In Memory of Pretty Girl Sora

see this pretty girl here? she is pretty much the best ever. i know i say that about all my kids, but for serious. sora was one of the most docile, friendly little things you would ever meet. granted, she didn't like the act of being picked up, but she was fine once it was over with, and would just sit with you until she got hungry.

sora was 11 years old, and she passed away this monday afternoon.

my poor, poor girl. she had been sick for a little while, almost a week, but in the end, i hope she was at least happy, as i tried my best to aid her in her time.

sorry, but today is going to be a picture show. i haven't really done anything. i do have a cake to make this weekend, but things like this are more important to me. i left work early because i couldn't handle that. eleven years, dude. come on. i am serious when i say these guys are my kids. imagine raising someone for 11 years, only for it all to come to an end?

anyways, there is always a time for sadness (which leads to tiredness and laziness....or lack of motivation, anyway), but you can always carry on and remember the good times.

 

she wasn't one much for bath time, at least not in her water dish. that would be the top picture. i believe she was my second blog post ever, where i was on my way to work, and she decided it was bath time after i had changed her water (unlike cosmo, whom for some reason thinks when i turn on the vacuum, it's bath time). she liked the spray bottle, though. she and kairi would keep going until i ran out of water sometimes.

speaking of punk ass, he has been sitting near her house, occasionally whistling and kissing in that direction for the past day. my poor boy. they were only a couple months apart, him being older. i hand fed both of them when they came home. kairi didn't care for it so much, but sora was my fatty fat fat. she would eat all day long.

most birds who hang out will preen each other, but not these two. i think it was mostly kairi being lazy, but sora would put her head down for him to preen, and he would just copy her, which resulted in them sitting head to head for periods of time, just peeping occasionally, thinking one might comb the other's feathers.

ron always felt she was special, and loved her the most. she was his "girlfriend," i wonder if kairi ever felt any jealousy toward him? either way, since the beginning, she would sit with him for extended periods of time, chill in his puffy hair, and just be happy. ohh she was so good, so soft. she loved having her head and neck rubbed. even in the end, she would just wait, and put her head down for you to reach in.

my baby girl, sora. you are forever loved, and will be greatly missed, by me, by ron, and by the rest of the kids, especially punk ass. i hope you are in a good place enjoying all the millet, eggs, and sunflower seeds you could ever hope for. ♥♥♥♪♫♪♥♥♥

thanks for reading. cake probably next time.

The Last Couple Weeks

58 DAYS.

just gonna start out by saying that and get it out of the way. i mean, i started counting like 100 days ago or something. now, it is to the point where in the next couple weeks i will: A- feel like time is dragging me through a field of hot coals, glass shards, lemons, and salt extremely slow (aka: torturously slow), and B- feel like there is suddenly so much left to do with not enough time to finish it. aahh to have vacation now would be a treat, but i have other treats to share, and 58 more days to make more treats. and....do my best to prepare. ☺

let's start here, shall we? by the way, if you can't already tell, this is exactly what it looks like. bacon, chocolate chips.....and some kind of batter. this is no ordinary bacon, though, it is candied bacon (with brown sugar).

candied bacon chocolate chip cookies. yes, please!

if you like sweet and salty, these are super awesome. i mean, salted caramel is in a world all its own, but bacon and chocolate are like magic, whether you want to believe it or not. believe it OR ELSE. these cookies are made with a little more brown sugar and melted butter to give them a nice chewy, but crisp texture. get the recipe here, from tablespoon. i have a recipe from my culinary class that involves chocolate chip cookies and potato chips, which are equally as tasty. maybe i will make those another day.

the day i made these cookies (last tuesday? idk. it was a day off), i went on a cooking/baking spree and went crazy making all sorts of things. cue the slideshow.....

i haven't made this in a while, but with summer on the horizon, i figured it was time to bring it a little closer with some pasta salad. the only kind of salad i will eat cuz there are no real greens or things in it. i bought a couple bags of wacky mac (a veggie based macaroni) because the last time i bought some, rufio ate the fucking bag of dry pasta (stupid asshole is probably stealing everyone's shit in the afterlife, too). so one bag went to the pasta salad, (with pepperoni, sharp cheese, carrots, and bruschetta, with roasted red pepper dressing), and the other went to a southwestern goulash.

i got that from my healthy cooking taste of home book, i did not take a picture, but that came out pretty good, too. it had corn, green chiles, tomatoes, ground beef, onion.....more pasta. a little more tomato sauce next time would make it better, but i also didn't plan on using the whole bag of pasta (it only called for like half, and i thought, "well, this will be fine!!" and added extra other stuff, but with not enough of other things). experimental! yay!

