Exercise

Exercise. These days its like a dirty word, to some a 4 letter word if you know what I mean. I have been seriously struggling for the last year to do something and now I am in a place I am not happy about and need/want to change. My friend Elizabeth has a blog called Chubby Madness, chubbymadness.wordpress.com, and she writes about how we need to learn to love ourselves and love our bodies for what they are, and not compare ourselves to unrealistic ideals we have learned from media. I agree completely with her that I shouldnt judge myself and my body based on others, but she also does encourage and see that being healthy and having a balance in your life is good as well. So, with Elizabeth in mind I have been re-evaluating my lifestyle and choices and I intend on making a change for the better.
Yesterday was day one, now I am extremely out of shape and need to get my muscle mass back and drop a few inches of fat here and there, all in all I need to loose about 10-15 lbs, but thinking like Elizabeth thats not a good way to put it in perspective. Instead I am going to make my goal sticking to working out and getting my stamina up, then when I have accomplished that I am going to re-eval where I am and see what I can change to get the results I want to see.
I did my yoga meltdown video with Jillian yesterday morning and it was so much harder than the last time I attempted it, which I was very sad about. But by the end of the video I did feel good I finished it and started working towards being healthier. Today I will have no time at all to exercise really so this morning I did 5 sun salutations before I got ready for work to stretch myself out, because yes, I am very sore in some spots from the workout. I plan on doing the video again tomorrow and then on Saturday. Friday after work I need to take Libby on a good brisk walk. Then on Saturday I will plan for next week. This is going to be a difficult month to start working in working out, ha that wasnt planned. Work is going to be crazy we are trying to get all this new software downloaded and train on it, plus go to a seminar in Sept, but as I think about it if I can manage to make it work and get started here in a difficult month I cant make excuses for why I cant stick with it in the future.
Oh lastly, one of my next goals is some 3 and 5 lb weights and a new video to work on muscle mass, esp in my arms, I dont want to be one of those flabby arms ladies, and a tummy video because for the first time in my life this year I have gotten a little more fat around my middle than I am comfortable with.

Untitled

I have been having an interesting couple of months.
My old car got totaled, my brother was rear ended in it and the guy had no insurance so Chad and I both lost money on that. I have yet to decide what exactly I am going to do with the car. It would be nice to get a little money out of it bc the engine is in perfect working order, just the back 1/3 is demolished. I am really quite frustrated and do not want to deal with it. The car is just sitting in the driveway at dads, doing nothing.
Work has been busy, busy we have been working pretty late everyday for a couple of weeks now. Last week we never got out before 730-745 everyday. It gets old always getting off so late. But I need the hours so I cant complain. This week the doctor has to go to FL again for more CEU hours. Yay for off on Friday, but I dont get paid for it. And we are open morning hours on Thursday but I have an obgyn appt that cant be moved for that morning, so that figures.
I have hit a roadblock with reading I have every intention of getting back to it, its just this lack of time to dedicate to it is difficult. I have a never ending circle of laundry and dishes going at home, plus taking care of the dog, work and dinner seems like all my time is always gone. When I relax with Chase he doesnt like it if I read bc I dont interact with him so I dont read in the evenings. I need to try to before bed more again. That was working for a little while.
I am very frustrated by money right now, ever since I got the truck I cant get back on track, part of that is because of the situation with the car completely being a lost cause. Part of it is just how paydays have fallen. I am praying I can get things back on track after this month, but we shall see.

GoT Reading Update

So, I am more than halfway through the first book of the Song of Fire and Ice collection, A Game of Thrones. Here are my thoughts on the book vs the show. First off, the book much much better obviously but also I can see how the producers and writers on the show have decided to make some of the scenes they use. There are a lot of scenes in the show that are a combination of two separate events in the book, typically the events are very closely related and they have combined the two and taken a little away to get what we see on the show. They are typically fairly in line with the storyline of the book but in general things are quite different. As I get further into the book things to seem to change more and more. The story is just so much more developed and detailed. There are so many things that make you think and change your opinion of the events you already know of. I cannot wait to get to the end of the book. The new girl who works with me now, Becky, is also reading them and she just finished the first book and said she could barely put it down at the end! Brans story line in the book is so much more detailed and interesting than what we got in the show. The whole trip to the Eyrie was condensed into one day on the show more or less and it was quite an event. Also Ser Rodrick was with Catelyn the whole trip, not back in Winterfell and there is a funny storyline about his whiskers. The way that things went down in Kings Landing with Eddard are quite different, not 100% but different. Anyhow, I really dont want to say too much because I do not want to give anything away. Oh, lastly though the amount of information we are denied about Dany's storyline in the show vs the book might be the worst, the Dothraki make much more sense to me now than in the show.

