FAQ

I bake.
For anything and everything.  I also cook somewhat frequently.  And one thing I am almost ALWAYS asked is this, "Where did you learn to cook/bake?"  Are you ready for this answer?

I don't know.  I honestly don't remember learning how to cook or bake.  When I was little, I remember being very excited to cook family dinner.  I've always loved wearing aprons and strictly remember wearing aprons when fixing dinner for my family.  These dinners were really just Mac 'n' cheese or butter noodles maybe some pasta.  But I would always set the table and light some candles to create a "mood" and then take everybody's order.  Now I use cooking or baking as a way to celebrate/relax/cheer up/etc.  I can be in the worst of moods and whip up a batch of my great grandma's chocolate chip cookies and I'll be instantly happier.  I'm watching Julie Julia and it's exactly as Amy Adams says, it's like I'm under her influence.  I always feel happier, more content when I'm baking.  It's one piece of her that I'll always have.  This cookie recipe is extraordinarily dear to me.  She never really told anyone how she made the best chocolate chip cookies in the world and so when she passed away, we were at a loss.  One summer, I set out to discover her secret.  And ya know what?  I DID! But I'm not telling! :-P
Last night, I got stood up.  That feeling kind of sucks... a lot.  And I didn't have anything to clean obsessively because my apartment is rather extremely clean!  So I baked cookies and the whole time I was working on the dough, I just got to feeling a little bit better.  Knowing that combining the same ingredients will always create the same outcome: a mixture of a dense cookie with chocolate chips.
Some people run when they need to clear their minds and some people blast music or take a bubble bath.  Me? I spend some quality time with my Kitchen Aid and my apron.  It calms me, it's my zen!

A Big THANKS!

Today is Memorial Day; a day where we reflect and thank the service men and women who fight for our freedoms.  When I was younger, I didn't really understand the importance of Memorial Day.  Sure, we learned about it in school, we did a coloring activity/read a short story/etc.  But now that I'm older, I see how greatly these people and their families sacrifice to fight for my freedom.  My good friend Kathleen's whole family is in the military and they've had to sacrifice birthdays, Christmases, anniversaries, etc in order to keep our country safe.  One of my dearest friends, Kristen, well her fiance is in the military and is getting ready to be deployed for the second time since I've known them.  He's missed her birthday, Valentine's Day, Christmas and all those important times to build a relationship and some how despite all of that, they have one of the BEST relationships that I've ever seen.  Being involved in Special Education, I hear "Bless your heart, that takes a selfless person" and where that is true, it's not near the kind of selfless person it takes to serve our country.  Thank you to all those in the military who fight to keep me and my loved ones safe.  

Just when you thought Jersey Shore couldn't be topped...

Normally when you hear of a popular television show from Britain to the United States you think of a good comedy with dry humor.  Your first thought, or mine at least, isn't a wedding show about Gypsies or as they like to be called Travelers.  So I flip to TLC and this is exactly what's on "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding."  The best way I can think to describe it is a mix between, Toddlers in Tiaras, My Super Sweet 16, Say Yes to the Dress, and throw a little bit of Jerseylicious in there too.  First of all, I must give credit where credit is due: the show is actually marginally informative about the Gypsy culture.  Like, did you know that Gypsies prefer trailers (mobile homes) sans commode to track houses?  And that being devout catholics, their children at about 8 years old take first communion in dresses that must cost more than I've spent on clothes...ever. And also, they get married young. VERY YOUNG.  I'm talking one girl was 16 and this other girl is 17.  I just learned that women Travelers "would die before swearin in front of a man."  Needless to say, I wouldn't fit in.  The rest of the show is rather trashy.  The one wedding reception that I've seen so far was pretty classless and I'm honestly just shocked that some people wear clothes like that.  A tradition that girls have to worry about at weddings is called "grabbing." My understanding of this tradition is that a guy Traveler "grabs" you and tries to kiss you.  The one girl I saw getting "grabbed" was reminiscent of the opening scenes of Law & Order SVU.  What's worse is her friend walked by the scene and didn't try and help.

I am intrigued to say the least and will probably tune in again...

Weekend Update

This weekend, I spent  all of Thursday, Friday and Saturday watching Grey's Anatomy.  Go ahead, make fun of me.  This coupled with my amazing feats of domesticity (cleaning the apartment and laundry) has made me realize I really am the housewife type.  (unfortunately not the kind of housewife that gets compensated by BravoTV, but a housewife non-the-less).  

With my sister gone (no offense Emma, I know you read this, you may just want to skip to the next part), I can finally clean the apartment to my liking.  I went through the magazines and cleaned our bookcase and I must admit, my (because with Emma gone for 3 months, it is indeed MY apartment) apartment is looking a little bleak.  I'm thinking about using Emma's Silhouette machine and getting some vinyl from Hobby Lobby to make some wall art!  I don't know what I'm going to do yet, but I'll keep ya posted!

