Nap Time Buddies

I took a short nap on my lunch time and discovered I had a nap time buddy ❤

Pizza Soup or Fancy Tomato Soup

Oh my goodness ya’all! I made the most delicious dinner last night and had to share it with you! My entire family said they liked it and they are all very specific in what they think is tasty food!

The recipe I based it off of was called pizza soup and I got the idea from this YouTube video:

He lists the recipe he follows in the description if you’re curious. I didn’t follow it exactly, I also tend to be a pinch of that, scoop of this type cook but I will include measurements where I actually know what they are 🙂

Ingredients:
3 red bell peppers, no seeds
1 large onion
Cilantro
1/2 large jalapeño pepper, no seeds
4 jars/cans of 16oz pizza sauce*
1lb Italian sausage
4 cups water
8 Fresh basil leaves
Italian seasoning, dried, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste
Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
Parmesan cheese
Mushrooms
Mozzarella cheese, to taste
Pepperoni, chopped in smallish pieces

Instructions:

Cook the Italian sausage in a pan, like you would if you were browning ground hamburger. While that’s happening throw the red bell pepper, onion, jalapeño, cilantro, and basil in the food processor and make it as close to a liquid as you can. Once the sausage is mostly cooked (or fully cooked whichever is preferred) put the pureed veggies in and let them cook together until it darkens slightly. Add the Italian seasonings, the pepper, garlic powder, and the crushed red pepper flakes. Let it cook a little longer.

Now you’re going to add the 4 cups water. Let everything cook together until the water starts boiling. Add your pizza sauce*, stir until it’s mixed thoroughly. Once it begins to bubble add the Parmesan cheese, Pepperoni and mushrooms. Let for simmer for a half hour, until the mushrooms are cooked or until you’re ready to eat.

My family and I prefer thicker soups, closer to a stew. If you prefer thinner soups add more water until you get the consistency you want.

When you serve add a little mozzarella and garnish with whatever other ingredients you like on your pizza.

*has to be pizza sauce. Don’t use spaghetti. Can be canned, in a jar, and the sizes are flexible. Like very tomato based soups? Use a larger amount. Like less, use a lesser amount.

What do ya’all think? How did yours turn out? Let us know in the comments below!!

**edited for grammar and spelling. I only ever see them once I hit publish, lol!**

30 Before 30 : Magazine

I’ve decided that one of the things on my “30 before 30” list is to make a magazine. At least one issue, perhaps more if I can acquire enough material. I’ve decided on the title (which I reserve the right to change later if I change my mind, lol!) which is SheGeek Magazine. Now I have to figure out what to put in it. What do ya’all think? Leave suggestions in the comments below!! I’ll keep ya’all updated on how it goes!

Arts and Crafts

I think I’m going to start painting again. I used to do a lot of drawing and when I painted I used primarily watercolors. I think I’ll focus on acrylic this time. When I moved to Orange County I had a little bag full of paints and it’s been so long (nearly 3 years) that I don’t know where they are anymore.

I always enjoyed doing art stuff growing up but never took any formal lessons until I was in high-school.. My Mom finally got tired of trying to get me to practice piano. She told me that I could pick the extracurricular activity, she would pay for lessons and I would pay for supplies. So I picked art. I ended up taking lessons with Mrs. Gilbert, a woman from my church at the time. They ended up moving to Arizona several years after I stopped taking lessons. I can neither confirm or deny crying when they went.

I’m not entirely sure why I stopped in the first place. I haven’t painted in years and I think I’m less for it. I’m very out of practice but when I start up again I’ll show you what I’m up to, regardless of whether I think it’s good or not, lol!

What crafty things have ya’all gotten yourselves into? Share in the comments below!

Las Vegas Adventure!

I pretty much spent my Friday, Saturday, and Sunday helping one of my brother in laws move to Vegas. I feel it was a weekend well spent! Well spent and exhausting, lol! That is why this post is so very very late and so very very short :(. To hopefully make it up for you here is a bunny!

General Life Update!

General life update time!

I mentioned in a previous post that Hubby has completed his CNA training and was looking for work. He found some! But he is going to continue to look because while they have said he is their employee he has yet to get any shifts and they show no signs of finding one for him anytime soon. I am very disappointed, I liked this place. I still have slight hope they find something for him before he gets hired somewhere else.

