More Adventures in Baking

It's been a while since I've been "moved" by a recipe that I just had to try.  I stumbled across a recipe for Royal Blue Velvet Cake.  It screamed at me to try it.  I mean, look at how beautiful it is!

From Google images

And who doesn't love Red Velvet cake?  So why wouldn't blue, which is the exact same thing with blue food coloring (and a touch of violet) instead of red, be fabulous too?  I had to try it.

Then I ran into a little issue with no cake pans.  We have eight million cooking implements - some that I don't even know how to use - but no cake pans?  How does that happen?

So I decided to make cupcakes instead.  I'm a problem solver, if nothing else.

They're more Cookie Monster colored than Royal Blue, but they're okay.

They even taste okay, but that's about it.  Just okay.

I was going to attempt the amazing marshmallow creme frosting, but since I didn't get started baking until time for The Walking Dead, guess what's not happening.  I'll buy a jar of pre-made frosting on my way into work tomorrow and my co-workers can frost their own damn cupcakes.

Well, they were worth a try, but I don't think I'll be attempting them again.  I'll stick with my rainbow cupcakes - they're prettier and taste better.

Perpetual Motion

It's about this time every year that I start feeling just completely overwhelmed.  That's not such a good thing so early in the year, is it?  Since this happens every year, I know I'll get through it, but until I get a handle on everything that needs to be done, I just feel like a hamster on a wheel - running, running, never getting any where.

Yesterday was my "official" start of the spring 9HealthFair season.  For the next five Saturdays, I'll be teaching phlebotomy to nursing students.  We have 75 new nursing students taking the class and another 30 or so coming to the refreshers.  I do this every year and have an amazing team to help me with the classes.  In twelve hours of class time split up over a two day period, the students go from "theoretically" knowing how to draw blood to completing 25 sticks.  It is not physically difficult for me to teach, I can do it in my sleep at this point, but it is absolutely, 100% emotionally draining.  Thank God I have my Amanda and Jessica and Jennifer to help me out - I couldn't do it without them.

Yesterday's class of 25 students went suspiciously well, and that bothers me.  We only had one crier, but no fainters, or egotists, or just plain lousy sticks.  Why should it bother me that it went so well?  It means that the "crazy" class is still out there.  Crazy can come in many forms, but we always have one class with at least one crazy.  Since we didn't get the crazy class out of the way yesterday, that means that it can happen in any of the next five weeks.  Pray for me.

In addition to 9HealthFair season starting on Saturday, my classes ended Thursday, which means I have to complete all of my grading by noon tomorrow.  Everything is done except for reading their papers.  Forty-six of them.  Can you tell I'm stalling?  What has happened to the ability to research, comprehend, and integrate information into a cohesive paper?  It's a lost art, I tell you.  Absolutely lost and I'm not sure we can get it back.

AND...my new classes start tomorrow.  Three completely different classes that need to be set up in the LMS (learning management system); three syllabi that need to be updated/revised; three sets of lectures/labs that need to be polished.  By 8:30 tomorrow morning when class starts.

So, to recap:

• Five more weeks of phlebotomy classes for nursing students (completely separate from my regular classes)
• Forty-six papers to read/grade
• Final grades must be calculated once said papers are graded
• Three different classes need to be set up and ready to go in about thirteen hours
• The Walking Dead starts in eleven minutes

Who needs to sleep?  I took a nap today anyway.  Because when the going gets overwhelming, the overwhelmee takes a nap.

Snow, snow, snow

I'm over it.

Even tonight's very beautiful, very light and fluffy snow that looks like God is sprinkling glitter over the earth.

I shouldn't whine, but I'm going to.  One of the very bestest things about Colorado is that the snow comes and then the sun shows up and melts the snow and we have a few good days of really pretty weather.  Only, this go 'round, the sun forgot to come out and play. 

And the damn snow keeps falling.

And falling.

And falling.

We haven't even hit our snowiest months yet, either.  Guess drought isn't going to be much of a problem for us this summer.  But run-off is going to be a bitch, which is exactly what we don't need after the flood damage.

Please come back to play, Sun.

Please.

Vegas, Baby!

We spent the week in Vegas for SHOT Show (Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade show), so we were out there for "work".  If you call writing a blog "work" ;)

However, it wasn't all nose to the grindstone.  Once we finished up with the show, we had some free time before we came home, so we played a little bit.  Friday morning, we headed out to the Shark Reef to hang out with some cool critters.

There was a school group there, so you might want to turn the volume for the videos OFF unless you want to listen to a bunch of noisy kids.

