Leap Day

Well this has been an interesting Leap Day. Both good and bad.

We'll get the depressing part over with.
I found out today that 3 awesome people died recently.
1) Keeter- my high school French teacher. Not Mrs. Keeter, Keeter. Her favorite phrase was "because" as in "because I said so" She was definitely one of the major reasons I kept up with my French and eventually studied abroad in France. I couldn't believe it when someone had mentioned she died. :-(
2) Christine D.- Also a teacher from my school system. I believe she was a 3rd and/or 5th grade teacher at my elementary school, and some of my friends had her. But I also got the pleasure of working with her for a year. She recently had a baby boy, and in fact she is really young. I knew she had some health problems, but it is still very shocking. My thoughts are with her co-workers and family.
3) Although he is not as awesome as the two above people in my eyes, he was definitely still a part of my childhood entertainment. Davy Jones from the Monkees died of a heart attack today. He was only 66. That's pretty young. Just more shocking news.


Okay, now the positives.

My former college roommate posted a picture of the last Leap Day, which was our senior year in undergraduate. And it was U of I's most famous of holidays "Unofficial" (Stands for Unofficial St. Patrick's Day). It's basically an excuse to run around drunk all day. It was a nice reminder of the 'earlier days' and it is additional inspiration to live young! (it's hard when your live-in boyfriend goes to bed at 9pm because he wakes up for work at 4:30 am) We're bent on taking a tropical vacation soon!

I also was amazing myself and got up off my ass to do my 30 Day Shred work out. I gotta get sexier for my tropical vacation. 3 weeks. I know if I keep it up I'll notice some changes. I'm not looking for actual 30 day shred. I'm just looking to tone up a bit, have my pants fit better, and get into the habit of sweating every day. I just have to keep it up.

I've also been changing my skin and makeup routine a bit. I'm still trying a bunch of different skin care options, but I"m already seeing some change with my Neutrogena Stress Control Scrub. Again, I need to get sexy for my vacation. And for life. If anyone has any favorites or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment below :-)

I did reward my working out with an Ulta purchase. I got a bunch of free stuff, so I'll probably post my haul when it comes in :-) Of course I cannot reward myself all the time with spending money so I need to find some other motivation. Apparently intrinsic motivation is not enough for me. I might have to use stickers.

I also have an awesome Speech activity that I did a few weeks ago, but I'll make a separate post for that later.

Happy Leap Day to all. Celebrate by taking a leap, doing something different and live young!

Adventures in cooking!

So I have to say, I've been a pretty awesome house girlfriend. I've been turning out some awesome food lately. But, alas, I cannot take all the credit, for I mainly got my recipes elsewhere. Like on Pinterest. That being said, I'd like to sum up the awesome recipes from this week and share their awesomeness with you!

When I first saw these cheesy baked eggplant pizzas I was drooling up a storm. And I had a giant eggplant burning a whole in my fridge. I wasn't sure how Mark would respond to them either. Let me just say these were AWESOMELY good! And they were fairly easy too! Mark couldn't stop eating them. We ate the entire tray. The breadcrumbs give it a nice crispy texture and the sauce and toppings meld well with the eggplant base. We didn't even miss the pizza crust! I didn't have any spinach around at the time, but we used some Italian sausage and green peppers. I would imagine any pizza topping would work well!

I have to say one of my new food obsessions is asparagus. I find it is best when grilled or simply roasted with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. I tried simple roasted asparagus from The Wicked Noodle. Simply delicious. And easy. Cannot go wrong! I highly suggest trying it on the grill too! I served these sticks with some baked potatoes and easy pork chops! Definitely an Americana meal!

Last, but not least, my crock pot recipe for the week. You know a recipe is good if you can't wait to eat it again the next day for lunch. The best part? Easy! And I had all the ingredients at home already! Chief in Training's lime chicken tacos were to die for! The chicken was juicy and flavorful and the corn gave it a little crunch! We made burritos with some cilantro-lime rice. Yummy! I was a little worried at first because I had double the amount of chicken that needed to be cooked so I doubled the recipe before I had ever tried it. I am so glad I did. Now I have some chilling out in the freezer next time I need a quick meal.

