Today I discovered confectionary perfection.
Mother of god. Can I just say that cake pops are quite possibly the best thing that ever happened to dessert?
It’s cake.
On a stick.
And it’s all rolled up in that yummy hard frosting, festooned with candy bits.
So I bought some funfetti cake pop mix from Vons and made some cake pops with my sisters.
They’re really easy to make, there’s just a fair amount of time in between steps.
There’s the mixing time.Read More »
I rather like audiobooks now.
I found this novel through Wikipedia, picking it up after discovering that the audiobook is read by my favorite actor, Tom Hiddleston.
I downloaded the audiobook, 6.6 hours of his beautiful voice, and finished it in 2 days.
I have bought several audiobooks and left them all unfinished. I credit my inability to finish them to the fact that most of the readers have boring voices and their method of distinguishing each character is to merely lower or heighten the pitch of their voices throughout the dialogue.
However, not surprisingly, Tom Hiddleston broke that standard.
I could hardly tell one person was reading the book, the voices were so different. He used a score of accents, ranging from his native English accent to Scottish, Irish, French, even vaguely Russian and more.
Aside from my obvious satisfaction with his reading, the book is quite gripping.
The title is a reference to the guillotine, the “bloody altarpiece” of the French Revolution, and to the necklace of red garnets found on murder victims throughout the book, the gems described as looking “drop of congealed blood.”
It tells the story of a Parisian Romani boy named Yann Margoza, a magician’s assistant and a young French aristocrat, Sidonie de Villeduval, at the time of the Revolution.
“Sido” is a beautiful, kind girl with a limp, and she is despised by her father, the Marquis de Villeduval. The Marquis is obsessed with possessions and his estate, spending lavishly even though he is bankrupt. He is indebted to the illusive and fabulously wealthy Count Kallivoski.
Following a fateful final performance, Yann is forced to flee to London. He grows up, becoming a gentleman with a bright future.
Kallivoski has taken an unhealthy interest in Sido and blackmails the Marquis into consenting to a marriage between the two. Yann embarks on a journey to save her from the Revolution and the Count alike.
It is an extremely well-written book.
Gardner writes exceedingly clever phrases to describe the setting and characters, using “varicose veins” to describe hidden passageways and citing that one man has an”entirely too generous helping of teeth.”
Check out this book or order it on amazon here!
Food art.
I believe the media lacks focus on food art.
I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I used to take potato chips and try to figure out which one of my classmates the chip resembled.
Yeah. You know you’ve tried this.
I like food art because it combines my two favorite things:
Food
and weird stuff. Or cool stuff. Take your pick.
Apple art was a new thing to me. But I enjoy it immensely.
Seriously, is that not way too cool?
I wish I had the patience and skill to make food art.
But, unfortunately for me, I have no -or possibly negative- talent in art.
In fact, every time I get an “artsy” assignment in school, my grade goes down. Sometimes dramatically.
I have come to realize that the BBC puts forth irrefutably superior television programs.
While I enjoy American television shows like Hawaii Five-0, Lost, Human Target, Life and How I Met Your Mother, I have to admit that the BBC’s series are far better.
I was introduced to the wonderful world of Doctor Who in early January of this year. After watching one episode (“The Shakespeare Code,” episode 2, series 3), I was hooked.
I appreciate the overall quality of the show. The actors portraying the Doctor in their respective series are divine. I first saw David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, but I loved Matt Smith as the Eleventh. I still cannot figure out which one is my Doctor.
I also think it is refreshing that the show does not require spectacular special effects to make it wonderful. While none of the visual effects look shoddy or unprofessional, it doesn’t look like the show is trying to be a multi-million dollar Hollywood film.
“But you didn’t have to cut me off
Make it like it never happened and that we were nothing
I don’t even need your love, but you treat me like a stranger
And that feels so rough
No, you didn’t have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records
And then change your numberGuess that
I don’t need that though
Now you’re just somebody that I used to know.”
-“Somebody That I Used to Know“, Gotye
This song stuck in anyone else’s head?
Yeah. I thought so. For the longest time I could NOT figure out what this song was or who it was by. But finally I did and I love it.
The music video is surprisingly good. Very artistic and mellow, but not enough to be considered hipster.
And I suppose Wally de Backer is alright cute.
Gotta admit though… the reason I wrote this post was to show you this picture:
That shared, I’m done.
I haven’t written in two weeks because my mind is so completely and utterly BLOWN.
I expected The Avengers to be funny, action-packed and epic.
I was wrong.
So very, very wrong.
I FOUND MY NEW FAVORITE MOVIE!
Three.
I saw it 3 times in 24 hours.
Is that too much? Probably.
Do I think it’s too much?
OH HECK NO!
I went once with my sisters, once with my friend, theycallmedame, and once with my parents.
It was HILARIOUS.
EXPLODING with action.
BEYOND epic.
And over all, just MARVELous and absolutely MAGNIFICENT.
As each second passed, I died a little with happiness.
I saw it again last Saturday for theycallmedame’s birthday.
Bringing my views up to a grand total of 4. I’m very proud.
I am exceedingly happy about how well it has done critically and in the box office.
Rotten Tomatoes is famously picky. Despite the pickiness,The Avengers earned a 93% approval rating from critics and a 96% approval rating from viewers, dubbing the film “fresh.”
The box office reflected its success even better.
