The Best Day Ever???

I know I promised a cookie recipe today, but sadly my brother's camera is MIA, lost somewhere in the labyrinth that is his room. I really haven't talked about my brother much, despite him being probably the most awesome brother in the whole wide world!!! Here is a picture of him:

Haha, just kidding! Actually he looks like this:

Anyways, there are so many action figures, comics, posters, videos, manga volumes, video games, and artistic equipments that there is no longer even room for a bed. Instead he now sleeps in our guest room with two of our cats.
But I digress, yesterday was absolutely great! I made cookies and peanut butter cups. I also spent a large portion of the day on the couch in front of the fire doing this:

So yeah! Basically I did nothing but read, sleep, bake, and watch parts of two movies. The rest of the time my faithful brother did all of the hard work, and never complained once about it. What a great sibling!!! It was probably one of the best days of my life. I hope to repeat it again before I return to school, but I may have to wait until I go back to my apartment, as the next few days will be rife with Christmas activities!

I hope everyone has a great holiday! I may post something tomorrow, or I may not. It all depends on the great organizational matriarchs of this small family, and that does not include me! :)

Fun Pictures

This is a picture my friend Elizabeth asked me to draw. The first is when her team, the Nebraska Huskers, win. The second is when they lose, or when she hates vet school. It's called the Squinchy Face.

This is Shawnee, my friend Adrian's dog. She is probably the best dog in the world. She is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever that came from the shelter. She loves balls and her bowl. She carries bowl around with her all the time. She likes to bring people shoes when they come home, and she likes to eat ice, apples, carrots, and french fries when she gets the chance. She has many expressions, so you can always tell if she is concerned, happy, or bored.



This is me during finals week. 'Nuff said. :)

I Made It!!!

Yay!!! I'm finally done with this horrible semester!!! Our last grade got turned in today, and I managed to pass all of my classes!!! Wheewww. What a relief. Now I can start next semester fresh, and not have to worry about passing. Instead I will just do well! Yay!!!!! As of now I am enjoying a celebratory glass of wine! Deeelicious.

In other news, it is almost Christmas, and my efforts have been thwarted once more. I had ordered some nice K-State fleeces for my family and instead of five, I only got three! Noooo! I may or may not have misunderstood the web site and ordered too few. This is what the sign said:
Hopefully I did not misunderstand, but if I did, I will have to order more, which means a few people will be getting IOUs on Christmas. Boo.

Christmas break will be interesting this year. I have two weeks off before school starts again. In that two weeks I will do the following: go to the dentist, go to the eye doctor, find a new Diabetes doctor in Kansas, celebrate Christmas with my Mom at home, celebrate Christmas with my Dad and Step mom in Chicago, celebrate my birthday with my family at home, celebrate my birthday with my friends at school.....and do a million other things that I have wanted to do all semester but haven't had time for. However, that's good news for you because it means more cookie recipes, more blogging, and more stories of me watching my brother play video games. Oooh! How exciting. In case you're interested he is currently playing Ghost Busters and Bayoneta, both on X-Box. He just got done playing Mortal Kombat vs. DC, which I missed, sadly , due to school. If you are wondering if I play video games the answer is no, unless it's an RPG. Poke'mon and Nintendo were as far as I got, and of course simple Wii games. Any other games I inevitably end up failing at because I'm a button masher. I panic and start mashing every button on the controller, hoping to keep myself alive long enough to win the match. I also stand up and jump around wildly, moving my arms around in a vain attempt to make my character do what I want. Alas, it never works out. I lose and feel stupid for getting so excited.

Anywho.... I miss Max already. I can't wait to see him again! I almost cried when I left the airport. *Sniff* However, he is having loads of fun at home with his family, playing games, cooking, shopping, etc. so I am glad that he got to go home for Christmas.

That about ends my day long ramblings. I am throwing in some pictures I drew for fun, One is Max and I and the other is Christine and Tas. Enjoy! Tomorrow there will be a cookie recipe up. Yay!!!

