Where Does It Go From Here? Ending A 5 Year Blogging Hiatus..?

Lord, I'm not even sure how I go about starting this post due to the fact that I've been absent for 5 years..  I'm juggling the idea about starting a new blog. I did entertain the notion of starting this blog back up again, but I honestly don't feel like this blog fits my personality anymore.

The new blog will include
> recipes
> Life on the ranch
> DIY crafts and hobbies like crochet
> a big dose of journal posts as I've gotten into bullet journaling as well as art journaling to vent and make sense of the many thoughts running through my head
> life updates concerning my Lupus and school
> And possibly some raw posts about being a 24 year old who has been a caretaker for a parent with dementia for the past 12 years and the crazy, heartbreaking, unknown chaos that come ensures.

I've lost who I was and I'm still not sure who I am, but I'm hoping that returning to something I once loved will help get the ball rolling again. I don't even know if anyone will read the new blog and to be honest, I'm a nervous wreck as I write this little rambling post. I'm excited for the first time in a long time about the idea of having a fresh start.

Vanilla Cupcakes w/ Fudge Frosting (Reposting the recipe)

Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

From: Cooking on the side

yields: 1 dozen cupcakes

Cupcake:

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 sifted cake flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract

Frosting:

3 3/4 cup confectioners sugar

1 stick butter, softened

4 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate,melted and cooled

Cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line muffin pan with liners.

2. Cream butter and slowly add in sugar until fluffy in a medium bowl. Add in eggs one at a time until incorporated. 

3. In another bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt. 

4. Mix the milk and extracts in a small bowl.

5. Add flour mixture alternately with milk mixture to the butter mix, beating after each addition until smooth.

6. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake for about 17-20 minutes of until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean. 7. Cool in pans for 10 minutes and then remove from pans and cool completely on cooling racks.

Frosting:
1. In a large bowl, combine sugar, butter, milk, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until creamy. Add in the chocolate  and beat until blended.
- If necessary add more milk 1 tbsp at a time until to get desired spreading consistency. Using either a piping bag, a spoon, or an offset spatula to frost the cupcakes.

Notes:
- I only got 1 dozen regular cupcakes out of the batter
- My cupcakes were done at 17 minutes instead of the original 20.

I'm still here

I'm still here.
I know I haven't posted anything in almost 2 weeks, but I've been busy with school, work, and had a few {lupus} sick days. I also needed to take a little break from blogging to clear my head and figure out some things especially after getting some unexpected news from my Rheumatologist.

I have a few good recipes lined up and hopefully I'll get some free time to post one soon.

A Peanut Butter Carrot Doggie Cake//Oddball turns 2

   If you have ever read my blog, especially the beginning posts, you will know I love my animals.
So If you aren't that much of an animal lover you may want to leave now because this post is going to be mostly me talking about my dog, Oddball who is 2 years old today.

 Oddball and his siblings were unplanned, but adorable little surprises seeing as Marley wasn't fixed yet because there weren't any male dogs around until we got Blue  who was suppose to be taken to get fixed by the person who found him. But that never happened and I get a phone call while I was in Hawaii from my mom saying that Marley like most likely pregnant. Needless to say Blue had a vet appointment soon after to prevent any future "surprises". Our older dog, Playful (or Mama since she's the matriarch of the animals) came to us when she was pregnant and had 8 puppies so that was the number we were expecting for Marley to have..except she added 4 more to make a litter of 12! Out of 12 puppies, only one resembled Marley's tan coloring while most were either black or black and white.