Work Hard, Play Harder

As the weekend approaches and the anticipation of spring break grows I can't help but realize what a slacker I've been in the blogging world lately. I feel like every time I post I find myself apologizing for being M.I.A. Well, here I am.. finally!

Lately all I can think about is warm weather and the promise of summer sun. I think this cold gloominess has gone on too long and is starting to induce depression. Where are you sunshine? Please hurry up! Unforunately summer vacation is still 63 days away. Yes, I have started a countdown. But as long as 63 days sounds the end is distantly in sight! On the upside spring break begins in only TWO days!! Alleluia! The idea of a week long break from Organic Chemistry, fractional distillations, and the endless memorization of types of fungi is almost too good to be true. I actually found myself talking about how "cool" a species of fungi was tonight. Never before has a break been more needed. I truly enjoy learning but before this semester I've never experienced the urgent need to "get away".

Speaking of getaways. I have a few fabulous weekend vacations planned this month. And by a few I mean two. Two small but AWESOME trips! First: St. Louis here I come!! On my list of favorite cities to visit St. Louis has easily entered my top 3. I have been lucky enough to visit this city a few times and have had great experiences during each trip. I leave this Friday for the much needed road trip to the city I love so much. I am so excited I can hardly study for my exam in the morning (blogging, facebook, twitter, and gmail chatting aren't helping me study either).

Second on my list of March vacations is Gatlinburg. I LOVE Gatlinburg!! To be honest I've only really been there one time and it left me wanting more. There is nothing I enjoy more than hiking in the beautiful mountains, hot tubs with a view, and a few beverages with great friends. Not to mention go carts. Yes!! I'm getting anxious just thinking about it!

With all of these wonderful things to look forward to it's no wonder I can't keep school on my brain! Alright, time to get back to studying.. aka reading a few of my favorite blogs before it's time to fall asleep.
Goodnight all!

It's the MOST wonderful time of the year!

It's Christmas time! And I for one, could not be happier about this. I just love Christmas. The lights, the snow, the snuggling... it's all so romantic. Not to mention it's another wonderful excuse to be with those you love. What more could you ask for? Well, besides the itouch I've secretly been dying for.. the only other things I think I may want are some holiday treats. This house has been a candy shop the past few days and my waist line is the growing proof. We've made everything from white chocolate covered Oreo balls, to chocolate covered raisins, and even this new recipe we found for a delicious Pecan Toffee candy. I cannot wait to hand these out as gifts simply so I can stop chowing down every day. I will post a few recipes later this afternoon, I can't seem to find them at the moment!

Speaking of gifts, I have miraculously managed to have all of my Christmas shopping DONE before Christmas eve this year. This in itself deserves a reward! I have always been a procrastinator, something I'm not particularly proud of, but not this year! In years before I've struggled finding the right gifts for everyone but this year it seemed so simple. Everywhere I went I seemed to find the ONE gift I'd been looking for. It's such a relief to know I don't have to go out into the madness and search endlessly with all of the other procrastinators.

Tonight I am lucky enough to enjoy a gift I actually received for my birthday. Two tickets to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra. I have been in love with their music for years now and have been dying to see them. I've heard they put on a fantastic show! So the fact that I am FINALLY getting to see them tonight is beyond thrilling. I've been bouncing around all day as if I have consumed large amounts of sugar because I am THAT excited! Not only do I get to enjoy a fantastic show, but also an AWESOME dinner before hand. Abuelo's it is! I can taste the sangria already! What an awesome date night. Do I have the best boyfriend or what?? If he knew I said that he'd shoot me. So enough of that!

I hope everyone is experiencing the same "Christmas cheer" that is going around in my family! 'Tis the season to remember It's A Wonderful Life and I, for one, and thankful for that.

Cooking 101

I have to admit I've been an awful "blogger". Only two posts in nine months is embarrassing. Nine months? Man, time flies. I wish I could say I've been off doing fantastic things. I could tell you all about my exciting adventures I've been having and maybe share a few photographs. But unfortunately my life has been somewhat uneventful.

