Now all I need is a Tortilla

Last night I bought some avocados. Granted they were all ready ripe so I have to eat them soon. So for lunch I made a Spanish Medley of avocado, fresh corn from the cob, tomato, and olives with salt and pepper for lunch. It tasted great, and since I had tortillas I threw those in with it. It was really good except for those bites that had a bit too much tomato in them for my liking. I got to admit, I'm pretty good at making up foods. I'm proud of myself.

Deconstructed Chicken Pot Pie for Dinner

 

 Tonight I felt like vegetables. And chicken. And to pull it all together, an attempt at a roux sauce. It all turned out rather splendidly if I do say so myself. My vegetable list was rather long, and includes every vegetable I own other than my tomatoes. 

-Potatoes

-Frozen Corn

-Frozen Peas

-White Onion

-Carrots

-Mushrooms

I learned one valuable thing when making a roux which has been noted to me in the past. Add lots of pepper, it helps to balance out the thick flour.

 

Its so hard to get a good picture of myself while I am holding the camera. But I think these were the best 2 from tonight.

Head Drawing

 

Monday Head drawing class. Drew a girl with a hat in brown pencil on lite blue Canson Paper. I am proud. I just wish models would smile, but since they have to sit there a long time, it makes sense that they don't...

 

"Mehicauno"

Today's lunch is brought to you by the letter "M" - for Mexican!

During my morning class, I kept wondering about what to have for lunch, and I remembered a can of black beans in my cupboard. I also have bell peppers that I bought last week, some corn that needed to be eaten, and half a tomato that needed to be used up. So I made Mexican black beans. It turned out really good!~

2 Years Olds Every Where Unite!

 Little niece birthdays!!! Okay, actually only one. And she's 2!!! She will now show you a peace sign when asked how old she is! o how precious little ones are!

 

 

*Note: I don't have my cheat sheet (family calender) to tell me when everyone's birthday is! Amy if I got it wrong please forgive me! I'll remember it correctly next year, I promise!

Monkey Morning~

The cans are small but have 10 biscuits in them so they go a long was.

At the local grocery store, Broulim's, had there store brand biscuits 3 for a $1. Of course I had to get some! I also bought butter and I already had brown sugar, so today I made monkey bread. I remember eating this more often as a kid and then only on rare occasions throughout the last 10 years. But I love the memories I have of eating it and spending Saturday or Sunday mornings with my family eating it together. I'm so glad I know how to make the food that I saw Mom and Dad make so often, it makes me happy. And its so delicious too!

My Momma would be Proud

This is my first dinner in 3 days. The last 2 nights I was at school too late and just skipped rather than eating right before I went to bed. Wednesday I stayed after class and did my homework so I wouldn't be stressing over it till 1am like I did Tuesday. And Thursday I got home from class at 8pm but then immediately went to the store with my roommate and then to zumba for an hour with no breaks between. So each day I wasn't officially home till 10pm, but I try not to eat (1) after 9:30pm or (2) 2 hrs before bed and since I've been trying to make it to bed by at 11pm, it didn't make sense to make dinner. So tonight I got home from being at school on my day-off, just chilling in the computer art lab for 6 hrs painting on photoshop and decided to make this: tuna salad sandwich.

The reason for the title is because there are tomatoes in the salad! I hate tomatoes. But the idea for this comes from my friend Allison who made it for me a couple weeks ago and I loved it. So I bought tomatoes just for this (and because I was craving a tomato for my grilled cheese sandwich the other day). How she taught me was to have 5 ingredients:

• canned tuna
• chopped tomato
• shredded cheddar cheese
• mayonnaise
• chopped lettuce (I couldn't remember if she used cabbage or iceberg lettuce so I just used the heart of my head of romaine lettuce so that I could keep the crunch I had before)

Then I also had cantaloupe and Lay's stacked chips (these and Pringles are my splurge of $1.50 because I only eat a couple for snacks or a serving with meals, and one can usually lasts me 2 weeks). The drink is not blood, but strawberry Sunny-D that I get at the Dollar Store; its my Vitamin-C so I don't get sick with all the stress that school and college life consist of.

Lighting is horrible in this place!

And a pretty poppy I saw on campus today. Thing was huge! As big as my fist!

Its a Life Motto

I've taken up a new motto to live by, and for the most part, I am living by it and its great. 

"If you want to be good at something then do it."

I've always wanted to be able to cook, but I never did at home. So that's why I've been cooking so much up here, because I'm finally taking the initiative (Not because I no longer have a mother cooking me dinner every night). I've only had ramen a couple times and and Mac n Cheese maybe 3 times. I'm getting much better at watching my temperature, not over cooking my eggs, and making things moist. Flavoring, like knowing how much salt and pepper to add, is still an issue, but I'm sure I'll learn it with time. 

