My Latest Addiction

Once Upon a Time

ABC's Once Upon a Time has given me a new found faith in the future of story structure. All the fairy tales we know and love exist in a different realm, until Regina, Snow White's wicked stepmother, banishes the entire kingdom to our world in the town of Storybrooke, Maine. The story is centered on Emma Swan, a woman who is the first to wander into the town; a place no one could leave or no one new could arrive, until now. The series shows Emma's struggle to fit into Storybrooke when she realizes her son, Henry, which she gave up for adoption at a young age, lives there with the Mayor, who is Regina. We are taken to flashbacks of the fairy tale world to help us see who is who and what level they are connected. The first season is on Netflix and it comes on ABC, Sunday at 7pm CT. 

Baby its cold outside...so let's make some stew!

I am a crock pot addict. They make my life so simple when I'm running around working 40/week and going to school fulltime. Stew can be one of the easiest to make because you are throwing in whatever you have on hand. Here's what I used to make todays brew:

2 cans of chicken broth
2 cans of whole peeled tomatoes
1 can of sliced carrots
1 can of corn
1 can of peas
1/4 of a white onion

Throw all of this together then salt, pepper (I also threw in some mrs. dash) and stir. Then take two chicken beats and place them on top. Throw salt and pepper on the breasts then sprinkle some Worcester sauce to finish. I let it sit on low for eight hours, then took the chicken out,  sliced it, then threw it back it. Voila! Happy eating!

Give Thanks to Blogging

One of my favorite reasons I love blogging is because of all the different recipes you can discover. The options are endless. This week is Thanksgiving so I am giving thanks to those worthy food bloggers who have posted the holiday recipes that make my mouth water.

Annie's Eats.com

Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow Frosting

A Beautiful Mess

Cranberry Apple Stuffing

Spiced Chai Recipe

How Sweet It Is

Sweet & Sticky Pomegranate Chicken

Lightened Up Fresh Green Bean Casserole

Reading My Tea Leaves

Boiled Apple Cider Syrup

Butternut Squash: Roasted & Mashed

Martha Stewart Everything Thanksgiving (Seriously, how can I not?)

Deep Dish Apple Pie

Roast Turkey with Cornbread Stuffing

Food 52

Magical Marvelous Cookies

Bacon Bird with Turkey Neck Gravy

Cheers! Have a beautiful Thanksgiving. 

Hiking

With fall descending upon us, I have found a new hobby, hiking. I grew up in the country and loved to wander through the woods and walk around the lake close to my home but I had not really put myself in any terrain that would be considered challenging...until last weekend. 

Pretty beautiful huh? I went to the Wichita Mountains and climbed a mountain. Yep, nothing like feeling you've conquered something at the end of the day than getting to experience this view. If you've never been I highly suggest it. Even if you're not into hiking you can drive up to the top of Mount Scott and be way higher than I was. There is also a restaurant in the area called Meers and I have had bookoohs of burgers in my life and I have never had a burger better than theirs, plus I got to wash it down with Meers beer, also delicious. 

Funny story, we went on an easier hike after the first one for a picnic and I decided to lead us around afterwards. We were just wandering off of the trail so it didn't really matter where we went. Turns out I should never lead because I ended up between a huge buffalo and this longhorn.

He was huge! I would have gotten a picture of the buffalo but there was too much shrubbery in between us and I didn't want to stay there for too long. Lesson learned, I am no longer allowed to lead myself or anyone else anywhere lol. 

Another picture for your viewing pleasure. :) 

Moving

I have just moved back to OKC from Stillwater and this has been my bajillionth time to move. Thus, I have decided to share with you all the art of moving, with a little help from other's insights as well. Hopefully, nobody but this guy has to move like this:

So first, no matter what you say, you will need boxes. However, there are an endless amount of ways to get boxes for free!! Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. Liquor Stores
2. Starbucks
3. Bookstores
4. Any school department that has a copier (This is where I got the boxes for my most recent move).
5. Craigslist

Second, no matter how many boxes you've packed, loading the U-haul takes forever. I recommend a U-haul because it's a one trip load and unload. For me to pack all of my belongings up in Stillwater and drive them back to OKC cost me about 160. Loading the U-haul took about 4 hours and unloading only took one. Can you believe it? That's bringing everything downstairs to load and moving everything upstairs to unload. Silly. Also, when you get a U-haul I suggest moving during the week if you can, this way less people have reservations and if you run late getting the truck back all you have to do is call ahead and no extra charges or grumblings.

