Okay, so this will probably one of my last posts. I will also write one about the wedding itself and the honeymoon, but didn't want to overload you all at once.
Friday, July 27, 2012
By this point, most of our family and friends were already in town, or planning to get in that day. I woke up to a fairly full house. Ana was here and Megan and Greg had come in the night before. Jason got up at his normal time and gone to work as usual. I got up with Jason and took the dogs to the boarders at about 8:30 am. After that, I stopped by my in-laws' house to drop off the dogs' kennels and also to say hello to all of the family that had arrived. Then I went to Men's Warehouse to pick up tuxes. I actually ended up going back to Jason's parents place to drop off one of the tuxes. Eventually, I went back home to find the rest of the lazy bums (ha!) had gotten up as well. We had some breakfast and everyone took their showers. I went to Men's Warehouse (again!) to get another tux that wasn't yet ready the first time I went. By one, Jason was home from work (he worked a half day) and my parents and sister had arrived from Houston. My parents stayed for a bit before leaving to go meet up with my aunt and grandparents at the Marriott. Ana, Megan, Haley and I loaded up in my car and drove to Inner Diva Studios in North Austin while Jason walked over to his parents house to meet up with his family.
The pole dancing class was a totally new experience for all of us. It's so weird "participating" in this class while watching yourself in the mirror. Needless to say, we had fun despite the awkwardness! We were all sore afterward. We drove back to the house and got dressed and did our makeup for dinner. Megan drove. We stopped by the in-laws house to pick up Jason's cousin's wife, Kalyn and made our way to Buca. Haley decked me out in a crown/vail combo and a "bachlorette" sash. We were eventually met by more of my lady friends: Sandra, Michelle, Diana and Danielle (bridesmaid #4). We had a wonderful dinner chatting and catching up and then loaded back into several different cars headed for the house. Everyone arrived at different times, and we were later joined by Samantha (Jason's brother's gf). We had drinks, music and fun. ;-) Everyone left around 1:30 am and I went to bed. I'm not sure exactly when, but Jason was home within the hour from his bachelor party.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
I managed to sleep in until about 9 am. Jason and I got up around the same time and managed to have some time to chat before the rest of our house woke up (which now included Dani and her fiance/our officiant, Aaron). Everyone took showers and had breakfast. Dani, Megan, Ana and I got in my car and headed for my bridal shower at about 12:30. Jason had again gone over to his parent's house to see his family. At my shower, I got to catch up with lots of family and friends that I hadn't seen in a while and meet some (from Jason's side) that I hadn't had the pleasure of meeting before. We had sandwiches, fruit, punch and cupcakes. There were two games. I was overwhelmed by the amount of presents I received! It's still amazing to me how many incredible women I am surrounded by in my life! People started filing out around 3 pm. I hung around and (tried) to help clean up but mostly I was just chatting with people some more. My lovely bridesmaids loaded up all of my gifts in my car and we drove back to my house. We had about an hour or so to get ready before the rehearsal. I was already dressed and had my hair done, so I mostly just touched up my make up.
Jason and I drove to the rehearsal in my car with our wedding party gifts and a few of the tuxes that we still needed to distribute to groomsmen. We arrived at the Marriott at about 10 till 6 and met up with our family and friends. My brother arrived just in time.
We completed 2 run throughs of our ceremony and found out where our "getting ready" rooms were. I was starting to get excited jitters at this point. Jason and I loaded in my car with my brother and drove to Salt Lick where we met up with the bridal party and immediate family. We had an entire room reserved at 7, however there were still several people lingering at the tables. Finally, by 7:45, everyone had a seat and we started eating (thankfully!). There were probably 60 people there and I loved being surrounded by so many people that were so important to us. We ate and distributed our party gifts. Jason's dad gave a nice little speech and then I stood up and said a few words. This was cry #1 for me.
By 9 pm, everyone had eaten their fill and were headed to the parking lot. Jason and I said our "good byes", as we wouldn't see each other again until I walked down the aisle the next morning. I had several family members that wanted to see our house, so I drove lading a caravan to our house. Jason went to his folks' for the night. My parents, grandparents, step siblings, aunt, uncle and cousins, dad and his clan and my sister drove to our house to see the house. It was full and bustling! By 11:30pm, everyone had left and I took a shower. I set my brother up on the air mattress in the living room and tried to get to sleep. No such luck. By 1:30am, I was frantic because I knew I needed to sleep. I took a Tylenol PM because I was still sore from pole dancing and knew it would help me sleep. The last time I glanced at the clock it was 2:30 am, so I fell asleep sometime after that. I was set to wake up at 6:30 am for the wedding.
Coming up next: the wedding day!
Until next time!
-Whitney Michael!
Friday, August 10, 2012
Monday, June 18, 2012
Long Awaited...
Wow, I've been horrible about not updating this thing. My apologies. But hey, it's not like anyone was banging on the door demanding I make another post, so I'll try not to feel so badly.
A lot has happened since my last post, but then again, not so much.
