Married to Misanthropy

licensed to marry

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:26:07 GMT

We got our marriage license this morning... Had a bit of a panic when they wanted 2 pieces of government issued ID, and Ian hadn't brought his birth certificate (they still haven't sent him his driving license, or we would have used that), but it worked out fine in the end. Next we confirmed the cake, so things are well on track, I think. Next I need to call the hotel, the flower place and the pastor and arrange to talk with them...

Anyway, the trip here was largely uneventful, except for the kid next to me who didn't shut his noise hole from London to Halifax (where he got off). >:( The food was above-par for airline food - Transat is apparently serving President's Choice now, as we got a PC butter chicken ready meal for the entrée and two-bite brownies for dessert. Not to shabby, and much nicer than the usual slop. The service was excellent as well, and the flight crew bent over backwards to help me with my dress. :)

So we're here... where are you guys?! :V

I baked a big big cake!

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:15:18 GMT

I know it's not perfect but this is the biggest dang cake I've ever made, let alone decorated, and I wanted to share! I was asked to make this for the 15th anniversary of the LRP system I play in . It's 13x18 inches, made of 4 9x13 cakes (2 layers). Chocolate on the left, vanilla on the right, with cherry filling. The icing is white mountain flavoured with vanilla and a hint of almond extract. This was my first attempt at writing on a cake!

I learned a neat trick this time around for stopping a fruit filling from running into the icing when you frost the sides of a cake. Probably all the pros out there already know this, but it was a revelation to me so I thought I'd pass it on. Before you fill your cake, pipe a line about 1/2" thick just inside the edge of your bottom layer, then put your filling in and spread it up to the edge of your frosting dam. Brilliant!!

xposted from bakebakebake, natch.

sexual harassment at the gym :(

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:09:58 GMT

I had my creepiest gym experience ever today. I was doing good mornings in the squat rack, when all of a sudden I feel someone behind me you know how it is when you can just 'feel' that someone is in your personal space. There were a couple of big rugby type guys in the gym (no-one else), and at first I thought one of them was just waiting to ask me when I was going to be done, but when I came up at the top of the lift I realized I could feel him breathing on me, he was so close. Then when I finished he bent over to 'help' me rack the weight. I was pretty grossed out and freaked, but I thought I would give him the benefit of the doubt - maybe he honestly thought I needed help and just has no idea of personal space (yeah right, but I am non-confrontational) - so I just told him curtly that I didn't need any help. But then halfway through my next set he came up behind me and did it again! I was so grossed out I didn't know what to do. I can always think of a dozen things I should have said or done after the fact, but at the time I was so freaked out I just finished up and went upstairs in a hurry.

Thankfully experiences like this are the exception rather than the rule, but even once is too much. I am kicking myself now for not complaining at the desk when I was at the gym. If I ever see the guy there again (I don't remember seeing him before), I will definitely say something to the staff.

In short, D: D: D:

Shower time.

FUCK YEAH!!

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 09:37:56 GMT

They refunded my money! American Airlines actually DIDN'T screw me! Holy crap!

on the off chance someone has one I can borrow

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:05:24 GMT

I need a DVD copy of Night of A Thousand Cats!

homemade bread.

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:49:58 GMT

This was on Sesame St... Really?

dr. horrible's sing-along screw-over

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 09:41:51 GMT

Iiiii'm probably getting screwed out of $719 because American Airlines are lying cunts, and I was stupid enough to believe them. Ian and I went to book a flight with them a while back and discovered only after I'd put the tickets through on my card that we'd put in the wrong airport code. As it was like, less than a minute after we'd hit 'send' (the tickets showed up as 'pending' when I looked at them online) we called them up right away to see if it could be cancelled without penalty, despite them usually being the kind you can't refund. The person Ian spoke to said that was no problem and that she was refunding my card. I called Visa and they said the charges showed as 'pending' to them, and to wait 3 business days or so and check back to see if it had gone through or been refunded. Well, the next week the balance was still clear so I thought I was fine. Except yesterday I went online to pay off my other credit card and there's this lovely surprise! They outright lied to us - I'd still be angry, but more at myself, if they had just said up front, 'no, you're out of luck, you should have paid more attention.' But no, they decided to dick us around instead. Visa tells me I have to try and request a refund from AA, and if they won't give me one within 30 days to call back and request to dispute the charge, but I'm not hopeful on either front, since Ian didn't get a confirmation number or the girl's name when he called. It's my word against theirs.

