Fried Beer....You know you wanna read about it....

I'm going to start this post with a warning...what you are about to witness is one extremly rare day for Mike and I to have. If weird combinations of food, dipped in batter, and fried to a golden crisp gross you out, you might not want to continue reading. However, if you are intrigued by what the Famous Texas State Fair had to offer this year...you are in the right place!

Mike and I decided to go to the fair on a perfect Thursday afternoon. It was a little overcast, 82 degrees, and kids were in school; all make for perfect Fair conditions. We woke up early and got in a 6.5 mile run to prepare for the overhaul of calories soon to come. Once we got home, cleaned up, and took some TUMS (smart choice) we were off!

This post is mainly pictures so be prepared...

Entrance to the fair, with an odd looking homeless man on my left. The Texas State Fair is a long standing tradition in every Texans heart that began October 25, 1886.

**This was where they also gave out free "5-hour energy" shots. Guess they were trying to clue us into something.

Mike playing in one of the football simulation stations. He's so cute.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, that says fried butter....I couldn't do it though. I am willing to try a lot of things, but Fat covered in Fat fried in more Fat...just too much.

Every single one of these things sounded bomb-tastic to me, however, by the time we made it back around to this kiosk my body was begging me to stop.

Wait for it...

Ahhhh that's good beer. This is without a doubt the weirdest thing. It was puff pastry with a pocket of liquid beer inside. It was good, my only reservation is I like COLD beer, and in order to fry it, the beer became room temp...moving on

OHHHH LAWDY..hehe Fried Biscuits and Gravy. Imagine how a jelly doughnut gets filled and fried and then oozes sweet goodness into you mouth. Now imagine a biscuit, filled with gravy, dipped in batter and fried. Some of you might be gagging, but it was damn good. I was surprised by this little devil.

Setting up for College Game Day 

I would love to see Erin Andrews down some fried butter...

Well hello there Big Tex!

This will be my new truck when the fair is over and they discover that I have guessed the right amount of mini footballs stuffed inside. I entered a guess on a Blue Truck as well...guess I'll have a 'weekend ride' too :)

Of course there's a Cowboys Attraction! Duh

My favorite! Witten the Kitten!

I wanted to win this for Kimmi, but I ran out of tickets and it was a dumb game anyways.

First ride Mike and I went on. Oh My Gato was it fun! I was laughing so hard, I think Mike was laughing at me.

All made out of Beer bottle caps! So nifty!

Alright Alright...back to the fried goodness...Fried Cookie Dough. Yes, there is such a thing and it should be mass produced to give to anyone who is ever sad again. This was my FAVORITE thing by far. I will dream about you till next year...

Trying not to laugh and get powdered sugar up my nose.

Of course the Cotton Bowl. Oh yeah, the Texas Fair is sooooo big, it has a football stadium inside it. Can't wait for Red River Rivalry on Saturday. Hook em Horns! OU smells :)

Ahhhhhh Football Glory

Okay so let me explain...

This was the 2011 Fair Grand Prize Winner for best tasting dish. It is a buffalo chicken breast, wrapped in a pancake, dipped in batter, rolled in breadcrumbs and jalepeno crumbs and fried. If that's not enough to stop your heart, they give you a side of maple syrup to dip it in. I hate to admit this was good but it was. It was pretty damn awesome. I'm a little ashamed. Oh and we ate this with frozen Arnold Palmers. They were good, but uber sweet.

Lastly, and probably least was Fried Coke. Didn't do it for me....it was essentially cake donuts, with fizzy coke poured over it and whipped cream and a straw. It got too soggy, too fast. The fresh ones were best.

****Mind everyone, Mike and I shared every dish. Doesn't make this any better, but at least it doesn't make it worse :)

And yes sir, that is all she wrote...Mike and I literally got home and I was sick for about two hours. But you know what? I enjoyed every second of my day with Mike at the Fair. It was so much fun and made for such great memories. I'm so lucky to have someone to eat weird fried food with all day long, get sick, and then dive into a food coma with. 

Oh, hello dry chicken, brown rice, and asparagus. What's that you say? I'll be eating you for the next month? DEAL! I don't want to eat another deep fried piece of food until next year's fair. I think I have a hangover from food.  