The wedding is getting so close! We've sent out invitations and now we're just hanging out waiting for RSVPs. I get excited if I open our mailbox and see one! I'm really excited to see all of our family and friends in one place at the same time.
Please check out our wedding website for all of the details:
http://www.weddingwire.com/whitneyhandjasonm
Only 41 days to go!
The biggest and most exciting thing happening in our lives is our new home! After weeks of searching and a lot of heartache we finally found a home that was perfect for us. I'm pretty sure you've seen the pictures on Facebook. If you haven't, please go look because our house is completely adorable.
I encourage you all to come visit so I can show it off :-)
We close on June 28th (assuming everything goes according to plan) and should be able to move in that following weekend.
That's really about it. I still haven't found a job but am VERY actively looking. If you know of anything in the Austin area throw a girl a bone.
Life is good.
Adios.
-Whitney
Monday, May 21, 2012
I..I love you like a love song, baby
Okay, so, excuse the lame title for this blog. I am recently on a "pop" kick when it comes to music and that song by Selena Gomez makes me want to stand up from this chair at work and dance. Please don't judge me. Another long post this time. Again, feel free to skip the food portion if that's not your cup of tea. In the wedding updates I include the abridged story of how Jason and I met. Read on!
Life Updates:
I was hoping to save this post for when we had been successful in our house quest. Well, we've now been rejected for three houses we wanted, and we've seen many more. Wait, I thought this was a buyers marker? I am trying to stay positive though. Our lovely realtor (aka Jason's mom) sends us new houses to look at pretty much daily. And she takes us out for "client dinners". Gotta love that. Yesterday we went to see 4 houses. It's actually kind of an exhausting process. We liked 3 of the 4 houses and after much discussion last night decided to put an offer out on one of them. Now, we wait to see how the owners react to our (lower than they'd like) offer.
I think part of the problem is that I'm really particular. Call me crazy, but I think it's silly to spend a lot of money on something that doesn't meet my expectations. I will keep you all posted, naturally, as to our progress in this endeavor.
No, I still haven't found a job.
Food updates:
Okay, so I know I promised to post recipes from the cookbook my mom gave me, but it's at home, and I'm at work and not clever enough to remember those recipes by memory. So, I guess it's more Pinterest recipes this time.
Ham, Potato and Broccoli Casserole
Life Updates:
I was hoping to save this post for when we had been successful in our house quest. Well, we've now been rejected for three houses we wanted, and we've seen many more. Wait, I thought this was a buyers marker? I am trying to stay positive though. Our lovely realtor (aka Jason's mom) sends us new houses to look at pretty much daily. And she takes us out for "client dinners". Gotta love that. Yesterday we went to see 4 houses. It's actually kind of an exhausting process. We liked 3 of the 4 houses and after much discussion last night decided to put an offer out on one of them. Now, we wait to see how the owners react to our (lower than they'd like) offer.
I think part of the problem is that I'm really particular. Call me crazy, but I think it's silly to spend a lot of money on something that doesn't meet my expectations. I will keep you all posted, naturally, as to our progress in this endeavor.
No, I still haven't found a job.
Food updates:
Okay, so I know I promised to post recipes from the cookbook my mom gave me, but it's at home, and I'm at work and not clever enough to remember those recipes by memory. So, I guess it's more Pinterest recipes this time.
Ham, Potato and Broccoli Casserole
Ingredients
Directions
Okay, Jason LOVED this. I made it last week and he actually asked me to make it again this week. True to my quest to keep our diets ever changing, I said maybe next week instead :-) This is a great idea for nights when you don't really feel like cooking. It's super simple and has all of your food groups in one. I used tater tots instead of fries and I think it was a good idea. If you do use fries, use chunkier ones, like waffle fries or crinkle cut. It will offer a better "coating" for the bottom layer. I also used low-fat mayo, milk and cream of mushroom. 40 minutes might be a bit much.. I did 30 instead.
Chili's Skillet Queso
6-ounce box Velveeta Cheese *1 C. milk
2 teaspoons paprika *½ tsp. ground cayenne pepper
15-ounce can Hormel Chili (No Beans) * 4 tsp. chili powder
1 tablespoon lime juice *½ tsp. ground cumin
Cut the Velveeta into cubes. Combine the cheese with the remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir frequently until cheese melts.
2 teaspoons paprika *½ tsp. ground cayenne pepper
15-ounce can Hormel Chili (No Beans) * 4 tsp. chili powder
1 tablespoon lime juice *½ tsp. ground cumin
Cut the Velveeta into cubes. Combine the cheese with the remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir frequently until cheese melts.
I may or may not have mentioned this last time, but I love restaurant copy-cat recipes, and this is a pretty dang good one. It's not even CLOSE to being healthy, but it does taste like the real deal. I made this for us to snack on during the Superbowl.
Cinnamon Roll Cake
Cake:
3 c. flour
1/4 tsp.salt
1 c. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 c. milk
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. butter, melted
Topping:
1 c. butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
Mix everything together except for the butter. Slowly stir in the melted butter and pour into a greased 9x13 pan. For the topping, mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Drop evenly over the batter and swirl with a knife. Bake at 350 for 28-32 minutes.
Glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
5 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
While warm drizzle the glaze over the cake.
3 c. flour
1/4 tsp.salt
1 c. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 c. milk
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. butter, melted
Topping:
1 c. butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
Mix everything together except for the butter. Slowly stir in the melted butter and pour into a greased 9x13 pan. For the topping, mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Drop evenly over the batter and swirl with a knife. Bake at 350 for 28-32 minutes.
Glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
5 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
While warm drizzle the glaze over the cake.
Well, you guessed it, this cake was amazing. I would highly recommend it if you like cinnamon rolls. The leftovers are better if you warm them up :-) Also, make sure you make the cake and topping portions in a separate bowl and swirl together after you've pored the cake batter into the pan. Yum, yum!
Wedding updates:
We ordered the invitations on Saturday, so everything is officially ordered. We still have payments to make, but everything is in order for July.
69 days to go!
Okay, so a good portion of you who read this are probably aware of the fact that Jason and I met online. For those of you who are not, surprise! Now, trust me, I'm aware of how this sounds. I'm also aware of the look that people give me when I tell them that. This is part of the reason why I stopped telling people. Never mind that 1 in 4 marriages now begin online or that the divorce rate for couples who met online is much lower. But, if you're up for sticking with me here, read on to see WHY I chose to go this particular route.
So, I was listening to my iPod on the bus last week on the way home from work when the song "Amazed" by Lonestar came on shuffle. I'm pretty sure you know the song. Anyway, this song took me back to 6th grade when I was completely head-over-heels obsessed with a guy who will remain nameless. I spend all of 6th grade pining for him, listening to "Amazed" and pretending that he wanted to sing that song to me when in reality he didn't like me at all. Everyone knew I liked him, including him. Now, the school year ended, summer came around, and I eventually moved on. I actually ended up being fairly good friends with this guy through high school. You may ask why I started the "how I met Jason" tale with this embarrassing tale of a 12 year old girl. This tale of adolescent woe is how the "boy crazy" phase of my life started. From 7th grade until my sophomore year in college, I was never single for more than a few months at a time. Many of those "relationships" were long term, so don't judge me TOO harshly. Anyway, I spend my sophomore year of college single, which was nice, but come junior year I was back on the bandwagon. I had one fairly quick unsuccessful relationship, followed by another. Now, in this second, Whitney's boy crazy attitude ended and her "I-want-a-long-term-future-seeking-commitment" attitude began. That second relationship which began my junior year of college may have only lasted a short while, but the feelings I had for him remained for nearly 2 years. Nonreciprocating, I might add. Now, anyone else who has been in this position knows exactly how it feels; if you don't, let me just tell you it's pretty much the most emotionally draining thing that's ever happened to me.
Wah-wah
So, let's fast forward to the summer after I graduated from college. One day, I was in my apartment reading in bed when I had what can only be described as an epiphany. I'm talking like an apple-on-Newton's-head kind of moment. I realized this guy didn't like me the way I liked him. He didn't want a long term relationship. He wasn't "the one". I felt so stupid for all of the time I'd wasted, not just with that relationship, but with basically every guy I'd ever been with. For the record, I mean no disrespect to any of those guys, I just realized they weren't for me. In that moment, I moved on, and vowed to never relapse. I decided to make the new motto for my life "tabula rasa" or "clean slate" for those of you who've never taken Latin. Okay, so, clean slate. I erased all of the "boy craziness", next chapter.
So, after a few months of enjoying singlehood, I realized that I still wanted that long term commitment thing. At the time, I had just started my master's program and was disappointed to discover that 95% of my classmates were female. Of the males that were present, most were older and already married or otherwise committed. I was also working at an all-woman's gym. Between my female dominated school and work, I had "no time" for dating. So, I took the advice of one of my most beloved friends and joined OkCupid, a free dating site. I was completely honest on my profile. I said I was a nerd and that I was seeking a committed relationship. I filled out questionnaires about religion, marriage, raising kids, movies, music, and everything in between. Finally, I launched my page. I started getting messages fairly soon after. I erased the ones that only said "hello" or something and stuck with those that actually asked me questions or generally seemed interested. The second fellow who messaged me went by the screenname "jmichael08" and his initial message was very pleasant and inquisitive. After checking out his page and reading all about him, I decided he sounded like a good fit (I mean we had like 85% compatibility according to our questionnaires) and so I replied. We started messaging back and forth and each time, the conversation remained stimulating. I found out what he did for work and that he had a dog (I love those puppies!). After a few weeks of messaging he asked me if I wanted to meet. Now, he picked the worst time in the world to ask me because I was smack in the middle of my first round of graduate midterms.. a 2 week journey into a nightmare for me because I was determined to keep a 4.0 (which, by the way, I did). When I explained this to him, he was very understanding and said "maybe some other time then :-)". Now, for the next 2 weeks or so I wasn't really online much. Once my finals ended, I logged back on to OkCupid. No messages from jmichael08. Other messages from no one interesting. Could he possibly still want to meet? I took the plunge and messaged him again. "Hey, my midterms are over and I survived! Any chance you still want to meet up? I'm sorry for being AWOL for so long!"
