Sunday, January 25, 2009

Making Sugar Cookies with Em!






Hanging out with baby M




M's beautiful eyes!! The dark part of this picture is Thomas the Train, driving toward the camera.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Exciting!

My Etsy shop is officially UP and RUNNING!

Head over to my Lazy Daisy Marie blog for details!


Thursday, January 15, 2009

First to the Finish Line

Last night, I had a dream about running. I know, right? RUNNING.

I was in this race. I don't know how long it was supposed to be. You know where it took place? At my house. Yup. Started in the back yard, went through the family room, hallway, kitchen, dining room, living room, up the stairs, down the hall, into my room and back. There were tons of people running laps through my house.

And I was winning! I was winning without being totally tired or sweaty or anything.

And you know who was there cheering me on? BARACK OBAMA. He totally wanted me to win.

Weird, huh? Someone who's good at interpreting dreams please tell me what this means!


Tuesday, January 13, 2009

My Delicious Breakfast Burritos

I need to suspend humility for a minute and declare that I make the best breakfast burritos.

Curious? Do I have your attention? Here's how to experience pure culinary joy for yourself.

The following directions will make 3-4 burritos, but can easily be adjusted for however many people are being fed. Leftovers reheat well, too. These are super yummy and very filling!

You'll need the following:

  • Burrito Size Flour Tortillas
  • Eggs
  • Milk
  • Spicy Pepper Jack Cheese (grated)
  • Bacon
  • Frozen Tater Tots
  • Salt and Pepper
  • Hot Sauce (Your favorite!)
  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Spread out enough tater tots to on a cookie sheet to cover about half the length of the pan. Once the oven's heated, bake the tater tots. They usually take about 15 minutes to become gold and crispy.
  2. Trim the fat off of 5 pieces of raw bacon. Lay them on a piece of paper towel on a microwaveable plate. Microwave on high for 6 minutes.
  3. To make the scrambled eggs, melt 1 tablespoon butter into a nonstick skillet on medium heat. crack 6 large eggs into a bowl. Mix in about 2/3 cups of milk. Add some salt and pepper. Mix together. Pour egg mixture into pan. I've found that scrambling eggs is a tradeoff between fluffiness and scrambled-ness. The less you mess with eggs, the fluffier they will be. When the eggs are 90% done, add a big handful of grated pepper jack cheese and turn the skillet to low to melt cheese and keep eggs warm til time to assemble the burrito.
  4. By now, the tater tots and bacon should be done and out of the oven and microwave. Once cooled, break bacon and tots into bite-size pieces.
  5. Lay a flour tortilla flat on a plate and spread some grated cheese in the middle. Microwave on high for 45 seconds to heat the tortilla and melt the cheese.
  6. Scoop some eggs and tater tots into the middle of the tortilla. add some bacon pieces and some of your favorite hot sauce. Fold in ends of the tortilla and roll the sides tightly.
  7. Enjoy your yummy breakfast burrito!

As you might have inferred from the directions, multitasking is important. It took me a few times to get the timing of each step down.


Monday, January 12, 2009

This is not a call to action.

The only way I'm going to go run . . .


. . . is if someone is chasing me.


Tuesday, January 6, 2009

You may or may not know.

Here are a few things about me that not quite everyone may know. . .

  • I don't like exercise. Now, I don't mind activity but I really really hate the idea of working out for the sake of working out. I like things like playing games or going on hikes to get a workout, but the only reason I'd go running is if someone was chasing me.

  • I am a chronic multitasker. I simply cannot just sit and do one thing. If a movie is on, I need to keep my hands busy, so I'll knit, blog, or facebook chat. I can't just sit and read a book, so instead I'll listen to audiobooks while I work on a project that still allows me to focus on what I hear.

  • I am a neat freak. I think cleaning is fun and therapeutic. Organization is great. I'm pretty much always purging my room and closet of things that I don't need. I am the opposite of a clutterbug. Oh, and I think Feng Shui is pretty legit.

  • Sometimes, I lie. Not about important things, but sometimes I think it's fun to try to convince someone that something absolutely absurd is true. I once spent a while explaining to a friend how if you want your hair to grow faster, you need to take down all the mirrors in your house. I usually end up telling the truth afterwards, though. This might be my compensation for never trying acting.

  • My hair hasn't been it's "natural color" since eighth grade.

  • If money didn't matter, I would be a professional student. I would rather get a bunch of degrees in completely different areas of study rather than use the degree I already have to go get my master's. There's so much out there to take in, and I wish it could be my job to just learn as much as I could.
That's all I can think of for now. If there's anything else you'd like to know, just ask! =)

Monday, January 5, 2009

Uh oh.

Is your cat plotting to kill you?

A Lesson From the NICU

A while back, I was interning in a child life program and I was assigned to hold a little baby girl in the NICU. She was only 4 months old and had already had many surgeries, with many more to come. As I held her, trying to maneuver around the many tubes and wires connected to her tiny body, I felt the spirit touch my heart, and remind me of what we agree to when we choose to come to Earth.

Not long ago, Heavenly Father told her Spirit that she would come to Earth with all of these trials, that doctors would be fighting to keep her alive, and that the very act of breathing and living would be a struggle. And she still, knowing the difficulties of the calling, chose to come here anyway. Because mortality is that much of a blessing, that it's worth the hard times to gain the experience. It's such an important journey to take, that she was willing to temporarily leave the presence of her Heavenly Father, even though a life of pain and struggle awaited her.

That baby girl reminded me that I, too, was presented with a calling, and that I chose mortality despite the trials that I would encounter. My trials were put into perspective, and I realized that the things I face can not lessen the value of this mortal experience. I, too, told Heavenly Father that I would happily take those troubles upon me to be able to live on Earth and to return to live with Him again.

That baby girl taught me so much in an hour, and she had only been on this Earth for 4 months. I hope and pray that I always remember her and that experience.


Thursday, January 1, 2009

Big Picture Restlessness

What do I want to do with myself?! I have some good ideas. I'm pretty sure any of them would work and I'm sure I'd be able to live in a just fine existence if I went with any one of them.

But I don't want something that just works and would provide a just fine existence. I want something exciting and engaging. I don't want a career where I address Problem A with Solution A. I want to do something where I can continue to grow and thrive and learn ALWAYS.

I call this a case of "Big Picture Restlessness". I've had this plan for a while that I'd take the degree I received into a grad school program that I've always been attracted to, and after hiding out in school for 2 more years I'd enter that job field and be happy camper working lady. But lately I've realized I'm not sure enough to commit the time and resources necessary to master a field that I feel good about but not CERTAIN about.

So, now what?

I want to take classes I haven't taken before and try new things. I want to see what inspires me and what could make me happy in the long run. And none of it has to do with money. There's just so much out there in the world to learn and explore. I don't want to cop out by thinking I've found my niche when I've found a pretty good fit.

So my new plan is a lack of a plan. And I know that by saying that, I risk being accused of lacking direction. But to that I say, "I have a direction. I'm going forward." And as for plans, I think I will plan to be surprised.