working out for Disney

[Sans Souci]

Sounds like a great time! Too bad that the restaurant was a bit disappointing servicewise, at least the food was good.

I was looking forward to it and I ended up liking the restaurant my husband found better. lol If you're ever looking for a great place to eat the next time you're in Chicago, I'd hit up The Dearborn. It's right by all of the theaters, too, so it's a good place to eat before a play. Our server even asked us if we were going to see anything, so he could expedite our food if needed.

 

[Sans Souci]

This one may seem kind of silly, but it's got long term goal potential that was never connected to this health journey. There was a TikTok dance that became popular maybe about a year ago that involves a song from Chicago (the musical). It's a mix of Fosse-esque moves, the Charleston complete with a high kick, a tap time step, and some other 20s style dancing. So, it's a much more challenging dance than your average social media dance craze. Last week, I was able to finally get it and was lean and fit enough to do it in tempo...many MANY times. It's significant because I'd like to find my way back to the stage after Sam graduates and while classical will be my first attempt, I'd really like to pursue some musical theater. At my age, I don't see many dance chorus lines in my future, but the fact that I can still do some of this stuff tells me that I still possess enough of my dance abilities for it to be an audition asset and I'd be good jumping back into dance classes if I really want to push this route.

You should seriously think about doing that. You don't want to be 80 and start regretting the things you didn't do. Maybe you will get a part, or maybe you won't, but you won't know the outcome unless you try. It's not like you get some sort of penalty of you don't get a part, but you get to have fun and do something for yourself if you make it.

 

[Sans Souci]

Hello-

Still doing quick kettlebell workouts and walking. I didn't walk today because it was seriously rainy and windy.

My son's birthday was Monday and he picked out a cake he wanted me to make. He bought the ingredients and he hands me the cake recipe at 1 PM with empty promises to help me. It was a blackout cake from some defunct Brooklyn bakery. IDK. I was looking at the recipe and while it wasn't technically difficult, it was a lot of work. It had a separate filling and a frosting. Every component of this cake required use of a bain Marie. The instructions were goofy, too. For the frosting, I used chocolate and a serious amount of butter with some water. It said to put it in the fridge for up to 15 min. I knew this was not going to be spreadable in 15. But it was 6:30 pm and this cake had to sit in the fridge for an hour before serving. It was a freaking mess. I ended up drizzling this over the cake for the crumb coat, then I had to put the rest on after it sat in the fridge for 15 min. The filling was the same. I knew it wasn't going to be firm enough in the time the recipe said it would be, so that was oozing out of the sides when I assembled the cake. It was 8 PM by the time we could eat this stupid thing. I guess he liked it, because It was completely gone yesterday. I told him in the future to give me the recipe the day before. Because I was expecting a quick cake and some sort of buttercream filling/frosting. This needed more time for things to set up. He also hovers over me when I am baking and that drives me around the bend. lol

 

[Songbird76]

Hello-

Still doing quick kettlebell workouts and walking. I didn't walk today because it was seriously rainy and windy.

My son's birthday was Monday and he picked out a cake he wanted me to make. He bought the ingredients and he hands me the cake recipe at 1 PM with empty promises to help me. It was a blackout cake from some defunct Brooklyn bakery. IDK. I was looking at the recipe and while it wasn't technically difficult, it was a lot of work. It had a separate filling and a frosting. Every component of this cake required use of a bain Marie. The instructions were goofy, too. For the frosting, I used chocolate and a serious amount of butter with some water. It said to put it in the fridge for up to 15 min. I knew this was not going to be spreadable in 15. But it was 6:30 pm and this cake had to sit in the fridge for an hour before serving. It was a freaking mess. I ended up drizzling this over the cake for the crumb coat, then I had to put the rest on after it sat in the fridge for 15 min. The filling was the same. I knew it wasn't going to be firm enough in the time the recipe said it would be, so that was oozing out of the sides when I assembled the cake. It was 8 PM by the time we could eat this stupid thing. I guess he liked it, because It was completely gone yesterday. I told him in the future to give me the recipe the day before. Because I was expecting a quick cake and some sort of buttercream filling/frosting. This needed more time for things to set up. He also hovers over me when I am baking and that drives me around the bend. lol

So his idea of helping was to hover? What kind of a cake was it? That's one thing I can say for my kids. E will make it herself if she wants it, and A always wants the same thing... Devil's food cake with buttercream frosting. Easy peezy, and since E loves decorating, she usually does that part.

