I'm in my best friend's wedding on August 25th. I'm the Maid of Honor and she said it was my option to do a toast or not. I would really like to do one, but don't even know where to start. I'm not great in front of crowds, but it is an incredibly special day for them. I think once I get started, I'll be fine.
Any tips for giving one, or any memorable ones you've heard?
I hate to ***** about my life because that's not entirely what a blog is for, but I have some things I really need to say as they've been bothering me. I'm so stressed, I'm not sure how I can even function.
This past fall, I switched from a few classes to a full-time university schedule. I decided to take up three majors as well (Accounting, Banking & Finance, and Business Management). None of these are simple. The university told me that it typically takes five years to complete such coursework, but because of financial situations I seriously need to complete it in four. I'm paying my way through college on mine own with no financial help whatsoever from my parents. Fortunately, I earned a scholarship worth $36,000USD which pays for about half of my tuition each year. That leaves roughly $9,000 that I need to make appear from thin air. I don't come from a rich family or anything, so it is quite a burden but the education will be worth it. With the money and triple major, I did manage to complete 55 credits this year and finished with over a 3.5 GPA. That was quite a miracle because I also work between 20 and 30 hours during the school year and full-time (40 hours) during breaks.
Work is not easy by any means. I work in the tax department of a Fortune 500 company. It's not the simple stuff like copying, faxing, and administrative work. I actually prepare the returns and make payments. Knowing how much work goes into corporate taxes almost makes me giggle at how much people hate filing their personal income tax return one a year. Anyway, deadlines are incredibly stiff and people constantly dump their work on me. Stuff that they can't get done in their 40 hour work week, they expect me to finish in my 25 hour week. It's just not possible and they never understand it. The pay is absolute crap too. I could do something mindless and make much more money. It is sort of important because of having to pay for school. Sure, I like the flexibility of scheduling, the cooperation with working around school events, and having weekends off but sometimes the brain-frying is just not good enough for the pay.
In case school and work aren't enough, there is always more. A lot of personal burdens have been happening lately as well...
As written in a previous entry, my great grandmother has been quite ill. She's been in and out of the hospital nearly every other week since Christmas. It's been really rough on my emotions. I had the fortune to have three great grandmothers all the way until my teenage years. The other two have passed, so it will be hard to find closure with the third one. There is not much chance for her to come out of this each time she goes through it, but we keep hoping. The doctors say they can't do anymore. It breaks my heart to know she is suffering so much. In late March/early April, I went down to Florida to visit her and essentially say goodbye. Every time I saw her, I had to choke back the tears. My family and the people at the hospital said it was the best she had looked since she started going through it, but she still looked rough. Each time we get the phone call, it causes a sinking feeling in my stomach just thinking is this the last time.
Another thing that has been troubling me has been my luck with my truck. I paid $2700 for it because I bought it from a relative at less than NADA price. However, since then I've had to replace the transmission, torque converter, and the brakes not too far apart. When the transmission went, the engine was revving up to nearly 6500rpm and could have easily blown at the same time. I took it in to get it repaired and ended up with a bill of over $1200. That's a big hit to a small bank account. About a month or two later, my truck had a grinding noise and I wasn't positive about it so I got it checked. My brakes were bad, but safe to drive on for a week or so with very little driving. About four days later, I was driving home from work. I was going down the freeway and slowed to about 60mph because I needed to turn. I went to use the brakes once I got in the turn lane and I didn't have any. I instantly panicked and waiting until my car slowed enough naturally that I could turn. I was worried that there would be a really bad accident or something. Once I turned into a parking lot, I called a wrecker and had the worst driver ever. He drove my truck around the lot knowing it had no brakes, loaded it incorrectly, had no clue how to get to the repair shop after saying he knew where it was, failed to stop and signs and lights, missed his turn and the shop driveway, and hit a parked car. He also swore like crazy but I tolerated it because I was more worried about surviving. It turned out that I need full brakes all the way around--pads, shoes, rotors and drums, and eventually lugnuts. The bill came out to nearly $700 because the parts were absolutely outrageous. I've paid out over $1900 for a vehicle that only cost me $800 more. It's frustrating and financially burdensome.
