Frazzle without the Dazzle- The venting session

You know you're in for a tough finals week when you are so tired that you cry about everything.

For instance.

I have this miniature tree that I wanted set up in the family room at my parents house. Just for that little touch of Christmas downstairs. Well, I have all the ornaments ready to be hung and my mom bought some lights and tinsel to go on it. However, I didn't have enough lights or tinsel to go around the tree so, I was waiting to put on the ornaments until I could get everything in order. But that's not all I was waiting for. I have been looking forward to this (for about a week) being some real quality time with Henroshi. I was really excited. (Heck I'm crying already... I'm a dang mess). I come home today, knowing I have reports to write and finals to study for. My brain feels like it's going to explode, I am tired.

And I see the tree decorated downstairs.

I asked my sister why the tree was decorated, she said she decorated it.... now, I know what you're thinking... She's just trying to be nice, trying to fill the gap that her lazy, stupid, pathetic sister couldn't fill with the decorations downstairs... well... dang it! I had talked about this enough that you think it would have been remembered! By SOMEBODY! I mentioned that I hadn't put on all the lights. And she raised her voice at me... and... I went in my room, turned on the laptop... started watching Grey's Anatomy... and started crying.

I need chocolate and for no one to talk to me for about three weeks... yeah?

No dang judgments, expectations, or noise.

And before anyone starts thinking I need meds or I'm prego or something stupid and lame like that. It's not true. Neither of those things apply to me.

I'm just tired.

I just need things to work out... I'm tired of being a dang failure all the frickin' time.

I'm going to bed.

Good night.

-BroadwayChick

Chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate

So, I've been in this crazy stage where I just want to make stuff. Anything really.... but I've just finished  making chocolate!!!

My boyfriend, Henroshi, decided to give his mother something for her birthday. Well, she likes monkey's so I made her chocolate lollipops of little monkeys. It was pretty tricky at first but I finally figured it out!!!!

Picture provided by Candy Mold Central (https://www.candymoldcentral.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idProduct=11322)

Alright, so, here's the trick. 

I used dark chocolate for the monkey's eyes and eyebrows, I painted them by glopping chocolate on top of a toothpick and dropping the dark chocolate in a thick amount into the small crevices. 

The whites were made of just normal white chocolate. 

I mixed white chocolate and milk chocolate to create that nice tan color on the monkey's nose. 

With the yellow in the bananas, BE VERY GENEROUS to the yellow chocolate, if you don't other colors will bleed right through it. The same applies to the green leaves... GENEROUS GENEROUS GENEROUS!  

Now here's what a whole lot of trial and error helped me figure out. Paint in an EXTREMELY thick layer of milk chocolate into the monkey's body, pushing into the fingers, ears, sides and tails to avoid bubbles.

Pour a layer of the blue inside, it doesn't have to be covering the whole monkey just needs to be fairly thick in the parts of the mold where the blue "sky" should be showing.

After that, make sure you let the chocolate set for a bit until it gives the outward appearance of being firm. Then you can pour the mold with milk chocolate the rest of the way with the lollipop stick.

NOTE: Let the chocolate you just heated cool for a bit before putting it on top of other chocolate layers or else you'll melt the lower layers into the hot layer.

If you lift up the mold and let light shine on it, you can see the spots in the mold that need more chocolate to avoid washed out colors in the green and yellow chocolate.

If you need the chocolate to set fast or you're just nervous about the chocolate you just melted melting into the chocolate you already layered. The freezer for a minute is a fantastic option for both concerns.

YEP! I hope you get any help you are looking for in this little blurp about chocolate making.

Also, I've been making a costume, I know it's a little bit after Halloween, but, Henroshi's mom and Aunt are fantastic and made me a beautiful costume for Halloween. Maybe when I finish it, I'll show you how it turned out! I'm pretty proud of it so far.

Hugs and kisses!

