BOOGERS! (And Monkey Brains!)

As you probably know, I am super mature and very adult-like. That is why I have a full time job, pay taxes, own an honest-to-goodness couch, and wake up in the morning sometimes even when I don't have to. I even vacuum and mop on a fairly regular basis without anyone telling me to do so. What I am trying to tell you is that I am very grown up.

What I am not, however, is mature. You may also recall that I eat popcorn sometimes for second dinner, I think Scrabble Sentence Game for Juniors is amazing, I lick ice cream off my pants, and sometimes I have to refrain from yelling out "boogers" in a meeting when I am put on the spot and don't really have anything intelligble to say.

If I yell out "boogers", they will probably be so surprised that they will not realize that I actually had nothing of substance to add to the discussion. Better yet, maybe they won't put me on the spot anymore. So far I have managed to refrain, but it has taken a lot of self-control, and it is really a matter of time before I stand up in a meeting full of important administrators and yell out "BOOGERS AND MONKEY BRAINS!" before fleeing the premises.

Yeah. I'm totally going to get hired back for next year.

Anyway, point is - very grown-up, not so mature.  This has been very evident in my recent family trip to the beach. I've been spending my time on a variety of leisure activites, including (but certainly not limited to) those listed below. See if you can sort them in to "grown-up" and "not-as-mature-as-she-ought-to-be"!

• Reading Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey and laughing out loud at the humor
• Playing catch on the beach
• Playing Trivial Pursuit Junior
• Riding bikes on the beach
• Reading a Percy Jackson book
• Cooking
• Tracking sand into the house
• Boogie Boarding
• Being beaten up by waves but being too stubborn to call it quits and instead persist in being extremely unattractive on the beach in front of attractive young men near my age
• Not caring that I look like a wreck
• Remembering to constantly apply sunscreen
• Remembering to drink lots of water
• Chasing crabs on the beach and laughing at their funny running legs! Shining flashlights on them so they freeze
• Warning other people's children about jellyfish and careless fishermen who might hook them on their lines
• Taking naps
• Beating my 13 year old sister in a game and feeling good about it

Results of the Jane Austen Heroine Survey

Dissappointingly, only three people participated in the Favorite Jane Austen Heroine Survey. Is that because you hated the survey, you didn't know where to find it, or you haven't read any Jane Austen?

The results are as follows:

Emma (Emma)	0%
Eleanor (Sense and Sensibility)	33%
Marianne (Sense and Sensibility)	0%
Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice)	33%
Fanny Price (Mansfield Park)	0%
Anne Elliot (Persuasion)	33%

	Again, I am a bit disappointed in the participation. I guess if I had voted, I would probably have to vote for Eleanor from Sense and Sensibility which would put her as the winner for this particular survey.
	In other news, I spent the entire gift card I received from a student today at Barnes and Noble. One of the books I bought was To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, because I am supposed to have it read by Monday night for the book club I joined. I also purchased Northanger Abbey. Remember when I said I was going to read Northanger Abbey and Emma over winter break? Obviously that didn't happen. But it is my goal to read Northanger Abbey by June 2011. That seems reasonable, right?
	Not having read To Kill a Mockingbird since I was 14 years old, I am pleased to discover that it is quite good. I read about 1/3 of it this evening while baking an orange chocolate torte, making cheesy risotto, drinking tea while waiting for dinner to cook, and while drinking a half glass of white Zinfandel and eating dinner. It is as good as critics say, and even more surprisingly, as good as I remember it.
		Now take the new survey! Quick! Before you forget!

Williams-Sonoma is My Porn

Williams-Sonoma is my porn. I used to wait with bated breath in anticipation of the arrival of the catalog each month. I would pour over each page with lust, first reading the catalog cover to cover. Then I would go back and evaluate what my imaginary (and extraordinarily large) kitchen really needed. Of course that would need to be re-evaluated a couple of times over the next few days. Finally, I would sigh and choose just one or two things that I would love to have in my kitchen. Then I would never buy them, because, let's face it, their beautiful merchandise is a bit on the spendy side.

Now that I no longer receive the catalog in the mail, I pour over their extensive website, oohing and ahhing. On one hand, no one can see the beaten up catalog lying on my coffee table and give me an odd, slightly concerned look, but on the other hand, it is almost more dangerous. On the internet, the website suggests other items I might like. And often it is correct. I would like those items! Another dangerous part of the online perusing is that I now have access to the entire Williams-Sonoma inventory - including their sale items. And unlike the catalog, it is really easy to just click on things and put them in your cart. Once I even clicked "checkout" and gawked at the total, then the total with shipping, before emptying my cart and closing my laptop.

