Rainy, Blah Day

Today has just been one of those blah days. It has been off and on raining all day, which meant I slept in until almost noon because it was pitch black in my room. I would have slept longer but I knew I needed to get up and go help my mom pack up her classroom. So I got up and picked up some food on the way over there- subway for her and sushi for me. Then I spent several hours helping her move stuff between classrooms because she is switching from teaching 5th grade down to 4th grade so she was moving down to the 4th grade part of the hall. Look at some of the fun stuff my mom got as end of the year gifts,

A huge picnic basket filled with picnic stuff (like plates, bowls, napkins, corn on the cob holders, etc), red lobster gift cards, a box of godiva chocolate along with various other chocolate things, and lots of other cute random things!
The cutest poster ever, its like a little poem and it has candy bars in place of different words. Some of these candy bars I've never heard of!And there were other things from individual students, but those were the main class things. Anyways last night was pretty blah too, salmon for dinner topped with some sort of parsley butter or something that my dad made and corn on the side.
We are seriously running low on food in the house, so we also pulled out some hummus and wheat thins to go with dinner.
And for Charlotte's dinner she got new Rachael Ray puppy food! She got a free sample of Nutrish and loved it!! So I convinced my dad to buy her some because 1) she absolutely loves it 2) it is supposedly healthier for her (i say supposedly because i have no idea what is healthy for dogs to eat and what is not) and 3) it was really only a couple dollars more expensive than the stuff she usually gets! Anyways look how happy she was to get it! If you have a dog you should get them the free sample so they can be as happy as Charlotte!
Anyways today as I said I woke up around noon, so clearly there was no breakfast happening. For myself for lunch I picked up a shrimp tempura roll and a philly roll from Asia Garden on the way to help my mom at her school. I forgot to take a picture because I was so hungry and eating at the school it really didn't occur to me until later. I didn't bring my camera but I could have taken a picture on my phone- oh well!

After I got home from cleaning my mom's classroom I was inspired to work on my own room. I made myself a Green Monster before I attempted to tackle my room! It had blueberry yogurt, a banana, the last of the spinach (about a cup), a splash of orange juice, and some ice cubes. It was delicious!
My room is getting closer to being clean! It is just so hard because I have so much stuff that has accumulated over the years from both Richmond and here at home. I am slowly packing away things I don't need and putting them in a closet downstairs but the problem is there is so much stuff I do need that I can't pack away that I really don't know what to do with! But I am getting there, I got some shelves put up and I am currently working on cleaning out the top of my closets to be able to put stuff up there!

For dinner my mom made shake and bake chicken- gag- so I clearly skipped over that and made a meal of the 'side dishes.' I really wonder what it would take to show my mom that a meal doesn't have to have meat to be a meal. I am far from a vegetarian but the way my family eats is ridiculous, its almost enough to make me want to become a vegetarian. So my mom made Velvetta Mac and Cheese, which I have no idea why she bought when we have healthier and better tasting Annie's in the pantry, but I made do by adding some chopped tomatoes. And alongside that were some sauteed mushrooms and zucchinis.

So we have an abundance of sliced baguettes leftover from my sister's grad party. For the party we used them to make burchetta and to eat with the crab dip. I also made cheesy/ garlic bread to go with dinner one night. Yet we still have more, its like neverending! So tonight I decided to make some bread pudding to use up this bread! Now not only have I never made bread pudding before but I've never really eaten it either. I've had tastes of it from other people, but I would hands down choose a dessert with chocolate or fruit in it before I would pick bread pudding.

Now that being said I searched AllRecipes and settled on this recipe. I read some of the reviews and set the pan inside a 9x13 pan of hot water to make a bath for it. I also cooked it for a lot longer than it was suppose to cook- like prob closer to 40 or 45 min not 25. I then served it topped with the sauce from this bread pudding recipe, because the one I had used didn't have a sauce to go with it. After all was said and done it turned out pretty good. It was a good way to use up some of that leftover bread (and we still have more!!!! ahhhh) but I still would pick cake, pie, ice cream, cobbler, etc over bread pudding. But my mom who loves bread pudding said it was really good and she would want me to make it again, and this is coming from the woman who doesn't believe a dessert is a dessert unless it has chocolate in it. (And I tried to make a chocolate bread pudding and she said no I had to make real bread pudding, I don't understand haha)

I also want to let everyone know of a few fun contests going on!

