Ummmmmm hi.
I've completely abandoned this blog for like 2 months now. I was doing so well, too. Oh well. I knew that would happen. What matters is I'm back! I feel like there's a lot to tell you guys, but I'm not even sure where to begin...or what's happened since I September 10th. I'll just make a list.
1.) Dillon came home from military.
2.) I'm not engaged anymore.
3.) Spaghetti master!
4.) Doing pretty well in school.
5.) I'm really good at breaking computers.
6.) Strippers, guns n stuff.
7.) Throw Up
1.)
So, last you heard Dillon was still in the military and he and I were doing our best to make things work. Well, he came home because of unfortunate circumstances, but everything is alright! Dillon always has a backup plan, and he's always wanting to have a career in the medical field, so he came back to Sylva and immediately began working on that. He works at an assisted living facility, and really likes it. It's really nice having him home after waiting all that time. We deserved this time together.
2.)
I'm not engaged anymore, and there's a super long story that goes along with that fact, but I'll just make it short. Dillon and I had some disagreements and went through a little rough patch for a few days, and decided to call of the wedding. We agreed that it was way too much stress on us, and that we were too young and wanted to finish school first. One of the main reasons we were going to get married to begin with was so that I could go with him after he graduated from the military, and live with him at his permanent base. We know we will get married eventually, it's just nice to not have to do it so quickly anymore. Everything felt so rushed, and you should never get married under those sort of circumstances. Anyway, we worked out our differences and now everything is back on track, and we're the same old happy couple we always were.
3.) This was originally meant to be a cooking blog, which it is sometimes, but the majority of the time I just ramble about my life. ANYWAY, I totally mastered baked spaghetti. That's hands down my favorite food, and so one day I was craving it, and made it. Been making it ever since. I'm pretty sure I'm driving Dillon's family crazy because I'm always force feeding them baked spaghetti. Oh well. It's supppper good. And I've discovered I like it with wheat angel hair noodles and ground turkey the best. SO good.
4.) I'm actually proud of the fact that I've done super well in school considering all the shiznit I've been through the past couple months. (I know it doesn't sound like much, but it's been an emotional hell for me)
I originally thought that I was going to be done with my associates degree this semester, but it turns out, THAT'S not true. -_- I still have 14 credit hours left at SCC before I can transfer. Hopefully I can still use my New Century Scholars money...blah. Kinda stressing out over that.
5.) You know that new chrome book I got not too long ago? Yeah. I cracked the screen pretty bad on it. One reason I've not been blogging as much. Also, I cracked the screen on Dillon's computer too. I stepped on it. Yeah...he was pretty mad...but not as mad as I thought he'd be. I think he's accepted the fact that he can't own nice things whilst dating me. I destroy everything. Especially electronic things.
6.) Been playing A LOT of GTA V. It's awesome, you should definitely buy it.
7.) I thought about telling the story that goes along with this one, but then I realized Dillon would probably kill me. Hahaha
Ok, peace.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Barbecue Shrimp!
Tonight I made, New Orleans style barbecue shrimp, a dish that was so freakin' delicious that I had a mouthgasm. Seriously...it was amazing. It really has nothing to do with barbecue, but whatever. It still tasted good regardless of the fact that the name is stupid. I got the recipe from Chef John from Foodwishes.com (check him out)
Here's the recipe( if you're interested in making incredible mouth watering food, that is)!
New Orleans style barbecue shrimp! :D
What You Will Need
1 1/2 pounds of colossal shrimp (I didn't use colossal...in fact...mine were even frozen, but it's better to get them fresh from the store)
1 1/2 tbsp. of vegetable oil
1 tbsp. black pepper
1/4 tbsp smoked paprika
1/8 tsp old bay seasoning (this stuff is incredible on shrimp)
4 tbsp cold butter, cut in cubes
6 cloves of minced garlic
1 tbsp minced fresh rosemary (mine wasn't fresh, it was dry, but apparently the fresh is 10 times better)
1 1/2 cups shrimp stock (which is reserved shells sauteed in 1 tsp butter and 2 cups of water. (chef John used chicken broth))
Juice from 1 lemon
2-3 tbsp worcestershire sauce
white rice
btw: the beauty of this recipe (for me anyway) was that I already had the majority of the ingredients. All I had to buy was the shrimp and rice!
What You Do
1.) peel shrimp- set aside skin in a sauce pan
2. In a bowl, drizzle the vegetable oil all over the shrimp. then add the black pepper. paprika and old bay. (New Orleans food is spicy, so the original recipe called for some cayenne too, but the people I was cooking for don't like hot food, so I didn't add it, but you should if you like hot stuff)
3. Mix together and throw plastic over that and let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour.
4. Now, it's time to make the shrimp stock! Put the sauce pan with the shells over med/high heat with a tablespoon of butter. Mix that all around until the shells turn pink.
5. Dump in two cups of water (or chicken broth, whatever you choose to use) and bring that to a simmer, and on low, let that simmer for about 20 minutes.
6. Strain stock into a bowl, and add the lemon juice and worc. sauce. (as I said earlier, the original recipe was from New Orleans so it was hot and it called for a few drops of hot sauce here...but I left that out)
7. Mix that together and set aside. (shrimp stock is ready!)
8. preheat the largest pan you have on high heat (needs to be super hot before you start putting the shrimp on)
9. place all the shrimp on the hot preheated pan, and cook for 1 minute on first side, flip, and add butter (4 tbsp), garlic and rosemary. Cook for 1 minute, then stir all that together.
10. pour in the shrimp stock (remove the shrimp so you don't overcook them), and boil the stock until it thickens, reduce heat to low and put the shrimp back in!
Now serve it up on some rice and you're good to go!
It's seriously awesome, and I suggest you give it a try.
Love you guys!
Oh, and here's a picture. I forgot to take a picture of my salmon. :(
Here's the recipe( if you're interested in making incredible mouth watering food, that is)!
New Orleans style barbecue shrimp! :D
What You Will Need
1 1/2 pounds of colossal shrimp (I didn't use colossal...in fact...mine were even frozen, but it's better to get them fresh from the store)
1 1/2 tbsp. of vegetable oil
1 tbsp. black pepper
1/4 tbsp smoked paprika
1/8 tsp old bay seasoning (this stuff is incredible on shrimp)
4 tbsp cold butter, cut in cubes
6 cloves of minced garlic
1 tbsp minced fresh rosemary (mine wasn't fresh, it was dry, but apparently the fresh is 10 times better)
1 1/2 cups shrimp stock (which is reserved shells sauteed in 1 tsp butter and 2 cups of water. (chef John used chicken broth))
Juice from 1 lemon
2-3 tbsp worcestershire sauce
white rice
btw: the beauty of this recipe (for me anyway) was that I already had the majority of the ingredients. All I had to buy was the shrimp and rice!
What You Do
1.) peel shrimp- set aside skin in a sauce pan
2. In a bowl, drizzle the vegetable oil all over the shrimp. then add the black pepper. paprika and old bay. (New Orleans food is spicy, so the original recipe called for some cayenne too, but the people I was cooking for don't like hot food, so I didn't add it, but you should if you like hot stuff)
3. Mix together and throw plastic over that and let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour.
4. Now, it's time to make the shrimp stock! Put the sauce pan with the shells over med/high heat with a tablespoon of butter. Mix that all around until the shells turn pink.
5. Dump in two cups of water (or chicken broth, whatever you choose to use) and bring that to a simmer, and on low, let that simmer for about 20 minutes.
6. Strain stock into a bowl, and add the lemon juice and worc. sauce. (as I said earlier, the original recipe was from New Orleans so it was hot and it called for a few drops of hot sauce here...but I left that out)
7. Mix that together and set aside. (shrimp stock is ready!)
8. preheat the largest pan you have on high heat (needs to be super hot before you start putting the shrimp on)
9. place all the shrimp on the hot preheated pan, and cook for 1 minute on first side, flip, and add butter (4 tbsp), garlic and rosemary. Cook for 1 minute, then stir all that together.
10. pour in the shrimp stock (remove the shrimp so you don't overcook them), and boil the stock until it thickens, reduce heat to low and put the shrimp back in!
Now serve it up on some rice and you're good to go!
It's seriously awesome, and I suggest you give it a try.
Love you guys!
Monday, September 9, 2013
I'M LEARNING. Salmon!
I actually found the motivation to cook something tonight! Hurray for me! I cooked mashed potatoes, corn, salmon and cornbread muffins! It was delcious. Here's what I did:
(WARNING: NOT FANCY INGREDIENTS, I'M A BEGINNER)
Okay. First, I made the mashed potatoes. Took 6 smallish potatoes, (if you have large potatoes, 4 will do) and washed them and peeled them. I then sliced them into little bites and boiled them until I could easily cut through them with a fork. Drained them, then put them back in the hot pot they were cooking in, and mashed them over medium heat (the heat was to get all that extra moisture that you don't need out). I added a stick and a half of butter, and a half cup of milk, salt, pepper and a tiny pinch of garlic powder. I mashed that all up together all nice, and then sprinkled some parsley over top, covered it with aluminum foil and sat aside in the microwave.
