besties :)

Alicia and I go waaaaay back. Met in the hallways of the Elim dorm summer of 2003. We were instantly connected by a picture on her dresser of a girl I knew... and the rest is history.



We've been through a ton together... more than I have been with any of my friends. We are kindred spirits... the kind of friends who get eachother when nothing is spoken.



These pictures were taken while we were on vacation last summer 2009. The top one was the pier on Carolina Beach in Wilmington, NC the bottom was in Myrtle Beach, SC.





Truly, I couldn't ask for a better friend. I love you Alicia!!!

the whale tail

Three autumns ago my friend Alicia and I ventured out to the local corn maize and conquered it. We totally destroyed that maize. We had a plan, we had incentive and we accomplished our mission.

The incentive?

Well, sight unseen, we knew the prize for completing the maize would be epic. No matter what it was. The year before it had been a peg board with a mouse chasing cheese. This year had to be that good if not better.

So when we finally completed collecting all of the check points in the maize, we eagerly made our way back to the corn hut to collect our prizes and what they gave us will be cherished forever and always.



This whale tail necklace has been at times despised. It does not like to stay untangled. It rebels against being worn as a piece of fine jewelry. And I cannot neglect to say that I actually have threatened to throw it out...

It was tossed into a pile of things I had sorted for Alicia to "take what you want, the rest will be trashed"

In her benevolence, she rescued the small whale tail wonder and has since regifted it to its original owner. Imagine my surprise when opening my late Christmas present this last week.

Reunited, and it does NOT feel good feels so gooooood!

santa's helpers

nuff said.

a night out

The other night, my dear friend alicia texted me a picture of a smoothie she was drinking.

That was all it took. I told her i would be over ASAP so that she could make me one. I seriously love smoothies.

Unfortunately for me, she was amidst doing homework and i was not to bother her with my presence. Instead i settled for a chocolate milkshake from McDonalds... and consequently was awake all night.

However, I am on my way to meet her tonight... so that she can make me a delicious smoothie. And i am so excited. Look, i'm blogging about it!

I'm thinkin we will watch ps i love you also because the other night we tried to watch it and i literally couldn't do it. i was just so tired.

That's enough of that. I am aware of the fact that this post is pretty boring, but who cares! I'm on my way to cadre now, and then off to alicia's after!!!

Nope, not me!

MckMama is beginning a new blogfest called "not me! Monday"

It is really quite funny and although in the beginning I didn't know how to do it, I quickly figured it out and decided that this actually make for some pretty hilarious blogging :)

So here goes nothin, as I tell you what I didn't do this week:

On Friday night I most certainly did not stay home and sort pictures. I did not stay home just so that I could save my car from accumulating any more miles... nope not me!

I did not tell my good friend that I couldn't babysit just because I wanted to sleep in on Saturday am...

On Saturday night I did not go to the overpriced movie theatre and movie hop... and I most certainly did not see two of the most disgusting movies I've ever watched in my life one right after the other...

and while i was at the movies, I absolutely did not buy a medium refillable diet coke for $5.50. And after I was done not buying it, I did NOT decide that alicia and I could together get it refilled 4 times for a total of 220 ounces of diet coke.

I DID remember that diet coke has caffeine in it only after I was done not drinking ounce #48.

I did not keep drinking the DC after realizing that because that would have been plain stupid...

I did not go to the bathroom at the movie theatre 8 times in 4 hours... that's just gross. Who drinks that much anyways?

On the way home from the movies, I didn't almost get pulled over for speeding... and I seriously did not pull down a road not on my normal path just to avoid the cop.

After I got home I didn't hide the car in the back and sneak into the house because the cop was not driving around on my street looking for me...

I did not start doing laundry at 2am so that I would have clean clothes by the time i had to get up at 6:30... nope, not me!

Well, that's what I didn't do the last few days... what didn't you do?

Go on over to MckMama and link up so I can see how much you didn't do this week :)

when molehills become mountains

Last night there was a CRAZY storm. It was seriously hurricane type weather. And while i'm not accustomed to hurricanes being that i live in UPSTATE NY! I was very surprised by the severity and magnitude of this psycho storm.

Yesterday was an inordinarily hot/humid day. Especially considering just last week I was wearing a hoodie again and sleeping with all my blankets on.

