremities can take any more subzero weather.
I'm going tangential here which means I'm really tired. So while I'm dreaming of beautifully warm beaches and European trees older than our own country I am going to share my desire to retest my melting chocolate cake recipe again. I'm so close to perfection, I just need to get the baking time down...hopefully tomorrow I can succeed on that task, because I'm pretty sure everything work related is going to get pushed to the side. Oh yeah...older doesn't necessarily mean wiser, OR better with time management.
Currently I'm sitting on my couch watching "White Collar," which, I must say, is an excellent cable show. The need to mention this particular series is to offset it against the drivel that I just saw a commercial for: Face Off: where up and coming makeup artists compete to create "the next great face," with challenges like making an elephant man and the how-to of creating burns...really? What is the TV world coming to? Oh, I know, a place where they have shows like The Unpoppables. What, might you ask does that deep, meaningful television masterpiece cover? BALLOON ARTISTS. Yup, the same guys that twist inappropriately long balloons into misshapen dogs. I rest my case. We're getting dumber and more accepting of trash TV by the minute. I truly miss being young and only having Nickelodeon Kids and PBS to choose from.
Recently I have been dreaming of places like this:
And this:
Where I see things like this:
Winter in Baltimore is brutal. February especially makes me wish I could defect to somewhere that's warm all year round. It's like a cloud of depression just hangs over the city. We're supposed to hit 57 next week and I'm almost salivating at the idea of temperatures over freezing. I don't think my extremities can take any more subzero weather.
I'm going tangential here which means I'm really tired. So while I'm dreaming of beautifully warm beaches and European trees older than our own country I am going to share my desire to retest my melting chocolate cake recipe again. I'm so close to perfection, I just need to get the baking time down...hopefully tomorrow I can succeed on that task, because I'm pretty sure everything work related is going to get pushed to the side. Oh yeah...older doesn't necessarily mean wiser, OR better with time management.
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