If we go down, we go down together...

Finals are NOT kicking my butt, for once.
I am happy to say that I am staying on track, and not waiting for the last minute to get my stuff done. I spent 3 hours in the studio last night, and 4 hours in there tonight, and will still need to spend a chunk of tomorrow in there before I'll be done.
I can't wait to post the pictures here for you all to see.
I also wrote my 3 page paper in record time. Yep, that's right, an hour and a half. It's complete B.S., but I'm turning it in anyways because my brain is fried. We'll see how it goes.

I FINALLY got a letter from Aaron. I was so happy I almost cried. I read it about 5 times. He loves and misses me a lot.

Stolen from my sister...

Here are the rules--mention the person that tagged you. Complete the lists of 8's. Tag 8 of your wonderful blogger friends. Go tell them you tagged them!

8 Things I Am Looking Forward To:
1. Being done with school until next fall.
2. Getting letters from Aaron.
3. Going back to work.
4. Seeing Paramore, No Doubt, and Taking Back Sunday in concert.
5. Seeing Aaron.
6. Moving in to our new apartment...or uh...cottage.
7. Hopefully spending my birthday with my love.
8. Getting a new, good quality camera.

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. Went to class.
2. Dropped Aaron's letters off at the post office.
3. Went grocery shopping.
4. Worked on my projects.
5. Watched a movie.
6. Cooked dinner.
7. Tried writing a paper.
8. Played online way too much.

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
1. See Aaron.
2. Sell all of my art work.
3. Have one day that was completely stress free.
4. Move away from this town.
5. Get married next year instead of two years from now.
6. Have a puppy of my own.
7. Buy a new car.
8. design/paint/draw something for someone famous.


8 Shows I Watch:

1. Real World/Road Rules Duel
2. Tough Love
3. That 70's show
4. Gossip Girl
5. The Office
6. My Name is Earl
7. Nip/Tuck
8. Property Virgins



And my 8 tags:
I'm not tagging anyone, just post if you'd like :)

Totally Disgusted Out

I decided to reward myself for staying so on track, instead of being a total slacker, so I went to Dairy Queen to try their new Mignight Truffle Blizzard that I keep seeing on t.v. All I can say is, DON'T waste your time or money. It was pretty much disgusting. The first few bites were pretty good, although it didn't look anything like it does in the commercial, but after that, I felt like I was going to throw up. There was more truffle than there was ice cream, and that much chocolate at one time can't be good for you. Not to mention it's dark chocolate, which I'm not a HUGE fan of. Anyways, that's just my two cents worth.
When I came home from running errands earlier, I decided to chill out and watch a little bit of t.v. I came across some show about little girls in pageants, and I was totally appalled.
Do these girls look 5-7? Because they are...
No wonder so many girls grow up with confidence issues. These parents are pushing their kids at young ages to be JUDGED. Five and six year olds getting spray tans and wearing more make up than I [as a 21 year old woman] ever have in my entire life. Oh, and did I mention fake teeth? Yea. What kind of screwed up world are we living in? I can understand letting your child be in a pageant if it's what the kid wants, but even then, I can't see going to the extent that these people go to in order for their kid to be 'beautiful'.
If you want to read more about it, go here.
I'm currently taking a break from writing a final paper, and I'm watching Tale of Despereaux. So far, so good.

TroyFest has come and gone, and now I'm back to the real world. I decided against putting my ceramics up for sale there, but I did put a few on my etsy.
Now it's time to buckle down and get finished with my 'finals', which in the art world, means a ridiculous amount of projects.
I finally got a phone call from Aaron on Saturday, although he was only able to talk for a whopping 2 minutes. *sigh* He said a letter is in the mail though, so I'm excited. I am very proud of myself for being so productive yesterday, and I hope that I keep the same momentum today.

Happy Monday Everyone, I hope it is a good one.

When heaven's not waiting, it's spilling its secrets

This weekend, I will be at the Troy Fest. [Locals, Please come out & support the arts!!] It's an arts and crafts festival held in April every year. I was propositioned to sell some of my stuff, and I was really considering it. Well, still am. My printmaking teacher pretty much told me I didn't have a choice, that I will be putting some of my prints for sale, but I am still debating on whether to put in my ceramics pieces.

My ceramics teacher told me yesterday, that he wouldn't want me to price them for more than $20 each. This is the same teacher who told me back in February that it would be crazy for me not to charge at least $20 per hour that I spent on them, meaning that some of them would cost well over $200. When I asked him why he was contradicting himself, he said because our economy just isn't good enough for that. What do you think I should do?

Unusually You

I got my wedding planner book in the mail today, and I immediately started flipping through it. Which caused me to immediately go into panic mode. I closed it, took a deep breath, and then reminded myself that i have TWO YEARS to get through this. No need to stress now.