It was so hot when I went to bed that I slept on top of the made-bed fluffiness and used a light blanket to just drape over my bottom half

I was probably asleep by 1030 or 11 and around midnight woke up because the branches of the tree outside my window were hitting the garage so violently I was seriously scared.

Huge crashes and whacks were occurring at what seemed to be 5 feet from my bed.

It was about this time that Alicia came up to go to sleep as well and as she climbed into the loft I simply said,

"What the heck is this storm all about?!?!"

To which she replied by telling me how the tree outside my window is swaying back and forth in a very precarious manner.

I then said,

"Well go ahead and rest easy now... good and faaaaaar away from the window. I'm gonna be the one to go first if anything happens."

She laughed... but I was dead serious. I thought that tree was going to crash through my window and an enormous shard of glass was going to puncture one of my vital organs!

My fitful sleep was again disturbed shortly thereafter by the fact that the power was out.

Wanna know why that would make me wake up? Because my friends, I had successfully created an outline of my body on my bed with my own sweat.

The fan had gone off.

Then I was thanking God that the wind was blowing so hard, for surely, if the tree and glass hadn't killed me, then the heat certainly would have.

As it turned out, I ended up even having to close the window because the noise was soooo dang loud, I figured I would rather die in my sleep from heat exhaustion than risk not sleeping one more minute (at least i would die peacefully that way)

Anyways, I am still alive (obviously) and there are only branches strewn about the yard. There's actually a tree split down the middle here at the house I work in, but other than that...

Man, I would not bode well in hurricane lane... no, no i would not.

It's true about what they say though... molehills seriously do become mountains at night!

Darien Lake - The parking lot

Each and every summer, I make my way down the 30+ miles of open road to the one and only Darien Lake. It used to be a Six Flags, but sadly has lost its status as such and is now exactly the same, just a different name.


I prefaced this road-trip last week and failed, FAILED! to follow up on it and all the adventures that ensued.

So often things happen that I think to myself or out loud how awesome that would be to blog about. Then I forget. However, we have my good friend Dawn to thank for this post. She has been waiting and waiting for me to get our DL adventures out in the open.

This post will include (but not remain limited entirely to) the PARKING LOT. The rest of the adventures will follow in a later post...

It all started on rt 20 in Alicia's seriously awesome pontiac (pronounced PO-nyac) grand am. It was a humid albeit not too hot day... making for a semi-comfortable ride down... or over, seeing as how we were travelling west.

We arrived at the park at approximately 4pm whereupon we had to decide whether or not we were going to pay for an exorbitantly overpriced locker or traipse back and forth to the car.

The car won out.

So we headed in donning our swimsuits as the water park was the first order of business. Shortly after arriving on the inside and meeting up with Dawn and Sarah, I realized that I couldn't actually ride any of the rides with only my suit on... I had no shorts on, just the bottoms which are kinda like shorts and I had a towel.

And I wanted to go on a ride.

I guess I could have waited... but I didn't want to.

So I made trip #3 back to the car. How did I get to #3 already? Oh that's right, because we kept forgetting stuff while we were STILL IN THE PARKING LOT.

Trip #1: I had to get a drink.

Trip #2: I decided the shorts were a nogo.

Trip #3: I realized I did indeed need the shorts.


Trip #4: This is a hypothetical trip because, you see, as we were paying for our tickets, I didn't factor in TAX. Duh. So I brought only $30, because if each ticket was $15, then $30 should be perfect. No loose change to lose when we go on the water rides.

We had already given the car key to Sarah because she had a locker pin to put on her swim suit... and she had gone back into the park. So Alicia and I were standing at the ticket counter

keyless

58 centsless

and pantsless

oh wait, I had already put my shorts back on.

Well the guy was nice enough to pay our tax for us. A very nice boy indeed.


Trip #5: Changing out of wet clothes into dry ones... and then eating. For a VERY LONG TIME.

Trip #6: Leaving the park to go home.


Six trips and $5 later (the money we saved on a locker) our trip was concluded. However, I haven't even talked about what happened while we were actually in the park...

that's coming next...

a tale of awkward proportions

It all started with a note.

That somehow turned into a small scale battle of wits and attack on my intelligence.

