laughed until we cried

Have I mentioned how much I love fall Saturdays?  Once or twice?  Ok, well just in case you missed it, I love college football Saturdays, and this weekend was no different.  Because Saturday was my little brother's 18th birthday, and one of our friends had recently moved back to our hometown, we packed our things and headed south. 

I decided to combine JT's birthday 'cake' with our tailgate dessert (in order to not have ungodly amounts of desserts to consume).  A while back I had seen bakerella make the cutest cupcake 'sliders' with sugar cookie fries.  This seemed like the perfect time to try those out.  These were surprisingly easy to make--mainly because I used box mixes for everything--cupcakes, brownies, cookies, and icing.  The 'sliders' and fries looked great, and my taste-testers all agreed that they tasted even better! 

We made plans for everyone to meet at my parents' house to watch the game, then we would 'hit the (small) town.'  I don't think anyone could have expected how much fun we would actually have.  I literally laughed until I cried (during commercial breaks of course) at moments, and loved yet another Saturday watching my favorite team with my favorite people.  After the unbelievably long game-for the second week in a row-we went to the 'local hangout.'  The night continued to be one to remember when we ran into people we hadn't seen since high school.  "Ah, memories."

feels like home

Last week was the first home game of the season for Georgia and it felt great to be back in Athens again.  Thanks to our football fanatic, we had a great tailgating spot, and his trusty companion made sure that we were well fed while we were there.  We stuffed ourselves with veggie burgers, pulled pork, mac'n cheese, dips galore and cupcake kabobs. A 7 o'clock kick off also gave at least nine hours of pre-gaming for most people on campus and ensured that there was plenty of entertainment for onlookers ;)  Saturday was a perfect time to catch up with old friends that I haven't seen in awhile- if one thing can bring us all together its Georgia football!     We had a great time and I can't wait 'til next week!

party in the usa

One of my favorite activities of the school year combines teaching and baking: cookie geography. My students have been studying the regions of North America so as a little assessment we create U.S. regional maps using cookies and candy. (yes, I know right now you are reminiscing about how easy life was at age 9- may I interject here that I have the best job ever!) The students are divided into groups and each group has a set of supplies and directions that they use to create their maps. I was really impressed at how well they worked in teams this year and the maps turned out great. The kids love creating their maps but after intense observation, I can state with full confidence that their favorite part is devouring the final product!

i want to hold your hand

Although I've fallen quite behind on posting--and baking :(--I hope that the beginning-of-the-school-year-madness will come to an end soon and I will be back in the kitchen! My mother's birthday was at the end of August and that provided me with a no-excuses reason to bake. This one was really 'out-there' as far as flavors go, but turned out to be pretty good. I made an orange cake with a coconut filling and a lime buttercream frosting. The frosting was AMAZING (if I do say so my self). It actually paired quite well with the orange cake, but next time I would skip coconut filling. I would love to try the frosting again on another type of cake--maybe something margarita inspired? (yum!) This was also one of my first attempts decorating with fondant. I made my own marshmallow fondant (because I can't stand the taste of the other) and it turned out to be easier to work with than I had anticipated. The shapes were pretty basic, but I'm taking babysteps. Mom loved her cake-although she did request something smaller and chocolaty for next time ;).


Now its college football season- let the tailgate baking begin!

three little birds

"...and when your stomach is empty and your mind is full its hard to sleep. But eventually, sleep and Wilbur found each other."

It's nearing 11 o'clock on a school night, two and a half weeks into the year. I've been lying in bed for the past 45 minutes hoping that, by some miracle, I would fall asleep. Instead I lay here reviewing the day in my head, my mind unable to focus on anything else but my students- present and past.

Today I had my students create timelines of their lives. We are going to use them as starters for writing autobiographies. The kids were really excited. I was a bit worried that they wouldn't know what to include (expecting to hear a thousand "I don't have anything to put"s) so I gave a few of my own examples- the birth of my brother, graduating high school, going to college, a family vacation- just to get their ideas flowing. They didn't need my help. My little worker bees got right to it; recording every wonderful (and less-than-wonderful) event they could remember from births to 'fiestas' and everything in between. I was impressed by how well they were doing. I myself had had a difficult time coming up with momentous occasions to include on my own timeline. After taking a closer look at each student's work, I realized they had an advantage over me--they have experienced far more life in their nine years than I have in 23.

Scattered among the cheery memories of birthday celebrations and first pets were those of sibling death and family upheaval. It isn't that I forget that my students are different than most students living in the surrounding areas. Many are from single parents homes, and almost all are economically disadvantaged, but my knowledge on those topics is often from paperwork, not observation. On the surface, they don't 'go without.' For the most part they are all fed, clothed, and clean; but, underneath the Hannah Montana and WWE t-shirts are hearts that are marred with hurt. Now don't get me wrong, our school is filled with smiling, happy children who love life and thirst for knowlege, but I will never know what it is like to live in their shoes. I have never experienced the pain of leaving all I've ever known (family, friends, my native language and country) for a so-called 'better life.' Nor do I know the grief of loosing my older brother to gun shot. I don't know what it is like to "apartment jump" or be bounced around to which ever family member is the most stable at the time. I especially don't know what it is like to brush my sholders off and move on afterwards.

I am amazed at the things my students have experenced at such a young age, but even more, I am amazed at the twenty-six fantastic little people who show up in my classroom Monday-Friday with smiles on their faces and joy in their hearts, ready to take on the day. They look adversity in the face, give it the proverbial finger, and keep going. I don't know how they do it, but I hope that one day they realize what outstanding people they are-even at age nine.

can't help falling in love

I love any occasion that gives me the opportunity to bake. I especially love it when there is an engagement involved! On July 24 family and friends of Kristen and Micah headed to Toccoa for a surprise engagement party (graciously organized by Tiff). It was perfect and, although I don't know how, everyone managed to keep it a secret. The happy couple were glowing when they arrived. We had a delicious spread of food including hamburgers-two black bean burgers ;)-, potato salad, veggies, and of course, my favorite, cupcakes! I decided to make white chocolate cupcakes (a new recipe since I wasn't thrilled with the last one I'd used) with a peach whipped cream icing. The critics gave them two thumbs up. The cupcakes were quite sweet, but the whipped cream icing was a nice match (instead of a more sugary choice). Now I can't wait for the taste testings and wedding! (Did I mention that Kristen asked me to make her wedding cake!?!)

livin' la vida loca

I was recently invited to a friends house for dinner. It had been a while since I had seen these ladies and I was super excited to see them all! On the menu was margaritas and quesadillas so when I was asked to bring a dessert I thought this would be a perfect time to try out my recipe for tres leches cupcakes! Tres Leches is one of my favorite desserts, so I had high expectations for this recipe. I was a bit disappointed by the cake--a little too grainy and cornbread like for my taste--but overall I liked the recipe. The combination of evaporated milk, sweetened condenced milk, and half and half was a delicious glaze, and homemade whipped cream topped this cake off perfectly!