I had 4 pieces of frozen salmon, so I needed to thaw them. To thaw you put the salmon into plastic bags (you don't want to put them straight in the water) and placed them in a bowl full of lukewarm water. It probably took about 10-15 minutes to get them how I wanted them, and then I placed them on a foil-covered baking sheet seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper on both sides. I preheated the oven to 450, and put the salmon on the middle rack for about 15 minutes. Don't gotta flip, they were perfect! I wanted to put some lemon juice overtop of the salmon to kind of add some moisture, but I couldn't find any, so I used soy sauce...which worked like a BOSS. (was proud of myself for figuring that out on my own btw)
Heated up some canned corn, and made some Jiffy corn muffins as well.
It was awesome, ya'll! And I actually didn't use a recipe for any of this. Did it all on my own...you know what that means?? I'm LEARNING.
Hoorah!
Hope ya'll had a great day today. I'm not sure why I've used "ya'll" so much in this blog.
(WARNING: NOT FANCY INGREDIENTS, I'M A BEGINNER)
Okay. First, I made the mashed potatoes. Took 6 smallish potatoes, (if you have large potatoes, 4 will do) and washed them and peeled them. I then sliced them into little bites and boiled them until I could easily cut through them with a fork. Drained them, then put them back in the hot pot they were cooking in, and mashed them over medium heat (the heat was to get all that extra moisture that you don't need out). I added a stick and a half of butter, and a half cup of milk, salt, pepper and a tiny pinch of garlic powder. I mashed that all up together all nice, and then sprinkled some parsley over top, covered it with aluminum foil and sat aside in the microwave.
I had 4 pieces of frozen salmon, so I needed to thaw them. To thaw you put the salmon into plastic bags (you don't want to put them straight in the water) and placed them in a bowl full of lukewarm water. It probably took about 10-15 minutes to get them how I wanted them, and then I placed them on a foil-covered baking sheet seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper on both sides. I preheated the oven to 450, and put the salmon on the middle rack for about 15 minutes. Don't gotta flip, they were perfect! I wanted to put some lemon juice overtop of the salmon to kind of add some moisture, but I couldn't find any, so I used soy sauce...which worked like a BOSS. (was proud of myself for figuring that out on my own btw)
Heated up some canned corn, and made some Jiffy corn muffins as well.
It was awesome, ya'll! And I actually didn't use a recipe for any of this. Did it all on my own...you know what that means?? I'm LEARNING.
Hoorah!
Hope ya'll had a great day today. I'm not sure why I've used "ya'll" so much in this blog.
Saturday, September 7, 2013
What Lord of the Rings Taught Me
It taught me that bad times never last forever, "even darkness shall pass", and "there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for". It also taught me that I can make a difference because "even the smallest person can change the course of the future". It taught me that it's okay to cry because "I will not say 'do not weep' for not all tears are evil". It taught me that life is not all there is, but while we are here "all you have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to you". I learned that even when I'm feeling weary...to keep going because "a day may come when the courage of men fails, but it is not this day". Love is worth everything and "I would rather spend one lifetime with you, than face all the ages of this world alone". As we grow we become stronger and “your time will come. You will face the same Evil, and you will defeat it.” To be cautious when traveling, and exploring the world because “it's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” I've learned it's important to make the world a better place for future generations to come, but “It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succor of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule.” I've learned how important supporting a friend in their time of need is. So, “Come on, Mr. Frodo. I can’t carry it for you. But I can carry you!” And last but not least, if your teacher really hates you in college "YOU SHALL NOT PASS"
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Once Upon A Time
So, today I'm going to tell you a little story I like to call Dillon & Sheridan.
I'll start off with a few weeks before I started talking to him. I was going through one of my extremely anti-social, anxiety attack filled times in my life, and refused to ever go out with anyone. Not even my family hardly. I was always just sitting alone in my room. At this point I had been through two pretty bad relationships that were never right for me since the day they began. So, I had really given up on the whole dating game, and I was just tired of people in general. I was pretty much a hermit. Just trying to spend time with me, and rediscover the awesome chick that I used to be. So, yeah. I wasn't really accepting any invitations to hang out at this point in my life. I was perfectly happy sitting alone in my room playing Legend of Zelda every weekend.
I was sitting at my nana's house one weekend with my cousin, and she mentions this guy named Dillon Penland and how she thinks I should text him because he'd be a good guy for me to hang out with since we're so much alike. I'm like "Wait...Dillon Penland...that name sounds so familiar" This, of course, lead to Facebook stalking. I was like "Oh, my god, I remember him...WHERE IS HIS HAIR?" It obviously took me a few seconds to recognize him without his Jesus hair. I was like...hmmm not bad. Pretty cute. So she made me text him. So here I go, whippin' out my cellular device and I text him. The whole time I was like...wow this is going to be super weird, he's going to be like who the hell is this person trying to start up random conversation with me?
Surprise surprise, he definitely remembered me and we just started chatting a little bit. Not too much at first, but then we gradually started talking more. I was like YAY I FOUND A BEST FRIEND. (We had way too much in common, I was super excited) About a week into talking, I started to kind like him. A lot, actually. And I knew that if I wanted to pursue this, that would require me to be social and accept his many invitations to come hang out with him. I of course turned down the first few 100. (haha) I just had so much anxiety about it. I didn't really know what to say or do. And for any of you that knew me very well in high school, it'll be hard for you to believe, I've become a tiny bit of an introvert in the last couple years or so. Anyway, I finally agreed to go to lunch with him. Just to catch up. So we plan to meet at Kostas one day for lunch. So here I go, kinda nervous, but surprisingly calm. I show up at the restaurant and I'm a little early, so I wait for him for about 20 minutes. He finally shows up, and when he sat down at the table, I was like "Who is this incredibly handsome man that just sat down at my table?" Then I was like holy. shit. It's Dillon. We started talking, both of us nervous of course, and it was as if I just fell completely head over heels in love with this guy in the time that it took me to finish my BLT sandwich. Which actually kinda took forever because I was taking baby bites because I was nervous. After we finished eating, he paid for my meal, which was the sweetest thing ever. I thanked him, we hugged and we said see ya later, and parted ways. Little did I know that that was the beginning of the most incredible thing that's ever happened to me.
We talked every day since then and hung out a few more times. The movies, Lord of the Rings date, meeting his family. And then we decided to make it official. Heck, I would have made it official the moment we left Kostas that day. I've just always known with Dillon. Ever since that lunch date, I just knew. There was such a connection, it was like a million fireworks going off at once. It was even better than Disney World fireworks. Yeah. You know I'm serious now. So we dated for a few months, and I fell completely in love with him. I'll spare you the details because this blog is already long enough. But I can go ahead and tell you, this relationship is unlike any relationship I've ever had with anyone, ever. Like I said, I just knew. So, he left for basic training for the Air Force, and it was really hard saying goodbye, but we had promised we'd make it work. It was actually an incredible growing experience. Only being able to communicate through letters every other week was tough, but it made us 10 times stronger than we already were. It also made me love him 10 times more.
I remember when basic training was finally over after 2 months (that felt like 2 years), I went down for his graduation with his mom, dad and grandma. I can't tell you how much anxiety was felt on that trip. First of all, I didn't really know his dad and grandma too well at the time...so there was new people, it was my first time ever riding on an airplane, and I was about to see my boyfriend that I hadn't seen or really been able to talk to in 2 months. I didn't know what to expect. When we landed in San Antonio, and arrived at the base, his dad and grandma wanted to eat lunch before going to get Dillon. His mom and I were like HELL NO, WE HAVE TO FIND DILLON. So we were running around frantically trying to find him in that huge base. It took about an hour to get to him (because Dillon is AWFUL with directions...even though he'd fight you if you told him that), but when we finally found him, I swear guys, the feeling I got when I saw his little shaved headed self standing there was indescribable. I just wanted to jump up in his arms and stay there forever. Buuuuuut, I couldn't because I wasn't allowed to touch him because of his MTIs. Hahaha. So it was miserable. I did get to touch him later, though, don't worry. Hehe.
But anyway, long story short he asked me to marry him. I knew it was coming, because we had talked about it beforehand. I of course said yes, because by this point I knew he was the man for me, and there was absolutely no doubt in my mind. So needless to say, that was the happiest day of my life. After that he shipped off to tech school in Mississippi and I shipped off back to good old Sylva. It was a lot better because now I could talk to him daily, and hear his voice. It was nice. We always take that kind of stuff for granted. (take this moment RIGHT now, to go hug someone you love and tell them you love them...because you can)
So, I went down to visit him a few times in tech school because I couldn't stand being away from him for too long. The last time I went down, he gave me my engagement ring. I don't think I've ever cried that hard...(happy tears).
I'm ending the blog here because my fingers are tired, but also because there's not really a way to end this since our story isn't over, and it wont be over for a loooooong time. :) But if I could give you any advice it would be this: Do not settle. If you haven't found your perfect mate yet, don't settle for something less. They're out there, just let it happen. Even if you're an anti-social hermit like me, it'll happen. Love is an amazing thing, but sometimes things happen in our life that makes it feel like there's no hope, and love does nothing but hurt you. Trust me, I've been there, but it's not true. Love is beautiful when it's right. And you'll know when it is.
