Amy Currioman

My sister and I went ahead and experimented with the candy melts last night. We poured an entire bag into one of the large glass measuring cups and put it in the microwave oven. My microwave oven has a soften/melt button so I used that button and just watched the little buttons melt down. I took the cup out of the microwave oven and stirred it, put it back in and let it melt some more, stirred it again, and then I decided to go ahead and just pour the melted candy into the candy mold.

The cup was a two cup measure, and I felt that it was a little bit cumbersome to pour just a little bit out at a time so I decided to use a plastic tablespoon measuring spoon and dip that into the cup and then pour the candy into the mold using the spoon. Each little mold took about one and a half tablespoonfuls to fill up.

I was worried about whether I should have sprayed the molds with cooking oil, but decided to try it without the oil, since the instructions that came with the candy melts did not indicate anything about greasing. We stayed up until 2am working on those candies!

My sister bought some lollipop candy molds and wants me to take some time later this week to practice melting some candy melts and fill the molds so she can have some lollipops to give away in the near future. I’ve never done anything like that before, it sounds like it could be fun, but I’m a little bit worried about having to use a frosting pastry bag to squeeze the candy out. I’m not quite sure that I have the strength in my hands to be able to do that.

I don’t even have any pastry bags, and I’m wondering if I should go out and buy some, or if there is a quick and easy way to make one ourselves from parchment paper or coffee filters. I’ll have to spend some time online to research that. Have you done anything like that before? How did you do it?

One of the interesting ways that the Internet is evolving is that some of the website developers and producers are combining functions together into one web page, so that the consumer can find what they want, read reviews about it, get discount coupons for it, and then go to the web site that sells it and actually buy it. Being able to do that is becoming more seamless with the appearance of the become.com website.

What I think is so awesome about this website is that it encompasses almost anything you could think of. There is a huge variety – it is almost as if you don’t have to go to any other website to find what you need.

You can start out looking at pool sweeper reviews so that you can make an informed suggestion to the sister that is putting in a new swimming pool, you can order an automotive ammeter for that hot-rod builder husband (why exactly why that is an important thing to have in a car I’m really not sure. I know it measures electricity. Hmmm… maybe it helps you figure out if there is a drain on the battery so you know you need to get to a repair shop right away because your car is about to die!)

And you can research baby walkers for girls to see which one would be the safest and most user-friendly one to give to that pregnant niece that you need to buy a baby-shower gift for. That site truly is a one-stop shopping tool, and I’m really glad to see that the Internet is becoming a more useful instrument in helping us to live our lives to the fullest by getting the best value for our dollars!

The phone number that showed on my cell phone was not familiar and had not been saved in my contact list, so I assumed the call was either a wrong number – that happens a lot – or perhaps a political pollster or telemarketer.

Whichever it would be, I was a little annoyed at having to stop what I was doing to answer the phone and deal with someone who was not welcome to intrude on my time.

Well, surprise! The caller was an old high school buddy who had just found my Facebook page and was able to find my phone number. She was calling just to say “Hi” and to reconnect with an old friend. It turns out that I was very glad to hear from her and we had a wonderful long conversation.

My sister was telling me that she wants to take clogging lessons and wants me to go with her. I had never heard of clogging before, so I looked it up on YouTube. It is a type of dance that is similar to what I call “Riverdance.” To be honest, I didn’t know what to think about taking classes. We found out that there was a day-long workshop going on in Haymarket yesterday, so I agreed to go and watch.

It looked like it was a lot of fun, but let me tell you this, I don’t know if my poor body would be able to take it! I do agree that it would be great exercise and probably would lead to some much needed weight loss, so I agreed to take a few classes with her. I hope it doesn’t kill me!