Whiney McWhinerson

So this is definitely a blog post where you should either call the waaambulance or tell me that I should work for the airport "COME PLANE, COME PLANE!" (get it?)  So if you're not into that, then just ignore this post and check back with me in a day or two!

Some days, you just want to do things your way.  It's like Burger King, "Have it your way."  That's all I want.  There have been quite a few times this week where I've felt neglected, ignored, and flat out forgotten.  My way might not always be best and it might not always be perfect, but there is reasoning behind it.  So could you PLEASSE just hear me out for two seconds?!  All the girl counselors want to dress like gangstas.  Now that's fine when you're a size 2 and want to throw on some baggy clothes and borrow your boyfriend's basketball shorts, but when your a fatty like me, you don't want to have to buy the extra large just to have some extra room and a new pair of shorts that you'll never wear again.  No.  I would like to wear the adorable floral dress that I bought forever ago with my cowboy boots.  I just want to wear something cute, do my hair all sweet and have some pretty make up on.  But no.  ALL of the girls are doing this gangsta thing.  Yet, no matter how many times everyone assures me that everyone is participating, I can't help but feel like it's just some ruse to make me look like a fool.  And ya know what? I don't like the way that feels.

Hiatus

So I know that Camp is all consuming and everything but...... A shooting in Norway, Amy Winehouse dying, something going on with the national debt, AND Borders is going out of business??? Seriously, I leave the real world for camp world for three weeks and THIS is what happens??!?!?!? GEEZE!!
I'll be back to blogging soon!!

This One Time at YAP Camp...

I am going to wholeheartedly apologize right now for the plethora of YAP camp stories that I'm going to be sharing.

So this camp is for Gifted and Talented kids and while I don't want to go too much into the logistics of our camp days and lives, it's basically like this:  We live in an off campus dorm, and each morning we take our kids to their class in the morning for a few hours, then go back to the dorm for lunch, then go back to class for another couple of hours and then come back for some downtime/group activity and then dinner and another activity or something. Then the counselors get together and we meet and then we have free time to dod whatever...a.k.a. sleep and go back home to get the things we forgot.
ANYWAY....
Before camp started, I made cupcakes as a "Welcome to Camp" surprise for the counselors.  This is what I ended up with:

Chocolate Cupcakes with a Whipped Chocolate Fudge Frosting 

I also made a fellow counselor a birthday cake this week.  I did the same chocolate cake that I used for the cupcakes, made the fudge frosting the filling and didn't make it as thick.  Then I iced it/decorated it with the basket weave that I learned as mentioned in a previous post with a blue tinted vanilla buttercream.  It was pretty tasty but I won't be posting any pictures because it was pretty messy.  A word of caution:  when piping buttercream, you want to make SURE that it is thin enough to pipe easily.  If not, you will not only take FOREVER, it'll make your hand hurt ridiculously badly the next day.  You can thin it out with water, or milk.  I used milk but not enough so it was still reallllllly thick.  

HOPEFULLY, I'll be able to post again fairly soon, but no promises because downtime is limited and mostly used for sleeping.

Stress Relievers

What do you do when you need to relieve stress?  My sister goes to the batting cages or goes to a pottery painting place. My mom quilts.  A few friends of mine go to the shooting range.  I've heard some people who swim or run to clear their minds and relieve stress.  Me? What do I do to relieve stress, you may ask. Well, I like to bake.  A lot of people say "The secret ingredient to excellent baking is L-O-V-E."  Well ***NEWS FLASH*** The real secret ingredient to baking is rage.  I do the best baking when I'm stressed and take my stress out in creamy, custardy, creme brulee and chocolate chip cookies.  My desserts come out well when I'm not stressed, but stress elevates it to the next level.  Whenever I get stressed I head to the kitchen and whip something up.  This weekend, I was a tad (read INCREDIBLY) stressed so my great friend Amy brought me to the bakery that she works at.  There, the bakery owner gave us a short tutorial on how to do a basket weave with icing on a cake.  In order to not waste cake, she gave us cake pans to practice on!  Here is my results:

Happy Fourth!

