yeah, um

There are not enough hours in a day.  There just are not.  I think I could do quite nicely with 26 or even possibly 28 hours in a day.  I am doing laundry.  And sewing.  Oh yes, you read right, sewing.  I am fixing a hook on camo coveralls in preparation for duck season.  Because I am awesome.

This week I have also cooked like a crazy person. 
Saturday: Lasagna.
Tuesday:  chicken enchiladas.  **Did not have sour cream for them because I don't read when I go grocery shopping and instead of sour cream got a small carton of cottage cheese.  Dur!
Wednesday:  Mac & Cheese with brats.  Oh yes, just like the childhood mac & cheese with hot dogs.  But all grown up as shells and cheese with brats.  It was delicious.
I was desperately hoping I was done cooking for the week and could survive on leftovers.  Tomorrow night I have class and I usually don't cook when I have class.  That's when those extra 2 hours in a day would come in handy.

Also, during all of my wonderful cooking, my dishwasher continues to suck.  Not just kind of suck.  It's really pretty pointless.  I'm fairly sure the dishes are cleaner when they go in than when they come out.  Gr!  I spent a couple of days handwashing my dishes and then realized I didn't have time for that.

Back to repairing coveralls.  And looking for more time in my life.

tackle

I've started the closet. I bought some more hangers. I wish Wal-Mart would sell bright pink hangers year round. Now I'm stuck with some white mixed in. I'm color coding though. All the sports shirts are on the white ones. And jackets are on the light pink ones. It's already so much better in there. I always loved organizing my closet when I was a kid.

I'm also doing laundry. Mountains of it. Now I remember why I should do it way more often. Last week I refused to do it. Now I regret that. Oh well. 2 loads are already done. :)

This week is going to be great. Today is laundry and the closet. I'm going to start on a scarf for one of my friends (I promised it to her last winter, oops!). I'm going to make cheesy chicken and green beans for dinner. Yum! There are also plans for a chocolate pie and tailgating food for 2 football games. I'm also going to clean the whole apartment. Yesterday when I went to buy the Kaboom shower foam they didn't have any. Rats! I was so excited. I love the regular spray!

I wish I could have taken this week off from work too....

what it's not

I should be studying for a lifespan development final. Doesn't that sound like oodles of fun. I should be unloading and reloading the dishwasher. I should be unpacking from the weekend.

I'm not doing any of those things. My brain is tired. I'm not sure it could hold any more. Good thing I have another final on Thursday. And a paper due. Whee.

All I really want to do is the fun stuff I have planned for next week. The glorious 7 days I have off from school. Like clean my closet. And crochet a scarf. And make a chocolate pie. And sleep in. And so many things that are so much more fun than studying. Even unloading the dishwasher.

on being.... a grown up

So I did two relatively icky things tonight that might classify me as an adult. Are you ready for this? Because I'm not sure that I am.

One. Because I am the best (I do mean best girlfriend in the whole world) I skinned a chicken. Can I just say that it was super gross. I mean yuck! Blech. I pride myself on being able to cook whatever I set my mind to. But skinning chicken grosses me out. Ug. I usually buy boneless chicken. Everyone is happier that way. But, because I am awesome, I skinned a chicken. It is currently in the oven with cajun butter injection and Famous Dave's chicken marinade cooking away. Deliciousness is sure to ensue.

Two. I cleaned my air vent thing on my heat/ac/water heater closet. It was disgusting. Don't judge me. I'm reasonably sure it wasn't even clean when I moved in. But I have people coming over on Friday and it looked gross. I got out that big duster thingy and tried to knock the dust(?) off. It sort of worked. So I got out my tiny Dirt Devil vacuum and attacked it. It's still not good, but it's better.

Are you impressed yet?

Well get ready. Here's how to make a chocolate pie. Not the actual ingredients, but a photo summary.

iPod. Check. (By the way, much cooler now bcs. I have an iPod dock)

Betty Crocker cookbook. That's the recipe doubled on the pink sticky note4 separated eggs. I rock at separating eggs!

Milk Lots of milk. Here is the milk all measured out in a 4 cup measure. 1970s tupperware measuring cups and measuring spoons. All necessary

All ready to startMmm! It's going to be delicious

It's almost pie.

I didn't take any pictures of the finished project. I think I ran out of time. It was delicious though. And I don't know why everything is showing up as a link. If you click nothing will happen. I just failed. I wasn't even trying to make links. Crazy.

Back to cleaning. Hopefully nothing else gross.

toaster ovens and tests

So I went shopping today. I had two gift cards to spend. One from Kohl's (a birthday gift) and one from Target (from returning a bag) I got such good bargains. I think I only ended up spending about $10 of my own money.

From Target:

I've been wanting a toaster oven for a while. I asked for one for my birthday and didn't get one. This seemed like the perfect time to buy it. It was pretty cheap but should get the job done.

And from Kohl's:

I'd been wanting some actual beverage glasses. They were 40% off! So that made it even better. We are having margaritas tonight. Pretty excited to try out the new glasses.

And now there is space in my kitchen to store all of this new stuff. Cleaned off the top of the microwave for the toaster oven. Classy, I know. And I bought a drawer to put my tupperware stuff in so now my mixing bowls and bar glasses can go above the sink. Yay!

awesomeness

So this may sound vain but sometimes I like to think about why I am awesome. And then I maybe like to remind myself of my awesomeness. Today is one of those days. So, here is why I am awesome.

• I am currently doing a fantasy football draft
• I installed a router pretty much by myself
• I made a new casserole tonight
  
• I'm going to bake chocolate chip oatmeal cookies
• I wrote 3 weeks worth of lesson plans and a newsletter
  
• Did I mention I installed a router?

These may not seem like awesome things but I also worked a full day and totally overslept. I woke up 10 minutes after I usually leave for work but still made it with 2 minutes to spare. Because I am awesome.

So, if you're curious the new casserole recipe:
2 Jiffy Cornbread mixes
2 eggs
2/3 cups milk
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can cream corn
Chopped jalapeno peppers (I use the kind in a jar)
1 pound ground sausage
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar (divided)

Make the cornbread mixes according to the directions. Brown and drain sausage. Stir everything into the mixed up cornbread and top with remaining cheese. Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes.

on being 26

Really? Am I 26? I'm not sure I believe it. 25 was such a good year. I absolutely loved it. So many good things happened. I believe 26 will be equally great. So, 26 things about being 26....

1. BBQ -- brats, fish, and burgers at my parents
2. Blackberry cobbler. Yum!
3. Losing weight. I turned 26 12 pounds lighter than I was at 25.
4. New jeans. I got $20 in the mail today that bought me a pair of jeans that fit.
5. The lake. 2 days relaxing in the boat.
6. Bongos. Delicious (non-diet) Italian food at the lake.
7. Sundaes. Delicious (non-diet) burger and fries at the lake.
8. People I love.
9. iPod dock. Absolutely the coolest.
10. New baking dishes
11. Kitchen utensils
12. A good hair cut and eyebrow waxing :)
13. Awesome black flip flops to replace the dying ones
14. Still forgetting to pack things
15. Being happy with who I am
16. Sleeping on the dirt sheets
17. Eating cake for breakfast
18. Being told repeatedly that I could do what I wanted because it's my birthday
19. People that love me
20. Birthday cards
21. Random electronic birthday wishes
22. Smiling
23. Looking forward to the future
24. Being surprised by life
25. Old friends
26. Sunsets