Why Does Time Seem to Drag? Honey Sesame Chicken

ohhh my goodness. seriously. working three doubles in a row AND sunday wasnt bad enough. i feel like time is dragging. or maybe it is just that i am so tired? i dont know. i can barely tell you what day of the week it is half the time. #suresignyouareold #alsowhenyourbosstellsyouso

i dont really have much, other than this honey sesame chicken i threw in the crock pot this morning. it is super spectacular. super win. husband enjoyed it. wife'd that like a boss.

how pretty is that? well, okay its not the best looking ever. maybe if i had some broccoli and carrots to go with it, i could have made it look nicer. it was pretty tasty though. go click that link now. i command it. if you put it on the lowest setting now, it will totally be done by the time you wake up. why am i even still awake right now? my eyes are screaming at me to go to bed.

so yes. lots of doubles make me sleepy. lots of work makes me grumpy. people slapping my car with their doors makes me extremely unpleasant. (yes, that happened again friday. fucking scumbags. i will find you and tear you apart.) aside from that, birthday week! birthday week!

i think i am going to make myself some tomato pie. maybe this tomato basil tortellini soup. maybe both. i have no idea what im thinking. i have to paint a t-shirt this week, too. and clean, and run. much things. little time. wow.

look at this asshole. he loves to make himself into a birdie burrito.

he seriously grabs the blanket with one foot and pulls it around himself. i cant even say anything because i love blankets, even when its like 80 degrees outside.

im just gonna show you some cool pictures i took with my new camera.

dude. i dont even like spiders and bugs, although i can handle daddy long legs. they dont terrify me as much as any other spiders. he was just so happy sitting in this patch of mint plants near my apartments, and he has some cool stripes and such. all dat detail, man. i love the depth you can achieve with a manual focus lens. 12 days at this point (it's officially monday!) and i can take some pictures at the beach for a week.

12. days. omg.

so yeah. on that birthday note, still hoping for a skillet. doesnt have to be a big one. i want to make skillet smores and cookies and random things. *hint* nice cast iron skillet. *cough* i think i said some itunes cards would be cool, too for some more books. i dont really need anything. it would be fun for someone to plan me a picnic or something outdoors. or an indoor fort. **HINT** (im still waiting.) i do have a couple cheap games on hold at work, but meh. i'll figure that out. i got a fancy camera, so i am pumped for that. best day ever.

the only day that will be better is when i leave for my vacation ohhhh my god why isnt it now?!

alright. i am rambling now. i am going to bed. i'll try to post wednesday or thursday. on my way to a new decade on friday. have a good week, all! thanks for reading! ☺

Pierogies!

Dammit, meg! I had a little post all typed up for yesterday, i went to post it, and bloggeroid deleted it. How awesome is that, just to top off my day i had yesterday. This is why i dont take time off from work. I feel like i get punished for even attempting to enjoy a day off. Not that i had those days off, since i was getting paid to assemble a wedding cake.



Heather and i made pierogies on tuesday. Awesome!

It was totally last minute. I asked monday night when she worked because i needed to get my keys back after the weekend (she took care of the assholes while we were gone). When she told me she had the day off, i sent a clip of gir (invader zim) proclaiming, "LETS MAKE BISCUITS!" I got back, "pierogies?"

Consideting i had everything on hand minus the cheese qnd potatoes, we made a trip to wegmans for lunch and our remaining ingredients.







I found the recipe on pinterest from www.afamilyfeast.com. It has a pretty good walkthrough and several different filling types, but we had to go with the classic cheese and , since they are the best. (I hear you out there mocking me. You can have all the others. Potatoes for the win.)







Aww yeah. We called our incorporating technique "the washing machine" technique. Things were spinning, things were agitating, the table was shaking. Idk. It worked for us. Definitely a time consuming project, and it worked well with two of us making them.





Ta daaaa! It was a blasty blast. We had cheddar cheese in some, and parmesan romano in the others. Both were equally delicious. I will have to get a picture of the finished product later.

Blarg before this got deleted, i was venting about work and yesterday being "one of those days." it totally was. Like, it would make me so happy to punch someone in the face, regardless of the fact that my hands are part of the problem. Like i said, this is what i get for having any time off. Torture in some way, shape or form.