Learning Turbo; Warmup and Punches

So as most of you know, I just recently took my TurboKick Certification class and had an absolute blast! I really want to start teaching it, but there are a lot of things I need to learn first. When I told my mom that I was finished with the class she asked,"So are you going to start teaching now?" and it kind of threw me for a loop. Believe me, if I had a photographic memory, and a musical/dance background I would waltz right into my audition and bust out some Turbo moves now, however, I can't even remember what I had for lunch yesterday, and you could describe my musical/dance background as being a fan of GLEE.

With all that being said, I have set out on my path to start learning this stuff so I can actually start teaching it without looking unprepared. TurboKick gets released in rounds, kind of like a BodyPump series. They are on round 49 now, I think, but I was taught on round 44, so why not stick with it? Each round has 11 components all synched to specific music. I have to learn counts a little better than I do now because it is all off a 32 count beat. Honestly, I didn't even know what that meant until taking this class, I always just counted how many reps we did of everything, but I am finding out that doesn't always work.

The first, and probably most important thing to do was learn the Warm-up. It's the same for all rounds, and is a nice stable constant for those who are avid TurboKick aficionados. I learned it pretty quickly but the problem I was facing was the music was lasting about a minute longer than all the moves. I'm not sure if that's normal or not, but I just figured that's water break time before the real stuff begins!

Next on the list is the punch sequence. TurboKick is based on layers. You start off with something basic and another something basic and add them together. Those are layers 1 and 2. Once it seems like more than half of the room has got it, show them another layer, do it for a 32 count, and add it to layers 1 and 2...Sounds super simple, however, I hate to admit this, but I am a very rigid learner. I like things to be one certain way and by the books. I like cues and things to know if I am doing something right or wrong. This may be super anal of me, but I am who I am...At least I will do something over and over till it is right.

 And I did, for about 3 hours...I didn't even realize how much time had passed! I did a couple more run throughs and called it a day. Tomorrow I will move onto some kicking sequences and let y'all know how they go. One thing I can definitely say, it is a lot harder to learn to teach it to people, than just go to a class and workout. I have to get better at talking and cuing before the move comes up, rather than as I am doing it, because that will be a lot more helpful. O well, all a learning process that I am enjoying.

I have some pretty exciting stuff coming up the next few months, but I don't want to say them because it might jinx it. But just pray things go right for me :)

An Update on My Life

Well howdy there!...fancy seeing y'all here. I realize I 've been the MIA one for a while now, but a lot of things have been going on since the move to The Big D. Some happy and exciting, and some very disappointing and sad. Even though I have come across a few hiccups in the road, I have a feeling they were meant to happen, and bigger and better things await me.

So let's address all the things I set out to do thus far. I have received a lot of inquiry about the interview with my "dream company" Lululemon, and even though I made it to the second round of interviews, they went with their other candidate instead. At first, I won't lie, I was heartbroken. It took me a couple of days to redirect my thoughts and emotions because it was/and still is a company and lifestyle I believe whole heartedly in. However, I understand and have no ill will towards the company or any of the girls who work there. They are wonderful, sweet, and very fun to work out with. Plus, I believe I am doing now,what I was supposed to be doing.

I currently am mentoring under and helping a wonderful trainer here in Dallas. I love her very much and she has taken me under her wing like and angel! Mike and I are both very blessed to have met her for everything she has taught us about Dallas, the fitness world here, and everything in between. 

Monkey is doing wondeful. We found him a very nice vet who absolutely loves kitties. Monkey still takes anxiety medications but I can definitely tell he has calmed down and seems happier here in Dallas.

Last weekend was my TurboKick workshop and I had an absolute blast! For those of you who don't know, or have never heard of it, TurboKick is a form of cardio-kickboxing, set to really fun music. I plan on learning all I can and auditioning soon to teach at gyms. Wish me luck, :)

Lastly, Mike is doing wonderful at his new job. He is almost done with his training and will soon be a full fledged manager. He is truly the most amazing boyfriend in the world. He looks great and has lost about 20 pounds since moving here, amazing right?!?! Also, I even ran into an old friend and fellow seminole a couple weeks ago. Small world, small world...Now only if the Noles would start pulling out some WINS. 

