Mmmmmm...Pie.

Ok. These are so bleeping cute! Definitely trying these ASAP!

Cross my heart.

I. Kimberly Ann Schumacher, do hereby promise to do some baking over Thanksgiving Break and then post it to this blog.

Paula Deen and Halloween.

I'm going to skip over the fact that I am a tremendous failure when it comes to updating this thing and go straight onto the fun stuff. Deal? Deal.

HALLOWEEN COSTUME!

Score and a half.

Aaaaaand I got back in the kitchen and helped a friend out making a cake yesterday. Paula Deen's Gooey Butter Cake. I'd never heard of it, but I'm pretty sure there's enough butter in it to give a supermodel an instant heart attack.

Ingredients:

Cake:
1 18 1/4-ounce package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 16-ounce box powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan. Prepare Filling

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter and beat together.

Next, add the powdered sugar and mix well. Spread over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey.

Servings: 6 to 8 servings
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 40 min
Difficulty: Easy

Show: Recipe courtesy Paula Deen and Random House Publishing

Packing Blows Chunks.

Just saying.

Anyway...this was a bad week for injuries. I got clotheslined (by an actual clothesline), super biffed it trying to climb a tree, may have broken a toe, and almost ripped off the toenail on my big toe.

Ugh.

But....BRIGHTSIDE! I made awesome Banana frosting

Banana Frosting:

1/4 cup of butter

3 & 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

1/2 cup of mashed bananas

1/4 tsp. of vinegar

Mix bananas and vinegar together, add butter and mix well. Mix in powdered sugar one heaping tablespoon at a time until there are no lumps.

These cupcakes are better dressed than I am.

Ok, these are seriously the cutest things I have ever seen! Not only can you decorate the tops of the cupcakes, but now they even have decorative wrappers. I'm not talking about the holiday themed ones, or the usual pastel colored ones. These ones can be matched to party themes, wedding color schemes, or just pretty patterns for any occasion. Definitely going to be finding some of these soon!

Back on track like a...train?

This all started with cupcakes right? I know I'm darn near a 4-year-old with ADD, but getting off track this far is ridiculous even on that level. I guess I've failed at bringing what I'd first proposed at the beginning. Go figure. But, I've realized that the reason I'm not getting anywhere is because I'm not trying to go anywhere. I'm just waiting for it to fall into my lap. Well....that sure as heck isn't going to happen anytime soon, so I'd better get moving if I actually want to go anywhere!

I just made a bunch of cupcakes that looked like bowling pins for my mom's bowling party a few weekends ago. Honestly, they looked like crap in a paper wrapper. But hey, I'm still learning right? The other ones weren't bad, just chocolate cupcakes with caramel center, topped with a swirl of chocolate frosting and white chocolate bowling pins on top. Those ones were waaaaaay better looking, and the caramel was FAB. I mean, if I do say so myself...

Next on the list is some birthday cakes I'm hoping. I won't really get to celebrate my own when it comes around, so I guess I'll just have fun with everyone else's! I've got some ideas...the cake above would be really simple and cute, and the edges are made with cookies instead of fondant. I doubt I'll use flowers, but I'll think of something else fun to use.

What I reeeeeeally want to try though, is a cupcake tower, sort of like this one. As long as I can get the cupcakes to look good, I can't go wrong! Right? Well probably not...but I want to try anyway! I just think they are so unique and fun, and the possibilities are endless!

If I had a life, I'd have somewhere to wear this dress.

So.....I'm officially in love with this dress. I'm not even sure why. But I want it. Hardcore. It sort of reminds me of grapefruit. I don't even like grapefruit...but apparently I like things that are the same sort of color. Hmm.

Damn.

It's sold out.

Wow.

I need a life other than shopping for dresses online that I don't need...

Potholes.

I think that once I realize that there will always be minor setbacks in life, I'll be much better off. I have this silly notion that things can only become better once they start improving. So, once I've been on a good road for certain amount of time and hit a pothole, I lose faith completely. If I'm not having constant success, it's like I'm a failure.

