I'm sorry, blog!

BLOG I'M SORRY!! Why have I neglected you!?!? It will officially stop right now. Neglect = OVER. Seriously. I have a feeling this will be LONG!! I have so much to say! So much has happened!

One of the more visually significant changes lately is my CLEAN HOUSE, free of all boxes! (Except in the guest room! There are a couple left in there!) We are, though, moved in. I'm not really finding any more weird things in the cupboards. Everything looks nice and put together. We had the carpets shampooed (that has too many vowels in a row, but I think that's how it's spelled...), and I even pulled the fridge out and mopped behind it. So long, weird smells! And on top of that, take a look at my tax returns....!

They turned themselves into RECLINING COUCHES!! Hooraaaaay!! Each of the seats recline, except for the middle one on the big couch. They are, of course, being modeled by my amazingly handsome boyfriend Christopher. Also, notice the pretty curtains! They're from ikea, but I hemmed them! They came about twice as long as what they are now. I really have no idea who has windows long enough for the fabric they come with. I guess it's just to be safe, and make sure they will fit anybody's windows. They look great, though, because they're red, and our kitchen is red! It ties the two rooms together really well. I'm also working on curtains for the kitchen window above the sink, and great big ones for the sliding glass door. They'll be done soon, hopefully this week, and I'll put pictures up when they are! They're looking goooood!!!

In other news, I've been doing a LOT of job hunting. If I'm not happy, I should change my life so I AM happy, right?! My work isn't the worst thing in the world, but I could do better. And despite the economy and lack of available jobs, I find myself suprisingly qualified for a lot of the ones that are available out there. I've applied for a couple jobs at the VA hospital, one as a veterinary secretary (tongue twister, but how fun would that be?!) and a few "on the phone/computer" work from home jobs. So far no luck, but eventually someone will hire me, right!? My main goal is to find a job that will offer me a little bigger paycheck, and hopefully some health insurance. I would REALLY REALLY love to have a job that would either let me work from home, or be SUPER pet friendly, so that one day I can bring my potential doggy to work with me. I know that's kind of a long shot, so for now, I'll settle with a raise. I have a lot of skills, and I am qualified for so many better paying positions it's rediculous that I'm still getting $11.50 an hour. D:

I've been making/collecting recipes for a LOT of cupcakes recently. I know cupcakes are super popular right now, and I don't usually get on the "trendy" bandwagon, but I LOVE baking, and I just can't resist all the new creative recipes that are out there! Brie and Keely came over a few days before easter, so we made some vanilla cupcakes with "grass" frosting, and PEEPS on them! How cute!!!! I also made, quite possibly, the most delicious cupcakes in the world. GREEN TEA CUPCAKES!!! Mostly a regular cake recipe, but I put an extra egg white in, and 2 heaping tablespoons of matcha in both the batter, and in the buttercream frosting! They were AMAZING. You have no idea. And if you don't know what matcha is, stop by your local asian food store, or import goods store, and check it out. It's WAY fun to bake with. It's basically green tea, but it's powdered. It keeps the green color even through baking, because they use the delicate tiny baby tea leaves, instead of the larger older leaves that get put into tea bags. It also doesn't bitter when exposed to heat like the older tea leaves do. I also made these ones in my new giant cupcake pan, so one cupcake is just about perfect for feeding 2 people. How romantic!! I unfortunately didn't take a picture after these were frosted (they were so pretty!), but you can see how green and yummy looking they are! I am most definitely planning on making more, but I'm trying to wait for special occasions to make them. It seems kind of senseless just baking huge amounts of cupcakes, and not having anything to do with them! Except eat them, of course, but I really don't need to eat cupcakes every day.

So, other than the baking and the cleaning and the other home-makerish things, I have been planning out a new cage for Thor, the weirdo iguana. He needs more room to run around, and it would be REALLY good for him to have a heated water area in his cage. Also, we're going to make sure all of the surfaces are LAMINATE!! YES!!! Easy to clean. No more smelly messes being absorbed into stuff. He'll be so happy!

MORE TO COME SOON!! I will try my hardest not to let my blogging completely fall behind. I really like keeping this thing updated. Twitter gives me some kind of false-blogging-security feeling. I think I've blogged. I have, really. But it DOESN'T COUNT! It's a mini-blog because it's not a complete blog, and I don't want it to replace mine!