This Means War

I have had it! This virus, whatever it is has settled in my chest. I had a terrible time sleeping last night and woke up really cranky. Throughout the day I've been feeling all this crap in my chest. It hurts to cough and I have a strange taste in my mouth. I've been drinking hot tea and my top secret spicy hot lemonade. Actually it's not a secret - it's lemon juice, cayenne pepper, hot water and sweetened with a little maple syrup. Maybe I'll put some ginger in it next time. I wish I had a suction device and tubing so I can suck the mucos right out. I know that sounds gross but I really don't care right now.

Hot, Hot, Hot

Well, I tried to sleep in today knowing full well I need the extra rest to get over this cold. UnfortunateIy my body was not a willing participant in the rest department. I was up at 7am this morning. I hate it when I get sick. At least my throat doesn't hurt as much as it did yesterday and my body is no longer achy. I spent as much time as I could resting throughout the day.

For dinner I made a Southwestern Chili Corn Soup with lots of hot peppers. Luckily the peppers opened up the sinuses. The problem with using hot peppers is the heat factor. You have to be very careful how you handle hot peppers - if the capsasin gets on your hands it can burn the skin...not to mention anything else you touch. The last couple times I used hot peppers I didn't wear gloves while choping them and had burning fingers the next couple days. Tonight I wore a glove on the hand that handled the peppers. The glove was a little too big for my hand so I had difficulty keeping the tips of the glove out of the knife's way. Don't worry, I didn't get any vinyl in the soup. The soup turned out rather nice for all.

As always,
TOO

I hab a code in my nose..

I never get sick but everyone around me is ill. People can drop like flies and I never catch it. So why on earth am I getting sick? I woke up with a sore throat this morning and have felt like crap all day today. I'm starting to get that achy feeling in my upper back, my arms feel heavy and I'm exhausted. I did not feel like doing anything today but I had a work study day today. I managed to get through the day and now I'm at home having a pity party. I should go to bed but I'm restless so here I sit typing nonsense. It doesn't matter what I write because no one is reading it anyway.

Nothing else to add. Have a good one.

As always,
TOO

Everybody Dance!

Last night I braved the cold and made my way to Madison Square Garden for a concert. I hadn't been to a concert since i took my youngest last year to see Billy Joel. I went with my friend Jessica to see Justin Timberlake. Yes ladies and gents, I love JT! Now you all know my secret. I've had this thing for JT for years - ever since his NSYNC days. I know boy bands are now passe, but how could I not be enamored with guys singing and dancing. Say what you will but as far as harmonies go, NSYNC was a vocally tightknit group. Of course there was all the "lip-syncing" controversies in the past but I can assure you I've heard them sing a capella live.

Last night at the Garden was the place to be. Even the Donald was there a few rows ahead. In the past it was hip to make fun of Mr. Timberlake but even the New York Times has reported that it's now very cool among the older hipsters to like Justin. There was a much older crowd then I've seen in the past. Where were you all five years ago? I was enjoying his music before it was even cool. You all are poser fans!

The concert was great - a very nice mix of singing, dancing and sitting at the keyboards crooning away. JT always manages to have the crowd in the palm of his hand. There was a couple songs from the last album and many from the new. It's amazing to be in the crowd for his concerts - they are fully an audience participation event. JT can sing any of his songs, stop mid-phrase and the audience will complete it. He frequently has the audience sing the chorus. I love it when he teaches the audience a phrase and melody and then sings on top while we provide the backup. What more could you ask for?

So if you see me, don't make fun of my love for JT. When you are in the audience, and participate in the experience, then we'll talk. Until then, keep your comments to yourself!

As always,
TOO

In the Dumps!

I don't know what my problem is. I seem to go from feeling pretty good to feeling lousy. Actually I do know why. Sometimes you want something, something you were so close to and within reach but you just can't have it, for whatever reason. There was something I really wanted but didn't get. I am reminded of it often. I know I should let it go but a part of me wants to keep holding on to whatever part I can keep. It's not healthy.

