Tribute to Summer

Well, its getting closer to summer and I thought I would celebrate it by grilling! I really love everything about grilling. The taste, the smell, the quickness, and the fact that you do it outside! I used two of my pork tenderloins and bought some cherry tomatoes, green peppers, and a zucchini to make shish kabobs! The longest part of this whole meal is the marinating process. Here is the original recipe for the marinade I used:

1 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup of vinegar

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

basil or oregano to taste (I didn't have either of these so I used Allspice!)

Mix all those together and put the vegetable in. Let this marinate for at least 3 hours.

For the pork I just rubbed some Lawry's and pepper on them and you got yourself a meal! Happy Grilling!

The Other White Meat

Tonight, I decided to use some pork as my main ingredient. I found this recipe online and thought it was pretty good! I cut this recipe in half and used 2 pieces of pork but i will put the normal recipe on here. I also decided to add frozen vegetable to the rice (cooking them in the microwave first) for nutritional reasons. :)

Sweet and Sour Pork Loin Medallions

5 or 6 boneless pork tenderloin medallions

2 tablespoons vinegar

1/4 c. catsup

Dash of nutmeg

Salt & pepper

1/4 c. sugar

1 c. water

Brown pork pieces in oil. Drain off oil. Add all other ingredients (I mixed them together in a bowl first) and cook slowly for 20-30 minutes or until liquid is reduced. Pour excess red sauce over rice.

Easy peasy, right?! Tastes good too!

Enjoy!

New Directions

Ok, so I epically fail at this whole blog thing. Therefore, I have come up with a new idea. I am now transforming my blog into a cooking blog! I will be sharing all of my cooking experiences with you all. Whether I succeed or fail it will be here. I am starting to experiment with creating my own recipes as well so I will share them here as well. I will also try to take pictures of everything I make ( sometimes I forget and start eating it...). I like pictures :) Most of what I make will be 1 person servings only because that's all I have to cook for but every once in a while I'll make soup or something that will serve more. However, the recipes will be easy to double or triple or whatever you need. Lucky for you, I did a little experimenting tonight so my first post will be an original by your truly.

I was planning on making my honey glazed chicken tonight (I will share recipe later) however, after getting everything set up I discovered I was out of honey! The world is testing me. So, I put my mind to work trying to figure out what I had that would serve as a sufficient glaze. After rummaging through the cupboards and refrigerator I finally settled on jam. So, with no further ado, Jammin' Chicken and Peas...

Jammin' Chicken and Peas

1 Chicken Breast

1/4 cup of frozen peas - slightly thawed

Garlic Salt

Your favorite jam

Cook chicken breast on medium heat in a preheated skillet with olive oil (drip a drop of water in oil to determine if the oil is hot). Cook chicken thoroughly. No pink. Sprinkle some garlic salt on both sides of chicken. I'm not sure how much I used because I tend not to measure but if I had to guess I would say all together around a 1/8 teaspoon. Then sprinkle some garlic salt on peas before dumping them into skillet with chicken. Stir occasionally so that peas do not burn (you can turn the heat down a bit to about in between low and medium). Shaking the pan works well. After letting the peas cook for around 5-7 minutes, smear your favorite jam (I used raspberry cranberry) on top of chicken breast. Try to keep only on chicken. Let cook for about 1 more minute just so the jam get warmed. Serve and eat!

Phloem & Xylem

Well, I don't really have anything more exciting than small rodents with little blades strapped to their feet skating around on a thin layer of hydrogen and oxygen in a solid state, but I will write about it anyway. I had my botany lab today and we were looking at slides of wood. We had to be able to identify the different tissues and cells which, together, make these amazing plants called trees. It is so crazy to think about tiny microscopic pieces of matter sticking together to make such a massive and sometimes delicate tree. The way these cells are able to know their exact duties in life and work together with their neighbors is just incredible. I wish humans could do that. Here's a look at what I saw today...

