my favorite cake: Red Velvet

Many of you might know that I don't really like cake, but my favorite, and always has been, is red velvet cake. If I ever get married, red velvet cake is going to be served. It is amazing. So in honor of my fav cake....

• Common ingredients are buttermilk, butter, flour, cocoa, and beetroot or red food coloring.
• The reaction of acidic vinegar and buttermilk tends to better reveal the red anthocyanin in the cocoa.
• Closely linked to a devil's food cake, and in some turn of the century cookbooks the two names may have been interchangeable.
• While foods were rationed during World War II, bakers used boiled beets to enhance the color of their cakes. Boiled grated beets or beet baby food are found in some red velvet cake recipes, where they also serve to retain moisture.
• In Canada the cake was a well-known dessert in the restaurants and bakeries of the Eaton's department store chain in the 1940s and 1950s. Promoted as an exclusive Eaton's recipe, with employees who knew the recipe sworn to silence, many mistakenly believed the cake to be the invention of the department store matriarch, Lady Eaton

Random Musings

• Cantaloupe and  Honeydew - Today at work there were some leftovers put out for anyone who wanted them. One of which was a fruit salad, but like every other fruit salad on earth it was a mess of green and orange. Why is Cantaloupe and Honeydew the babysbreath of fruit salad? It is really just there for filler, no one actually likes it. Then again, if it wasn't there then maybe another fruit would be the least favorite, so at least it isn't actually a good fruit as the worst.
• iphones with no headphones - On my flight to Orlando there was a dad and son sitting next to me. The son, maybe seven, was sitting and playing with his dad's iphone and playing games and watching movies. Typically this would be fine, except for the fact that there were no headphones on it. I had to hear every crash, splash, and laugh. Honestly, if you can afford an i phone then you should be able to afford the headphones too. Why so rude people? This also happens on my bus home a lot, kids play their music on their iphone for all the world to hear. Ever think that maybe I don't like Kanye?

Fashion....Turn to the left... FASHION....Turn to the right

Prada Prada Prada...I am going to the Prada outlet when I go to orlando! I can't wait! Granted...I might not be able to afford anything there still, but its still so cool to get to go!

• Started in 1913 by Mario Prada and his brother Martino as a leathergoods shop 
• Mario Prada did not believe that women should have a role in business, and so he prevented female family members from entering into his workshop
• Ironically, Mario's son harbored no interest in the business, so it was his daughter Luisa Prada who took the helm of Prada as his successor, and ran it for almost twenty years. Her own daughter, Miuccia Prada, is an Italian fashion designer and entrepreneur. 
• Prada launched its women's ready-to-wear collection in 1989, and the designs came to be known for their dropped waistlines and narrow belts. Prada's popularity skyrocketed when the fashion world took notice of its clean lines, opulent fabrics, and basic colors.
• The logo for the label was not as obvious a design element as those on bags from other prominent luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton
  Louis Vuitton
  

  Louis Vuitton Malletier — commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton , or shortened to LV — is a French fashion house founded in 1854. The label is well known for its LV monogram, which is featured on most products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes, watches,...
  . Its appeal, including the apparel, was its image of "anti-status" or "reverse snobbery."
• Prada manufactures its wares in Italy, apparently keeping labor costs down by using Chinese laborers at the plants.
• In May 2007, Prada joined forces with cell phone maker LG Electronics
  LG Electronics is the world's second-largest manufacturer of Television sets and third-largest producer of mobile phones...to produce the LG Prada KE850 phone. The retail price was $800.
   
  Okay so that wasn't all that interesting really, but whatever....at least I updated.

Something personal

Okay - I rarely post personal things on this blog, mainly because its not anyone's business and frankly I doubt you all care. But since I'm procrastinating at work and because I haven't done a post in a while I figured I'd do a stupid survey people send around, fill it out about yourself too and post in the comments section!


Have you ever made out in a bathroom? nope
Do you think the last person you kissed is nice? lol. very!
Who was the last person to call you? Mei Mei
What is the last non-alcoholic beverage you had? Diet Pepsi (though I'm a coke girl)
When is the last time you cried? hm, I think I came pretty close when I stubbed my toe last week
Are you scared of spiders? YES. Even hearing that word makes me cringe
Would you go back in time if you were given the chance? Suuuuure why not
What are your plans for this weekend?  ORLANDO!!!!!!!!
Ever been swimming in a lake or river? Of course!
Last person you drove with in a car? Mike G.
What did you last buy? my breakfast
What’s irritating you right now? The fact that I'm at work and the rain make my hair afro
What radio stations do you listen to? 99.5 the buzz
Are you afraid of the dark? nope
Are you listening to music right now? yes. moodstation
Do you like Chinese food? uh yes! general tso's all the way
What is the last movie you saw in theaters? Water for Elephants
Is there anyone you wish was still in your life? definitely....Josh Rodrigz my boyf
Do you get distracted easily? what? huh?
First time you kissed the last person you kissed? In front of the foggy bottom metro stop. Then my roommate drove up and I was embaressed so I pushed him away like he was crazy for kissing me. lol. I know. I'm a weird one.
Was this the best year of your life? Senior Year in College
Is it easier to forgive or forget? forget. I have a very low tolerance for people once I feel they've been a bad friend. I don't forgive easily in those cases....
Are you jealous of someone? I am jealous of my friend Rachel, I admit it. She is so artistically talented. I wish I could be like that and be as good of a person as she is.
What last made you laugh the hardest? Convo with Sara this morning..."he was raised in a different family" wtf.
Do you flirt a lot? I don't think so. I used to be told I did all the time. maybe just with certain friends...I dunno....
Would you live with someone without marrying them? Yep. gotta figure out how gross their habits really are
Have you ever had a dream about people you love dying? Once I had a dream my family was in an oven. That was creepy.
Have you ever changed clothes in a vehicle? Who hasn't!
Have you ever broken someone’s heart? doubtful.
Do you believe that you are a good boyfriend or girlfriend? I would like to think so. If I care for someone I'd do anything for them.

