On Happiness

It's been a month and a half back stateside, and today in class my professor brought up the fact that the Danes are the happiest people in the world.  Now, I've spent years trying to be the best possible version of myself.  The problem, I think, is that what I've considered the "best" version of myself has varied greatly at different times in my life.

I think at this point, my goal is just to try to be happy and to do the best I can within those confines.  And, for that, I'm trying to pull some lessons from my time in Denmark.

So, without further ado, Rachel's Keys to Happiness (The Danish Way):

• Don't Try to Do or Be Everything: This is completely antithetical to the UR way of life, and I know that.  I go to a school of over-achievers and the over-involved.  But from now on, I'm going to try and stick to only those things that I have the time to do and do well, rather than beating myself up for not having three majors, two minors, and being the president of six clubs.
• Don't Forget to Take Care of Yourself: I've noticed I feel a lot better about myself when I take the time to take care of myself -- to eat foods that make me feel good, drink enough water, work out.  They take up time, but I end up feeling like an entirely different person.
• Don't Judge Yourself in Comparison to Others: Thank you Jantelov.  This set of the tenets of Danish life come down to "Don't think you're better or smarter or more deserving than anyone else"...but at the same time realizing that it means you're no less of those things either.
• Don't Take Life Too Seriously: If there's one thing I really learned from the Danes, it's that when it comes to joking, nothing is off limits.  And not taking life or any one aspect of it too seriously is a struggle that I need to remind myself of on a regular basis -- but one that will ultimately leave me a lot less stressed and a lot happier.
• Don't Be Afraid to Take Some Time: Danes put off going to college longer than we do.  Danes put off marriage and kids longer than we do.  And that time to make the big decisions, I think, probably gives you some analytical distance and maturity to help make those decisions when the time is right.  I'm not as a afraid to not know RIGHT NOW what I want or need to do.
• LOWER YOUR EXPECTATIONS: The secret to happiness is low expectations. Seriously.

So that's the life goal right now -- live life just a bit more Danish (and embrace the happy that hopefully follows).  So I have the keys... now I just have to look for the locks.

Keyed in,
Rachel Leigh

On My Life As a Domestic Goddess (Or: Cupcake-Decorating 101)

This post is completely unrelated to what I normally post, but then again, I normally post whatever anyway.

If you know me, you know I like to bake.  If you REALLY know me, you know I worked as a cake decorator for four years and still take my decorating very seriously (especially on my cupcakes).  As such, I've gotten a couple questions on everything from the materials and techniques I use to the virtues of professional training.

So, here are Rachel's Tips and Tricks for decorating:

1. Buy cheap pastry bags and good decorating tips.  A cheap decorating tip will warp, bend, clog, and generally be a pain to work with.  Invest in sturdy ones.  Pastry bags, on the other hand, are disposable.  Even if you take excellent care of them, they rip, fray, and stain after a couple uses.  If you have to choose where to splurge and where to save, splurge on the decorating tips.  If it comes down to it, you can even use a Ziploc bag with the corner cut off to save money on pastry bags.
2. Know your materials and how they behave.  Cold, stiff frosting is harder to work with, but it holds up better than a warmer frosting, which wilts, melts into the cake, and falls apart if you look at it funny.  Don't try to use cookie frosting on a cake -- they behave completely differently and serve different purposes.
3. Practice and experiment.  It took me a good six months before I could pipe a frosting rose that didn't smoosh up or fall apart the second my hand moved.  Everything from learning the amount of pressure needed to pipe certain shapes and patterns to deciding if a design that looks cool in your head actually works in reality requires practice and a willingness to experiment.
4. Don't be afraid to get messy.  I worked one shift in high school where I had to leave immediately after to go set up and help out with senior class graduation, and it took me 12 hand washes and a shower to scrub all of the food coloring and icing off of my hands and arms.  You WILL end up covered in food coloring and having to wipe down your work station a lot, but it gets neater and easier with practice.  Don't wear anything you'd be horrified to see ruined until the mixer and food dye is safely away.

That's it for now.  If you guys like this kind of post, let me know and I might do more of them!  In the meantime, here is a picture of the cupcakes I made yesterday:

Letting them eat cake,
Rachel Leigh