That, my friends, was the smartest single decision I've ever made.
He responded quickly and we decided to meet up later in the week at SpiderHouse, a local (very busy, hey, I didn't know this guy from Adam) coffeehouse. The night went stupendously; we ended up staying and talking until they kicked us out. We made plans to meet up the very next night. The rest, as they say, is history. :-)
Wow, that was long.
Did you really just read that?
-Whitney
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
food
Good morning from a gloomy and rain soaked Austin, Texas!
This post may be a little longer than most because I'm going to include some recipes that I've been trying lately! If you aren't interested in reading about food, just skip over that part.
Wedding updates:
Last week we ordered the flowers and I was finally able to pick up my dress after all of the alterations were made. We're hoping to order the invitations some time in the next week. My wedding band finally came in yesterday and I'm super excited to wear both of my rings together!
This past weekend, Jason and I traveled to Ohio for his cousin Matthew's wedding. I got to meet (or see again) most of the members of his dad's side of the family. I didn't sleep a wink, but what an awesome bunch of people! I'm very fortunate that I was raised in such a wonderful family; and now my great fortune continues as join another one. Two great families? I must have hit the jackpot or something. Going to a wedding made me even more anxious for my own. I'm trying not to wish the time away because I know that it will be over really fast, but I just can't wait for it to be here!
81 days :-)
Life updates:
Okay, so good news and bad news. The bad news is we did not get the house that we bid on. The good news? We found an even better one and bid on it. It's difficult for me looking at these HUD houses because there's no guarantee that we'll get it; and even if we do, we have to play the waiting game while bidding is underway. I'm trying not to get too excited, but it's hard not to. I've always wanted my own home, and I can see the light at the end of the apartment living tunnel.
I graduated last week. We had a nice little ceremony and then my family took me out to dinner. While I apply for jobs pretty much every day, I still have had no luck in that department. I only have one remaining paycheck at my current job. Yikes! Despite this, I'm still trying to stay positive and have hope that this whole job thing will work out eventually.
Food updates:
Okay, so now that I'm done with school I obviously need a new section. Since discovering Pinterest, I've been kind of obsessed with finding new recipes to expand my cook book. When I first started dating Jason, I realized that I needed to be doing more cooking. I survived living on my own in college and early grad school on primarily sandwiches, salads and boxed pasta. While those things can sustain me, it's probably not a great thing to have every night, especially with two people. And it wasn't just me; Jason ate like a bachelor. He cooks a lot now too; we like to trade off. My mom was kind enough last year to give me a cook book with some of my favorite recipes from childhood (I'll talk more about this next time), but I noticed that even making these things, Jason and I had a two week rotation with food. It was getting boring. I was determined to incorporate some new things into our diets, thus my Pinterest quest.
Feel free to check out my board, but here are some of the things we've tried so far that we've really enjoyed:
Sweet and Spicy Bacon Chicken
I made this gem of a cake for Jason's birthday. If you don't like chocolate, it's definitely not for you. It's a little time consuming to make, but well worth it in the end. I did not layer the cake, I chose the 9x13 option, so I'm not sure how laying it makes a difference. Jason LOVED this cake, but it was really rich so I haven't made it again (yet). I will probably just save it for special occasions. You cannot even taste the coffee. I think it's more there to darken the color of the cake and enhance the chocolate flavor. Make sure the cocoa powder you use is semi-sweet. Have milk handy when you eat this!
This post may be a little longer than most because I'm going to include some recipes that I've been trying lately! If you aren't interested in reading about food, just skip over that part.
Wedding updates:
Last week we ordered the flowers and I was finally able to pick up my dress after all of the alterations were made. We're hoping to order the invitations some time in the next week. My wedding band finally came in yesterday and I'm super excited to wear both of my rings together!
This past weekend, Jason and I traveled to Ohio for his cousin Matthew's wedding. I got to meet (or see again) most of the members of his dad's side of the family. I didn't sleep a wink, but what an awesome bunch of people! I'm very fortunate that I was raised in such a wonderful family; and now my great fortune continues as join another one. Two great families? I must have hit the jackpot or something. Going to a wedding made me even more anxious for my own. I'm trying not to wish the time away because I know that it will be over really fast, but I just can't wait for it to be here!
81 days :-)
Life updates:
Okay, so good news and bad news. The bad news is we did not get the house that we bid on. The good news? We found an even better one and bid on it. It's difficult for me looking at these HUD houses because there's no guarantee that we'll get it; and even if we do, we have to play the waiting game while bidding is underway. I'm trying not to get too excited, but it's hard not to. I've always wanted my own home, and I can see the light at the end of the apartment living tunnel.
I graduated last week. We had a nice little ceremony and then my family took me out to dinner. While I apply for jobs pretty much every day, I still have had no luck in that department. I only have one remaining paycheck at my current job. Yikes! Despite this, I'm still trying to stay positive and have hope that this whole job thing will work out eventually.
