We All Have Our Moments

So we all have these moments in life... I like to call them moments of weakness. I have these all the time, but it's usually not a smart idea to take any action during these times.  Well I did... hehe  After growing out my hair for 7 months, meaning no hair-cuts, I grabbed the scissors and finally cut my bangs, they were bugging me sooo bad and my hair really needed to be styled differently.  Thankfully I don't regret cutting my bangs I think they look pretty cute.













So I've cut my bangs before but I decided to do it differently this time.  I chose to not make them so wide and thick and leave the ends a little longer and then the rest of the hair at it's original length. I think this way it's shapes my face better, cause it doesn't make my face look as wide, and I don't look like Dora The Explorer lol :)

Well anyways, lately I've been really wanting the weather to become colder and less summer-like, (it was in the 90's yesterday).  It's almost October and I really wouldn't mind snuggling in blankets and scarves with a hot cup of tea (or coffee), listening to some relaxing music, just enjoying the cool fall, but so far not yet. lol  Well I hope everyone else is enjoying their first few days of fall.  God Bless You All!

Making Your Side Vegetable into Your Main Meal

I think there's probably nothing more depressing than seeing your food go rotten.  It was happening all last week, first my bread, then my tomatoes and cucumbers.  Why? Honestly, cause on my own I don't eat have as much and don't go through all the food in a week.  So I realized that what I needed to learn was not how to cook with different ingredients but how to make different meals with the same ingredients. 

One of my favorite vegetables to eat is cactus, aka nopalez.  However when I cooked them I realized that it would take me at least a week to finish them on my own, the way I usually eat them, so I asked my friend, Kee, if she wanted to join me for dinner ;)   Thanks to her I now know how to make my cactus the main part of my meal.  Rather than cook them with onions and put them on the side, I can turn them into a cactus salad by adding lemon juice, pepper, and salt.  Immediately I could finish 1-2 big bowls of this no problem.  Helps when I don't have a lot of meat or have to eat a lot of vegetables before they go bad.

Cooking Tips for College-Students

So during these past few weeks I've done everything from cook my own veggies and meat, to being smart and buying tons of Pasta-Roni boxes on discount at the Safeway back home ;)  I must say cooking on your own can be quite convenient but also a pain.  Like when I run out of milk. I can no longer cook oatmeal, eat cereal, etc.  Or when all the pots and pans are in the sink, and you can't wash them cause the dish rack is completely full, bleh. but other than that it's pretty good.

Every once in a while I like to make the joke that I gonna become a vegetarian. Which will never happen, however sometimes I have to opt out of eating meat cause I completely forget to defrost the meat beforehand :(  but thankfully with plenty of carbs and vegetables, it's not too noticeable.

1. Freeze Your Meat.  So I noticed for me, it's a lot cheaper if I buy several separate bags of meat already marinated and cut.  I like to buy them in packages of one pound. My favorite so far is the "Al Pastor Chicken," I get at the Mexican store.  All I have to do is defrost it, then throw it in the skillet and cook till it's well done.

2. Defrost Your Meat and Bagels Beforehand. So I have learned that the best way to keep my food from going bad is by freezing it, however it's always important to have some bread and meat defrosted so when you're hungry you have something you can actually cook. lol

3. Cook Ahead of Time.  I honestly prefer to cook the night before than the day of. Why?  Well I'm usually in classes all morning, and by the time I get back I'm starving.   If I wait till I'm out of classes then I won't have anything to eat for an hour or more after I'm done. Thus I'll cook beforehand and then just pop in the microwave when I'm ready to eat.

Good luck cooking, more meals and tips to Come!

Hungry for Knowledge... and Chicken!

Alas, I finally cooked a complete meal!  I had been eating plenty of veggies, but it's a huge relief to know that I finally would be eating meat :)   I didn't realize how many calories your brain burns until I sat all day in really interesting classes and didn't have a full meal plan for the caf.  Part of the reason for my hunger though may have been that I forgot to defrost some meat to cook.    However I like what one of my FB friends put on my status about being hungry, stating "You're Hungry for Knowledge!"  

Believe it or not. I think she's right!  I remember last year trying to short-cut out of as much hw as possible, using sparknotes, just not reading assignments, or procrastinating (my worst enemy).  But this year something different happened.  I've so far read about 80 of literature without the slightest thought of using Spark Notes, and it clicked!  With my new comprehension skills (or so they seem new) I feel like I'm on top of the world and ready to nail the other 30 pages for tomorrow's classes!  And the more I read, the less work it seems to be. :)  

The Life of an English Major....

 

So as I mentioned the semester before I switched from Music to English: Creative Writing.  However because I did not take any lit classes yet, I am now taking 3 lit classes and creative writing all in one semester! eek!  But so far it's been pretty good. I finished all my reading for my Monday class and am 30 something pages into the reading for my Tuesday class (unfortunately there are two lol).  

So during this week I've been doing my best to "understand/comprehend" what I've been reading, cook, attend classes, maintain a social life (by going to the Week of Welcome events), and get a good amount of sleep. So far I've been keeping up.  and it's awesome!!! Though I know that as the semester goes on I will eventually prolly be overcome by extraneous amounts of reading lol. 

So as school starts and life becomes hectic again, just remember it's all about prioritizing and time management.   So if you start tackling all those assignments as soon as possible you can spend the rest of your time having fun and meeting new friends.   God Bless You All on Your First Week of School and Enjoy It!!!

Apartment Living

Hey so I am back at college, and I'm LOVING it!!!!   I have officially moved into my new apartment on campus with 7 other pretty chill girls.  And in the pic below you can see my roommate for this semester, she is amazing.

Anyways, school's back in session and I've been so busy trying to keep up with all my reading assignments and the school events ;)  On top of that, I've also had to learn how to fend for myself when it comes to eating. lol.  No more full-meal plan in the caf.  however this also means no more freshmen-15, which thanks to my mama's good cooking I was able to lose over the summer! 

So school's definitely off to a way better start than last year, though I've been feeling kind of down due to a totally different issue.  So if you guys could pray for me, that I'll just have the energy to push through and not get depressed that would be great! though I must say God has helped me a lot already by sending miraculous friends to support me during this rough time in life. 

I also ran across this verse the other day and it's helped me so much as I've encountered some very important decisions I had to make.  Hope it can help you too. :)

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps." 

Proverbs 16:9

Morning Milkshake

 

Hey!    It's summer time and fruits are definitely sound good with all that sunshine going around.    So here's a recipe for what my family calls "licuado de platano"  in English, banana milkshake. 

Ingredients
-   eggs
-   milk
-   bananas!
-   protein powder, vanilla, sugar (opt)


So to make this delicious milkshake you need a blender.   Then you just pile up all the ingredients in, no order in particular.  The measurements vary from time to time for me lol  More milk for more cups, more eggs for more fluffiness, more bananas for more flavor, sugar and vanilla if you don't think it's sweet enough, etc.  Though if you don't want to much milkshake I'd recommend about one cup of milk.   If you don't like bananas or want a different flavor feel free to switch up the fruits.  You can do strawberry, apple, cantaloupe, anything!  (Note: The older the bananas = the sweeter)  You can even add some Nesquik chocolate if you want chocolate flavor.   When you're done adding the ingredients just blend it up and ENJOY!