Musings of a meanering mind

During the epic 2.5 hour breakfast with my best friend on Monday, the topic of schooling came up.  Now, she’s got a master’s degree.  She took a slightly less traditional route, meaning that there were a few months that she wasn’t in school for either her undergrad or graduate degrees, but mostly, she was a student until after her masters.  She’s considering a doctorate.  

As many of you know, I was NEVER a traditional college student.  I went to a junior college for my associate degree which took me 5.5 years because I went part time to work a full time and part time job during the process.  Then I stopped.  There simply weren’t the funds (or the support but that’s an entirely different issue) to continue.  Four years and a divorce later, I went back full time while working my current full time job.  I took 3 hour classes Monday through Thursday after work, ever week because I also took summer courses, for two solid years.  It netted me a bachelor degree with some honors attached.  

Two years later, this highly educated woman and I are actually having a conversation about how we don’t feel we’ve gone far enough and do we really have it in us to do more.  Self-doubt is evident.  How can this be?!  Now, for her sake, she simply wants to further hone skills she already has.  She doesn’t seem to have any doubt that she COULD survive more schooling, but simply wondering if she SHOULD.  I’m in an entirely different boat.  I doubt that I CAN, even though it is very obvious to everyone around me that I SHOULD.  

The dreaded topic of a masters degree just keeps coming back over and over.  I believe it feels that it needs to be dealt with instead of simply pushed under the rug and ignored.  Even after that conversation on Monday, it was brought up two more times: once because I brought it up to my husband and another time out of the clear blue by a coworker.    

Here are the issues involved in this jumbled conversation about going back to school that runs through my head.  First, I still have the loans from getting my bachelor.  Increasing that debt just seems….off-putting.  My ultimate goal is to be debt free at all times.  This is contrary to that goal in the short-term.  Second, fat-lotta good the bachelor degree did me!  Oh wait.  The market crashed the month I got my financial services degree, so perhaps I am just a tiny bit bitter that it affected me so adversely and blame my degree instead of the market.  Third, I still don’t know what I want t be when I grow up!  How sad is that….at 32?  My husband and best friend assure me that only the few and lucky know this.  But how do you go about selecting the proper degree plan without a career in mind?  Fourth, when I think about going back to school, I am literally terrified.  I feel that I someone lucked my way into my last degree.  I floundered a bit and had to relearn so much because of the time gap.  I’ll have to relearn it all over again since it’s been two years.  I’m not entirely sure my brain will be willing to cooperate this time around.  Lastly, I still want to be a great wife, and I don’t know how well I’d juggle graduate school, our marriage, work, and our very demanding dog.  

Despite all this, I find myself perusing the graduate degree pages at UNT.  Guess I’m just a glutton for punishment?

Birthday recap

My birthday this year was epic and wonderful.  I honestly thought that nothing would top my 30th, for which my then-boyfriend of 8 months organized a party at Pete’s Dueling Pianos in Addison where I sang and drank the night away with friends and my immediate family then begged for tacos on the ride home.  Last year, we had a strict no-gift, but nice dinner policy in place due to the wedding eating our brains and other necessary resources.  But this year really did take the glory away from any other birthday I’ve had.  

I literally had a birthday weekend.  We did pretty much anything I wanted.  Anything at all.  

Friday night, I used a “birthday” coupon for Texas Roadhouse which gifted me a side of ribs with the purchase of an entrée.  The hubby ordered a chicken fried steak.  We each picked a side for ourselves, since the entrees come with two sides.  Then I had the ribs with my side.  It was actually the perfect portion since I can’t help but eat at least one cinnamon-buttered roll and a gazillion peanuts.  

Saturday was deemed celebration day!  My aunt treated us to brunch at the Original Pancake House, where I discovered that buckwheat pancakes might be the tastiest pancake in the world.  Immediately following pancake and omelet overload, we met the Bringer of the Fun at Reaper for my dice (which I showed you).  I was a little shocked how akin to buying jewelry the whole process was.  I’m excited to use them!  Then it was off to Rahr….which I also told you about.  And again, go there!  Our lovely beers left us mighty hungry, so we tried a dive in Denton I’d heard good things about.  I love a good dive!  Fuzzy’s Tacos wasn’t quite what I expected though.  It struck me far more like Chipotle meets Taco Cabana.  The tacos were so-so, but the queso we shared was heavenly.  I could have eaten the entire bowl on my own.  After dinner, two epic battles of Zombies, a board game, were waged at our dining table.  I lost both games, but proved to be a good Zombie killer….and I got to use my dice.  Turns out killing zombies is hunger-inducing as well, so we trekked out for frozen yogurt.  I just love that frozen yogurt is all the rage!  I’ve always loved the stuff, but it was so hard to find!  Now, just turn a corner and there will be a fro-yo shop.  Excellent!  Saturday was, in a word, perfect.

