Thinking Out Loud #2

Happy Thursday!

1. I know I said that I probably wouldn’t be doing Thinking Out Loud Thursdays very often, but I liked it so much last week that I couldn’t help participating again this week!

2. Two exams down. Three more to go. Tomorrow morning I have Business Communications at 8:30am and then Astronomy right afterwards at 10:45am. I already have a nap planned for the afternoon somewhere in the neighborhood of 2:00pm.

3. While I am really looking forward to Christmas Break, I don’t like all the work that comes before it. I have to defrost my fridge and mini freezer before Friday. Also we have to do a major cleaning of the common area in our dorm. Fun.

4. Even though it’s not Sunday, Arman’s Spill It Sunday link-up is still open so I figured that I’d jump on the chance to join in:

What is your favorite genre of film?

The real question should be- why do I have to pick just ONE? Action, Sci-Fi, Romantic Comedy, Musical, Adventure, Fantasy, Superhero… I think this would be better phrased as what kind of genres I DON’T like. Easy. Horror and Gross rated R comedies.

What is your favorite ever movie?

Boy Arman, are you full of tough questions this week! I would have to go with Harry Potter. And yes I know that there is more than one film in the HP series, and no, I am not going to pick which one I like best.

What movie do you think deserves to have never been made?

You all know my professed hatred for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and that was the first movie that popped into my mind when reading this question.

However, there is another movie with which I’m not even sure how it was conceived let alone produced. Bubba Ho-Tep. 

Just read the description and you’ll know where I’m coming from.

Mud Creek, Texas, is about to get all shook up. When mysterious deaths plague the Shady Rest retirement home, it’s up to an aging, cantankerous “Elvis” (Bruce Campbell) and a decrepitand black”JFK” (Ossie Davis) to defeat a 3,000-year-old-Egyptian mummy with a penchant for sucking human souls! Can the King show the world that he can still take care of business?

Here is a trailer in case you need more convincing. I’m sorry, maybe it’s just me and it’s a fantastic movie. For some reason I don’t think so though…

Wait! Hold up. I just thought of an even worse movie. Jack Black’s Bernie. We literally could not finish it and just skipped to the end so we knew what happened.

What movie should be considered a legal sleeping pill?

The Avengers. Before you all protest, I will acknowledge that the second time I saw the movie it was slightly better, but the plot line was just not good. I fell asleep twice during the movie.

If you made a movie, what would it be about?

I really want to see a new spy series. Jason Bourne, Mission Impossible and James Bond are so good but they all feature older males. It’s time for a new female spy series!

A movie which you love but you’d never admit…

I know that as a superhero fan I am supposed to hate the ones that deviate from the originals,  but I just love Batman and Robin with George Clooney.

5. Somehow I have watched six and counting episodes of Glee tonight. I saw one of the auditions on Youtube and got the sudden urge to rewatch the first season. I just love Rachel and Finn.

6. Ending on an even number today, I am so happy with all of the contributions so far with 12 Days of Allergy-Free Christmas Recipes! If you haven’t been keeping up, make sure to check out this page (also listed on my menu above) with links to all of the posts so far. We actually have all but one day filled, so if anyone is interested, let me know. And keep up the great work everyone!

 

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Questions for you:

• What are your movie favorites?
• Are there any movies that you love but everyone else hates?
• What are you thinking about on this beautiful (cold) Thursday?

Quite the Collection (WIAW)

Okey dokey. Like I said on Friday’s post, I have a lot to share in the upcoming weeks, so let’s just jump right in and get started. Up first are some recent, random pictures from the end of my summer and the beginning of school.

My mom, being a middle school teacher, started class a few days before me, so I helped her with some back-to-school crafts! (Both Pinterest-inspired of course).

The first one was for her open house. We made all of her students these cute pencils… out of Rolos!! My mom did most of this craft in wrapping the candy rolls in the pink/yellow paper and aluminum foil. I went out and picked up some sticky dots at the dollar store to attach the Hershey kisses. I think the turned out adorable and provided that extra boost of excitement to the beginning of the year.

The next craft we did was for my mom’s fellow teachers. This one was much simpler but extremely useful. Basically she just typed up all of the teacher’s names on her computer in a nice font, printed them out, cut them out, and then I modge-podged the names onto one side of a binder clip. At only $1.00 for a pack, this craft literally cost pennies apiece. As a final precaution I also modge-podged over top of the names to make sure that they didn’t peel off. Within a few hours they were completely dry and ready to go.