dream

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 10:17:39 GMT

I dreamed that I was a cop and Rhys allseeingeye23 was my partner. I had a great big gun in a holster under a knee-length plaid skirt. Rhys had a truly glorious mullet with blue streaks in it. He lived with his parents in a labyrinthine bed and breakfast. I kept falling asleep in random places and misplacing my gun. :/

egg & spinach casserole

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 19:15:47 GMT

This is a favourite of mine. It's more of a crustless quiche than a casserole, and if you make it with low fat cheddar and nonfat cottage cheese, it comes in at just 200 calories a serving (or 300 if you split it in 4 instead of 6) while being very tasty and filling.

Egg & Spinach Casserole

6 Tbsp. flour (white or whole wheat)
6 eggs
½ - ¾ c grated sharp cheddar cheese
Dash of salt
1 small package of cottage cheese
1 pkg. frozen spinach, thawed, or one bag fresh, washed
1 medium tomato
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 F. Beat together eggs, flour and salt, then add cheeses. Squeeze water from spinach, then cut with scissors or sharp knife and add to eggs. Pour into a lightly greased 8x8 inch pan and top each serving with a tomato slice. Sprinkle salt and pepper overtop. Bake until it passes the knife test (about 40 minutes - mine was a double recipe and took an hour). Sprinkle salt and pepper overtop. Serves 4-6.

xposted from bakebakebake.

Happy Canada Day!

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:33:34 GMT

I'm having a little get-together tonight to celebrate. After the weekend's exploits I decided to keep it simple - my go-to Black Midnight Cake, frosted in the pan with White Mountain Frosting (subbed maple syrup for the corn syrup, natch). The leaves are marzipan. Hooray for the True North Strong and Free! :)

xposted from bakebakebake.

spinach lasagne

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:15:26 GMT

What we had for dinner before the Baked Alaska last night:

This is a delicious vegetarian recipe that uses a TON of cheese. I couldn't find any Ricotta or Romano in Somerfield, and I was unwilling to walk to Morrisons in the pouring rain, so I ran some fat-free cottage cheese through the food processor and used that instead of the Ricotta, and just left the Romano out. It was as yummy as ever.

Spinach Lasagne

1 cup chopped onion
1 Tbls. minced garlic
2 Tbls. olive oil
3 cups ricotta cheese - low-fat okay
2/3 cup grated Romano cheese - low-fat okay
2 cups fresh or frozen spinach
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 egg
20 lasagne noodles - prepared as directed, drained; or if you are smart you will buy the oven-ready kind.
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese - low-fat okay – plus a bit extra for the top if desired
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese - low-fat okay – plus a bit extra for the top if desired
2 jars spaghetti sauce

Cook onions and garlic in olive oil over medium-high heat until onions are tender; drain excess liquid; set aside to cool. Boil spinach for 5 minutes; drain; squeeze out excess liquid; chop. Fold together spinach, ricotta, Romano, salt, oregano, basil, pepper, and egg. Beat in cooled garlic mixture and set aside. In another bowl, combine 3 c. mozzarella and 1c. Parmesan. Lay 5 lasagne noodles in the bottom of a lightly greased 13" X 9" X 2" baking dish. Spread 1/3 of the cheese/spinach mixture over noodles, then sprinkle 1/3 of the mozzarella mix on top. Spread about 1 cup spaghetti sauce over cheese. Repeat layering 2 times, then sprinkle reserved cheese on top. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about an hour, longer if you like a drier lasagne. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Crossposted from bakebakebake.

strawberry baked alaska

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 23:44:49 GMT

My entry for this month's theme at bakebakebake: strawberry baked Alaska! The pictures don't do it justice, I'm afraid... I had to work very quickly to get any, and it kinda shows... But trust me, it was awesome. Everything in this recipe is made from scratch, and I'm quite proud of it. The ice cream was so creamy, and the meringue was spongy and melt in your mouth delicious with just a hint of vanilla... The strawberry jam seeped into the cake a bit and tied the dish together in a most delightful way...

