Impossible? 🤔

The other night I tried the Impossible Burger at Burger King. I've seen reviews of it and they were positive and I've seen the commercials that are convincing. Before I go any further, I have to reveal that I have not eaten at BK in at last 30 years. Some 30 years ago, I had eaten there and I just did not care for the taste of their burger patty. I never went back. Until now. I also have to give a spoiler here, I'm cutting out red meat from my diet in starting 1/1/2020. I hardly ever eat red meat anyway so it won't be a big deal. This is also why I was interested in the Impossible Burger because if I did want a burger, I could have an Impossible Burger. Alright, so to the review. Well, it wasn't like the commercials. Not even a little. I wasn't expecting a burger as beautiful as the ones on the commercials, but this was nothing like those. It wasn't sizzling or flame broiled or even warm. The patty was dry....not at all juicy like the commercials. The cheese was not melted. It has to be hot to melt cheese...or at least a little warm! So either the location where I had my burger had an Impossible Burger sitting around in the back that they made 2 hours earlier and gave me that one, or they do not prepare it like they do the beef burgers, which is the way their videos show it being prepared (flame broiled). I was disappointed. I might try one at a different location. But that's something else. Is Burger King in trouble? There are only 2 BK's in my area which I thought was strange. So if the 2nd location also serves less than stellar Impossible Burger's, I don't have other options. Unless of course, I go to another chain that has burgers with meatless patties. So is it impossible? Is it worth trying? I have to say no based on my experience. I'll post an update if I try another one and have better results.

Leave me a comment and let me know if you have tried the Impossible Burger and how it was. If you have not tried it, let me know what your favorite burger joint is!

Until next time, remember the words of Edmund Burke: 
"Evil triumphs when good men do nothing"

100 Things About Me - UPDATE!

I was looking back at a previous post that was titled "100 Things About Me". It was fun to read what I had said about myself in 2010. Nearly all of it is still on target but a few things have changed. So I'm posting an updated list. My updates are in green.

1. I'm a natural blonde but my hair is getting a lot darker as I age - I dyed my hair brown last month :(

2. I have no idea what I did for fun before I started paper crafting.

3. I enjoy the show "Below Deck".

4. Zero interest in Facebook.  

5. I'm persnickety about things.

6. I like to cook - I still like to cook, but I would say baking over cooking.

7. Unplanned weekends are the best.

8. I have cats - had 4 down to 1.

9. Am a cat person. I understand them. They understand me.

10. Weird stuff happens to me. Seriously. Not just stuff, but weird stuff.

11. I have 3.....er....2.....humm. I have 1 friend.

12. I have the ability to see beauty in things that are not commonly considered beautiful.

13. I wish I enjoyed reading books....but I just don't anymore.

14. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the only vampire series that does it for me.