~BroadwayChick

P.S. Henroshi and I also gave her a Dove Soap/Shampoo Gift bag, and a towel (because the universe is a dangerous place and you always need to know where your towel is- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) Yep, we had fun :D

No money and Facebook Cash

I am a Facebook addict. Ok, I admit it!!! I get on about once a day and talk to people I haven't for a while, look at profiles (profile "stalking" if you really want to be weird like that), see what people are doing in their lives, etc. However, I also play... the games...

I know, ultra waste of time and most of the time, crappy graphics, but they are just fun. And they try and get you buy stuff with real money all the time on these games. "Buy shovels so you can dig for buried treasure!!!" "Use Facebook Cash and get a totem to make your crops grow!!! "

These offers are screaming in your face "BUY MEEEEEEE!!!!!" And then also whispering with the fine print "I'm a waste of your time an money!!!!!"

Now, I know that I'm not the only one in the world who has a friend who is a constant complainer on how much money they "don't have". Well, this friend, as long as I can remember, always has spoken about how hard it is for her and her family to have a happy normal life because they don't have the money to have all the nice things that they want and have to squish in a tiny apartment, etc.

Ok, so here's the reason I'm bringing up these two situations that seem like they have nothing in common with each other.

So, my friend and I play a few games together online, she has always been ahead of me because, well, she's been playing them for longer. Or so I've been led to believe. Now, when I'm playing these games, I like to visit other people's homes (in case you're facebook illiterate, you can visit other players homes and get money and experience points by doing certain chores or activities in other players houses). In this particular game, you can gain both coins and XP by traveling into the multiple rooms of your "friend"s home.  Now, as I'm playing, ads are popping up telling me to buy this and that with facebook cash. I'm finally in my friends house (the one who is always ahead of me) and I decided to look around her house more to see what she has... slowly, I begin to notice a Facebook Cash item, here, and there, and there... oh, there's one over there too... How else is she able to get these items? There's no way to win them, she just has them.

So, let me ask you, is it logical to always be talking about how much money you DON'T have and then all of the sudden buying worthless pieces of color that you will NEVER use in your whole life?? Yes, I understand that the 2-D furniture makes your room look "pretty" but, really? Let me just remind you... THEY AREN'T REAL!! YOUR PETS WON'T EVER GIVE A CRAP IF YOU DON'T HAVE PRETTY FURNITURE!!!!

Anyway... The End.
Love,
BroadwayChick

Sisters, Sisters, there were never more devoted sisters

You know the song Paved Paradise? Well, I am reminded of the the lyrics, "Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone?" Well, readers, I have a confession to make. I miss being with my family.

I've had this anchor in my life that I always thought of as just weighing me down. I was convinced that moving away was the right choice and I needed to spread my wings and fly. However, I found that that anchor was emotionally and physically keeping me stable. If ever anything went wrong, I could just vent to one of my sisters, my brothers, or my parents and be done with it. It's off my chest, end of story. However, living away from them, my life depends on if anyone has their phones turned on. I bottle feelings up because they can't be quickly expressed, then I just BLOW! I can't do that!!!

Coming home this week for my spring break, I realize how lucky I am that I'm in a family that genuinely love each other and care for one another. When I get a hug from my litter sister, you can just tell from that hug what she's feeling. The one when I got home said, "I missed you, it's good to see you." My brother, though he would never admit it, misses me too. We were companions during the month of December for my Christmas break, he would come over nearly every day and we would just sit and talk. So, he locked my neck in his arm, just tight enough for me moving wasn't an option. I tilted my head up a little and just wheezed, "I love you, too.". That was it. He let me go and then messed up my hair a little bit, and he was gone.

I don't want to go back to school. I just want to stay here with my family and be content with my life just how it is.

BroadwayChick

Oh, funny, just so funny

You have to read this joke, it made me laugh VERY HARD!!