 

[Sans Souci]

So his idea of helping was to hover? What kind of a cake was it? That's one thing I can say for my kids. E will make it herself if she wants it, and A always wants the same thing... Devil's food cake with buttercream frosting. Easy peezy, and since E loves decorating, she usually does that part.

It is called blackout cake. It is a recipe from a bakery in Brooklyn that went bankrupt 50+ yrs ago. It is a chocolate cake, with a chocolate pudding-type filling and a ganache-like frosting. My son likes to modify recipes and instead of milk in this cake, he wanted buttermilk. OK, fine, it will make the cake more moist. Then he brought out a 1/4 c. measuring cup and a bottle of extra virgin olive oil and wanted to mix that in. I stood my ground. This cake had half a pound of butter in it, 4 eggs and buttermilk. It did not need anymore fat/liquid. Adding EVOO would have made this cake unable to hold its structure.I thought it tasted just OK. The juice was not worth the squeeze. I think it might be easier to make macarons!

 

[Songbird76]

It is called blackout cake. It is a recipe from a bakery in Brooklyn that went bankrupt 50+ yrs ago. It is a chocolate cake, with a chocolate pudding-type filling and a ganache-like frosting. My son likes to modify recipes and instead of milk in this cake, he wanted buttermilk. OK, fine, it will make the cake more moist. Then he brought out a 1/4 c. measuring cup and a bottle of extra virgin olive oil and wanted to mix that in. I stood my ground. This cake had half a pound of butter in it, 4 eggs and buttermilk. It did not need anymore fat/liquid. Adding EVOO would have made this cake unable to hold its structure.I thought it tasted just OK. The juice was not worth the squeeze. I think it might be easier to make macarons!

Why on earth did he want to add olive oil to it? Would it have even baked? I'm all for experimenting when it makes sense, like adding nuts or raisins if it's something you love. But things like adding liquids to cake without balancing it with more dry ingredients just doesn't make sense.

 

[Sans Souci]

Happy Halloween

Checking in with a kettlebell workout I found on YouTube.

So far, no trick or treaters. I am in trouble, because I have a large dish filled with candy. My husband bought candy last weekend, but we had to get more today, since someone went a little crazy in the week with the candy. I didn't dress up this year, I am just not feeling it, so I am making mocktails and looking for a flick to watch. I've been kind of wanting to watch Sinners, but I am not sure how gory it is. I know it's a vampire film, so some blood is to be expected, but I don't like seeing things like viscera and skin melting from flesh. Maybe I will just get caught up on "What We Do in the Shadows", instead. lol

 

[Songbird76]

Happy Halloween

Checking in with a kettlebell workout I found on YouTube.

So far, no trick or treaters. I am in trouble, because I have a large dish filled with candy. My husband bought candy last weekend, but we had to get more today, since someone went a little crazy in the week with the candy. I didn't dress up this year, I am just not feeling it, so I am making mocktails and looking for a flick to watch. I've been kind of wanting to watch Sinners, but I am not sure how gory it is. I know it's a vampire film, so some blood is to be expected, but I don't like seeing things like viscera and skin melting from flesh. Maybe I will just get caught up on "What We Do in the Shadows", instead. lol

We had 4 trick or treaters tonight. 6 if you count the two times A came downstairs and absconded with candy, without wearing a costume. Rude! But this is why we hid the candy in E's room..."we" meaning E and me. We bought a bunch, but every year, I buy a bunch and put it in a big bowl and tell the boys to stay out of it, it's for Halloween. And every day, A says "I wish it was Halloween so I could have candy." and then my husband says "Well there's plenty there...you can have some." and then every year, I end up having to go buy more because there's hardly any left by Halloween. So this year, E and I bought it on the sly and hid it in her room so they boys didn't even know we had it. DH asks today "Do we have candy?" Yes. Yes we do. Because I hid it and didn't tell you I had it so you guys couldn't eat it all before Halloween!