Mice Hockey

Today, was rather treacherous to my physical well-being. It is around 50 degrees (above zero) here in Point making all the snow very slippery. And the melted snow is slightly frozen in the shady spots making mini ice rinks all around. I'm surprised I don't see mice out playing hockey or something...Anyway, thankfully I managed to stay on my feet all day even though I looked like an old lady. I find that better than that getting some nasty bruises. Hopefully, tomorrow I will have something more exciting to talk about.

Here we go again...

Well, here goes another try at blogging! Cross your fingers...

My life the next 2 weeks...

Today is a somewhat of a dreary day. Overcast and windy with a few drops of rain here and there occasionally. I plan on doing homework all day so that I won't have anything to do this week since I have an ungodly amount of softball games to play. Here, let me show you...On Tuesday we are leaving at 5:30AM to play two games up in Northland, then we come back that night. On Wednesday, we play two home games at 4 and 6. We have practice on Thursday and then on Friday we travel to Duluth to play two games at 10 and 12. We stay overnight in Duluth and then play 2 more games at 2 and 4 on Saturday. Now, if your not exhausted by just reading that than there is something wrong with ya... I am pretty much going to be so dead that brushing my teeth will require 2 hours of preparation in building up energy. Oh ya, and then next week...is Finals. Great. However, after that...I am going home! Never to return to this college for anything school related. That's right! I am transferring. I decided being a teacher is definitely not for me. Somehow I thought it was at one point but I have come to realize that I would literally go crazy if I became a teacher and had to deal with kids all day everyday for the rest of my life. Therefore, I decided to change my major (and my school). I have decided to go into Natural Resources! Something I have always loved. I have not narrowed down the exact school quite yet but it is going to have to happen very soon. I am so excited to begin this new journey in my life! I am pretty much going to be starting college all over again. However, this time I have decided to go my own way and not follow other people just so that I will be comfortable. I feel that God is calling me to this field of study and I am going to follow that calling. I am not quite sure what He is going to have me do with this major but whatever it is I want to glorify Him through it!

Hammer Time!

Well, it has been a very long time since I have updated my blog...my sincere apologies for that. I tend to slack off during the summer and this school year has crazy, so no time for bloggy blog! However, today I found a little tid bit of time since my softball game was cancelled. Today is going to be a homework day for me pretty much because I have nothing better to do...But, I do have a little buddy to keep me company! His name is Hammer! He is a little poodle mix mutt dog that I am taking care of for one of my friends. He is very sweet and well trained, isn't really too fond of men but he does ok, lol. He's just chilling with me while I do homework. BEST COMPANY EVER!! Anyway, hopefully I can keep doing this more regularly! TTFN!

Another success!

So, today I had my New Testament History final. Pretty sure I killed it! As far as I know, I only got one wrong! I'm totally stoked dude! So, that was a good start to my day. After I finished that I went back to my room to do some hard core packing. I accomplished a lot there too! I completely emptied out my desk and shelving unit, and I have pretty much all my clothes packed too! The last thing I will need to do is my bedding and toiletries. Woot woot! Tomorrow, Wisconsin gets her Moonchild back!

Plop, plop, fizz, fizz...oh what a relief it is!

Anyone know what product that slogan is for??

Well, I used it because I am so relieved! My hardest final is over, and I owned it! I knew what every single question was talking about. Thank you, to all who prayed for me, I know that it helped.

Well, for the rest of the day I am going to get as much packed as I possibly can. It won't be much fun but is something that must be done(hey! that rhymed!).

By the way, if you guess what that slogan is for you get the cool factor for the day. If I stumped you, I will give the answer tomorrow. No cheating, like search engines and stuff!

Let's go stick ourself to a wall...

If you don't know what finals is all about...here's the low-down. You stay up 'til ungodly hours of the night wishing you had a sponge for a brain. You eat everything in reach so you better buy some healthy stuff beforehand. You stare at terms and explanations until everything looks like this: asod;fihweio;afhe;oihaef;oeihfa;osd, and you pretty much wish you were not smart so that it would be amazing if you got a C-.

Well, today was the first day of finals for me. I had two: Western Civilization from 1715 and Speech. Western Civ. was at 1:00 so luckily I got some sleep. My speech final was online so I was able to take it whenever I wanted today. I ended up taking it at about 2:30.

