Buttermilk and GIFs

IT'S THE FIRST DAY OF SUMMER!
Which is really the longest day of the entire year. Wouldn't you think that the summer solstice would occur in the middle of summer, not at the beginning. Well.

How have all of your summers been so far? Fun? Productive? Filled with soft fabric and yummy beverages?

I want to share this really easy way to make a buttermilk substitute with you guys. Because I have nothing better to do and I can. :)
By the way, buttermilk actually has no butter in it. Real buttermilk is, hypothetically, the liquid left behind when you churn milk into butter.
But something tells me that buttermilk companies don't churn butter every time they make some buttermilk. I dunno.

Okay, before I decide this is too weird to post, here goes.

BUTTERMILK SUBSTITUTE


Add a tablespoon of white vinegar (or lemon juice) to a measuring cup.

Fill the cup up to the 1-cup line with milk.

Stir and let sit for 5 minutes.

Ta-da!
Now before you leave and question my sanity, let me inform you-- buttermilk has health benefits! Okay so that probably didn't really help my case....
It's good for digestion, and it has calcium, phosphorus, and potassium. Yum.

BUT WAIT. Don't make it just to drink it. 
I tried that. Not good. Let's just say........
Okay it was just really sour. JUST not good.

But if you need it for a recipe, this is perfect!
I'm sorry this is such a random post. It's not even past midnight.

Here's a GIF that accurately illustrates how I feel when I ask myself "Where did all the time go?" 





And I don't doubt that this is you right now if you read my entire post. Buttermilk. I am entirely too weird.
Anyways, enjoy loveliness and remember to muse!

ENERGY~

Good morning internet strangers!
Guess what I realized today? Possibly the most important factor to your productivity and anti-procratination is energy. Resisting the colorful clutches of random time-wasting websites and turning instead to something semi-productive (organizing a few books, dancing around) and then to something truly productive (hunkering down with the books) is much easy when you have the energy to do so.


Plus you're also less likely to flop facedown on the bed and refuse to do anything at all.
^ That happens to me so frequently it's indecent.

So, energy. We all know it's easier said than done. I can't reach through my laptop and shake your face and go "ARRGHHHH HAVE ENERGY!!!!" even if I want to, so instead here are some tips on how to energize yourself.

How to boost your Energy-- the fun way

• Play some upbeat (or slow and classical, whatever floats your boat) tunes and dance to them. Or stretch or do yoga or do some random hoppy motion. MOVEMENT = ENERGY.

• Wear something bright or poppy or so lovely that it makes you smile just to look at it. Just trust me on this one.

• Apples! Thay have natural caffeine. Enough said.

• Scented lotion. If you're not particularly fond of scented things, don't try this one. But if not, pick a fresher scent-- usually something floral or fruity. Spices may tend to make you drowsier.

Okay, I hope that helped! Go try them out!
Enjoy loveliness and remember to muse~

Large Rubber Mallet

Merry 12:52, citizens of earth.

You may or may not have noticed that I haven't posted in a while-- sincere apologies! I'm not quite sure if I've actually been busy or if I was merely pretending to be...I do have a small mountain of work accumulating next to my bed, but that does not, by any stretch of the imagination, mean I've been busy.
I did get a job though. Sort of. :)

Since my blog has a total of zero pictures on it as of today, I've decided to try to post pictures more frequently. You know, to add to the tasteful part of "Just tasteful musings."

Without further ado, here is picture number one:

http://www.alltradetools.com/catalog/1319-1353-large/831304-16-oz-rubber-mallet.jpg

It's a large rubber mallet! Seems appropriate enough. Aren't rubber mallets just dandy?

And here is a short article that I wrote about large rubber mallets in general. 

Top Ten Practical Uses for a Large Rubber Mallet

10. An umbrella (rubber is waterproof!)

9. Super thick drink coaster

8. Living room decor

7. Portable paperweight (it has a handle!)

6. Negotiating with undesirable people

5. Replacement garden gnome

4. Picking up all the field mice and bopping them on the head

3. Making mosaic tiles out of glass bottles

2. Dropping three pounds quickly (just let go of the handle)

1. General Stress relief

Hope you enjoyed! Enjoy loveliness and remember to muse!

Thought Provoker #3 + Time

Summer is absolutely wonderful and terrible at the same time.
Not summer, actually. Just large quantities of free time in general. See, the problem with having a lot of free time is that it has the potential to magically transform into a heap of productivity and output and satisfaction, but this potential also increases all the guilt that comes from wasting said free time by about x274.
And it's not like I usually go with the first option.

Yeah, free time is dangerous too. It gives you a false sense that, yes, I CAN waste time because I finally have time to waste. You know what I realized? One, if not unique, particularly powerful mindset to have when a lot of free time presents itself to your procrastinating mind is to think of the time as an advantage. Don't just use the time. Work extra productively, because now time is finally on your side.

It's like in this book I read when my age was in the single digits. When rowing his canoe down the Yukon, Jason rowed extra hard when the current was in his favor to make the most of it. He could have thought, "Hey, the river's doing the work now. Imma just rest a little bit."

But he didn't.
And putting inn that extra effort when most people would tend to slack off is what defines greatness in the end.
And hey, who doesn't want to be great?

With that said, here is thought provoker/writing prompt #3!
It's completely unrelated to time or summer or productivity, in case you were wondering. Unless you want it to be-- these are meant to be gateways to interpretation, don't forget!

What secrets ride on butterfly wings? 


Take it literally, think about it figuratively, do whatever you want. And have fun :)
Enjoy loveliness and remember to muse!