I was good. I didn't eat any of it. I really wanted to after the day I had.

(Long story short, I had to call the police because there was a buck naked man walking down the street and I really didn't know how to handle it)
But I was a good girl. No self-medicating with Halloween snacks.

I had started watching the new netflix series about the Ed Gein story, but it's a dramatization, not a documentary, and it's just too creepy. So I watched the documentary about the daughter of the BTK killer, and a documentary called Audrie and Daisy about girls who are assaulted and get bullied so much afterwards that they try to commit suicide. It's really sad. So I watched those, and I only had to get up twice to answer the door. E had a birthday party to go to for her friend Bart. His birthday happens to be on Halloween, so she's not going to be home until after midnight. I was hoping there'd be more trick or treaters. Last year, there was a whole organized thing with about 30 kids. But Halloween is a new thing here, and they don't seem to understand what it really is...they only know what they've seen in horror movies. So last year, they stationed machete-wielding clowns, and zombies chasing kids down with chainsaws as they walked past to trick or treat. I had 4 year olds in tears at my door, having just been chased down by who knows which of the many haunted-house figures placed throughout the neighborhood. They didn't realize that that is ONLY in haunted houses, for older teens and adults, NOT on the street where small children are trick or treating. So I don't know if maybe parents chose not to let their kids do it this year? I heard that the woman who orgainized it last year moved, but I really thought some of the parents might at least bring their kids out, even without the whole organized "event".

 

[HouCuseChickie]

You should seriously think about doing that. You don't want to be 80 and start regretting the things you didn't do. Maybe you will get a part, or maybe you won't, but you won't know the outcome unless you try. It's not like you get some sort of penalty of you don't get a part, but you get to have fun and do something for yourself if you make it.

That's the direction I'm leaning. I won't know if I don't try and I will likely live with regret if I don't make the attempts.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Hello-

Still doing quick kettlebell workouts and walking. I didn't walk today because it was seriously rainy and windy.

My son's birthday was Monday and he picked out a cake he wanted me to make. He bought the ingredients and he hands me the cake recipe at 1 PM with empty promises to help me. It was a blackout cake from some defunct Brooklyn bakery. IDK. I was looking at the recipe and while it wasn't technically difficult, it was a lot of work. It had a separate filling and a frosting. Every component of this cake required use of a bain Marie. The instructions were goofy, too. For the frosting, I used chocolate and a serious amount of butter with some water. It said to put it in the fridge for up to 15 min. I knew this was not going to be spreadable in 15. But it was 6:30 pm and this cake had to sit in the fridge for an hour before serving. It was a freaking mess. I ended up drizzling this over the cake for the crumb coat, then I had to put the rest on after it sat in the fridge for 15 min. The filling was the same. I knew it wasn't going to be firm enough in the time the recipe said it would be, so that was oozing out of the sides when I assembled the cake. It was 8 PM by the time we could eat this stupid thing. I guess he liked it, because It was completely gone yesterday. I told him in the future to give me the recipe the day before. Because I was expecting a quick cake and some sort of buttercream filling/frosting. This needed more time for things to set up. He also hovers over me when I am baking and that drives me around the bend. lol

I've seen them made a few times on some of the baking shows I watch and people are always pressed for time and utilizing workaround to help speed up the process (vs. the traditional approach). That's a lot of cake with no notice but I guess at least it sounds like he enjoyed what you made.

 

[Figgy1]

Why on earth did he want to add olive oil to it? Would it have even baked? I'm all for experimenting when it makes sense, like adding nuts or raisins if it's something you love. But things like adding liquids to cake without balancing it with more dry ingredients just doesn't make sense.