I work for a company that does the technical support for a reservations software. Valentine’s Day is coming up so we have many many restaurants calling in with questions, concerns, and needing changes to their books before the holiday comes around. Valentine’s Day is several weeks away but my whole company is gearing up do to mandatory overtime. We also get calls from the restaurant guests. Most of which are to complain that their restaurant of choice isn’t doing online reservations, or is full, etc. I sometimes have to remind them often that we are the technical support for software and have no control over restaurant policy. Sometimes I have to remind them several times in the same call. Just today I had a woman call complaining that she had made an online reservation and had the restaurant call her to tell her that they had a private event, were sorry but would she like to cancel or reschedule. She called us up. I had the “good fortune” (by which I mean bad luck) to get her. She wanted me to make the restaurant seat her, and her party of 4 other people, for the reservation she was “promised”. I explained to her that we do not promise the reservation, that is up to restaurant policy. We confirm the reservation was made and sent to the restaurant only. She was so angered that we were only the software company she insisted on speaking with a manager, who by the way, told her the exact same thing. I later learned that she had threatened to sue us, etc. Good luck with that, lol! We don’t determine restaurant policy.

This last week I’ve also been busy trying to get transcripts from the three colleges I’ve attended in the last 10 years because I’m going to try again at completing a degree. I was talking with my Hubby and we decided I will try for a Veterinary degree. I’m very excited! I have something like 60 credits just from two transcripts, I’m still trying for the third. That college is making it difficult to get to. I currently don’t have any degrees but with all the classes I’ve taken it should be a goodly dent.

Sorry for the short update but I’ve been really busy this last week 😦 What are some of your general life updates? Comment below!

Web Comics!

I initially got into web-comics because I have a love of art. I started reading one because it was beautiful and then started reading another and now I have quite a list of them. I’m sure those of you that read comics have done something similar. I selected the six that I like the most. I’m not caught up to any of these so my experience with them only goes so far.

http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/ – Manly Guys Doing Manly Things by Kelly Turnbull

This one is my favorite. It has a fun art style and the characters get into great shenanigans! It has time travel, adventure, and mystery! If you were to pick just one of the comics out of my list then I would suggest this one. The author goes through what it would be like for those super macho fictional characters re-entering society.

http://www.schlockmercenary.com/ – Schlock Mercenary by Howard Tayler

One of my friends recommend I start reading this one and then I couldn’t stop. It’s a daily comic and its quite funny. It’s a sci-fi one. Schlock is a sentient blob, traveling the universe, saving it quite a few times, and trying to get paid in the process. The author is part of podcast called “Writing Excuses”. If any of ya’all like to write it’s a helpful listen. At least it was for me anyways :).

http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/index.php – Girl Genius by Phil and Kaja Foglio

This comic is my least favorite in regards to the art work. Having said that it is an excellent comic and I recommend it gets read at some point. It has a strong female main character, romance abounds! Also, mad science. Very fun!

http://www.minnasundberg.fi/ – Redtail’s Dream and Stay Still Stay Silent by Minna Sundberg

This is two comics by the same person. The art in both is very good. Redtail’s Dream is more of a fantasy, delving into myth. Stay Still Stay Silent is a future zombie apocalypse. I haven’t read very far in either but I like them both allot.

http://www.meekcomic.com/ – The Meek by Der-shing Helmer

I want to warn ya’all about this one. It contains nudity, non-sexual in nature, but still, boobs. It is also a dead comic, so to speak. The last time the author updated the comic was November 2012. I’m very sad and I still check it every couple of months because the art and story are amazing. I just want to know what happens!

I hope those of you that are looking for new web-comics have found some you like from my list. Which comics do you like and why? When did you start reading them on a regular basis? Let us know in the comments bellow!

Childhood Superstitions

What kept you up at night as a child? I’m sure that everyone has at least one interesting childhood superstition or belief. I really only have two that I remember with distinction, and my hubby really only had one he could remember. I asked my friends for theirs and got one to several from each of them. I really appreciate that each of my friends were willing to share!

When I was a little girl I used to think that if the fortune cookie didn’t get eaten the fortune wouldn’t come true. The ENTIRE cookie had to be eaten. My sister and I used to trade cookie halves if we liked each others fortunes. I no longer believe that the fortunes will come true, they are more like a fun thing to read now, but I still find myself eating the entire cookie if I like the fortune. One of my friends used to believe that if they kept the fortune slip with them when they left the restaurant it made the fortune invalid.

One of my other childhood superstitions was that I thought that my stuffed animals and dolls would watch me while I was sleeping. I was also afraid that they would judge me but I was too young to know what that particular feeling was at the time. I would turn them away from me, cover them in clothing/blankets, or stash them in the closet. The one exception was a small gray rabbit plushie named Tilly, I slept with her every night. I’m still sad that I no longer have her. A friend told me she used to be extra nice to her stuffed animals, and make others be nice too, so they didn’t come to life and kill any one.

One of my hubby’s childhood superstitions is that if he got any soap in his mouth he would get the runs. Any at all, even the bubbles. His little kid logic was that soap is slippery so would cause everything to slip out. I’m sure that if one were to eat soap they would probably get the runs. Though I’m not willing to test it and I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be because it made your insides slippery :).

