Last night I cooked dinner for my sister and her new boyfriend. They were over an hour late getting here and I was soooo hungry when they did get here. But we had fun and everything turned out pretty good. The chicken was a bit too salty, I don’t get the whole a dash of salt. I mean my dash of salt is apparently bigger than the recipes writers dash. But when all said and done it was still tasty. My sister brought her camera so I can borrow it for a few days. So I have halfway decent pictures this time. XD

There’s some cornbread muffins, BBQ baked Chicken, Peas, Corn…

And Garlic Mashed Potatoes

 

Up close shot of the chicken…doesn’t that look good. (It smelled good too.)

 

After dinner we watched a movie and then we went out to a few stores. I finally went to Fresh Market and found that they had Caster Sugar. It cost $5.19, but since it’s from a specialty company, I doubt that it will go on sale. So I picked up a small 1 pound bag. There’s a book of cupcake recipes that I have that calls for this special sugar and I had no idea what it was, I’ve been looking for it since August. Now I only need a few more ingredients and I can start making the ones out of that book. I’ve been doing recipes offline. There’s one I can’t wait to try…Strawberry Surprise (yes I like strawberries =P). It calls for Strawberry Liqueur…now that would be a great class party. Librarians drunk off cupcakes XD

 

In other news I took the charger back to the store and turns out that they all are made the wrong way. We then stopped at a Target that’s out that way. They had a charger out there for $30, it looked like it would work. I didn’t get it, I’m going to wait until the money from the first store is credit back. But the more I think about it the more I have a problem. If I got the charger, the battery might be charged (that is if it’s not just a dead battery…I still don’t know if that’s the case.) but how will I get the pictures onto my computer. Macs don’t have built in memory card readers, that mean’s that I will still have to either buy the cable or buy a memory reader. I could try buying the cable and hope that it will charge the battery as well, but that means ordering it online. I don’t like buying things online I’ve had bad experiences so far. The other problem would be that I don’t have the software for the camera. If I had a PC I don’t think it would be a big deal but having a MAC…well it’s just better to have the software already.

I’ve come up with three options.

Option 1:

Buy a brand new camera that is the same (or close to) model as the one I have. Make sure that it has the same cable OR has a charger,that works on both,  so I can charge both cameras. I’ll then have two cameras, I can switch the memory cards to load the pics onto my new camera, if the computer doesn’t recognize the old camera.

Option 2:

Buy a camera that has the same battery as the old camera. Again I’ll have two cameras but I can just switch batteries and memory cards.

Option 3:

Buy the pieces I need for the old camera.

Right off the back it would seem like Option 3 is the best, a no brainer. But there’s more to it then just buying the pieces. I would be hoping that I can find the right ones, already know I would have to buy the cable online. THat will take hopefully, two weeks. And what if the cable only let’s you take the pictures off. I might still have to buy a charger. I hope the one at the Target will work but I’m not 100% sure that it will. And I still have the problem of not having the software. Like I said if it was a PC I might be okay. But Macs can be funny about that sort of things. This option could be the cheaper but it could still run me upwards to $70 plus it could take me a while to get all the pieces.

Options 1 and 2 could be rather expensive unless I got one on a good sale. I’ll try on Black Friday. I want one before December which is why I’m not really wanting to wait on piecing it all together.

Right now it’s not which one I can justify because I take tons of pictures with digital camera. And my walls are bare because I haven’t been able to take any lately and I don’t have the original files of my old pictures. The question is which one wold be the smarter/saner option for me. I ran it through my friend and that’s how I came up with the three options. I’ll run it by my sister and see what she says. Anyone else is welcome to give me their advice.

Yeah I know it’s still a week before Thanksgiving but everyone seems to have skipped that holiday I figured why not. I also don’t believe in Santa. Although one year when I was little and we were living with my aunt and uncle because my parents had separated that year. I woke up and some someone dressed in a santa suit sneak out of the apartment. I know now that it was my uncle but hey for a while there I believed.

I’ve never really been the one who had a long list of what I want for Christmas. I’ve always been happy with cash. Honestly I rather have cash than a present to open under the tree. Why? Because I’m kind of hard to shop for…my attention span doesn’t lend it self to anything for long periods of time. If I have cash I can hold on to it until I find something I really want. Like the year before last I saved and saved until I got my Nintendo DS. For Christmas that year I asked for money to buy games for it.

This year I want a stand mixer. When I first moved in I had planned on getting one when I had the extra money, but I talked myself out of it. I thought I wouldn’t do as much baking as I’ve been doing so I just got a hand mixer. It’s been doing well but it’s just as physically taxing doing that as it is hand mixing. Plus some recipes call for a stand mixer, and to make good icing, i.e. buttercream, it’s calls for 10 mins of just plain mixing…no way I’m gonna stand there holding up a mixer for that long. Target has a Kitchen Aid one for $199. I’m hoping that this Black Friday there will be some really good sales on them. And I can pick one up for cheap. We’ll see…if not that I’ve asked my mom, sister, and brother to go in on one. And if need be I’m really to go in on it too. Mainly cause I want a Kitchenaid one, they go up into the $200 bracket.

