Imaginary Snow Ball Fights

As a professional baby sitter, parents pay me to hang out with their kids. It is pretty awesome (except when work is suuuper slow). I get to play with Legos, sit at the pool, build sand castles at the beach and hang out at the arcade on the Santa Monica Pier. Sometimes I wonder why more people don't work with kids, but then I realize that most people can't. They just don't have the patience.

I make money while building card houses

(made out of dinosaur flashcards)

I, on the other hand, absolutely love babysitting. I get to do all the things I do in my free time (Legos, arcade games, nonsense conversations) and get paid for it. Maybe it is because I am just a big kid trapped in an adult body. Most likely. 

The only problem with having such inconsistent work (sometimes I go an entire month without getting any gigs) is having to work extra long to compensate. I just worked 20 hours in two days. It was the twelve hour day that nearly killed me. When I came home today I was totally ready for cupcakes and beer.

Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day. I don't normally celebrate, but since I was making cupcakes, I decide to be festive, much like on the 4th of July. 

So there shall be green frosting!

Now, after deciding to make cupcakes, I realized that I didn't have any frosting. All of my plans, ruined! Then, like a light from clouds, Yano walked in and said, "can't you make frosting?" I dragged myself over to the computer, found a recipe and realized, why yes! I can make frosting. It was a beautiful moment. 

I was inspired to make four leaf clovers out of sprinkles on top of the cupcake while mixing the ingredients together. Did you know that frosting is basically just butter and sugar? Neither did I. 

Here is the first attempt. Not so successful...

As you can see, it looked more like a green blob than a clover. *Despair* Then again, Yano saved the day by busting out his graphic designer skills and printed me some clover stencils. I learned that I am not so good at making clover stencils freehand after a couple beers. 

Behold! Less blob-like and more clover-ish cupcakes. 

And look how cute the look in my cupcake carrier. 

Also note the pirate papers (pirates celebrate St. Patrick's Day too, right?)

Happy drinking and cupcake eating, everyone!

What's Going On Here?

I started writing this post yesterday, which was also the day I forgot to wash the conditioner out of my hair and didn't notice until my hair dried all greasy on top. So needless to say I didn't get very far. It was mostly just about how I didn't know what to write about. Unfortunately this has been happening more and more. It makes me a little sad.

What have I been up to lately?

Last weekend I hitched a ride up to the Bay Area to give my friends hugs and cookies. Saturday was the busiest day. It included hiking in the hills of Oakland, going to a little bar in Hayward that served Sierra Nevada Hefeweizen on tap (which I didn't even know existed) and ended in a sleepover with two of my favorite people ever.

Old picture, but it's the only one of all three of us (smiling).

They really are the best.

This weekend started at Canters after a babysitting gig in West Hollywood. In case you don't know of this wondrous place, Canters is a restaurant/deli/bakery on Fairfax that's open 24/7.

I didn't get off work until eleven, so we decided to go since not much else is open. I have never been, despite driving past it and talking about going since I moved here. Even being half starved from not eating for eight hours, my meal defeated me. It might have been the fries.

I swear there is a sandwich under there. 

The rest of the weekend was a blur of video games (I decided to restart Final Fantasy XIII) and futile attempts at writing this blog post. It only took me two days! I almost started posting regularly (Fridays). Maybe next time. 

One last thing:

Rocksteady perler bead craft: FAIL. 

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Ever

This was the title of the recipe that my sister emailed me last week. I am always skeptical whenever there are such wild claims as this, but I figured the only way to find out was to try it out.

If you are curious, the recipe is here.

I don't have an extensive knowledge of chocolate chip cookie recipes, so I can't really say if this one is the best ever. I can say, however, that it is pretty damn good. So good, in fact, that it is now my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe.

I probably should write it on something other than scrap paper. 

From what I can gather, one of the reasons that this recipe is superior is because it calls for two different kinds of flour; bread flour and cake flour. Apparently, the bread flour makes the cookie more chewy. 

I couldn't find any cake flour at the store, but according to the internet, you can just add cornstarch to all purpose flour. For example, if your recipe calls for 2 cups of cake flour, you use 1 3/4 cups all purpose and 1/4 cup of cornstarch. An excellent thing to know for the next time I make a cake. 

The second reason (and I can't believe I've never thought of this) is because it calls for dark chocolate chips.

This recipe was especially dense. It definitely tested the limits of my little hand mixer and I started to worry when it almost stopped completely. It made me really really wish for a KitchenAid.  

I would like a purple one. 

Anyway, after nearly killing my tiny mixer, I had to do the most difficult part of the process. I had to put the cookie dough in the fridge for 24-36 hours. Ughhh.

Exactly  24 hours later (it just sort of happened, I promise I wasn't waiting around counting down the minutes) I popped the first batch into the oven. I did, however watch them bake. Now the recipe says to form the dough into balls roughly the size of golf balls and sprinkle it with salt (it activates the sweet). I decided to up it a notch by sprinkling it with sea salt.

Fellow bakers know, the first batch is usually not perfect for any slew of reasons. Not with this recipe. At exactly 23 minutes, I took the cookies out of the oven; they were perfect.

Unfortunately, due to the size, you can only bake six at a time.

I couldn't wait for them to cool, I immediately poured myself a glass of milk and broke open a cookie. Let me tell you, it might have been the best cookie I've ever eaten. It was warm and chewy on the inside and crispy on the outside. It was everything a chocolate chip cookie should be.

I am officially addicted. 