Well, by the time it was over, I felt the need to clarify... in person. And make sure there were no real ill feelings.

So I began to tell him I was sorry if he had misunderstood what I was saying, I didn't want to have any hostile air between us etc. You get the point right?

And then it happened. He looked at me and assured me that it was no problem... and then reached out to hug me.

***insert graphic description of said hug here***

My motto when it comes to hugging *most* people (especially guys, and people I don't know very well) is the "side hug."

Remember kids! Side hugs are for friends!

I attempted to get into a side hug, however, he commandeered the hug, and embraced me in a way that made me feel like i had known him much more than I was aware of ;)

So I reciprocated, so as not to make it worse... and when I felt that the time elapsed during our embrace was enough, I attempted to loosen myself to end the hug.

Um, yah. He didn't. In fact, he kept holding on for long enough that I felt awkward enough in my "loosened hug state" that I actually hugged him again.

To top it all off, there may or may not have been some back-patting involved.

Finally, the most ridiculously awkward hug in my life ended. And I retreated to safety whereupon I realized that Alicia had seen the whole thing. She confirmed that it was NOT all in my imagination and that it was indeed highly awkward.


Ok, so I lived through that disaster... never expecting the scenario to repeat itself...

I know what you're thinking right now...

Yep, you think it happened again don't you?

Well...

You're right. It did. In fact, it was just this past week. And it happened TWICE!

IN THE SAME DAY!

Oh it gets better, let me tell you.

Last night, just before I was about to drift off into a peaceful slumber, Alicia texted me to let me know that she was experiencing some awkward moments herself that she related to aforementioned awkward hugs.

Due to the fact that I was already in sleep mode, can you take a stab at what I dreamed about last night?

That stupid awkward hug!

And it wasn't just one of the past hugs repeating itself, it was a completely NEW hug, and NEW circumstances... my mind is telling me that I am secretly in love with this person... and I am telling my mind that it's on CRACK!

T-minus 82 minutes

Until I am free from my day job and off to Darien Lake! WOOO HOOOOO!!!

If you can't already tell I am uber excited about this. And since I haven't been coming up with the most fascinating blogging material lately, I have decided to consult a professional.

Her name is Alicia, and if you are up for a good laugh, please go visit her latest post. I do not have a response that is worthy of even being said, for that is how funny I find her. And what's more, I get to spend the rest of the day with her!

Yep, that's right... Two 20-something girls in an old pontiac grand-am cruisin along with the ac OFF. Seriously, does it get any better than that?!!??!

Ok, off you go... click on the link, you know you want to! Do it now!

Another fabulously hilarious post by Alicia

And when you're done, comment and tell her how funny she is and that she should seriously BLOG MORE OFTEN!!! (um, ok it sounds like i may or may not have had a few too many peppermint patties this morning... sugar high wearing off...)

no more chicken please

I'm going to recount a series of events that have been happening in my life over the last few months. It has to do with chicken, specifically McDonald's chicken, and while I will soften the details of this account, i'm still gonna tell it like it is.

When the Mickey D's snack wrap came out a few years ago, I vowed to never eat one based soley on the fact that it had the word "snack" in it. I don't like that word, and I think that the idea of "snacking" is exactly why I weigh what I do today!

Anyways, I eventually broke down due to the fact that I was at my local McD's and did not want too much to eat, wasn't in the mood for beef... so I decided that the snack wrap was indeed my best choice. It was semi-tasty, and it satisfied my hunger. However, from the very beginning of our relationship I was unsettled about the weird flavor combination that occurred by mixing the brownish lettuce with a chicken strip and lukewarm ranch dressing... it kinda sceeves me out to think about it that way. But it's the truth! The real snack wraps look nothing like the ones they advertise all perfect and whatnot.


Moving along with the story, I've eaten many snack wraps since that day and up until about February, I was doing alright. One day I was searching around for some food and saw a bag of leftover McD's in the frig. I knew that the kids had been there for dinner the night before so I opened it up and discovered two untouched, unwrapped, uneaten snack wraps. So I heated one up and down it went.

Shortly after, I started noticing that I was having a little heartburn and some mild indigestion... During the same period i was noticing this, my friend Alicia texted me and said, "don't ever eat leftover snack wraps from McDonald's, they make you go #2 like crazy!" ... hmmm... interesting.

