Yikes! New Computer!!

I have been needing a new computer for my job since I started my job. They upgraded almost immediately after I started, thus making my system obsolete. I've been saving up to get this since I got my first paycheck. I finally was able to get my new system. 3.01 GHz and 4 GB of RAM. 500 GB memory. So this is fantastic.

Nonetheless, when I got it set up for work I panicked. When they removed my VPN from my laptop I panicked more. And I was nearly in tears getting ready to use my new computer.

Why? Because All Change Is Bad, even when it is good, and when one is expecting it.

Luckily, I found this very amusing. If you can't laugh at yourself, you'll never get the joke! And autistics are funny as hell. Flap flap. New computer! Oh noes!

Despite the fear and panic and flapping, today went very well with the new system. It was wonderful to have less lag and fewer other issues. Life is happier! Which I knew beforehand or I wouldn't have gotten the new system. Which makes the panic that much more amusing.

So now we can all have a good laugh and watch Abi panic at the upcoming changes in her world!

Spring Cleaning!

I actually wax enthusiastic on Spring Cleaning.

I love going through everything and getting rid of stuff I don't need, giving the house a good deep cleaning (I do Autumn Cleaning too), and letting the musty smells of winter escape out open windows with the brisk March winds!!

There is something very satisfying about clean. Most chores aren't necessarily *fun*, but they are definitely worthwhile when I see the results.

Oddly, I actually enjoy dishes (I do them all by hand) and laundry (hanging them out on the line, folding them, making them fit into drawers in happy tetris like efficiency). The other chores I'm certainly willing to do, but it isn't with as much joy.

In "The Miracle of Mindfulness" there is a time when a man is told, "There are two ways to do dishes. You can do dishes to get clean dishes, or you can do dishes to do the dishes."

I definitely do dishes to do the dishes. And laundry to do the laundry. I try to live the philosophy in all the other chores, but some are more difficult than others. Today I did clean out the refrigerator to clean out the refrigerator. It was very relaxing.

In a perfect world, I'd be able to drop work this week and spend it all cleaning and have the entire house spotless. However, I have work. And I have roommates who don't really want me running rampant over their areas of the house. So I have to be content with cleaning my kitchen, the living room, and my bedroom. It is good.

Experimental Food

Happy St Paddy's Day! In celebration of beef sales, I corned my own beef. I cut the sugar and salt in the recipe and added Irish tea. The brine tastes pretty good. Let's hope the results are good too!

For dessert, I started with this recipe, and removed all the sugar. My body's reaction to sugar grows more severe all the time and I cannot even handle agave nectar. I use stevia or nothing. So here is how I did it:

• 3/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 10 eggs
• 2 cups grapeseed oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon mint extract

I baked it at 350 for half an hour. Half the batter was cupcake, the other half small bread loaves.

They poofed tremendously! Far more than they had when I'd put agave in. They are also drier, which I was fully expecting. Obviously, further experiment needs done.

I am frosting them with a very simple cream cheese frosting:

• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 1/2 t stevia
• 1/2 T vanilla
• 4 oz chopped mint leaves
• 1/2 bar of 100% cacao unsweetened chocolate (3 oz?) - melted
  

I frosted the lopsided cupcakes and put a mint leaf on them. They aren't bad. I can eat them. I hope everyone else can. They are very very UNsweet hehehe. The mint is really nice too. But there is only so sweet stevia can get anything. And if I want any, that's the only option. If my body accepts more sugar at some point, I think it would be really good with berries in the frosting to sweeten it!

Luckily, everyone I cook for approves of experimentation so that I can end up with more foods I'm allowed to eat. Having a strict diet is a pain in the ass if you can't cook.