In the words of Maroon 5, "it won't always be rainbows and butterflies". Sometimes a bee or a storm cloud gets thrown into the mix and you just have to deal with the stinging or the rain. No day or plan is perfect, and they're not supposed to be. Without the crappy moments, we would never fully appreciate the really great ones.

So today, I'm just going to put some ice on that bee sting, open my umbrella, and keep on moving.

Speechless.

I'm not going to lie, I don't really even have much to say right now. So why the post? Who knows. Mostly because I can. I just got back from Minnesota on Monday night, and had a great time. I got to see all of my closest friends in one place for 5 whole days. Does it get any better than that? I don't think so. If it does, I'd sure as hell like to see it.

As happy as I am right now, I still feel the weirdest hint of pessimism. You ever get that feeling where all you can think is "I just want to go home!", but you're sitting in your living room in the house you've lived in your whole life? Maybe I'm the only one. I guess something might be telling me that I need another path, a new direction. Who knows? I can only hope that I figure it out someday.

Well, enough of being awkward and serious. I'm going to go color with my 96 crayons.

Bring it ON, summer!

So. Apparently I suck. I mean, I knew I wasn't going to be very good at keeping this thing going every single day, but I figured that I'd at least throw a post or two in once a week. Wishful thinking, Kimberly! Since summer started, my mind has been nowhere else but work, fun, and missing my far-away college friends. Basically I've been creatively and imaginatively sucking it up royally! My goal and other creative passions have been so far from my mind that I need to work on it double duty to make up for lost time.

Soooo, what did I do? When I realized that I can do pretty much whatever I want while I'm on the phone for 5 hours at work, I made a rather pricey trip to Hobby Lobby to help knock down my creativity blockage. I bought a GINORMOUS cupcake book with all of these hilarious and jaw-dropping cupcake designs. There's even a page on how to re-create a TV dinner with cupcakes...can you say genius? I also bought oodles of macrame string and beads to go back to my 12-year old summer hobby of making bracelets. Not going to lie, I'm a little out of practice, but I figure I have 5 hours a day to re-perfect my skills. By far, by my best new buy was a box of 96 crayons. Seriously. I have NEVER been so excited to color in my life! I always wanted the big box when I was in Kindergarten and my teacher, Mrs. Rautenburg, had one. That may have been the most jealous a 6-year-old could ever be. I can now cross off one more thing on my bucket list.

I've been revamping my imagination for about a week now, and it's definitely starting to show. My mother and I got into an argument the other day, because the interior designer came out of me and I decided that I was going to draw up some changes and do some "rearranging" in our house. When she came home, she wasn't too thrilled when I had the whole house torn apart, and piles marked of things that just didn't "go" with what I wanted to do with the rooms.

Maybe I'll just stick to being creative with my own things for a while....

Either way, I'm feeling like the normal, crazy me again. I've been running and working out, laughing more, trying to make others laugh more, taking time for silly things, singing in the shower, painting my fingernails, laying out, reading, living in shorts and a cut-off tee, baking, quoting Juno, and pretty much just doing anything that makes me happy. Summer is a time for me to get back to the roots of what I really want out of my life, and get back to the place where I'm confident enough to go out and get it. These days, I feel like I can accomplish anything. I'm ready to get out of this rut and head in a new direction! I don't know where the hell that's going to be, but I'm definitely excited about it.

Candie's Campaign

I'm sure that this isn't a traditional ad that you would expect to be someone's favorite, but I have my reasons. I don't even particularly like Britney Spears, but Candie's always finds a way to make their clothing ads interesting. Every year, they come out with a new "Candies's Girl". It's usually someone who's very big in the industry right now, and would draw consumers in. They've had such stars as Hayden Panettiere, Kelly Clarkson, and now we get to watch the train wreck that is Britney Spears try to get back into the spotlight. I think that Candie's really knows how to use celebrity endorsements to sell their product, and makes the ads very eye-catching and appealing to their target audiences. The celebs are usually shown in funny situations, such as falling into a bathtub or being chased by a dog. This gives lets these ads show not only the great clothing line, but also adds a bit of humor.

