I am a geek...

It's taken five years, but Matt's completely transformed me into a geek. I laughed so hard after watching this!

Also, on a side note, Orange is a cell network in the UK. It'll make sense after watching this video. :)

Whaddya think?

Pretty cool, right? I recently took my life in my own hands and redesigned my blog on my own. It was actually incredibly easy using the new blogger design thingy. I loved my last design, but like my hair, I don't think I'll ever be able to settle on one style! I must have them all! For now, I'm digging some sunshine-y goodness to brighten up these terribly dreary winter days.

I'm probably going to continue to tweak it over the next few days, so be patient with me!

Hilarious (but crude) dinner conversation

Matt and I went out to dinner after the Messiah performance last night and somehow we got onto the conversation of how if we didn't ever go to the bathroom, we'd all weigh 3000 pounds or something ridiculous like that. Matt then forks a piece of his meat, looks it square on and said,

"I'll see you later."

I about died laughing! Isn't it funny how funny potty humor can be? :)

Christmas cookies are a'baking

Last year, I made a few cookies and other items and gave them to a few people. Well, this year, I'm planning on expanding my route because of this fabulous Black Friday find!

These tins were 3 bucks for a set of 3 at Ikea! That is the right price! And they're totally cute too!

The only cookies I can remember making last year were florentines. They were pretty delicious, but a pain in the butt to make in large quantities. So, I'm trying to come up with 3 or 4 different kinds of cookies that are easy to make and taste fantastic!

If you have any ideas (or requests!) I'd love to hear them!

A Helping Hand

I started a 10 month fellowship with this organization back in August. I love what I do and we were recently featured in a local newspaper. Here's the the link for the article.

http://www.chapelhillnews.com/2010/11/28/60983/give-it-a-rest-help-is-available.html

The Cruise

So, after typing out three *very* long posts about our cruise, I decided that you probably don't want that much detail about my life, so I'm just giving you the highlights! :)

The boat was amazing, the food was great and the entertainment for the most part was terrible. One of my favorite things on the boat was the hot glass show, where three glassblowers made some incredible works of art on the top deck of the boat! It was pretty amazing. I also really enjoyed the indoor adult only pool. It was so relaxing!

Our ports of call were pretty great too! The only place I was marginally disappointed with was Magen's Bay on St. Thomas. It's supposed to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the world and it was only meh to me. We also did a tree top zip-line excursion which was awesome. They said we couldn't bring our cameras, as we'd need both hands to do it (and they were right), so I'm pretty bummed about that.

All in all, the cruise was amazing and I am definitely converted! I can't wait until we can go on another one! :) I put together a little slideshow of some of our pictures! Enjoy!

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I am so grateful for so many things this year! I'm thankful for my family, for our home, our jobs, for living in a country with so many freedoms, for my education, my kitty, the nice things I have, and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This year for Thanksgiving Dinner, it was just me and Matt. We had baked salmon, with arugula salad, mashed potatoes, rolls, green beans, roasted sweet potatoes and beets.

For dessert we had an apple and pear galette. I got the recipe for the galette on allrecipes and it was pretty good. My crust was a little dry and crumby, but it had a good flavor. Click here for the link to the recipe. I added some sugar and salt to the crust to give it more flavor. I also used pumpkin pie spice instead of the spice mixture (because cardamom was 10 bucks for a little bitty thing!). I just realized that I forgot to add the brown sugar in the mixture, but I didn't miss it at all! I also brushed the crust with some egg whites (because I had some left over from something else) and sprinkled the whole thing with a little sugar in the raw. Any way, it was Matt approved which for a pastry is incredible! Try it! You'll love it! Here how it turned out.

The Concert

I think my husband said it best after the concert. He said (of Muse), "They are amazing musicians, but they aren't performers." I would totally have to agree. Don't get me wrong! The concert was incredible and the experience, unforgettable. But all they did was go from one song to the next. There was no interaction with the audience beyond the obligatory, "How are you doing tonight, Raleigh?!" I love Muse and their music. It was as good, if not better live. I just wish there had been a little more performing in addition to all the incredible, ear drum bursting wall of sound.

Now, that I've said my peace, I can dwell in memory of the gloriousness of the evening. Muse is one of the few remaining bands/groups that sounds just as good live, if not infinitely better. At the risk of going off on a tangent, why is it that so many "singers" have to rely on technology to sound even half-way decent on a recording? You know what, never mind. Muse has always sounded delicious live, as it should be.

