Monday, October 11, 2010

Magical Munchies


At the top of a mountain somewhere in Switzerland, was a small village named Sycamore Village. It was a small village of ten or so families, there was only one store, and that was the local general store owned by a very friendly husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Beezly. A young women in her twenties, Annabelle, would always stop by to pick up eggs, bread, and milk, and she would also drop off as a gift, her magical cupcakes. These cupcakes were not magical by a magicians standards, but when people tasted these cupcakes, they would send sparkling sensations to their taste buds. Annabelle loved to bake. She didn't use a recipe, formula, or measuring cups. Everything she made was by instincts, straight from the heart.

"A dash of cinnamon, a sprinkle of this, and handful of that!" She never used a timer either, she would go by the aroma that wafted out of the oven, into the kitchen air. "The almond smells just about rightly baked, yep, these are done!"

Every Friday afternoon, was Annabelle's favorite time to bake. After baking the cupcakes, she would pack the cupcakes up in something she built, called a cupcake cart, which resembled a shopping cart, but had larger wheels and a weather-proof covering so she could deliver the cupcakes rain, snow, or sunshine; and she would deliver them to all ten families living in the village's door and give a batch of cupcakes. The families would wait eagerly looking out their windows as she came closer and closer to their door. Knock, knock, kn-

"Annabelle!! We've been waiting for your cupcakes all week!! Last weeks were so delicious! Thank you!!"

As she went to deliver the cupcakes to the local general store, she noticed Mr. and Mrs. Beezly weren't there anymore. A women wearing high heels, and a gray pant-suit was behind the counter, that now had a marble finish, with a handy dandy new high tech cash register. Annabelle also noticed all new floors, wall tiles, freezers, fridges, and shelves were installed.
"Excuse me?" What happend to Mr. and Mrs. Beezly?" Annabelle asked the women behind the counter.

The lady replied, "They sold the store to me, Oh- you must be the cupcake girl! Listen, I was in the city last week, and someone had a cupcake baked by... well, you, and let me tell you, those are magical! Hi, my name is Janice Williams, owner of the "Grocery Land" food chain, all across the world. We are known for our exquisite bakery department, with baked goods made from our very own secret recipes. We are looking to totally makeover and re-vamp our bakery department, with more edge, more flair, more... modern! Grandma's baked goods are so so yesterday! In today? Fresh, new, and vibrant baked goods, very much similar to... well, your cupcakes. Mind if I sample one of your cupcakes once more?"

"Ughh, sure, yes!" Annabelle replied.

"OHHhhh WOWW!! OHHH WOWWW!!! Whoaa! Those are amazing!! Listen, I will give you one-million-dollars, plus a lifetime worth of groceries, if you redesign, and create our new bakery department's baked goods menu and recipes.

Annabelle was in awe, "Wow! Really? That would be wonderful, then I can bake all of the cupcakes that I could ever imagine, and bring even more joy to my friends, family, so the answer is... YES!"

"Wonderful dear, you start tomorrow, I will send you a limousine that will transport you from your home to our baking lab in the city. What I need from you, is tomorrow come in with prepared ideas and recipes, so tomorrow we can bake, then taste test, and make decisions."

"Wow, a limousine?!!" I can't wait! I'll see you tomorrow!", Annabelle cheerfully replied. So Annabelle went home, on her walk home she went from extremely happy to thinking, "Wow, this is a lot of responsibility". " What if they don't like my baked goods?" "What if I let them down?" "I'll be so embarrassed if they don't like my baked goods", "Am I ready for this?" "I don't have any training, do I have enough experience?" "What if my baked goods are so bad, that they put the entire Grocery Land chain out of business?! So many people would be out of a job, all because of me! I'd let everyone down, including my friends and family!" "Oh no! What if I am successful, what kinds of responsibilities will I have?" "What if I don't have time to make my family and village friends their cupcakes? Will they be mad at me?"

Annabelle suddenly felt sick to her stomach. She had such an amazing opportunity, but she didn't see it that way. So many thoughts cluttered her mind. She suddenly felt so scared, dizzy, almost like she was in a fog. She knew though, that she had to prepare ideas and recipes for her first day tomorrow, so she went to her kitchen got out her ingredients, and then thought to self "I'm hungry", so she rummaged through the fridge and had a snack, she wasn't satisfied with the snack, so she made a lasagna dinner, after the lasagna dinner, she still wasn't satisfied so she made fudge brownies, after all that- she was still hungry, but not for food. She was hungry for safety, she wanted to know that Janice Williams, and the rest of the world would love her baked goods, but she just didn't know what was to come the next day in the bakery lab. She was now mad at herself, because she felt sick to her stomach, and she ate some ingredients that she needed.

