Anybody want a kitten?

To quote my roommate "Are you blogging? It's 2 in the morning" :)

I'll go to bed in a minute. First, does anyone want a kitten? They're at my parents' house and my dad...well, let's just say that he's tired of being a jungle gym for kittens.

They're free.... :)

PS--There is a conspiracy by a certain someone who shall remain nameless to hide one of these fluffballs in a certain apartment. Any tips on how to pull that off?

He's Cute

Really cute :) Now, if we can just start taking pictures together.

Cookin' and Cheatin'

I'm such a slacker, aren't I? I'm down to posting once a month...Boo on that.

Tried something new today--the Pumpkin Smash Smoothie at Jamba Juice. If you like pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin ice cream, or just things that are orange, you gotta try it out. Excellent!

In other news, I'm a cheater at making "Homemade" Chicken Noodle Soup. But cheating tasted really, really good. And resulted in a really hearty, full-of-stuff soup. Here's the recipe (Which is long because I can't shut up and make it simple):

Jen's Cheatin' Chicken Noodle Soup

1 Bag Bearcreek Chicken Noodle Soup Mix(I think it's called Bearcreek, it's the bag with the green border)
1 or more chicken breasts
Stalk of celery
1/4 cup or less of diced onion
Egg noodles--About 2 cups
1 cup or more chopped baby carrots
Chicken bouillon (powder works best)

So, to start this off, go dig through your kitchen cabinets to find a respectable-sized pot. It should be able to fit it over your head. Assuming you don't have an extraordinarily large head. If that's the case, test your pot out on a random stranger. I'm sure they'll appreciate it. Especially if you bang the pot with spoons while it's on their head...

I'm digressing, as usual! You will also need a small Pyrex dish or other pan. It doesn't need to be too big, because you're only putting your chicken and carrots in this dish. After you've got those two ingredients mingling, you can sprinkle on your favorite poultry seasoning or whatever. Mix up a cup or two of chicken stock from your bouillon (1 cup hot water+1 tbsp bouillon) and pour it over the chicken, then pop the whole thing in the oven at 350 for, oh, I don't know 30-40 minutes. You just need to make sure everything gets cooked and nice and juicy and yummy.

So while the chicken is in the sauna, dice up your celery and onion and throw them in a small skillet with a little butter. Saute till the onions start to get a little clear, then stick the pan somewhere out of the way. Preferably where you won't burn yourself on it. Because that would not be fun. For you at least. Roommates and family members tend to think it quite hilarious.

Go and chill awhile while you're waiting on the chicken. Watch an episode of The Office or somethin'. When the chicken is done, pull it out, let it cool, then dice it up in bite-size chunks. While you're waiting on it to cool, find that head-sized pot again and fill it with eight cups of water and put it on high heat till it boils. Dump in your diced chicken, the carrots and leftover stock that you cooked the chicken in, the celery and onions, and the soup mix. Let it all boil together for about 3-4 minutes, then dump in as many egg noodles as you want. Boil together for 6-10 minutes, or until everything is tender. The noodles from the soup mix take a little longer to cook, so make sure you check them, the egg noodles, and the dried veggies that were in the soup mix.

That's it! You're done!YAY!

And yes, I am avoiding doing my homework :)

Oh, dearie....

Ever had those times when something so wonderful comes into your life, then everything else falls apart, but it's all okay 'cause you've still got that something so wonderful?

Yeah, a few weeks ago my radiator hose slipped off, all the fluids spilled out, and the beast, my wonderful, faithful baby beast, overheated. I got lucky and a friend of a friend (oh, Mallory, how I love that you know everyone) made everything good again. Then, Sunday, the driver's side ball-joint dropped out of my car entirely. That is a nasty sound, by the way. Scared me to death. Thanks to a friend, I got a free tow (I'm joining AAA now) and the mechanic was speedy and efficient. So I've got my baby back :)

And now I'm back in school again. Can I just say...BOOO! Not that I don't love the learning process and everything, but ohmigosh, does it ever end? The break between summer and fall semester was no where near long enough. Goodness! I have two classes over novels, one over grammar, and one over child development. So it's a guarantee that I will be reading over 15 novels and most of two textbooks. Good thing that I've always been a bookworm.

So yeah, School=BOO!, my car has had some issues, some other things you don't need to hear me whine about have happened, and yet it's all okay.