I've also been working out!  I try and take a nightly run and do a little cardio from one of the Self workout videos available on Netflix.  I am thinking about trying pilates today or tomorrow... Thoughts??

Ennui

Yesterday I had a case of Ennui.  If you haven't seen Gilmore Girls for the excellent explanation of this affliction, let me explain:  It's when you have an off day and nothing seems to be able to cheer you up.  The thing is, is that I've had these days before but, I can always pinpoint the reason for why I feel that way.  But for the first time, I'm just really happy.  I thought that maybe just taking a nap would help me feel better, but every time I crawled into bed, I couldn't get to sleep.  So I spent most of my day trying to sleep and when I finally did get out of bed I tried to pick up around the house a bit but just couldn't get motivated.  So I talked to my friend Jessica and she said that maybe taking a walk would help.  It was getting late, but I was just going to take a walk around our neighborhood.  I got outside and walking wasn't helping so I decided to run.  Now I am by NO means a runner. I sincerely dislike running.  But for some reason, the run was great!  It was just what I needed to get rid of my ennui.  After my run I was finally able to go to sleep and wake up feeling at least a little refreshed.  Today I'm determined to have a better more productive day!

Simplicity

It really amazes me how the simple things can totally make your day and today was filled with them!  First of all, I worked a full day and honestly, it was incredible!  I had a ton of stuff to do and stayed busy the whole day!  I absolutely love having things to do and staying busy!! When I got out of work, I realized that I have no groceries at the apartment and I needed to fill my gas tank up.  In order to make only one trip, I decided I could get what I need from Sam's Club.  I love Sam's!!  I can get a ton of things and all for a generally reasonable price :)  I filled my tank with the cheapest gas in town and then headed inside.  I knew that I wanted to get some mixed lettuce and this is what I came up with for my dinner:  A Strawberry balsamic salad.  My friend told me that it sounded really fancy, but it's only four ingredients:  Strawberries, mixed lettuce, slivered almonds and balsamic vinegar!!  All you have to do is wash the strawberries and cut the tops off  and then I slice them into quarters.  After the strawberries are sliced, you rinse off the lettuce and put it in a bowl.  Add the strawberries and then put a splash of balsamic vinegar on top.  Sprinkle a few almonds on the top and you've got yourself a nice simple little salad.  While I was slicing up the strawberries for the salad, I cut up a few extras and put them in a tupperware container in my fridge with a couple teaspoons of sugar.  This way, the strawberries will macerate and form a simple syrup that will be great over a bit of vanilla ice cream! :)  I'm looking forward to dessert tonight!  Before dinner, I got a chance to skype with my sister and now I need to just finish (read start) unpacking from my week back at home!

Get it Together. Please and Thanks

A quick true and false quiz:
The sun rises in the East.
The sun sets in the West.
I'm addicted all things Real Housewives.
Boys can be platonic friends with girls.
If you answered True to all of the above, you'd be me, about a week ago.
I'm one of those girls who makes friends with guys, one of my best friends, until recently, was a guy.  I don't think there is any problem with it.  I think that there are occasionally times where boundaries get crossed and friendships get blurred but in most cases I think that women can be trusted to respect if a guy has a girlfriend or not.  One of my best friends would text me all the time and we were in constant communication.  His girlfriends NEVER had a problem with it.  They all accepted the fact that we were just friends and more like brother and sister than anything else.  Now I don't even talk to him because he's too preoccupied with work and school and his girlfriend.  I don't know, and I don't want to presume, if this is because his new girlfriend has a problem with him having friends who are women or if he's just too busy for his old friends.
I'd just accepted this as a case specific incident.  Little did I know that this is a common occurrence. I recently started talking to an ex of mine, completely platonic and no hidden agenda, and we were getting to be really great friends.  I truly love those friendships where you can be totally honest and open with one another and I really thought that's where this was headed.  So one night I got in a fight with my roommate and needed someone to talk to so I called him.  We ended up meeting up and talking for about 3 or 4 hours!  I laughed and cried and laughed some more.  It was great..... Until I got home...  About a half hour after I left I got a message about how "we need to be careful because we don't want anything to be misconstrued." Since when is two friends talking something to be worried about?  And again this happens.  I went to San Antonio and wanted to hang out with a really good friend of mine.  Well he couldn't hang out for long because he needed to call his girlfriend and smooth things over for hanging out with me.
LADIES.  Are you listening???? Because you really need to listen up here.  TRUST YOUR MAN
If he wants to hang out with someone he was friends with before you started dating, you should trust him to respect you.  And MEN.  Are you listening??? Respect your women.  If you don't trust yourself hanging out with an ex tell the ex upfront so she doesn't get all confused.  I'm telling you, I would rather be told "I don't trust myself hanging out with you" or "My girlfriend would rather us not hangout because she doesn't know you"  HOW HARD IS THAT? Not hard.
So PLEASEE GET YOURSELVES TOGETHER out there.  It's very simple.  Thank you!