I plan to make more crock pot meals more often. Easy clean up. No hassle. Delicious.

I think all of these recipes will make it into the "meal rotation."

Any amazing recipes you have found lately??

January and such

Happy New Year everyone!
I hope everyone had a fun 2011 and that you're all ready for 2012.

Quarter 2 at Northwestern has begun, and so far so good.Tuesdays and Thursdays are stupid-long days (8am-6pm, not straight, but I am there all day). Lucky for me Wednesdays and Fridays only have 1 class, although I'm in the car longer than in class. It is what it is.

Now for updates on my resolutions!
-I actually went to the gym yesterday. I didn't do a great job working out, but I am a little sore, so that means I did something good! The main thing for me is that I actually got off my ass and went. Now I just need to continue.

-house, not as clean as it could be, but I should be by Friday *fingers crossed*

-Something I didn't include before, my book reading goals. Last year my goal was 65 books and I officially read 55 books ( about 5 of those are audiobooks, just to clarify) This year I'm hoping to read 50 books. School, unfortunately, takes away from both my time to read and my desire. I'm already a little behind, but it's been a crazy few weeks.

-Now for the really exciting one:
Birchbox! Here is a picture of what I received in my January box


Items in the box:

• Juicy Couture- Juicy Couture perfume sample
• Miracle Skin Transformer: treat & conceal (light/medium shade)
• VMV Hypoallergenics: Re-everthing Eye Serum
• Zoya Feel Collection in Megan (lavender-gray color love!)
• 'wichcraft granola (great snack for in between my classes)
• Birchbox magnet (to the fridge with you!)

I'd say it's a pretty good sampling for $10. I've heard a lot of complaining about people getting things they don't really want, but the Birchbox people can't read your mind. They can look at a little at your "beauty profile" but it's still all pretty much a grab bag.
I have heard great things about the Zoya polish and I was so excited that I have already painted my nails

I think half the fun of all of this is waiting for the box and speculating about what you might get. There are some fun communities out there that chat about it. I like it so far, I hope it continues to impress!

A Very DIY X-mas cont., Plan B

Well, I was going to update you all about my very DIY Christmas, but magically all my pictures disappeared from my phone. This has happened before, so I'm not terribly worried. They'll be back.
I do, however, have a picture of my homemade bread (which is delicious and surprisingly easy, by the way)

Regard:

And in case you want to get in on some of this deliciousness yourselves, here is the fantastic blog that I found the recipe on.

And now for my Plan B. My New Years Resolutions.

• I'm doing well in grad school so far, so I'd like to continue that.
• My house is clean (except for the guest room...) and I'd like to maintain that. I'm getting plenty of inspiration from Organizing Made Fun
• I hope for increased will power. I am not going to make a resolution to work out more or eat better, that will never work. I only hope to increase my will power so that I may have a wish to up hold this more than I do now. Which is anything. I might bring back my incentive stickers. And require boyfriend to hound me about these things. 
• And finally, I'm thinking I might make the resolution to try out Birchbox. I never know what make-up/products to buy and I always like trying new things. It seems like a good trial option, and it's only $10 a month. It'll be a nice treat for me every month. I'll let you know how it goes.

What are all of your resolutions? 

A Very DIY Christmas: Day 3

Yes, yes, I know. I skipped Day 2. Sorry. I babysat yesterday. And went out to dinner. And bought supplies for today's DIY project.

Today's DIY project originally comes from Eddie Ross (via pintrest)

I successfully made a homemade wreath. And it only took about 2 hours and about $9.
Here are the supplies:

• 8 tubes of dollar store ornaments (I only used 7 tubes worth)
• 1 wire hanger
• 1 roll of wired ribbon (I couldn't decide between the two, I also suggest a opaque pattern)
• 1 glue gun (I used about 1-1/2 sticks)

*Note* In the future I would probably suck it up and get regular ornaments/ shatter proof ones, I got what I paid for at the dollar store.

Step 1: Make the hanger round

Step 2: carefully open the hanger up (it's easier than you would think)

Step 3: Gather ornaments and hot glue tops to ornament

I put them in a bag so the glitter didn't get everywhere, right away...