The Fourth of July is one of my most favorite childhood memories.  When I used to be a Yankee (in geography only NOT to be confused with a fan of that damn baseball team from New York), our town used to celebrate the Fourth of July for the holiday it truly is!  We're talking a parade with the LOUD fire trucks, flying candy, burgers, hot dogs, fireflies, flags, friends, families, and MOST importantly FIREWORKS.  I'm not talking the crappy ones you set off in your backyard here, we're talking about a fell fireworks display put on by the city.  Our house was situated in the PERFECT place so all we had to do was grab a picnic blanket or a lawn chair and throw it in the front lawn and we had the best seats in town.  We used to have my Aunt, Uncle and cousins from my Dad's side of the family, the neighbors as well as some family friends.  The kids used to light up sparklers and those popper things that explode when you throw them while the parents did whatever.  We would stay up late to see the full show and we never fought on the Fourth of July.  Since moving to Texas, I don't remember seeing fireworks besides the crappy ones that our annoying neighbors do.  This year, we had burgers and corn on the cob, no fireworks and let the evening pass as if it were just any other Monday night.  Drought restrictions suck :(

Summer Bummer

Ever hit that point in the summer where you get bored?  It's not because there isn't anything to do or because you have too much to do.  It's because you miss hanging out with your friends, or being on your own at college, or are tired of your parents nagging you about your summer reading assignment, or you've seen all the repeats of your favorite shows so much that you're tired of the shows and you're tired of the same food and activities.  I call this phenomena Summer Bummer.  In order to combat the "Summer Bummer," I have died my hair a nice solid brunette color that has a slight red undertone.  I've got plans to take a 'field trip' to the Houston Museum of Art before a wedding in a couple of weekends which I'm pretty excited about!! 

My July is FULL of things to do to kick my Summer Bummer in the bum!  I'm going to be a camp counselor for pretty much the whole month of July!  When that's finished, I'll hopefully be back at work, that is if the cubicles ever show up and our internet calling system starts working.  Oh, the stresses of work!  I will be sure to post all about my July Fourth celebration!!!

Busy as a Bee!

I'm so sorry that it's been a while since I last posted!  I've been busy with a trip to San Antonio, a wedding shower, a new skirt, a really long work week, and tutoring a friend.

I know this is a little late but I'd yet to share it... 2 weekends ago I went home to San Antonio for a really great friend's bridal shower.  Before I went to the bridal shower, I got to go to the sweetest little bakery in Alamo Heights.  The bakery is Called Alamo Sweets (Click here) and PLEASE be sure to check out their blog!  The bakery's owner, Linda, is one of the nicest ladies I've ever meant and my great friend Amy is interning for her this summer.  I was tempted to drop out of college for a minute to intern there myself!! They make such beautiful and TASTY desserts!!  If you're ever in the area, stop by!

I made a fabulous new wrap skirt (pictures to be added later) out of adorable Amy Butler fabric from an adorable little quilt shop in Dripping Springs!

I'm tutoring a friend from work in an online math class and let me just tell you, Calculous is HARD!  I still have all my notes so that's really helpful but it's really just been great to have someone to hang out with at my apartment.  With my sister being gone for the summer, I don't get many nights where I get to hang out with someone and have girl talk at the apartment.

Finally, I am OBSESSED with a new (to me) tv show.  In the late 90s early 2000s there was a tv show called Roswell, it's honestly a ridiculous concept, Aliens living amongst us who look and act just as teen agers do.  It was coming off the cusp of Dawson's Creek so it has plenty of the teen love drama.  If you ever watched Buffy, a lot of the same actors are in Roswell.  The show went on for three seasons and I'm currently still in Season one.  I can't find enough time to watch this show!  And luckily for me I can watch it on netflix!!

Well I think thats enough for one post! Sorry to ramble on!  On the plus side, I believe we're all caught up now!