random friday thought

I've had allot on my plate this week and as a result...allot on my mind. So here's a random blog that's basically a thought turned into a awkwardly long paragraph.

I apologize in advance if it doesn't really make any sense:)

I wonder sometimes why my friends can't see what I see. Why they don't think they deserve the absolute best...from life, love, just everything. I hate that they settle. I HATE it. Sometimes I just want to leave where I am and go to them...maybe shake some sense into them. I guess I have this deep need to try and help people. But what if they don't want my help? What if they are exactly where they want to be? It doesn't matter how much you tell them what they are capable of, how beautiful they are, how much more they deserve out of life...they have to make their own decisions. I know this. But it doesn't make me any less crazy. My heart just aches for people that I care about. I don't always think I say the right thing either so it just makes me feel worse. Sometimes I feel SOOOO much that I end up being terrible at expressing it out loud. For someone that "feels" so much I end up coming off as pretty cut and dry. Oh well. I just  pray that some of the things I say help in some way. I just can't help but be honest about what I think. Although I am quick to admit that I can be wrong. It still doesn't change the fact that I say it out loud most times:) I know it will all work out though, it always does. Even though sometimes what I say drives my friends crazy....they know how I am and for some strange reason still call me when they need me.Maybe what we need hear isn't what we always want to hear... I guess that's what friendship has to be, or else we're all just pretending to be something that we're not.

I'd rather be who I really am and annoy the people I love then try to please everyone and lose who I am.

Hello fall...

I just left A's family Thanksgiving dinner and we are on our way home to see my family.. I can't believe another holiday has come and gone. I find myself wondering where the year has went to. It's the season for being thankful so I am thinking about ALL the things from this year that I have to be thankful for. So much has happened in the past few months. God has been so faithful to me but then again there has never been a time in my life where He wasnt't...so why do I say that like it's a surprise? Everything that comes to mind that I am thankful for all leads back to Him. My family, the family that has taken me under their wing here in Austin, my awesome friends, EVERYTHING is from Him that's where my focus should be. The only reson I am able to live the way I do is because of His grace and faithfullness. If i I don't understand that...then I'm not able to be thankful the way I should be. Although everything this year has't been perfect...all of it has taught me where my strenghth lies and Who is in control. So for that...I am SO THANKFUL. Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello fall, i'm so glad you're finally here...

pumpkin cake I baked for thanksgiving

Lilo loves going for walks in the cool weather....

My first week as a new (puppy) mom

The first time I remember seeing a french bulldog was in a commercial for a vacuum cleaner on TV when I was in highschool. I knew right away that I wanted to own one sometime down the road. A has been listening to me talk about wanting one the entire time we've been together, so in the spirit of shutting me up...he took me to get my very own 8 week old puppy on Sunday. She was a very generous gift from him and my family and friends for my birthday. 

Lilo

French bulldogs are a great breed for people that live in apartments and want a dog that will be content living inside for the most part. They are known for their fun personalities and affectionate behavior. They do have their quirks but from what I have read I think that she will be a great fit for me.

I grew up having pets but I've haven't owned one since moving out of the house when I was 18. 6 years later I feel like I'm ready for the responsibility of having a pet in my life.

Honestly, I'm not sure how people have real live children. All I have done since I've brought her home is worry about what she could choke on while I'm at work. It's lame. I know. I'm told by my (much more intelligent) boyfriend that she is just a dog and I should stop treating her like a person. 

Yeah.I'm sure that will happen.

So this week has been our first week together and I feel like we have already accomplished allot. Lilo spent her first night in her kennel on the floor last night, after a few nights of sleeping with me in the bed. She's learning that crying (although it breaks my heart at times) isn't going to get her out so I think she has accepted sleeping there and will make the best of it. It will be a much more comfortable place for her in the long run.

Our morning routine consists of her barking at me while I'm trying to take a shower and then sitting on my feet while I get ready. She only barks as a way of communication, in kind of a "Pay attention to me now!!" way.

Our next challenges will include potty training but I plan on taking that one in strides. For now, I'm letting her get used to her new home and family. So far we are having a blast with her. 

Her right ear also stood up all the way this week (you can see in the above photo that it was almost there). 

They grow up so fast...

  

Cheesy Jalepeno bread makes me happy

Today we had a fundraiser at work that was a tailgating theme. I needed something easy that would also be very tasty and perfect to bring to such an event.

How about some cheesy jalapeño bread? Yes. Please.

Anything with melted cheese on it has my vote, the added green onions and jalapeños just made it that much more desirable...

