Food Network Challenges

I'm addicted to the Food Network. It's no use trying to hide it. I will spend an entire night curled up on the couch watching Ace of Cakes or the Food Network Challenges thinking, "Man, I could do that." and "What I wouldn't give for someone to let me show off my talent."

My brother quickly caught on to my love for food, and making crazy things, and he decided we needed to have challenges of our own. Well, two challenges down, and a year gone by, and I am finally throwing my hat in the ring. I am not, and never will be, good enough for the Food Network. Am I giving up my love for cakes? no. Am I giving up my sibling bonding with cake and food challenges? Absolutely not. I'm just admitting to myself, as hard as that may be, that I am no decorating genius. Maybe I should just stick to organizing and managing things for a living.

Anyways, what were the challenges you ask? Well, First up we tried a cake challenge. appropriately named "Monkey Brains," my brother and I attempted to recreate the monkey head and brains from the movie, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Eight cakes stacked on top of each other, carved out for rice crispy brains to be added as well as rice crispy facial features and ears attached, it's no wonder our creation collapsed right after the final picture was taken.
I think he looked a little more like "Joe Cool the Monkey," but either way, he was awesome.

The worst part of that day was how awful we felt after eating all that sugar. We went to the grocery store to bye salad for dinner because if we even thought about sugar we would have exploded!

For the holidays we thought we should try a different challenge: gingerbread house! To celebrate Christmas as well as my brother's purchase of a new house, we decided we would make a replica of that house made entirely out of gingerbread and sugar! After trying to attach the gingerbread while still warm and not having patience for the icing to dry, the roof finally collapsed before making it through the night.
I think I might just stick to my graham crackers on milk cartons for my next gingerbread house!

Needless to say, I had a blast trying these new things, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I just wont be calling the Food Network anytime soon.

Dumpster Diving...how I chose my school.

Now that I'm older, I'll admit that I learned a lot of things from my older brothers. Though they tied me up to play "hide and seek" and kicked me in the face while insisting we were playing a game called "shoe phone," they also gave me some useful information that I will forever carry with me. One of those useful tips: dumpster diving.

I don't know why, but when I applied to colleges, I knew I wanted to go to Virginia Tech. I applied two other places but knew that VT was the one for me. As most kids do when applying to schools, I was brought to Tech to have a look around and make sure it was the place for me. Unlike most kids, I was not accompanied by my parents. Instead, my father drove me four hours down I81 and dropped me off at my brother's apartment. Now, this would be the ideal situation, having a sibling that attends your school. He'll teach you the ropes: how to get from here to there, what classes to take, who to hang out with, etc. Well, I got some advice on all those subjects, but seeing that I was applying as a theatre major and he was an ex ROTC, ex engineer, and I still have no idea what his major turned out to be, I didn't retain much of the information he spewed to me that weekend.

Much of that weekend was spent with my brother trying to convince me not to go to this school. Stories of how the academics sucked and the professors as well as the whole school would screw me over didn't scare me. I didn't see anything horrible, I saw a great college town: beautiful weather (which apparently was a rarity until I showed up), great food, and the best part, my brother's lovely girlfriend who turned into one of the best sister-in-laws I could ask for!

I was also exposed to the poor college life and the awesomeness of dumpster diving. One of the nights spent in his apartment, I witnessed my brother and his roommate spot and retrieve a dryer that had been thrown into the dumpster. That moment sealed the deal, this was the school for me. How cool was that!? A FREE DRYER! I'll admit, I do have some of my mother's frugilness, but I like to have fun in the ways I save money!

Long story short, I have made it a tradition ever since that weekend that at the end of every semster I will go around my apartment complex and search for awesome items in or around the dumpsters. How can you beat free? And hey, there's always a good story to tell when your friend asks you, "Hey, where did you get this awesome piece of furniture?"

So as the semster is coming to a close, I wish you all happy dumpster diving!

How to clean your car

College is crazy and drunken festivities are inevitable. Let's face it, their the social norm for college kids in their young twenties. I love the drunken festivities. No, I don't usually partake in the drinking, I'm that person that has a blast watching the drunk people and then ends up driving them home.
Well, two weeks ago started off just like any other college party but ended up with my car looking and smelling like beer, spinach, onions, and stomach acid. Yes, I drove a friend home and he vomited in the front seat of my car.
A few days, lots of cleaning supplies, paper towels, and Q-tips later, my car was clean. "Then what's the big deal you ask?" Well, the car may have been clean, but the smell was pungent and not fading, AT ALL.
You'd be surprised how hard it is to find good ideas on the internet for eliminating vomit odors in your car. This type of thing has to happen often, especially to college kids, why can't someone take the time to let me know how to fix it? My favorite response I found was: "Have a Great Dane shit in your car, your vomit will be masked forever!"
Anywho, I tried all the things I found: baking soda, carpet cleaner, febreeze, and vinegar.
After all that you ask, "Is the smell gone?" Well, YES, yes it is!
So, for all those people searching on the internet for an answer as to how to get rid of the odor of your friends stomach out of your car, let me share my experience so that you too may have a positive outcome!

First and foremost, clean out the vomit, chunks and all. Clean the fabric. Use resolve, not febreeze, resolve will pull the vomit out of the carpet. Sprinkle baking soda all over the affected area. Let sit and pull all moisture out. Vacuum out the car. Place a bowl of vinegar in car and let sit for a few days. Remove and place an air freshener in car (preferbly the one bought for you by the friend who vomitted in your car."

Someone has to be the good citizen and drive the drunk friends home, and most the time it's pretty hilarious. And hey, if they do vomit in your car you might end up with some flowers, a new air freshener, and some candy!