I'm so excited to see what the future has in store for me, and there's no one I'd rather experience life with than my best friend in the whole world. I love you Dillon, always.
And I love YOU guys! <3
I'll start off with a few weeks before I started talking to him. I was going through one of my extremely anti-social, anxiety attack filled times in my life, and refused to ever go out with anyone. Not even my family hardly. I was always just sitting alone in my room. At this point I had been through two pretty bad relationships that were never right for me since the day they began. So, I had really given up on the whole dating game, and I was just tired of people in general. I was pretty much a hermit. Just trying to spend time with me, and rediscover the awesome chick that I used to be. So, yeah. I wasn't really accepting any invitations to hang out at this point in my life. I was perfectly happy sitting alone in my room playing Legend of Zelda every weekend.
I was sitting at my nana's house one weekend with my cousin, and she mentions this guy named Dillon Penland and how she thinks I should text him because he'd be a good guy for me to hang out with since we're so much alike. I'm like "Wait...Dillon Penland...that name sounds so familiar" This, of course, lead to Facebook stalking. I was like "Oh, my god, I remember him...WHERE IS HIS HAIR?" It obviously took me a few seconds to recognize him without his Jesus hair. I was like...hmmm not bad. Pretty cute. So she made me text him. So here I go, whippin' out my cellular device and I text him. The whole time I was like...wow this is going to be super weird, he's going to be like who the hell is this person trying to start up random conversation with me?
Surprise surprise, he definitely remembered me and we just started chatting a little bit. Not too much at first, but then we gradually started talking more. I was like YAY I FOUND A BEST FRIEND. (We had way too much in common, I was super excited) About a week into talking, I started to kind like him. A lot, actually. And I knew that if I wanted to pursue this, that would require me to be social and accept his many invitations to come hang out with him. I of course turned down the first few 100. (haha) I just had so much anxiety about it. I didn't really know what to say or do. And for any of you that knew me very well in high school, it'll be hard for you to believe, I've become a tiny bit of an introvert in the last couple years or so. Anyway, I finally agreed to go to lunch with him. Just to catch up. So we plan to meet at Kostas one day for lunch. So here I go, kinda nervous, but surprisingly calm. I show up at the restaurant and I'm a little early, so I wait for him for about 20 minutes. He finally shows up, and when he sat down at the table, I was like "Who is this incredibly handsome man that just sat down at my table?" Then I was like holy. shit. It's Dillon. We started talking, both of us nervous of course, and it was as if I just fell completely head over heels in love with this guy in the time that it took me to finish my BLT sandwich. Which actually kinda took forever because I was taking baby bites because I was nervous. After we finished eating, he paid for my meal, which was the sweetest thing ever. I thanked him, we hugged and we said see ya later, and parted ways. Little did I know that that was the beginning of the most incredible thing that's ever happened to me.
We talked every day since then and hung out a few more times. The movies, Lord of the Rings date, meeting his family. And then we decided to make it official. Heck, I would have made it official the moment we left Kostas that day. I've just always known with Dillon. Ever since that lunch date, I just knew. There was such a connection, it was like a million fireworks going off at once. It was even better than Disney World fireworks. Yeah. You know I'm serious now. So we dated for a few months, and I fell completely in love with him. I'll spare you the details because this blog is already long enough. But I can go ahead and tell you, this relationship is unlike any relationship I've ever had with anyone, ever. Like I said, I just knew. So, he left for basic training for the Air Force, and it was really hard saying goodbye, but we had promised we'd make it work. It was actually an incredible growing experience. Only being able to communicate through letters every other week was tough, but it made us 10 times stronger than we already were. It also made me love him 10 times more.
I remember when basic training was finally over after 2 months (that felt like 2 years), I went down for his graduation with his mom, dad and grandma. I can't tell you how much anxiety was felt on that trip. First of all, I didn't really know his dad and grandma too well at the time...so there was new people, it was my first time ever riding on an airplane, and I was about to see my boyfriend that I hadn't seen or really been able to talk to in 2 months. I didn't know what to expect. When we landed in San Antonio, and arrived at the base, his dad and grandma wanted to eat lunch before going to get Dillon. His mom and I were like HELL NO, WE HAVE TO FIND DILLON. So we were running around frantically trying to find him in that huge base. It took about an hour to get to him (because Dillon is AWFUL with directions...even though he'd fight you if you told him that), but when we finally found him, I swear guys, the feeling I got when I saw his little shaved headed self standing there was indescribable. I just wanted to jump up in his arms and stay there forever. Buuuuuut, I couldn't because I wasn't allowed to touch him because of his MTIs. Hahaha. So it was miserable. I did get to touch him later, though, don't worry. Hehe.
But anyway, long story short he asked me to marry him. I knew it was coming, because we had talked about it beforehand. I of course said yes, because by this point I knew he was the man for me, and there was absolutely no doubt in my mind. So needless to say, that was the happiest day of my life. After that he shipped off to tech school in Mississippi and I shipped off back to good old Sylva. It was a lot better because now I could talk to him daily, and hear his voice. It was nice. We always take that kind of stuff for granted. (take this moment RIGHT now, to go hug someone you love and tell them you love them...because you can)
So, I went down to visit him a few times in tech school because I couldn't stand being away from him for too long. The last time I went down, he gave me my engagement ring. I don't think I've ever cried that hard...(happy tears).
I'm ending the blog here because my fingers are tired, but also because there's not really a way to end this since our story isn't over, and it wont be over for a loooooong time. :) But if I could give you any advice it would be this: Do not settle. If you haven't found your perfect mate yet, don't settle for something less. They're out there, just let it happen. Even if you're an anti-social hermit like me, it'll happen. Love is an amazing thing, but sometimes things happen in our life that makes it feel like there's no hope, and love does nothing but hurt you. Trust me, I've been there, but it's not true. Love is beautiful when it's right. And you'll know when it is.
I'm so excited to see what the future has in store for me, and there's no one I'd rather experience life with than my best friend in the whole world. I love you Dillon, always.
And I love YOU guys! <3
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Belk Land!
What's up!?
My boss, Laurie, gave me the 411 on everything I'd be doing. Turns out it's way more than just a cashier job. I'm basically a sales woman. I have to convince people to sign up for those credit cards that Belk offers every 18 hours that I work. Which...I think I'm pretty convincing. I'll just slip it in their pocket...muahaha. No. Seriously. I can be pretty convincing. How else do you think I got Dillon to ask me to marry him? Muahahhaa again. Just kidding. He loves me for me......I think.
But anyway, now I'm sitting here taking a break from my studies. Mom gave me an invitation to go on a bike ride tonight, which I gladly excepted. I was planning on going for a run, but biking beats the hello outta that. My parents and I have this island that we visit every so often (not as often anymore) called Jekyll Island. We go there JUST to bike. It's incredibly beautiful. What I like so much about it is that it's not commercialized whatsoever. Well...except for the fact that they put in a Dairy Queen. But I'm not gonna complain about that too much. Peanut butter sundaeee holla!
I'm gonna finish this paper about hydrogen bonds. I'll see ya on the flip side, yo!
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
$3 Meals? Nope.
Hey!
So my folks went on a weekend getaway to Hillsville, VA this past weekend so they could go to this festival (not really a festival, more like a huge yard sale) that they go to every year. It's actually pretty neat. There's like easily hundreds of booths set up of people either selling their crafts, their old stuff, or antiques. I'm actually pretty mad that I didn't get to go, but that's not the point. Mom brought me back a cook book called $3 Meals. I was kinda losing sight of my whole "cooking blog" idea, because obviously that's not been happening. (I cannot finish anything) BUT, this book seems pretty interesting...maybe I'll try a few recipes from it, and tell you how it goes.
The only problem I have with cookbooks like this is that the recipes hardly ever only cost 3 bucks. (I automatically imagined three male deer just now) I was looking through the recipes, and there was a pasta recipe with like 4 million ingredients, that I guess you're already supposed to have. Uh. I don't have any of that shit. I don't even have an oven that works properly the majority of the time. The noodles alone cost 3 dollars, and I'm poor ya'll. I need to find a cookbook that is titled "put salt and pepper in a pan on high...and if you wave this book over top of it, it turns into a sirloin steak." That's my kind of cook book. But whatever. The whole point of this blog was to cook stuff and then talk about it, and so far I've only cooked one thing. Which was really only a 7 out of 10. Bottom line: I'm a failure.
No, but really. I'm gonna start cooking for real soon. Especially if I get this job at Belk. Yeah. I got an interview with Belk tomorrow, and if I don't completely blow that, then I'll start making some moolah! Which means I'll have money to buy ingredients! and drugs. Wait. What?
I hope you all are having a fantastic Tuesday! (I like Tuesdays because that's when Catfish and Whose Line Is It Anyway comes on)
Chau!
So my folks went on a weekend getaway to Hillsville, VA this past weekend so they could go to this festival (not really a festival, more like a huge yard sale) that they go to every year. It's actually pretty neat. There's like easily hundreds of booths set up of people either selling their crafts, their old stuff, or antiques. I'm actually pretty mad that I didn't get to go, but that's not the point. Mom brought me back a cook book called $3 Meals. I was kinda losing sight of my whole "cooking blog" idea, because obviously that's not been happening. (I cannot finish anything) BUT, this book seems pretty interesting...maybe I'll try a few recipes from it, and tell you how it goes.
