Putting an end to a ho hum week

Hey World,

So, I wasn't feeling to hot this week.  Nothing major happened I just wasn't sleeping well at all and was feeling pretty blue.  I recognized that I was being pretty pathetic; so with my first Stats test behind me I decided to ditch my night of homework for a night of relaxation.  It was oh so worth it!!!

Oh Carbs, beautiful carbs! This baked potato w/jalapeno bits and melted cheese definitely made for the perfect movie dinner.  College Cuisine may be simple, but that doesn't mean that it has to be bland! 

 What movie did that beautiful potato accompany?  The Royal Tenenbaums (which is one of my Dad's favorites).  I hadn't seen the movie before and it finally came up on my Netflix queue.  I honestly love Netflix and believe it is worth every single penny!  Who cares about that though, back to the movie.  If you enjoy dysfunctional families and great music then this is probably for you.  The characters are all extremely... quirky.  The acting was very well done and did I mention the music?  From Mark Mothersbaugh's original score to wonderful rock features such as Paul Simon's "Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard", Van Morrison's "Everyone", John Lennon's "Look at Me", The Rolling Stones' "She Smiled Sweetly" and "Ruby Tuesday", Bob Dylan's "Wigwam", and many others.  Let's just say that I was a little in love.

Where do the chocolate chip cookies come in to play?  what a silly question.  Chocolate chip cookies need no excuse! I wanted them so I made them and ate them!!! (Before you start thinking I am a greatly obese person I should mention that I went running first and restrained myself to two cookies that night. It was terribly difficult but I am trying to avoid sloth status here). 

So why do I advocate scrapping responsibility for a night of lazying around?  I finally slept people!! I don't know why I needed such a night but I did and sometimes it's just better to give in rather than fight such urges for the sake of productivity.  Now back to the textbook grind... 

Happy Birthday Kayla!!

Making Baking Memories

   Dear World
       I really do love baking.  I devour different baking websites and blogs drooling over all of the wonderful things I have yet to attempt to make.  The Holiday season gave me plenty of excuses to consume try my hand at making different treats.  It's been a bit of a dry spell in the baking realm of my life since then. Thankfully a birthday is the perfect excuse to bust out the pans and turn on the oven! Kayla (one of my three roommates) turned twenty today. I asked her earlier this week what she would like for her birthday treat.  She requested a cheesecake (because they are delicious) but I have already made a few of those this year and I was looking forward to trying out something new.  I asked if there was anything else she might like and she suggested vanilla cupcakes w/vanilla frosting; if that doesn't get the creative juices flowing I don't know what else would! haha I began wondering what I could do that would be new to me and still please the birthday girl.  Cheesecake cupcakes obviously!! Not a revolutionary idea, I know.  It was a new recipe for me though (which      is why I ended up with TONS of leftover graham cracker crumbs.... fruit crisp tomorrow? definite possibility).  I needed to let the cream cheese sit out a bit longer but they still ended up being pretty tasty. Kayla loved them and that's what matters to me!! 

                                           Not done Getting Crafty!!!! 
                        
    Over the weekend.....
I really wanted to make something for Kayla's birthday gift rather than buying her something she may not want.  I love making gifts for people when I can.  My mother has a craft room, that's right and ENTIRE room decorated to crafts.  I am not complaining!  I have a bunch of plain canvases in my room so I decided to try and put one to use.  Kayla loves orange, keith urban (and country music in general) and dolphins.  Step 1: I painted the canvas orange, starting strong! Step 2: I stared at an orange, almost blank slate.  I stared some more.  I stared some more, then I looked at pictures of Keith Urban, then I stared some more.  Finally I ended up with this creation....

I think she likes it! It's always a challenge to make a decoration for someone specific, at least it is for me. The flower element was something that I was really pleased with (I made it by folding individual strips of paper).  At the very list this fits perfectly in her orange room :)  Thanks Kayla for giving me excuses to flex my crafty muscles!! I hope you have an Amazing Birthday.
                                                                             -feeling celebratory
                                                                               Andrea