update!

i'll keep this blog alive for the time being, but the news about my legal studies and so on can now be found here:

apostoma.wordpress.com

thanks for following!

derivatives

seeing me at the gym, you might not know that i'm at my lowest weight since high school. knowing where i am is nearly meaningless unless you know where i've been. and how much work it's taken to get here. describing this point isn't enough - you need to know the slope of the tangent to this curve.

maybe calculus is my favourite branch of math because it's about the rate of progress. when you take the derivative, you are a historian and a prognosticator. you care about the big and medium and small pictures, all at the same time.

i love that.

cupdate!

dear friends,

thanks for all of your cupcake-related support as i've baked six cupcakes for the sweetest kitchen's mystery box challenge and managed to enter five of them in the competition on time. of those five, four received enough of your votes to be entered into the random draw. though i never won that draw, i've learned a lot, made some stunning messes, and eaten far too much batter over the last eight months.

click to make this bigger!

so, thanks for voting for me! i hope to keep the hobby alive and invite you to come up with your own challenges for me in the months ahead!

i am. thirty.

i was born.
a girl.
a daughter.
a granddaughter.
a niece.
a sister.

i started becoming.
a reader.
a rememberer.
an immigrant.
an advocate.
a friend.

some things you made me.
a sister-in-law.
an auntie-to-be.
a girlfriend.
a forgiver.
a better friend.

some things i made myself.
a researcher.
a writer.
a leader.
a follower.
my own friend.

some things i am still becoming.
a law student.
a cook and baker.
a discerner.
a jogger.
a listener.

some things i dream of yet becoming.
a defender.
a treeclimber.
a runner.
a mother.
a whole.

i am thirty.
and i'm becoming more.

mimosas in the sun

june is the very last month of the mystery box cupcake challenge, and the theme is fizzy! please vote for me!

to be honest, it took me a while to decide which way to go on this. i thought about creating a volcano or using word play (something about phys. ed.)... but none of that really motivated me. finally, i found the answer: booze.

in life, booze is so rarely the answer. in my baking, however, it's becoming more common! pina colada muffins, mojito cupcakes, and eggnog fudge... oh, my! even though - and perhaps because - i don't drink very often, i find playing off cocktails to be a wonderful creative outlet.

i have to say, though, that i took things up a notch with these champagne and citrus cupcakes, inspired by the mimosa-esque buck's fizz! the staple of fancy brunches and afternoon weddings, the mimosa evokes light, lightheadedness, and joy.

and, if i do say so myself, so do my mimosa in the sun cupcakes!

let me walk you through the process:

the lemon cake base was infused with champagne and a touch of freshly-squeezed orange juice.

post-bake, champagne syrup was drizzled over the still-warm cupcakes and allowed to soak in.

the following day, after marinating, a champagne frosting was applied along with a twist of orange peel as garnish.

these tasty, refreshing desserts now only awaited the final touch: sugar bubbles representing the effervescent celebration that champagne has come to connote.

my participation in these challenges has pushed me to work on my technique, rather than rely on my puns. it has introduced me to piping technique, filigree, creative ingredients (jell-o!), unexpected flavour combinations (chocolate and cheese, anyone!), and - this month - sugar work.

so, while those i live with won't necessarily miss the sticky fridge handle and the whir of the handheld blender, i'll miss these little adventures, jamieanne. thanks for inspiring me to come up with my own!

The winner of June’s Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge will receive prizes from:

• Angela's Images; a selection of handmade crafts
• Bake It Pretty; a $5 online gift card
• Beanilla; a $7 online gift card
• cupcakewrappers.com; 2 packs of cupcake wrappers
• Miss Kitty Creations; a handmade cupcake charm of your choice
• Simply Caked; 600 brown greaseproof cupcake liners
• Sweet Cuppin Cakes; a $5 online gift card
• Tundra Books; 3 children's books

Thank you to all our prize sponsors!

blog mocking art imitating life

i track my starbucks visits. not the number or frequency, but the locations. i know i'm not the only one! which makes this even funnier: that is priceless.

help me get this monkey off my back!

FACT: Vervet monkeys use different alarm calls to warn each other of nearby predators, depending on whether the danger comes from land or from the air.


LSAT QUESTION: Which one of the following, if true, contributes most to an explanation of the behavior of vervet monkeys described above?

A: By varying the pitch of its alarm call, a vervet monkey can indicate the number of predators approaching.

B: Different land-based predators are responsible for different numbers of vervet monkey deaths.

C: No predators that pose a danger to vervet monkeys can attack both from land and from the air.

D: Vervet monkeys avoid land-based predators by climbing trees but avoid predation from the air by diving into foliage.

E: Certain land-based predators feed only on vervet monkeys, whereas ever predators that attacks vervet monkeys from the air feeds on many different animals.

LSAT INSTRUCTOR: Why do my students always want to argue with me about this question?!?!