I've still got that something so very wonderful.

Life {Smiles}

That grin always makes me smile--which is saying something, considering that I'm stuck in the middle of midterms and papers that never end...

I'm supposed to be writing an 8-10 page paper. I don't want to. At all. So I"m doing this instead.

Share--using one word

It’s harder than you think!! Here is what you are supposed to do…and please don’t spoil the fun…copy and paste into your own note, type in your answers and tag a bunch of people - including me.

Where is your cell phone? belly
Hair? curled
Your father? sweet
Your favorite thing? chocolate
Your dream last night? work
Your favorite drink? milk
Your dream/goal? relaxation
The room you are in? living
Your fear? opossums
Where do you want to be in 6 years? settled
Muffins? good
One of your wish list items? money
Where you grew up? Ohio
The last thing you did? mani/pedi
What are you wearing? jeans
Your TV? on
Your pets? fish
Your computer? overworked
Your life? stressful
Your mood? brat
Missing someone? yes
Your car? Mustang
Favorite store? Forever21
Your summer? sunny
Your favorite color? blue
When is the last time you laughed? now
Last time you cried? january
Three people who email me? dad, BYU, facebook
Three of my favorite foods? steak, cheesecake, bread
Three things I would like to be? done, relaxed, and painting

Life {Bryson}

Why doesn't my brother live closer? Seriously, this little nephew would come in handy right now--I miss him. I can't believe he's already 6 months old...and looking more and more like Chris all the time.

Life {I'm No Van Gogh}

But I certainly keep trying. My current assignment for class is a charcoal self--portrait. Have you ever been forced to stare at a picture of your own face for what feel like forever? I mean seriously, I had no idea that I have a freckle on my neck until after I started this assignment.

It's 11 o' clock and I promised myself that I would finish this assignment tonight. Bah. No wonder Van Gogh cut off his own ear--it was totally a deadline issue.

I'm not even allowed to use my blending stumps. This is the first time I've gotten a third of a charcoal project done without getting it on my face. No, seriously....no charcoal. Yet.

Me and this kid--we could totally be best buddies.

(Although, as I was leaving art class a few weeks ago, a cute guy pointed out to me that I had pencil on my face. Honestly, that's the only time that guys ever notice me!)

Life {Lazy}

Well, as it turns out, I can only hit the snooze button on my alarm clock so many times before it just shuts off. Peachy. So I'm skipping three classes today because I didn't get up early enough to finish my homework or study for quizzes. Unfortunately, I'm still going to my night art class....I love art and everything, but I just don't want to do it tonight. Grr.

5 Sets of 8

Post rules on your Blog
Answer the 6 "8" Items (Mine aren't in any order)
Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving them a comment.

8 Favorite TV Shows
1. The Office
2. Big Bang Theory
3. Pushing Daisies
4. House
5. Hell's Kitchen
6. CSI: Las Vegas
7. George Lopez Show
8. According to Jim

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. Sketched
2. Wrote an entry for a Grammar Usage Dictionary (Milkshake, haha. Long story)
3. Worked
4. Went to class
5. Watched a ton of Jim Gaffigan on Youtube
6. Made fun of the tv show Veronica Mars
7. Had an Icee/Slushie/Whatever you call them
8. Did laundry

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. My couches being replaced! Seriously, it's like sitting on a diving-board right now
2. Going back to the mall to get the perfume that I just realized I really, really like.
3. Making cookies
4. A bubble bath in the near future
5. Going to the movies with the roomies later tonight :)
6. Graduating
7. Going for a swim
8. Seeing my nephew again

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Grand Finale!
2. Generations
3. Steak and Shake
4. Wendy's
5. O'Charley's
6. Pizza Hut
7. Demae (haha, but it's not exactly for the food, but the people I'm with)
8. TGI Friday's (Again, not exactly for the food. I'm all about my peoples :) )

8 Things on My Wish List
1. New blue jeans (Old ones are getting too loose :( )
2. A belt
3. Another pair of stiletto heels (lol, some of you know why)
4. An oil change (I still haven't taken my car in...)
5. A better organization system for my room
6. Cookie's 'n Cream Ice cream...because I accidentally bought Chocolate Chip instead
7. I second Sarah--I need a massage so bad!
8. A better idea of what I'm going to do with the rest of my life...