Yikes!

I almost got swept away to Texas because the wind was blowing so hard! This morning when I walked to school, there was absolutely no hint of wind. It was hot and still. When I walked back, it was fifteen minutes of struggling against the 500 mph wind to get home, my overgrown bangs blowing all over the place, my jacket barely staying on as I walked at a bent angle because the wind wouldn't let my legs go straight and was pushing them east...grrr. Wind is definitely my least favorite type of weather. However, I do like the sound of wind...when I'm inside and don't have to deal with it. I like the howling noises it makes, it sounds like a ghost! I turned in my paper that was due today for my literature class, and he handed out two more writing assignment...TWO! At the same time! Not to mention one is due two days after the other. Why, professor, why?!?!?!? I have quite the list of to-do's for the rest of the semester. And the summer (Shanda's wedding, work, trying to get the apartment, cross-ocean travel...)

this is going to be a long one...

...so only read if you're bored, and have the time :)

Spring break was pretty good. I really enjoyed being home and not having a set schedule, although I was still forced to do lots of homework (see last post). I got my research paper fixed up and printed, and did my interview with my boss. I'm going to have the 1st graders for the summer camp this year, and one is her daughter. I'm excited. 9 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday. So I can save up moolah for Costa Rica (which seems more likely to happen every day), and for next school year. I still want to get a job when the fall semester starts. The mother whose kids I babysat last summer and the summer before tried calling me on Friday and left me a message asking me if I'd like to babysit again this summer. I won't go into the reasons, but I have been dead set on not doing that again since the end of last summer. Yes, they paid me very well, and I enjoyed parts of it, but I can't put myself through that kind of stress again. You may think, how stressful can babysitting be? Severe behavioral issues. I'll leave it at that. It just isn't worth the stress for me. SO I am gong to be working for the YMCA again, and very excited to start. I called her back (and this family never answers home phone or calls back, so whatever) and left a message saying I have a job already but I appreciate the offer. Simple, enough right? I think it made the point and I fought the urge to list the reasons.

I love being with my family a whole lot. My brother is incredibly fun to goof off with, and I'm so proud of all he's doing. One day my sister and dad and I went to Espanola to run some errands and we were crazy and were getting cracked up a lot. Tuesday I went to lunch with my friends Danielle and Alayna, and Wednesday I went to Santa Fe with my mom, and like I've said before, we're so much alike that we feed off each other's humor, energy, and personality all the time. It was fun. Thursday I went to get my bridesmaid dress fitted, and Friday I went to Albuquerque with my mom and dad. We went to Red Lobster and saw Mamma Mia (the actual show, not the movie) at Popejoy Hall. It was great! Awesome choreography, talented singers and dancers, and best of all, HILARIOUS. It was so much fun just spending time with my parents. Afterward we were hungry so drove around looking for Dunkin Donuts because I was craving it, and when I finally saw one, I yelled DUNKIN DONUTS! really loudly and almost made my dad crash. Hehe. We also stopped at Taco Cabana.

I was not very happy to come back today. No matter how many times I've done it, I still get choked up and teary when I say bye to my family. I should be used to it by now, but I hate leaving them so much. I had to leave my family and real home to come back to a roommate with control issues and severe OCD tendencies and the grove apartments...not home. But on the bright side, I'm pretty sure that this last six weeks of school will go by really fast. I already get to register for classes next week! Yes I am going to be busy, but then I get to say "ta-ta lousy apartment complex and stressful roommates!", and head home for a good summer of family, work, kids, wedding, camping, fishing, hiking, and a tropical Central America trip (hopefully). Then I will have my own place come the fall (I'm praying I get one of those apartments) where I will have THE say in everything that goes on in there, I won't have to step on anyone's toes, I can set out my mismatched salt and pepper shakers if I want! (Yeah, my roommate used to put them away in the cabinet...I think she finally got the hint because I would immediately put them back out as soon as I saw them in hiding. We're in college...not everything has to be matched, designer, and perfect!)

I'll probably write more tomorrow...I haven't written all week and I need to make up for it! Haha. But I'm getting drowsy from the drive today. Good night!

