Mexican Hash

Tonight seemed like a good night to use up some of the ingredients in my fridge that were days away from going bad. My first thought was to use the shrimp and this divine hot sauce I have. Key Lime Habanero Hot Sauce, whoo wheee, what a kick! I found it at Target and I am convinced that they will discontinue it, so I think I better stock up!

Also in the fridge were some black beans and an avocado. In the freezer i always have frozen cooked rice, perfect for quick cooking. I found this rice also from Target called Lime Cilantro Rice mix and I make the whole thing, use the amount i want and freeze that rest.

So into the skillet I sauteed some garlic in olive oil then I add the beans, rice, avocado, shrimp some salsa and the habanero sauce. Then drizzled some lime juice on it and add a bit of salt, pepper, oregano, paprika and red pepper flakes. The great thing about cooking and using recipes is that you can substitute. Let's say you don't like avocado, add some corn instead. Or maybe beans aren't your thing, just use some more salsa or maybe add chopped mushrooms for substance. Not a fan of cilantro, use parsley. Chile powder too hot for you, use some paprika. Be creative and have fun! Cooking should never be a headache, if it is, call me!

I loves Chloe Paddington bags!

I understand that it is frivilous and insane to pay $1000+ for a purse... but if someone said I had to pick one designer bag to own I would have to pick the Chloe Paddington bag. I have borderline at times coveted this bag, although i have come to terms that a whole village in some countries could be fed for a year for the price of a Chloe bag.

But it is fun to look.

Funny story: When I was in Jewelry Design school at Minneapolis Tech. College we shared a floor with the fashion design kids. Everyday I would see the fashion boys and girls prance around in their latest creations, it was the equivalent of Jr. High Project Runway, so tre dramatic. The fashion kids always looked amazing while the jewelry kids, such as myself were always in t-shirts and jeans... because seriously, jewelry making is messy! One day i was riding the elevator up to our floor when the one and only fashion diva of the fourth floor fabulous fashion freaks stepped into the elevator. She had on her monster huge sunglasses, party dress, hipster boots and a CHLOE PADDINGTON BAG. Could it be that i was in the same proximity as a CP bag? It was just too good to be true. I felt my heart racing and my palms began to sweat! Oh that bag, the supple leather, the lock, the key, the hardware, the engraved "Chloe"... oh what joy. I could hardly contain myself, so i blurted out, "I love your bag!!!" Fashion Diva barely even acknowledge my lowly existence, she looked down her pointy noes at me and very flatly said "OH."

Whatevs! I wanted to say to her, "Puh-leeeze, if you were really cool you would be taking fashion design at Parsons in NY and not at a community college!! And your bag is probably a fake too!"

But being the bigger person, I just smiled and said, "It is really nice, your bag that is, not your attitude."

No, I'm just kidding. I said, "Your bag is swell, but the ruching on your dress is atrocious!"

Ok fine, I didn't' say that either!

Or did I?

A Breather....

I have been going non stop from Friday after work up until Sunday night. But everything was very laid back and relaxing, it doesn't feel like I had fun to the point of exhaustion this weekend.
After work on Friday I decided to go visit my parents and brother and just hang out. We had a really fun night of making homemade pizzas and playing games. My brother completely dominated in Yahtzee, after getting 2 Yahtzee's we all realized that defeat was eminent! We also played Fact or Crap, which everyone really enjoyed so much so that on Saturday after noon we had to play it again. Saturday was laid back, too. We went out sledding on the four wheeler and then we watched a movie. The highlight was taking a trip to Hutchinson, the "Big Town" near my parents house. We spent hours in Target just walking around and having some laughs. While my mom and I were in the makeup isle my dad was in the valentine card isle, and we heard him laughing so hard and we were 10 isles down! Apparently he found a really good card for my mom. Our final outing was to the Chinese Buffet, which was good, but seriously, after you've been in China, all American Chinese food pales in comparison. Seriously, it just does.
After all that family time I met up with Shannon, Jaime and Cindy for a little night out in H2Otown... Nothing fancy, just the girls having a good time. Sunday I went to church then was invited over for chili at Sarah's house. Sarah and Francisco made some darn good Sante Fe Chile! Ellen and I then went over to visit the beautiful Norelle! What a sweet baby! So content and pretty! Megan and Jake are such good parent's too, they look like old pros!!!
After the baby visit Ellen and I made a stop at Border's books so I could get this book I heard about... The Gaslight Effect, by Robin Stern. You can do your own research on this book, but lets just say I could relate. So spot-on its scary!
Then Ellen and I rented a movie and ate some snacks and then it was time for me to go to bed...
Good long weekend... lots to do, but never overwhelming. Nice.

