29 posts tagged “qotd”

What are five things that make you unique?
Submitted by RA<3TA.

Ever been able to tell you're in "one of those moods"?  Maybe it's just me (ooh - maybe that's thing number 1??).  It's a deep thoughts day.  I can tell, because this qotd made me think.  Hard.

First I was going to name some simple things.  Then I realized that it was extremely naive to think that I was really all that unique anyway.  Surely some other person somewhere else in the world has the same traits/thoughts/pet peeves as me.

Then I was going to be a biological smartass and say something like "I can name 1 thing.  DNA."  Cute, right?  Then I started thinking about how I could break that into five things.  Well there are four amino acid building blocks that comprise all DNA (and I mean ALL DNA): Guanine, tyrosine, adenine, and cytosine. 

Then I was knocked over by a simple idea.  The one thing that sets me apart from everyone else (DNA) is elementally shared by everybody.  It makes me unique and at the same time makes me no different from anyone else.

Egh, ask me tomorrow.  This is the kind of day a person needs to go sit on a rock and think. 

How did/do you spend your summer vacations?

Growing up, we always went somewhere colder.  Wisconsin, Michigan, Wyoming, South Dakota.  Stayed in cabins mostly.  I'm pretty sure it was simply because going someplace where you can drive and rent a cabin is a very economical choice for a family of five. 

Vacations were all about getting away from civilization.  Staying in small towns.  Or, rather, miles away from small towns.  Communing with nature.  Reading.  I actually only remember one place having a TV.  No cable though.  And the only video left in the place was Dirty Dancing.  It didn't matter.  I had books.  And cards.  And board games if I could get one of the boys to play along.  I have memories of sitting on rail fences and staring at the mountains in Wyoming, standing at the edge of a mesa in the Black Hills, dropping a canoe paddle in the lake in Wisconsin, and strolling Michigan beaches by myself at sunset.  Horsefly bites and sardines on crackers and bonfires.  Lots of s'mores.  We did go to Disney World once, and that was fun too.

My husband's family was exactly the opposite.  Myrtle Beach 14 years in a row.  Warm, sunny, and populated.  Every day was beach-laying and surf sports.  Evenings were restaurants and endless mini golf and go-karts.

This year, I'm going to Hilton Head with his parents and his little brother.  I'm really looking forward to seeing what these beach vacations are all about.  It's going to be different for me, but I'll try anything once.  :)

Why do you blog?
Submitted by littleduckling.

Used to be (on my personal website) that I just wanted to keep friends and family up to date on our daily meanderings after we moved all the way to Texas.  Then I grew weary of editing myself to keep my image squeaky clean to grandparents and young relatives.  So Mark introduced me to Vox.

Plus, I like validation as much as the next guy.

What are your first thoughts upon waking?
Submitted by Cher Cabula.

Ugh, what is that noise?  No way it's 6:00 already.

Come to think of it, I don't have the luxury of thinking a whole lot of interesting thoughts in the morning.  I'm like a robot.  Shut off alarm, bathroom, let the dog out, feed the dog, and pour the coffee.  Then the less-than-mundane thoughts can start to flow.

If you had to write your autobiography in 6 words, what would you write?
Submitted by mitzie.

Given a choice, I chose happiness.

What was your biggest cooking disaster?

Oh, that would have to be my husband's (then, boyfriend's) 23rd birthday cake.

See, I got cocky.  In college I worked for an ingredients company during my summer breaks.  My job was to bake cakes all day long, adding the company's emulsifier blends to the mix, then measuring how high the cake rose, the softness, grain structure, etc.  It was a lovely summer.  I made 40 yellow cakes a day.  If you ever saw the results of my tests, you would no longer wince when you read mono- and di-glycerides and lecithin on an ingredient statement.  In fact, you'd seek it out.  Because flour, sugar, and vanilla may make a darn good cake, but flour, sugar, vanilla and emulsifiers = HEAVEN. 

I digress.

I'd seen what making a cake from scratch could do.  Far better, I say, than making it from a box mix.  Rarely does a single college grad student have a reason to make an entire double-layer cake, but I had a boyfriend driving in from Chicago.  I felt the pull of the domestic goddess within me.  Andy was one of two men in my life, the other being my father, who adore yellow cake with chocolate frosting.  So that's what it was to be.

Scene: It's Friday night.  Your boyfriend is making the long haul down from Chicago to see you for his birthday weekend.  You want to impress him by having a freshly baked birthday cake waiting for him so that you not only have a gorgeous confection made by yours truly, but so that your apartment also smells like warm vanilla and chocolate.

