With the aid of the internet, I taught myself how to make homemade bread tonight. The only trick involved convincing my dough to rise, as it turns out that “green”* decisions about heat are not conducive to dough rising. Apparently yeast isn’t a big fan of 63. We compromised: I stuck a towel in the dryer and wrapped my bowl up in it, and then placed the bundled bowl near a space heater. It rose beautifully and baked up deliciously.
*cheap
Dork Point #1: Today’s date looks like it could be some sort of secret message in binary code: 1/11/11.
Dork Point #2: I spent a fair amount of time today wondering what 11111 is in binary.
Dork Point #3: I asked Google what 11111 was in binary code.
Dork Point #4: I am blogging about this all.
Dork Point #5: 31 is the decimal conversion of 11111.
Yesterday was the 25th time I’ve title a post “Five Good Things.” Initially – and intermittantly - I tried/try to be sassy with my titles so that was the 48th 5GT overall. FORTY EIGHT! That’s 240 good things.
It’s not that bad to be me.
1.) On Demand offers winning programs such as “Bear vs. Tiger,” in which they SCIENTIFICALLY DEDUCE who would trounce whom. (They ruled bear wins.)
2.) I did some crock pot experimenting and it wasn’t a disaster. Suprising, as it was totally a baking project. (More on this later this week.)
3.) Crockpotluck? Crockvention? Whatever term I make up and settle upon, I crocked some dessert up last night and KTB crocked up some dinner. Yum. Yay for neighbors and crock pots.
4.) The (free) outdoor skating rinks are open and the weather is cold enough that the ice should be decent. I loathe soft ice.
5.) I am full of SUPERFOOD! Kale was on sale and I know how to prepare it so that it is delicious…versus tough and kind of gross. I am a champ, a superchamp.
I’m flying Delta, a mistake for other reasons, who is offering free in-flight wifi through the holidays. So far I’ve used it to:
1.) Search flights to family destination Christmas (woo!)…not on Delta
2.) Check the arrival status of my flight and email a text to the friend who is picking me up, telling her my delay has increased while inair.
3.) Play on facebook, gchat, and email.
4.) Take and post a picture of my ridiculous amounts of legroom (emergency exit row + almost a legal midget in Canada) on facebook.
5.) Blog.
Basically, what I would do at home. I find the whole concept of in-flight wifi kind of ridiculous. I mean, none of those things were at all pressing. I remember the days when flights were spent with parents just threatening to beat their children with the books they were not reading, if they didn’t quiet down.
I attended a discussion a couple nights back and this phrase really sprung out at me: the image of the invisible
Bad decisions can be defended with good arguments. I’ve personally made some less than stellar choices – three time traffic court defendant! However, I balance those missteps with some more than stellar rationalizations – three time traffic court WINNER! As previously listed while I think (know) that there are some nasty toys out there, it’s pretty easy to argue reasons for purchasing and gifting them. Please note that I am not saying that you ought to purchase them, I’m merely saying that if you happen to purchase them and need to explain yourself…well, basically I’m an enabler. “It looked like fun” is a pretty lame defense. If you want to go with a fun line of reasoning, back it up with a relevant opinion – the salesperson, a mom/dad/kid in the aisle said it’s a favorite at their house, your own kid, winning some award, etc. An “award” sticker on a box is always a good first line of defense.
Recently, a friend hit me up for a definition of “crocking.” Most simply, crocking is the action of using a crockpot. Less simply, and more accurately, I gave her this response:
Some people might tell you that crocking isn’t really a word and that it’s the verbitizing of a brand name - a brand name which is probably trademarked. I’m here to tell you that those people are losers and pick their noses all the time. Crocking is the cool kids’ version of slow cooking. It’s a bit more extreme and requires a lot more passion. Fear not though! It’s still fantastically energy efficient.
Currently Reading…
Tags: books, life, musings, nannying, Peanut, reading, Tudor, Weir, work
One of the great things about my job is that it allows me a fair amount of “my choice” reading time – on the clock. Because I’m a huge dork, I’m currently reading (yet another) book about Tudor England: The Children of Henry VIII by Alison Weir. Yesterday, I got sidetracked and did not put my book away before getting the peanut up from her nap. (Aside: Really glad I’m a huge dork.)
Ever aware, Peanut spotted it and asked me what was on her coffee table. I make it a point to be as honest as possible with the kids, but also know my audience, so simplified my answer. “That is the book I am reading. It is about those two girls, who are princesses, and their brother, who is a prince. The other girl is their cousin.”
one prince, two princesses, and their cousin
Peanut nodded and moved on to her own books…which just so happen to also about princes and princesses. D’oh. Whatever. My prince, princesses, and their cousin are cooler.
Aside #2: I am aware that Jane Grey was the grandniece, not child, of Henry VIII and her inclusion on the cover bothers me.