The only problem I have with cookbooks like this is that the recipes hardly ever only cost 3 bucks. (I automatically imagined three male deer just now) I was looking through the recipes, and there was a pasta recipe with like 4 million ingredients, that I guess you're already supposed to have. Uh. I don't have any of that shit. I don't even have an oven that works properly the majority of the time. The noodles alone cost 3 dollars, and I'm poor ya'll. I need to find a cookbook that is titled "put salt and pepper in a pan on high...and if you wave this book over top of it, it turns into a sirloin steak." That's my kind of cook book. But whatever. The whole point of this blog was to cook stuff and then talk about it, and so far I've only cooked one thing. Which was really only a 7 out of 10. Bottom line: I'm a failure.
No, but really. I'm gonna start cooking for real soon. Especially if I get this job at Belk. Yeah. I got an interview with Belk tomorrow, and if I don't completely blow that, then I'll start making some moolah! Which means I'll have money to buy ingredients! and drugs. Wait. What?
I hope you all are having a fantastic Tuesday! (I like Tuesdays because that's when Catfish and Whose Line Is It Anyway comes on)
Chau!
Monday, September 2, 2013
Movie Review: Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Kind of summary: So pretty much this movie was about two best friends who live together, Zack and Miri, who are struggling financially. They come up with an idea to create a pornographic movie in order to make money to pay off their bills, but they have secret feelings for each other...which makes things a bit interesting.
My thoughts: This movie was very well made and I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. I honestly didn't know what to expect when I read the title--well...I mean obviously there was a character named Zack, and one named Miri...and they prooobably at some point were going to attempt to make a porno. But that's all I was really expecting. I didn't expect to be taken on such an emotional journey. I really got into these characters, and their lives and their feelings for each other. I was literally holding my breath the entire movie wondering what was going to happen with their relationship. But I think that's just the lame romantic side of me coming out.
It was supposed to be a comedy, and it was, and it was hilarious...but I found that it was a very touching story. Both literally and figuratively. But for real...it was able to shine a light on the more emotional part of sex, using porn, while making it super funny...which I thought was an extremely unique way of going about it.
I don't want to give too much away, even though I fear I already did, but you should definitely go check it out if you've not seen it yet. I was completely entertained from beginning to end.
oh, and WARNING: Boobs. Not for the tiny tots. ;D
My thoughts: This movie was very well made and I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. I honestly didn't know what to expect when I read the title--well...I mean obviously there was a character named Zack, and one named Miri...and they prooobably at some point were going to attempt to make a porno. But that's all I was really expecting. I didn't expect to be taken on such an emotional journey. I really got into these characters, and their lives and their feelings for each other. I was literally holding my breath the entire movie wondering what was going to happen with their relationship. But I think that's just the lame romantic side of me coming out.
It was supposed to be a comedy, and it was, and it was hilarious...but I found that it was a very touching story. Both literally and figuratively. But for real...it was able to shine a light on the more emotional part of sex, using porn, while making it super funny...which I thought was an extremely unique way of going about it.
I don't want to give too much away, even though I fear I already did, but you should definitely go check it out if you've not seen it yet. I was completely entertained from beginning to end.
oh, and WARNING: Boobs. Not for the tiny tots. ;D
Sunday, August 18, 2013
El Blogo!
Noooooooooooo!
I almost forgot about my blog. This is the very thing I feared would happen. It's what happens every single time I try and start up a blog. Or anything for that matter. My plan WAS to post every day but...I guess that idea has already been flushed down el toileto (I made a c in Spanish). I promise to be better about posting every day. And when I promise this, I'm really promising myself because I know no one reads these...well...Angela might because she's my one and only follower. But anyway, this is my new years resolution that I made...in July. So I have to follow through.
My classes have started! And I couldn't be more excited to get to work. I'm so glad I decided to go ahead and finish my associates degree. I WAS going to just put off school until Dillon and I got settled into our home in Kansas (or wherever we end up going), but I decided since I was so freaking bored I might as well be doing something productive...so school it is! Anyway, the classes are going well so far and I'm really liking them. Tomorrow I'm going to get my books and start on the hardcore projects n' stuff. (I refuse to procrastinate this semester...remind me that I said that in a few weeks when I'm crying because I haven't started a project until 5 minutes before it's due, and trust me, that'll happen.)
I got one of my birthday presents from Dillon yesterday! :D He sent me two t-shirts. One of them was a Zelda shirt and the other was Lord of the Rings. They are insanely cute. I'll post a pic at the bottom of this blog. I'm so lucky to have a significant other that can appreciate my nerdy side. (It's actually one of the things we have most in common, teehee) But I'm gonna wear the crap outta those shirts.
I've decided what I want to do with my life, fyi. (I've been saying English major and teacher, but....no) I've decided I want to go to school to become a Veterinary Technician! The idea of this excites me super bad so let's hope my mind doesn't change. So far I've had like...4 majors? Yeah. I'm pretty sure I'm going to stick with this one though. I've always liked the idea of being a nurse, I just never really thought that I had what it took to be one. When I met Dillon's mom (she's a nurse) I was so inspired by all her stories and satisfaction that came with being a nurse. It just sounded like a good idea to me. I didn't know, though, because I've never been a very nurturing person. (not with humans anyway) In fact, I'm not really a very big human fan. So I thought...why not be a nurse...but for animals? And then a light bulb went off in my head (DING DING) and I realized that was exactly what I wanted to do with my life. So...there's that. And we'll see how it goes!
I could talk for hours and hours more about that ^, but I won't bore you. Plus my fingers are kinda getting tired. I hope all of you are having a wonderful day/night, and I'll talk to you soon! :D Chicken recipe coming up this week btw! Be looking!
xoxoxoxo
btw, here's the totally awesome shirts! He got them from some t-shirt website that he really loves (they have awesome shirts). I forgot the website though. I'll ask him and post it in the next blog! ^.^
I almost forgot about my blog. This is the very thing I feared would happen. It's what happens every single time I try and start up a blog. Or anything for that matter. My plan WAS to post every day but...I guess that idea has already been flushed down el toileto (I made a c in Spanish). I promise to be better about posting every day. And when I promise this, I'm really promising myself because I know no one reads these...well...Angela might because she's my one and only follower. But anyway, this is my new years resolution that I made...in July. So I have to follow through.
My classes have started! And I couldn't be more excited to get to work. I'm so glad I decided to go ahead and finish my associates degree. I WAS going to just put off school until Dillon and I got settled into our home in Kansas (or wherever we end up going), but I decided since I was so freaking bored I might as well be doing something productive...so school it is! Anyway, the classes are going well so far and I'm really liking them. Tomorrow I'm going to get my books and start on the hardcore projects n' stuff. (I refuse to procrastinate this semester...remind me that I said that in a few weeks when I'm crying because I haven't started a project until 5 minutes before it's due, and trust me, that'll happen.)
I got one of my birthday presents from Dillon yesterday! :D He sent me two t-shirts. One of them was a Zelda shirt and the other was Lord of the Rings. They are insanely cute. I'll post a pic at the bottom of this blog. I'm so lucky to have a significant other that can appreciate my nerdy side. (It's actually one of the things we have most in common, teehee) But I'm gonna wear the crap outta those shirts.
I've decided what I want to do with my life, fyi. (I've been saying English major and teacher, but....no) I've decided I want to go to school to become a Veterinary Technician! The idea of this excites me super bad so let's hope my mind doesn't change. So far I've had like...4 majors? Yeah. I'm pretty sure I'm going to stick with this one though. I've always liked the idea of being a nurse, I just never really thought that I had what it took to be one. When I met Dillon's mom (she's a nurse) I was so inspired by all her stories and satisfaction that came with being a nurse. It just sounded like a good idea to me. I didn't know, though, because I've never been a very nurturing person. (not with humans anyway) In fact, I'm not really a very big human fan. So I thought...why not be a nurse...but for animals? And then a light bulb went off in my head (DING DING) and I realized that was exactly what I wanted to do with my life. So...there's that. And we'll see how it goes!
I could talk for hours and hours more about that ^, but I won't bore you. Plus my fingers are kinda getting tired. I hope all of you are having a wonderful day/night, and I'll talk to you soon! :D Chicken recipe coming up this week btw! Be looking!
xoxoxoxo
btw, here's the totally awesome shirts! He got them from some t-shirt website that he really loves (they have awesome shirts). I forgot the website though. I'll ask him and post it in the next blog! ^.^
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
STRESS CITY
I think I'm going to die.
I just went and signed up for 4 online courses. SCIENCE courses. Why, God, why?! What made me think that would be a good idea? The thing I've been focusing on for the past 3 months is getting some sort of wedding planned and providing support to Dillon to get through his tech school while dealing with a long distance relationship and trying to find a job in a town where it's absolutely impossible to find one. I guess I thought that wasn't stressful enough and decided piling on a bunch of college science courses would be necessary at this time.
