Story Box
13 years ago
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Photo Dump for January 2010
Well, this isn't much of a photo dump. I only took one picture in January. It must have been a slow month. Marky sent me some pontoofs of my very own. I love them with all of my nerdy knitting heart! Thanks Moko!
Photo Dump for December
December was pretty eventful. Of course, much of this month revolved around food. I found some really fun recipes that will make it into my regular rotation.
First, I made some 3-ingredient cookies. I got this recipe from a friend in DC. These aren't as good as pumpkin bread with chocolate chips, but they will do in a pinch. All you need is a spice cake mix, pumpkin and chocolate chips! How fun is that?! Instead of chocolate chips, I used chocolate covered blueberries. It was a fun flavor combination. It always makes a ton of cookies, but considering my tendency to continually snack on them, it works out great!
I found a fun looking recipe in a Taste of Home magazine for some Bubble Bread. I had to try it. I made the dough and divided it. You flatten each ball of dough, drop a bit of jam in the middle and pinch it closed. I used up the last of my blueberry refrigerator jam. You then line and layer all the balls in a pan.
Ta-da! Ready for the oven!
I'm still trying to figure out why I took two "pre-oven" pictures. Oh well, it IS a photo dump, so you're just getting everything.
Here is the "post oven" picture. It smelled so yum.
I inverted it onto my cake saver. Kind of fun.
The end result was pretty good. The only problem was that it called for a tube pan, but I don't have a tube pan. I just used a regular loaf pan. Unfortunately that made the center all gooey. But the edges sure were delish! I ended up using much of the salvageable middle to make bread pudding.
I also tried a recipe I found for some cinnamon buns using Bisquik. It looked and smelled good, but the end result was dry and just tasted like a mildly sweeter biscuit. A real disappointment if you've ever had Mammy's cinnamon buns ("Would you like some butter on your buns?" "We'll talk about that later!"). These were definitely not worth making again.
Well, with all of my desires to bake during the month of December, I wanted to find something special for my Christmas Eve dinner. I was perusing AllRecipes one day and came across a recipe for Scotch Eggs. I had never heard of Scotch Eggs, but the pictures and comments really made me want to try them. I decided to make them for my holiday dinner. I began by boiling some eggs. I covered each egg with sausage (maple flavored is my favorite) and then gave each a breadcrumb coating.
I then cooked them first on the stove until they were browned. All of the turning made them kind of square-y.
After that, I lined them on a pan and put them in the oven to cook all the way through.
And they're done! Hmmm...pre oven and post oven look pretty much the same.
I then made some green beans and funeral potatoes to go with them for a complete holiday meal. I cut them in half to serve because....well, because they look cool that way.
Here are the eggs up close. They were especially delicious slathered with country dijon mustard.
There were plenty of left-overs for the rest of the week.
Gosh Holly, enough with the food, already!
Well, I wanted to do something fun for my little Valiant 9 class on the Sunday before Christmas. I found a wooden box on clearance at a craft store. I bought some paint and lacquer and went to work. Maybe I should have taken a before picture. Oh well...
I covered it in stars, and put one big bright star on the top in the middle. I bought some gold beads, and frankincense and myrrh pellets to put inside.
I also bought some little wooden boxes at the craft store (only $1 each!). I brought markers, beads and jewels so each of the kids could decorate their very own box.
I filled each one with a little plastic baggy of gold, frankincense and myrrh. I also put a little piece of parchment paper in each one. I "antiqued" the papers by burning the edges, and managed to do it without setting off my smoke alarm. I was proud of myself. I had each of the kids write down on their piece of parchment what their gift would be (help your mom do the dishes, be nicer to your little brother, etc.). They were really cute.
The weather was pretty mild for the holiday. This is a picture of just outside my front door. We got snow on Christmas Eve. It all melted away in two days.
The weather got good enough that I was running around in flip-flops. Yay! I love flip-flops! Not many shoes can accommodate my sausage toes, eh.
Mammy and Pappy sent me a Christmas package in the mail. When I went to go pick it up, the postal worker asked if she needed to confirm the name on the package. I told her that I should just be to "Holly". The postal worker was silent for a second and then added, "...Wolly Doodle All the Day?!" Um...just give me the package! Funny, of all the mail I've received over the years, this was the first time anyone has called me out on it. Ha ha!