Spring "Break"

I thought spring break was for...well, a break?!
I finished three papers very early so I wouldn't have to worry about them over spring break. However (!!!), I still have the following to do during spring break and the few days after:
- Take my organizational comm. test online
- Fix up my research paper (even though I finished it, it could still use some editing and fixing up)
- Write and conduct an interview for my org. comm. class (I'm interviewing my soon-to-be boss)
- Assignment for family comm.
- Find a job posting and redo my resume to "fit" that posting (for org. comm. too!!)
- Read Chapter 11 (guess what...for org. comm!!!)
-Comm. & culture test the week after break
-Spanish test the week after break
-Family comm. research & analysis paper due week after spring break

Since teachers are not allowed to make anything due during spring break, they decide to make things due right after, so they might as well be saying, "Here's your assignment to work on during spring break so you can have it ready afterward." It's evil, I tell you...EVIL!!!
What's the point of spring break? Not to relax and refresh yourself, no, it's to catch up on work and for teachers to pile on work, because nobody wants to go on a vacation for spring break, right?
Ugh. Good thing I didn't plan to go anywhere except home...

Homemade chicken noodle soup

Ingredients:

• 2 carton(s) (26-ounce) reduced-sodium chicken stock or broth
• 2 cup(s) water
• 3 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 small parsnips, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 stalk(s) celery, thinly sliced
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 1/2 cup(s) cooked, shredded chicken
• 1/2 pound(s) extra-wide egg noodles
• 2 tablespoon(s) minced parsley
• 2 teaspoon(s) kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
1. In a 5- to 6-quart soup pot, bring stock, water, carrots, parsnips, celery, and onion to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes.

2. Stir in chicken and noodles; cover pot and continue to simmer 7 minutes, or until noodles are just tender. Stir in parsley, salt, and pepper. Ladle into bowls.

Chicken with lemony egg noodles and peas

Ingredients:

8 ounce(s) extra-wide egg noodles
4 ounce(s) stringless sugar snap peas
1 cup(s) packaged shredded carrots
1 cup(s) frozen peas
1 cup(s) chicken broth
1/2 cup(s) heavy or whipping cream
1 teaspoon(s) grated fresh lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon(s) coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
2 cup(s) (about 10 ounces) skinless rotisserie chicken meat , cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1. Heat 4-quart covered saucepan of salted water to boiling over high heat. Add noodles and cook as label directs, but add snap peas to noodles 1 minute before noodles are done.
2. Place carrots and frozen peas in colander in sink. Drain noodles and snap peas over carrots and frozen peas.
3. While noodle mixture drains, in same saucepan, heat broth, cream, lemon peel, pepper, and salt to boiling over high heat.=
4. Stir chicken and noodle mixture into sauce; heat through, stirring constantly.

Sore Muscles

Oh how I could use the Kneading Fingers or a hot tub with strong jets right about now. I am muy sore from working out yesterday. My back and abs are the worst. My booty and upper part of my hamstrings are second. And tomorrow my legs will be pretty bad. For whatever reason, my legs take at least 24 hours to become sore after running. I ran for about an hour, about 4 miles, and then did 75 sit-ups on the ab ball, then when I got home I did 40 toe raises and 40 lunges. I'm still trying to establish a regular routine for going to the AC, but with midterms and lots of papers it's hard to do. After spring break I hope to go at least twice a week (which is less than what health experts recommend, but it's all I've got).
I skipped both classes today because I didn't sleep well last night at all. I feel so guilty skipping class, even though I rarely do it and I deserve it once in a while. I still feel guilty.

That's all. Have a splendid Monday!

Happy :)

I'm very proud of myself right now. Not in a conceited way, but I'm just very happy that I'm doing well in school and continuously becoming more and more motivated about life and school and family and the future. I won't go into specifically why I'm proud of myself (because just listing the things might make me conceited), but I hope I can pursue everything in life in the same fashion.
The future of course is scary, and I really don't know what my life will be like one, five, or ten years from now. The economy is struggling (if you didn't know that by now, you are living in a hole), but I'm still ready to face the challenge of establishing myself, with definite hardships along the way, and finding my niche and becoming stronger so that I can have my own family and become who I'm supposed to be. I just got back from running a little bit ago, so maybe it's all those endorphins that are making me all inspirational... :P
And I understand that this is my third post today (it happens sometimes), but I really needed to give myself a pat on the back and write down why I'm proud of myself, so that if soon I am having an off-day and feeling down or not very motivated, I can see that this is on (virtual) paper and that I really can feel great about myself.
I just pray that I can face all life has to offer with courage and faith and an open, willing mind!