Anyway, I've already dropped the bomb on the parent folk that I needed 800 dollars for tuition (which was the part I was worried about), so now I've just got to drop the money off and get my books. Which is also gonna be extremely expensive. Why does college have to be so expensive, anyway? They should pay US to go to school. I think there would be a lot more successful people in the world if that was the case. Haha.
Point of this blog is: be prepared because I might use this blog as an outlet and there may be a large amount of curse words coming in the future.
STRESS CITY. STAY TUNED.
I just went and signed up for 4 online courses. SCIENCE courses. Why, God, why?! What made me think that would be a good idea? The thing I've been focusing on for the past 3 months is getting some sort of wedding planned and providing support to Dillon to get through his tech school while dealing with a long distance relationship and trying to find a job in a town where it's absolutely impossible to find one. I guess I thought that wasn't stressful enough and decided piling on a bunch of college science courses would be necessary at this time.
Anyway, I've already dropped the bomb on the parent folk that I needed 800 dollars for tuition (which was the part I was worried about), so now I've just got to drop the money off and get my books. Which is also gonna be extremely expensive. Why does college have to be so expensive, anyway? They should pay US to go to school. I think there would be a lot more successful people in the world if that was the case. Haha.
Point of this blog is: be prepared because I might use this blog as an outlet and there may be a large amount of curse words coming in the future.
STRESS CITY. STAY TUNED.
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Smiling All Day Long
Hello loves!
I had the best birthday ever today! It's days like today that remind me how blessed and lucky I am to have such fantastic people in my life. :) Received so many phone calls, posts, texts and snapchats telling me happy birthday! Made me feel so great! SO many good vibes all over the place today. Don't you love those days where you're just smiling all day long? Those days where nothing at all goes wrong and every single second just feels incredible. There has to be days like that to make up for the crappy stuff life throws your way sometimes. :)
Anyway, I went out to lunch with my mom and cousin today, went home and laid in bed in my birthday suit and played Skyrim until about 4. Then I went to my parents house and saw my puppies and went out to eat in Franklin with the folks. We went to a place called Caffe Rel. It's SO amazingly good. At first, if you've never been there, it doesn't look like it'd be anything great considering it's attached to a gas station. Haha. Dillon says "it looks like hepatitis waiting to happen" hahaha. But it's seriously some of the best food you'll ever taste. The mac n cheese gives me a complete mouthgasm. I had that for an appetizer, veal, beef and turkey meatball linguini (with the best marinara sauce you've ever tasted) and some free chocolate cake for dessert since it was my birthday. ^.^
Doesn't sound like much, but I feel like I ate enough for an army. Bloat city. But SOOOO DELICIOUS.
I hope everyone else out there had an amazing day as well. <3 <3
I had the best birthday ever today! It's days like today that remind me how blessed and lucky I am to have such fantastic people in my life. :) Received so many phone calls, posts, texts and snapchats telling me happy birthday! Made me feel so great! SO many good vibes all over the place today. Don't you love those days where you're just smiling all day long? Those days where nothing at all goes wrong and every single second just feels incredible. There has to be days like that to make up for the crappy stuff life throws your way sometimes. :)
Anyway, I went out to lunch with my mom and cousin today, went home and laid in bed in my birthday suit and played Skyrim until about 4. Then I went to my parents house and saw my puppies and went out to eat in Franklin with the folks. We went to a place called Caffe Rel. It's SO amazingly good. At first, if you've never been there, it doesn't look like it'd be anything great considering it's attached to a gas station. Haha. Dillon says "it looks like hepatitis waiting to happen" hahaha. But it's seriously some of the best food you'll ever taste. The mac n cheese gives me a complete mouthgasm. I had that for an appetizer, veal, beef and turkey meatball linguini (with the best marinara sauce you've ever tasted) and some free chocolate cake for dessert since it was my birthday. ^.^
Doesn't sound like much, but I feel like I ate enough for an army. Bloat city. But SOOOO DELICIOUS.
I hope everyone else out there had an amazing day as well. <3 <3
Monday, August 12, 2013
15 Cooking Tips!
Hey hey hey!
Sorry I've not written in a few days, been busy with birthday stuff! My lovely little parents threw me a surprise birthday party yesterday with a few of my family members, and my fiance's family surprised me with a cake and present tonight! Everyone in my life is so sweet. I'm extremely blessed. The only thing missing this birthday is my fiance himself. :/ Oh well, I'll see him soon enough...only about 2 more months of separation!
Anyway, I'm thinking about (in the next couple days) making two more recipes from FoodWishes.com. Million dollar chicken, and green beans! The reason I chose this recipe to make next is because I went out to eat lunch with my mom and couple of her coworkers today and one them has a bunch of beans (real ones, not the can) that she was gonna give mom. So I was like...hey...I could try that green bean recipe that I saw on FoodWishes.com! And nothing goes better with green beans than chicken. Yum! I'm getting hungry just talking about it.
Anyway, I was stumbling on stumbleupon.com (a really awesome site that you should totally check out right now if you haven't already) and came across a website with a bunch of cooking tips that I'd like to share with you all! Since I'm very inexperienced, but wanna learn the ways of the cooking world fairly quickly, tips like this are actually a lot of help. I got these from fullpunch.com.
Okay, here they are:
1. Steaks continue to cook even off the grill.
2. ALWAYS taste your food while cooking. This allows you to accurately adjust seasoning, flavors and cooking time.
3. Garlic makes everything better. (I dunno if I agree with this one because I'm not really a garlic fan)
4. When making pork chops, cut the ribbon of fat so that it is in pieces instead of one long piece. It prevents the chop from curling in the pan and cooking unevenly. (This will come in handy for my upcoming recipe involving pork chops. ;D)
5. Stop lifting the lid off of a pot of rice. The steam cooks the rice and by taking the lid off you RUIN EVERYTHING FOREVER.
6. Use weight not volume for measuring ingredients for baking.
7. Dull knives are more dangerous than sharp knives.
8. The perfect omelette is made with 2 eggs, not 3. Some people add milk, but that's a mistake.
9. When cooking pancakes, heat the pan until it's hot enough where if you add a drop of water it immediately boils. Roughly 350 F. (This is true, because I used to be terrible at cooking pancakes until I learned this.)
10. Cold oil, hot pan: Foods wont stick.
11. Peanut butter can really round out the flavor in sauces and stew-like dishes. (Mmmmm...peanut butter)
12. Sprinkling pepper onto strawberries makes them taste like strawberry flavored candy. (Uhhh...why would I want strawberry flavored candy when I could just have the actual strawberry? Stupid tip.)
13. Salt the water when making pasta. (I already knew this one!)
14. When baking, applesauce can be substituted for oil. (And it makes cakes taste 10x better in my opinion)
15. Cut onions under water to avoid tearing up. (best tip because that's seriously the worst feeling in the world.)
Hope you enjoyed!
Chau!...or however you spell it.
Sorry I've not written in a few days, been busy with birthday stuff! My lovely little parents threw me a surprise birthday party yesterday with a few of my family members, and my fiance's family surprised me with a cake and present tonight! Everyone in my life is so sweet. I'm extremely blessed. The only thing missing this birthday is my fiance himself. :/ Oh well, I'll see him soon enough...only about 2 more months of separation!
Anyway, I'm thinking about (in the next couple days) making two more recipes from FoodWishes.com. Million dollar chicken, and green beans! The reason I chose this recipe to make next is because I went out to eat lunch with my mom and couple of her coworkers today and one them has a bunch of beans (real ones, not the can) that she was gonna give mom. So I was like...hey...I could try that green bean recipe that I saw on FoodWishes.com! And nothing goes better with green beans than chicken. Yum! I'm getting hungry just talking about it.
Anyway, I was stumbling on stumbleupon.com (a really awesome site that you should totally check out right now if you haven't already) and came across a website with a bunch of cooking tips that I'd like to share with you all! Since I'm very inexperienced, but wanna learn the ways of the cooking world fairly quickly, tips like this are actually a lot of help. I got these from fullpunch.com.
Okay, here they are:
1. Steaks continue to cook even off the grill.
2. ALWAYS taste your food while cooking. This allows you to accurately adjust seasoning, flavors and cooking time.
3. Garlic makes everything better. (I dunno if I agree with this one because I'm not really a garlic fan)
4. When making pork chops, cut the ribbon of fat so that it is in pieces instead of one long piece. It prevents the chop from curling in the pan and cooking unevenly. (This will come in handy for my upcoming recipe involving pork chops. ;D)
5. Stop lifting the lid off of a pot of rice. The steam cooks the rice and by taking the lid off you RUIN EVERYTHING FOREVER.
6. Use weight not volume for measuring ingredients for baking.
7. Dull knives are more dangerous than sharp knives.
8. The perfect omelette is made with 2 eggs, not 3. Some people add milk, but that's a mistake.
9. When cooking pancakes, heat the pan until it's hot enough where if you add a drop of water it immediately boils. Roughly 350 F. (This is true, because I used to be terrible at cooking pancakes until I learned this.)
10. Cold oil, hot pan: Foods wont stick.
11. Peanut butter can really round out the flavor in sauces and stew-like dishes. (Mmmmm...peanut butter)
12. Sprinkling pepper onto strawberries makes them taste like strawberry flavored candy. (Uhhh...why would I want strawberry flavored candy when I could just have the actual strawberry? Stupid tip.)
