not quite right

Here is a picture of what snickerdoodle cookies are supposed to look like fresh from the oven:

This is what they look like if you accidentally add only 1/2 cup sugar instead of the 1 + 1/2 cups the recipe calls for:

I knew something wasn't right when they didn't flatten at all. Instead of cookies, they are cinnamon biscuit balls! I guess that's what happens when you have a 3-year-old trying to help you measure. Oops!

Zebra child

 

This is what happens when you let your kid play with a pen.

 

It's 1:27 AM

....and I'm still awake. Why do I do this to myself? Why?! I'm so going to regret it 6 hours from now when Sara wakes up. Uhhhg.

There's just something about watching it on TV

We don't own very many movies. And the movies we do own, we don't watch very often. Hence why we don't own very many. BUT for some reason, if we ever happen to see one of the movies we own on TV, we will sit and watch it (commercial breaks included) instead of simply getting off our rears to put the DVD in the player, enabling us to watch the movie commercial free. I don't know why, but we do this all the time.

Another weird thing I do in regards to television movie watching: I will watch the same movies over and over, any time they are on TV. What is it about a movie being on TV that makes me think it is worth watching? And what makes me think it is worth watching every time I see it on TV? It's a weird, weird habit, and it needs to stop.

What strange movie-watching habits do you have? And better yet, what movies would you recommend I watch so I can break the cycle?

Project Mode

I stayed up way too late last night working on something that absolutely does not matter! Despite the unimportance of my task, there was no hope for me; I was in project mode, working with blinders on, unable to focus on anything but the job at hand. Nothing else mattered. I had to keep working. I had to finish!

Well, I didn't finish, but at 2:30 in the morning my brain finally decided I had reached an adequate stopping point. It's not looking good for Reasonable Anna, because this project may take quite some time, which means Irrational Project-Mode Anna will be here to stay for a while. But don't worry, Reasonable Anna kicks in when needed, like when Sara demands attention or when my stomach screams from starvation. I'll step away from the insanity for such necessities, but in the meantime, you'll find me working on my project!

I've learned...

that this

(stone ground mustard)

is not the same as this

(ground mustard)

and think these items shouldn't have such similar names since they are such different things. One is in the condiment aisle with the regular mustard; the other is in the spice aisle. One needs to be refrigerated after opening; the other is kept on your pantry shelf. Very different. Not to be confused.

I've also learned that this is a simple and tasty salmon recipe. You should try it. But be sure to use the stone ground mustard from the condiment aisle (like the recipe calls for) and not the regular plain old ground mustard from the spice aisle, cause if you used that instead I'm pretty sure the recipe wouldn't turn out quite the same way. Just a hunch.

When will I ever learn?

When laundry instruction tags say DRY CLEAN ONLY or when cleaning products say TEST IN AN INCONSPICUOUS AREA FIRST, they really mean it.

During the past month or so, two items in my possession have been ruined due to my lack of instruction following. Our once cream sofa became discolored in several spots because of misused spray cleaner (and has since been covered with a slip cover that wasn't in the budget), and now a soft red throw blanket has lost all its fluffiness (said fluffiness has been collected and removed from the lint trap of our dryer about 5 times over) because I failed to read that tiny tag with those oh-so important three little words on it. And let me say, this is the second throw I have ruined this way! So my plea to all of you is this: READ! That's all you gotta do! It wasn't until AFTER my items had been ruined that I turned to the instructions to see what had gone awry. So learn from my mistakes and take the extra two seconds to read how the product was intended to be used or cared for. You may think you know better, but those little tags and instructions really were put there for a reason. And now I know.

*CAUTION*

When using the microwave to soften butter, be sure to remove the foil wrapper first. I knew this, but still managed to catch the sparks and fire show yesterday. Good thing it was only set for 5 seconds...