I Love Salad.

That's my salad. I'm trying to eat as much food as I can before next Tuesday that will be "perished" when I return home from VOLLEYBALL NATIONALS!!! Yea yea yea! I'm so excited! Anyway, I'm pretty impressed with the colors I had available, because I'm getting low on variety. A Wal Mart run is tempting, but I will be strong.
Ingredients: Cabbage, apple, fetta, sesame seeds, yellow peppers, half an egg, unsalted dry-roasted peanuts, dried apples, and some vinaigrette. DELISH.

PUMPKIN EVERYTHING

(Me killing the ball. Or... actually I'm just tipping that one.)

It's official. I'm obsessed. I love anything and everything made with pumpkin. It is a flavor that I cannot and will not resist, no matter how late at night it is. Last night, my good friend, Jessi Gibbons shared with me her amazing idea to make a pumpkin ice cream pie. PERFECT. I'm in. So as soon as we got back from our tri match against Sweet Briar (and all girls school... who would go to an all girls university??) and Randolph College (oh, we swept them both, by the way), we headed on an adventure to find some pumpkin ice cream. Since wal mart did not have any pumpkin ice cream we went to Sweet Things in Lexington to buy a quart or whatever we needed. They were conveniently out. (We still taste tested Ginger and Cinnamon Graham ice cream, of course... delish!) So we went to Alexander's in B.V. They were really nice when they found out we were making a pie with it and sold us the rest of the tub of ice cream for 5 bucks. SAWEET! Here's what it looked like:

Ice cream pie is easy, because all you do is let the ice cream melt a little bit so that you can smooth it around into a pie crust, then freeze it. Then we put whipped cream on top with some pretty ginger cookies I found (not ginger snaps, although that would be good too). Jessi is a pure genius. PLUS, she taught us this amazing "Whipped Cream Game": spray a dollop on your left hand (if you're right handed), slap your wrist with your right hand, launch the dollop up in the air, and catch it in your mouth. SOOO fun and HILARIOUS. My first try was successful, but on my second try, I didn't launch it high enough and..... ya:

Then Shanny bo Banny called me and we chatted. Of course we talked about food for the majority of our 25 minute conversation. Somewhere in there she told me about the pumpkin pancakes she made from Natalie Fairboure's Blog (http://hobblecreekkitchen.blogspot.com/ ) I like to make breakfast on Sunday mornings, and so I made them this morning. Of COURSE. No words can explain the heavenly taste that was in my mouth. I'm stuffed, but there is nothing I want more in my mouth right now than these pumpkin pancakes. Oh, I like this recipe because it's based on a basic home made pancake mix. Alterations I made: I put 1/2 cup rolled oats in the pancake mixture instead of using oat flour, used half the sugar, and didn't use the butter. THESE ARE MY FAVORITE.
DIVINITY

(I'm super happy to have a happy pumpkin pancake with soy milk)
p.s. top this with buttermilk syrup, not maple.

And the other pumpkin recipe: I have made this twice this month(that's saying a lot, because usually when I a legit dinner, I have to eat it again and again for lunch and dinner for almost a week. HAHA). It's called Pumpkin Turkey Chili (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pumpkin-turkey-chili/detail.aspx) I like this web site because at the bottom of all the recipes, people comment on what they changed and if it was good etc. My comments would be: Don't accidentally put sour cream in the concoction. Smoked chicken is a good alternative to turkey, for those of you who have a freezer FULL of chicken breasts (ME), add any and all veggies, ie red, yellow, orange peppers, celery, zucchini, yellow squash, probably even potatoes, if you don't mind adding carbs to your already EXTREMELY LOW CARB dinner. And I added tofu, because I love it. Stuff like that. Also, add seasoning. It needs it. Like... nutmeg, ginger, allspice, ground cloves, cinnamon - ?, I dunno, whatever is good with pumpkin. It's low fat, low carb, has lots of protein, and it's full of veggies. Perfect! Make it. Tonight. Then comment. Please.
Sorry I don't have a picture, the stuff looks like orange/brown poopie. But I assure you, it's great.

