revamp-nation. 13 May 2008

So clearly I've diverted greatly from my goal of last summer to design and maintain a pixel site. I have not made a single pixel since maybe August.

To that same respect, my website interests focus much more on the weblog world of vegan cookery. In addition to pin-up girls, Seattle, and musicals.

I will need to reasses what I want out of this website, but one thing for certain is that Pixel Cupcake is no longer a relevant name. I hope to have the website revamped and.. er.. reassessed within the next month!

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RAW, unadulterated, and chocolate. 27 Apr 2008

When life is uncomfortable, fast, stressful, and pressured, it's difficult to remind yourself of simplicity. After all, urban life can be so far removed from simplicity that being simple is so difficult in itself because it requires a change of habit. Even if you'd rather shop for yoga pants than actually practice yoga (can I get me some of those? They look damn comfy), a little zen is just a Mason jar away.

So I've been reading a bit about a detox fast lately that I'll refrain from naming. I was real excited about doing it; depression has been kicking in lately and my largely processed diet, as the result of an on-the-go-student ritual, has had me feeling sluggish. I was all gung-ho - bought all the supplies and prepared by eating completely RAW for a week. Then Day 1 I tasted what was supposed to be my only fuel for two weeks and couldn't handle it.

I'm still shopping around for a new detox plan, but some good things came out of this little eight day experiment. I've given up caffeine (less Starbucks cash, more grocery funds!) and have discovered a joy of raw food. Raw food is completely uncooked (under 110 degrees F) and unprocessed. Raw foodists consume much raw nuts, frozen, and dehydrated foods. It requires much preparation and patience, I might add.

Sprouting is a vital part of a varied raw diet, and the list of available sprouts will have you looking at the bulk section of your local co-op in a new light. Cheap and easily taken care of, plus the creative recipes for sprouts provides plenty incentive for the curious cook such as myself. And you get to feel like a hippie for a few hours.

My sprouting set-up was the epitome of off-the-cheap. Extra mason jars and a few clean nylons and I was ready to go. There are various sprouting materials that can be bought, however, like mesh screens for containers and special trays. First your seeds need to be soaked for a few hours, depending on what you're sprouting. They are dormant at this point and need to primarily be "awakened" (how's that for greener-talk?). Generally soak them at 2-3 parts water to one part seeds. Stir them a bit every so often to make sure all your seeds are soaking. Don't oversoak your seeds, and when soaking time is up drain them off. The advantage to the screen/jar set up is that you can just turn the jar over for draining. Store sprouts in their container just about anywhere outside of direct sunlight - the sprouts aren't going through photosynthesis, and the extra heat might cause them to spoil.

From then on the sprouts need to be rinsed about twice a day. With my set-up, I simply flushed my seeds with water in the jar, screwed the nylons on top once again, and dumped. Most sprouts are ready to be "harvested" soon after they sprount tails and should be stored in airtight containers in the refrigerator. Then use them in recipes or eat them raw!

Also, as promised: thin mints.

I adapted this recipe from a few I found through a recipezaar.com search. They're a little cakier than Girl Scout Thin Mints and perhaps not entirely authentic, but pretty damn good. They beat a craving, anyway. And they're veganness already gives them kickass points.



Vegan Thin Mints
yield about 2 dozen cookies

cookies
5/8 c flour
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c Dutch-processed cocoa
not-quite-1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp instant coffee powder
2-1/4 tsp shortening (non-hydrogenated, melted)
2 T cake flour
1/4 + 1/8 tsp Ener-G egg replacer
2-1/4 T water
3 T soymilk

coating
7 oz. vegan chocolate
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
4-6 drops peppermint candy oil (optional or to taste)

Sift the dry cookie ingredients into the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Add the shortening and mix on medium speed until well combined.
Mix the Ener-G egg replacer with the water and pour into the dry ingredients with the mixer running. Slowly pour milk into the mixer just until dough starts to form, using a little more (1/2 T at a time) if needed.
Gently roll into a ball and chill, covered in the fridge for at least two hours or about a 1/2 hour in the freezer.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Coat the counter top and rolling pin lightly with cocoa powder or flour. Roll the dough out to approx. 1/16 inch in thickness. Cut shapes (preferably small) and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or Silpats. Bake for 10 minutes.
Let cookies cool completely on a rack.
Place chocolate and extract from coating ingredients in a microwaveable bowl and melt carefully (30 seconds at a time, stirring between each time) until smooth. Add oil to taste.
Stabbing the bottom of each cookie carefully with a fork, dip into the coating mixture and tab gently against the bowl. Place on a cool Silpat or wax paper-lined cookie sheet. Chill at least 10 minutes in the fridge, until firm. Store in an airtight container.

