The One With The Break From Positive Psyc.

I decided I needed a more personal blog, because I'm kind of sick of all this positive psychology mumbo jumbo. I'll update you guys on my life. :) For those of you interested, that is...if you aren't then just stop reading now

Alright, so I don't remember what the last thing was about my future plans that I wrote about. But I'm like 99.9% positive it's changed. I was pretty excited about possibly moving out of the state after I graduate. While I'm still thinking that sounds really fun...I've thought about it all and here are a few points in relation to that idea:

1. If I go out of state, I want to do so with a friend. I don't want to move to some place I've never been for more than a few days or ever been all by myself. I don't want to have to figure out an entire life without ANYONE. That just freaks me out and doesn't sound like a lot of fun. So I'm taking applications for any friends who want to move with me somewhere in the next few years, because I do still think it should be something I experience eventually. 
2. I love Texas. I've come to realize just how much I love Texas. I mean I always loved it, and knew how awesome it was, but for some reason, the minute I started thinking of moving, I started realizing I would be leaving country music, cowboy boots, guns, etc. Now I know I can find these things in other states, but Texas is just too amazing...and it makes me sad to think I would leave that. So I can say, that it is likely that if I move away, I'll end up back in Austin.
3. My sister and brother in law have been married for 3+ years, and will eventually have a baby. (No they aren't preggo right now). And I want to be there for that. I don't want to be out of the state when my neice/nephew is born and then grows up. I mean, I want to be the #1 babysitter! So that's definitely made me re-think this move. 
4. Finally, I've realized how much I just want to BE for a little bit. I'd like to just have a job, not a lot of stress, and just live. Hang out with friends. Be social. Have a place of my own. Love on Noah. So, I'm really considering keeping the job I have for like a year after I graduate, so that I can just be and maybe try and save up some more money, and then consider either going to culinary school either here in Austin, or some other state. I just kind of want some time to think. I don't feel like I have that time because right now I'm in school, and I'm just focused on graduating and I want to be able to enjoy these last couple months without having to worry about what my next step is. And that will give me a year to figure out what I want to do for real. I don't want to make a decision I'm not sure of. 

I will say that last point kind of scares me, because some people have brought up the worry that I will just get comfortable and then not do what I actually want to do. And while I understand where that worry comes from, I feel like I shouldn't make a decision until I'm 100% sure what I want. I feel like I made this decision to be a Psychology major so quickly and then I couldn't change it since I got so deep into school, and not that I really wanted to ever change it, but now I don't really know what to do with it since I don't want to go to graduate school. I just feel like I make one decision, and then immediately have to think about what my next decision is. And I feel like I deserve some down time where I just enjoy my life and live and then worry about culinary school or moving or changing jobs, etc. Hopefully that makes sense. Because I do worry that I won't end up where I should, but I just have to trust in God, and trust that even if I do seem to be "taking the easy way out" that it's where I'm supposed to be. I also just pray that if He wants me somewhere else He will make it clear to me.  So if all of my readers could pray for that too, I'd really appreciate it.

Ok so there's that update/rant. Next up, I graduate 10 DAYS before I'm actually done with my finals. I'm pretty upset about that. I want for me to feel the moment that I walk across the stage and shake hands with whomever, that I'm done. But instead I walk across the stage, and then start thinking about all of the studying I have to do...so I can make sure I actually get the diploma in the mail (not that that is a true worry). It's really more about the principle. Walking across the stage is supposed to be that final moment of pride. And it just won't be that for me. Instead I get to celebrate by myself after I walk out of my last final. It's just not the same. But oh well, nothing I can do about it.

My sister is going to make my graduation announcements though. I'm excited about that. Instead of sending out the generic announcements, I get to design my own. I'm even gonna start with a consultation. So I'll be able to say I've been through the whole process, and let everyone know how it is. By the way, if you are wanting any invitations, business cards, Christmas cards, etc. you REALLY should check out my sister and her company DetailsAustin. She really is talented. www.detailsaustin.com

Ok, how is the iPhone 4S? I have the 3GS and I have been waiting for the 4S to come out to upgrade to the 4, but I'm contemplating how worth it it is to spend the money for the 4S. So people who have it, tell me, is it worth it? I need to figure out how much the 4 will be for me and see what the price difference is. I'm hoping I can get the 4 for cheap since I should be up for an upgrade. Anyways, please let me know what you all think.

Finally an update on Noah. He's still just as precious as always. For his birthday I took him to lunch at the domain and then to a dog store and got him a new UT jersey and a big bone. He was a happy boy. I recently got him a shirt that is orange and has a jack-o-lantern face on it. I think I need to buy the one with a ghost on it that says BOO, as well. 

Here he is  - "Mom, this is really getting old."

Joey: (enters the room) Hey, you guys, what are you doing tomorrow night?
Chandler: (browsing through a ) Well, let me see... I-I believe I'm... yes, falling asleep in front of the TV.
Joey: Look, my agent hooked me up with six tickets to a great play.
Chandler: I could fall asleep at a play.
Phoebe: What is it?
Joey: It's a one-woman play called "Why don't you like me: a bitter woman's journey through life".
Monica: It sounds interesting!
Ross: Yeah, it does sound interesting, I mean, to listen to a woman complain for two hours, I don't think it gets bett... (Ross starts snoring, faking to fall asleep)
Phoebe: I know, I know, we can drive, we can vote, we can work, what more do these broads want?

The One With The Follow-Up.

Alright, I decided I needed a follow-up to my last blog post. Because someone made me realize I didn't address some things that I find important.

I am not saying that you should never be unhappy or negative. There are going to be times in your life that you will feel sad, negative, sorrow, devastation. And I find those times to be VERY important in your life. God definitely doesn't just send positive events to positive people, and I'm sorry if I implied that. I understand that even the most positive people will have negative events happen to them, because God always has a lesson for you to learn in any situation. And sometimes you just NEED to feel sorrow. I know that I go through a couple days almost every month, where I just need to be sad. Or I have something that I'm going through or things from my past pop up that I need to deal with. So, again, I'm sorry for implying that negative things are only happening to negative people. I don't agree 100% with the theory, and think that you can't have only positive things in your life. My main point is that you can turn any situation around, but sometimes, in some situations, it may be better for you to not be positive, and to deal with the pain and sorrow you need to go through to grow. I also think you need to go through hard times and go through pain if you want to become closer to God. If everything in your life was amazing and positive, then why would you ever need God? It'd be easy to forget about him. And I think sometimes, that's the exact reason you are feeling the way you are. God is saying, "Hey, remember me? I'm here for you, and you're forgetting about me." I know I find myself doing it all the time. There is always things to be thankful for in your life, and it will help the situation if you focus on them, but sometimes it's not enough, and that means you just have to deal with the pain and sorrow and ask God for help, and try and figure out why you are going through what you are and trust that God has a plan and is taking care of you.

