i've got things to do and places to see. . .

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world (both)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37.Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77.Broken a bone (only if my toe counts)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Let me know if you use it so I can come take a look.

out of body experience

It's a uneventful Monday night but the surprising part is I am playing online games and Sam is READING! That's right folks, Sam is reading a book for FUN! Yeah, I was shocked too. I'm usually the one reading and he's usually the one gaming. You never can tell what newlywed life will hold. Haha.

for a limited time only!

Ok, so I've had a lot of my blog friends go private with their blogs as of late so I am here to make everyone an offer none can refuse. I'm offering each and everyone of you exclusive membership to my blog. By December 1st I'll have changed my setting to private so if you want to be a part of my exclusive club please give me your email addresses so you can read and comment my thoughts and yummy recipes. If you are changing your setting to private let me know so I can subscribe. Thanks all!

*P.S. I am aware that my blog really isn't that cool but I was giving myself an ego boost. :)

burn baby, burn!

Tonight was a total success. For dinner we made Honey-Apricot Sesame Chicken. A-MAZE-ING. Of course there's a picture included. We didn't have ginger or sesame seeds so we left them out. Also, Sam likes spicey things and I let him decide between 1/2 or 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper. He chose 1 heaping teaspoon. We both about died. Thus the title of this post. Next time we'll try to include ginger and less red pepper to calm down the hot. The sauce was just the right consistancy and coated the noodles perfectly. Yes, they're wheat spaghetti noodles but they work just as well as any other noodles. Oh, and we left out zucchini and/or crook neck squash because we don't have any but they'd make a nice addition to this stir-fry-ish meal. I highly recommend it. It's so very good. Here's the recipe:

Honey-Apricot Sesame Chicken

2 Tbs honey
3 Tbs apricot jam
1/8 tsp grated ginger
2 Tbs sesame seeds
5 Tbs low-sodium soy sauce
1 clove crushed garlic
1/2-1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 small onion, diced
1/4 cup cornstarch
vegetable oil
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, chopped in 2-inch cubes

-Combine honey, jam, sesame seeds, soy sauce, and ginger in small bowl, set asid. Season chicken with salt and then dredge in cornstarch.
-In a large, non-stick skillet heat oil over med-high head. Add half the chicken. Cook, turning occasionally until golden and opaque throughout, 6-8 minutes. Transer to paper towel lined plate. Cook remaining chicken, adding more oil if needed. Put on paper towel plate.
-Add more oil if needed thena dd pepper flakes. Head for about 30 seconds. Add onions, garlic and zucchini or squash and cook until tender.
-Add sauce and bring to boil. Return all chicken to skillet and toss with sauce to coat. Cook until chicken is heated through; cook longer if thicker sauce is desired. Serve with steamed white or brown rice.

*Sam says the picture doesn't do it justice. Haha*

i've turned into a "foodie"

I had a friend ask me to post the recipes of the food items I've blogged about so I'll probably do that from now on when I post pictures of my food creations. (Side note: I tried to make the intestines but they didn't work because I had the wrong pastry puff dough. Attempt #2 coming this weekend). Oh, and I must give credit where credit is due. I got all these ideas off tastespotting.com which takes you to separate sites where the recipes were found. LOVE that site.

Broken Glass Jello

4 small boxes of jello, different colors1
(14oz) can condensed milk
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
water

-Dissolve each box of jello separately, into one cup of hot water. Pour into individual containers (small tupperware works well) and chill overnight.
-Ready a 9x13 pan. Cut flavors of jello into small blocks. Mix together carefully in pan.
-In a separate bowl, dissolve 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin in 1/4 cup cold water. Add dissolved gelatin to 1 3/4 cup hot water and condensed milk. Cool.
-Pour cooled milk mixture over jello and chill overnight.
-Cut into squares and serve!


Vampire Cupcakes

1 box white cake mix (also eggs, oil, water as it asks for)
1 can cherry pie filling
1 tub any kind of white colore icing (i really like cream cheese frosting)

-Bake cupcakes according to directions on box. While they bake, pour the cherry pie filling in a blender or food processor of some sort and puree. Let cupcakes cool completely.
-Once they've cooled, take a small paring knife and cut a small cone (about 1 inch across and 1 inch deep) in each cupcake. Cut off the pointy end of the cone leaving a little cap to place back on each cupcake.
-Spoon about a tablespoon of the pie filling into the holes and then place the "plug" back on top to cover the filling.
-Stir the icing so its nice and soft then ice them by putting a dollop of icing in the center of the cupcake and gently spreading outward from the center.
-Dip a wooden toothpick into the remaining pie filling and poke to fang marks on the top. Dribble a little filling out of the holes for effect.
-Enjoy!


Spider Web Eggs

1 dozen large eggs
8 cups water
2 cups frozen blueberries

-Place eggs in single layer in a large saucepan, and cover with water and blueberries. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Cover; let stand for 10 minutes.
-Using a slotted spoon, remove eggs one at a time, and place on several layers of paper towels. Lightly crack shell on one side with the handle of a whisk or wooden spoon. Transfer egg to medium bowl. Repeat with remaining eggs and then pour all of the cooking liquid on top of the cracked eggs. Place bowl in the refrigerator and let cool completely.
-Carefully peel shells from eggs. Serve with salt.


Bloody Eyeballs

Eyeball Ingredients:
2 pounds (1 kilo) ground chicken breast
1 egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup milk
1/2-3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds
oregano to taste
basil to taste
thyme to taste
a generous amount of garlic powder
a generous amount of onion flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Sauce Ingredients:
1 larger can of tomato paste (it was a little more than a cup)
more of the same seasonings as the chicken
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
water to thin—about 1 1/2 cups

1 car or jar of black olives (do yourself a favor and buy them pre-pitted)

-Combine all chicken ingredients except olives and set aside.
-Combine all sauce ingredients.
-Preheat oven to 375ºF/190ºC
-Line a large rimmed cookie sheet with foil and brush with olive oil or spray with cooking spray.
-Form eyeball sized balls and shove an olive into the center of each one. Make it look as eyeball like as you can.
-Arrange finished eyeballs on the baking sheet and bake until cooked through, about 20-30 minutes depending on your oven.
-Serve the eyeballs over the sauce, and with some type of bread

eyeball flavored burps. mmmm.

So, tonight I made eyeballs for dinner. Some of you are probably thinking, "How morbid!", but let me assure they weren't real eyeballs. They were ever so tasty. We ate them on "brains" aka whole wheat spaghetti and "blood" aka spaghetti sauce. They are really really good. Sam ate like 8 in one sitting. Hope you enjoy the pictures. :) (Just out of the oven, piled on my plate, bloody eyeball)

why so serious?

So, Halloween was pretty much awesome. Short, but awesome. Thursday Sam and I went to our ward party. There was a chili cook off, the kids got to go trunk or treating and then we carved pumpkins. Everyone thought Sam and I were pros but we had just found some cool ideas online. We bought pottery tools per suggestion of a "pro" pumpkin carver online. They worked really well. We used exacto knives, too. (This tactic obviously not safe for kids). Bragging moment: I won 1st place and Sam won 2nd. My superior carving skills have prevailed which is odd because I have little to no artistic ability. Friday was fantastical and a rush. For my biology class and for work I was a jacket-o-latern so I could get extra credit in class and yet have a toned down costume as to not upset my boss who dislikes Halloween. THEN after work Sam and I jumped in the car and jetted down to St. George to take Kimmie and Jeffrey trick or treating. They were a "mom" and a "hunter" and very adorable. I was the girl from "The Ring" and Sam was the joker from "The Dark Knight" when he was dressed as a nurse. We took them around two different neighborhoods and then stopped by one of my friend's houses to say hi. We ran them ragged and they crashed when they got home. We watched "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" while my mom and I made vampire cupcakes and spider web eggs (pictures available here). We had an awesome night and wore ourselves out. Unfortunately, we both had to work this morning at nine so we got up at seven and then drove home. So a cram-packed, fun-filled, short Halloween celebration. Hope all your celebrations were just as awesome.