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the vegan's return. 13 Apr 2008

I've only had two days to recooperate, but I really haven't done much to further my progress in the work that I'm behind in. ...Oops.

I had more fun in Disneyland than I expected. Thank you all so wonderfully for your kind thoughts on my friend. She in fact came to Disneyland while we were there, and we spent my one full free day together. I think that they took the trip to try cheer themselves up and attempt to have a good time. It was fun; she's doing as well as to be expected, but she mentioned that they just all want to put off falling apart until they've had time to... well, time I guess. They're very strong, and I believe they came to terms with part of it before he passed on.

So; the trip. I was exhausted every day but still managed to get up before any of my roommates every morning. Brittany and I are not rides people - rollercoasters, though I was able to ride them nonstop when I was younger, terrify me now. We both get motion sickness easily too. It was conveinient that we could stick together.

Day 1 After a decent two and half hour flight, we arrived at LAX and were shipped off to the Beverly Hills Hilton for a two hour workshop with Al Kasha, the composer and author that wrote "Candle on the Water" from Pete's Dragon, a song that is a part of our choir program. It was a really nice and intriguing workshop, but I really didn't get much out of it. I'd been up since 4:30am. I just wanted to get to my hotel room and fall the hell asleep.
We finally departed and unpacked in our hotel... and lo and behold, joint rooms. Joint rooms with fellow choir boys. Don't get me wrong, I was not bashful or mortified to be sharing a door with them. I've been on group trips before, and it didn't phase me. Eddie was staying there too, and as my friend I didn't care. What you don't understand is that Eddie is in love with Bailey. Bailey was in my room. Elena and Bailey and Eddie like to do things together. Let me put it this way: as much as I love them all... I spent a week being exhausted and them being in the same proximity of each other for that week till the wee hours of the morning was fucking annoying.
We didn't yet have our Disney passes, so we could only get to Downtown Disney if we wanted. Brittany's two little sisters are in choir as well, and her mom and stepdad also came to California. I went out to dinner with them and a collection of other small choir children and parents to California Pizza Kitchen. It was slightly nightmarish; to me as an outside it's like her family can't grasp the fact that Brittany is seventeen years old, on her last choir trip with friends she grew up with for ten years, and not inherently responsible for the sake of her sisters.
I didn't even order my formerly favorite dish because of eggs in the Thai Peanut Linguini noodles. Hmph.

Day 2 Workshop day. The day I'd been least looking forward to all trip. After stuffing.. ahem... rolling my uniform into a petite duffle bag (due to the terrorist threat that hangers pose to the Disney crew), we were escorted to backstage Toon Town. They don't allow photos there, and for good reason. The sight of enormous firework hydrolics and revealed Disney illusions sort of threatens the magic.
The one-and-a-half hour workshop consisted of sight reading a Disney piece, short rehearsals, and recording our voices to Disney movie clips. Most groups get down one song. When lucky they'll manage two. How many Disney pieces did we read, rehearse, and record? Three. The clinician was highly impressed with us and our (and by "our" I mean "everyone else's") sight reading ability. It was mentioned that we might even have "too much" energy, something the clinician said he never had to note before. It was much more exciting than I anticipated, and it was extraordinary to watch our voices projected over actual Disney clips on a giant screen!
The difficult part was that following said workshop we had a concert at Plaza Gardens and the inbetween call time was agonizing. Did I mention I was exhausted?
Following the performance we had the day free to play in Disneyland, but Brittany and I just napped at the hotel pool and tanned.

