Journal

L.A. Baby

Christy — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 21:39:51 +0000

A few months ago I learned about a 60th wedding anniversary party being held for my great aunt and great uncle. While this is a grand occasion for them, I assumed that we would not be attending. See, they live in California. That requires planning, plane rides, and patience, three things of which I was in short supply. I made a mental note of the pending party, and planned to send a card from our family.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. We started making preparations to head to California to visit with my family and attend the anniversary party! It was a quick process consisting of many phone calls (and FaceTime Chats) between me, mom, and my sister. Things have progressed very quickly!

As of now, we will be headed to California at the end of the month. We start our trip with a stay at Disneyland and then we head to visit family outside of LA. I can't wait! Ali is obviously excited too...she can't stop singing this song!

Ebates

Christy — Sat, 15 May 2010 00:15:12 +0000

Don't hate me. My poor little neglected blog deserves better than just a shill post, but I'm going to do it anyway.

See, I want an iPad. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I want one BAD. Baaaaaaad. And Ebates is going to give me one if I can rope 50 people into signing up at their site.

Usually, I don't buy into that kind of shameless promotion, but Ebates is a site that I actually like using. They offer good coupons/codes for merchants where I frequently shop. And the best part? They offer cash back if you use their site to make purchases at those retailers! I have saved over $100 using Ebates to get cash back (credited to my paypal account).

So here's the deal. The offer me a little kickback for everyone that get to sign up through this link: Ebates

And here's the good news for you: If you sign up through this link you will get your choices of rewards to get you started. It could be a credit to HP.com, Red Envelope or even $5 to get you Ebates account started!

So head on over and sign up! I use this site for nearly every online purchase I make, so I highly recommend it!

Chicken and Dumplins*

Christy — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:07:44 +0000

Several years ago, I was introduced to Alton Brown's world of Good Eats. It's this great little show that tackles one food topic per episode introducing the audience to basic science principles, basic food history and basic recipes about the theme of the show. I am not usually a fan of "science shows" but the material is presented in such a fun way at such an elementary level that I seldom ever feel overwhelmed by the actual science that is being taught. I have discovered that while the show is entertaining, it is also quite informative, allowing me to add many recipes to my collection. (My absolute favorite? AB's Guacamole. The BEST Guac that I have ever eaten. Runner up? AB's "Instant" Pancake Mix. Easy, Cheap, and yummy.)

So today, I became intrigued when I started watching this week's episode of Good Eats. Chicken and Dumplings was the show's theme, and through the course of the episode he covered the two basic types of "from scratch" dumplings--flat and fluffy.

Now, Chicken and Dumplings is one recipe that I have never attempted as a home cook. Lord knows I have dished up and served many plates of them after working at Cracker Barrel during my college days, and I have eaten my fair share as well. But cooked them? Never. And I certainly have never thought that cooking themfrom scratch would be an easy feat.

I was wrong. It was easy. And man it's cheap.

Before I tell you what I did, you might want to go take a look at what the recipe looks like that he demonstrated on the show. I changed things up a bit, only because I didn't have a whole chicken or a pressure cooker on hand.

Here's what I did:

Boiled about a pound of boneless skinless chicken breast in 32 oz of chicken stock.
Strained the chicken from the stock when it was done cooking.
Took one cup of stock and transferred it to a 2qt sauce pan to boil.
Added 3 Tablespoons of Butter to the sauce pan to melt into the stock.
Added 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt to the sauce pan.
Added 1/2 Cup AP Flour to the stock/butter/salt mixture.
Stirred mixture until it formed a soft ball.
Took the electric mixer to the ball and ran it until it looked like couscous pellets.
Added two eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly incorporated.
Transferred mixture into a zip top bag, cut off the tip, and piped the mixture into the big pot of stock.
Boiled the mixture for 8-10 minutes....but I made mine too big so it took a bit longer.
Shredded the chicken and served the broth and dumplings over the chicken.

We all really liked this recipe. I will definitely be making it again! What are some of your favorite things to make?

*Yes. I say "Dumplins". If you pronounce the 'g', you're not making the right recipe!

My Shamrock Sweetie

Christy — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:57:40 +0000

OKGo Awesomeness

Christy — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:10:12 +0000

Goodbye 20's.

Christy — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 04:52:00 +0000

In the past decade I have:

Graduated from college
Married the love of my life
Had a beautiful baby girl
Traveled to Vegas, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, St. Lucia, San Antonio, Louisville, Sarasota, Orlando, Gulf Shores (multiple times), and all the states between Michigan and Arkansas.
Met Penn and Teller
Discovered the world of Mac
Joined a book club
Discovered the sublime bliss of a good masseuse
Had a mammogram
Learned to enjoy sushi (and not just a cali roll)
Bought a house
Sold a house
Bought another house
Moved out of my comfort zone and across country
Owed taxes for the first time instead of getting it all back
Served Jury Duty

So what does the next decade hold for me? I have no idea. I'm pretty sure it is going to be great though!

Is this thing on?

Christy — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 01:26:59 +0000

Tap tap tap.... is this thing still on?

On the slim chance that anyone still checks this site, yes, I am still here. I took the entire month of January (and much of February) as a time to reflect on what I want to achieve from this blog. Turns out, I missed writing here more than I thought I would. I missed sharing the ups and downs of my daily life, as boring as it may be.

I didn't miss those pesky pictures though. These days, I feel like I am taking more pictures of things that actually interest me, as opposed to rushing around to find something to fulfill my Project 365 requirement of a picture a day.

So on this day, February 14, Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year, or as I like to call it, the last day of my 20's, I have decided that I will no longer abandon this site. I don't promise to post daily, but I do promise to post when I get the whim. It may be interesting to me but boring as heck to you, but I will do my best not to miss the high points and the few low points.

365/365: Done. Done. Done.

Christy — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 04:59:17 +0000

I finished. I missed a few days, but I finished.

364/365: Toy Clearance Time

Christy — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 23:47:25 +0000

I do love the Target Toy Clearance!

363/365: No Pic

Christy — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 23:46:31 +0000