I somehow made it through my summer with very little to tell. My family and about 20 of our closest friends had a wonderful trip to Cedar Point. This is a trip we've been taking every summer for as long as I can remember. Unfortunately we all took a small hiatus for a few years. I think it's safe to say coming back to Cedar Point, all together, was the best reunion trip any of us could have asked for. If you were to ask me the one vacation I could never live without, it would be this one. First of all, I have to say, we simply have the best group of friends around. It is constant laughter and mayhem. We could have fun in a cardboard box. Second of all, if you put us all together in an amusement park.. well, it just doesn't get any better than that. My stomach hurt for days following the trip from the amount of laughter we shared. I'm already counting down the days until we're able to make the trip again.

After the summer ended it was time for school to start back up. And what a semester I attempted to take on. Physics, anatomy AND calculus? Not to mention an online course as well. I don't know what I was thinking to tell you the truth. I cannot tell you how happy I am to have that over with.

It's starting to become so surreal that I am getting older and will soon have a big girl job and a big girl house and a big girl life. Am I really twenty three years old? How is this possible? I feel so unprepared for all of these things. My girlfriends and I have had multiple conversations regarding the fact that how can we be ready to own our own houses, and have important jobs when we don't even know how to cook? Isn't that something all big girls should know how to do? Okay, so maybe that idea is a little 1950's, but to be honest, the best I can do is a grilled cheese sandwich! I expect more of myself. So two of my best friends and myself have taken on the task of what we like to call "Cooking 101".

And let me be the first to tell you, it is not as easy as Racheal Ray makes it look. So far we have met twice and made two dinner dishes as well as one dessert. I know.. I am impressed with us as well. The first dish we tried was a "Skillet Lasagna" and oh my goodness was it fabulous. A dinner that could have easily served 5-8 people also easily fed us three. We finished the entire thing in a matter of 30 minutes flat... THAT'S how good it was. And for it being our first time in a kitchen doing all the dirty work ourselves.. I'd say we did a great job. The recipe was found at the mouth watering foodnetwork.com and was so simple even WE could figure it out. I definitely suggest this for your next dinner. I personally plan on making this for my wonderful boyfriend sometime in the near future... if he should be so lucky.

Skillet Lasagna

(this recipe cooks in around 30 minutes and yields 4 servings... it's also ranked "easy" so don't be intimidated)

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, diced
4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil and/or parsley, plus more for garnish
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 large egg
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
6 sheets no-bake lasagna noodles
1 carrot, peeled into ribbons
1 zucchini, peeled into ribbons
3 1/2 cups baby spinach
1/3 pound mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

Directions

Heat the 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic; cook until golden, 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes, 1 tablespoon herbs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste; cook until saucy, about 5 minutes.

Transfer to a blender and puree.

Return 1 cup of the sauce to the skillet and reduce the heat to low; reserve the remaining sauce.

Meanwhile, mix the ricotta, egg, parmesan, the remaining 3 tablespoons herbs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in a bowl.

Place 2 lasagna noodles over the sauce in the skillet. Layer half of the carrot and zucchini on top; drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cover with half of the spinach, half of the ricotta mixture, a few pieces of mozzarella and 2 to 3 tablespoons of the reserved tomato sauce.

Repeat the layers, ending with noodles. Top with the remaining sauce and mozzarella.

Cover and simmer until the lasagna is cooked and the cheese melts, 20 to 25 minutes.

Let rest for a few minutes before slicing. Garnish with more parmesan and fresh herbs

Ours personally needed to simmer for longer than 25 minutes. Also, Molly cooked this a second time adding chicken. Any way you cook it.. trust me, you will love it! Cooking with friends is now one of my favorite things to do. I no longer feel quite so lost in a kitchen, and I now feel comfortable with my ability to follow recipes and when I'm feeling dangerous, even adding my own ingredients. Good luck and Happy Baking!!

