In the midst of studying, passing my classes, planning more of the wedding, finding a place to live in Fargo and eventually graduating, I have not been around in internet world. However, after graduating and currently failing to find a job fresh out of college, I seem to have a lot more time on my hands!

My blog has seemingly been lacking a lot of things - sometimes personality - but over the next few weeks I hope to make a fresh start. Coming up: Cake Balls, current loves on the internet and life as a pre-housewife housewife.

Stay tuned!

J
This is a project that I've been dieing to try after seeing the idea here. It is really simple and all you need is patience (to let the paint dry!)I used the clay terracotta potters for mine and scrapbooking paper.


What You'll Need: 3 Terracotta potters (about 6 inches in diameter); 3 terracotta saucers in varying sizes (I used 8", 11 3/4" and 12 1/2"); the 12"x12" scrapbooking paper, hot glue/hot glue gun, a pencil, scissors, acrylic paint of your desired color(s) and spongy brushes.

Step 1: Set up your work station and dust off your terracotta pieces (I found mine at home repair stores that were outside, but they were on sale because it was during the end of summer).

Step 2: Trace the bottom of your saucers on your paper. I learned this the hard way and waited after my paint was dry and ended up with pencil marks. You may have to cut your pieces a little smaller than what you traced but that's ok. I also learned that even if you can't cut a perfect it you can't notice because there will be other things to look at!

Step 3: Start to paint your pieces. I did the potters first because I wanted to get a feel for it. Remember that you do not need to paint the bottoms or insides of the potters. I used an up and down motion similar to painting a wall so I got smooth lines.



The middles of the saucers do not need to be painted either unless you are not going to use any paper for it. For this I went in a circle following the saucer for the first layer. You do not need to be fancy for the first layer as long as things are covered up.



Step 4: Be Patient! Let the paint dry before you add your second coat!

Step 5: Add your second coat of paint. This time do it in slower, nicer, smoother fashion than before. Make sure you don't have splotches or drips. Let dry.

*This would be a perfect time to heat up your hot glue gun and cut out your circles*

Step 6: Put your circles in each of the saucers to be sure that they fit. Use your hot glue gun to put a little dab in the circle.

*The reason for this is so you get the paper on there where you want it while the glue dries fast. Again I learned the hard way (twice!)...I used glue on the whole thing first and got too finicky with the paper so the glue was mostly hard by the time I got it on...and then I moved too quickly and the paper got caught before it was in the middle.*



Anyway, once you have the paper where you want it, go around adding glue and attaching your paper.


Step 7: Go ahead and assemble - if you like. Make sure you calculate where the center is for those potters. You could trace around the bottom if they look centered to you or you could get fancy with a ruler. You can use your hot glue gun to stick them together! I have to store mine for a while so I did not attach the pieces together, but I did stack them just to see how they would look:


You can also add any decorative ribbon around the edge of the saucers. I left mine plain so far because I really like the clean lines and the detail of the paper.

Here is my finished result:

These were written by my future mother-in-law about a wedding we just attended.

10 Ways to Make a Wedding Guest Miserable.

1.The only place to pee is behind a bush.
Even though there were two porta potties, bushes are always preferable.

2.Make sure the hike to the wedding venue has lots of mud puddles.
There must be a torrential down pour for these mud puddles to exist. And many people in high heals to sink through the mud.

3.Have a 2 hour wait between the wedding and the reception.
Yes, it must be 2 hours (longer is a plus).

4.Open the reception room so everyone can look out the window, and watch you have photos taken for 2 hours.
As if looking at the couple kissing and making out is a gag-me terrific moment, there should also be pictures of them in that stance for 2 hours. And remember, those two hours must be added onto the two hours between the wedding and reception.

5.Don't have a open bar.


6.Have the bride wear a stupid hat.
Top hats as a veil are always a plus.

7.Do not have a host or hostess.
Have people run to food without their tables being excused.

8.Do not have reserved tables for the parents and grandparents.
Make sure your family/parents have no place to sit close to the bridal party table. And also, make sure that the groom's parents sit by themselves way in the back.

9.Have the bride and groom kiss in stupid poses, until everyone wishes they would just go to their room.
See number 4.

10.Have the music so loud your ears bleed.

A new, upcoming DJ playing "good" songs from when I was in 7th grade (I'm almost 22 now) loudly for dinner music is that last must have.