Happy Post!!!

Three finals down, Three more to go!!! The hardest two are coming up, surgery tomorrow and then Food Animal on Wednesday. Eeeep! So short post, nothing exciting! By the way thanks to all the international folks that have been visiting! It's super exciting to see so many different countries have visited!!! Maybe soon I can post pictures from my previous trips abroad! If you have time you should head over to my friend Christine's blog, Merp, as it is very entertaining, and has fewer depressing posts!!! Anyways, have a great day everyone!!! I'm off to study surgery!!! Sixty lectures in ten hours sound feasible? Yeah, I thought not. Oooh! look an aardvark!!!! Yay!!!!!

One Down, Four To Go!

One final is done! Goodbye Toxicology!!! Yay!!! Don't get me wrong, Toxicology is a very important class, and I did enjoy learning about it, but grades really put a wrench in things. The more I worry about grades the less I learn, and I have to worry about grades because in vet school a D means you fail out entirely, so of course my grades are terrible (C's and B's) and I am constantly panicking. It's only after the dust settles from the tests that I actually feel like I can learn something.
So yeah, I feel like school is not a learning experience, just a hoop I have to jump through to start learning. I am pretty sure that the only reason I feel this way is because I get poor grades. I bet if I was getting A's and B's I would be perfectly happy with school. Instead I just look at school as something terrible and impossible, and wish that I could have worked harder or gotten rid of all these emotional issues before getting here. I'm sure in another dimension I am getting all A's. I probably have a job in the vet school, am the president of 3 clubs, and am super hot. People ask me questions that I know the answers to and all the teachers love me. People can tell I am capable of making my own decisions and I feel capable and mature. Sadly that is not how it is in this dimension, and this is the only one I know. I guess I'll just have to make the best of it.
The next Final is Zoo med on Monday (Yay!!!), then surgery (*death*), then Food Animal (*flinch*) lets hope I can make it through all right and not fail out! Anyone who is of the prayerful persuasion please say a prayer for me as I struggle through this last week of the semester. Oh! Also, please keep my good friend Danger in your prayers too! Danger has some Mast Cell Tumors on his ear and is getting surgery this week, so please send good things his way!!!

Finals Week

Tomorrow is our first real final. In honor of this here is a summary of what we will experience during Finals week! Enjoy!!!

Yes that ferret in the first panel is holding a gun, and yes that is me on the rack in the last picture. As you can see all my hair has been shaved by the evil authoritarian education system.

Class Time

Yep, this is what I think about when I'm not paying attention in class.

5 Reasons Why You Should Marry Your Pillow

Most people who have heard of the internet have heard of this man by now:

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/816601-man-marries-pillow

Yes, he married a pillow. Granted he was probably a major otaku (Crazy,anime loving, person, for the normal people reading the blog), with more than a little bit of a shy side and a fan based obsession that slowly turned into a strange fetish, but hey, who hasn't been there? *Crickets* Right, anyways, this got me thinking about all the times my pillow has been there to comfort me. In this fast paced day and age where dating horrors abound, do I really want to risk going out there and attempting to find a boy who isn't going to kill me and steal my skin? Do you?!?! Once you think about it, there may really be no other option for any of us. So here are the five reasons why maybe, just maybe, you would consider marrying your pillow too.

Your Pillow Will Comfort You When You Are Sick

Have you ever gotten really sick before? I mean so sick that it feels like your organs are being forcibly expulsed from your body, and your blind from a migraine, and you have a raging fever that makes you feel like your head is cooking, while your body convulses clumsily with chills? A sickness so bad that all your friends and family forsake you and flee in an attempt to salvage their own miserable existence? Even when everyone else has left you, your pillow will still be there! Your pillow will not care that you are infectious, because pillows do not get sick! Your pillow couldn't even try to leave you if it wanted because it has no legs! Your pillow would never try to leave you though, because it just wants to make you feel better. It's soft and fluffy so you can rest your flaming head on it. It even keeps one side of itself cool for you so that you can have constant comfort! How thoughtful!