Update

Last night I saw the season finale of season 3 of GoT, everyone who watches knows the season finale wasnt much compared to the second to last episode "The Rains of Castamere" but better known as "The Red Wedding Episode". But it was an epic episode, and I am so excited. I am mostly excited bc I found out that they have split this season, this 3rd season was the first half of book 3 and season 4 will be then end of book 3 with possibly a little bit of the beginning of 4. So, yay for more detailed seasons of GoT! I am super sad that we wont get new episodes for 42 weeks. Thats some shit.
But I am reading the books now! Its official I started this morning. I have read the prologue and the first two chapters a Bran chapter and a Catelyn chapter. All three of these parts of the book have been in the show but they are so much more detailed and perfect on paper. The thing I like best is that I have a mental picture and a voice for almost every character. I agree making up your own is sometimes the most fun part of reading a new book, discovering characters but then when you see the movie or show you are disappointed bc they dont look and sound like youd expect. I like that its already set forth who everyone is and I can have Jon Snow in my head even more now.

JoJo and I decided we are going on an impromptu trip! Bob keeps going all over the damn place fishing and so I asked him when everyone was going to do something fun and he said ask your JoJo. So, I told JoJo Bob said we can go on a trip bc he keeps going fishing and I have a 4 day weekend next week so we threw together this little trip. We leave Thursday for Hilton Head Island and come back Sunday. Sunday we have to leave at like 715 AM so its really only 3 days but still. I dont have to take any time off and I get a free few days away plus just with JoJo and I can get some serious reading done!

life gets in the way

Things have been busy it seems. Honestly I couldnt even tell you what I have been doing that is keeping me so busy but it seems I rarely have any time to do whatever I want and I am constantly getting ready for the next thing I need to do. Here are a few highlights of the last couple weeks and what they have held.
Chase's brother (David) and his gf (Maci) are pregnant. Yeah, I suppose technically she is the pregnant one but they are in it together. I have many thoughts and feelings on this that I choose not to share in a public way. If you really want to know call me.
I got a new car, its not a car its an SUV. I got a 05 Tahoe Z71 4x4 its like champagne or sand colored. The color is dads favorite. It has less that 100K miles on it and we got it $5K under price, so YAY! But I am nervous about the payment. Luckily insurance is only like $30 more a month so that is exciting considering I had liability on the car and have full coverage on the Tahoe, but whatever. Chad is buying the car from me. He already gave me a $100 and $55 for the insurance for the month, when he gets back from his trip he is going to get his truck sold and give me the rest of the money then and we will get the title transferred at that point.
Work is crazy this month. This week we were off Monday for the Memorial Day holiday but I have to work Saturday from 10-5 and Sunday from 12-5 then we work full days Mon-Wed and the office will be closed Thurs-Fri but I will only be off Thursday, Friday I have to go to Lyndon Fest to work from 4-7 then Saturday work 12-7 same event, but I will be off Sunday. Then we have a normal work week followed by another week where we work all day Mon-Wed and are off Thursday Friday so 4 day weekend but we dont get paid for any of the days we dont work. That is part of why I am helping with all these events on the weekends. Also, bc we are going to be in St. Louis with Zach's dad James for the Cardinals Padres game. Its looking like that might be the only game we get to this summer. Chase may be going this weekend to St. Louis but I cant go bc of work.
I havent been reading much which is disappointing for me. I am a week behind on GoT which is sad. Havent got to see The Great Gatsby or Star Trek 2 yet. I am up for a raise in like 19 days so yay hope its a big one!

The Secret to Perfect Chicken Everytime!

Today I was thinking of how I could successfully make chicken to shred and flavor that wasnt over done and chewy. I have tried boiling chicken and tearing it, not ideal, I tried baking it off and tearing it, also blah didnt work out how I thought, then there is pan fry, messy messy messy and again timing to not overcook.... I figured somewhere out there in the great blogisphere (thats a word right?) must be someone who has this down. I got lucky and found a promising idea on the second blog I checked out. I tried it and damn if it doesnt work PERFECT! Ill likely never cook chicken another way, well except when making fried chicken because obviously theres only one way to do that right.

You can only cook 3 chicken breasts at a time this way.

2-3 Chicken breasts
salt and pepper
1 cup chicken broth
2-4 Tbsp olive oil
12 inch skillet OR saucepan WITH lid

Put the olive oil in the pan and heat it on medium heat until it ripples when you move the pan around
While the oil is heating salt and pepper both side of the chicken breasts
Once the oil is hot, put the chicken top side (the prettier side) into the oil and cover with lid cook for 5 minutes do not bother the chicken!
Once 5 minutes has elapsed, pour in 3/4 cup of the chicken broth and turn the chicken breasts over.
Cover again and cook for 7 minutes, then pour in the rest of the broth and cover and cook for 3 more minutes.
As soon as the 10 minutes is over remove the chicken and let it cook until you can shred, or chop it.
IF you want to flavor the shredded chicken this is what I do.

After removing the chicken from the pan to cool do no throw out brothy oil mixture, maybe pour a little out if it didnt reduce at all. But as you shred the chicken throw it back into that pan and then once all the chicken is shredded pour in taco or blackening seasoning and mix it all up and heat it for maybe 3 minutes let it cool and put it in tupperware until you need it or its ready to serve!

