Baking Like an Amanda

I move to college in roughly 36 hours.

Since my sister won't be going with me to move, I decided that we'd make cupcakes together. My friend Amanda recently made a video about making rainbow cupcakes, so I figured we'd give it a try.

 I had never actually made cupcakes before. I prefer making brownies, but it was fairly simple. Butter, sugar, flour, eggs, baking powder, and vanilla extract blended together.

So we threw everything into the mixer and came out with some pretty good looking batter. It was a bit thick, but still good.

We divided this into 6 parts and colored it. I failed to take a picture of this step because when I got to the green bowl, the bottle of food dye was clogged. My sister tried to unclog it despite the fact that I asked her not to and she ended up flinging green dye all over herself, her clothes, my clothes, and me. There was an argument, she got mad at me, quit, and I continued the project by myself. The picture was forgotten.

Moving on! This is what it looked like when I filled the cups. I sort of overfilled them because I misjudged the first few layers. Like I said, I'm more of a brownie person. My sister's the cupcake queen, and she abandoned me.

I expected them to be monstrosities, but after cooking for 20 minutes they looked pretty good. They reminded me of rainbow sherbet.

I also made the frosting by Amanda's instructions. If you've never made your own frosting, it's basically just a lot of sugar and a lot of butter. Easy stuff.

It turned out pretty well, if I say so myself. Not as good as an Amanda's, but certainly not as terrible as a Dan's.


Here's the video if you want to do it yourself:

Welcome to Camp Tiffers

Oh right, I have a blog I'm supposed to be keeping up with.

Long time, no see, huh? Sorry boys and girls, but I've had to put my big girl pants on this summer and earn some money.

I work at a small Christian camp facility where churches and groups host their own camp programs. It's conveniently located within 20 minutes of the beach, and it's right on the bay. My job includes lifeguarding at the pool, the water slide, and the water slide, as well as working at the challenge course and the snack shack, and cleaning every dorm, conference room, and bathroom (basically, everything) after each group leaves.

I apologize for my lack of internet presence, but honestly, after working full-time in the Alabama summer heat and humidity, I need my sleep. Since we've reached the halfway point of the summer, I'll try harder to keep you all updated more frequently.

Moments of Nostalgia

Right now is one of those times. One of those bittersweet moments when you're sitting in a place you know you'll never return to. Even if you you did come back, it wouldn't be the same. I'm at a friends graduation, at a small Christian private school that I never actually attended myself. My little sister went to school here for a year, and many of my friends either graduated from this school or attended at some point. So although I've never called it mine, it still holds a special place in my heart. I know I'll probably never return, and if I ever do, I won't find the familiar faces I expect. I've had moments like this quite a bit lately, and I'm sad. Maybe I'm not as ready to move on as I thought.

My goals for the year (so far):
- Read more books.
- Keep track of the books I read.
- Make new friends.
- Make a scrapbook.
- Learn a seemingly useless but entertaining skill (boomerang, perhaps?)
- Write and produce a song.
- Learn to say "please", "thank you", and "you're welcome" in 7 new languages.

Pokemon caught: 54
Last caught: Machoke

My Goals For The Year

I hope you've noticed that I keep a list of my goals for the year at the bottom of every post. They change slightly every so often. Lately I've been doing some thinking and I've decided to throw out my goal of posting a certain number of videos on YouTube.

Making YouTube videos is something I do for fun. I do it because I want to. I do it for me. I use it as a way to introduce myself to the world. My videos reflect who I am. I only want subscribers if they like me. I will not change myself to make my subscribers happy.  Forcing myself to make videos on a strict schedule isn't me. It takes the fun out of making videos. I don't want to make something just because I have to. Being forced to film will only decrease my video quality, and I'm not okay with that. It's not a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

So if I post 100, or even 50, videos by the end of the year, that's great, but I'm not going to force myself to do it.

And folks, the same goes for blogging. I blog when I want to. Don't expect a schedule.

My goals for the year (so far):

- Read more books.
- Keep track of the books I read.
- Make new friends.
- Make a scrapbook.
- Learn a seemingly useless but entertaining skill (boomerang, perhaps?)
- Write and produce a song.
- Learn to say "please", "thank you", and "you're welcome" in 7 new languages.