We’ll see, I’ve still got another major purchase I need to think about…but that’s for the next post.

Yeah I don’t feel so good.

I’ve been sucking down OJ and cough meds all day but I just got finished cleaning. I took out trash, which is up a hill and some stairs and when I got back I collapsed on to the couch. My chest is killing me right now. I think I’m congested or something. I don’t know. I already told Jen I wasn’t happy with Nathan and that at this point in time I’m not wanting to be around him. That might have made her feel bad but I just can’t handle his immaturity. I’m her friend not his, I befriended her. When I want to hang out with her I want to hang out with her. Not him, when I’m having a conversation with her I don’t need nor want him butting in, interrupting us to whine about something or to ask what we are talking about. If he feels left out well no one invited him. I’m still hoping that this is all in my head and I wont get sick.

In other news…I just got a bill from my apartment people for December’s rent…the problem is I paid November, December and January’s rent at the end of October. I wrote separate checks and put the month on each one. I have printed out copies where they cashed them so someone needs to be telling me something. I called up there just now but she was looking up someone else’s account, sounded like someone else was having a similar problem.

I’m going to go fix some dinner and then i’m heading to bed. stupid boy ><

So after my meeting with my partner today I went to Harris Teeter with my friend and her husband. Well we were there and he coughed all in my face and then didn’t even say I’m sorry. I was just completely pissed that he just walked away after hacking a lung in my face. She was upset about it to. But I’m like how many times do you have to give me reason to not like you? In this time of the swine flu who isn’t being more aware of how and when they cough. Now you were supposedly just sick near death and you just coughed in my face…didn’t even try not to do that…looked me right in the face and blaaaaaah…AND THEN YOU WALK AWAY!

Now I’m sitting and literally have consumed 1 qt bottle of juice because my throat is all scratchy and dry and now matter how much I drink it doesn’t feel better. I’m snuffling and warm to the touch. I promise you if I get sick I’m so going to blast him out. I’m at the point I’m not caring about hurting her feelings…you just don’t do that kind of stuff. Not when you are nearly 40. Grow the *bleeping* up.

I also want to make note that you can’t tell he’s supposedly sick until she’s around then he puts on that stupid kicked puppy act. It’s sickening… really sickening.

I seriously hope I’m not getting sick…I hate being sick..wait til Dec. 9th after the semester ends. I hope it’s just a mental thing and tomorrow I’ll wake and be fine. If not then…it’s best I not leave a confession on here.

Good thing I got some cold medicine just in case. I’m going to go take some of that and make a cup of sleepytime tea and go to bed.

Pray for me you guys…pray that I don’t get sick and that I don’t go to jail for murder.

After throwing some Chicken Frank corndogs into the oven I was kind of depressed because of the lacked of baked chicken happening last night. So I was talking to S.B. and he suggested I baked something. I had finished off the cake a couple of days ago (with help from my friend she likes big slices) so I opted to do some cupcakes this time. I sat there for a while looking at recipes and then I opted for some chocolate cake but I didn’t want chocolate on chocolate. I knew it would be to rich for me. I use to be a hardcore choco-holic but lately as I’ve grown older I’ve noticed I’ve been pulling away from chocolate. It’s sad really. So I came up with these little beauties…Devil Food Cake with Strawberry and Creme icing. Here’s pics XD

The batter was really thick…like it just wanted to stay together and then it didn’t want to stay in the bowl so when I was trying to pour it into the little cups it all wanted to go in as one giant lump.

Straight out of the oven.

After frosting…some I did with the back of a spoon and the others I did with the decorator tip.

Close up of my favorite one and the one I ate first XD

 

The combination of the strawberries and chocolate is always good…these are no exception. They were so yummy. And for a thick batter I thought they would be rather heavy little cakes but they aren’t, they’re very light and fluffy and melt in your mouth. Best part they aren’t overly sweet they’re like the right amount of sweetness. I wonder if it would be the same if I made it as a cake.

I’ve got to find a good combination because in LIS 600 we’re having a party at the end of the semester and I might have to bring in some cupcakes. I have to find the right ones.

 

So I call myself making some baked barbecue chicken tonight…I took the chicken out of the freezer this morning and everything. And I go in there tonight after my meeting with my LIS 600 partner and the chicken legs are still frozen. Booo!

Now I have to go find something else to cook. Tomorrow I’ve got to try that chicken pot pie with the rest of the rotisserie chicken I got. I hope it’s not bad now. The Internet says it should last 3-4 days (well Yahoo answers says up to 5 days.) Tomorrow will be the forth day…we’ll see.