Olive oil cake is a thing and absolutely delicious. But not in that recipe, I'm with you on that

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We had 4 trick or treaters tonight. 6 if you count the two times A came downstairs and absconded with candy, without wearing a costume. Rude! But this is why we hid the candy in E's room..."we" meaning E and me. We bought a bunch, but every year, I buy a bunch and put it in a big bowl and tell the boys to stay out of it, it's for Halloween. And every day, A says "I wish it was Halloween so I could have candy." and then my husband says "Well there's plenty there...you can have some." and then every year, I end up having to go buy more because there's hardly any left by Halloween. So this year, E and I bought it on the sly and hid it in her room so they boys didn't even know we had it. DH asks today "Do we have candy?" Yes. Yes we do. Because I hid it and didn't tell you I had it so you guys couldn't eat it all before Halloween!

I was good. I didn't eat any of it. I really wanted to after the day I had.

(Long story short, I had to call the police because there was a buck naked man walking down the street and I really didn't know how to handle it)
But I was a good girl. No self-medicating with Halloween snacks.

I had started watching the new netflix series about the Ed Gein story, but it's a dramatization, not a documentary, and it's just too creepy. So I watched the documentary about the daughter of the BTK killer, and a documentary called Audrie and Daisy about girls who are assaulted and get bullied so much afterwards that they try to commit suicide. It's really sad. So I watched those, and I only had to get up twice to answer the door. E had a birthday party to go to for her friend Bart. His birthday happens to be on Halloween, so she's not going to be home until after midnight. I was hoping there'd be more trick or treaters. Last year, there was a whole organized thing with about 30 kids. But Halloween is a new thing here, and they don't seem to understand what it really is...they only know what they've seen in horror movies. So last year, they stationed machete-wielding clowns, and zombies chasing kids down with chainsaws as they walked past to trick or treat. I had 4 year olds in tears at my door, having just been chased down by who knows which of the many haunted-house figures placed throughout the neighborhood. They didn't realize that that is ONLY in haunted houses, for older teens and adults, NOT on the street where small children are trick or treating. So I don't know if maybe parents chose not to let their kids do it this year? I heard that the woman who orgainized it last year moved, but I really thought some of the parents might at least bring their kids out, even without the whole organized "event".

Is the Ed Gein thing on Netflix like the ones they've put out in previous years about Dahmer and the Menendez brothers? They're dramatizations but still super creepy.

 

[Figgy1]

It's cold today so I'm making a large pot of veggie curry, extra spice. Inside walking and a short practice today
Anyhoo that's not why I'm checking in
Dh has to watch his salt and fat, so he asked for a grinder/sausage stuffer for Christmas, claims he'll make them. I spent part of yesterday going down the rabbit hole of how to make healthier sausages. I found several including a fish sausage with no added fat almost no salt which I can leave out and a lower fat chicken sausage with apple and maple syrup. Yea he won't have to completely give up sausage as I can make even Italian sausage lower fat and salt free. He spent part of yesterday watching videos on sausage making that all included added pork fat The boys watched videos on extra hot sausages with bacon in them

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Good morning and happy first week of November! I cannot believe we're already past Halloween! Speaking of...I allowed myself to have fun on Halloween. I ate candy and made a "dip." The dip had a cheesecake base, a layer of caramel sauce, hot fudge (that was really just room temp), Heath Bar crumble and then a mix of candy corn and caramel apple candies. I had sugar cookies for dipping but Twix bars and Kit Kats worked just as well. A little boy asked what it was and he actually told me it was too much! In some ways, it was good that it was so sweet because it kept me from gorging myself on candy. I have about 95% of it left, so I froze it for a Thanksgiving project. In fact, I think I still would have been in a calorie deficit had I not been drinking mudslides Either way, one night isn't going to hurt my progress, and I ate well the rest of the day, didn't indulge in anything crazy later on when I got the munchies (I think I had 5-6 Saltines) and I walked over 6 miles that morning in addition to standing and dancing around at my desk. I actually weighed myself for the heck of it after my long walk yesterday and the scale finally said what I was hoping it would the other day. Actually, it was down one more pound than I expected. So, just more movement towards taking actions to teach myself that I can enjoy here and there without derailing the process. Next weigh in will be around Thanksgiving.