Now much more recently, my father's company is "downsizing," so he lost his job. I still live at home since I'm in school and cannot afford to move out. We were scraping bottom trying to pay bills before and now he's unemployed. (With the loss of his job, our health insurance runs out at the end of July. Both of my parents are diabetic and have medications they cannot live without.) I live in Michigan which has the worst economy in the States, so it will be incredibly difficult for him to find a new job. My parents mentioned that if he cannot find one around here, that they would be more than willing to move. If and/or when that happens, I will be homeless. I'm under contract for my job until I graduate college, so I wouldn't have a choice except to find somewhere to live on my own. I'm sure I could find one, but it will still be another stress. I also want to finish my degrees at my current university, so I'm sort of stuck. I definitely want to live on my own, but I was hoping it would be under more stable circumstances.
Every day I wake up and tell myself that it cannot get any worse. It already feels like I'm at rock bottom, but I keep falling. I'm living in a nightmare that will take forever to wake up from. The support from friends has been amazing, but I still need a change. I've never felt more welcome to cry on someone's shoulder or talk their ear off. For that I am thankful, but it still has to get better soon. I'm working through this as best I can. One moment at a time...
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
**You can buy the pre-made mixture**
You will need: small mixer (or hand mixer and bowl), measuring cups, cooking spray, spatula/scraper, and a microwave safe bowl, and a 9"x13" bowl.
Preheat oven to 350F. Open can of rolls and unroll them. (Generally, you'll have 4 rectangles.) Spread them in the bottom of a sprayed pan. Next, cream together the vanilla, cream cheese, and 1 cup sugar until smooth. Spread the mixture on top of the crescent roll crust. Melt the stick of butter/margarine in the microwave and pour on top. Next, mis the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle on top of the butter. Bake for 30 minutes. It should still be bubbly when done and the center will be sunk in a bit. The cheesecake can be served warm or chilled but never hot.
4-6 bananas
46 ounces pineapple juice
12 ounces orange juice concentrate (the frozen kind)
4 cups sugar
4 tablespoons lemon juice
6 cups water
12 cups or 3 quarts ginger ale
Puree bananas in blender with a little bit of juice. Mix in remaining ingredients except water and ginger ale. Freeze the mixture. Take it out 1.5 hours before serving and let it thaw. Add water and ginger ale to make a slush. Serve and enjoy.
Pink Anniversary Punch
20 5 ounce servings (a double batch makes about 1.5 punch bowls)
3 cups water
1 cup sugar
32 ounces cranberry juice
2 cups pineapple juice
2/3 cup lemon juice
24 ounces lemon lime soda (Sprite works)
Ice ring, optional (pink punch with maraschino cherries and lemon slices)
In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir water and sugar until sugar dissolves. Cover and chill. In a large pitcher or glass container, stir together sugar syrup and juices. Cover and chill thoroughly. To serve, pour juice into chilled punch bowl. Stir in soda and add the ice ring. Serve and enjoy.
Grasshopper Flip
incredibly minty and makes 2 8 ounce servings
1 cup mint chocolate chip ice cream, softened but not melty
1 cup lemon lime soda, chilled
2 teaspoons creme de menthe extract
1/4-1/2 cups frozen whipped topping (Cool-whip), thawed
Chocolate sprinkles
Place ice cream, soda, and extract in blender. Cover and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour into glasses and top with whipped topping and sprinkles. Serve and enjoy.
Note: If you want it thicker, add more ice cream.
Strawberry Fizz
1 cup vanilla yogurt or low-fat milk
1/2 cup strawberries, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup seltzer
Combine yogurt and fruit, cover and mix well. Add seltzer and blend 2-3 more seconds. Pour in a tall glass and be prepared for it to foam up. Serve and enjoy.
