New dashboard. That’s weird.

I think I like it, actually, but I haven’t had a chance to poke around yet.  As I am accustomed to doing, I pretty much ignored this blog for the last few weeks.  NaBloPoMo?  No Go, So-So.  Turns out I am indeed not interesting enough to write a blog post every day for a month.  

I’ve done a little baking lately, and a lot of job hunting, but most days I do a whole lot of nothing, which doesn’t quite warrant a blog update.  I kept meaning to post about the Banana Muffins filled w/ Cream Cheese, but they were a bit of a disaster (looks-wise, that is; they still tasted fantastic).  I’m going to give the recipe another shot  before Christmas, but I’m uploading the pictures I took while I was making them to Flickr.

http://flickr.com/photos/bohopenguin

Also going up on Flickr today are the pictures of the Christmas tree!  All decorated and whatnot.  I still can’t believe Christmas is right around the corner.  Even more, I can’t believe it’s nearly been a year since my jaw surgery.  (Not that I’m complaining, I’d much rather be one year past it than still hung up on the couch with my jaw banded shut.  Although, I have put on five pounds since Halloween, so I wouldn’t mind being banded shut just for a week or two, given how much weight I dropped after the surgery.)  Anyway, Christmas is coming and I’m starting to feel utterly unprepared.  I’ve still got my Christmas cards to write up and send out — haven’t received any yet, which makes me feel like I’ve got plenty of time — and my holiday baking to figure out.  Who’s getting what for gifts, what to bake for Christmas Eve, what to bring to my cousin’s Christmas Day, etc.  

I’m kind of glad I haven’t gotten back into knitting yet this winter, because then I’d probably back myself into a corner trying to make people hats and scarves they’d never wear.  But I should get around to sewing the fleece scarf I promised my friend last winter… at least that can be knocked off in one evening.  

AND I’ve finally started making progress in the job hunt!  I have an interview Wednesday for a job that will train me in the field for which I’d otherwise be going back to school to train.  Granted, if the job doesn’t work out, it won’t be too big a blow because I could start courses in January for the aforementioned training.  So I’m a little panicky, but ultimately not too worried because I feel I still have pretty good options, even if it means working nights and weekends in retail while I do three-and-a-half months in school.

My ultimate goal, really, is to complete my career training and get a steady job, and *then* when I have the time and money, I’d love to either a) take courses in fine art photography or b) take courses at one of the local community colleges and work toward completing my degree.

In the meantime, though, I’m just going to keep baking, watching episodes of Doctor Who and Bones, and shopping for Christmas.  Something weird?  I’d actually love to go to a Christmas party, but none of the people I know seem to be having parties.  Or maybe they are and I’m not invited.

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

Allergy season!

Which means that instead of writing a legitimate blog post for NaBloPoMo today, I’m just going to sit here moping, browsing BurdaStyle for some winter sewing projects, and watching the Jon & Kate Plus 8 marathon on TLC.

Damn, those kids are cute/psycho.  Mostly cute (because I don’t have to deal with all eight of them all day, that is).

ETA: Noooo, now BurdaStyle is down.

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Damn you, dollar bin at Target.

You WILL be the death of me.  I bought silicone cake moulds!  A Christmas tree and a snowman.  And I bought way too many penguin-related things (including but not limited to gift wrap and tags — yay, Christmas).  I also picked up a mini-skirt from the clearance rack and a package of vanilla scone mix, which just adds one more thing to my baking queue.  I’ve got a lot of experimenting to do so I can figure out what to make for Christmas Eve (and what sorts of loaves and muffins to give as gifts this year).

So, somehow, I’ve gotten myself involved in NaBloPoMo, though I missed the first few days.  I just realized I’d posted a few days in a row after not having posted for quite some time, and I thought, “Oh, why not, I’ll just keep this up all month”.  Until I run out of things to talk about.  I’ve already resorted to inane posts about my trips to Target, so this whole project could come to its end soon.