Your Pillow Doesn't Care What You Look Like
This is me every morning. Odds are you are far superior and attractive in all ways. However, even if you looked like this, your pillow would still be there.

Your Pillow Is Always A Shoulder To Cry On
Had one of those days where you just want to die? Guess who will be there whenever you need comfort....your pillow!!! You don't have to feel bad about crying, drooling, or wiping your nose on it. Your pillow will absorb all of your tears, and will stay with you for however long you want. Your pillow will not attempt to make you feel better with reassuring platitudes, or gaze at you judgmentally as you down your third bottle of wine. No. Your pillow will simply offer its quiet comfort.

Your Pillow Is A Great Cuddler
Imagine waking up on Saturday morning, the gentle sun muted by your window shade, birds chirping softly outside, and your faithful pillow, soft and warm beside you. All you have to do to fall back asleep is pull it a little closer and nestle into it's downy softness. You have no worries or cares. Your pillow will gladly contort itself into the most absurd and painful positions, just to aid in your comfort! It will gladly elevate your smelly feet, support your aching back, or sustain your drooling face. The best part of all, you don't have to worry about bones sticking into your shoulder, or awkward moments of shifting when your pelvis falls asleep from sleeping sideways. Your faithful pillow will cuddle however you please.

Your Pillow Encourages You To Rest

After a hard day of school or work does your pillow ask you to do the dishes? No. Does it ask you to cook dinner? No! Does it ask you to regurgitate all 25,000 toxins and how each of them causes a slightly different form of anemia? Nooo!!!! That's right! All your pillow requires you to do is sleep and rest!!! To read a book while leaning against it! To nap when you are tired!!! To watch movies while basking in its glory!!! Yes, when you are so weary your head is about to fall off! Wnen you are so depressed all you want to do is eat a tub of ice cream AND a tub of cookie dough, your pillow is there!!! No judgment! No energy sapping tricks!!! Only love and acceptance!!! People of the world!!! I beg you! Take your pillow in hand, and embrace it's fluffy love!!! For your sake! For all of our sakes!!!

Blahhh

So lately I have been feeling very lonely. It's not that I really am alone. I have loads of wonderful friends around me, I'm just blahhh. School is depressing, I feel like my life is going nowhere, I want to go home, etc, etc. Mostly I just feel like I am becoming a giant puddle of gummy, gooey, brown apathy and shame.


Every time I see a professor I think about how next year they will be disappointed when I don't remember anything they taught me this year. Stupid vet school! Why didn't I become a baker?

Srress = Stomach Distraction

I officially am doing poorly in surgery. I was anesthetist first last week, and although my anesthesia overall was successful, I managed to get a 5/10 points due to a lack of knowing how to answer the questions asked me by the teachers/panic attack at the thought of not knowing the answers. You can get one five and then if you get another you get kicked out of the program. I spent 2 days crying about it, I went and talked to the teachers, and now I am working hard to make sure I don't fail. Great. I'm not working hard to learn, I'm working hard not to fail. They might seem the same, but they aren't. If I knew I couldn't fail I would learn loads more than what I do. The thought of the humiliation, going before the board, and being left behind by my classmates is terrifying. I'm also beginning to think vet school isn't worth it anymore. I never feel like I am learning anything, I never feel like I am succeeding, and I am always behind. I have no self confidence, I am mentally unbalanced, and my body is responding to the stress by making my stomach roil, my hands shake and my head spin. I try to study and get distracted by the thoughts of what I will do if I get kicked out, what I could have done to better prepare, and what exactly I said and did that was wrong. All in all, I am miserable, terrified, and don't know what to do. I just wish so much that i could change the past, I know I can't, I just wish I had a second chance to make things better. I don't though, so I am studying as hard as I can. Hopefully I will be heading to the library soon to study. Hopefully that will help. :( If not...maybe some wine. :(

Desperate Holding Pattern

I'm in a very frustrating holding pattern. School is terrifying. Every week there is another test, a new surgery lab to try and get through, another unknown chore to take on. I am absolutely terrified of messing up during surgery, simply because I've never done it before! Many of the people in my class have done spays or neuters, even enucleations before! I can hardly suture. Plus I have no idea the order or things, the chores we are all responsible for, etc. Sure I've read the lab manual, but what good will it do me in the middle of lab, when theirs no chance to read. Ugghh.