15. I don't like eggplant.

16. I live about 5 minutes from the house I grew up in.

17. I loathe jury duty.

18. I wish I could sew.

19. I have a lot of patience, but if you keep after me, it's out the door.

20. I don't have kids and have never wanted to have kids.

21. It's really hard for me to sleep unless it's quiet, soft and I'm laying down.

22. You will never get me to eat gooey duck. Google it.

23. I don't really like doing yard work. But I have a virgo husband so it works out.

24. I don't mind washing dishes. Good thing because the virgo husband ain't good at that.

25. I've owned 4 cars.

26. I'm a penny pincher.

27. Me and lizards....no.

28. What? I'm only on #28!? Ugh. Asleep yet? Ok, uh....I have a terrible memory.

29. I met Greg 2 days after my 21st birthday.

30. I love weddings. All the pretty things about weddings...gowns, cakes, glittery stuff.

31. Public speaking terrifies me.

32. Friendly isn't a word I'd use to describe myself. Standoff'ish would be a good word.

33. I enjoy people watching. People do a lot of stupid things so it can be entertaining.

34. Computers are nice....very helpful in life. Could not live without one. But they make me crazy.

35. Especially PC's! I'm a Mac only girl. 

36. Only on #36 now. Ok.....uh....I love Halloween. Such a fun day!

37. I let my gas tank get to empty and the light comes on. Makes Virgo husband crazy.

38. I cannot play musical instrument.

39. I don't care for snow.

40. Whipped cream is the most tasty thing on earth. So are donuts.

41. Cheese is good, too. Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup....so good.

42. I have a bad memory, but I can remember random lines from movies.

43. I'm hooked on the Real Housewives shows. I watch them all except Atlanta.

44. Of all the ethnic foods, Asian food is my favorite!

45. Dylan McDermott is my celebrity crush.

46. I drink chai every morning.

47. If I had never met Greg, pretty sure my life would suck.

48. I like football but baseball is boring.

49. I enjoy sitting in my dark living room looking at Christmas lights. So pretty and peaceful.

50. I had a Morton's neuroma that seems to have fixed itself after wearing Kuru sneakers for a year.

51. I have no problem doing minor "surgery" on myself.

52. I'm patriotic.

53. I wish I had joined the Peace Corps when I got out of high school.

54. I think I was too sheltered. Good or bad thing? Not sure.

55. Rain makes me happy.

56. I fall asleep to the sound of rain on my iPod every night.

57. I'm Californian....no doubt about it. And I like it - so there!

58. Can't dance - can't sing.

59. My first job was at McDonalds.

60. That Free Willy movie is a true story? Who would swim with an orca in the ocean? CRAZY!

61. I dream things that would be perfect to turn into romance books.

62. I am addicted to paper. And ribbon. But I don't have as much as some people.

63. Never seen any of those Lord of the Rings movies - still have not seen them.

64. I love to save quotes.

65. My husband is my favorite person. Bet you had not guessed that :)

66. I like shopping at resale stores - so fun!

67. I startle every easily....people think it's funny because I jump, but trust me, it ain't funny to me.

68. The number 19 has been my favorite number since 6th grade.

69. October is my favorite month.

70. I think 80's music is either really good or horrible. Mostly horrible. Still so true.

71. I'm dependable.

72. I'm an old dog ~ don't like change.

73. I used to eat Kipper snacks with my Dad. I can't anymore. They smell like cat food.

74. I don't need an alarm clock to get up.

75. I'm a big sap. Even commercials can make me tear-up.

76. Scary movies give me nightmares. I never watch them anymore.

77. I don't drink coffee - so we know this has changed and Pumpkin Spice is my fav!

78. I do like the smell of coffee beans.

79. I have my tonsils and appendix.

80. I don't have my wisdom teeth.

81. Almost there! My favorite smell is all the stuff cooking on Thanksgiving.

82. I can be naive.

83. I don't care for musicals but I do like the show Glee - I stopped watching Glee around season 3.

84. I use pencils over pens.

85. I will listen to country music over rap if I had to pick one.

86. I think A LOT. About all kinds of stuff. Lots of wondering. Which leads to Googling.

87.  A favorite thing to do is lay in bed with Greg and read magazines  - now we watch YouTube.

88. My cell phone is usually dead. I hardly ever use it - BIG change. I use my cell phone all the time!

89. I get distracted reallllly easily. Working....working....OOOH, butterfly!

90. I'm lazy.

91. And indecisive.

92. I wish I was the heir to a huge fortune. Who wouldn't wish that I guess.

93. I will read TV show spoilers....I'm just too curious to wait sometimes.

94. I never watched The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family or The Walton's.

95. I have an awesome imagination.

96. If I have "a calling" in life, I have no idea what it is.

97. I have dental floss in my purse, my bathrooms, my craft desk & work desk.

98. Stuff in my teeth bugs me.

99. Terrible at math. Terrible.

100. Better at spelling, but not by much! 

Leave me a comment and tell me something not many people know about you! 

Until next time, remember the words of Edmund Burke: "Evil triumphs when good men do nothing"

Time For Coffee

I'm a relatively new coffee drinker. I used to hate it. I didn't even like the smell of it. Now I have a cup every morning and I love the smell of it. *shrugs* My preference is to have it sweet (not overly) and with milk or cream. I can't drink it black. I also don't really care for unflavored coffee. My most favorite is Green Mountain's Pumpkin Spice. No other brand really compares. Even Starbucks. In general, Green Mountain makes really good coffee and I have liked most of what I have tried from them. I buy their pumpkin spice coffee when it goes on clearance (mostly from Target) and stockpile it so I can drink it all year long. I also buy their Cinnamon Sugar Cookie and stockpile that for the year. My newest find is Green Mountain Maple Pecan. This is delicious! I might start stockpiling this one as well :)

Leave me a comment and let me know your favorite coffee (or other fall drink) and when you started drinking coffee! Greg and I were on vacation and went to Starbucks early one morning and we saw a boy on a skateboard with a some kind of blended coffee drink. He was around 12 or so! I don't remember what I was drinking when I was 12, but coffee was not involved. A lot has changed. I only got one comment last week so I don't know if anyone is reading this or not ☕️

Until next time, remember the words of Edmund Burke: "Evil triumphs when good men do nothing"

Remember Me?

