December 2008 Archives

Linda put this questionnaire up, and since I'm on vacation and being lazy, I figured I'd go ahead and answer the questions rather than thinking up something of my own. It turned out to be a fairly comprehensive review of 2008, including some stuff I had forgotten, like what I did on my birthday. Lucky for me I can look stuff up in this handy-dandy blog.

Of course, I kept getting interrupted, and then I had to bake a cake, and then the power kept going off because it is so windy here today, so this took a lot longer to do than I thought it would, and I missed Linda's deadline. But I did all the work, so I'm still posting the answers! Here is my look back at 2008.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?
Let's see... I made a wedding cake, catered a Christmas party, ran ten miles while training for a ten miler and tried kickboxing for the first time. I fell in love with kickboxing, but I won't be making any more wedding cakes.

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I kept some of them, but others are still a struggle. Maybe I'll just keep working on them in 2009. And probably a couple more besides.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yep, my friend Julie had a beautiful baby girl.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
My uncle Tommy, although sadly, we weren't close

5. What countries did you visit?
England! And it was fabulous.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
Well, I'd like to have a baby, or at least get pregnant and be on my way to having a baby by the end of 2009. And I'd sure like a nice, stable stock market so I can have some job security.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
November 19th, for the layoffs, November 22, because I had a great idea that day, and April 28th, the day we landed in London.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Probably that wedding cake, although I'm pretty proud of running ten miles too, because I really did not think I could do it.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Well, I spent most of the year moving in the opposite direction of my goal weight, which sucks. I feel like I let myself down. But, I am back on track.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I fell and hurt my knee while training for the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler, which a) hurt and b) made it impossible for me to run the whole ten miles on race day. But, even though I didn't get to run the race I wanted to run, I finished, and I was proud of that.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
It is a tossup between my new camera and my ginormous red patent leather purse.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
The American people's behavior, for electing Barack Obama.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Giant greedy corporations refusing to make sacrifices and begging for massive bailouts while ordinary Americans lost their jobs, their health insurance and their homes, with no help in sight from their government.

14. Where did most of your money go?
To my mortgage. And then probably to food.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Our trip to London, my college reunion, running ten miles, visiting my brother in Portland, kickboxing.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
Supermassive Black Hole and that damn Kid Rock song about Sweet Home Alabama.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? This is a tough one, as I've had a rough fall. I'm happier about some things, but sadder about others.
b) thinner or fatter? Slightly fatter, but THANK GOODNESS, almost back to where I started. Now I just have to keep my momentum going.
c) richer or poorer? Richer.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Relaxing, travelling, having fun, chasing my dreams.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Stressing out about things that are beyond my control.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
With family.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
All over again.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
Terminator, the Sarah Conner Chronicles, the Office, Sons of Anarchy, True Blood, Life, Torchwood (although I'm still pissed about the finale)

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Eh, hate is such a strong word.

24. What was the best book you read?
North River, by Pete Hamill. And fine, the Twilight books. Shut up! I loved them, and I don't care if you mock me. Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. Jim Butcher's latest books, Small Favor and Captain's Fury. Charlie Huston's Joe Pitt books. Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food. I read a lot. I love books. I can't list them all here.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
There must be one, but I'm drawing a complete blank.

26. What did you want and get?
Lots. And I'm grateful for it all.

27. What did you want and not get?
We talked about buying a new house, but put that off, because the timing did not seem right.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
In Bruges was my favorite movie of 2008, without a doubt. Slumdog Millionaire was a close second.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I ate Indian food and brownies. I turned 37.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Losing weight instead of gaining weight.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
I tried new stuff in 2008. Since high school, I've followed a "you can't go wrong with black" philosophy, and I decided it was time to branch out into some clothes with color. No crazy patterns or foofy ruffles mind you, but I did some experimenting. It was fun, I got a positive response from people who noticed and I'll keep doing it in 2009.

32. What kept you sane?
Exercise, my husband, my beloved dog, and my very good friends.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I think I watched every interview with the cast of Twilight that the Internet had to offer. *Hangs head in shame.* In my defense, the week the movie came out I was desperate to not think about the layoffs my company had just announced.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
That would be the election.

35. Who did you miss?
My friends. We're all so busy now that we don't get to see each other nearly enough, and we're scattered all over the country.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
I clearly need to work on meeting more new people.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
You can accomplish a lot of if you stop doubting yourself and just go for it, including running ten miles and making a wedding cake. I plan on applying that to new challenges in 2009.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
I'm not sure there is one. I had a complicated year. Plus, the only ones coming to mind are AC/DC lyrics, which don't really apply.