Pokemon caught: 54
Last caught: Machoke
Monferno evolved to Infernape

Geodude evolved to Graveler to Golem

Gastly evolved to Haunter to Gengar

Zubat evolved to Golbat

Books I've Read So Far This Year: April

Insomniatic Dreams - S.J.D. Howson
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
Switched - Amanda Hocking
Torn - Amanda Hocking
Ascend - Amanda Hocking
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Hamlet - William Shakespeare
13 Little Blue Envelopes - Maureen Johnson
Necromancer: A Novella - Lish McBride
Candide - Voltaire

My goals for the year (so far):
- Read more books.
- Keep track of the books I read.
- Make new friends.
- Make a scrapbook.
- Learn a seemingly useless but entertaining skill (boomerang, perhaps?)
- Write and produce a song.
- Learn to say "please", "thank you", and "you're welcome" in 7 new languages.


Pokemon caught: 54
Last caught: Machoke
Monferno evolved to Infernape
Geodude evolved to Graveler to Golem
Gastly evolved to Haunter to Gengar
Zubat evolved to Golbat

This is not cheating.

In lieu of posting a legitimate blog entry,
I leave you with this.

Yes. It's Baby Tiffers.

My goals for the year (so far):
- Read more books.
- Keep track of the books I read.
- Make new friends.
- Make a scrapbook.
- Post 100 50 videos on YouTube.
- Learn a seemingly useless but entertaining skill (boomerang, perhaps?)
- Write and produce a song.
- Learn to say "please", "thank you", and "you're welcome" in 7 new languages. 

Pokemon caught: 34
Last caught: Wooper
Chingling evolved to Chimecho

Not Another Banner Ad!

Let's talk about banner ads.
Ever since I started making websites in middle school, I have HATED banner ads. To me, they were tacky and annoying and I thought that it's my website and I should be able to get rid of them if I wanted to. Of course, that was middle school, when I was making websites (yes, websites, not blogs. I wasn't even aware that word existed until high school) about random thins like my volleyball team and my random group of friends and a petition to perform "High School Musical" at my school. I had the free crappy basic level sites with a sub-domain and limited design control, which was fine anyway since at that point I only had a basic knowledge of HTML. I thought it was ridiculous that I had to pay a whole $5 a month to get rid of the stupid ads. Of course, I didn't realize that those irritating flashing banners and pop-ups were what was paying for my tiny waste of bandwidth.

Now that I'm older with an Adsense account of my own, I understand the reason for all of those stupid little boxes. There is good money in advertising. Perhaps not on my level, but definitely on a corporate level. Since the corporate level makes good money on advertising, sometimes they share the wealth. It's rarely more than pennies at a time, but it adds up.

See that big green banner there in the sidebar? The one from InboxDollars? I put that there. It wasn't randomly chosen. I picked it myself. InboxDollars is actually a pretty good program. When you sign up, they send you 2-6 emails a day containing advertisements and special offers. If you read these emails and confirm in, they give you 2 cents. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it adds up. At $30, you can request to be sent a check. A $30 check just for checking your email is pretty awesome. Besides emails, there are several other ways to earn money, such as shopping coupons and game competitions (and it's not just cheesy "catch the coins" games. It's good games like Diner Dash and Chuzzle).  If you want to try it out, just click the banner and sign up. It doesn't take long, and if you decide you don't like it, you can cancel your account. And sorry, you have to be 18 or older to sign up.


(I promise that one day my blog will be less boring.)

My goals for the year (so far):
- Read more books.
- Keep track of the books I read.
- Make new friends.
- Make a scrapbook.
- Post 100 50 videos on YouTube.
- Learn a seemingly useless but entertaining skill (boomerang, perhaps?)
- Write and produce a song.
- Learn to say "please", "thank you", and "you're welcome" in 7 new languages. 

Pokemon caught: 32
Last caught: Stunky

Something's wrong with me.

So for the last few months or so, I’ve been suffering from nearly debilitating headaches. Usually they only last a couple of hours or so, but I’ve had one now for the last TWELVE DAYS.