Jay got to pet the stingray

Jay has decided that since no humans live under the water that that's where the aliens live, which prompted him to wonder if jellyfish are just alien sperm.  Yep, that's the way my hubby's mind works.  I'm a lucky girl, no?

Friday night, we all went to see Zumanity.  I was pleasantly surprised at the price.  When I looked up ticket prices online, the cheapest I could find was $165/ticket, yet when we went to the ticket counter, we found that we could get tickets for $74 each, so we snatched up the tickets.

Oh my word, Zumanity was so much fun!  I knew it was for adults, but I didn't expect the humor aspect.  I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. 

Saturday was our day to leave, but our flight wasn't until the evening, so we wasted time by driving around not-the-Strip Vegas.  The first stop was Gold and Silver Pawn shop, better known for their TV show Pawn Stars.  Although calling it a "stop" would be a lie.  We saw the lines to get in and opted for a drive-by instead.

5,000 people a day visit.  I bet not all 5,000 are there to pawn stuff.

Our next stop was Count's Kustoms, of Counting Cars fame. They are kind of tucked back off the main drag and a little more difficult to find, so there wasn't a line.  I'm a big fan of the show and am forever amazed at what Danny's crew can do.

After leaving Count's Kustoms, we were just driving around when suddenly both Jay and Mez spotted the most fun store of all ... The Zombie Apocalypse Store.  We had to stop.  What a fun store!  I could have bought everything in it.  Their stock was a combination of fun and useful.  Lots of just campy fun zombie-themed t-shirts and stickers along with ammo, freeze dried food, and non-firearm weapons.

By this time, our stomachs were starting to tell us it was time to find food, so off to In and Out Burger.  The boys really like it, but I'm kind of ho-hum about it.  I like their philosophy, but am not in love with their food.  Since it will be at least a year before they get to eat it again, I didn't raise any objections.  See what a good wife I am?

Even with all of the time we managed to waste during the day, we still got to the airport with plenty of time for me to sit down and read my new book almost cover-to-cover.

Read. this. book.

I'm not kidding.  If you read nothing else this year, you must read this book.  It's a real-life, love conquers all kind of book.  I spent the last few pages in tears, but not the bad kind.  You must read this book.

One More Blog

For anyone who is interested, I've started yet another blog.  SMH, I don't know why, it just seemed like the right thing to do.  As Funder says, "It seemed like a good idea at the time".

The new one is located on my author's page on Goodreads and will be primarily directed toward my books.  When I started this blog almost six years ago, it was not for shameless self-promotion, it was to write about "things" in my life.  Now, with the books, I don't want this blog to turn into, "Oh God, she's talking about her books again", thus the new blog.  Today's post (cross posted at Tales from the Trail) is about how you never know who you're going to meet in a day (which has actually given me a great idea for a post here, but I don't have time to write it today).

So, if you're interested in seeing what goes on in my very little writer's brain, click on over and check it out.

soulmates

I'm very blessed in the friend department.  This blanket-turned-tapestry was a gift and I loved it so much I couldn't bear to use it as a blanket, so it's helping to insulate the brick wall.  With the cold weather moving in, I'm sure it will be helpful, as this is the largest exposed brick wall in the apartment.

I just have to say, my next horse has some big shoes to fill.

I Have a New Favorite T.V. Show

I'm not replacing The Walking Dead as my all-time favorite show, let's not get crazy.

I'm going to go ahead and blame Mom and Bill for this new T.V. show even though I bet they've never seen it.  I was in high school when they got married and that was the beginning of their mental decline. They moved us into an old farmhouse rich with history built in 1879.  The kitchen floor was completely rotten through, when you walked on it, you could feel it squish beneath your feet.  That was the first time I questioned their sanity, though we know is is far from the last time.

But I *loved* that house.  Loved it.  It was the beginning of my love affair with old houses.  I love the history, and the "quirks" that each old house has. When they bought the Lodge, they bought a "new" house, as the lodge was built in 1933 and we all know how beautiful the Lodge is.

I never had the opportunity to buy an old house, but I want one so bad I can almost taste it.  Currently, Jay and I live in an apartment in what used to be an old hotel, built in 1903.  I love our exposed brick and heat from big radiators in each room.  Yes, it can get cold.  When we had our really cold snap in November, we had a hard time getting the apartment over 64*F, but we just put on more layers and grumbled a little bit.

Love of old houses rubbed off on Nebalee, too.  Her house was built in 1890 and is small, but full of character.

I had to tell you all of that so I could tell you that my new favorite T.V. show is Rehab Addict with Nicole Curtis.  She takes old homes and uses reclaimed materials to bring them back to their former glory.

When we win the PowerBall, we're sooooo buying an old, run-down home and re-doing it.