All in all, Dallas has been a wonderful life change so far. The weather has broken the 100 degree temps., and every once in a while we see a raindrop. The state fair starts this week and I can't wait to try 'Fried Margaritas'!!!

 Every once in a while I get really sad, it's hard starting over. But I have amazing support and I know it all passes eventually. This isn't my first move, and I'm sure won't be my last. I just keep telling myself everything falls into place eventually and come what may, I can take it. So if anyone wants to come visit, open invitation!!!! Oh, and I almost forgot...I got those Sally Hansen nail lacquer strips yesterday and now my nails are CHEETAH! meow :)

Yummy NEW Dinner Idea!!!

As you can tell from the new abundance of posts I have been able to commit to, life without a job is a lonely and dull one at that. I know one will come eventually, hopefully my dream job that I have been anxiously awaiting, but in the meantime, I've been racking my brain for some new, creative dinner ideas.  I want Mike to come home to something warm from the oven, (or at least be able to reheat in the toaster oven :).

My new favorite thing right now, are the Sweet Potato Puffs from the Alexia Frozen Food line. They are absolutely awesome! Just like real tater tots but better because they are SWEET POTATO, and you can bake them right from the freezer in only 15 minutes. Crunchy, sweet, slightly salty...okay I'll stop writing a TV advertisement for them and just explain the recipe I came up with.

Sometimes they are hard to find, but keep looking...they are out there.

When Mike and I first starting scoping out the grocery stores in Dallas, we had a very hard time finding a place that carried the sweet puffs, but luckily, (phew) we found some.

My first thought was to make some sort of casserole, incorporating veggies and the rotisserie chicken I recently bought. However, I was also in the mood for some sort of eggy frittata, so why not incorporate both? 

All the ingredients for this awesome dish, plus my gummy vita-bears in the background.

Sweet Potato Puff Casserole

• 9x9 non stick pan
• 30-35 Alexia Sweet Potato Puffs (slice them in half while frozen)
• 1 1/2 cups Egg Whites 
• 1 Plain Chobani Greek yogurt
• 4 slices Oscar Meyer Turkey Bacon (nuke it for 3 minutes to crisp up)
• Handful of Matchstick Carrots (just throw em in there, can't hurt and they are veggies :)
• 1/4 cup skim shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• However much Rotisserie Chicken you want to eat

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Grab a medium bowl, combine egg whites, and Chobani and whisk together till frothy. Add the carrots, chicken, and any blend of seasonings you want. Tonight I used dried mustard, cumin, seasoning salt, chili powder, and ginger. About a teaspoon of each, give or take. Pour egg mixture into pan, sprinkle cheese on top of the egg mixture. Crumble turkey bacon to you liking and arrange on top of cheese. Lay the Puff halves with the flat side down until you cover the entire dish and spray the top with a couple mists of olive oil spray. Pop in the over for about 35-40 min and enjoy!!!

Holy YUUUMM!

I was super stoked it came out, and tasted great!

I know I'm happy!

So is Monkey because he snuck a piece of chicken when I wasn't looking :( rotten kitty. Now I'm off to catch up on some intellectually, thought provoking, reality TV that is BRAVO! Oh, and you know I have some fro-yo waiting for me later :)

I will learn this dance and it will be awesome...

I already do my own version in my car, but it mainly involves flailing my arms around like an insane person. That's okay though, this by far is my favorite song to work out to right now. GOAL: find lots of willing people in Dallas, learn this dance, perform huge flash mob at mall... :) Off to "Shake that"

Texas Love

Well, we have done it. Mike and I have successfully moved ourselves, our lives, and our kitty Monkey from Tallahassee, Florida, all the way to the wonderful Dallas, Texas...Farmer's Branch that is! Monkey has taken to the move especially well, could be from all the Prozac we have him on, but I like to think on the optimistic side and say it's him liking his new change of scenery and state instead.

Super Kitty!!!! Checking out the poolside crowd.

