Allie's Blog IV: Revenge of Allie's Blog

[davina61]

I wait in anticipation (front room really) to see the outcome , TBH I expect nothing but perfection.
 Made a frittata for lunch, air fried some potato and cauliflower first, fried some bacon cut up then chucked it all in a silicon basket with one egg (all I had) beaten with milk and topped with cheese. I gave it 8 out of 10.

[TXSara]

I'm not waiting for a call from Emmy, Oscar, Tony, BAFTA, or Golden Globes people any time soon to reward me for that particular performance.  I do feel like there's a glimmer of hope for a People's Choice award, but then they give those to ANYBODY.

I think you may be a pretty good replacement for BattleGoddess as resident comedian... too funny!

~Sara

[imallie]

I think you may be a pretty good replacement for BattleGoddess as resident comedian... too funny!

~Sara

High and not-at-all earned praise, Sara. But very kind and much appreciated. ❤️

[imallie]

I wait in anticipation (front room really) to see the outcome , TBH I expect nothing but perfection.
 Made a frittata for lunch, air fried some potato and cauliflower first, fried some bacon cut up then chucked it all in a silicon basket with one egg (all I had) beaten with milk and topped with cheese. I gave it 8 out of 10.

Well you have way more faith than I do! It rose somehow ... which was quite disconcerting, but in the cooling has since deflated and looks more like a proper cheesecake. Albeit one of those with the golden band around it, rather than the smooth top.
So it still has the "look" I'll give it that. But have to chill it for a least four hours and the we'll see. I'm a bit more optimistic.
Your lunch sounds nice! Big frittata fan (I have all their albums😉)

I have absolutely found the method to crispy air fryer potatoes! It's a bit time consuming and science-y, but it's now what I do every single time. 

[imallie]

Well the cheesecake was a decidedly mixed bag.

I very much liked it. My wife very much did not. Actually, as she said she "liked everything about it except for the texture and how it tasted." 😂



I think it might read a bit custard-like? It's firm like a cheesecake, but it may have been a big eggier than she likes? I'm trying to figure it out. It could have used a stronger taste, I suppose... but I thought with the sharpness of the compote it's nice.

Even so, she's my audience... so I'll have to think hard as to what ver 2.0 will be.

[Jessica_Rose]

It looks great. Maybe you should have called it something else? Most people know what 'cheesecake' tastes like, so that sets up a certain expectation. No matter how good it may be, if it doesn't taste like it's namesake, some people won't like it.

When I was in college, my mom used to give me a bag of snacks on a regular basis. It always contained a large bag of M&M's. One day, I opened my big bag of M&M's and tossed a handful into my mouth. They weren't M&M's, they were Skittles, which I had never previously tried. It was hideous. When your mouth expects chocolate and is assaulted by whatever Skittles are, it's a traumatic experience. That was the first and last time I ever tasted a Skittle. If I had known it wasn't going to be chocolate, I may have enjoyed it.

It's like meeting someone new. If you say 'hey Bob, I'd like to introduce you to Sally tomorrow.' Bob will instantly make some conclusions about Sally before the introduction occurs, Bob may even try to create a mental picture of the mythical 'Sally'. Maybe Bob knew someone named Sally years ago, and she was a beautiful woman who Bob had really wanted to date. Maybe it's the same Sally. Maybe this time Bob will have the courage to ask Sally out. Now when you perform the introduction, and 'Sally' is a nickname for a 350lb male wrestler named Salvadore, Bob's expectations are shattered.

In a way, it's like someone who transitions. Although the majority of my components are the same as they were before, in many ways I'm not the same person I used to be. If I introduced myself as <deadname>, many people would be confused. New person, new name.

Now that you know what it tastes like, give it a new name. I bet it will suddenly become more palatable.

Love always -- Jessica Rose

[imallie]

Ooh, Skittles when expecting M&Ms - talk about getting slapped in the face by a rainbow! Yeah I hear you Jessica Rose, expectation/anticipation is 100% part of how we initially receive and interpret data, especially initially.

It definitely happens with food. Someone eating Mexican chocolate for the first time will experience it quite differently if told in advance that it contains chili and is spicy. If anticipating that, you can enjoy the warm notes and the tingle on the back end. But if you just think it's regular chocolate it could be incredibly off-putting.