Need to Post

So, its been a couple weeks since I posted. And I was doing so well. Part of it is the situation at work and the other is me not being productive in reading as well as not wanting to copy across recipes. I do repeat things often and havent been changing it up to much. Oh, and some recipes I am not really supposed to post bc they arent "mine" or ones I have found or changed they are Chase's families.
I went to an awesome show last night. This weekend over all was good. Friday I stayed home from the party that I was supposed to go to bc I am still not over being sick and I also didnt think Chase would want to bother with it, being that he works late on Friday and early on Saturday. Saturday I didnt do too much until after Chase got off, then we had to help Maria move a couch. Chase was bitching about it the entire time. I told him if he didnt want to do it he shouldnt have said he'd help. He said "So I was just supposed to say no I cant/wont?" And I said "Yeah you are." He didnt like that and didnt have much to say about it but its the damn truth, you dont have to do everything under the sun for your parents and you dont have to always say yes just bc its family. If you dont want to stand up and f%ing say it. After the couch escapade we went downtown at the last minute for Thunder, Alan Chases uncle, had got some passes through a food distributor and we were on the Humana garage in a tent. it was pretty nice, would have been better if the food was warmer and better, note to self- Ladyfingers Catering not awesome. Free liquor is always a plus though, and the view was great! Then Sunday it was the normal, get up lay around while Chase sleeps, go to the grocery. But last night was also an epic show! I went to the first show Ive been to at the Diamonds location on Barrett since it was Jillians, and FYI its in a different room than the shows I saw there in the past. I was always in a room in the basement but instead we were in this room off to the side, whatever. Anyhow, Incursion played and it was good to see them I havent seen them in like 10 years since Tek World days. Then we went and played some pool in the other room for a few and we came back to catch this band Kobra and the Lotus, they are badass. They have a hot awesome female singer, she reminds me of a cross between Iron Madiens lead singer and Dragonforces lead singer but with a opera-etic (is that a word? dont care just made it up) twist. I loved it, got their CD and a picture with the singer. Then it was time for FEAR FACTORY! They were great. Matt Devries from Chimaira is now in FF so thats interesting... But musically it was great and they played my favorite song. Most of their set I was down in the pit area it was great. Everything except that I didnt sleep until after 130 AM. Boo on Sunday night!

Taco Stuffed Shells

I like this a lot because you can pre-prep a lot of it and then just throw it in the oven.
The first thing you will need to do is set out 4 ounces of cream cheese to get to room temperature or mixing is going to be an issue. Then brown 1 lb ground beef and season with a packet of taco seasoning according to the package, I dont use as much water as they suggest bc you dont want the meat part to be watery it wont mix right later.  Next boil some water to cook your jumbo shells, it usually takes me about half a box. Once the meat is cooked put it in a mixing bowl add one cup shredded cheddar and one cup shredded jack cheese as well as the cream cheese you set out (make sure to cube it first)- you want this to be mixed together pretty well. When the shells are done pour a little olive oil over them while they cool in the strainer so they dont stick together. While you wait for the shells to cool get a 9x12 baking pan and cover the bottom in a layer of salsa of your choosing. Once the shells are cool enough take a spoon and fill each one, place them on the salsa. At this point you can either cover and chill until you are ready to cook, or cover and throw it in the oven! When you are ready to cook, preheat oven to 350 and cook covered for 30 minutes, uncover and top the shells with a little extra cheese and stick it back in the oven for 5-10 minutes to melt the cheese, take out and serve with jalapenos and sour cream! Or whatever you like...

Why I like Fridays-

Well, Im sure everyone is thinking, of course you like Friday everyone likes Friday! Except those people whose Friday is their Monday, I sure am glad Im not one of those people. But there are a few fairly specific reasons I like Fridays.
First is of course that it means its the weekend.
But Ill do you one better, we only work until 1 (maybe 1:30) on Fridays so not only is it the start of the weekend its a half day!
Next is that I get to go see my friend Brian, he was my best friend for so long and we went spent pretty much everyday together for quite a few years and it was a hard transition to not see him as much when my relationship with Chase changed to be more serious. I would like to get over there twice a week but it rarely happens, occasionally I can sneak over on Saturday or Sunday but not often.
Thats not the only up point of going to see Brian, we also have a few shows that he records and we watch each week. Today we only have Modern Family and a new show we recorded called How to Live with Your Parents for the Rest of Your Life, it has Brad Garrett and Elizabeth Perkins as the parents and Sarah Chalke as the daughter who has to move back home and it looks hilarious. I hope it is. Normally we record The Simpsons and GhostHunters, but GH is on hiatus for another week or two and The Simpsons wasnt on this week because of sports. We have been watching GH since we found it about 5 or 6 years ago and The Simpsons have been something we have bonded over since we first became friends over 9 years ago, we used to play The Simpsons Jeopardy but we have to have an Alex so its hard and no one will play against us because we are super geeks with Simpsons info.
Lastly it means I dont have to cook! We pretty much always go out to eat on Fridays which is a nice change bc I cook all the rest of the week and it is tiring.

Quick Note on Reading Plans

So, as I mentioned I do want to read GoT, but I cant while I am watching it. Therefore, this is my plan. The Walking Dead has ended, so I am going to start back at the beginning and read everything I have and then start buying the monthly books to get caught up to where we are now which I believe is about ep. 112-ish. Then I plan on staying caught up until next season begins, which sadly wont be until freaking September or worse. But once GoT is over here in 9 weeks, I plan on starting the first book, aptly titled Game of Thrones and reading as much as I can and as many as I can until next season. Which hopefully I can get caught up and maybe even ahead before next year. Hell we will have 42 weeks. But I wont know if this is an unachievable goal until I can tell at what pace I can read them and if I can read the books back to back without wanting a break.