A little dab will do.

Step 4: slide ornaments onto hanger

Step 5: Voila!

It took about 80 ornaments. I used the hanger hook as the door hook. Unfortunately, my wreath could not stay on my door :-( There wasn't enough room between the door and the glass "screen" door.
I hung it outside, but we'll see if it lasts. The hooks on the ornaments are pretty cheap and break easily. I might have to bring it back inside.

It was a really easy project and I'm really happy how it turned out. Perhaps over the summer I shall seek out garage sale ornaments to make a fancier one.

Now, off to the store so I can start the baking frenzy! (and more babysitting tonight, but I think I'll bring some gingerbread for them to decorate!)

Happy DIYing!

A Very DIY Christmas: Day 1

Mark took the day off today and told me he decided I should have a real tree.

So off we went. And we came back with this darling tree.

Cute no? I'm waiting until the branches drop before I start decorating. And lights. We might score some for free from Mark's dad :-)
Now I just have to figure out where to get a cheap, round table cloth, so I can get a tree skirt going. Also on the list today, X-mas cards. Unfortunately, I will not be DIYing these, but I AM planning on making adorable labels :-)

Tomorrow I'm hoping to get to the dollar tree to get some ornaments for a wreath. Hopefully I'll remember to take pictures of my projects.

The next week will be filled with gift-making.
Does anyone have any ideas for DIY gifts for men? I always have trouble finding something for my dad.

Here I come a waffling

So Mark and I recently bought ourselves a waffle maker.
BEST. DECISION. EVER.

We made some delicious regular waffles the first time.

But today we made...

That's right. Cinnamon Roll Waffles.
With Cream Cheese Icing.
So Delicious.
So Easy.
1 can cinnamon rolls (w/icing)
1 waffle iron

That simple.

Apparently you can waffle just about everything.
Like brownies, grilled paninis, hash browns, etc.
I am excited to start experimenting with waffling things. I think Mark is too.

Yay for my waffle iron!

1 quarter down, Christmas to go

Okay so it's been a while.
Grad school has basically been kicking my butt for the past few weeks. (I did get 100% in anatomy though.) Now, I am finally done for the quarter. So far things are going smoothly. I even think I did well in the class from hell, aka language development.
Now that classes are over I am free to make the house EXPLODE with Christmas. Between my mother and I we could decorate oh, lets say an entire neighborhood to be conservative. I really wanted to get a real tree this year but, A) Mark is never around and I'm not going by myself, and B) my parents had an extra fake tree that they didn't want cluttering up their garage.
My mom did buy me a little real tree as a consolation

It's cute :-)

I am starting to make my list of Christmas projects (thank you Pinterest)
I'm DIYing the heck out of Christmas this year. Here are a few of my hopes and dreams:

• Christmas stockings for Mark and me 
• Tree skirt. There are two I can't decide between...
• No-Sew Ruffle
• Ruched Tree Skirt
• Holiday card boards 
• Bacon Ornament for Mark (see it here!)
• Coasters for family and friends
• Ornaments for my Mom
• Pillow covers for my Nana
• A wreath (also cannot decide, probably this one)

And of course Cookies! (and candy, of course) I won't bore you with the entire list of what I'm hoping to make, but here are a few:

• fudge (all types: peppermint, marshmallow, maybe some peanut butter)
• Mexican wedding cookies (aka Russian Tea cookies, pecan sandies)
• Peanut butter kiss cookies
• good ol' chocolate chip
• peppermint bark
• oreo balls (aka Reindeer poop)

Just to name a few...

I have a few other revelations, but I'll save those for another post.

Happy Holidays!