Food updates:
Okay, so now that I'm done with school I obviously need a new section. Since discovering Pinterest, I've been kind of obsessed with finding new recipes to expand my cook book. When I first started dating Jason, I realized that I needed to be doing more cooking. I survived living on my own in college and early grad school on primarily sandwiches, salads and boxed pasta. While those things can sustain me, it's probably not a great thing to have every night, especially with two people. And it wasn't just me; Jason ate like a bachelor. He cooks a lot now too; we like to trade off. My mom was kind enough last year to give me a cook book with some of my favorite recipes from childhood (I'll talk more about this next time), but I noticed that even making these things, Jason and I had a two week rotation with food. It was getting boring. I was determined to incorporate some new things into our diets, thus my Pinterest quest.
Feel free to check out my board, but here are some of the things we've tried so far that we've really enjoyed:
Sweet and Spicy Bacon Chicken
4 chicken breasts cut in thirds (12 pieces)
Bacon slices
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder
chili powder
brown sugar
Cut each breast into 3 pieces, season all the chicken with the spices, then wrap a bacon slice around each piece, roll in brown sugar and place into an oven proof dish....make sure you have some olive oil in the dish too, like 2 or 3 tablespoons is fine.
Bake at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and bacon is nice and brown and crispy. Delicious served with mashed potatoes with some of the gravy from the chicken drizzled on top.
This is one of our new favorites. It's delicious and easy to make.
Some changes and important points we've discovered: we use turkey bacon. It doesn't dry out as fast, it's healthier and actually tastes better (at least we think so). Make sure to completely coat both sides of the chicken pieces with the spices, and try to cover the bacon-wrapped chicken as completely as possible with the brown sugar. I also skip the oil step and just use cooking spray. While we haven't tried it, you can also make this on the grill.
Some changes and important points we've discovered: we use turkey bacon. It doesn't dry out as fast, it's healthier and actually tastes better (at least we think so). Make sure to completely coat both sides of the chicken pieces with the spices, and try to cover the bacon-wrapped chicken as completely as possible with the brown sugar. I also skip the oil step and just use cooking spray. While we haven't tried it, you can also make this on the grill.
Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups Bisquick
4 Tbsp cold butter
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Butter Glaze:
3 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp dried parsley flakes
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease or line one cookie sheet with parchment; set aside.
Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter (I just used 2 forks). Don't worry about mixing too thoroughly; there will be small chunks of butter in the mix about the size of peas. Add cheddar cheese, milk, and garlic powder. Mix by hand until combined, but don't over mix.
Drop 1/4 cup portions of the dough onto the lightly greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 13-15 minutes in preheated oven until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.
While the biscuits are baking, melt butter is a small bowl in the microwave. Stir in garlic powder and dried parsley flakes. Use a brush to spread the garlic butter over the tops of all the biscuits. Sprinkle a little kosher salt on the freshly coated biscuits. Makes one dozen.
2 1/2 cups Bisquick
4 Tbsp cold butter
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Butter Glaze:
3 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp dried parsley flakes
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease or line one cookie sheet with parchment; set aside.
Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter (I just used 2 forks). Don't worry about mixing too thoroughly; there will be small chunks of butter in the mix about the size of peas. Add cheddar cheese, milk, and garlic powder. Mix by hand until combined, but don't over mix.
Drop 1/4 cup portions of the dough onto the lightly greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 13-15 minutes in preheated oven until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.
While the biscuits are baking, melt butter is a small bowl in the microwave. Stir in garlic powder and dried parsley flakes. Use a brush to spread the garlic butter over the tops of all the biscuits. Sprinkle a little kosher salt on the freshly coated biscuits. Makes one dozen.
Oh my gosh these are delicious. The only thing I'd change is that I would recommend using more cheese; sharp cheddar is the best and has the most flavor. Also, be careful with the baking time, it can vary from oven to oven and also based on preferences. I'd start with 10 minutes and go from there.
Black Magic Cake
Ingredients
| 1 3/4 c | all purpose flour |
| 2 c | sugar |
| 3/4 c | cocoa powder |
| 2 tsp | baking soda |
| 1 tsp | baking powder |
| 1 tsp | salt |
| 2 | eggs |
| 1 c | strong black coffee, cooled |
| 1 c | buttermilk |
| 1/2 c | vegetable oil |
| 1 tsp | real vanilla extract |
| CHOCOLATE FROSTING | |
| 1/2 c | margarine, softened |
| 2 oz | melted unsweetened chocolate, cooled |
| 3 c | powdered sugar |
| 3 Tbsp | milk |
| 2 tsp | real vanilla extractDirections
Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer.
Add eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla.
Beat at medium speed for two minutes. Batter will be thin.
Pour batter into a greased and floured 9x13 pan or two 9 inch cake pans.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes for a 9x13, or 30-35 minutes for layer pans.
Combine frosting ingredients and mix with a hand or stand mixer. Spread frosting on cooled cakes.
|
We've tried more recipes, but I will save them for later. Plus you're probably bored by now. Next time I will post some recipes that I had in my original cookbook.
Until next time!