Diet and Exercise is another issue. Epic fail on my part, and not looking good for improvement. Then there is the job I'm supposed to be applying, the studying I should be doing, the activities, the relationship issues, the insecurity issues. It just keeps piling up and getting worse. I feel very much alone, because even though there are 114 odd people in the same situation as I, they all seem to be intelligent enough to handle it with grace and ease. I just flounder around trying to stay positive and thinking about how hopeless everything is on the inside.

Grim Reality Sets In

What a week! I say that and it's only Wednesday, but this week seems to just be heading down hill faster and faster. On Monday we had surgery lab, and it was a wreck!!! I had forgotten to watch the video before the lab so I had no idea what was going on. We had six stations which included draping the patient, learning to suture, practicing suturing, learning to scrub (ourselves), sterile patient prep, and knots and instruments. Suturing was a disaster! I got so overwhelmed by the terminology, patterns, and proper handling of the instruments tears sprang up in my eyes, and I had to hold them in. It only got worse as we went from station to station and I felt like I was surrounded by people who knew exactly what they were doing. The last straw was when we were at the last station and I accidentally used a scrub sink that was broken and wouldn't turn off. Luckily we had Dr. Baker for that station, and he had actually used the sink earlier himself, so I didn't feel so bad afterwords, but at the time it seemed monumental. As soon as we were done I grabbed Max and made I beeline for the car. Once inside I let it all out in huge wracking, gasping sobs of frustration, anxiety, and distress. Poor Max just held my hand and drove us home. He tried to talk about it but I just cried until I felt empty. When we got home I cried some more, and everyone pitched in to make me feel better. Things ended up alright, but I am still terrified of surgery.

Yesterday I had high hopes for lecture. We had 3 Zoo lectures which I was sure would be fun and enlightening. Once again it was an epic fail. We have a visiting professor and for the life of me I can't figure out what he is trying to get across to us. By the time the third lecture came around I was bored and thoroughly disappointed. Most of my classmates were vainly trying to listen, while others gave up and studied other subjects, Facebooked, or slept. At the end of the day I heard many students discussing how disappointing the lectures had been. I wasn't the only one who had been looking forward to some new insights. Pretty much the whole class was frustrated. Sigh. It makes me feel bad for our speaker. Especially when I heard from students at other schools that they had similar issues with his lecture style. He probably doesn't even realize his teaching style is a problem for students.

Friday morning is our Medicine Exam. Renal stuff, eeep. Hopefully it will go well. I have confidence, I just have to make sure everything is set straight in my mind. Anyways, time to get studying. Wish me luck.

Weight, Plans, and Goals

So I have been actively losing weight for the past few weeks. I am happy to report that I am down from my start weight by a definite three pounds, even though I haven't been very faithful to my healthy eating. I am also happy to say that I am building muscle as, my legs are much stronger than what they used to be. So overall I am pleased, but I still have a long way to go, and I still have a lot of improvements to make.

The first issue I have is making sure I exercise regularly. To do this I need to exercise in the morning before school. No more sleeping in!!! I also need to make sure I am well hydrated at night before bed so I am not overly thirsty when I work out in the morning. My plan this week is to work out every day with cardio and three days with strength.

Nutrition wise, I have been failing. I have been alternating days of starvation with eating to much, and I haven't been getting enough fruits or vegetables. So this week the goal is 1300 calories a day, no exceptions. I also need to take my multivitamin, as I am not getting what I need from the foods I am eating. Hopefully that will improve when I go to the store next, and buy more produce.

