Candy

I have a Chinese language class from 8-9:50 every morning. I eat breakfast every day at seven and then at seven thirty walk down to school. Today I was falling asleep ever so badly. I was trying so hard to concentrate but I just kept zoning out. I've been staying up late the past few days. It's just been a crazy week. At nine o'clock, my teacher pulled out a byu bookstore bag that was full of full-size candy bars for us. She said it was to keep us awake. So I ate a whole bag of peanut m&m's during class today, and guess what? It did the trick. I paid attention the rest of class... but now I feel a little sick to my stomach. I definitely don't usually eat that much candy in one sitting...

For the record...

Straight A's! WOOT! And it's the weekend and I'm stoked. No work tomorrow! My first Saturday in months! :-)

Wow!

Sometimes life just gets a hold of you and time flies by! Well, it's been almost 2 weeks since I've blogged! I finished my finals! I've got two A's and I'm still waiting on Chinese... it's a borderline A/A- so I just don't know! I worked 40 hours last week and somehow am doing that again this week... It's going to stop though. 30 hours next week is PLENTY for my sanity (or lack thereof!).

Friday, Clayton and I had planned a date. Sound kind of funny, I know, but we were going to have a picnic in our bedroom and watch Chuck. (By the way, I am not entirely caught up and we can move on to catching me up in psych. These marathons take a long time because I rarely have more than an hour...)We made turkey burgers with homemade buns (SOOO good!) and corn on the cob, chips and dip, veggies and dip, YUM! We probably had ice cream afterwards knowing us, but who knows? I don't remember. It was really fun. And it was nice after a whole week of closing Taco Bell every night and getting home at 10. Friday I got home at 8:30! Woot!

Also, Clayton and I have been walking everywhere lately! And I totally love it. Except for those last five minutes up the hill to our house where it gets super steep...it's really fun. We get to talk together without music blaring in the car (not that music is bad, it just jumbles my thoughts and distracts me). We get to enjoy the rather chilly weather Utah has at 7:30 in the morning on the way down to school and wish we were in Tennessee where it's warm. It's fun. And I feel good about being free from the car. Not HAVING to use it. I know it's totally not possible for many people to go without a car, but my dream is to one day live close enough to places to walk, yet have a big yard to play in and a park nearby... One day! Anyways, I'm heading to work for the next five hours and then more homework and class! YAY!

Oh two more things. This semester I am taking Chinese (big surprise there) and a religion class called LDS marriage and family. I like them both a lot so far and I hope they stay fun. Seven weeks is a perfect length for a class. It doesn't drag on and on forever like in winter. And the other thing is tomorrow is Clayton's birthday. And he's begging me to let him open his present at midnight. I don't want to be up at that hour, personally. What do you think? Should I let him? Or make him wait until eight thirty at night when I get home from work tomorrow? :-)

Taco Bell

Today I watched a man eat 15 soft tacos. In one sitting. It was disgusting. FIFTEEN! Who does that?

Sorry...

Guys, I apologize, but I just have nothing to say. Kind of a down week, you know? Nothing wrong. Just tired. I have lots of homework and working to do. :-) But I'm alive and well and will write an incredibly engaging blog post about my ridiculously interesting life another day.

Oh, random tidbit. Yesterday we had a family of 3 come to Taco Bell (a mom and her two teenage children) and they spent $22 on Taco Bell food! Twenty-Two dollars! I packed two trays full of food. Is that just me, or is that beyond disgusting? BLECH!

Granola Bars

Guess what? I saw a recipe for homemade granola bars in a cookbook a friend gave me so I decided to try them since I've quit buying them. I'm trying to no longer buy anything that comes in a single serving package since it's basically a huge waste of packaging. I've had to change my yogurt habits, but I've found one that comes in a 32 oz. tub that I really like called Stoneyfield organic yogurt. It's yummy. Anyway, long story short, I made them, they're really good and here's a picture and the recipe.



3 cups of oatmeal (I used half steel cut 1/2 rolled for a texture variety)
3 cups of anything else (raisins, chocolate chips, nuts, fruit, coconut, dry cereal)
* I put craisins and coconut in my half and chocolate chips in Clayton's. We both got bran flakes and life cereal
1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk
2 Tbsp. melted butter

Mix everything together in a bowl and press into a 13x9 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Then let cool for at least an hour. Cut into pieces and serve. You can also use a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan if you like thinner, crispier bars. Finally, I highly recommend using parchment paper underneath to get them out easier. I didn't have any so I just greased to pan well and they came out okay...

Also, I believe I added more than 3 cups of the extra stuff and my half of the bars are pretty soft and break easily. Clayton's are a little thinner and stick together really well, so I think you should be careful to keep it to 3 cups total so that the milk can stick everything together.

Anyways, they are good and it was exciting to make. I'll make them again sometime! I'm headed to work now. I'll be off at 9:30 tonight!

Erika

Squash Casserole

Well, I promised I'd post it, so here it is! It was really good, but I can't promise these are correct amounts for the ingredients. If it looks like it needs a little more or a little less, than do so! :-)

Squash Casserole
3 medium yellow squash, washed and diced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2-3/4 c. of cheese (I did about 1/3 c. of shredded pepperjack and a thick slice of provolone cut in pieces, but just about any cheese would be good).
1 large handful of crackers (I used sundried tomato triscuits, but ritz or saltines would work too).
In a large saucepan, boil the squash for 10 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, in a skillet, sautée the pepper and onion in olive oil until tender. Drain the squash and return to saucepan. Add butter and milk and mash with a potato masher over low heat. Once it is about the consistency of chunky mashed potatoes, remove from heat and add the pepper, onion, sour cream and cheese. Add as much cheese as you prefer. Pour into greased casserole dish or 8x8 pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Turn oven to Broil and broil until the top is brown (3-5 minutes).

Crazy busy!

Wow. This week is flying by. And I'm flying by the seat of my pants right now! YAY! :-) Oh well... I'm surviving. I'm trying to pick up a bunch of extra hours at work right now, so I'm extra busy, but I've been doing great on my exercising and that keeps me happy. Clayton did a 10 mile hike last night, but I assume he'll cover that. And I have a mass Chinese test on Monday! I'm working 19 hours in the next two days, so it's time to go study now! Love you all!

Places I've visited

I know we've all seen these maps before, but I think it's kind of cool...I did not include just stopping over in the airports on mine, because that is not seeing a place. I do include driving through, though, because you can see a place that way. Anyways, I've been in the airports of California, Arizona, and Nevada, for what it's worth. I just think it's funny how I've been all over the east except for the far north, and then it's like I avoid the west like the plague or something... :-)


visited 28 states (56%)
Create your own visited map of The United States