BLOGGER TEMPLATES AND TWITTER BACKGROUNDS

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Time is runninggggg out

What better why to title a blog entry than with a Muse song!?! There are probably better ways but it speaks the truth donchakno. I have officially THREE days before I head back to my homeland that is Rider U. Nervous? Nah. Excited? You bet your face I am! Granted, this summer was a hell of a lot better than last summer (like I've said before) and even though I'm going to miss my family, the g-field crew and MAXWELL I can't help but I just love everything about Rider. That place has captured my heart =)


I think now is a good time to do that "looking back at summer '09" thing. This may be posted tomorrow, or even the next day, because my new laptop is going bonkers and I'm currently on the old one which has NONE of my summer pictures what-so-ever. I've got my fingers crossed that I don't lose everything on the new one... I don't think I could deal with that happening again!


My stories (or recaps, if you will) tend to become very long-winded for no apparent reason so I'll probably just use the bullets to list things that I remember as I go. Explanations will probably go along with them and hopefully pictures will be provided as well!


  • I went to Edgewater with Liz and Danielle and saw the amazing New York City skyline
  • We all decided that we're going to live in those apartments one day
  • I participated in an "HARRY POTTER MARATHON" which involved watching all of the first five HP movies and then proceeding to go the midnight opening of the NEW HP movie that same night. Slept maybe two hours at most? It was AWESOME though. HPFANHARDXCORE.
  • I actually saw a lot more movies than I expected to throughout the summer. These included Wolverine, Inglorious Basterds, The Hangover, District 9, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Angels and Demons, Bruno and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. There actually may have been more but either way, I'm pleasantly surprised with myself!
  • My social life, as a whole, was interesting to say the least. When I wanted to go out, I usually got to. Few new surprises this summer though to say the least.
  • By the above statement I mean that I went on my first date EVER (actually, this happened only two weeks ago) and that was something within itself. I had a really great time with the guy and it was a nice change for once. That's about as much as I can say on the topic... mainly because that's all there is to say. Haven't really spoken to him since so it's like, "Oh, OK, just a one time thing......." That's life though right? I'm just trying hard to be optimistic. Haha, boys make me nervousssss. :p
  • My relationship with running was taken to a whole new level. Despite the fact that I seemed to have ran a considerable amount, because of my constant injuries it was nowhere near the amount I wanted. Initially, I had wanted to train through all of June and complete my first 5K in the end of July. However, I must have been pushing myself too hard; my right calf/achilles tendon had other plans. I didn't run for TWO WEEKS which discouraged me to the point that I had basically forgotten about my newly developing love. The fact that I've been trying so hard to be healthy only to be kicked back down wasn't exactly encouraging.
  • Slowly but surely, the love is coming back. With my new compression socks and new Nikes, the love is growing again. I'm welcoming it with open arms and plan on continuing my "runner's madness!" =)
  • After getting bloodwork done I received the unfortunate news that I have an allergy to peanuts. (SIGH) Some sort of cruel, cruel fate decided that my FAVORITE FOOD IN THE ENTIRE WORLD was now to be my enemy. If I eat it, my legs go crazy with the itchies and painful red bumps.
  • If that's not enough, I also have slight allergies to wheat and soy as well. Cripes.
  • I decided that I was sick of being a redhead and wanted to go back to blonde... and blonde I certainly went. It's the slightest it's ever been in my life and I kind of love it. Haha.
  • Work was decent. It wasn't as plentiful as last summer but I managed to make a considerable amount of money. Naturally, I'm thankful for the Green Onion!
That's kindddd of my summer in a nutshell (BOO NUT JOKES AREN'T FUNNY ANYMORE).... for now anyway. I'm almost positive that other random memories will be creeping into my brain so until then!


Oh, and tomorrow there will definitely be pictures of the cake that I'm creating for my niece's birthday as well as a recap of my runs from the past few days. It's almost midnight so if I want to get up by 7:30 I need to hit the hay NOW!


Nighty nighty!

