Cupcake

The other day I baked 72 cupcakes, but only 48 turned out to be edible. What have I learned? You should always keep a box of Betty Crocker mix on hand. Always.

I recently bought this book, Baking Illustrated


It's supposedly THE baking book. It definitely is cool and has all the basic baking recipes you would ever need plus some. There's also an explanation about the "science" behind the baking, which is good stuff to know I guess.

So I made the yellow cupcake recipe from the book. It was good, but I didn't love it. Hence, Betty Crocker and the 24 cupcakes that I tossed in the trash can.

I want to own a cupcake store one day. Obviously I won't use Betty Crocker box mix for the biz, but in a crisis, what other options are there really? I don't know any, so I'm sticking with Betty!

Food Blogs=Blogaid

As someone who is slightly addicted to several food blogs (that I check multiple times a day from my iphone), I think this is super super cool. Check it out.

http://blogaidforhaiti.blogspot.com/

Loser

I have majorly mixed feelings about Biggest Loser. This is the first year I've actually watched this show. I know right now as I write this that EVERYONE on the planet is watching Lost, but I'm not. Instead I'm riding an emotional roller coaster thanks to the weight loss show.

So here's why.

The show starts with these two teams who got kicked off coming back after 30 days of working out at home. One team lost 63 lbs. and the other lost 75ish. Fabulous, right? So they talk about how proud they are of themselves and how hard they've worked, and I realize that I am weeping. WEEPING! Over weight loss? And not even my own weight loss. I don't know what my problem is. I need help.

The show moves on to be somewhat boring. Working out, challenges, blah blah, whatever, giving me time to pull myself together. Then comes one of their product endorsements. This week it's the Yoplait Smoothie kits. Bob walks in to find a couple of the people on the show making a smoothie before their workout. I've actually tried these smoothie things, and they are good, but for some reason I find this annoying. Here's how it went down:

Bob strolls into the kitchen, "Hey guys, what are you up to?" as IF the producer didn't set that up.

Weight loss people respond, "Oh just making a healthy snack, Bob! A smoothie!"

"A smoothie? Ohhhh, the Yoplait Smoothies?" Bob says, turning the package over to check the nutrition facts pretending that he doesn't already know that they have 220 calories!

"Yea, Bob! They are so quick and easy."

"Wow! Only 220 calories? What a great snack!? Look it's all prepared for you and you just add milk and blend!? And it's got real yogurt with live and active cultures!?" Bob exclaimed.

"Yea, and they are good too! We can't wait to workout!"

Okay in reflecting on this...a couple thoughts:

1. OMG.

2. Live and active cultures?

3. WHY the heavy product endorsements? Last week (I can't believe I've watched this show so many times!!!), Jillian talked about how storing your fresh fruits in Ziplocs is a great idea, etc., etc. On and on. Really!? What a brilliant idea! I would've never come up with that one on my own.

4. When's the last time you drank MILK before working out and felt good mid-workout? Seriously? Dairy before a workout? Not a great idea.


I can't stop asking questions and writing in all caps. I apologize.

All right, now these girls on the show have just run for 5 minutes on a treadmill. That's a first for them and I love running, so I'm back to weeping. Bob has decided they should now do a little yoga, and he's saying encouraging things about changing your life. Sob!

Maybe the next product should be Kleenex?

Phoebe

My feet hurt, my knees hurt, my back hurts, my head hurts. Yowzers, as I like to say when things hurt. Why is it that last weekend I ran 13 miles and felt lovely and today ran 10 and feel like I should maybe visit a hospital later on after I am able to pull myself up on my feet again? Why?????? It doesn't make sense.

Today's run was uneventful except that I finished it. Last week, however, my sis and I had a couple hilarious moments. The best was when we rounded the corner to see that up ahead was a radar detector speed thingy, the kind that shows how fast you are going. As we approached, it was flashing, 5, 6, 5, 6, in other words saying SLOW SLOW SLOW. So, I threw my arms in the air and did a little dance in the street in front of it and lo and behold it shot up to 14, 15, 16. So, then my sis did the same and got the same result. It was kind of like Phoebe running from Friends, remember? That's how you make yourself go "faster" according to the speed detector at least. I'm sure that if anyone was in their house looking out and witnessed this it led to a laugh or ten. Quite a running highlight though, don't you think?

Just one more 6-miler next weekend then it's half marathon time. Hooray!

Cookie Wagon

WHY did this not exist when I was at USC???


http://www.insomniacookies.com/

PhD: Post Hole Digger

There's a guy at my work who likes to give me a hard time about working on my PhD. Every so often I see him and he says, "Hey there post hole digger!" And I play along and say, "huh?" and act like I don't know what he's talking about. Then he says, "PhD, post hole digger. Get it?" "Ohhhh!" I say, and we laugh and move on with our days. Well, this post is all about digging some holes. No pun intended.

There are a few ways to dig a hole, technically speaking. You can use a shovel, a post hole digger, or an auger. There may be more ways, but I don't know what they are. Well, you could just use your hands I guess.

Will chose the auger. It's more fun, louder, and possibly will cause injury because it appears to kind of beat up the operator. We now have a bigger space and holes for the supports (I guess that's what they are called.) Will and Jason had a fun day playing with giant power tools. One step closer!

Dear Facebook Users,

What is UP with the stupid stupid stupid status updates about how wonderful your children, husbands, wives, parents, grandmothers, dogs, and great aunt Irma's truly are??? OF COURSE you think they are all wonderful. You either married them, birthed them, they birthed you or your parents, or were your parents' siblings, so umm, yes, they are wonderful. I mean do you feel guilty when you see the phrase, "if your (fill in the blank) are as wonderful, post this as your status?" I want some originality back in status updating! Tell me about the new flavor of soup you're eating, the restaurant where you are currently waiting for a table, the funny thing your kid just said, the test you just took, how tired you are, or even that you are now going to bed-goodnight facebook!

And then...there's this post which has me slightly unnerved and annoyed:

BLANKIN' IDIOT said "saw on the internet that Haiti is without a government. To help out, I am donating one Obama, one Pelosi, one Reid, one Frank, one Coakley and two Clintons! They may keep them permanently! I'd give them a constitution; but I can't find mine right now! ~~~ Status borrowed from a friend of a friend of a friend, keep it going"

I need a break from the stupidity. Really. The people of Haiti are struggling, have suffered unbelievable tragedy, and not ONE of us can understand this type of experience, but people are really brave enough to post stupid insults about the president and our governmental leaders by using the Haitian people and their situation? I mean, really?? Really?? You must be kidding me. 

Ohmygoodness................


Breathe.

And in other news stupid news...Cagney & Lacy will be having a reunion show. For this, I am excited.