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