Since we have been here, I feel like a whirlwind of things have happened. Mike has started his new job, which he loves; we have taken in a Ranger Baseball game, (since the last time we were supposed to go, I got sick and wound up in the hospital instead); and we have found ourselves a gym, ladies and gentlemen!!! 

Rangers VS Marlins (I'm going to lie and say the Rangers won, makes me happier :)

So far, finding a suitable gym for Mike and I to work out at, had been our biggest obstacle to overcome. Dallas has many Mega gyms such as Bally's, 24 Hour Fitness's, and Gold's; however, that's not what we are into. Creativity is the key people!!! We thought we had stumbled upon a great little find within the first week, but when we saw the monthly fee was not including any of the group classes we were going to want and take, we nixed it. If I am going to join a gym, group classes are half the reason I want to join in the first place, you meet the best people there. 

After a full week of sweating our butts off in the Dallas heat, (which is unlike any heat you have felt before, even living in Florida) we were getting a little tired of our outside multiple mile runs. Luckily, I had seen an Equinox Gym from the road one day, when we were driving to Mike's work and have heard nothing but wonderful things about this gym in the past. I begged Mike to consider trying this place out. 

The next day, we showed up and were given a wonderful tour of the awesome facilities, and types of classes they offered. Within an hour, both of us signed up and were eager to start training with this thing called a Viper. It is a hollow tube that weighs a good amount, and has handles to do all sorts of shifts, pushes, pulls, and exercises with. Our first class we took with it was great and super intense. 

So far, I have nothing but great things to say about Equinox. Nice people, clean facility, and interesting classes that challenge all fitness levels. I even met a wonderful trainer Kim, who I instantly clicked with, and we have become fast friends. She is an ambassador for my favorite company Lululemon Athletica, and you can definitely tell from her go hard, rock out, awesome personality why. She represents the lifestyle well!

Me, Uti, and Kim!! After an awesome Cardio Explosion class. 

Dallas has been wonderful and exciting, full of new adventures and decisions to be made every day. It is weird to think I have started what is, "the rest of my life," but I am taking everything day by day, piece by piece, and I know things are meant to happen for a reason, like opting for a Tread & Shed class, rather than a Barre Burn class the other day so I could meet Kim :) I'm just here to enjoy the ride...

I just don't understand the "Extreme Couponing" thing.

While at a, fabulously sweaty, Ali Campbell, workout session today, an interesting topic arose. We got to talking about eating healthy and trying to 'live the lifestyle', when Ali, our trainer, said she has a problem sometimes with companies trying to get her to endorse their shakes, or supplements, or whatever, because of how she looks (She looks incredible, and I can see why companies would flock to her). She said she always declines because the best advice she can give her clients, when looking for ways to be healthier, is to eat whole, unprocessed foods. I loved that she said this because Mike and I had just had this discussion and I totally agree, 100%!

Mike and I try as hard as possible to stick to the rule, "If it can't go bad, we don't buy it." We mainly stick to the outside perimeters of the grocery stores because that is where you find the foods that will do the most beneficial things for your body. There are some exceptions to this, yes, but mainly the produce section, meats, and eggs win my vote. Sometimes I meander down the chocolate isle, but shhhhh. The downside to this may be a bigger dent in the wallet, however, the bigger picture is worth the extra dollars. This is where my problem with the whole "Extreme Couponing"thing comes into play.

I was channel surfing the other night, and happening to come across TLC's show, Extreme Couponing. It details the lives of these people who make it their mission to not buy one thing in the grocery store at full price. They have coupons for everything! They build these 'stock piles' in their homes that look like they could survive the coming of WWIII, but no matter how much stuff they get, it is never enough. The amazing part comes when they take a bill that would originally cost upwards of $2000, and pay only $6. This may be amazing, which I will admit, shocked me at first, but then you take a second look at what they bought, and understand why only women who are severely overweight and don't work, seemed to be featured. 90% of their haul is boxed, processed foods that your body doesn't know how to breakdown. I think the show could be called "Yakisoba Promotional Ad," with the amount of those boxed noodles they buy.