So yesterday I went to go get a charger for my camera. I had looked it up and even gotten it from the company’s website. I to the store and come home only to find out the charger was defected or something. The + and – are in the wrong place so the little tongs that are suppose to match up to the battery are in the wrong place, they’re backwards. It cost me $50…now I’ve got to take it back for a refund. And figure out what to do now. *sigh*

This afternoon I went grocery shopping with my friend. I grabbed two papers for the coupons. There were three sets in there this week and one was rather thick. However I didn’t get a chance to actually make a list or go through my coupons before heading to the store. But I wasn’t planning on getting a lot of stocking up things because of it just being triples I didn’t see the point. We only went to one store this week, Harris Teeter.  This was the first shopping trip that I included meat products and no frozen pre-made meals. As such I spent quite a bit of money…mainly cause it was Harris Teeter I’m sure if I was able to go Lowe’s it wouldn’t have been that bad.

I did take pics of the stuff I got but since I was taking it with my laptop they kind of turned out blurry. So please have patience with me…

Okay that’s all the things I got today.

The meat products that I got were: two packages of Johnsonville beef hot links (there on the right hand side). I love those things, they were 2 for $6. I got some organic chicken legs and the little chicken wings. I plan on making some hickory BBQ chicken with the legs and hot wings with the wings. I also got a small rotisserie chicken from Harris Teeter it was only $4.99 and it will last for a couple of meals. I fixed some mashed potatoes, baked beans and some biscuits for my lunch (it wasn’t till after 3 that we got back from the store) tonight to go with that chicken. It was soooooooo good.

The rest of the things I got were some pasta, pasta sauce, 12pk of Hawaiian Punch, hotdog buns, shredded cheese, cold medicine (just incase), marinating sauces, pie shells, and laundry detergent. In total I spent a whopping $51, I saved only $20. Which is good, any money saved is always good. And like I said no frozen convenience meals were purchased. I know I probably shouldn’t have gotten those Hawaiian punches but I need a convenient drink to carry to class and I’m so not doing soda or water…so whaddya gonna do?

So this is the cake I made. It’s a two layer butter cake with strawberry icing. The cake itself is made from scratch the icing is Pilsburry Strawberry, which apparently Walmart is the only one who carries the strawberry flavor. I’ve seen the stores carry Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines but both of theirs are two sweet for me.

First shot: I forgot to start taking pictures until halfway through icing the first layer. Anyway see the purple plate…I love that purple plate I only got two when I first moved in and now I’m wishing I had gotten more. I love that plate. I’ve got matching bowls too. Anyway first layer…

Second layer going on…see that lip? I have no idea how happen…it’s never happened before. Afterwards I realize I should have cut the lip off to make it easier to ice. Note: Excuse the messy counter.

The cake is fully iced now…doesn’t it look yummy?

I broke out the decoration tips and made a happy face with the extra frosting.

Top side shot.

Side shot!

I’m now going to go get a slice of said cake cause all these pics are making me hungry. Its a very delicious cake. I’ve made it once before but I had cream cheese icing. So far I’ve made a strawberry cake with strawberry icing, vanilla icing and cream cheese icing (respectively). I’ve made vanilla cake with strawberry and cream cheese icing. And a boat load of cookies. Next is pie! I like pie!

I finally have a reliable internet source. Woot on that! I was afraid that it would be ClearW’re all over again. I must say ClearW’re was easier to set up. But it sucked on connecting to more than one computer and the connection was super slow when it did connect and you had to angle it just right for it to be picked up all that.

So I knew I wasn’t going to go back with them, plus they are pretty expensive when you start going up in connection speed. Instead I went with AT&T, I knew Jen had them so I was like I’ll try them. Considering what I was looking for they were the less expensive. $37.95 a month. This was for their basic speed without a phone line. Timewarner would have been $50 after the first 3 months. With bundling other services, I didn’t want a landline. I don’t talk on the phone enough to warrant a landline on top of a cell phone. And cable is provided with my rent.

So my first receipt as I told you guys were that it was suppose to be activated on the 11/13. Which was very confusing since I was during self activation and set up. Anyway I stayed home Friday waiting for a package/person to come and set it up. But nothing happened. On top of that I had homework I needed and I wasn’t being able to connect to anything after I posted on here. Well I wake up today intent on cleaning the whole place. But first I wanted to mail one of the Netflix movies. So around 11:45 I went out and noticed I just missed the mailman which meant he wouldn’t be picking up my movie. I was rather sad, went back to my door and there was a note saying that he had tried to deliver my package but no one was home. Um…dude you didn’t even knock…how rude.

So I shuffled up to the office where he had left the package…which is weird since he was just now leaving my building and going to the next one (read: he totally left the package up there before he left the note on my door…jerk). I get the package back home and start set it up. But it’s like call this number to register service. Well I call but my cell phone doesn’t have access to that number. Gah! So I call the help line…an hour and half later I’ve finally got everything set up. Most of that time was spent talking to a machine that kept going in circles. The man who finally talked to me was name Bob…how great is that?!

So far I’m liking the speed. I haven’t tested it on GuildWars yet because I couldn’t find my copy or my dad’s copy of XP so I have to go buy it from school. It’ll only cost $5…in theory. I’ll probably have the IT people do it, that way if something weird happens they already have it. And be responsible.

I’m going to do a post with the cake pics from yesterday now. ‘kay bye