The Walking Dead ends and Game of Thrones begins

So, like they say when one door closes another opens, this is so true when it comes to my shows. This Sunday was a bit epic. It was the third season finale of The Walking Dead, which I am obsessed with and the opening episode of the third season of Game of Thrones. Both show are beautiful and complex but also based on literature. The Walking Dead started as a graphic novel and I have the first two compendiums, which ends up being about 96 of the "books"- it is put out monthly as a graphic novel, which is a "new" comic book, imo. I have only read about the first 12 books in my first compendium and I had to stop bc I was reading as the show was on and that shit gets confusing. The story lines are very similar but they are not the same and you need to keep them separate in your mind or things arent going to go well. The WD is about zombies, but if you dont already know that you are living under a rock. Season finales of this show are always very difficult bc we ALWAYS lose people and there is ALWAYS a huge plot shift. This episode was no different, except rather than ending with a huge negative or even a large cliffhanger I felt it was a much more sober ending to the season. I still cried like a baby and plan to watch it again on Friday.
Game of Thrones is completely different in pretty much every way except you ALWAYS lose main characters, no one is safe. GoT are very long fantasy style novels. So far 5 have been released with an unknown amount yet to be released, we are hoping for 7-8 but the author is a little long in the tooth and this is a very complex world he has created, in other words they arent a quick write or read. This Sunday was the start of season three that corresponds to the same book. I have the first 4 books and plan on starting to read them soon, but like I mentioned before I cant read and watch at the same time or Im going to get something confused. At the start of this season, we see Jon Snow beyond the wall and Daenarys crossing the sea and buying her army as well as some badass dragons! We know Robb is at Harrenhal and Sansa is still stuck in Kings Landing alone, now one BIG thing for me is where the hell is Arya and Bran?! They didnt touch on them at all. Stannis is back at Dragonstone likcing his wounds with that crazy Melissandra. Joffery is being his normal doucher self, and Majorie Tyrrell is up to some serious shit. Tyrion is gonna cause some serious issues for the Lannisters after what his father said to him this episode, I thought I didnt like Tywin Lannister but now I really hate that man. I think I covered everyone, if not remind me and Ill weigh in. So, much excitement. Im sure Ill have a little GoT commentary as we go along...

Wax Burner

I am to say the least disappointed in my flameless wax burner. I am not sure if it is a universal suck-iness that comes with the flameless burners or if I just got a bad one. But here's the deal, it takes FOREVER to burn any of it away at all. Its like the never ending bowl of wax. And problem number two is that it only smells good for the first few minutes while its melting down and then it doesnt smell at all. What is the point of this at all? If it isnt going to burn away the wax and if it isnt going to smell while it doesnt burn away the wax then wth. Should I look for a better one or is this typical? I got it from Yankee and I dont use the wafers you are supposed to use bc I use reworked wax from old candles. Is that my problem? Do they only work well with the special wax wafers? Someone help!!

Blackening Seasoning

1 Tblsp Paprika
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp thyme ( I use ground thyme)
1/2 tsp oregano

I typically make this recipe times 5 because I put it in a small tupperware container and use it as necessary so I dont have to make it everytime I want to use it.

Concerts

So, about 5 years ago, god didnt realize until I type that its been that long, it was a great couple of years for concerts. All of my favorite bands were on tour and we saw a lot of people multiple times. There were a ton of shows here in town, as well as Cinci, Indy, and Columbus and we went to them all! The last three years have not been as great for concerts. The end of last year started to pick up, we got Static X  late last year and LoG early this year. And it seems like we are back on the up and up swing of shows coming to town. Since the new Diamonds has opened, (which btw is just the old Jillians building now being used again when Jillians was open we used to get quite a few shows in there) anyhow Diamonds seems to be attracting more bands again. Headliners doesnt have some of the amenities that Diamonds ahs built in since it was a Jillians and it is a little larger with a REAL parking lot. But back to the point at hand, Im going to see Fear Factory in a few weeks which I am pumped about bc the last two times theyve been the in area I missed them. A few weeks after that Chimaira will be here and Im going to that as well. On another note slightly related Korn has gotten back together, meaning Head one of their main guitarist has returned to the band! I am so excited bc this means they will probably go on a big tour and I am hoping we can get them at the Yum! Center. That would be excellent! I always wanted to see Korn but when Head left I didnt want to see just some of the band with a random replacement. Plus anyone who knows Korn knows that Head and Munky worked very closely in song writing and have a special connection when it comes to playing. I am super duper hoping that they put together a tour soon and get there butts on the road!

Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake

If you dont like wings then dont make this! But it is fairly easy and you can cook the chicken ahead of time, (or use that canned stuff if it floats your boat) which will save some time in the evening. First you will need 2-3 chicken breast seasoned, cooked off, and cubed or chunked. Then you need one box of penne cooked off as well. In one bowl mix one cup of ranch (or bleu cheese, your choice) dressing and one cup of Franks hot sauce. I would taste it at this point and see if you would like it more ranchy or more hot and adjust the sauce from there. Now mix the pasta and chicken in a big bowl with one cup of shredded cheddar cheese, then pour in 9x12 pan, now pour the sauce you made over it, if it doesnt distribute well you may need to stir it again so that the sauce is on all the chicken and noodles. Last step is to put a layer of shredded cheddar on top, pop in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes and BAM buffalo chicken pasta bake.