No #2 that time but the heartburn persisted and I shared my experience with her. I wasn't quite ready to give up yet. So a few weeks later, I repeated the same scenario... with the same results.

So over the last 2 or so months I've opted for the double cheeseburger (which has been coined the term "double greaseburger") when I ate at McD's... However, last Sunday I stopped and got one (a double grease that is) and it was sooo sick. I mean i've always made fun of it, and Alicia and I have made note of the fact that you don't even need teeth to bite one of those things... you can literally use your gums or lips. so gross lol! But we still ate them! Who DOES that?! oh yah, me.

After my awful encounter with the most disgusting greaseburger i've ever consumed I decided to give the chicken another go... So this past friday I was on my way to a meeting and had pre planned to stop at McD's and grab some grease... err chicken. um yah, either way still not cool.

I had a snack wrap and some fries. Alicia informed me a few hours later that she too had had some McD's chicken for dinner. So we waited to see what would happen. Approximately 12 hours later, 7 or so in the morning... it happened. I won't really go into details, but let me just tell you that it lasted all day and I felt like i needed a shower after every episode... Apparently, Alicia had a similar experience.

I mean seriously, when I was in India last summer I didn't have problems like that!

So I have officially decided that I am OFF McD's chicken... COMPLETELY. and I am considering eliminating all fast food chicken. Oh AND i'm off the double grease. It has lost it's appeal. I have always known it wasn't good for me, but it tasted so good I really didn't care. Well i got one that didn't taste so good, and I'm gonna run with it.

McDonald's and I had a good run... but now we are done. Except for maybe fries and ice cream. But definitely for sure, done with the chicken and the grease... we are no more.

another late night

Disclaimer: this post will make little to no sense to most of you. It’s actually intended for one unnamed individual who will surely know exactly who they are. If when you are done reading this, you feel like you’ve just wasted the last 5 minutes of your life, then you’re probably right. If though, you actually make it to the end, there is a fun anecdote about the night I thought I heard a mountain lion. Have fun.

For the sake of friendship and good memories, I am writing this from the country hillside where I spend many Saturday nights. Yes, that’s right… I’m babysitting again. And as a tribute/flashback to the last time I was here, I decided to come up with what I’ve been up to since I got here at approximately 7:47.

play game with kids – check
brush teeth and go potty – check
read story – check
kids in bed – check
raid kitchen for food – dried fruit found, eaten and put away
not really that hungry anyways – food search complete (besides all the cheese is gone)
search tivo for anything worth watching – fail
connect to wifi – fail
surround sound – still lame

just shy of 3 hours in, it is now exactly 10:41. update is as follows:

still searching for tv – no luck
starting to get hungry – check
wifi status – still fail

current surroundings:
uncomfortable pre-slept on loveseat – have found semi-comfortable position and trying not to move
laptop – on lap
blanket – keeping me warm
tv – Christina Aguilera snl rerun in background
lighting – bright but I still feel a little creeped out

As promised, here is the story about the mountain lion. This is a TRUE story, I kid you not. It may sound unbelieveable, but I assure you it is completely factual. Out here in the country, one never knows what to expect as far as nature goes. Last summer, I was here, sitting on the couch in the usual fashion. Out of NOWHERE (except maybe the woods?) there came this horrifying howl that was more like a growl/roar and it was near. Like it felt like it was right near the front porch, that kind of near. I have never been more legitimately scared in my entire life. I immediately thought that it had to be some sort of large cat. A VERY large cat.

So when the rents got home, I let them know about aforementioned experience. Without batting an eye, the mom told me that it was probably a mountain lion. She said that the DEC have been letting wild mountain lions loose in the Bristol hills to help control the deer population. WHAT?!?! She went on to tell me a few horror (and supposedly true) stories about mountain lions abducting (and I would guess killing and eating) people! I’m not one to get freaked out easily, but that night the idea of walking across 50 feet of open yard to get to my car that eerily black night I was SCARED BEEPLESS.