Ok I think I'm done with my rant. I just felt bad for not addressing that side of things in my last post.

Stephney and I went to Gateway church on Sunday. We've decided we want to branch out and find a church that we love to go to, and maybe get connected in a small group together or something. So, we went, and I really liked it, as I think Steph did too. We will probably try other churches just to see what they are about, but I think Gateway is in the running. I just love churches like that. My main thing I want in a church is the preacher keeping my attention the entire time. Not boring me. and he did just that. I think he even talked for like 45 min or so, and I may have wandered off a couple times, but overall he was wonderful. So I will keep you updated on our church adventures. :)

By the way, I don't know what I would do without Stephney right now. She's just been an amazing blessing in my life the past 6 months. And I hope she knows that.

Rachel: Mon... Okay... I've gotta... just say what it is I'm gonna say... None of the amazing things that have happened to me in the last ten years, would have happened if it wasn't for you. No-one has been more like a sister to me...
Monica: I know what you mean. You're like a sister to me too.
Rachel: (starts crying and speaking at the same time, making it almost impossible to understand what she's saying) I wouldn't know what I'm gonna do without you...
Monica: (having the same problem) You're the best friend I ever had.
Rachel: (says something that cannot be understood)
Monica: What?
Rachel: I... I... I... (again saying something that cannot be understood)
Monica: That is so sweet. (they hug)

The One With The Magic Beans.

Alright, so I did my 10-12 minute presentation on gratitude in Positive Psychology this past week, and I was first. I am so happy I got it out of the way, and it actually went really well. I may have talked too fast, but such is life. So I'm going to break down my presentation for you.

I began by showing a clip from Friends. I just went to search for the video to post on here...and apparently it was deleted. So I'll just have to explain it to you guys. It's in the episode - The One With George Stephanopoulos. Rachel has recently run out on her wedding to Barry and is trying to figure out what she will do with her life now that she has to be an independent woman. Her old best friends came to visit her and she found out they were all either getting married, having a baby, or getting promoted. Rachel then walks into the apartment to Monica and Phoebe, and she begins freaking out about her life. Phoebe and Monica try and calm her down and tell her she has all these opportunities ahead of her. and Phoebe then says...

PHOEBE: You are just like Jack.
RACHEL: ...Jack from downstairs?
PHOEBE: No, Jack and the Beanstalk.
MONICA: Ah, the other Jack.
PHOEBE: Yeah, right! See, he gave up something, but then he got those magic beans. And then he woke up, and there was this, this big plant outside his window, full of possibilities and stuff.. And he lived in a village, and you live in the Village..
RACHEL: Okay, but Pheebs, Pheebs, Jack gave up a cow, I gave up an orthodontist. Okay, I-I-I know, I know I didn't love him-
PHOEBE: Oh, see, Jack did love the cow.
RACHEL: But see, it was a plan. Y'know, it was clear. It was figured out, and now everything's just kinda like-
PHOEBE: Floopy?
RACHEL: Yeah.
MONICA: So what, you're not the only one. I mean, half the time we don't know where we're going. You've just gotta figure at some point it's all gonna come together, and it's just gonna be... un-floopy.
PHOEBE: Oh, like that's a word.
RACHEL: Okay, but Monica, what if- what if it doesn't come together?
MONICA: ...Pheebs?
PHOEBE: Oh, well... 'cause.... you just... I don't like this question.
RACHEL: Okay, see, see, you guys, what if we don't get magic beans? I mean, what if all we've got are.. beans?

I then go into my presentation. I begin by sharing a personal story about a hard time I went through and how I also thought many times I didn't have magic beans in my life - honestly, I usually wouldn't mind sharing the personal story on my blog, but I just don't really want certain people to know some things, whether or not they read this blog.

Then I start with the main idea of my presentation. I came across this concept that intrigued me. It begins with the law of bivration, which says that everything in the universe, if broke down into it's purest and most basic form, is a vibrating mass of atoms and subatomic particles. This then leads us to the law of attraction, which says that this energy (vibrations) that you resonate and project based on your thoughts, feelings, and emotions determines your indivudally projected vibrational frequency, which broadcasts out into the world and attracts energy that harmonizes with it and determines the events, situations, and circumstances that you eventually see manifest into tangible forms in your life. This relates to gratitude because when you are in a sincere state of gratitude, your energy is one of acceptance and harmony. You then project a vibrational frequency that attracts you to the events, conditions, and circumstances that you desire. One way the theory is broke down even further is by using an analogy. Imagine you are a giant magnet. Whatever you are feeling, whether it be love, fear, anger, happiness, joy, or gratitude, you are creating a magnetic force that attracts events that are in direct correlation to what you are feeling. It is inevitably saying you are responsible for attracting and creating undesirable situations in your life. This may not be encouraging, but think again. If this is true, then it is also true that you are responsible for creating desirable situations in your life. You have the power and can consciously create better circumstances by expressing more gratitude.

I then explain how in my hard time, by focusing on all of the wonderful blessings in my life that GOD has given me and by thanking Him more, the hard time was made a lot easier and I was able to be happier. There is so much research out there that actually proves that by making gratitude more important in your life, you can actually raise your happiness set-point (if you remember this is the level of happiness that you either come back up to or come back down to after a negative or positive event in your life). And I think that's something we all thrive for in life. Who doesn't want to be happy?

I ended my presentation by bringing back the Friends reference. I told them that Rachel, by the end of the episode, realizes that she does have these magic beans in her life and they are her wonderful friends she now has. And she started counting her blessing or her magic beans and she calmed down and realized she was going to be ok. So I then had made everyone a little bag of "magic beans' which were just bags of jelly beans, but I wanted them to be reminded to count the magic beans in their life.

Therefore, I encourage all of you reading this to start looking at all of the things in your life you are blessed with. There is ALWAYS something you can be grateful for, even i a difficult or horrible situation. And I promise, you will start realizing you are a happier person.