Caffeinating

Recently I decided to greatly decrease my coffee intake, particularly in the mornings, which is where my addiction lies. Since about last summer, I have drank (drunk? drinken?) coffee nearly every morning. Especially during school days, because most of my classes have started in the 8 o'clock hour. I got so addicted to it that if I waited a couple hours over the time I normally drink it, I would start getting a bad headache. And if I skipped it altogether, the headache would last essentially all day, and Tylenol would only sometimes help, and just a little. So for Lent, I decided to stop drinking it every morning. I know, there are a lot of loopholes there, but if I gave it up altogether right away I would not be a pleasant person to be around. I have three Starbucks cards left from Christmas (I think my friends and family know me well :) and I decided that if I was good and went many days without drinking my morning cup, I would treat myself to a fancy Starbucks drink once in a while.
However, I have given in a couple times this Lenten season. Last week when I had a test, I woke up a couple hours before my class to study (I study way better in the early morning than at night), and I was very tired, so I poured myself a mug. Then this morning I gave in as well. Not for any legitimate reason, but let me explain. I have this simple pleasure of waking up without an alarm at an early hour (I get happy when I do that...don't ask), and just lazing around for an hour or so in the morning. I love to sit down with a hot cup of coffee and breakfast and relax, easing myself into the day. So though I can proudly say I didn't need it this morning, I did find it appealing. But yes, it is true. I do not have withdrawal symptoms anymore :) And I hope to keep up this limit on coffee drinking even after Lent is over. Just an occasional morning pleasure or treat from Starbucks. Or Milagro. Or Spirit Winds. Or the Coffee Booth. :)

Sleep

The title is self-explanatory. This blog is all about SLEEP.
I love weekends, because you can choose whether to go to bed early or stay up late. You can choose that on the week days too, but it's more detrimental. Occasionally I like to stay up late with Jake or my brother or whoever and watch late-night TV. Sometimes it's trash, but you can find some very peculiar programs late at night. I used to love watching Sci-Fi at night because they'd have documentaries of urban legends such as Bigfoot, werewolves, and more. It was creepy and awesome to watch late at night. Sometimes the old Twilight zones (which were the good ones) are shown late at night too. Love it.

Lately I've been so incredibly comfortable at night. I've done away with my down blanket for the time because it's gotten too hot for it. I turn on my fan and curl up under my covers, and sleep SO well. It's the perfect temperature combined with ridiculously comfortable but simple sheet and comforter that causes me to sleep so well. Then I wake up around 8 or 9 and feel so rested. These types of sleep give me really bizarre dreams as well. Last night, I had the following dreams:
I first dreamed that I went to my friend Kelle's wedding (even though she got married last summer) and it was kinda cool...it took place in a forest at this ceremonial place. Weird, but cool in the dream. THEN I had a dream that my bird (Riley) was choking on something, so I called 911. Before the paramedics arrived, I did the Heimlich maneuver on my bird (more gently, of course) and saved his life. My family and Brian arrived with flowers because they'd heard about it, and had assumed Riley died. The weirdest part was that they arrived just minutes after my bird started choking. Then the paramedics arrived and I told them I'd saved his life already, so they left.
Then I woke up lol. I think I should post more of my dreams on here, because I have some pretty bizarre ones.

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia

The title of this blog is the fear of long words. Not joking, google it! I think that's the longest word ever. I could just imagine a patient in the doctor's office, when the doctor diagnoses him with this phobia. "Unfortunately you have hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia," and then the patient screams and stars having a panic attack because the doctor just said a ridiculously long word.

Anyway, I just made the best grilled cheese sandwich with leftover french bread that I had used for french onion soup. Grilled cheese and macaroni may be the most typical college meals, but they're so versatile, and you can make them in so many ways so they're not the same each time!

I'm also still really wanting to go to Costa Rica late this summer for Spanish credits. I asked one of my previous Spanish classmates about it because I knew he'd gone this past winter break, and he said it's just awesome. He said he learned more Spanish in two weeks at CPI than he did a whole semester of Spanish at NMSU. I really want to go. It would come out of my college fund, and I think financial aid can help or cover it as well. I mean, sure it would mean making more payments to pay off my financial aid in the future, but I think that this would really be worth it. And Jake wants to go too, so it would be nice having someone to go with, less scary.

I've always had a dream of traveling abroad alone for a few weeks or so, but it's scary. Human trafficking and all. I saw the movie "Taken" a couple weeks ago and it scared me badly. BUT a lot of times people don't use common sense (and I'm in NO way blaming them, but it's easier to fall into a terrible situation like that when you don't use common sense). And I would use common sense and stay in safe places, but I think it would be awesome to maybe visit a country or two or three and just "find myself," being around no one I know and immersing myself in different cultures. And there's always the thing about money. It takes money I suppose. So it wouldn't be any time soon.