I went to the store and bought my ingredients.  Now, I had no use for butter back then, and I had less use for milk - being lactose intolerant.  So I bought a little school 8-oz carton of milk, and 4 sticks of butter.  See?  Cockiness.  I had no room for error.  Yellow cake or bust.  And I busted.  During Attempt Numero Uno, I made a rookie mistake.  The recipe called for 1 cup of butter and I threw in four sticks.  FOUR sticks.  I don't know why I thought any recipe called for an entire pound of butter, but I had 1 stick = 1/4 cup in my brain.  I realized my mistake when I peeked in the oven and saw pools of butter floating its way to the top.  Yeah.  Ever seen that?

I'd used my cup of milk and my four sticks of butter, so back to the market I went.  I got back home and guess who was waiting on my doorstep?  The birthday boy.  At this point, I'm huffy, so I let him into the apartment, and commenced Attempt #2.  This one at least had all the correct ingredients in it. 

In an effort to be efficient with my time, I whipped the chocolate frosting, from scratch, while the cake was in the oven.  This came out heavenly.  But guess what, ladies and gentlemen?  Homemade frosting sets.  At least this one did.  So by the time my cake had cooled, I went to the mixing bowl where I'd left the frosting, and I found a flaking mess.  Not willing to run to the store a third time (a curious cashier may wonder why a young girl requires 3 pounds of butter late on Friday night), I smeared the mess all over the cake.  Well, okay, it didn't look good but it would surely taste delicious.

We decided to reserve our tasting until the next day when my parents made their way over to campus for a birthday dinner.  We went out, thank goodness, but came back for dessert.  I knew it when I cut into it, and it was confirmed by the first forkful.  I had made a kitchen sponge.  I still don't know what went wrong.  I think my baking soda pooped out.  Or maybe I mis-measured the flour.  I don't know, but it was baaaaaaad.  Not one to hide my mistakes, I blurted, "OH this is AWFUL!"  My parents, bless their hearts, put on the best smiles and said, "What are you talking about?  It's wonderful!!"  They are definitely "everyone gets a trophy" kinda people. 

So that was my biggest debacle in the kitchen.  There haven't been many, but I'm not too prideful to admit that that cake sucked. 

What are the goofy nicknames you have for your pet? Bonus points for sharing a picture of him/her.
Submitted by Papi Chulo.

I don't get to share Hugo's nickname often, because it doesn't spell out very well.  So I'll talk you through it.  His name is Hugo, right?  Now, cut the "o" off and replace it with an "s".  Giving you, well, Hugs.  Except pronounced with a long "U" like H-yoo-gs.  Yep, that's what we call him.  That or Hug-meister (same rules of pronounciation apply.)

The cats are a different story.  They don't have goofy names.  I don't know it almost doesn't seem... respectful.  I saw a sign in a knick-knack store once that read, "In ancient Egypt, cats were worshipped as gods.  They have never forgotten this."  Our cats certainly haven't.  They go by their given names, and I get the impression that they expect nothing less.  ;)

Too bright, Momma...

What do you daydream about? Is it something far-fetched, or something that might actually happen?
Submitted by lost_in_eternity2207.

What don't I daydream about?  It's probably a shorter list.  But as for what I do daydream about...

1. What it's going to be like being a Mom or what it'll be like to be pregnant (which actually kinda freaks me out).  Soccer games, dance recitals, parent/teacher meetings, driving a minivan, tiny socks, plastic cereal bowls...
2. Singing in a bar band or at an open mic night.  Hey at least I'm somewhat realistic, right?
3. Throwing fabulous parties at our house.
4. Owning my own bakery business - and disregarding the fact that most people are more health conscious than a self-starter bakery could withstand.
5. Moving back to Illinois and living small-town life again.
6. Being old, retired, and touring the country in an RV with the husband.
7. Becoming a high school teacher.

There are so many things I want to do in life. 

What's the best thing about your mom?

She is freaking hilarious but she'll only let you know it if she wants you to.  Otherwise you'd pretty much think she's really quiet and keeps to herself.  I love that about her.

If you're getting one, how are you planning on spending your tax refund?

Um, we had to write a check this year. 

Our financial planner was excited about that.  He said that this is the best scenario - having to write a check under $1K.  I understand that I got to draw interest on that money instead of government and all... but it still doesn't feel that way.  Somehow it just feels like I'm writing a check, and I'll be $x poorer.  Meh.