Ok, not really but let's just roll with it. I'm not entirely sure how this is going to go. I didn't have much of a following back when I was active and those few people have almost certainly moved on. If I can manage to get a "following" again, I'll try to keep this going. Help me out and tell everyone you know! Read this awesome blog - it's full of wit, wisdom and fun! Remember, white lies are ok.

December is around the corner (🙀) so I'll work on December Daily. You can see my previous December Daily in the archives. I can't remember what I took pictures of, so I'll go back and look, too. It will be new for all of us.

For today (possibly every Wednesday) is a recipe. Correction - recipes! Correction - Halloween recipes! Are you going to a Halloween party? Just want to have a festive dinner on All Hallows' Eve and ignore all the cries for candy at the door? I got you covered. Ashley (self proclaimed non chef) from BuzzFeed, tested 3 of the most pinned Halloween recipes from Pinterest. They are:

Skull Pizza

Chicken Boo-dle Soup

Deviled Alien Eggs

She gave the thumbs up to all of these. I watched the video and in my opinion, I would say the skull pizza and deviled eggs look better than the soup for a party. But if you are making dinner and it's a cold night, the soup would be perfect. Of all 3, I think the deviled eggs look the easiest to make and the appearance is going to win a lot of "ewww's" which for Halloween, is the desired reaction! I tried to get the video to post directly here but I wasn't able to so the link to the YouTube video is below.

https://youtu.be/O4bGpVWuwCo

Hopefully these recipes will inspire you to try something fun on Halloween or to take to a party. I know as we get older we can lose some of the spirit that days like Halloween offer us. I've been guilty of it myself and didn't dress up for work a few times. However, all it takes is a walk around the neighborhood or down the seasonal isle in the drugstore and I quickly feel the Halloween inspiration take hold! Try to let that inner child emerge again and have a skull pizza for dinner or chicken boo-dle soup. Smile as you enjoy your boo-utiful creations and talk about when you were a kid and what you did for Halloween. It's sure to be a fun conversation 🎃

What was your favorite costume? What was the candy you looked forward to the most in your treat bag? Leave me a comment and tell me.

Until next time, remember the words of Edmund Burke: "Evil triumphs when good men do nothing"

DIY Advent Calendar!

The calendar is made from a 24 pan plastic mini muffin/cupcake container - the containers your muffins come in when you buy them at the grocery store. I believe they might be called "clam shell containers" because of the way they are hinged. like a clam shell. I cut off the top, clean up the edges, and just use the pan. Below are the instructions in pictures and a supply list of what I used is at the bottom:

You have to make template for where the muffin cups are on your muffin container. The method I used was to hold the muffin container up to the window and lay a sheet of paper over it. This is a light table effect. I marked circles were the muffin cups were. 

Cut the circles using your template and swivel blade on a piece of your foam roll. The foam roll will allow the blade to cut through the without getting caught on anything or damaging your work surface.

Use your scissors to snip the "hinges" that are holding the cut circles in place.

Once you have you template done, trace the circles onto the back of your patterned paper. This is the piece that will be the actual calendar.

Now it's time to decide what shape you want your calendar "doors" do be. In this case, they are square but they could be any shape you want. Figure out the size you need to adequately cover the cut circles and also fit across the length of the paper.

You need to make your doors hinged so they open easily. In the photo you see the method I used to scored the doors using my circle cutter and a stylus. The stylus easily fit into the groove for the long oval shape on the template cutter. 

Now you need to stamp your numbers on your doors.

On the back side, tape your 2 sheets of  pattern paper together now.

Line your doors up over your cut circles for placement. An optional step is to round the corners if you are making square doors at this point. I only round the right side of the doors.

Add a strong glue along the hinged edge of the door. I use Glossy Accents because even though it's primary purpose is to add gloss to projects, it is also one of the strongest adhesives I've ever used. In this particular case, you want a strong adhesive to hold the doors in place. Note that if you are using Glossy Accents, know the placement on the calendar before you put glue on the door since it sets/dries pretty quickly.

Using a T-square ruler, line the doors up along the bottom edge of the ruler so they are perfectly straight. Leave the ruler there while you are gluing them down so you are placing them in a straight line along the top edge of the ruler.

Next you need to glue the door to the cut circle. Be sure to not go outside cut circle or they will not be able to open the door! Once you have them all glued, put something heavy on top of it for about an hour so it will flatten everything and not be bumpy/lumpy. The downside to using any liquid products with paper is that it will cause the paper to warp. To way combat the problem is to lay heavy objects on the project to flatten it while it's drying. 

In the meantime, you can cut "door handles". I use velveteen floral ribbon because it's strong and the width of it is the perfect length for the strips I need. Cut off 24 1/2 inch pieces (eyeball it) and then cut off the very end at an angel (see photo for reference). Discard the snipped piece.

