Evil Cookies and Randomness

I learned a very valuable lesson today.

Yesterday was my last day of class, and it's high time I set to work on my final paper for California Literature. I've already tracked down a dozen journal articles to read and digest and either agree or disagree with in my paper about Helen Hunt Jackson's Ramona, however the idea of filling so many blank pages with rhetoric always makes me cringe.

The other night I was hungry, so I looked up cookie recipes online, and found several good ones, including one that claimed it was the best sugar cookie recipe ever. The accompanying pictures of cute frosted Christmas tree cookies were too tempting. I knew I had to try them.

So instead of delving right into my research, I decided to indulge and procrastinate by testing out the recipe with a small batch. I'd then use the rest of the afternoon to do research and begin my paper. It was such a neat little plan. Only that I'd forgotten that I'm retarded.

While reading the recipe, my often-numerically-dyslexic mind reversed two key ingredients, making me read:

4 cups of sugar
2 eggs

Instead of what it really was:

2 cups of sugar
4 eggs

Yes, I mixed in the full 4 cups of sugar, waiting for it to turn "creamy" before I realized my mistake. I felt like crying. I'd ruined it! On top of my university having to cut a bunch of our classes, my state being in a 40 BILLION dollar hole, the auto bailout failing, and some asshole in the Illinois senate threatening to bring Obama down with his despicable behavior, I had ruined my batch of cookies. Enya's And Winter Came playing in the background seemed a lament for my mistakes...

I calmed down and looked miserably to Teyla, who just looked like she thought I was a freak. I realized that I had three options... be a wasteful wasichu and dump the butter and way too much sugar and start again, try to salvage the dough by turning it into another cookie recipe or... double all the other ingredients and make a ginormous batch of cookies I'd never tried. I went for the latter.

Then, of course, my retardation kicked in again, and I realized I was spooning baking soda into the batter when I needed baking poweder. What the hell is the difference between those two, anyway?

I was using our largest mixing bowl, yet dough was flying all over. My Sirius Black shirt and my face were already covered with flour, so I dumped all the dough into a huge salad bowl and continued to try to mix it. When it required chilling, I roughly shoved the thing into the freezer since the refrigerator was full.

The fatty bowl of dough

Luckily, the dough was easy to work with, and rolled out well. Still, cutting out the bastards took me all afternoon, and the cookies became progressively thicker as I attempted to be rid of the dough sooner.


Needing to get out my frustration, I took a run and the sky after sunset was beautiful.



But then it was back to work, slaving away over the cookies. At least they're pretty and taste yummy! But what will I do with them all? Uh... I know my professors said to not bring any food to contribute to their end of the year dinners/parties, but I'm coming with cookies, and am going to pretend that I made them to bring because I'm nice.

Look at them all!

...and even more

I think this was all a roundabout way to teach me not to procrastinate! After I finish this entry I'll begin my research again, just in case!

Here's some random news:

I'm soon going to be able to add "published photographer" to my list of accomplishments! One of my photos was accepted by the literary journal REED. :)

And... I love Stuart Townsend.

Stuart Townsend

Why? He's talented, he's Irish (and doing what he can to save the beautiful and sacred Hill of Tara), he has an awesome voice, alluring dark brown eyes, and he was a way sexier Vampire than Edward could ever dream to be. And I've never even seen Queen of the Damned.

I read Sean Astin's book There And Back Again about his experience with Lord of the Rings, and his passages about Stuart (who was originally cast as Aragorn then let go the day before filming began because they suddeny decided he was too young for the role) are beautifully hilarious. The poor man probably doesn't realize his own homoeroticism when describing his would-be co-star.

So here's a video of him as Anne Rice's Lestat. I haven't seen the film, since I avoid Vampire media in general for the sake of maintaing my own vision of Vampires since I met one in a dream once and would like to write about him, but this music video is lovely!

Mackenzie's Momma -- Thanks for the link! I checked it out... sounds like you had a great time, and I can't believe Hewlett teased you like that! You poor thing. ;)
Tracie -- Thanks! And I have sad news. The kitty in the pictures, Jack, sadly passed away yesterday. :(