The Blahs...

I've got 'em.*

And I hope to shake them soon.  Last night wasn't your typical "Eww, it's Sunday and I have to go to work tomorrow" night.  Instead, it was a sleepless night complete with the first melt down of the New Year.  (P.S. do you only capitalize New Year when you are referring to the actual holiday event and not the year as a whole?) I was feeling overwhelmed by my financial situation, social situations, finding a job for this summer/next school year which quickly spiraled into being unhappy with my current job, current fitness level and current living situation which always ends in the idea that I will die alone.  Don't judge me...at least I can admit I'm a hot mess.

But after some calming down from my work besties and repeated listenings of this song:

I'm feeling a bit more like a normal person.

But it's the little things, the little things not expectation
That make life worth living, worth living <---These lines get me every time.

I'm still a mess...but a more socially acceptable mess.  Here's hoping for a better tomorrow.

*I blame the full moon.

 

Fire! Fire! Fire!

You might be asking yourself...why is Amy's window wide open in the middle beginning of the winter? Well...

There was another toaster oven incident...and by incident I mean fire.  This time it was pretty bad.  Real flames...multiple flames...smoke billowing out like an angry Looney Toon character's ears...smoke detector going off...hence the open window.

Yikes!

What A Wonderful Day For...

A MELTDOWN!

As always, when I am blog absent for more than two days it is probably because I am having a real (or perceived) life crisis.  This week looked like this:

Monday: 4th of July parade with fabulous people.
Tuesday: Resume revamping.
Wednesday: Craftastic day with O.  Italy mini is getting done...ASAP.
Thursday: Stage 5 meltdown.  Sangria party (not for one).
Friday: Lunch with Awesomeface.  Project.

Because you are dying to know...the meltdown was due, in part, to the lovely trolls at Career Services.  This is what went down:

I restructured my resume and signed up for someone to review it.  Troll #1 must not have seen me sign up because while I sat waiting, she cleaned out her purse, put on lotion, reorganized her Band Aids...you know, really important stuff.  (Maybe she should have been reading the copy of How to Win Friends and Influence People sitting on her desk.)

The second lady (I hesitate to call her a troll because she turned out to be more apologetic) came back from her break and immediately Troll #1 goes over to her and proceeds to bitch about all the people seeking help at Career Services and I was all "I CAN HEAR YOU!"  After 15 minutes Troll #1 stomped away and I went up to the (hopefully) nicer lady and asked who was supposed to review resumes.  She asked if I signed up, to which I replied "Yes, 15 minutes ago" and she at least had the courtesy to look embarrassed for her co-workers outburst and apologized for the wait.

To make a boring story short less boring, she basically told me that my resume was adequate but if I ever want to work again I need to join Linked In.  Surprise, surprise...she teaches the networking class at Career Services.  As she kept singing the praises of Linked In (while confessing that she herself hadn't joined yet) I kept getting more and more frustrated.  I just wanted to leave but she wouldn't stop talking!

Eventually I made it home and promptly signed up for Linked In.  Guess what?  Teaching/Education...not even a category to choose...although Fishery and Paper/Forest Products were available choices.  My profile says that I am an Education Management Professional.  True story.

So then I gave up on Linked In and cried instead.  My inner hermit almost succeeded in getting me to exchange my evening plans for TV and Ben and Jerry's but I pulled it together enough to be social.  Let's not pretend that the fact that the social engagement involved sangria helped steer me in the right direction.

If you're still reading you get 300 awesome points.  Also, you get a head's up that the project I am working on about my summer travels is almost finished!  Look for it soon.

  

Cooking With Amy: The Most Delicious Cupcakes Ever Edition

Six on Sunday is hereby cancelled because I'm spending the day traveling to WEMA to play with paper.  Yesterday I saw Bad Teacher (funny) and made the most delicious cupcakes ever.  I pirated the recipe from How Sweet It Is back in May to make cupcakes for S's 29+1 birthday but had a mishap during the ingredient getting portion of the recipe.  But I regrouped and used my 1st Blog Birthday as an excuse to finally bake them.

__________________

Dear K,
Thank you for being my guinea pig and taking the first bite.  Don't be alarmed by my baking skills okay?
XOXO,
Amy

P.S. K said they were delicious.

__________________

It started innocently enough.  Doesn't it always?

I didn't have a whisk but I figured hey, a fork is almost the same thing.

I mixed in hot, melted butter followed by cold milk and heavy cream.  Well...the warm butter seized up forming a rice-soup/oatmeal looking mixture.  NBD.

I made a mess because the mixing bowl was a tad too small.  Oh and I forgot to make the fudge sauce.  I assumed it was just to decorate the cupcakes.  Oops!  Always read through the whole recipe before starting...lesson learned.



I contemplated stirring in some Hershey's syrup but instead I put the cupcake batter on hold while I whipped up some fudge sauce with my classy double boiler.

 

They look like cupcakes!  But I forgot to buy butter for the frosting so they cooled on the counter while I headed back to the store.

My peanut butter buttercream frosting looks delicious right?

It's pretty amazing what 2 tablespoons of milk will do to a lumpy dry mess.

It's robot arms were reaching out begging to be licked.

I punched a hole in the middle of each cupcake and filled it up with the frosting just in case the frosting on top wasn't enough for a sugar coma.

The cupcakes looked gorgeous but a bit naked.

So I gave them a shower of warm fudge sauce.

Verdict:  A lot more work than cupcakes from a box with frosting from a can but sooo yummy.  But...the cupcake (while moist and airy) is really just an edible plate for the peanut butter cream frosting. 

Seriously...the frosting is the most delicious thing I've ever tasted.  Ever.

Happy 1st Birthday Blog!  Happy Belated Birthday S!  Happy Weekend!

    

Today Was...

A "keep the shades down" kind of day.



It is f-ing HOT today in MA...like mid-July hot.  Lay in a lake all day hot.  Sleep with the fan pointing at your head hot.  Closing the shades is my attempt at keeping my apartment cooler than a sauna.  But give it half an hour or so and I'll be eating ice cream in front of the AC in my underwear. 

#File under:  I promise I'm not as trashy as that sounds.


  

Remember the Time I Invented an Acronym?

Because of the long weekend, today is Second Saturday instead of Sunday.  I'm heading to WEMA* for the day to get crafty with some besties so Six on Sunday is on hold for now.  Instead, I will leave you with the yummy-ness that happened in my kitchen.

Chicken (yes I eat chicken like 58 times a week) with a panko-parmesan crust and angel hair with tomato basil sauce (out of a jar...obv). 

I dredged the chicken in flour, bathed it in milk, then coated it with the panko mixture.  I'm not even going to pretend that I didn't make a huge mess...because I totally did.

* Rhymes with FEMA and according to Amy (me) WEMA stands for Western Massachusetts.