So if you are looking for an excellent cookie recipe, I urge you to try this one. I couldn't find anything I didn't like about it. The website has all kinds of delicious looking recipes, including one for Boston Creme Cupcakes.

I think I've found my next baking project.

Legos and Time Travel

Last Saturday I was scrolling through Tumblr (oh the infinite scroll) and found some pretty elaborate Lego creations. I was both amazed and inspired. So I jumped up and rummaged through my closet to pull out my small collection of Legos.

After digging through my plastic container, I realized I had some pretty awesome mini-figs and accessories. 

While assembling the whole cast of Lego men/women, I decided to put together my latest set (Power Miners!) and watch some Netflix. 

 

It was definitely a time/space travel kind of day. 

I love the Star Trek movie. I am too young to have watched the series, but I never get tired of explosions in Space. Lunopolis really bent my mind with talks of alternate dimensions and the like. I think the point of the movie was that we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes if we try to time travel, but I'm not sure. 

Either way, it is a good watch; especially if you are into alien conspiracies and/or time travel. 

Side note: I really need to keep up on updating every week. I made a big deal about it a couple posts ago and haven't been very good about it since. 

First step in organizing my life: regular updates.

Perspective

It's weird realizing that everyone around you is growing up. Whether people are building or destroying their lives; they are progressing in some way. Some days I look around and feel like everyone is moving faster than I am. Some days, I feel like I am flying.

Nothing puts your life into perspective like a new baby in the family. Yes, I am going to be an official auntie in April. I literally cannot contain my excitement.

Last weekend was my sister's baby shower, which I don't usually enjoy (due to the overload of cute things and lack of beer). However, since I was a co-host, I made an effort. I even stayed up until 2am the night before making the favors.

Hot Chocolate on a stick!

I hand-tied every lopsided bow.

I actually enjoyed the shower. Since I was hosting, I didn't have to participate in any of the games and got to busy myself during the opening of presents. I realize that is the majority of what goes on at a baby shower, but I really only go for the people.

Oh, and the cake of course.

Cake by Firegoddess Cakes.

My dear friend Amanda never ceases to amaze me with her cakes. Everyone in the Sonoma County area is lucky to have her talents. 

Perspective, right. Lately I have been thinking about my life (and how messy it can get) and realized that I need to start cleaning up. I am going to be an aunt soon (hopefully the favorite) and I need to set a good example for my future niece. 

So this year, I aim to figure out some things. Clean up the messy parts. To show I mean business, here is a very serious picture of me:

 Miss Firegoddess and I don't mess around.

Side note, every baby shower should to include fake mustaches. 

Procrastination

I have spent the past two days trying to think of something to write about. Two days. My friend also has a blog; that he updates whenever the mood strikes him, which is about once a month. When I told him I was stuck, he told me he already had his next post planned, to which I responded, "you don't know my pain!" 

I am trying to update this silly blog once a week. Thinking of something worthy to write about in a week has proved more difficult than I imagined. When I first started, I thought I could update bi-weekly. How foolish I was back then.

I'm sure that this is not the first post about not wanting to write and I am certain it will not be the last.

Some days I do really ridiculous things like draw made up creatures instead. Like this:

Octosaurus Rex!

Or spend hours reading webcomics. Currently my new favorite is The Adventures of Superhero Girl.

I'm pretty sure this has happened to me more than once. 

To be completely honest, the only reason I am writing now is because I am procrastinating packing. Which is something I despise almost as much as doing laundry. There is definitely a hierarchy to my procrastination. It is good to know that writing is not on the top (bottom?) of the list.

I'm not sure why I've been having such a difficult time writing lately. I know we all have our slumps, but it really sucks. I have projects I need to work on! Even journal writing has been a chore. I started 'A Poem A Day' personal challenge, hoping it would help me not be so stagnant. I am on day four. It's been a few years since I've written any poetry and looking back at my old stuff shows me why. 

My poetry is terrible. 

Things Unexpected

It has been exactly a year since I started this blog, which is impressive since I almost never stick to a project for more than a couple months. What an interesting year it has been! It is kind of awesome to be able to look back on it through the blog. Mostly it proves that I actually did more than just sit on front of my computer with a sleeping kitty in my lap.

Life is unexpected. Honestly, I never know what is going to happen tomorrow, let alone off in the future. For example, I had no idea that my best friend would buy me tickets to see my favorite band.

I also didn't anticipate leaving my ipod on the plane when I flew up to San Francisco for said concert. After refusing to let it ruin the day, my concert buddy (best friend's roomie) announced that she had an extra one just laying around. See how things just work out? 

So my new (to me) ipod is amazing. It is a lavender ipod mini (pre-nano) and it is the same size as my cell phone. 

Anyway, back to the Modest Mouse concert. From what I can remember, the playlist was this, but probably not in this order:

Bury Me With It

Satin in a Coffin

Dashboard

Fire It Up

King Rat

The Whale Song

Float On

Cowboy Dan

I Came as a Rat

Satellite Skin

The View

Encore:

Dramamine

Tiny Cities Made of Ashes

I'm pretty sure I am missing at least two songs. All I know is that when they played The Whale Song, I thought my chest was going to explode. It was that good. 

So the past year has taught me more about appreciation, mostly for the wonderful people in my life. It's funny, I moved away to prove that I could take care of myself, but it made me realize how no one does it alone. We all get help. If anything, everyone has been more helpful since I left home. 

Another thing I did not expect.