TWELVE.
FREAKING.
DAYS.

It’s incredibly painful and frustrating. It’s making me nauseated and confused. On Monday, I was completely unable to do basic calculus or remember lines that I’ve known for months.

I finally went to the doctor today, since starting tomorrow, I won’t have insurance for a while. After checking my temperature and blood pressure, doing bloodwork to check for infections, running a hemoglobin A1C to check my blood glucose level, and giving me an eye exam, the doctor determined that I am perfectly healthy.
Clearly, I am NOT perfectly healthy. I’ve had a FREAKING HEADACHE FOR THE LAST TWELVE DAYS.

I don’t go to the doctor for checkups. When I go, it’s because something is wrong. Nothing makes me angrier than when I go to the doctor and he tells me that I’m perfectly healthy.
So basically, he told me that my headaches are from stress and not enough sleep. He gave me some pills that are supposed to make the headache stop and help me sleep. Unfortunately, I don’t have time for more sleep. Stupid school work.

Now I have to go talk to my guidance counselor tomorrow. Fun fun fun fun. At least I’m amused by the fact that she’s shorter than me.

Classmates, if I have been irritable and snappy with you, this is why. My apologies.

TL;DR - School is literally killing me.



My goals for the year (so far):
- Read more books.
- Keep track of the books I read.
- Make new friends.
- Make a scrapbook.
- Post 100 50 videos on YouTube.
- Learn a seemingly useless but entertaining skill (boomerang, perhaps?)
- Write and produce a song.
- Learn to say "please", "thank you", and "you're welcome" in 7 new languages. 

Pokemon caught: 32
Last caught: Stunky

Books I've Read So Far This Year: March

Insomniatic Dreams - S.J.D. Howson
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
Switched - Amanda Hocking
Torn - Amanda Hocking
Ascend - Amanda Hocking
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Hamlet - William Shakespeare


My goals for the year (so far):
- Read more books.
- Keep track of the books I read.
- Make new friends.
- Make a scrapbook.
- Post 50videos on YouTube.
- Learn a seemingly useless but entertaining skill (boomerang, perhaps?)
- Write and produce a song.
- Learn to say "please", "thank you", and "you're welcome" in 7 new languages.

I am not ashamed.

I've finally decided what to track this year:
Pokemon I've caught.

Yes, I play Pokemon. However, I'm a noob. I began playing Diamond version about a month ago, and I'm not as far as I'd hoped I'd be.

Although I recently began playing, I've always liked Pokemon. I remember wanting the game when it first came out for Gameboy Color, and admiring my friends' albums full of cards, but my parents would never buy any of it for me. In middle school, I was afraid of what people would think if I started playing, since by the time I got to middle school, Pokemon was a social taboo. Now that I'm in high school, nearly graduated, I am proud to say that I play Pokemon. I don't care if you think I'm weird or a loser. I like what I like because I like it, regardless of others' opinions. I'm lucky to have found a group of awesome friends who stand by me on this. Our classmates may look down on us because of what we do for fun, but I don't care. At least my friends and I don't have to worry about getting caught and arrested every weekend.

My name is Tiffany, and I am not ashamed.

My goals for the year (so far):
- Read more books.
- Keep track of the books I read.
- Make new friends.
- Make a scrapbook.
- Post 100 50 videos on YouTube.
- Learn a seemingly useless but entertaining skill (boomerang, perhaps?)
- Write and produce a song.
- Learn to say "please", "thank you", and "you're welcome" in 7 new languages.

Pokemon caught: 32
Last caught: Stunky

Books I've Read So Far This Year: January - February

Insomniatic Dreams - S.J.D. Howson
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
Switched - Amanda Hocking
Torn - Amanda Hocking
Ascend - Amanda Hocking
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Hamlet - William Shakespeare


My goals for the year (so far):
- Read more books.
- Keep track of the books I read.
- Make new friends.
- Make a scrapbook.
- Post 100 videos on YouTube.
- Learn a seemingly useless but entertaining skill (boomerang, perhaps?)
- Write and produce a song.
- Learn to say "please", "thank you", and "you're welcome" in 7 new languages.

It's A Small World After All.