There were a few leftover binder clips so I got to keep them. Instead of putting my name on the clips I just took a black permanent marker and decorated them in cool designs. I didn’t think I’d really use them but I’ve already employed one for holding all of my Astronomy homework assignments together.

You can also throw in some school and clothes shopping in there as well, but sadly I don’t have many pictures of that. I can say however that I got some excellent deals. For clothes my mom and I went to our favorite thrift store and each walked out with two huge bags full of name brand clothing in great condition. I think I paid around $65 for about 20 or so things (pants, capris, long sleeve shirts, sweaters, skirts…) and my mom paid a little less (she got a boatload of capris- 10 maybe? All Eddie Bauer, Loft, etc.). For shoes we went to the closest outlet mall about 45 minutes away and I found two pairs of shoes. One pair of new tennis shoes for $35 and another pair of slip-ons for around $!5 when it was all said and done (50% second pair!).

Now let’s move on to the bulk of today’s pictures. No recipes today (sorry!) because as soon as I’m done here I’ve got some Accounting and Statistics homework to work on.

Let’s leave homework out of our minds for just a few more minutes though, okay? I’ve great a great collection here of four things that I’ve made recently and I hope that you all enjoy them!

In order of creation:

Chocolate Pancakes

Or carob pancakes. Whichever you prefer. I just made these based off of my Unbelievably Grain-Free Berry Pancakes (minus the berries), substituting 1/4 cup of carob powder for the almond flour. They turned out well; however next time I will try adding an additional source of moisture like maybe an avocado or an extra banana (we were out of both when I made these for my parents so I couldn’t experiment).

Grain-Free and Vegan Biscuits

Along with these biscuits I also made up some great sandwiches so I’ll be sure to post about those soon too.

Strawberry and Carob Chip Pancakes

I made these pancakes as part of Sarah Pie’s Chopped Kitchen Challenge. I’m linking up today sans recipe but will be sharing it soon and add in the link here for future reference later.

Vegan Blueberry Pancakes

That’s right! Grain/Gluten-Free Pancakes that are also Vegan.

Alrighty. I know that’s kind of cruel to leave you hanging, but I’ve really got to get a move-on! Pages to read and financial statements to analyze… You know how it is 😉

After you leave a comment here, don’t forget to check out the hundreds of other bloggers who posted their delicious eats today. Thanks Jenn 😀

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Questions for you:

What has been your most successful Pinterest creation thus far? (If you have never made anything off Pinterest, what are you planning to make in the future?)

How has the weather been in your area recently? Last week it was positively steaming over here, but thankfully things have cooled down a bit to the mid 70s. It’s also not rained much yet while I’ve been at school, but it was wet at home over the weekend.

Happy Wednesday everybody!

Pinterest Palooza Link-Up Parties

Howdy there. I’m in a super uppity mood today because I only have one more exam left and I’m scotch-free (is that the correct term? scotch? Hold on a second while I look it up…).

Oh, this is embarrassing. I guess it’s actually “scott-free”… Well, for your information, I am also free of scotch as well as free of all other illegal substances… 😉

Now that we have that out of the way, back to my regular blathering. As I sit here writing this it is Thursday afternoon and I am supposed to be studying for an MIS exam and packing. Both will get done, I promise, but I’m taking a wee little break.

Today I am participating in two fun link parties: Jessie Bear’s Together Tuesdays and The Lean Green Bean’s Pin It Party.

It is going to be one fantastic Pinterest Palooza! (The link in my description is for the post, and if you click on the picture that will take you to the pin!).

To start with, the Pin It Party where I feature 5 of my posts in a pinnable fashion:

First is a recipe that I still have fond memories about. It comes all the way from October and is high fiber, gluten-free, vegan, high protein, sugar free, low sodium, corn-free. I give to you my Microwave Sandwich Bread.

The second recipe that I have to share is also from last year where I was still eating human food (sort of 😉 ). You can also see from this post with my obsession of all things having to do with the microwave! How to Cook Acorn Squash in the Microwave.

Then with the start of the new year I began my all-soup ways and shared this single-serving Kabocha Squash and Pea Soup recipe that still is my go-to most days of the week.