A millionaire, a hard hat, and a drunk are at a bar. When they get their beers, they notice a fly in each mug. The millionaire politely asks the bartender for another beer, then proceeds to sip it. The hard hat spills out just enough to get rid of the fly and quaffs the rest. It's now the drunk's turn. He sticks his hand into the beer, grabs the fly by the wings, and shouts, "Spit it out! Spit it out!"



Haha, whoo, I love that. Hm... made my day.

Narcissism and a dash of Harry Potter

I've made a discovery about myself today... a very important discovery. People who only focus on themselves... really piss me off.  You make some brownies, what's the first thing that someone says? "Oh, brownies, are they for me?"....

really....

did you just ask that?

So, what do I do to keep away from these narcissists? I find comfort in 1) reading Jane Austen- 2) watching Harry Potter- 3) (ok maybe not "comfort" but it does take me away from them) or do homework. Mind you, I had some problems lately with my homework being stuck in the mail at the current moment, so I couldn't work on that. So, voila... Harry Potter.  Love. Harry. Potter.

It's been so long since I've seen the first two movie that I started crying... (yes, I'm a nerd, thanks for noticing!) at the end of year two when Hagrid came back and everyone started clapping. Then I thought to myself, "This is ridiculous! You should not be crying! GAH!" But I did. Also, for all of your wonderful enjoyment, me crying over stupid things in movies is normal. I cried when Superman died in DOOMSDAY. K, I lied... I bawled. Seriously, I get so attached to certain characters, and then my acting instincts kick in, I get connected with the character and begin to feel what they are "feeling". Thus, crying over stupid stuff...

Another discovery I made just recently, this time, about food. A while ago, I made a super good quiche that was supposed to be a spinach and bacon quiche (with the first onion I have ever cut---I didn't cry while cutting it! Yeep!!), however, my less than a week old spinach, was rotten. So, trash can consumed that. so, my quiche just had bacon and onions and other yummies in it. No spinach :(
Well, I had so many of the ingredients for the quiche leftover that I started to get creative with them. I bought some good spinach- that was name brand this time- and decided to have a salad. I still have 1/2 an onion, 4 large carrots, 3 medium celery stalks, 8 strips of bacon, and two bags of swiss and mozzarella cheeses. I caramelized the onions in a 1/2 butter 1/2 olive oil concoction, put that with the greens, slice up one carrot, one celery stalk, and 2 strips of bacon. Put that on top. sprinkle a little of the cheeses. Then I bought (a while back) a balsamic vinaigrette, squirted a few shots of that on the salad. I stirred it. And my mouth was very, very, VERY happy. Ya, it takes some work. but, oh, is it worth is. So when my Dad comes up to visit me on Monday, he is going to have to try it! So yummy for the tummy. (Once again, yes, we have established that I'm a nerd)

So ya, that's what's on my "Can't sleep....can't sleep... can't sleep...." mind in the wee hours of the mornin'.
G'night

Love,
BroadwayChick

Laundry Day

I personally can't stand doing my laundry. Hate it, actually. You know, I'm excited because I've finally decided to move back home. Do you know what moving back home means????? A laundry room that is actually in the same building as me... and... it's right next door to my room!!!! YAY!!!!

Seriously, the laundry room isn't even in a central location of the apartment complex. You have to walk a block to get to and from the place! Really? Who designed this place... they need to be fired.

If you walk into one of our basic apartments in the complex. It's almost as if they think we are anorexic or something because for four people, four grown adults, there is only one large 3 shelved cupboard and one very slim 3 shelved cupboard..... wow. smart there einstein. Oh, and since when is it logical to have a smaller than normal fridge and freezer for the same amount of people that have different eating habits, likes and dislikes? We have three types of milk in the fridge!!!! (Three because one of my roommates and myself switches back and forth to who pays for a gallon of milk. We use it pretty equally so it's a good set up)

Also, the lament flooring. Dimpled and white = recipe for disaster. It's impossible to completely clean the floor! You can scrub and scrub the floor. It will NEVER get clean unless you get down on your hands and knees and scrub with all your might.