I don't think that's the case with my cheesecake, though. I do think it ticks most boxes of a cheesecake. It helps that someone would visibly read it as such, and I do think the flavor notes are right. My wife just didn't think it had enough flavor and she didn't like the texture. It just might be that I need to replace the greek yogurt with some cream cheese, or reduce it by an egg, or add some vanilla... not sure.

But if I determine this was Skittles vs. M&M's I'll just have to consider it a failed experiment. I've had PLENTY of those in the kitchen over the last few years... and I'll have plenty more. That's part of the process. I got to Pina Colada muffin Ver. 8.0 before I finally called it a failure. 😂

[Oldandcreaky]

When I was in college, my mom used to give me a bag of snacks on a regular basis. It always contained a large bag of M&M's. One day, I opened my big bag of M&M's and tossed a handful into my mouth. They weren't M&M's, they were Skittles, which I had never previously tried. It was hideous. When your mouth expects chocolate and is assaulted by whatever Skittles are, it's a traumatic experience. That was the first and last time I ever tasted a Skittle. If I had known it wasn't going to be chocolate, I may have enjoyed it.

It's like meeting someone new. If you say 'hey Bob, I'd like to introduce you to Sally tomorrow.' Bob will instantly make some conclusions about Sally before the introduction occurs, Bob may even try to create a mental picture of the mythical 'Sally'. Maybe Bob knew someone named Sally years ago, and she was a beautiful woman who Bob had really wanted to date. Maybe it's the same Sally. Maybe this time Bob will have the courage to ask Sally out. Now when you perform the introduction, and 'Sally' is a nickname for a 350lb male wrestler named Salvadore, Bob's expectations are shattered.

^Good writing^

Ooh, Skittles when expecting M&Ms - talk about getting slapped in the face by a rainbow!

^Funny!^

...she didn't like the texture.

Mine kind of girl. Texture matters.

I'll just have to consider it a failed experiment. I've had PLENTY of those in the kitchen over the last few years

Me too. My desktop is littered with writing that went nowhere. So many stories I couldn't finish. So many ideas I couldn't execute. Still, I managed to finish a couple recently and I'm about to submit them. Here's hoping I nailed their texture and taste! One doesn't know until the editors take them into their mouths.

[imallie]

My wife and I had a few interesting conversations thus far this weekend.

We've been discussing potential vacation destinations for this summer, and while we're likely to do some fun/interesting domestic travel, I have been proposing some international trips... despite the fact that the following year she has a six-week sabbatical and we'd likely do something longer then.

Over dinner on Friday she kind of bumped on my sudden international interest, and I'm not sure if it was something I was doing consciously or subconsciously, but when she asked I realized why I was doing it, so I shared: I feel this overwhelming guilt that my upcoming public transition is going to greatly impede our travel, especially internationally... and it's really bothering me. So I guess I was hoping to at least get a short trip in under the wire.

I go back and forth between thinking that maybe she's put some of this to the side in her mind... preferring not to deal with imaginary problems (which is 100% a healthy mental outlook) -- and thinking that she she is well aware of all of it.

Her response was that we have the rest of our life to travel (I think meaning that once I've transitioned fully and it will be safer for us to travel to more places), and meanwhile there are so many places we want to go, there will always be somewhere on our list for us to travel.

That certainly made me feel somewhat better, but the guilt, obviously remains.

----

Today we talked about telling the boy. She could tell I am getting anxious. 

We just scheduled a lunch with some dear friends in the middle of February out of state, and I said had we told the boy... that would likely be when we could tell that couple (who we only see a few times a year).

She said that we know he's going to come home when she does his taxes, or at least that's the plan... and that'll be the middle/end of February. She might be ready to do them a bit sooner, but with my birthday being towards the end of the month, she figures he's probably going to want to do it in one trip.

We've been trying to avoid telling him on a "holiday", but I said that my birthday doesn't count - plus, how can he get mad at me on my birthday?

I was mostly kidding when I said that, but she immediately said "he's not going to be mad. He's going to be fine. He'll be shocked, I'm sure, and he's going to need some time to process it, but then he's going to be totally fine with it."

We sat there for a minute and I said, "You know you're a unicorn, right?"

And she smiled and laughed.

So my birthday it is. Or thereabouts. So either way, it'll be done in about a month.

