Bailey Anne Bravely

What if disaster were to strike tomorrow? Would you be prepared? The Vermont Department of Health would be, and if you live in Vermont you should feel in good hands. In early June 2014, they conducted an Emergency Preparedness exercise that was two years in the making.  I was voluntold to participate, even though I do not normally work in that division. It was a tiring, stressful, fun, and highly educational experience. The biggest part of my education was essentially learning a foreign language. It probably doesn’t surprise you that the government—or any business—uses a wide assortment of acronyms, initialisms, and abbreviations. It felt like alphabet soup! But I acclimated, and soon I was spouting off sentences that included such soup as HOC, SEOC, CAT2, DLAN, CWD, GI, Epi, EPA, DMAT, SNS, and more; not to mention all the initialisms for all the hospitals’ names. When we talked about improvements for next time, I definitely suggested a translation document! When you hear or ...

Dressing up fancy is one of my favorite things. My fingernails from my last post were for this event last Saturday  (click that link for more photos), the Grand Opening for Groenfell Meadery . Shannon (on the left) did my hair in a braided crown and I felt just awesome. Our trio received some nice compliments at the event. It was a fun time. Shannon is friends with the owners of Groenfell Meadery, Kelly and Ricky. They are super nice and I am very impressed with their meadery operation; it's a cool place. The mead is made right there where the gala was held--I got to see it earlier when it was much more empty, and it's since filled in with more equipment, more furnishings for the tasting area, and more finished product waiting to be shipped. Oh, and more plants.  But wait, some of you readers who know me are asking. Aren't you a non-drinker? It's true. I have never imbibed alcohol and don't plan on it in future. (Meh, reasons for that can be another bl...

Good evening, readers--I'm off to a grand opening gala black tie event, and wanted to share my nails with you before I go! How did I get the dots on my nails so small, you ask? Magic! And that magic is Sharpies. Paint nails with base coat of white (to make the next color show up brighter) Paint with two coats of shiny pale gold Wait for it to dry; really dry, or the next step won't work. Like, wait a couple hours at least. Draw design in black Sharpie, also wait to dry. Spray nails with hairspray. You read that right! This prevents the clear topcoat from smudging the Sharpie designs. Wait to dry. You may need to repeat this step a few times if the topcoat does smudge in the next step. Your hairspray may be stronger than mine; I hairsprayed and let dry three or four times. Top with clear nail polish or topcoat. Again, if it smudges, stop, and go back to the hairspray step before proceeding. Start the topcoat with a little pinky nail so you can tell if it's going ...

I love Easter eggs! Today I painted my nails to be like these fun decorations. Here's what I did: Paint entire nails pastel green Paint top 2/3 of each nail pastel blue (in this picture the middle looks green, but I promise it's blue!) Paint top 1/3 of each nail pastel purple Using a toothpick, paint hot pink zig-zags along the color divides. This winter has been so icy and blah; I am very excited for spring. Time for bright, fun colors! Looking forward to seeing some family this afternoon. I hope you all have a wonderful Easter. <3

Lake Champlain Chocolates makes some excellent Apple Cider Caramels . I tried some, which was a mistake the best idea. They're truly delicious, but rather expensive. I do recommend buying some (maybe split it with friends!). However--as their website points out--their apple cider caramels are often in limited supply and high demand, so what are you to do when the shelves and/or your wallet is empty? Make your own, of course! My initial Google search led me to this Brown Eyed Baker version of the recipe, though the commenters below pointed out that it could also be found at Annie's Eats , and both had sourced their recipe from Smitten Kitchen . None of these had chocolate-dipped caramels; I added that detail myself. So now that you have the bibliography, let's get candy-making! And first, let me tell you: do not be afraid. This recipe may be time consuming but it is super, super easy. I promise. I use too many words in this version of the recipe but that's only be...

Happy Mardi Gras! I need a better macro lens. :-/ This nail art started out with the intention of being neat little stars, but I was in such a hurry that the stars turned out more like fireworks. I call this a success anyway! Proof that you can still get a cool look without too much time and effort.  The steps: Base coat of purple nail polish Acrylic paint and a tiny brush: one green star on each nail, along with little rays coming off the star Same tiny brush, two acrylic yellow stars with rays Clear nail polish to seal. In case you weren't aware, purple, green, and yellow are the Mardi Gras colors. Mardi Gras means "Fat Tuesday" because it's the day people indulge in all the things they won't be able to eat during Lent, the period of fasting before Easter, which starts the day after Mardi Gras. I'm technically a Methodist but the whole giving things up for Lent was never drilled into me (sorry Mom), but Mardi Gras is still a fun time t...

If you've never heard of Orisinal Games , you're missing out. The site has been around since 2000 and the artist, Ferry Halim , just keeps adding content. There's no schedule; the additions are random, but I just keep coming back. One commenter on the site's guestbook made the comparison to opening an old toy box. So true! I hadn't visited in years, and then I accidentally imported some old internet favorites, and there it was, sitting waiting to be clicked. I used to play these games all the time, and my very favorite used to be Bungee Bear . The game, like all others on the site, is beautifully crafted. Soft colors, pleasant music, and simple but original game mechanics add up to a really fun time. Now, the plot of Bungee Bear is this: you are a cute, hungry bear, and you are on a bridge just downriver from a waterfall, and below you in the river are delicious apples. You have a backpack and a bungee cord. How are you to get the apples? Jump off the bridge...