30 Day Blogging Challenge Wrap Up

I did it!

I blogged every day for 30 days!

I shared some of my favorite recipes and got inspired to make plenty of new ones.

I came up with a great idea for a craft for the Hooks and Needles sale table.

I got to rant about the days that didn't go as I wanted. I learned that some days you don't have new content. Some days, life is just doesn't give you anything blog-worthy.

I'm extremely glad I committed to Anxiety and Coffee for a full month. I learned a lot about photography, a subject that I didn't know I enjoyed. I'm looking forward to getting a better camera and posting better pictures on my new posting schedule.

I am going to try and post once a week from now on. A recipe or craft each time.

But for now, Code Boyfriend and I are moving onto a new 30 day challenge.

This time, in honor of the holiday's, it is an exercise challenge.

Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. Hopefully it will help Code Boyfriend and I from accumulating too much holiday weight.

We did cheat a tiny bit so we didn't have to work out on Christmas. We started our December 30 day challenge before November ended.

We're on day 5 or 6 now.. not sure. But this work out is kicking our butts into shape. I'll keep you posted with how it goes.

Right now, we've only done the first workout of the three in the shred, but it is really well designed.

It works your entire body, but tries very hard to avoid injuries.

Wish me luck!

Code Boyfriend is in the air to Seattle

Code Boyfriend is still in the air to Seattle. I've lost my motivation to type.

Tomorrow is the last day of the 30 day challenge, so I will be doing 2 posts. One last recipe for this challenge, and info on our new challenge.

I'll see you tomorrow.

Bad Day

Wow... I bet you guys are getting sick of my ranting posts. Sorry about that...

But we went out for dinner tonight. Because my day sucked.

Classes went well, but I found out a member of my E-board was not returning for this quarter.

It's the best thing for her, but it puts a little more on my plate than I'm comfortable with.

Then I lost my wallet.

It just fell out of my jacket pocket when I was walking to lunch. I spent 20 minutes retracing my steps from where I knew I had it to where I realized I didn't have it.

No good. I called my bank and spent 10 minutes of my lunch break on the phone with them, cancelling that card and getting them to send me a new one.

Turns out a lovely professor in the College of Science had picked it up and was in his office for me to retrieve my wallet.

Which is wonderful. I realize that I am extremely blessed that someone returned it to me with all of the contents still inside, but the amount of stress it caused me was not instantaneously taken away.

I still have limited access to my funds until I recieve the new card from my bank... not the best situation to be in when I have to order books.

Luckily, I have amazing parents who will let me order books with their credit cards until my mess gets straightened out.

I get through my last lab of the day and come straight home. Worked out. Code Boyfriend and I have started a new 30 day challenge a couple days early in order to avoid having one over Christmas.

But more on that later.

I then got into a fight with a very good friend, and was told I was bad at running my club.

And no matter how bad today was, I will get out of bed and do it again tomorrow.

First Day as a TA

I TA'd my first lab today.

A teaching assistant for Tissue Culture. Not where most Bio related TA's start, but the only subject I've ever liked enough to want to spend more time with.

With a full 4 hour lab behind me, I wanted to share what I learned.

1. They'd rather ask you than the professor.

I was really concerned I was going to seem like I didn't know what I was doing, or no one was going to want to talk to me. Neither happened.

It's hard to ask a professor a little question, that's what you're there for. Be sure to answer the silly little questions when you can.

2. You aren't the professor.

In my case, a new professor was placed in charge of the lecture since I had taken the class the previous year. Along with the regime change came new lab notebook requirements, lab reports, and even some new experiments I've never done.

It's not my job to know exactly how to do each experiment, that's the professor's. It's less important to know all the details. Just listen to what the professor says and try to answer the questions they have about that. And they will have plenty of questions about exactly what the professor said.

3. You remember more than you think you do.

I took Tissue Culture a full year ago, and with the exception of a couple times at work over the summer, haven't touched the subject since. I was shocked at how much came rushing back to me as soon as I stepped into that lab.

I remembered where everything was, how to use the inverted microscope, as well as the little tricks I had picked up in my class.

4. They are that much younger than you.

Most students at my school take Tissue Culture as a sophomore. As a senior, I was afraid I wouldn't have the authority to lead anything, much less a lab setting. As it turns out, those two years make a difference. I stand out, even if it is just because I'm calmer than they are.

I hope these insights into my first day help someone else's TAing experience.

