New Book

Wanted to let y'all know, for those that are interested, I got a new book today (discounted, thank you).  


"The Fate of Family Farming - Variations on an American Idea"


The book files itself under Agriculture/American History.  Looks interesting.  I'll keep you posted how it is :)

Business Idea

We were at work the other day.  Christmas Day, I believe.  My co-workers (2 others) and I wrapping cutlery (for meal trays) and I was talking about the baking I did for the holidays.  My one colleague, a student, says that I could "totally" teach her how to bake.  She admits she's pretty clueless (after speaking to her about some baking methods I realized the poor dear wasn't lying).  Which turned into how I could "totally" teach others to bake and turn it into a side business.  I could teach students, guys who wanted to impress their girlfriends, and so on, and so on.

After some discussion and thought, it just might not be a bad idea.  The problem would be how to figure out what to charge.  I could have it at my place since I'd have all the accessories/supplies needed (I have no car to travel around) and basic ingredients.   Would I have them bring additional/special ingredients needed?  Would I get them and charge more?  I don't want this to be complicated, but I do need to figure out details.

Anyways, I'm sending it out to the interwebs to hear your thoughts.  What do you think?  Be honest.  You won't be offending me :)  Things you think I should, or shouldn't do?

Thanks!

It's Over

It's finally over.

I've been fighting a bug.  I don't know what kind of 'bug', but something irritating, nonetheless.  It's making me dead tired.  I'm keeping up on rest, my echinacea & goldenseal tincture and Vitamin C.

Work was nice and quiet tonight.  I wore my Santa hat and earrings shaped like red ornament balls.  They went over well :)  I thought it must suck to be a patient at Christmas, so anything to brighten someone's day.  We got a free meal at work tonight; turkey, mashed potatoes, veggies, the works.  Even dessert.  Yum.

Well, I'm really tired and this thing is kicking my butt, so I'm gonna get to bed soon.  Attention span isn't too long right now, anyways :)

I hope everyone had a great Christmas, however you celebrate it and that it was with people you love.

Babu

Thought I would post a couple pics of Babu again.

In this one, it shows his love for fresh laundry.  He'll do everything to bury himself under a pile and sleep for *hours*.

This next one is him burying himself under the covers.

He'll do that once in a while if he's cold.

Christmas Eve

Today is good.

Babu has treats in his belly.  He's also very clingy and very vocal today for reasons unbeknownst to me.

I went out for errands and got another treat to sneak into someone's gift.  I stayed away from popular stores and their lineups.  I'm back home chillaxin' now, just taking it easy until tonight.  I might sit back and do some reading, or maybe clean up a bit.

Heading to friends, instead, for dinner and the evening.  My sister and I decided it was okay for me to stay here and we'll get together soon another day.  And I may not go to Midnight Mass.  I think I'll be going to the 8pm one instead.  I'm coming down with something (dead tired because of it) and I don't want to be too late getting to bed.  Hence the relaxing this afternoon.

Wishing everyone a blessed Christmas :)

Calming Down

Well, the 'rush' of this time of year is starting to settle down.  I braved the mall today and managed to walk out without killing anyone.  I'm an introvert and I have a slight case of social anxiety (if too many people get too close, I get a little batty.  Can't do crowds like I used to.  Not to mention my agoraphobia).  Baking is done, finally.  I made cookies, butter tarts and dark chocolate rum truffles (which are VERY chocolaty).  Yum.  Tills, when I drop off your movie/book sometime, I'll bring some for you (if there's any left over *snicker*).

There's just social/family visits to arrange now.  Since family Christmas is postponed, I have the option of getting together with my sister, but she's an hour and some away.  I don't know if all transit is sold out for this time of year or not.  Looking into making those arrangements, or not going at all.

If I don't go, there's another place I can go Christmas Eve; a friend who's been like a third family to me.  So either way, I shouldn't be alone.  God willing.

Well, off to work I go.  Hope everyone is well.

Website

I'd like to share with you a blog I've recently started following.  I LOVE her photography.  Please visit Olivia over at parvum opus. I find her work quite serene.

Prayers Answered

Well, my 'prayer' came yesterday.  I knew it would.  And although I was happy (what a wonderful Christmas gift!), as you read before I was also very anxious.  The 'prayer' and I talked, and yelled, and cried (okay, this part was just me), and cuddled.  Talked a bit more.  Sat in comfortable, peaceful silence.  The 'prayer' was called away in the middle of the night due to a close family member being admitted to hospital, nevermind the funeral they were already attending today for other family members (that's right, you read plural).

My instincts are kicking in and telling me all bunches of stuff but I'm unsure how to filter it yet.  I don't have visions with this yet, just feelings.  Have you ever been so tied with someone that you know what's happening to them?  That's what this is.  And it's frustrating.

In other random babble, I can't wait for Christmas to pass.  I haven't been this busy and discombobulated for months.  In an effort to displace said discombobulated energy, I'm going to bake tonight.  Dark chocolate rum truffles, anyone?  :)

Calling Hydra!

Hydra.. email me please :) I looked on your profile and couldn't find a way to contact you. Thanks :)

It's Official

That's it.. my brain is going to explode.

I would write more but I have too many nerves to deal with more than one thing at a time right now.

Babble

Well, how's everyone's week going? We're almost done.

I've got one more day to go at work then I'm off for 3 days. Something big has come up this weekend and I'm slightly full of nerves. Happy, but anxious. Best not to worry about 'what if' and just focus on the positive, which there has the potential to be lots of.

Work was weird tonight. Great, I mean, cause it was dead quiet. I was on the 5th floor (which I hadn't been on in months, I was afraid I was forgetting parts of the routine) and I ended up twiddling my thumbs. It was fantastic.