Day 3 Slept in slightly. We met in the lobby and were escorted backstage for our performance on the Hollywood Backlot Stage. Bigger than the stage in Plaza Gardens and a more rejuvenating performance after getting some necessary rest. Then they started playing back High School Musical (insert wrist slitting here) which was bizarre and confusing. What we didn't get is that only us onstage could hear it. Oh well.
Afterwards, I ran into my friend Jackie who apparantly saw us perform. I suppose it is a small world afterall (couldn't help myself - did I mentioned the ride was closed)?
For dinner we went to LA's Medieval Times to cheer for the Blue Knight (the only mighty-fine one of the bunch). They had a surprisingly delish vegetarian option for me that I believe was vegan as well. It included chips and hummus, a rice dish over a thick portabella mushroom and roasted-peppercorned veggies.

Day 4 Alayna comes to Disneyland! Liz and I woke up early and met in the lobby than walked a couple blocks to the Denny's in front of the hotel where she, her sister's partner Olivia (Meredith had to work and couldn't make it), and her mother are staying.
We could then spend a full, joyous day in Disneyland where I actually go on rides. My favorite will always be Peter Pan's Flight; it's just so cute. I love the star room that makes you just want to pluck the itsy-bitsy lights out of the sky.
Mostly we just went on those watch-and-see rides due to the whole motion sickness thing. Apparently her mom and Olivia ran into old Al the security guard and got to explaining why they were all there. Al, being the wonderful old man that he is, later ran into them again when Alayna, Kali, Gabby, and I had met up with them and escorted us ahead of the line onto Pirate's of the Caribbean. Sweet.
After spending eight hours in Disneyland, buying more merchandise than I wanted and meeting such characters like Snow White, I walked back to the hotel with Brittany. My uncle that I haven't seen in ten years who lives in LA wanted to meet up with me. The dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant had its fair share of awkward but it was nice to see him.
I walked back alone to Disneyland around nine and found Alayna to do the one roller coaster I chose to ride: the Matterhorn. Yeah, I chose the fucking Matterhorn out of all the rides. Not fun. Not our favorite

Day 5 I go to Denny's again where Alayna and I were supposed to have breakfast, but she had overslept. I end up sitting on a bench for fifty minutes trying to call her cell phone.
We pack and go to Knott's Berry Farm: land of roller coasters. Gabby and I were not having it and set off to experience such thrilling rides as Charlie Brown's School Bus, Lucy's Tugboat, and the slowest ferris wheel that ever rolled across the land. Mostly it was hot and tiring, so we found a fountain and fell asleep sprawled on a bench for an hour and half.
Concluding our trip, we depart to LAX for a most welcomed trip home.

If anyone is wondering what I ate during the trip, I mostly ate from the enormous packaged food load that I packed and Jamba Juice from Downtown Disney. Despite comforting research that related easy vegan Disney finds, I found nothing worth the overpriced fee. It was frustrating to be in LA, such a veganopolis if one wished to seek it out, and have no access to even fresh fruit. The nearby 7-Eleven had overpriced, underripe fruit, but it was irritating to have no access to cheap, balanced food for a week.

Saturday night, after having one day home, we went to Seattle. I was determined to get my vegan-dollars worth, so stops included a necessary stop at Mighty-O's (when the only address I had available for the Flying Apron was obsolete), Hillside Quickie's in the U-District and Sidecar for Pig's Peace.

It is difficult as hell to go to the Mighty-O's and get the donuts you want unless you're there straight near opening. I remember the time my dear omnivorous father made a special surprise trip to get me a dozen, at 11 in the morning, and they were sold out. All the variety gets shipped off to Batdorf & Bronson here in Olympia and the other locations the fresh baked goods are sold. Only chocolate varieties were available, but I got a dozen anyway. Still so, so worth it.

Hillside Quickie's is a comfort food, deli-style eatery. "Quickie" it is not, but reassuringly dishes seem to cater to the vegan right to whatever the fuck we want to eat. Vegan milkshakes, desserts, and sandwiches? Oh yeah. My mom ordered "The Moore" and I simply ordered the gyro. Mine was served with some potato salad and her's with fries. Seitan-pumped and filling, I would definitely order both again though her's had more flavor I thought. She claims it wasn't to die for, but what makes any other genuine sandwhich shop so? I'd eat there again when in the area.