ROSS: (Doing the spinning) Ok, Monica, right foot red.
MONICA: Could've played Monopoly, but noooo.
ROSS: Ok, Pheebs, right hand blue. (Pheobe has to bed over) Good. (Joey stares at her butt appreciatively)
(Phone rings, Chandler answers)
CHANDLER: Hello? Oh, uh, Rachel, it's the Visa card people
RACHEL: Oh, Ok. Will you take my place?
CHANDLER: Alright (to phone) Yes, this is Rachel
RACHEL: Nooo! (Takes the phone; Chandler takes her place) Hello? Oh, yeah, no, I know, I-I haven't been using it much. Oh, well, thanks, but, I'm ok, really.
ROSS: Green. To the green.
RACHEL: I've got magic beans. Never-nevermind.
CHANDLER: To the left, to the left-awww!
(They collapse)
RACHEL: Ohhh...I'm fine.

The One With The Amazing Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread.

Ok, here is the blog post for the AMAZING pumpkin bread. It seriously is one of the best things I've ever made. It's SUPER moist, and of course, anything with cream cheese is absolutely delicious (at least that's how I see it). I will definitely be making this again...possibly soon. It's perfect to bring to some fall parties. I'm also considering putting this in muffin tins and making muffins. I really can't rave enough about how much I love this recipe. (By the way, I can't wait for the new iphone to come out so that I can get the 4 to have better pics - I know mine aren't great especially because I have a scratch on my lens)

Here are the ingredients -

FILLING:

• 1 package (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you want the filling to be)
• 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

BREAD:

• 1  2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 to 1 1/4 cup(s) pumpkin puree, canned or homemade
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1  1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional - I actually completely forgot about these when I put it in the oven, but I think I prefer it without, but I may try it with the next go around) 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour two 8 x 4 x 3-inch loaf pans. In a medium mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, flour, egg, and vanilla; beat until smooth and creamy. Set aside.

In a large bowl, blend 1  2/3 cup flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg; set aside.

In another medium bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, canola oil, eggs and sugar; beat well.

Stir the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture just until combined. Fold in the chopped pecans or walnuts.

 *
Pour half of the pumpkin bread batter evenly into the two prepared loaf pans. Spoon cream cheese mixture on top of the pumpkin batter layers in each loaf pan and then spoon or pour  on the remaining pumpkin batter (if you don’t have enough pumpkin batter to cover the cream cheese layer entirely, that’s okay, because you’ll be swirling them together anyway). Take a knife and stick straight down into the top pumpkin batter layer and middle cream cheese layer; swirl the knife around in these two layers, creating a marble effect; this will give the cream cheese filling a nice swirly shape as it bakes.

*
Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool bread in pans for 10 minutes; remove to a rack to cool completely.

 

The One With The Visit To Cru.

Alright everyone! It's the second week of Austin Restaurant Week. Something my mom and I loved to go to. We actually went to Siena off 360 last week, and it was a huge disappointment...The appetizer was pretty good, but the salmon they served us, I couldn't even finish eating, and the dessert was only ok. SO, my mom and I knew we had to try out a different place so we wouldn't leave ARW with a bad taste in our mouths...no pun intended. So we decided on Cru, and we chose right this time. Cru is located in the Domain (there is one downtown as well), and if you haven't tried it, you need to. We actually went there on Saturday afternoon for brunch and we took the pups to celebrate Noah turning 3. I can't believe he's that old, but that's beside the point. Our lunch was so good that we decided to try out the ARW menu. So here is a low-down on what all we ate. First, here's a pic of my wonderful lunch there on Saturday. I had the tomato basil soup and grilled cheese. SO DELICIOUS. One of the best tomato soups I've ever had.

 

Ok so now for both my mom and my meal from tonight. (By the way, my dad came, but he eats a tic-tac and is full, so all he had was the caprese salad, which was like 3 slices of tomato and 2 slices of mozzarella - but it was delicious as well). My mom got a flight of wine so she could try 3 different wines. They were all red wines. I don't know enough about them to write about them, but her favorite was one that had hints of bacon taste. I had the coffee, and let me tell you, this is some of the best coffee I've had. I don't know why, but I feel like they infuse cinnamon or something in it. It was delicious.

 

For our appetizers: I had the ricotta ravioli with a lemon butter sauce and chorizo, and my mom had the mussels. They were both very good. If I had to choose, the mussels would take it. It was actually the first time I'd even tried mussels, so I guess I don't know what I'm comparing it to, but they were very tasty. They had white wine, parsley, garlic, shallots, and lemongrass brother.

 

On to the entrees. I had the Salmon with couscous, haricot vert (which is just a fancy way (french) of saying green beans) with a basil-citrus sauce. It was so good. It was perfectly cooked on the outside with a little crunch but still piping hot and moist in the middle (much better than the Salmon at Siena). My mom got the beef tenderloin with Gorgonzola, tomato gratin, and creamy potatoes. This was also delicious. I don't think I could choose a winner in this category. They are both so different and equally good. Although, I do love me some potatoes...starches are my vice.

 

And finally we come dessert. We both got the vanilla napoleon, which was pound cake with a warm berry compote. This was also delicious. I didn't put it in my mouth and think, "Oh, my goodness, this is absolutely wonderful," but it was very good. It was almost the perfect amount of sweet, with homemade whipped cream, and I'm a big fruit lover. :) 

 

So, until next Austin Restaurant Week...unless I randomly decide to go another time this week, which I wouldn't be against...

"Tartlet, Tarlet, Tarlet...word's lost all meaning." 

The One With The Gratitude Prep

Alright, so I signed up for my presentation in Positive Psychology yesterday. We are given 4 options of days and we were told to rank our top 3 choices in order. What do I always do when given this task? You may think I'd choose the last day as my top choice...and you'd be wrong. I always choose the first day. Some of you may think I'm crazy, but let me explain to you why I do this:

1. If I go on the first day, hopefully the teacher will grade a little less harshly, because I didn't have anyone to watch before planning my presentation.  I always feel like those last day people's presentations BETTER be absolutely fantastic since they had the ability to watch every single other person in the class and then plan it.
2. I am one of the biggest stress balls you'll meet. I've actually gotten a lot better, and now I give that award to my sister, but with things like this, I can't wait around for 4 class periods before making my presentation or I'll be a mess of stress for 2 weeks...and no one wants an irritable Alex.

So moral of my explanation: I'm not an over-achiever like you may think, I'm actually an under-achiever. 

You may not be surprised to know, I was the ONLY person who chose the first day as their number 1 choice. Which means, I'll probably not only be on the first day of presentations, but I'll bet I'm first on that first day. But again, that stresses me out less than thinking I have to wait 4 class periods before I present. I know, I'm a little odd. But I'm pretty sure most people reading this knew that already.

