After going for a five mile walk to, from, and around Quarry Hill, I returned home to eat pie and drink iced tea while enjoying the company of my cat.
But then I got hot, so I took off my jeans and put on a pair of boxers. But I was still hot, so I took off my shirt. But then it became night time and it got a little cooler outside, which means I got kind of cold. That led me to the decision that I needed to create a toga-like garment out of the blanket I keep on the couch.
But you can't sit in the couch in a bra, men's boxers, and a blanket toga and do nothing. Naturally I am watching sub-par television (specifically "27 Dresses", commercials and all). Since I work with children and my job changes gears every 30 minutes or so, I have developed some pretty heavy-duty adult onset ADD tendencies, so I can't just watch TV. I am also reading the earliest posts from Hyperbole and a Half and having a snack.
It was there, sitting in a fleece toga, watching a terrible romantic comedy on my couch with the computer in my lap, licking the inside of the Pringles container that I was reminded how awesome I am. (That's right. I was licking the salty crumbs right out the Pringles wrapper.)
Monday, June 13, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Experimental Cupcakes
Lisa recommended the Chocolate-Covered-Katie website to me claiming that she had made some questionable sounding desert and it tasted wonderful. To satisfy my curiosity, I visited the site. I ended up finding this recipe. This recipe appeals to me for numerous reasons:
So I tried the recipe, substituting caramel flavored coffee creamer for the 1T plus 1 tsp non-dairy milk or water. Therefore, my cupcakes were not vegan.The cupcake turned out pretty good, and I ended up eating it hot right out of the oven.
Tonight I was invited over to a friend's house for dinner. She was making pasta salad and fancy-schmancy chicken brats from Trader Joe's, and I decided to bring dessert. I went back to this recipe and doubled it to make two cupcakes. This time instead of using coffee creamer for the extra liquid, I used straight up coffee. Then, so I wouldn't have white frosting on white cupcakes, I decided to make the cupcakes blue. Of course they turned out more green, but that's ok.
The frosting I improvised from powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, and a little bit of the flavored coffee creamer again. This means my cupcakes were still not vegan, so I could not feed them to any vegan friends. That was fine, however, because neither Ashley nor I are vegan.
Orange is my favorite color, so I decided to make the frosting orange. It turned out a bit runnier than I would have liked, so I probably should have used less butter and more powdered sugar, but that is alright. I could have fixed it, but then there would have been left over frosting.
Here is what the final product looked like:
They turned out tasting alright, if not a little over-cooked. Also, you couldn't taste the coffee at all. Maybe next time I will add a little more coffee. This will not only hopefully enhance the flavor a bit, but maybe make the cupcakes a little more moist. Also, I will probably not try to dye the cupcakes blue. The final shade of green on the inside of the baked cupcakes was reminiscent of moldy bread, which was not exactly what I was going for.
Still, not bad. Next time I'll have to concoct some sort of decor for the top or just add sprinkles.
*This is not a bad thing, really. I maintain that cake makes a wonderful breakfast, though not as good as ice cream.
- I like cupcakes.
- I enjoy spending my free time reading recipes I find online.
- I am a single lady.
- While generally I turn up my nose at anything vegan (because I have had some less than pleasant encounters with vegans trying to make me become vegan), vegan recipes are starting to become more appealing. I don't keep eggs in the house generally because I don't eat eggs by themselves. If I buy a half dozen eggs, use three to bake a cake, then I still have three left over. And I eat cake twice a day for a week.*
So I tried the recipe, substituting caramel flavored coffee creamer for the 1T plus 1 tsp non-dairy milk or water. Therefore, my cupcakes were not vegan.The cupcake turned out pretty good, and I ended up eating it hot right out of the oven.
Tonight I was invited over to a friend's house for dinner. She was making pasta salad and fancy-schmancy chicken brats from Trader Joe's, and I decided to bring dessert. I went back to this recipe and doubled it to make two cupcakes. This time instead of using coffee creamer for the extra liquid, I used straight up coffee. Then, so I wouldn't have white frosting on white cupcakes, I decided to make the cupcakes blue. Of course they turned out more green, but that's ok.
Cupcakes right out of the oven
They look kind of lonely all alone in the middle of that big pan.
Because I don't have toothpicks, I had to stab one with my sharpest
knife to determine whether or not it was done. See the stab mark?
The frosting I improvised from powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, and a little bit of the flavored coffee creamer again. This means my cupcakes were still not vegan, so I could not feed them to any vegan friends. That was fine, however, because neither Ashley nor I are vegan.
Orange is my favorite color, so I decided to make the frosting orange. It turned out a bit runnier than I would have liked, so I probably should have used less butter and more powdered sugar, but that is alright. I could have fixed it, but then there would have been left over frosting.