I just realized, I got really off topic. I was going to talk about the joys of how the laundry room was going to be by my in my parents place instead of a mile from me in my apartment complex's laundry room. Plus, it's free at my parents place... OoOoOo...

Anyway, homework.... it calls me like a reoccurring nightmare... must make it end!!!

Love, BroadwayChick

Dreaming Jane

Last night, my dreams had a wonderful twist. I've always been a big fan Jane Austen books. Love, love LOVE them! And my dreams seemed to incorporate that very love into last night's adventure.


My sisters and I had to go to England because (even though this is not even remotely possible because we don't have relatives in England) a relative in England had passed away a VERY long time ago and her husband was too old to take care of their house all alone. So he asked my sisters to come and visit him until he could have a permanent assistant to help him with the up keep of the house. We ask how long of a visit we should pack for and he replied that we should bring clothes for approximately three days. Ok, weird. Flying all the way to England just to see him for three days. Whatever.


We arrive in England to be escorted to a chauffeured automobile, then transfered to a horse drawn carriage. Weird.... Modern buildings are going past us until there is a huge chunk of country side. Then we show up in a old fashioned village, almost like it was brought right out of An Austen Novel. Literally, it was pulled out of an Austen Novel!


We met our elderly relative, he was a very gentle, frail, man who, oddly enough, also looked like someone pulled out of and Austen Novel... K, this was really a weird place. It's like they had been frozen in time since the 1700's. Ends up being, that they were a special community of people who actually live like it was the 1700's, they preserve the history behind the Jane Austen books and are a frequently visited tourist stop for people, like my sisters and I, to taste the lifestyle of all of our favorite characters.


The reason for why we only needed three days worth of normal clothing was because he was going to buy us tailored period gowns.  Exciting, right?  Next thing to happen was a tour of the house. We met the cook (ya, he had a cook!). Then the fun started, we were shown our rooms, which were HUGE! After dropping off our luggage in our rooms, he led us outside and I saw the prettiest love seat swing hanging from the huge tree in the back. I started swinging on it. It was fun, but I didn't trust it enough to start swinging high or anything. I saw a quaint little garden patch next to the tree which I thought was just awesome!! Lots of herbs were growing in there along with some flowers.


Somehow (I don't remember seeing a tailor) I was wearing my custom period gown and started doing some heavy duty wandering around the house that was big enough that I got lost a couple times. I stumbled on an old dusty library that didn't look like it had been taken care of for a few years. Grandpa, which is what our relative asked us to call him, saw me looking at some of the dust covered books. Asked me about if I liked books, I told him my love for them. He allowed me complete jurisdiction over the refurbishment of the library, which use to be his wife's pride and joy. I asked him if we had enough money for a book doctor. He said that he had much money saved up that he didn't have a use for that I was welcome to use. So I set to work.


By the end of the dream, the library was newly polished, all of the old books were treated and rebound. My parents had come to village to see how we were doing during (however long it was since we arrived) our stay. Sisters and I showed them around the place, showed them the local markets, and the replicas of some of the mansions in the Jane Austen books. When it was time to leave, Grandpa had a nurse/maid and no longer needed our assistance. However, the last thing I remember is asking if I could stay...


Anyway, that was my dream. Hope you enjoyed it! :)

Dishwasher Dilemma

My dear readers, a funny story is about to revealed to you. But with every story, there needs to be a foreshadow story before hand. So here it goes.

I live with three other girls in my apartment, Jenny, Kara, and Sandra (names changed for privacy). When the three of us first moved in, there was a leak in our sink and and destroyed many rolls of paper towels and got into Jenny's powder dishwasher soap box, making a good part of the soap particle to adhere to each other, making a hard chunk at the bottom of the box. So, we've been living off of Kara's liquid soap for a very long time (it's one of those massive ones that you get from Costco). Well, that finally ran out. It was Sandra's turn to do the dishes, which she faithfully does every time her day comes about.