My highlight was a trip to Sidecar for Pigs Peace, the only all vegan grocery store in Washington and similar in size and selection to how I remember Food Fight (I haven't been since they opened the minimall). In an effort to conserve leftover Disney cash, I decided to splurge only on products not readily availble down here. I'm not thrilled with most Toffutti products, but the mozarella slices were on sale. I'm also fascinated with the Soy Bleu I've seen advertised in VegNews, but my biggest thrill was getting my hands on some goddamned SWEET & SARA MARSHMALLOW MELTAWAYS! I've yet to sample any purchases but will get right on that this week.

As promised, I've devised Vegan Thin Mints. I may post the recipe this week, but they're not the most convincing replacements nor have I tried more than one test run. Still if anyone were to test and adjust it, that'd be most helpful.

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a vegan in disneyland. 05 Apr 2008

This week has been tough in general. Personally, I'm struggling more than I've ever had to in class which is causing me more stress than what I usually suffer. These days, my grades are actually suffering, as opposed to just my mental state.

Still my world isn't the only one that endures loss and struggle. Being one to try to rise above ignorance, I've never believed mine was. But one of my best friend's father passed away this Thursday. He's been battling cancer for a few years, so it wasn't unexpected. It's just that his condition dramatically lessened this past month. She's been away from school during this time to spend as much time at home with him as possible.

Unfortunately, I can't make it to his memorial on Monday - all year my spring break plans have been that I'd be gone in Disneyland with choir.

I do have some content ready for the site - including a new layout and vegan thin mints - I've just been so preoccupied that I'll admit the site was just not first priority.

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green tea gel(icious)ato 08 Mar 2008

Yeah... uh. So. No speak long time. I'm not going to apologize for it anymore because I can't promise when I can update/blog. If it's any consolation... I made gelato?

Gelato is like ice cream but not in that it is mostly made of milk and sugar with flavorings resulting in a denser cream. And vegan gelato is unlike either in that it doesn't include milk.

I had a hankering for Green Tea Gelato and tweaked this recipe from Everyday Dish.

Green Tea Gelato
yield 1 quart

mix #1
3/4 c water
1/2 c brown rice syrup or light corn syrup (preferably organic)
1 T vanilla extract

mix #2
1 c water
3/8 c "milk"
3/8 c soy creamer or more "milk"
1/2 c soy yogurt
2 t oil
1/2 c maple syrup
1 T corn starch
1/4 t salt
6-8 green tea bags

Heat "milk" and soy creamer from mixture #2 in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, remove from heat, and let the tea bags steep for 20 minutes.

Mean while blend ingredients for mixture #1; set aside in a measuring cup.

Gently squeeze all the tea bags to release excess milk and throw away. Stir the milk tea. Blend milk tea and the other ingredients for mixture #2 until smooth and frothy. Pour into a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan and thicken over medium-high heat.

Whisk mix #1 into #2. Let the resulting mixture cool, chill, and prepare according to your ice cream maker manufacture's directions. Store in an airtight container in the freezer.

Unfortunately I have no photos available for this one. I've vowed not to take anymore food photography until I've put more time and effort into learning decent presentation.

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"the pink month" in retrospect. 15 Feb 2008

I know we've got two weeks left, but even with leap year February's still a day shorter.

I've heard before that we subconsciously associate things, objects, feelings, and words with colors. Some connotations are more conscious than others. As for me, I've always very consciously associated each month with a different color. Maybe it's the memory of calendars they used to have us draw as Christmas gifts for our parents in elementary school. Perhaps it's just the way I was taught to learn the months of the year. In any case, February is "the pink month."

It's silly, but I always thought turning sixteen was going to feel different. Even when I was little, I saw it as the first "milestone" birthday. Turning thirteen was just the cheap prelude to how being sixteen would feel. Well, it's not. I think the only difference is that I'm not waiting for birthdays anymore. Being able to vote will be nice, legal adulthood will feel good, twenty-one will be better, but that innocent, childish year-round anticipation for the next birthday is sort of gone. I'm not waiting for it anymore.

