Fire drills in college?

Oh what a great sound that treacherous alarm made tonight!

"There is an immediate fire threat in the building. Please evacuate immediately."

Yep right smack dab in the middle of class.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

So as we are filing out of the building like cattle awaiting the auction pen, murmurings of "is this for real?" starts happening.

All of my classmates, who are school counselors, were reporting to everyone that they need to stand in a straight line, face the building, and no talking. HAHAHA! All we needed were green and red cards to hold up to show we made it out of the building safely.

So we stand there in the cold with all of our things. About 20 minutes later, our professor said "Let's just call it a night."

You don't have to tell me twice. Shortly after that the police officer came out and said building is clear and it's safe to go back inside.

What? I didn't hear anything! And apparently neither did my friends who were dancing and singing (literally) to their cars.

Hooray for an hour class as opposed to three.

So now I've been home relaxing. I have not cooked dinner (thank you the ever delicious Taco Bell!). Nor have I decorated my Christmas tree. I'm thinking we might go with the au natural look this year. Evergreen and lights! Start the tradition with me! But I am about to watch Modern Family we recorded last week with my sweet family. Ahh how I love my hubby and puppy!

Ready Set Go!

It's so hard to gear myself up back for work after a nice relaxing week of coughing and spitting up all my gross sickies. I am still sick. It stinks. Oh yah and my poinsettia that I paid way too much due to a school fundraiser, "hey it's for the kids" is dying. Aren't those like aloe vera plants? I'm pretty sure I'm killing it. The leaves are all curling and stuff. I'm so good at plants.

Tomorrow night is my second to last grad school class. Three hours of pretending to listen while I construct all of my lists. Tomorrow my lists will include...

"Things to do at school"
"Things to do at home"
"Things to do to prepare the house for Christmas"
"Things to bake for gifts"
"People to buy gifts for" -why am I the only person not done with Christmas shopping?
"Things to cook for the next week"
"Reasons Penny rocks"
"Reasons Mopac would win America's Next Top Dog"
"Things Randy should buy me because he loves me." :)

You know, a typical lists of lists to be made.

Oh yah and I'll turn in my project (which will undoubtedly be completely wrong!) My professor is obsessed with us doing corrections. This class is pass/fail! What happens if I don't correct it? Can't you just say "Oh it's their last class. They've accumulated close to 50 hours of graduate work. I'm going to let them graduate without having to redo my assignments to the standards I have set that even Jean Piaget and Sigmund Freud couldn't achieve if they were still alive." (Insert evil laugh here)

grr...almost done! I can't wait to wear that silly hood! Bring it correction lady!

HEB is a no Go!

How many grocery carts can fit down the baking aisle?



Stay away from the grocery store. People are plum crazy. They've got turkeys and fried onions dancing in their eyes. I went in to grab a couple of things I forgot. Next year, I'll try extra hard to remember. I told one woman with much sarcasm, "Isn't this fun!"

Hey I tried to lighten the air. She had that, "I'm going to run over your big toe with my full basket" look.

And just a little tip for all you hard going late shoppers, we are all in a hurry. There's no need to charge forward with your full basket, toddlers falling out, and samples in hand. I appreciate those samples, but can't we pick a better time to taste test off brand potato chips? Just steer your cart and stay out of my way. I'll stay out of your way. This could all be solved if grocery carts had blinkers.

Blessed

With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, it's a great opportunity to reflect over the many blessings I have in my life.

1) That I have a personal relationship with Christ. That I can talk to Him like he's sitting at Starbucks with me, and I know He hears me. Even if something doesn't happen or change, I know that He is working in my life. That He is in complete control, and I am hopelessly and utterly lost without Him guiding me.

2) I'm married to my best friend. I found the love of my life early, and while everyday isn't rosy or peaches and cream (hello, it's marriage! it's not suppose to be rosy every stinkin' day.) I know that he loves me for me. I am so blessed to have someone who cares for me and encourages me every day.

3) My family! I adore my parents and brother. They make me smile and scratch my head all at the same time. (hello, it's your family! They are not suppose to make sense every stinkin' day.) I also have amazing in-laws. I'm lucky to be loved by so many people. They are my friends as well as my family.

