Nanni's Cuppie Cakes

Hello family! So here are the latest pictures of my Black & White themed cuppie cakes for a birthday party! They were a huge hit...I made 24 big ones (yellow cake and chocolate cake) and 24 mini cup cakes :)

Vanilla frosting with Chocolate cake...lots of sprinkles, cookie crumbs, coconut...you name it...I used it :)

a mini Chocolate chip cuppie cake :) and below the following four pictures are of my mini cuppie cakes and the rest are my big cuppie cakes decorated and ready to eat! They look delish!

The chocolate frosted yellow cake cuppie cakes are packed and ready to go...I hope you enjoyed some of my pictures that i posted! I have a new job on Monday for the Vikings vs. Jets football game...yellow and purple cuppie cakes with football designs! Wish me luck! hope everyone's doing well! lovings!!!

Petit Fours...

Hello family! So as i told you before I'm trying to bake cup cakes for fun...and the picture above is my first attempt at baking what's called "petit fours". I baked them for my friend Aurora's family and they sold all of them for breast cancer awareness at her house...it was fun and everyone looooved them ;)...here are some more pictures...enjoy!

I hope you guys enjoyed my latest creation :) I'm baking a fresh new batch this week so stay tuned :) lemme know what you think :) lovings!

Happy Autumn...

Hello my lovely family...it's been a while since i last blogged...i'm currently experiencing a sleepless night so I decided to jot a few things down...

First of all...happy fall! Although it's supposed to get up to 85 degrees today up here in NJ it's officially autumn! My favorite time of the year!!! :)

So as you may know I have found that life after studying is pretty boring...I feel i have too much time on my hands...well i've decided to make use of it! I'm gonna start a new dorky adventure of baking cupcakes (for holidays, bdays...etc). I bought this cupcake book called "hello cupcake!" and it has all sorts of cute ideas that have got my creative juices flowing...no worries I will not be consuming these cupcakes...they're to bring to places and when I have my girlfriends over. I'm gonna start small and then work my way up to doing it for Christmas as small tokens to people (instead of having to buy presents for everyone...robert has a rather large family!).

As soon as i figure out where i'm starting i'll start taking pics and posting them...i think it'll take a lot of practice to get some of these techniques down but it's something that I enjoy doing.What better way to brighten someones day than to give them some cupcakes :)

That's all for now...I'll update with pics as soon as i decide what to start with :) I hope you had a restful night and that you have a great thursday! Lovings!!!

In the final stretch...

Wow what an exhausting week it has been!!! But...unfortunately it's NOTHING compared to what I have in store in the upcoming final weeks of studying!!!

My 8 hour essay review class yesterday was a bit overwhelming with information...but hopefully i'll be able to put it into practice and get down his method. He says that we should be able to add at least 3 more points to our essays with his method..so I hope he's right...because it seems to be one of my weaker areas as of now.

I want to just give you a taste of how many hours they require for me to study...not including the other stuff i need to do on my own...getting to bed a decent hour is a thing of the past as of this upcoming Monday...

Saturday: July 10--9hrs total --1/2 dayPractice Exam
Sunday: July 11--12 hrs total

Weekend total: 21 hrs total

Monday: July 12--10hrs total
Tuesday: July 13--9.5 hrs total

Wednesday: July 14--9.5 hrs total

Thursday: July 15--7 hrs total

Friday: July 16--3 hrs total--1/2 dayPractice Exam

Saturday: July 17--5.25 hrs total

Sunday: July 18--10hrs total
Week and Weekend total: 54.25 hrs total

Monday: July 19--9.5 hrs total

Tuesday: July 20--9.5 hrs total
Wednesday: July 21--4 hrs total
Thursday: July 22--6 hrs total
Friday: July 23--11 hrs total--1/2 dayPractice Exam
Saturday: July 24--15 hrs total
Sunday: July 25--12 hrs total

Week and Weekend Total: 67 hrs total

The last Monday I basically have to study until I can't study any longer...i have to review all subjects, outlines and fine points PLUS roughly 10 hours of tests and essays. The Day before the exam and during the exam dates...i'm to do NOTHING...they say to watch cartoons or a movie haha.

So as you can see I'm going to be extremely overwhelmed and busy until this test is over...dont get offended if I dont call, or dont pick up...or pick up to talk for just a few minutes...i'm in the final stretch!!!

My exam , which is on Wednesday, July 28th and Thursday July 29th, is thankfully located less than 30 minutes from my apartment and I wont have to dish out extra money for a hotel. :) This is the schedule that the Board of Bar Examiners have provided us with:

Wed/Thurs: Arrival Time: 8:00am
Wed/Thurs: Morning instructions: Begin: 8:30am
Wed/Thurs: Morning session Begins: 9:00am
Wed/Thurs: Morning session Ends: 12:oo noon

Wed/Thurs: Afternoon instructions Begin: 1:10pm
Wed: Afternoon session Ends: 4:3opm
Thurs: Afternoon session Ends: 3:45pm

I'm not allowed to bring my cell phone AT ALL...so i'll either call or text y'all with how my first day went and then how my last day went.