Crap, crap, crap, toothpaste (86 tubes), and more crap. What makes me sad is their pride in what they have managed to buy, and wanting to pass this skill down to their children, breeding more bad eating for the future. Yes, you are saving money, but nothing will pay for the rebuilding of your child's self esteem when they end up 200 pounds overweight because of their bad eating habits. It is not all bad, though, and those who do it to donate to local shelters, and military, I commend you on such a selfless act. As for most of it though, I cringe when I see 8 flats of Coke being wheeled out of the store to be enjoyed by naive kids. I would rather spend a little more money on whole, fresh, unprocessed, foods that my body will thank me for into old age, hopefully. It also gives Mike and I a reason not to spend money eating out so much, because all of our food will spoil eventually and I wanna enjoy it while it's fresh!

Onto tonights meal adventure. Mike had to work, so I got a little creative in our, mostly packed up, kitchen. I rarely eat pasta, but when I saw these bad boys in 'Earthfare' the other day, I had to get them. Plus, their nutritional stats were acceptable, and the ingredient list had actual food listed.

These raviolis were in the frozen section, and they had many different varieties, but these sounded wonderful. Before I tell you what I mixed them with, I'll let you know that Mike and my favorite 'Tomato Sauce' is the simplest thing to make, along with being super healthy. We normally just grab a can of crushed San Marzano tomatoes (must be San Marzano, they taste the best!), chop up some fresh basil to add, mix in some minced garlic, and then add a little salt and pepper to taste, and voila! Super yummy, tomato sauce. We normally store it in an air-tight container in the fridge and use it for everything, from pizza sauces, to a makeshift sauce for my little raviolis. 

Laughing Cow cheese wedges kick bootay!

Once the little raviolis were cooked, I just threw in some shredded rotisserie chicken (another must have in my fridge),our famously un-famous tomato sauce, a laughing cow cheese wedge (only 35 calories, and they melt perfectly into the sauce) and a splash of Unsweetened Almond Breeze, and you have a perfectly tasty, makeshift creamy tomato sauce! 

Served with Asparagus, of course.

It tasted wonderful! I recommend these little raviolis to anyone in need of a quick dinner, they only take 8 minutes! Add some extra protein to amp the nutritional value and it made for a great dinner!

 Mike and my last rule, that we try and stick to is, "If you eat healthy and whole 90% of the time, and haven't drank your calories, the last 10% can be whatever you want....within reason of course." 

Earthfare has the BEST carrot cake!!!

Don't worry, my "within reason" is only a 1/3 of this slice of cake....maybe 1/2, I kicked butt at the gym today :) I'm off to watch some terribly desperate mothers exploit their little girls on Toddlers and Tiaras! It's kind of like a crash you can't take your eyes off of, you don't want to watch...but you have to! Goodnight!

Schools out....FOREVER!!!!

Yes ladies and gentlemen, that day has finally come. After much frustration with weird kids who bring cartons of eggs to class, and others who are probably a little drunk, I have finished the last class needed in order to graduate from Florida State University! woooo Go Noles! I am feeling a whirl wind of emotions right now from excited, to anxious, to just plain tired. Anxious, primarily due to our move to Dallas coming up in a week. A WEEK! I know; it is so close I can smell the wonderfulness that is Cowboy land!

Mike and I have slowly started to pack, and have made pretty good headway. I tried to pack Monkey's things last week and that was a total no-go for him. He went into the bag I packed all his toys in, and pulled out every single thing only to play with for a mere 2 minutes tops, and then roll around beside the pile. What a doll. This week will give us a lot more time to pack all the little things we forgot, and get in our last week of workouts at Sweat Therapy. We are going to miss this place so much, from all the teachers who have become fast friends, to just the feeling we get when we leave from an awesome workout. However, in discovering this place, I have discovered a long term goal I want to set for myself, which I truly believe is my calling. One day, I want to open an alternative fitness gym such as Sweat Therapy in a place that is filled with oversized mega gyms. I want to bring the same feeling I have gotten from Sweat Therapy to others who don't realize how much of a family you can start, in a smaller gym facility. I love it! More to come on this later :)

On another note entirely, I have a funny story that Mike didn't want me to tell, but I think is super cute and deserves a mention anyways! So the other day, while we were watching the 'ever so entertaining' America's Got Talent, I was browsing all my usual bloggers I love to read. I came across an  unusual amount who talked about their craving for some warm, ooey-gooey, chocolate chip cookie, and became bitten by the sugar bug that had done them in as well. Also, being economical and all, since we are moving and had some left over dark chocolate chunks in the freezer, I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to not waste good food. 

