I got this e-mail today from a person that was once a friend. Now, more of an acquaintance. Anyway. I haven't heard from her in like more than a year and now two e-mails have dropped into my inbox in less than a month. Me, like most other people, would think something along the lines of "Cool! An e-mail from a long lost friend!" And I did. Think so that is. Until I read the actual e-mails.
The first one was the old fake virus warning about the Hallmark e-cards. *sigh* I thought that one expired it's sell by-date like a year or two ago. Apparently not. So I replied that this is a hoax and that there is nothing to worry about. I thought about sending a Hallmark e-card, but I didn't. Maybe I should have.
The second one I got today was one of those even older "send this to XX number of friends within XX minutes and something you wanted for ages will become yours". Ha! Yeah right. There are many varieties of this one. Everything from sending it to three of your closest friends to 20 of the same and that something good will happen to avoiding disaster. Why people spread this garbage is beyond my abilities, but apparently they do. The probability of something good happening by clogging up other people's inboxes with junk like this is about the same as me winning the lottery without buying a ticket. What will happen is that you will have lots and lots of annoyed friends.
So everyone reading this: If there is a virus warning, take the 30 seconds needed to confirm it before sending it to me. I don't forward such warnings without at least trying to verify them first. Never, under any circumstances send e-mails of the kind "send this to 20 of your closest friends and something good will happen/to avoid disaster".
And for everyone who does not send junk to me, I thank you of all my heart for sparing me irritation and wasted energy.
Nina
2009-11-03
2009-08-21
Making cupcakes
Ah the joy of baking...
Yesterday I decided it was time to make some cupcakes. I had done careful research and found two decidedly yummy recipes. So, after a trip to the store to get the ingredients for the cupcakes and the icing I got down to business.
Note that it is a very good idea to check there are those paper cups that you make cupcakes in of the right size in your cupboard, BEFORE going to the store. Oh well...
Okay, so I started making chocolate cupcakes. After making the batter, which kinda looked a bit funny, but I managed to bully it into the paper cups and put it into the oven. The recipe said it would be 12 cupcakes, but I only managed to make 9. I guess the cookbook and I have different opinions on the definition of "regular size".
They turned out pretty good anyway.
On to the carrot cake cupcakes.
I made the batter. It looked better than the chocolate cupcake batter. I manged to pour it into the cups for baking. I got 8 of those. By now I did not have any illusions regarding the number of cupcakes yielded by the recipe so I just shrugged and put it into oven.
25 mins later I had made the frosting for the carrot cake cupcakes. That one was easy. It was the frosting for the chocolate cupcakes that made my head hurt.
It was chocolate truffle frosting. I had to boil some cream and then put in some sugar and chopped up chocolate. So far all is well. Recipe said it could be used when cool as frosting for a glazed look on the cupcakes or be whipped when cold to be spritzed onto the cupcakes.
Now, this requires the frosting to actually thicken slightly when cool or even cold.
Not so well... The frosting did not thicken when cooling. Not when I tried to chill the pan in cold water. Nor did it thicken when I put it in the refrigerator... So I put it in the freezer. It thickened and hardened. And became a big blob of frozen chocolate.
It was good, but as soon as I got it out of the freezer it became liquid again.
So, to sum it all up. The chocolate cupcakes turned out great but the frosting was a catastrophe. The carrot cake cupcakes was okay, but the frosting was great. So now I have chocolate cupcakes in the freezer and carrot cake cupcakes in the refrigerator. I don't know what to do with either of them. I'm not supposed to eat since I'm on a diet. *sigh* Oh well.
I guess I'll go for another recipe next time. Or one that I know will work since I initially had planned to bring the cupcakes to a meeting.
Nina
Yesterday I decided it was time to make some cupcakes. I had done careful research and found two decidedly yummy recipes. So, after a trip to the store to get the ingredients for the cupcakes and the icing I got down to business.
Note that it is a very good idea to check there are those paper cups that you make cupcakes in of the right size in your cupboard, BEFORE going to the store. Oh well...