Anyway, im going to give up now, i am working doubles all weekend long, so we'll see how far my cripple hand gets me. Have a good weekend! Thanks for reading!

posted from Bloggeroid

WOW- Wedding of Warcraft

okay, so maybe it wasn't a warcraft themed wedding, but the cake toppers were the bride and groom's warcraft characters.

pretty cool, huh? i mean, for warcraft, anyway. i can't say that i am the biggest fan, but i will give them that they have some cool artwork. also, these were made by the bride's sister in law! yay for art people!

so yeah. had a nice super long weekend away from work to....well, work, anyway. it counts as work because i got paid. i put a lot of work into everything. here are some pictures, anyway.

snapchat of my fridge the night before we left

hotel room pinterest gift artwork

 

we arrived friday night to store everything in the cooler at the elks lodge the reception was being held at, and saturday morning we woke up early to finish frosting and assembling. the weather did not make things easy, considering it was a nice, sticky 90 degrees outside by the time we were ready to stack the tiers after the ceremony.

i really wish i had brought my cake turn table. it would have made things easier, but it also weighs like 10 pounds, so oh well. i think it came out pretty good. even in the heat, the flowers did not melt or run and completely melt all over. the toppers definitely each took a dive at separate points, but they didn't break, at least. (okay, we lost an ear on the bride, but it was only an ear, at least they didn't explode into a million pieces.)

as you can see, ron even helped with some of the decorating and stuff. it worked out pretty well, and we were able to get the cake done in decent time so we could get ready and such beforehand. oh, and buy a memory card for my fancy new birthday camera. ♥

oh yes. i am excited to announce that i no longer have to take pictures with only my iphone, but i am now the proud owner of a nikon d3200 digital camera. i have two different lenses. filters. a fancy carry bag. i can adjust the shutter speed, aperture, and a ton of other things. it is like a digital 35mm camera. i am so excited. but, as i discovered, i have to remember that its not a phone, and the screen won't adjust if you tap on it. it is all coming back, though. i mean, i have a canon power shot, which is mostly just point and shoot, but this is my favorite, to be able to adjust things and have control over what you are shooting. don't get me wrong, i love my 35 as well. i love having the actual film and, if i had a dark room, the ability to develop said film to see what comes out. this is seriously exciting, though. like, for seriously. best. early. birthday. EVER.

all made possible by this guy. ♥♥♥

and maybe a minor meltdown friday afternoon. i mean, timed stress is really the worst, meaning when you have a crap ton of things to do and not enough time to do them in, and you feel like you actually need help to do said things, and your bowl of frosting explodes which thankfully is able to be saved anyway, and you feel like you are forgetting things, your hand seems to be broken and you're not sure why, get a.d.d. and clean fifty other things and leave for a 2 hour drive, and then arrive and realize you forgot to grab a change of normal clothes. yep.

but that is done and over with, i just ended up wearing a dress half the weekend, and the same pants and tank top i arrived in the rest of the weekend. i am used to that.

it is totally okay though. birthday camera made it all better. at least relieved some of the stress, anyway.

also, everything has to break at the same time. ever have that happen? like that saying, "everything comes in threes." i don't think its threes. its more like a whole cluster fuck. my wrist here, i have no idea what happened. any pressure on my thumb, like depressing a button for example, it hurts all the way through my wrist. just started friday. a few other things making it hard to function also have to happen, 'im sure you don't want to know all of my personal details, but both hands are crippled and it hurts to talk and eat. meh. oh, and my shoulder. at least i have today and tomorrow off. maybe i can sleep half the day or something. i say that, but it will never happen. no relaxation for me. 19 days!

meh. you know what else though? shiny new camera! 19 days! day off! happy things! maybe i'll eat a cupcake later. oh, and my son!!

and dis is why he is the bestest ever. i figured it was nice out today, and ron's car is with a friend for repairs, so i drove him to work and we took satch out for a drive. he is so good.

he got a little overwhelmed for a bit, but once things calmed down and i was able to put my hand near him, he was fine. he was in the back seat on the way there with the windows and stuff half open, and he sat up front with me and the air conditioning on the way home. i really think he just wanted to be close to me. i love him.

i stuck my hand on his door and he started popping, whistling, "speak"-ing and saying pretty boy. he even burped a few times and then growled at the people at the ice cream shop as we drove by. (by the way, birds don't really burp, but he learned to copy the sound from only the best- *points to self*- this guy.)

alright. well, i guess i am going to call it quits for today. i am not sure what i will have for wednesday, but who knows. i have tomorrow off. i am going to hang out for the rest of the day. have a good week, all. thanks for reading! ☺

Work at All The Things! Countdown to the Weekend

Have you ever had a time where you had so many things going on that you just want to give up and have a nap with all the blankets and pillows, make yourself into a human burrito, and forget about everything until it goes away?

