Word Vomit

DIY Candy? Yes You Can!

2/24/2020

After binging Sugar Rush and the Great British Baking Show I grew my business to reflect my life long obsession.

That's right...Candy Bitches! Goodies individually wrapped for birthdays, showers, weddings, graduations, funerals , divorce parties and more!

Below is one of my favorite Lollipop/Hard Candy recipes!
Michel's or ugh...Amazon is basically a one stop shop if you are looking to purchase candy molds and packing materials for your goodies once they are done.

You have 2 basic options for molds. Plastic trays or silicone. Depending on the candy you are making you may want a flatter plastic mold with a cut out for sticks for you may want to make candy "gems" without a stick. Or if you are really fancy you can make a "Candy Bark" of sorts where you pour out the sugar on a tray/non stick silicone mat and break it so it resembles glass. It's really up to you.

You will want a thermometer on hand, you need to monitor your sugar so it reaches the "hard crack stage". Ah yes, science!

Hard-crack stage occurs at 300 to 310 F. If you don't have a candy thermometer, you can use the cold water test in a pinch: Drop a spoonful of hot syrup into cold water, then remove the candy from the water and attempt to bend it. If your syrup has reached the hard-crack stage, it will form brittle strands in the water and crack as you bend it.
Failure to reach the hard crack stage will result in candy that does not harden, you will be left with a sticky syrup or a blob that won't keep its shape.
I've done both, numerous times, share you horror stories or triumphs in the comments below.
Happy Candy Making!
What You'll Need

1 cup sugar

½ cup light corn syrup

¼ cup water

1-1/2 tsp extract of your choice (vanilla, mint, cinnamon, coconut, etc)

Food coloring (optional)

Lollipop molds and sticks

How to Make It

1. Prepare your lollipop molds by spraying them lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Wipe out the inside with a paper towel, so that only the thinnest layer of oil remains. Insert the lollipop sticks into the molds.
2. Combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then brush down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush. Once boiling, insert a candy thermometer.
3. Allow to boil, without stirring, until candy reaches 295 degrees Fahrenheit (146 C).
4. Once the candy reaches 295 F, remove it from heat. Allow it to sit until it stops bubbling completely. Stir in the extract of your choice, and, if desired, food coloring.
5. Spoon the candy into the mold cavities, making sure to cover the back of the stick.
6. Allow to cool completely and remove once hardened.
7. Store Lollipops individually wrapped, in an airtight container at room temperature, for up to a month.

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WHAT MOTIVATES YOU?

3/21/2019

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Because we all can't be Johnny Depp, psychology has taught us that we are either intrinsically motivated or externally motivated.

External motivation is the most primitive type, you do things because of the reward you will get. Think of training a dog. You say sit 10 times, when the dog finally sits you give the a treat. After awhile the dog connects the command “sit” to a treat. The dog does not speak English, nor does he understand that sit is preferable than standing around and sadly he does not sit because he loves you and wants to make you happy. He does it for the tasty morsel you are holding captive until he does the “thing” to get the “thing”.
If I do A then I will get rewarded with B.

In the human world it might be candy if you finish your homework on time, an extra piece of cake you promised yourself for running the extra mile. It could be that promise of “intimate relations” that makes a man act right (side note short term happiness to a long term problem, but that is another post.)
If you do A then you will get rewarded with B.

It is not because you really want to but because of the reward you are getting for participating. This is a dangerous place to get stuck because your view of the world often turns into:

“Well, what they got for me?” “Gimmie gimmie gimmie” “I deserve that..imma take it” People who are extrinsically motivated basically have the mind of a 5 year old. Probably know the in and outs of the Kardashians, “Real” “Housewives”, up with all the trends etc. Because that is where they find value. I worked my ass off to afford this Gucci Belt “I deserved this.”
You really worked all those hours, not because of the positive impact that you are creating in your career for those around you, but for a belt created by a company that is making a full on mockery of its most “loyal” customers.

Digest that and reflect for a moment...What motivates you?