Photo received from: http://poorrichard.files.wordpress.com/2007/04/bridezilla.jpg
Will someone let me know if that is truly possible? If so, I could use some advice. Fictoris and I have this saying, "Goose Frava". I am really not sure what it means, but he decided to say it about a year ago when times were stressed. Its so weird to say it that it makes things go away and you find yourself asking "What is 'Goose Frava?'"

Fictoris and I are getting married in a year and a month, and I feel rather proud of myself for all that we have accomplished and gotten done before then. Especially after hearing about upcoming weddings.

I am on the verge of annoying when it comes to being organized and planned, so doing all the preparations is no way out of the ordinary for me. Last week, I almost had a breakdown just by going over the flower list, and wondering what would work for us and how much money and all the Ah! type of things that came up. We are going to a wedding soon that really has not had very much planned; the only dates and times we know are what are on the invite and to be honest, I'm really not sure that I'm even welcomed at this wedding. After things that went down tonight, and I will spare you the gruesome details, I have all of a sudden felt VERY good about our future wedding. And I would like to give us some credit for all that we have done, even though many other people accomplish exactly the same thing.

So, kudos to me and Fictoris for having a DJ, having a florist (kudos to Fictoris mom!), booking a venue w/ great food, and booking a fabulous vintage auditorium for our wedding ceremony! Also, kudos to us for doing all this by many great DIY ideas from many of the wedding sites on the website and for making this OUR own, not his or her own - because marriage and friendship is all about the "we" factor, not the "I" factor.

Lastly, I give a great pat on the back, and maybe a hug, to all you other future brides and grooms for going through the exact same thing! I know we'll all be experiencing stress through out the next few months, buts just remember "Goose Frava" and a damn good stress ball (or a mate that gives one hell of a back rub).

Photo received from: http://www.etsu.edu/tips/pictures/Stress-ZebraStripes.jpg
Recently, Fictoris wrote a blog about learning Social Networking skills from small towns. In his blog he states that everyone knows everyone and their second cousin in small towns. Now if you’re not from North Dakota or a lesser populated state, a small “town” to you maybe a town of 50,000 people, or even 100,000 people - depending where you are from. But here in good ol’ ND, small is about 500 people or even less! The main thesis of his blog was to learn from the individuals in these towns that take a general interest in their neighbors/friends/citizens.

Can social networks learn something from this small closeness of a community? Can individuals learn something from the web of people and their connections in a community?

Social networks have been around far longer than the internet has, but now it seems like whenever we hear “social network”, we have learned to think about Twitter or Facebook. I have expressed a fear in lack of communication and social skills in people thanks to all that is capable because of the internet. And living with a self-proclaimed nerd, it is not an easy fight to win. Sometimes I think people have forgotten about face to face communication and the bonding that you can really only get through interpersonal socializing. Both social networks online and any individual can learn so much from a community that is made up of 90% of people over 65 years in age. These are the people that have seen the process of technology and the changes it has had on the world. These are the people that have seen and learned so much, and yet still are able to find that bond - that closeness - that link, to each individual they encounter.

Now I am in no way disapproving of online social networking (I’m on Twitter and Facebook and yes, sadly at one time MySpace). I just hope that people also remember their bonds with other individuals through other social networks besides the internet. And whether online or face to face, show an interest in whomever you meet and be part of something no matter how big or small you think it may be.
I have always thought that I was born in the wrong decade.

This is my list of five of my favorite leading men and little tid-bits about them. There is no particular order because how could you chose from these five fabulous men?

1) Ol' Blue Eyes - Mr. Frank Sinatra

Although Frank is known for his music, I like seeing him on the silver screen as well. He has won an Academy Award and was also nominated for another. My personal favorite is On the Town with one of my other favorite leading men. I'm not sure why he is one of my favorites - but do I really need a reason?



2) Mr. Marlon Brando

He is very well known as a sex-symbol in his early works, such as A Streetcar Named Desire. Then during his later years everyone knows him as The Godfather. The first movie I saw with Marlon Brando in was Guys and Dolls. I instantly fell in love with his deep, wispy voices. He is dubbed as one of the best male actors of all time and has won 2 Academy Awards plus 6 other nominations, 1 Emmy award, 2 Golden Globes plus 4 other nominations, and several other foreign awards and nominations*.