What is the presentation about, you ask? Remember when I told you guys about my top 5 strengths. Well, I had to rank those in order from 1 to 5 on which one I wanted to do a presentation over and write a paper on. My first choice was spirituality. My second choice was showing love. My third choice was gratitude. I got my third choice. Which is funny because when my teacher told us she had chosen our topics by what we ranked, she specifically said, "I believe everybody got either their first or second choices." I must have been the only one to get neither. BUT I will say, all things happen for a reason, and I'm starting to get excited that I was chosen for gratitude. I'm actually glad I didn't get my first or second choice. Thanks, Daddy God for looking out for me. :) (see, I'm being more grateful already).

Oh, something else you should know. This presentation has to be 10-12 minutes long. 10-12 MINUTES LONG. Now, I know for a lot of people that's nothing, but I'm sorry, even when I signed in front of my ASL class it was like 2 minutes long. I have to find 10-12 minutes worth of stuff to talk about, and not only that, but it actually has to be INTERESTING to the class. Because there's no way I'm getting up there and presenting a boring speech.

There are absolutely no other requirements. It's completely open to whatever I want to talk about. So I started researching a little bit today. And let me tell you, I already have some ideas cooking. :) I'm pretty excited about it. I also think for my presentation I'll bring some type of treat, because I mean let's get serious here, there is a chance my presentation will be boring, and if they are given something sweet to snack on during it...hopefully they won't remember how boring I was.

I'll share my ideas more specifically when I have a better idea of what I'm going to do.  Until next time...

Ross: So I nodded off a little.
Rachel: Nodded off!! Ross you were snoring. My father’s boat didn’t make that much noise when it hit rocks!
Ross: Come on! Forty-five minutes! Forty-five minutes the man talked about strappy backed dresses.
Rachel: Well okay, how about four hours in a freezing museum auditorium listening to Professor Pitstains and his ‘Hey everybody! Remember that thing that’s been dead for a gazillion years. Well there’s this little bone we didn’t know it had!’
Ross: First of all it’s Professor Pittain! And second of all, that little bone, proved that, that particular dinosaur had wings, but didn’t fly.
Rachel: Okay, see now, what I just heard: blah-blah-blah, blah-blah-blah-blah-blah, blah-blah-blah, blah, blah.

The One With The 5 Acts of Kindness.

So our exercise 1 in Positive Psychology was due this week. I realize you don't really know what this means...so let me explain. We had to choose from a list of about 10 exercises that we would do and then write a paper over and report back in class. You were supposed to choose 2 of them, and then write only about one of them.

The first one I did that I didn't write about was called a Gratitude Diary. I was supposed to write down 3 good things that happened that day for a week. This ended up being a little harder than I thought. However, I started realizing that even focusing on the little things that were good in the day, which sometimes was the only really good thing for the day (like coming home to Noah), was actually really special. Sometimes it's easy for us to focus on the negative that happened and coming to the realization that there are a lot of small good things that happened that we never focus on helps your mood. Even just noting that you got up and made it to work on time can be seen as a good thing that day. So I encourage you all to start thinking about all of the good in your life, but I know it's not easy, and it's something that I struggle with everyday.

The exercise I did write and talk about in class was called 5 Acts of Kindness. I was encouraged to show 5 acts of kindness in 5 days. This exercise jumped out at me, because I always tend to try and do kind acts for people I love. When I'm in a relationship, I really like surprising my boyfriend with his favorite candy, etc. so I was very exciting to do this. I chose to do these five acts:

1. I brought homemade cookies to my class. I was actually scared no one would want them and/or like them, but they ended up being a hit. I am considering bring some other treat to class next week. 
2. I gave an edible arrangement to my sister and brother-in-law. They do a lot for me, like take me on AWESOME trips (countdown to Key West: 47 days), and I wanted to show them my appreciation, because I really do appreciate everything they do for me. They take good care of me. 
3. I gave my dad a birthday present even though he told us not to. I gave him a wine bottle with a picture of us on it for the label, and I took him out for lunch and actually paid for it myself. He tends to think he's only loved because he's the money-maker, and that is just so far from the truth, so I wanted to show my appreciation towards him. 
4. I gave a homeless man some cash. I'm pretty cynical when it comes to this. I don't like doing it honestly, because the chances are that cash is going to go towards alcohol or drugs. I also think they need to stop being lazy and try and find a job at McDonald's or something. BUT I decided this was the perfect act then for me, because it doesn't matter where that money goes, I did something kind and in reality it is God's money. I just prayed before that God would bring good to the money instead of bad. 
5. Finally, I did one of my favorite things. I drove to Chick-Fil-A (no that's not the favorite thing, but it is pretty damn good), and paid for the person's meal behind me in line at the drive-thru. I love doing this because it truly is an act of kindness that you aren't asking for a thank you or recognition. This one always makes me feel really good inside because I'm not doing it for me in the slightest, and if I get the chance, I like to leave a little card that has something about God's love on it so it can glorify Him, instead of me. 

So anyways, I encourage all of you to start doing more kind acts. Sometimes it's hard to not be lazy and go do them, but it really is worth it. It allowed me to focus on being kind to others instead of focusing on the negativity in my life and in return, I felt happier. So go do a good deed today, even if it's small.

Ross: Y'know what, I am gonna be happy this year. I am gonna make myself happy.
Chandler: Do you want us to leave the room, or?
Ross: Everyday I am gonna do one thing that I haven't done before. That my friends is my New Year's resolution.
Phoebe: Ooh! That's a good one! Mine is to pilot a commercial jet.
Chandler: That's good one too, Pheebs. Now all you have to do is find a planeload of people who's resolution is to plummet to their deaths.
Phoebe: Maybe your resolution is to not make fun of your friends, especially the ones who may soon be flying you to Europe for free on their own plane.
Monica: She has a better chance of sprouting wings and flying up your nose than you do of not making fun of us.
Ross: In fact, I'll bet you 50 bucks that you can't go the whole year without making fun of us. Eh, y'know what, better yet? A week.
Chandler: I'll take that bet my friend. And you know what, paying me the 50 bucks could be the "new thing you do that day!" (Ross looks at him.) And it starts right now!

The One With The Update On Noah.

So, I realized I hadn't talked about Noah in ages. And this is NOT because I love him less. If it was at all possible I love him even more than ever. He's just the most precious thing ever to walk this Earth. He seriously is my best friend. I come home to him, and he's ALWAYS excited to see me. He's just the biggest comfort in the world. If I'm having a down day, the best medicine is to cuddle with him in front of the TV. His love is endless.

