A New Beginning....

Okay, so it's been a few months, but I'm ready to start again.

Biology was a breeze compared to Anatomy and Physiology, which I'm taking this quarter. Tissues, bones, muscles, and the nervous system...all the intricacies of the human body. It's tough!

Haven't done a lot of cooking, baking, knitting or any of the things I really enjoy, but I'm surviving. We're going to Orlando for my birthday at the end of the month - 3 days at the Wonderful World of Disney, and another couple days to soak up the sun. I'm so excited! Hopefully I'll come back refreshed and ready for another quarter of Anatomy and Physiology.

I have been doing a lot of working, studying, and even some working out!

I figure if I'm going to Florida I should try and get some arm definition so I feel more comfortable walking around in short sleeves after this winter of sweaters and heavy coats. I've been doing the elliptical 45 minutes every morning, getting up at 5am, for 2 weeks now! I think if I can keep it up for another 2 weeks, why not another 2 months? Small victories. I'm even using Livestrong to track my food and exercise.

This evening I'm making Shredded Wheat Bread, from a recipe a friend gave me. I tried it once before, in a bread maker, and it just didn't work. This time I'm making it manually, and it's rising right now. I forgot to add the brown sugar, remembering it as I was putting all the ingredients away. I've learned it's really important to have everything pre-measured and ready to go otherwise I forget something important. So, I kneaded it in before leaving it to rise, and I guess I'll just see how it turns out!

Shredded Wheat Bread:

2 large biscuits of shredded wheat, crumbled
2 cups boiling water
2 tbsp shortening
1/3 c molasses
1 tsp salt
1/3 c brown sugar

combine above ingredients

2 packets yeast
1/2 cup warm water

combine yeast and warm water, let yeast dissolve

once yeast has dissolved, add to shredded wheat mixture

begin adding flour 1 cup at a time, up to 6 cups, until dough is no longer sticky.

knead, form ball, and place in bowl, cover with towel, to rise to double.

cut in half, place in greased bread pans, and let rise again

Bake for 40 minutes at 350.

Sitting in the Airport....

I actually have nothing better to do at this moment. I have played Angry Birds (check it out), walked around the airport, had my Dilettante Dark Mocha, and read the first few chapters of a book. Headed to eastern Washington for a benefit fair for work, I got to the airport for my flight almost two hours early, and once I arrived at my gate discovered it was canceled!

So here I am. Finally, with a moment to update you, my loyal followers. haha.

I have just finished my 3rd quarter at NSCC. 40 credits down, 50 to go! I have a month off - Fall quarter doesn't begin until the 28th of September - and I could not be more excited for the break. I plan to read a book (or two!), watch Netflix movies I actually want to watch, spend Sundays doing absolutely nothing, and maybe even try to organize a workout routine I can follow.

I just uploaded all of our cruise photos to Facebook. We got back from the cruise on July 4th, so you can imagine that I've really been that busy for almost two months straight.

I did have some fun, however, with photos and stories to prove it! Lots of summer food photo blogging to come. 

This fall I'm taking bio with LP, English 102 (required prereq), and either cultural anthropology or Math, depending on how well I do on the placement test. If I do really terribly, I might just study up and try it next quarter. I'm looking forward to bio with LP, since it's so much more fun to take a class with someone you know, and already spend plenty of time with, so we can study together at lunch and stuff. and carpool to class. We'll take Anatomy/Physiology together too which will be good for both of us I think, since that's supposed to be a pretty tough class. And since she has to do better in it than I do, I'll do pretty well!

Wonder if I could expense a pedicure while I'm waiting??

Q&A

tagged by stichasaurus, here are the questions she's posed and my responses:

1) If you could be any animal on earth, which animal would you be and why?
I think I'd be a bird that could float - maybe a duck. They can fly over things, walk among them, and swim around them. Wouldn't mind that freedom.