Intrinsic motivation is more sophisticated. Your desire for success is not about what you will be given but because it comes from inside. You get that warm fuzzy feeling because it truly gives you joy to do well at this thing whatever it may be. For example, I write piano music because I love writing and creating music.

So where is all of this going...
How do we learn to be motivated?
As children we are exposed to a lot of information that we cannot readily process. We are growing and changing daily while trying to figure out the world around it.
We navigate our surroundings and people around us based on

What they can do to help?
Can this thing/person give me what I want?
What do I really want?
Do the things I want really make me happy?
What makes me happy?
How long will these things make me happy?
Will I be willing to do all of that over again to get that thing?
How much of your happiness relies on other people/things?
How motivated are you to control your own happiness?

Happiness and Motivation two sides of the same coin.
Getting to the point of this pencil sharpened with the double edged knife I like to call experience...

Black families love motivate by saying what you can’t do. This creates an extrinsic motivation cycle. “Imma do it because so and so said I can’t.” “Oh, Uncle so and so is talking mess. Watch me!” and my all time favorite "This goes out to all the teachers that said I would never amount to nothing." (Side note stop lying, you mad because you were asked to read out loud...)

Proving them wrong becomes the reward. I recently realized this was the reason I was so driven to work so hard for so long. I was told as a girl I couldn’t take body building in high school. Well guess what this girl did, I took bodybuilding, I passed the class and rubbed it in everyone's face.

The first girl to take bodybuilding, yes gather around me as I sit on the bench complaining about everything from the smell of the gym to the germs from the sweat. I didn’t want to be there, it didn’t bring me joy to be able to lift up moderately heavy things. I was doing it just to prove people wrong...or maybe prove myself right.

I briefly played Junior Varsity Volleyball in High School. I went from being the scorer of the team, to a last minute addition because I just wanted to be involved. The local newspaper wrote an article about me. No I wasn’t a starter, in my head I figured out I’m the finisher. I wasn’t particularly fast or strong but I “had heart and a smile that could light up New York City” (thanks Mr. Lalin, sorry for hitting you at tennis tryouts with my serve.) He actually encouraged me, supported me, gave me room to fail and grow and it was O.K. I didn’t have to be perfect the first time or the second or even at the conclusion of the season.

My mom thought it was strange that he was so encouraging, and kind and that I could have such a good time sucking at something. But of course she wouldn’t understand she would scream WRONG from her bedroom every time I miss played a piano note. I hated piano even though I was good at it, avoiding the opportunity of falling on my face so to speak was not a worthy reward. Imagine crossing a minefield for fun? Yeah, you are happy you made it to the other side but why?

I had no desire to “prove my mom wrong” because she was not leading by example. She was never musically inclined and her harsh opinions were useless to me. Disclaimer: I can say this now because I’m a grown adult, and I paid for this corner of the internet!

I was not motivated to play even though I was good at it. I quit talking about how I needed to focus on "my studies", malarkey I was a straight A student.
However, I loved volleyball even though I was freaking terrible! To this day ask me what my favorite sport is? Volleyball Beach trip? Picnic? I got a volleyball in my car! As for piano I picked it up again recently, after 15 years. Shortly after relocating my Mom shared the reason why she wanted me to play the piano. It was simply because when she was a child SHE was told by some stranger that she has “long pretty fingers” and should play the piano. Yeah...exactly. Regardless, now it makes me happy therefore I am motivated to play. It finally feels good because it is for me.

The concept “For me” for awhile, the idea of doing things for me use to make me feel selfish. But then I realized it is only selfish to the people who are trying to use me, or my skills, my ideas and my time for their own benefit with nothing to exchange. No one in this world is going to look out for you the way you do, remember that.

So I beg the question, what motivates you? Is it an internal drive fueled by curiosity and happiness or is it external where you are just doing things to prove your place in the world that will chew you up and spit you out without thinking twice?

If you are unsure, how do you feel at the end of the day?
Your answer will be as clear a that “d flat” that should have been a “c sharp” echoing up the staircase.