Oven Baked Tacos

No recipe today guys. I'm sorry, I took no pictures of dinner. It didn't look very pretty. Tasted good though.

I do have a story that ends in a tip.

When trying to make tacos, I discovered that we didn't have quite as much ground beef in the freezer as I thought we did.

I had to eat before the Hooks and Needles meeting, so I pressed on.

I bulked out the ground taco meat with an equal amount of cooked rice. This worked so well! It added a lot to the final texture of the tacos, and really extended the ground beef.

Just be sure to season the whole mixture, not just the meat, or you will end up with some pretty bland tacos.

My next tip is to always bake your tacos. No matter when kind of tacos you are having, combine the meat and cheese in the shell, I used both corn and flour tortillas, and put a full pan of them in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Not only does this let everyone sit down to eat at the same time instead of fighting over the taco filling, it completely melts the cheese and adds a nice crunch to the outside of the tortillas.

Give it a try the next time you make tacos... or run out of ground beef.

30 Day Challenge

Hey guys,

I've been having a really had time keeping up a posting schedule this year. I've been totally swamped with school work. In 2 weeks, I'll be done with my last fall quarter of college. That's terrifying. I feel like the time is flying by, and my personality is being a little swallowed up by 15 hours of lab work a week.

 I've been trying to do 30 day challenges. This was sparked by this TED talk. It helps me feel like I have more control over my life, gives me daily goals that make me feel more accomplished, and forces me to have some fun.

http://www.ted.com/talks/matt_cutts_try_something_new_for_30_days.html

The last 30 days, Code Boyfriend and I tried a modified Paleo diet. It went really well, I felt like I had a lot more energy, but it's really hard to keep up while eating on a college campus. We've decided to keep a lot of the Paleo principles, more fruits and veggies, more protein, and less carbs, but I feel like living without bread for too long makes me sad.

MMM... cheeseburgers.

Anyways, for our next 30 day challenge, we wanted to do something that didn't involve restricting the way we eat. It's just too difficult when we spend a ton of time on campus during the last 2 weeks of a quarter.

So, in honor of NaNoWriMo, I'm going to be blogging every day, for the next 30 days. Code Boyfriend, is going to attempt to write an Android app, from scratch.

While these aren't 50,000 word novels, I think they are still fitting goals for the month of November.

 I'll leave you with a picture of my tiger pumpkin that I carved last night.

Go Tigers! I hope everyone had a great Halloween.

Slow Cooker Peanut Butter Granola

Hello world!

 I'm sorry about my absence, but if you just give me a moment to explain, I think you'll understand. I had a massive yarn bombing project that was exhibited on May 5th. That Saturday, my Daddy also graduated with a Masters degree... on the other side of the country. Very bittersweet day for me not being able to be home with my family. My sister graduated from the University of Colorado on May 11th, so I took 3 days to fly to Colorado to see that. But since my school is on the quarter system, I had to go back, finish up a week of school, then finals, then move out of my house. Which I thought I had under control... Why don't you guess how wrong I was.

 We had a crisis in my school family. There is a difficult balance you have to strike in college. You need a support system that is not from your parents, you need to transition into being an adult. Total reliance on my parents is not longer an option. But I still don't feel like I'm fully grown yet. I don't work during the school year, and most of my days are still filled with homework and friends. The Wednesday before finals week, I needed to be an adult.

One of my school family members stopped being able to breathe and spent the night in the Trauma unit of a local hospital. Someone needed to be there until her mom could fly into town. 6 days later she was still in the hospital, now in stable condition. Nothing in life seems important when someone you care for is struggling for every breath. I did what I needed to do, I re-prioritized my life. I had to take a C in a class I should have earned a B in because I was too tired to study. I had to take a B in a class I should have gotten an A in because I still needed to pack.

 I'm figuring out that the reason I can't get straight A's is because life gets in the way. Sometimes, sleep is more important than Organic Chem. In 20 years, it won't matter that I got a C instead of a B in Organic Chem 3, but hopefully it will still matter that I commit to being a good friend. I am the type of person to call at 2 AM. I'm more proud of that than I would be of a 4.0.

 Luckily, this whole mess is over. My friend is out of the hospital and luckily still got to put on her robes, and walk across the stage at graduation. And, after a 3 day drive, I am now home. Here, I don't really need to be the adult in the room. I can take a day off. Sit in the sun and drink my coffee. Pet and dog and watch TV. It's a nice break.

Awe.. Aren't they cute?

