Haircut

My hair was trimmed and relayered yesterday. For future reference, I need to not tell the hairstylist to relayer it. It looks good and it's still long, I just don't like how short the layers are. It makes it difficult (or impossible) to braid which is what I like to do when my hair is long. Here are a couple of pictures from my cell phone camera which basically show nothing. You'll just have to take my word for it.


One bit of good news from getting my hair cut--my hair is in great condition for being so long. She said that usually hair as long as mine is not thick. Yay! It makes sense that my hair is healthy since I don't color it, blow dry it, curl it, or straighten it more than once a year. I brush it a couple times a day and I pull it back with hair ties.

Moved out!

And I'm finished moving out of the old apartment (as of yesterday). Now to wait and see what is removed from my security deposit.

The Bad And The Good

The Bad: The boyfriend and I went to Cedar Point today. We got there early enough to ride Maverick without too much of a wait. Rode some other stuff. Ate greasy fries and rode some more rides. I think you can guess the rest of the story. We came home early after I (ahem) got sick on Raptor (my favorite ride!). I'm still a little out of sorts, mostly just a headache. It was pretty disappointing, but life happens that way sometimes.

After dinner, my brother, mom, boyfriend and I went to Circuit City. I've been considering a new computer for a while since my laptop is nearing the point where it could spontaneously combust and I'd rather buy a computer before then so I don't just rush to the nearest store and get one. I got a new HP and it's AWESOME. It has Vista, so I have to get used to that, but so far I really like it. It's going to be very strange to have a desktop after all these years of a laptop! It's more "computer" than I need, but that's okay with me. Here's hoping it lasts till the end of optometry school!

Tomorrow I'm heading back to Columbus to finish moving out of my apartment. And I'm introducing my mom to Indian food. It ought to be fun!!

Almost moving time!

So is it weird and wrong that I'm ENJOYING packing? Because I love it. I'm also doing an obligatory "get rid of the crap I haven't used since I moved in" so that I don't carry useless shit to the new apartment (which also means clothes, though I could certainly afford to get rid of more clothes--I refuse). As far as packing, my closet is nearly empty, 2/4 cabinets are empty, my medicine cabinet is empty, 7/8 drawers are empty, and my cookbook shelf is all packed up.

I've learned that I need to keep track of the food I buy (I had 3 packages of Hormel pepperoni chilling out in my cabinet) and I need to plan to use what I buy instead of buying just "because". I'm hoping that with a group food bill with my new roommates, food will get eaten up. Such as--I buy a bag of chips and they last me FOREVER. Same with cookies, oatmeal, granola bars, 100 calorie packs, crackers, and candy. Hopefully my roommates will eat the stuff I never seem to finish (one of my roommates is a huge eater and claims he has multiple stomachs, ha!).

I'm a little annoyed that I have to wait till mid-September to move to the new place because by the time we move in, I won't remember what's in each box. I'm trying to combat that by Sharpie-ing the major contents of each one on the outside. It's nice that we have a storage unit, I can pack stuff and move it out so that I have room to pack the next round of boxes.

Basically, moving is thrilling the crap out of me. I can't wait to arrange my stuff in the new place. WHY AM I SO WEIRD?!

(For the first time in a really long time, my comforter and sheets will MATCH. That hasn't happened since I was little!)

List.

~The cruise has morphed into a vacation house in the Keys over Christmas. Which is still very awesome, other than actually spending Christmas day away from my family.

~I realized that recently I've been getting food/stains on my clothes more and more. It's like I'm morphing back into a little kid. Before I know it, the knees and butts of all my pants are going to be worn out!

~I believe that there are little flies residing in my drain. Not "drain flies", but more like tiny gnats. Yuck. At least I've only got 2 more weeks here. 2 weeks!

~We found an indian restaurant with a dinner buffet. SCORE. And it was pretty tasty.

~We also went to the fun pet store again. Birds are growing on me. I will totally get a little cockatoo/cockatiel if I can find one with a good personality that likes being held.

