Motivational Push

So today I've been re-evaluating my life...where I've been, where I'm at, where I want to be....that sort of stuff.  I have a set goal in mind, a strong dedication to that goal, but sometimes my motivation tends to lack.  Even though my routine is still going great....school is better than ever...I'm doing fantastic in ROTC...it's all rolling perfectly fine but sometimes I feel so late in the game.  I feel like I should already have my bachelor's degree and that I should be working a full time job being a "real" adult you could say.  Don't get me wrong, I know plenty of adults in my classes who are getting their degree for the first time but many of them have lived a good...maybe hard...but good life with maybe kids and/or a spouse.

I live a good life with my husband.  We have no kids though...nothing to really tie us down so school is a good option right now...but we can't really do all the things we want to since money is tight because of me only working part time and paying for tuition suckssss.

So with that being said...sometimes I feel like I'll be over exhausted before I get to my goal....

And other times....I feel like my goal is still so far away....

And a lot of times...I feel like I spent a good part of my life like this...

And so I stress myself out because all I wanna be is here...

Can I get an amen people?  Am I the only that feels like this? lol  Ughhhh...that's life right!

So I've been looking for ways to motivate myself....my family, my husband, my close friends.
It get's hard but I know that I can get there.  I have a great support system.  It's me that I have to keep convincing that time is going to fly and before I know it, all my dreams will happen.  In the mean time...I should post a few of these all around me house!

Heavenly Breakfast: Avocados, Eggs, and Stuffed French Toast!

So this morning I got experimental.  I found some more yummy recipes online and decided to pick two of them to make this morning.  Eggs and avocado with strawberry stuffed french toast.

The first one is from a blogger I follow.  Yummy avocados and eggs.

Here's my edited version

1 avocado

if you are making for two like me, 3-4 eggs

5 cherry tomatoes, halved

1/4 green pepper

1/8 sweet yellow onion
Adobo to taste

1 tsp of olive oil

1. hard-boil your egg(s) using your preferred method. let cool, peel and mash roughly (you’ll want it to be chunky).

2. slice the avocado open, scoop out the innards, and dice.

3. rinse and halve your cherry tomatoes. dice the bell pepper.

4. place all veggies in a small pan and sauté with olive oil and sprinkle with a few shakes of Adobo.

5. mix all ingredients together.

6. eat.

The recipe for the french toast comes from tastykitchen.com

I used a recipe from allrecipes.com for the batter.  

You'll also need:

- whipped cream cheese

- sliced strawberries

- sliced bread (I used Sara Lee Soft & Smooth bread)  

1. Spread cream cheese on two slices of bread.

2. Place sliced strawberries on one of the slices of bread. Then place the other slice of bread on top (cream cheese sides facing inwards...like a sandwich)

3.  Dip each side into the french toast batter.  

4. Cook each side in a frying pan until golden brown.

Ok so there are the recipes...and here is the finished product!

Sinful Summer School

I really don't know why I do this to myself lol.

So last week I finished my Spring semester ending my first year at UNCP.  I'm happy to say that I ended with straight As once again but the best thing was I got no A minuses.  Just 5 pretty little A's.  I was ecstatic.  =)

So you'd think I'd reward myself with a nice long summer by the pool sipping lemonade right?  NOPE!  This summer I'm taking three classes, one during each summer term.  Here at UNCP we have a Maymester term, which started this past Monday, where you can take one class in just 10 days.  Seems easy right?  Yeah except you have to be in a classroom for 4 hours a day and you take a test everyday that counts for 17% of your grade.  So fun.  I'm doing well though.  It's BIO 1000 which is the most basic science course offered (can you tell I'm not a fan? haha)  I should end with an A- or an A.  I just need to study really hard for these next 7 days and I'll be right where I want to be.
The other two classes I'm doing online so it won't be too bad.  It took me a few years to really figure out how to take an online class.  One of these days I'll have to post some tips for you all that are thinking about taking one.  They can be easy but your studying techniques are a whole lot different than an classroom course.

So its been very busy lately.  I know I've been MIA since the beginning of finals week.  We had our company's commissioning ceremony this past weekend.  It went well.  I'm happy to announce that 5 new highly trained officers have entered into the ranks of our military.  I couldn't be more proud of this group.  I worked very closely with most of them this past semester to keep our company running smooth and they will be surely missed.  I wish them the best of luck on their new endeavors.  And I'd just like that say a big congrats to all the 2012 Commissionees.  You did it!