After the calendar doors have dried for an hour, add some glue to the end of your door handle without the slant cut.

CAREFULLY lift the door AND the cut circle and slide the door handle under the cut circle. If you are using Glossy Accents, you need to work quickly because this glue sets in about 1 minute. Reference photo below for placement of handles I used. You'll want to put a piece of wax paper or parchment paper under the calendar while you are doing this because some glue might ooze out and get on the surface below. Once you have all the handles in place, you'll want to put something heavy on top of it for about an hour while it dries and to flatten things out and make it look nice again. Lifting the edges of the doors will make things look a little "wonky" so flattening it out is a good idea.

Placement of the door handles. The second sheet of paper that was attached with tape is folded under in this shot just to keep it out of the way.

Now add muffin liners and add your goodies. You should also scroll down a few pictures where I explain that I should have punched holes in the corners of the muffin container at this point but forgot.

It's time to add copious amounts of Zots (glue dots) to your muffin container. You'll need to use a lot of these since they are they only thing holding the face of the calendar to your muffin container. Zots a stronger than the average glue dot so I advise you to use these over another brand. Liquid glue is not recommended because it can leak into spots that you don't want it to and it can also cause the surface of the calendar to be lumpy/bumpy due to the amount you would need to use. Just use loads of Zots all over the surface of the muffin container.

 

This is a roll of Zots.

You'll need to punch a hole in the top 2 corners of muffin container and tie your cord/ribbon. You can actually do this much earlier in the process....I just forgot. So do better than I did.

Crease the bottom of the calendar where it meets the bottom edge of the muffin container and fold it over on top and press it into place. The seam of the 2 sheets of paper that were taped is the bottom/back fold. Press firmly all over so you know the Zots have made contact with the paper.

Flip the calendar over and add Zots to the bottom of the muffin cups now. And fold the back over and press into place.

Using the photo for reference, loop the BACK of the calendar forward being sure to keep the face of the calendar in front. Also be sure to keep your cord/ribbon out the top of the calendar. Clamp each side with binder clamps.

 

Now is the time for liquid glue. The one I used is called Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue. I recommend you buy this and use it at this stage. It is very sticky and dries very fast and securely. Zots are not going to do it here. Glossy Accents probably would be fine but it will take longer to dry. I know this works so this is what I use. Fold back your cord/ribbon so it's out of the way temporarily (see picture). Run a line of glue along the top edge. The amount shown in the picture is WAY TOO MUCH. But that's ok. You can take a scrap of paper or something (not your finger....you do not want to get it on your finger because then you will be getting glue on everything you touch!) and spread it along the edge of the paper and thus removing the excess.

Working somewhat quickly, move the binder clips up to the very edge of the paper now and press the glued edge down. Make sure the placement of the cord/ribbon is correct at this point as well. You'll have to hold the edge of the paper for a minute or so and any spots that don't want to stay down. This glue is strong enough and sticky enough that it will hold pretty quickly. Be sure to remove any Tombow glue that oozes out because it dries very tacky and will attract everything little thing and make your project look bad. You can clean off any that oozes out with a napkin while the glue is still wet. It should not leave much residue behind. Once the glue is dry, it's too late! You can try to erase it with an eraser, but it will pick up the color of the eraser and it just ends up being a mess. So remove the ooze while it's wet. Set the calendar aside to dry for a while.

Final product!

Supply List:

X-Acto Basic Shapes Templates (Model# x2017)
X-Acto Swivel Knife (Model# x3253)         
Foam cushioning roll for cutting on (Home Depot)                             
Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue (Michael's, Hobby Lobby)
Zots glue dots (Michael's, Hobby Lobby)
2 sheets (minimum) of matching patterned paper
Solid card stock (doors)
Ink pad (coordinating color to pattern paper)                                                      
24 pan muffin container (grocery stores, baking supply stores, online)
Muffin cup liners                                                               
Velveteen floral ribbon (door handles)
Cord/ribbon (hanger)
Martha Stewart Advent calendar stamps (Ebay, Amazon)
Glossy Accents liquid adhesive (Michael's, Hobby Lobby)
T-square ruler
Binder clips
Hole punch
Small tip stylus (Michael's, Hobby Lobby, art supply stores)
Tape
Scissors
Paper cutter/trimmer
Corner rounder (optional) 

December Daily - Day 24

Snoopy Christmas Cookies!