Maple Peanut Butter is probably my favorite kind of peanut butter ever. So if you want to win some head over to Erin's blog and enter her contest!


Over at An Apple A Day there are several contests going on,
Win some Once Again Nut Butter or Win Some Element Bars or Win Some Earthling Organic Bars

I love me some Casa!!!

So yesterday I went to get coffee with Ashlee. We went to Crossroads which is this cute little coffee shop practically on campus. I got a vanilla chai latte and holy cow it was delicious! The only time I had ever had a chai latte before was from Starbucks and it disappointed me. I think it was partially because I wanted an iced apple chai and they didn't have those at that particular starbucks so I settled on the chai latte and it just wasn't what I wanted at all. I also think it was the addition of the vanilla that made it so amazing! Anyways I hung out and talked with Ashlee for about an hour before she had to head out- she was all done with exams and heading back to Virginia Beach for the summer. After that I started to get sad about leaving. I really don't like Richmond but I'm going to miss all my friends here!

So for dinner I used my last spinach wrap to make a pizza. It had hummus, onions, spinach, mushrooms, asiago, and some white cheddar that I chopped up from a Vermont White Cheddar cheese stick! I also topped it with a little garlic and dried basil. It was good but it was really missing tomatoes but I didn't have any so oh well.Then for dessert a fake samoa cookie- and then maybe another one. And then Megan came home and ate two and now they are all gone haha.
I enjoyed my dinner while watching Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters. Then I did the free 20 minute hip opening flow #2 from Yoga Downloads. Wow- I know I have really tight hips but this felt so amazing/ was so painful at the same time. It also really helped me stretch and relax so I could fall right asleep afterwards. This morning when I woke up I am a little sore but it feels so good and I totally plan on doing it again today- maybe doing the power yoga first and then the hip opening one after if I have time tonight!

Today I woke up to a guy attempting to fix our ac. However it is beyond repair and we need another one so we have to talk to our landlord and then I guess order one. Probably I will be all moved out before they get the ac fixed! Good thing its not too hot today but it is super humid because it keeps randomly raining!

Megan and I met up with Emily at Casa Grande for lunch. Casa has been a VCU staple for me throughout my 5 years and its appropriate to end my VCUness with some Casa. It started out as a Maggie, Rachel, and I thing. Then when Emily and I met we discovered that we both had a fondness for it. I would go with "the Emilys" to Casa a lot and then Megan replaced Emily Reijmers and here we are today! I actually got Casaed out last year and Rachel discovered Viva Mexico which was closer so we started going there last semester quite a bit. However Maggie and I went earlier in the semester and now I went today! I feel like I've come full circle haha! Today I opted for the lunch taquitos because I have never had their taquitos before. It came with 2 beef taquitos lettuce, tomato, sour cream and guacamole all on top of mexican rice of course.
And of course the obligatory chips and salsa that come automatically and the queso dip that Emily always gets- the best queso dip ever!!!
Now I've got a couple things to do here and then I'm off to the computer lab to print out my 20 pages of psyc journals that I have to turn in tomorrow. Then I have to present a 2 page paper about recommendations to principals in my Ethics class. Then I will finally be done with one of the most pointless classes I've ever taken. Then Ashley and I are going to dinner! I'm not sure where we are going yet but I'm sure it will be amazing!

Going Away Party!

Sorry I haven't posted at all this weekend!! Friday I was sick and I spent most of the day in bed! I really don't remember what I ate but I promise you it wasn't exciting and I was too sick to take pictures! Luckily on Saturday I was feeling better because I had my going away party that night and didn't want to be sick for that! I wasn't feeling 100% in the morning so I started the day with some cranberry orange toast with almond butter- of course.
Then I had some spiced tea that my mom makes- it is basically instant tea, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, lemonade, and tang (i know it sounds gross but its actually really delicious). It was exactly what I needed and I felt so much better!