Wife Rating

Yes, you read correctly "Wife Rating"
"What the hell is that?!" You may ask, well I shall tell you.
Recently, a fellow student came up to one of my other fellow students and said "Katie, you're married right?" (Side note: this was funny because Katie and I were talking about marriage) Our fellow student preceded to show us this:

Interesting, no? Now, you must be saying to yourself, "this looks like it's from 'back in the day.'" And, well, you're right! (1939 to be exact!) I find it so funny now too look at this, and I even asked Boyfriend to give me a rating. He laughed when I told him to be honest. I got a 10, by the way. That's "Very Poor (failures)"
But really, who uses the word 'demerit' any more? Do I need to go get my dunce hat and sit in the corner?
To be fair, according to the article there was a woman's version too. But what would that have had on it?
Merits:
Makes money
Does not talk to you or engage your children
Does not beat you
Pretends to enjoy your cooking
Watches TV and relaxes when he comes home
Comes to bed ready

Demerits:
Does not dress in a suit
Does not buy you nice things
Leaves cigarette butts around the house
Is a drunk

Feel free to brainstorm with me here, since the article did not show us the wife rating the husband version I'm curious.

Cupcakes, Camping and Caves

Another week and grad school is slowly beating my morale down. Although, I did better on my recent quizzes than I thought I would.
Luckily, this weekend Mark and I were able to have a nice getaway in southwest Wisconsin. A weekend of technology-less communing with nature and rucus RV-camping neighbors.
Although it was chilly, and rather windy, the weekend was pleasant and enjoyable. AND hiking yielded these views:

Yes, It was lovely :-) and might I say that the boyfriend gets major points for being a manly man. (and for carrying all my stuff in his tiny backpack)

After our woody adventure we decided we would hike to a nearby attraction that said it was just off of a major hiking trail. Not true. We had to hike all the way back to the car and drive. In hindsight, this was probably better.
We found ourselves at one of the more delightful Southwest Wisconsin tourist traps- Cave of the Mounds. View their website here. The cool thing is that this is a real cave in the side one of the Blue Mounds just outside of (West-ish) Madison. It's something you don't see in this part of the country. Here are some awesome pictures from that adventure as well.

the weird veiny thing on the top is cave bacon or ribbon stalactites

Cave dome where sulfuric acid bubbled up a long time ago

Cave coral and a small lake

Rock "waterfall" although it's really rough

Stalactite

Stalactites and Stalagmites

It goes really far back

A dome. I think there's some cave bacon in there too.

And last but not least for this post, as promised by the title, cupcakes. Last weekend I made those dark chocolate ones again and this time i put marshmallow and caramel on them... they very VERY messy, but very delicious. :-)

And this is how babies are made....

I know you may have clicked on this merely because the title looked intriguing... and perhaps sexy.

Well, it kinda is.

Babies are made because of dark chocolate cupcake batter. Yes, this is true. It's pure sex. I haven't even gotten to taste the cooked product (I hear it is DIVINE, by the way). I will go ahead and answer the question that probably hasn't crossed your mind just yet, no, I am not pregnant. I've got my bases covered...

Okay, now that you really didn't need to know that.... back to the ever delicious dark chocolate cupcakes. Want to see pictures?! Because I actually have pictures! *gasp*

I am super proud of these, I have wanted to do these designs for a long time.

Today's Project

Okay today's project (after school, of course) is dark chocolate cupcakes!
I am becoming known in many circles for my cupcakes, which is kinda cool, and a friend's mom called me to make some for a bridal shower for her work. She said she wanted chocolate, so I'm going to give her chocolate :-)

I am super excited about this recipe, it is from one of my favorite food blogs Brown Eyed Baker. She pairs it with a peanut butter frosting (yum!) But I'm still not sure which kind of frosting I'm going to use. I'm thinking good ol' homemade vanilla.

In other baking news, the SLP bake sale is coming up quickly (Oct. 19, 20, 21). I'm starting to gather some recipes for my bake-a-thon. I know I'm going to make some pumpkin whoopie pies, but I want another recipe... Perhaps if these dark chocolate cuppies go well I will make a marshmallow frosting and top it with some sea salt caramel.... Okay, now that I'm drooling all over the keyboard... Any other fall-inspired flavors? Should I do some fancy decorating? So many decisions!

Happy baking!

Long time no write...

Okay, they title can be a few things for me, 1) I haven't written in my darling little blog for a while & 2) I haven't written papers in a while and I'm kinda freaked out about writing one... (I know, I know, I'll do just fine.... can't a girl have a little anxiousness?!?!)