4) My friends are amazing. I know that at the sound of their cell phone, they'd drop everything for me. They post blog comments for me to get excited about, meet me at Mesa Rosa, embark on weird Austin festivals with me, and chat with me about nothing on the phone. I'm lucky to have such loyal and fun friends.

5) Mopac!!!! I'm so blessed to have such a sweetie pie to greet me with a wagging tail everyday. I love, love, love her.

6) My job. I'm thankful to have a job in which I enjoy (most days;) in this economy.

7) My education. Master's degree in 3 weeks! Whoo hooo!

8) My health. And amazing doctors to help get my hormones right on track. Randy appreciates this too;)

9) Common Sense. I think this is overlooked in today's society.

10) A sense of humor. It's important to be able to laugh at yourself and not take life so seriously. Randy helps me with this one for sure!

Hope you have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving!

Disgusting

Everyone I know loves turkey. We are all on board for Thursdays' feast. Yes! Fried turkey here I come. My parents bake a turkey and fry one as well. Now you know where I get this cooking obsession from.

Turkey should be left as turkey. The white meat that you carve up or find sandwiched between two slices of bread.

And not in bacon. I know so many people who love, love turkey bacon. "Oh Penny you can't even tell the difference. And it's so much better for you."

Right, I get it. So when HEB offer a coupon...buy this, and get turkey bacon free, I took them up on it.

I should have given my free bacon to a bum. It was disgusting. It even looks yuck. Picture shoe leather. Well I crisped some up. I did appreciate that my house didn't reek from the odor. The reason, there's no grease. I can't say I appreciate that. The reason bacon is so good is because it's unhealthy.

Well we gave it a go. We both couldn't even finish one slice. It was wafer yuck! I'm throwing away the whole package. I think I'll stick to the good stuff.

I think this has squashed any future attempts to try ground turkey. "You can't tell the difference." Ummm I'll stick to my ground hamburger meat. My daddy is so proud right now.

Of Course

I'm so thankful that I'm on vacation. Nine days off from school sounds amazing. I had so many amazing things planned for next week. I'm getting my eyes checked. I hate dilation and that dreaded question they ALWAYS ask you, "Do you need sunglasses?"

Even though my eyes are on fire, I will not take those grandma inspired plastic glasses that cover 90% of my face. "No thank you."


It's also a given that whenever I'm on a break from school, I get sick. It never fails. Every stinking vacation, I get this nasty cold that won't go away. Well, today I'm getting the first signs of a nasty head cold. My throat burns every time I swallow. It's completely appropriate since today is day 1 of relaxation.

Disinterested could be my middle name right about now. I'm so blah about so many things. I don't even enjoy reading anymore. Gasp, I know! I've been on chapter 2 of my new book all week long.

I even asked Randy how upset would he be if we didn't decorate for Christmas this year? What is wrong with me? But this Grinch just sees it as a ton of work. Since we are going to Denver this Christmas break, it feels even more daunting because I'll be putting up decorations once we're back in school (who am I kidding, I'll probably be putting up decorations sometime around Valentine's Day). Hopefully the bah humbug spirit will leave, and I'll get some jolly spirit back.

Don't get me wrong, I'm pumped about other upcoming Holidays. Like the one that involves stuffing...and pecan pie...and fried cajun turkey...and green bean casserole...and broccoli cheese rice. Man, I can't wait for Turkey Day.

I hope you have an amazing week of family, fun, and praises for your blessings.

meetings

I was in meetings ALL...DAY...LONG!!!

Lucky for me that Snapple drinks include cool facts under the lids.

Did you know that honeybees have hair on their eyeballs?

You can thank my meetings and my inability to pay attention longer than 5 minutes for that interesting fact!

Weekend Recap

Randy and I had a fun and busy weekend! Friday night we went to Chuy's for dinner with our usual Friday night dates. Hooray for great friends! What better way to end your week than with creamy jalapeno dip?

Saturday Randy and I tackled some totes in the garage. Well he tackled them, I was busy making cupcakes and dip for the non-longhorn watching party. I also treated myself to these...





Because sometimes a girl just needs a pick-me-up!