I told Julie...that we are having a beach day date the day after my exam...July 30th...i'll want to have a relaxing day catching some rays and not think about the exam! We dont get the results till the end of November.

I'm putting forth my BEST EFFORT for this exam...but some prayer would also be appreciated :) I'm thankful to have your support and love! This may be my last post until August...but dont forget to check up on me and send lil prayers my way! Lovings!

EXHAUSTED...

Good afternoon my loves...

What a long week it has been...at least it feels like it. i've had my barbri ups and downs...going generally ok in most exams but majorlly bombed one. I'm about to go into my last major multi-state subject...con-law...and i have my first 1/2 simulated multistate exam Thursday...which so happens to be Pebbles 1st birthday :)! and my first FULL (7hour) Multi-state bar exam on Friday...i'm a lil nervous bc i want to do well enough that i know i can improve...whatever happens happens I guess.

For a few hours on Saturday...we are going to do a mini get together at my apartment...with Roberts parents and sister and do a birthday party for Pebbles...I originally wanted to invite some of our puppy friends...but there's really no time to mingle...so it'll have to do with just 6 people :) I'd do it on my own if it weren't going to hurt Roberts family's feelings...they're quite obssessed with my baby :) it's cute...sometimes haha

Oh..not to get TOO ahead of myself...but for now...Robert and I have decided that if all goes accordingly that we are going to drive down for Christmas with Pebbles and stay for a few days...it'll be cheaper and that way we can alternate holidays being here and there...I already told Pedro and Dannah so they can plan accordingly as well. So you have... roughly 6 months to prepare :) we have to talk about it because we both need to let our jobs know with months in advance so we just kind of decided that we would go for Christmas and since we wanna take Pebbles that we'd drive again :) yay! can't wait!

there's really not much to talk about at all this week...last night Robert's sister came over and we watched a movie...after 12 hours of studying...that's right TWELVE FULL HOURS...i was beat but i wanted to wind down...so we watched Twilight (seeing as Eclipse is coming out on Tuesday night at midnight wahooo).

Sorry this blog was so boring...hopefully i'll have something more exciting to talk about by the end of the week. Lovings!

Week 3 & summary of Week 2

Hello family! First of all I just wanna show you this picture of a wedding a went to recently! The furthest one on the left is Julissa (AKA julie...roberts sis) and the rest are Robert's cousins...the girl next to me in the black and the one next to her in the blue dress and dark hair are the "black sheeps" of the family...they're literally the ONLY two Mateo girls that dont have blue eyes or blond hair (like the other two on my other side) and the last girl is a distant cousin of Roberts fresh from Cuba...she's adorable! I just wanted to "show off" my figure to you guys haha! what do you think?

Anyways onto the important stuff...week two was going well until i got to EVIDENCE...i dunno what happened to be but I panicked and just cant seem to grasp it. There are so many details and exceptions and they're throwing me off. Not to mention the fact that I felt like the lecturer sucked and so did his handout. So far that's the only class i'm worried about. I'm doing pretty "well" on my multiple choice exams and okay on my essay exams...depending on the subject.

BARBRI offers an additional one day intensive essay writing course workshop on july 8th and i think i'm gonna pay the $75 and miss work and take it...i think it'll be worth if i can make just a few extra points on each essay! What do you guys think?

I just want to do anything and everything within my power to pass this test once and for all. I feel very motivated and although i'm BEYOND exhausted at this point I know that this is very do-able...all i have to do is pass...not get a good grade ;)...and if i dont pass...no worries i'll keep trying...i'm much more confident about this than i've ever been :) just keep prayin for me and sending my good vibes :)

Week three is off to a good start with Real Property on for the next few days! That class is the most boring and roughest but the professor is crazy and makes up songs and stories for us to remember everything...i hope it sticks :).

well i'm off to la la land at 10pm...i'm so tired! i hope everyone is doing well and i hope to write again soon! lovings!!

First week...

Hello my loves!

So this week was my first week of part time working and my first week of classes. What a busy week it has been! If you skimmed over my schedule you'll see how crazy and demanding it is...and that doesnt include the time i'm putting into the lectures and obviously time i'm at work.

Working part-time is a bit of a challenge because i only have 4 hours to finish everything that i normally have 8 hours to do it in...Mondays and Fridays are our most demanding days...so yesterday I was going crazy trying to finish everything up so I could leave eat lunch and begin my study day.

Since I didnt have "class" yesterday I worked on some essays assigned and got a head start on the homework for today. I then did my homework for today and finished my two essays for tomorrow (you're only allowed 30 min per essay)...so i techinically have the whole day today and tomorrow "free". I'll read over my material for Torts one more time and take the evening off to celebrate Robert's sister, Julie, birthday (21st to be exact) and enjoy myself for a bit.

It has been such warm and beautiful weather up here and i havent enjoyed it at all!!! as soon as i get into the swing of things i'd like ot be able to work some workout time into my schedule (which i havent done this week).