As far as my Diabetes goes, its out of control. I have had a lot of highs lately, and I can't afford that. I must figure out a way to balance evrything and get back in good control. I would like my average to be in the 120s by the end of October.

Mentally I am doing well. My self confidence is up, my brain is working, and my stress levels are down. I have been paying attention in class more, and taking breaks when I need to to facilitate studying. I am doing things I like, and studying to learn. I am exceptionally happy about that! I just have to keep thinking positive, and not panic when I do something new and intimidating.

So in Summary:
Weight Goal: 165 lbs. by the end of September
Exercise Goal: Cardio daily, Strength 3 times a week (more if I feel like it)
Nutrition Goal: Make sure I am getting enough vitamins and minerals, vegetables and fruit
Diabetes Goal: Keep a sharp eye on it and make good food choices.
Mental Goal: Keep learning, don't stress too much

Toga! Toga! Toga!

This Friday was awesome!!! It was my first ever Toga Party, and we had a blast!!! Everyone came over to our house at 6:00 for pizza. Max and I manned the cooking . We made six pizzas of various types, everything from plain pepperoni to garlic brie with onions and tomatoes (Who new brie could be so good on a pizza?). We watched Big Bang Theory, ate and talked. Michelle brought her boyfriend and his cousin, who we had been waiting to meet for awhile, and Iris and Evan came as well. Then there was the usual crowd of JACK (Jenna, Adrian, Christine, Katie), Max, Derek, Ann, and Elizabeth. After our beer and pizza all the girls went upstairs to get dressed. Michelle graciously dressed all of us, as we had no idea what we were doing when it came to pinning/draping our togas, and then we all went about accessorizing and fixing our hair. Even the boys got into the spirit and dressed up! By the time we finished getting ready it was about 9:00, so we all piled into our cars and took off!

The party was being put on by four of our classmates/friends, and luckily it was only a 10 minute ride to their house. At the house the living room had been cleared of furniture,except for the sound system table, there were black lights everywhere, and the garage had the keg and Beer Pong Tables. I was the DD so no beer for me! That was ok though, because I just really wanted to dance! After greeting our hosts we mingled for a bit, before heading in to the living room. Once there we danced and sang along to the music for about 2.5 hours! We snapped lots of pictures and the only mishap was that my toga began to fall. Yep you heard right, it began to fall off! I guess I was dancing a bit too much because suddenly I felt the bottom layer twist awkwardly around my legs so I could barely move! Luckily the marvelous Michelle had brought extra pins with her, and she took me n the pantry to rewrap me. We thought I was good to go, but unfortunately, the same thing happened again! Back to the pantry we went. This time Michelle changed the whole Toga design, and it ended up looking great and staying firmly secured the rest of the night. Finally we all decided to go to the bars, so at 12:00 we all piled back into the cars and took off for Aggieville.

When we got to Aggievville, we went to the "Vet school bar", Kite's. There we jam packed ourselves on to the dance floor and managed to get a bit of dancing done. While there I actually saw Max's roommate, several guys from a highlighter party and lots of older vet students. It was nice to see that the seniors actually do get out once in awhile. After an hour of dancing we went to Daylight Donuts, and even though they weren't open (They changed their hours) the man let us in and sold us a huge box for $8.00. I allowed myself one doughnut and several doughnut holes, which worked out very well since my blood sugar was low! Many people were excited by the fact that we had both Togas and doughnuts and we got comments all the way back to the car!

We finally made it home and changed into our pjs. Christine wanted pizza so we made one more pepperoni pizza and some garlic bread. Then we all sat down to watch Big Bang Theory again , before falling into bed.

Recipe Number Two: Lemon Melting Moments

Sometimes a recipe just looks too good to pass up! When I was searching for recipes to add to my list for this fall I stumbled upon a web site called Itty Bitty Kitchen. It seems to be a relatively new web site, but there are some very nice recipes and the design is great! When I saw the pictures of the lemon Melting Moment Cookies, I knew I had to try them. My only problem was the measurements. Not being from Australia I converted everything online, and hoped for the best.