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Virtue for what?

11/26/2018

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In a world where Dicks be winning, should we reconsider our moral attitudes? I mean why are we teaching children etiquette, manners, please and thank you when as adults we praise the biggest assholes of them all.

I get it, we need to have the control over kids so we tell them this and that. However as adults we rarely practice what is preached. For example I work with children, for them to even consider a treat or free time they have to preform a set of tasks. You want computer time no problem finish your homework first. Not just finish it to finish it though, but put sometime into it. Show that you care.

Fast forward 30 years later this same kid is stealing company time, having others do the work, taking credit where it is not due, screwing your husband...oh and she's your boss.

When does the switch happen from sweet little I am going to do my best, to fuck it all imma just do is what I want?

Celebrity? Social Media? Hell even video games I'll blame at this point. But really its society for not being able to think for themselves and are easily distracted by the glitz and the gold. But time and time again the "Mighty" have fallen i.e. Ass Clown (clown hair, whatever I don't care)

Most days I'm content with my happy little life not shitting on anyone doing my own positive thing.

BUT GOTDAMNIT if I wasn't raised right I would be out here getting the fame and glory. Probably have about 3 kids, living in a closet of a room, a metro card with $2.15, no voice to speak for myself cause I'm always looking for a handout that or my mouth is filled with cocks cause close mouths don't get fed on the blvd...
But my gram would be soooooooooo litty!

Whatever back to the grind, but like the 9-5. Not the wake up at 6 am post lets get this money then go back to sleep until your mom wakes you up complaining about the dirty dishes....

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Life's a Garden

7/10/2017

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This weekend I took on the tumultuous task of clearing the weeds out of the yard. They were everywhere; in the beds, destroying the edging, bursting though the rocks and mulch, and polluting the pots.

It was a disaster

A few weeks ago they were tiny, scattered few and far in between. So I ignored it. Sometime after that, while watering, I noticed it is getting out of control. I leisurely plucked a few on my daily waterings. But nothing major.
I kept making excuses
Too tired
Too early
Too hot
Too many bugs...meanwhile I was like

Sorry I can't

They didn't stand a chance

Friday I put on gloves and got to work.
Naturally I couldn't help but think if I had just did this 3 weeks ago, a little every day, or as a weed arose I just pulled it immediately.

Never again I thought...and then a moment of clarity.

Weeds are a problem in any garden. LIfe is a garden and our problems are weeds

Let it marinate

They make your landscape look trashy and suck the life out of the plants that you have cared and catered too. Weeds come in all forms, some have pretty flowers and some speak nice words then plant their disruptive roots.

Would you want to have a bouquet of crab grass and dandelions, or have a picnic in a field of pigweed? Pluck your problems before they get out of hand.

Protect your sanctuary and piece of mind.

Jynx
Mother Nature's Student

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Park IT!

5/25/2017

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Check out a local park this memorial day weekend to welcome summer!

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Summer Eats

5/19/2017

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Cure for the heat FOOD and BEER

Explore the vast cultures this summer by checking out a local street fair.

Here is a list of Street Fairs happening around New York City

Ongoing Street Fairs
Little Italy
109 Mulberry st. New York,
NY, between Canal and Hester
Open Seven Days a Week

SOHO
St. Anthony’s Church
on West Houston
between Thompson and Macdougal
Open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

Park Slope
PS 321,
180 7th Ave,
Brooklyn, NY
Open Saturdays & Sundays

Special Fairs/Festivals
Downtown Brooklyn’s BK Block Party
Saturday, May 20
11:00 am – 1:00 pmAlbee Square (corner of Fulton and Bond), Brooklyn
Live music with Jah Pan, Steel drum and calypso musicians from Trinidad and Tobago play island classics and Caribbean-influenced interpretations of today’s hit songs.

