Humor
Ditching The Resolutions: In Praise Of Those Who Tried & Failed
Did you know that there’s an official holiday dedicated to those people who make New Year’s Resolutions then fail to stick with them?
[More about it here.]
I was unaware of this holiday but stumbled upon it while doing some research about Julian versus Gregorian calendars.
[More about that topic here.]
It would seem to me, a person who doesn’t make resolutions, that this holiday has a message for all of us– if only to remind us that sometimes good ideas don’t work out the way we think they will.
[More about not resolving here.]
That is to say, where is the harm in taking time to think about what you’d like to change in your life and then giving it a go– if only for a few weeks?
[Statistical analysis of resolutions here.]
Sometimes it’s enough to acknowledge that you need a new perspective on things without going all bonkers about changing everything about yourself on the first try.
[Discussion of issues revolving around successful keeping of resolutions here.]
Of course, for the people who make, then keep their New Year’s Resolutions, today is just another day.
[Inspirational poem here.]
But for the rest of us, even if we never resolve, today is, in my estimation, a guilt-free fun day to take stock of our personal foibles + unfulfilled goals– of which I have many. 😉
In Which I Explain That I’m Not A Cornflake
I like Janet. She knows things. She is encouraging. She is her own style muse. And her name? So easy to remember. { image source }
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Having reached Level 1000 in Candy Crush Soda Saga, I decided to give it up and download a new game onto my smart phone. To play the new game I had to create a user name, a nickname as the game called it.
Anyone who knows me knows that wordsmith-ery and problem-solving are my strengths in life. Thus, you’d think that I’d be a wiz at creating nicknames, wouldn’t you?
But in this case I became frustrated, almost flaked out, because I couldn’t find one that was not already in use. I mean I tried basic ones, then I tried what I thought were unique names for moi and to a one, these names were all were taken.
Teal Flower? GONE.
BeeBeeBee? GONE.
One Fine Gamegirl? GONE.
So eventually, being a woman with a large vocabulary who prides herself on perseverance & perspicacity, I decided to turn this problem on its head and do the opposite of what I thought made sense. Hence, instead of describing myself as I am, I chose to describe myself as I am not.
And guess what? Using this shrewd reverse-thinking approach I found a nickname that wasn’t taken.
Yes, my gentle readers, please share in my amazement that NOT A CORNFLAKE was an available nickname, that is now mine.
So on that rather absurd note, with joy in my heart about life’s funny moments, I’m back to blogging.
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How ‘ya been? What’s new with you? Got a nickname that you care to share?
Just say something in the comments below. Talk to me.
I missed all of you.
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In Which Ms. Bean Finds A Recipe & Makes It Her Way
Saw the recipe. Thought it sounded good.
Made the recipe using ingredients I had on hand. Ingredients that were close enough to those listed in the recipe.
Similar.
Didn’t have apple cider, so used pomegranate juice instead. Most of a small bottle.
Didn’t have the specific aromatic spices required so substituted Penzey’s mulling spices. Put about a teaspoon of them in a tea ball, so I wouldn’t have to strain the mess through cheesecloth later.
Lazy, but thinking ahead.
Didn’t have a clementine in the house. Contemplated using a grapefruit, that was in the house, but decided that the tanginess of the pomegranate juice would not be improved with grapefruit zest in this recipe.
Also, I’m a messy zester, thus it came to be that no citrus was added.
Didn’t have any fresh ginger, so used crystallized ginger. Two pieces.
Didn’t have the requisite amount of castor sugar, so used the end of the cane sugar in the bottom of the sugar bowl. About three tablespoons.
Probably.
Put tea ball with spices into juice in a saucepan. Brought the mess to a boil, allowing it to simmer on the stove top for a while. Took out tea ball, added sugar. Mixed mess around until sugar dissolved, then let sweetened mess simmer on very low heat until it thickened into a syrup.
The result?
Delicious, drizzled on fresh fruit salad. Or added, a splash at time, to a glass of red wine.
The recipe?
Vaguely adhered to.
The friend’s response?
Shock + dismay that I didn’t follow the recipe as written, but a request for the recipe exactly as I made it.
As if I have any idea… 🙄
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QUESTION OF THE DAY
Do you follow recipes precisely as written OR do you wing it as you go along?
And how does that work out for you?
THE SPECTACLED BEAN 