I waited to open it on Christmas Day. So fun!
It was such a fun, peaceful Christmas. Thanks, eh! I love you guys! (I know, I know Pappy..."we're not guys").
First, I made some 3-ingredient cookies. I got this recipe from a friend in DC. These aren't as good as pumpkin bread with chocolate chips, but they will do in a pinch. All you need is a spice cake mix, pumpkin and chocolate chips! How fun is that?! Instead of chocolate chips, I used chocolate covered blueberries. It was a fun flavor combination. It always makes a ton of cookies, but considering my tendency to continually snack on them, it works out great!
I found a fun looking recipe in a Taste of Home magazine for some Bubble Bread. I had to try it. I made the dough and divided it. You flatten each ball of dough, drop a bit of jam in the middle and pinch it closed. I used up the last of my blueberry refrigerator jam. You then line and layer all the balls in a pan.
Ta-da! Ready for the oven!
I'm still trying to figure out why I took two "pre-oven" pictures. Oh well, it IS a photo dump, so you're just getting everything.
Here is the "post oven" picture. It smelled so yum.
I inverted it onto my cake saver. Kind of fun.
The end result was pretty good. The only problem was that it called for a tube pan, but I don't have a tube pan. I just used a regular loaf pan. Unfortunately that made the center all gooey. But the edges sure were delish! I ended up using much of the salvageable middle to make bread pudding.
I also tried a recipe I found for some cinnamon buns using Bisquik. It looked and smelled good, but the end result was dry and just tasted like a mildly sweeter biscuit. A real disappointment if you've ever had Mammy's cinnamon buns ("Would you like some butter on your buns?" "We'll talk about that later!"). These were definitely not worth making again.
Well, with all of my desires to bake during the month of December, I wanted to find something special for my Christmas Eve dinner. I was perusing AllRecipes one day and came across a recipe for Scotch Eggs. I had never heard of Scotch Eggs, but the pictures and comments really made me want to try them. I decided to make them for my holiday dinner. I began by boiling some eggs. I covered each egg with sausage (maple flavored is my favorite) and then gave each a breadcrumb coating.
I then cooked them first on the stove until they were browned. All of the turning made them kind of square-y.
After that, I lined them on a pan and put them in the oven to cook all the way through.
And they're done! Hmmm...pre oven and post oven look pretty much the same.
I then made some green beans and funeral potatoes to go with them for a complete holiday meal. I cut them in half to serve because....well, because they look cool that way.
Here are the eggs up close. They were especially delicious slathered with country dijon mustard.
There were plenty of left-overs for the rest of the week.
Gosh Holly, enough with the food, already!Well, I wanted to do something fun for my little Valiant 9 class on the Sunday before Christmas. I found a wooden box on clearance at a craft store. I bought some paint and lacquer and went to work. Maybe I should have taken a before picture. Oh well...
I covered it in stars, and put one big bright star on the top in the middle. I bought some gold beads, and frankincense and myrrh pellets to put inside.
I also bought some little wooden boxes at the craft store (only $1 each!). I brought markers, beads and jewels so each of the kids could decorate their very own box.
I filled each one with a little plastic baggy of gold, frankincense and myrrh. I also put a little piece of parchment paper in each one. I "antiqued" the papers by burning the edges, and managed to do it without setting off my smoke alarm. I was proud of myself. I had each of the kids write down on their piece of parchment what their gift would be (help your mom do the dishes, be nicer to your little brother, etc.). They were really cute.
The weather was pretty mild for the holiday. This is a picture of just outside my front door. We got snow on Christmas Eve. It all melted away in two days.
The weather got good enough that I was running around in flip-flops. Yay! I love flip-flops! Not many shoes can accommodate my sausage toes, eh.
Mammy and Pappy sent me a Christmas package in the mail. When I went to go pick it up, the postal worker asked if she needed to confirm the name on the package. I told her that I should just be to "Holly". The postal worker was silent for a second and then added, "...Wolly Doodle All the Day?!" Um...just give me the package! Funny, of all the mail I've received over the years, this was the first time anyone has called me out on it. Ha ha!
I waited to open it on Christmas Day. So fun!
It was such a fun, peaceful Christmas. Thanks, eh! I love you guys! (I know, I know Pappy..."we're not guys").