The first thing I did was make the jam, as that can be quite time consuming.

Strawberry Jam

2 ¼ lb. Strawberries, hulled and halved
3 tbsp Lemon Juice
3 lb. Sugar
½ bottle Certo (liquid pectin)

Mash up the strawberries, then stir in the lemon juice and sugar. Heat slowly in a large pot until the sugar is dissolved, then bring quickly to a full boil. Boil hard for 2 mins, then remove from the heat. Allow to cool for ten minutes or so, stirring occasionally, and skimming if necessary. Pot in the usual way (makes about 6 jars' worth).

Next up was the strawberry ice cream.

Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream

2 cups strawberries, hulled and halved
1/2 c sugar
3 large egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 c milk
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups strawberries, hulled and halved
additional 1/2 c sugar
2 c heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla

In a 2-quart saucepan, stir yolks, milk, salt and 1/2 c sugar until well mixed. Heat at medium, stirring constantly, until *just* boiling, but do not boil. Pour mixture into a chilled bowl and refrigerate uncovered 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally, until it comes to room temperature. Meanwhile, mash up your strawberries with the other 1/2 c sugar. When the milk mixture is cool, add the cream, vanilla and berries and stir well. Freeze in a 1 quart ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. When it was done I scooped it into a medium-small bowl lined with clingfilm, covered it, and left it in the freezer.

Then, the cake...I simply halved my trusty New Starlight Cake recipe (I used 2 eggs though), and baked it in a 7" pan so it would be a little thicker. It took about x minutes. When the cake was fully cool, I spread it with a generous layer of jam, then turned my ice cream dome out on top. Next I trimmed the cake to the size of the ice cream, wrapped the whole thing up and put it back in the freezer until go-time.

The last thing to go was the meringue topping.

Meringue topping

8 egg whites, at room temperature
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 450 F. Beat egg whites until frothy, then add cream of tartar. Beat until soft but distinct peaks form, then gradually beat in the sugar. Beat at high speed until glossy, stiff (but not dry) peaks form, then beat in the vanilla.

Final Assembly

Place frozen cake and ice cream on a cookie sheet, then cover completely with a thick coating of the meringue. Use it all! Place in pre-heated oven and bake for 5 minutes, watching carefully. Serve immediately.

The final product:

(A crosspost, obviously. :p)

pimpin'

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:40:00 GMT

Many of you have seen the video for Benny Bennassi's Satisfaction (the chicks with power tools). Well someone (possibly my sister elanya) with too much time on their hands and a thing for TFs has created this: DEVASTATING SATISFACTION.

With apologies to the Constructicons.

dress

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:46:03 GMT

Just got back from my fitting - the dress seems to fit about how I remembered from last time. We're just going to let out the hip a tiny bit to accommodate my massive butt. Thank you squats. :p The length is just right with my shoes, so no worries there. I picked out a headpiece as well; I'm going to take the current one off my veil and put in some combs to hold it in my hair.

My dress is still lovely! I had almost forgotten what it looked like, but it's awesome. Woo. And yay for Michelle as moral support. :)

leonard cohen dances like joel

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:04:29 GMT

I got back late last night from my epic trip to see Leonard Cohen (I went with Ian, Rose and Chrissie). I pretty much haemorrhaged money the whole time, but it was thoroughly worth it. He was amazing; it blows me away that a voice like that could come from a man who's nearly 74 years old. It goes right through you in the most delicious way. And now I don't know if I can ever listen to anyone else sing 'Hallelujah'. He was as funny and charming as you would expect... and yes, during the Future, he did a little Joel dance. :V His band and backup singers were wonderful as well; very solid. And so many instruments! The experience was every bit as incredible as I had hoped. If I had the money I would go see him again and again!

