Time to be a Warrior

It's time! It's time for the Warrior Dash. After so much training and preparation (haha, yeah right) I'm ready for tomorrow. The hellish 3.4 miles, terrible obstacles and the fear of dying, it's time. 

Wish me luck!

p.s. This is my shirt for the race... We all voted on names for each other. I got Sassy Pants. Shocking? Not really. 

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Things To Do Besides Writing Papers

Clark Christmas 2011

By May 15, 2012, I will have written three papers that will be: 25 pages, 15 pages, 20 pages; Finished two case study assignments; and finished a final. So you would think that I would be less worried about playing on iPhone apps, and more concerned with all of this writing I have to do. You would think that, right?

Well, no. The free app, 'Pic Stitch' lets you put all your pictures in your phone together for collage. 

This happens to be a lot more fun than writing papers. 

Please enjoy all of my collages. 

Out and about - lots of these pics are old...

Oh, Wythe.

A little old school for you.

My sweet friend, Tiffy

My newest distraction... who needs to write papers anyway?

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How Not To Get Into A Fight With A Smurf

I'm just kidding. I didn't really get into a fight with a Smurf. But, I did turn my finger blue. So blue, that it looks like I've been fighting Smurfs.

How does one turn their finger blue? Well, they do get into a fight with toilet bowl cleaner. Obviously this isn't the classiest post I've ever written, but it's an honest one. The truth is that I really like when the toilet water is blue. Why? I like the color blue. It means it's clean. And, it makes me feel like a good person. Today I had to go to Target for some headache/sinus medicine. As I'm walking around, a little bit spaced out, I end up in the cleaning isle. (probably a lucky move on my part.) There they were, 2000 Flushes toilet bowl duo cleaners on sale for $1.77. Sounded like a good deal to me so into the cart it went along with eyeliner and dishwasher detergent.

After arriving home and taking my allergy medicine, I decided to unwrap the 2000 Flushes and make the water blue. After reading the instructions, and removing the toilet bowl lid, I realized that there was already a cleaner in place that hung from the side. It just wasn't working anymore. thinking that it was empty, I used my hand to remove
It when it played a trick on me and decided to spill blue all over the wall, floor an my hand.

The wall and floor seamed to take it better than my now blue hand. On the bright side, my toilet water is blue once again.

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Should You Call Me Crazy Pants?

Back in March I ran a 10K race that was part of the Little Rock Marathon Race. I think I got hooked. The excitement, the adrenaline, the people, the feeling of achievement, it's addicting. So what's a rational person that took two days to recover from a 10K race to do? Sign-up for another race of course. 


Except the next race is different. It's a Mud Run part of the Warrior Dash running series. The Warrior Dash mud run is described as a mud-crawling, fire-leaping, extreme 5k run from hell. Who doesn't want to be apart of that? 


The best part (besides the mud, fire, and hellish 5k run) is the fact that you not only get a medal but you also get a Warrior helmet. Will I wear the helmet? No, no I won't. This fancy-pants girl doesn't look good in stuff like that, however, it will be awesome to say that I have a fuzzy helmet hat. 


 The mud run is May 12. That's about five weeks... stay tuned.

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The Only Thing I Know Right Now...

Is how to write papers and study.

Grad school is worth it, right?

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The Story About the Strawberry Muffins

It was the summer of 2010 when I first found my love of baking. After quitting a job that I didn't ethically believe in, I began to spend my time baking and cooking. (I also spent a lot of time at the lake, with family, with friends, and taking naps.)

During that summer I realized that baking had some kind of an affect on people. It could bring them together, put a smile on their face, and sometimes brought some joy to their day.

Yes, I realize that's a lot of responsibility to a baked good, but to me it's the truth. Bring sweets and watch the people join together.



That was the idea for Valentine's Day 2012. I had everything planned out and bought. (Except for the vanilla extract, that was a 9 p.m. Kroger run.)