~I've decided that if I can make the room/convince my roommates that it's a good idea, I want a 10-gallon fish tank in the new apartment. It would be aesthetically pleasing! Especially with fun colorful fish!

~I'm making dinner for a bunch of friends tomorrow. I'm pretty excited because it's a meal that's usually a winner.

~My boyfriend bought a Wii recently and it's my new favorite thing to do when hanging out with people.

Moving Up.

So there's this show on TLC called Moving Up. It has an interesting premise, but I'm surprised by people's reactions! On the episode I watched yesterday, the family that was coming back to look at the home was horrified. One of the girls even said "I want to burn it down". Now surely, they knew that a home that was still stuck in the 70s (outdated kitchen and orange shag carpet) was going to change in the hands of a new owner!

I know that I'm going to be sentimental when my family finally moves from our current home...but to be upset at the new owners for making it theirs? What's the big deal? That just feels to me like you haven't accepted moving into a new home!

I can understand reactions like this on Trading Spaces when the family still has to live in the home. But on this show the family is out and if in accordance with the title have "moved up" to a better house.

Oh TLC. Some of your shows are awesome (Little People, Big World), while others (What Not to Wear) drive me up a wall. Don't get me started on Stac(e)y and Clinton. Argh!

Weekend of Fun

This weekend was my boyfriend's parents' 25th anniversary party. We headed down to Cincy late Thursday night. Friday was spent buying large amount of the food we needed and making food. On Saturday, my boyfriend and his brothers decorated the hall (with the help of their two aunts and an uncle) while I ran errands with his mom and finished more food preparation (my killer cheesy potatoes, buffalo chicken dip, and Chex muddy buddies).

All in all the party was a success and a lot of fun. I rode a motorcycle for the first time ever with my boyfriend's cousin and it was AWESOME (even if it was just the parking lot of the church). Found out that I may be going on a Christmas cruise with his family (that would be a grand total of 23 people in our party!) that would be paid for other than airfare to get there (Florida, I assume), alcohol, and excursions. I am really excited and I hope it comes through! It would be a Christmas of firsts! My first time on my first time flying, my first cruise and my first time on true foreign soil (Canada hardly counts!). Eeee!

In other news, we spent several hours swimming yesterday thus I am sunburned today. It stinks!

Chipotle

It never fails. Chipotle (the Mexican Grill, not the smoked jalapeños in adobo sauce) enters my mind and I am compelled to go get a burrito. It's just so danged good! My ideal burrito is rice, pinto beans, black beans, chicken, mild salsa (pico de gallo), corn salsa, lettuce, cheese, and sour cream.

So...what food cravings are you powerless to resist?

And speaking of chipotle (the jalapeño), I once made a very very delicious chipotle glaze that went over chicken breasts. It was like a barbecue sauce with spice. I should make that again sometime. Come September my culinary prowess will exert itself more strongly as I will have a REAL kitchen at my disposal. September 16th just can't get here soon enough!

I think perhaps thinking about food takes up too much of my time. Crap. And I don't even watch Food Network that much anymore!

Satisfied.

I think the most satisfying quick dinner for me is pasta with a little butter, freshly grated parmesan cheese, and freshly ground black pepper. Delish.

I have nothing else to post these days. Classes are good but monotonous. Summer is winding down (oh dear...).

French Onion Soup

French onion soup has been one of my favorite soups for a very long time. I try to order it at every restaurant that has it, and it's one of those soups that can taste vastly different from one place to another. I think my favorite is at Red Robin.

Today I was craving some, and instead of driving all the way to RR, I decided I'd give it another try making it at home. I used this recipe from Rachel Ray since she usually promises to be pretty easy. I've made french onion soup before for my family (with a different recipe), and while it turned out good, it was very sweet. And the batch I made tonight is good, but sweet. I need to try it again with a different onion--I used Vidalia this time which I know are sweet. I made a substitution of white wine (Chardonnay) for the dry Sherry, so that may be a way to improve it as well.

Anyone have a good recipe for french onion soup? Or any idea how to make it less...sweet?