Dinosaur Salad

The other day I found myself really craving chicken caesar salad, but lacking the time or desire to cook chicken at lunchtime. Then I opened the freezer, saw chicken nuggets, and was inspired. Thus Dinosaur Salad was invented. I forgot about it until I had it again today and realized that some things are just too good to keep to yourself. 

Other than that, my Monday was nothing too special. I did almost biff it and die a few times walking in the snow today though, which gave me the idea for today's a capella love song of the day. 

Day #7 Collide by Howie Day

This is only 25 seconds of the song as performed by Freshman Fifteen. I cannot recommend this arrangement highly enough and I think you should front 99¢ for it on iTunes because you will never regret it. 

"Mom? How do I make orange chicken?"

The reply:  

Brooke,

Hopefully mom can get back to you soon on the recipe, but if you are in a hurry, here’s a recipe I made up myself:

I package chicken nuggets from McDonald’s

1 can orange paint from Home Depot

Spread nuggets on cookie sheet.  Shake can and spray each nugget 2 seconds at 4-6 inches away.  Microwave 30 seconds on high.

Love, Dad

 This e-mail is just one example of why my day was awesome. Today I'm thankful for my families (biological, "adopted," and FHE), the fact that my oven works, and that the Lord's answered my prayers. 

In closing, this picture makes me smile.

 

What's for Dinner? Occam's Razor

My mom's an awesome cook. I grew up never having quite the same meal twice. Really. She tries to cook meals differently every time to appease and expand our picky discriminating tastes. I can't really afford to do that. I have limited groceries/spices/room to experiment, but I do try different things. Sometimes.

During our initial "big shop," my mom got me some feta cheese that I had intended to use in a couscous salad modified from a Real Simple recipe for orzo salad. A month later, my desire for cold food has not returned and the feta was still unopened. Fearing that it would go bad soon, I spent forever trying to find a recipe that would involve feta, be hot and yummy, and not require more ingredients than I had. Desperate, I called my mom for ideas. She was about to leave for mutual when I called. (You're welcome, 5th Ward young women, by the way. My mom is the best and I used to be her only daughter.) I forgot what she said, but it inspired me. 

I took this to make

this.

I was almost upset how simple it was after all that time trying to come up with something, and it wasn't that different from what I would usually make. But of course, it's the simple things that are the best, right? 

To Pixie or not to Pixie?

I've had my on-again-off-again fling with short hair over the years. 

Every time, I've regretted it, and vowed to never cut it again. But I think that with my color/sun/time damaged hair, it's time to get serious about keeping it short. I think it suits me better. And when I say serious, I mean Carey Mulligan serious.

I know I've ignored y'all in the past, but what say you, readers? The plan is that once I have a little extra money (so maybe in a few weeks months years), I'll just chop it all off like this. And see how nicely  it grows out on her? I really think this could work, guys.

Lessons I Learned (or Re-Learned) This Summer

1. When there's a job to do, get it done. 
2. That said, it's still crucial to eat three meals a day and get more than 4 hours of sleep a night. Even when you think you're too stressed out to do either.
3. Crying is not a sign of weakness.
4. You don't need a whole lot of things. They cost money.
5. Singles wards are going to have their awkward moments. Embrace them--they'll be great stories to tell later.
6. Handle situations like a mature adult. 
7. Living alone isn't that great.
8. Daydreaming about the impossible is fine as long as you can understand and accept the impossibility.
9. The Atonement isn't just for sins, but for sickness, sorrow, and pain.
10. For the love of all that's holy, wear sunscreen.

Want.

I never thought I'd envy a member of Hillary Clinton's staff. Then I saw Huma Abedin's wedding dress in The September Issue of Vogue. (You always capitalize The September Issue. ALWAYS.) I love seeing clothes on real women instead of models--they're prettier because they're more reasonable--a real outfit instead of a mood board on a person. I like Oscar de la Renta clothes for the same reason. Ladies, grab your fashion magazines or pull up google. Compare an Oscar de la Renta ad to a Rodarte ad. Which one would you rather buy and wear? Yeah. That's what I thought.

The Best Laid Plans of Mice, You Know...

Remember this list? This great list of things I wanted to do this summer? Out of the nine specifics, I've done three. Only three more are plausible. (Seriously, $15 just to PARK at Disneyland? No thanks.) But I believe I've done generally awesome things, too.

picture by jill rich

Like get to know these fabulous ladies better. You guys all know Seraphine by now, but her mom, Sabrina, has become a really close friend. We can get together and just talk for hours on end. I don't know how I would have survived the summer without her. 

Ohmygoodnessilovethepeopleinmywardtheyaresoawesome. 'Nough said.

Running a business almost on my own has been one of the hardest and most stressful things of my life. But I've learned a lot from it and it's paying for school.

In short, I have three weeks left of my summer. I'm going to make an adventure of it. 

Scatterbrain

I'd really like to see (500) Days of Summer.

Yesterday I made a Nutella and bacon sandwich using Eggo waffles instead of bread. It was delicious.

Then today I found a recipe for Candied Bacon Ice Cream. Something may be wrong here.

photo courtesy of the Telegraph

Look at this dress. It has special pockets for markers to create the colored pattern. How clever! 

I'm tempted to not go to my American government class on Tuesday because I know something more horribly sexist than usual will happen in the name of an object lesson.

50% of Haitians agree with Pat Robertson about the deal with the devil thing.

Mari Winsor is officially my arch-nemesis.

Barbershop or Jazz?

An Introduction to My Inner Dialogue Whilst Blogging

Hmmmm. I should probably post something. What should I blog about? My recent Glee marathon with Lyndsey? My productive Saturday and going to the Jim Brickman concert with Mary? I don't know. Hey! What's this button over here? Monetize? That has the word 'money' in it! Wow. I can make money off of this? This is potentially less painful than selling my plasma (or getting a real job)! Wait. People need to actually read my blog for this to work? Hmmm. I'll need to think about this for a while.

Love and Learn

That's what life at BYU-Idaho's all about.

Like loving late nights and learning to not have them so often.

(Check out those bags!)

Or loving good food and learning that sometimes you have to have Ramen instead to save money.

Like learning about French food and loving a jambon-beurre. Il fait de baguette, de buerre, et de jambon blanc. C'est tout! (The $1.99 baguette was so worth it. It'll probably make about three good sized sammiches.)

Like learning that your roommates won't always be who you planned on, but loving the girls you had planned on anyway! Ashley (left) and Ryanne ended up not rooming with me as we had planned and requested, but I still see Ryanne in Women's Glee and the both of them at church. Tonight they were so kind as to bring me a DELICIOUS homemade cinnamon roll. There is no picture of it. That is how good it is.

False Alarm

Disregard my last post. Due to monetary problems, Connor can't go.

Is Reagan still available?