Now for something SWEET!

The other night, I decided to try my hand at a new baking craze - cake balls.  They are the cutest things in the world and (as far as I know) made famous by Bakerella.  She's incredibly talented and creative. I'd suggest checking out her website, www.bakerella.com.

So I made up my mind to have a fun night of baking (cause I totally bake..... or know what I'm doing) so as a result, this story is a comedy of errors.

I began with Funfetti cake batter and as I started mixing all of my ingredients together, I realized that I somehow did not have ANY eggs at all.... which meant I had to leave my half-mixed batter hangin around while I madly ran to the store in my pajamas to get a carton of eggs.  When I got back, I gleefully finished mixing my batter and poured it out into my cupcake pans. It seemed however, that I had a little too much batter...

I discovered it wasn't that I had too much batter.... I just put DOUBLE the amount in each cupcake! Super tall cupcakes! However, they were still cooked all the way through and pretty delicious. (warm cake is anyway)

Now, if you know anything about cake balls you may ask why on earth I made cupcakes instead of just a sheet cake. Well..... I didn't have a cake pan.

So the next step in making cake balls is to crumble up the cake until it's fine and mix in icing or a cream cheese mixture.  This time I chose cream cheese icing. Seemed like the best combination to me. :)
Next I had Jason help me roll up the mixture onto a tray so we could freeze them before dunking them.  They were sticky sticky sticky!!

They remind me of sausage cheese balls.... mmmmm.... maybe I'll save my baking prowess for those.

After they froze for what seemed like an appropriate amount of time, I dunked them in white vanilla candy melts or dark cocoa candy melts (an incredibly messy process which was not captured in pictures). They looked great!!!!

I made a hellacious mess all over my kitchen slinging that melted candy.  Finally, it was time for a taste test of my little beauties! The verdict? HORRIBLE. They were insanely sweet. Way Way too sweet.  The funfetti with the cream cheese icing with the vanilla candy melts? ugh. I threw them all out. But, it was a fun process and I look forward to learning from my mistakes and making ones that are actually delicious. :)

Searching for a way out

Well it has been very nearly forever since I updated everyone on my Gainesville life happenings.  A lot has happened. Here's a teaser - I'm looking to quit my job. 


Allow me to explain, ever since I started the job I was warned that there were a few people who were less than friendly.  I did not realize, however, that they would be downright rude and incredibly condescending to me.  One in particular is the nastiest of the bunch.  She held the position a number of people before me, but seems to hold a particular grudge against me for just having my job.  She is disdainful and rarely even looks at me, much less addresses me unless she absolutely has to.  Today I was instructed by HER superior to help out because they were short-staffed, but when I went over she asked if I needed the confirmations. I explained that someone else was going to do those today and I was told to be there to help. She said "Well, there's nothing for you to do here, so you can do the confirmations over there" (over there means in the other building, at my desk) I obviously was undesired, and thats how I feel over there all the time.

Not to mention my ACTUAL job.  Here's the thing. I've been a barista for forever.  I am a blank slate for training. That is... if anyone actually decided to train me to do anything. I'm more just expected to know what I'm doing at all times.  I get fussed at for doing the dumbest, smallest things incorrectly.  Like hand addressing envelopes because I was told we didn't make labels. (we do.) Or accidentally saying tuesday instead of monday when reading the calendar and then CORRECTING myself.  I'm made to feel completely dumb and inadequate all the time.  And every week someone comes and asks me "so how are you doing? figuring things out?" same question every time. "figuring things out?" My question is this - What exactly am I supposed to be "figuring out"? My job? Who's who in the zoo? Yeah, I'm figuring things out, but it'd be nicer if someone showed me.

 Essentially, I hate my job to the core of my being.  I am madly looking for a new place to go so I can hurry up and turn in my two weeks. I won't leave without having somewhere to go, but I'm hoping I find something very soon. 

In more pleasant news, however, Jason has officially moved back down to Gainesville after spending summer at home, and we are still getting used to the idea that we will be in the same town all year and neither of us are visiting. I am making a list of things I'd like to experience while I'm here so I hope we can do some of those things.  Maybe in a later post, Ill put my list up here. 

So this Sunday Jason and I are going to visit the local Baptist church just to test the waters and see if we like them any better. :) Wish us luck as we search for the perfect church for us!

Keep us (and my job specifically!) in your prayers!