That's why I have this motto, its similar to the motto "Fake it till you make it." If you keep doing something eventually you'll be good at it and you won't be faking, you'll be doing it, your confidence will rise and people will admire your skill. "Practice makes perfect" is also related. Its all the same as my drawing. I'm good at drawing not because of a teacher or special pencil, but because I draw every day and continue to use me skill. 

So I keep cooking so that one day, I can be great at cooking!~

Breakfast Potatoes: turkey sausage, mushrooms, onions, potatoes, and a little green onion for color. Seasoned with Seasoning Salt and Nature Seasoning. Served with milk (I like making sure I have all the pieces to the food pyramid in every meal.)

A Weekend at Home

 Last weekend my big brother Karl was sealed for time and eternity in the Mesa, AZ Temple to the beautiful JaNel. My parents bought me tickets to fly down from school in Idaho to attend the wedding. I was so happy (though I still detest flying). I was just on the brink of super missing my family, so coming home really helped boost my spirits when I got back to school. I was scared though because I almost didn't see all my nephews and nieces, but my wonderful sisters pulled together a special Sunday dinner so I could see everyone. I never realized just how much I miss Sunday dinners. 

Me at the Idaho Falls Airport. My friend Shelley dropped me off and I sat looking at the runway and reading my scriptures while I waited for my plane to fly in from Mesa.

While I was waiting there were a couple of young boys (that reminded me so much of Karter and Koltyn, it hurt) and every time the younger boy saw something with wheels on it (such ass the platform you see), he would call it a "car." So cute!

I didn't think till the flight was almost over to take pictures of the horizon and mountain tops. So cool!

After the wedding reception, I went and hung out with my best friends Lara and Gayle. I hadn't since Lara since last November when I flew to Rexburg, Idaho to check out BYU-I, so it was a long awaited reunion. We made home-made ice with lots of sprinkles and watched "The 3 Musketeers." 

Gayle's silly face she wanted me to take a picture of.

 Sunday was wonderful: I slept in, went to my old singles ward, got home and just laid around reading with Mom and Dad in the family room. Even though we didn't say much to each other at that time, just being with them made me extremely happy and peaceful.

Sunday night we went to my sister Heather's house for a big family dinner since Mom and Dad's house was out of commission, and all of the children were there. My biggest surprise was hearing Evelyn talk so much and actually being able to understand her! I can't wait for the day when I can have a conversation with her. And roly-poly Jenna was all smiles as she crawled everywhere. These kids are getting so big, it helps to remind me that I'm growing up to.

 Look at this boy --  the image of beauty! The song "I Can't Wait Till They Call Me on a Mission" is playing in my head; 8 years till its his turn.

Stephanie got a new nail stamper for making fancy nails. Parker showed me some fish that he put on his nails and was super excited to do mine. Now I have stars on one finger and my toes!

 

 I tried to make sure I got a picture of everyone~

 Two beautiful girls. I love Jenna's blue eyes.

Silly Kimble.

Dallin did not leave the salsa bowl for a good portion of the night. I thought he smiled for my picture though, maybe my flash went off before he put on his smile...

Koltyn has always been shy of me, but he's getting better, he doesn't cry now every time I give him a hug now! So cute helping his Dad set up the little kids table.

Evelyn was in love with stabbing her olives. I didn't realize how big that fork was for her...

 

After dinner Dad and Ryan watched I think an airplane show and the kids were left to wander while the rest of the adults played Farkle in the living room. It has become Stephanie's new favorite game, and we played often before I left.

 

Being with my family is the most important thing in my life.  Eating delicious food, playing competitive games, and just laughing are things I cherish every moment I'm with and without them.

<3

Friday's Dinner Creation

 Friday night and what do I do? Make a fantabulous dinner of course! (Yeah... I don't get out much but its better than my ramen usual that I used to have.) I made chicken tenders with a light flour and Synder coating (needed more Synders), garlic mashed potatoes, and a parsley and mushroom gravy from a mix. It was really good!~

I am so happy Mom gave me my giant bottle of parsley flakes, it my pride and joy in the kitchen!

I was wearing earphones because I like to cook to music but I didn't want to disturb my roommates. Please ignore the fizzy hair, I didn't straighten my hair and it rained today.

Muy delicioso!

I took this a couple days ago (I know, I have lots of plaid, I love it!) The strawberries I got this week were huge! Nearly the size of my fist. I couldn't fit the whole thing in my mouth!