The only consoling factor amidst this onslaught of “let’s scare our babysitter away forever” tactics, was that she also began talking about wild chihuahuas they have in their front yard. I stood there with my mouth hanging open and asked her in all seriousness at least 3 times if she was joking. She neither denied nor confirmed whether she was joking or not, but I’m banking on the fact that it was near to 3am and either I was hallucinating or she was talking in her sleep. Either way, I left their house both confused and scared out of my mind.

I did some research to find out about wild mountain lions being in this area, and I found that they really aren’t being let loose. Thank GOD. I also went on the national geographic site and listened to many different large cat growls and roars and what I found was the noise I heard that night wasn’t a mountain lion at all. The closest I came to it was a lynx, which are in fact indigenous to the area. I can deal with lynxes… mountain lions I cannot.

chinchillas say "meh"

There are only a handful of people will be able to appreciate this. and when I say "handful" i mean like two people. In actuality, this post is really a counter post to this one.

First, I will provide commentary on my own personal feelings regarding this certain word.

The word that I have in mind is short, but says much more than you might think. In fact, on some days, you may even be able to describe your entire state of being with this one word.

When overused it becomes annoying and ineffective to it's recipient... however, for me, who is usually the one who delivers the word, it is hilarious each and every time. (i think this is where I discover that I need to learn some self-control... just in this area though, of course)

The word is... Meh.

After careful consideration on the true meaning of this word, this is what I have come up with.

The word "meh" can describe feelings of mediocrity, apathy, lethargy and/or indifference.

Of course, there are other adjectives that can be used, however, I feel that these are sufficient. They get the point across.

Since this word in the English language is classified as an adverb, I would like to suggest that it be moved to a new function of grammar and be deemed as a NOUN.

Instead of using this word to describe a feeling, it could actually be used to portray an entire person, place or thing... and not just as a describing word. it would actually BE the word for said person, place or thing.

With all that said, I would like to credit alicia for the inspiration of this post, and the next thing here. This picture portrays the epitome of the use of the word "meh." Please, use this word appropriately, and be cautious so as not to overuse. Thank you.

Top Ten Most Awkward Ways to Say I Love You

Alicia and I were babysitting late last night (like they didn't get back til 2am) and after arriving home engaged in a conversation resulting in the title of this post. Since we were taught in sunday school to love our neighbors, we came up with just a few ways to do that. It doesn't need a lot of explaining, so i'll just dive right in.


10) when someone says "i love you" look at them and wait an awkward 2 or 3 seconds before responding with, "ooookay..."

9) walk up to one of those survey people at the mall and after you're done talking, insert a genuine "i love you," as you walk away.

8) when your mail person drops off your mail greet them personally and as you take your mail, say "thanks, i love you."

7) on an airplane wait for your seat mate to go to the bathroom. follow them and "accidentally" try to open the bathroom door. after the flight attendant kindly tells you that you need to wait your turn, shrug and say something to the effect that you didn't realize it was locked. then, wait for them to come out. upon exiting the bathroom tell them you love them, and are glad you get to sit next to them.

6) tell someone "i love you" and when they respond with "i love you, too," look at them like you have NO idea why they said that.

5) when someone says "i love you" immediately respond with, "no you don't!" ... or "you do?"

4) tell someone "i love you" when they are on the toilet from outside the door, and then walk away quickly.

3) while sitting in the laundromat, scope out the most introverted person there and sit down next to them. do not make eye contact with them and as you are reading your book/magazine insert an audible "i love you" loud enough for them to hear. when they don't respond, simply ask, "did you hear me?"

2) send a casual greeting card to someone you don't know very well and at the end sign, "i hope we can get past this awkward phase of casual friendship... i love you."

1) in a public restroom, make camp until someone comes in and occupies the stall next to you. after they are settled, say "i love you." then when a deafening silence moves in, clarify that you meant you love them.

does this picture make you feel awkward?

sledding on saturday!

This last saturday, we had a sledding party at mendon ponds... suicide hill style! I forgot to get a picture of the sign that says "snowboarding, skiing and sledding prohibited." HAHAHA! Good one! Anyways, there were about 20 people give or take that actually came and we had a blast.

We went down the hill with three sled trains, and this was the best of the three. the first one my bottom came off of the sled i was on and i was dragged down the hill bare bottom... yah, it was cold. This was the second one we made...

