Hey hey hey ;-) Today is a great day yall! Due to the impending SUPER SNOW STORM, which is expected to bring 20-30 INCHES, I didn't go to work today :-D
Nix and I woke up around our usual early time, had our usual oatmeal breakfast, went to Trader Joe's to pick up a few things, and spent most of the morning reading in Barnes and Noble. So, already my day was off to a great start. Having an abundance of free time recently has really helped me realize how much I enjoy doing certain things. At the top of the list are reading and cooking.
As I mentioned in my post about goodreads.com, I've caught a serious reading bug and have been buying/reading books galore. I actually bought another today, even though I said I'd stop for a while. (Technically Nix bought it and plans to wrap it for me for our little Valentine's Day $5 gift exchange lol.)
This morning I finished The Girl Who Fell From the Sky, the debut book from Heidi Durrow. I was super excited to read this book because I had been following her personal blog and the blog she co-hosts, before I even knew she was writing the book. I came across her blog when I was on the hunt for blogs written by multiracial women, so I was especially happy that the main character in her book is mixed. I highly recommend this book!
Some people would be upset about being snowed in all weekend, but as a self-proclaimed homebody I am really looking forward to the time to read! Plus, I am in the process of making a dark chocolate-cashew tart as we speak! Which brings me to the next thing I've (re)discovered a love for. When I was little, my mom used to cook and bake ALL THE TIME. I absolutely loved baking with her! Certain smells and tastes actually take me back to those moments in the kitchen with her. Our go-to recipe was her version of chocolate chip cookies. Mom was way ahead of her time...we used whole wheat flour that she ground herself from wheat berries! We always used a little less sugar than the recipe called for. And we always added oat flakes and oat bran (or something like that). We always used to whine and complain that she couldn't just make "normal" cookies, but looking back I'm so glad she planted those ideas in us.
Funny aside: I used to want to impress my mom by baking without her. One time, I had made some bomb cookies - those jelly "thumbprint" ones I think - and I wanted her to see them. Meanwhile, one of my 3 brothers just wanted to eat them! And can you believe, we got in a physical fight over these silly cookies because I got so pissed that he was taking them! LOL. I got so mad I ripped up a do-rag of his, and he ripped (with some difficulty ha!) a shirt he had given me. Fun times.
Anywho, I didn't really cook much as I got older. I would cook every once in a while, but being in a dorm wasn't very conducive to legit cooking. Even when I had my own apartment, I just never felt inspired to actually throw down in the kitchen. And honestly a lot of the reason I avoid cooking super yummy stuff is because I would always end up having to eat it all and I was on a mission to lose weight (which I did - post for another day). But now that I have a good grasp on healthy cooking/eating, and live with Nix and Roomie, I don't worry about that so much. In the past couple weeks I've been experimenting more with dishes - including polenta casserole and cashew pesto pasta. Like I said, today is the dessert. I'll let yall know how it turns out ;-)
Other plans for the rest of the day: Prep for my first grad school interview, finish baking, start the next book on my reading list, and start Season 4 of The Wire!
And....I got invited to interview for another of the schools I applied to!! So that's 3/6 interviews and still waiting to hear back from the other 3.
Today's *big chune* is one that I've been hooked on for like the past month. I even got my youngest sis, Bex, hooked on it when i was home for christmas break and it was our go-to first song anytime we were in the car on our way somewhere. Enjoy!
(C) 2009 Universal Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. and SRC Records, Inc.
DMVers: Enjoy the snow!!!
:-D
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