Annabelle procrastinated preparing recipes for the next day. She would go into the kitchen to bake, and think, "This just isn't my style, I don't use recipes, I can't bake under pressure!" She would then go to take her mind off of the baking, by checking her e-mail, playing video games, and daydreaming. "Wow, a lifetime full of groceries! I'm going to bake like crazy everyday!! And one-million-dollars!! Wow, I'm going to put half in the bank, buy a cottage in the country, buy an apartment in New York City!! Also a lovely place in Paris, perhaps? Wow! Maybe I'll open up my own bakery!!

Before Annabelle knew it, the time was four in the morning, and the limousine was coming at six in the morning. Mad at herself now, because she knew she was only going to have an hour of sleep, she decided to just go to bed.

"Beep, beep, beep!!" Annabelle's alarm went off bright and early an hour later. She woke up exhausted, "Today is going to an interesting day... let's hope I can survive it," She told herself. I have nothing prepared. How did I let that happen?

The limousine picked Annabelle up, and dropped her off to the top secret bakery lab. Janice Williams greeted her, "Hello dear... welcome. And this- is the bakery lab-. This will be your office where you can organize your recipes, and over here- is your kitchen, I have all the ingredients you will ever need, but if just by any chance, there is anything you will need, you can press this button-- on your very own concierge will come, and get you whatever you need! So, I need seven muffin recipes, eight cookie recipes, fifteen cupcake recipes, six brownie recipes, and twelve pie recipes, all by 6PM. Understood?

Annabelle gulped, "Yes".

Janice Williams left the room, and as she was leaving she said, "Good thing you had yesterday to prepare!"

Annabelle put her apron on and just stared at the kitchen. She froze. The feeling of dizziness, and nausea came back again, she thought "There is no way I will be able to do this". She started one task, and then got distracted and would start something new. "Think, think, think!" She thought. But no ideas came to her mind. She paced the kitchen with sweaty palms and thought what am I going to do?" Before Annabell knew it, the time was 2PM, then 5PM, and as the minute hand stuck, it was 6PM. Janice Williams rushed through the door. "Okay dear! Show me what you got!"

Annabelle, sadly replied, "Nothing".

"What?"- Janice Williams could not believe it.

"I'm sorry, but I have nothing done".

Janice Williams was furious. "You're fired Annabelle. "

Annabelle went home and cried. "I failed. I let everyone down." Annabelle stayed in her apartment that night, tossing and turning as she tried to goto sleep. Weeks and weeks passed by, Annabelle, stayed inside feeling sorry for herself. Her phone was ringing off of the hook, letters were pouring into her mailbox, they said things such as "Annabelle, we miss you" "Annabelle where have you been? I've been craving your cupcakes". Annabelle did not bake ever since the Food Land incident. She tried, but just could find the heart in it anymore. It saddened her, she lost the joy in baking. One day, she received a knock on her. Ding-dong. Annabelle opened the door, and no one was there. But, there was a box in purple wrapping paper with a bow. So, Annabelle, opened the box up quickly to find a note. The note said, "You are a person of dreams, desires, and passions to share, you are not the wounded part of you. You must get back to doing what you love. Remember, love the process, not the payoff. One thing to know, Annabelle, you said you were afraid of letting people down, how about doing it for you? Doing it being you enjoy doing it. Afraid of failure? well guess what? Failure is a gift, an opportunity to learn and grow from it. If you don't take risks, you will die anyway, except only half the person you were meant to be. People will always have negative things to say, and accept it- it is what it is. Remember, you like to bake, but you are not your cupcakes, you are so much more. You are not your negative thoughts.

Something clicked in Annabelle, to where she thought to herself, "I could either sit here and waste my life away, or I could pick myself up, push myself, be productive"

Once Annabelle dropped the concerns of what others thought of her, things started to flourish- she wrote down this time her recipes, and sold enough recipes to companies, that she was able to save up to open up her very own bakery. Her bakery outsold Food Land's baked goods, which led them to go out of business. Annabelle, then bought Food Land, and gave it back to Mr. and Mrs. Beezly. Annabelle's bakery, Magical Munchie's, became a phenomenon across the country, and the tiny village of Sycamore, become a tourist attract, reducing the taxes for the village people. Annabelle then married the owner of, Dulishish Donuts, they combined their businesses, and together they lived a sweet, happily, ever after life.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Folktale Friday: "Mohemy Minds Mute"


This is a story of an average human being, five fingers, five toes she was aged somewhere in her twenties. Her name was, Mohemy. She had a good head on her shoulders and a healthy heart. Everyone around town seemed to adore Mohemy. They would say things about her such as "I love Mohemy! She's so fun to be around!" "Mohemy is so full of life!" When people would tell Mohemy this, it made her feel good, but she never knew what to say, so she would smile politely and reply "thank-you so much!" Mohemy loved being around people- in fact, when she was around people she would get so excited, and wanted to show some sort of gratitude of spending time together, she loved bringing smiles to their faces. At the same time, she wanted them to stay, and feel comfortable. She associated feeling comfortable with people, by talking. She thought "if we have a lot to talk about, then we will find something in common, and then we will have a connection!"