Rainy Day

It rained last night!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so happy! The past few days it's been cold and cloudy, and I've been eyeing the clouds to see if they'll drop anything. And finally last night when Jake stepped outside to leave, his eyes got wide and his mouth opened up and he got his unique really excited look on his face and started shaking his pointed fingers toward the parking lot and exclaimed "It's raining!" I like his excited facial expressions. :) So I stepped out with him and became happy. Well, I was already, but even more. I don't know if it rained all through the night, but it made for some perfect walking weather this morning (I decided to walk to school more. I like it and it makes more sense because my last class on M/W/F is closer to my apartment than the parking lot I use). And then walking back after class, it started lightly raining again. Not enough for an umbrella, but enough for me to put my hood over my head while I walked home. Perfect. Then I got home and heated up some leftover French onion soup and broiled some fresh cheesy bruschetta for lunch. I made the soup last week in a slow cooker...the slow cooker makes it delicious because it draws the flavor out of the onions slowly. And it still tastes good a week later!

It was a fun weekend with my mom. We did a lot. I showed her the apartments that I want to live at next year, and she loved it too! Really, the one bedrooms are so cute and the staff is friendly and professional. We went shopping, ate lunch, looked at apartment, went to hobby lobby with Shanda and Brian, and ate dinner at Uno's on Friday. Saturday we went to the farmer's and crafts market, saw Slumdog Millionaire w/ Jake, Shanda and Brian (SO good...you should see it! It definitely deserved Best Picture!), and made tacos for dinner and chocolate cake w/ yummy sour cream frosting for dessert. Sunday, we went to Kohl's where I spent my gift card on shorts, a skirt, and a summer dress. Then Mom and I had lunch at Spirit Winds, tried to find Girl Scouts selling cookies at Wal- Mart with no luck, then came home. Then they left :-( Definitely a fun weekend though. My mom bought me some tulips for my room. I can't wait til they open up! I love tulips.

Portobella quesadillas

Just another recipe for future use

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup(s) prepared barbecue sauce
• 1 tablespoon(s) tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon(s) cider vinegar
• 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce (see Tips & Techniques), minced, or 1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
• 1 tablespoon(s) (plus 2 teaspoons) canola oil, divided
• 1 pound(s) (about 5 medium) portobello mushroom caps, gills removed, diced
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 4 (8- to 10-inch) whole-wheat tortillas
• 3/4 cup(s) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

---

Directions

• 1. Combine barbecue sauce, tomato paste, vinegar, and chipotle in a medium bowl.
• 2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add onion and cook, stirring, until the onion and mushrooms are beginning to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to the bowl with the barbecue sauce; stir to combine. Wipe out the pan.
• 3. Place tortillas on a work surface. Spread 3 tablespoons cheese on half of each tortilla and top with 1/4 (about 1/2 cup) of the filling. Fold tortillas in half, pressing gently to flatten.
• 4. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in the pan over medium heat. Add 2 quesadillas and cook, turning once, until golden on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes total. Transfer to a cutting board and tent with foil to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and quesadillas. Cut each quesadilla into wedges and serve.

Daddy's girl

I have exactly two physical features that take after my dad.
Eyebrows and heels.

For a very long time, we all thought I might have a different dad (it's been a family joke :) because I completely take after my mom.

But a few years ago, I noticed that he must be my dad, because I have the same heels as him. You might wonder, how do you have the "same" heels? Heels are heels. Well, it's a gross factor. My heels have the tendency to get dry and nastily cracked. Actually, mine aren't that bad compared to my dad. I have the daintier, girly feet, so they aren't allowed to get awful (hehe). But when I start wearing flip-flops, they can get pretty nasty. Last night I noticed that they were catching on the carpet and my clothes, and freaked out when I saw my heels looked like less dramatic versions of my dad's. So I slathered on the Vaseline and put some cotton socks on to keep the moisturizing going.They're a bit better today, but still on the rough side.

So, heels I explained, now the eyebrows. I suppose a year or so after I figured out that my heel's are the spittin' image of my dad's, I realized that me, my brother and dad all have something in common that my mom and sister do not share with us. All of our right eyebrows are nice and perfect, the end near our noses are smooth and all the hairs stay where they should. Now, our left eyebrows on the other hand, are not so fine and dandy. The thicker end near our noses stick up. There are many hairs that do not lay down and grow with the same direction of all the others. They grow up, and stay up. Yes, we can trim them and attempt to plaster them down with our spit, but we will always have a tufty left eyebrow. Maybe you can't picture my explanation, so perhaps I'll post a close up picture of my eyebrow sometime.