the 9-5 happy rate

Most of us work a 9-5 job. Most of us work to pay our bills, but on the rare occasion, some of us actually like our jobs. At one point or another we are faced with issues of employee satisfaction and morale in the office. How does your work line up?

• According to David Sirota et al, companies considered as having ‘high morale’ outperformed their competitors by about 20%, whereas those having ‘moderate’ or ‘low morale’ performed about 5% lower than their industry counterparts.
• In a survey, when asked about how satisfied they were, 65% of respondents said they were “somewhat” satisfied, but less than 15% said they were “extremely” satisfied. Meanwhile, employers believe that 30% of their workers are “extremely” satisfied.
• The most satisfied workers are the Working Retirees and those in the Healthcare and Internet industries 
• The least satisfied workers are the Millenials (those under 30)
• Nearly 80% of responding managers do not believe that their employees will initiate a job search in the next three months.
• Those who plan to stay in their jobs will do so because of a best friend at work, a good paycheck, or an easy commute. It’s rather telling that none of these factors have anything to do with the work itself.
• 65% of employed survey respondents said they are looking around 
• Not surprisingly, the more money you make and the bigger the job title, the more likely you are to be happy at your job. 
• People leave because of low pay, limited career path and no recognition

SHARK ATTACK

Friday, oh friday...how I love you. I miss you when you are away.... okay okay, so its friday 3pm and I've really checked out. Its so hard to work when it is literally perfect outside.  I'm trying, nonetheless, to get some stuff done in advance for once.

So for the sake of random facts...

• SHARKS don't have any  bones, the skeleton is made up of cartilage
• Swell sharks can bark like dogs do
• Sharks can have from 6-12 babies at a time, but the hammerhead and tiger shark can do up to 40
• When it comes time to give birth, the female shark loses her appetite so she won’t be tempted to eat her own pups.
• They can swim from 20-40 mph
• The While shark is the biggest fish in the world
• Sharks have been around 450 million years. They lived before land vertebrates populated the earth
• As teeth are ground down or they fall out, new ones from the other rows come forward to fill the slot. This continues for their entire lives.
• The smallest shark is the Dwarf Lantern Shark - 7 inches long
• Sharks do sleep, but they do so with their eyes open. Only one side of the brain sleeps at a time so that they are able to continue the cycle of taking in air as they rest.
• Because sharks very rarely get cancer, scientists study their cartilage in the hopes of finding a cure for the disease
• Sharks can grow more than 20,000 teeth in a lifetime
• 90% of shark attacks have happened to men.
• For every human killed by a shark, humans kill two million sharks

BLOGS I LOVE

Due to the lack of time I have today, I thought I would do a show and tell with you of links I love. Let me know your favs!

• http://www.ustream.tv/sfshiba  (you might have to go to ustream.tv then search sfshiba
• www.foodgawker.com
• http://www.datemedc.com/
• www.thechive.com and conversly www.theberry.com 
• www.perezhilton.com
• http://abduzeedo.com/
• http://cuteroulette.com/#/videos/view/146
• http://imremembering.com/
• http://llamafont.com/

Happy Surfing

Random Today!

I don't really feel like blogging, but it has been a while and it seems like I should update this...I'm going to do lots of random facts today all of which are questions or topics that have come up recently.

• Feta VS Goat Cheese? The Same or Different? Feta cheese is actually not goat cheese, goat cheese is made from goats milk, while feta cheese is made up of a combination of goat and sheep milk, only 30% or less of it can be from goats milk to be called feta cheese. So while these two are definitely related, there is a difference!
• Artichokes are prepared by cutting the tips off the leaves. This actually serves no real purpose, its just done for aesthetics. Though I'm sure people wouldn't mind lessening the chance of getting a leaf tip to the mouth.
• The creation of the Hang (drum) was the result of many years of research on the steelpan as well as the study of a diverse collection of instruments from around the world. (sounds like I was doing this research when I was a toddler with pots and pans). There are only two people who make these and not all requests for Hang drums are filled as production has reduced, but demand has gone up due to viral you tube videos.
• Spam is legally permissible according to the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 provided it follows certain criteria: a "truthful" subject line, no forged information in the technical headers or sender address, and other minor requirements. If the spam fails to comply with any of these requirements it is illegal. Aggravated or accelerated penalties apply if the spammer harvested the e-mail addresses using methods described earlier.
•  A new study has found that when it comes to confessions of love, men often are the first to declare their feelings. The study found that while men consider saying “I love you” a full six weeks before their partners.
• Tornado - states in first place for.... Total number of tornados (Texas), Deaths per 10,000 sq ft (Massachusetts), Number of Killer Tornados (Texas), Longest Tornado Path (Mississippi), Highest percent of torandos that are killer (Tennessee), Most Annual Torandos per 10,000 sq miles (Florida)