Well, so far all is well and good in the new casa :-)
We actually have a lot of new things, like a mattress (Mark actually fits!) and the new edition to our home arrived today... a 60" TV. Happy boyfriend, happy home right?

The first week of school is over and the first half of this week has been good so far. I"m getting used to reading things other than interesting young adult novels and I'm actually managing to make some friends. Oh, and I'm already known as "the Cupcake Girl". In fact, one of the girls even said to me "sorry, can you remind me your name again? Cupcakes right?" Yes, I will respond to Cupcake. I'll respond to anything really... That reminds me, one of my (former) roommates was very fond of giving people nicknames in college and had a bit of trouble coming up with one for me. She decided on Cupcake, but I don't think it was ever used. Well, darling, here you go!
I am excited for the SLP bake sale coming up on October! I have been scouring the interwebs for delicious, and fall-inspired, yummies. I have definitely decided on pumpkin whoopie pies a) because they are pumpkin and b) because I have never made whoopie pies before. And, of course, the picture looked amazingly delicious!
And how awesome to these puppies look! Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting
I have to admit that I am a fan of anything salted-caramel related :-)

Oh and I HAVE made cupcakes lately, but of course, I took pictures with my phone, and the phone decided to delete all my pictures... *string of expletives*
I do have another project coming up soon, so hopefully pictures will be a-plenty!

Ta for now

Goals for September

Okay, so as August comes to a close, and I have had a lot on my mind, I decided to list my goals for the coming month of change. I think I've accomplished a good deal of things in August, including finding an apartment & signing the lease, ending my job at Mr. Tux, and getting 3 shots & blood drawn at the doctor without being a complete baby about it (let's not mention I almost passed out...)

September comes to me with a lot of new changes. A new home, living with the most amazing guy in the world (it's about time), no job, and the start of grad school at one of the best colleges in the nation. (oh and a new computer! yay!)

Let's start with the obvious goals:

• Successfully moving in to my new home- with lots of packing still to do, and having to go all the way to Wisconsin with a U-haul to get all of our furniture, there is a lot that can go wrong and it's already insanely stressful... Basically, I just want the hard labor part to be over and I want to enjoy being home  

• Being a good house-girlfriend- I'm not a wife yet, and I will be going to school, so there will be shared responsibilities (we're not one of those old-fashioned couples...) Nonetheless, there's a sense of wanting to keep the house clean and I'm actually kind of excited to cook dinner and pack his lunch (tee hee, I think I might write adorable notes for him- even if it makes him the laughing stock at work, I'm evil, what can I say?)

• Start working-out again- Hurting my back put the kabosh on that a while back, and I've honestly been too lazy to take it up again. With my recent doctor trip revealing a number I didn't want to know existed in relation to my body and with helping my friend move her shit down 3 flights of stairs panting all the way I determined what I already new to be true- I need Jillian again. I'll have to break out the smiley stickers (reward system, baby- works on kids and believe it or not it works on me too!)

• Not failing the first few weeks of school- Okay, the likelihood of that happening is absurdly minimal, but I'm sure I'm not alone. I want everything to go smoothly and I want all the other kids to like me.

And now for actual, track-able goals!

• Cake! I have a list of cakes and cupcakes to make this month so far. As soon as I can after moving it I really want to make Better Than Sex Cake. Chocolate, caramel topping, condensed milk, cool whip, and heath bars. Yum. I also have a cupcake order coming up! Elegant cupcakes! I will post pictures!
• September Book Challenge- From the Fantasy and YA Lovers group over at Goodreads Here! The challenge and the books I'm hoping to read are as such:
• A book with one of the letters from SEPTEMBER in it- Delirium by Lauren Oliver
• A book about Fae- Except the Queen by Jane Yolen & Midori Snyder
• A book released this year- Cascade by Lisa Tawn Bergren
• A book with purple on the cover- The Dark Divine by Bree Despain or  Nightshade by Andrea Cremer 

Wish me luck!