The Avengers broke the record for biggest of opening weekend of all time, domestically earning $207,438,708 million dollars in three days. The record was previously held last year’s summer blockbuster, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, which earned $169.2 million.
After just 19 days in theaters (only 10 days in the U.S.) it passed the $1 billion dollar mark, making it one of only 12 movies in the history of cinema to reach that enormous sum.
It also claimed the record for biggest opening week ($270,019,373 million) of any film ever and biggest second week ($103,052,274 million), beating Avatar‘s second week ($75.6 million) by a landslide.
I have to admit, I got a Tumblr just so I could look at Avengers-related photosets and gifs.
Bottom line:
GO SEE IT!!!! YOU WON’T BE SORRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can’t even tell you how excited I am for The Avengers to hit theaters!
When I was a little girl, my parents took me to vacation at the family beach house in Ventura. The bedroom I slept in had a chest of drawers and in the bottom drawer was a mountain of original Marvel and DC comic books. There were Spiderman and Batman, Justice League and Avengers comics piled so high that the drawer barely closed. I used to sit on the floor at the foot of the bed for hours, reading and rereading all these strange, colorful stories.
And so I became enamored of the Marvel Universe (Batman was a separate favorite). Naturally, I went to see all the Marvel movies when they came out.
I absolutely adore Robert Downey Jr. The first movie I saw that he starred in was Iron Man. It is one of my very favorite movies, Iron Man 2 was better though.
I saw The Incredible Hulk, Captain America and Thor.
And those movies were good. Really good. I love action movies, attractive people and super heroic snazziness. And Marvel movies have those three things in spades.
My sisters are on their first backpacking trip, and they get back Friday.
They’re super cool and they like all the same actors and actresses as I do, so we’re going to have a freak-out party in the theater when we go to see it the night they get back.
Oh yes, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth (not a fan of Liam but Chris is amazing), Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson all in one movie????
It is going to be magnificent. I can’t wait!!!
There’s always that one band you listen to in your early teen years that you never forget.
When I was 13, I discovered All Time Low and fell completely in love.
I usually like one or two songs by a band. Four songs TOPS.
But All Time Low…they were different for me.
To date, they’ve recorded 4 albums and one EP.
The Party Scene (2005)
EP: Put Up or Shut Up (2006)
So Wrong, It’s Right (2007)
Nothing Personal (2009)
I love the ocean. But I’m reaaaallllyyy lazy when it comes to actually getting into the water.
Today it was hot and sunny and absolutely beautiful outside. But I had no motivation to get in the ocean.
My mom probably asked me 7 times to go paddle-boarding with her. I think I just took a nap instead, I can’t actually remember.
But when I finally stopped being so sluggish, I agreed and we got in the water.
We paddled out and I absent-mindedly started singing “Starlight” by Muse.
All of the sudden, I heard a strange whooshing noise to my left. I turned and saw a baby gray whale, staring at me. 
I freaked out and almost fell off my board into a kelp bed I was so excited.
“MMMMMMMOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!” I screamed, I yelled so loud some of the surfers nearby gave me a sideways look.
“Loookkkeeeyyy!” I exclaimed, pointing frantically at the foamy white water where the whale has just disappeared.
She turned just in time to see the whale poke his head up at us. He seemed to wink, one large eye closing just before he went back under.
“Follow that whale!”
We tailed him long enough to see there were two adults with him. They each let out a happy spout as they traveled up the coast.
No doubt they were heading for the food-rich waters of Alaska. They gray whales pass up the California coast each year, an annual migration from Baja, Mexico up where they breed to Alaska, where the feed.
After a while, we lost them in the blinding reflection of the late afternoon sun.
We waved goodbye and started paddling back home. But after about 5 minutes, I saw a shining black flash peeking out from within a cresting wave.
“MMMMOOOOOOOMMMMM!” I yelled again, pointing and bouncing up and down on my board.
She looked, only to see the bubbles of its disappearing shape, as it dove deep beneath the surface.
We started back again, seeing another pair of whales as we got closer to the beach. They were far out in the distance, surfacing and playing in the middle of a swarm of seabirds, their dark backs glistening in the sun.
We got so excited about seeing them that we watched a documentary on gray whales after dinner. It was truly an amazing day.
I LOVE WHALES!
I stumbled upon a book today, The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz.
My dad told me about the Four Agreements when I was in third grade. Being an 8-year-old, I thought nothing of them.
But now, they are of value to me.
The Four Agreements are devices used to end needless suffering. By following the Agreements, one can (in theory) achieve serenity.
The Four Agreements are:
1. Be Impeccable with your Word: Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the Word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your Word in the direction of truth and love.
2. Don’t Take Anything Personally
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.
3. Don’t Make Assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
4. Always Do Your Best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.
I find the first three to be the most helpful to me personally. Number 2, Number 1 and Number 3 (in that order) are what will reducing my suffering the most and the most quickly.
The book has each of the Agreements as the subject of a chapter. Ruiz goes on to explore each Agreement in depth, providing examples for the reader and from his own experience.
The concept of the Four Agreements is based off of ancient Toltec teachings. The book, and the Agreements themselves are really, truly worth a look.
Ruiz emphasizes that much of suffering comes from selfishness and the unwillingness to let others see our imperfections. It is a bit of a blow to the ego, reading about how we are the sole cause of our suffering and anxiety. But nonetheless, a much-needed blow.
So seriously, check it out. Maybe start your attempt at serenity today. I think I have.
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