Cookies and More

     I apologize to all of you faithful readers out there. I have not updated in two weeks. But I keep putting it off because I think about writing about financials week and decide not to do it. So I’m not.  I’m just not going to write about the stuffy boring stuff. If you really want to know, you can ask. But I’m not weighing down my blog with it.

     I will, however, talk about cookie week. I thought thanksgiving was a good time for cookie week because it is a great way to dispose of all the cookies that I made. I made about nine dozen cookies. Actually that number would be a little higher but my first batch was inedible.

     There were several modifications I made to my usual recipe because I was trying to perfect the “Nana rie” cookie for Thanksgiving. I was trying to halve the recipe so that I could try the new techniques without ruining a whole batch. Which was good because ruin I did. Too much sugar, too much vanilla, not enough flour. They just melted and the sugar caramelized quickly then burnt.

     It does not help that my oven is awful. After initial failure I redid the cookie recipe by adding more flour and less sugar and changing up the proportions of sugar (I add more brown sugar and less white sugar). So the first sheet I put in still burned horribly in the back and was not done in the front. That is when I discovered that my oven burns at such different temperatures between the back and front that I had to turn my cookies every three minutes.  The added flour meant that I had to bake them for a full 10 minutes instead of my usual 8. It was a pain in the rear. I had to sit in the kitchen so as not to miss a turning for the next three pans of cookies. And I couldn’t do two pans at once because the bottom one would burn and the top would end up taking forever then end up hard and unpleasant.

     Finally on Wednesday I went to my mom’s house. She has a nice new oven that baked just fine.  There I made peanut butter with peanut butter chips, chocolate, and chocolate chip cookies. And they were a success. I actually wasn’t crazy about the chocolate cookies because they were boring, but several of my coworkers loved them. So.

     All in all I think I have earned the title “Her Serene Cookie Baker of Middle Tennessee and Western North Carolina for Life.” I will also accept the lesser titles of “Her Lady Cookie Bakeress” and “Marchioness of the County of Davidson Cookie Battalion.”

     This week I am writing my autobiography. I know, I’m not that old or that awesome. But that’s the point. Autobiographies and biographies always make people sound much cooler than they actually are. I am feeling bored with my life right now so I’m going to write it all out and make it sound like I’m adventuresome.  It’s much easier than actually doing stuff.

I just want a nap

     So, I guess you want to see/ hear about crafting/ no sugar added week. The crafting went well. I made a lot of stuff. The problem is that a lot of what I made was for Christmas gifts and I don't want to talk to much about it or share pics until after Christmas. I don't want to be a scrooge and ruin the surprise for at least 7 people for my own selfish purposes. Let's just say some sparkle, some are dramatic, some took and hour, others days.
     No added sugar week was going well until my boss brought in her leftover Halloween candy. Then I ate like 14 mini snickers in a day. Ok, not 14 exactly. There goes the squid brain again. Eat a little, suffer massive brain damage. Well, maybe 14. Ooops. But I refrained from sugary drinks and coffees, other desserts or candies, sugary yogurt and the like. So...sort of yay?!
     This week has been financials week. Not very fun, but something I feel is important. I am trying to learn: how to buy a house, What is 401k and should I have one, How can I invest and will it ever be possible for me to own a house. Right now I can only answer a little bit of each question. However, since I one day hope not to have to eat spaghetti with plain canned tomato sauce at the end of each month, so I will study. 

Next week will be better

     Here is another little squid tidbit- A squid's brain is shaped like a donut and its esophagus runs trough the middle. If it eats something too big for its esophagus, it suffers brain damage. That is how I feel around meatloaf or jelly donuts. One bite and I have enough brain damage to eat the rest.
     On to the rest of the show. This was no television week. It was a supreme failure. I watched TV everyday. Here is how it played out:
Monday- I watched the Simpsons Halloween Special. 30 min.
Tuesday- I came in and Ben was watching TV. I wanted to hang out with him, so I watched. 45 min
Wednesday- A friend was featured in a TV show so I had to watch. 1 hour
Thursday- BONES season premier!!! 1 hour
Friday-  Watched a new episode of Regular Show On Demand. 15 min.
Saturday- The game was on. I guess I wasn't actually watching because I don't like football, but it was on.

     You know what I found out? I don't actually watch that much TV. It is mostly just background noise. I thought I'd have all this spare time and get so much done. But I didn't. If I was tired I would just sit and stare or listen to music. I wasn't any more active.
    I know that all of you have heard the people bragging that they are so intelligent/cool/cultured that they don't have a TV. But what does that really mean? For me, in the end, it meant listening to more music. Not smart music like jazz or classical. Just regular entertainment stuff. So am I a better person for not watching much TV for a week? Nope. Are they? Probably not. Just more arrogant.
     So this is a dual week. It is no added sugar week AND craft like crazy week. I have had so much sugar (Read: Halloween candy that was not given away) that i have to go without or I just might go into sugar shock. And I need to craft like crazy to get to ready for Christmas. Most people are getting handmade this year. And I'm trying to make some cute stuff to wear. Brooches, hairpins, etc for being festive for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Yay!
    

