Three Years of Goals

A little while back I stumbled upon a website called Day Zero project.  This website challenges users to create a list of 101 goals to be completed within 1001 days (roughly around three years).  I love making goals and constantly make to do lists so I'm giving it a shot.  I have several goals already and I'm continuing to work on my list as I come up with more.  You can view my continuing list here;
http://dayzeroproject.com/user/Beckafly



^This was shot at a local park I walk to when I want to study and its pretty out.  I love going on walks and often they inspire me to do greater things.  I'm a very daydreamy person so a lot of inspiration comes from quiet/personal time, but also from being involved.  I love raquetball for the same reason.  I'm also an ambitoius person so my mind continues to be a place where the gears are working.  I'm pretty excited to get this list completed and see how fast it goes.  Some will be easier (like making Tiramisu) and others may take some time (traveling).  I found this quote the other day and I think it sums things up nicely;



"Live life each day to the fullest and plan for the next 100 years" C.S. Lewis


I have a thousand plans, a difference to make and I'm answering my call =)

A pretest meal

I had one of my teacher licensing exams yesterday at 12:30.  Wanting to go in feeling awake and alert when I went in, I prepared a meal to keep me alert and productive;

I've been playing around with tuna salads lately to see which ones work best.  This one was made with 1/2 teaspoon of dill weed, 1/2 teaspoon of onion salt, 4 chopped pickles and 1/8 teaspoon of mayo.  I didn't have a lot on hand, but it still came out tasting great as the lettuce, cabbage and carrots added to it.

Yummy grapes and some wheat pretzels.  I love when grapes are in season.  My grandmother and I made some grape juice the other week with some of ours.  It was dry this year meaning grapes did really well even if most others didn't do so hot. 

An Apple volia for after the test!  3 hour tests are very draining and while I could get some coffee, an apple works even better and keeps you awake longer too. 

An Amazing Blondie Recipe

My brothers birthday was yesterday and to celebrate I decided to make him an amazing Blondie recipe I found.  He loved it and quickly ate 1/5 of it!   I don't eat many sweets and I found it to not be overly sweet and just right. 

Note:  I doubled this recipe and HIGHLY recommend doubling it.

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1/3 cup butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup -1 cup of chocolate chips (as desired)

 

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).

2) Measure out flour and sift into bowl.  Add in Baking Soda, Baking Powder and salt and sift again.  If you want to add walnuts, add them here.  Mix well.  Keep mixture in a seperate bowl.

3) In bowl, melt 1/3 butter.  Add 1 cup of firmly packed brown sugar and mix well.  If you sub butter with shortening, add a tablespoon of hot water.

4)  In seperate bowl, add egg and vanilla.  Blend well.  Add to brown sugar/butter mixture and mix all well.

5) Add flour mixture gradually to it.  Stir it in and repeat until all flour as been combined.  Mix it all together and add in chocolate chips.  You may want to save some chocolate chips til the end.

6) Spread in a glass bowl 9X9X2 pan.  If mixture was doubled (recommended) use a large pan/dish.  If chips still remain, pour them on top and spread.

7) Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes if using original recipe.  If recipe doubled, bake for 30-40 minutes.  Wait a few minutes and serve warm.

-If you have them, strawberries, carmel sauce or vanilla ice cream go great on warm blondies.

Star Trek Pizza Cutters? Star Wars Cookie Cutters?

I love to cook and bake and I can be a bit of a nerd/geek.  My roommates boyfriend actually showed this one to me from thinkgeek.com;

 

Yeap, the enterprise is now a pizza cutter!  It's retailing for $25 currently at thinkgeek.com.  It's not a bad price though it's one of those things I'd wonder how much I'd use it.  I love pizza (veggie and Hawaian), but I don't know if I'd eat it enough to buy one.  Now those Star Wars Cookie Cutters on the other hand I think I know enough geeks to warrant a purchase (plus it's Star Wars, what's not to like). William-Sonoma has them for $20 so these might be added to my wishlist.