Lemon Melting Moments (from Itty Bitty Kitchen)

Ingredients

Cookies:
200g unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of one lemon

Filling:
1 cup confectioners sugar
50 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
juice of one lemon

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees F. Cream sugar, butter and salt. When fluffy add vanilla and lemon zest. Sift in flour and cornstarch and mix until fully combined, scraping the bowl. Form dough into small balls, about 1 Tbsp. dough per ball. Place on a metal baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and squish them slightly with a fork to get the ridged look. Bake for 20 minutes.

In the mean time, stir together the butter, confectioners sugar and lemon juice for the filling. If the filling seems too wet add some more confectioners sugar or place in the refrigerator to harden.

When the cookies are done allow them to cool for about 15 minutes. After that, frost the cookies on the flat side and cover with another to make small sandwhiches.

My filling came out very wet and when I used it on the cookies it gooped out everywhere. I think I may have accidentally added in a bit too much butter, or perhaps I had a much too juicy lemon. The cookies were very good though, and they looked pretty, so I think it was rather successful!

Lab Diagnostics FTW!!!

Today is Lab Diagnostics day. Every Tuesday afternoon Max and I go to our lab, listen to a lecture on blood, urine, etc. and then perform the tasks they require us to do. It is a very satisfying class because it proves that you actually know something concrete. Last semester I was convinced that our Clinical Pathology course would do that, alas, Clin Path only confused and befuddled me. So when I heard we had Lab Diagnostics I was minorly horrified, sure I was doomed to another semester of feeling like an idiot. Happily this is not the case. Lab Diagnostics is all about seeing, doing and understanding. Not memorizing and interpreting strange blood data sheets. I get to apply things and it helps me learn what I need to know for this class and it helps me learn what I should have learned last semester. Today is a relatively short lecture and then we have to stain a slide, do a CBC, and do microhematocrit and total protein. I learned how to do all of that when I was in undergrad, so hopefully we will get out early and I can get some extra things done this afternoon....like that pesky surgery reading I have had to put off, or that Medicine homework that needs doing, or....well you get the idea.

Recipe Number One: Healthy Cornbread

Recipe number one of my fall baking fun is done. This recipe is simple, low calorie, and a great side dish for chili or with cottage cheese (yeah I know I'm weird). If you haven't read the rest of my blog, you should know that I am trying to be healthier (aka: Lose weight, build muscle). However, just because you are trying to lose weight doesn't mean you can't enjoy your favorite foods. Sometimes you just have to modify, or eat your sinful desire and move on. Cornbread is one of the things I find I can modify and still enjoy. This recipe came from Allrecipes.com. I only modified one thing and that was that I changed the plain non-fat yogurt to vanilla non-fat yogurt. I feel the vanilla yogurt makes it a bit sweeter, which I like better. So here it is, next week the recipe will be a bit more sinful.

Healthy Cornbread

1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup vanilla non-fat yogurt
2 eggs, beaten

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x8 inch baking pan. In a large bowl, mix flour, cornmeal, sugar, soda and salt. Stir in yogurt and eggs. Do not over mix, stir only until well blended, make sure you scrape the bowl. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the bread passes the toothpick test.

This recipe would also be great spread with honey, or dried and used for cornbread stuffing. It doesn't have much moisture, so if you don't want it to dry out cover it well. Or you can always call Dr. Horrible's friend Moist.

Pirates of the Periosteum!!!

It's Friday!!! And not just any old Friday, it's the Friday before Labor Day! Which means 3 days of freedom!!! Not only that but last night was the Shaft party for the first year vet students!!! It was so much fun, and things got really wild. See every first year class at K-State has their first test over all the bones in the body of the dog. It's not just the bones though. Every small tubercle or indentation in a bone, every tiny hole in the skull, has a specific name. So you end up having to memorize about 300-400 names and locations in 2 weeks. It's the right of passage to the K-State vet school. SO after the bones test the second years throw a huge party for the first years, with free alcohol, food, and dancing. The party is always an anatomy or a bone theme so this year we had Pirates of the Periosteum. There were a lot of pirate costumes and drinks featuring rum and tropical flavors. It was a really great theme!