Monday, August 24, 2009

You know I flow it and show, you know that Bo know it , yo your lawn I mow it and grow cause he's a sho' poet...

...yo my rims be spinnin' and winnin', like Adam I be sinnin', potato skinnin' and knittin' and separatin' those linens. And in my eyes you see flies and though you people try just to disguise all your lies? Baby I be wise. Know I did it and shit it, your brothas couldn't hit it then you tried to rid it, too late! I already spit it.


Is it a good or a bad thing that I've memorized almost every single one of Bo Burnham's songs by heart?


..........................................


Good thing it is then. For the record, Bo Burnham is just another one of those "things" that I knew about before everyone else did. BEFORE he started nationally touring and BEFORE he had his own comedy central special, I was a good little fan having her life completely brightened by his amazingly clever songs (not to mention his adorable face and instrumental talent!) Just like Lady Gaga and 3OH3!, I'm an original fan. So there. :P



Sir, it most certainly does not suck to be you. *cough AVENUE Q SHIRT cough*


Recap of yesterday? I definitely had to work hard but I toughed it out and completely managed! Tired, yes, but at least I wasn't the only one. The chef that was working was clearly a tad sleepy as well. As a result the two of us roamed around the kitchen not too enthusiastically with our iPods on and purposely ignored each other. Not on purpose mind you; the day before we gossiped many a times and had a grand ole' work environment. However, we were tired kids so there was a mutual "let's-just-do-what-we-have-to-do-here-and-get-out-as-soon-as-possible" agreement going on.


That fella only had to be there 4 hours. I, on the other hand, had the pleasure of being there for about 9 hours. Boy howdy was I cranky right before I left. How bad? One of the texts I sent to Edi (after being there 7 hours) read as so:


"I haven't had more than six hours of sleep in the last two days, I'm working in humidity with no air conditioning, I'm clearly some sort of boy repellent and I haven't eaten since NINE THIS MORNING."


Granted, it was pretty hilarious then and still is so. Either way, I'm content with my hours. My money in my pocket and the Green Onion loves me even more now because that kitchen was SPOTLESS when I left. Bitchinnnnn'!


View from the kitchen? It was raining... but look at the lovely trashcan! Hahahahaha.


I think I may just head to sleep in a little bit. My to-do list has grown rather immensely and I have to actually write any of it down. Perhaps buying a planner is should be at the top of that list for tomorrow? That might be a good idea! One major thing is my experimentation with making FONDANT. Now that's going to be interesting. Sleeping on it is the best pre-preparation though I'm sure so nighty night!

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Sleeeepy, sleepy, sleepy, sleepy.



This would describe me fairly well I think. Double D and I are both VERY tired individuals. Granted I didn't build a small scale model of the Golden Gate Bridge using only toothpicks; I was productive in a different manner! He wins though, that smarty pants!


Despite the fact that I was nearly falling down from my sleepiness I ended up traveling to a "Cupcakes & Cocktails" party. I was greatly tempted to pass out instead but I figured that since the summer is dwindling to a close, I could do survive. There were also two motivating factors:
  1. The party was being thrown by my one of my closest friends that I've known since 3rd grade.
  2. RAINBOW CUPCAKES. OH YEAH.


I haven't been able to make them since January so I was QUITE excited! Upon realizing that I didn't have enough time to make the batter completely from scratch I had no choice but opt for the box-o-cake. Mistake. Turns out the damn box was a downsized version of normal cake mix... the mix only made 12 cupcakes at the most! OK, so it's not a catastrophe but when it comes to RAINBOW CUPCAKES, I go big (AKA I make as many as a possibly can so I can share the wealth!).


Pressed onward either way and only managed to yield 8 cupcakes. Boo. But they were not at all disappointing. Yay!

Group photo! No pictures with them fully clothed though I'm afraid. Nothing but nakedness ;)

This was the loner that had to have a bit of a dissection. Brave little fella.


I wish MY insides were that pretty. But in all cupcake seriousness (?!?) I'm much happier with how they came out this time. The actual lines of rainbow are a lot more proportionate than the first time I made them. I think I put more effort into equally distributing all the colors. Next time I'm going to add more purple, it seems to be lacking here. Either way, I'm slowly but surely mastering the art of RAINBOW CUPCAKES.