I was talking to Jenny when all of the sudden she screamed, "Ah!" she pointed her finger towards the dishwasher, "Look!", I turned around, thinking that it was a spider. At first I didn't notice it, but then I saw the dishwasher was oozing a steady stream of bubbles. Almost simultaneously, Jenny and I hollered, "Sandra!! How much soap did you put in the dishwasher?" Jenny quickly ran and turned the dishwasher off, Sandra came out, confused at the big puddle of bubbles underneath the dishwasher. She was confused because she had only filled one cup in the dishwasher like we always do. We asked her what soap she used and she said, "Well, I didn't see the normal soap so I used this kind." She revealed to us, Palmolive liquid dish soap.

Jenny and I start laughing and trying to find ways to catch the soap so that it no longer spreads across the floor, we also explained to Sandra that the liquid soap is not the same as dishwasher soap and shouldn't be used as such. Well, I think we sufficiently embarrassed her out of her mind, and she just kept saying, "I will never do that again". We start a rotation of three pans to collect the ever growing amounts of soap and made a secure dam of towels around the area so that any water that would or has made its presence of the floor, would be soaked up. There were so many bubbles coming out that it was a chore just trying to make sure that the pans did not over flow.

Well, here are pictures from this little adventure.

    

Julie/Julia Project

My recent movie that my loving film obsessed sister recommended to me was "Julie and Julia". I have found inspiration!!!

In the movie, Julie is doing a project on cooking 536 recipes in 365 days. While doing this challenge, she writes about what kinds of things happen to her when she's making the recipes. I liked the movie so much that I decided, "Hey! I wonder if the blog is still available for reading online?" Bad idea, I'm addicted, and I just can't stop reading about Julie's challenge!

Anyway, the inspiration I have is to write in you, my oh so newly dolled up blog, more often. I sometimes neglect you and you must feel so very lonesome. So I won't do that too often.

As a quick side note, my friend Victoria has a really funny clip on her blog. It will make you smile!! Here's the link to that blog page. {Victoria Ashley}. You will love her, she is such a sweet spirit that has the most infectious smile known to man.

Anyway, back to my astronomy homework which I'm procrastinating..................

Love,
BroadwayChick

Melancholy as ever

I'm really not in the mood for this nonsense. Classes are really pushing my buttons. It's so hard to do everything in constantly noisy environments. I can't seem to get a moments piece anywhere I go. My roommates are very loud. Always loud. Either have friends over or have the TV blasting. I can't get the noise to really be bearable, it's either total silence with ear plugs, which drives me insane because I have to have music going when I work. Or noise beyond all compare, which in itself is more distracting than anything else!

I just watched "Julie and Julia" when visiting my parents. It was a REALLY good movie, it reminded me that I really like to cook. Maybe someday, I will do the Julie challenge and make Julia Child recipes in a year. Anyway, I thought it looked fun. How cool is it that Julie got all that popularity from trying to do something exciting with her life by doing something she loves.

Heated

I personally can't understand why we have a heater and someone turns it off EVERY NIGHT! Then, since I'm the one who wakes up the earliest in the morning, I'm freezing my butt off. Really roomies, just leave the heater on! It's not that hard. My room reaches the freezing temperature of 20 degrees Fahrenheit, which is cold enough to make my mattress too cold for me sometimes. But, actually, they don't just turn off the heater, they switch it to "Cold". DUMB!!! You don't turn on the cooler when it's winter!! Really, commonsense people! You would think people would have it, but, no, I don't live with anyone with commonsense.

Why?

I don't know why but I'm not even three weeks into my second semester and already, worn out! I'm so tired! I don't even know why!!!! I'm not doing things all that strenuous. But I'm all the sudden really tired and just want to sleep all the time! To top it all off, I haven't been hungry at all lately! I have to force myself to eat even the littlest bit!

Anyway, this is very short, but it's all I have to say.