Busy as a Bee!

I'm so sorry that it's been a while since I last posted!  I've been busy with a trip to San Antonio, a wedding shower, a new skirt, a really long work week, and tutoring a friend.

I know this is a little late but I'd yet to share it... 2 weekends ago I went home to San Antonio for a really great friend's bridal shower.  Before I went to the bridal shower, I got to go to the sweetest little bakery in Alamo Heights.  The bakery is Called Alamo Sweets (Click here) and PLEASE be sure to check out their blog!  The bakery's owner, Linda, is one of the nicest ladies I've ever meant and my great friend Amy is interning for her this summer.  I was tempted to drop out of college for a minute to intern there myself!! They make such beautiful and TASTY desserts!!  If you're ever in the area, stop by!

I made a fabulous new wrap skirt (pictures to be added later) out of adorable Amy Butler fabric from an adorable little quilt shop in Dripping Springs!

I'm tutoring a friend from work in an online math class and let me just tell you, Calculous is HARD!  I still have all my notes so that's really helpful but it's really just been great to have someone to hang out with at my apartment.  With my sister being gone for the summer, I don't get many nights where I get to hang out with someone and have girl talk at the apartment.

Finally, I am OBSESSED with a new (to me) tv show.  In the late 90s early 2000s there was a tv show called Roswell, it's honestly a ridiculous concept, Aliens living amongst us who look and act just as teen agers do.  It was coming off the cusp of Dawson's Creek so it has plenty of the teen love drama.  If you ever watched Buffy, a lot of the same actors are in Roswell.  The show went on for three seasons and I'm currently still in Season one.  I can't find enough time to watch this show!  And luckily for me I can watch it on netflix!!

Well I think thats enough for one post! Sorry to ramble on!  On the plus side, I believe we're all caught up now!

The Big C

I recently got The Big C from netflix in the mail!  I am LOVING it.  I'm disappointed that I only got to watch the first 5 episodes, but I definitely have enjoyed it so far.  I've enjoyed it so much, that I have taken inspiration from it.  In case you haven't seen the show, it's on Showtime, Laura Linney's character Kathy has cancer: stage 4 melanoma.  She won't tell her husband, brother, son, etc because she doesn't want to be cared for.  She likes to be the one doing the taking care not being taken care of.  I can completely identify with that!  I was born to be a hostess/mother.  I'm nurturing to the point of self neglect and I HATE it when people take care of me.  Well ANYWAY, because of her diagnosis, she wants to start living her life.  She cashed in her rainy day fund did all sorts of lovely things!  Now, I don't have a rainy day fund to cash in on and I definitely am healthy (Thank God) but I have many ways to spice up my life!
I'm always one to stay in at night and curl up with a good book or with a good movie and go to bed early.  Everyday this week (so far), I've done something social!  Monday, I watched the good ol' Fightin Texas Aggie baseball team kick Florida States's ass at the baseball super regionals with some coworkers!  Off to the College World Series in Omaha!!! :) Tuesday I had dinner with my coworkers again which was great because we went to Texas Roadhouse.  And today, I cooked dinner and dessert for my good friend Ashley and also helped her with some math homework for her summer class!!
All in all, I've had a great week so far!! How has your week been???

You Have the Winning Dish...

This morning I woke up and went to work.  It was a real easy day as far as work goes, no running any errands in the company car.... but quiet nonetheless!  I came back to the apartment to have a little lunch and then finish up a quilt I'm working on!  I ended up with my left overs from Ghengis Grill and then taking a nap.  For about 2 hours.... So when I woke up, I popped in a DVD and started sewing!  I got the quilt top finished (pictures to come when it's completed) and then realized that as it's 8:30, I should probably eat.  I do this a lot.  The whole forgetting to eat thing happens quite frequently to me so I decided to use some of the stuff  Igot when I went to the grocery store over the weekend.  

I'm all about delicious food, but I'm also all about easy and quick.  I mean, it's 8:30pm. So I needed to eat soon so I can go to bed at a decent hour since I have to wake up early tomorrow!  So I put a pot of pasta on to boil and started slicing up some mushrooms.  I use an egg slicer to slice mushrooms and strawberries because it's just so much easier - and quicker - than using a knife.  

With all the prep work done, I put a sautee pan on the stove with enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan.  Put pasta (I used ravioli, but tortalini or spaghetti or whatever pasta you want) When the oil gets hot, sautee the mushrooms up until they just change color.  Then open a can of pasta sauce and put in enough sauce for your pasta into the pan with the mushrooms.  Heat till its hot all through.  Then drain your pasta and put the pasta in the sauce pan or plate the pasta and then top with sauce!  You could also add turkey meatballs to make it more hearty!!  

Sauteed mushrooms and
Hunts Four Cheese Sauce (I added some fresh Mozzarella and some parmesan to make it cheesier!)

Mini raviolis that I used as my pasta

Finished dish!  (I really like mushrooms so that's why there is a TON of sauce!)

If you try this dish, let me know!! If I had had parsley I would have topped it with parsley but I didn't and it was still DELICIOUS!! :)

Old Friends :)

I'm the queen of getting too consumed with school and work to keep up with some of my friends.  So this semester, I decided to make a better effort to make more time for my friends and communicate better.  One way that I've chosen to do this is by writing letters.  I think it's almost a lost art form.  I think that it's important to keep friends close because as they say, "Friends are the family you choose."