Two days, and i can rest. 23 days, and i get a long week of rest.

By all means, i dont want to skip my friend's wedding, but working a large cake and cookies around two jobs, especially when one has become extra demanding and stressful, and trying to keep clean at home (with 5 birds and two cats, cant really afford to not vacuum or clean less than every other day), you have a recipe for exhaustion. I am so tired. Oh, throw some running into there too. I am on week 2 of my c2-5k plan. I go out about three times a week for a half hour. It alternates between jogging and walking to prep you for a 5k! Since i think im doing two this year, i might as well try to run a little.



Check out all of my flowers! I air brushed them on monday night. They are on top of my fridge drying until saturday. I have about 10 punds of frosting in my fridge, along with the cake. Seriously. I wish i saved the snapchat of it. I have this big red bowl, it is maybe 16" in diameter. I could not fit the frosting in my kitchenaid mixer, so i had to add the last couple cups of powdered sugar and mix by hand. If it makes any sense, i used 3 cups butter, 3 cups vegetable shortening, and about 22 cups of powdered sugar. Maybe 23 or 24, i might have lost track. Oh, and some milk. That is one massive amount of frosting.



Here is a half way point of my cookies, too. I spent about 5 hours on them on tuesday. Flood icing. It makes everything look pretty. It also takes some time. If you are going to attempt it, give yourself the day to work. I had to work a short shift to clean my store, but i am always working. Its an easy recipe, too:

Flood icing (for fancy sugar cookies)
1 cup powdered sugar
1+ tbsp milk
1 tbsp corn syrup
Drop of lemon juice
Any food coloring

If you can, sift your powdered sugar to remove lumps. Combine yout ingredients, starting with 1 tbsp milk, minus the food coloring. Whisk well, especially if you did not sift. If needed, add additional milk by the teaspoon. You want it to be somewhat thick first, so you can outline the cookies. Then to fill, add a little more milk by the teaspoon. You dont want super runny, because it will just make a mess. I use a tiny spoon to fill, sometimes a toothpick to spread it into the corners. Like i said, it just takes time. Once you get good, you can do all sorts of fancy decor with this icing.



So, my cookies are done. Flowers are good. Cake is about 60%. I am going to try to crumb coat it tonight, and then frost it tomorrow when i get to the reception place to drop it off. Saturday morning i will add the flowers, and saturday afternoon....wedding! Huzzah!

And then i get food. Lol. Actually, i might paint something together quick as a gift, too. Becausw pinterest has cool stuff, and i can make things myself for a fraction of the cost.



Dat peanut butter frosting doe.

And....its also super easy. Not super sweet, just fukl of fantastic peanut butter goodness. I can even give you that recipe!

Peanut Butter Frosting

1/2 c butter, softened
1c peanut butter
2c powdered sugar
1-2 tbsp milk

Blend peanut butter and butter together. Add powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add milk a little at a time until desired consistency is reached. Apply to cupcakes, cakes, or directly to your face.

I would eat a bowl of this if someone told me to and not even question anything. Hands down.

Alright, i am finishing up at work. I will have more pictures after the wedding. Enjoy the weekend, thanks for reading!

posted from Bloggeroid

Progress and Granola

what an exhausting week.

seriously. i am counting down the days in my head until vacation. 27 days today....by this time in 27 days i will be most likely relaxing either outside on the deck, or getting ready for bed in said beach house, so i can wake up early the next morning and either make muffins, run on the beach, or do something not involving work. 27 days. no work.

twenty. seven. dayysss.

in the mean time, i have to suck up everything i am dealing with. work is not happy. at least half of it is not happy. but granola!

i found these on pinterest, they are peanut butter granola bites. they were only a few ingredients, and super easy to make. you can make them into regular granola bars, but like the site they came from said, they are more fun and portable this way. and sprinkles. that's why. mine are definitely not as pretty as the ones on there, but they are tasty.

i was supposed to paint my flowers tonight. i had a long day, though, i worked alone for 9 hours, then went to grab my ingredients for frosting. i have kept on track for everything so far, and i did not realize i had tuesday off, so i have the whole day to ice cookies.

i went out for my second run on friday night after a double, too. it is kind of exciting. i am thinking maybe tomorrow as long as it's not raining, i will go again.

it is kind of exciting. i am not good at sports or things, but i don't mind doing this. i will be ready for insane inflatable this year. probably the color run, too. as long as my back doesn't hurt by then. that's another reason i can't wait. everything hurts. i want to sit and not move for a while.