I'm getting a little bit nervous for this weekend. I'm flying to Phoenix on Friday night with Sam for softball. The TSA lines at the airports have been kind of crazy due to the shutdown issues. Hopefully we don't have any issues coming or going.

 

[Figgy1]

Good morning and happy first week of November! I cannot believe we're already past Halloween! Speaking of...I allowed myself to have fun on Halloween. I ate candy and made a "dip." The dip had a cheesecake base, a layer of caramel sauce, hot fudge (that was really just room temp), Heath Bar crumble and then a mix of candy corn and caramel apple candies. I had sugar cookies for dipping but Twix bars and Kit Kats worked just as well. A little boy asked what it was and he actually told me it was too much! In some ways, it was good that it was so sweet because it kept me from gorging myself on candy. I have about 95% of it left, so I froze it for a Thanksgiving project. In fact, I think I still would have been in a calorie deficit had I not been drinking mudslides Either way, one night isn't going to hurt my progress, and I ate well the rest of the day, didn't indulge in anything crazy later on when I got the munchies (I think I had 5-6 Saltines) and I walked over 6 miles that morning in addition to standing and dancing around at my desk. I actually weighed myself for the heck of it after my long walk yesterday and the scale finally said what I was hoping it would the other day. Actually, it was down one more pound than I expected. So, just more movement towards taking actions to teach myself that I can enjoy here and there without derailing the process. Next weigh in will be around Thanksgiving.

I'm getting a little bit nervous for this weekend. I'm flying to Phoenix on Friday night with Sam for softball. The TSA lines at the airports have been kind of crazy due to the shutdown issues. Hopefully we don't have any issues coming or going.

Safe travels and fingers crossed for no lines or delays

 

[Songbird76]

Olive oil cake is a thing and absolutely delicious. But not in that recipe, I'm with you on that

My zucchini bread and poppyseed bread recipes both call for oil instead of butter, but to ADD as an extra ingredient just sounds terrible!

 

[Songbird76]

Is the Ed Gein thing on Netflix like the ones they've put out in previous years about Dahmer and the Menendez brothers? They're dramatizations but still super creepy.

I have no idea. I usually don't watch dramatizations. I prefer an actual documentary, where they talk to the investigators of the time, and victims or family and friends of victims, family or friends of the suspect, etc. They might re-enact certain things, but mostly it's just the information laid out. But the dramatizations, they take some liberties, because obviously they don't have verbatim conversations, etc. But Ed Gein was particularly unhinged. I don't know if you have heard of him, but he was apparently obsessed with a Nazi woman who made things like lamp shades out of human skin, etc. So Ed was really attached to his mother. When she died, he robbed graves and took skin to make a mask and he would dress in his mother's clothes and wear this mask to feel like he was close to her. Things like that are just incredibly creepy when they are reenacted.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I have no idea. I usually don't watch dramatizations. I prefer an actual documentary, where they talk to the investigators of the time, and victims or family and friends of victims, family or friends of the suspect, etc. They might re-enact certain things, but mostly it's just the information laid out. But the dramatizations, they take some liberties, because obviously they don't have verbatim conversations, etc. But Ed Gein was particularly unhinged. I don't know if you have heard of him, but he was apparently obsessed with a Nazi woman who made things like lamp shades out of human skin, etc. So Ed was really attached to his mother. When she died, he robbed graves and took skin to make a mask and he would dress in his mother's clothes and wear this mask to feel like he was close to her. Things like that are just incredibly creepy when they are reenacted.

I was able to confirm. It's their third season of "Monster." I didn't even know it came out, but this is also the first season that doesn't involve Ryan Murphy. I see that there's been a lot of beef with it over the number of factual inaccuracies. Granted, liberties were taken in the first two seasons, but I think it was just for flow and gap filling in those cases. Supposedly, Lizzie Borden will be the subject for the next season.