Something smells fishy

              This last week was fun for me. I have always had a soft spot for squid because they are such cool creatures. They are all bendy and loopy and primitive and strange. They are also incredibly intelligent. There is a story documented of a squid kept in a lab with a bowl of goldfish near the tank (for daily feedings). Somehow it figured how to crawl out of the bowl, into the bowl with the goldfish and then eat them all. How incredible is that? That it even understood the concept of glass and the fish in a different bowl and there was a way to get out. Some people are not that smart (see: people who repeatedly push on door that says pull).

                Some of the newest science on squid involves the giant squid. They were long thought to be figments if the imagination of drunken sailors.  Turns out: not so much. The theory is that they just live deep in the ocean unless they are sick. I hypothesize that they are all ninja squid and constantly evade picture and capture.  I mean, anything that can take on a whale is pretty hard-core. Why not ninja hard-core?

                Some other news is that squid mating is not a precise science. Scientists have known for a while that squid will try to mate with any other squid. It’s not romantic. All they do is place a packet of sperm in the arm of the other squid. I guess it is hard to tell boy or girl if you just go by the arms.  One of my favorite quotes is,

"Male squid, it seems, have only two responses to things they bump into: eat it, or impregnate it. Which is a good reason to avoid bumping into one." -Edward Willett

What they have found, thought is that navigating all those legs and tentacles while fighting with other males often end in the males placing their own sperm packets in their own arm. I know many of you are cringing right now. But it is a little bit funny.

As a part of the week I have made a little book about squid. It is factual with cartoons. I don’t really know who my target audience is- it is too much cartoon and too little facts to be adult informative. It is too many big words and squid concepts for little kids. But I’m making it anyway and you can’t stop me. It still needs color before I post it though. It is always better with color. Also: I ate some squid. Watch out for squid salad. It can be rough *shivers with the thought*.

This week is no TV week. I had actually planned on another week, but that fell through. So now I am going without TV. Already it is heard because so often if I am not watching the TV then it is background noise. This morning I got up and read the news with breakfast. We’ll see how this goes.

Squidrific

Here is a fun blog if you would like to play along with squid week:  http://squid.us/

And this is even better http://squid.tepapa.govt.nz/build-a-squid You can build your own squid, set it free, and then go back later and check on it. I named mine chester. 

Read about reading

     So, I have to admit, my reading this week was mostly fluff. I have been really into Amish based fiction. I know, it doesn't sound so exciting. But I swear it is! It is kind of calming. The drama is not too stressful and you get to imagine you are living a simple life (without having to do all the extra work that not having electricity brings). Plus I love hearing about all the traditions. Here are a few examples:

• Weddings are in October and November so as not to disturb harvest.
• One traditional wedding food is celery casserole- so you know when a person plants a lot of celery one of their daughters is getting married.
• Some traditional desserts are shoofly pie (made of molasses) and whoopie pie.
• Courting is all done in secret. Parents do not even know who their child is dating until they "publish" their engagement at church.
• Until you take the "kneeling vows" (which means joining the church) nothing can be held against you. But after- everything is held against you.

     I finished the last two books out of the three book series. I forget the names. All of them are the same. "The something" where something stands for "Betrayal" "Longing" "Parting" or something like that. It is funny because it's not just one writer either. My fave if Beverly Lewis, but others are good too and have the same type name. Copycats or is there  something special to that style of name and the Amish? I don't know.
     I have started reading a book called "the lost". At least I think. I am bad about titles. It is based on a Jewish myth that there are 36 saints in the world at any time and if there weren't then God would destroy the world. But they are not regular goody-goodies. They are flawed people who teach other people how to live better and be better.  It is interesting, but a little dirty.
     This is squid week. I love squid but have gotten behind on current squid-science. So I am studying all that is new.
     I am thinking about posting some how tos. What do you think? Would you want to read any about how to bake or sew or bead?

Half week- half weak

                  Last week has been a half week. Half of the time was spent in New Mexico and the rest catching up. Still, I managed to pull together a project. It was jewelry designing week.  A friend bought me some beads while she was on vacation and I combined those with the home made beads to interesting affect. Later once I can get a good photo I will show you. 

                I made two necklaces of blue, two or red orange and one of green. Actually, the green one had the ammonite pendant than Ben bought me for our anniversary, so it is extra special. Today I am wearing the blue one with the silver, fake, Mayan coin pendant. So far I have received two compliments.

                I have to confess, I am so far behind on everything I don’t know if I will catch up or give up. Either way it is catch up on reading week. I have a collection of things I want to read and I don’t really want to do something too involved this week. I want something that I can relax while doing.  But next week- anything goes.

I need some help coming up with new ideas for weeks.  Please send in any ideas you may have. I have covered quite a few suggestions so far. Why not yours?