Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Long Weekend Adventures

This past weekend marked the long weekend up at St. Mike's.  I didn't make it home but I had lots of plans going on in the Burlington area which kept me plenty busy (besides the school work I had to do!).  Anyways here is what I did:

Saturday:
Saturday was the annual VT Tech Jam.  The Tech Jam is an awesome event to go to and learn about what local companies are doing in the area.  It is also a great place to network if you're a computer science major.  I attended the past two years with the intent on an internship but this year I was looking at a full-time job come graduation in May.  (pause to scream)  I got some good pointers from people on how to go about looking for a job and getting my name out there along with handing out a few resumes for possible jobs.  We'll see what happens.

Sunday:
Sunday was a fun because I got to hang out with my family in faith!  I've mentioned them a few times before and they are AWESOME people.  I attended a wedding recently where their son got married and it was beautiful.  This weekend I got to hang out with Carol and Kaitlin for some Halloween fun.  One of Carol's friends is an arts and crafts person and she was hosting a party for some kids with edible arts and crafts.  My intention was to only help out if needed but otherwise to stay out of the way with my luck in the kitchen.  However, the first task was making mummy Oreo's and my task became painting them white at one point.  I'll say I made a bigger mess then the kids did.
Attempting to decorate (notice the frosting covered hands)
The finished product, they didn't turn out too bad.
 Anyways after this task I was given a reprieve and just took pictures of the kids decorating cupcakes and pretzels which was a bit safer for me.
Me and Kaitlin
The Gang
Kaitlin, Carol, Maria, Patti, Me, and Kristyn
Monday:
Monday was a pretty uneventful day.  I dedicated this to work and cooking.  I had some school work to catch up on and get ahead on.  I will say I was pretty successful in that department.  I also attempted some cooking and was actually very successful.  I made Apple Fennel Stuffing, Broccoli, and Chicken all thanks to Betty Crocker.  I followed the directions and didn't ruin any dishes or fingers during this process.
The Meal
Keeping in classy with milk at the coffee table
Tuesday:
Tuesday, the last day of break.  The morning was basically errands in Burlington I needed to accomplish that I didn't get to on Saturday.  I was successful in most but still have stragglers that I need to get to this weekend...hopefully!  I also patiently awaited arrival of some friends to come back and studied hard for a midterm I had this morning.

All in all it was a good break and I should plan more fun weekends in the near future because it sure made school more tolerable.

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Enjoying Fall

One of my favorite things about living in Vermont is the Fall.  I love when the trees are shades of reds, yellows, oranges, and browns.  I think it is one of the prettiest things nature does.  Watching the changing colors, apple cider, and pumpkin make it enjoyable.

I'm taking a Physical Geography class this semester to fulfill one of my required courses.  I originally took it because it was something different from what I ever done in the past; however, I am enjoying the course a lot more than I thought I would.  For the first third of the semester we spent it talking about weather and the changes which happen seasonally.  Our lab on Friday was a field trip to the Proctor Maple Center Weather Station.  It was a beautiful Fall day with a little rain.




It was pretty cool to see all the weather equipment in action due to the light rain.  A handful of the equipment was used to track rainfall and sediments in the rain so they clicked on while we were there.  It was a good afternoon.

Yesterday, I went to my very first corn maze.  It was a VITA run trip and you can check out my friend, Alex's blog to hear her take on it all!  I enjoyed the afternoon once I found the place.  I had driven one of the St. Mike's Vans and ended up getting lost, badly.  But I found it with the help of my passengers!  Anyways we got to the corn maze and had a blast!  It was another perfect day and quite warm as well so we didn't need a jacket.

There was also a small harvest carnival at the farm as well so we spent some time there.  There was some delicious ice cream, apple cider, and cider doughnuts as well.  It was a great weekend for experiences.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

It is a learning process

Everyone says you learn from your mistakes but sometimes I wonder how many mistakes I can make in the kitchen before I get it right and don't have to put a cooking utensil on my shopping list.  I've talked about my cooking blunders before and I still keep making them.

I'm living in a townhouse this year and I'm cooking basically all my meals on my own. I've done a few microwavable dishes for the nights I'm running around crazy but I've also done a little experimenting.  Some things which I've made successfully are cheese burgers, macaroni and cheese, chicken, and ice cream sundaes.  However when you leave me in the kitchen too long I do things such as break a corkscrew, disfigure an ice cream scooper, and melt my Rubbermaid to the stove top.


My roommates have started decorating a wall with pictures and descriptions called "What Not to Do in a Townhouse:  Experiences by Maura."  They've expended it from beyond the kitchen when they realized I'm learning elsewhere in life.  Some other instances on the wall are getting hit in the face with a bag of chips and having tie-dye explode on me.

They say college is a place for learning in and outside of the classroom.  I have to say in my 3 full years and the start of this fourth, I definitely am learning a lot and I'm having fun in the process.