Next pumpkin recipe I will make:

Pumpkin rice pudding
Ingredients:
• 1 cup leftover rice
• 3 cups whole milk
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 3/4 cup canned or mashed pumpkin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• cinnamon or whipped topping and pecans for garnish, optional
Preparation:
In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, combine the rice, 3 cups of milk, and brown sugar. Cook, stirring, until the mixture begins to boil and is thick and creamy.
Meanwhile, combine the pumpkin with vanilla, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and salt. When the rice is done, remove from heat and stir in the pumpkin mixture. Cover and refrigerate until serving time. To warm the pudding, stir in about 1/2 cup of milk or half and half and warm over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Serve with a sprinkling of cinnamon and brown sugar, or top with a dollop of whipped cream or whipped topping and chopped pecans and chopped dried cranberries.
Serves 4 to 6. Serve in a baby pumpkin.

....Or maybe these cookies: (they're Suzanne's sister in law's:)
Pumpkin Cookies – Amy
(Bake 375 10-12 min)
1 c shortening
1 c sugar
1 c. pumpkin
Cream together and add 1 beaten egg

Blend in dry ingredients:
2 c. flour
1 tsp soda
1tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt

Frosting: heat together the following:
3 tbsp butter
4 tsp milk
½ c. brown sugar
¾ tsp vanilla
1.c powdered sugar

Homecoming

Homecoming was sweet! I love love loved seeing Suzanne and Nelson and the babe... even if it was only for a few hours! We had a great time chatting and dining at the "Livery Inn". Weird name, awesome food. Or at least I thought so.

And then the dance. I was surprised at how fun it was. They played like... all my favorite songs. ie Down, VANILLA TWILIGHT, Party In the U.S.A. (I hate to admit that), and others. :) oh, joy. Ok, let's talk about Pary in the U.S.A. I used to hate the song. I thought it was sooo annoying. Then my friends started playing it all then time, and then I started to like it. And now it is apparently completely TAKING OVER the city of Provo??? I just don't understand. Why does this song make me want to dance? Why do I get so pumped when they play it during warm ups at a volleyball game???? It's pretty much a lame-ish song. Irregardless (yes, that's a word), I love it. But not as much as Vanilla Twilight. Picture: (The theme was "Black and White, so I took my pictures in b+w... clever, clever, clever me.)

Fall Break

The temple was so great! As I said previously, I've never done baptisms in the Washington D.C. temple before, so it was such a fun experience. I love how HUGE that temple is! It's amazing!


So because of fall break and the temple trip, we only had 3 days of school this week. Buuuutttttttttt, it still felt like a full week. And I'm tired. However, I am so excited to chill with Nelson and Suzanne this weekend! Unfortunately, we have a couple volleyball games in freaking Bristol (3 hours away) which will keep us from all the Homecoming festivities on Saturday :(. We MIGHT be back in time for the dance. Whatever. GIRLS NIGHT (my new favorite thing..... after hot chocolate :) ). ANYWAY, I hunger. I must eat now. Happy weekend.

It's definitely autumn

Last week my roommate's mother sent her an enormous box FULL (literally) of Halloween decorations. It was bomb! I was so excited. So. We decorated. Here's my cute Halloween apartment!

Now all I have to do is plan a party.

Yesterday, I went for a stroll around Lexington/Washington and Lee with my friend. We came across a cute little park, and the BEAUTIFUL performing arts center. Photos:

You can tell it's getting cold because of the colors of the leaves and because I'm wearing my winter coat.
Speaking of winter....... Winter is cold. I DO NOT LIKE BEING COLD. And it's pretty much freezing already. Oh that's so perfect, because I don't live in the Lofts anymore where I could turn the heat up as high as I wanted and not be charged for it. Instead, I now live in an apartment where I must pay for heating. Therefore, it is not uncommon to see me in multiple layers on any given day in... OCTOBER? Something is wrong here.....
(no, I did not dress up just for the picture. I was really wearing this.)
I do like it when it's chilly during the day when the sun is shining though... that's always nice. But rare.
Today is a good day because it's "fall break", and there's no school. Tomorrow we don't have school either, because it's temple service day! I can't wait. I've never done baptisms in the Washington D.C. Temple before!! :)

Ok. Sometimes I just get irritated. With everything. And everybody.... if you know what I mean. ;) Anyway, in my attempt to vent, I am going to create a list of things that irritate me, and add to it

Lame movies with terrible plots (ie All About Steve, Juno, and almost any movie made nowadays)

People who say "I like all kinds of music!" No. You need to be specific. You must have a preference. Telling me that you like all kinds of music pretty much tells me nothing about you. Sorry.