I needed plenty to feed a large amount of people so I started with this recipe for cheesy bread..doubled it, and took the liberty of adding jalapeños...yum.

Here's my version of the recipe 


Ingredients

1 lb shredded mozzarella cheese
2 lb shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 bunch green onions
1 medium can pickled jalapeños
1 cup mayonnaise
4 tablespoons sour cream
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 sticks butter (softened to the point of being slightly melted)
3 loaves French bread

First, mix cheese, chopped green onions, and chopped jalapeños in a large bowl, then stir in the mayo and sour cream

Next, blend the butter and garlic until smooth (I also added a little of the juice from the jalapeños can to this for a little more spice)

Then, add the butter to the cheese mixture

Preheat broiler. Slice bread in half horizontally, lay crust side down

Spread cheese mixture (generously) onto the bread and pop into the oven, I barely walked away because it was before 3 minutes that they were good and melted

mmmmmmm.....:)

and....voila!

Delicious bread for the eating!

It was a success, 6 slices of goodness for my tailgating event and all in a very short amount of time. It was definitely a hit at work.

I will keep this in mind next time we have a party for the UT game...

Take 2: Grandmother L's Caramel cake

So last year for A's birthday I attempted to make the cake his grandmother used to always make him for his birthday. Of course I know that I'll never be able to make it just like hers and I'm OK with that.

However, being the adventurous person that I am, I thought I would try it. Last years version didn't quite seem caramely enough but if at first you don't succeed.....

So here we are in 2009. With a new candy thermometer in hand I set out to try and get it right this time...well "more right" than last time:)

So, first thing first I baked the cakes. It's a simple (yet very tasty) recipe

2 C. flour
2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 C. sugar

1/2 C. butter

1 C. milk

2 eggs (room temperature)

1 tsp. vanilla

First, I mixed together the dry ingredients and added the butter and 2/3 of the milk, then beat with a mixer for 2 minutes. Next, I added the remaining ingredients and beat for an additional 2 minutes.

Finally, I divided the batter up between two round cake pans (greased and floured) and baked them at 350 for 30 minutes. The cakes came out perfect.

Now to the REAL challenge....the icing.

My first experience with trying to make candy happened when I was twelve with my best friend LS. Let's just say when we dumped it outside the dogs wouldn't even touch it. These were country dogs...they ate EVERYTHING.

However, I'm not afraid to take a few more goes at something until I get better at it.

The more difficult thing of this recipe is the necessity to stir it the entire time, this can prove to make your arm sore but after a while of doing it, it seems to adjust OK.

Carmel Frosting

1 C. butter

3 C. sugar

1 C. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

So first thing

Combine butter and sugar in large saucepan. Cook stirring constantly...

The butter and sugar begins to melt and become thick.

Continue to cook it this way until it turns a light brown. I am pretty sure that my mistake last year was not having the heat high enough...

It actually starts to look like it's clumping up, which always makes me nervous, but once the heat gets going it begins to melt and eventually begins to caramelize

At this point I remove it from the heat and SLOWLY add the milk which needs to first be heated up in the microwave

Then I return it to the heat and carefully bring it to a boil

 

Once it hits 238 degrees (softball stage) I remove it from the heat and add vanilla

So at this point it actually looks like some sort of caramel substance, which is a pretty big improvement from last year. But, the directions state to let it cool to 110 then beat it with a wooden spoon until it loses it's gloss.

Candy is so sensitive I swear. Once it was cooled (keep in mind I'm still stirring at this point) It gets too difficult to stir and really isn't "beatable" so my improv skills kicked in and put it back on the heat to soften it up...stirred it with my wooden spoon as best as I could until it was cooled down a little...then I made the rash decision to dump it on the cake. Hey, it was after midnight at this point...I'd reached that place between tired and delirious:)

So here's the finished product

I have absolutely no idea how it will taste but I did try some of the caramel out of the bowl and it was pretty good. I'm thinking birthday cake may be a little chewy this year....

Can't knock me for trying though...right?

So I'll save this little recipe to try again next year. I'm hoping to get a little better at it the more times I try to make it:)

Happy Birthday to A!

I may or may not have some commitment issues...

I have to confess that I have serious commitment issues. I start something up and i'm very excited about it for a few weeks but then I get bored and stop pursuing it. 

I'm not talking about my relationships with men. I'm talking about the ones I have had with various fitness regimens over the years.  