3) Mr. Gene Kelly

I do not think I could get sick of watching Gene Kelly's feet. The way he dances and moves is beautiful. Of course, everyone knows him from Singin' In the Rain (which is one of the few movies I could watch over and over again without getting sick of it). However, again I liked him in On the Town with Frank Sinatra. Maybe I just love the movie, or those two actors together (although they have done a few other movies together), either way his movies are wonderful. I really respect his dance scenes because of how lively the colors and moves are - they're extraordinary.

4) Sir Thomas Sean Connery

Okay, so beyond the whole Scottish accent and the Bond thing, not a lot of people that I know know him for anything else. Fictoris and I watched The Rock today on television and this is what started this whole list. He has been in numerous prestigious/popular series such as Indiana Jones and the Bond Movies. He has won numerous awards for such films as The Untouchables and is dubbed as one of the greatest living Scots.



5) James (Jimmy) Stewart

Love, love, love James Stewart. The first movie I saw with him in it was Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. I love his early work in the black and white films. Out of all the men on this list, I think I have watched the most of his movies. I really enjoy the characters that he portrays in a lot of his movies. He has played numerous roles in Alfred Hitchcock and Frank Capra movies. Aside from Mr. Smith, other of my favorite movies with him in are Shop Around the Corner and The Stratton Story.*


So I say again, it is hard to pick just one of these men. Each one has contributed something to the movie industry and I am just happy that we are lucky to see their films. I realize there are plenty of other men that deserve honorable mention, and if I had time I would list more. However, these are my favorite men to watch. Whenever there is a movie on with one of these men on, I put the things that I am doing down and watch.

*Photos and information were taken off of Wikipedia. Movie information was from IMBd. *

I got this inspiration from Project Wedding:

I've known for a while that I want to use this idea. So today I tried/attempted a couple to see how well they would go. This is what I got and need opinions:


Sorry about the photo...anyway, these are my color options. The purple is a nice mix between dark and light, and the green is a nice kelly green. I am personally a fan of the purple...


Next, are legs or no legs? I found that if you do not have something that helps you fold or cut little, it is very difficult to do the legs. Especially if you like things close to perfect.


The backdrop is next. I chose a darker like pattern and a colorful like pattern (see below) to see what would look best. These will NOT be the finalized backdrops, but I just needed color options to judge against.


In all, I found that I liked the purple, without the legs, with the darker backdrop. My fiance, Fictoris, is pretty much happy with whatever I pick out. The information I am going to put on the four sides include: Disposable Camera information, Kisses for the Bride and Groom (its a little poem that refers to people singing songs instead of clinking their glasses for PDA), a photo of us, and a little couple trivia. You can find more options and ideas from the Project Wedding website.

Please remember that things will be done a lot nicer for the wedding. I was just trying to get an idea of what options I had and how long each one would take for me to make it (which was by the way, about 10-15 minutes when I got the hang of it). Enjoy!

Where I live we have been living out of porta-potties for the past 2-3 weeks due to severe flooding. Yes, I said porta-potties. Anyway, good news is that we have been issued to use minimal water. Which means we get to go to the bathroom! However, that little things that you don't think twice about are affected. For example, cooking and cleaning. It is very difficult to cook without being able to use a little bit of water, whether it be to us it in the meal, to clean up or to wash vegtables. I thought making a pizza and a salad would be fairly easy to do without water. Stupid me.


I really thought this would be fairly easy. I bought pre-made dough/flatbread that came with the pizza sauce, pizza cheese, pepporoni, and mushrooms. Under normal circumstances, I would have totally made my own pizza sauce, but again no water=no dirty dishes for a while. And if I could make dough in my apartment, I would have done that too (see my previous blog post about me and dough). I used a plastic bowl and bottled drinking water to cleanse the mushrooms. Anyway, the pizza did turn out pretty good and was fairly easy to do!


Then I craved a salad... I usually just buy pre-packaged salad to begin with, but always have to rinse it. So I grabbed a strainer, my jug of drinking water, the salad and headed to the bathroom (where things are plugged). I drizzled the water over the salad and cleaned it the best I could.

I have found a new love for raspberry salad dressing. It works quite well with the salt in croutons, seeds, cheese or whatever you like to use. I use croutons and feta cheese and it was delicious (please excuse the plastic bowl and fork...oh, and the yellow counter tops!)


If you wanted to know...