Stuff I can do!

Well...it's not very impressive yet, but I'm working on it! I swear I'll have some awesome experience on there soon. For now, here's my resume that tells you all of the neato stuff I can do! It's pretty bomb.

Current Contact Information:

kimmy_girl09@hotmail.com

EDUCATION

University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Lincoln, NE

College of Education and Human Sciences

Major: Hospitality, Restaurant, & Tourism Management; Concentrations: Event Planning

GPA: 3.6 on a 4.0 scale

RELAVANT COURSES

Advertising 251 - Principles of Strategic Communication

Journalism 101 - Principles of Mass Media and Journalism

Visual Literacy - Speculative Drawing

Visual Literacy - Color

EXPERIENCE

University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Lincoln, NE

Office of Admissions, Front - Line

August 2009 - Present

· Answer phones and help students, potential students, and other guests with questions when they walk in.

· Enter data from surveys and information from Campus Tour sheets.

· Perform normal office duties such as copying, printing, and faxing.

Paraclipse, Inc. - Columbus, NE

Production Line

· Assemble electrical flytraps.

SKILLS

Computer: PC Platforms Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Photoshop

Phones: Handling multiple calls, transferring calls, using a headset

Painting, Design work, Baking

ACTIVITIES

Gamma Phi Beta Sorority, FOCUS Bible Study

REFERENCES

Attached

My Brand

My Values:

The things that I value the most are the things that God has graciously given me and cannot me replaced: my friends, family, faith, intelligence, and work ethic. I believe in living life to the fullest and being thankful for everyday that I've been given.

The thing that I put the highest value on is honesty and loyalty. There's too much lying and backstabbing in this world for my taste. I like to surround myself with genuine people who speak from their hearts and aren't always just trying push people out of the way to get ahead. I believe in working hard to get where you want to be; nothing that's worthwhile is just going to be handed to you on a silver platter.

Things I love:

I love being able to express myself. Whether it's through words, art, sarcasm, music, acting...whatever gets my thoughts out there. I love being on-stage. The feeling I get when the crowd is laughing hysterically, or so tense from the drama is something that I haven't been able to find anywhere else. I love making people happy in any way that I can and doing random acts of kindness. Anything creative is right up my alley. Turning food into works of art is my new passion and drive (though sometimes I have a new one every week).

I love being unconventional and unique. Not a rebel, but just finding my own path in life. I love kids, and their imaginations. There are days when I wish I could go back to being 5 years old for just an hour. I love the simple things: flowers, the smell of apples and cinnamon from a kitchen, popping bubble wrap, macaroni and cheese, funny socks, little umbrellas in drinks, pink nail polish, arts and crafts, blankets from the dryer, stupid puns, flip-flops, a mystery book, my great-grandmother's taste in jewelry, cheeseburgers and fries, a cold Dr. Pepper, and shooting rubber bands at people.

Things I hate:

I hate when people walk slow when I'm in a hurry, yet I hate being in a hurry. I hate when people are mean to others just to make themselves feel better. I absolutely despise people who put looks above everything else. I hate when people are impatient. I hate when others are selfish. I hate that good times seem too short and tough times seem too long. I hate watching people hurting when there's nothing I can do to help them.

What I'm insanely great at doing:

My greatest attribute is being able to put myself in someone else's shoes. I've always been an empathetic person, and difficult situations have taught me to think about how the consequences of my own actions would make someone else feel. I hate feeling bad, so I try to make sure that I don't make others feel that way.