my snapchat story was so full of food pictures for the day.

anyway, what was next?

ah, yes! blender salsa! i have posted the recipe for this in the past, but tomatoes and small quantities of vegetables are inexpensive, to make a blender of salsa, it cost me maybe 2.50, which is probably about 3 of those tostitos salsa jars full of salsa that are like $5 each or some crap. plus, this is way better, no preservatives or extra crap. look at me be healthy!! i didn't have any mason jars since i also made ron a bunch of salads that morning, too. mason jar salads to bring to work, because pinterest! and he also needs to get healthier, or something. he is doing a biggest loser challenge at work, although it seems noone is playing along anymore, but if they do, he is gonna win dat prize money. if anyone remembers. in the meantime, it's gym time and good food time.

we already talked about these, but here are some pictures of them, completed.also, that is an r2d2 bowl that i acquired from work (it was a set with c3p0 to match, because my co-workers are the best).

and THEN.....i had some leftover bacon, so i chopped that up and made maple bacon cheddar muffins! because bacon is good on/in pretty much anything, so shut up. muffins can be savory, too. so says my magnificent muffins recipe book. there are some pretty awesome recipes in there, too. basic, savory, rich and indulgent....because muffins. these are like eating a breakfast flavored muffin, meaning pancakes, bacon, cheese and syrup. just imagine that for a minute. take your time, just clean up your keyboard and monitor from the drool after.

 now to take the food away, (for those of you reading, if you tallied it up, i made goulash, pasta salad, mason jar salads, salsa, cookies and muffins all in a few hours in one day), since it has been nicer, we have been walking a whole bunch, too. green lakes won't be free for much longer, so it's best to take advantage of it while i can. we have been walking around town, too, since most times we don't have the chance to walk during the day. it is nice to get out and do things, and better than sitting around doing nothing (even if there is a time and place for that- sometimes you just need to chill).

i don't remember if i mentioned this in a previous post, but when i got my car inspected at the end of april, i ended up walking/jogging home from work (basically- right behind my work is where i went for my inspection). it is only 4 1/2 miles, so i figured it would be a good day to try it! i walked a mile, then started my app and made it home in just under an hour! later that day, ron heather and i walked green lakes, so for me, i had walked like 10 miles in the day.

which brings me to this- this was just last night! i have been running with this c25k app, and last night i went on my final (30 min) run, except i actually ran 35 minutes, and walked a few extra minutes at the end, but i think i exceeded the 5k (3 mi?) distance by a little! i am pretty proud of that, coming from someone who doesn't know how to sport. i even had some 9 minute-ish miles in there! ☺

in 58 days imma be doing that at the beach! if the car ride doesn't kill me first.

aside from that, i have just been stuck at work. work work work. who needs it?

actually, i would probably go crazy with nothing to do so i take that back.....to an extent.

my poor pretty girl has not been feeling well the last few days, either. she keeps laying eggs, and now has one that is stuck again. this happened about two years ago. i have her in a little fortress with a heat lamp and a vaporizer. i am hoping everything will be okay.

ohhh she is so good. i brought her in the bathroom for almost two days (before i bought the vaporizer) to keep her warm and stuff, the last time this happened the vet recommended the humidity to help her pass the egg, hence the shower. she has lost some weight, but seems to be eating and drinking, so it is all about keeping an eye on her at this point. i hope my poor girl gets better soon.

anyway,i guess in the meantime i will leave you with this  last bit of art i completed on thursday. this was added to the back of the cars shirt i painted last summer sometime, something just to fill the back of the shirt. i think it came out pretty good. when i started it, i was kind of nervous i wouldn't be able to get it to look right, but somehow i always find a way to turn things around. i wish i could have more time for stuff like this, and yet i also wish i could find things to draw or paint to be motivated to do such things. i can't just sit down and something will come to me and happen. meh, maybe another thing for vacation to inspire me.