My two bestest friends were there, Melissa and Alicia! Unfortunately, there aren't any pictures of melissa because she was the awesome one who took all of them! She really did an amazing job... score for stupid hands???

By the time we left, I was pretty much wet through both pairs of the pants I was wearing. Mostly because of the one ride down the hill with no sled barrier.

This was the third and last train we attempted. It started out as a "U" shape for who knows what reason... and then proceeded to completely reverse and while we went down for a little ways, the whole thing came apart and we crashed all over eachother. Wow, this sounds like so much fun when i describe it like that *sarcasm*

After about an hour and a half, we'd had enough, so we left to go in search of some hot chocho... among other things. There were five of us altogether. Alicia, Dave, Christa, Josh and myself. Alicia, christa and i changed into dry clothes and then we headed up to the city in search of Java's. None of us really knew how to get there, so with the limited experience I have driving in downtown, we were just going around in circles. But thanks to melissa, we found it and then had the yummiest hot chocho ever!

while we were at java's we decided that it would be fun to go to a movie... unfortunately, at the dollar theatre, nothing that everyone wanted to see was actually playing. PS I Love You was actually playing which is indeed one of the BEST MOVIES EVER... but stupid boys can be party poopers ya know? (disclaimer for any boys who might read this *i love them anyways*) We ended up settling on Vantage Point which was definitely a "boy" movie, but i liked it anyhow. It did however, lack plot in the beginning... whatever.

we had an awesome time and i can't wait to do it again!!!

V Day Cookies

I felt an uncontrollable urge to take some cool pictures last night, and since Melissa was going to bake cookies today and had invited me over to help it was the perfect opportunity!


This past weekend my small group from church did an outreach where we decorated Valentine's Day cookies together and then delivered them to different people in the church. Mostly elderly single or widowed people, but a few others who we thought could use a little cheer this time of year.


The recipe that Melissa used was a basic sugar cookie mix. In fact, I believe that it was actually a mix that you can buy and then add maybe butter and an egg or something. Whatever it was they were great! At any rate, I went on a little icing adventure with Alicia this weekend in the midst of our great cookie baking experience. We mixed up more icing that i've ever seen and or used in my whole life. So I broke the icing down into a *manageable* amount and wrote it down here for you.


It's kind of a combination of the icing that my family uses for Christmas cookies and basic buttercream frosting.

1 bag confectioners sugar
3/4 cup butter
milk to desirable consistency
1 tsp flavoring of choice

The milk is variable, since i never actually measured that. Or the flavoring for that matter! So basically you would put the butter in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it up. Then add the confec sugar and mix it up with a mixer adding milk slowly to make it mixable. Depending on how thin/thick you want the icing will determine how much of the milk you actually use. And if you add too much milk and it's too runny, you could always add some more sugar... that is if you have any left!


The flavoring is my favorite part, because that's what gives cookies a true "signature" taste. I made some cookies later on this afternoon as well for my cadre tomorrow and used almond flavoring in both the mix and the frosting. They are sooo yummy!

thoughts

Tonight, on my way home from a great night out with alicia, merrie and melissa i had sudden inspiration for an outfit to wear tomorrow...

... when i was little i remember lying in bed one night drawing a picture of a raccoon in my mind. I would close my eyes and watch as my pencil moved over the paper and formed every detail perfectly. i was *very* excited about this and thought to myself that if i could draw so well in my mind that for sure i could draw that well in real life. So the next morning i went off to my second grade classroom, got out my pencil and paper and began to draw that little raccoon. It didn't work out quite the way i had hoped. I began to realize then how active my imagination can be at times. I feel things in an almost unnatural way sometimes... and by that i mean that beauty in all its different forms isn't something that i just see, i actually feel it.

i said all that to say that when i got home, i went to my closet to try and compose this outfit, but it didn't quite work out the way my mind had imagined it. i'm back to the trusty rusty standby.

this post may seem a little *out of the ordinary* and getting a very small peek into how my mind thinks may leave you feeling like you know me even less than you thought you did. And you may think, "what in the world do clothes and raccoons have anything to do with how my mind works?" I guess for the most part, I am talking about how the things that are beautiful, the things that God has made alive in my imagination is an art form that i am constantly trying to express.


