Sometimes, you just don’t feel like being sociable. This is what this is all about. Yes, you can come over, yes, you can invite them for a beer, fine, have them for dinner.
Just keep in mind, I will be naked and in a bad mood.
Posted by: patriciamar | March 17, 2009
But I will be naked and in a bad mood
Posted in Etc.
Posted by: patriciamar | March 13, 2009
Bad News Bears
I used to be a fairly avid New York Times reader. Nowadays, I find that I log on about once a month rather than once a day. Reading the constant news about the economy and how it’s too dangerous to visit Mexico (yeah, right) is only depressing. Also, as I mentioned earlier, I am really looking for things in my life to be a little lighter, more positive, and perhaps gleeful. When I have to decide whether I am going to spend the next few years suffering over the economic crisis and downturn of the markets or just live in a world with a bit less news (okay, a lot less news) and a life of current event ignorance, I think I might choose the ignorance.
I think maybe I’ll get my news from other sources… people watching, maybe even talking to real people, (talking to people about the economic crisis doesn’t count). I’ll give this a try and see if I can find out more (and better) news from the Actual Real World. Not the supposed real world that is in the news. I hope that I have a little more faith than that.
Right now, just headlines seem to be enough to get the gist of what’s going on without having to suffer through the depressing articles. Is this a contest? Who can come up with the worst news? nationwide? worldwide? Thank goodness for podcasts so you can actually sit and listen to radio shows that have a purpose and have a purpose higher than telling you how bad it is in the world right now.
I am not a huge fan (or expert) on the field of economics, but I do know that many times economists forget to mention one important aspect. People are important.
You constantly hear how confidence is down, confidence is down. But it seems the only response the media has is to tell you that confidence is down and how the markets, currency, etc. have plummeted due to this drop in confidence. What a way to build confidence. How interesting that when the initial stimulus plan was in progress, the markets seemed to go up a bit… steady fluctulence at the least. Now this stimulus plan has been ripped apart and insulted by the media (and politicians) so much that it seems that people aren’t even that hopeful about it anymore.
Yesterday, I actually did go on the New York Times, and there was an article about how many big city newspapers are declaring bankrupcy or shutting down. I think I would like to see the content of these papers over their last few months. Will they go out with a bang and give the worst bad news Ever(!) in order to really be that big bad news headline of the day!? Or will they stop biting the hand that feeds them, and at least report on news in a well-rounded, educational, informative, and helpful manner?
We’ll see.
I love newspapers, so I wish them luck. For now, I am going to be positive that at least a few will pull through.
Posted in Etc., reading | Tags: bankrupcy, economic crisis, glee, New York Times, newspapers, positive
Posted by: patriciamar | March 12, 2009
Quart ‘o Milk
I made it almost five years, but now, finally, I have buckled. For five years I have watched Matt drink milk out of the carton, and for five years, I have resisted. Now, here I am, watching Friends, eating marzipan, and drinking milk out of the carton. What a man. In my defense, at least the milk cartons here are only one quart, and I drink 0% vet milk and Matt drinks lots of vet milk, so we each have our own quart. It’s much less disgusting.
I also heard my recorded voice the other day and it sounded manly. Shoot.
Posted by: patriciamar | March 12, 2009
Deliciousness
It seems that my writing has evolved into a faithful and loving devotion towards European sweets and- of course- bread and cheese. I almost apologize, but not really.
My life revolves around bread and cheese. When I am eating it, it’s like I’m in another world.
When it’s almost gone, I start to worry about when I will get some next, and what kind I will get. Young Gouda? Graskaas? Oud Gouda? Brie? Roombrie? Camembert? Emmentaler? Port Salut? Will I go to the market or the grocery store? What if there is a sale? Will I get two kinds?
When it’s gone, I am in a state of emptiness. I do love kaas.
Getting back to the point, this blog has somewhat become an ode to delicious food, so I will proceed with this, and give you an amazing recipe for chocolate cake that I found, made, and ate. I will also try to think of non-food things to write about. Try.
I apologize for the rough measurements and times. This is how I cook.
Black Chocolate Cake
(adjusted for smaller size, and because I can’t find certain ingredients here. Recipe originally found at: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Black-Chocolate-Cake/Detail.aspx Thanks Jeanie Bean!)
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cups white sugar
- 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1 cup boiling water (or hot coffee)
- 1 eggs, beaten a bit
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Mix together: flour, sugar, baking powder, cocoa and salt. Set aside.
- Melt the shortening in the boiling water, then stir into the flour mixture until blended. Beat the eggs a bit, mix in, and then stir in the vanilla.
- Pour batter into 9×9 inch pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.
I strongly suggest adding chocolate frosting. I make my chocolate frosting from butter (1-3 Tablespoons), cocoa (a good shake of the box-better more than less), milk, and powdered sugar. If you need more specific measurements, please Google it. In all honesty, I think everyone should already know how to make chocolate frosting anyway. Enjoy!
Posted in food, Nederland | Tags: bread, cheese, chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, food, market
Posted by: patriciamar | March 11, 2009
Childlike Tendencies
There’s no question about it, eating marshmallows out of the bag brings back childlike tendencies. The squishiness, pale colors, and mild bunny flavor make me feel glee, and nowadays, glee can be hard to find.
I’m sure everyone, or at least almost everyone, can find a time during the day to smile or laugh at something, but glee is different. And not adult glee, but what you felt as a child, something in between exhilaration, pure joy, and silliness. Today, I felt gleeful while eating Dutch marshmallows shaped like bunnies and rabbits. Matt felt glee by playing on the zipline thing at the park (really. I am not even kidding). He also ran ahead and played on the basketball court, jumped to touch the rim a few times, did two pull-ups on the end fence, and then jumped over the side fence to catch up to me on the way to the grocery store. At the grocery store, he also bought a mini-child soda for 26 cents. He turns 26 in less than a month.