Okay, so I started making chocolate cupcakes. After making the batter, which kinda looked a bit funny, but I managed to bully it into the paper cups and put it into the oven. The recipe said it would be 12 cupcakes, but I only managed to make 9. I guess the cookbook and I have different opinions on the definition of "regular size".
They turned out pretty good anyway.
On to the carrot cake cupcakes.
I made the batter. It looked better than the chocolate cupcake batter. I manged to pour it into the cups for baking. I got 8 of those. By now I did not have any illusions regarding the number of cupcakes yielded by the recipe so I just shrugged and put it into oven.
25 mins later I had made the frosting for the carrot cake cupcakes. That one was easy. It was the frosting for the chocolate cupcakes that made my head hurt.
It was chocolate truffle frosting. I had to boil some cream and then put in some sugar and chopped up chocolate. So far all is well. Recipe said it could be used when cool as frosting for a glazed look on the cupcakes or be whipped when cold to be spritzed onto the cupcakes.
Now, this requires the frosting to actually thicken slightly when cool or even cold.
Not so well... The frosting did not thicken when cooling. Not when I tried to chill the pan in cold water. Nor did it thicken when I put it in the refrigerator... So I put it in the freezer. It thickened and hardened. And became a big blob of frozen chocolate.
It was good, but as soon as I got it out of the freezer it became liquid again.
So, to sum it all up. The chocolate cupcakes turned out great but the frosting was a catastrophe. The carrot cake cupcakes was okay, but the frosting was great. So now I have chocolate cupcakes in the freezer and carrot cake cupcakes in the refrigerator. I don't know what to do with either of them. I'm not supposed to eat since I'm on a diet. *sigh* Oh well.
I guess I'll go for another recipe next time. Or one that I know will work since I initially had planned to bring the cupcakes to a meeting.
Nina
2009-05-20
Happiness
Morning!
I was pondering the concept of happiness today. I realized that moments of pure bliss are just that, moments. Short bursts of happiness. Complete and utter happiness is not a permanent state of mind. My theory is that we all have some sort of baseline happiness in our lives. You know, like when you're looking at a chart and you see the peaks and the valleys and then you see some sort of average line running straight in the middle. That would be our baseline happiness. Sometimes we are happier than average and sometimes we are not.
Does this sound depressing? That we can't handle utter bliss all the time? Well, not to worry, you see, the middle will become higher up if the peaks are more frequent. They do not necessarily have to be really high as long as they are above average.
Right now I'm trying to find more of these smaller peaks of happiness to raise the average level of happiness. Appreciating the smaller things in life. Like the flowers blossoming in the city gardens. Very pretty. A beautiful song. A hug. A smile. You know, all these little things.
This is one of the more important thoughts I've had I think. And one of the most profound insights. I mean, if I am of the opinion that the only way I'm going to be happy is by winning the lottery, then I'd be destined for a life of misery because I very rarely play the lottery. But if I am of the opinion that I should be happy because I have good friends and family and enough sense to appreciate them, then I'm probably more on the track of happiness.
This is not to say that there are issues in my life. As for everyone else there are problems to be dealt with and stress to be handled, but if I just can stop for a while and smell the magnolias and the newly mowed lawn and watch the snail trailing a path (and maybe even save it from certain death by bike) then I don't think I'm a lost cause for happiness.
What do you think?
Nina
I was pondering the concept of happiness today. I realized that moments of pure bliss are just that, moments. Short bursts of happiness. Complete and utter happiness is not a permanent state of mind. My theory is that we all have some sort of baseline happiness in our lives. You know, like when you're looking at a chart and you see the peaks and the valleys and then you see some sort of average line running straight in the middle. That would be our baseline happiness. Sometimes we are happier than average and sometimes we are not.
Does this sound depressing? That we can't handle utter bliss all the time? Well, not to worry, you see, the middle will become higher up if the peaks are more frequent. They do not necessarily have to be really high as long as they are above average.
