A day that shall live in infamy.

It's important to keep the memories alive.  I'll admit that WWII doesn't impact me as much as it does others from a personal perspective: through the "accident" of when my ancestors were born, I haven't had a direct ancestor serve in combat since the Civil War.  So, while I grew up hearing about the Depression from my grandparents, they were too old and my aunts and uncles too young to serve in WWII.  My dad was too young for Korea and too old for Vietnam.  I try to make up for it in other ways by educating myself, learning about the history and the sacrifices Americans made.  Eric and I had the opportunity to visit Pearl Harbor in August 2000.  It is very moving, and still full of meaning, despite being long, long "dead".

My friend Ethan has a more familiar connection to WW2.  Check out his memorial here: Thelbert.

Third time's a charm for perfect popovers

Popovers are one of those things I have always wanted to try, but the opportunity didn't present itself until this summer when we went to the Jordan Pond House in Acadia National Park in Maine.  Jordan Pond House is known for its popovers, and expected, they were hot and delicious.  So, I then thought more about making them myself.

A couple weeks ago I picked up a box of popover mix by King Arthur Flour at the grocery store.  I made them, they only popped a little.  They tasted good, so they weren't a total loss.

This morning I looked at the popover recipe in my Fannie Farmer Cookbook.  Very different technique for this recipe, in which you start the popovers in a cold oven.  I tried a half batch, and they hardly popped at all.

So I went to the King Arthur Flour website and found this article: Never-fail popovers, fact or fiction?  I followed their recipe, and this time, they popped wonderfully.  I was whooping it up in my kitchen.  Here's the combination of techniques that worked:

1. Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature.  I used the eggs in water trick they mentioned, and I microwaved my milk for a minute to bring it to room temperature.
2. Preheat the pans in the oven to 450 degrees F so they are hot when you're ready.
3. Mix the ingredients together until combined, then use an electric beater on high for 30 seconds.
4. Pour the mix into the hot muffin pans so cups are 1/2 to 2/3 full, and quickly put back into the oven.
5. Follow the timing instructions for when to reduce the temperature, and do not, under any circumstances, open the oven door.

I indirectly followed one of their other recommendations of having a pan over the popovers to deflect the direct heat.  I cooked a pork roast at the same time, so with it on the top rack it acted like the pan trick.

It's December already?

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.  I don't know the origin of that statement, but I know it's true.  I am a master of thinking of good ideas, then abandoning them as new shiny objects grab my attention.

Today is one of those "regrouping" days that come a few times a year in my life.  Yesterday was a major deadline date for my technical writing business; a total of three proposals submitted.  If you know how this cycle works for me, it means that I've been out straight for the last couple of weeks, and very busy for several weeks before that.  But once we receive confirmation of proposal submission, it's time to lean back in the chair and remember to breathe.

So here I am, trying to remember all of the other interests I have in my life, all of my intended projects, all of those good ideas I've shelved or cast aside over the last few months.

Many of the scrapbookers and journalers in my life choose a word for each year.  This is a word to live toward in the upcoming year.  Sort of a New Year's resolution boiled down and concentrated into a single concept.  I know I chose one last year, but honestly, I've forgotten what it was.  So, I've decided that my word for 2013 is FOCUS.

One of my major flaws is procrastination.  I am very good of rationalizing to myself that I will have time to do whatever it is later and then getting very mad at myself for doing so when later arrives.  I don't like doing a half-assed job at anything, and yet when I procrastinate, that's often what ends up happening - half-assed results, or no results at all.  This is something I NEED to fix.  It affects every aspect of my life.  I know that I have SO MUCH potential that is being unmet because of my lack of focus.  So, that's what I'll be working on in 2013.

I know this is a bit of a rambling post, but it sort of reflects my life right now, and something I'd like to do in the upcoming year is blog more regularly.  I am involved in a lot of very interesting things that I desperately want to share.  This is one thing about "focus" that I want to work on: determine what is most important in my life, focus on doing those things well, and sharing those things with others.