I feel like I haven't posted in ages! I'm still not sure if anyone is reading this, but either way it's fun! I've come to realize most people do this with a specific purpose in mind. They center their blogs around certain ideas such as, sports, design, politics.. you get the picture. I've also realized I have nothing, as of yet, to center this one around. I love home design, I could look at magazines and websites all day. But to be honest I know nothing about the subject. I love sports, but I definitely don't know enough about them to publicly display my thoughts on them. I'm hoping in doing this enough I will finally find the one thing I'd like to focus on. So for now, I guess I'll just have to stick with writing about whatever comes to mind at the moment. And at the moment all I can think about is KEENELAND! I love the Keeneland season. I am so excited to pull out my spring dresses and spend a day (or more) at the races. Now, I don't know too much about the mechanics of placing a good bet. I don't understand the odds very well. So I normally go for their looks. I don't mean I bet on which one is the prettiest. But I look for their size, if they look strong, if they seem to have some spirit in their step. I won't say this works every time, but when you're betting with two dollars it gets the job done. What could be better than sunshine, spring time clothes, horses, and friends to share it with?? I can't wait!!

Rest and Relaxation

So today was one of those exhausting days at work that leave you feeling completely drained. Besides the fact that I worked from 9-6, it was a "nothing can go right" type of day. Needless to say I'm thankful to be home! Relaxation is something that hasn't been coming easy for me lately. School and work have been keeping me extremely busy. I go to class from 9am-730pm Monday through Thursday and then I work 8 hours a day Friday through Sunday. And lately I'm feeling like I have very little "me" time, or even time for my friends and family. Just the other day my mom commented on how she felt like she hadn't seen me in days. I'm someone who HATES to miss fun things. I don't like to feel left out. So not being able to go out with my friends because of my "responsibilities" drives me crazy! I think they might be getting frustrated with me as well. How many times can you ask someone to go out with you, only to be turned down, before you quit asking? I think they've reached that point. I don't blame them. Tonight, a Saturday night, is going to consist of studying and going to bed early.



On a lighter note, I've started reading The Shack. I have to admit I love to read and it's really hard for me to NOT enjoy a book. But this one is special already. It's one of those books that grip you from the beginning. If you haven't heard of it, it's a story about a man's struggle with his faith. His daughter is kidnapped while on a family vacation and never found again. As you can imagine that would make any parent's life turn upside down. Four years after the accident occurs he recieves a note apparently from God, inviting him back to the shack where the evidence that his daughter may have been murdered was found. Against his better judgement he goes and what follows is an amazing story that just may change the way you view the struggles in your own life. I definitely suggest it! I already know it will soon be on my list of favorites.

Hello World!

If anyone would have asked me, prior to today, if I would be a "blogger" the answer would be a loud resounding "NO!". Yet, here I am. I decided to jump on the blogging bandwagon. "Why?" you ask. My answer, "why not?". Hopefully this will be a wonderful way for friends and family to see exactly what Allison has been up to. I'm secretly hoping my life will take a turn towards exciting so I have at least a few fun things to update you on. However, I'm not holding my breath. For now my world consists of school during the week and working during the weekend. If that doesn't spell thrilling I don't know what does. But I have to admit, I enjoy it. After taking a year off of school I've realized just how much I love and have missed learning new things. I actually do find my life thrilling in little ways. New concepts in chemistry excite me. Even math! And no, I can't believe I just said that either.



As for work, as much as I complain and complain about it, is wonderful. I have been blessed in my life with wonderful jobs and co-workers. If you didn't know, I am currently a Pharmacy Technician. I work with a group of women, and a few delivery boys, who keep me laughing constantly. There's nothing better than laughter. What more could I ask for??





I just had a much needed weekend getaway to Gatlinburg with 10 of my best friends. It's amazing what a little warm weather and beautiful scenery can do. My spirits were instantly lifted. We were lucky enough to be able to hike on Saturday. We found a wonderful trail that ran along a creek and up into the mountain. "Beautiful" doesn't seem to do justice to how fantastic the view was. And of course, I forgot my camera. Doesn't that just figure. The one time you need a camera you don't have it. None the less, tt was exactly what I needed. I returned home refreshed and ready to focus on school work. And even though I am enjoying school I'm counting down the days until summer! It can't come fast enough.