I finally have some official Christmas plans. I'm very excited. I get to spend it with my family Christmas Eve. I don't get to see this side of the family as often as I'd like so I'm very, very happy. My sister will be picking me up along the way. I'm sure people will be drinking so I won't be going that night. Looks like I'll be getting to know the couch. It's all good.

Money, it seems, is disappearing into an invisible vortex. Honestly, where does it all go? Ugh.

Well, I'd better change out of my scrubs and into something comfy, pop in a movie and do some knitting :)

Holiday Malaise and Other Miscellany

There hasn't been much "holiday" celebrating or festivities (though it is still early) so I've been a little.. well.. not in the mood much still. I hate that I'm starting to hate Christmas because I used to love it so much. I've been feeling very lonely. Yes, I know, being a Christian (a Catholic, at that) I should be all geared up about Jesus and religious symbolism... blah blah blah, but I just... can't. Don't get me wrong, I am more of an inward religious person, if you will. I love my faith and I practice a lot of things privately, but this particular holiday is a lot about family and gatherings and spending it with the one you love. It's not a holiday for single folk. Meh. Sorry to be a downer. I'll save you from my babble.

Work is going interesting. I've learned a new routine, recently and I'm still getting used to it. It's different than the other two floors I've worked on. Much different. I only spend half of the shift upstairs and the other half downstairs in the kitchen prepping for the next day (and unluckily for me, it involves working in a -20 C walk-in freezer for 15 minutes). I think I like the routine it's just hard to get used to; I haven't found my "groove" yet. I'll be training someone new in a few days on one of the other floors. I'm a little anxious about doing a really good job because I haven't trained anyone in this job yet (other jobs, but not this one).

Oh, finished reading Animal Farm; a very interesting book about human behaviour. It's funny that we end up creating the exact thing we fear in the first place.

I made my very first lasagna the other night. I know, sacrilege. I couldn't believe how easy it was. And yummy!! But then I remembered I'm still a little lactose-intolerant and I had an entire dish of lasagna to go through. As it was, the first night I had a large piece and got very sick. I'm still not used to this whole.. being lactose-intolerant thing. What can I say? I love dairy! *sigh* (So I've been going through it very slowly.)

I still need to finish some Christmas cards. Yes, late. Don't judge.

Well, the cat has decided to have a nap and I think I'm ready for a tea. A little tired today so I might go to bed early. Doesn't look like Brothers & Sisters is on tonight. Ooh.. maybe I'll have a bath.

I hope everyone had a good weekend :)

Plug

Last year I had a nice space heater. It was bought for me at my previous house by my previous landlord. It wasn't old, come last year, maybe 2-3 years old, if that. When I was cleaning last year, I came across the outlet it was plugged into. I panicked when I saw what it'd done. I damn near burnt down my apartment building. I would have felt a little bad about that. Did I go to the manufacturer? No. Should I have? Yes. But I was so worried that I took it out of the apartment and heaved it in the dumpster bin immediately. This is what I saw....

(Sorry, taken with phone again, quality poor)

Thanks!

Just wanted to say thanks to you guys to getting readership numbers up past 1,000. I know it's not much compared to so many but it means something to me, so THANK YOU :)

Growth

I have been learning assertiveness nearly on a daily basis lately. I've had a lot of personal stuff go on the past few days and I remind myself constantly to continue to stand up for what I believe I deserve. It's empowering. It's also kind of funny (to me, anyways). I've always been a very strongly independent person, always doing my own thing and it just seems kind of funny that after so many years there is still room for growth (I know this is rhetorical, but making a point). I've almost gotten tired of 'growing' lately (it's emotionally exhausting) but I know it's for a good cause. I'm a better person because of it. I just view it a little differently. They tell us we "find ourselves" and learn to assert ourselves in our 20's. You start to really define who you are. Then I was told in my 30's you're comfortable with who you are and you get to enjoy life more. I felt that more at 30 than I do now. I almost feel I'm still learning and it's my 20's all over again. I know we learn lessons at a time for a reason (and when we're ready for them) and I need to keep reminding myself of this.

Spelt

I experimented with spelt flour this morning. I'd like to incorporate it more into my cooking/baking. I did some reading before using it and it doesn't rise like regular white flour (it's more soluble) so to use less liquid. When my pancake recipe called for 1 cup of milk, I used 3/4c and I could have still gotten away with less. They weren't "big, fluffy" pancakes, but they were definitely still good (also made with cane sugar and vanilla from the Dominican Republic). I've included a picture (sorry, terrible quality. I wasn't bringing out the regular camera, so I used my phone, which was handy and nearby).

Spelt, by nutritional standards, has higher protein levels than regular white wheat varieties. It's also richer in B vitamins and fiber. They say the carbohydrates in spelt are helpful in enhancing the immune system (something we can always use) and helps to clot blood. It's been around for thousands of years; believed to be started in the Eastern Europe/Southwest Asia border. It became much more popular in Europe around 2500 B.C., then common in Britain around 500 B.C. It came to the United States late, around the 1890's but was replaced by bread wheat in the 20th century. Organic farmers are helping it make a comeback today due to its nutritional content.

Have you used spelt before? What were your results?

Relaxed

I sit with a glass of wine watching The Bishop's Wife (perhaps only a select few of you would be familiar with this movie). I have yet to add The Bells of St. Mary's to my collection. I'm sure there's another one I'm forgetting.

The constant go, go, go of the past couple days has subsided. I've kept things quiet today; no TV or radio and I've done nothing but study. My studies for the current course is done and I'm off for the rest of the year (until I pick up 2 more courses in January). So I've relaxed with dinner. Just leftovers. I still have tomorrow off with no plans. I'd like to go for a walk if it's decent out.

I guess I don't have much to write about tonight. A few things stirring in my head, that shall remain there. Hope you've had a good start to the week.