There is the physical evidence that I am, indeed, my dad's daughter.

week and random

I'm a tad bit less stressed out than last time. My professor who assigned the 10-12 page research paper pushed back the deadline to the Tuesday after spring break...that gives me an extra week and a half to do it! And he limited the length requirement to 8-10 pages instead of 10-12. I'm still stressed about the two tests next week...Yikes! And still have all those other assignments.
Now onto good things...
My mom is coming tomorrow! Yes I know, my family was just here a few weeks ago. But my sister decided to come this weekend to see her fiance because if she doesn't, it would've been like forever til she sees him again!! Aw, pobrecita!! JK. I don't remember how long til she would see him again, but she wanted to cut the time in half. So my mom decided to tag along and stay with me! I told her though that I would have a lot of work to do this weekend, so I can't do a ton of fun stuff. We are, however, going to look at the apartments I'm interested in (if one is still available to see), go to Spirit Winds for a lunch, go to the Farmer's and Crafts Market in downtown Las Cruces. I've been there once, and supposedly there's a guy there who sells amazing kettle corn, so I might have to try that. I have been craving chocolate lately so I might use that chocolate cake mix when she's here, and get her to make her yummy sour cream frosting. I know it sounds weird, but once you taste it, you'd never know there was sour cream in it. It's so rich and creamy and sinful.
Random facts time. This time, it's lists of my favorite restaurants.
1)Red Lobster.......I can't get enough of their cheddar bay biscuits and crab legs!
2) Olive Garden.....neverending breadsticks and salads are amazing! Plus, the main dishes aren't bad either ;-)
3) Texas Roadhouse.....endless sweet appetizer rolls with cinnamon butter, and juicy steaks with a great price! Sidenote~~~I can't eat steak without lots of A1 sauce, unless it's PERFECTLY seasoned/marinated, etc. Even then I usually crave A1. Those commercials don't lie ("yeah, it's that good")
.......notice how in all the above restaurants I'm obsessed with the carb appetizers....
4) Blake's Lotaburger... a famous New Mexico joint, delicious burgers and seasoned curly fries that we don't share with any other state :-)
(I'll probably add more later, can't think of them all now)

Now, my favorite places to get burgers:
1) Blake's (duh)
2) El Parasol in Los Alamos
3) Johnny Rocket's
4) Sonic (I just had one an hour ago)

My ideal burger consists of : juicy patty, lettuce, tomato, pickles, mustard, and green chile!
I rarely eat burgers with cheese...I just like them better without. However, I did sort of recently have a burger with cheddar at Texas Roadhouse, and it was very tasty! But usually I don't.

Oi Ve...

So let me first say that I'm very stressed out right now, and probably will be for the next month (and maybe April too). I don't know that I've ever had so many writing assignments in one semester. I like writing (for the most part) and writing essays usually comes quite easily to me. However, I don't know I've ever had to do this much. Here are the assignments I have due this month and next month.
1) 10-12 page research paper for Communication, Ethnicity and Prejudice, due March 19th~~~sidenote: this requires 10 research journal articles, and I'm really not good at finding good ones on the school library's website
2) 2 writing assignments left for New Testament as Literature
3) 2 creative papers for NT as Lit (one is due March 31)
4) Networking assignment paper for Organizational Comm. due late April
5) Discussion assignment for NT as Lit, due March 6

It just stinks because most of those are due this month. Plus I signed up for a mid-semester on-line course which starts March 10, so who knows what assignments, particularly writing, will be given. I suspecting I'll be an antisocial homework hermit for a few weeks...

Last night I went to bed fairly early, after snuggling up in bed with a cup of sleepytime tea and watching Lilo & Stitch (one of my all-time favorite movies), and opened my window to get some fresh air. But, this is the Grove, and I was woken up at 2 am but drunk partiers, two guys yelling REALLY loudly in the parking lot by my building, holding races. Seriously. I put on my glasses to see what the commotion was and peeked through my blinds, and watched, dumbfounded, as two really drunk guys raced each other across the parking lot, yelling as loud as they could (NO! or READY SET GO! and just yelling a whole lot of stuff). I'm surprised they weren't falling everywhere in their drunken state. Ergh. They finally went back inside to their party I assume (luckily I didn't hear the party going on), but was promptly woken again less than an hour later by more races, sounding like the same guys. So I had to do without the fresh air and shut the window.

May cannot come soon enough.