A group of us got together to distract ourselves from how terrible the Longhorns are this year. The game was on, but I didn't really watch. I wore burnt orange because I'm not a bandwagon fan. Hook'em no matter what, but who couldn't stand to have some distractions when we're playing this year? Yikes, we are terrible. It's so hard to admit that because we haven't been terrible for so long. See that pride just doesn't go away;)


Today we just relaxed and watched football. I made a trip to the mall. Boy did I immediately regret that decision. It's a winter wonderland out there. People are nuts already. I think I need to start buying gifts online. It's a jungle out there.


Highlights of the day...

1) my soup!


Classic, homemade chicken noodle soup is just what you need on a cloudy, cold day. It was fantastic. And I practically followed the recipe to a "T."

This was my first time to make chicken noodle soup. And to tell you the truth I'm quite proud of myself.

I did do a minor recipe detour. And I think it was for the best. The recipe called for parsnips. I'm not going to lie. I omitted these because I have no idea what a parsnip is. I know it's in the produce section, but Randy isn't exactly a vegetable lover. He complained about the cooked carrots. How on earth was I going to get away with parsnips?






Look how proud I am. I took two pictures of our fabulous dinner.



Let me point out to you Randy's favorite part of dinner.

It's the cup. I know. Who would count that as your favorite? But he even ran over to his place mat right before I snapped the picture. He wanted to adjust his retro Astro cup so my blog readers could see it was an old school Jeff Bagwell souvenir cup.

FYI all blog visitors: The cup is a retro Astro cup featuring Jeff Bagwell.

It was the highlight of my dinner as well.

Speaking of more highlights...

Look at my sweet Mopac and her persistence in trying to get her daddy to play with her. His nightly push-up routine is always interrupted by Mopac and her eagerness for someone to throw her toy.





Last thought of the night...
The chorus from one of my new favorite church songs...

I'll stand with arms high and heart abandon.
In awe of the One who gave it all.
I'll stand my soul Lord to You I surrender.
All I am is Yours.

Have a great week!

Soup's On!

Lloyd: "What is the soup du jour?"
Waitress: "It's the Soup of the Day."
Lloyd: "Mmmmm…that sounds good, I'll have that."

Oh that's the best Dumb and Dumber quote!

I love this soup. It's easy, and it tastes just like Olive Garden's version.


Pasta Fagioli

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

* 1 lb ground beef
* 1 cup diced onion
* 1 cup julienned carrot
* 3 stalks celery, chopped (1 cup)
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
* 1 (15 ounce) can red kidney beans (with liquid)
* 1 (15 ounce) can great northern beans (with liquid)
* 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
* 1 (12 ounce) can v-8 vegetable juice
* 1 teaspoon vinegar
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1 teaspoon oregano
* 1 teaspoon basil
* 1/2 teaspoon pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon thyme
* 1/2 lb ditali pasta



Directions:

Prep Time: 15 mins

Total Time: 1 1/2 hrs

1. Brown beef in a large stock pot over medium heat-drain off fat.
2. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic and saute for 10 minutes.
3. Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, and simmer for 1 hour.
4. After 50 minutes boil pasta to al dente.
5. Drain well.
6. Add pasta to the large pot of soup and simmer for 10 minutes.

(Weight Watchers Points for 1 Serving: 7).

Tip: I cook the noodles, drain and store separately in a ziploc bag. I add the cooked noodles to the soup right before serving. If not, the noodles will absorb all of your broth. The longer you have noodles in your soup, the more likely you'll have goulash.

Motley

Wow...things have been happening. And I have not been recording any of it. Sorry blog followers, but energy levels are at an all time low. Tonight I'm definitely crossing off "Blog Post" on my things to do list. Sad, that "blogging" makes my things to do list.

The fall wall is definitely here. I'm so ready for Thanksgiving break.


Many updates:

1) Randy and his softball team are champions of his league. They played last Monday for the glory of saying "we're number 1!" The game started at 9:30 pm, and it ended at 11:40pm.
I know what you're thinking. "How on earth did you manage that long at a baseball event?"
Oh but it was so exciting. It was a great game that ended with a grand slam.

The not so exciting parts were all the delays and injuries. There was a massive delay as we waited for the ambulance to arrive. A guy from the other team broke his ankle as he was sliding into home. Unfortunately, the wives got a front row view of this (and we heard it pop) since we were sitting behind home plate. The guy didn't realize the damage, so he attempted to stand. It was the most gruesome sight to see his ankle completely give out and have his foot just dangling. Ewww!