Well, I hope everyone's Valentine's Day was sweet in more than one way. Needless to say I missed out on the commercial candy for lack of veganism, but I made some pound cake and also sampled some chocolate cupcakes from a girl in choir who is the only other vegan that I know.
I never expect much from Valentine's Day. In fact, I had almost forgotten it. I have no sweetheart; the holiday is just an excuse for the lovers who act on their relationships everyday anyway or rubbing it in for the singles. I was not bitter, I just expected the holiday to pass. I thought it was like Easter, a makeshift holiday people celebrate on their own time. I guess I forgot the Hallmark capitalization of it all. I ended up feeling a little guilty because I received Valentines and I hadn't even baked. Alayna gave me an angel bear, a friend, Gabriella, gave me a Weasley Harry Potter Valentine (knowing that I live and die for the Weasleys), and even Hannah gave me a sweet card (and she's like the anti-Hallmark). I tried to make up for this by baking a pound cake between the time I get home and have to leave again for rehearsal, but the damn cake just would not finish. I had to leave it in the oven.

Ho hum, I'm so bad at being a webmistress right now. I'm falling behind! I'll do my best to make up for it with my four-day weekend.

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semester. 28 Jan 2008

I apologize for the lack of update, but if you are still anticipating some new fuel, I'm afraid you have a bit more to wait. It's finals week, you see, and on top of that I've got rehearsals for both Kids in Koncert and Mother Hicks.

It's been a few weeks, I know. It's a shame, really, that I haven't had much time to spare for blogging because things have happened that I would've liked to go into. Not much of it is still relevant to say, however. One thing I am thrilled about is the winter drama, Mother Hicks. Essentially it's the story of an orphan girl (known only as Girl) during the Great Depression who finds a caretaker in the town "witch" Mother Hicks and for a time believes is her mother. I play Alma Ward, the mortician's wife and the only person in town that loves Girl as a daughter and will take care of her. The show is short, which is a plus for me, but I am very grateful for my character. Alma is very stimiulating for me to play because she is patient and incredibly maternally-instinctive but also has a past of hurt from losing her own children. I'm not familiar with her, though currently I feel like I'm playing her a little too much like myself. The character has substance, in any case, and I will have fun developing her. Quite a step up from one-liner Betty Andrews back in the fall, even if Inspecting Carol was the most fun I'd had working on a show to date.

If that was a little long-winded for you, don't worry. I'm sure the show will give me plenty to complain about in the coming weeks.

If finals week proceeds as planned (who knows how the scheduling will be... today was already a snow day, meaning if Tuesday isn't a late start it'll be the only day this week we'll have to prepare for finals), this will be my last week as a full-time student. I will still be taking English and my electives (IB Spanish & IB Theater) at the high school, but physics, history, and algebra II I've decided to approach through the district's online courses. I'm a little apprehensive about it. It was my decision, and I certainly didn't just choose to do this to end the school day early. The truth is... I'm ridiculously fed up with most of the student body. High school students can be so... dumb. Myself included, I won't deny that. I suppose I just want to see if doing this on partly my own will improve my mood because presently it's all I can do to press through a full day with some of my most black-listed aquaintances immediately before a rehearsal and a choir practice. I'm beginning to loathe going to both, which is unfortunate. I might not enjoy choir, but it's expensive to be a part of, and on a good day I genuinely enjoy rehearsal.

In addition to the cyclone of finals assignments I have to worry about (including that fucking theater paper I've yet to finish or even be remotely satisfied with), an imminent fact is apporaching: my sixteenth birthday. It's Friday. I remember being twelve and hardly able to contain my anticipation for this day. After all, back then I figured that's the day I'd be getting my license. And possibly breasts (hey, it worked for Lindsay Lohan). Unfortunately, I know neither will materialize come Friday. I can't even legally apply for my license for another two months because I won't have had my permit for six, but the real issue is that I'm dreading driving. I finished driver's ed four months ago, but I haven't driven since November because of some jackass that psyched me out. I've tried practicing, but I haven't gotten over my frustration. At the same time, I need to lose my reliance on carpool because it's driving me fucking nuts.

And it's hard to feel safe on the road when your own friends are doing dumb shit like driving others, without their initial six months up, stoned.