He's loved living at mom and dad's. He LOVES having the backyard and a huge house to just run around in. He also loves having Mar Mar around during the day while his mommy (me) is at school or work. Thankfully he still wants to sleep with me at night. I sure hope that never changes. I sure do miss him while I'm gone. On Tuesday's, I'm gone from 8:30am-7:30pm. It kills me being away from him that long. But thank goodness he's not sitting at home alone. He's got Tessa to play with, too.

I occasionally take him on my runs in the morning. He loves it. Saturday he did 3 miles with me. Pretty sure he was POOPED by the end of that one. He's the best dog ever.

This is what we are doing right now: 

Chandler: Okay, it's um…

Joey: (interrupting him) Don't do it!

Monica: Don't do what?

Chandler: (to Joey) I have to! Okay? It's time! (Joey shrugs as if to say, "Do what you have to do") Okay, I hate dogs.

All: What?

Phoebe: Are you crazy?

Ross: Are you out of your mind?

Phoebe: Why?

Joey: Told ya. (Waves bye-bye.)

Chandler: They are needy, they are jumpy, and you can't tell what they are thinking, and that scares me a little bit.

Ross: Right, they are scary. (He jumps up, screaming) Ahh, she just ate a treat out of my hand!!!

Rachel: Wait a minute. Do you not like all dogs? I mean, not even puppies?

Chandler: (scared) Is there a puppy here?

Tag: You don't like puppies?

Chandler: (to Tag) Okay, you are new!

Joey: Look, Chandler, I told you, never tell anyone about this dog thing. It's like Ross not likin’ ice cream.

Phoebe: You don't like ice cream?

Ross: It's too cold.

The One With The Second Week Of Pos. Psyc.

So this week in Positive Psychology wasn't AS interesting as last. There were still some things worth talking about though.

First off, the discussion question that I mentioned in my last post, we talked about as a group. Just to remind you: if you and a friend made a bet as to who was going to have the better life and came together around 60 years old to decide who it was, how would you determine who had the better life? Here are some of the more interesting answers given by my classmates.

1. When you make the bet at age 17, or whatever, also make a list of 100 goals you'd like to have accomplished. Then at 60, go through them and see how many you accomplished. Whoever has the bigger percentage wins. Now I like this idea, but it obviously has a lot of flaws in it. For one, someone could put really easy things to accomplish and the other could put difficult things. It'd be like comparing apples and oranges. Another flaw is the fact that it doesn't include any of your relationships, which I think are an important part of a successful life. (some may argue against me on that one though). 
2. Another person said that they should document whether or not they were feeling positive or negative every day and take the average for the week, and whoever has the most positive weeks is the winner. I actually really disagree with this one. For one, you could NEVER prove that that person actually had a positive affect on those days he/she documented it. It doesn't prove anything. And secondly, I don't think having a positive affect the most really makes your life better. I don't know, it just doesn't seem like the end all thing to measure a successful or better life. 
3. Dr. Carlson brought up this interesting idea. There's a thing called an impact factor in psychology. It basically means the impact factor is higher the more your work is cited in other research. What if there was a way to have an impact factor on a human being? The more you are "cited" with other people, the better your life is. I think that would be one of the best ways, but obviously not possible. 

One last thing about this. This discussion question is based on an actual situation that one of my professor's friend did. The way he and his friend measured their life was by asking kids, who were the same age as they were when they made the bet, at the same school they attended, to read an essay on each one of their lives and then write down questions for them. They then met up at the school, answered questions, and had the students vote for who they thought had the better life. Apparently it was basically a tie...I'm not sure how that happened, and I'm not sure I believe it.

An interesting fact I learned this week. Apparently someone who won the lottery was asked a year after doing so, and someone who became a paraplegic a year after doing so, how happy they were and they found they were both as equally happy at that point in their lives. It just shows that we don't need money to be happy. Even if something awful happens to you, your happiness can come back, it's just a matter of how you look at the situation. However, for different situations, obviously, it takes longer to get back to that happiness set point. The hardest things that take the longest for people to rise back to their set point is widowhood and unemployment.

The last thing I want to talk about is the fact that happiness always comes back down to a set point or goes back up to a set point. You never stay extremely sad or extremely happy. So we somewhat discussed why this is. We use this thing called ordinization, which basically means that we try to make sense of events in order to speed up emotional recovery. We say things such as, "It just wasn't meant to be," "They are in a better place," or "God has a bigger and better plan." I'm not saying these things are wrong to say, by any means, but we do use them to make ourselves feel better so we don't stay in this negative emotional state forever.

It also wouldn't be good for us to stay in a constant state of emotional dysphoria or euphoria. In my notes it says it would be physiologically taxing, which I agree with. I also agree with the idea that we need to be on a more level happiness to deal with other environmental situations. However, I think the most important reason we shouldn't always be in these states is because then we no longer appreciate being really happy and we wouldn't realize when we were really bad off. Eventually, if you were constantly in a state of euphoria, that state would no longer be euphoria but your set point that you could never exceed. Or if you were constantly in a state of dysphoria, you would eventually not realize just how bad off you were and know when you need to ask for help. If that makes any sense.

Here's an interesting quote: "I am the happiest man alive. I have that in me that can convert poverty to riches, adversity to prosperity, and I am more invulnerable than Achilles; Fortune hath not one place to hit me." - Sir Thomas Browne

The discussion question that will be discussed next week is:  Consider real life examples of "big" negative or positive life events. Think of one example that seems consistent with the "happiness set point" perspective. (i.e., the person acclimated and returned to the pre-event level of life satisfaction), and one example that seems inconsistent (i.e., the event seemed to exert a lasting effect on level of life satisfaction). What factors (e.g., individual differences among people, nature of event) seem likely to affect the applicability of happiness set point theory?

By the way, I would LOVE it if people responded to the discussion questions themselves with their own thoughts. If anyone has an example of their own, I'd love to hear it, and I could share it in class, if you didn't mind, of course. Until next week!

Joey: If you ask me, as long as you got this job, you’ve got nothing pushing you to get another one. You need the fear.
Rachel: The fear?
Chandler: He’s right, if you quit this job, you then have motivation to go after a job you really want.
Rachel: Well then how come you’re still at a job that you hate, I mean why don’t you quit and get ‘the fear’?
(Chandler and Joey both laugh)
Chandler: Because, I’m too afraid.

The One With The Five Strengths.