Oh, and we can't forget about this guy


I dub thee, Mr. Remnants! He's the lovechild of the six batters (the elusive 9th cupcake!) AND he totes has a face. Check out that smile :)


All in all it was a great success! The party was a good time consisting of chocolate martinis, cupcakes galore and candy everywhere! Needless to say on my return home I gladly welcome 4 bottles of water and some toast with almond butter, bananas and a peach. I think my body is slowly realizing that too many sugar filled foods is just not good. Like I said, I don't get hungover but I've got a sugar headache like no one's business. Does that mean I'm slowly turning into a REAL foodie?!?!? I hope so!


And the reason I'm blogging rather early is because I have to go tough it out through another 8 or 9 hours at the Onion despite my borderline fatigue-y-ness. Wish me luck! Hopefully I don't pass out in a sink whilst washing dishes. Hahahahaha. We'll see.



Friday, August 21, 2009

One tequila, two tequila, three tequila....

...floor?


Of course not! At this point in my life I definitely know what my drinking limitations are; I'll stay standing upright KTNX. But yes, I did have the pleasure of enjoying my favorite alcoholic beverage the other night. Tequila (da na na na na na na na!) is my poison of choice, despite the fact that it apparently gives people extremely bad hangovers; I have yet to get one. Teeheeeeeee. Actually, I've never been one to get hangovers, unless it Watermelon vodka. That got me once. Whoops!


Ugh.


Ahem, for the record... all above statements are completely false! I'm a good girl ;)




Work was a killer today but then again, what should I expect working in a kitchen without air conditioning of any kind? I should expect to be a very, very sweaty kitchen girl and that's EXACTLY what I was. 7 hours of nonstop dishing washing/tray making/anything else they needed me to do!


I had been wanting to wear my pedometer to work for some time now and finally remembered to today. Starting out at 8 AM and ending at about 3 PM I apparently traveled 5 miles collectively. Wow! I stand the entire time during work and am constantly going up othering and down stairs, as well as running from one side of the kitchen to the other. Granted, I wouldn't normally use this as my main source of exercise on most days but for today it's acceptable. My left ankle started bothering me yesterday so I decided to take yet another day off. So 5 miles at work? Not too shabby... although I MAY have eaten a homemade scone that our hostess made. :P


NEWSFLASH!!

PINEAPPLE CHOBANI LIVES!!!!


I would have taken a picture of my actual container but instead I INHALED it (with a bit of Kashi Honey Almond Flax cereal!) Without a doubt, this is my new favorite Chobani flavor. As a full fledged lover of the wonderous pineapple, it's actually not surprising that I would have fallen so deeply in love with this.


There were very tiny slivers of pineapple in it and the actual pineapple flavor was a lovely balance to the greek yogurt. It was still tangy (as per usual) but still full of pineapple goodness. Unfortunately, the Chobani sale at Shoprite ends TODAY and I'm seriously considering making one more trip back there to stock up on whatever I can get.


Crazy for yogurt? Damn straight, and I'm proud =)




Oh, and apparently there some kind of problem when it comes to leaving comments for my posts. I'm in the works of trying to fix it but for now comments can be posted by clicking of the "0 comments" link and there should be some sort of indication on how to leave a comment from there. Complicated I know, I'll fix it though.... somehow.


Thursday, August 13, 2009

Look! Pictures of actually food! (and a puppy)

I should really start taking more pictures of, well, EVERYTHING! After reading food blogs for a good 6 months now it's become very clear that the pictures are a cardinal rule of keeping a blog. That goes for any subject, type or size of the blog in question! Haha, could that be considered a quantity not quality sort of thing?? Sounds like I've got it backwardsssss.