Pizza
Package of pizza dough (I was lucky to find stuff that came with the packaged sauce too)
Package of pepperoni
1/2 lb of Pizza cheese
1 cup of mushrooms

Raspberry Salad
Package of any type of salad mix you like
1/4 c of Raspberry dressing
Any toppings you prefer (I used Texas Toast Croutons and Feta cheese)
...To learn how to make these:

1) Canned Salsa - First of all, I've always wanted to learn how to can foods. Surprisingly though, my family has never done it (at least from what I know of). Lucky for me my future parents-in-laws are not only growing numerous types of peppers, but they also know how to can. I asked my future mother-in-law if she would teach me to can salsa.



2) Fondant - I've always been fascinated by using/decorating with fondant. There are many recipes on the internet about making homemade fondant, but I think I'll start with pre-rolled fondant and learn from there. Perhaps I should practice for my wedding because I want to be able to make my own top of the cake (the rest of the cake will be cupcakes!).




3) Homemade Knoephla Soup - For those non-Germans that don't know what Knoephla soup is...it is one of the best (in my opinion) soups out there. Knoephla means "dumpling". You can buy frozen packaged dumplings and thaw them, but it really is not the same. I would like to learn to actually make the dough. Also, my first and last attempt at Knoephla followed a recipe that required a couple pounds of butter...I learned and will modify my next recipe to completely X out the butter all together.


4) Poultry - I would LOVE to learn how to cook any type of poultry. I have yet to even make a Turkey. I have cooked Cornish Game Hen but that was a long time ago. Up in North Dakota Pheasants and Ducks are plentiful and would love to be able to make fresh poultry. I have eaten Duck before and it is delicious (then again, it was wrapped in bacon). Either way, for some reason poultry intimidates me. Beef and pork is easy...but poultry (aside from chicken) is scary. Also with poultry comes fresh eggs and I've heard those are very tasty to cook with also.


5) Sushi Rolls - Being a ND girl, I hope you don't think that I don't know what sushi tastes like because I do and I love it! In fact, I might just go eat some tomorrow. Fargo, ND has a fabulous sushi restaurant (wow I spelled restaurant correct without spell check!) called Yuki Hana. I've heard great reviews from people all over the nation, including ones that are right next to the ocean. I would love to be able to make my own sushi rolls. Pioneer Woman does a fabulous job at keeping her fans updated with her sushi making and it looks not only delicious but fun!


6)Pastries/Bread - I was never one of those people that could walk into my house and smell homemade bread, but boy do I love that smell! I would love to make my own pastries and bread products - all the way from doughnuts, white bread, honey bread, sweet bread, sour dough, puff pastries - you name it, I want to do it.


7) Creative Foods - I am not exactly sure what could come up in this section, but every now and then I stumble across websites that makes me say "Man, I wish I could have thought of that!" How you all do it, I have no idea, but someday I hope to have people saying about my stuff "Wow, I should have thought about that!"

And so that concludes my list. I noticed that I kept saying "I would love to..." or "I wish I could..." and am now thinking to myself "No! YOU WILL!" I will attempt everything on this list someday, some sooner than later. I would like a bigger kitchen to do this in though because currently I live in a one bedroom apartment (unless its under water by now).

If any of you know any great recipes for any of these foods and wouldn't mind sharing, I would happily attempt them! I also promise that I will keep posting all the foods that I attempt to make. Who knows, maybe Grandpa's Apple Pie is just around the corner.

Photo credits:
1) www.ww-recipes.net
2)
www.pastrychef.com
3)
en.wikipedia.org
5)
blog.craftzine.com
7) http://so-me.coolcats.fr/2009/02/rainbow-man-needs-a-cake-today/

So, originally I was going to post something about things I'd like to learn how to cook/bake, and maybe I'll get to that later. However, as of now, there are many things going on in ND and the places where I'm at in ND. Valley City, ND and numerous other towns are being evacuated because of intense flooding. As of now, I'm staying Jamestown at my parents place awaiting the flood. However, Jamestown is now anticipating severe flooding.

Fictoris and I made the decision yesterday morning to get out of Valley City, ND even though we were not exactly in the flood plain (the flood plain ended on our street). Valley City State University (where we go to college) has basically been cut off from the world thanks to dikes and rising water. They made the announcement this afternoon to continue with courses online for the remainder of the school year. Many understandable questions arose from this - such as, "What if I don't have internet?" Many students do not have internet access 24/7 and I am one of them (parents got rid of it when I went to college 3 years ago). Currently, I have to go to a coffee shop to get online (thats where I'm at now).