-Whitney
Monday, April 30, 2012
I'll Carry You Home Tonight
So, I realized today that I've gotten to the point where my posts are almost 2 weeks apart. Bad Whitney. I was really on a roll there for a while with my weekly posts. I'll try to get better. This post is a bit long, so get comfortable.
School updates:
Classes are done. Exit survey complete. Technically I can now put the letters MPH after my name. Graduation is Thursday. Bring it!
Wedding updates:
Expenses are still a bit of an issue for me. I had my first major wedding "episode" last weekend because of money. I think I feel more stressed about them because I will likely be unemployed for a while. But really, I'm super excited for this wedding! We have been extremely fortunate with the amount of help we've received and I'm thankful that Jason and I have (or at least had for me) jobs that pay well enough that we can have a beautiful wedding. We've decided to hire a DJ and I'm in the process of developing the playlist now. I have another dress fitting on Thursday and my mom and I will also be looking at flowers. After that, pretty much the only thing left to tackle is the invitations. The closet in the spare bedroom of our apartment has become wedding central. Seriously, we can't even walk in the closet anymore because we're storing so much in there.
So, I feel like now is the time to bring up something I've been hesitant to talk about much on this blog: wedding weight loss. Back in October, I was put on a new medicine for my migraines which works fantastically. Unfortunately, while my head likes this new medicine, my body does not. The first month I was on the medicine I gained about 15 pounds. That was pretty scary. When I talked to my doctor about it, he basically told me that I either have to a) alter my eating and exercise habits to compensate or b) get off the medicine. Anyone who has migraines knows that b was not an option. After the holidays and my engagement, Operation Fit into The Dress was established. All the weight I had gained was in my belly area. Now, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not really an exerciser. Everyday, I do 60 crunches, 20 sit ups, 40 cross crunches and 20 reverse crunches. I also walk the dogs for at least 15 minutes a day and Jason and I try to go on a bike ride at least once a week. Not much in the workout department; call me lazy or whatever, but it's just much easier to control what I eat. So I have. hardcore. Since Christmas, I have not had any soda or fast food, and I only eat sweets on special occasions.
I guess it's working. I've lost 17 pounds since January, and my dress zips up without a struggle. 3 more pounds until I reach my wedding weight goal. I joke with Jason that I'm going to get fat after the wedding. :-)
90 days to go!
Life updates:
Well, still no job prospects. I've reached the 100 mark with applications. Yikes. Despite that, I feel like there are so many positive changes in my life right now. I have a master's degree. I'm getting married to a wonderful man. And Jason and I started looking at houses. Yes, houses! Jason's been making some calls lately and he found out late last week that even if I'm not working, we can afford a mortgage that's approximately what we currently pay for rent. Since Jason's mom is a realtor, she's been helping us a lot. She took us out yesterday to look at some houses and we found one that I totally fell in love with. It's a HUD home, which basically means that it was forclosed on. It's a 2005 nice little 3/2.. basically a perfect starter home. No damage beyond general wear and tear. It was well within our price range, so Jason decided to go ahead and bid on it. We should find out in about a week if we got the house or not. I'm trying to not get my hopes up too high because there's no way we're the only bidders, but at the same time, I loved that house! Please think positive things for us. I feel so fortunate that I'm marrying a man who has managed his money so well. He's making all of my dreams come true! For now, I'm going to continue to focus on the positive things. It's a much better use of my time.
Enough boring you for now. Adios!
-Whitney Hammer, MPH (just because I can!)
School updates:
Classes are done. Exit survey complete. Technically I can now put the letters MPH after my name. Graduation is Thursday. Bring it!
Wedding updates:
Expenses are still a bit of an issue for me. I had my first major wedding "episode" last weekend because of money. I think I feel more stressed about them because I will likely be unemployed for a while. But really, I'm super excited for this wedding! We have been extremely fortunate with the amount of help we've received and I'm thankful that Jason and I have (or at least had for me) jobs that pay well enough that we can have a beautiful wedding. We've decided to hire a DJ and I'm in the process of developing the playlist now. I have another dress fitting on Thursday and my mom and I will also be looking at flowers. After that, pretty much the only thing left to tackle is the invitations. The closet in the spare bedroom of our apartment has become wedding central. Seriously, we can't even walk in the closet anymore because we're storing so much in there.
So, I feel like now is the time to bring up something I've been hesitant to talk about much on this blog: wedding weight loss. Back in October, I was put on a new medicine for my migraines which works fantastically. Unfortunately, while my head likes this new medicine, my body does not. The first month I was on the medicine I gained about 15 pounds. That was pretty scary. When I talked to my doctor about it, he basically told me that I either have to a) alter my eating and exercise habits to compensate or b) get off the medicine. Anyone who has migraines knows that b was not an option. After the holidays and my engagement, Operation Fit into The Dress was established. All the weight I had gained was in my belly area. Now, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not really an exerciser. Everyday, I do 60 crunches, 20 sit ups, 40 cross crunches and 20 reverse crunches. I also walk the dogs for at least 15 minutes a day and Jason and I try to go on a bike ride at least once a week. Not much in the workout department; call me lazy or whatever, but it's just much easier to control what I eat. So I have. hardcore. Since Christmas, I have not had any soda or fast food, and I only eat sweets on special occasions.
