Small Updates

A few things I have been doing lately.....

Finishing invitations for my cousins baby shower that I am throwing for her!

I made some wonderful scones!  I got the recipe HERE!  They are from one of my friends blog.  I used whole wheat flour and dark chocolate chips.  They turned out great!
To make them last longer, I wrapped them individually in plastic wrap and put them in the freezer.  In the mornings, I would take one out and put it in the microwave to warm in up.  That worked perfectly!

Before they go into the oven

All done and delicious!

I picked some beautiful roses from the garden!

I also noticed that my cat found a new bed in our flower pot!

Other than these things, I have just been working a lot and spending time with family and friends.  I am planning on doing some more baking this week so look for that!
Currently reading:  Spoken from the Heart(still, because it is so long) and Charlotte's Web
New fave website:  pinterest.com

Experiencing Summer Goodness

So I know it has been a while but I have been enjoying summer so much!  I have been catching up with old friends as well as making new friends.  I have also been applying for lots of jobs, reading lots of books, and doing a lot of thinking about what my future has for me.  I have been thinking a lot about transferring schools.  SPU is getting very expensive and I am just such a California girl I am pretty sure I don't want to go back to Washington.  I have also been contemplating on changing my major.  I may switch from Psychology to Elementary Ed.  I have wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember.  Then, when I took a psychology class senior year of high school, I loved it and decided to do that!  Now, I am questioning if that is what I want to do with my life.  I would still keep a minor in Psych but be a teacher.  It sounds so great to me!  We shall see.  I hopefully will be taking fall semester off due to transferring so then I will be able to spend some time in a classroom and really be able to observe.  Lots of things going on!

This morning I went to the bike trail and rode my mountain bike 20 miles!  It was a lot of fun and the weather was perfect.  I also got a new book to read!  I finished The Case for Christ.  This book was very good.  It gives you a lot of information and the proof of Jesus' existence on earth.  I just got Spoken from the Heart which is the Biography of Laura Bush. I started it last night and just the first chapter had me hooked.  I love reading about people lives and the things they have accomplished as well as their struggles.  I am very excited to continue.  I just love summer and California so much.  It is hard to imagine returning to Washington for any long period of time.  

I also wanted to share with you a recipe I made last night for dinner.  It is from Runners World Magazine and it turned out very delicious.

Pasta Bean Toss

1 pound whole-grain penne

2 medium red onions, thinly sliced

2 large garlic cloves

1 teaspoon olive oil

5 carrots, cut into slices

2 cups raw broccoli

12 ripe plum tomatoes, diced

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

4 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

1 can red kidney beans

1 can white kidney beans

1/2 grated parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package.  While pasta is cooking, saute in a large frying pan onions and garlic in oil until tender.  Add remaining vegetables, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, and basil.  Simmer for 4 minutes.  Add beans and simmer for another 2 minutes.  Add pasta and cheese and toss.  

I Heart Home

So some of you may know that I spent this past weekend(long weekend, Thursday morning till tuesday afternoon) at my home in Sacramento.  I originally decided to go because when I left from spring break I didn't think I could spend another 10 full weeks in Seattle with the risk of it raining every day again.  I thought I might have gone crazy!  So my mother booked me a flight home for Easter which was conveniently half way through the quarter.
My time spent at home way so wonderful.  It consisted of bike riding, going on walks with my dog, sitting on the patio drinking ice tea with my mother, spending time planting in the garden, spending time with my beautiful grandparents, and seeing family I don't see very often.  It was all in the SUN as well which I much needed.  Here are a few pictures of my yard which I love so much.  It is so much like a park.

There was a couple of days where I was able to cook dinner with my mom.  I am enjoying cooking dinner more and more every day.  The night we cooked we made homemade whole wheat biscuits which we pair with peas and roasted garlic ravioli.  It was a very good dinner!  The second night I did most of the cooking before my parents got home from work.  I made fresh whole wheat tortillas for tacos.  Of coarse everything turned out great!  With the tacos we have rice.  I only took a couple pictures of the tortillas but I hope they look good.

They are super easy to make.  They only took about 30 minutes to make the dough, roll them out and cook them on the griddle.  I am posting the recipe for these delish tortillas.  I am so happy to have a mom who cooked while we were growing up and has showed us to enjoy home cooking better than fast food or processed foods.  Home cooking with fresh ingredients is the best!!

I am back in Seattle now and back to the grind of school work.  I also begin my new job today(in about 20 minutes).  I am excited and nervous!  The sun is out though(with a few lingering clouds) but that can change any second though, in being Seattle.  I have 5 more weeks and then the feeling of missing home will soon pass because I will be there all of summer!

Whole Wheat Tortillas:

Ingredients -

2.5 Cups of Flour

.5 Cups of Whole Wheat Flour

1/3 Cup of Olive Oil

1 Cup of warm water

Dash of Salt

Directions - 

Mix together Flour, Whole wheat flour, and salt in a large glass bowl.  Slowing add oil while stirring at the same time.  Add water and finish stirring until the dough has the consistence of bread dough.  Roll out individual tortillas into whatever size you prefer.  Cook on griddle until each size has a brownish tint.  Enjoy!!!