Art in it's truest form always looks better when it's a reflection of someone's imagination. I love seeing what comes from other people minds and imaginations because it can truly be so spiritual. God connects people with an unnatural ability to connect emotionally through what is seen and felt. when someone creates something that they feel inside of them, it's a lot easier for the viewer to connect with what they are looking at. and it just amazes me how awesome God is when i see this happen.

The Grossest Girl Ever aka Alicia

It's been a few days since my last post, and over the course of these few days I have actually come up with quite a bit to blog about. however, certain circumstances have gotten in the way of me actually following up with them. I don't really need to go into the details of these extraneous situations, i just need to dive in and begin with my first blogworthy topic.

Alicia

i only have one other friend i have known longer than her. But to qualify this, I am actually much closer with the one named Alicia. In fact, i would dare say that at this juncture in my life we are as close as it gets to being bestest friends. There are so many things that I love about her but the one thing i would like to discuss here is the many names that she has come to be known by over the years.

The first that comes to mind is "The Grossest Girl Ever." I do not in fact remember exactly where this name comes from except for a few vague details. And those are that it originated at Elim, which is where most of them come from. At any rate, it's countername (aka my own personal name) is "Your Worst Nightmare." Often times in class when things would get boring beyond compare, we would bust out our paper and begin writing eachother ridiculous notes consisting of our own made up "German" language and always beginning and ending with these names.

Anyways, I am going to move on and make a list of the rest of them, offering little to no explanation. Enjoy.

Stinky
Loser
Leash
Weesha
Habenshtag

So there it is. A list of names not worthy to be placed on anyone besides the one and only. Names that she answers to no less.

I love this girl and can't imagine what i'd do without her!!!

Chocolate Chocolate Cake

This is it, i swear... i won't post anymore about cake... at least til next time :)



This will probably be the longest blog i've ever posted, but i think it's worth it. I decided to try my hand at cake baking as you can see in my previous posts. It turned out really well and I wanted to share it with anyone who reads this blog. I found the original recipe from another blog and since copying is the sincerest form of flattery I am not ashamed to admit that my ideas were truly inspired and not thought up on my own :) Plus, I had some amazing help from melissa. Together we make up 66% of a brain... we haven't quite figured out where the other 33% went...


I made a few of my own changes, only out of necessity... aka messing up and not being able to find certain things *smile* But I was really happy with the way it turned out. The cake was delicious. It had a very dark chocolatey taste and as I was enjoying some with alicia yesterday, we were discussing how we don't necessarily ever CRAVE chocolate... but once we start in on it, it's just sooo good. This cake did it for me!


Chocolate Lovers' Chocolate Cake

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee


Filling: Whipped Dark Chocolate Ganache (enough to fill one layer)
1 cup heavy cream
3 ounces 72% dark chocolate (about 7 squares)
2 teaspoons granulated sugar


For the ganache: (used as topping)
2/3 cup (3 oz) heavy cream
4 ounces best-quality bittersweet/dark chocolate


Decoration:
Chocolate Raspberry Milano Cookies
Raspberries
Easy white frosting
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 4 3/4 c powdered sugar
- 3 to 4 Tbsp milk, divided
- Beat shortening and vanilla at medium speed for 30 seconds.
- Gradually add about half of the powdered sugar, beating well.
- Add 2 Tbsp of milk.
- Gradually beat in the remaining powdered sugar and enough milk to make the frosting of spreading consistency.



Make the cake:

- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line them with parchment paper; butter the paper.
- Dust the pans with flour, tapping out any excess.
- In a medium sized bowl, mix the flour with the sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt at low speed.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the oil, eggs and vanilla.
- Slowly beat the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients until just incorporated, then slowly beat in the hot coffee until fully incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans. I didn't get an exact time for this because I tend to go by instinct rather than the timer. But as a guideline, I would say leave them in the oven for about 15 minutes and then check them every 4 to 5 minutes after that. It shouldn't take longer than 25 minutes I would suppose.
- When the center no longer looks liquid, insert a toothpick in the center of each cake and if it comes out clean, they are done.
- Let the cakes cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then invert the cakes onto a rack to cool completely.
- Peel off the parchment paper.
- After the cakes are completely cooled, use a cake leveler to make all 3 cakes the same thickness.