You’ll bet your bottoms though that didn’t stop me from baking up a storm. My fourth pin from Eating 4 Balance is for one of the most popular posts on my blog, including Coconut Flour Banana Bread and Three Ingredient Nut Butter Cookies.

For my last pin I want to include a non-food post that I wrote a few weeks ago on the importance of sleep. In it I shared my Top Five Tips for getting a better night’s rest and a lot of people in the comments confessed to not getting enough ZZZ’s.

Moving on to Jessie’s link-up, I am going to share 5 recipes that I have found around the blog world and about melted in their delicious-looking wake. This one is going to be short, because SERIOUSLY, I have to get studying for that exam tomorrow morning. Did I mention that it was at 8:30 AM?

Pumpkin Poppers, because pumpkin never goes out of style season here in blogland.

Cookie Dough Greek Yogurt. As if I already didn’t miss Greek yogurt and peanut butter enough as it is…

Coconut Flour Dark Chocolate Brownies. Holy cow.

Cinnamon Egg White Chicken Mugcakes. Seriously creative and clean eating-approved to boot!

Cilantro Shrimp and Avocado Salad. Because you need something healthy and fresh amongst all of those (albeit healthy) desserts.

 

Sadly you may have noticed that my posts this week have been lacking two things: recipes and Meghan’s Week in Review. Both will be coming this Monday in one heck of  a marvelous post, don’t you worry!

Speaking of worry, I think perhaps I’m starting to get those end-of-semester jitters. Not about the exams, but about the packing! Gosh is there so much to do. Aside from the actual packing portion, I have to vaccuum, clean my shelves and desk, de-loft my bed (that should be fun), and go through a 15 minute check out where I’m either approved, or I have to pay some fine if I something is missing. Yikes. Better get on that. Talk to you all later!

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What link-up parties have you participated in this week? 

Have you always said scott-free or were you awesome like me and made up your own twist? 😉

Any tips on de-lofting a bunk bed?

What is your favorite pin (recipe or not) that you’ve pinned recently?

Easter/Birthday Style WIR, WIAW and Survey

Thanks for all of your birthday wishes on Monday! They were very much appreciated and each one brightened my day, especially in the midst of mundane college classes.

Now it’s time for another party hosted by Peas and Crayons. WIAW!

To start, a fun ABC survey that has been circling around the blog-o-sphere for awhile (and I’m sure you are all tired of by now!):

A. Age: As of 8:01 PM Monday… 19 years old!

B. Bed size: Twin loft bed at school. Queen at home.

C. Chore you dislike: There is not really a chore I dislike per say, but the context that it’s in can make a world of difference. For example, ask me to take out the dog during the summer and I’d say OK! Ask me in the winter and I’ll give you the death glare though. 🙂

D. Dogs: Love them. I have two right now, one inside and one outside. Our cairn terrier Lilly is inside, and Riley our mix is outside.

E. Essential start to your day: My alarm clock, breakfast (no question about that, I would die from hunger without it), and brushing my teeth (<<< I hate going through the day with the feeling of having not brushed my teeth!).

F. Favorite color: Pink.

G. Gold or silver: I’m not much of a jewelry person at all really. I wear the same diamond earring studs everyday which are gold, but most of the time I tend to buy silver pieces because those seem to be younger/more modern.

H. Height: 5’6″

I. Instruments you play(ed): I can play the clarinet fairly well as I was in band for 8 years during school.

J. Job title: Past job titles: Babysitter, Tutor. Current job title: Student. Future job titles: internist, accountant.

K. Kids: Well, I’m assuming this is asking if I have any kids, to which the answer is a definite NO. However, I love kids. My favorite thing to do at church is volunteer or supervise in the nursery. And every summer since eighth grade (not this year though… *sniff sniff*) I worked in the nursery for Vacation Bible School.

L. Live: Midwest United States. Our house is in the country surrounded by cornfields on some 15 or so acres of land.

M. Mom’s name: Eh, I would rather not share that right now 🙂

N. Nicknames: Maddy is the only nickname that people ever called me.

O. Overnight hospital stays: A few I think… I had jaundice when I was a baby, so I had to stay for awhile because of that.

P. Pet peeves: A few “ranty” ones: people who cheat/lie and get away with it, social media hounds, when someone is constantly on the computer or texting, and when people can’t see how fake some others are.