Third, Dolly, dolly, get a damn dolly! I had four solid wood bookshelves(That I loaded on my own) and I went ahead and rented the big utility dolly ($10) and it saved me from what would have been some terrible doses of belly aching, back aching headaches. 

I made the mistake of putting most furniture in the truck first. This sounds like a good idea but when you're dragging it in around all the boxes you've unloaded you'll wish you'd done it vice versa. Also, I would recommend throwing some bottled water/beer/insert drink of choice in your new fridge prior to the moving. I was never so thirsty in my life. 

Just. Get. It. Done. Don't tell yourself, "Oh, hey, I'll get that tomorrow." The sooner you move everything the sooner you can unpack/arrange everything and the sooner you can relax in your new home. 

After this past time I may even hire movers because then, I'm not covered in bruises from banging stuff around. The professionals are professionals for a reason :)

Halloween!

Halloween = Favorite.Holiday.EVER.

However, I am quite indecisive when it comes to costumes and honestly think I will just dig out my old great pumpkin tee and rock it with a sugar skull mask. That being said, I have scavenged the world wide web for costume ideas and here are some of the best ones yet!

Let's Get Political

Okay, is it just me or has the political campaign completely clogged everyone's social network newsfeed? Usually I try to stay out of it. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, which is why we roll with democracy. That being said, an old friend of mine posted the following:

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had recently failed an entire class. That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama's plan". All grades will be averaged and everyone will receive the same grade so no one will fail and no one will receive an A.... (substituting grades for dollars - something closer to home and more readily understood by all).

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.

The second test average was a D! No one was happy. When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F. As the tests proceeded, the scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

To their great surprise, ALL FAILED and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great, but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed. It could not be any simpler than that. Remember, there IS a test coming up. The 2012 elections.

These are possibly the 5 best sentences you'll ever read and all applicable to this experiment:

1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.

2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.

3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.

4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it!

5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.

by: Ed Will

Now, I realize you all have probably seen this and I'm not going to say that this would never happen because of  the education system. Of course this is a hypothetical analogy used to prove a point, a point that is lacking the real life factor, in my personal opinion. Let's say this really IS how the grading system works for this class and if they failed the class they would be unable to continue. Do you really think that these students would stop trying or would they attempt to help one another and make a communal effort? If this system were put to into real life circumstances, lets minimize it to a village, would the village not finally come to terms with their differences and save themselves before starvation? I don't believe that Obama's goal is to Robin Hood the United States. I think his goal is to establish a human connection throughout the community, despite class rank, political stance, and who not or what have you. The thing is, our country is in over its head in debt, so far that it is unlikely for us to dig ourselves out without the common effort brought on by all of us. This means that those who do not try will have to, despite their fears of failure or whatever it is that is holding them back, and those who overachieve will have to continue to do so. Why? Because if we still want our country to exist for our grandkids, our great grandkids and for their grandkids and their great grandkids we have got to start now. Otherwise, America will break beyond repair and it will be due to our own selfish denial. Our greats and grands will not be proud of us as is the case with our grandparents, they will recognize that we became lazy, uncaring, and ignorant of the big picture. They will be disgusted. Does anyone  else see this? Feel free to argue with me I have no qualms with discussing the matter. 

Innocent? Or no?

Happy Chilly Friday!