Carne Gasada

Confession I made this last Thursday but have been slacking on the blog, in my defense my off day Saturday was ruined by an awesome migraine. But anyhow back to the point at hand, this is a longer meal, meaning you need to be at home while it cooks but in general its super simple. Also, Leslie it HAS to have onions in it but I promise that if you make it while Adams not home he will never ever know there are onions in it I swear!
First off you will need 4-6 cups cooked rice for this dish, PS you are gonna have leftovers unless half the people you know are over for dinner. I dont care how you end up with cooked rice, these days you can get 2, 10 and 15 minute rice, there rice in a bag pre-portioned or that you measure out. Moral of this story have cooked white rice ready when its done, 4-6 cups.
You will need to start one onion diced small, one large green bell pepper diced medium, one can of tomato sauce (you want the little short can of Red Gold tomato sauce), 2 lbs beef tips in 2-3 inch chunks, you want lean meat, be careful with stew meat sometimes its older cuts, lastly 28 ounces beef broth. So, take the meat and toss it in 3 tablespoons flour with salt and pepper amounts of your liking. Heat vegetable oil in a large stew pot on the stove, use enough for a thin layer in the bottom of the pan. Then pour in the meat and sear it brown on all sides, as soon as its seared through in the onion and peppers and cook it while turning until transparent. Now pour in the beef broth half at a time and deglaze the meat pieces on the bottom of the pan (meaning scrape them off into the gravy). Add the tomato sauce and cook this all on a low simmer for 2-3 hours, closer to three. If it doesnt thicken some on its own you can add a little cornstarch that has been dissolved in cold water first then boil for one minute and let stand that will help it thicken. Otherwise serve over rice and enjoy!

Birthday

Birthday is the 4th and final installment to the Ring series of books I have been reading. This book was quite a surprise and maybe my favorite next to the first book, but without all the other books it could not exist. Here's why, the book is actually 3 short stories all that take place during different parts of the 3 books previously read. The first story reveals what happens to Mai Takano from her perspective after Ryuji had died. It is an integral part of the story from the second book we were never able to see into until now. The second story is the longest half of it takes place at the same time as what happens to Mai Takano and half is from the past when Sadako first lived and was part of the theatre group in the 60s. So, it fills in some wholes from both the first and second book. It also lets you see inside the Sadako character a little more. In the third story it is the epilogue of the final book Loop, we get to find out what happens to Reiko and what the final outcomes of Kaoru sacrificing himself lead to, he ends up being a martyr in both the Loop and the real world, but it does make the entire dark long sometimes scary story end with an unexpected happy ending and it has the closure to the story I figured would just never come.

Casserole- Now Accepting Names

Normally, I wouldnt make two latino/mexican type dishes two nights in a row, but my menu planning wasnt the best for how my work schedule was going to work out this week and I needed something easier that I could start mid-day.
I cook the chicken in the morning when I am home for lunch. I take chicken breasts and cover them in blackening seasoning, I have a good recipe that I like better than the stuff you buy in the stores it tends to be too salty out of a packet/canister. Let me know if you want me to post the recipe its simple. Anyhow then cook the chicken breasts on non-stick something in the oven, yesterday I did 450 degrees for 35 minutes but last time I had more time so I did 350 for 45 minutes. After I remove it from the oven I just let it set until I get home from work.
When I get home I cook 4 cups for brown rice and gather the rest of the ingredients. Make sure you chop the chicken into manageable bit size pieces as well. Put the chopped chicken in  a large bowl and pour these ingredients over it, one can green chilies, one can drained and rinsed black beans, 1 cup frozen corn, 1 cup sour cream (or plain greek yogurt), 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, finally pour in cooked rice and mix all the ingredients well, make sure the sour cream/yogurt and cheese are distributed well. Then pour all of this into a large 9x12 sheet cake pan and spread evenly cover with a thin layer of cheese and cook for 20-25 minutes at 350. Let cool for a moment before serving, serve with jalapenos, salsa, extra cheese and sour cream. All of those are optional but I think that the salsa is 100% necessary.

Taco Soup

Taco soup is also a fairly easy and quick dinner.
First you brown a pound of hamburger in a pot (like you will use for the soup, in the end it all ends up here) once the hamburger is cooked drain it and return it to the pan. Then you need to make your cheese sauce, (I make the sauce at the same time I am browning meat but you have to be careful not to overcook/scortch either) in a small saucepan (very small) melt two tablesppons butter, do not brown it. Add then two tablespoons flour and whisk it together to make a roux, cook this for a couple minutes but do not let it overcook. Then add 1 cup milk and mix together well, season with salt and pepper and cook for 3-4 minutes until it starts to thicken. Once it is a good thickness take off the heat and add one cup shredded cheddar cheese stir until melted and smooth set aside. Put over the meat 1 packet taco seasoning, one 10oz can of rotel, undrained, and one can of black beans 15oz, drained and rinsed, mix those ingredients well pour in 1 and 1/2 cups milk and cheese sauce and mix together well. Heat all for about 5 minutes once you bring it to a simmer. Remove and let set. Now you can serve it with whatever taco things you like, jalapenos, more cheese, sour cream, and they suggest you serve with tortilla chips, I use all the above!