Most people lock themselves in their room during this time, so in order to get us out to see sunlight our activities board here at school plans activities called study breaks. Today, our study break consisted of inflatables set up in our gym. I went with Amy and Elie at 3:30. We had so much fun bouncing around through the obstacle course and sticking ourselves to the velcro wall in our velcro suits. We decided not to do the one with the big sticks with marshmellow looking things on the ends because we didn't feel like putting our heads into helmets dripping with 500 other people's sweat. We just weren't diggin' it. However, we had tons of fun watching other people do it!

Tomorrow I only have one final but it is my hardest, Gospel of John. If you think of me tomorrow around 8:00am to 9:30am you can totally pray for me, that would be very much appreciated. Well, off to stuDYING!

Living Rock

Well, today was my last Sunday at Living Rock Church. I have grown to love this church very much. The congregation is very welcoming, the Pastor is amazing and I completely understand him, the music is incredible, and I have been involved with the Children's ministry. I have gotten to know people there and always enjoy going, even when I have to go to the early service in order to help with the kids during the second service. I would like to thank everyone who helped me grow as a person and have shown me God's love at Living Rock.

Leslie's Hope

Today, I had the honor of walking in the memory of Amy's mom, Leslie. It was a 5 mile marathon for Cystic Fibrosis, around Lake Calhoun. Amy, Lovina, and I met Amy's dad and sister at K-mart and drove to Lake Calhoun. Many of their family and friends were there and we all were wearing our blue shirts that said "Leslie's Hope" on them. I have never done any kind of marathon before and I thought it was really cool. After finishing the walk we decided to go eat at Chipotle, a very sufficient reward, I thought. It has been a good first half of the day...now on to studying.

Ice Cream and Alternators

So, as you all know, yesterday was my birthday, so in celebration of that some friends and I went to Culver's for some ice cream. My friends Joy and Joelle willingly agreed to provide transportation for all 8 of us. I decided to ride in Joy's car. Well, we are driving along and as we are nearing our destination Joy's radio stops working (which if you don't know, that's a big deal for us). So we were all very confused and sad. About 20 seconds later, all the dash lights start to dim and flash. It then occurred to us that we should probably pull over and check her battery. So, we pulled over in a quaint little neighborhood and pop the hood. The two "northwoods" girls, Elie and I, get out to do a little battery inspection. After examining our patient we found that the diagnoses was clear. No corrosion or connection problems. Huh, weird. So, we tell Joy to start the car up again. She does so, and everything seems to be okay. So, off we go. After driving about 4 minutes, it happens again. This time Elie calls her dad for a little more knowledgeable input. He says that is most likely her alternator is bad. Which, if you don't know, the alternator is the thing that keeps the battery charged, so we were on the right track thinking it was the battery. He tells us that we won't have much "juice" left, but we should be able to make it back to school. After, we enjoy our pleasurable frozen treats we set off again hoping to make it back. The car started just fine and the radio was working again. However, after driving for about 8 minutes the radio stops working, the lights start freaking out, and the vehicle now has a weird sort of jerk to it. We all decide that we should probably pull over now. Unfortunately, the car dies about 100 yards from the street we were going to pull off on and we were forced to stop in a turning lane. By this time, it is dark out and we are a car stuck in a turning lane with no lights. Luckily Joelle was able to put her hazards on so that vehicles could see that they needed to move over or not use the turning lane if they were planning on it. I decided that I did not want to be sitting in the car and figured it would be safer outside away from the car. Joy's dad tells her to call AAA to get roadside assistance. AAA told her that they would be able to get there in about an hour to help us get the car moved and to give us a ride back. Well, Joelle found a better option and called her boyfriend Marquise and he agreed to come and jump her car and give us a ride back. So, we sit tight and wait. While waiting Elie and I agree that we should push Joy's car to the street that we planned on pulling over on so that it wasn't sitting in the turning lane because that was dangerous. With Joelle's car behind us with hazards on, the two "northwoods" girls again take action and start pushing. As we are shoving this car, we look at each other and Elie says, "Just like old times, huh?" We both laugh and I agree, "Yep, feels like we're back home!" Finally, we get the car to safety. Now, we can sit in both cars, and wait for Marquise. It should've only taken Marquise about 10 minutes to get to us, so after about a 1/2 hour we all begin wondering where he is. Then we find out Joelle had given him wrong directions which gave us all a good laugh. By the time he arrives there are 8 girls who badly have to piddle, 4 who are cold, and one who is a little crabby bacause she now has a car which doesn't work. However, we are all glad to see our Knight in Iron Armour come to save us. Marquise brought his cousin with and they set to work getting the jumper cables hooked up. After a successful jump, they get the car running and Marquise decides to drive Joy's car incase it happens again. So, off we go! I rode in Joy's car along with Marquise, Kristin, and Katie and we all start singing and dancing to some good tunes curtosy of Marquise. However, our fun was about to end because about 6 minutes later, our little Ford starts to die...again. "Oh no...oh no...oh no!" Marquise could not belive it would die so soon. But, indeed it did. So, we pull over and try again. Another successful jump and we turn around to get back on the highway, after driving about 50 yards it dies. So, we jump it again, this time we leave the cables on a little longer to let the battery charge a little longer. After about 10 minutes, we decide to try again. Off we go, tunes 'n all......for about 5 minutes. We pull over again, and try jumping it with Joelle's car this time so that it would ruin Marquise's battery. Joelle's car wasn't working however, and we switch back to Marquise's. To our surprise this did not work either. We come to the conclusion that Joy's battery is dead. So, we push the car into a litte spot by a power box and leave it. Kristin, Katie and I pile into Joelle's car and drive the last 5 minutes back to school. The whole ordeal took about 3 hours in total, but I still had fun and it added a great adventure to my birthday party.