Any way, the concert was amazing and I made some friends with the guys standing in front of us (so in the event of me jumping up and accidentally landing on their feet, they wouldn't mind so much) and had an awesome time. My ear drums felt like I had cotton balls stuck in them for the rest of the evening and I honestly thought that I might lose my voice for a while the next morning (but nothing can get these pipes down for long!). Truly, it was a wonderful night. *sigh* I definitely will go see them again when they come to town.

So, here are my favorite pictures. Enjoy!

I survived!!

But, just barely. The concert was auh-mazing, the cruise was unbelievable and the surgery was awful (but necessary). I've only recently come off of the narcotics (which are frustratingly mind-addling. I think I may have had the same couple of conversations with Matt five of six times. Sorry honey.)

I'm in the process of sorting out our pictures, but here are my favorites from all three events. :) More to follow soon (most likely).

•  This was the beach we went to on St. John. By far, the most beautiful place we went on the cruise

•  Muse. Love it.

• This was taken soon after waking up. Considering what I looked like after waking up from my last surgery, I'm looking pretty hot!

Great things are a'comin...

This week is going to crawl by *so* slowly because of the tremendous things happening.

1) Muse concert Tuesday night - I am so excited, I can't even begin to express myself. The tickets are my early birthday present (even though my birthday is 2 months away). I am going to go to bed super early tonight in preparation. :) Muse is one of the greatest bands in terms of musical talent, in my opinion. They sound just as good live as they do on their records (which is a rarity these days) and if you listen to the basic constructs of their music, it's classical in nature (which I LOVE). Any way, if you haven't heard of Muse, check them out. Like, right now. I'll wait.

Are you back yet from having your mind blown? Good

2) Cruise Sunday morning - Matt and I are going on our cruise! WAHOO! It's going to be both of our first cruises and we're really looking forward to it. We're going to Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and St. Maarten on our week long cruise. There's a good mix of time on the boat and time at sea, so we'll have some time to explore the ship in addition to getting burnt to a crisp on the beaches. We leave on Saturday to fly to Ft. Lauderdale and I seriously want to start packing now.

Oh, and Matt and I settled on our Halloween costumes. I can't remember if I've said that yet or not. I know it's lame, but we're going to be video game characters.

Here's a little introduction to my character. Enjoy!



They have a video for the spy (which is Matt's character) but it's really gory and not funny at all. So here's a picture instead!

Any way, so excited! :) See you during my surgery recovery the day after I get back!

If you could live anywhere...

Where would you live? I know that there are a lot of factors that go into that decision like where your job/school is and proximity to family and sometimes money, but if those factors weren't an issue, where would you live?

Matt and I have talked a lot about it lately because his job is becoming too much for us to handle. Matt being gone all the time sucks. So we've been looking into other jobs. Ideally we'd stay in the area because we own our home and because of my job, but we're not ruling out the possibility of moving somewhere else.

I know Matt has some pretty strong objections to Utah (which I do not share) but no strong inclination towards any other place either. I would love to live abroad for a little while (definitely not for a long time or permanently) and we've already shot that one down once. Right after Matt started working in Australia a few years back, they offered him a position there. I still regret him turning it down, but at the time we still had a lot of family close here. Since then, our extended families have spread out some and our tie to North Carolina isn't as strong.

Recently, we've had an opportunity arise to live in the UK for a year in addition to making a permanent move to California. Now, I'm not sure where in the UK it would be, but most likely somewhere in England and close to London. I jumped at the idea more than I thought I would. It seems crazy to me that I would drop my life here and live across the ocean in a foreign country, but I would do it in a heart beat. I balked at the idea of living in California, but the thought of being in England for Christmas fills my head with romantic images of snow covered country lanes and funny paper hats. And that got me thinking: Where would you live if you could move anywhere? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Just call me Sickie Poo

I haven't been feeling really great the past few days and I'm proud that my body was able to fend off getting sick for so long (especially now I'm interacting with so many people on a daily basis), but unfortunately, my body caved in today. So it's time to play my favorite game! Web MD Symptom Checker!