This semester I'm taking a class called Positive Psychology and The Good Life. It's my last writing component class and one of the optional assignments is to write a blog post every week reflecting on what was talked about (you have to have a certain amount of writing by the end of the semester). I figured this was a perfect opportunity to use my blog, since I'm trying to be better at writing more. And it should still be interesting to my readers.  In my book, it says positive psychology is the scientific study of what goes right in life, from birth to death and at all stops in between. I figured this was the perfect class to be taking, since I could be focusing on a lot of bad things. For example, my impending graduation where I have no idea what I'm doing...you know, stuff like that. I'm hoping I come out of this class a more positive person. One of those people who looks at the glass half full. An optimist. We will see if that can happen. ;) By the way, this first blog post will be the longest one, since I'm opening you all up to it and there was a lot that was covered in the first 3 class periods. Bear with me.

The first few class periods were pretty cool. The first day of class, I was thinking we would read the syllabus and then leave (like I thought with all of my other classes as well) WRONG (yes, in ASL - this I should explain real quick to my teacher since this is the first time she's seeing something like this in my blog. It's old news to my readers. I will sometimes put WRONG in my blog. In American Sign Language, when you are signing a story, and something doesn't go as planned, you sign the word for "wrong," so sometimes I incorporate ASL in my blog, because I took about 5-6 years of it and love it - anywho, moving on) we went over the syllabus and started talking about positive psych. We were asked to write about what we expected of this class, etc. We were then asked to take a survey online that would give us our top 5 strengths, which I will come back to. The second class period we watched a video of a lecture done at Southwestern, I believe, about happiness. While some parts were boring, overall it was a pretty interesting lecture. Here are a few of the parts I found interesting:

• He opened up by saying, "before we talk about how to be happy, we need to ask ourselves if we WANT to be happy." He went on to explain: is happiness really a good thing? Is it functional? Sometimes there are things that make us feel good, but really aren't functional or good. i.e. meth...but obviously being happy is a good thing. I'm also big on how powerful the mind really is. And I like to say "Do you want to be happy?" If you do, then you can be. It's all about changing your attitude. This brings me to point number dos. 
• He talked about social relationships, worldly success (monies), work success, and then he came to health. Health is such an important part of being happy. It's also a symbiotic relationship. To be happy, you need to be healthy, and to be healthy, you need to be happy. Here's an example of how health depends on happiness. If you have a cardiac event (i.e. heart attack), and after this event, you are depressed, you are 5 TIMES more likely to have a second cardiac event. 5 times people! This reminds me of the placebo effect, which is something that just fascinates me. If you are given a sugar pill to help your symptoms and you actually believe this pill will help you (not knowing it's just sugar), you're mind is more likely to alleviate those symptoms on its own. THE MIND IS AMAZING. I could go on and on about that, but I won't bore you. 
• The last point I'll talk about is the different characteristics in the different areas of life that he said happy people have. In social relationships, they are more likely to have: leadership, more friends, volunteer, more political involvement, and trust in others. Apparently, the most cheerful people make $65,000 a year. And for work success: higher supervisor ratings, organizational citizens, doing things for work place not in the job description, etc.

Ok, so really quick I have two more things left. First, I will briefly discuss what my top 5 strengths ended up being. By "strengths" it really means what you value the most in life. Here were my top 5:

1. Spirituality, sense of purpose, and faith 
2. Capacity to love and be loved 
3. Gratitude 
4. Honesty, authenticity, and genuineness 
5. Perspective (wisdom) 

I actually thought these were all SPOT on. I'm truthfully so happy that spirituality came in at number 1. I also think that my spirituality (religion) really incorporates all of the other top strengths.

Ok last thing. I'm supposed to discuss these questions in class tomorrow: What does it mean to have a good life? How do you measure happiness? The main thing she asked us to focus on was this hypothetical situation. If you and a friend decided that near the later part of your life, you would come together and discuss who's life was better; who had the happier life. What kinds of things would you measure that happiness on. "I've had the best life because..."
So I haven't really thought about this much. I'm honestly just typing as I think. I think my first/main thing I would focus on would be relationships. Not HOW MANY I had, but how meaningful they were. Friends and family. The second would be what I did with my life. Did I make a difference? Even if it were just with one person, did I help someone out? I would also focus on did I live a Godly life, overall. Did my actions bring people to know the amazing God that I know? Did I live a life God would be proud of? If the answers to those questions were yes, then I'm not sure how you could have a better life than me. I still have some work to do...

I will still end these blog posts with a quote from Friends (my favorite TV show of all time - for Dr. Carlson - that's also why all my blog posts start with "The one with..." since that's what they do for each episode in the series).

Rachel: They wanna know if I'm okay. Okay...they wanna know if I'm okay, okay, let's see. Well, let's see, the FICA guys took all my money, everyone I know is either getting married, or getting promoted, or getting pregnant, and I'm getting coffee! And it's not even for me! So if that sounds like I'm okay, okay, then you can tell them I'm okay, okay?"
Monica: Uh, Rachel has left the building, can she call back?

The One With The Terrifying, New Plan.

Has anyone ever seen the show That Girl. It started in 1966. My mom recently bought season 1, and we've been watching it. Basically it's about a girl named Ann (Marlo Thomas - who plays Rachel's mom in Friends), who decides to move to New York to start a new life on her own away from her parents. Back then, that was pretty weird to do, because girls just didn't do that. They met a man and married and became a housewife. My mom had made the comment that when she watched this show when she was young, she wanted to be Ann. And let me tell you, even though it's 2011, I want to be just like her. So this show is what has started this imagination of mine. I'm really not the type to just get up and move to a city I've never lived in and find a job or go to school all alone. I realize I'm not as independent as I'd like to be, but I've definitely gotten better. I've just been thinking lately that I think I will regret never doing anything more with my life. I have grown up in Austin and I've never left, except for that year and a half in Abilene, which I realize is still SOMETHING but definitely not what I'm talking about. So, I started thinking, what would I do if I did have the personality that could just get up and go. I would love to be strong enough to move to like Seattle, New York, or Colorado and find a job and just live. Find some cool new friends. JUST BE. But let me tell you, while the idea sounds AMAZING, it freaks me out like no other.