I love October. I love the smells of bonfire, pot roast, chili, pumpkin spice and all the halloween chocolate treats that conclude the end of the month. I love carving pumpkins, haunted houses, haunted corn mazes, and drinking salted caramel hot chocolate under the stars with a cuddle buddy. I love Halloween. This is my most wonderful time of the year. Thus, we shall continue with our scary movies.

The Innocents

 Deborah Kerr plays Miss Giddens, a first time governess in this 1961 British horror film. She is hired by a rich uncle who loves his lavish lifestyle too much to take care of his orphaned niece and nephew. She agrees to the position and is taken to an immense estate in the country where the two children live along with the help. The children, Myles and Flora, are vivacious and charming and welcome their new governess with open arms.

As Miss Giddens becomes acquainted with the help, she learns that her predecessor committed suicide after another member of the help died. They were lovers and cared for the children deeply. As time goes on, Miss Giddens begins to question how deeply as she suspects the house is being haunted by the two lovers and that they have a plan for more than just haunting the grounds. Is she crazy? Is she right? You'll have to watch it to find out but I ended up watching it a couple of times because the second time around I caught onto so many more clues. To hook you even more, here are some screenshots:

Myles in the greenhouse with the ghost watching over him.

Myles finds himself wandering the courtyard in the middle of the night.

Flora watching over Miss Giddens as she toss and turns in her sleep.

Movie Series Continued: The Damned Duo

Okay, now I know we've all seen the 90's version of Village of the Damned, but have you seen the original 60's version along with it's successor, Children of the Damned? If not, you are missing out my friend.

 Village of the Damned is set in Midwich, a small British village, that suddenly falls asleep. The entire town is unreachable for several hours. The military are called and there's a scene where a pilot tries to fly over the town to get a closer look only to fall asleep and crash the airplane. Shortly after the town wakes up, (how unlucky for the pilot) and the people of Midwich think they've only been asleep for a short amount of time. It is a mystery and remains so until two months later when every woman capable of birthing a child is pregnant, some still virgins. Then comes the question of whether it is a blessing or a curse?

The children are born at seven months weighing in at ten lbs. and continue growing and learning at a rapid rate. They are all blonde haired, blue eyed geniuses...that can eventually read your thoughts. As time goes on, the original people of Midwich isolate the children, afraid for there have been strange horrific deaths popping up, all with the children being there. A professor, George Sanders, is father to one of the children and tries to educate them towards the ways of good. According to Wikipedia, the film ranked #92 on Bravo's Scariest Movie Moments.

Children of the Damned was release three years later. A geneticist and psychologist find out about a boy in London named Paul, who has more intellect than any adult they have encountered. When they want to test the parents to see about genetics they learn that Paul's mother despises him and tries to explain that she had Paul without intercourse. The two men dismiss this idea and Paul's mother is suddenly overcome by Paul's "mind power,"walks into a dark tunnel, is ran over and hospitalized.

Paul's aunt comes to care for him and in the mean time it is discovered that there are six children, all from different countries, who are just like Paul. The children are all brought to London for a study but they escape to an abandoned church, holding Paul's aunt mentally hostage to help them. The world leaders try to obtain the children through violence and death is the result. The film is my favorite of the two because it portrays the children as being evolved and from the future, only killing if provoked. The ending is catastrophic and you will definitely find yourself standing, wanting to pull your hair out, and screaming at the screen because it is so damned good.

Have a beautiful damnation free weekend!

Movie Week: Killer Kids

Hey there!

Hope everyone is having a fabulous week! I am very excited to share this post with you because it has to do with something I've been working on for a very long time. 

Quick Backstory: For a handful of years I've been doing research and working on writing a novel based on a true story about the world's youngest serial killer. Having done all of this, I'm beginning to wonder if it would be better received as a screenplay since we all love to watch gory murder movies. 

This semester, I'm having to write a screenplay anyways so I'm taking advantage of the opportunity to see how it plays out. This has led me to attempt a thorough study of the genre so I know what I'm up against, what's been done, what's been overdone, and what's been done terribly. Some of the films I've viewed are so interesting that I have decided to start a blog series about them in case you get a hankering to watch some kid slasher movies. (You never know!)