Food- Tater Tot Casserole

My friend Leslie brought to my attention that I cook a lot, by asking me how many nights a week I actually cook dinner, and I decided that I could inspire some people to cook more by blogging about what I make and if its simple enough how I make it. Right now Im not talented enough to do step by step pictures like those fancy blog ladies who are stay at home moms and can make money off blogging.
So, this Monday is Tater Tot Casserole, Chase freaking loves this casserole, my friend Jeremy joined us one evening and he also thought it was delicious. I chose to make this on Monday bc I have a long break for lunch and I can make the hamburger then, plus we will be here late today since we have a 615 new pt and I can just throw the rest together and cook it when I get home with little effort and time involved.
This is the rundown of how I do it. At lunch I pre-cook the hamburger, 1lb. But first I dice/chop one SMALL onion or cut one in half and dice it instead. Then I cook off the onions and hamburger, you want the onions to be transparent and the meat to brown. I at this point also make my cream of mush soup substitute. I do not use cream of whatever soup ever. I make a roux, with 3 Tbsp butter and 3 Tbsp flour. You melt the butter first but do not brown it! Then add the flour and mix it with a whisk, let it cook for a couple minutes but do not let it stick or boil. After this you add 1 and 1/4 cup liquid* add it slowly and mix it well! It needs to cook for a few minutes until it thickens some it will thicken more while it sits, again very important dont let it stick! (*when using with hamburger I use beef broth, when I make it for mini pot pies I use chicken broth, you can use beef broth and add mushrooms if you want it to be mushroomy, or just use the shit in the can whatever floats your boat.) I then pour the cooked meat and onions into a glass 9 inch pie pan and stick that and the microwave until I get home from work.
When I get home you pour the thickened soupness on the meat and onions, I then get out the frozen mixed veg and cover it with a layer of that, then cover with a layer of shredded cheddar cheese, then cover with one solid layer of tater tots, I make sure they are touching and covering every tiny section of the casserole. It needs to cook on 350 for like 45 -55 minutes basically until the tater tots are brown crispy and done. Bam! Tater tot casserole!

Awards Two

So, my friend Leslie nominated me for a blog award because she is super sweet and awesome, but I am not going to nominate anyone myself. But I do super appreciate it! I already answered Elizabeth's questions in my previous awards blog, so I wont report 7 things you dont know about me. But I will answer Leslie's questions...

 

1. What is your favorite part of the day? getting home from work, if its a non-work day when I can sit down at the end and have nothing left to do for the day

2. What is your favorite Disney movie? oh well hell, this is not fair at all.... anyone who knows me knows I am Disney obsessed and having to choose one is almost blasphemous.... IF I have to choose one overall I guess I will go with Alice in Wonderland

3. Star Wars - yes or no? UM, HELL YES

4. Name one crafty thing that you don't know how to do or haven't tried but would like to. Oh, so many things, one thing I would love to do but dont think I can achieve is the putting a picture on wood

5. Top 3 favorite animals Well, at least you give me 3 this time, lion (bc it was what I always said when asked as a child), wolf, whale

6. Describe what would be the ultimate awesome dinner. Gorgonzola encrusted fillet cooked med rare, with twice baked potatoes the way mom makes them, with asparagus and hollandaise sauce and maybe a fancy restaurant caesar salad (no anchovies please)

7. What's your go-to way to get caffeinated? green tea, every morning

8. What's your current favorite TV show? Walking Dead, which will soon be replaced by Game of Thrones, if you meant overall I guess Ill go Modern Family

9. How many nights a week do you cook dinner? 5-6 seriously every week

10. What are you most looking forward to about the warmer weather ahead? suns out longer means I might get outside before dark sometimes

11. Favorite candle scent- dang one again? my winter fav was mountain berry, bathroom fav is pink blush which smells soooo good, and sweet strawberry if I have to pick overall or maybe fresh cut roses... btw all Yankee Candle scents

 