After breakfast and a shower I ran to the grocery store to pick up supplies for all the things I was planning on making. When I got back I made a wrap for lunch. It had my last portabella gardenburger, spinach, goat cheddar, and hummus!
And the last juice box that I hijacked from our tutoring party last week.
Then I made some spiced nuts- it was a mix of almond, pecans, and walnuts. I cooked them in some melted butter and then added brown sugar, cinnamon, and cloves. They were delicious and I would have added some nutmeg too but I didn't have any!
Then I made some fake samoa girl scout cookies from Baking Bites. They were delicious- my only problem was that I didn't have all the coconut it called for and it definitely could have used more. And I also ran out of chocolate so they didn't all get chocolate on the bottom!
Then I made some asiago garlic bread. It was asiago and garlic (clearly haha) mixed with a little mayo, basil, and oregano. They were pretty delicious.
And I got some Sabra hummus- which is pretty much the best hummus ever.
And some Sundried Tomato and Basil Wheat Thins and Fire Roasted Tomato and Olive Oil Triscuits to go with the hummus.
So the party was wonderful- I got to hang out and see a lot of people. It made me kind of sad because I'm pretty excited to move back home and not be in Richmond anymore but I'm going to miss everyone so much!!!! There will definitely be lots of visits back down here so I can see everyone!

This morning on my way to church I snacked on a chocolate coconut Raw Organic Food bar. yum, yum, yum. This was sooooo delicious! It is definitely up there with my new favorite kind of bar. It was really moist and had little chocolate chips all through out it. Delicious!
After church Grace and I got swiped into Shafer by two freshman! yay for free food, even though Shafer pretty much is gross! I opted for a waffle and I topped it with some vanilla yogurt and pineapple off the salad bar. It was actually pretty good, but it would have been better with fresh pineapple and/or strawberries!
Now I'm getting read to head out and go get coffee with Ashlee Giles! I'm so excited because I haven't seen her in a really long time (like probably back in September at my b-day party!). I'm trying to make sure I get to see everyone before I leave- especially everyone that couldn't make it out last night! So today is Ashlee Giles, tomorrow is lunch with Emily and Megan and then dinner with Ashley Callaway/Turner. Then sometime, possibly Tuesday for lunch Kylin and I are going to go to Cous Cous and then on Wednesday Grace and I may be doing lunch! My days are filling up fast and there are definitely more people I need to see before I leave!!!!

I love hummus!

It is absolutely gorgeous outside today!!! It is warm but that means there are too many bugs, especially bees and wasps! So yesterday for lunch I made the best sandwich ever. Sourdough bread topped with tomatoes, bean sprouts, and munster popped under the broiler until the cheese was all melty and delicious! Then I slathered lots of sabra garlic hummus!!! yummmmmm this is my new favorite sandwich for sure!!!
Then on the side I tried some Annie's Cheddar Bunnies! yummm they were really good too!
Then for dinner I had a taco salad, with spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, taco meat, cheese, ranch, and tortilla chips.
Then I did some homework and went to bed fairly early. This morning I woke up early because the wedding I was going to was at 10. I had a slice of cranberry orange bread with almond butter. Then me and my sister drove out to Chantilly for Tom and Rebekkah's wedding! Rebekkah looked so pretty! but unfortunately I forgot my camera!!! So we just went to the ceremony- they were having a small reception. So I came home and made another awesome sandwich. This time I also added in some cheddar and prosciutto. yummmmm but I liked it better minus the prosciutto and cheddar.
Now my sister and I are bored bored bored. We are watching some movie that we on demanded that really isn't all that good hahaha. So we will see if anything more exciting happens!

Easter Eve!

