Mr Pibb and Red Vines = crazy delicious

Dear No One in Particular,

Confession: I don't think I've ever seen the video I'm referring to in my title. I'm pretty sure I hate Mr Pibb, but stale Red Vines are pretty great. I bought a bag at the good Safeway, and I've been snacking on twists all evening. Someone once described them as tasting like red, and I have to say, that's the most apt description for Red Vines I've ever heard.

I had some vague plans for this evening, unknown reader, but they've kinda fallen through.

I made some pretty disastrous cupcakes earlier thanks to this book. I like to think of myself as a pretty good baker, but this book broke me. I made a couple of the recipes, and I had to toss both batches of cupcakes in the trash. There is something seriously flawed with the recipes themselves; one batch came out ridiculously dry and the other was so dense, it was like eating meat. I tried to make one of the frostings, which was laughably bad: it was soupy and way too sweet. If I had paid more than $5 for the book, I'd be completely incensed. As it is, I'm just terribly annoyed, since groceries are very expensive here, and tossing out those cupcakes was just like watching money go down the drain. When a recipe calls for 5 egg whites, and eggs cost $3 for a half-dozen, it adds up -- especially when the dessert is completely inedible.
I ranted at the Boy for a good half hour after I tossed the last batch. My solution: keep the book for inspiration. A lot of the ideas are good, and I think I have enough experience to know how to overhaul some of the recipes to make some pretty tasty cupcakes.

So. Now, I'm sitting on my couch, eating kona coffee mochi ice cream (which, intangible reader, I have only found here in Hawaii) and drinking some crappy South African wine. I don't know what crappy South African wine -- we bought it because neither of us knew that South Africa had vineyards. It has a leopard-print cork, which I thought was kinda funny. The Boy likes it for some reason, but I obviously don't. It's rough stuff, but then again, it only cost $9. The lady behind the counter at the liquor store had to wipe the dust off of the bottle. I should know better.

It's been that kind of day, imperceivable reader.

--amanda