It has not necessarily been a stressful situation, but more of an annoyance. For as technological VCSU is, email services and other academic items have been more or less, down. I agree that officials are doing an amazing job at keeping citizens, students, faculty and staff informed. However, their means of getting that information to us is a bit of a nuisance and I know there are many students that still have thousands of questions.

Hopefully, I will be able to post some photos later of not only Valley City but maybe Jamestown, ND. I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe. Thank you to everyone who is working hard in this difficult situation.
Well, here it is - The Contest! Fictoris and I have been engaged for about a month and a half now. We wanted to do something creative, unique and something that no one else has. So here is your chance to win $100 to create a design that will go onto our wedding invites!

We aren’t going to give many details about ourselves beyond what is on our blogs as we want anyone who enters to not feel limited by us. So we want you to go nuts and make an invite! We will be giving away $100 dollars cash for the invite we pick. The deadline for entries is May 25th, 2009 and we will pick the winner by June 1st 2009.

Rules:
  • Send us a mock up right away, afterward we will ask for a high quality .psd or .pdf file.
  • You do not have to put the information in. Just give us an idea of what it would look like.
  • We have the right not to pick a winner.
  • We will not use your design if we do not pick it.
  • You need a PayPal account or something to that extent for us to give you the money.

I am really excited to see what everyone can come up with. Send your entries to fictoris@gmail.com and we will get back to you soon. Make sure to Stumble this and tell any of your friends that are aspiring designers!
I have tempting words for you today...

Chocolate...

Peanut Butter...

Cupcakes! (imagine I said that in a Chairman voice from Iron Chef and you'll get the idea)

Oh yes you heard me: Chocolate brownie cupcakes with mini peanut butter cups.

I'm sure many of has have our versions of cupcakes stuffed with little candy pieces, but just stick with me. For me, nothing melts me better then chocolate and peanut butter coming together. Its pure perfection, horrendously heavenly, simply sublime...oh sweet, sweet synergized seduction! Enough alliteration, I give you these:




You'll be happy to know that these are super simple! Take your easy, pre-packaged brownie mix (I'm sorry for those of you the make homemade food, kudos to you). And get your mini-peanut butter cups. Lucky for me, these fun colored peanut butter cups were on sale because of Easter.

Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Cups

What you'll need:
Packaged brownie mix (I used Pillsbury double chocolate brownies)
Oil
Water
1 Egg
Mini peanut butter cups

Directions:
Mix together your cake mixture, oil, water and your egg (follow the directions on the box). Fill your lined cupcake pan about half way of the mix. Jiggle it a little to get the bubbles out. Insert one (1) mini peanut butter cup per cupcake. Lightly cover the peanut butter cup with the remaining mixture.

Be careful not follow the timing that says on the box because chances are that time will be too long. I left mine in for about 20 minutes, but checked on them a couple of times with a toothpick. When the toothpick comes out clean, your cupcakes are done (just don't poke too far in because then you'll hit the peanut butter and it for sure will not come out clean). Let them sit for a few minutes, remove them from the pan and let them sit more to cool. I made 12 cupcakes with one box.

Ok so go wipe the drool away and go make them - you know you want to! Thanks for reading!

So this week was Spring Break for Fictoris and I. Our spring break consisted of working and cleaning! Woo! Can you believe that all those boxes, games, tubs, and other things came out of this 5'x3' closet?! Oh yeah you better believe it...then again it was stacked to the ceiling. Some of the things we are planning to donate; other things we simply threw out. The purpose behind these shenanigans? We bought a new desk from Walmart that is going to replace this 1970's table we had when we moved in. In order to get the table out of the space, we had to clean the closet out to fit the table in! Anywho, here are some photos of our cleaning excursion:







Fun part: Fictoris was actually stuck between the door and the closet behind him!

Even more fun part: He had to pee!

On the upside of cleaning, we got a new desk...and because of this I got it in my head that I needed new, interesting pieces to "pull" things together.










The craving resulted in me purchasing two neat items from O'Day Cache in Fargo...

















...and a sweet, inexpensive, antique lamp from an antique store here in Valley City. Unfortunately, the lamp shade was ugly as sin so I had to throw it away. My next goal is to find a lamp shade that will work!