Keys! (And why I read sex novels)

So Mark and I have received our keys for our new "apartment" (it's actually a duplex!) and I'm getting really anxious to get inside! We officially move in Sept. 1st, which I suppose is a good thing because I'm actively avoiding packing my things (Note: blog writing...). I'm not really sure where to start... My good friend suggested I start with the important things: clothes, books & shoes.
I think I'm getting a bit of a complex from my mother constantly saying "when you're gone I'll have so much room!" or "There won't be so much shit when your gone."
Thanks Mom.
I get it though, she wants her house, and she did have 4 years of me not being around before I came back from undergrad poor and job-less. Even having 2 jobs didn't give me enough money to branch out on my own. This could easily turn into a political rant and all things money related, but I'm not going there... (boo! no fun!)
I'm finally excited that I get to be a real adult (albeit still poor and job-less) with responsibilities that I'm sure will get old very quickly, but excited I am nonetheless. And I'm pretty sure Mark is almost as excited as I am, although his dad seems a little more like he wants to keep Mark around for awhile.
Well, the lease is signed, our security deposit and 1st month's rent have been paid, and we have keys. It's on. We're really doing this! And now there's even more pressure for marriage. It'll happen. Eventually. We like making you people sweat.

And now! The moment my 2.5 blog readers have been waiting for! The second part of my title! I've recently mentioned to a lot of my friends that I greatly enjoy reading those romantic (and more often than not erotic) novels. Not surprisingly, I get a lot of shit mostly from my guy friends (most of the girls giggle and later ask me for suggestions...).
Boys, come on, you all watch porn and it's accepted. It's what you do. Us girls can't read our porn? At least ours has a plot. A REAL plot. But beyond that, for me it is an escape, like a good book should be.
When I say "good book", I'm not talking necessarily about award winners or books that gain the nods of scholars, I mean a book that captures you, takes you to a different world and makes you completely unable to put it down. Some girls like to read those sweet romances with gentle love scenes and marriage, and some (like me) like the gritty and, I'll say it, rough love stories with action, adventure and incredible sex scenes. Some of them make me swoon, and some well... yeah they're hot. I haven't heard any complaints from Mark about me reading them ;-)
So girls, own what you read! If you want to read your sex novels go ahead! There's no shame in getting a little novel-love! Yes, some of the titles are giggle-worthy, and some of those novels are incredibly predictable, but they're fun! I've got a few suggestions if you need any :-)

I mean really... look at this cover... drool!

Apron Obsession

So with a recent trip to Jo-Anne Fabrics with a good friend and the realization that I have done a lot of my baking lately in a dress, I have become obsessed with aprons.

My mother has graciously allowed me the use of some of her adorable vintage ones, (one is purple with an adorable patch pocket in yellow with a bicycle on it!)
With my pending move-out becoming more real and closer every day (nope, no date yet) I figured I should probably have some aprons of my own. And what would be better for me than to sew them myself! So I've been shopping around for patterns, free ones if possible and I've pretty much decided I must have this one: Pretty Ditty Apron

Of course it's not free, but this one is: Sunkissed-aprons and it's super-adorable too!

 This is, of course, dependent on when I have time and patience to actually sew... and there is always the looming projects that I haven't finished yet... *coughweddingquiltcough*

we shall see :-)

Ode to my Spork

Dear Spork,
I love you. You have made my day countless times. You are not just any cafeteria spork, oh no, you have a fork and knife on one side and a spoon on the other. AND you come in "civilized colors" as your box says. Not only are you good for camping, but you make a great lunch accessory! Not to mention how you leave me with only one piece of silverware to wash instead of three. Spork, you are fabulous in so many ways. Everyone should have one of you. In fact, I wish I had more of you. Thank you for all that you do.

Love,
Me

(And thank you REI for having the Light My Fire Sporks for me to enjoy!)


I was going to add pictures of cupcakes to this post, but for some reason blogger hates me...

Happy (Belated) Faery Day!

So anyone who knows me knows I love fantasy novels and of course faeries! So in the spirit of belated faerie day (and a very exciting contest set out by Miss Kagawa) I'd like to share some of my favorite quotes and books!