Here's to a geat 2009 for all of us. Happy New Year!

I have a colleague who is a wonderful baker. A while back, she went on a cookie baking spree, delighting everyone and bringing in new cookies to the office on a weekly basis. It got to the point where you practically had to elbow your way into the crowd in the kitchen in the morning to grab yourself a cookie first thing, or you got nothing. And these were not cookies to be missed. She made carrot cake cookies (ok, I hate carrot cake, but everyone else loved them) and shortbread cookies and fancy lacy cookies and savory cookies and really, just about every kind of cookie you might want. So the first time I had a Dutch Cocoa cookie, I picked it up at 10 am, and did not get around to eating it until late afternoon. Well, as soon as I tasted it, I had to email her and ask for the recipe. I believe I used the words "Where has this cookie been all my life?" and "I can't believe I waited so long to eat this cookie!"

She obligingly sent me the recipe, and everyone I've ever made them for has been as enthusiastic about them as I was. So my Christmas gift to you is to pass along the recipe.

2 cups of all purpose flour
¾ cup Dutch-process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

2 ½ sticks of butter, unsalted and at room temperature (you can get away with salted butter here)
2 cups of sugar, plus a little for "dusting"
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

Sift/mix together the first four ingredients together, then set aside.

In second bowl, combine the butter and sugar until well mixed
Add the vanilla to the butter and sugar, and then the eggs, one at a time.

Add flour mixture a little at a time until completely incorporated.

Wrap the dough in plastic and chill until firm, usually about one hour.

Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and roll in sugar to completely coat.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes until set in the middle.

This is very dense dough, and you'll be tempted to flatten them out a little bit on the cookie sheet before they bake. Do that, and you'll get a delicious, chocolatey, crispy cookie. Resist the urge to smush them, and you'll get pretty close to attaining pure cookie bliss - a luscious chocolate cookie with crispy edges and a soft chewy middle.

I love them both ways, and usually end up cooking about half of the batch flat and half unflattened. I just made a batch tonight, and I've already had three! One of them fell apart between the cookie sheet and the cooling rack, so I was obligated to eat that one, (in accordance with universal baking rules) but the other two were just because I find these cookies irresistible.

Hope you love them as much as I do. Merry Christmas, everyone!

If I had sat down to write this post at 9:30, the title probably would have been "...and Christmas can bite me" or something similarly bitter.

My dad is not answering his phone, his voicemail is full, and he's ignoring my text messages. He may or may not be coming for dinner tomorrow night.

My mom pitched a fit last year when I had to deviate from tradition and come over for dinner instead of breakfast. So this year, I did a lot of worrying about making sure we're going over there for breakfast. Naturally, today she got mad at me because we're not coming for dinner. I know we're the only people she'll see on Christmas, and I know she's sad that my brother can't come home for the holiday this year, but I had to put my foot down about that one. I don't see why I should have to come over for breakfast, go elsewhere for hours (and eat while we're at it) and then come back and have dinner. A dinner which she won't want to cook because she doesn't like to make vegetarian food. So I'd have to cook something.

Plus, since Saturday, all I've had left to do Christmas present wise -- aside from baking for family -- is to get copies of two photos made. I went to Target really early on Saturday so it wouldn't be crowded, but unfortunately, there was a woman scanning and cropping 50 different photos and I had to get to Borders, so I gave up after a few minutes and left. Tonight, after sitting in a traffic jam for over an hour to get home, I figured I would just go to Target and get it over with. So I fought my way through the mall traffic, parked a zillion miles away from the store and threaded my way through the crowds of cranky looking parents and overexcited children, only to see that the stupid scanning/printing machine is broken.

Needless to say, I arrived home feeling a little on the frustrated side. I didn't get to work out, I didn't accomplish my errand, and I'm still not finished with presents!

But then I had some dinner and figured I'd get started on the dough for the cookies I'm giving to family. It all has to chill, so I thought I'd mix it up tonight and bake tomorrow. There is just something so incredibly relaxing about measuring and mixing ingredients. By 10, I had achieved a more zen attitude about the state of my Christmas preparations. I'll try to get the photos tomorrow. If I can't, then those two presents will just have to be late. My mom can be pissed at me, or she can get over it, and that's really up to her. And my dad, well, we'll see if he shows up for dinner or not. I'll have food ready either way.