Ok, so I know it's now really a game, but I like to put in my symptoms and see what the most random diagnosis is. Usually, whatever it is, that's what I'll claim as my illness, because suffering from walking pneumonia or cryptococcosis sounds so much cooler than the common cold. Today, I'm suffering from viral pneumonia. So take pity on me. *I would just like to note that I'm really not suffering from anything other than a cold, which still sucks*


I did get a lot of intermittent sleep and watched my favorite movie *ever*: Beauty and the Beast. Disney, in their infinite wisdom, has seen fit to bring Beauty and the Beast out of their accursed vault and make their delightful movie available for purchase again. I got it through netflix the other day. (On a side note, I love netflix. That is all.) I think I may go purchase it soon and give it to myself as a Christmas present this year. :)

Coolest thing ever! (Well, if you're into that sort of thing)

I recently reinjured my left knee (the one I've had surgery on) and my doctor is worried that I've torn my meniscus. In order to diagnose it, I had an MRI scan performed on my knee on Monday. Here are some of the cooler images.

I love that you can see the hole they drilled for the replacement ACL. I also don't love that I can see the incredibly thick layer of fat surrounding my leg. It makes me want to go work out for 3 hours.

So a few days after having the MRI done, my doctor confirmed that I have torn it and recommended surgery to repair it. So once again, I'm having my knee cut open. My doctor assured me that the recovery will be nothing like what I went through with my ACL (thank goodness) and that I should be down for a week max. I've decided to wait until after our cruise to have the surgery though (because there's no way I'm limping around in the carribean) so I'll have to put up with the dull ache and sharp stabbing pains from sideways movement until November. I suppose it could be worse. I could've torn my graft!

This reminds me of a conversation that Matt and I had last night. Matt was talking about some games he had on his phone. It immediately made me think of my new favorite game on my phone, Speed Anatomy. I pulled out my phone and started playing. After a few minutes I noticed he wasn't paying attention to me any more and I put away my game. He then looked up at me with a stone cold face and said, "Nerd."

Halloween costume

Why is it that it is nearly impossible to find a cute, non-dumpy Halloween costume that doesn't make a girl looks slutty? I don't understand what it is with Halloween that makes girls think they've got a pass on that night to dress (and often act) as slutty as possible.
With Halloween quickly approaching (as well as our cruise which leaves on Halloween), I find myself frustrated that the only costumes I can find are "sexy"(insert profession here)s. Or, the costume is of a superhero which basically means spandex. I don't look good in spandex (who does really?) And let me tell you nobody needs to see that!

The other frustrating aspect (which is slowly becoming a non issue as I can't find anything!) is that Matt and I wanted to coordinate our costumes. All the couple's costume ideas are weird, creepy or dumb. Ball and chain? No thanks. Ketchup and Mustard? What the heck? Marc Anthony and Cleopatra? Boring! It's hard to find a couple that involves both of us dressing up. Matt had the idea of Dr. Horrible, but Penny is just in regular clothes. Perhaps I could cross-dress and be Dr. Who...

Any way, I write this in the hopes that anybody has a good idea for us. It would be great if the costumes were coordinated or related, but at this point I don't much care if it isn't. So far the top runners in our minds are:

1. Wolverine and Rogue - I know they weren't a couple but they're good friends. Plus, Matt can really pull off the beard and hair. It does however require an incredible amount of spandex on my part.
2. Dr. Who (Danid Tennant style) and his companion - I would love to do this one, but again, I would just be in regular clothes. Boring!
3. Christine Daae and The Phantom - I love this musical more than life! However, Matt's costume would be stifling, what with the shirt and vest and pants and cloak and mask...
4. King Leonidas and his Queen - Matt would not be naked at all, but again, he can pull of the beard. 

So, there you have it. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Ummmm.... Heck Yes!

I've had some pretty amazing culinary adventures as of late, but I only have pictures from one of them. Yesterday, I tried recreating Cafe Rio's Pork Barbacoa Salad. I think I came pretty close, but I haven't had it in a while, so I may not be as close as I think I am. Any way, after searching for some recipes, I made up my own. Here it is:

Pork Barbacoa Deliciousness

• 3-5 lb. Pork Roast
• 1 7oz. Can of chipotle chiles in adobo
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Garlic minced
• 1 tsp Dry Mustard
• 1 1/2 cans of Dr. Pepper (or 18 oz)

Mix all ingredients except for the roast in a bowl, chilies and all. Place the pork roast and the sauce into a slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours. At the end of the 6 hours take out the roast and shred the meat. Put about half aside for other purposes (like yummy barbecue later!). In another bowl, mix the following ingredients:

• 18 oz Dr. Pepper
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1 tsp (or more if you like the heat) Franks Red Hot Sauce
• 1/4 cup Sticky Fingers Carolina Sweet barbecue sauce
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic minced

Once you have the sauce mixed, reduce in a pot on the stove until the sauce is slightly thickened (about 5-10 minutes on medium heat). Mix in with the shredded meat and eat.