So it was a Friday night, there was a town event, Mohemy put on her best dress, and arrived with a smile. At arrival, she extended her hand, and introduced herself to the guests, "Hi, I'm Mohemy.... scared for an awkward silence, she would talk about the first thing she noticed about the person. ".....uhhh I like your tie!". The other person was flattered at the least. She would charm people, and talk a mile-a-minute. When she ran out of things to say, she would make another observation and talk about that-
" I feel like I know you from somewhere- do you work at the coffee shop on the corner? No? Oh, okay, I really love that place- they have blueberry coffee! It's so good! Blueberries are good too! Did you know they're high in antioxidants? You know what else is high in antioxidants? Green-tea and!.... KETCHUP!! Yes! Ketchup! I was surprised when I read that! It's in something called Lycopene, I believe... but I prefer salsa over ketchup- it's more natural, and it has less sugar! and she would go on and on and on- she chatted with just about everyone at the event, except there was one person who she did not talk to- and that was the boy whom she had a crush on. He seemed like the life of the party, chatted with just about everyone there, he was the only one whom Mohemy was intimidated to talk to.

That night, she went home- and was sad for some reason, so she took a night stroll to the local park, and sat under her favorite tree, it was a weeping willow tree with long, soft oval leaves with colors ranging from various shades of green to a blueish, yellow color. Just then, out of nowhere came a face from the weeping willow tree. Mohemy at first was scared, but she felt a sense of familiarity of the face.

"Hello Mohemy, I'm Master Omnicient, the "wise weeping willow tree", why so blue today?"

Mohemy needed someone to talk to- so she replied, "I went to a town gathering today, and even though I connected with everyone, I still feel so disconnected, I'm lonely".

Master Omnicient replied, "Mohemy, did you make an effort to talk to people? Get to know them?"

---"Yes! I talked to every single person there! I had great and long conversations!

"Yes, but I asked if you got to know them", Master Omnicient said.

Mohemy replied, "Yes we talked so much, there wasn't one awkward silence moment!!"

"Ah ha! If you don't have any pauses for silence, you aren't truly listening to the other person! You're so in your head thinking about what to say next! Silence is the real harmony to connecting with a human being. Harmoney of the heart. Chit-chat is clutter of the mind. Clutter that has been saved from the past, and needs to be cleared out. Only silence will you be in the "now" present moment. You my friend, have something I'd like to call, "the disease to please" and "fear of the unknown". As long as everyone else is happy, you are too, or so you think. And fear of "What if we don't connect?" My friend, the truth is what will bring you closer to your destiny. First, love yourself. Your flaws, for you are human. You are protecting- take off your carnival mask, and reveal you, for you- yourself are a miracle. Your mask is not you, it is false. Bondings made with this mask are just that- false. The relationships are just a mere illusion. Remember, you will never know the next moment in life, accept it. So live in the now by listening and embracing the silent moments, for only then- will you find words with meaning."

Something clicked inside Mohemy, "Oh... I thought the way to knowing someone was by communicating?"

-- Master Omniscient replied- "My friend, silence is communication, communication of the heart, communication of just being there- verbal communication is lovely too, remember, there is more than one way of communicating, slow down the mind, breath, and simply just "be".

Just then Master Omniscient's face disappeared. A rattling noise from the bushes came about, and appeared was the guy at the town event, whom Mohemy wanted to speak to, but was too intimidated to.

"I come here to think too... I heard everything", the guy said.

Just as Mohemy was about to explain herself, the guy went on to say,

..."I saw you at the town event, and I had no idea, you felt that way-

Normally, Mohemy would talk in defense to justify any actions that may have revealed any sort of vulnerability that may of altered one's view of her being a "strong" young lady. but just as she was about to speak, she paused, took a breath, and replied, "It's true." Just that. Not- "No- well, usually I- but and plus I wasn't feeling that good, and you know how you feel when you only got this many hours of sleep, so-..."

Simply, "It's true."

Just then, the guy replied, "Wow, I felt the same way, I just didn't know other people did, thank you so much for sharing that" "I felt so uncomfortable with silence, that I tried to cover it up, by talking a lot, but I would still go home feeling so alone. I would ask myself, why do I care what these people think of me? I never really understood it, until just a few moments ago, when I realized you can only give away what you have, and I didn't have acceptance for myself. I hid everything, people would assume were "flaws".

Mohemy suddenly did not feel so alone. For once, she did not make a connection on an exterior observation, but from something within.

"Hi, I'm Donato, by the way, I really thought you were cute, and I wanted to introduce myself, but I'll be honest, I was kind of intimidated by your bubbly presence."

That night Mohemy and Donato discovered a key to a door in their life that was locked for so long, all due to fear. They found a new kind of communication, one that was real.

Written by: Amy Jans