Last night I had a few friends over for dinner. I made a chinese themed meal, which included general tso's chicken, fried rice, and crab rangoon. Now, if we had gone to the local restaurant to get this meal, we would have easily spent $40 [for all four of us], but to make at home, it only cost me about $15. Just something to think about if you [& your family] like to eat out a lot. You can get the same quality at home for less than half of what you would spend to go out.

ON TO THE RECIPES!

General Tso's Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
• 2 cups green onions, sliced
• 2 large chillis [mole chillis in the mexican food isle work GREAT!]
  

Cornstarch slurry

• 1/4 cup soy sauce, low sodium preferred
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup cornstarch

Sauce

• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup sherry wine or white wine
• 14 1/2 ounces chicken broth (a can)

Directions

1. Place sauce ingredients in a quart jar with a lid and shake to mix. If you make this ahead of time just refrigerate until needed, shaking it again when you are ready to use it. This also keeps your dirty dishes down.

2. Mix cornstarch slurry in a large bowl- the mixture will be strange but trust me it works. It will be VERY thick almost paste like. Add chicken pieces to coat. Using a fork remove ONE chicken piece at a time and let the excess mixture drip off. YES even though the mixture has a weird consistency it will not stick like paste and the excess will drip off. Add chicken to the hot (350 degree) oil and fry until crispy. Only cook 7 or 8 chicken pieces at a time. You do not want to raise the temp of the oil by cooking too many at a time. You can use a simple cooking or candy thermometer to judge the temp of the oil.

3. Drain on paper towels. Keep warm- I just put them in the oven with the oven off. Repeating until all chicken is fried.

4. In a separate wok or large skillet add a small amount of oil and heat to 400 degrees. Again, a candy thermometer works great. You can fry all the chicken, drain the oil to the desired amount and use the same pan if you like.

5. Add green onions and hot peppers and stir fry about 30 seconds.

6. Stir sauce mixture, and then add to pan with onions and peppers, cook until thick. If it gets too thick, add a little water. The thickness of the sauce should be similar to what you get when ordering this at a restaurant.

7. Add chicken to sauce in wok, and cook until all is hot and bubbly. The quicker this is done the crispier the chicken stays.

8. Serve over rice.

Fried Rice

Ingredients

2 bags boil-in-bag white rice
2 eggs
1 can peas & carrots
1/2 tsp fresh minced garlic
1/4 tsp onion powder OR 1 medium yellow onion
4 tsp soy sauce [you can add more, just start out slow]
1 tbs olive oil
Salt to taste

Directions

1. Boil bags of rice for the time specified on package. Meanwhile, chop onion.

2. In a large skillet on medium heat, add the olive oil. Scramble eggs, add garlic and onion. Add some salt, but remember that the Soy sauce will add a lot of sodium, so don't over do it. Cook until eggs are done and onions are soft. Add the peas and carrots. Turn the heat down to a simmer. Cut bags and add rice to the mixture. Stir until everything is incorporated.

3. Add soy sauce & stir. Taste. If you think it needs more, add more. Just take it easy. You can always add more, but you can't take away. Allow to heat through for 2 minutes.

4. Serve & enjoy!



The recipe for Crab Rangoon is here.

I need to keep you like this in my mind

Stress is beginning to pile on my back as this semester comes to a close.
Instead of doing the 'smart' thing, and getting caught up on homework and projects, I decided to bake. Cooking & baking are my favorite forms of stress release.

I wanted to share with you all the recipe I used for the home made chocolate chip cookies I made last night. This recipe is simple, and these cookies taste WAY better than store bought.


{Yields abt 20 medium cookies}

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 large eggs,beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix sugar, brown sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs in a large bowl by hand. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt. The dough will be very stiff. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans if desired.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown. [I had to bake mine about 13-15 minutes. Maybe my oven is just weird?]

The centers will be soft. Let cool completely then remove from cookie sheet.

Life Changing

Yesterday I had to teach an art project to 4th graders at a low socio-economic school. They were so thirsty for the knowledge, it made me feel good to be able to share that with them. They don't have an art teacher at their school, and MOST of the teachers there are 'old school', and think that art isn't important, so they don't integrate it in their lessons.

I was there for three hours, and when I left, I thought I was going to fall asleep on the drive home. They totally exhausted me. [Did I mention the school doesn't have central heating or cooling, and it was definitely in the 70's] I'm not sure if I can do this every day!
They just lovvvved it. They were so needy, too. 'Ms. Keith, I can't draw.' 'Ms. Keith, I don't know how to fold paper.' All they wanted was a little bit of attention, and I'm glad that I could be the one to give it to them.

