Wednesday, February 17

catching up.

lots of things have happened since the last time i got around to writing a new post. lots of things indeed. where do i begin.


last week i made some sweet open face sandwiches. they were amazing, and totally quick and easy. as a whole, the meal was great. and we all definitely ate way too much. they are very simple, very cheap, but also very delicious.



  • 2 green apples
  • several slices of  bacon (i used turkey bacon)
  • bread of your choice (i used whole wheat french bread)
  • cheese of your choice (i used cheddar slices)
set oven to 300ish, cook bacon in skillet until desired crispiness, while your cooking your bacon,  put thinly sliced bread on baking sheet (with a bit of olive oil spritzed on each side), lightly toast. take out of oven, and add the bacon and cheese. set oven to broil (be sure to do this, maybe even let your oven sit for a minute or two to cool down), put back in the oven until the cheese has melted. take out, slice apples thinly, and put 'em on top! super easy!

and since i'm a fan of the spicier things in life, i used some great brazilian "salsa"--which is moreso the consistency of hot sauce--to go on top of them.

which my apple sammies, i had some whole wheat pasta and asparagus. which is also very easy and cheap.
  • pasta of your choice (i used angel hair, whole wheat)
  • bag of frozen asparagus
cook your pasta. while it's cooking, put your asparagus in a skillet with a bit of olive oil and steak seasoning. cook until done. once your pasta and asparagus are both done cooking and seasoned to your liking, mix together.

moving on, last week i went with some friends to see girls at bottletree, or should i say, i rode with some friends while they went to see girls. 5 people crammed in a tiny stick shift car, driving in the rain in crazy birmingham traffic. and of course, i forget to bring my tom tom. and OF COURSE we get lost in downtown birmingham. long story short, we pull into the parking lot as bottletree tweets: "GIRLS SHOW JUST SOLD OUT!!!" so the 3 of us stuck (luckily two of us knew how to drive a stick) in the car ended up driving around downtown birmingham in search of a starbucks only to find the only one in downtown birmingham and OF COURSE IT WAS CLOSED! but i feel it was still an adventure worth having, and i think we definitely learned some valuable lessons from this. 
  1. regardless of what you may think, bottletree does sell out sometimes, so buy your tickets ahead of time.
  2. DO NOT FORGET TOM TOM.
  3. always keep stick shift friendly drivers on hand.
  4. know your starbucks...and their hours.
(and just so you know, anyone who may read this, it has taken me literally weeks to write this blog. i'm sorry for being so lazy)

i finally got a job though. and i'm hoping it works out and that everything i've been trying to plan falls into place. i'm working at umi, a japanese restaurant in starkville, and so far it's been pretty good. and i'll be making good money, fingers crossed. 
also, my friend catherine and i have a rough idea of living together this summer/fall. we want to find a place by summer, but if not, then almost definitely fall. fingers crossed. we are looking for places in starkville, two bedroom close to campus, and decently priced! i think sometime this weekend we are going to go hunting. but i think this could really happen, and we are both excited! (if anyone knows of any, email or facebook me please.)

a completely different subject, i think i'm going to try to put back some money to take gymnastics classes in tuscaloosa this summer. gymnastics was something i was really passionate about when i was younger but when i moved back from tuscaloosa to columbus, i was forced to quit. but lately, as every year, it's UA gymnastics season and i'm thrown back into feelings of nostalgia. and i'm disappointed in myself for never picking back up on it. but now, i know i want to. and it will be alot of money and time and energy but dammit i miss it.

birthday's in a week. i want to go to bonnoroo or pitchfork this year. i want to transfer school. i'm tired of being stuck in this rut. things are going to turn around, i have enough faith to believe that.

--oh and here's a little bit of UA gymnastics for you, enjoy



Wednesday, February 3

i'm in my second semester of honors english comp, and the first day of class she assigned a 6-8 page autobiography. and trust me, i'm not an interesting person, so i knew this would be hard.
long story short; stayed up til 4am the night before it was due, toughed it our, made a 96 with an "i liked your paper very much" written on it.

secondly, i'd like to make a point of stating that i have the best boyfriend in the world as cliche' as it sounds. it's true. he's the absolute sweetest. and he always makes me feel better about things. not to mention, he's super cute.





next, i'd like to say that i'd like to meet this little fellow. doesn't he just look like a pleasant little creature. hmmph.





this week, from here on out, is going to be very busy. wednesday: homework. thursday: birmingham show. friday: dinner with fam, state theatre. saturday: will & blaine out of town, baby shower (NOT mine), hang out with (cath?). sunday: mom's birthday dinner.

way busy, i hope her present comes in in time for her birthday monday.

Friday, January 29

Thursday, January 28

my mom is diabetic, and she can only have so many carbs per meal. she always seems to find good low carb things. which, in the end, are better for us both. she ordered this great granola online. it's super good, and comes in lots of flavors--i want to get blueberry crunch next. it also doubles as a cereal.
hmm.


i'm not good with titles.

after a week of sickness, i finally have started to feel better. i've been lazy in every aspect of life since i started to feel bad; school, friends, boyfriend, family. i've convinced myself that i have some sort of crazy disease. 


but anyways, since i felt better, i decided to cook dinner for mum and boyfriend.




the menu:



  • panko breaded chicken fingers with spicy avocado dip
  • baked sweet potato fries

  • chicken fingers:
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast (cut in thin strips)
1.5 cups panko bread crumbs
oregano, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika (to taste)
  • spicy avocado dip:
2 small ripe avocados, pitted and peeled
3 tablespoons sour cream (3 tbs made it much creamier)
3 tablespoons minced jalepenos (add a little of the juice also)
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
2 teaspoons hot sauce, or more to taste


Preheat the oven to 400F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

Combine the bread crumbs, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, thyme, paprika, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Mix well. Dip the chicken strips in to coat evenly, and tap off the excess. Lay the chicken strips on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer. Spray the tops with cooking spray. Cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 20 minutes.
In a medium bowl, mash the avocado and sour cream together with a fork. Fold in the jalepeƱos, lime juice, cilantro and hot sauce, then season to taste with salt and pepper.


Serve the chicken fingers with the avocado sauce on the side for dipping.

  • sweet potato fries:
2 large sweet potatos (cut into stripes)
spices of your choice (i like savory sweet potatos, so i used some mediterranean seasoning)
olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

preheat oven on 400F.  spray baking sheet with olive oil. spritz olive oil over potatoes. add spices. cook for about twenty minutes. flip about half way through baking.