I've tried many different things when it comes to achieving a good personal exercising habit. I've had gym memberships, which I always end up cancelling. Once was because I got cable and was planning on using the fitness channel...that lasted about a day.  I've also tried make use of my apartment gyms but I usually end up quitting before I get any real work done. The weights I purchased for home a few years back have ended up being one more thing for me to stub my toes on. Needless to say. It's been a tough battle against myself.

hey.don't judge me for being honest. 

These are just a few of things I've tried to do in order to stay in shape but for some reason...I haven't really been able to get any of them to stick. With the crazy schedule I have had lately and everything in between, it's funny how fitness gets pushed to the bottom of my priorities list.

You would think that if something makes you feel better and look better that it would be higher up on the totem pole, right?

So. DETERMINED to break the cycle, I have taken up running and have been going bright and early 3-4 times a week with my good friend KM. AND I have been doing so for the past 2 months. I know I think I've set some sort of personal record here. 


I have discovered that as hard as it is for me to get up in early in the mornings, I seem to have the most energy to exercise before the day takes it's toll on me.

...you know. once I can get my eyes to stay open. 

So most weekday mornings at 5:15am,  KM calls me to make sure I get out of bed for our run (yes I am spoiled). First rule for me and working out...have a BUDDY! I hate to admit it but if there isn't anyone waiting on me, 8 times out of 10...i'm going back to sleep. Thankfully I know KM is going to meet me at the track and I hate to let people down. Finally figuring this out has been one of the main keys to being able to get back on track. 

When we first started out it had been a long time for both of us, so we did 4 minutes walking 2 minutes running. Sounds pretty easy doesn't it? Well to a couple of girls that haven't been working out for a while it was kind of tough. I'm not gonna lie. But we managed somehow and have been able to walk for 2.5 and run for 5 (hills before mountains people). 

KM found a couple of great articles that helped us decide to start running, one from Woman's Health Magazine  and another from runnersworld.com. They are both really good and have some great tips for first time runners. The ten week schedule is good but we're aren't technically "where we're supposed to be". So if you decide to try it for yourself don't be discouraged if you're not meeting the timeline. The first few weeks were hard (and we still have difficult days from time to time) but we have persevered and it's now become a normal part of my routine.It really makes my whole day better.  

Recently we've started running every other day rather than trying to go every morning. The main reason being, we were having trouble with our legs getting too sore and not being able to finish out the week. Most things I have read say it's good to give your legs a break and not run every day. In order to avoid disrupting our new morning schedule we've been going to the gym on the off days and working on the machines. Its productive because we're able to work on the rest of our body and build up muscle on our legs to increase that running power;) I have definitely noticed some differences in the way I look but mostly in how I feel. 

Well this has been one routine that I've actually been able to keep up. With a good friend and plenty of information on the internet....I seem to able to tackle even the most difficult every day challenges:)

Who knew? 

The first of many

So. It's after midnight. I'm (still) sitting on the couch watching junk tv (it happens to be a re -run of The Guardian on the sleuth channel). Yes. Welcome to my Friday night. Please don't feel sorry for me though, with the crazy week I have had, a night on the couch was just fine with me. In the hopes of completing something semi-productive this evening I thought I would get started with my very first post for this year on my new blog. 

I really should be working on homework but honestly...I'm just not in the mood. I'm not your typical student. School isn't an "experience" for me, honestly it's just another job:) It's sad but true. Don't get me wrong I'm all about getting an education but it's nothing that I look forward to and can't WAIT until I get done. Please don't bother asking me how much longer I have because first, I still to this day don't know and secondly, from what I do know I'm embarrassed to say how long I think it will take...In spite of my pessimistic views I press on and I know I will reach my destination..eventually;) 


I'm excited to have the new blog set up and ready to go. Especially since I have to do EVERYTHING the hard way and it seemed to take me forever to get it worked out. The fact that I had it nearly done and then accidentally deleted the entire HTML code probably played a part in that...but oh well. Like I said I wasn't doing anything else anyway so I guess it was OK that I repeatedly frustrated myself pressing the wrong buttons because I was too interested with the fact that Nicholas's baby's momma was giving birth to their child with down syndrome the same day he is also getting fired from partner at his father's law firm...junk tv...see what it does to your priorities?


So plans for the weekend include watching the UT game and enjoying the fact that everyone and their MOM is out of town...sweet! no traffic and the weather is supposed to be fantastic. 


So that's all I can scrape together to write this late at night. I plan on watching this episode then heading to bed...I'd turn it off now but Lulu's grandma has just been physically abused in the nursing home and I am going to have to finish this one out. 


What WOULD I do without DVR? 


Probably homework. hah. oh well. So glad it's the weekend.