27 days.

man, my birthday is somewhere in between there. i have to say goodbye to my twenties. it is making me feel extra old. i wonder if that's why everything hurts. my back and neck are like, "hey! you're not twenty-something anymore! deal with it!" and i'm like,  "NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE." nice big cup of NOPE.

by the way, i mean if anyone is feeling generous, i have a $5 coupon for build-a-bear, and i need toothless. maybe some itunes cards would be nice, too. i have been reading all of these different series on my phone, and i ran out of money to buy books.

**hint hint** ;p

i may or may not still be waiting to either come home to, or build a fort in my living room to camp out in for the weekend. because fuck everything, who says you need to be 5 to have a fort. they did it on big bang theory.

and with that, i am exhausted. i am going to sleep until work, then do more work, and more work after that. maybe sleep a little on tuesday, but still do more work all week until friday, when we head out to the wedding. i'll try to post more pictures wednesday, but i am working a double, so...yeah.

have a good week, all!

Preparing For a Wedding- Cookies!

so for the next week or so, i am on a crazy schedule around work. i have cookies and cake, and all the decorations to make for said cake. and yes, this is around both works. holy balls.

although, the first four days have been okay so far. i am hoping to keep to this "schedule" so i can give myself lots of time and deadlines, and not go crazy.

these cookies. just look at them. puffy little clouds of confectionary genius.  i can't take all of the credit though. the recipe comes from pinterest, via authentic suburban gourmet for "lofthouse style cookies." go ahead. i'll let you click that link and check it out. they are totally a copy of those lofthouse soft sugar cookies with an inch of frosting on them you can get from the grocery store. (tops has them around here.)

they are pretty close in terms of deliciousness and all that good stuff. they make a pretty good sugar cookie for general stuff, minus the thick layer of frosting. i am going to make a flood icing for these and make them all fancy. flowers and hearts. maybe they don't look much like it now, but by sunday night that is what is going to happen. the recipe itself is pretty easy, but the dough is sticky and you have to work with it fast while it is cold. it also makes a lot, but you can half it pretty easily. if you get the opportunity, make these. eat them. be happy.

keep it cold! otherwise you are going to have a mess. just saying. they are worth the effort, though.

i also have a pile of gumpaste flowers i rolled and cut on monday. they are going to border the top edge of the cake. they are drying for the week, and once ready, i am going to paint them blue and purple.

why the egg carton? well, if you let them dry in there, they keep the shape. instead of a flat flower, you have a little flower cup, or something similar to how an actual flower would be like. i was dumb though, and piled too many in each, so i had to take them apart. some still have the curl though. i think it will come out okay.

little tiny cookie cutters. the cookies are about 2" wide, and the cake flowers are a little over an inch. i also have smaller ones that are a half inch that i punched out, as well. i spent a couple hours doing that.

tomorrow is cake time. i want to get all the layers baked by the time i go to work. i have to work doubles friday and saturday, so it will be difficult to get anything done.

i actually went for a jog kind of thing on monday night. it went over better than i thought. i have an app to kind of guide me into it, or work up to being able to jog longer distances. it is kind of exciting. ron and i got some running clothes, so i'll get to try that out in the next day or so, instead of sweating all over my regular clothes. true story- i know what sweaty feels like. the struggle is real.

ah, and i think i have to end here today. work is calling. in abour 30 days, i will be heading out for north carolina for a week to get the f*ck away from everything. i feel like i am going to need it more than i already do. i am getting transferred to a new store with some bad news for me. i am not thrilled. someone is going to die, or i am going to punch someone until i am boss and do everything myself. im just going to think about the beach though. maybe running on the shore in the morning. that sounds nice.

have a good weekend, thanks for reading! ☺

Short Update, Lots to Do Ahead

Today is going to be one of those quick updates. My weekend wasnt exactly the most exciting. I mean, there were a few good moments, but otherwise i worked all weekend long, as usual. Yes, even on the fourth. I worked a 10 hour day because retail doesnt believe in holidays. Oh well. Thats what i get. #Newjobformybirthdayplease #ortoothlessfrombuildabear



We went for a couple walks, and after work on saturday we took a ride to highland forest park (which is way up in the hills) and watched fireworks from a bunch of places. We could see them from several towns, and people's back yards in the area. It was kind of cool, especially since the sound travels so slow. We wouldnt hear anything until after the fireworks were gone. That speed of light, bro.