Time to get LOST!

One week from today, after a long much anticipated 8 month hiatus, the best show on television returns!!! LOST! I know, it has lost many viewers with the long drawn out plots. Everyone cries, But nothing is resolved and nothing is revealed! And what about those darn polar bears? All I know is that this show has me hooked. I can't get enough! It's more than just a group of people stranded on a not so deserted island. It is a show about the human spirit, mixed with redemption and healing. Everyone has a back story, they all tie into one another, and it seems as if they were all brought together on this island for a specific reason. Everyone bears a secret, everyone carries around guilt and shame. However, everyone in their own small way, comes to the point of letting go and finding that freedom, but it might involve pain, it might involve some soul searching, but freedom and healing is there waiting on the other side. Just like real life. You got me sold!
I have a theory for those of you who do watch... I think Kate and Jack were the only ones to get off the island!! I think that is why Jack is so adamant about getting back! I can't wait to see what new twists and turns will happen this season!

MMMM.... Cod

I am one who needs to have some snacks at my desk to keep me going throughout the day. Sometimes I have almonds, or beef jerky or goldfish. Today I was in the protein bar isle at target and i saw these neat looking protein bars called Twisted. Four delicious layers... Pretzel, caramel, peanuts, and nougat, covered in a creamy chocolate coating. 15 grams of protein!! You can't beat that! I love me some protein! You didn't need to "Twist" my arm to buy these bars. As I am sitting at my desk around 2:00 and feeling the need to munch, I pull out my new handy dandy Twisted bar and went to town. I was pleasantly surprised at the taste, I mean it is a protein bar so they do add copious amounts of soy, which is not my favorite but I will eat it. So this is probably one of the better fake candy bars out there. And so I thought, "hmmm i wonder what is in this bad boy?" Well funny that you ask! Ingredient #1: Protein Blend (whey protein, soy protein, milk protein, basically protein on crack) Ingredient #2 Hydrolyzed Fish Gelatin (Cod)!!!!

What the? I am not kidding! They put fish jell-o in their bars! Grody to the Maxxx!!!!

Whatevs...

My last post was deeeep, and I don't want to be in that mode any longer. So I am going to write about Pegasus, the mythological horse that flies. When I was little my mom told me that all white horses would fly around at night, but you could never see them. I believed her too! And not only that, i was convinced that when I left my room all my toys came to life and had a party. I just had this suspicion and I would try to catch one or at least see if they moved even a hair, I never could catch them in action. When the movie Toy Story came out, I almost peed my pants! I wasn't the only one who believed toys came to life!

Nada!

Believe it or not, i have been out of words the past few days... but i have been thinking a lot and processing for me leaves me rather introspective to say the least. So this is really strange, but I don't know what to write about. I do have a sports related blog post in the works, but that is in development phase. So in the mean time, any suggestions on what to write about? I'll write about anything I am so desperate. I think this means I have writers block. Ouch.
Ok, I am back from lunch... and I had a few thoughts, but are they writeable? I don't know. I have been having a series of dreams all about the same person, but different situations. Last night in my dream I asked this person if they would consider running away with me, and they said, NO. But they also said that one of these days I will need to learn that running away will never solve the problems at hand. It is by staying and facing these problems that I will become the best version of myself. What? I mean I get it, I really do, but why the need to have these things brought to light in a dream. Can't i just dream about unicorns and cupcakes? It seems like the most profound moments I've had lately are happening in my dreams. You would think with all the over-thinking I do in a day, that I would have dreams about graph paper. Good Grief!
By the way, I am not really going to run away, but the thought does cross my mind every now and then... I didn't know i was even thinking about it, until I said today, What if I moved to San Antonio? And then I realized, that sub-consciously i HAVE been thinking about going far away. Why though? Life is good, I can't complain... but there are things of the heart that I am learning take a very long time to heal. I guess that is all part of growth, you need the time to heal and learn the lessons you need to learn before completely reaching the point when you are finally whole again. But sometimes running away seems more fun.
Hmmm... looks like I had a few things to say after all.