We had a great time in Manchester aside from the concert as well - much good food, shopping, and visiting. We spent most of Wednesday bumming around downtown, having lunch at a Danish place and then dessert from a Chinese bakery (nom nom custard buns). I picked up some steam-at-home custard dumplings at a Chinatown shop as well, and Ian and I got some fancy-schmancy liqueurs from Vom Fass while Rose and Chrissie wandered the art gallery (I wanted to stay but it was quite warm and stuffy in there and it didn't agree with my migraine). Wednesday evening we went with Ruth (our hostess) to a great Japanese place (New Samsi, I think) where I stuffed my face with delicious seaweed-free sushi and tempura. They had a Japanese supermarket in the basement as well, so now I've finally got some matcha to try baking with - holy crap is it expensive!

Also, apparently the symbol of the city of Manchester is the bee! I did not know this! It's all over the place, on bollards and such. Hooray for Manchester! It is ok that you pissed rain on me, Manchester, because you are the Bee City.

Today I have my gown fitting at the bridal shop - in about an hour and a half. I'm more nervous than I expected - worrying about whether it will fit or not, whether the underwear I've got will 'work' with it or not, etc., etc... I'm glad Michelle is coming with me, I really did not want to go by myself.

baby i've been waiting, i've been waiting night and day

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:02:57 GMT

Finally! We are soon to set off to Manchester for a magical adventure to see Leonard Cohen. One might even call it a pilgrimage. I am excited beyond words to see what is reported by reliable sources to be an amazing concert by an artist who has deeply influenced my life. I thought when I saw him sing a few songs at the book launch in Toronto that that was it, but now I get a whole evening of the wonderful man and his incredible music... I expect I may cry. Especially if he plays Miracle.

Ilphère is online

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 11:59:29 GMT

I got my new computer last night! Oh she is saucy. Still haven't got the display settings jsut how I'd like them, but everything is up and running and good for game(s) this weekend!

the lost skeleton returns again!

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 08:34:30 GMT

They're making a sequel to the Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, due out this year! Kudos to humourcide for the heads-up. I can't wait! :D

I had something else to say but it's gone now...!

It figures that now that I'm no longer feeling so wretched, the weather is. Bum.

bored

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:06:14 GMT

Still sick today... My head is so heavy I feel like one of those stupid bobble-heads. I'm headachy, nauseous and weak as a kitten. :( On the plus side Ian decided that we could afford a new laptop to replace Hendrick, and it's been ordered already. It should arrive within 5 business days, so we won't have to work around each other's computer needs for long.

I might go out and sit by the sea or something for a bit later... Despite feeling like ass I'd like to get a little fresh air; it might even do some good...

some relief

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 11:26:30 GMT

The favours are OK! 80 Pleasant St. is my Dad's office, where it was redelivered, and 'Shafer' is my Dad's receptionist. Whew!

monday: Hendrick retires

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 09:09:15 GMT

After a great weekend, things sure are off to a shitty start today.

I woke up with a sore throat, plugged up and drippy face, and nausea (on top of the sunburn). I feel like boiled ass - no gym for me today, and after all that pigging out... I swear I can feel myself expanding. :(

And then... Then Hendrick became a very large unattractive paperweight. It can't read the hard disk, and won't boot. SeaTools basically pronounced it DoA. I kind of knew this was coming after I got a really scary 'no bootable device found' message a month or so ago, but then it seemed mysteriously fine. So, I am computerless, stuck using Ian's computer, which I HATE. It's set up the way he likes it (naturally), which is completely counterintuitive to me, and very frustrating. And my LJ & friends list are unreadable on the projector screen, unless I highlight all the text, or enlarge it to the point where I have to scroll across because half the post is off-screen. Not to mention sharing a computer in general sucks. I feel bad if I forget to log myself out of whatever, because I find it extremely annoying when someone does it on my PC; and when Ian's home I don't like to 'steal' his computer time. Oh, and British keyboard. We are looking for a new laptop for me, but I have basically no money so I don't really know if/when that's going to happen.