There was another injury as well that involved numerous stitches. A ball popped up and hit our third baseman in the face. You can imagine my level of delight when Randy took his spot at 3rd.

2) Field trip chaperoning stinks! I attended a field trip with some 8th and 7th graders on Tuesday. We went to visit the campus of UT San Antonio. I was so pumped about our eating options though. Hello, we're in San Antonio. It's a rule that you must eat Mexican food.

You can also imagine my level of delight when we pulled into Red Robin (groan).

Well let me tell you that this trip was one of the most frustrating field trips I've ever been on. Our bus driver was an idiot. I know that sounds harsh, but I couldn't believe the safety of our kids (not to mention me) was in her hands. She actually asked me where Hwy 183 was? Ummm I'm pretty sure that this is a major highway and splits our district in half. How do you not know that?

Other memorable quotes from our fearless yellow dog leader.

"I just hate how they keep throwing all these extra exits everywhere."

"Wait, I need more notice than that to exit." (We were in an exit lane. I gave her at least 3 warnings.)

"I've never been this way before."

"Wow, things have changed since the 80s. That's the last time I've been to San Antonio." (I was born in the 80s).

"I'm so proud of how well we did today." (proud can be interpreted to mean many different things to different people on board)

"They usually don't let me drive on field trips because I get so confused."

Thank you Lord for allowing me to safely return to my car.

3) A huge shout out to all the Veterans out there especially to my favorite Veteran, my dad! My dad was drafted for Vietnam. He was a paratrooper in the United States Army. Thank you for all the men and women who have served and are continuing to serve our country. You are the definition of hero!

Everybody loves parfaits!

Shrek: "NO. Layers. Onions have layers. Ogres have layers. You get it? We both have layers."

Donkey: "Oh, you both have layers. Oh. You know, not everybody likes onions. You know what else everybody likes? Parfaits. Have you ever met a person, you say, 'Let's get some parfait,' they say, 'Hell no, I don't like no parfait?' Parfaits are delicious."



Oh how I love Shrek. Jana and I saw Shrek today at Bass Concert Hall. It was fabulous. The special effects and backdrops were incredible. I loved the dragon under Princess Fiona's castle.

Jana looked so cute in her green top. Why didn't I think to wear green? I'll never be as cool as my friend Jana. She radiates coolness!


gotta go....
must.do.my.homework.
p.s. 7 weeks until Christmas...who's stressed?

LoVe It!

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Romans 15:13

Celebrity encounter

Guess which famous person I met last night?


Hint: a person who has influenced you by making your tummy smile.


I met Mr. Cathy- the son and CEO (chicken executive officer-his joke, not mine) of ChickFilA!

Can you believe it?

I was so pumped.

My awesome friend knows all the right people. She got an invitation to the Austin Customer Appreciation Banquet at the Austin Music Hall. She could invite 3 people. I was one of the chosen ones:)

Oh boy! I was so pumped. I kept telling all my 8th graders. They were so jealous.
Why is ChickFilA so stinkin' good??

Well, there's a reason ChickFilA is not a buffet operating restaurant. And the reason is my pants would not allow it. Wow, did we eat a lot of food last night.

The serving line included spicy and regular chicken sandwiches. The man practically congratulated me when I chose the spicy version. Heck yah I'm not a sissy! And trays and trays of chicken tenders, chicken nuggets, wraps, and brownies. Oh yah, I think they had this thing called fruit. But that was a tad overlooked in the smoorgezborg of food.

Then after you sat down, waiters came around serving additional tenders and nuggets. Oh stop the madness.

I love ChickFilA. It was so great to hear the story and how the mission of the restaurant is centered around honoring God. Thank you Mr. Cathy for helping me like your amazing restaurant a little more.

P.S. Talks are in the works for going internationally. Asians love chicken!

I also scored a goodie bag with a stuffed cow and free coupons.
It was cool, and I'm way cooler now for getting to be in attendance:)

Check it out

Click on the link below to see the prettiest model in the world.

Autographs are negotiable.

http://www.maganslens.com/