I'm not a girly-girl. I don't do my nails or paint my face every day. It's not that I'm not a "marriage" girl. I'm just not a "wedding" girl. I like weddings. They're pretty. The flowers and the traditions (most of which are lost now-a-days anyway) and all of that stuff. When it comes down to my own wedding day, I just am not spending more than we spent on the down-payment of our house for a dress and a party. Not my style. I don't want everyone looking at me anyway so seriously. That's so awkward. (For me at least... I'm not judging you if you do it differently. I know I'm not normal.)
This being said, I want to point out that I have a folder in my bookmarks called "My Wedding." Yes, this is the folder where one would search for most girls' fairy princess dresses and wedding cake styles or whatever.
Not me. There's one website in that folder. Just one. It's titled Can a Jell-O Shot Be Classy?. The answer, my friends, is yes. And you can look at their photos to see just how classy they can be. Because, my friends, what's a party without some jello shots?
Cucumber-lime margarita shots tied with cucumber ribbons
That is all I wanted to share. Oh, secondly, Beck's Midnight Vultures album is phenom.
Growing up, my mom trained me to become a choco-holic. Not that I will complain at all about my deep love for brownies, cakes, and other tasty treats, but I always went to the neighbors' houses to get simple desserts like rice krispie treats. Never in my life had I made them before yesterday when I embarked on a mission to fill Naomi's left-behind brownie pan with a tasty treat so I could finally return her cookware.
Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat and add marshmallows.
Stir until they begin to melt, adding in cake mix one spoonful at a time so its combined.
Stir in cereal so it is completely coated with marshmallow mixture.
Sprinkle in half of the sprinkles and mix.
Press into a baking dish (any size will do) and top with remaining sprinkles. Let sit for about 30 minutes before cutting.
I almost doubled the recipe on the website above because I wanted to taste-test them since I had never before made rice krispie treats.
My tips are as follows:
Use lots of cake batter. I used an entire cup for a double batch. It's very sweet, but very tasty.
When doubling the recipe, don't add in double the rice krispies. There's not enough marshmallows to go over them. I used about 8-9 cups of cereal instead of 12.
Add a little extra butter. Everyone loves butter.
Use lots and lots of sprinkles. Sprinkles = happiness.
A tip for the day: look at the world with optimism and don't whine -- not only to keep your own spirits high, but so you post on your social sites your happy thoughts instead of your crappy thoughts. When you're dead and gone and the internet lives on and on, I think I'd like to be remembered as a pleasant, humorous individual, at least.
It's strange, really. Social sites. And death. I mean, the mix of the two of them. I say this as I wait for funeral arrangements to be posted by Nick Gidmark on his brother Ben's Facebook page. You see, my childhood friend, Ben -- the one who was so proud whenever his snake shed its skin, whom we made fun of for having a "secret kissing spot" behind the bushes of his house when he was a kid -- he died of a heart attack on Monday night, at home, alone. Some friends were waiting on him and were concerned when he didn't show. It's sad. He was a year older than myself.
Ben is one of those guys who had a way with people. He embroidered spirits together with sparkles. He never let anyone get too far away and, when he remembered that he had let you wander too far, he immediately reminded you that he was there and that he cared, and he'd pull your thread closer and weave you back into his fabric. I moved away from his neighborhood when I was still just a kid and didn't really talk to him for years. I'd hear stories of him because he hung out with a number of my friends, but I didn't see him again. Then there was Facebook and we'd send emails or write on each others' walls every so often just to catch up. We always said we'd get a beer sometime when I was home for a visit. And now his Facebook is a page of memories, a wall of graffiti, a quilt of stories of how he touched every single one of the 400 e-friends he has. And that's why you should always keep positive -- so the memory of you that's etched into this world wide web can be written down in history as silly or sweet instead of cold or querulous.
His last FB post was, "Today started off with Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus. All is well and nothing can be ill." And, really, I can't think of a better way to be e-membered. Or is it "iMembered?" I guess it depends if you are Mac or PC.
It's a strange day for me. I've been reminiscent of my childhood for the last 12 hours since I found out about it all because that's where my memories of Ben are woven. I want to think, "Oh, life is so precious," but I've never really thought that. My thoughts have always really bordered on how short and sweet life is. Because life just is... It's like a jar -- some people were handed huge jars and fill them with ugly things, or things that have little density, like soot-covered moth balls, I guess; some people just get small jars which they maybe chose to fill with richness and pack full with to the brim with things they cherish, things they love. We don't know how big of a jar we were dealt until we reach the top and overflow to the heavens. (That was maybe a silly analogy.) But, life just is until it's not. So, why not love until you can't? Why not share, build community, create moments that will far outlast your physical being? Why not?
". . . and throughout the career that will certainly and consistently remind you that we live in a world of too many pieces and not enough glue, I challenge you to be the arms that hold, to be the voice that soothes, and to be that contagious smile. . . " Ben Gidmark
With that, I'll leave you with a video of Ben's commencement address from which the previous quote was drawn, as it inspires and touches.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Me: How'd you know what I was going to say? Juggles: 'Cuz I can read you like an RSS feed.
