What happens in Texas stays in Texas... right?

It's definitely been longer than I hoped since my last post. I do apologize for the delay, school work and SCEC/CEC research/convention has consumed my life.

I'm currently in my lovely hotel room (seriously, it's an awesome hotel room), having been up all night attempting to work on a few papers, lesson plans, behavior plans, crisis action plans, etc. I suppose this is a taste of what my reality will be like shortly. In the words of a professor from Vanderbilt, "it's too late to turn back, the Kool-aide has been consumed." Not that I would retreat from special education, but an international convention can be intimidating.

The international CEC convention of 2013 is being hosted in San Antonio, Texas. I've never been to Texas before, and quite frankly, had it not been for CEC, I probably would have avoided it for as long as possible. Texas and I are polar opposites, in far too many ways. I won't even attempt to explain the numerous reasons here, it's rather daunting.

Thankfully I am not alone in my CEC '13 adventures, and have my lovely friend Emily here with me. We're both presenting research (well, poster presentations), and have been lucky enough to lean on each other for support.  I'm quite sure I would have been far grumpier or closer to a mental breakdown if she wasn't here. Don't get me wrong, I can handle stress, but the pressure to not only bring your A game, but impress potential grad schools/professors, mentors, peers, etc, gets overwhelming quickly. Especially since we're both so close to graduating and moving on in our fields.

I'd absolutely be lying if I said that talking to professors from Michigan State, Vanderbilt, and Columbia University was a walk in the park (Yes, these are the top schools I'm looking at for my masters/PhD/JD) 

I'm slightly infatuated with MSU... Go Green!

Emily presenting on Thursday; Printed proof from CEC!

Emily presented UNC's parent respite research on Thursday afternoon, and did an amazing job! I presented UNC's art gallery walk yesterday (Friday) morning. So glad we could depend on each other during our presentations!

CEC '13; Me ready to present; Look Ma, I'm "professional"!

  Emily was beyond prepared for this whole convention. It was her first time attending a CEC convention, and the girl was disgustingly coordinated! Yes, I am jealous of her ability and talent, as I threw random pieces of clothing and accessories into my suitcase the night before we left for San Antonio.








We have an amazing mentor/faculty advisor who helped guide us during the whole process of proposing, researching, writing, editing, etc. I'm pretty sure we would have had numerous and frequent breakdowns if she wasn't there to support us. Thank goodness for Francie Murry!



Today (Saturday) is the last day of the convention, and we're ready to soak it all in! And now that CEC is almost over, there has been a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. Hopefully I can finish the remaining 4 weeks of the semester relatively sane (fingers crossed!)

More pictures, stories, anecdotes, lessons/realizations, and postings coming soon!!

Recipes, Contests, and Kenmore Appliances...oh my!

I finally had the time today to do everything required to enter the Momma Cuisine and Kenmore "Favorite Family Recipe" contest! It's been on my to-do list for a while, and I'm so excited that I was able to write out my recipe, whip up a "sample", photograph it, and enter it.

My "famous" Raspberry Buttercream Layer Cake

This isn't the first "contest" I've entered a recipe in. I've had the privilege of having a few recipes selected to participate contests hosted and sponsored by The French Pastry School of Chicago. These were a little more intense, as I not only had to submit my recipe and a photograph when "applying", but if chosen to continue to the next round, I had to make my recipe and present it for judging. These events were all blind judged, and insanely competitive.

Momma Cuisine's contest is different in a few ways: there is no blind-judging, and I don't have to make a bunch of cakes for people to taste. Also, it's on Cookmore, a great site for anyone to create cookbooks, add twists to their own or others recipes, and just share recipes with the world.
The difficult part is that the contest is decided by public votes on which recipe is loved the most. Yikes!! Definitely need to network and bribe family and friends to vote for me!

Which... of course, you knew this was coming, I'd love for everyone to vote for my delightful cake recipe. It's the most requested dessert I get from my family and friends. It's my raspberry buttercream marbled layer cake. Very much a mouthful, but soooo worth it! Just go to www.cookmore.com/contest, and click on the heart next to my recipe to share your love.
I'm crossing my fingers to be one of the top 3. I love Kenmore, and a chance to get some of their appliances for free?!? Seriously, I'm in baking heaven!

After you're done voting for me ;) you can get my recipe on cookmore.com as well. And if you happen to live near me, I definitely have a large amount of cake left that's up for grabs!

Oh, how do I start...?

After taking a relatively lengthy amount of time, I've decided to start blogging. It's a random thought, but, for those who know me, I'm a random girl.

The odds were against me in making this blog. School, work, CEC, family, friends, my health, and of course, my dog, are all factors which demand my attention. Yet, I felt this tug to put into writing my thoughts, ideas, recipes, etc.


Thankfully, this is the beginning of spring break, so putting together a blog is actually feasible! Don't worry though, as many of my friends know, I tend to pull an ungodly amount of all nighters during the school year, so I'm sure I'll find time to post in a semi-regular fashion.

I'm so excited for what is to come, and I hope you are too!