Sunday, my family had a big lunch.  My birthday being the next day happened to be a happy bonus.  The lunch was not actually FOR my birthday.  Still, it gave my mom and excuse to buy me a carrot cake and make me wear a pink tiara.  Now, how awesome it is to run around at 32 in a football jersey (my gift from the hubby), holding the football for your nephew to kick it, eat great food and carrot cake and wear a pink tiara?!  Totally awesome.  Oh, and as proof of my utter and complete cheap-skatedness....my grama gave me one of those discount "passport" books as my birthday gift and I was VERY excited to get it! 

Monday, my best friend and I met for lunch since she goes into work at noon.  We met at Bread Winners in Plano.  I arrived way too early because I wasn’t sure what to expect with traffic and was greeted with a plate of sweet bread and muffins!  I already liked this place.  Then they gave me perhaps one of the best cups of coffee I’ve ever had.  I think I drank five cups.  The food and conversation were completely wonderful…..so much so that we accidentally had a two and a half hour breakfast that make her a tiny bit late for work.  Oops!  We just lost track of all time.  At this point, the birthday took a back seat to the chores I neglected the rest of the weekend.  So, my actual birthday activities included grocery shopping, cooking, some cleaning, laundry, a dog bath, and a power outage!  Then more birthday cake!  

It was possibly my best birthday ever.  Thanks to everyone for the well wishes!

Granola - Attempt #2

I enjoyed having the homemade granola for our yogurt so much last week that I decided to try a different flavor this week!  I wasn't sure what flavor at all.  Then I noticed candied orange peel in the bulk area at Central Market during my birthday grocery shopping trip.  (Don't judge, I love shopping at CM.....birthday or no.)

Orange granola?  Why not?!  So, I picked up a couple things that I thought went with granola and trekked back to the produce department for an orange.

Once home, a google search for orange granola netted this Better Homes & Gardens's recipe.  I did a few tweaks and swaps.  First, I swapped brown rice syrup for honey.  Then I added a teaspoon of ground ginger to the syrup juice mix.  The coconut was nixed but sunflower seeds were added.  Once out of the oven and cool, I mixed in about an eighth of a cup of chopped candied orange peel and candied ginger.

The result?  A semi-spicy, not at all sweet, orange-scented delight!  This one is far more savory and less sweet than the pumpkin spice granola.  It's a win but in a totally different way than the last batch!  Making granola is so easy.  I simply cannot express that more adamently.

Yay for more easy granola recipes!!!

This is why I like October

...because I was born in it!  :)  I didn't actually MEAN to take the day off for it.  The dog waking me at 4:30 this morning has something to do with my spaciness.  So, more tomorrow.  Today, I'm catching up from having too much fun this weekend.

See you tomorrow!

Score of the day

We celebrated my birthday yesterday - since my birthday is on Monday and who likes Mondays?!  The day involved brunch with my aunt, being gifted my dice, tacos, and a board game.  But the SCORE of the day was my idea to go to the Rahr brewery in Ft. Worth for a tour.  I was trying to find something for us to do that we'd all enjoy.  It was just my husband and the Bringer of the Fun, so I wanted to make sure I didn't pick anything too fru-fru or girly.  Well, all three of us love beer.  Perfect fit, really.

So, we arrive at ten to 2, because the website stated that the brewery tour started at 2.  It also said that it was $7 and you get a glass and three beers.  Somehow, I thought that meant a little cheap glass and three tastes.  Still, I've always wanted to tour a brewery, and I have an odd, inexplicable love for Ft. Worth.  Why not, right? 

We find the brewery, and there is not a parking space in sight anywhere near it.  We had to go several blocks just to find a space.  We all agreed that, surely, this traffic was not because of the brewery tour. 

In a way, we were totally right.  It was NOT for the tour, it was for the deal!  We paid out $7 each and were handed three raffle-style tickets and told to pick up a pint glass from the table next to us.  The pint glasses are thick, quality glass with the Rahr logo on both sides.  There was a band play, a really good band too.  There was a table of free food (tipping appreciated) and three tap locations set up.  I have never had any Rahr beer.  So, I walked up and tried to read something about the beer off the tap pull.  When the gentleman behind the tap realized what I was doing, he told me that we could taste any of their beers before we redeemed the tickets.  All three of us tried what the had and then got full pints in exchange for one ticket.  Then it hit.....each ticket was for one full pint of fresh-from-the-barrel microbrewed local beer!  Three full pints and a pint glass and food for $7 per person people!  We declared that we'd found heaven and settled into good conversation for about and hour and a half.  We weren't able to have all three beers.  We'd have needed to get there when they opened at 1.  Still, we definitely felt that we got our money's worth!  And the beer was very good.  It was a totally wonderful birthday celebration.

This is a total must-do if you're in the DFW area and like beer.  Do this.  They do it every Saturday. 

Cheers!

Dice!

I have my own set of dice now!  One of our groomsmen, the bringer of the fun, treated me to a set of dice since I've been playing this new campaign with them (per the terms of our best man's speech).  Funny how a set of dice can make the idea much more fun.  I'm excited to start playing with these. 