In the words of Kat, "He's got his laserz on"... hahahaha. He's a lot cuter than this normally, although now that I look at it he looks abnormally fuzzy in this one. Aww. Maxwell <3


I just recently found out that I shall be heading back to the homeland (AKA Ridaaaaah U) in only 11 days!! I honestly can't believe this entire summer has come and gone in, what seems to be, the milli-blink of an eye. In a couple days I'm going to write a post that will basically be my "looking back the summer". All in all, the summer has been better than last summer in every way, shape and form. Not "BEST SUMMER EVER" material but definitely a summer that kept me happy.


How about some more pictures?? I've actually been attempting to act like a real foodie and took some pictures of my standout meals. There's only a few but cut me some slack! The idea of taking pictures of EVERYTHING I eat is a way of life that I don't think I'm entirely ready for. The women of the food blog world have every bit of respect that I possess in my body.


*bows*

Fiber one mix waffles with cut up peaches, blueberries and strawberries topped with some blueberry yogurt! Isn't it pretty?!?! It was quite delicious if I do say so myself. However, I have discovered that once my Fiber mix runs out I'll probably be a happy girl. There's no sustenance to the mix what-so-ever which is why I never make pancakes with it. It comes out very flimsy and not at all filling, well, unless I eat every pancake that I made. The waffles are a bit better except I have to put the waffles in the toaster almost immediately after coming out of the waffle machine. Next time I'm going to add apple and cinnamon to hopefully bulk them up a bit! Fiber one mix? Not for me, I mean, unless I just wasn't doing something right. I'll do it the old fashioned way from now on (but with whole wheat flour hopefully!)

Only two pictures... I said I was tryinggg! Here we have a chocolate orange cupcake that Miss Danielle and I decided to experiment with. Physically they're beautiful (please note the orange zest on top, fancy fancy!) but inside they're a bit more interesting. They were tasty, don't get me wrong, just not in a "cupcake" way. Somehow, unbeknown st to either of us to date, the cupcakes ended up tasting more like chocolate orange muffins. The recipe seemed to be a typical cake one so it's kind of a mystery! Either way, we have established ourselves as Mr. and Mrs. Upcake, bakers extraordinaire! Haha, we already have another event that we need to bake for and everything. HardXcore cupcake college student. =)

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Everybody, move your feet and feel united!

Oh yeahhhh! Does anyone remember the band Junior Senior?? I just had a major blast from the past which took me back to the mentality of my 8th grade self. I think for anyone the whole "associating songs with time periods" can definitely be a bittersweet at times. It's actually quite amazing how heavily an impact a simple song can have on someones emotions. There's a whole bunch of songs that remind me of "him" but when it comes down to it, it's all about how you handle the memories. Nostalgic? Sure, why not! But only for a bit. Listen to the three minutes of the song and then time to move on! Press forward and be happy =)


Other point worth mentioning, COCONUT WATER! While roaming around Whole Foods yesterday (Liz had never been there so it was a necessity that we went in) we discovered the large array of coconut waters. I remembered reading about it on Jenna's blog. and because she's basically one of my idols from the blogworld I couldn't resist buying one and testing it out.

I wasn't sure how it would taste directly by itself so I figured the help of acai and pomegranate would do the trick. And boy howdie let me tell you, it did. On the container it states how refreshing it's supposed to be and that's the honest truth. If it's possible to drink refreshing-ness (made up word, awesome) then this is it right here. If it wasn't so pricey I would go back tomorrow and STOCK UP. The taste was delicious and coconut water could be considered the ultimate drink of hydration. Also:
  • it has plenty of the 5 essential electrolytes: potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium and phosphorous
  • it has more potassium than a banana (don't tell the monkeys) and 15 times more potassium than the leading sports drink
  • its natural potassium helps regulate blood pressure, heart function and enhances the hydration process
  • it has properties which promote smoother, more hydrated skin
  • it has no artificial sweeteners and is low in carbohydrates

And when the acai and pomegranate are an added factor it's also got nutrients, antioxidants, vitamins, etc.etc.etc! I'm not sure how it holds up when used in workouts but because of this I have a reason to buy another container of it. Teehee, I need to conduct an experiment! Bottom line though? I suggest that if you ever have the chance to try this, TRY IT! That goes for any flavor; next up for me will probably be coconut water, the original flavor!