I realize that I was the one being graded, but at one point, I just wanted to grade their teacher, or at least give her a few pointers. Like, integrate art into your lessons, even if it's just a coloring activity. They were SO enthralled, I'm sure they would behave better if they had SOMETHING to look forward to. Also, don't just yell at your kids all the time, all they want is attention. Show them some every now & again. Oh, and how about some positive reinforcement? That might help.

As tired as I was, I felt so good as I was walking out the door, and a kid said 'Can you come back tomorrow' and another kid added 'And the next day' and another kid chimed in 'Please just come here every day.'

So, now I am a little more motivated about teaching, and I really hope that when I do graduate and get a job, that my students will be as appreciative as those kids were.

FMM

I decided to participate in this week's Friend Making Monday, and the topic is "Who are your top five celebrity crushes? What celebrities make you drool?"


1. Rob Pattinson/Twilight

2. Adam Lazzara/Taking Back Sunday


3. Chace Crawford/Gossip Girl


4. Lance Bennet/The Leo Project


5. Adam Rodriguez/CSI:Miami

Meet me here beneath the burning skies

First of all, I just want to thank all of you for all of the congratulations, and for all of the advice that has been given. I have taken it all in, and I truly appreciate it.

This morning we had early registration for next semester. Seniors signed up at 8, so I got there a little early. To my surprise, there were only 2 other people waiting to sign up, so I got done pretty quick. Since I had a class at 9, I decided to just stay on campus. I went to the bookstore and just browsed around. A hot pink book caught my eye, so I picked it up. It was a wedding planner. I almost put it down, but then I realized, 'Hey, this actually pertains to me now, I can actually look at these things without feeling like a freak.' So I did. I looked at all the ones they had, and was really impressed by The Knot Ultimate Wedding Planner. I almost bought it, but when I saw that it was $16.00, I put it down. KNOWING that I could get a better deal online, I came home and ordered it from amazon, and only spent $7.95 after shipping and handling.


I get to teach another art lesson to my peers tonight. Wish me luck!

I’m only complaining to keep myself busy

It happened.

My break down I was so worried about finally happened. I think I'm okay now, and Aaron was able to text me this morning. Still no call. I'm the loneliest I have ever been, but I think I will be okay, once I get in a routine [Thanks, Leah!].

Cas, I don't see how you do this all the time.

I promise I'm going to try not to blog about this anymore. Not the sad stuff at least. I know it has got to be annoying.

Moving on...
I've decided to try to get in shape. No, I'm not fat, but I'm not as healthy as I need to be at my age. I've been practically living on Dr. Pepper & Sweet Tea. Not. Good.
So, I've vowed to TRY to cut them both out for a while. No, I don't think I'll be able to totally stop, but two or three a day is not healthy at all. I went out and bought a bunch of vitamin waters, and so far I have gone a whole 24 hours with out a DP.
I'm also working out using the 10 Minute Solution Blast off Belly fat.

It is pretty much amazing.

Christy - I sent your package off today. SORRY it took me so long!!

He's gone...

I dropped Aaron off at his recruiter's office this morning at 9 am. And as sad as it was, it hasn't really set in yet. I was proud of myself for not breaking down in tears before I drove away. He doesn't need to see that. I've kept it together for 5 hours now, and I'm just wondering WHEN is all hell going to break loose? I've never been alone for more than one night before, and I'm not sure how I'm going to handle it.

Have any of you experienced this before? How did you get through?

And if I'm given the chance to be a doll in his hands

BEST.
EASTER.
EVER.

This was my present:


Yep; I'm engaged!!

The story?

Well, it wasn't story book, but it's mine, and that's all that matters.

Aaron and I came home from a weekend in Auburn, and he began packing his things for basic. He asked me if I wanted to go to Walmart with him to get a few last minute things, and I said yes. So, we shop around, and then decide to go to Subway for dinner. Aaron asks me what I want, and JOKINGLY, I say I want a ring. We laugh it off, order, and come home to eat. While we were eating, we were watching Rock of Love, and the girls were choosing which rings they'd want if Bret chose them. Of course, I made some smart remark, and he just ignored me, like usual. He got up, went to his closet, came back to the living room. He asks me If I'm ready. I froze. He's standing there with something behind his back. He gets down on one knee, still had his hands behind his back, and I'm saying 'Are you serious? Is this for real?' And he pulls out a box, and opens it, and there sits the most beautiful ring I've ever seen. I immediately started crying. I was soooooooo shocked! I mean, we've talked about it before, but I didn't seriously think it was going to happen for a while. I obviously said yes, and am now the proud future Mrs. Altgilbers :)

Fear will hold you back If you believe in that

Oh, what a weekend! First of all, Happy Easter, Everyone!