Loop Review- Finally

So, I have already posted about this book a couple times so I will try to get through this quickly. I am also not really sure how to approach this but I suppose I will start at the end. At the end of the book we get a huge twist, turns out the first two books took place in a computer program and the third book was the only one in the real world. Our main character of this book turns out to be a clone of someone we knew in the first book. Yes, a real life human clone of a "person" in a computer program, and the program was known as the Loop. This book definitely is a little on the sci-fi side of things but of course that doesn't bother me. Turns out in the Loop is where the Ring virus was born and it was then able to escape from the program but when it came into the real world it then evolved into the MHC, the metastatic human virus which was the center of the plot. Both Kaoru's father, mother, and his girl friend (who he acquires while we are hearing the story) all have the virus. Reiko, his gf, also had a child Ryoji and he had the virus, Kaoru was his tutor and that is how he and Reiko met. Ryoji's entire life has become consumed by tests and surgeries and he ends up committing suicide in the middle of the book, which is a little hard core bc hes like a 7 year old kid. Reiko also finds out she is pregnant and Kaoru then becomes concerned his unborn child will get MHC and have no life. He starts to question his father more about the Loop project. He ends up going to America and finds the founder and second to last living member of the Loop project Cristoph Eliot, he confirms all the things Kaoru has figured out so far and then fills in the blanks. He also tells Kaoru he is the only way to stop the MHC but basically he has to sacrifice himself and then re-enter the Loop with all the knowledge of this world and the next and live out his existence knowing his "family" is on the other side. BUT also knowing that his sacrifice would save them and the world in general. It was a good ending and completely out of left field, at first when he was told he was born of the Loop and was a clone of one of the first books main characters I was like "WHAT?! That's bull crap."But then he explained it more thoroughly and I got one board. Now I am extremely interested in what will happen in Birthday bc I have no idea which Birthday I will be learning of...

Almost done...

Just wanted to give an update on Loop, sorry it is taking me so long to get it done. But honestly last week I dont think I read even a paragraph. I was recovering from the beginning of the book which felt very repetitive to me. Now I have finally gotten to the last real section of the book. (There is a tiny section after this like a epilogue.) Once I got to the halfway point things finally started to change and happen. Also, in the last section it really took off and got interesting. I finally want to know what is going to happen and if he is going to solve the mystery of the virus and if his knowledge will fill in the little blanks about the story the previous two books have. I imagine they will but I know that whatever I find out in this book there is going to be a little more revealed in the 4th and final book.

Questions for a Quick Post!

I have a friend Elizabeth who has a blog chubbymadness.wordpress.com and she is an amazing person. She nominated some people for some blogger awards and I was reading them and the rules are in one you have to write 11 questions for the blogger you nominate to answer. Well, I was not nominated but I love questions and I felt the need to answer them, kinda like old schold myspace days, lol.

1. What is your favorite color?
2. What is the last book you read?
3. When is the last time you cried and why?
4. Who is the last person you told you loved?
5. Why did you start your blog?
6. Cherry Pie or Apple Pie?
7. What is the last movie you saw and how did you feel about it?
8. How did your pet get the name that it has?
9. Do you have any tattoos? If so tell me the meaning of at least one?
10. Who is the most famous person you have met?
11. What do you love most about your body?

1. red all the way, dont know why just is, hope it doesnt have anything to do with my younger aged rage issues
2. Finished was Spiral, reading Loop- its a series actually the Ring series
3. Last Friday, when I watched the first season finale of GoT for the 4th time and they beheaded Eddard Stark, gets me every time
4. Chase
5. Bc I have three friends who do excellent ones and I wanted to try
6. Apple
7. Are we talking at home or in the theatre? New at home was Hit and Run it was actually quite funny. In the theatre it was Django Unchained and it was f***ing awesome.
8. Its Libby and she came with it from the Humane Society.
9. I have what looks like 6 but is actually 8 or 9, I had two added to over the years. My left foot is a saying I live by or at least try to “You’re going to reap just what you sow.”- it is also a song lyric in a couple songs I love, one Perfect Day by Lou Reed, and a Lamb of God song.  My right foot is my badass-ness my skull and crossbones. My leg is some badass flowers and vines (its two in one). My stomach is my first and its a butterfly, bc of my old friend Shelby and hell I was 18 and needed a tattoo like yesterday so its what I picked mostly for the placement. My side is my current most meaningful my little brother Zach has the same one it is an old Japanese kanji that means bond and it is solid red with red outline. My back is two in one, the fairy was there first and I got it with my ex-best friend Sara, and then I had the tiger lily and dragonfly added, bc lets be honest it was too small. Again this I picked for looks. Whats next you ask? I have some things on the horizon.
10. Eugene and Harry. No, seriously hmmmm. I dont know Ive met anyone noteworthy… Chimaira the band I suppose.
11. Can I say my tattoos? Lol, ok I never thought about it. I like my butt most guys like it too

There was another blog award that required you write 7 things no one knows about you. So, I guess 7 uncommon facts about yourself, bc I cant come up with 7 things no one knows, Im a bit of an open book but here are 7 things people might find interesting about me.

1. I have had to put down 3 of my dogs, 2 in less than a year.
2. I have been to 5 countries not including the US
3. I prefer to listen to Metal and rock but my second choice is actually classical
4. I consider myself to have 3 dads.
5. My JoJo is the most important person in my life.
6. I didnt meet my older brother until I was 15 and he was 17.
7. I love baseball

Quick Post

So, Loop is a little harder to read than the previous two books but I am still making decent progress. I am a little frustrated that it doesnt seem to be going as quickly. I get where the story is taking me but I feel its taking a little longer than it should to get there. In other words it is kinda boring at times, almost repeating itself. Yes, things are different and we have new people and the virus has now evolved into cancer, but we dont necessarily know that. Obviously, Ive figured out thats where it is going, its just taking him too long to get to the point. Its not uninteresting I just have figured too much out. Turns out this is the authors favorite book in the series and it is also written so it can be a self standing story, which it could be and then I would probably be more intrigued.
My second reason for posting today is that I forgot part of what I wanted to say yesterday, probably bc I was distracted by the stupid race. Anyhow, this weekend I was texting with my friend Leslie, whom I have mentioned before and we were talking about reading. She mentioned she had been trying to start Game of Thrones but was having a hard time. I agreed that I want to read it next and it is written in such a way I can imagine its hard to get going on. We decided that when I get done with this Ring series we are going to have a little mini-book club about the Game of Thrones books, set little goals and discuss it as we go which should help keep us both on track and motivated. YAY! Cant wait to start I am sure Ill be more obsessed with the story when I get all the mintute details!