Who Can Kill a Child?

Anyone want to know where Stephen King got the idea for "Children of the Corn?" Probably from this 1976 Spanish horror film. The first ten minutes of the film are dedicated to showing how children always receive the brunt of world issues and it is an understatement to say that it is disturbing, complete with shots of everything form Auschwitz to the Korean War. My friend and I were eating pizza when we started and had to stop the film, take a break from eating, then try to finish our meals before we continued. No joke. The beginning of this film is not stomach friendly. 

After the introduction, we are abruptly thrown into our story, which follows Tom and Evelyn; an English couple squeezing in a vacation before Evelyn gives birth. They take a boat out to an island off the mainland unaware that the children have taken control, killing every adult in sight and giggling while doing it. The gore level isn't too terrible throughout the rest of movie with the exception of a human piñata, murderous fetus, and..well you'll just have to see.

¡Salud y pesetas!

Things that Make my World go Round

Ello Gov'nas!

This week has been absurdly busy with work, school, and life in general. I fear it is about to get even crazier this weekend. For this week's post I'm going to share things that have been the spoonful of sugar to help this hectic week go down smoothly:

I'll be heading to the state fair this weekend which hopefully means mullets galore.

It's amazing what parking lots have in store.

These adorable sisters blow my mind.

Convert to the Iphone perhaps I will.

Just in time for fall! P.s. If you sign up as a new member you get 50% off!!

I just found the perfect birthday present for my friend (who luckily doesn't follow my blog yet)!
If you decide to join the wonderful world of Groupon by the way please do it via me!

I could totally run a 5k if I were being chased by zombies.

Would you carry one of these around?

My poor kid dish for the week:

Ingredients:
Everything to make 1box of Mac n Cheese
1can of Tomato Soup
1can of Diced Tomatoes
As much Mrs. Dash as needed

1. Make the Mac
2. In a separate pot, make the tomato soup, but instead of adding a can of water, add the diced tomatoes.
3. When both are done, combine! Fin!

Seriously this is melt your face off good. Think pizza, spaghetti, and mac n cheese, all in one bite. Delicious.






Have a great weekend!!!

Canvas Cutouts

Hello and Happy Friday Eve!

I have a bare space on the wall above my bed and happened to have 3 canvas panels along with some scrapbook paper stacks that were catching dust. I decided to put my 3 favorite things on the panels: my dog Royce, the guitar, and something to incorporate my love of writing (I'm debating on this one, maybe a typewriter or some sort of quote). Anyways, I came up with these:

It is so easy! Here's what you'll need:

Canvas panel

Paintbrush

Acrylic paint or oil paint

Scissors

Paper

Pencil

Modgepodge

and an idea...in this case we'll do the guitar.

First, go ahead and paint your canvas panel. For the Pomeranian, I used oil paint, which does give it a cool look but I had to wait an entire weekend for it to dry. 

Tip: I use the top of a shoe box to paint on because you can dump your paint into the lid and set the painting on top so that the paint never gets on anything. 

While that's drying, grab your pencil and paper. My little brother gave me this pencil and I'm in love with it :)

There are two ways you can get your cutout. You want to look for a vector image online, for instance, I got the pomeranian image by googling pomeranian vector and selecting the black and white option. Once you find it, size it how you like and you can either print or if you're poor like me. zoom in on your screen and put your piece of paper on top then trace it! (you really just need to trace the outline)

If you're going to trace, I suggest trimming your piece of paper down to the size of the canvas panel, mine was 8x10 so it made it easier to know how big it was actually going to be.

Now you need to decide what kind of paper you'll be using as the pattern. I chose the yellow floral pattern out of this big book of patterns from Joann's for 9 bucks. Yep, and I believe the sale is still going on! Place the paper behind your traced image and cut it out.

