Mercury Retrograde and Me

Pucci Moon Boots

Three times a year you can depend on Mercury Retrograde to kick in and kick your butt. Some people define it as the universe's Murphy Law. I usually refer to it as hell. For those you who don't know what Mercury Retrograde is, I will try to define it simply. Mercury (also known as the Trickster and the wise Communicator) is the planet that affects communication, travel, and technology of every variety. When a planet is in retrograde it is perceived as moving contrary to the normal movements or that it is moving backwards. So when Mercury is retrograde, our gadgets malfunction or die for no apparent reason or there are lots of social misunderstandings.

When I first heard of this retrograde thing I laughed and said...whatever. I did note that I experienced more snafus than normal. I chalked it up to subliminal suggestion. I mean after all that Astrology stuff is not infallible. A few short months later, I, again start experiencing more than normal amount of fuckups in my daily life. I mentioned to my mom that I was having a string of bad luck and she said "oh that's probably because of the Mercury retrograde". Well everyone knows I usually just shake my head at my mom and her occult leanings, but maybe, just maybe she had a point. She gave me fair warning when the next one occurred, and I again noticed a definite higher number of problems. I started to avoid creating plans during the retrograde or carefully wording emails and god forbid not using electronics.

It turns out that the three weeks that are in Mercury retrograde with no gadgets are the longest three weeks of my life. In case you haven't figured it out we are currently in the middle of a Mercury Retrograde and I'm having a bad day. Nothing has gone according to plan. I bought a printer cartridge because of a science fair project is due, and of course I bought the wrong size. I ruined the Double Chin Project (aka diet to lose 20 lbs) with a trip to the bakery. Those damn butter cookies. I also ruined dinner tonight by forgetting to use all the ingredients. Also, I have several friends who have experienced automobile malfunctions that resulted in accidents and injuries. Finally, all the good TV shows are in reruns.

Today I say, "enough I refuse to be a pawn in the chess game of the cosmos or to my overactive imagination". No more Mercury retrograde fuckups for me. Right after I finish this last cookie.

Fall Test Kitchen

Frye's Harrness 12R 

Fall is here and I'm ready for, but not prepared for it. All of my shoes seem to be strappy sandals. I can't really remember the last time I bought shoes for the winter. The boot to the right will be my fashion staple for this winter. This boot works really well with jeans, shorts, dresses, slacks, and skirts. 


 I bought a ton of shoes and outfits for the summer that I never used. I just didn't do anything or go anywhere notable enough to bother. I won't make the same mistake for the winter. I know that I'm not going to want to dress up to walk the dog. 


I do plan to work on my cooking skills though. More to the point of my baking skills for this winter. I am not really a sweets person, but feel an extremely strong urge to bake for some reason. Currently, I dream up new sweet dish daily. To my surprise, I have even started serving desserts to my family. 


Yesterday I ran across a recipe that was a cobbler, even so simple that I couldn't mess it up. So I tried it, and it turned out well. I will say that it looked and tasted more like an upside down cake. I'm going to share the recipe will everyone.

Ingredients

• 1/2 stick butter, melted, plus more for greasing pan
• 1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup self-rising flour
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 cups fresh (or frozen) blueberries
• Whipped cream and/or ice cream, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 3-quart baking dish with butter.

In a medium bowl, whisk 1 cup sugar with the flour and milk. Whisk in the melted butter.

Rinse the blackberries and pat them dry. Pour the batter into the baking dish. Sprinkle the blackberries evenly over the top of the batter. Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar over the blackberries. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 1 hour. When 10 minutes of the cooking time remains, sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar over the top. 

I think that this is possible with your favorite fruit. If you are thinking of using apples or peaches, I would suggest chopping and cooking them for a few minutes to soften them up. For anyone dieting, substitute sugar with Splenda. The measurements for Splenda are the same as sugar. Also, don't worry about the fruit floating on top, it will sink to the bottom of the baking dish as it cooks. 

Feeling Blue

Image courtesy of R-A-W Shoes Blog

I have never liked Blue. I only tolerated Blue in very small intervals. You can even go as far as to say that I hated Blue in all of his overrated glory.Then I was forced to work with him in April for Autism Awareness Month.

After several bouts of complaining about Blue, I put on my big girl panties and accepted that I could get through a month of dealing with Blue. I sat down for my first meeting and came out thinking that wasn't so bad. The second and third week was easier and maybe even fun. By the end of the month I was looking forward to seeing and hanging out with Blue. Now I find myself looking and longing for Blue.

In case you haven't figured it out I'm talking about the color blue. With the exception of jeans I never wear blue. I wanted to show my solidarity with the parents of autistic children so wearing the color blue for a month was the very least I could do. When I started thinking about how to make sure that the color would be noticeable, I chose to go with nail polish. After careful consideration I chose the four colors (one for each week in the month). The first one was my favorite, it was a dark blue with a greenish tint to it. It reminded me of an automobile paint color. From there it was easy.

Here we are almost four months later and I find myself only looking at blue nail polish and coming up with ways to incorporate it into my decorating themes. I also bought a blue dress (that was not denim). So, here's what I realized: that blue is a very classic look. You can never go wrong with a great navy blue blazer over a white tee and a medium blue pair of jeans. A great dark blue pencil skirt with any color blouse will always make heads turn. The color blue has and will always be your friend and will never let you down.