We visited our tiny waterfall after it stopped raining one night. The little field was full of fireflies. I was starting to think they didnt exist where we are since there are so may people and homes around.



I didnt actually post them a few days ago, but i made some stuffed cabbage the day i made the truffles. All over the place, i know. When i get on one project, i end up doing everything. We also didnt eat them until saturday. Stupid work. Actually, im not sure why im blaming work. But im going to. I am so tired.

Anyway, i will try to keep posting the new project. I am doing a wedding cake for a friend in two weeks, and am startibgbearly since i have a lot to do.

Sorry for not having much this time. Thanks for checking, and stop back to see the cake progress! Have a good week!



Heres pretty girl sora checking out something on the floor. She kept bobbing her head. Im not sure what she was looking at, but it was funny and cute. I love my girl.

posted from Bloggeroid

Key Lime Truffles

so summer. yeah. it is totally key lime season. you know what that means?

neither do i. but i do have a super obsession with key lime pie. it is pretty much the best pie ever. do not fight me on this. it is refreshing, zesty, goes awesome on top of a graham cracker crust, nice and cool for the warm weather....

...if we had any warm weather. it's been raining for the last four days here. whatever. it is supposed to clear up by the weekend so i guess that is okay, except for the fact that i have to work all of it.

anyway, let's talk about these fancy key lime truffles. we have a creamy key lime filling. check. dark chocolate shell. double check. cool? yep. refreshing? mostly...it's no key lime pie, but they are pretty delicious. i have to keep them in the fridge because the filling doesn't seem to hold up quite as well as my usual truffle fillings, but whatever. summer needs cool. even if it's only like 60 degrees outside and raining.

here is the recipe link for the truffles. white chocolate (or white baking chips) take a little more effort to deal with, i have certainly ruined enough of it in my experiments. it just needs to be heated slowly and gently, otherwise it will curdle and make a huge mess.

like, it will get chunky, or grainy. it gets grainy especially when making mousse. but this is just ganache, so it is a little easier. for this recipe, you heat the cream first, add the lime zest, and allow it to infuse for a half hour or so, reheat it again to just before it boils (there will be little bubbles around the edges of the pan), and then pour it over the white chips/chocolate. the heat from the cream will warm it enough to melt it.

the site, sally's baking addiction, actually gives a nice long walkthrough on making the ganache, with pictures and everything. i should have purchased more white chips, as mine also started to get runny at room temp, but there's always next time. (i also didn't want to spend $3 on another bag just for a spoonful of chips out of it).

regardless. they are super yummy. that is all that matters.

i have the limes in my fridge, still. i didn't need much juice, mostly the zest. now i have to find something with lime juice i can make. i did find this chili lime chicken i was considering....

hmm. i can't believe it's july already. i feel like the year has gone by so fast. i have to start prepping for a wedding cake for the 18th. i know it is 2 1/2 weeks away, but i am going to be putting a lot of hours in since everyone is quitting at my store. we lost one guy, and another one is leaving in 2 weeks. my manager is working two stores. so there is me, and two other kids who are not able to close or open since they are so new. then throw the restaurant in there, and i have pretty much got my work cut out for me.

i am going to be making gum paste flowers, so i will be doing those soon. they will have plenty of time to dry before hand. they are also going to be painted, i am going to air brush them in blue and purple ombre. i have sugar cookies to make and frost, and a three tier cake. at least there is no fondant involved. but, it should come together fairly easy, it will just take some time.

 

in other news, aside from missing sunday because i was working, my poor aloe plant has been looking sad, so i read online to try and figure something out. it looked like there were a couple in the same pot, basically suffocating it, so i tried my hand at separating them today. i also gave my gollum a bigger pot, and i planted my pineapple. i hope i don't kill everything. so now i have four aloe plants instead of one. if they survive, i will totally share one with someone. they are blue elf aloe, and have a neat teal color to them.


yay for playing in dirt!

so that about sums up the last week or so. work work work work, and then today i had the morning off. i have to get my teeth fixed tomorrow, then doubles for the weekend. i even get to work on the holiday because my job doesn't care. boooooo.

anyway, i have to work now, so hope you have a good rest of the week, and maybe i will have something for sunday! thanks for reading!