Once the paint is try we can add the image on top. Mine was dry by the time I cut out the guitar so it worked out perfectly. You'll need Modgepodge and a clean brush. You want to apply the adhesive to the back of the guitar first, then lay it out on your canvas and apply a thin coat over the guitar. Let it dry and you are done!

Tips: 
1. You can do this to the entire canvas and it will be very glossy, I only did it over the guitar area and it gave a more weathered look. Up to you!
2. You may run into air bubbles forming under the guitar as it dries. Just take a push pin or a needle and gently poke a tiny hole in the bubble, then apply pressure to get the air out.

Have a great weekend!!

Shake and Bake!

Alright everyone,

I am tired of poetry aren't you? Let's make something! How about the best cookies in the world...I'm still working on a name but I think mud pies will be sufficient for now. Let me know if you come up with something better.

So first, this is an adaptation of an adaptation, of we might as well say another adaptation...all stemming from Martha Stewart, as everything delicious and decorative does.

What you'll need (for about 18 cookies, give or take):

1 Cup Unsalted Butter
1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar, packed
1/2 Cup of Granulated Sugar
2 Large Eggs
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
2 Cups of All Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Cup Dark Cocoa Powder
1/2 Cup of Milk Chocolate Chips
1/2 Cup Hershey's Cookies-N-Cream Drops

Okay preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

While you're waiting put the butter and sugars into a bowl, it's easier to mix the butter if you let it sit in the bowl all lonesome for about five minutes so it melts a bit. You can use an electric mixer if you've got one, I just used a fork to mash and stir it all up. You want to reach maximum creamy capacity before continuing. It's a great forearm workout *Bonus*

Next, you'll want to mix the two eggs in one at a time (Sorry for the blur, I must've been way too excited). Then add your vanilla extract and get back to that creamy smooth state!

Okay so, in a different bowl, combine your flour, baking soda, baking powder and your salt. You'll want to sift it and of course, my poor ass just used a fork which is just as effective I promise! 

So don't get crazy and dump the dry mix in all at once because if you'll be stirring until the end of time. Stir in small portions and you'll start to see the cookie dough density form, 

which is always exciting for me! If you're a sugar cookie only kid stop here and skip to the baking process. 

Now, if you don't like dark chocolate let me assure you these are not bitter by any means. If you're skeptical or just don't like chocolate cookie dough (I know it's weird but those people exist!) you do not have to add this. I personally can't live without it. Stir it in!

Again, let's say your crazy and you don't like Cookies-n-Cream drops, or you don't like chocolate chips but chocolate cookies are totally cool. Stop here and skip to the baking part. Otherwise....

join the rest of us "normal" sugar addict kids and overload on the goodness :)

Now, a word about these crazy genius drops that Hershey and all the other bars are coming with. You can get creative and use just about any drop/chip combo out there but here are my warnings before you get crazy:

The reason why the drops work so well and give the cookies the cream filled awesomeness is that they don't have the candy shell like M&M's. You can totally make a chunkier version with the actual candy bar but you'll have to buy about three regular sized ones and do a lot of chopping but hey if you wanna chop, chop on. 

So here's where I got lame and completely forgot to take pictures the rest of the time, even after they were done! I didn't realize until they were gone! 

But don't worry visual learners, it's all easy peasy from here!

Take a cookie sheet, if you don't have any parchment paper, no worries, throw some flour on cookie sheet and smooth it all over (just a little bit, doesn't need to look like the North Pole). 

Drop spoonfuls of batter but keep them a couple of inches apart so they don't get attached in the heat of the moment and you have to go and separate them later. Cookies are grudge holders and they will take that sweet goodness straight to your waistline. If you want the "cream filled" kind of cookie just make sure the drops are mostly covered by the batter. 

Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes, could be more depending on your oven but I like them soft and gooey. You'll want to let them cool for a minute after you take them out then put them on a rack (or a paper plate) to cool off. 

Store them in airtight containers and if you want to keep them softer for longer throw a piece of bread in with the cookies.

Any Questions?????

Oh yeah, don't forget to eat them.

:)

Next time I'll show you how to make one of these: