Cabin Fever... Sigh

Dear State of Georgia,

I understand that snow and ice is something that we don't have to worry about very often, but in the event that it does happen, why are we never prepared for it? Why do we shut down and give in to the weather so quickly? Why do we become the joke of the United States?

Because we hardly experience snow and ice, shouldn't we have a better plan of action? It blows my mind that instead of prepping up on chains for our tires, kitty litter for moving our vehicles, and fore wood to stay warm, we stalk up on our perishable items instead. WHAT FUCKING GOOD IS MILK GOING TO DO WHEN YOU ARE UPSIDE DOWN IN A DITCH BECAUSE WE CAN'T DRIVE IN THE SNOW?

Even the CDC has a better plan of action in the event of a fucking zombie outbreak than GA has for snow.

And you know what? I'm sick of it. You know why I'm sick of it? Because I'm tired of being  in my house. I've made brownies, chili, banana bread, broccoli soup, eggs and grits. I've watched Die hard 2, Braveheart, all but one season of Daria, and about 4 hours of How its made. I've drank at least 8 cups of coffee and a bottle of wine. I've cut Cody's hair, my bangs, gave myself a manicure and did mine and Cody's make up.

I need out, guys. I need to go get Starbucks and walk about a Barns and Noble.

I probably need to walk the dogs.

I realized that with every selfie picture I take, I raise my eyebrows. Why do I do that?

Why are my left hand fingers so much smaller than my right hand fingers?

What is going to happen when I run out of wine?

Where in the hell is the cord to charge my Kindle? I have so many books I could be reading instead of wanting to smack my fucking face into the wall.

Why am I so strangely and deeply attracted to Trent from Daria? Why do I want them together so badly? Am I vicariously living through a cartoon character? I know I'm supposed to be over cartoon crushes, but I'm so oddly turned on my him.

Dear State of Georgia,

Please fix this. I cannot handle cabin fever any longer. I don't even remember what I was going to say, but it wasn't this. I think I wanted to sound intelligent and make fun of all the people out there who cannot handle this weather, but who am I kidding. Two weeks ago I was trapped at my in laws for 3 days because I couldn't make it home. I'm just like everyone else. The only difference is that I am trapped at home this time with access to the computer...

Dear State of Georgia,

help.

Love,
Diamond

Emergency Banana Bread

Cody never got chocolate chips OR walnuts last night, so my plan for making muffins never quite worked out the way I wanted. I still made banana goodness, however. And it was delicious.

First off, let me explain the "emergency" part of the banana bread. When I was in high school, every morning I always packed two pieces of fruit in my bag, typically an apple or a banana. I almost always ended up giving it away to another friend who had not eaten breakfast, so finally someone asked, "Why do you always bring it if you never actually eat it?" I just shrugged and replied, "just in case." From then on, my random fruits where deemed an "emergency" fruit, there just in case someone needed something to nom on.
Now that I started school again, I try to pack my lunch as often as possible. When I bring my lunch, I always have me "emergency" fruit with me... So what happens when I have a few too many days off and my snacks are starting to look a little sketchy? I made delicious desserts with them :)

 

check out them sketchy ass bananas

 

Although the bananas look pretty rough, they are actually perfect for everything. This is what you want them to look like for snacking and baking, they have the best flavor.

 

Things you need:

-4 mashed bananas

-3/4 cup sugar

-2 cups flour

-1 tsp baking soda

-2 eggs

-1/2 cup soften butter (one stick butter)

-cinnamon to taste and a PINCH of nutmeg

 

*It is super easy to make this vegan. Instead of using eggs, using two more mashed bananas, and instead of using butter, try subbing it out for a vegan butter substitute that you can find at Trader Joe's or the natural section of most Krogers.

 

How to do it:

-preheat oven to 350 and grease and flour your pans. (I prefer muffin pans.)

-cream sugar and butter.

-add in flour, eggs and baking soda

-mix in bananas, cinnamon and nutmeg

-pour into pan and bake for 15-20 minutes.

 

 

 

 

Boom. Deliciousness.

 

 

 

The best part about this recipe is that you can alter it to fit any needs. You can add nuts, chocolate, dried blueberries, ect. You can freeze them and pull one out to thaw while your coffee is brewing in the morning for a quick effortless breakfast. This is perfect to make with your kids, what child doesn't want to pulverize their food, then lick the bowl? Everything I used to make it were things that we pretty much had laying around the house at all times.

 

 

Cody tested, Cody approved.

 

 

The only thing better than shoving muffins down my throat was watching Cody enjoy them. I love cooking for others... and cold weather turns me into Betty Crocker.

 

Oh, one last thing. I cut Cody's hair last night. I think he looks so pretty.

 

That smile is what sweet dreams are made of.

 

 

So please read it, try it, enjoy it, comment it, meow. I'm going to cuddle with the Prince Charming as seen above and watch Daria, aka the best TV show next to Doctor Who.

 

Bye bye.

Snow Day II

No one really reads this, but I guess it is my goal that I will become interesting enough where someone WILL read it and start following it... It is probably going to happen when I'm rich and famous and been in movies with Harrison Ford.
Speaking of Mr. Ford... I want them to finish the Indiana Jones movies.

So on this snow day, I have nothing interesting to do or say. I had plans of doing updo tutorials while I was at school, but the only mannequin that I have to work with here doesn't have hair long enough. So, I will sit at home, drink coffee until Cody comes home with the wine, and do my homework for the next few weeks I guess.

Cody should be coming home tonight with eggs and flour... So if he does, I'll be posting the recipe for banana chocolate chip muffins.

Now excuse me while I go make more coffee.

Snowmegadon and Chicken Tortilla Soup

So I know I promised broccoli/shrimp scampi... but then I got a little busy with school... And then I got a little busy with being trapped in the 2 inches of snow.  (heads up, if all you want is the soup recipe, scroll down. The middle part is just my little sob story of being trapped because of the snow.)
So there went my plan.

Yes, northerners, on Tuesday GA shut down within a couple of hours over to inches of snow. It wasn't the snow... it was the ice... and the traffic. I left school at noon, and after 10 hours of sitting in traffic and one little side adventure of ending up in a ditch and facing the wrong side of traffic, I still was not home. Cody had to walk a couple of miles to get to our apartment and save our puppies because his car couldn't make it to our house.
He was the lucky one.
After about nine hours of being in the car, it was pretty clear that I was not going to be able to make my way to our apartment... It was actually pretty clear well before the nine hours. Cody was getting worried that I was running off little sleep and little food and that it was getting dark and I'm night blind. So he called his father and asked him to save my sorry ass. So 11 hours later, I was safe at warm, but not home. I stayed at the in laws where they kept me warm, fed me and gave me an entire bottle of wine to drink all by myself. We were all trapped until yesterday evening, but at least I was in good company.
Don't get me wrong, I love Cody's parent with all my heart, they are amazing people who are amazingly generous, but after the first night I just wanted to see my boyfriend and my furbabies and to sleep in my bed with all of them. Happy doesn't even begin to explain how happy I was when Cody came to rescue me. Yay :)
To celebrate finally coming home, I needed to make an amazing dinner :)

TA-DA-DA-DA!!!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

What you need:

Veggie or Chicken Broth
One package Quorn Chick'n cutlets (the veggie version) or 3 Chicken Breast Cooked however you like, shredded or diced
One can diced tomatoes
One small can tomato sauce
One can of yellow corn, drained
One large onion, cut into large chunks
One large bell pepper, cut into medium chunks
Two cloves of garlic, minced
One stick butter
Tony's creole seasoning
1/2 packet taco seasoning
One large packet of any cheese of your liking.

I know, there are no tortillas... Oh well.

What you do:
Melt the stick of butter in one LARGE sauce pan. Its easier to just make the soup in there. One butter starts melting, add the onion, pepper and garlic. Season with just a little bit of Tony's and cook until it begins to soften.
Add in your chicken product, can of diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, can of drained corn and half a packet of taco seasoning. Let simmer on low for about five minutes.
Add about three cups of broth and bring to a boil for another 10 minutes or so.
Take soup off the heat and start slowly mixing in the cheese of your choice... Doesn't matter how much, it is to your preference. If you are like me, you add all the cheese..

The soup turned out amazing and it only took about 20 minutes from start to finish. Most of the ingredients are things we already have in our pantry and it is super cheap. It would be delicious with a cheese quesadilla on the side, kinda like a grilled cheese and tomato soup...

If you make it and like it, leave comments and let me know :)
Stay warm folks.

So.. About this stuff...

The last time I updated my blog was two years ago. TWO MOTHER FUCKING YEARS. But, the other day at school, I was talking to a friend of mine who said she use to blog and liked it... And you know, I did, too. So here I am... Rock you like a hurricane.

But no, really. Two years. So much has changed. The guy that I was dating when I first started this blog is now my serious boyfriend of alllmmmooosssttt two years, we live together with our two dogs and two cats,  I go to Paul Mitchell the School because I love doing hair and stuff... Some things haven't changed at all... I'm still a vegetarian, I'm still ginger,  I still read all the time, I'm still a server, I still could eat my weight in bagels... 

So I decided that I am going to try this again. I'll keep up with my blog and stuff. I'll post my recipes and hair and makeup stuff as if you people who probably don't read this are interested. Who cares, I'm awesome. Even if anyone doesn't read this, at least it is here. I have the opportunity to change the name of my page, but I don't think I want to. I try so hard to always find the adventure in everything; doesn't always happen, but I try, dammit. Anyways, everyday is an adventure... Sometimes when I'm in traffic for school the turkey that lives of 140 attacks my car... Sometimes my dog wiggles out of her collar and I have to chase her around my apartment complex while barefoot and freezing... Sometimes you just have to curl ALL of the hairs...

So I'll start posting pictures of things that I've done starting tomorrow, I guess. I may have somethings that are school related (tomorrow is the first day that I will actually be interacting with clients *I'm vomiting in fear right now**) and if I have nothing for school, I will definitely have some dinner posted for you (Shrimp scampi for the animal eaters, broccoli scampi for the animal lovers). But as for now, I need to get ready for bed and to make sure that I'm prepared for tomorrow... First day on the clinic floor and my knees are shaking. Oh well.

Love you all,
Diamond

Double Dates and Eye Opening Experiences

*Disclaimer: I'm feeling really freaking girly, which is new to me... If you have a weak stomach to gushing and gloating, DO NOT READ*

I've been WAY too busy to actually sit down and blog thanks to work; However, I HAVE had SOME time off... but that time was taken up by a boy :)

Recently I've started dating a friend of mine. I've known him for a while; he is the friend of a "big brother" figure of mine, so I've gotten to know him pretty well over the years. Just recently, though, have we gotten close, and I REALLY like it :) It's funny... after we started dating I began to feel the over whelming need to prove to him that I am completely capable of transforming into a domestic goddess... Yeah, I'm a damn good cook (which reminds me, next blog I'm posting a bunch of recipes) and yeah, I make one killer peach cobbler.

Because we are both really close to our mutual friend and his girlfriend, we all have recently become aware of the power of the "Double Date." I've never experience one of these before... Hell, I've barely experienced regular dating. This kid freaking spoils me.
Anyways.
We all had Saturday evening off, so we made a trip to Atlanta where we planned on taking the Dialogue in the Dark tour. Points for the unique date and even more points for the learning experience.

For those who don't know, Dialogue in the Dark is a total dark experience when you are given the unique opportunity to experience what it is like to be blind. You have a blind guide to help you navigate everyday places such as a grocery store. The picture above it the waiting room you sit in before everything goes black.

It's amazing how much you take your sight for granted until you don't have it anymore.I've never walked into so many people and random objects in my life. I'm not going to lie... it was a little off putting being in a room where I had no idea where I was. I couldn't see my friends, I didn't know the people who were around me, I walked into chain link fences... Actually I walked into A LOT of things... and people. I have a whole new respect for those without their sight. While I was fumbling around, desperately trying to find my way to my boyfriend, our guide was walking circles around us. Interestingly enough, I became better at finding my way through the rooms toward the end of the tour.

Dialogue ends March 11th, I HIGHLY recommend trying it out before it leaves... it was an incredible experience.

Aaaaaannnnddd back to the boyfriend part... he's awesome. Just figured I'd share that. He is a pretty fantastic person, hes adorable and sweet... and he's on a quest to spoil me, I just know it. I don't know if I've ever felt so lucky.

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life... And Other Monty Python Stuff

Yesterday I spent the day in Athens, GA... A town home to UGA, drunkard college kids and The Classic Center. While I was SUPER FREAKING STOKED to make my trek to The Classic Center to watch Monty Python's Spamalot, I was less than excited to visit the UGA campus... I am, after all, a devoted Yellow Jacket.

Now, please allow me to stick my foot in my mouth... Athens was beautiful, and Georgia's campus was no exception. Everything was in walking distance... We found a great little restaurant called The Grill; Good food, good service and a great variety on the menu to accommodate everyone's pallet. We searched forever for a local coffee shop, but ended up settling on Starbucks. Of course, as soon as we finished our lattes we found a Jittery Joe's. Damn, maybe next time.

Now as far as the actual campus goes, it's hard to tell where this little town ends and the campus begins. It was MASSIVE. The buildings were gorgeous, there were small gardens and cemeteries are every corner, there was a history lesson within every building. And as much as it KILLS me, the Techie, to say this... Stanford Stadium was, to say the least, impressive.

Now as far as the play goes... Amazing doesn't even begin to cut it. Standing guard of The Classic Center is a statue of Athena, The Goddess of Wisdom.
The play ran through just about ever scene in the movie, but everything was changed up just a small bit. Of course it was, it IS a musical. These little changes kept everything fresh, so you never knew exactly what was coming up next. They included songs from The Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life. AND, the icing on the cake, Eric Idol is the voice over for God.
Now, I'm not going to go into much more detail about the show, or else it will spoil it for anyone else who wants to see it. But if you are a Monty Python enthusiast such as myself, I highly recommend seeing it.

 Those are my tickets :)

Bye, friends.