Then I wrapped presents while watching reruns of The Office. I feel so much better now! Thank you magical baking. And Jim Halpert.

I have fallen victim to a weird zipper curse. Just since September, I have somehow managed to break the zipper on:
• One very expensive purse
• One long plaid skirt
• One long black skirt
• One fancy pillow case for my contoured pillow

The zippers for the purse and the pillow case are completely non-functional, as in, they do not zip any more at all. You can move them back and forth, but the teeth refuse to connect with each other.
The zippers for the two skirts will go up, but only to a certain point, and today, the zipper on the black skirt got stuck and will no longer go up or down.

Thankfully, I was able to take it off over my head, or I would have ended up on the elliptical machine in a skirt and workout pants. I suppose it could have been the start of a new trend. I guess we'll never know.

I don't understand all this zipper trouble though. I admit the purse was probably my fault, and I suspect the pillowcase shrank in the wash. But it's not that the skirts don't fit. They are actually both a little bit too big. Have I lost the ability to use a zipper? I thought this was a technology I mastered years ago.

For years, I mocked my mom for carrying around mammoth purses. They hurt her shoulder and were always filled with stuff she didn't need from six months ago. They made her unorganized and inefficient and she could never find anything, I argued. Besides, who needed all that stuff? And I would gesture dramatically at whatever little purse I was using at the time, and say smugly "see, that's all the purse I need."

The years went by, and my purses got incrementally bigger with each new purchase. My last two bags in particular are quite a bit larger than my standard. And dammit, now I'm hooked on the big purses. I pulled out an old standby medium sized bag this past weekend, and it is driving me nuts. I have to arrange everything carefully to fit it all in properly. It doesn't have enough pockets and compartments for me to organize my stuff they way I like. Tonight at Target I needed to get a photo out of my bag so that I could be sure I was buying the right size frame. When I moved my wallet aside to get the photo, a bunch of receipts and business cards got tangled up with my wallet and fell out all over the floor. I picked them up, muttering to myself, and then in my usual coordinated fashion, stood up directly into the cart handle, whacking the back of my head really hard. Awesome.

I've fallen into the big purse trap, and I don't think I can get out of it. I'm not even sure I want to. Is this a sign that I'm turning into my mom?

Miracle the first: My giddy good mood.
It is silly I know, but kickboxing class makes me very happy. All day on Wednesday I look forward to going, and then I go, and I have fun, and I come home in a great mood. It's a good workout, but it is also a plain ol' good time. Tonight there were only three of us, so the teacher had us try some new things that we don't normally get to do. The jumping kicks were awesome. He's slightly horrified by my crappy punching though. I try, but I'm not keeping my arms close enough to my body when I hit the punching bag or something. Hopefully I'll get better at it at some point.

Miracle the second: quick hair repair
Bonus of curly hair that I just don't appreciate enough: the ability to wet it down and start over. My new haircut has bangs, which are new for me. I'm supposed to sort of pull them straight and sweep/tuck them off to the side. When I get it right, it looks very cute, but I'm still getting used to having them. Today at work I went into the bathroom and noticed that my bangs looked a little weird. I must have pulled an extra clump into the straight bit, because they were too thick. For once though, having curly hair worked in my favor, as I was able to put a little water on the extra bit, scrunch it up to be curly with my fingers, and voila, back to normal looking!

Miracle the third: Christmas spirit...slowly...growing.
With every present I buy, I feel myself getting a little bit more into Christmas. Coming home to my pretty Christmas tree helps too. I'm finally feeling some of that "goodwill toward men" that you expect to feel around this time of year. About damn time, right?

This past weekend we purchased and decorated our Christmas tree, and I didn't get too bitchy while I wrestled with the lights. I actually bought a couple of presents. I even started thinking about which cookies I will bake this year. I'm still struggling to get into the spirit of the season, but I'm working on it.

I have a long way to go, and a lot of presents to buy. My mom is being particularly unhelpful and not really giving me any suggestions. She had mentioned that she'd like home delivery of the Sunday New York Times, so I looked into that this morning. Do you know how much that costs? $6.40 per week! For ONE paper! Clearly, the New York Times has a very high opinion of itself. I don't care if it is the "all the news that's fit to print" it is not worth $6.40 per Sunday. So, yeah, back to square one on gift ideas for mom. I have no idea what my dad wants either. Or anyone else for that matter.