I'd like to think that I'm a great actress. The stage is one of the few places where I don't feel nervous or self-conscious. Acting is something that has always come easy to me. It's my way of helping people laugh or cry, because sometimes you need a good dose of both. Being a part of the Speech team and One-Act Play in high school was really all I was known for. It's the one thing that I could always count on to make me feel like I was really accomplishing something worthwhile. Even without medals, the rush and the audience's respect was enough to make me feel like I was somebody special.

What I am proud of:

I am proud of the fact that I've grown as a person. When I was younger, I used to be very shy and drawn into myself. It took a lot for me to break out, and it took help from a lot of people. Getting over my shyness helped me find my love of acting. If I never would've been given then courage by my brother, I never would've found the things that gave me so much joy throughout high school. I am ridiculously proud to be a Speech geek. Who else can say that they have gold medals for making a complete fool out of themselves? No matter what other people say, that's a pretty cool thing in my book.

What I want to be:

Ultimately, I strive to be happy. My definition of happiness is to find a career I love, a husband I can't live without, and a family that keeps me going. I want to be the best chef/cake decorator (hopefully), wife, and mother I can possibly be. Someday, I hope to be a role model for someone like the ones that I've had. I want to be looked up to and not down upon.

I want to be using my talents to help others and make them happy. Hopefully, I'll find a perfect door that opens and gives me the opportunity to so. Even if it's something small, I want to be courageous enough to use the talents that God has given me without being afraid of failure or ridicule.

Most of all, I want to not want anything for myself. I hope to be a completely selfless and giving person, putting others before myself.

What is important and valuable to me:

To me, it's important to know who the real me is. Right now, I have a million dreams and aspirations that fill my head every day. The first step to reaching any of those is to have my head firmly wrapped around who I am, and not who the world around me pushes me to be. It's important to make mistakes and learn something from them. I want to be true to my dreams and my beliefs right up until the day I die. I value being able to stick to my guns and not give in to the crowd.

What I want to be known for:

I want to be known for my smile, and the ability to brighten someone's day. Fame and money aren't what's important to me. I want to be known as optimist who can make any situation a great one. Striving to be a great person as a whole is my lifetime goal. I want to be known as someone who actually worked to make a difference. I want to leave an imprint on this world, even if it's just with one person.

What did the 5 fingers say to the face? SLAP!

You know how sometimes you wake up and think, "Oh thank God, it was just a dream," only to rub the sleep out of your eyes and realize that it was completely real? It happened to me this morning, and all through today I thought it was the end of the world, until I my eyes were opened.

Just a simple phone call can make a person cry, be frightened, and feel all alone in about two seconds. I had to watch one of my closest friends go through that when I told her I wouldn't be able to live with her next year, leaving her practically alone. I have to make a choice between a group of friends that I've had here since day one, and a new group that could potentially be as close. There's a lot at stake on both ends, and I swear it just doesn't seem fair. It's been on my mind all day...all I can think is "Where do my loyalties lie?". No matter what, someone feels hurt or left out and that's not something that I'm comfortable with.

But, a good friend of mine showed me that life could be a lot worse. In her situation, she doesn't even have a choice. It's an injury to an athlete who has barely gotten a chance to prove her amazing talent. The crazy part is that she's obviously sad, but she isn't whining, complaining or acting like nothing will ever be right in the world again. Just a humble person who takes life as it comes and has faith that it will somehow all work out in the end.

Biggest slap in the face I've ever had. If only I could be half as brave as she is! She's made me realize that crap happens and I need to just get over it. Decisions will always have to be made, and they'll always be hard. Life goes on, even when we make mistakes.

So I just want to say thanks to a special friend, and throw out a quote that hang on my wall:

"You can't go back, so just move forward, you dumbass."

Eating my feelings in the form of rhubarb.