I know it's been too long since my last post. I live a busy life, as you'll soon see. Since I'm trapped in the car for several more hours, I decided to take the opportunity to blog on my nice 3G Amzon Kindle that I got for Christmas. I've accomplished some pretty awesome things in the last two weeks. I've given my IB Spanish oral presentation, which I believe went very well, and I've given my IB Theory of Knowledge presentation. I'll blog abut those later.

The reason for my absence everywhere but Twitter is due to the fact that I've been at Disney World without a computer or internet since Saturday. Unlike a significant percentage of the people at the parks, I wasn't running away from Mardi Gras. (Seriously, you wouldn't believe how many Louisianians were running away from Mardi Gras. I have never seen so much LSU and Notre Dame gear in one place, outside of Louisiana. I don't blame them. If I lived that close to New Orleans, I'd run away too.) I was there, along with the rest of my dance academy's performing company, to perform.

This isn't the first time my company has performed at Disney World. They performed back in 2007 on the Magic Kingdom Tomorrowland stage. I didn't perform with them that time, but my sister did, so of course I was there to see  that  performance. While the performance went well, the audience was little more than the people we had brought with us. It wasn't exactly what we were hoping for. The stage is pretty much the reason for our lack of spectators. Although the stage itself was nice, it was in the worst location. It was located in an obscured corner of Tomorrowland between the Carousel of Progress and the Buzz Lightyear ride. For those of you who don't know, Tomorrowland is where the famous Space Mountain rollercoaster is located. That rollercoaster is the reason why people go to Tomorrowland, despite the fact that it is notorious for its two hour peak wait time and its distibution of all Fast Passes within 2 hours of the park opening. Needless to say, people don't go to Tomorrowland to watch some nobody kids dance. (Another note, that stage doesn't even exist anymore.)

*** I am no longer typing on my Kindle. I broke it. Replacement comes tomorrow. ***

This year's performance was completely different. We performed at Downtown Disney on the waterfront stage, in front of a crowd of about 300. 300 people who actually stopped and watched our entire show. Besides the annoying stage flaws (that stage was NOT built for dancers), it was incredible. The audience response was fantastic. The adults thought it was great, and the kids were dancing along with us. It was a wonderful feeling, entertaining people. If it wasn't for my obvious lack of training, I could be a Disney performer. Making people happy would be a fulfilling career.


My goals for the year (so far):
- Read more books.
- Keep track of the books I read.
- Make new friends.
- Make a scrapbook.
- Post 100 videos on YouTube.
- Learn a seemingly useless but entertaining skill (boomerang, perhaps?)
- Write and produce a song.
- Learn to say "please", "thank you", and "you're welcome" in 7 new languages.

Day One.

2011.
Two thousand eleven.
Twenty eleven.
MMXI.

This year.

It's nearly March and I'm just now beginning to plan my goals for the year. I suppose that's typical for me. I've never been one for deadlines. In fact, I've been called a serial procrastinator. But this year, things are going to change. 
Actually, a lot of things are going to change, whether I want them to or not. I'm nearing the end of my senior year of high school and the great establishment of University looms over me, filling me with both excitement and dread. I'm very much ready to be done with all of the work I deal with in my classes now, but a huge part of me isn't ready to leave behind my classmates and all of the things I'm involved in.
I've been with the same kids in my classes since I was a freshman, and we've grown up together. We may not all be best friends, but the 24 of us have become a family. A dysfunctional family, but a family nonetheless. Whether we admit it or not, we'd all help each other out if we really needed it.
Going off to college terrifies me. I'm not afraid of the intensity of the classes; I'm afraid of being alone. Even when I started going to my high school back in 2007, I was never truly alone. I transferred there with three of my friends, and I had a lot of acquaintances from my dance academy, so there were at least familiar faces in the halls. When I go off to college, none of my friends are going with me. There will be no familiar faces. This will certainly be a test of my people skills.

My goals for the year (so far):
- Read more books.
- Keep track of the books I read.
- Make new friends.
- Make a scrapbook.
- Post 100 videos on YouTube.
- Learn a seemingly useless but entertaining skill (boomerang, perhaps?)
- Write and produce a song.