Moving on. I find granola to be the perfect summer breakfast. I mean, add some nice cool yogurt, and some berries, what could be better? But, I don't know anyone who makes their own granola who hasn't burnt a batch on the stove or in the oven. I make mine in a slow cooker to take away some of the granola burning risks. I can throw everything into the slow cooker and leave it on all afternoon, stirring when I feel like it, or can smell the granola.

 Peanut Butter Slow Cooker Granola 
makes about 7 cups

• 5 cups of Old Fashioned Oats
• 1 cup of Sweetened Coconut
• 1 cup of Chopped Peanuts
•  1/2 cup of Vegetable Oil
• 1/2 cup of Peanut Butter 

 Place the oats, coconut, and peanuts in the slow cooker.

I like to chop my peanuts so they incorporate into the granola. But to each their own.

Mix oil

 

 and peanut butter in a separate container. I usually microwave these two for about 20 seconds. It will make combining them much easier.

Mix the peanut butter mixture into the oats.

 Now is when I add about 2 tablespoons of honey. Since I just got back to Colorado and my allergies are killing me, I am using raw, local honey. Hopefully this internet lore makes my allergies better. I'm willing to try anything at this point.

I don't measure this. Measuring honey is too much of a pain for me to waste time on. Feel free to eyeball this.

Turn the slow cooker on low, mixing every 30 minutes or so for 5 hours. Leave the lid off to prevent steam from building up. You want the granola crispy, not soggy.

After a couple hours, the granola starts to brown up very nicely. You can turn the cooker up to high, but the granola will need to be stirred more frequently to prevent burning.

When the granola gets all toasty and dry, let it cool in the slow cooker. MMM... granola.

 

Very Pinteresting...

Well, it's been a very busy couple of weeks. I know that's no excuse and that if I want a following for my blog I should update.

I'm sorry. School happens. Life happens. And now I am sick. Which, while stops me from being able to completely focus on my Biochemistry of Plants studying.

In my daily travels, I have found a new addiction. Pinterest.

Pinterest is a wonderful place to find dinner ideas, at least that's mostly what I use it for. I frequent the Food and Drink category, on the look out for tasty things. Do be warned. Everything looks tasty. Pinterest has lead me to some very amazing blogs, which I will now show you.

English Muffin Bread : onegoodthingbyjillee - I have a loaf sitting on my counter as we speak. It will not be there for long.

Chicken Gyros : The Girl Who Ate Everything - These were so wonderful we made them twice in 2 weeks. I have a very picky college crowd on my hands. That rarely happens for anything that isn't pizza.

Chicken Tortilla Casserole : Eat Better America - This did not turn out pretty, but boy was it tasty. I used a can of Rotel instead of chopping up tomatos and threw in some frozen corn. Very good.

I feel like Pinterest gives everyone a unique oppurtunity to share the awesome things they find on the internet with people who are looking to do the same sort of awesome things. Let's face it, all of my facebook friends could care less what cool recipe I found online, but I feel like the people at Pinterest do. I hope you check out some of the links as well as Pinterest.

RIP Circular Needles

Ugh! I've been sick for a couple days now, nothing too concerning, just a low grade fever... Just enough to keep me in bed.


So I've finally had some time to catch up on my knitting backlog. I am working on a skirt I promised my sister at Christmastime, trying to get it done by May. I'd made some good progress until...

Snap! There go 60 stitched I need to hurry up and catch before the whole thing starts to unravel.


After 1 and a half hours of saving the skirt, I find myself in the market for a more solid pair of circular, size 5 knitting needles.


I'll review whatever I end up with, but at some point, doing an extremely complicated pattern on beginners knitting needles just doesn't work.


Thanks for listening to me rant and let me know if you have a sturdy circular brand to recommend.

It's Good to Be Home

After my sucktastical roommates moved out, then dropped in to do laundry several days later, I am very happy that I am finally in a place where they don't have keys. Home from college, for at least 6 weeks.

I have no idea what I'm doing. No plans. No homework. No job.

I had a need for something familiar, something that makes this place, away from school and the life I am working on building for myself, feel more like I belong.

For me, that would be Burritos to Go. The best place to grab lunch when I was in high school, the place the serves the best chicken enchiladas I've ever had, and the place where the owner still remembers every regular, plus their order.

Next time any of you are in the Colorado area, be sure to visit this tiny little carry-out Mexican food gem. Maybe, it will help you feel a little closer to home too.

(Sorry the picture is so poor. I haven't unpacked my camera, so this was taken from my phone.)