About an hour later, Mike and I enjoyed some nice, warm, chocolate chip cookies and passed out with wonderfully sweet dream. The next day I promptly told Mike to hide the bag of cookies so I would not gorge myself on their chocolatey goodness, which he did because he knows I have 'some' self control, but let's not kid ourselves people, they are chocolate chip cookies. Later that night Mike was preparing the most amazing dinner of marinated pork loin and roasted artichokes when all of a sudden a terrible 'burnt plastic' smell filled the house. 

Mike forgot that when I asked him to hide the cookies, he tossed them in our over, and he had turned the oven on the preheat for dinner. NOOOOOOOOOOOOO...

The burnt mass that were chocolate chip cookies...

Well, in the garbage those go. I thought it was pretty funny though, Mike felt super bad but I don't blame him at all since he is such an awesome boyfriend anyways, he was just doing what I asked him to do. How can you be mad at someone who makes you this for dinner...

Pork Loin.....so tasty!

and this...

This is a stuffed artichoke! Sorry for the picture quality.

Since Mike and I are trying to be as health conscious as possible, it's stuffed with a mixture of Fiber One bread crumbs (which is just crushed up Fiber One, and tastes just like bread crumb with Fiber and a lot less calories!) and a little parmesan cheese! They were awesome! 

All in all, I thought the little cookie fiasco was funny, Mike did not, and we had a wonderful dinner! Mike also got us Yogurt Mountain afterwards to make up for it, so no complaints here. Since I am done with school now, Mike and I have some errand running to do to get us ready for the move!!

Can't believe I'm moving in 25 days...

I realize it has been a while since my last post but I have good reason I can assure. Moving my entire life from one state to another is something I'm all too familiar with, however, when it involves picking out the place to move into, finding a job in said place, finishing two required classes for me to graduate, AND staying in shape, I am about ready to pull my hair out!!

No, this isn't Monkey :) I promise!

Since I was little, I have moved a total of five times. Born in San Antonio, we then moved to Dallas, onto Virginia, next Maryland,  then South Florida and finally Tallahassee, where I reside currently.  Starting over has been something I love doing,  but I have never had to do all the busy work of finding the house, getting the movers, and dealing with all the rough emotions that come with it. Don't get me wrong, I would run to Dallas right now, if I had no priorities here to finish. I just feel like I have so much to do in such a small amount of time, yet time seems to pass so slowly to the big day, if that makes any sense at all.

Last week, Mike and I flew out to meet my mom in the BIG D, to house (apartment) hunt. I told Mike when we landed, it was going to take a miracle to get me back on that plane to Tallahassee, because Dallas has such a pull on my heart that's hard to describe. I can honestly say, some of my happiest memories had come from growing up in Texas, and it all comes rushing back as soon as you hit the dusty ground. A lot of people ask me "Why Dallas? Why Texas? What is so special about that place?" All I can reply is, "You would have to experience it for yourself to get it." The people, pride, food, rodeos...all of that and so much more makes Texas a state of its' own. My state!

Anyways, back on track...we were lucky enough to receive wonderful hospitality from the restaurants Mike will be working for, find an awesome apartment to move into, and for me to become extremely dehydrated and sick and end up in the hospital for a night, causing us to miss a Rangers game too. I felt so terrible and the worst part is, is this isn't even the first time this has happened to me. I guess with all the excitement, and amped up workouts we've been doing lately, I put 'drinking enough fluids' on the back burner, when that is a definite 'no no' to do visiting "Hot as Hellllo" Dallas. Unfortunately for me, the remaining half of my trip was spent drinking Gatorade, (ick) and trying not to vomit to the sounds of other, normally wonderful, foods. Oh well, we found a place to live, and had a great Memorial Day Weekend with my mom!! She's so awesome, helpful, and funny :)