Right now I'm trying to find more of these smaller peaks of happiness to raise the average level of happiness. Appreciating the smaller things in life. Like the flowers blossoming in the city gardens. Very pretty. A beautiful song. A hug. A smile. You know, all these little things.
This is one of the more important thoughts I've had I think. And one of the most profound insights. I mean, if I am of the opinion that the only way I'm going to be happy is by winning the lottery, then I'd be destined for a life of misery because I very rarely play the lottery. But if I am of the opinion that I should be happy because I have good friends and family and enough sense to appreciate them, then I'm probably more on the track of happiness.
This is not to say that there are issues in my life. As for everyone else there are problems to be dealt with and stress to be handled, but if I just can stop for a while and smell the magnolias and the newly mowed lawn and watch the snail trailing a path (and maybe even save it from certain death by bike) then I don't think I'm a lost cause for happiness.
What do you think?
Nina
2009-01-30
Calendars last pt...
I just realized I never actually finished what I was saying about calendars.
For everyone out there worried I would not know what day it is, please be reassured. I do have a calendar now. It is even a good one.
For everyone out there worried I would not know what day it is, please be reassured. I do have a calendar now. It is even a good one.
As for more updates I've been insanely busy the last week or so. I haven't even been to the craft store. Imagine that! I did take a short detour in there earlier this week and you know what? They had a sale! Yay! Pretty papers I've been ogling for the better part of the fall at 70% off. Isn't that a bargain I don't know what is. So I bought a couple. Now I have four or so shiny new papers to craft with. I'll see if there is time during the weekend between paper-writing and book-reading to make some more cards.
Just letting you know I'm still alive. :)
Nina
Nina
2009-01-05
Calendars pt 2
Thanks Heather! I think I've found one that will not only fit my aesthetic senses but also the actual dimensions of the wall space where it will be hung. It's not bought and hung yet so let's not get carried away. It could be sold out. Oh well, if they are I'll ask friend S to order a nice one (or two) on Amazon. They had some really pretty calendars. Secret garden with beautiful pictures of gardens and houses and flowers and streams and ponds and... well, nature in general. Also one with pictures from Scotland. Very green. They also have different TV-series calendars and anyone who knows me know which one I would like to have. Take a guess. I double-dog dare ya! :)
Nina
Nina
2009-01-04
Calendars
Okay, I need a new wall calendar. The one for 2008 doesn't quite cut it anymore. So I went to the bookstore to see if they had any fun calendars left. They had a really nice one with chocolate. Now, one would think that a wall calendar with different chocolate pictures every month would be a great addition to my kitchen, but there were no recipes! Who in their right mind makes a calendar with chocolate and do not tell people how to make them? I don't want to look at chocolate, I want to eat it!
So I went online. Big mistake. My eyes are now square from viewing hundreds of different calendars online. I had no idea there were that many different kinds. Some were beautiful, some were funny, some downright zany. Looking at all those different calendars I realized I have standards. A calendar must have some writing space on it. I have to be able to write appointments and birthdays and such on wall calendar. Most of the calendars I found were grid calendars with tiny tiny squares for each date. If I got one of those I'd have to attach a magnifying glass to see what I wrote. Oh well, I'll do another sweep of the local bookstores and card-shops today. I'll let you know what I found.
Nina
2009-01-02
Happy New Year!
So 2009 finally begun. As years are prone to do. One after the other. It feels kind of like a new beginning. I mean, it can't possibly be worse than 2008 right? It's been a strange year indeed. A lot of things happened that I didn't want to happen, a lot of things I wanted to happen did not. It can only get better.
I will not say 2008 was a bad year, it was just strange. A lot of good things happened also. I met several new friends that I treasure and I got to spend more time with family. That is always a good thing.
Right now however I have got two essays in linguistics to write so in concordance with my new years resolution to stop fretting about stuff I will now start on writing one of them. Isn't it fun when you get an assignment you can't wait to get started on? I get to watch "Third Rock from the Sun" on youtube and actually feel like I'm doing something useful. I LIKE linguistics! :)
Nina
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