Pebbles has been the best study buddy...she hasnt been bugging me to play with her too much and actually took hold of my pen one day as you can see in the picture above...she's awesome

Each day i feel like i'm improving just a tiny bit more...by makin mistakes i'm gonna learn how to fix them and improve...hopefully :). Well I'm off to make some lunch and read for a few hours...i hope everyone enjoys their weekend and does something fun...for me ;) Lovings!

First week of June...First week of Class

Hello out there! I hope everyone's enjoying their memorial day weekend...while i'm cooped up in my apartment on this gorgeous 90 degree weather day reading and listening to lectures!

Tomorrow will be my first day going part time until August...8-12pm...i should get home around 1pm and start studying by 2pm if not earlier! These next two months schedules are going to be insane! I have a 4 hour lecture almost every weekday (weekends 'off') plus according to Barbri...I must fit in at least 5-8 hours of extra study time other than the lectures! ahh! On the weekends they say to study no more than 10-12 hours total.

This weekend I took the opportunity of getting a lot of errands and chores out of the way...so they dont distract me later on. Friday I cleaned my apartment thoroughly! Saturday I woke up early to go downstairs and do 5 loads of laundry!! and then went to buy my groceries for the next few weeks.

Yesterday I woke up at 7am and cooked and portioned out my lunch and dinner for this week (so I dont have to worry about that when I should be reading) and made a fresh batch of Sofrito! Yum! Around 10 am I was done so I watched 3 video lectures (2 hours each!) and then read 3 mini reviews and took 3 mini tests...it took me until 9pm to finish it all (obviously including a few breaks here and there) I was very exhausted last night. The mini reviews are to prepare me for my classes coming up.

Today I've watched 2 video lectures thus far and am getting ready to take my 2nd test. I've basically failed all of my mini tests...but it's ok bc I still have the classes to teach me what to do...all i have to do is PASS the test...not make a good grade!

Oooo I bought a wireless keyboard to go with the fact that I have connected my laptop to my big flat screen TV! I love it! It's great to watch my lectures on! :)

Everyday is gonna be a struggle and a bit stressful...you'll just have to deal with my crazy moodiness until the end of july! :) This is my unofficial general study schedule every day (not including the different classes i'm taking every day or the homework that they have me do)

6am: Wake up and get ready
7am: Catch the bus--Read
8am: Get to work...start my day
9am: Work
10am: Work
11am: Work
12pm: Leave work--catch the bus--Read
1pm: A little after one arrive home..have lunch...breathe :)
2pm: Video lecture
3pm: Video Lecture
4pm: Video Lecture
5pm: Video Lecture
6pm: Exercise and shower
7pm: Eat and Read
8pm: Read
9pm: Read
10pm: Read
11pm: Read
12pm: Sleep?

See how crazy it's gonna be??? Barbri also sets up a "paced study program" for everyone...which I will get to look at tomorrow(they release it to you online after 12pm)...that has the homework and what questions I need to look at and all that sort of fun stuff. I'm really glad I chose to take this course from home...I wouldve wasted so much time no public transportation getting to and from the place and back home.

I really hope everyone's having fun this weekend! I'm excited to get these next two months over with and hopefully it'll all be worth it in the end! I'll be trying my best to at least write a little bit everyday about the craziness of that particular day and or lecture :) Tomorrow I have to read the first half of my Torts outline by the first class...easy as cake! Lovings!

Mother's Day

Happy mothers day!

So as you know Friday I attempted to make Arroz con Dulce for my dinner party on Saturday. Everything was smelling wonderful here in the apartment and I was slaving over a hot stove for hours. I tasted it a million times and it had the right taste...and I tasted it to make sure that the rice was thoroughly cooked. I THOUGHT i was all the way cooked but...apparently some of the rice wasnt! booo! Robert loved it anyways...he literally likes crunchy rice...He made sure everyone tried it at the dinner party...they all liked it as well...but i was NOT about to serve it. No worries i'm gonna try one more time! :)So yesterday I went shopping with Robert to get all the ingredients for the ropa vieja and papa rellena. Everything was a success. Roberts family was in shock that i would even cook ropa vieja let alone that it would taste good...thanks to Pedro and his recipe...now i know how to make it. My papa rellenas needed a lil help in the end bc they were falling apart but then Ivonne, Roberts mom, swooped in to help out with the frying ( i HATE frying things!). I was so into the serving and cleaning that I didn't take a picture of anyones plate but i did make beans and rice and served the ropa vieja with a salad. I served myself some of the turkey picadillo along with my rice and beans.
For dessert we ended up buying a cake and ice cream (because there wasn't any time to make the arroz con dulce over again) and they also brought a pecan pie...which was delicious. Everyone was super full and happy by the end of the night. I set my table with a pink tablecloth and flowers that Robert had bought his mom...I made little place settings and we bought pretty paper plates...yes we are ghetto ;)! I also made a few decorations with tissue paper :) Take a look at the pics and let me know what you think!Pebbles has been so sleepy as if she were the one that cooked all day yesterday...here are a few pics of her :)
Love you guys! Mom I hope you're having a good Mother's Day!