I've also been skyping a lot lately :)  Skype is a lovely invention and it's really allowed me to see my good family friends in Ohio.  This week I skyped with them and talked to Lauren (8) and Andrew (12) about their summer plans and the end of school.  Andrew showed me a pillowcase that my mom and I made for him at least 8 years ago if not more.  So I've decided to send them a nice little care package for their summer.  Have any ideas of what to include??

This is what 8+ years of continuous use will do to a pillow case.  

Another thing that I've been trying to do is meet up with friends and spend quality time with them.  Tonight, I got to spend hours with my friend Natalie.  Natalie and I met within my first month of being a freshman when I looked like this:  

Right after I broke my nose: Sept 2009

We are both INSANELY busy during the past 2 semesters so we haven't gotten to keep up as much as we'd like.  But tonight we got to talk and catch up on all the drama and found out yet again that we are almost the exact same person!  Every time we hang out, we remember how alike we are and how much we miss each other.  I think we'll be hanging out a lot this summer :)  And I'm cooking for her this week!! (I'll post pictures or something when I actually get to making dinner!

My other really great friend Barb is planning a pilgrimage to come visit me!  It probably won't happen until she comes back from her study abroad trip to SPAINNNN but I'm excited nonetheless!  I'm going to help teach her to cook and we'll have a GREATT time watching chick flicks and gossiping :)  Maybe even a pillow fight and french braiding each others' hair!!  

How do you keep in touch with your friends?  

FAQ

I bake.
For anything and everything.  I also cook somewhat frequently.  And one thing I am almost ALWAYS asked is this, "Where did you learn to cook/bake?"  Are you ready for this answer?

I don't know.  I honestly don't remember learning how to cook or bake.  When I was little, I remember being very excited to cook family dinner.  I've always loved wearing aprons and strictly remember wearing aprons when fixing dinner for my family.  These dinners were really just Mac 'n' cheese or butter noodles maybe some pasta.  But I would always set the table and light some candles to create a "mood" and then take everybody's order.  Now I use cooking or baking as a way to celebrate/relax/cheer up/etc.  I can be in the worst of moods and whip up a batch of my great grandma's chocolate chip cookies and I'll be instantly happier.  I'm watching Julie Julia and it's exactly as Amy Adams says, it's like I'm under her influence.  I always feel happier, more content when I'm baking.  It's one piece of her that I'll always have.  This cookie recipe is extraordinarily dear to me.  She never really told anyone how she made the best chocolate chip cookies in the world and so when she passed away, we were at a loss.  One summer, I set out to discover her secret.  And ya know what?  I DID! But I'm not telling! :-P
Last night, I got stood up.  That feeling kind of sucks... a lot.  And I didn't have anything to clean obsessively because my apartment is rather extremely clean!  So I baked cookies and the whole time I was working on the dough, I just got to feeling a little bit better.  Knowing that combining the same ingredients will always create the same outcome: a mixture of a dense cookie with chocolate chips.
Some people run when they need to clear their minds and some people blast music or take a bubble bath.  Me? I spend some quality time with my Kitchen Aid and my apron.  It calms me, it's my zen!

A Big THANKS!

Today is Memorial Day; a day where we reflect and thank the service men and women who fight for our freedoms.  When I was younger, I didn't really understand the importance of Memorial Day.  Sure, we learned about it in school, we did a coloring activity/read a short story/etc.  But now that I'm older, I see how greatly these people and their families sacrifice to fight for my freedom.  My good friend Kathleen's whole family is in the military and they've had to sacrifice birthdays, Christmases, anniversaries, etc in order to keep our country safe.  One of my dearest friends, Kristen, well her fiance is in the military and is getting ready to be deployed for the second time since I've known them.  He's missed her birthday, Valentine's Day, Christmas and all those important times to build a relationship and some how despite all of that, they have one of the BEST relationships that I've ever seen.  Being involved in Special Education, I hear "Bless your heart, that takes a selfless person" and where that is true, it's not near the kind of selfless person it takes to serve our country.  Thank you to all those in the military who fight to keep me and my loved ones safe.  

Just when you thought Jersey Shore couldn't be topped...

Normally when you hear of a popular television show from Britain to the United States you think of a good comedy with dry humor.  Your first thought, or mine at least, isn't a wedding show about Gypsies or as they like to be called Travelers.  So I flip to TLC and this is exactly what's on "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding."  The best way I can think to describe it is a mix between, Toddlers in Tiaras, My Super Sweet 16, Say Yes to the Dress, and throw a little bit of Jerseylicious in there too.  First of all, I must give credit where credit is due: the show is actually marginally informative about the Gypsy culture.  Like, did you know that Gypsies prefer trailers (mobile homes) sans commode to track houses?  And that being devout catholics, their children at about 8 years old take first communion in dresses that must cost more than I've spent on clothes...ever. And also, they get married young. VERY YOUNG.  I'm talking one girl was 16 and this other girl is 17.  I just learned that women Travelers "would die before swearin in front of a man."  Needless to say, I wouldn't fit in.  The rest of the show is rather trashy.  The one wedding reception that I've seen so far was pretty classless and I'm honestly just shocked that some people wear clothes like that.  A tradition that girls have to worry about at weddings is called "grabbing." My understanding of this tradition is that a guy Traveler "grabs" you and tries to kiss you.  The one girl I saw getting "grabbed" was reminiscent of the opening scenes of Law & Order SVU.  What's worse is her friend walked by the scene and didn't try and help.

I am intrigued to say the least and will probably tune in again...