My dread for coming back to Tallahassee was much warranted though, because all we have been able to do since being been back is put the pedal to the metal and ride. Moving boxes, furniture listings on Craigslist, taking Monkey to the vet. Side note: We even had to put Monkey on kitty Prozac because even he has anxiety!!! Thank goodness for the little time in the morning we get to work out because it is the only time I am not constantly thinking about the next move we need to make. I can't wait until the last box is unpacked, Monkey is purring on my lap, and I have a BIG glass of wine, or maybe a Margarita in my hand relaxing to some of my favorite shows in our new home. By the way, have y'all seen the new show Love Bites? Super funny! Keep 'em coming sitcom writers, I need a bunch of comedy right now! :)

Not enjoying Summer Class...

So far, besides working out with Mike and the crew at Sweat Therapy, my Summer has been bogged down by a class I can't stand. I am talking about the infamous Business Communication class that is required for me to graduate, and die a slow death apparently. If someone,(an advisor) had told me this was the equivalent to a Kindergarten English class, and was best taken Junior year, I might not be as miserable now while we go over 'How to Write your Resume' and all the proper parts of speech.

 Along those same lines, I learned this stuff in grade school (not the resume part, obviously) and don't remember what adverbs, and complex/compound, sentences are now. I made it through just fine, and don't see the reason, if I haven't had some form of brain damage, bless anyone who has, to reiterate what I would rather leave in the past.

Sorry for the rant, but I haven't even gotten to the best part, that makes me do a double take every time I come to class. MY ACTUAL CLASS. I have never been surrounded by more uninterested, non common sensical, annoying people in all of the classes I have ever taken. My cat, Monkey could complete more difficult tasks; you think I'm kidding, I'm not. At least Monkey managed to clean himself everyday; wish I could say the same for my classmates. I had a kid in the my today bring a bottle of chocolate milk to class. However, I'm assuming that's what this was; it was inside a Jim Beam bottle after all. Classy stuff.

My favorite so far has been our in-class speaking assignment, though. The task was to pretend you were being interviewed by a company you would like to work for and make a good impression. We randomly chose a question, had it read to us, and had to speak for 30 SECONDS to answer the question. I emphasized seconds because I feel this is a super simple task to complete and when the class heard about it, (because obviously non of them read their emails the night before to tell them it was coming) you could have sworn the teacher said an hour presentation on the Neo Classical era...

I wish I could get a copy of that tape and post it because you could have sworn these kids got out of jail yesterday, and hadn't conversed with a real person in years. One guy got the question, "Tell us about a struggle you experienced in the workplace, and how you handled yourself." I kid you not, he answered,
"Well, I used to work at um, Starbucks on campus and um, my boss was kinda a a a dick, so I ignored him and um, he didn't bother me. He eventually left and I um, stayed, so I guess that's how I handled it."

People clapped....yes, people actually clapped for this, and many more just like this. I was looking around each time someone finished, to see if I was the only one astonished by everyone's performance; apparently, I was. I don't consider myself to be a world scholar, or have the skills of top public speakers but compared to these people, I was Martin Luther King Jr.

This was at the beginning of the semester and I still have a few more weeks to go. Soon, we have to present something to the class that we love, and try to "sell" it by speaking about how wonderful the product is. I plan to do the TRX, since that is something I can easily bring into class and demonstrate. I apologize for sounding like a Debbie Downer today, but I just can't believe all these kids have gotten through four years of college already. Hopefully, for them and me both, this class will start to fly by and I'll be in Dallas before you know it!

Noly and Dave's Wedding & My 1st Wedding Cake!!!

I last left you, knowing about my insurmountable soreness Mike and I were going through, on our 7 hour car ride, to South Florida at 2 in the morning. Thankfully we made it safe, sound, and with all of the wedding cake intact. After we unloaded the car, and stowed the cake safely in Mike's mom's kitchen, 

we passed our faster than I've ever fallen asleep before. 