Fruit Smoothie
1 serving
1/2 cup yogurt (plain or flavored) or low-fat milk
1 cup fruit juice
1/2-1 cup fruit (fresh, frozen, or canned)
optional add ins (choose one or two):
1/4 cup milk powder
grape nuts
wheat germs
oat bran
graham crackers
Blend together. Serve and enjoy.
My personal favorite is the Pink Anniversary Punch. I made some for Christmas this year. there were only about 20 people and we went through four punch bowls.
I love to cook, so I figured I would start posting some recipes. These were previously posted in the Coffeehouse, but I'm going to post them here as well. Enjoy!
Crab Meat and Cheese (Ragoons)
Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 green onions, chopped or diced
1 can crab meat
2 teaspoons minced garlic
25 wonton wrappers
(small bowl of water)
You’ll need a medium mixing bowl and a frying pan or deep fryer.
Directions:
Combine cream cheese, green onions, crab meat, and garlic. Spoon some of the mixture onto a wonton wrapper. Dab water around the edges of the wrapper. Place another wrapper on top, and seal against the water. Fry until golden brown. Remove from frying and let set on paper towels for a minute or two to cool.
Note: My friend fries hers in a pan, but when I made them we put them in a deep fryer basket. I cooked them for a little bit, then flipped them over and cooked until golden brown.
Wonton Appetizer
Ingredients:
8 ounces cheddar or Colby jack cheese, shredded
8 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded
1 cup ranch dressing
1 pound breakfast sausage
35 Wonton wrappers
You’ll need a medium bowl, frying pan, muffin pan, and a cookie sheet.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook and drain sausage. While cooking the sausage, take wonton wrappers and push them into the muffin shape of the muffin pan. Bake in the oven just long enough the shape will set (about 5 minutes). Remove from muffin pan and place on the cookie sheet. Combine the cheeses, dressing, and sausage in a medium bowl. Place the mixture into the formed wonton wrappers on the cookie sheet. Once the cookie sheet is full, or you have enough for what you need, bake them until the cheese is all melted.
Chicken Spaghetti
Ingredients:
4-5 Chicken breasts, cut into pieces
12-16 ounces spaghetti noodles, cooked and cut into small pieces
16 ounces sour cream
1 (10¾ ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (10¾ ounce) can cream of chicken soup
8 ounces Velveeta cheese, cubed
12-24 ounces cheese shredded (Colby jack or medium cheddar is yummy)
Mushrooms, optional
Season to taste (oregano, salt, pepper)
You’ll need a kettle to cook the chicken in, a kettle for noodles, a large bowl, and a 9”x13” pan.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Boil chicken until fully cooked and drain. Season the chicken after bowling for stronger taste. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Spread into pan and bake.
Note: I used elbow macaroni and it worked quite well.
Shrimp or Chicken Alfredo
Ingredients:
8 large shrimp, peeled and cleaned, or 2 chicken breasts
1½ teaspoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon oregano
1 clove garlic, chopped
¾ cup heavy cream
¾ cup parmesan cheese
7 ounces linguine noodles, cooked and drained
1 egg yolk, beaten
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon parsley chopped
Lemon wedge and chopped parsley, optional garnish
You’ll need a dish for marinating, a kettle for noodles, and a skillet.
Directions:
Marinate meat in oil, oregano, and garlic for 30 minutes. Remove meat and sauté in skilled over medium heat (for shrimp, just until tails curl and flash turns pink). Season it lightly with salt and pepper. Add heavy cream, cheese, and linguine. Simmer about 3 minutes, whisking constantly. When meat is fully cooked, whisk in egg yolk and parsley. Remove from heat and serve immediately. Garnish if you choose.
Notes: Noodles in one pan and sauce in another works best. Then pour sauce over pasta and toss together.
Monster Cookies
Mix until smooth:
12 eggs
4 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon corn syrup
3 pounds peanut butter
2 pounds brown sugar
8 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 pound butter (cannot use oleo/margarine)
Stir in until mixed well:
18 cups oatmeal
1 pound chocolate chips (mixture of other varieties works well too-my preference is butterscotch, chocolate, and white chocolate)
1 pound M&M's (plain/politically correct milk chocolate works best, because peanut are too big)
Use ice cream scoop to scoop cookies onto cookie sheet. Flatten before baking. Bake at 350F to desired consistency (chewy or crunchy). Approximately 12-15 minutes. Do not overbake.