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Photo Dump for November
November was pretty uneventful...at least picture-wise. Maybe lots of fun things happened, but I just didn't take any pictures of it. But I did manage to take a picture of a gaping wound. I don't even remember what I was doing, but I do remember that I was doing it with a razor blade. My hand slipped and the razor blade gouged my thumb. Yikes!
Well, it looks as though I managed to get a crisp shot of the texture on my bathroom wall... Maybe I was subconsciously trying to trim my thumb to the width of my other thumb.
I had earlier posted about a screamin' deal I got on a bread maker at a thrift shop. Well, it turned out to be not so screamin'. The first couple loaves turned out great, but it just went downhill from there. I don't know what I was doing wrong, but they just weren't turning out very good at all. It wasn't even good enough to use for bread pudding and it was even too coarse and tough for bread crumbs. It hurt my heart, but I threw away almost 2 entire loaves. Enough! I have given up on my bread maker and will just have to do it the old fashioned way. I don't think I've made bread in years! This was the result...
It turned out okay...definitely better than the bread machine, but I know I can do better. Heather, I covet your bread making abilities. I think that's your super power. I'm sure you can fight crime with your bread baking skills somehow. I mean, even Daniel-son won the karate tournament by waxing a car. Come on! In the move, I came across a bunch of Taste of Home magazines I got at a thrift store long ago (thank you Unique) and have been thumbing through them as of late (...fine, in the bathroom. Happy now?!). Anyhow, I saw a delicious picture of a Cheesy Ham Braid and had to make it. This is the pre-oven picture:
And this is post-oven.
It really was delish. I'll have to make it again when I move back to Logan. And, for what it's worth, I'd just like to apologize now for the gaping wound/cheesy ham braid post combination. It's the order that I took the pictures, so you'll just have to deal with it.
Well, it looks as though I managed to get a crisp shot of the texture on my bathroom wall... Maybe I was subconsciously trying to trim my thumb to the width of my other thumb.
I had earlier posted about a screamin' deal I got on a bread maker at a thrift shop. Well, it turned out to be not so screamin'. The first couple loaves turned out great, but it just went downhill from there. I don't know what I was doing wrong, but they just weren't turning out very good at all. It wasn't even good enough to use for bread pudding and it was even too coarse and tough for bread crumbs. It hurt my heart, but I threw away almost 2 entire loaves. Enough! I have given up on my bread maker and will just have to do it the old fashioned way. I don't think I've made bread in years! This was the result...
It turned out okay...definitely better than the bread machine, but I know I can do better. Heather, I covet your bread making abilities. I think that's your super power. I'm sure you can fight crime with your bread baking skills somehow. I mean, even Daniel-son won the karate tournament by waxing a car. Come on! In the move, I came across a bunch of Taste of Home magazines I got at a thrift store long ago (thank you Unique) and have been thumbing through them as of late (...fine, in the bathroom. Happy now?!). Anyhow, I saw a delicious picture of a Cheesy Ham Braid and had to make it. This is the pre-oven picture:
And this is post-oven.
It really was delish. I'll have to make it again when I move back to Logan. And, for what it's worth, I'd just like to apologize now for the gaping wound/cheesy ham braid post combination. It's the order that I took the pictures, so you'll just have to deal with it.
Photo Dump for October
Little known fact - Single people rarely buy fresh fruits and vegetables. It's not that we don't want to eat well, but they always rot faster than we can eat it all. Every once in a while I feel guilty that I don't get enough fresh fruits in my diet and I go out and buy some. Then a month later I wonder where all the fruit flies came from. Then I feel guilty again for all the money I wasted. It's a vicious cycle. Anyhow, the photo below was the result of one of my guilt ridden shopping sprees. I was proud of myself for actually consuming almost 80% of it all.
I was the lucky recipient of Korby's craftiness. She was kind enough to send me my very own seasonal pillowcase. I was so excited for it to come that I actually took a picture of the package before I opened it.
This is my Halloween pillowcase "in action".
Hmm...maybe I should have cleaned up a bit before I took the picture. How about that can of Odor Eaters spray that I keep at my bedside! Classy. Anyway, the pillowcase totally made my holiday! Thanks Korby, I absolutely love it!