On an irrelevant note, I fainted yesterday. Yeah, I haven't actually blacked out since I was 8 and got hit in the head with a swinging punching bag when I was taking martial arts. So it terrified me a bit because I didn't remember what that felt like. I actually thought I was dying, ha. It was all because I was literally panicking all day about the HALF-MY-GRADE THEATER PAPER. I was chopping carrots for a bisque and, as paranoid as I get with knifes, I managed to really slice my right "peace" fingers (index and middle). I tried to stop the bleeding in the bathroom sink, but evidentally I don't know how to apply pressure correctly to an open wound. I wasn't even panicking about the cut, until my mother got off the phone to see what was wrong. Right after I told her, I started feeling dizzy. Then all I remember was coming to on the floor, thinking I'd been dreaming, and freaking out about all this blood on my hand. My mom was trying to calm me down and pulled me to her bed, where I laid down and blacked out again.

Now I know what it feels like to pass out due to hyperventilation, and how there is actually an effectual purpose to the paper-bag deal. Well. Good to know, good to know.

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adventures in supernatural... baking. 07 Jan 2008

How is '08 treating everyone? Eh, finals are soon, I have paper due, and I hate being at school. But I have made a resolution to be vegan, and so far I've kept good on that promise. Not one-hundred percent if there's dairy in my unlabeled breads or bone-char sugar in my foods, and I still consume honey. Plus the leather that I wear, but one step at a time! And it's not even leather that I bought since becoming vegetarian...

Just got back this weekend from Manresa Castle, Port Townsend. The victorian town is in Northern Washington. It's an adorable town, but damn was it cold.

My mom and my friend Michael's mom are both really into supernatural stuff. They watch Ghost Hunters, Most Haunted, Paranormal State... all that shit. And they're opposites, my mom being the skeptic and his mom being the excitable one. This Manresa Castle is supposedly haunted. Something about a singing lady and a suicidal monk. From what I can tell from the story, while the monk was living in what was at the time a monastery (first a mansion, later a hotel) he felt so sinful and depressed that he commited suicide in (what was later known as) room 307. The ghost-busters decided they wanted to stay the night there while Michael and I went with them.

If you're expecting any good ghost stories, I'm sorry to disappoint but I haven't any. Sure, the lamp above my bed would move and dim unexpectedly, but I, the neurotic phobe, wasn't impressed. Evidentally after everyone else was asleep (around 3 a.m.) my mom and his heard loud female humming for awhile. It's unlikely that anyone else (alive!) was up at that hour, but since I didn't hear it I can't say. They took pictures around the room and hotel, some of which they considered interesting. I'll post them later for your skepticisms and comments if that strikes anyone's fancy.

Because I'm just that kind (and fat... ha, no, I joke) I baked these pumpkin cinnamon rolls from Don't Eat Off the Sidewalk! for the trip that I've been dying to make for god knows how long. Weeks ago, Christmas shopping, we were at Northgate Mall and I was so hungry but I'd spent so much money already and my dad made me spend more buying Cinnabons which I didn't want to eat because I'd still been cutting down on dairy and they're ridiculously caloric anyway but a cinnamon roll just sounded so yummy and tasty and I've wanted one ever since because I didn't get one then but now I'm vegan and and and... I FINALLY MADE THEM. They were delicious, and even if no one but my mom touched any I was so glad I did. Besides, those boys do not have normal adolescent boy appetites. When we eat out, it's like he's the body-conscious girl and I'm the ravenous teenage boy.

Also if anyone wanted to know how my ice cream maker was working out (because I'm sure you're all riveted), I've been testing it. First I made a batch of peppermint ice cream, which turned out really well until the overpowering peppermint from the generic candies I bought was too much. I made them into sandwiches (pictured) but they're still a little too strong for my taste. Now they're just like chocolate breathmints. Then I altered a recipe and tried to make it all Maple Nut-y like the scoops I used to love from Dick's Drive-in as a kid living in Seattle. However that was nasty - I ended up not having enough pure maple syrup and tried using some of that artificial pancake shit. Not one of my better ideas. I redeemed myself last Friday while making blueberry "cheesecake" ice cream with Hannah before seeing Sweeney Todd.

And, to mention again, I would love to add visitor content that people actually want. I'd appreciate any feedback on that! Pretend I can make anything with my graphic/tutorialistic skills (albeit some are admittedly nonexistent).