Ok, so I was afraid that I was going to be terrible at keeping up with this, and I am. I mean, I sort of forgot about this for oh...6 days. But, hey, give me a break! I'm a newbie! There's also bigger things that I should probably be worried about in these next few weeks. Finals are quickly approaching and inevitably going to kick me in the rear. Hard. I'll be going back for the summer and will have to be without my friends for 3 whole months! I'm really not sure if I can do it. They're the reason that I love this college, town, and time in my life. My g-phi sisters and my schramm crew are what keep me going. When I'm up, down, annoying, cranky, loud, quiet, silly, stressed, sleepy, optimistic, pessimistic, and unbelievably wordy, they're there to balance me out or to slap me upside the head and tell me to get a grip on myself. I truly can't imagine what life would be like without them.

Unfortunately I'll have to experience it...so I'll just eat my feelings with these cupcakes.

Rhubarb & Ginger Cupcakes

1 cup (2 sticks) sweet butter, softened

1 cup superfine sugar

2 cups self-rising flour

4 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup cooked rhubarb

the frosting:

1 cup cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 tbsp. lime juice

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1 1/2 tbsp. roughly chopped candied ginger

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place 18 baking cups in muffin pans. Combine all the cupcake ingredients, except the rhubarb, in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and pale, about 2 to 3 minutes. Spoon the batter into the cups. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove pans from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack. Hollow out a small hole in each cake and fill with 1 tsp. rhubarb.

For the frosting, combine the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar, and beat briskly until soft and creamy. Add the lime juice, ground ginger, and candied ginger and mix well. Spoon onto the cupcakes.

Store unfrosted in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Makes 1 1/2 dozen.

I love raisins, but the carrots sound sketchy.

For a little inspiration, I thought I would try to add a "Recipe of the Day" sort of dealio. Just to keep me thinking about what kinds of things I can make this summer when I actually have time. It's also for you guys that actually follow me (Which is only Mallory at this point. Thanks, goober!), so you have something random to try on a rainy day. Welp, here goes...

Rum & Raisin Cupcakes

1/2 cup light vegetable oil

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 lightly beaten egg

3 egg whites

1 cup shredded carrots

1 cup shredded cooking apples

1 cup (7 oz.) raisins

1/2 cup (3 1/2 oz.) chopped dates

1/2 cup (3 1/2 oz.) mixed dried berries

1/2 cup (3 1/2 oz.) chopped walnuts

1 tsp. allspice

2 3/4 cups self-rising whole wheat flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat oil and sugar until light and smooth (2-3 min). Beat egg and egg whites one at a time, then add carrots, apples, dried fruits, and walnuts. Sift in the rest of the mixture and stir. Spoon batter into baking cups in a muffin pan, bake for 20 min. Makes 1 dozen

The Beginning.

Hello! My name is Kimberly Schumacher and I am 19 years old. I am originally from a smallllllllllllllllll town called Lindsay, Nebraska. When I say small, I mean really, super duper, horrifically, fantasmically, unbelievably, wonderfully small. I had 12 kids in my class, and I was related to 4 of them. Awkward? Strangely not. When my first lecture class at UNL was bigger than my entire town, I would've traded back in a heartbeat. Well, not really. I absolutely love it here at UNL. I'm currently a Hospitality, Restaurant, & Tourism Management major. What in the world am I hoping to do with that? Well, that's part of where this crazy blog idea comes from.

I've worked some of the worst jobs known to man. Three of my summers have been spent detasseling cornfields, two were wasted in a flytrap factory (I'm not kidding. It was awful.), and this one I'll be serving my time as a telemarketer. I currently work at the UNL Admissions Office, answering phones at a desk all day. All day. Boring? Absolutely. I'm the type of person that needs creativity in my routine, or else I'll wither up and die. That's where all of this cupcake nonsense comes in. The way I see it, I love to make people happy and be creative. What makes people (and me!) happy? Food! Can I make it creative? Yes!

For me, the culinary arts seems like the perfect place for me to showcase my talents and grow creatively. Maybe I won't even reach this goal, or I might even find something else that I like better along my journey. For now, this is my dream and I intend to follow it all the way. Hopefully this blog will help me stay on track and help others follow me as well.