The other problem is something else I need to get rid of. I'm ready to get it out of my life but I don't know how. It would cause a great hardship but I know deep down inside it's the right thing to do. No one can help me with either of these problems. it's mine to conquer. Neither of these problems are unique to anyone. I know I must work on both of these problems if I am to grow as a person.

This is my mission this year.

Wish me luck!

As always,
TOO

BRRrrrrrrr!

It is cold. Damn cold! The wind chills have dipped below 0 these past couple days. This is the type of weather where you want to stay inside in front of a fireplace and eat comfort food. A companion would be nice to go along with that but let's not be greedy.

Before I lived in NYC, I never really thought about the cold weather much. When you live in a car society, the only time you spend out in the cold is to and from the car. Here in New York, unless you are among the wealthy with a driver to take you everywhere, you have no choice but to go out into the cold. To accomplish this feat, layer upon layer of clothing must be donned. By the time you have on the long underwear, clothing, the sweater, sweatshirt, pullover then jacket, scarf and hat, you are a massive, puffy blob. You can't hear or see. If you need to go shopping, navigating through a store is next to impossible. You can't walk by a shelf without knocking something over - but with all the layers on, you can't feel or hear that you've done anything. To compare, I imagine it would be like wearing one of those theme park character costumes - you need a guide to get around and if you're not careful, you could knock over a small child. You'd never know.

I shouldn't be complaining. So far we've had a very mild winter. Only a couple of weeks ago we reached a high of 72 degrees. But does the temperature have to be so extreme? These are the days I wish I lived back in Southern California. The only time I was able to experience the cold and snow when I live there was when we went to the mountains. I remember one winter around my birthday, I went with a friend to the beach. I think the outside temperature was a balmy 75 but the water temp was unbearable. But who cared? We were at the beach in January! Those were the days. When I remember those times, it makes me wonder what the hell I'm doing here in NYC. Now I know why so many that live here travel to Florida at ths time of year. I think it's time to start planning my getaway or move....

As always,
TOO

Cupcakes for All!

I am obsessed with cupcakes right now. Well, actually I've always been obsessed over cupcakes but I was sidetracked for a little while. It's time to get back in my groove. These are the cupcakes I made yesterday. I've been thinking about taking a cake decorating class so I can expand on my skills. I had been in Cupcake Cafe earlier in the day to look at their cupcakes because they have beautiful presentation but their cupcakes leave a lot to be desired. They tend to be very dry and hard.

I've always loved baking. My mom taught me how to cook and bake at a very early age and left me unsupervised in the kitchen very young. This could have turned into a tragedy but I've only been burned badly once when I was eight and I tried to cut my finger off at fifteen but those are stories for another time. When I was a young adult, I worked a national donut chain. That's where I honed my skills in baking bringing organization and speed into the mix. I haven't worked in the food industry for many, many years but I still use some of the tricks I learned. While I worked for the donut chain, I was the muffin, cookie, brownie person. I seemed to have been relegated to this task because the product I turned out was very consistent. Some people got it... some don't. I guess I'm one of the ones that have it, whatever it is.

I always want to go to cooking school because I have a thing for food. I love to look at it, buy it, prepare it, cook it and then eat it. Because I was introduced to the kitchen at such an early age, I've never been intimidated by cooking and baking. I'm addicted to buying cookbooks. Trying out new recipes is how I relax. The fun part is putting my own unique spin on a recipe to make it my own. Changing a recipes is fairly easy to do in cooking; baking however, is a different animal. Baking is all about chemistry. You can adjust the flavors fairly easy but you have to be careful with your leavening agents otherwise you can end up with something you can use as a blunt object or have it fall apart before you ever get it to the plate.

This past year, my baking went in another direction when I decided to give up animal products. Yes, I decided to go vegan. I can't say that it's been easy and I haven't been 100% vegan. There's been some fish a few times and every once in a while I will try a bite of a baked item from a high end bakery mostly because I want to feel the texture and taste the flavor. Then I think on how I can veganize it. I have a fabulous brownie recipe that I'm working on. When I get it right, it will be death by chocolate!

So here's to cupcakes for one and all!

As always,
TOO