SOON.

have a good weekend, all! thanks for reading! ☺

Macha (Green Tea) Blueberry Muffins

sorry, guys. i know i have been hardcore slacking lately. i mean, a little bit because of the nicer weather, but a little bit because of whatever else is going through my mind lately. i feel like i am hitting another low where i don't want to do anything about anything ever.

but, fear not! (i guess?) i do have some interesting treats for today, and probably more sometime soon. at least, that is the aim, anyway, like this week or some sort.

it's too bad it was a cloudy day when i took these pictures. they really did have a "green tea" color to them. (i did not use food coloring, btw.) i have been going through a phase of being obsessed with green tea lately, and for almost two months, i was looking up (on and off) places to buy matcha relatively inexpensive. of course, wegmans had some that was decently priced, and i figured it would be for experimental purposes only, so why not. (i am totally drinking jasmine pearl green tea as i am typing this. these lonely, sad, sunday mornings. sigh.)

anyway, i super loved these! ron wasn't a fan. i have to make them again, though, because i didn't feel like digging for regular salt, and in a stupid moment thought, "sea salt will work fine!" NOPE.

saltiness aside, i put some powdered sugar on top of them and it kind of made up for it. either way, they were super awesome! matcha does have a slightly different flavor than green tea itsself, i read that it is quite literally ground up leaves, so you can get ALL the antioxidants and benefits from the tea. fancy, right? *pinkies out*

i dunno. i found some other matcha recipes, like truffles, cookies and bread. i also have been looking at stuff with lavender. i know, all these weird ingredients, right? i am weird. i will admit to that. deal with it. but how many places around here would make stuff like this? you can't really walk into many bakeries and ask for green tea flavored things.

okay, now i'm just rambling. i forgot where i was going with that. that reminds me i have to look up some ingredients for some cupcakes for a wedding next year.....i have to get ready for work, too. i need a way to keep track of my thoughts.

i love blueberry muffins. i love green tea. these were a nice twist on both. i wonder if strawberries would be good in them as well? ☺

that is an experiment for another day, i guess. oh! random last thought here. with all the nice weather, i had to get my brakes done (finally) last week. my friend works right behind my work, and i didn't have a ride home. it is only 4 1/2 miles (exactly) from work to home, sooo i did another experiment and walked/ran home! i actually made it in 57 minutes! 25 of that was jogging. go me! was feeling somewhat accomplished. ☺

anyway, i will leave it at that for now. hoping to have something to come back with next week if i can force myself to get motivated. have a good week, all! thanks for reading! ♥

Cookies and Cupcakes Galore (and more!)

i know, i know, i lied about monday. i wasn't expecting to get sick, or to go on a cleaning spree (which didnt help much- dust is bad). but....today you get a picture show! wooo!!
as soon as they load to one drive, that is.  it has been a while since i've posted anything, huh? after the breakfast party, i had a nice 11 day stretch or work, including making a couple cakes, cupcakes and some cookies! it was a busy time! also, very tiring. i got it done, though! my reward? a four day weekend. kind of. i still worked friday (between the cakes, cookies, the restaurant, and picking up a replacement tire for ron because he got a flat), and had a four hour drive north on saturday, where i helped put together a little party and made tacos. sunday was more relaxed, we went out in the morning for a couple last minute things, and then watched a three year old beat a pinata with a bat. did i mention half of this was for heather? it was her birthday, and then her niece's birthday, hence the driving to almost canada. it was nice to be away for a bit, though.

okay! pictures seem to be loaded, so on to the pictures! yay!

first up: smash bros cookies! i made them for lanmob (a gaming place near rome) for a viewing party over the weekend! i did not get completed pictures of them all, (particularly disappointed in myself for that one since i liked the way luigi came out), but they were all piped buttercream on sugar cookies. we had pikachu, yoshi eggs, little mac's glove (from punch-out), luigi, and captain falcon. 

next, the purple galaxy cake! i of course, found it on pinterest, and instantly thought of my other significant other because purple, stars, glitter. it is a black velvet cake (red velvet cake, but using black in place of the red), with cream cheese frosting, and blackberries in the middle. you can't see them well, but they're in there. i always forget that i make a pretty awesome red velvet cake, and i really should make them more. (except that my home is full of crap already so i don't need to make cakes all the time.)

lastly, minnie mouse cupcakes! (and mini cake.) for heather's nieces birthday! i am not crazy for kids, but the faces she makes....ahh it was a good time. just chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, and a vanilla cake. they came out pretty cute though. 

the last couple of pics i will leave you with are just from going out and about. i mean, i was in the adirondacks, so there was nothing around. nothing but outdoors, anyway, which would have been nice if i wasn't freezing the whole time, but that was to be expected. im going to go warm up and get ready for the day, and hopefully not die at work. i feel gross and tired. lots of tea today for me! thanks for reading! ♥