Astoria Spring Festival
Sunday, May 21
Astoria Spring Festival – 31 St Street

3rd Annual Harlem Eat Up
May 18-21, 2017“A four-day festival offering an exciting sampling of Harlem’s sights, flavors and sounds, from artists of the kitchen, canvas, stage and streets.”
Taking place at various venues in Harlem.

Grand Central Food Festival Series #2
Friday, May 26
43rd Street from 3rd – Lexington Ave.

Woodside “Queens” Festival
Saturday, May 27
Woodside Ave. from 63rd St. to Roosevelt Ave.

West 4th Street Festival
Saturday, May 27
West 4th Street from 6th Ave to Macdougal Street

Ronkonkoma “Long Island” Festival
Sunday, May 28
Hawkins Ave. from Portion Rd. to Wittredge St.

Lexington Avenue Spring Festival
Sunday, May 28
Lexington Avenue from 42nd – 57th St.

World Trade Center Community Fair
Monday, May 29
Fulton Street from Broadway – Gold St.

Broadway Astoria- Memorial Day- Fair
Monday, May 29
Broadway from Steinway to Crescent

161st Street Fair
Friday, June 2
161st Street – Grand Concourse to Walton Avenue, Bronx

24th Annual Spring Crafts Festival
Sunday, June 4
65th-72nd Street along Broadway

Sixth Avenue Springfest
Sunday, June 4
6 Avenue From 34th – 42nd St.

Queens Pridefest
Sunday, June 4
on 37th Road from 73rd to 77th Streets

East Side Food Fair
Friday, June 9
54 Street From 3rd – Lexington Ave.

21st Brooklyn Pride
Saturday, June 10
on 5th Avenue from 3rd to 9th Street

3rd Avenue Fare
Saturday, June 10
on 3rd Avenue from 14th to 6th Street

Forest Hills Festival of the Arts
Sunday, June 11
on Austin Street from 69th to 72nd Road

39th Annual Plantation & Crafts Fair
Sunday, June 11
72nd-86th Streets along Broadway

Grand Army Plaza Festival
Sunday, June 11
Eastern Parkway From Flatbush – Washington Ave.

Grand Central Food Block Party Series #2
Friday, June 16
41st Street From 3rd – Lexington Ave.

Full Listing at https://www.newyorkled.com

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Hello Summer?

5/18/2017

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That feeling when they finally get the Chemtrail cocktail right.

Cloud seeding is the actual name for this scientific process.

Cloud seeding is a form of weather modification, a way of changing the amount or type of precipitation that falls from clouds, by dispersing substances into the air that serve as cloud condensation or ice nuclei, which alter the microphysical processes within the cloud. The usual intent is to increase precipitation (rain or snow), but hail and fog suppression are also widely practiced in airports.

The process of weather modification through cloud seeding has been proven successful at increasing rainfall rates, but also at lessening potential hail damage from storms and even to clear fog, according to the American Meteorological Society. This practice dates as far back as the 1940s. According to North American Weather Consultants, a Utah-based group that is contracted by Los Angeles County to seed clouds during some weather events.

Cloud seeding over the UAE in recent weeks has produced a bumper rain harvest. Courtesy National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology

Vincent Schaefer, a self-taught chemist who invented cloud seeding and created the first artificially induced snow and rainfall, died Sunday in Schenectady, N.Y. He was 87 and lived in Rotterdam, N.Y.

Schaefer drew worldwide attention with his 1946 experiments for General Electric Co. making the first snowstorm in a laboratory and inducing precipitation outdoors, solving many of the mysteries of rain and snow that had baffled scientists.
Hopes grew that cloud seeding could fight drought, control storms, reduce hail, quench fires and guarantee a white Christmas.

Sources http://articles.chicagotribune.com/

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Be Werid

5/16/2017

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This world is but a canvas to our imagination.
-Henry David Thoreau

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Death Becomes her

3/31/2017

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Aunt Flow is back...Why does it always feel like the first time every time?

About a week before everything is irritating af. Imagine stockings in the summer annoying, sticky fingers covered in lint irksome, infuriating like smudging mascara on your eyelid after you completed your makeup.