Title 22

Today was an overall great day.

While I did have to spend the majority of my day sitting at work doing Title 22 training, a special kind of first aid course that all first responders (firefighters, police, lifeguards) are required to take, I did get to learn something new- how to deliver a baby.

Wow.

My first thought was, "let's hope I never have to actually use that skill"
My second thought was, "sweet, I now know how to do something that most people don't"
And my third thought was, "so much for my future children!"
*please note: previous statement still under review

The evening was the best part.
I was able to get together with some of my very best friends for a night of easy going and relaxing fellowship over frozen yogurt and a great chick flick (She's The Man. Watch it. Life changing).

I know that I've been really needing to work harder on defining my goals, not only for this semester, but for my future, but there has never been a more tangible motivator than the joy that comes from spending time with my friends, especially the really good ones (you know who you are, I bet you're even reading this!).

This semester, I am looking forward to making so many more crazy memories with the girls that started it all, from our first year together as new students now to the second half of our third. We've grown so much, yet we have remained together, somewhat, and although two are off in other countries, I know we will reunite the first moment we are able!

Here's to Carsten, Chelsea, (K)Aryn, Casey, (K)Irene & Katie..
Here's to this semester.

Adventures in Baking Pt. 1- The Great Cupcake Catastrophe

It's the beginning of a new semester which means the start of trying new things and looking forward to doing better than before!
I figure that being a college student provides me with the perfect opportunity to start exploring new hobbies since I'm basically in the prime time space for learning right now. Anyhow, after spending a six-week long winter break in households of amazing cooks, I was convicted to finally buckle down, pick up a spatula and begin creating!

I'm starting small. Baking. It looks fun, relatively easy and delicious!
Cupcakes are the first task on the menu, there are tons of recipes online and they are easy to share with others. I already have a motto: "I bake to share!"


So armed with a small starters artillery of baking supplies, I boldly went where I had not gone before... the kitchen! My lovely friends over at the Cove allowed me to use their oven while watching The Office and then Superman Returns and I'm sure keeping them up past their bedtime. My first batch took forever and frosting the darn things was ridiculously difficult! I left those behind as a thank you to the Cove and decided to wait until the next day to frost the remaining cupcakes.

It took me forever to figure out how to make the frosting soft enough to spread on a moist cupcake so the first half of them look like they were ground into the dirt but I eventually got the hang of it and ended up with some really sweet (ha, pun) cupcakes!



Unfortunately, these beautiful cupcakes met an untimely doom...
The night I finished frosting them, I was carrying them over to share with Erik and his roommate when I missed a few steps at the end of the stairs and went tumbling down to the ground, cupcakes and all. Campus Safety was called and an EMT came to help me out. I ended up with a sprained ankle that was salvaged with an ace bandage and an ice pack, however the cupcakes were not so lucky.

It was a bittersweet moment, piling them back onto the plate and then later dumping them in the trash. Hopefully my next delectable dessert will be more lucky!

Got it from my mom??

My mom has an amazing green thumb.
She can take a snip of a plant, stick in a pot, pour some water on it, wave her magical wand over it and the thing grows like nobody's business.

The question is, did I inherit her sweet skills?
Time shall tell.
I've had a few plants of my own, but they've mostly died because I've forgotten about them. Personally, I don't think that really counts towards my career in plant tending, so we are just going to start keeping score now.

I went to Home Depot today to buy a new pot for an ever growing amaryllis flower plant that Erik gave me last year. I've managed to keep that thing alive purely through strategic placement (near sprinklers & in the bright sunshine), however, it has only bloomed once and now just has giant leaves.
While I was at Home Depot, I began to wonder around the garden section and decided that my leaves needed some company. I looked for the cheapest plant with the least amount of maintenance required. I walked out of the store with two brightly painted pots and a small container of peppermint herb!


It will definitely be a test (ok, so a small one) to see whether or not my mother's green thumb genes have been transmuted to me, especially since my roommate plans to use the peppermint in her tea...

no pressure.

Searching...

I have been having some serious trouble with blogging lately.
For some reason, my brain doesn't want to function the same as it used to, it resists the out pour of clever lyricism and processed thoughts...

it's extremely frustrating!

I thought that blogging would be the cure to what seems to be an infinite bout of writer's block but it's been just the opposite; a form of encouragement to my mind to remain dormant.

In an attempt to get things going again, or maybe just to satisfy myself in seeing a little (1) next to number of blogs posted in 2010, I felt like posting this little quip that I collected from a magazine a while back.

This was in an article in Relevant Magazine and it really struck me strongly. I wrote it down and have been searching for an outlet in which to share it.

"if irony depreciates our sense of the importance of life — of the immortality of people and the awesome wonder of things — it cannot be helpful... As stupid as people can be, and as silly as this world sometimes seems, we cannot forsake the truth of the matter: that creation is God’s workmanship, that people are holy beings who will eternally exist — for better or worse. If our generation will realize this — that not everything can be made light of and that irony has its limits — perhaps there is hope for us yet.
- Brett McCracken, RELEVANT magazine