Make the whipped gananche (filling):

- Break the chocolate into pieces and place in a small *metal* bowl.
- Prepare some HOT water in another larger bowl.
- Heat the heavy cream and sugar in a small saucepan until it bubbles on the edges and immediately pour it over the chocolate.
- After you pour the cream onto the chocolate, place the smaller bowl into the larger bowl.
- This allows the heat from the cream to melt the chocolate and the hot water will keep the heat in so that the chocolate can melt completely.
- Stir slowly after a minute or two to make sure all the chocolate is getting melted.
- Let stand for 10-15 minutes.
- Slowly stir to make sure that the chocolate has completely melted.
- Cover bowl with foil and chill at least 6 hours or overnight.
- When ready to use the ganache, use an electric mixer to whip it until it is a fluffy but thick consistency. It only take a minute or so with the mixer before it is ready.


Make the gananche (icing):
(do this after you have already assembled the three layers with the whipped ganache)

- Bring 2/3 cup of heavy cream to a near boil in a small saucepan.
- When it is steaming well, remove it from heat and pour over the chopped chocolate.
- Stir or whisk until the chocolate is completely melted.
- The mixture should be smooth and should spread over the cake easily.



Assemble the cake:

- Spread some icing on the cake plate to keep the cake from moving around
- Set a cake layer on the plate with its flat side facing up.
- Evenly spread the whipped ganache over the cake. Top with the second cake layer, and repeat with the third.
- Once the cake is assembled, use the dark chocolate ganache icing to spread evenly on the top and the sides of the cake.
- Immediately place the Milano Cookies around the outside.
- Then you can use your imagination with the top. I used the easy white frosting and squeezed it out of an icing bag into a blob in the center and topped with some raspberries.


- Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

the real new year's eve

i've already posted about one event that occurred last night, but this next thing i felt needed it's own post.

I went down to avoca last night to spend the night with alicia. we went to some people from her church's house where we played games and laughed about the most ridiculous things ever. things not worth mentioning here... or ever, HA!

well midnight came and went, and aside from the fact that verizon went down for about 2 hours straight and noone could text or call we had a great time. it was alicia's first time to actually watch the ball drop. we thought about tricking her into being out of the room when it happened, but realized that she would have been truly devastated if we had done that.

shortly after all that, we left and went to the local truck stop to have some late night grease. and i do mean grease. i swear, it's one of those places where you have to suppress every fraction of neurotocism in your mind to be able to even drink the water. it's NASTY. I had a brownie sundae and alicia and beth had french fries. none of which were very good but that's not the point.

throughout this time, none of us had been drinking and didn't have any plans to (besides the bars had already given the last call) I had this "feeling" that i was going to get pulled over and i was kinda worried because i didn't have my license with me. but i was telling myself that it was ridiculous, i wasn't going to get pulled over.

well sure enough. I got pulled over.

he pulled me over because apparently i crossed both the white and yellow lines while he was following me. i think i crossed the white line when i went around a curve, but not excessively. beth was driving behind me and said she never saw me go over the yellow one.

the cop was really friendly, i am pretty sure he was a newbie, and i almost asked him... but i didn't HA!

So that's my great story for new years eve. if you made it through, good for you! wow, i am rhyming... i am tired. later on i'm going to post about some more reflective thoughts, since that's what you're supposed to do this time of year.

a midnight snow adventure

Last night on my way home from the outbreak party, i was feeling very nostalgic and was feeling the need to do something excessively wintery. So when i walked in the door at 11:55pm and alicia was still up, i decided that we were going on a midnight snow adventure. it was so much fun!!! so here are some pictures of what we did

pre-adventure pic... post snow clothes (must stay warm)

a nice snowy Christmas to frame with :)

eating snow is a must (i really did eat it)

beeyooteefull christmas lights surrounded by snow in the trees across the street :)


lights in one of the store windows on genesee st

i definitely leaned against this lamp post and my head got stuck to it. like hardcore stuck i couldn't get it off unless i ripped out some hair with it... which is what ended up happening :( but it wasn't too much hair

alicia passed out on the circle as cars drove by... ha more like one car driving by at midnight lol!

i got pantsed!