I think it's pretty good regardless. It know it's a little labor intensive, especially with making a whole new sauce, but the chilies added a great kick to the meat, but left the cooked liquid too spicy (It stings the nostrils). Any way, we used it to top a Cafe Rio-esque salad. Basically layer the following:

• tortilla
• rice
• beans
• lettue
• pico de gayo
• pork
• cheese
• squeeze o' lime

Also, I found a goo tomatillo dressing here. I actually used the recipe for the initial cooking liquid from her blog as well. I made up the second sauce on the fly with what I had. :) Any way, it was delicious.

My second adventure happened this afternoon on my way home. I stopped into the bakery on Salem Street in downtown Apex. I told the lady I wanted chocolate something and she suggested this.

I can't even remember what it was called, but I think it was something like, "The most delicious chocolatey thing you'll ever put in your mouth, ever." Ok, not really, but it should be called that! It was rich and creamy, but not too rich (which given it's size is a good thing!) I didn't eat all of it in one go, because I had to run, but boy did it fix my chocolate itch. If you ever find yourself in downtown Apex, you should definitely stop in and get this, or one of the many other delicious desserts they offer!

Imagery

"If you select 'Yes' we will include your blog in Google Blog Search and ping Weblogs.com. If you select 'No', everyone can still view your blog but search engines will be instructed not to crawl it."

So I was perusing my settings for my blog and read this statement. It is weird that the image that popped up in my head was that of a personified search engine dragging himself with his hands, bloodied and burnt to the point of cracking and bleeding, across the desert, half starved and reaching up toward the oasis that is me and my blog.

I think I might have an overactive imagination.

Photo courtesy of Annay's picasa web album.

Recipe time Part Duex!

It occurred to me that I haven't been very good about posting Teri-original recipes on here, so I thought I should share with you one of my new favorite things: smoothies!

Now I know it doesn't take a genius to make a smoothie, but there is a science to it (sort of). A good smoothie should never require too much extra ice to be added, as it dilutes the flavor, and it should have a wide variety of flavors. Here's my favorite one right now:

Teri's Berry Smoothie

• 1 cup frozen tropical fruit (My mix had mangoes, pineapple, kiwi and melons)
• 1 cup frozen berries (My mix has blackberries, raspberries, strawberries and blueberries)
• 1 small container of strawberry yogurt (think yoplait sized containers and the like) 
• 1/2 cup or so (you might need extra depending on your blender) apple juice
• roughly 4 ice cubes

Put the liquid and yogurt into the bottom of the blender and pile the fruit in on top. Blend. Add more apple juice if needed. One of the tricks to getting a smooth texture is letting the blender run for about a minute once the mixture become visually the same. You want there to be a hole down the middle of your smoothie while it's running, so that everything can get down to the blades eventually. Once you've let it run for a minute, add the ice cubes one at a time until the hole down the middle disappears. (You may need more of less than the amount of ice cubes indicated. It's not going to be the same for everybody) I've also experimented with adding protein powder. While this makes a pretty good, easy breakfast for me, it makes the smoothie really frothy, so only add the protein powder at the very end so it doesn't explode out of your blender like mine almost did this morning.

If you have any left overs, store them in an airtight container in the freezer, but use it within the next month. To thaw, set it in the fridge for about an hour and half. That will get it to a similar consistency as when you started out! I hope you enjoy!!

Teri's Ridiculous Frosting

Ok, so my first day of work was... interesting. I pretty much screwed up big time in the first 3 hours of work, met with a client, became a running joke, and subsequently fell in love with the ladies I work with.
Any way, we're having a potluck tomorrow for a client who's turning 103. (Yeah, I know! That's amazing!!) I volunteered to bring chocolate cake. It's the same cake recipe I used for my sister-in-law's wedding. But, because I messed up the batter on the first time around, I didn't have enough cocoa powder for the frosting recipe. So I made one up. And it was ridiculously good. :) Here it is!