I was the lucky recipient of Korby's craftiness. She was kind enough to send me my very own seasonal pillowcase. I was so excited for it to come that I actually took a picture of the package before I opened it.
This is my Halloween pillowcase "in action".
Hmm...maybe I should have cleaned up a bit before I took the picture. How about that can of Odor Eaters spray that I keep at my bedside! Classy. Anyway, the pillowcase totally made my holiday! Thanks Korby, I absolutely love it!
Photo Dump for September
I've been way stressed lately so, as you've obviously seen, I haven't been writing any new posts. I take pictures every once in a while with the intent of posting about them later...but we all know how that's worked out. Ugh, the thought of taking the extra step of hooking up my camera just fatigues me (How lethargic can you be, Holly?!). So, I have a bunch of random pictures on my camera that were intended for individual posts. Due to my laziness, I am just going to dump all the new photos I have in a post for each month and tell you briefly what each one is. I'll start where I left off...September:
This was the month that I finally decided to civilize my apartment. I had everything that I needed on hand, but I hadn't attempted to decorate anything or make it look homey (Hey, I said "homey", not "homely"!). The first thing I did was put up my pictures. This is a picture of the Last Supper. My friend brought this back for me from his visit to Milan. I love it because underneath each apostle is his name in Latin.
You can't see this one very well (sweet glare Ansel Adams) but this is a picture of Milan taken in 1901. This was such a fun find because all of the old European pictures that I had found in the past were of France, and 90% of those were just of Paris. I was so excited to find one, not only of Italy, but of Milan. Yay! It's fun to see the Duomo in the background and all of the old shops and carriages in the streets. I'm sure I walked this street at one point on my mission, but I have no idea. It'd be fun to go back one day and try to find the street to compare it to the poster. Who knows. I'm always on the lookout for a better fitting frame. It looks kind of awkward with all of the head and foot space.
This last one is my favorite. It is a copy of the Declaration of Independence. Not just any Declaration of Independence, but the one that my mom received when she got her citizenship. My mom was going to throw it away (mom, I think George Washington wants to talk to you), but I salvaged it and kept it rolled up and tucked away for years. I came across it in my storage unit not too long ago and decided to finally hunt for a frame for it. This one will do for now, but I hope to get it much more nicely set in the future.
After my pictures were hung, I decided it was about time to put up some curtains. These are the kitchen curtains:
And these are the living room curtains:
Hmmm...the kitchen curtains look suspiciously like the living room curtains... They were on clearance at KMart. What did you expect?! I love white linen curtains. They are light enough to let in maximum sunlight, but opaque enough to not give my neighbors a show (Heidi!).
This was the month that I finally decided to civilize my apartment. I had everything that I needed on hand, but I hadn't attempted to decorate anything or make it look homey (Hey, I said "homey", not "homely"!). The first thing I did was put up my pictures. This is a picture of the Last Supper. My friend brought this back for me from his visit to Milan. I love it because underneath each apostle is his name in Latin.
You can't see this one very well (sweet glare Ansel Adams) but this is a picture of Milan taken in 1901. This was such a fun find because all of the old European pictures that I had found in the past were of France, and 90% of those were just of Paris. I was so excited to find one, not only of Italy, but of Milan. Yay! It's fun to see the Duomo in the background and all of the old shops and carriages in the streets. I'm sure I walked this street at one point on my mission, but I have no idea. It'd be fun to go back one day and try to find the street to compare it to the poster. Who knows. I'm always on the lookout for a better fitting frame. It looks kind of awkward with all of the head and foot space.
This last one is my favorite. It is a copy of the Declaration of Independence. Not just any Declaration of Independence, but the one that my mom received when she got her citizenship. My mom was going to throw it away (mom, I think George Washington wants to talk to you), but I salvaged it and kept it rolled up and tucked away for years. I came across it in my storage unit not too long ago and decided to finally hunt for a frame for it. This one will do for now, but I hope to get it much more nicely set in the future.
After my pictures were hung, I decided it was about time to put up some curtains. These are the kitchen curtains:
And these are the living room curtains:
Hmmm...the kitchen curtains look suspiciously like the living room curtains... They were on clearance at KMart. What did you expect?! I love white linen curtains. They are light enough to let in maximum sunlight, but opaque enough to not give my neighbors a show (Heidi!).