Q. Quote from a movie: 

R. Righty or lefty: Righty.

S. Siblings: Brother (16).

T. Time you wake up: Weekdays from 6:00-7:00. Weekends from 5:30-8:30… It really depends.

U. Underwear: ?? Yes. Underwear is nice.

V. Vegetables you don’t like: Radishes and… That’s basically it!

W. What makes you run late: Anything and everything.

X. X-rays you’ve had: Do ultrasounds count? If so, I’ve had two of those.

Y. Yummy food you make: I would like to think that all of the food I make is yummy! 😉

Z. Zoo animal favorites: Monkeys! Before leaving the zoo each time I always begged my mom to buy one of those stuffed monkeys in the gift shop that you could attach around your neck with Velcro. It worked… About half the time.

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And it’s time for another Week in Review!

• I posted my usual WIAW last week with my favorite recipe for soup: Kabocha and peas.

• On Friday I skipped talking about food for once and wrote about something a little more serious. All of your comments were so supportive and awesome! Look for a response from me soon!
• As I stated in my Wednesday post, I was rather busy with school last week. Three papers and two exams. I feel pretty good about them all!

• On Friday night I stayed in and watched this movie with my mom:

• Don’t hate on Miley Cyrus or Demi Moore as it was actually rather good!
• During the day Saturday I did a little shopping and got together a little present for one of my friends whose birthday happens to be the day before mine!

• On Saturday night I went with my parents and met up with a few of my friends to the local Opera House to watch Oz: The Great and Powerful. 

• Sunday morning I woke up to find this large post-it taped to my door from the Easter Bunny. Yes, it’s extremely childish, but it’s tradition! My mom makes up a small Easter basket for my brother, my dad and I, then she goes and hides it somewhere.  Any guesses where I found mine?

 

• This year my mom was also inspired to do a little Easter egg hunt outside. My dad hid the eggs and my mom wrote down where they were (we’ve had trouble remembering in the past!). My brother and I each had six to find, his were yellow, green and blue, and mine were purple, pink and orange. At the end we were both left with one that we couldn’t find, and funny enough we both knew where each other’s was!

• I made my parents some waffles for breakfast from this recipe (I used 1/4 cup acorn squash, only 1 tbsp honey and ghee for the fat options).

• That morning we also got dressed up in our springy colors and went to church. Then afterwards we drove to a local Chinese buffet to have lunch with my uncle, cousins, aunts, and grandparents. (I had a bowl of soup on the way over and just a glass of water at the restaurant). 
• Then when I got home I packed up everything for school and my mom gave me a small birthday present. Next weekend we’ll do our traditional shopping for real so that I can pick up a few things. 

• Two episodes of Duck Dynasty were thus consumed rapidly by the family– None of them had ever seen it before!

• And for those that worried about my lack of cake… I had some. Sort of. I had to get a little creative and made some flour out of dehydrated peas. Try it. Green pea flour is awesome!
• To make the “cake” it was quite easy and for those needing nutritionally-dense food on the go, I would say it was rather good. Like a single-serving green monster cake!

Single-Serving Green Monster Cake

High protein, grain/gluten/wheat-free, egg-free, nut-free, dairy-free, paleo/Gaps-friendly

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup green pea flour
• 1/2 cup mashed acorn squash (banana or another mashed squash would work well too)
• 1 tbsp organic honey
• 1 tbsp organic coconut oil
• 1/8 tsp sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all of the ingredients well. (I used a food processor- It will be a rather thick batter)
3. Scoop into a 1-cup sized ramekin. Bake for 25 minutes. Eat warm or cool. This would also be awesome topped with a nut butter!

Hmm… Strange But Good worthy, no?

• I took a few bites to satisfy my (green) cake craving, but no more because I didn’t want to be sick on my birthday from deviating from my regular meat and veggie routine! 😉
• Boring-ness resumed just minutes later as I made my way back to school listening to some audio books in the car.
• Then April Fool’s Day.

And that’s last week in review. I hope this one goes just as well, and I can’t wait to celebrate my birthday for real this Saturday!

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QUESTIONS FOR YOU:

Share a few ABCs about yourself!

How did you celebrate Easter?

What was the highlight of your week?

Have you seen LOL or Oz yet?