Orange Frosting
Orange frosting and the dye used to accomplish the
desired level of orangeness
Here is what the final product looked like:
Frosted cupcakes
In orange pan for transport
They turned out tasting alright, if not a little over-cooked. Also, you couldn't taste the coffee at all. Maybe next time I will add a little more coffee. This will not only hopefully enhance the flavor a bit, but maybe make the cupcakes a little more moist. Also, I will probably not try to dye the cupcakes blue. The final shade of green on the inside of the baked cupcakes was reminiscent of moldy bread, which was not exactly what I was going for.
Still, not bad. Next time I'll have to concoct some sort of decor for the top or just add sprinkles.
*This is not a bad thing, really. I maintain that cake makes a wonderful breakfast, though not as good as ice cream.
***Last chance to take this Disney Princess quiz and be part of the survey! Choose your answer! One of you has already indicated you aren't taking the stupid quiz! At least you participated!***
Friday, June 10, 2011
McDougalhopper Points System
A friend and I have been having a written conversation about Star Trek. Mostly we've been discussing the superficial and obvious points such as which series is superior, how Voyager was pandering to women viewers, etc. I ended up awarding this friend a thousand bonus imaginary points for liking Star Trek: The Next Generation.
He had been watching the later Star Trek movies, so I recommended the fourth one to him. The fourth Star Trek movie (the one with the whales) is by far my favorite. Upon my insistence, he watched Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Unfortunately, he was disapointed by the cylinder that would only speak to whales. In fact, he said:
He had been watching the later Star Trek movies, so I recommended the fourth one to him. The fourth Star Trek movie (the one with the whales) is by far my favorite. Upon my insistence, he watched Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Unfortunately, he was disapointed by the cylinder that would only speak to whales. In fact, he said:
"All that for some whales? The alien probe giving off the whale sounds seemed like the cheapest prop ever used for a villain in movie history. It was a cylinder with a glowing sphere."
I find this criticism of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home completely unacceptable. This particular Star Trek movie has few flaws. Nay! - it has NO flaws! It is fantastic.
After awarding this friend a thousand bonus imaginary points and then receiving this inaccurate and faulty review of a clearly fantastic movie, I felt obligated to inform the gentleman that, had he liked this movie, he could have been awarded an additional million billion jillion imaginary points. His response was not one of remorse and regret at his hasty, ill-thought-out critique of an amazing cinematic work of art. He told me that I should be careful about giving away points, because giving away too many will devalue them.
First of all, imaginary points from me are invaluable. They are basically each worth more than 100,000,495,024.493 solid gold bricks. In fact, imaginary points by me are accepted as an international currency. You can go to a bank and tell them how many imaginary points you have from me - it is kind of an "on your honor" system - and they will trade you those imaginary points for copious amounts of any currency you choose. (Might I suggest the Yen? I was listening to NPR today and learned that the Yen is strong right now, and this may cause Toyota some money in the coming year.)
And so I provide you with a list of possible ways to earn imaginary and bonus imaginary points from me. Please know that this is not an exhaustive list, and it is subject to change at my whim.
Way to Earn Points | Possible Points Earned | Comments/Notes |
Liking Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home | One million billion jillion | Must really like this movie and recognize its flawlessness. |
Watching and enjoying Star Trek | One million bonus | Must acknowledge that TNG and the original series are superior to those other spin-offs |
Bringing me ice cream | 100 – 1 billion | Depends on the kind of ice cream and my mood at the time |
Singing “Walk Like a Man” a cappella | 10 – 1 million | Depends on enthusiasm Off-key renditions generally score more points |
Reading Jane Austen Novels | 63.89 per book | Must have a favorite and be able to discuss character idiosyncrasies Must show disdain for Willoughby |
Not correcting my grammar when I am speaking to you | 0 | You just shouldn’t do it |
Recognizing that language is an ever changing, living entity | One thousand | Must listen to my rant Must dislike having grammar corrected for same reasons as me |
Playing Boggle, Bananagrams, or other word games (NOT Scrabble) with me | 3 per game | Must not make up words and insist they exist |
Being awesome | 369 | As defined by me at any particular moment |
Liking Cats | Varies | How much do you like cats? Which cats do you like? Are you a crazy cat lady? |
Remembering to keep peanuts away from me | 198,001,324 | Keeps me alive |
Appreciating the “Wehrenberg Theater” opening sequence | 59 ½ | Must giggle out loud when the whispering part starts |
Accepting me for me | A lot | Seriously, I’m weird, so if you can take me as I am and still like me, you get “a lot” of points |
After learning how difficult it is to get points from me, the gentleman mentioned above decided he wants to keep his points. Good thing, too, because retracting points is a lot of tedious paperwork, and while I am getting good at completing pages and pages of boring paperwork at my place of employment, I would rather not do it at home.