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Please Don't Hate Me!
I know I have neglected my blog lately. Here are a few of my lame excuses for not posting anything:
1. I just applied to graduate school. I had to study for and take the GMAT, fill out all the applications, write essays, request transcripts, pay all the fees, etc. I managed to get it all done the day before the cut-off date. Now I just have to wait and see if I get in...any day now.
2. I have been super busy with work. I actually only work part-time, but I have come to realize that when you do something that you don't particularly like and that you are not really that good at, it takes a lot out of you, especially if you find out that your boss resents you being there in the first place (*sigh* lots of drama that deserves a post all its own...grrr...).
3. I gave the lesson in Relief Society this past Sunday. I enjoy teaching, but it always takes me an entire Saturday to prepare. The lesson was on President Monson's Conference talk called "What Have I Done for Someone Today?". I think it went well. But, I've noticed that whenever I teach, the women don't participate as much. I can't figure out if it's because they are rapt in attention, or that they are bored to death. Hmmm...
4. I have been cooking a lot lately to make TV dinners. I even copied Mark and Mel by making meatloaf dinners. They turned out way yum! I've also made Spinach and Sausage Linguine, Lasagna, Quiche, Spinach and Mushroom Tortellini, and Enchiladas. I've also made some desserts (Apple Crumble, Million Dollar Cake and Heidi's Peaches and Cream dessert) to freeze as well. Mmmm...I'm entering the apocalypse in style...and in larger pants.
5. I've also been preparing make-ahead lunches for work. Right now I'm eating Greek wrap stuff. Basically, I found some crazy soy wraps at the "Used Food Store" (as Pappy so affectionately put it) for a super deal. I fill them with cubed chicken (that I cooked in a marinade in my crock pot overnight and then chopped it up in the morning), lettuce, tomatoes and a Greek yogurt type dressing that I found on AllRecipes.com (perfect, since I was looking for an excuse to use up some cucumbers and yogurt). Delish!
6. I finally finished "Liberal Fascism" by Jonah Goldberg. I probably started it like a year ago (a few things have happened since then, eh). I think I literally have notes scribbled on the margins of every single page. It was so fascinating. It gives such a clear definition of what fascism is and how it manifests itself in different societies, including American society! It gives such a concise picture of the modern Progressive movement and it's beginnings. I don't think there are that many people that profess to be Progressives that truly understand what it means. It answered a lot of my "How did we get here as a society?" and "Where did we take a wrong turn?" questions. It may sound like it would be a boring read, but I found it quite entertaining and incredibly informative...but then again, this is coming from the girl that was moved to tears by "Summer of My German Soldier", so...
7. My blog really cuts into my TV time. At the moment I'm working my way through "Roots" again. I love you mom and dad, but come on, it's Kunta Kinte! My visiting teacher let me borrow the new BBC versions of Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility. No version of Persuasion can outdo the Ciran Hinds version in my opinion, but it was definitely worth watching (and definitely on my list to purchase later on). I absolutely loved the new version of Sense and Sensibility. I was skeptical that anything could compare with the Emma Thompson version, but I think I like this new version as much as that one. What I really liked about it was how the girls were closer in age to the book characters. The scenery was gorgeous and the colors were rich and vibrant. Well worth seeing and a must-have for a Jane Austen video collection....if you have a Jane Austen video collection...Marky...
1. I just applied to graduate school. I had to study for and take the GMAT, fill out all the applications, write essays, request transcripts, pay all the fees, etc. I managed to get it all done the day before the cut-off date. Now I just have to wait and see if I get in...any day now.
2. I have been super busy with work. I actually only work part-time, but I have come to realize that when you do something that you don't particularly like and that you are not really that good at, it takes a lot out of you, especially if you find out that your boss resents you being there in the first place (*sigh* lots of drama that deserves a post all its own...grrr...).
3. I gave the lesson in Relief Society this past Sunday. I enjoy teaching, but it always takes me an entire Saturday to prepare. The lesson was on President Monson's Conference talk called "What Have I Done for Someone Today?". I think it went well. But, I've noticed that whenever I teach, the women don't participate as much. I can't figure out if it's because they are rapt in attention, or that they are bored to death. Hmmm...