Anyways, all the classes are invited to Shaft, and this year we had a great turn out! Our first year was a bit sparse on third year students. Our class (third year) has a reputation for being a party class and we didn't disappoint. I think the majority of our class was there, and on the dance floor, all night. In addition, when the lights came up at 1:00 a.m. We were the people straggling out last, as most of the first years had already been whisked away by the designated drivers.

I was really excited to go to Shaft. In addition to having a great time, I also got to actually see and talk to my other friends in the sophomore class. I was the designated driver (by choice) so I had 1.5 beers while my friends were eating dinner and then we hit the dance floor. We danced and sang along to the songs, but as people became progressively more tipsy the drinks started spilling, and so did the people! Soon there were puddles of fruity smelling mixed drinks all over the place. People tried to mop them up with excess napkins, but unfortunately this was woefully inadequate. Soon people were sliding and falling all over the place. Half way through the music stopped and the floor was mopped, but it really made no difference as people were now so inebriated the floor was pretty much made wet and fruity 5 minutes after the music started up again. Thank goodness I didn't fall.

Eventually the last song was played and we had to leave. Luckily Aggieville was open until 2:00 a.m. So after dividing up we drove over went dancing at Kite's. We didn't last long as Adrial, Jenna and I were all pretty tired. Not to mention there were loads of creepers at the bar. So at 1:30 we called it good and went to Jimmy John's to get sandwiches. I snagged a table while the girls ordered, and watched the other patrons throwing food at their adjoining table of friends. Finally the food was ready, and we were soon in the car and on our way home.

By 2:00 I was beat. The girls stayed up to eat their sandwiches and watch TV. I said goodnight, took my hair down, washed the makeup from my face, and threw my drink besmattered dress into the laundry pile. Comfy and warm in my pjs I fell quickly and happily asleep.

P.S. There were actually quite a lot of misadventures and funny stories from this night. I decided, however, not to post them, in honor of the not so innocent. ;)

Bake Me A Cake As Fast As You Can!!!

I have never made a strawberry cake before. So when one of my friends asked me to bake her a cake, and she mentioned she liked strawberry I though it would be a good experience. I found the main recipe on Allrecipes.com and modified it ever so slightly. The results were pretty good! The cake was moist and sweet and the ganache was well balanced. I also added some dipped chocolate strawberries, and of course, rainbow sprinkles. For what dessert could be complete without the rainbow sprinkles? (Ok, maybe a few, but it makes things so much more fun!)

Super Strawberry Cake with Chocolate Ganche

2 cups white sugar
1 (3 oz) package of strawberry gelatin
1 cup butter, softened
4 eggs, room temperature
2 3/4 cups cake flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup of strawberry milk
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/2 cup of strawberry jam or preserves + extra

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1 cup heavy cream

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour* two 9 inch round cake pans. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and dry strawberry gelatin until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Combine the flour and baking powder; stir into the batter alternately with the milk. Blend in vanilla and strawberry jam. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake for 30-50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a small knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool in their pans for at least 10 minutes, before removing to cool completely.

In the mean time prepare the ganache. Chop or break the chocolate into a small-medium bowl. Place the heavy cream in a small sauce pan and heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and pour over chocolate. Stir until the cram and chocolate come together and the mixture looks shiny. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.

When the cakes have cooled, place one on a large plate (The plate should be large enough to to hold the cake and contain any extra ganache which flows down the side of the cake). Spread the top with a thin layer of strawberry jam. Place the second cake layer on top of the first. After the ganache has cooled pour it slowly over the cake starting in the middle and allowing it to spread out and over the sides of the cake. Add sprinkles. When the cake has cooled place the strawberries around the edge and in the center.

* When baking, if you need to dust a pan for something sweet, like a cake, you can use powdered sugar instead.