I guess it's working. I've lost 17 pounds since January, and my dress zips up without a struggle. 3 more pounds until I reach my wedding weight goal. I joke with Jason that I'm going to get fat after the wedding. :-)
90 days to go!
Life updates:
Well, still no job prospects. I've reached the 100 mark with applications. Yikes. Despite that, I feel like there are so many positive changes in my life right now. I have a master's degree. I'm getting married to a wonderful man. And Jason and I started looking at houses. Yes, houses! Jason's been making some calls lately and he found out late last week that even if I'm not working, we can afford a mortgage that's approximately what we currently pay for rent. Since Jason's mom is a realtor, she's been helping us a lot. She took us out yesterday to look at some houses and we found one that I totally fell in love with. It's a HUD home, which basically means that it was forclosed on. It's a 2005 nice little 3/2.. basically a perfect starter home. No damage beyond general wear and tear. It was well within our price range, so Jason decided to go ahead and bid on it. We should find out in about a week if we got the house or not. I'm trying to not get my hopes up too high because there's no way we're the only bidders, but at the same time, I loved that house! Please think positive things for us. I feel so fortunate that I'm marrying a man who has managed his money so well. He's making all of my dreams come true! For now, I'm going to continue to focus on the positive things. It's a much better use of my time.
Enough boring you for now. Adios!
-Whitney Hammer, MPH (just because I can!)
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
no longer the road to a thesis
I am a terrible blogger.
But really, there's not much to blog about these days.
School updates:
Last Friday was my thesis presentation and it went surprisingly well. I am glad that it's over and done with completely. Graduation is in two weeks and I have a week and a half of classes left. I have mostly been spending my time grading the massive amount of assignments that are due this week and next in the class I TA. I can't believe how quickly these past two years have flown by. It amazes me to think that I've spent the past 6 years in higher education. I've met some of the most amazing people and had some wonderful experiences. I can only hope that the next chapter of my life in the "real world" is equally as fulfilling.
Wedding updates:
Not much is new since last time. We have our food tasting coming up on Friday (yum!) and my second dress fitting is Saturday. I'm excited to put on my dress again. I feel all giddy when I wear it. We also got our guest favors in the mail earlier this week. I am looking forward to you all seeing them! For now I will keep them a secret :-)
102 days to go!
Life updates:
My advisor was able to pull some strings to keep me employed through the end of May. I still have no prospects after that. I've applied for close to 90 jobs now and have yet to have one single interview. It is really hard not to be despondent and depressed about it. If it weren't for the wedding coming up and my impending marriage, I'd feel like my life had no direction at all.
I'm really trying to stay positive but it gets harder with each day that passes without word. I think about all the things I want to do and how very few of them seem achievable if I'm not working in some capacity. My loans are my biggest concern. Come November I've got to start paying on them. Can't very well make payments without an income.
We're kind of on the fence about where we'll be living after July. Our lease is up 2 weeks before the wedding and we can't seem to come to a conclusive decision as to what we want to do. On one hand, we'd love to have a house and a yard and a place to call our own, plus it's a buyers market, but on the other, with only one income as a possibility, owning a home may not be financially feasible. I keep thinking that maybe I should just stay in school. Then I remind myself how difficult and stressful graduate school has been. Could I really do that again for 3 more years (at least)? Yikes.
Please don't get me wrong, I love my life and I know how incredibly fortunate I am to have the things I have. I guess I just need to keep reminding myself of that fact.
Hope I didn't leave this on too depressing of a note.
Until we meet again,
Whitney
But really, there's not much to blog about these days.
School updates:
Last Friday was my thesis presentation and it went surprisingly well. I am glad that it's over and done with completely. Graduation is in two weeks and I have a week and a half of classes left. I have mostly been spending my time grading the massive amount of assignments that are due this week and next in the class I TA. I can't believe how quickly these past two years have flown by. It amazes me to think that I've spent the past 6 years in higher education. I've met some of the most amazing people and had some wonderful experiences. I can only hope that the next chapter of my life in the "real world" is equally as fulfilling.
Wedding updates:
Not much is new since last time. We have our food tasting coming up on Friday (yum!) and my second dress fitting is Saturday. I'm excited to put on my dress again. I feel all giddy when I wear it. We also got our guest favors in the mail earlier this week. I am looking forward to you all seeing them! For now I will keep them a secret :-)
102 days to go!
Life updates:
My advisor was able to pull some strings to keep me employed through the end of May. I still have no prospects after that. I've applied for close to 90 jobs now and have yet to have one single interview. It is really hard not to be despondent and depressed about it. If it weren't for the wedding coming up and my impending marriage, I'd feel like my life had no direction at all.
I'm really trying to stay positive but it gets harder with each day that passes without word. I think about all the things I want to do and how very few of them seem achievable if I'm not working in some capacity. My loans are my biggest concern. Come November I've got to start paying on them. Can't very well make payments without an income.