Snoopy people who ask nosy questions.

People who feel entitled to eavesdrop on my conversations. It's bad enough when they try to make it seem like they're not, but even worse when they're open about being in your conversation and make comments from a different room when you're clearly not talking to them.

Being told what to do.

Immature and/or W-E-I-R-D people.

Getting caught in a spider web!! (Possibly in the top 10 funniest things OTHER people do)

I hate it when you have so much to say to your coach, but you know you can't talk back simply because it's your coach, and... well, let's face it: you want playing time.

This list will be added to. Please feel free to comment and leave your thoughts on things that irritate you. Don't judge me for this post. I just had to put it out there. Also, I would like to add that I have been completely and entirely addicted to animal crackers recently.

Sunday Morning :)

The best Sunday mornings are the ones when you wake up and know that you have the whole day to relax. I LOVE that. So this week, Josh and I decided to make waffles and eggs for breakfast. Not only was it relaxing, but it was also extremely delish. I couldn't resist a photo:
And then we read this creepy story called "A Rose For Emily" from my Seagull Reader. It was about a wealthy old woman with long grey hair who killed her lover with rat poison when they were like 30. She never left her house after that, and then after she died, they found the man's dead body in the upstairs bed.... and a long grey hair on the other pillow. So basically, she slept with a dead man every night. It was slightly disturbing.

For my 2-D Design class, we had an awesome assignment this past weekend. It was based on letters, and combining them together to create a design. I never really thought about this before we started working with letters, but letters are really, very beautiful. They are so symmetrical and just overall pleasant to look at. I debated between two designs, but decided to turn in the "gJO" design for my final product.

I wish we were doing more projects with letters and photoshop and such, but we are moving on to other things. :( I love you, sisters. Mucho mucho. And thank you for reading my blog. :)

New Favorite Dinner!

So as I scrambled for a quick dinner tonight, I came up with the brilliant idea to top some rice with Italian salad dressing. It was AMAZING!!! And then I warmed that up with a smoked chicken breast that grandpa smoked for me at the ranch before i came to SVU.... yummo. It was so divine. Please try it. I was in too much of a hurry to take a picture though, so I'm sorry... no visual.
I decided that I'm going to be Barbie for halloween. I'm super excited! Next step: the perfect outfit. Shan suggested my black pencil skirt with a silky pink shirt, huge hair, loads of makeup etc. Love it. I feel like I need something sparkly. Now, although GLITTER IS WHAT I LIVE FOR... my wardrobe is lacking in that area. :( Inspire me! And let THIS inspire YOU:

p.s. for the record, my casket and tombstone have to be sparkly and I have to be covered in glitter. ok sistas? Let this also inspire you:

September 23

Yes, I have loads to do, but I must take the time to do an update. Ok. Here are some baked french fries I made last week for my team (3 potatoes doesn't make a whole lot, ps):
Now. Volleyball is good, but also frustrating because there are a lot of young girls that don't seem to have the same "passion to win", if you will. It's fun, irregardless. These are some of the girls and I have a stellar time in the van!
Also, this is my sweet bruise:
It was so fun to have Mom, Suz and Dara come last weekend watch us play some volleyball!! Colton is the illest. I love you all and miss you. As always, check facebook for more pictures. :)

Today is the day. A momentous and historical day. I have 1. Begun my senior year at Southern Virginia University. and 2. Recommitted to updating and keeping a blog. I'm excited. I think that the "first day of school" thing inspired me to do so. It's a time of new beginnings... and you know what? WHY NOT? So. Get ready, all of you soon to be loyal "Golden Delicious" blog readers!
Pictures are always necessary, so here are some cool ones:
The First is of a few of the new girls on the volleyball team, the other is of some friends and I on our first Sunday back, and the last is a picture I took of the sky last Sunday. Pretty!