And, so that concludes my Spring Break/Spring Cleaning Excursions. I lead one hell of an exciting life :)
So I just spent about 3 hours working on these mock-ups. It really is amazing what I can figure out in our crappy version of Photoshop on the school laptops. I'm slowly learning though. Anyway, with a little patience (and some yanking of the hair) I came out with these...

Save the date #1:





This invite will be about 5"x5" in size. The photo will also be changed once we get our Engagement photos done. I also got this idea from Magnet Street Weddings.


Save the date #2:





This one was thought up by Fictoris. It will be about 6"x4" and again, the photo will be changed. The calendar will also be changed so it is easier to read/clearer.

Save the date #3





Lastly, of course the photo will be changed. This one is about 6.5"x6" big. These are Fictoris' hands too!


Again, I did all of these in a very downgraded version of Photoshop and if I can do that, anyone can - trust me. Either way, I really do like them all but we will see when the actual engagement photos will be in.

I plan on printing these on uber thick cardstock, and then, possibly, laminated to make them even more durable. I also think I'm going to put a little magnet on the back of them so people can hang them up on their fridge or something. If we get copyright on our engagement photos, we're going to get them done at an office store because they can run sheets for about $1 which is A LOT cheaper than ordering them.

Also, we are planning a contest for designers to create a design that will go onto our formal invites. This will not only be unique but also another cheaper way (minus the prize to the winner) to have wedding invitations done. I am so desperately hoping to do this wedding on a small budget, but also make it a mix of one-of-a-kind, creative, relaxed and gorgeous. Wish me luck!

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!

P.S.
Be prepared for numerous other wedding posts!
So last night, I got to thinking about what I could do to find a design for our wedding invitations that no one else would probably have. So I thought why not have a little CONTEST?!

Fictoris and I are planning out the loose ends on a contest that would hopefully give someone the chance to design a template or something that we could use for our wedding invitations. We have decided not to give too much details about ourselves/wedding, and want the artists to be as creative as possible without limitations. There WILL be a prize involved, something that we have yet to solidify, and also there will be recognition on the invite.

So if you or any of your friends are amazing at design work or even just beginners let them know! I will post an upcoming blog about the contest that will contain more detailed information! Please, please pass the word on and stay in touch! If you have any questions you can contact Fictoris or myself!

Remember to check back within the next week to see the full amount of information!


North Dakota and I have developed a love/hate relationship. I actually love living in North Dakota - at least I do now. When I was younger I always thought I was stuck here. However, now that I'm maturing, about to graduate college, engaged, looking for jobs and waiting to start a family (in 4-5+ years), North Dakota is MUCH more appealing. Find out why.


Why I hate North Dakota:


  1. The white tundra!!




Fictoris took these this morning. The one you see above is right outside the door.



Yet another one of all the snow. The way to get an idea of how much snow it is, check out the Handicap sign...Yeah, Welcome to North Dakota.

Why I love North Dakota

  1. You can see the skies! How many of you have looked at a Harvest Moon? I have been to much larger cities and it is hard to notice anything in the sky but sky scrapers. Lets just say that the largest city I can see myself living in is Fargo, ND, and even that was pushing it for me.
  2. The smell of wheat and burning fields. I can't explain it; it's just yummy.
  3. Small towns and practically ghost towns. Passing through x amount of towns in a trip with 3 bars and no gas station is something I will always remember.
  4. Friendliness. EVERYONE is friendly and anywhere you go you will find someone that you know. The only people I can think of that are not friendly are the dumbass teens.
  5. Memories. I have endless memories in North Dakota: camping, Medora, living/growing up in the country (my neighbors were a good 1-2 acres away, not 20 feet away; and I had a HUGE backyard), mudding/4 wheeling, Pasture Parties, VCSU, meeting my fiance and many more to come.
I realize that a lot of these qualities are available in practically every state, but I love North Dakota. I have been to numerous states, but it always feels good to come home.
Have you ever Googled yourself for the hell of it? I do it every once in a while when I am bored. Because I have not fully "developed" myself on the web, I am listed 3 down on Google. Before the actual ME pops up I have rather interesting alter-egos...

1. I am a very pretty Australian model, who was also Miss Universe Australia...yeah don't I wish!
Me? A model? Hahaha that is great...for the record I am a 5'5'' red head that wears average size jeans!

