What-What?! Week of October 27th

I spent a lot of this week just trying to get everything done.  Between my behavioral economics class, my CPR/first aid class (this week only – I am now certified!), my daughter’s birthday, putting together Halloween costumes, and having quite a stressful week at work, I have just been run ragged.  Oh!  I did have an article published on Yahoo! Voices, in response to the book Homeschooling: The Bigger Picture; this book legitimately made me angry, which is pretty unusual.  Since reading that book, the author has since published more, though thankfully it is fiction, not non-fiction or advice.

Week 2 of my behavioral economics class covered mental accounting and “unmoney”; that is, paying with anything other than cash, and the affects it has on behavior.  Very interesting, though mostly information that I’d read elsewhere before.  Every week, there’s a debate topic where experts discuss their opinions, and then us students discuss their reactions and the topic.  This week’s topic was asking if credit is a boon or a curse, and one of the experts said the most insane thing:  “Credit card companies are there to provide free debt to consumers”.  Uh… what?  I heartily disagree with that; they are in it to make money.

Art:  Kuitsuku’s Disney / Pokemon Mash-Ups via Deviantart

Earlier this week, I followed a link here and a link there, and came across these adorable Disney / Pokemon mash-ups; while most are of princess and Pokemon, I think the best ones are the non-princess characters, like those above.  Hit the link for more.

Books:  Racecar: Searching for the Limit in Formula SAE via Amazon.com

This is one of the few Kindle books I’ve read that I would give five stars.  It follows the experiences of an engineer through his last year of college, and his last year competing in the Formula SEA student design competition as the main manager of the project.  He and his fellow engineers work, struggle, and grow in their effort to produce a winning car.  The management and interpersonal growth the group experiences are really the stars of the tale, with all the engineers transitioning to from bickering and spite, to a cohesive, effective team.  It really is a good read, whether you’re interested in motorsports or not.

Food:  Healthy Halloween Snacks Roundup via Kelly’s Healthy Kitchen

Now that I’m not in school, I spend a lot more time doing things with my kids related to the holidays.  While looking for activities to do, I came across this great list of healthy Halloween-themed snacks.  I haven’t done a lot of them, but the one that I have done (over and over!) is the ghost bananas.  These are simple as can be, and the kids have been enthralled with them.  Just press chocolate chips into the banana for eyes and a mouth, and BAM, you’ve got a ghost banana!

(img via deviantart.com, kellytoups.com)

What-What?! Week of October 20th

This past Sunday, my husband took our daughter to the local renaissance faire.  My daughter loved dressing up as a fairy and they had a great time.

Monday, my behavioral economics class started; it looks very promising, with the first week discussing what counts as rational, how humans are irrational, and using decision points to help people be rational.  The idea with decision points is to create a pause that gives you the chance to think rationally.  An example of this is that, if you have a giant bag of popcorn, you’re more likely to eat the whole thing in one sitting than if you had four smaller bags of popcorn.  Because you have to stop and open another bag, it is just enough of a kick to make you say “do I really want to eat this much popcorn?” – even if you do the undesirable action (eating a lot of popcorn), you’ve made a purposeful decision to do so.  So far, it’s really fascinating, and I look forward to next week’s lesson.

Cooking:  Homemade Graham Crackers

These aren’t strictly what I’d call graham crackers; they have no graham flour in them, so mostly they’re just crackers.  That’s okay, though, because you will love them anyway.  These have a strong note of honey, with brown sugar, cinnamon, and a nice crunch.  They are not quite the same in consistency as store bought, but the flavor is far and away better.

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups Flour
• 1/2 cup Brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
• 1 stick of Butter, melted
• 4 tablespoons Honey
• 2-3 tablespoons Water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix dry ingredients well, then add butter, honey and vanilla.  Slowly add water until dough forms in a ball.  Roll out between two sheets of wax paper (parchment paper works, too), then either cut squares using a knife or pizza wheel, or use small cookie cutters to create fun shapes.  Bake 12-15 minutes, turn the oven off and open it to vent.  Leave crackers in oven for 45 minutes to crisp up.  Enjoy!

Based on the recipe over at Heavenly Homemakers.

Blogging:  Dissenting Voices and The Pioneer Woman

Recently, I have come across forums, blogs, and other websites devoted to tearing down The Pioneer Woman, Smitten Kitchen, and a few other blogs that I read. Right now, though, I'm going to focus on Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman.

One complaint is that Ree is a narcissist. However, I can't help but think that blogging in and of itself is a narcissistic action.  My blog is, generally speaking, all about my thoughts, experiences, and so on.  Or maybe I'm a narcissist, and I didn't even know it? Wikipedia tells me that 1 percent of the population suffers from Narcissistic Personality Disorder.  I always wanted to be part of the 1 percent, though maybe not that 1 percent. :P

The bigger issue, though, is that many posters complain that Drummond isn't genuine. Her blog and her real life aren't the same. To be honest, I kind of knew that some parts were pretend, even without much evidence for it. Many blogs show this fantasy world of the picture perfect life, and The Pioneer Woman is one of them. I view it as entertainment -- fiction. The fact of the matter is that her life isn't like what's shown on her blog and on TV. This is the edited version, showing all the best parts, some of which have been manufactured. My real life isn't as good as what I show on my blog. Why? Because no one wants to hear about how many times the husband and I had to do laundry this week, that's why. And you know what? Some of it is manufactured. I had to cook dinner two weeks ago, and knew that a new recipe would be a great addition to my blog post. It's what we ate, and it was delicious, but we probably would have just had chicken and noodles if I didn't have a blog post to write. Does it make me less genuine? I don't know. I genuinely cooked it. My family's reaction was genuine. Maybe it's only okay because I'm a small-time blogger, and different rules apply?

I'm not sure that I care if Ree Drummond, as we know her through her blog and TV show, is wholly real. Yeah, she swipes recipes from other people, changes some minor things, then posts them as her own. While those actions are obviously not okay (intellectual property theft, anyone?), I think most of the other issues are pretty harmless.

(img via thewannabechef.net)