I also bought peaches and have decided they're on my list of MOST AWESOME FRUITS EVER. You know, because I do things like that :P




I'm off to continue the collage I started just before and watch some MIGHTY BOOSH. Anyone watch that by any chance? I almost can't believe how funny it is. Alas, it's a relaxing/funny way to spend the night...until tomorrow <3

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Purpose, it's that little thing, that lights a fire under your ass

And money I certainly do lack! I finally sucked it up and made my purchase of my books for this upcoming semester. I will admit, thanks to Half.com and Amazon.com I was able to cut down the prices considerably, it still a hell of a lot of money! Tuition is already enough as it is, I say, BOOKS FOR FREE! Wishful thinking but at least I like books, if I didn't there would be more of a problem to this! Books = love.


So, I've had something on my mind for a while now and I guess blogging about it might help me make sense. Bit of a back story first. I've had an interesting relationship with food all my life. For as long as I can remember I've been truly fascinated by chefs and all forms of cooking in general, especially baking. In 7th grade I started working at the Onion. It was then I decided that I wanted to be a chef when I grew up and I began to embrace the idea. When 8th grade rolled around I got right on applying to 2 high schools that had speciality cooking programs; I wanted to be a chef, badly. I didn't get into either school and after that the desire began to fade. At my 8th grade graduation I received an award for excellence in English and writing. Um, excuse me? Writing? I loved reading and writing so I figured that since I was good at that. Even in high school I received recognition for my skills in English and writing. OK then, guess I'm an English kind of girl. Freshmen year of college was, well, interesting to say the least; the idea of food was highly involved but in the worst possible way. I was still an English major at heart. However, as time has gone on that little girl inside me who wanted to be a chef has been making her presence more and more known. There have been times times this summer where I've sat and read cookbooks for hours. My dad brought in a box of cookbooks from our garage and I was ecstatic. I've been baking and reading about why certain ingredients are important to certain attributes of a recipe.The idea of cooking for people and bringing them joy because of what I made is an amazing thought, especially because I believe that food does have healing properties and more people should embrace that fact. I'm amazed at how I could've forgotten how much I LOVE working with food. It's one of the best feelings in the world and I know for a fact that I would have no problem with doing that for the rest of my life.


That TERRIFIES me though. I love being an English major, I really do, but is that what I'm meant to do?

Sunday, August 2, 2009

I'm pretty sure this happened last summer if I'm not mistaken...

It's a tad late and I'm a wee bit sleepy but I figure I should blog anyway to keep the writer inside me thriving!


Blatant honesty time. Recovery has been "meh". "Meh" is the best word I can think of at the moment because I think I've hit an extremely severe roadblock and am STILL trying to find a way past it. More honesty, for the most part, I've been a fairly unhappy child for a while now. There's just something about my lack of self control during the summer (letting my guard down I suppose) and then I look in a mirror... and you can probably guess what happens after that. They don't call it Body Dysmorphia for nothing. Sometimes it doesn't hit me, and that's always fabulous, but it has been, frequently. Sigh. I don't know what my plan of attack against this is going to be. My return to Rider is slowly creeping back up on me (WHERE DID THE SUMMER GO?!?!?) and I'm definitely caught on the fence. Looks like this girl has got a lot of thinking to do...




Spirit lifter anyone? Well, during dinner today I accidentally spit iced tea on my soon-to-be brother-in-law because he said, "Cannolis?" in what was probably the funniest voice I have ever heard in my entire life. Whoops! It brought a bunch of laughs, that's for sure. Sorry bro, sometimes I laugh... A LOT.



Aww. Sometimes I can't help but post pictures of things for no reason other than the fact that I find them absolutely beautiful.


Vagueness of an entry, I'm going to bed. Nighty nighty <3






I decided a layout change was in order. Tried to find the most rainbowlicious one I could and stumbled upon this gem.... I'm a picky little bugger so this one will do just fine for now =)