*Don't forget to take this quiz and then vote on the poll this weekend! Last chance!*
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Who Makes My Dreams Come True?
Last night, I went to bed exhausted, but feeling pretty darn good. This morning, I felt fantastic. There is no reason really for me to feel so fantastic. In fact, I should feel downright cruddy - My job is done with June 10th at 4pm; I may never see my students again; I have a lot more paperwork to get done; I need to finish packing my entire room; I need to inventory the curriculum; and I start a new job on Monday that I know very little about.
But against all odds, I felt truly great and really good about myself this morning. In fact, I had this wonderful Hall and Oates song stuck in my head from the moment I woke up.
Of course, as usual, I don't know all the words, so when I sang it to myself at work I used mostly nonsense syllables. At home, the nonsense syllables are really not that big of a deal, but when I am singing audibly at school surrounded by my students and colleagues, I probably should not just be singing in non-English sounding syllables, especially considering I do not have a good singing voice. Come to think of it, it probably sounds like I am just speaking gibberish to myself with no discernible melody.
How am I not in a padded cell right now?
Ever since I saw (500) Days of Summer, the song as always reminded me of this scene:
It is such a great scene. Have you ever woken up in the morning and felt just like that? Like the music is going, you're dancing, and the world is doing an entirely upbeat and choreographed number with you? Gosh it feels good! That's how I felt this morning, and for no reason! I haven't even entered into a satisfying sexual relationship with a partner I've been thinking about for a while (as in the scene above).
Hopefully I won't soon be wallowing in self-pity and loneliness again any time soon, though, like the character from this film. I would rather take my time focusing on the happy, world-is-playing-with-me, exciting-choreographed-musical-numbers part.
Do you ever wish your life was a musical?
But against all odds, I felt truly great and really good about myself this morning. In fact, I had this wonderful Hall and Oates song stuck in my head from the moment I woke up.
Of course, as usual, I don't know all the words, so when I sang it to myself at work I used mostly nonsense syllables. At home, the nonsense syllables are really not that big of a deal, but when I am singing audibly at school surrounded by my students and colleagues, I probably should not just be singing in non-English sounding syllables, especially considering I do not have a good singing voice. Come to think of it, it probably sounds like I am just speaking gibberish to myself with no discernible melody.
How am I not in a padded cell right now?
Ever since I saw (500) Days of Summer, the song as always reminded me of this scene:
It is such a great scene. Have you ever woken up in the morning and felt just like that? Like the music is going, you're dancing, and the world is doing an entirely upbeat and choreographed number with you? Gosh it feels good! That's how I felt this morning, and for no reason! I haven't even entered into a satisfying sexual relationship with a partner I've been thinking about for a while (as in the scene above).
Hopefully I won't soon be wallowing in self-pity and loneliness again any time soon, though, like the character from this film. I would rather take my time focusing on the happy, world-is-playing-with-me, exciting-choreographed-musical-numbers part.
Do you ever wish your life was a musical?
Monday, June 6, 2011
Exploring Southern Minnesota
I love to travel and go on little adventures. You probably remember me telling you about the Protagitron's and my awesome trip to Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe in Seattle, Washington. It was incredible. I love doing things like that.
On a teacher's salary, however, and the fact that I work 60 hour weeks (usually, sometimes a little less, oftentimes a lot more) while only getting paid for 40 of those hours, it can be difficult to find the funds and time for the kind of grand adventures I have envisioned. So, I have decided to still go on adventures, but to make the most of my summer by exploring what I have right here.
What I have right here is Southeastern Minnesota*, and it turns out there is quite a bit to do here.
As a reminder, don't forget to go to the Disney website and take this quiz so that you can participate in my survey!
*I already wrote about this a while back, but hadn't done as much research then. Now I know what I want to do, and I will make it happen.
On a teacher's salary, however, and the fact that I work 60 hour weeks (usually, sometimes a little less, oftentimes a lot more) while only getting paid for 40 of those hours, it can be difficult to find the funds and time for the kind of grand adventures I have envisioned. So, I have decided to still go on adventures, but to make the most of my summer by exploring what I have right here.
What I have right here is Southeastern Minnesota*, and it turns out there is quite a bit to do here.
- Mystery Cave, Forrestville
- Niagra Cave, Harmony
- Downtown Lanseboro
- Mayowood Mansion, Rochester
- Zollman Zoo and Oxbow Park, Byron
- Trout Run, Fillmore County
- Spam Museum, Austin
- Honkers game, Rochester (I can see them from my yard!)