I miss summer.  I didn’t think I would until I remembered how melancholy winter can be.  I usually love winter, but it doesn’t come without a sense of restlessness.  I started knitting a hat the other day, my first knitting project since I finished off Bella’s baby blanket in May, but it’s going nowhere.  I’m still not ready to be in full-on winter mode.

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I’m so domestimicated.

Last Saturday I did a fair share of baking.  If I’d made rolls, I would say “I was on a roll, badum”, but alas, I did not… so I’ll just say I was baking-crazy?  It started with these Yogurt and Banana Spice Muffins from PickyPalate which, from what I can gather, are meant to be healthier than your average spice cake muffin.  The recipe calls for low-fat yogurt and two mashed bananas in lieu of vegetable oil, though I used non-fat yogurt because… well, that’s just what we bought.  Don’t ask me about the specific nutritional values — I just know they came out DELICIOUS.  And, in true spice cake fashion, they’re very moist.  I brought some to a mini-family reunion Sunday and they absorbed the powdered sugar as quickly as we could sprinkle it on top of them.  (Let’s pretend I didn’t just sprinkle more on before eating… possibly nullifying any of the dietary benefits of the yogurt and bananas.)

Then I moved on to this Cinnamon Quick Bread & Coffee Cake mix that has, to be honest, been sitting up in the cabinet for quite some time.  I was worried it wouldn’t turn out all that great, but I was happily proven wrong.  I made a similar quick bread a few months back (Chocolate Swirl, which I brought to my cousin’s when we went to visit the new baby) and learned the hard way how to properly distribute the “swirl” powder — this time, I didn’t put as much on the top of the batter, as last time it had all simply crumbled off when the bread was tipped to come out of the pan.  I was quite happy with the results this time.  The bread stayed moist until yesterday morning… when I ate the last piece.  🙂

After spending the whole day in the kitchen, I turned the reigns over to my mother, who decided to make a batch of Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies from a package we had in the cabinet.  Another of those “I hope this comes out alright” experiments, they were indeed very yummy.

Next week, I’m going to try out this recipe I found for a blueberry loaf cake.  I was going to make it this week, but we have way too many sweets around the house between all my baking last week and the leftover Halloween candy.

I have to say, though, that as much as I love the packaged mixes, I’m trying to expand my horizons and start making things from scratch.  I don’t really fancy myself a baker by any means, but I do find the whole process pretty enjoyable.  The same can be said about my loom knitting, jewelry making, and occasional sewing projects.  I love the feeling that comes from *making* something with my own two hands, the feeling of creating something out of an assortment of unrelated materials and ingredients — out of nothing.

And speaking of making things from scratch, I’ve started making my own honey mustard dipping sauce.  I sifted through a bunch of recipes, and really lucked out with the first one I tried.  I may still give the others a shot, because they’re all so different and it would be wrong not to sample a variety.  The recipe I’ve already used can be found here at the Kraft Foods website.

So, obviously, I voted yesterday.  I won’t get into a big political discussion here, because I’m rubbish at those.  I just wanted to express my disappointment in the fact that I didn’t receive an “I Voted” sticker afterwards!  In fact, I don’t think I ever have.  I was actually looking forward to getting one!  Maybe next time.

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Baker’s To-Do List

I like making lists of things I want to bake/cook… even though I never really get around to them. Hopefully that’s not the case with the following items, because YUM.

Crème Brûlée Cupcakes

Car-Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pasta with Feta Cheese

And these aren’t exactly baked goods, but “recipes” I’d love to try out.

Homemade Deodorant

Homemade Lip Gloss

Though, for those last two, I’d have to find some affordable shea butter, cocoa butter, almond oil, etc. There’s a third-party Amazon seller that carries those things, but they aren’t cheap *and* the shipping costs nearly as much as each item does. The grocery stores around here might be a bit of a long shot for that stuff, but I might as well check anyway.

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