The recipe was found, the ingredients were bought and my time was clear to bake Martha Stewarts Strawberry Muffins with a Strawberry Buttercream icing. That was the plan. But I've said it before and I'll say it again, you make a plan and God will laugh. He must be ROLLING at some of the things I plan in life and he changes.

After running back to the grocery store to buy some vanilla extract, I began making the cupcakes. Everything was going great ... so far. Cupcakes in the oven, next time for the icing. This is when everything completely goes array. I'm pretty sure I followed Martha's directions, but let's get real. I was probably distracted by something. Anyways, while trying to make the strawberry buttercream icing I'm pretty sure I made strawberry cottage cheese. (Still makes me shiver)

The good news? The good news is that if you just don't use icing and change the word from cupcake to muffin, no one knows the difference. So boom, for Valentine's day I made strawberry muffins for everyone I work with because there are no better people I'd rather show my deepest appreciation to for putting up with me for 40-hours a week.

Martha Stewart's Strawberry 'Muffins'
(This is also for cupcakes...)

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cake flour, (not self-rising)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 large egg white
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups finely chopped strawberries, plus small strawberries for garnish

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition.
• Reduce speed to low. Mix any remaining wet ingredients in a bowl if needed. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with wet ingredients and ending with dry. Scrape sides of bowl. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full.
• Bake cupcakes until testers inserted into centers come out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks. Cupcakes will keep, covered, for up to 3 days, unless otherwise noted.

If you want to make the cupcakes then you're going to need the icing - link here. 

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How Dating is Like Cooking

This seem to best show love and cooking. I think.

As a 20-something, single lady I pride myself on two things: one - I know how to cook; two - I know how to date. For clarification, I'm not saying that I'm that good at either, just that I generally know how to do both. 

It was about the same time when I started dating that I started caring about cooking. I've been doing them for both about 10 years now. Group dates, blind dates, homemade soup and chicken spaghetti, they are similar. How are they similar? Well...let's break down the similarities here.

You Don't Know What You Like Until You Try
You never really know what you like until you give things a shot. Example: cornbread. I use to look at cornbread like it was a punishment. Growing up my parents would always have a skillet of cornbread that I would avoid like the plague. One day (when I was starving) I gave it a shot and liked it. Now I like to make it.

The same thing with dating. I've like the bad guy, the nice guy, the funny guy, the smart guy, the hot guy with no brain, and the guy in uniform. Generally, I believe men in general are a great thing, but by dating them all, I know what combination works for me.

Trial and Error 
Every now and then you get a recipe that takes some tweaking before you can get it right. It's like baking. Add too much baking soda or vinegar and you will be starting over before the cupcakes are even out of the oven. Once you get it right ... you'll know.

That thought can also be applied to dating someone.  Sometimes you have to go on a couple of dates with someone to get the right chemistry going. Sometimes you have to know when to stop and find a new recipe (guy) to try. Again, once you get it right ... you'll know.

Anything Worth Anything Takes Time
Good, old fashioned homemade cooking takes time. If you're making homemade flour dumplings, or rolling out a homemade pie crust, it takes attention and time. It's not always easy, but it's worth it.

If you want something to last, you usually don't jump into a relationship with someone you don't know.  You've got to get to know someone, see if it works for you. And if it does, that always makes it worth it, too.

Shop for Quality, Not Quantity
There are some ingredients that you cannot skip on the quality of. Flour, butter, and canned tomatoes are things that I always pay the little extra for the better product. It can make all the difference in the world.

Same thing with men. If you know you're dating a bad guy, then it's like buying generic. It won't work. I doesn't give you the result you wanted and you end up throwing it out and having to go buy new.


So that's my breakdown. Sometimes you're going to like a recipe and sometimes you're going to break-up a guy because it's not the right chemistry. That's life my friends, that's life.

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The Happiest Time of the Day

Happy Hour!

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