2) What was your prized possession as a child? What happened to it?
I had this doll, named Heidi, who was my favorite. She and I went everywhere together, until the unfortunate day when my younger brother got a hold of it and ripped off her head.                 

3) Your house is on fire! Everyone's going to make it out okay, but you only have time to save 3 things. What do you grab?
I grab: my phone, camera, and computer. These things hold my memories, and I could always use another reason to go shopping for everything else!

4) What was your first pet as a child? What did you name it?
I had a teddy bear hampster named Misty. I felt so grown up and responsible taking care of her. Until I took her to school for the week and we thought it would be fun to let her roll around in her ball down a hill. She passed away the next week, presumably related to shock. :-\

5) When you first learned to parallel park, what kind of car were you driving? And how badly did you suck at it?
Well, I didn't learn before I took my driving test! I had to learn when I moved to an apartment when all parking was parallel on the street. I got really good at it in my Volvo 740GLE. In my Camry, however, which I've now had for 4 years, I still anxiously search for any other kind of parking before attempting to maneuver myself into a parallel spot. I am always worried that my rear end is bigger than it is! (story of my life, haha)

6) Chilling at home: Shoes, socks, bare feet, or slippers?
bare feet. Not a big slipper person, and only like socks when it's cold.

7) Would you rather go a lifetime without your favorite candy or a lifetime without dental floss?
I could handle life without my fave candy, but after a good meal of corn on the cob or steak, I need me some floss.

8) Tell me about a wardrobe malfunction...what happened, how badly did you blush?
Thankfully, nothing too horrendous has ever come between me and my clothes, but probably the worst thing was when the straps on a dress broke. I probably blushed more than necessary, but thankfully my quick thinking turned it into a halter dress and no lives were ruined!

Headed for the Border!

This evening begins the 2nd annual Eliav trip to Canada, and I couldn't be more excited for a 10-day vacation & cruise in Canada/New England! We head over to Montreal tonight, via an overnight flight that lands at 7am-ish tomorrow morning.
The ship boards on Saturday, and we're off for exciting adventures along the Northeastern coastline. We land in Boston on the 3rd, and are spending the 4th wandering through the historical part of town, which is perfect for independence day.
Looking forward to some R&R, a no worries vacation where all the meals are planned for me, the pool is open, and the weather is going to be beautiful!
See you next month!

PW's Asian Noodle Salad

Oh, hello there! It has been awhile, hasn't it? I've been quite busy with school, which is going well, and with baking and cooking and trying to be outdoors as much as possible when it's sunny. I have fallen in love with The Pioneer Woman, who has so many delicious recipes and fun stories to tell from her Oklahoma ranch life. Today's recipe is hers, and I must say, one of the most delicious salads I've ever had.

Cook 1 box of linguine, drain, rinse and chill.

Chop Vegetables:
1/2 head each napa and red cabbages
orange, red, and yellow bell peppers
3 green onions
bean sprouts
1 cucumber
1 carrot
and cilantro
1/2 bag spinach

In a food processor:
(more) cilantro
olive oil
sesame oil
soy sauce
chopped garlic
lime juice from one lime

5 oz toast cashews

combine ingredients in a large bowl, or trough, or bucket. I used the largest bowl I had and didn't have room for the spinach!

The Best Salad

It actually doesn't matter what you put in the salad, as long as you include avocado. I like to use all the veggies I have on hand. Today it was cucumber, broccoli, bell pepper, avocado, corn, feta, tomato, and pine nuts. The key ingredient, besides the avocado, is this dressing.

Healthy Banana Muffins

courtesy of CountryGirlCooks, via Tasty Kitchen

Healthy Banana Muffins

I had three overripe bananas, with which I planned to whip up a loaf of my usual Banana Bread, but lately I've been more interested in alternative ingredients to make my favorite things. So I stumbled upon this recipe and saw that it's made with yogurt, no butter!

Super easy to make, and boy are they delicious. I made mini muffins, so I just put them in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes, and they turned out just right. We'll see how they hold up for tomorrow morning.