Teri's Ridiculous Frosting

• 6 oz (or half a bag) of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbls chocolate sauce

 Melt the chocolate chips over a double boiler or in the microwave and stir until smooth. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer (because this next part will be *really* difficult without it) beat the softened cream cheese into the melted chocolate. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and chocolate sauce and continue to beat until smooth and fluffy. If you want your frosting stiffer, add more powdered sugar until it reaches the desired consistency. Likewise, if you want your frosting more fluid, add more chocolate sauce.

I think I might be in love with my new creation. *sigh* I'll try to get a picture of the cake tomorrow before we cut into it. :)

*update* So, I got to work that morning and frosted the cake (so it wouldn't get smeared all over the lid to my cake pan) and then they told me that I would be going on a client visit during the party. I got to meet and read to a pretty amazing woman, but when I got back, the cake was gone! So, no photos of the cake other than the ones taken by the official A Helping Hand camera, so I don't know if I'm allowed to post them or not... Any way, everyone said the frosting was delicious! I'm glad the cake was a hit!

My Web Happy Places

Here they are in reverse order of how happy they make me:

Bloom Floral Design

This lady down in Atlanta has some beuatiful and unique flower arrangements! I love looking through her work. The only downside is that she doesn't post very often, so it's like waiting for Christmas to see some of the new things she's doing. I would love to be able to be a florist one day. I just love flowers!

 Photo Courtesy of bloomfloraldesign.blogspot.com

Tastespotting

I *love* food. I always have. It's the reason I pay good money to Mike (my trainer) to beat me up at the gym. This website is the food porn mecca! There are beautiful photographs of the different foods and links to the websites or blogs they came from. Most of the blogs I've been sent to have had the recipe or a link to the recipe, so you can make it too. IF I had any kind of photographing skills, I would put some of my recipes on there, but alas, I am not Emily.

Photo Courtesy of theurbanbaker.blogspot.com via Tastspotting.com

Adventures in Dressmaking

I like crafty websites, but I like this one the best so far. She has a little bit of everything, but mostly sewing. I feel like that is a craft I can do well(ish). I love her tutorials on how to take old shirts and make them pretty in a new way! I also love seeing all the dresses she's made

My Blogger Reader

I love having all the blogs of friend, family and complete strangers all in one place. And I know my husband is saying, "Finally!! I've been telling you all along!" But until recently (read: since I've been unemployed and out of school) I didn't have that many blogs that I read with any kind of consistency. Now there are too many to go to individually everyday. My reader makes my life easier (blogically speaking, of course).

I can has cheezburger?

What can I say? I love cats and I love snarky humor. Both are in rich supply at my favoritist of web happy places. I love a lot of the other off-shoot sites, like the ROFLazzi and the oh so popular Fail blog. I can honestly look through the archives for hours and laugh my head off!

Photo Courtesy of icanhascheezburger.com

 

The latest crazy dream:

The other day, I had a dream and the guys from Top Gear made guest apperances! We had to build a car that could both fly and go underwater. I can't remember who's team I was on (it was either Richard Hammond or James May's team because I don't think I could ever get a long with Jeremy Clarkson). The entire time, they made fun of me because I am a girl, I didn't know anything about cars, and I am American.

I don't know if watching Top Gear right before bed is the wisest idea any more.

Photo Courtesy of TheNeave.com

I am NO longer depressed!!!!!!!!!!!

I just got a phone call from the lady at A Helping Hand and they offered me the fellowship position!!!! Hurray! I can't even tell you so very excited I am right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I think the gratuitous use of exclamation points might help though) It is such a relief to finally have employment prospects. And employment prospects that are pertinent to my field as well!

I just can't believe that I'm getting a real-person job! I'm just so happy!! :) Now I am going to celebrate by buying new work clothes (as it turns out I only have one pair of dress pants that fit). Hurray for me!! :)

On a totally unrelated noted, I think that all cities should install a "fast lane" in all stair wells.

I am depressed

I'm waiting to hear back about a job and the suspense is killing me. I'm pretty sure I got it, but still I'm nervous. Ugg... I think I need chocolate, ice cream *and* chic flick therapy. Hopefully, my fate will be decided by tomorrow or Monday at the latest. I really hope it's tomorrow.


*update* - I decided to go with retail therapy today instead, although I think I'm going to indulge in some milkshake book therapy in a second as well...