Carrot Cake Bars and Blueberry Skillet Pancakes

that's kind of a mouthful. a mouthful of noms.*ba dum tssss*

ohh man. i need to get back on something. some kind of schedule. i don't know. i guess i've been feeling a little blah lately, not to mention i have a freezer full of girl scout cookies that make me feel like i shouldn't be making anything. i am not even kidding on the freezer full part. i do want to make things with them, though. i have been on a kick to make something chocolate and mint, lately.

did i do that today though? NOPE. i might call it the exact opposite- warm, spicy, cinnamony, with carrots?

oh, comes complete with a cream cheese icing. i had a couple extra carrots from when i made cheddar broccoli soup, so these seemed like a good idea for a quick snack of the sorts.

i got these from averie cooks. it is a pretty easy recipe, no mixer required! i added an extra egg to make them a little more cakey. they came out pretty tasty though! check it out! they are pretty spicy, with the addition of cloves, allspice, nutmeg and ginger on top of the cinnamon. the cream cheese drizzle makes them, though!

i  love the way cinnamon smells when it's baking, too. everything smells awesome.

sigh. the countdown continues, in the mean time, to north carolina. 116 days left. the weather is on the fence of being nice or inclement. i've been able to go out running twice in the last week. i will complete my 5k soon....before the winter i made it to week 7 of 8, running about 25 minutes. i will run on the beach this summer. but it can't get here soon enough!!

i've just been working, other than that. i get a day off, and i just want to sit around. or run, like today, but it's supposed to get cold next week. speaking of next week, though, this sunday is my breakfast party! i love breakfast. this is exciting for me. you can eat it any time of the day, it can be sweet or savory, hot or cold....and pancakes and waffles are pretty much the best things ever.

and then there are things like this. i made this a few mornings ago, because i was in the mood for pancakes and blueberries. what a better combination? also, an excuse to use one of my skillets.

ron argued with me that "blueberry cake is not the same as pancakes," but i beg to differ. this is just a deep dish pancake! not sweet at all, like regular cakes, full of blueberries, and delicious covered in syrup! cut into eight slices, it was breakfast for several days! at least for me, anyway. i still have a couple of pieces left. (recipe here- also from averie cooks!)

imma make this on the beach, too. hurry up, july!!

thanks for reading!

Peanut Butter Cupcakes for Peanut Butter Lovers Day

because if you don't like peanut butter, then go home and come back another day. i mean, i guess i didn't go completely overboard, but i got some peanut butter cupcakes to share today!

is there a better way to eat peanut butter (other than with a spoon straight out of the jar)? actually, pretty much any way is awesome. sandwiches, pancakes, toast, granola bars, apples.....shut up. but for seriously though.

we just filled our freezer with girl scout cookies so it seemed fitting to put a do-si-do on top of them. tagalongs are great, don't get me wrong, so is chocolate on chocolate, but i wanted the contrast, so these worked out great!

i got this recipe from sally's baking addiction. i seriously love the recipes here. opposite of my usual chocolate peanut butter cupcakes (ie: chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting), this dark chocolate frosting though. seriously for the win. a nice glass of milk is required for this, too. (i totally won't lie, i ate the last tablespoon or so of frosting straight from the piping bag. that doesn't happen often for me- because how much of this do i really eat?) it is what magic is made of, and i am pretty sure my new favorite chocolate frosting. i have been searching for some time for something super rich like that thick, fudgy frosting you find on the brownies at the grocery stores. this is close. i also love dark chocolate so double win (although i think the fudgy kind is more of a ganache, but i have more to experiment with later).

i may have overmixed my batter a little, as they were not quite fluffy, but they were still pretty peanut buttery! i also used a little coconut oil which was partially melted. i will have to try these again sometime! they are totally worth it, though. i think just a regular cake would be good, too!

i need more days off. i am sick of working.

see what i mean? they're really squishy, but not underdone. pure satisfaction for all of your chocolate peanut butter needs. happy peanut butter lovers day!

i also made cheddar broccoli soup today!

it's like opposites.....sugary sweets, and veggies and cheese. er, something like that. vegetables are healthy, sugar is, well, delicious in things, but probably not the best for you all the time or in large quantities. you know what i mean. this is also my favorite recipe for cheddar broccoli soup from peas and crayons. i have made it several times now (i posted it a while ago with a picture of nubs in front of all my ingredients, and threatened to put him in my soup), and it is always delicious.  it's an easy recipe, too! give it a shot, and we can all have "panera" cheddar broccoli soup together!

for now, i will leave you with the other assholes, since i have to work some more. all i do is work, even on my days off, i can't escape. looking forward to trying to make some more treats in the coming weeks! thanks for reading!

they are both laying on this stuffed snail. they're dumb.