Sunny but Windy

Today, we had our last chapel of the year. It was kinda sad but exciting at the same time. We sang lots of good songs and were able to pray for the graduating seniors. I was able to pray for a good friend who accompanied us on the mission trip to Dominican this past March. Jessica and I sat next to each other on every flight to and from Dominican and had many cool talks along the way. I can say that I truly love her and wish I had known her sooner. She is a joy to be around and can always bring a smile to my face. I wish her all the best in everything she does in life and prays that God will bless her with all she needs. I am sure we will keep in touch and will hopefully be able get together somewhere down the road. Good luck Jess!

Jess and Me

After Chapel today, we had a picnic outside. The sun was out but is was quite windy making it chilly to stay out too long without a jacket. We had great time, however, and were able to be entertained as one of the faculty members accidentally dropped a huge pallet of mulch into the pond with the fork lift. oops.

I have one more class to go to today and then I am officially done with my freshmen college classes. Next week is finals and on Thurs. Mom and Dad are coming to pick me up. And then comes Summer! I will post again later tonight to inform about my very eventful night of ice cream and alternators. TTFN!

In a year I will be 20!

So, today is my 19th birthday...I think this is the first birthday I have ever felt a little older. Poo. I don't really like the idea of getting older. I wish I could be 17 forever. But I know that isn't possible so I'll make the best out of things. After all I am an optimist. The past few weeks one of my best friends, Kendra and I have been fighting. Actually extreme silent treatment but that's kind of worse. We have both been hurting because of it and today, I am excited to say that we are best friends again! Woohoo! I decided I couldn't stand it anymore and turns out neither could she. I also didn't want to celebrate my birthday without her. After we talked, I felt a huge weight lifted off my entire being. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday gift. Tonight after chapel my friends and I are going out for ice cream, and tomorrow night we are going to the movies. Fast and Furious!!

After the celebrations are over, I think this will be a birthday I will always remember.

Me and Kendra

Today my mom, sister, brother, and I went and helped at the Senior Center with bagging groceries, as we do every other tues. To some this would seem like a boring job, I thought it would be when my mom first told me about it too. But to my surprise it is a very rewarding and fun job. I can really see what a help it is to them for us to come and help. Today all the seniors(there are usually only three there) had a cold, so our help was extra appreciated. What is it that makes us feel good when we help other people? Is it just the pride in us or something deeper? Someday I will know the answer to that question.