2. I am a contemporary painter and flamenco dancer...all in one! Yeah....right. I'm white and from North Dakota...I can barely two-step let alone become a flamenco dancer.

3. Finally, will the real Jana please stand up? (I'm SO sorry for using that!) You will find my LinkedIn link - but that is it for a while. I am slowly trying to build up my name but who can compete with an artist and a model!?

However, kudos to all the other Jana's in the world!

Sorry this is so short and sweet, but I have had little sleep. So if you're ever in a need for a laugh, pull up Google and type your name in! See what else you can do!
Two things I love in the food world....Chocolate and Cinnamon. I have combined those two to make one hell of a cupcake. All I used was a box of the chocolate cake mix for the cupcake, and cream cheese, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, & nutmeg (so basically a pumpkin spice mix). Needless to say, Fictoris ate three of them...



But the good news is that I only made 12 cupcakes and then a small cake! So he can eat as many as he wants...



However, I encountered a problem while frosting these puppies. I had never used my piping set up until now! Yikes! So I came out with cupcakes that looked like this:
















So then I resorted to something I knew -spreading/frosting the frosting on! Ta-da:












However, before all of the frosting issues...I have a new found love for piping kits that have nothing to do with frosting...STUFFING!
















So if you like them or want to make them, I'll list the recipe now:

Cupcakes:
Follow a box recipe.

Frosting:
16 oz of Cream cheese (softened)
4-5 tbs of powdered sugar (to taste)
2 tbs of Cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ginger (of course ;) !)

*Note: I used the frosting recipe to stuff and frost 12 cupcakes.
Originally I was going to blog about Googling Yourself....but had a change of heart one night laying in bed. Lately, I have noticed that the majority of people I encounter are afraid of change. I'll even admit that a little bit of change throws off my day. Change for some people can be scary and sometimes intimidating, but change for an organization is usually considered a good thing. So what happens when people within the organization are afraid or intimidated by changes for the organization? Most of the time, because of the fear of change, NOTHING happens. Have you noticed that? I know I have and I am a "mere college student". Ok so maybe I am a little bitter. Either way too much or too little of change can harm or benefit an organization, but right now, I'm more of a positive person, so I will think that change is a good thing - especially when nothing has been changed for 15+ years. People fear change because they are unsure of the future outcome and how they percieve the change (good or bad) (about.com article).

Change is hard for people that have been in a mode for x amount of years. Something new comes along and BAM! it is instant chaos. You have people worrying about losing their jobs, worrying about their behavior/performance, worrying about what this change could do to their rank within, fear of rejection or humiliation etc. There are numerous things I think people fear change. Change can litterally throw you for a loop if you not prepared for it. So now what happens when you are thrown for that loop and chaos insues? You are given choices. A choice to accept the changes and have faith in your performance and the outcome, or a choice to deny the changes (and denial never does a body good). If you are in fear of losing your job or your rank, then think about that. Perhaps that fear is telling you that maybe you are doing something wrong. Change causes people to rethink they're actions and behavior on the spot.

So I am having a problem thinking about summing it all up, so I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from R.W. Emerson:

"It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude."
Most people are excited for it to be Friday...and I was too when I woke up this morning. However, Friday was not happy to see me.

Last night Fictoris and I decided to go to the midnight showing of Watchmen. The movie was amazing, a little long, but amazing...even for a geek's fiance like me. We did not get home until about 4 A.M. Even though I am a college student, 4 A.M. is still uber late for me. Then I had to wake up and go to work (I skipped my 10 A.M. class) at the University. I went to a University Forum about technology around noon with Fictoris and basically felt attacked and like "well you're just a typical college student - you don't know what you're talking about." Then after that was done we had to go back home and get him packed for NDSA and back to the University at 1:30 (it was 1:25 when we got home). When I dropped him off, I had to get lunch and went to Subway...right after 9 buses went through their line. They didn't have any bread! So I walked out of Subway, started my car, and started to rumble. My car started to RuMbLe...do you feel the rumble, and my temperature shot way up. So I then had to call Fictoris back - balling my eyes out. FICTORIS TO THE RESCUE! I love that kid btw :) After I calmed down a bit from my mini-breakdown I had to go back to work. Needless to say, when I got home, I had some chocolate and took a 3 hour nap. It was marvelous.