Time to make Christmas cookies! It's probably hard to tell the scale of these cookies from the picture, but they are 8 inches tall but 4 inches wide - huge! I got the cookie cutter on eBay about 2 years ago and I thought it was a "normal" size cookie cutter. I bid on this one because it was so much less than all the others. I won the bid and was so happy! Then the cutter arrived. What the heck!? It was gigantic. I looked back at all the other cutters and they were 4 inches tall. Then read the description of the one I got. No wonder this one was so much cheaper than the others!! Shame on me for not noticing the size in the description. Scale does not photograph unless you have a ruler or something next to it and it didn't say "x-large" so I thought it was just a standard size. Oh well. Finally after 2 years I got over the disappointment of it all and decided to actually make cookies with this cutter. I have to tell you, big cookies are a pain. My mistake of not reading that description was coming back to haunt me again. They are so fragile due to their size. Normal size cookies are much easier to deal with and not as delicate. First, there is no 8 inch spatula in my house so transferring them to the cookie sheet was a challenge. They wanted to break at the scored spots on the dough (see in photo). I had to do some repair work once they were on the cookie sheet. When you take them out of the oven, it's even more challenging because they will break and there's no way to fix them. Again, a massive spatula would have helped. Half of them broke right out of the oven at those score lines. I had to make a second batch. With the second batch, I just lifted the baked cookies off the cookie sheet on the parchment paper and let them cook right on the parchment they were baked on. It was the only way. Then during decorating, I found out you can only hold these puppies (pardon the pun) at the sides of the dog house. If you hold it at the bottom or.....well, any other place, they will break because they just are not strong enough to bear the weight. I think I made 20 of them and 10 survived. Will not be making these again! But, I do like how they turned out. And it was a learning experience. This is what I learned.

1. Read the description of everything on eBay. 10 times. Then read it again.

2. Big freakin' cookies are a nightmare to make. Don't do it.

3. Spatula size matters.

4. Red food color requires a lot of it or it just looks pink.

5. Buy a box of cute cookies at the store so if you want to give up after half the batch breaks, you can :)

dough on cookie sheet ready to bake

Just out of the oven,

decorated!

December Daily - Day 23

My Christmas nails. This is only the second time I've attempted nail stamping and it shows. They look pretty bad, but I'll get better with more practice. It's a Christmas sweater stamping design....I know it's hard to tell since the first and third design are going sideways! :)

December Daily - Day 22

At the grocery store....

winter white roses

dad loved egg nog

cheers!

festive springs of pine

December Daily - Day 21

If you think it's cold where you live or you don't like the weather....just be glad you don't live in Oymyakon, Russia! It's considered the coldest place on earth.

December Daily - Day 20

My 5 Top Christmas Songs

1. Christmas Vacation - Mavis Staples
     It has to be by Mavis. There are other versions, but
     none are as good as hers. This is the theme song to
     the movie "Christmas Vacation".

2. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear - Anne Murray
     I love this song and the way she sings it. The lyrics
     get me right in the heart.

3. Christmas Canon
     One year I played this song on my laptop on repeat for
     about 3 hours....

4. 2000 Miles - The Pretenders
     If you have never heard it, you are missing out.
     There's a live 1995 version on YouTube you have
     to check out. Awesome.

5. Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town - Bruce Springsteen
     I'm unable to sing this song in the original style. I have to
     sing it like Bruce does. Have to.

December Daily - Day 19

Apothecary Jars Turned Into Winter Scenes

Things You Will Need:

*Large apothecary or cookie jar
*Camper/trailer ornament

*Miniature flocked pine trees in a few sizes

*Fake snow

*Fake strand of Christmas lights

*Tape

*Micro LED lights strung on a silver wire (cool tone white)

*White styrofoam block (optional)

Before you start, pour some of the snow in a big bowl and set your ornament in it to see if the snow will support it. If it sinks in, you will need a styrofoam block to put under the ornament to support the weight of it. You might have styrofoam from some old packaging that you can just cut a piece from. I found some at work that I cut a 3 inch tall x 2 inch wide block from.

If using, put the styrofoam block in the bottom of the jar and pour in about 3 inches of snow. Put your ornament in and check for proper placement. Add the trees around being sure to look at it through the front of the jar to see how it looks. If the hook attachment on top of the camper ornament is small enough, you can scatter some fake snow on top of it to hide it. Once you have things arranged the way you want, you can add the micro LED lights in the snow. Then run them up the inside of the jar behind one of the trees and out the top. These lights can be unruly but take your time and it will be worth the effort. Wrap the rest of the strand around the top of the jar on the outside. Use tape in concealed places to hold the stand of lights in place. Now add the fake strand of lights at the top inside of the jar affixing the ends with tape.

Turn the LED lights on and you’re done!