13. Salt the water when making pasta. (I already knew this one!)
14. When baking, applesauce can be substituted for oil. (And it makes cakes taste 10x better in my opinion)
15. Cut onions under water to avoid tearing up. (best tip because that's seriously the worst feeling in the world.)
Hope you enjoyed!
Chau!...or however you spell it.
Friday, August 9, 2013
I Miss Being A Kid
Happy Friday,
I'll have you know that as I write this I'm using my bloated stomach as a table for my laptop. I just finished eating 3 pieces of pizza, 2 pieces of chicken, mac n cheese, coleslaw, and mashed potatoes. That was just dinner. That doesn't include the piece of pizza, 2 cheesesticks, and bowl of cereal I had earlier. I'm literally about to puke up 5 tons of cheese. I love food entirely too much. I've gained so much weight ever since I started dating Dillon. I swear every time I go down to see him we eat out at the most unhealthy places. We don't believe in eating light. At all.
Anyway, today I went to pick up Dillon's cousins, Avery and Meagan. They're absolutely adorable, and Avery is such a little game nerd. He and I were arguing about weapons in Skyrim earlier...I won. They're both very sweet and talented in their own ways. Meagan spent 30 minutes trying to teach me the cup song from Pitch Perfect. (I haven't seen the movie, but the song is pretty cool) But, needless to say I totally failed at flippin' that cup around attempting to make a song out of it.
I love kids. Why is it that when we're kids we seem to have everything figured out, but the older we get the more confused we are? Maybe the saying is true and ignorance is bliss. Maybe being naive isn't such a bad thing. There are some days that I wish I didn't know all the things I did know. I miss being a kid a lot. I remember when I was young, all I cared about was spending time with my parents and brother and playing with my toys. That's it. I didn't think about boys, or grades, or people's opinions of me. I didn't think about people judging me. I was just always exactly what I wanted to be. Kids are who they are, and they have imaginations and they have fun. Perhaps what's wrong with the world is that people have forgotten what it's like to be a kid.
I'll have you know that as I write this I'm using my bloated stomach as a table for my laptop. I just finished eating 3 pieces of pizza, 2 pieces of chicken, mac n cheese, coleslaw, and mashed potatoes. That was just dinner. That doesn't include the piece of pizza, 2 cheesesticks, and bowl of cereal I had earlier. I'm literally about to puke up 5 tons of cheese. I love food entirely too much. I've gained so much weight ever since I started dating Dillon. I swear every time I go down to see him we eat out at the most unhealthy places. We don't believe in eating light. At all.
Anyway, today I went to pick up Dillon's cousins, Avery and Meagan. They're absolutely adorable, and Avery is such a little game nerd. He and I were arguing about weapons in Skyrim earlier...I won. They're both very sweet and talented in their own ways. Meagan spent 30 minutes trying to teach me the cup song from Pitch Perfect. (I haven't seen the movie, but the song is pretty cool) But, needless to say I totally failed at flippin' that cup around attempting to make a song out of it.
I love kids. Why is it that when we're kids we seem to have everything figured out, but the older we get the more confused we are? Maybe the saying is true and ignorance is bliss. Maybe being naive isn't such a bad thing. There are some days that I wish I didn't know all the things I did know. I miss being a kid a lot. I remember when I was young, all I cared about was spending time with my parents and brother and playing with my toys. That's it. I didn't think about boys, or grades, or people's opinions of me. I didn't think about people judging me. I was just always exactly what I wanted to be. Kids are who they are, and they have imaginations and they have fun. Perhaps what's wrong with the world is that people have forgotten what it's like to be a kid.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Before The World Intruded
Return me to those infant years,
before I woke from sleep,
when ideas were oceans crashing,
my dreams blank shores of sand.
Transport me fast to who I was
when breath was fresh as sight,
my new parts — unfragmented —
shielded faith from unkind light.
Draw for me a figure whole, so different
from who I am. Show me now
this picture: who I was
when I began.
by: Michele Rosenthal
Saw this beautiful poem and just thought I'd share it with you all. I think many of us can relate to it.
before I woke from sleep,
when ideas were oceans crashing,
my dreams blank shores of sand.
Transport me fast to who I was
when breath was fresh as sight,
my new parts — unfragmented —
shielded faith from unkind light.
Draw for me a figure whole, so different
from who I am. Show me now
this picture: who I was
when I began.
by: Michele Rosenthal
Saw this beautiful poem and just thought I'd share it with you all. I think many of us can relate to it.
Video Game Nerd
Hey-yo!
For whatever reason, I love Thursdays. They're always the best days for me, and I feel motivated to do things. Except for this Thursday, I just want to sit around and play video games. Which is gonna be the topic of this blog since that's what I'm thinking about.
When I was growing up I played all sorts of video games. My favorite game when I was tiny was probably Sonic or Star Fox. I also played the crap out of some Perfect Dark and Goldeneye. Donkey Kong was another one that took up a lot of my time. And Mario of course. Nintendo, Sega, Nintendo 64. Ahhh, the good old days. When I was a little bit older, and when I say older I mean 8, I discovered The Legend of Zelda. I automatically fell in love with that game, and that game and I, we've been bffs since the first day I played it. I do not think I've ever been more obsessed with anything in my life.
Basically Zelda (if you've not played) has the same idea as Mario. You always play as Link (a young Kokiri boy) and every game's plot somehow has to do with you saving the princess of Hyrule, Zelda. And the bad guy you have to fight's name is Ganondorf. So It's like the whole Mario saving Peach from Bowzer type thing. But, Zelda always has really amazing plots, and all the games connect together somehow. The most recent Zelda, Skyward Sword, was supposed to be like how it all began and whatnot. Pullin' a Star Wars on us I guess. Anyway, Zelda is INCREDIBLE and if you ever need a new game to play, and have not yet played it, I highly suggest it. But I do suggest you play Ocarina of Time first. It's not technically first on the Hyrule history timeline, but it's still the best IMO!
Speaking of Star Wars a second ago, I don't know why everyone is making such a big deal (negative) out of the fact that Disney bought it out. Disney is an amazing company, and they make fantastic movies. And to be honest, the last 3 Star Wars movies kinda sucked anyway. Just sayin'.
But that's off topic. The most recent game that I've gotten into is Skyrim, and I absolutely love it. It's so fun and I can completely relax when I play it. It's got that medieval feel that I love. I'm a complete middle ages nerd to be honest with you. Zelda also kinda has that feel to it as well. I enjoy studying the middle ages, just in my free time. Yep. Nerd. I went to my first renaissance festival a few months ago and it was absolutely incredible! Had the time of my life because I was totally in my element. In fact, there was a booth set up where a guy was selling Ocarinas from Zelda! There was also a booth where a guy was selling his hand painted pictures, and the majority of them was scenes from Lord of the Rings! (my favorite series) I could go on and on about LOTR, but I wont. Anyway, I ended buying two of those.
but yeah, I love video games, and I think they're great and I hate how people say they're unhealthy for you. If I didn't have them to relax, I'd probably be having anxiety attacks every second. Plus, most those people who say they're unhealthy are people who live for reality tv shows, or just tv in general, so suck it tv people!
Imma go play Skyrim now. :D
For whatever reason, I love Thursdays. They're always the best days for me, and I feel motivated to do things. Except for this Thursday, I just want to sit around and play video games. Which is gonna be the topic of this blog since that's what I'm thinking about.
When I was growing up I played all sorts of video games. My favorite game when I was tiny was probably Sonic or Star Fox. I also played the crap out of some Perfect Dark and Goldeneye. Donkey Kong was another one that took up a lot of my time. And Mario of course. Nintendo, Sega, Nintendo 64. Ahhh, the good old days. When I was a little bit older, and when I say older I mean 8, I discovered The Legend of Zelda. I automatically fell in love with that game, and that game and I, we've been bffs since the first day I played it. I do not think I've ever been more obsessed with anything in my life.
Basically Zelda (if you've not played) has the same idea as Mario. You always play as Link (a young Kokiri boy) and every game's plot somehow has to do with you saving the princess of Hyrule, Zelda. And the bad guy you have to fight's name is Ganondorf. So It's like the whole Mario saving Peach from Bowzer type thing. But, Zelda always has really amazing plots, and all the games connect together somehow. The most recent Zelda, Skyward Sword, was supposed to be like how it all began and whatnot. Pullin' a Star Wars on us I guess. Anyway, Zelda is INCREDIBLE and if you ever need a new game to play, and have not yet played it, I highly suggest it. But I do suggest you play Ocarina of Time first. It's not technically first on the Hyrule history timeline, but it's still the best IMO!
Speaking of Star Wars a second ago, I don't know why everyone is making such a big deal (negative) out of the fact that Disney bought it out. Disney is an amazing company, and they make fantastic movies. And to be honest, the last 3 Star Wars movies kinda sucked anyway. Just sayin'.