The following are some especially exciting items:

This is a reversible meat tenderizer. You may not know this about me, But I love to tenderize my meat! For years I have been using the back side of an ice cream scoop, while all the while lusting after this beauty. This year I finally broke down and bought a much more affordable, but not nearly as cool meat tenderizer from IKEA. This is still on my wish list.

 

They call this an Ebelskiver pan. Apparently, ebelskivers are filled pancakes, and you can fill them with almost anything imaginable - chocolate, whip cream, apples, caramel, etc. This just looks like way too much fun.

Here is a picture of someone actually making fruit filled ebelskivers using the special pan and tongs. Why get the pan if you aren't going to spend the extra 11 or so dollars on the special ebelskiver tongs?

You can't tell, but I am drooling as I gaze upon this picture. I really want this 10 piece glass bowl set. First of all, I have no little tiny bowls. Second of all, the one small, green, plastic mixing bowl I have from the dollar spot at Target that has a slight indentation where someone (not me this time!) put a hot pan up against it is just not cutting it. What if I want to mix two things at once? Or what if I want to make a normal sized batch of cookies? Right now, that is just too bad. But imagine what I could do with these 10 glass bowls......

 This is an insulated tea pot. It keeps up to 6 cups of tea warm at a time. I could just bring the tea pot into the living room with me, and sip away at my tea all afternoon. I could go hours without having to get up and go to the kitchen to reheat the water! Imagine the convenience!

 This is just about one of the most amazing things ever. This is the 11 piece Le Creuset bakware set in the color "flame" (or in normal people talk - "orange"). Never mind that these pots are super heavy and I am a weakling. Once there is food in them, I am sure I will never have to move them from one place to the other. Or I could just get my imaginary, devoted boyfriend who looks amazing in flannel to move these once I start cooking. He won't mind. And sure, I have no where to store this set, but remember, this goes in my IMAGINARY kitchen. That is where my imaginary boyfriend is anyway. As for the absolutely ludicrous $1,310.00 price tag, don't worry about it. My imaginary, devoted, amazing boyfriend who looks fantastic in flannel just happens to be a young, successful, brain surgeon.

These pancake molds make pancakes shaped like the moon, the sun, and Saturn if they all had happy, smiling faces. Need I say more?

Ignore the fact that I have a folding table that is actually supposed to go outside, and pretend that I have a beautiful dining room with a large dining room table where I frequently entertain and my guests eat food I cooked in my orange Le Creuset bakeware. Wouldn't this tablecloth look great?

All this and more keep me entertained at the Williams-Sonoma website. I probably spend about an hour a week looking, admiring, and lusting over their gorgeous merchandise. In other news, last time I was up in the Twin Cities, I stopped by the store and got the Halloween pancake molds on clearance! That was very exciting. I don't see why one can't eat bat shaped pancakes all year round. I may get clever next fall and try to make pumpkin pancakes in the shape of a pumpkin.

I also signed up with my new address to start receiving the catalog in the mail. I can't wait!

Reminder: Don't forget to take the "Jane Austen Character Quiz" in the top right-hand corner of  my blog!

Tea and Mr. Darcy

I love Jane Austen novels. Even when I am frustrated with a character, I am drawn into their world. The only one I have started that I haven't managed to finish is Emma, and to be fair, it is a big book, and I started doing a lot of traveling about halfway through it. I'm sure if I started it again, I would finish. I just need to find the time to read again! Maybe that is what I should do with my holiday break.

I also need to read Northanger Abbey. Unlike Emma, though, I really have no idea what it is about. Time to go to the library!

While Mansfield Park is certainly worth the read, it isn't the first one to read if you are new to Jane Austen. Might I suggest the classic Pride and Prejudice followed by the newer movie version, and then of course the BBC 6 hour long mini-series. Hello there, Mr. Darcy!

 

Of course, I am partial to Sense and Sensibility, despite the modern heeby-jeebies I get from Marianne's marriage in the end. I suppose it was a different time, and if you completely ignore their age difference, it is a very sweet and well suited match.
Wouldn't much recommend the movie, however.

It has been decided, then! This Christmas break I will finish (after re-starting) Emma, read Northanger Abbey, and watch the BBC mini-series of "Pride and Prejudice" all in one day, probably in my pajamas, with popcorn, ice cream, and tea.