Today I actually did what I tried to do yesterday- homework! hahaha I cranked out a lesson plan for tutoring on monday, made a game for my lesson, and wrote a paper about things i was suppose to learn but did not learn in ethics this semester haha. This was all fuled by the wonderful brunch that my mom made this morning! She made us belgium waffles and bacon! I infused some maple syrup with orange zest and a little orange juice for my my waffles and it was delicious!!Of course I went back for seconds and topped my other piece of a waffle with some coconut and maple syrup. yummm I just wished there had been more orange infused syrup because that would have made it even better!
Then I worked on my homework for a longgg while and eventually snacked on some triscuits and roasted garlic hummus (sabra of course is the best brand). I had never had the fire roasted tomato and olive oil triscuits before but they are delicious and perfect for eating with hummus! When I finally finished my homework I started working on the deviled eggs for Easter tomorrow. I don't have a picture yet but you'll get to see them tomorrow!
For dinner my dad was grilling hamburgers which I am not really a fan of so I just ate some leftover orange beef stirfry.

But my mom also wanted to make sure I got a picture of the food they were eating.
After dinner I made some more carrot cake cookies because I had leftover filling from me and Rachel's baking extravaganza the other day!



These are seriously my new favorite cookies, even without the filling they are so delicious! I'm not even that big of a fan of carrot cake but these cookies are so good! They are super moist and really cinnamony and delicious! And of course the pineapple cream cheese filling is really good too!

I did some yoga while I waited for the cookies to cool and then I filled them up! Now I'm off to take a shower and hopefully go to bed early! Tomorrow is church, and then my grandparents are coming over for Easter "dinner" which is really lunch and to celebrate my dad's birthday which was a couple weeks ago. Then I have to head back to Richmond because unlike Prince William County- Henrico has school Monday so I have to tutor! I hope everyone has a great Easter and remember Jesus is the reason for the season! He was crucified to save all of us and then rose from the dead on Easter! So take some time out of candy and Easter dinner to thank God for sending his son to save us!

Trader Joes!!!

Happy Palm Sunday everyone! This morning I went to Commonwealth Chapel for the first time in forever because I am hardly ever in Richmond on the weekends! And it was really fun because everyone that usually comes off and on came and we packed 6 people into Grace's car! So on the way to church I snacked on a Key Lime Larabar- probably my favorite kind!

Then after church Melony swiped all of us into Shafer hahaha! I was excited for free food until we got there and I remember how gross Shafer is! Especially on Sunday's they have "brunch" food so basically at the station that changes out food they just had eggs sausage and bacon- well last time I ate Shafer eggs I got pretty sick so I was not about to do that again! Then there was the hamburger station that just had greasy gross hamburgers that looked like they had been sitting out for hours! I decided against that too! So I went to the Vegan bar and made a semi wrap, they only had super tiny wraps so it ended up being more like a taco since i couldn't actually wrap it! I put on some hummus and sprouts and lettuce and tomatoes. They really didn't have much else to put on it but it was pretty good even though it was kind of boring! I also had an orange on the side that took more effort to attempt to peel and segment apart then it was worth.

After Shafer I took a much needed nap!! When I woke up I snacked on a Vermont Sharp White Cheddar cheese stick and then worked on some of this take home midterm for my tutoring class and started writing some fake journal entries for my ethics class since my teacher decided she wanted to look at our journals that we have supposedly been keeping haha. Then when Kylin came home we went to Trader Joes! It was so exciting and I bought way more then I should have but I only spent $30!!!! So when I came home I had the teriyaki shiitake mushroom sushi that I got from TJs! It was pretty much amazing!
And for dessert I of course had a so delicious ice cream sandwich!
I think now I'm going to work on my take home test a little more! I think I'm going to try and finish it before I go home on Tuesday for Easter so I don't have to bring it with me since I have enough other things to do that week! Also the more work I get done before I go home the more time I have to bake all sorts of fun things! I've realized that my tagline at the top of my blog says I love to cook but I hardly ever cook things! Most of my posts are food from restaurants or real quick fix things! Well when I'm in Richmond I really don't have the time or money to cook as much plus I know that I won't eat all of it! When I go home my mom gives me her credit card and tells me to go to the store and buy stuff to cook for the family so you should all be very excited to see all the fun things I'm planning on making later this week!