And only nine days left. I wonder how much I can order online tomorrow.

I'm participating in Jenn's Virtual Cookie Exchange by posting one of my favorite cookie recipes. These Honey Cookies are a nice change from the standard sugar cookie - the honey makes them mellower and the cinnamon gives them a hint of spice. My mom only made them at Christmas, so they are the ultimate Christmas cookie in my mind.

1 cup of shortening
½ cup brown sugar
½ to ¾ cup honey
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ¾ cups flour, sifted
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Cream the shortening and brown sugar well. Beat in the honey, egg and vanilla.

Sift the dry ingredients together and add to the liquid a little at a time until completely blended.

Chill the dough for at least 3 hours.

Roll out the dough on a well floured surface (it will be sticky) to ¼ inch thickness and cut with floured cookie cutters.

Bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. You should watch them closely, because if they get too brown, they lose their chewiness. You may want to reduce the oven temperature slightly if your oven runs hot.

Allow them to cool, then frost and decorate. I make a traditional buttercream frosting and then thin it out with just a little bit of extra milk. You can see an example of what they look like here. Please excuse my less than stellar decorating skills.

Buttercream frosting recipe, should you need one (this probably makes more than you need for just the cookies):
1 lb confectioner's sugar
½ cup butter, softened
3-4 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream the butter and sugar together, then add the vanilla. Gradually add the milk until the frosting reaches the consistency you want.

For my pal Becky, who has known me for years, but who has never seen me with straight hair, because I am too lazy to go to the effort of blowing it out straight myself:

Now you know!

It's a well established fact that I'm a terrible sleeper. I've spent many a night lying in bed with my mind going a million miles a minute, unable to stop thinking and go to sleep. Lately my anxiety levels may have been running a bit higher than usual, what with layoffs and the economy and the stupid stock market combining into an unstoppable force bent on keeping me awake.

Over the years I've learned to at least distract myself from going around in destructive circles like that. So instead, I think about something else. I have fake conversations with people - sometimes people I know, sometimes celebrities or public figures I find interesting. I write copy. I make up stories. Whatever it takes to eventually calm my mind down so I can fall asleep. Lately, perhaps because I've run out of ways to say "This is an unprecedented situation, fuck if we know what's going to happen next. But don't give up on stocks just yet!" I've taken to thinking about marketing challenges that don't relate to my job. Specifically, how to market movies.

I got started thinking about this topic after seeing a trailer (twice!) for some new Nicholas Cage movie about numbers buried in a time capsule and then they are dug up and they seem to predict natural disasters or something. They did a terrible job with this preview. I still have no idea what the movie is about or why on earth I would want to go see it. Then I started thinking about what the website for the movie should have on it to convince people to give it a shot. The best I could come up with was some sort of interactive "punch in a date and see what disaster is going to happen" kind of widget. I think I need to know more about what the plot of the movie is.

So then I started thinking about how Summit Entertainment just announced that they are going to make New Moon, and how they will want to keep the momentum they've got from Twilight going and how there will probably be pressure to equal that $70 million opening.

Now that's a movie I understand how to market. In my head, I have built these people - and I don't know enough about the movie industry to know whether it is the producers or the distributors who would be responsible for a website - a site for New Moon that rocks. It is very web 2.0 and totally designed to build buzz and keep Twilight fans engaged and excited for however long it takes to get the next installment of the franchise ready. I've got it all mapped out in my head, and I have to say, I've done a pretty impressive job. Too bad it will never exist!

Now if only I could find a way to use my powers of insomnia for good, instead of plotting imaginary websites.

I have not been able to get into the Christmas spirit yet. Many of my neighbors have their Christmas lights up, but I have not felt even the slightest urge to decorate. Christmas songs on the radio are annoying me - particularly at the gym. I do not want to sweat along to some new hip hop version of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

I'm also sick of Christmas themed commercials already. I find the toys they used in the "Get yourself a Christmas Mercedes" commercial creepy. Also, who buys a car for Christmas? Someone must though, because I saw holiday car ads for Mercedes, Acura and Ford. I think it was Ford. Some kind of truck, anyway. Then there's the get the "Best Gifts Ever" from Radio Shack campaign, which is just a flat out lie. I beg to differ, Radio Shack. You do not have the best gifts ever.

Speaking of gifts, I have no good ideas for what to give anyone this year. I don't even particularly want anything for myself. See? No Christmas spirit whatsoever.

How about you? Have you decorated? Done your shopping?