Note: A half batch is enough to fill two large Tupperware containers. A full batch makes about 60 (5" diameter)cookies.
I eavesdropped on a conversation in my house earlier this week, and what I heard is really bothering me. The comment was made that my great grandma said she would be at every grandkid's wedding if it killed her. She's in her late 80s and her health has been going downhill. She's been in and out of the hospital for pretty much the whole year, each time with the same prognosis. Twice the doctors have said she wouldn't make it through that bout at the hospital. If something happens, I won't be able to be there. She lives in Florida and my family doesn't have the means to go down there. It's been tearing me apart. She's my last remaining great grandmother. I've been fortunate to have three of them until after I was out of grade school, but losing the last one is like ending a chapter in my life. I'm not ready for that.
But back to the wedding comment..it's really difficult to hear. I most likely will not be married while she is still alive. I'm the oldest one of her grandchildren, on my side of the family and bloodline, who is unmarried . I'm not going to rush into marriage, so she can be there. I'm not ready for that either. It would just mean so much more to me if she were there. As lucky a I am, I still want more. I want her to share in a very happy day in my life. She'll be looking on me if she's not around, but her physically being there is just different.
I have an odd sense of knowing when someone has died or had a serious tragedy. I get this sinking feeling in my stomach and it doesn't go away until the suspicion is concerned. That feeling is starting again.
Now that my eyes are glassy from the forming tears, I have said my peace about this. Until next time...
I've been fighting a nasty cold for awhile now, so I went to pick up some more medicine at the pharmacy. I needed cough syrup with pseudoephedrine, but it's been taken off the market here. I'm not sure how widespread the banning has been. The manufacturers were required to remove pseudoephedrine because too many meth heads were dying or having severe complications from overdosing. Personally, I think it's ridiculous that druggies are killing themselves from the medication so it has to be taken off the market.
It makes those of us who are sick suffer because the replacement isn't necessarily as effective. The medication is still available at major pharmacies, but you have to fill out paperwork. There's also a regulation on quantity, age, and time frames. So now, it's been three days since I bought some and I'm out of medication. I have to return to the pharmacy, fill out the paperwork again, and get the little speech about being careful and make sure you don't use it for druggie-like actions. Really, all I want to do is get better.
If meth heads are going to screw themselves up like that, I think we should let them. I don't think we should limit everyone so they don't get what they need for their next fix. Honestly, they can go to another state, mail order from another country, or even go from pharmacy to pharmacy. While each chain probably has their tracking system, they aren't linked with the next chain so it's easy to get around the system.
Sure, I could do the same thing, but why should I have to run around town when I'm already sick? I live in the country, so there isn't a wide variety of pharmacies to visit. I hate having to return to the pharmacy and fill out the paperwork every three days, because some people were stupid enough to abuse the medication.
If anyone else reads this, may I ask your opinion? Facing the same frustration?
My dear blog, I've waited so long to create you.
However, I'm not going to introduce myself to you. I'll just write in you with a sliver of my mind.
Lately I've been feeling really girly. Normally I'm pretty much a tomboy. I don't typically fancy pink and I certainly don't own a dress. Don't get me wrong, I can wear one and supposedly I clean up nicely....but it's just not the everyday me. I love my jeans and men's t-shirt style.
I love this change, even if it's temporary. I sort of hope it isn't, but I also don't want it to go to extremes. It almost feels like a secret identity that's hiding deep within me but just escaped from its shell. I'm embracing that part of me. It's like the inner-geek that snuck out when my boyfriend and I got together. I have no idea where all of this (inner-geek and ubergirly mood) is coming from, but it's like I'm finally developing my whole character in life. I love changes and discovering parts of my personality I've never met or cherished.