Fresh Coconut Cake

From Cooking Light

I found this recipe and since Jon and I both like coconut, I thought I'd give this a try. It turned out delicious! I used a fresh coconut - juiced and shaved it all by myself! Next time, I would probably use a prepared coconut or canned juice and dried flakes to ease the amount of work it was. The frosting was so amazing. Italian meringue - not too difficult to make and so fluffy and rich! I would definitely make this one again, and recommend it to anyone who likes coconut!

FREE TIME!

Taking Wednesday afternoons off was probably the best idea ever! I've done some laundry, studied for all three of my classes, done the dishes, and still have some time for me!

I *love* food blogs. Of course. Recently I've discovered some standouts: Smitten Kitchen is just one of them. I think I gained 5 lbs just looking at the pics.

I don't think I'll ever attempt to make any money or anything with my blog, but if I did, there would be some pretty steep competition. And anyway, I'm not organized enough to consistently write awesome posts like others out there do.

I may attempt, however, to use my free time on Wednesdays to compile a post that is actually interesting to read and maybe even informative. This new time allows me to actually do things with the rest of my week that could be considered worthwhile, like hanging out with friends, making real food, keeping the apartment clean, etc. you know, the things you are always trying to balance.

For now, a photo of my tulip (yes, the only one that has flowered as of yet, while all the tulip fields in Mt Vernon are flourishing). Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to leave them exposed until they were already attempting to sprout.

All I do is Work and School

Spring quarter began last week, and I'm taking 15 credits! Ack. Sociology, Lifespan (Developmental) Psych, and Human Nutrition. Both Sociology and Nutrition are online, and Psych is on campus. So far, though, so good. Psych and Sociology are lecture/reading based, with only a couple assignments the whole quarter. Nutrition also looks like it will be completely do-able. The thing is, sociology and psych are quite similar, in that the terms and topics discussed are overlapping already. Not sure if that's good or bad yet.

After a lot of apprehension, I asked to have my work schedule modified so I can have more time off for studying. I wanted to work 4 10's and have Wednesdays off. I knew that asking for a Friday or Monday would be an immediate no, and I really don't want a longer weekend, I want a day where all I'm doing is schoolwork, so that I'm not worried about it all weekend. So, I asked Tina, who gave me an immediate yes, but then there was Matt to talk to. So I finally asked him about it last week, and ended up with 4 9's and one 4. Wednesdays I'll work 7am-11, then I'll have an extra 6 hours to focus on school, which is fine. 4 10's would have been pretty difficult anyway. I lose focus as is after about 6 hours....

I also see myself having more time for myself on these Wednesdays, which will be nice. Our apartment has been a mess for awhile, since I started school. No motivation to keep things up as well now that my spare moments are spent trying to just relax.

So here's to my 2nd quarter of classes! At this rate, I'll be done by next summer, ready to start at UW (?) in the fall of 2011.