Love,
Allie

[TXSara]

I was mostly kidding when I said that, but she immediately said "he's not going to be mad. He's going to be fine. He'll be shocked, I'm sure, and he's going to need some time to process it, but then he's going to be totally fine with it."

We sat there for a minute and I said, "You know you're a unicorn, right?"

And she smiled and laughed.

So my birthday it is. Or thereabouts. So either way, it'll be done in about a month.

Yes she is, and yes you will.  I'm with her.  It's going to be fine.

~Sara

[Oldandcreaky]

"he's not going to be mad. He's going to be fine. He'll be shocked, I'm sure, and he's going to need some time to process it, but then he's going to be totally fine with it."

[imallie]

Sara and O&C - yes, I know in my heart that my wife (as with most things) will be correct about this. That doesn't make it any less worrisome, but her having gone through it already and the two of them sharing so many qualities, does really help.

She is NOT, however, right about ALL things. For instance, just moments ago she tried to argue that ice was heavier than water. Incredulous, I countered that it was impossible, and that the state would not change the weight of the molecules ... all that changes is their speed of movement.

But then I realized we were BOTH wrong.

Ice is, in fact, LIGHTER than water. The extra hydrogen bonds formed when ice freezes actually spaces out the water molecules in ice - making it less dense. So it is lighter.

But I feel she was MORE wrong, which for me, is a win. 👍😉😘😂

[Oldandcreaky]

Worrying is like paying a debt you don't owe

I'm a sneaky snake, huh?

[Jenn104]

Hey! support group logic calls it "Mae's Law" -- It is always worse in your head.

wishing you the best

Jenn

[imallie]

I'm a sneaky snake, huh?

Quite.😉

But hey, just because I like the quote, just because I have shared the quote with others in the past, just because I use the quote in my profile... doesn't mean I have the slightest notion of how to apply the lesson therein to my everyday life. 🤔😂

[Oldandcreaky]

But hey, just because I like the quote, just because I have shared the quote with others in the past, just because I use the quote in my profile... doesn't mean I have the slightest notion of how to apply the lesson therein to my everyday life. 🤔😂

You and me too, sister. You and me too.

[REM.1126]

Sara and O&C - yes, I know in my heart that my wife (as with most things) will be correct about this. That doesn't make it any less worrisome, but her having gone through it already and the two of them sharing so many qualities, does really help.

She is NOT, however, right about ALL things. For instance, just moments ago she tried to argue that ice was heavier than water. Incredulous, I countered that it was impossible, and that the state would not change the weight of the molecules ... all that changes is their speed of movement.

But then I realized we were BOTH wrong.

Ice is, in fact, LIGHTER than water. The extra hydrogen bonds formed when ice freezes actually spaces out the water molecules in ice - making it less dense. So it is lighter.

But I feel she was MORE wrong, which for me, is a win. 👍😉😘😂

I believe you were correct before.  I am sure that a given volume of is lighter than a given volume of water.  But, a cube of ice weighs the same thing in the form of ice as it will in liquid form. 

This would be a difficult experiment to pull off exactly, because of potential evaporation or condensation, depending on the moister content of the surrounding air. 

[REM.1126]

I have got it.  Take a plastic bad and fill it half full of water.  Seal it.  Weigh it.  Then freeze it and weigh it again.  I am willing to bet that regardless how sensitive the scales, it will weigh the same.  The ice will have a larger volume.

[imallie]

I have got it.  Take a plastic bad and fill it half full of water.  Seal it.  Weigh it.  Then freeze it and weigh it again.  I am willing to bet that regardless how sensitive the scales, it will weigh the same.  The ice will have a larger volume.

I think that's true in theory, but you're being too clever by half. If you just took two equal measurements of water - froze one and left one as liquid, they should remain the same weight.

That would proves what I meant, but not what I said - because really the discussion was comparing the same amounts of ice and water already in those states. And in that case the ice, being less dense (proven by the fact that it floats in the water) weighs less.

If you let the ice melt, you'd clearly have less water than the water against which you were measuring it.

[imallie]

I was just thinking... my middle school science teacher, who I can clearly picture, but for the life of me I can't recall his name, would be really proud of me right now. Which is nice, because at the time I don't recall him being particularly fond of me despite my acing his class. Something about a "total lack of interest." 🤔