Aaron and I headed up to Auburn on Friday afternoon for what we thought would be an eventful weekend. And we were not disappointed. I dropped Aaron off at his friend's apartment, and headed over to Matt and Frisco's place. We played a little Kung Fu Panda, and then headed out to Tiger Town for dinner. It was such a beautiful day, that none of us were expecting the Tornado warnings. We sat in the garden section of Target with a lot of strangers while waiting for the storm to pass. Eventually, we got tired of sitting there, and decided to ride out the storm together. It was seriously the scariest 10 minutes of my life. But we made it home safe.

Saturday was a whole different ball game. We chilled all morning, then got ready to go shopping. When I got in my car, I saw a note on the windshield. A guy hit my car, but didn't have time to stick around, so he left his name and number. I was automatically in a bad mood.

I don't even want to hear 'it's not that bad', because to me, it is.

Luckily, the guy who hit my car was a stand up guy. He did the right thing, we called the cops, and got it all settled.

Shopping was kind of a bust. I did get my watercolors, but couldn't find my choxie. The rest of the night was pretty good; made taco salad for the guys, caught up with an old friend, watched the video of our senior year of high school, and made cookies.

Did I mention temp tats?
Yea...





Yep.
The Giraffe got one, too.

You've got me Poppin' Champagne

Yesterday was such a long drawn out day, that when I got home, I did NOT feel like cooking. Very rare for me. So, I asked Aaron if he wanted to go out, or just eat left overs, and to my surprise, he said, 'I'll cook'. I was immediately nervous/scared, seeing as the only thing he knows how to cook is pancakes. He decided chicken would be a good idea. He asked me a lot of questions, but like I said, it was a long day, I was grouchy, and I didn't feel like playing 20 questions, so I told him to look up a recipe. An hour later, I was surprised again. He treated me to one of the best/simple dinners I have had in a long time. He found it on food network, and it is posted by the Neely's [LOVE them!]. I decided to post it for you all:

Easy Lemon Pasta with Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried penne
• 2 chicken cutlets, cut into fingers
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, until al dente. Drain well.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large grill pan over medium high and add chicken. Grill until golden and completely cooked. Remove to a plate and slice.

Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to a saute pan with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and saute until fragrant. Add the cooked pasta and turn heat off. Mix all together.

Remove pasta to a large bowl. Add chicken to the warm pasta and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle in chopped parsley. Add the juice of 2 lemons and mix. Before serving top with Parmesan.

If you try it, let me know how it turns out! Enjoy!!

I'm at it again

I created my first group on 20SB last night. Check it out.

We Heart Homemade [Etsy]

I would love for anyone who is in to arts/crafts, or just buying other people's arts & crafts to join, so if you know someone, send them an invite to the group.

I spent way too much time on 20SB last night adding new people and reading new blogs. This really is a great networking tool. Is it weird that I feel more like myself when talking to people that I don't even really know that I do around people I've known my whole life?

Moving on....
My 75 year old grand mother got her first cell phone yesterday. Crazy, huh? I never would have thought......

let the flames begin

I finally got a few of my prints back from my teacher, so I thought I'd share them with you all.



"Life and Death Trees; Yin Yang"



Please ignore the low quality scans.

Constructive criticism welcomed!

Okay, so...

I thought I had scheduled that last post to show up TONIGHT at 10 pm, but, apparently I forgot to change the date. Oh well! Here are the pictures I meant to add to it before it got posted.




Anyways, I'm off to do all the homework I neglected this weekend. Have a great week!

basic bye-bye

Friday night I arranged a 'going away' dinner for Aaron. I was so proud to see all of his family there, and some of mine as well. It was really nice, and for once, NO DRAMA at a family gathering! haha


9 days until he leaves for basic. This is going to be the hardest 4+ months of my entire life.

This is going to be a busy [hopefully not STORMY] week, and I hope it passes by fast. Next weekend we are headed up to Auburn to spend some much needed quality time with our friends. I know I will have a blast.

If you get bored, and have a child-like imagination, you should check out Nim's Island & The Spiderwick Chronicles. They were both pretty good :)

so turn off all the lights

Sorry for being kind of M.I.A. from the blogging world for a few days, but I've been unbelievably busy.

I woke up to the sounds of sirens around 7 this morning. Tornado warnings...AGAIN. Classes were cancelled due to the terrible weather, so I had a little bit of time to do some things I WANT to do rather than just do things I NEED to do.

I finished my painting. I'm pretty proud of it. If you're interested, I have it listed for sale on my etsy.



Pretty short winded for tonight. Stay safe!