Truthfully, one of the reasons this sounds so appealing is because I have so many memories here in Austin that I want to forget. I have MANY more memories that I don't want to forget, but I'm kind of ready to wipe the slate clean and move on with my life somewhere new. I want to get away from some things. I don't really feel like I'm able to move on with my life living here. This leads me to my next point. All of my friends are doing something with their life. I've got one friend who's going to China to teach english for a year. I've got another who is getting a double major and when he graduates has decided he's going to move to LA to basically do what I want to do (only problem is he has a ton of contacts there to help him figure stuff out). I've got married friends. One of my friends is married with a kid already. One friend plans on getting engaged/married in the upcoming year. I just feel like I'm kind of settling. Like I'm kind of doing the most comfortable thing possible and not really doing what I want to do because I'm too afraid. And I just know that I will regret that when I'm older and can't do this. And you know, I'm single, I have no responsibility to anyone, except Noah, who will be coming with me of course, so it just seems like the best time to do it before I have a life that will make it even more difficult. The only thing really holding me back is my fear. My parents are on board. They even encourage it, especially my mom, who, as I said earlier, wished she had done something like it.

So I have a lot of thinking to do in the next few months. I'm about to start my last semester of college. I graduate in December and I need to come up with a plan. So if anyone out there has any advice, I'm all ears, because I truthfully don't even know where to start. I'm so terrified that I'm probably going to try and convince myself to not really take the steps. So I need encouragement. I don't think I could say it enough. I. Am. Terrified. One thing everyone can do however? Pray for me. Pray I figure out exactly where God wants me, because that's the most important thing. That I end up where He wants me to.

"C'mon Daddy, listen to me! It's like, all of my life, everyone has always told me, 'You're a shoe! You're a shoe, you're shoe, you're a shoe!' And today I just stopped and I said, 'What if I don't wanna be a shoe? What if I wanna be a purse, y'know? Or a hat!' No, I'm not saying I want you to buy me a hat, I'm saying I am a ha- It's a metaphor, Daddy!"

The One With The Peach Cobbler.

So I was called out on the fact that it's been quite a while since my last blog post (Thanks, Autumn). This blogging thing is hard work! Either that or I'm just lazy...I won't be taking a vote as to which one my readers believe it is. So when one of the few readers I have complains, you know it's bad. I'm going to share a peach cobbler recipe that my grandmother on my mom's side actually created. It's absolutely delicious, and my mom swears it's the best peach cobbler recipe out there. It's pretty damn good. But before I share that with you, I can update you on my life.

A couple weekends ago I went to a Ranger's game with a few of my friends. We stayed at my cousin's house and it was a lot of fun.

This was us in the pub bathroom. Steph had planned way ahead of time to drink one or two or three beers here before heading to the expensive beer at the game. We all had a great time at the game. The boys were drinking their beers and eating their hot dogs, while us girls really had no idea what was going on (not because we didn't understand baseball, but because we were slightly inebriated and just didn't want to pay attention), and decided to walk around. Because we are some hot pieces of...you know...some guys decided to start talking to us. And Steph decided we needed to try their hot dog they had just bought. (Way to go, Steph). She also got a free water...me on the other hand...after voicing many times to them that I needed cotton candy, ended up buying it myself. SO I was not impressed with them very quickly. We went out after the game and had some fun (even though Austin is a lot MORE fun in this scene). We came home and ate a bunch of the cookies Jessica had made (which I want the recipe to) and, all in all, it was a great weekend. 

This past weekend Steph and I made a trip to Abilene. We stayed at Ross' house. It was an AWESOME weekend. We met some new people, some we liked and some not so much. Here are some awesome quotes from the weekend: 

• While at whataburger ordering food, Rachael, in the backseat of the car says, "Hey you know what else we need? We need a small order of the beer sh*ts." 
• After Rachael spilled her drink on my lap, I ask Ross and Zack, "You know I didn't actually pee my pants right?" Rachael then chimes in, "Alex, don't lie. You know you peed your pants. But that's ok, because I will pee my pants so you won't be the only one, too." 

Ok, so apparently the quotes really only consist of funny things Rachael said. She's Steph and my new friend, who needs to move to Austin immediately. 

Here we all are in the backseat. That was a fun car ride. 

OK, so present time. I FINALLY made myself cool enough to be asked to go on a poker run with my sister, Angela, and her hubby, Chris, and their friends. So I'm headed to Destin in a week from today for 4 days. :) I plan on singing Knee Deep by the Zac Brown Band all weekend. There will also be a blog post, which should include some awesome stories...At least there better be. 

Ok, peach cobbler recipe...

Ingredients:
2 Large cans sliced peaches
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
1/4 teaspoon ginger
2 pie crusts
1 stick margarine (I used butter)

Mix all ingredients.

Criss-cross one crust on bottom of rectangular dish. 

Criss-cross one crust on top of the filling and dot with one stick of butter. 

Bake 450 degrees for about 45 minutes or until golden brown. 

And Voila! Yumminess. 

"Well that's like summer in a bowl." 

The One With The Texas Sheet Cake.

So it's a Friday night, a girl has no plans, so what does she decide to do? Bake something delicious with loads of calories. Duh.

So Stephanie came over, I went shopping for some jean shorts, found some for only $25, and then we came back to bake something. We decided on a Texas Sheet Cake. By the way, I get most of my recipes from Foodgawker.com. If you haven't heard of this website you need to check it out. It's awesome. It's basically a compilation of all the best food blogs, and you get to look at delicious pictures of food. What more could you ask for? Well, maybe being able to TRY all of the food in the pictures, but I think that's asking for too much.

Here's the recipe:
For the cake:
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 c. white sugar, granulated
3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c. buttermilk
2 large eggs
1/2 c. cocoa powder
1 tbsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon, ground
1/2 tsp. salt

For the glaze:
1 c. heavy cream
10 oz. bittersweet chocolate
1/4 c. white sugar, granulated
2 tbsp. unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and cocoa powder and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time until mixed through. 

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture alternating with the buttermilk and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat until just blended. Remember: Start with dry ingredients and end on dry ingredients! 

Spread the mixture out over a 12" x 16" rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper, using a rubber scraper to smooth the batter as evenly as possible across the pan. (I didn't use parchment paper becuase we didn't have any. I just sprayed the pan with baking Pam). 

Bake the cake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Set the baked cake aside to cool slightly before glazing. 

And here is where the night got eventful. I decided to put the cake in a cookie sheet, because it isn't a tall cake at all, and I didn't think it would rise that much. This is where you would place the ASL sign for WRONG. The cake rose too much and spilled out from over the sides a bit, and it started burning at the bottom of the oven. It got so bad that I would open the oven slightly and smoke would just spill out and fill the room. We ended up opening all of the doors, and Stephanie and I were wafting the smoke with dish towels. 