Spiral and NASCAR

Here I sit Sunday about to start reading the third book Loop when I realize if I dont write the synopsis before I start I may get very confused, or forget things I would have otherwise included. But while I am trying to do this, Chase is watching the stupid Daytona 500. I dont terribly mind most sports but I hate NASCAR, who can get behind watching people whose sole purpose is marketing drive in an oval shape for 500 laps and like a minimum of 3 hours. You cant even tell how fast they really go while watching on TV at least if you are present at the race there is a sense of speed and excitement. But whatever, after I write my review I will put in my ear plugs and read Loop, maybe Ill get it done in less than a week! Because honestly the 4th book has me extremely intrigued at this point. Birthday.
Ok back to Spiral, this book starts with a new main character who is a medical examiner at the same college that one of our previous main characters of Ring worked at, the main character of Ring was the reporter Asakawa and the second main character was Ryuji. Our medical examiner is Ando and he knew Ryuji from college as well as now working at the same school. Ando meets Mai who was Ryuji's teachers assistant and close friend, everyone thought they must be involved but they were not. Ando has a friend who works in his office who he ends up sharing the information he gathers with and who helps him solve the mystery. Basically, the story starts off with Ando learning of the deaths Asakawa had previously connected and he starts to try to learn the cause of the deaths as well as the new fates we learn has happened to our old main characters. He finds Asakawas report of the events he and Ryuji had experienced during their "week". Ando uses his medical knowledge and all the factors he gathers from Mai and shares it with his friend who helps him come up with new "ideas" and leads. The story is how the Ring virus mutates from a video, to a story, to something much more real. By the end of the book the Ring virus had taken on a completely new and more dangerous form, which allows it to spread more quickly. I am interested about Loop but I can sort of see where it might be going although I havent always been correct when I try to figure things out before I read them. I imagine this third book will also have new main characters I just wonder if any of the previous main or secondary characters come into play in this story as they did going from the first to the second.

Long time No Blog- Back to Reading

There is absolutely no point in trying to catch things up from August of last year. I am going to say thatnks to my friend Leslie I am going to try to take my blog in a different direction. But first I will address some things- quickly.
Chase and I got an apartment right after Thanksgiving and that is going great.
My mom's husband is in jail awaiting trial for three different things done on three different occasions. Best thing is no one will give him bail this time, finally and the bad is apparently he is trying to snitch his way out of trouble not gonna happen but gonna cause some issues.
Also, my mother has decided to let him go and move on with her life. Best part is she is talking to my grandmother again, worst part she is going to have to leave the house on Chestnut Street. We have already moved the cats and taken out the memory type things we cant replace. But its a hard thing for us to grasp its the longest I lived anywhere in my life and my brother literally grew up in the house. Its been approx 19 years moms lived there and thats a lot of memories to leave behind. Hell, I had my first kiss on that porch!

Now on to my new direction---
Amoungst many people who have been making me feel guilty, by no fault of their own, that I do not read right now was my uncle this weekend. We were talking about nerdy things and I realized I just dont have a good excuse for not reading and there are so many things I want to finish that Ive started. Also, my friend Leslie reads upwards of 100 books a year and makes me feel like a lazy butt, she also does these cute little book reviews on her blog. So, I was thinking of rebooting my blog like hers. Quick posts about everyday things occasionally and little book reviews as I finish the books, but be warned I cannot read as fast as Leslie and will not be posting mulitple every week as she is able to. As a surprise to myself I was able to finish the first book in the 4 book series I decided to start with in under 48 hours, but I had previously read this book AND it was the weekend. So, here's my first synopsis, this might not be so great but I am sure Ill get better as time goes by.

Ring- by Koji Sukuzi
This is the first book of four, although the 4th book is a prequel it was released last and I shall read it last. This is the horror style book that stemmed the Japanese movie Ringu, which was the inspiration for the US version of The Ring, that I assume most people are familiar with, even if you didnt see it Im sure you know the concept.
The book, as one would expect is different from both the US and Japanese versions of the movie. One thing that is the same in both movies is the newspaper journalist, who is the main character, is a female that is unmarried. Well, in the book its a man and he is married so that completely changes the dynamic of the story. But a lot of the general aspects and basic story line are the same. There are some major twists and turns that are different, but I wouldnt reveal them here, because thats whats fun about reading! Figuring it out or thinking you have then having it all change! There is not much that I can tell you about the story without ruining the surpirses, but a lot of it you would already know due to the movie. The second book is Spiral and I started it last night, Im excited to see where it goes bc I know I started this one but I dont think I finished it and if I did I dont remember the end at all!