"Is that on the agenda for our meeting? My propriety? Shall I add 'frolic more' to the tasks for my week?" -Tavish from Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely Series

I think I about died from laughter when this came up, especially since Tavish is a rather serious character. It was just so cheeky!

"Because, I'm a cat"- Said often and in different forms by Grimalkin the faery cat from Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey Series

Miss Kagawa must have cats, or understand them really well, because Grim is the essence of cats. He is irreverent, sarcastic, and coy. I adore this character and I think he embodies the proud and haughty nature of mortal-realm cats.

I am excited to embark on other faery novels soon :-) I have quite the list of novels in general... Hopefully I'll still have time to read for enjoyment in graduate school, but I'm not holding my breath. I will definitely make time for The Iron Knight when it comes out! I'm truly saddened that the Wicked Lovely books are finished... I got so attached to those characters. I'm glad everyone ends up happily ever after though!
I hope as well that my blogging and review skills improve.... I need to infuse my natural sarcastic and witty nature into my writing skills (I was tempted to use a 'z' at the end of 'skill'...)

One more day of summer school teaching this week and 2 more days of tux, then I can enjoy 2 days off before it all starts again. It sounds like we are going to see Blue Oyster Cult at Summerfest on Sunday, and have some family time on Monday :-) It should be a good weekend.

Okay... enough rambling! I'm out for the day.

The universal balance

I have decided that the universe is balancing itself today...

Getting into Northwestern was a high point, and it put my future into motion. Mark and I are finally able to really think about moving in together. I am so excited to start an adult life with him. I even have dish towels from my Grandma! She's excited to get rid of all the stuff in her storage unit. I am ready to feel like a real adult and take on some more responsibility. The nice thing is that we are not in a rush to get a place. Good ol' LZ is a nice mid point for both of us, although access it 94 is not as easy as it could be. We have been together for over 7 and 1/2 years... it's about time for our "next step".
I have direction in my career as well. I know that I'll be (in three years). No more of this "well, I have this degree in linguistics... what can I get out of that?" I will be a Speech Pathologist and I will have a pretty high chance of getting a decent job after grad school. This is good, considering I will have debt coming out of my ass... but that's Northwestern.

All this good, there has to be some balancing... although all things considering the bad is not nearly as bad as it could be and I'm still coming out on the positive :-)

I happened to leave the windows cracked in my car yesterday. I thought I'd be out shopping and since it was incredibly hot yesterday, and I have a black car, I decided a little air movement in the car would be a good thing. Well, Mark ended up driving and I ended up forgetting about my little cracked windows.... Enter torrential downpour... all night. So to my car, Kit, I'm sorry I let you down... I have learned my lesson for now...
Secondly, I found out this morning that I was moved from one classroom with the teacher I've been working with for 3 years and itty bitty babies (3yr olds) to another 2nd grader classroom for summer school. I"m kinda pissed, but I'm going to try to take it as a new opportunity to learn about working with older kids. I'm pretty sure some of the kids are ones that I had my first year as an aid as well, and I know the teacher too, so that helps.
Like I said, the universal shifts still seem positive over all. I have camping this weekend to look forward to, as long as the rain stays mostly at bay :-)
With that being said, I'm off to do laundry and other last minute packing, etc!

A Cupcake Catalog

I figured I'd put a catalog of some of the cupcakes I've made in the past year. Apologies for the photo quality, all these pics come from my phone. I'll get the ones off of my camera eventually... I promise... maybe...

Turkey Dinner! Complete with peas & carrots, cranberries, and mashed potatoes!

Drunk Elves! Their hats are made of graham crackers!

 

 

Army of chocolate walruses!!

First attempt at cake balls. They were addictive. Like crack. Chocolate covered crack.

Valentine Cakeballs. I believe I made these out of chocolate cake and strawberry frosting. Yummy!

 

First attempt at cupcake shaped cakeballs. I don't know if I'll try them again...

Red Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting :-)

Cakepop frogs! The tall one is a prince, but you can't really see him... they were made from champagne cake and frosting!

Flowers, along with the frogs, made for a friend for her daughter's engagement party. The petals are marshmallows!

I hope you enjoyed! I know I did! More to come sometime soon.