We're kind of on the fence about where we'll be living after July. Our lease is up 2 weeks before the wedding and we can't seem to come to a conclusive decision as to what we want to do. On one hand, we'd love to have a house and a yard and a place to call our own, plus it's a buyers market, but on the other, with only one income as a possibility, owning a home may not be financially feasible. I keep thinking that maybe I should just stay in school. Then I remind myself how difficult and stressful graduate school has been. Could I really do that again for 3 more years (at least)? Yikes.
Please don't get me wrong, I love my life and I know how incredibly fortunate I am to have the things I have. I guess I just need to keep reminding myself of that fact.
Hope I didn't leave this on too depressing of a note.
Until we meet again,
Whitney
Thursday, April 5, 2012
I have run out of clever titles.
Bonjour to my loyal readers,
Hopefully I have not kept you waiting too long since my last posting. There is still not much going on to report, but I'll do my very best.
School updates:
Not only is my thesis done, it's also submitted. All I have to do now is present/defend my findings next Friday. Pretty exciting, and I can definitely now breathe a huge sigh of relief! It's weird to think that in less than a month I'll no longer be able to provide school updates. While I was somewhat hopeful about finding a job here at school after my graduation, it doesn't look like that's going to be possible now. Most public health work is based on grant money, and if there's no money coming in, none can go out either. Bummer.
Wedding updates:
We've got a big weekend coming up in wedding land. Tomorrow is (finally) my first dress fitting. It will also be the first time I've put the dress on in almost two months. Guess it's time to find out if my weight loss plan is working. Saturday is our cake testing! Jason is pretty stoked about this. He doesn't care at all what the cake looks like, but rather what it tastes like. Fear not, I'll be there to make sure it's pretty too. We've ordered our guest favors (which I'll keep a secret for now ;-) ), and mostly just have a few little things left to get. Jason got fitted for his tux last weekend, so that's out of the way too. My wedding boots came in on Monday (thanks to Mrs. Fry for the inspiration!) and they are adorable. I feel pretty proud of how far I've come with all this wedding planning. I guess it's the organizer in me.
Life updates:
Still no luck on the job front. My advisor has agreed to keep me employed at the school through the end of May, but none of the other 75 jobs I've now applied for have panned out thus far. Is it really this hard for people to find a job after graduating with a master's? It's got me quite despondent these days. I try to keep positive by thinking about the wedding, but then I remember that I need money to pay for that. Which I won't be earning if I'm not working. I know that all of my sappiness is worrying Jason and I don't want to, but it really is upsetting me. I can't even be proud of my school work because I feel like it hasn't done anything for me.
On a more positive note, I've tried to make it a point of becoming a better cook before the wedding. I still mess up sometimes, but I've added a lot of recipes to our book thanks mostly to Pinterest. I try to keep things diverse in the kitchen so that we're not always eating the same 12 things. I shall continue this quest even post-wedding!
I suppose that's it for now.
Adios until next time,
Whitney
Hopefully I have not kept you waiting too long since my last posting. There is still not much going on to report, but I'll do my very best.
School updates:
Not only is my thesis done, it's also submitted. All I have to do now is present/defend my findings next Friday. Pretty exciting, and I can definitely now breathe a huge sigh of relief! It's weird to think that in less than a month I'll no longer be able to provide school updates. While I was somewhat hopeful about finding a job here at school after my graduation, it doesn't look like that's going to be possible now. Most public health work is based on grant money, and if there's no money coming in, none can go out either. Bummer.
Wedding updates:
We've got a big weekend coming up in wedding land. Tomorrow is (finally) my first dress fitting. It will also be the first time I've put the dress on in almost two months. Guess it's time to find out if my weight loss plan is working. Saturday is our cake testing! Jason is pretty stoked about this. He doesn't care at all what the cake looks like, but rather what it tastes like. Fear not, I'll be there to make sure it's pretty too. We've ordered our guest favors (which I'll keep a secret for now ;-) ), and mostly just have a few little things left to get. Jason got fitted for his tux last weekend, so that's out of the way too. My wedding boots came in on Monday (thanks to Mrs. Fry for the inspiration!) and they are adorable. I feel pretty proud of how far I've come with all this wedding planning. I guess it's the organizer in me.
Life updates:
Still no luck on the job front. My advisor has agreed to keep me employed at the school through the end of May, but none of the other 75 jobs I've now applied for have panned out thus far. Is it really this hard for people to find a job after graduating with a master's? It's got me quite despondent these days. I try to keep positive by thinking about the wedding, but then I remember that I need money to pay for that. Which I won't be earning if I'm not working. I know that all of my sappiness is worrying Jason and I don't want to, but it really is upsetting me. I can't even be proud of my school work because I feel like it hasn't done anything for me.
On a more positive note, I've tried to make it a point of becoming a better cook before the wedding. I still mess up sometimes, but I've added a lot of recipes to our book thanks mostly to Pinterest. I try to keep things diverse in the kitchen so that we're not always eating the same 12 things. I shall continue this quest even post-wedding!
I suppose that's it for now.
Adios until next time,
Whitney
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