- Roosters game, Rochester
As a reminder, don't forget to go to the Disney website and take this quiz so that you can participate in my survey!
*I already wrote about this a while back, but hadn't done as much research then. Now I know what I want to do, and I will make it happen.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Results of the "Disney Princess" Survey
Quite a while back, I asked you the question: If you HAD to be a Disney Princess, which would you be?
The poll has been closed for a while, but I have been putting off posting the results because of the absolutely pathetic number of participants. Only four people on the internet bothered to choose an answer. I even asked male readers to just suck it up and choose.
The results are as follows:
To be completely honest, I am rather surprised that Jasmine had the most (albeit a still pathetically small amount of) votes. Myself, I would have to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Sure she's in an emotionally abusive relationship, but she lives in a castle in France, has enchanted household staff that put on dinner shows, and she has an absolutely amazing library. I would spend all my time in that library!
If you didn't provide any input for this survey, I will assume it was because you did not know which princess you are most like and refused to make an uninformed decision. Please take this quiz at the Disney Website and vote on the new poll. Do it. Now.
The poll has been closed for a while, but I have been putting off posting the results because of the absolutely pathetic number of participants. Only four people on the internet bothered to choose an answer. I even asked male readers to just suck it up and choose.
The results are as follows:
Cinderella (Cinderella) | 1 (25%) |
Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) | 0 (0%) |
Jasmine (Aladdin) | 2 (50%) |
Ariel (The Little Mermaid) | 0 (0%) |
Snow White (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves) | 0 (0%) |
Belle (Beauty and the Beast) | 1 (25%) |
To be completely honest, I am rather surprised that Jasmine had the most (albeit a still pathetically small amount of) votes. Myself, I would have to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Sure she's in an emotionally abusive relationship, but she lives in a castle in France, has enchanted household staff that put on dinner shows, and she has an absolutely amazing library. I would spend all my time in that library!
If you didn't provide any input for this survey, I will assume it was because you did not know which princess you are most like and refused to make an uninformed decision. Please take this quiz at the Disney Website and vote on the new poll. Do it. Now.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Lessons From Star Trek: The Next Generation
As I sit in my underwear on my couch eating mint chocolate cookie ice cream out of the container and watching Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6 Episode 9, it occurred to me that I can make this a learning experience. After all, Star Trek: The Next Generation takes place in the future, and one could make the assumption that they know more about science, language, society, etc.
* Never trust new technology.
*Women will always be treated as inferior and viewed as sex objects. Successful women are kind of bitchy, especially when they make a teeny-tiny mistake. If they are ambitious, then they will probably stab someone in the back to get what they want.
*Visitors probably have sinister, ulterior motives.
*If someone is blind, rather than fix their eyes through surgical means, we will have to install equipment in their brain, then they will have to wear a heavy-looking piece of metal equipment on their face all the time. This will conveniently be removed by bad people when these blind people are kidnapped.
*Men have beards for the same reason women paint their nails. Whatever that reason is, Dr. Crusher insists they are the same.
*Computers are going to get bigger than they are now, but they won't compute any faster.
*Dr. Beverly Crusher is a moron (probably because she is a woman). She can't even adequately define the term "alive"! Sheesh!
*There is a difference between women and viruses, but both are alive.
*Forcing exocomps to work is slavery. Using a tricorder is not an example of slavery.
*Administrators (such as Captain Jean-Luc Picard) can be such a drag sometimes.
*Someday I will have an android as a best friend. He will be awesome.
* Never trust new technology.
*Women will always be treated as inferior and viewed as sex objects. Successful women are kind of bitchy, especially when they make a teeny-tiny mistake. If they are ambitious, then they will probably stab someone in the back to get what they want.
*Visitors probably have sinister, ulterior motives.
*If someone is blind, rather than fix their eyes through surgical means, we will have to install equipment in their brain, then they will have to wear a heavy-looking piece of metal equipment on their face all the time. This will conveniently be removed by bad people when these blind people are kidnapped.
*Men have beards for the same reason women paint their nails. Whatever that reason is, Dr. Crusher insists they are the same.
*Computers are going to get bigger than they are now, but they won't compute any faster.
*Dr. Beverly Crusher is a moron (probably because she is a woman). She can't even adequately define the term "alive"! Sheesh!
*There is a difference between women and viruses, but both are alive.
*Forcing exocomps to work is slavery. Using a tricorder is not an example of slavery.
*Administrators (such as Captain Jean-Luc Picard) can be such a drag sometimes.
*Someday I will have an android as a best friend. He will be awesome.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)