But that's off topic. The most recent game that I've gotten into is Skyrim, and I absolutely love it. It's so fun and I can completely relax when I play it. It's got that medieval feel that I love. I'm a complete middle ages nerd to be honest with you. Zelda also kinda has that feel to it as well. I enjoy studying the middle ages, just in my free time. Yep. Nerd. I went to my first renaissance festival a few months ago and it was absolutely incredible! Had the time of my life because I was totally in my element. In fact, there was a booth set up where a guy was selling Ocarinas from Zelda! There was also a booth where a guy was selling his hand painted pictures, and the majority of them was scenes from Lord of the Rings! (my favorite series) I could go on and on about LOTR, but I wont. Anyway, I ended buying two of those.
but yeah, I love video games, and I think they're great and I hate how people say they're unhealthy for you. If I didn't have them to relax, I'd probably be having anxiety attacks every second. Plus, most those people who say they're unhealthy are people who live for reality tv shows, or just tv in general, so suck it tv people!
Imma go play Skyrim now. :D
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Anxiety and Depression
Today I want to talk about depression and anxiety. Not because I necessarily enjoy putting my personal life and problems out there for the entire world to see, but because I know there are probably other people who deal with this sort of thing. Sometimes it helps to know you're not the only one going through it. Sometimes the things that make us feel most alone have the most potential to connect us. So here we go:
When I was in middle school, I was probably the most social person in the world. I swear, I had friends galore. It was awesome. I was confident, and happy all the time. ALL the time. Nothing scared me. I loved parties, and any sort of social gathering. Life was absolutely perfect for me!
Then, I hit high school. This, my friends, is where things started changing. I know they say that high school doesn't matter and once you're out of it, it's like it didn't even happen. Well, that's not really true with me. I was fine the first couple years. It was a huge adjustment, though. Huge. I started to realize that not everyone is going to like you and maybe people really aren't as nice as I thought. I still had my close knit group of friends, though, so everything was good. I dated a few guys in high school. None of which ended well at all. One in particular ended horribly, and caused me to lose a bunch of friends, and my dignity along with it. My good reputation was pretty much flushed down the toilet at this point. A lot went down with that, and caused my self esteem to just hit the floor. I was depressed for about a year, not wanting to talk to anyone or go out. It's as if I completely lost who I was. It was terrible. I remember dreading school every single day, not wanting to get out of bed. I made myself physically sick worrying about what people thought about me, or what they were saying behind my back. The constant paranoid feeling I had caused me to act irrationally about a lot of things. It took me a while to realize I was acting that way but when I did, I became a recluse. I didn't talk or anything. I just stayed at home the majority of the time not going anywhere or talking to anyone. I did this for so long that it just became who I was. I preferred to be home, and the idea of socializing made me so nervous. I got to the point where I would have tiny panic attacks if I had to be out in public, like at a party or something. It's like I had forgotten how to communicate entirely. I guess my confidence was so low that I didn't feel like anything I said would come out right, so I would just be quiet.
This went on for about a year after high school, and I ended up gaining some weight, and becoming extremely depressed. There were some days that I didn't get out of bed all day long. I'd just lay there, and stare at the wall. Occasionally I would contact my old friends that I had lost, and try to reconnect with them. We'd talk occasionally, but our friendships were never fully restored. I still had quite a few friends from high school that I would hang out with, and made some more at the community college that I got my Gen Ed at. I was finally getting happy with myself again, but the thought of going out into the world and meeting people really still bothered me. I would rather stay home and play video games or watch movies by myself.
My friends, and everyone else for that matter, started calling me a hermit or a recluse or whatever else. I refused to go out. I hated people, pretty much. Haha.
I then got accepted into the Disney College Program. I figured this would be a new beginning and a great opportunity, so of course, I took it. I ended up making some of the best friends I've ever had there. Friends who love me and appreciate me for who I am regardless of my mistakes. I'll always love them. I was so sad when my program ended, because I had to come back to my hometown, the place with all the bad memories where I felt so alone all the time. I then reconnected with an old acquaintance from high school, Dillon Penland. He was the only person I was willing to go out with. He seemed cool enough. I went to lunch with him at Kostas, and the rest is history as far as that goes. Never been happier in my entire life, and Dillon has shown me what it means to be loved. I'd never felt that before.
But that's not the point. The point I'm really trying to make is that it's okay to feel anxious or depressed every now and then. Things happen in your life that are going to make you feel that way. You can't stop it. What you CAN do, however, is learn from it and grow. Realize the mistakes you made in the past, and don't make them in the future. Mold yourself into the person you want to be. Let people into your life who bring you up, not down.
Just thought I'd share that.
When I was in middle school, I was probably the most social person in the world. I swear, I had friends galore. It was awesome. I was confident, and happy all the time. ALL the time. Nothing scared me. I loved parties, and any sort of social gathering. Life was absolutely perfect for me!
Then, I hit high school. This, my friends, is where things started changing. I know they say that high school doesn't matter and once you're out of it, it's like it didn't even happen. Well, that's not really true with me. I was fine the first couple years. It was a huge adjustment, though. Huge. I started to realize that not everyone is going to like you and maybe people really aren't as nice as I thought. I still had my close knit group of friends, though, so everything was good. I dated a few guys in high school. None of which ended well at all. One in particular ended horribly, and caused me to lose a bunch of friends, and my dignity along with it. My good reputation was pretty much flushed down the toilet at this point. A lot went down with that, and caused my self esteem to just hit the floor. I was depressed for about a year, not wanting to talk to anyone or go out. It's as if I completely lost who I was. It was terrible. I remember dreading school every single day, not wanting to get out of bed. I made myself physically sick worrying about what people thought about me, or what they were saying behind my back. The constant paranoid feeling I had caused me to act irrationally about a lot of things. It took me a while to realize I was acting that way but when I did, I became a recluse. I didn't talk or anything. I just stayed at home the majority of the time not going anywhere or talking to anyone. I did this for so long that it just became who I was. I preferred to be home, and the idea of socializing made me so nervous. I got to the point where I would have tiny panic attacks if I had to be out in public, like at a party or something. It's like I had forgotten how to communicate entirely. I guess my confidence was so low that I didn't feel like anything I said would come out right, so I would just be quiet.
This went on for about a year after high school, and I ended up gaining some weight, and becoming extremely depressed. There were some days that I didn't get out of bed all day long. I'd just lay there, and stare at the wall. Occasionally I would contact my old friends that I had lost, and try to reconnect with them. We'd talk occasionally, but our friendships were never fully restored. I still had quite a few friends from high school that I would hang out with, and made some more at the community college that I got my Gen Ed at. I was finally getting happy with myself again, but the thought of going out into the world and meeting people really still bothered me. I would rather stay home and play video games or watch movies by myself.
My friends, and everyone else for that matter, started calling me a hermit or a recluse or whatever else. I refused to go out. I hated people, pretty much. Haha.
I then got accepted into the Disney College Program. I figured this would be a new beginning and a great opportunity, so of course, I took it. I ended up making some of the best friends I've ever had there. Friends who love me and appreciate me for who I am regardless of my mistakes. I'll always love them. I was so sad when my program ended, because I had to come back to my hometown, the place with all the bad memories where I felt so alone all the time. I then reconnected with an old acquaintance from high school, Dillon Penland. He was the only person I was willing to go out with. He seemed cool enough. I went to lunch with him at Kostas, and the rest is history as far as that goes. Never been happier in my entire life, and Dillon has shown me what it means to be loved. I'd never felt that before.
But that's not the point. The point I'm really trying to make is that it's okay to feel anxious or depressed every now and then. Things happen in your life that are going to make you feel that way. You can't stop it. What you CAN do, however, is learn from it and grow. Realize the mistakes you made in the past, and don't make them in the future. Mold yourself into the person you want to be. Let people into your life who bring you up, not down.
Just thought I'd share that.
Chicken Parmesan Casserole...SUCCESS!
MY CHICKEN PARMESAN CASSEROLE ACTUALLY TASTED GOOD
I'm overly joyed to be able to announce that my first dish tasted absolutely incredible. In fact, I wanted seconds. I'm beginning to think I'll make a decent housewife after all. ;)
Anyway, I'm just gonna go through the basic steps of how I made it for those of you who are just as inexperienced as I am. This recipe was unbelievably easy. Okay, here we go:
Ingredients:
Step 1: Season both sides of each of your chicken breasts with salt and pepper (or whatever seasoning you want to use, I used a little bit of Italian seasoning as well as S&P)
Step 2: Sear both sides of each chicken breast on the stove on high heat (with a little bit of olive oil) until both sides are light golden brown but don't cook all the way through! About 2 minutes on each side.
Step 3: spread olive oil inside a decent sized casserole dish (I used 9 by 13). Also sprinkle some pepper flakes in there, to taste.
Step 4: place the chicken breasts in the casserole dish (however you do it, it doesn't really matter)
Step 5: spread the marinara sauce all over the chicken not leaving any of it uncovered.
Step 6: sprinkle half the mozzerella and half the parmesan all over the chicken.
Step 6: Pour 1 bag of croutons all over, and be sure to take a spatula or something to push the croutons down into the sauce.
Step 7: Pour the rest of the cheese on top of all that ( I found that I used a little bit more than the recipe called for, which is fine! More cheese=more fun!)
Step 8: Put your casserole in the oven preheated to 350 degrees, and bake for about 35-45 minutes.
Take it out, let it cool, then eat!
