One day when I’m a senior (~65+), I will be as uninhibited as the old lady I met today. She was demonstrating some moves they teach you at Curves, a women’s gym.
“They do moves like this… and this… and these kicks, like that. It works your arms, legs, your butt, your whole body. I mean the treadmill’s nice but that’s just walking.” She had nothing but a shower cap on. My glasses were off so you can imagine what I saw… it’s like the censor blur on TV. Myopia isn’t all bad all the time.
Last week, we were getting 60/70-degree weather. It felt like Spring! Last night, I was ice skating around the parking lot. Still, as the days are getting longer my mind’s wandering towards what to grow in my bunny salad bar this year. It won’t be for another month at least though.
For now, I have my indoor garden to keep me occupied.
This little phaleonopsis started as a keiki (baby offshoot) on one of our larger orchids. After allowing her to grow fairly large and sturdy (3 or so leaves and a decent root system) we separated and potted her. The parent ended up withering away, but as you can see from the flower bulbs, this plant is doing very well.
Rarely do I ever get excited about work. I know, it’s sad, and a little bad, but it’s hard to be enthused by regulations and accountability reports. To sort of keep things interesting for me, I started volunteering in a committee to plan seminars for our organization. Basically, we get speakers to present topics that are of interest to our audience and helpful to their jobs. For example, one of the seminars was about the multi-generational workplace. Understanding the differences among veterans, boomers, gen-x, and y helps us to overcome possible conflicts and maybe even use those differences to our benefit. These seminars are usually zero budget with an audience of about 150 people and a crowd of webcast watchers. I’m trying to push for our audience to webcast more because it saves gas! But there are obstacles to that, remember the generational-divide issue I mentioned earlier?
So the reason why I’m all excited now is because of next month’s seminar. One lady, who normally isn’t in our committee, somehow was able to get John Christensen, the author of Fish! to present for us!! He’s a bit of a celebrity author and I’m so excited, I’m bringing his books to the presentation so he can sign them. I’ll keep you posted if there’s a webcast. Did I mention I am EXCITED?!?! I hope I catch a fish. :)
These aren’t really cupcakes. They’re traditionally made in small bowls. So they’re bowlcakes. Typically, you make them for Lunar New Years or whenever you feel like having some. Supposedly, if your cakes rise and have that cracked open risen look to it, it’s a fortuitous sign. Or you could always just buy them from the Asian market, but what’s the fun in that? This was strictly my mom’s project. I was just the photographer, spectator, commenter, part-time sous chef, and eater. Mostly just eater.
I like eating these things mainly because of the texture and chew. They’re not crumbly like regular cakes, they’re sort of sproingy chewy. I’m sharing this recipe because it’s a traditional food, and sometimes there’s a nostalgia/culture-value to eating them.
They’re supposed to puff up more than the ones in the picture. This was attempt #1. There was an attempt 2 and 3.
3 cups rice flour (typically you soak rice, blend it with a bit of water until it’s very fine, then put the mush into a cloth bag and either press or drip it free of water, maybe 6 or so hours)
1 c. sugar
1.5 c. water
3/4 c. flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
8 small bowls (or little teacups)
Dissolve the sugar in the water and add it to the rice flour. Add flour and baking powder. Fill the bowls and steam them for a half an hour. I like them warm, and they’re reheatable in the microwave.
Here’s attempt three. They’re brown because of the brown sugar.
These have successfully risen. Now I will proceed to the final step in which I chow down. Mmm! Great with coffee or tea!
Just so you know, it wasn’t the brown sugar that made these turn out right. It was the amount of water. The ones that didn’t come out so well had too much water. The batter should be relatively thick. Like cake batter.
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Everything sounds hunky dory ‘cept for the part about trying to get all the dealers back on board. Guess that’s why they haven’t been mailing me any movies for almost two months.
On the phone with Sis doing a crossword puzzle.
Me: Gimme another one
S: Native tribe, 7 letters, middle letter is a P
Me: Sioux, Wigwam…
S: …
Me: Squanto
S:Those don’t even have a p
Me: Pocahontas… Teepee…
Me: Oh I know, let’s say all the Indian words we know and see who runs out.
S: No
Me: C’mon. I’ll start. Cherokee
S: Geronimo
Me: Dakota
S: Seminole
Me: Brenda Eaglefeather
S: Hey that was my penpal from grade school. Powhatan. I’m glad I watched Pocahontas.
Me: Potomac
S: Hopi
Me: Dances With Wolves
S: …
Later…
S: This is so silly.
Me: Fine then, you pick another category.
S: European royal dynasties
Me: No! Ok I’ll start. Spencer
S: Spencer?
Me: Yeah Lady Diana Spencer.
S: That’s not a royal dynasty.
Me: Oh. Mmm… Tudor.
S: Good one. Windsor.
Me: Genghis Khan
S: Wrong continent
Me: The old lady Aquitaine
S: Eleanor? That’s not a… ok fine kings and queens are ok too. Isabelle. *see update below
Me: Henry
S: Which one?
Me: Let’s start with the first and I’ll work my way down.
S: Haha. Xerxes
Me: Hirohito
S: William the Conqueror
Me: Chen Water Flat
S:…
*UPDATE from last night 2-10-08* Isabella
(history lesson from S: It’s Isabell-ah, Spanish name. She was from Castile, her husband was Ferdinand of Aragon.
Me: You’re adopted.)
This is the year of the rat. The story goes, the twelve animals in the zodiac had a race. Knowing he couldn’t outrun the other animals, he rode on the horns of the ox and just before crossing the finish line, he jumped off the ox to win the race. That is why the rat is first in the zodiac. Clever indeed.
Sending everybody good thoughts of health and happiness for this year. Kung Hsi Fa Ts’ai!
I’ve been playing with makeup recently. Foundation. It’s part of the Lent thing. Do something artsy everyday til Easter. I have it on right now but I’m sitting at home in my pjs. I’m trying to figure out if I like this stuff (Maybelline) or another make and model. I think I like the other stuff (L’oreal) better even though the Maybelline is mineral based. Mineral is supposedly better. Higher SPF and good for skin? I dunno if those claims are based on anything beyond smart marketing. Anyway, there has to be over a dozen varieties of foundations, and that’s just the drugstore variety. It’s all so baffling. I’m so amazed at how my blemishes and uneven skin tone miraculously disappears. It’s actually kinda’ fun.
The other night, I was trying to get all my makeup off by washing my face. I discovered that just regular facewash and water doesn’t really do the trick. So I tried lotion and it worked nicely. If you have any unscented lotion, it’ll probably work. I used Cetaphil and the runny consistency made it easy to use. I like it better than cold cream which I find effective, but a bit heavy. Just slather it on, rub it around, even around the eyes (I hope that’s ok), and wipe it off with tissues. All the makeup comes off with the goop. Easy.
Happy Fat Tuesday!! Yum yum! This means I need to think of what I want to give up for Lent again. What a conundrum. I’m pretty content with myself these days, vice-wise anyway. It’s not that I don’t have bad habits (coffee, YouTube, gluttony, sloth, etc.) but I just don’t feel like I want to give them up. I like my coffee and YouTube, and don’t you dare take away my food! People who hang around me probably like that I drink my coffee too. So it works out.
My cousin showed me this Asshole Mario game on YouTube. It’s unbelievably assholey. I bow down to the person who has the patience and skills to pass these levels.
Warning: Not for people with weak constitutions. There’s a lot of dyin’ going on. Poor Mario.
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