The next day we woke and made the executive decision to let our sore bodies have a day off from working out, and get started on the long process of icing the multiple layers of cake. We headed out to first wash all those dang Love Bugs off my car (thanks UF for creating the bugs that are only good at dying upon a wind gust and eating the paint off of really nice cars...) and then went to get the finishing supplies needed to make the buttercream for the cake.

Nothing special to show on this day, due to the fact that we only did the crumb coats and outside layers on the cakes and decided to decorate the following day. We finished the day with a nice meal and got some shut eye so Mike and I could head out to the beach the next morning for a Beach workout!

The next morning we got up, made our protein shakes, and laced up our shoes to go run some miles on the beach. It was a beautiful morning out, with blazing rays of sun shining down on us as we completed 6 miles divided between the sidewalk beside the beach, and the actual sand. Running on the soft sand is some of the hardest leg work you can do, however, it feels great on your knees and takes off so much pressure. We did a couple plyometric sets and headed home for some lunch. After eating an apple with a sandwich, it was time for the decorating to begin.

Bottom tier, simple and elegant...

Then the middle tier...

To honor FSU with the Garnet and Gold ribbon...

and for the grand finale, the top tier...

This took a while to pipe, so I saved it for the smallest layer. Also because I knew this is what the bride and groom would keep :)

After this, we headed to the Palm Beach Gardens Mall. I needed some fresh air from decorating all day long, Mike wanted to get a professional shave done at 'The Art of Shaving' (awesome store and great products for men) and I had heard they had a Lululemon store and had to check it out!!!

Mike getting pampered, haha, he is so cute.

It was a nice way to try and calm my nerves about the looming 'stacking of the cakes' at the wedding, and I'm glad Mike and I got to spend some quality time together.

On the day of the wedding I was a nervous wreck. Mike and I loaded up the car, and basically froze ourselves, so the car would stay cold enough not melt any of the buttercream on the cake. The restaurant said we could start setting up at 4 o'clock on the dot and not a second earlier so we headed to Miami around 1:45. We thought we would have time to check into our hotel first, but traffic in Miami was so congested, we headed straight to the wedding venue. We arrived right on time and set up went well with only slight fix-ups needed, and best of all, my nightmares did not come true. I had been dreaming the entire week that once we put the cakes on top of each other, they would either topple to the ground or collapse inside each other. Luckily, this was not the case and I actually was starting to feel proud of what I saw...

TAAA DAAAAA!!!!

I was so elated, but had absolutely no time to fixate on the cake, because the ceremony was in 30 minutes and I was covered in buttercream iced clothes, and needed to change. Good thing all of our stuff was in the car parked outside because there was no time to go to the hotel and change, so we got out our stuff, and made a quick outfit switch in the bathrooms at the restaurant, and were able to witness two our of very dear friends get married without missing a beat.

Beautiful arch looking onto Miami

Ocean View

Then the wedding party started to walk down the aisle...

The groom Dave, in a dashing white tuxedo...

My beautiful friend Noly, who looked amazing in her dress. I could have sworn I saw some of the fraternity boys of Dave's choke back some tears.

I tried to video their vows but the file was too big and I had to upload it in two parts. The next video might be the first one so play that first if this one sounds like it isn't in sequential order.

It was a beautiful ceremony and an even better reception. The tables were decorated with a beachy theme and Mike and my table cards were on starfish!

And they spelled my name right! Thats the sign of a true friend. Everyone always spells it Hillary (with two 'l's )

Too cute! They also sat everyone at tables with memories they each had experienced with those particular people and had adorable signs made to explain them.

Since Mike and Dave are fraternity brothers, and that is where Noly and I met, it was fitting to be at the Phi Kappa Tau table. The night went off without a hitch and the cake went over really well, thank goodness. I, of course have my own critiques on how it tasted, but you learn a little every time you complete a new task, right? I was just so incredibly grateful that Noly let me contribute something so special to them, on a day that will be in their memories forever. I wish you both the best of luck, and I know your lives will be filled with great achievements and best of all, each other!

I also need to thank my amazing boyfriend, and personal assistant for this feat, Mike, for helping me, putting up with me, and at times, just explaining to me that my best is my best and I can't do it better :) He is truly the only one who could have kept me from having an aneurysm from this cake.