Campbell Battalion Military Ball 2012

So I had my military ball was yesterday.  I had a good time.  The All American Chorus performed for us and they did an amazing job.  They performed a neat demonstration of an airborne jump.  They also performed some great patriotic songs by Toby Keith including "American Soldier" and "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue" as well as "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood.  The only thing that was missing was my husband but it was for the better.  He had a ton of work to do with his team and some of the guests in attendance at the ball put a bad taste in his mouth so we decided it would be best if I go alone this time.  He did comment on how beautiful I looked though before I headed out to my ball.  Hopefully next year this time, he won't be deployed or anything so he can join me.  =)

Anywho, I got a scholarship award of $850 while I was there.  I felt pretty darn proud of myself.  I was one out of six people I think that got the award from our Battalion of 200+ cadets.  Another cadet from UNCP got the same award too.  It was nice to be able to represent UNCP at the ball like that.  Another funny thing about the ball was that purple was the color of the night when it came to the ladies dresses.  Now I wasn't particular on the color of my dress when I picked it out.  It was just the one I liked best on me.  I was also shopping last minute so I only went to one store.  I picked up my dress at Ross for $40 and my shoes at Shoe Show for $10.  Talk about a deal!  My hair cut and style was $40.  My neighbor did my makeup and I painted my own nails so my expenses came out to less than $100 and I did everything within three days of the ball.  I call that skill lol.

Here are some pics of the night.  Enjoy!

All American Chorus

Here are some videos of the All American Chorus.  I was able to find one that shows part of the airborne demonstration and also one of the chorus singing "God Bless the USA".  I know its not the same as seeing them in person but even the videos give me goosebumps.  I love seeing our soldiers singing songs like these.  Just shows how talented our Americas soldiers are...that they would make time out of their regular MOS jobs to be apart of a chorus like this.  God Bless the USA =)

More Rainbows: Blog Shares

So I'm still exploring different rainbow treats lol.  I think what intrigues me most is the combination of so many bright colors.  Today I have a few of my favorite rainbow treats I'd like to share from some blogs that I follow.  Enjoy!

1.  The first on my list is from one of my favorite bloggers SugarBelle.  She makes the most amazing cookies ever.  These are her rainbow cookie favors.  I love how she bordered the edges of the cloud.  The scripting for the name is so precise too!  Can you see the little heart used on the i's?  :)

SugarBelle's Rainbow cookies

2.  Number two on my list is from Darla from Bakingdom.  I think this cake is just awesome how she made a heart inside the cake!  This one was so neat.  :)

3.  Third is Caroline from Chocolate and Carrots.  She made a mini rainbow cake...not so mini once all the layers are stacked but still beautifully delicious all the same.  :)  You can check out more pics of this cake on her guest post on Bakingdom.

4.  Number four is Manda from IamBaker.  She made some really neat homemade rainbow sprinkles and decorated her cake that way.  

You can also check out some cool rainbow recipes at Tablespoon.com

Again with my rainbow fetish :)

So my rainbow cake was a hit yesterday at my neighbor's birthday party.  All the kids loved it and so did all the parents.  Everyone wanted a piece!  There was none left by the end of the party so my husband didn't get a slice by the time he showed up haha.  Next time I'll make a 9 x 13 instead of a 10" square.

So this morning I was still in my rainbow mode and so can you guess what we had for breakfast??? LOL  Yep rainbow pancakes.  I decided to get a little creative and cut out little stars from the pancakes.  You might be thinking I made these pancakes for my kids except I have none aside from my lovely chihuahuas. Yep, a grown woman and man ate rainbow pancakes from breakfast haha.  My chihuahuas ate the cut-out leftovers from the pancakes.  My husband says I'm going rainbow crazy.  Maybe I am haha!

Rainbows Everywhere!

Lately I've been obsessed with rainbow treats.  I've discovered a recipe website called Tablespoon.  This website has so many neat recipes and especially rainbow treats!  My neighbor is having an early birthday party for her daughter before her husband deploys so I volunteered to make the cake for the party.  Last night I attempted one of the rainbow treats I found on Tablespoon.  The recipe I used was actually to make mini rainbow cakes but instead of making the cake into small cakes, I left them as is.

The first step was to make the colored cake batter.  I used classic and neon food coloring for the colors as directed by the recipe.  For the orange, I used a 2:1 ration of classic yellow and red.  This gave me a nice vibrant orange.  Depending on how much batter you are using (I used a little over a cup of batter each), you'll need between 15-30 drops to make sure your cake gets a nice bright color.

This blue came from the neon food coloring set.  I only need about 15 drops to get this color.

The green was a mixture of classic and neon greens.  I didn't actually record how much of each I needed. I just kept mixing until I got a bright and vibrant green.  I think I used about 25 drops.

Next was to bake each color separately.  First, I put parchment paper in my baking pan and then spread one batch of cake batter.  The parchment paper helps with easy clean up and faster baking.  Once the batter is spread out on the parchment paper, it may not look like much but once the cake is done, it will be a nice thick cake.

Each layer bakes for only 10 minutes.  Like I said, the parchment paper made for faster baking.  I was able to switch the layers out quickly to cool.  Let each layer cool for at least 10 minutes.

Once all the layers have been baked and cooled, it's now time to stack and frost!

At first, it's going to look messy but once all the layers are stacked and frosted, I put the cake in the freezer for two hours.

After 2 hours in the freezer, I took the cake out and cut off the sides to make the layers even.  Next I frosted the top and viola!  You have yourself a rainbow cake!  It's not the most amazing but hey it looks pretty good for my first one!  I chose not to frost the sides because the colors were so pretty.

You can check out this recipe here.  Try it for yourself.  Post a comment and let me know how yours comes out.  =)