A Doughy Wednesday Hodgepodge!

{It's that time again! My first Wednesday Hodgepodge of the the new year. It's good to be back!}

1. What is ONE thing or area in your home or life you hope to report is completely organized when 2013 draws to a close?  Do you  have a plan to make it happen?

Hmmm, this is actually a tough one for me. But perhaps I'll go with the storage space I rent. It's so crammed right now that I can't really get into it all that well. It would be awesome if I could get that organized! I have no plan at all, just the idea in my brain.

2. What's the worst uniform you've ever had to wear for a job?

I've never had to wear a uniform for a job, so......next question!

3. What was your last kitchen 'mishap'?  This question comes to you courtesy of Betty who blogs over at A Glimpse Into Midlife...everyone go say hi to Betty!

Instead of my own story, I wanted to share a friend's mishap. (It's a much better story anyway! :D And she agreed I could share it.)

A few years ago, "Ellie" (name changed to protect identity :) was going to make tea-rings. She had bought bulk yeast (as she was going to make several recipes) and tried to read the directions very carefully. She triple-checked herself, asked her husband to read it, even had a friend read it! They all read the same thing, so she proceeded to make her recipe. But soon she noticed something very peculiar. The first few tea-rings seemed to be getting considerably bigger than she had anticipated. She tried patting it down and the other side would pop up immediately! It grew and grew and multiplied and eventually when she turned around, every available inch of her kitchen counters was covered with multiplying dough! Plopping on the counter, plopping on the floor, her oven was even full of dough. She couldn't bake it fast enough! And the preheating oven wasn't helping, it just made it grow faster! The blower on the oven was going, soon the smoke alarm went off, the beautiful tea-rings were now just big blobs of dough, and her entire kitchen was a huge, chaotic mess. She was rolling in dough and it was all the wrong kind!! :D

Eventually she had to just stop and laugh as there was nothing for it but laughter. And was extremely thankful to have her wonderful husband home that day to help her clean up. The moral of the story is......do NOT use 3/4 cup of yeast in your recipe! (and yes, this truly did happen to her.)

4. How do you protect yourself from other people's negativity?

If I can walk away, I do. If I can't and it's someone I know well, I may say something to them, gently and nicely. If it's not someone I know well or at all, then I'd do my best to ignore it and remind myself of happy things and all that I've got to be thankful for. (Plus it'd be a great time to pray for that person.)

5. Who in your family do you most resemble (physically)? If you have children, who do people say they favor? Do you agree?

My Grandma. She's passed away now, but a few years back we had a photo taken side by side and I could see the resemblance. Unfortunately we both have the same huge nose. But other than that, I'm quite flattered to be compared with her, she was an awesome, awesome lady! :)

6. January 8th is National Bubble Bath Day...will you be celebrating?

Nope, not really a bubble bath type of gal.

7.  Some of the 'world's best winter festivals' are - Mardi Gras (New Orleans), Quebec Winter Festival (Canada), Sundance Film Festival (Park City, Utah),  Rio Carnivale (Brazil), Sapporo Snow Festival (Japan), Venice Carnival (Italy) and the Harbin Ice Festival (Northern China).  Of those listed (and if cost were not a factor) which would you most like to attend and why?

I admit I had to google some of these as I didn't know what they were. But I'd pick either the Sapporo Snow Festival or the Harbin Ice Festival. Seeing beautiful and incredible ice and snow sculptures sounds fun! Plus I'd hopefully do other sightseeing in the country and Japan and China would be neat to visit.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

I don't know if anyone reading this likes Jane Austen or not. Or Jane Austen sequels or not. I do! But my point is if you do like the sequels, have you watched The Lizzie Bennet Diaries on YouTube? It's Pride and Prejudice retold in a modern American setting. Lizzie Bennet makes personal 3-4 minute videos about her life. It's fabulous! I admit I haven't watched every single video, they are up to about #77 now, but over the holidays I got back into the story.  This week we were introduced to a new character unexpectedly and it was a fun surprise! :D

Anyway if you haven't heard of them, check them out. I'm posting the first one here just for you (it actually is part of a playlist, so once one video is done, the next one will start). You may want to at least watch several as they get better and they don't take too long to watch. The actresses and actors do a fabulous job and for someone who enjoys Jane Austen sequels, they're pretty cute. If you enjoy them, then I've done my job. If not, ah well, at least I tried! :D

Toodle-loo kangaroos! :D