4. I have been cooking a lot lately to make TV dinners. I even copied Mark and Mel by making meatloaf dinners. They turned out way yum! I've also made Spinach and Sausage Linguine, Lasagna, Quiche, Spinach and Mushroom Tortellini, and Enchiladas. I've also made some desserts (Apple Crumble, Million Dollar Cake and Heidi's Peaches and Cream dessert) to freeze as well. Mmmm...I'm entering the apocalypse in style...and in larger pants.
5. I've also been preparing make-ahead lunches for work. Right now I'm eating Greek wrap stuff. Basically, I found some crazy soy wraps at the "Used Food Store" (as Pappy so affectionately put it) for a super deal. I fill them with cubed chicken (that I cooked in a marinade in my crock pot overnight and then chopped it up in the morning), lettuce, tomatoes and a Greek yogurt type dressing that I found on AllRecipes.com (perfect, since I was looking for an excuse to use up some cucumbers and yogurt). Delish!
6. I finally finished "Liberal Fascism" by Jonah Goldberg. I probably started it like a year ago (a few things have happened since then, eh). I think I literally have notes scribbled on the margins of every single page. It was so fascinating. It gives such a clear definition of what fascism is and how it manifests itself in different societies, including American society! It gives such a concise picture of the modern Progressive movement and it's beginnings. I don't think there are that many people that profess to be Progressives that truly understand what it means. It answered a lot of my "How did we get here as a society?" and "Where did we take a wrong turn?" questions. It may sound like it would be a boring read, but I found it quite entertaining and incredibly informative...but then again, this is coming from the girl that was moved to tears by "Summer of My German Soldier", so...
7. My blog really cuts into my TV time. At the moment I'm working my way through "Roots" again. I love you mom and dad, but come on, it's Kunta Kinte! My visiting teacher let me borrow the new BBC versions of Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility. No version of Persuasion can outdo the Ciran Hinds version in my opinion, but it was definitely worth watching (and definitely on my list to purchase later on). I absolutely loved the new version of Sense and Sensibility. I was skeptical that anything could compare with the Emma Thompson version, but I think I like this new version as much as that one. What I really liked about it was how the girls were closer in age to the book characters. The scenery was gorgeous and the colors were rich and vibrant. Well worth seeing and a must-have for a Jane Austen video collection....if you have a Jane Austen video collection...Marky...
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Did Someone Say "Bargain"?!
The other day, I was hunting all the thrift stores for a crock pot so I could more easily use dry beans which are way cheaper than canned beans. I went to all of the thrift stores that I knew of, but to no avail. As I admitted defeat and began to drive home, I noticed a store in the corner of my eye that I hadn't noticed before called "Nanilee's Resale". Hey, it's another thrift store! I quickly pulled over and ran in to look around. I found this brand new, still-in-the-box crock pot. Yay!
When I came out, I looked down the parking lot and noticed a store called "Bargain Basket". With a name like that I had to check it out. It turned out to be a completely ghetto grocery store. It was like DG&L, but more of dive...if that's at all possible. Truth be told, I loved it! It was so fun walking up and down every aisle looking at all of the random items that were dirt cheap. What's more fun than that?!
In the news of other awesome deals that I have happened upon, I found some shelves on clearance at at Target the other day (only $3.34 each!). I bought two and stacked them for some more kitchen space to be able to unpack a few more boxes. Ta-da!
Also, guess who discovered that the angel food cake pan that they got for a super deal at the thrift store leaks? This was all that was left of the cake when the timer went off.
Mmmm...angel flat cake.
When I came out, I looked down the parking lot and noticed a store called "Bargain Basket". With a name like that I had to check it out. It turned out to be a completely ghetto grocery store. It was like DG&L, but more of dive...if that's at all possible. Truth be told, I loved it! It was so fun walking up and down every aisle looking at all of the random items that were dirt cheap. What's more fun than that?!In the news of other awesome deals that I have happened upon, I found some shelves on clearance at at Target the other day (only $3.34 each!). I bought two and stacked them for some more kitchen space to be able to unpack a few more boxes. Ta-da!
Also, guess who discovered that the angel food cake pan that they got for a super deal at the thrift store leaks? This was all that was left of the cake when the timer went off.
Mmmm...angel flat cake.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