It seriously gave me a mouthgasm, no kidding. I put salad with fresh tomatos and cucumbers from my garden, and italian dressing and some french bread. It was incredible!
I hope you try this out because it is way too delicious. :)
Again, I got this recipe from FoodWishes.com! Head on over there for some more incredible dishes!
I'm overly joyed to be able to announce that my first dish tasted absolutely incredible. In fact, I wanted seconds. I'm beginning to think I'll make a decent housewife after all. ;)
Anyway, I'm just gonna go through the basic steps of how I made it for those of you who are just as inexperienced as I am. This recipe was unbelievably easy. Okay, here we go:
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
red pepper flakes
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used Tyson)
2 1/2 cups marinara sauce (I used Emerils, but any is fine)
few sprinkles of basil
8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
3 oz Parmesan cheese
1 (5-oz) package garlic croutons (I used the garlic and cheese ones, don't have to have cheese, but I found they're better than just regular garlic)
Step 1: Season both sides of each of your chicken breasts with salt and pepper (or whatever seasoning you want to use, I used a little bit of Italian seasoning as well as S&P)
Step 2: Sear both sides of each chicken breast on the stove on high heat (with a little bit of olive oil) until both sides are light golden brown but don't cook all the way through! About 2 minutes on each side.
Step 3: spread olive oil inside a decent sized casserole dish (I used 9 by 13). Also sprinkle some pepper flakes in there, to taste.
Step 4: place the chicken breasts in the casserole dish (however you do it, it doesn't really matter)
Step 5: spread the marinara sauce all over the chicken not leaving any of it uncovered.
Step 6: sprinkle half the mozzerella and half the parmesan all over the chicken.
Step 6: Pour 1 bag of croutons all over, and be sure to take a spatula or something to push the croutons down into the sauce.
Step 7: Pour the rest of the cheese on top of all that ( I found that I used a little bit more than the recipe called for, which is fine! More cheese=more fun!)
Step 8: Put your casserole in the oven preheated to 350 degrees, and bake for about 35-45 minutes.
Take it out, let it cool, then eat!
It seriously gave me a mouthgasm, no kidding. I put salad with fresh tomatos and cucumbers from my garden, and italian dressing and some french bread. It was incredible!
I hope you try this out because it is way too delicious. :)
Again, I got this recipe from FoodWishes.com! Head on over there for some more incredible dishes!
Chicken Parmesan Day!
Happy Hump day!
So I had this grand idea that I would get up at 7am this morning and go on a nice little run around Buchanan Loop. Did that happen? Nope. I ended up waking up around 11:30, watching a little bit of The Office and then suddenly got inspired to cook something today for my folks!
I LOVE italian food. You just can't go wrong with it. My favorite italian dish is chicken parmesan, but since my dad doesn't particularly like noodles, I decided to try out a very enticing dish that I saw on the FoodWishes blog called chicken parmesan casserole. It looked absolutely delicious..well..at least the one that chef John made looked delicious, but we'll see what mine ends up looking like, or more importantly, tasting like. There were actually quite a bit of ingredients involved, and it can get pretty expensive so I've decided to just do a recipe about once a week. So happy chicken parm day!
I'm gonna fix a salad (Olive Garden style) and toasted french bread alongside it, and then I found a recipe, also on FoodWishes.com, for Chocolate Mug Cakes! They look really interesting and, believe it or not, only take 45 seconds to cook...in the MICROWAVE. Sounds like my kind of cake. Anyway, I just got back from getting all the ingredients at Wal-Mart, and just so you know, I HATE Wal-Mart. I always lose my faith in humanity whenever I go in there. Either that, or spend way too much money on stuff I don't need. Wal-Mart does have good prices when it comes to groceries though, so I gotta give it that.
I'll post another blog later on tonight and tell you how it went! Wish me luck!
So I had this grand idea that I would get up at 7am this morning and go on a nice little run around Buchanan Loop. Did that happen? Nope. I ended up waking up around 11:30, watching a little bit of The Office and then suddenly got inspired to cook something today for my folks!
I LOVE italian food. You just can't go wrong with it. My favorite italian dish is chicken parmesan, but since my dad doesn't particularly like noodles, I decided to try out a very enticing dish that I saw on the FoodWishes blog called chicken parmesan casserole. It looked absolutely delicious..well..at least the one that chef John made looked delicious, but we'll see what mine ends up looking like, or more importantly, tasting like. There were actually quite a bit of ingredients involved, and it can get pretty expensive so I've decided to just do a recipe about once a week. So happy chicken parm day!
I'm gonna fix a salad (Olive Garden style) and toasted french bread alongside it, and then I found a recipe, also on FoodWishes.com, for Chocolate Mug Cakes! They look really interesting and, believe it or not, only take 45 seconds to cook...in the MICROWAVE. Sounds like my kind of cake. Anyway, I just got back from getting all the ingredients at Wal-Mart, and just so you know, I HATE Wal-Mart. I always lose my faith in humanity whenever I go in there. Either that, or spend way too much money on stuff I don't need. Wal-Mart does have good prices when it comes to groceries though, so I gotta give it that.
I'll post another blog later on tonight and tell you how it went! Wish me luck!
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
And So It Begins...
Hello!
Welcome to my first blog post! I guess I'll start this journey off by introducing myself. My name is Sheridan Wilson, soon to be Penland. I'm from a tiny little barely seeable town called Sylva. This tiny little town happens to be located in one of the most beautiful states ever, North Carolina. I've been all over the U.S. and still, NC is where I prefer to be. Perhaps a larger town, though. I'm more of a city gal, I feel. ANYWAY, My fiance, Dillon, is currently enlisted in the United States Air Force. He's located in a slightly larger town called Biloxi. That makes us a grand total of 9 hours apart. Which isn't too bad. Like most military relationships, I spend a lot of time away from my significant other, which gives me a LOT of free time since I have no friends in my hometown. AKA: I'm a loner and refuse to go out anywhere. I do enjoy my alone time. My hobbies mostly consist of browsing the web, making blogs that I most likely will not finish (except for this one because I'm determined), playing tennis (the only sport I've ever been decent at), drawing/painting (which I don't do nearly enough), playing video games (which I do way too much), and eating. A lot.
I'm not too good at introductions so I'm just gonna come on down here and ignore the fact that that one sucked. The point of this blog is to basically document my every day life and share my cooking experiences with you. Not sure exactly who "you" is yet, but hopefully someone will decide that I'm interesting. Now, I've never been a cook. In fact, I'm the only person I know that can actually screw up a Hot Pocket. I fixed Dillon and I a Hot Pocket dinner one night and if that's not bad enough, I actually screwed them up and poor Dillon had to eat a Philly Cheese Steak hot pocket that was pretty much frozen in the center. Like...h-how? How does that happen? It's a MICROWAVE MEAL. And that's only one example out of my book of cooking failures. Anyway, needless to say I'm pretty terrible in the kitchen. So, I hope you enjoy following me as I attempt to create some sort of edible food-like thing most every day. I'll also probably blog a bit about my normal life outside of my failed attempts to cook. So, tune in! Or...read in...or whatever.
Byyye!
P.S- Dillon's nickname for me is Sheri Pie, hence the title of the blog. ;D
Welcome to my first blog post! I guess I'll start this journey off by introducing myself. My name is Sheridan Wilson, soon to be Penland. I'm from a tiny little barely seeable town called Sylva. This tiny little town happens to be located in one of the most beautiful states ever, North Carolina. I've been all over the U.S. and still, NC is where I prefer to be. Perhaps a larger town, though. I'm more of a city gal, I feel. ANYWAY, My fiance, Dillon, is currently enlisted in the United States Air Force. He's located in a slightly larger town called Biloxi. That makes us a grand total of 9 hours apart. Which isn't too bad. Like most military relationships, I spend a lot of time away from my significant other, which gives me a LOT of free time since I have no friends in my hometown. AKA: I'm a loner and refuse to go out anywhere. I do enjoy my alone time. My hobbies mostly consist of browsing the web, making blogs that I most likely will not finish (except for this one because I'm determined), playing tennis (the only sport I've ever been decent at), drawing/painting (which I don't do nearly enough), playing video games (which I do way too much), and eating. A lot.
I'm not too good at introductions so I'm just gonna come on down here and ignore the fact that that one sucked. The point of this blog is to basically document my every day life and share my cooking experiences with you. Not sure exactly who "you" is yet, but hopefully someone will decide that I'm interesting. Now, I've never been a cook. In fact, I'm the only person I know that can actually screw up a Hot Pocket. I fixed Dillon and I a Hot Pocket dinner one night and if that's not bad enough, I actually screwed them up and poor Dillon had to eat a Philly Cheese Steak hot pocket that was pretty much frozen in the center. Like...h-how? How does that happen? It's a MICROWAVE MEAL. And that's only one example out of my book of cooking failures. Anyway, needless to say I'm pretty terrible in the kitchen. So, I hope you enjoy following me as I attempt to create some sort of edible food-like thing most every day. I'll also probably blog a bit about my normal life outside of my failed attempts to cook. So, tune in! Or...read in...or whatever.
Byyye!
P.S- Dillon's nickname for me is Sheri Pie, hence the title of the blog. ;D
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