Scratch

"Non-cooks think it's silly to invest two hours' work in two minutes' enjoyment; but if cooking is evanescent, so is the ballet."  ~Julia Child

I talked before about how I am a "from scratch" girl when it comes to cooking.  I completely and totally enjoy the feeling of satisfaction I get from making something so well that people can't stop talking about it--no matter the effort.

It's why I do Thanksgiving at my house every single year.  People are always wanting to help and I just can't do it.  I have to do it. I finally have a system of doing things so that the day of the feast, I actually have time to relax and mingle while things cook.

I say all this to get to this point...

I bought a cookbook put out by Taste of Home and Reader's Digest.  I expected to find from scratch recipes, and a lot of it is.  However, upon further inspection there are recipes in there calling for refrigerated doughs of various breads and certain pre-mixed spices.  WHAT?!

Thinking about it, yes, I get that not everyone likes to do things from scratch. But why not put the recipe for the dough and spice mixes somewhere else in the book?  Would that really be all that difficult?

I'll keep the book because there are quite a few recipes in there that I know the husband will appreciate and they speak to me.  I can't help but feel disappointed in these companies' choice to omit the full from scratch recipes.

I know some of you out there are staring at the screen and have that blank look, and others of you are probably rolling your eyes because you can't fathom why on earth I wouldn't want to make things easier on myself.

Let's look at it from a couple of different angles...

Ladies... 

A majority of girls begin planning their weddings from the time they are able to understand what a wedding is. Once you're engaged, you go into overdrive with all the detailing. There's the photographer, videographer, disc jockey or band, officiant, ceremony site, reception site, seating...well you get the idea.

My point is that you do all this planning and the ceremony lasts fifteen to thirty minutes.  The reception lasts three to six hours on average.  You've had months if not years of planning for a few hours of celebration.  Why not just run to a chapel or Justice of the Peace and then hang out with friends?

Gentlemen...

Your favorite athletes practice plays numerous days a week during their sport's regular season.  They watch footage from other games to study their opponents.  They train for hours upon hours in the off-season. They get paid the big bucks because they are such good athletes.  

If they're so good, then why do they need the practice, training, and studying?  Can't they just go out and do their job without having to deal with all the mess and risk injury during practice?

Kids, Teens, Adolescents...

Going to school and doing homework...such a pain, right?  You do tons of homework, study, do presentations, and take tests.  You go through three to five stages of education.  What are you doing all that for?  Because good grades can get you scholarships or grants.  Most importantly, the jobs that pay well, hire people with degrees and social skills.  

The effort I put out is nothing compared to the reward I receive.  Pride and personal satisfaction.

Vanity

I truly hate this subject, but I can't get it out of my head.  A conversation I had with a friend earlier is playing on a loop in my head like a song I can't forget but desperately want to. When I need to get a song out of my head, I play it, so by deductive reasoning, in order to get this out of my head, I need to "get it down on paper"--so to speak.

We were having a conversation about this person being in search of a relationship, and how some people had just been downright rude. This person is on a singles website--a social network for singles--and has been receiving and sending messages to people. Some have responded with a simple "thanks, but no thanks" which is fine; it basically means "not interested."

Sadly, some people have decided to take the "thanks, but no thanks" a bit too far. Saying things like "you're ugly" or "maybe you should give up." WOW! Where the hell do people get off labeling someone as ugly? This person isn't gorgeous, but they most certainly aren't lacking in the looks department.

Take a good long look in a mirror, and excuse the hell out of me, but who exactly is "ugly" here?  Ugly would be the attitude.  Just because someone doesn't live up to a standard you have placed so high up on a pedestal that few are bound to reach, doesn't give you the right to judge them.  If you're such a catch, then what is your happy ass butt doing on a singles' site looking for a relationship?  Check yourself, because you are a wreck!

I actually started to feel bad for my friend, but then they made matters worse, and I no longer felt sorry for them.  I pitied them.  Why?

Because not five minutes later, they're talking about someone that had messaged them, and how they couldn't respond because the person was so horrible looking that they could have a nightmare.

What the...?








I'm not one to sugarcoat or hide my feelings when I get peeved which is sometimes my downfall, so I told my friend that they were being an asshat jerk! It's called karma you dumbass freak!  You say things like that about others, and it's liable to come back to bite you in the arse!

They were a bit taken aback by my response, but after a lengthy discussion, then realized that they had offended with the exact action that they were accusing the other person of committing. 

WAKE UP CALL

**head meet desk**

"The surest cure for vanity is loneliness"
~Thomas Wolfe

Obsessions: Good or evil?

I know that it's ridiculous to obsess over certain things. For instance, obsessing over the one strand of gray, tucked neatly away under a lock of hair or a picture frame having a glare so bright that it can't be seen when you're standing right in front of it. Yes, I obsess over things like this. I know it's ridiculous but let's call it what it is. I have a mild case of OCD.

For the last...oh, let's say year...I've been obsessing over grammar usage.  The only time I really don't care is when I am so angry that I can't think straight.  Yes, I'm talking about cursing.  I'm not going to lie, I curse.  Frequently.  It's a bad habit and one of these years I may make a resolution to fix that. ((Then again, see yesterday's post)). It drives my husband, among others, crazy.  You know who you are, don't lie.

I will admit, there are times when I fail at grammar--it's rare, but it happens--and no, I am not including the times when I am irrational in my cursing technique.  Sometimes I think cursing should be a language of it's own like Pig-Latin, which, let's be honest, borders on spoonerism.  Honestly it isn't just grammar, but spelling is included in this huge little annoyance.

On the grammar side of things:

Your vs You're

One is possession (your) and the other is a conjunction (you're).  

Conjunctions can show past or present tense, though some may disagree.

I however, don't.

Your shirt is too small.

You're (you are/were) being ridiculous.

There vs Their vs They're

I know! Three words, same sound different meanings. 

No wonder the English language is considered to be one of the most difficult languages to learn!

One is position (there), one is possession (their) and again the last is a conjunction (They're).

There you are!

Their kids are noisy!

They're (they are) going to have another baby!

Its vs It's

Possession (its) and conjunction (it's).

Let the cat play with its toy.

It's (it is) all going to work out.

There are so many others, that I could go on and on! (Than vs Then, Should of vs Should have, Toward(s), Backward(s)) Maybe I'll scribe about those another time.  I digress...

I know; it's so simple, right? Apparently not, but that's why there are book editors, language teachers, English professors, etc... I know, most of us hated our English/Language Arts teachers in school, but there is an actual reason for them. Shocking, I know!

So why am I going on about this?  Because I have been reading through emails, magazines and even some very good published works that, apparently, were not edited or didn't have an educated editor.  It's unbelievable how many pieces are published that have such horrible mistakes.  I'm speaking of some media sites (AP News, Fox News, Yahoo! News)!  If these "professionals" are able to make mistakes like that, then why can't we all be writers/editors/publishers?  No one would be jobless!

It's a scary and intriguing thought.
Am I good or evil?