So I say to you at 12:12 A.M. - TGIS - Thank God It's Saturday!!
Lately, I've been noticing ads that portray women in a...lets say desperate way. The first one that really got me going was the Oreo 100 Calorie Packs commercial. If you haven't seen this let me give you a quick description of it. Basically a truck of the goodies drives around a city and all the women walking, driving, eating etc chase after the truck screaming, yelling and basically pissing their pants. Reasons why I hate this commercial:
  1. All the women in movie are probably under the size of 6. The average women in American is between a 12-16.
  2. Are women really desperate to chase after 100 calories? I know I'm not...so why in the hell are they being portrayed that way? I understand the importance of having a target audience, and commonly the usual people trying to diet are women, BUT have a little respect for them. Don't make us out too look like immature, screaming, desperate idiots.
  3. Where are all the men?
Next, a commercial I heard on the radio. This one was about all the new Diet Pepsi Flavors that are out. It talks about women are not indecisive, they just have different moods. Therefore, Pepsi has designed all these different flavors for the mood! (Do you feel the sarcasm?). Yes, let's talk about moods...

"Have a Happy Period." Can you guess which brand uses that logo? In risk of sounding like a "valley girl", I don't care, PUH-LEASE! I get that they are trying to make it "easier" on us to have a period and to feel as comfortable as possible, but no amount of cotton on a pad, or scent on a tampon will make me have a HAPPY period. I will not go into detail about why its hard to have a happy period because that could be scary for some people, but you get the idea.

So I leave you with this...are these companies the desperate ones?
This morning I was sitting in my Gerontology (study of aging) and a question came up asking "What do you picture yourself as when you grow older? Or, do you even think about what it will be like when you're older?" I did not answer out loud. The truth is, I DO think about being 70+. I have a very stereotypical thought in my head that consists of my husband or best friend sitting next to me in a rocking chair outside watching a sunset and sipping on some ice tea and beer. I would love to be up and running around, even at the age of 90. However, being the realistic person that I am, chances of that actually happening are slim to none. Few reasons for this:
  1. Women statiscally outlive men.
  2. I like to think that I am healthy, but the family history and my medical history tell me differently. My family has a history of Heart Disease, Diabetes, Cancer and many chain smokers (which I was surrounded with for a good 18-19 years until i went to college). In fact, doing my Geneology report, I found out that a good 3/4 of my relatives (past and present) smoke.
  3. The American Average Life Span - better than most, but could definitely be improved.
To tell you the truth, death scares me. I like thinking I will grow old. I WANT to grow old. I want to be able to see my grand kids grow old! Maybe I am uncomfortable with death because I have so much to look forward to; or maybe some would argue it is because I am not very religious; or how many other reasons there may be.

So here are my questions for you!
What do you picture yourself as "old"?
And when do you think you will think of yourself as "old"?

P.S. "Old" is a whole other topic.

Thanks for reading!

P.P.S. I want to be like these guys playing the Wii!
So aside from you know I'm a red head...I am also part German. Actually, because of a Genealogy assignment I have found out I am Irish, Prussian, German and Norwegian (like the rest of the state of ND) - but that's besides the point. I have been raised up around numerous German & Norwegian foods and out of all those foods, one of my favorites is Kuchen. Kuchen is "cake" in German...but here in ND Kuchen is basically a custard pie mixed with whatever flavors you feel like - usually fruit.

Fictoris and I got into a fun, heated discussion last night. He stated that Kuchen is like an egg bake and I corrected him on saying that it is more like a Quiche. However, if you look at the definitions (at least the ND definition), they both involve eggs...lots of eggs. Quiche, however, is just more of a savory dish than a sweet dish. And I would much rather eat Peach Kuchen than any sort of Quiche!

On that note about "ethnic" foods...how about Lutefisk? Do you love it? Hate it? Have to have it cooked a special way (My grandparents love it nuked with butter!) Tell me about it on my comments!
Aside from feeling like a hypocrite for making fun of my fiance and blogs...I have decided to make one for myself. I needed a place to put my thoughts, ideas, concepts, photos and recipes down. As you could pretty much figure out, I am a ginger; a redhead; and proud of it! We are a rare bread. In fact, did you know that only 4% of individuals in the world are red heads? Anyway, that is where Gingerisms/Gingerology came from.

So whether you decide to continue reading/following, I hope you enjoy my gingerisms!