I guess when I’m searching for glee tomorrow, I’ll know where to look.
Posted in Etc., Nederland | Tags: Dutch, glee, grocery store, marshmallows, soda
Posted by: patriciamar | March 6, 2009
Purble Place
I admit that I am addicted to Purble Place.
Yes, I know that this is just a game that comes on the computer and that it is made for children but Purble Place Memory… Wow. It’s the perfect break when I am tired of reading for my thesis, or writing my thesis, or after I get back from working out, or in the morning when I wake up (great jumpstarter, you know?), or while I am waiting for the spaghetti to boil, or when I am waiting for Matt to get done in the bathroom before I can get ready for bed.
Or when I can’t sleep at night.
Because I am too preoccupied with thinking about my average win score in Purble Place Memory (41%) currently.
Well, I’d better go now. Maybe a quick game before we eat.
Posted in Etc.
Posted by: patriciamar | March 5, 2009
101 things to do with a Stroopwafel
Today, during our Friday morning stroopwafels and coffee, Matt turned to me and said, “Two words: Stroofwafel S’mores.”
I think my life is changed forever…
When I was growing up, I had an amazing ability to eat shittons of graham crackers. Stroopwafels are the next level of amazingness (waffely-graham crackers with caramel (stroop=syrup) in between) and amazingly, I can still eat tons of them.
Who would’ve thought?
I mentioned earlier the beauty of Caramel Apple Stroopwafel Pie, so I think now I will continue this trend and make a collection of 101 things to do with a stroopwafel. Obviously I cannot make this entire list today, but I will at least start, and then add on as time goes by.
1. Caramel Apple Stroopwafel Pie
2. Stroopwafel S’mores
3. Stroopwafellid – This is how to properly eat a stroopwafel with coffee in the morning. You set it on top of your full coffee mug while preparing your morning newspaper, internet page, work, etc. and by the time you are ready and take your first sip and nibble. The stroopwafel is nicely warmed. (Feel free to flip halfway through.)
4. Superstroop (you must ga naar de markt in Leiden for this)
5. Why not? Throw a few chunks of stroopwafel in your cereal
6. Stroopwafel in chocolate fondue
7. Crumble stroopwafel and put it on vanilla ice cream.
8. Might as well throw some caramel on top of that…
9. Forget the gingerbread house! Make it a stroopwafel house! Think of how much sturdier it will be with all that bricked double layer sealed and caulked with caramel.
10. Stroopwafel Ice cream sandwich
11. A stroopwafel scoop for speculoos
12. mini stroopwafel + normal stroopwafel car building for your stroopwafel house
13. sticks of stroopwafel for any number of dessert tasks
14. caramel cheesecake with stroopwafel crust
15.
16.
17.
My list is quite short so far, but I assure you, I will continue to add to it. If you have any ideas of your own, feel free to let me know and I will add them to the list.
On a similar note, I have found that marsepein aardappeltjes are quite delicious dipped in Nutella.
Posted by: patriciamar | February 25, 2009
Death by Lekkerbeklessness
Posted by: patriciamar | February 24, 2009
Mattie and Pat
I have decided that I really enjoy folk music. This is a bit bizarre for me, but if you didn’t know, I am working to slowly morph into a hippie. (Primarily so I don’t have a heart attack or other type of stress induced incident at a young age.) I’m just too old now to be high strung.
After Joni Mitchell (of course), I really enjoy a couple that sings and plays together called Mattie and Pat. No, no affiliation at all… what unlikely names, eh? I first heard them on Prairie Home Companion, and unfortunately, so far I have only found their music on their myspace page. They only have a few songs, but I recommend checking it out.
http://www.myspace.com/mattieandpat (especially the song, Honky Tonkin’)
Also, Mattie just appears to be the most likeable person on the earth. She also looks remarkably like someone I went to high school with… Maybe I’ll check this out. If there are any other folksie artists that you know of, please let me know.
Posted in Etc., music | Tags: folk music, hippie, Joni Mitchell, Mattie and Pat, Prairie Home Companion
Posted by: patriciamar | February 23, 2009
Working out in the Netherlands
For quite a while now, I have been working out furiously. Unfortunately, this is not because of my own internal drive or motivation… It’s because I am so annoyed by the people at the rec center. The U of M Rec Center of course had its fair share of more hoe-like attendees. But I now see that it can be much, much worse.
The men here, like in most other recreational centers, mostly pretend to work out, but really just talk and flex their muscles. Just one thing… the Dutch men… not so muscular. (There are some yes, but the majority fit the stereotype: tall, thin, floppy haired bicyclists). Another interesting thing is that the Dutch men like to weigh themselves.
A lot.
I really don’t think that one set of presses really affects your weight that much.
In reality, the men don’t really bother me that much. The women annoy me to an extreme level. You frequently see the usual – I go to the rec primarily to pick up men – and this is fine. Understandable at least. Sometimes one just must look for a mate.
But! It is entirely inappropriate to wear a skirt while working out! And while I can let the ridiculously tight strappy tanktops go, I am not as forgiving of the lacy colored bra sticking out the top of the slutty tanktop. Today, there were approximately 30 people in the main workout room, eight or nine of them being women. I happened to notice that I was the only person wearing a sportsbra. The only one. Seriously? This is not the yoga room or the dance room or the cycling room, but the weight room/elliptical/running room. I almost cannot take it.
Except it does make me work harder out of my annoyance. And I suppose there isn’t really much else I can do but perservere through my annoyance (no, ignoring it just doesn’t seem to be an option).
If all were to go swimmingly... 