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mighty-o to the rescue! 30 Dec 2007

I fully wish that I had any handle on PHP. One that would allow me to do one simple thing. The reality is that I "fake" and "cheat" PHP to just get my page to look how I want it.

...As opposed to it being correct or efficient. Today's example is the millenium I spent trying to individually link my CuteNews categories to organize the blog. I searched their support forum for ages and found something about xfields. I, however, have little patience for learning scripts. I tried over the summer when I was originally setting up Pixel Cupcake. I sat through about two minutes of the Lynda.com PHP tutorials. My reasoning is that all I need is one function done. I'm sure it would, in the long run, be smarter to learn the basic PHP functions so I could apply the script. But, uh... TOO HARD NO TIME.

In the end, with my limited skills, I knew that I could go ahead and make pages for the individual categories. I'd also realized that I could link to the category IDs, but it would not direct from this page and therefore would be without the layout and the CSS. What I don't know how to do is fix this, and while I could make new PHP pages myself the way I upload each page here, with includes, that just somehow seems time consuming and inefficient.

New Year's has always been such a bogus holiday for me. I guess it's the pessimist in me, but I've never seen it has the "last hurrah" before school starts up again. Well, I do, but it's not a good thing. It's an anxiety ridden day with the agonizing knowledge that after staying up far past midnight, doing anything far from sleep, I have to get up early and go to class the next morning. God forbid we have one last settling day! Instead we're shipped off day after New Year's.

Then there's the usual monthlong countdown until February 1st - my birthday. I'm not even looking forward to that. Can you believe it? I'll be sixteen, and I'm not looking forward to it at all. I want the most valid excuse available to not apply for my driver's license, and actually turning sixteen doesn't help at all. And because we switched from trimesters to semesters, it'll be finals week then too. Hip hooray happy sweet sixteen to me.

Anyway, I was shopping in Seattle yesterday. It was raining (ooh shocker.), which I hate, but I had money, which I like. Having money is a rare occurence for me so I tried to enjoy it. I bought a coat from Urban Outfitters... one I'm not even sure I like ha.

Also stopped by Whole Foods! My friend Nathan gets so excited about trips to R.E.I. that he calls them excursions... I get equally as excited about grocery shopping. So Whole Foods is kind of my haven. I've never been to Mighty-O Donuts, the popular vegan donut shop in Seattle. I've always meant to, but since I'm the only pseudo-vegan I know I've never felt comfortable dragging whomever I was with there. Whole Foods' bakery, however, had some minis for sale.

They tasted like donuts, for sure. But since I bake so much, I'm no longer surprised to find that vegan baking differs little from conventional baking (depending on ingredient quality). Still I don't know what the hype was about. They're alright. Cakey, tasty, but nothing to write home about. Granted, I've never had one of their freshly made or whole donuts. I guess that will be something I have to reevaluate later.

EDIT: Well, I got it to link categories. :)

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holiday high. 27 Dec 2007

As you can see... new layout :) Might save the Posh one for later. Or something else. Or just cut it up into a blend.

I'm confusing myself. One second this website was supposed to be a pixel site. Then it was a personal blog with content. And then I wanted a food blog. Now it's just - whatever the hell I wanted it to be. Ha.

I hope all had wonderful holidays this year, whatever you celebrated. I am incredibly pleased with my Christmas gifts; my friends were making fun of the fact that all I wanted was - in addition to clothes and money - bakeware. But what I got is awesome - including an ice cream maker, which I've been dying for. Soy ice cream supreme-o!

Currently I'm testing another score - a cake bomb set. A friend of mine is hosting a "winter feast" tomorrow, and apparently he's being real anal about food. Everyone is supposed to bring a main dish and dessert. Plus drinks. Eh.. I don't even know how that makes sense, but uh, I guess that's why I'm not the one throwing the party. Anyway, it'll be a Raspberry Blackout Cake with Raspberry Pastry Creme Filling and Chocolate Ganache-y Frosting, adapting recipes from both Vegan With a Vengeance and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.

Oh, by the way, can anyone else not even fathom the idea of going back to class? Or is as irritated as I am with the fact that I can't check my email without a virtual neon sign reannouncing Jamie Lynn Spears' pregnancy??

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