My Pinterest Disaster

If you know me, you know I love baking. I love decorating cakes. I even do wedding cakes like this!

Photo courtesy of |simple elle| photography.

So surely cookies from Pinterest shouldn't be a problem, right? 

Wrong.

I spent Friday afternoon at Washington Farms picking some fresh strawberries I'd been craving! They're seriously the best strawberries in the world. I won't buy store-bought ones. 

So I was feeling bakey and decided to make something with them! After perusing Pinterest for a little while, I found Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies. 

Sounds delightful, right? I thought I'd give it a go! 

I always feel so culinarily advanced when I chop fruit and vegetables. :|

The first thing that I thought was odd was that the batter was like...batter. Not cookie dough. But alas, I popped them in the oven, and out they came! ... Looking like bologna. :| 

I have no idea what went wrong. I followed the recipe exactly. And this is what came out.  They didn't taste awful, but weren't very sweet to be a cookie. And they were the WEIRDEST texture. If you know me, you also know that I have a texture issue with food. It was like rubber. So weird. I'm not sure if that was because of the cream cheese in the recipe, but it was weird.

So, I took this as a perfect opportunity to submit my disaster to Craft Fail! They have a Pinterest Projects Gone Wrong page and it's absolutely hilarious. I highly recommend checking it out if you have a funny bone in your body! Perhaps my lovely cookie attempt will be showcased!

XOXO,

Nic

The Difference Happy Makes!

So finals have ended and I have moved to Athens! 2012 has proven to be WAY different than I EVER imagined it, but sometimes you have to realize that the plan you have for yourself doesn't exist. The plan that God has for you, does.

Where I'm getting with this, is that in say, November 2011, I thought I was a happy camper. Granted, I hadn't gotten into nursing school yet like I'd hoped, everything else was going well. Then my world flipped itself upside down in a matter of about a month. Many things were shaken - my self-esteem, life plan, finances, living arrangements (I'd never lived alone before), and much more. I believe that throughout it all, I've come out on top of the situation. I feel better about myself physically and mentally. Call it what you will, but I finally got in nursing school. Was something holding me back all along? Or did God know what was coming and who the person I was with really was, and protected me from having all that happen in the middle of nursing school?

It is amazing what letting go of such a negative thing in your life, can do for your life. It sounds cheesy and cliche, but letting the toxic people go makes a world of difference. Like I said, my self-esteem is back, I've met and reconnected with so many people I had let go of, because certain people didn't want me to talk to them. I've realized what I had been missing out on. I am so much more happy now, than I was then, and I had no idea I was even unhappy. When life throws you for a loop, don't think it's the end of the world! You never know when there could be something better in store. :) Looking through pictures, I think I even look happier now! This picture is from September....

And this is me a few weeks ago, going to my first Brave's game!

Do you see a difference? Or am I just being weird? I mean obviously my hair is curly in one and straight in the other, but I think there's a little more of a difference than that! You be the judge!

What's Your Song? Link Up!

So I've missed all these little weekly posts! My song this week has turned into my ANTHEM! The video just came out yesterday, but I've been listening to it non-stop the last few weeks. It's just perfect for my situation! I also really like Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger" when I'm in this kind of mood, but this one rings truer to me!

Thursday Five!

Oh it has been so long! But I'm back, and so are my Thursday Five posts! :)

Outstanding

Proud

Energized

Splendid

Wonderful

The weather this week has been outstanding! It has been so nice that I spent hours outside of Starbucks yesterday studying!

I am proud to say that I was awarded a nursing scholarship at my new school!! Just another blessing!

I am SO energized about moving back to Athens. I want to NOW!!

My Scentsy team is doing absolutely SPLENDID! It has doubled in size in the last 3 months! :)

I did a surprisingly wonderful job on my test last week! The professor told us the highest grade, and when I got my paper back, it was me! Yay! 

Go link up with the other Nicole and tell us about your week!! 

My Big News!

I'm back, blogging world! It almost feels weird to be blogging again, but I feel good about it. I haven't written anything in such a long time! I'll start off with the best news I have gotten in YEARS...

I GOT INTO NURSING SCHOOL!!!!!!!

Most everyone who has known me or read my previous blog knows my struggle with this. This was my 6th attempt, and finally, it was a successful one! This school was my first that had an interview, so I think that helped me out. And maybe the suit I dropped $160 bucks on the day before (ouch!). TOTALLY worth it.  I got to tell them why I wanted to be a nurse, about my volunteer experience and experience with my mom being sick for so many years and show my personality. The rest of the schools I had applied to only looked at 3 things: GPA, SAT (you know, that test you take when you're freaking 16 years old?! Yeah, apparently it still matters when you're 22 and have been in college for 5 years...ahem) and a pre-nursing test called the TEAS. My GPA is above a 3.0, SAT is good and TEAS was good, but nursing school is HIGHLY competitive. But, no more worries because I FINALLY got in!!! I got chills, screamed, squealed, cried, all the good stuff. I actually wasn't expecting the letter when it came, which made it even more surprising! I thought surely an early letter meant an early rejection. You know, weed out the definite no's before sending the acceptances. WRONG!! I am beyond excited about this! I can't wait to start the program in the Fall! I have to take 3 non-nursing classes over the Summer, but I really don't mind!! This all really couldn't have happened at a better time. With my four year relationship/marriage ending, manyyyy failed attempts during it, and right after, the acceptance... It really weirds me out to an extent, but I know that God has a plan for me, and sometimes, I'm just not meant to understand it! It definitely gives me something to look forward to, AND I get to move back home!! I don't really like the city I live in now, never really have, and I'm so excited to be moving back. I had previously applied all OVER the state, and even looked out of state, and to get into the school IN Athens is freaking awesome!!! I still can't believe it all! 

Testing...

This is just a little test post! :) Yay new blog!