Lifting feet while going over bridges to prevent the bridge from falling down, not stepping on cracks so our mother’s backs didn’t break, and holding breath while going through tunnels for wishes seem to be universally held with myself and my friends when I asked around.

Other childhood superstitions my friends gave me were varied. Having feet over the crack between the bed and the wall would cause bad things to happen. Standing in a doorway at midnight may cause you to become haunted. Handing salt to a friend may cause the relationship to become salty, so it is to be placed on the table in front of them. Blessing some one when they sneeze prevents the Devil from taking their soul. Falling stars being aliens and the government/s covering them up. These are just a few of the responses I got when I asked my friends for theirs.

Some of the one’s I found creepy was one of my friend’s Mom would tell her kids if they messed with the mushrooms on the side of the road the fairies that lived there would come get them while they were sleeping and they would have to live the rest of their lives with them in fairy land. One of my other friend’s Mom told one of her grandsons that if he ever wandered away from her in public the clowns would come and suck the flesh from his fingers, leaving only the bones. Per my friend that kid is still terrified of clowns even though he is now an older teenager.

Superstitions run the gamut and I find it really interesting (in a good way!) what people believe and why. We are all very different but I’ve noticed some of our fears and superstitions are the same. I think many childhood superstitions carry over into adulthood. I, of course, cant speak for any carry over for my friends but I refuse to have any dolls or stuffed animals out at night even though I know they are just toys. One can’t take too many precautions.

Book Review – The 100 & Day 21

Genre: Young Adult Sci-Fi

The 100 by Kass Morgan ISBN 978-0-316-23449-8 $10.00US/$11.00CA
Day 21 by Kass Morgan ISBN 978-0-316-23455-9 $18.00US/$20.00CA

I have a guilty confession. I read YA books because I find them easier to read than the regular fiction. I read them when I need something I can complete quickly, easily, and don’t have to think too hard while I’m enjoying the experience. Another, slightly less, guilty confession. I ended up reading both of these books on the same day. All 634 pages of them. I just couldn’t stop myself, I really enjoyed them.

My budget for entertainment reading is pretty low so I went and read reviews on the series before purchasing them on Amazon with a gift card I had received from my employers over Christmas. Allot of the complaints about the books revolved around how the author chooses to write the story from the perspective of 4 different people. 2 girls and 2 boys. I actually really enjoyed this aspect of the book. It gave me the ability to see what life was like from several different perspectives. The author switches from one person to another fairly quickly which I also liked. It didn’t give me enough time to become bored with the one character’s point of view before switching to another and then back again.

Every one starts out on the space station, where humanity has lived for the last several hundred years. Their ancestors were forced into going when Earth’s nations had a war that poisoned the Earth with radiation. The station starts to run out of resources so decides that they will send 100 of their throw away people as guinea pigs to Earth to see if the radiation levels are safe. These happen to be teenage delinquents. What about the imprisoned adults? Well, since those that were imprisoned were wastes of resources they were killed. Then released into space. The underage delinquents were supposed to be re-evaluated and then either pardoned or executed depending on the severity of their crime. Of late though, all were being executed because of the lack of resources. The story starts when the 100 are being sent down to Earth and flashbacks are sprinkled throughout.

The 2 boys are Wells and Bellamy. Wells grew up as the leader’s son and led a somewhat charmed lifestyle. Bellamy grew up in the “slums”. The two girls, Clarke and Glass, were born in the stations “upper class” and both led the same somewhat charmed life as Wells. Glass manages to stay on the station. If I were to tell you anymore I risk giving away too much! You’ll just have to read the books and find out what happens yourself :).

One of my favorite parts of the books was just a paragraph or so long in the second book. Two of the characters are comparing the history they learned regarding the ancestors going to the station. Each has a very different version of what actually happened. If this was real life what really happened would most likely be something in the middle but it reminded me that history is written by the winners. Sometimes it isn’t what actually happened and each of us are responsible for seeking knowledge instead of just swallowing what others want us to know.

The television series based off the books is very different than the books. I think allot of this is just because it’s hard to interpret print media into visual media. Some of the other stuff that they changed is because it makes for a more exciting show. Several of the characters from the books aren’t in the show and one of my favorite characters in the show isn’t in the books at all. At least so far.

It’s a very exciting book series and I recommend reading it as some point. There are several swear words but as swear words go they aren’t all that bad. There is violence and the books do contain descriptions of death and severe illness that might make younger, less mature readers squeamish. It does let the reader know that several characters have intercourse, though no description of the act is ever mentioned. Over all I feel these books weren’t a waste of time and very fun to read.