For my next trick...!

While going through my online gmail on Ian's PC to make it useable (culling hundreds of facebook and lj notifications, since I basically never check it online), I discovered an e-mail from a shipping company which for some reason had not made it through to Thunderbird on my own PC (WHY does this happen sometimes?!). It was a notification and tracking number for my wedding favours, which apparently were sent out on May 22. Well, I hadn't heard from Dad that anything had arrived, but it was coming from California and that can take a while, so whatever. I went and checked the tracking info, and imagine my surprise when it said that the parcel had been delivered! After a failed delivery attempt (no one home) it was apparently picked up at the depot... but by someone who signed for it as 'Schafer' and has a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ADDRESS from my Dad.

I am hoping that Dad will e-mail me back and say that he actually has them, somehow, but I'm not hopeful, and I have no idea how to go about recouping my losses if this Schafer person has my stuff (signed, sealed and delivered!), much less how I'm going to find/afford/acquire more wedding favours in time.

So how's your week looking?

the chewy

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 23:32:32 GMT

Emii's birthday picnic was today, and since she mentioned cookies the other night, I decided to try out Alton Brown's The Chewy. It certainly lives up to the hype... wow! Oh, btw, I used an 1/8 cup measure as I had no idea what a '#20 disher' was, and it seemed about the right size judging by what other people had suggested (thanks bakex3faq!), and it worked out great, yielding almost exactly the predicted number of cookies.

(xposted from bakebakebake)

elanya's trifle berry tart

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 23:12:31 GMT

I tried Lannie's recipe today for Rose's birthday, and it turned out great! I used strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries. I also made it in a smaller, springform pan so I reduced the recipe a bit. It was devoured and raved over. Nyom!

xposted from bakebakebake

oh noes, I'm a bad wife D:

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 13:27:22 GMT

As a 1930s wife, I am
Poor

Take the test!

shopping spree & wedding worries

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 08:25:22 GMT

I went to Shrewsbury yesterday to look for wedding shoes, and spent quite a bit more than I planned... :o There were some unexpected deals to to be had! I came away with not only the wedding shoes (plain ivory satin, medium heel), but an adorable pair of green leather wedge sandals with cute stitched designs on the heels, for £10! They are so cute in fact that if I can break them in I *might* wear them instead of the 'real' wedding ones - it would probably be asking for trouble though, they're high enough that I could really hurt myself if I turned my ankle walking down the aisle, and no one wants that! I also got a denim jacket, a new leather belt (finally), a skirt, some delicious candy, and a little something for a wedding next weekend. All in all a productive trip; thank you to John P. and some guy I don't know on the WARPS boards who directed me to the bridal shops!

I'm trying not to stress about the wedding but it seems like so much is still up in the air... So many people still haven't RSVPd, and though I know I said until the end of June I am starting to worry! I haven't confirmed/sent a deposit to the sound system guy yet, because every time I've emailed him he says it's too early, but that it's no problem, etc. Dude, just take my money so I can relax! I still need to order my small 'fancy' wedding cake. The wedding favours I ordered still haven't arrived and I'm worried about being able to get my money back and get something else in time if I need to. The amount of time we have in NB before the wedding no longer seems like enough to do all that wants doing - like getting a new passport, making sure the men's and Ian's attendants' suits are sorted and ordered in time... I also keep feeling like there's something crucial I'm forgetting to do. Ian's mum called the other night to ask about rehearsal dinner stuff and I had to leave the room because it stressed me out just to hear him talking on the phone about it.

I need to not get any bigger (and not too much smaller) between now and the wedding so that my dress will fit... and I've got two birthday things to go to this weekend, a wedding next weekend, a trip to Manchester after that, more birthdays and weddings and stuff in July, and the Aberddu event as well, not to mention all the time in NB surrounded by all the delicious food I've been missing - Burrito Loco, market treats, Tim's, lobster... so many opportunities to mess it all up! D: