Week in Review

This has been a craaaaaaaaaaaaazy week! Good crazy. 
Read on for pictures and stories!

Sunday my best gal and I had a Skype date...while we baked...brownies (unplanned!!!)

I miss her badly. It was looooovely to catch up and to share the very exciting things going on in our lives (boys! food! job bashing! get together plans!). It was so much fun. Clary. A year ago this time you were here...during black biker week...ehh....at least we suffered through it together (and binged on "Once Upon A Time")!

THE (secret recipe) brownies

Now I was making brownies because I was asked to participate in a career fair at one of the middle schools on Wednesday. This is my second year and it's pretty fun. Last year they paired me with the woman who runs the Edible Arrangements here. She is so sweet and we had so much fun. She even had some chocolate dipped fruit delivered to me at work. So, to repay her for her kindness, this year I made the best brownies on the planet my mom's infamous secret recipe brownies...coveted by all who taste them. I've made a few tweaks of my own and LOVE these things. They are not for the faint of heart and even the most seasoned of chocoholics must pace him/herself. Mmmmmm mmmmm! I had left over peanut butter frosting from some cookies I made a few weeks ago and decided to spead that on a few brownies. I've decided PB/choc is THE BEST combo EVER. Ohmylantus so good!!!
The career fair was fun BUT this year I was left on my own. I was so sad. HOW in the world can I possibly make nutrition/dietetics exciting for a group of middle schoolers? Uh....Nutrition Jeopardy! Oh yesss! It worked! Well, they at least had fun. I think. 

On Monday, some pals and I from church decided to have a cake decorating contest. I made 2 confetti cakes, cut them in half and we went to town! 

The finished products.

Two of our other friends arrived late, as we were finishing up, so we declared them the judges. Which is your pick?

We decided this one looked like a frog!

The winner was the first one. And that was mine!!! WAHOOOO!!!!! Then we ate them with ice cream. Mmmmm. I love ice cream. We will discuss this later.


Next. Tuesday I went for a run and as I was walking back to my apartment, I turned the corner to walk up the stairs and there IT was.

A big black SNAKE.

Coiled up at the bottom of the stairs. Friends. I freaked. Except I didn't. I froze and mentally stuttered and I'm prettysure my heart stopped. I'm pretty sure I nearly had a moment of fear-induced incontinence. (Nearly. I didn't actually). I have never been a huge fan of snakes but this confirmed how much I detest, nay, abhor them. And I am not exaggerating when I say it was probably 2-3 feet long. I DO NOT DO SNAKES. After about 10 seconds of no brain activity, gawking in fear, shock, and amazement, and the flight-or-fight kicking in (which resulted in me just standing there, frozen. So much for flight!), all I could think was I can't get to my apartment. Well don't worry. After I remembered to breathe and got my brain function back, I remembered I could always go up the other set of stairs on the other side of the building (oxygen does wonders for the mind!). So I took the steps 2-3 at a time mentally screaming WHAT DO I DO!!!??? WHAT DO I DO?!?!!?? Now, my intentions were pure, ok? Let's get that straight. This sick, nasty creature was sitting a mere few feet from my sweet elderly neighbor's door and all I could think was, heaven forbid she opened the door, either the snake would lunge at her or she'd drop dead of shock. AND THEN I thought of all the dogs (uh, HELLO, SCOTTY!!!!??? and his pal Poppy, who lives next door) that live around these parts and what if I had been walking Scotty and unbeknownst to the poor pooch, he walked right up to the snake and it bit him?? So at this point I'm panicking. Sweaty, stinky, and freaking out. So I ran down the stairs again (only to the second floor because I was at least distancing myself by a flight of stairs) to see if the snake was still there and decided to...yup this is pure genius, I know...through a pebble at it to see if it would move. It did and it hissed. Great. At least I knew it was alive because there was NO WAY I was touching a dead snake. Well that still didn't solve my dilemma!!!! So then I called the HOA and left a message about this grotesque creature. I mean what if there was a nest nearby. AND WHY WAS IT THERE???? WHY???? Then I wanted to take a photo so I ran back down again and...

IT WAS GONE.

GREAT. What if it was now lurking under the stairs? OR in the wall??? OR in the bushes??? I decided I was never leaving my apartment again. Then I realized I was being overly dramatic and really, really, really girly. Mark called, after I sent him a frantic text about a snack (darn autocorrect) lurking at the bottom of my stairs. And being the awesome guy that he is, he called to tease me to calm me down and make sure I was ok. What a stud! :) Mostly we just laughed at how silly I was reacting. BUT SERIOUSLY. A SNAKE!!!! GROSS!!!! AHHHH!!!! Let me just tell you, that evening when I took Scotty out before we went to bed, he was not allowed in any bushes. Strictly asphalt and grass. I still look around whenever I walk down the stairs, waiting for it to lunge out of its hiding place. I have an overactive imagination, I know. I haven't seen that thing since and the director of the board of my complex returned my call the next day basically making me feel stupid for freaking out. He reminded me there was wildlife (he emphasized this, apparently thinking I didn't know this) around us including frogs so snakes are sometimes common. What I wanted to say, but didn't, was that A) I am from New Hampshire and grew up surrounded by plenty of wildlife and am well aware of what wildlife is and B) don't talk down to me mister. I did tell him I had been told (and this is true) that there was a nest of snakes a few buildings down and to be careful when walking my dog AND that I had never ever seen a snake around this area. So take that, crackerjack! 

Thursday Amy and I made our live TV debut. We're going to be famous!!! Local celebrities. Watch out. I joke. But we really were on live TV. We were asked by the local news channel if they could interview us about healthy grocery shopping for 2 live segments (~3 minutes each) . It was such a blast. Albeit, frightening and terrifying, but fun. We refused to let our manager come, but the director of marketing, who helped set up the times and details, came. Uh. Hm. I appreciate the support but I was not so much a fan. I didn't want an audience. Plus, she intimidates me. I didn't need the address stress!!!! Overall, we were pleased at how well it went over. In the first segment, you can tell we were nervous the first 30 seconds and then we took off and did well. I liked the second segment better. Overall, it was actually really fun. If you so choose, you may watch the interviews, but before you do, please remember I do not enjoy public speaking, my hair is huge, yes I talk with my hands and really fast (genetics...), and don't be too harsh, ok?  
Healthy eating Interview 1 Healthy eating interview 2
Afterward, our manager said we could go out to dinner but it has been so blimey hot, we decided to celebrate with... Sonic. I confess. I have only been to a Sonic maybe 3 or 4 times in my life. I got a strawberry creamslush....mmmmmmmm mmmmmm good! The next day, Dr. W asked me how it went so I said well, and then later---after the marketing lady POSTED the interviews on the hospital's website....YIKES!!!!---when I came back up the floor, Dr. W EXCLAIMED how well we had done. I blushed. Aww shucks! 

So let's talk ice cream for a sec. As you may or may not know, I. LOVE. ICE CREAM (soft serve, hard ice cream, frozen yogurt, gelato...let's just lump it into one category because I love 'em all). It's summer, well not technically, but it may as well be here because it's HOT and all I want to eat is ice cream. Every day. Amy had to run to the doctor's Friday and she brought us back each an oreo McFlurry. It's been SO long since I've had a McFLurry. It was DELICIOUS. THEN Mark sent me a picture yesterday of a chocolate frosty he got from Wendy's (my second favorite fast food dessert, second only to In N Out's chocolate shakes, which are the best shakes I've ever had. To date.). I was jealous. So at 9:30pm I almost left my apartment to get either a chocolate Frosty or a vanilla cone from McD's but then I remembered it's Black Biker Week, and I refuse to leave my apartment unless I have to work or someone is dying because it's scary out there. Wrecks galore, too many fatalities, scantily clad women, awful drivers (I do believe the middle line separating two lanes of traffic DOES NOT COUNT AS A MOTORCYLE LANE!!!!!), gun-happy idiots, and the like have come to Myrtle Beach for the weekend. Not leaving my apartment. Looks like chocolate chips it is! 

I'M GOING HOME IN 9 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My time with Scotty is coming to an end. It's bittersweet but I'm happy about it. He'll be happier with Hemma (Heath + Emma, my brother and sister-in-law), in NH where he can run free and be spoiled rotten by Hemma, our neighbors and their dog, my parentals! I'm also TERRIBLY in need of a excited for a vacation. I get to see my family again (FINALLY, since I have been shunned while living in southeast where no one wants to visit me *insert very sad face here) and be home. Pure happiness. I can't wait! Along with lobster, Lago's, SHAKE SHACK (my first time!), seeing the Atlantic (and hopefully sea glass hunting), and all the wonderful things I can't list (because the post will be infinity long) that come with being home in New England, I cannot wait. I just have to survive the flight home...with Scotty...who hates flying...*gulp*

AND. Sara Bareilles is FINALLY coming out with a new album! I have been waiting FOR AGES. Whenever I hear her music, I think of baking because I always seem to listen to her stuff when I bake. I have already pre-ordered her new album. YESSS!!!!!! Also, her music always makes me want to live in a city. So then I dream about living in *Boston* or NYC one day. *sigh* Maybe one day. A girl can dream. 

Today is Sunday. Sunday means baking day and I can't think of one thing I want to bake. Well actually, that's not true. I wanted to make my copycat of Levain Bakery's dark chocolate peanut butter chip cookies but alas, I don't have peanut butter chips. FOR SHAME! I thumbed through all of my Pinterest recipes and flipped through my trusty recipe binder and couldn't find anything. This saddens me, greatly. I did make enough dragon noodles to last me through the week. Mmmm....I have a new found love for sriracha! But jeepers creepers it's Sunday!!! I need to bake something!!!! I'll have to look again.