I had to try and see the positive, but I was worried the cake was ruined. We decided to take out the cake 5 minutes early and hope for the best. And let me tell you, even the slightly burned sides of the cake were delicious. The middle was gooey, just the way I like it. So it all worked out for the best. 

Next up was the glaze. 

Roughly chop the chocolate for the glaze and set aside. 

Bring the heavy cream and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove the cream mixture to a heat-proof bowl and add the chopped chocolate and butter. (We added a dash of extra cinnamon and a tsp of vanilla)

Whisk the glaze until smooth and glossy. 

Spread over the top of the cake and serve. (Approximately 14-16 servings)

We decided to try it before putting the glaze on the entire cake, hence the random square in the middle. 

I thought it was DELICIOUS. I'm a big fan of chocolate and cinnamon, so this was perfect for me. It was gooey, warm, and delicious with a big glass of ice cold milk. (and yes, I do put actual ICE in my milk. I can't have it any other way) 

We took our first bite: 

So while we are eating our delicious cake, Stephanie pulls up an online shopping site. BAD IDEA. I have been on this craze for shoes lately, especially heels. I went without heels for 3 years of my life for a reason I don't want to get into right now, but I'm sure you can guess. I think I'm literally making up for lost time. I am going CRAZY for shoes, and of course, a pair of shoes that make me want to cry show up. So after holding the cursor on the "proceed to checkout" button for 15 minutes, I finally pressed it, and these shoes will be at my door in 1-5 business days. 

I'm really hoping for the 1 business day. I am SO excited. Please feel free to leave comments on how amazing these shoes are. I know I will be dreaming about them tonight, and I'm not ashamed. 

"You complete me kitchen, Matey." 

The One With Reality.

It's funny how one day you can be the happiest you've ever been and the next, you are questioning where your life is headed. It is so hard losing something you had for so long. Especially something you thought you'd have forever. And to have it taken away so quickly like it didn't even matter is even worse. You'd think that a few months would be enough time to get over something, but you find yourself still thinking about it constantly, and having your moments. It's tiring. It's funny how you can think your life is going to turn out a certain way. You can be 99.9% sure, but then God decides, "Nope. I'm going to take you in this direction." and then you feel completely lost. Like your life has no direction, and you don't know which way is up. I know God has a plan. That's not the problem. I know that all I need to do is trust in Him, and know that He is leading me in the direction I need to go. I'd just like to feel SOME sort of direction.

I graduate in December. I have 9 hours left of school. and my mom makes a great point. I'm not excited about graduating. And I should be. I'm about to graduate from college. from the University of Texas, and instead of being excited, I'm almost dreading it. Why? Because I have NO idea what I'm going to do when that day comes. I feel like I have to figure it out soon, or else...well I don't know. And I know that most people will say, "Alex, you have time. No one knows exactly what they are going to do." But what people don't understand is I can't do ANYTHING with my degree. I have to go to grad school. But I don't want to. I don't want to go to school for another 2 years. At least right now. I don't know, I know it will all come together eventually, but it'd be nice to know at least a little something.

It's funny how when you're young and you see these 22 year olds, you think, wow they are so old, and they have it all figured out. I thought by 22, I'd feel 22. I don't feel the way I saw those 22 year olds as a young'n. I'm still considering the culinary school route. I just need to be 100% sure. It's not a decision that needs to be made lightly. I just feel like time is moving too quickly, but slowly at the same time.

It's also kind of amazing how you can feel so lonely, in such a huge world. Full of people.

I try to read this quote to make myself feel better:
"We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us."
- E.M. Forster

God has me. I just have to trust.

The One With The Homemade Spaghetti Sauce.

I've been living at my parents' house for the past 2 weeks just because. It makes it a lot easier for Noah to be there during the day while I work and/or go to class. I hated thinking of him being all alone in a tiny apartment. Now he gets to run around a huge house with a backyard, and pester my mom. and trust me, he definitely pesters. This morning when I left, he was running all over the house. If he got close to you, he'd nip at your ankles and run off. He has so much energy. I've been taking him on my runs every now and then, and it still doesn't seem to calm him down. He gets ahold of little things, and decides he wants to eat them, so I'm running around the house screaming, "Noah! Drop it!" and he will let me get just close enough before he runs off again. My mom the other day said, "Wow, I just got a visual of you and a 2 year old." Thank goodness Noah is the closest thing to a 2 year old that I have. No babies for me anytime soon. But anyways, the point of me telling you all this is that on Tuesday/Thursday's I work from 10-2 and then there is no point in going all the way back to my parents' up north before class, so I just stay downtown and hang out in my apartment or run errands until school at 6:00 pm. This past Tuesday I decided I needed to use some of awesome new kitchen equipment I got for my birthday (Thanks Mom and Dad!). So, after work, I headed over to the grocery store and picked up some things to make homemade spaghetti sauce. I know spaghetti is such a boring, typical meal, but it's cheap, and that's what I like. And it's pretty healthy if you pair it with some whole grain pasta.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• one 28-ounce can peeled tomatoes, pureed in a food processor (IN MY NEW FOOD PROCESSOR) 
• salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 3 large fresh basil sprigs
• Whole grain pasta 

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium low heat. Add onion and cook until soft and translucent, stirring occasionally, about 6-7 minutes. 

Add garlic and crushed red pepper flakes (I did without the crushed red pepper), and cook another minute. 

Increase heat to medium, and add pureed tomatoes. Season lightly with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens slightly and the flavors meld, about 20 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in basil sprigs. 

Meanwhile, cook spaghetti until about 2 minutes before tender. Reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water. Drain pasta. Discard basil from tomato sauce and heat skillet over medium heat. Stir in 1/2 cup reserved pasta water to loosen sauce; bring to boil. 

I then individually sized pasta in a bowl, added some parmesan, and topped it off with the sauce. I also baked some garlic bread to go along with it, because how can you have homemade spaghetti without some delicious garlic bread? 

After finishing that delicious meal, I decided I wanted to make a smoothie for class. So I put together a coconut, pineapple smoothie. 


Ingredients: 
1 cup vanilla yogurt 
1/3 cup fresh or frozen pineapple chunks 
1 medium banana, sliced 
1/4 cup low fat coconut milk 
1/4 cup 1% milk 
Ice cubes 


Place it all in a blender and let it rip! 


When I got to school, I parked in the garage, and I open my door to find this car next to me...

I don't understand how you can let your car get that nasty. I'm pretty messy, but there's no way I would allow the only possible seating available in my car to be the driver's seat, and everything else full of trash. 


"Oh my God, there's a toe in my kitchen."