You can find my set online here.  We got them at Reaper in Denton.

I hope they bring me luck!  I love them.

Food in Review

This week was an odd mix of dining out with friends and cooking things that could be stuffed!  

Friday: We met our Galveston gamer friend at Texas Roadhouse for early dinner and huge mugs o' beer!  I had the mushroom chicken jack sandwich with a side salad instead of fries.  I am obsessed with their side salads.  They’re so simple and yet so delicious.  I have no idea what makes them so special, but I get one every time we go.  Add to that one lovely dinner roll with cinnamon butter and countless peanuts in the shell.  I love restaurants that have peanut shells on the floor.  I realize it’s as country as it gets, but I just feel at home in them.  

Saturday: Thank goodness I made breakfast (homemade 7 grain Bob’s Red Mill waffles) and lunch (pulled pork nachos with black beans, onions, tomato, and smoked cheddar) because we ate dinner out again, this time with one of our groomsmen.  He wanted alfredo, and I love me some pasta!  So, we hit up Carino’s.  They have a seasonal butternut squash ravioli with gorgonzola cream on a bed of spinach.  Wow.  Totally delicious.  I highly recommend you go order this….or heck, make it!  

Sunday: I was inspired by Emily’s completely homemade green curry, but I wasn’t quite so ambitious.  I had a jar of Thai green curry paste in the fridge, so I went the easy pre-made route.  My curry contained stir-fried red onions, brocco-flower, baby bellas, and tempeh.  Once everything was browned to my liking, I added an entire can of light coconut milk and half a jar of paste.  It says to add less, but I like it REALLY potent.  I also added a little extra coriander, ground ginger, cayenne, salt, and pepper to taste.  It simmered away while the rice finished.  I used Texmati brown rice for this meal.  The coconut curry sauce and veggies were absolutely wonderful.  I love the aroma of Thai curry!  The only disappointing part was the tempeh.  I’d never eaten it before……and I never will again. The rest of the block will be discarded.  It tasted like death.  I love tofu, so I thought I would love tempeh.  Um.  No.  

Monday: For some reason I was craving vodka sauce…..as in penne alla vodka.  I couldn’t make penne alla vodka though, since my husband really doesn’t dig plain pasta with plain sauce.  He had to eat that far too many years in a row.  He did, however, say that he wished he’d gotten the lasagna when we went to Carino’s, so I decided to mix my craving with his.  I made my vodka sauce, starting with a sautéed shallot and four small cloves of garlic with a dash of crushed red pepper in olive oil.  Then I added a large can of Muir Glen organic ground tomatoes, ¼ cup vodka (straight from the freezer) and an ounce of Neufchatel cheese.  This simmered and bubbled while whole wheat lasagna noodles boiled away.  After about 15 minutes of simmering, I took my immersion blender to the sauce to make it a little smoother and help the cheese incorporate.  Most vodka sauces call for heavy cream…..around half a cup of it!  I can’t go there, but I found that a single ounce of the Neufchatel worked beautifully.  I layered the boiled noodles with a mixture of ricotta blended with basil leaves, turkey pepperoni, and thinly sliced baby bellas.  After a quick roll up, they went into our pretty individual casseroles they went with the vodka sauce on mozzarella for melting in the over at 400.   The vodka sauce was too good to be this simple to make!  The pasta was still a little too al dente though. I should have baked it longer.  Darn…guess that means I get to make another batch to try again, right??

 

Tuesday: This may be a repeat because I love it so much.  We decided to take Riley to the dog park, so before we left, I cut an acorn squash in half, cleaned out the seeds, rubbed the halves with olive oil and roasted it at 325 the entire time we were gone.  A bit over an hour later, they were almost perfectly roasted.  I cranked it up to 400 while making the rest of the meal.  I cooked a small batch of quinoa in veggie stock in one pan while browning chicken apple gouda sausage and onions in another pan.  Once they were both done, I combined the quinoa and sausage with some pecans and cranberries and spooned it inside the squash bowls.  Edible bowls are something I just love.  I have no idea why!  The acorn squash pairs so well with grains and sausage.  It’s a go-to meal….and a darn affordable one!  And yes, my husband loves it too.

Wednesday: I made this meal for myself over and over when I was living alone because it made four very easy meals for me while working full-time and going to school full-time.  So, every once in a while, it’s nice to make it just because it’s tasty instead of because it can feed me for a week.  This requires pizza dough, and this is one of the few times that I don’t bother to make dough.  I can roll it out perfectly enough to make this work!  I use the kind from the dough boy, stretched into as neat a rectangle as possible then layered with deli ham, turkey pepperoni, provolone slices, tomato and roasted red bell peppers.  Then you simple roll the whole thing into a log and back for 10-12 minutes at 400.  Cut and serve with Caesar salad and marinara….or in this case, left over vodka sauce.  Now this is a meal that can truly be on the table in 30 minutes or less.

 

Thursday: I made a little gumbo/succatash inspired dish out of the left over chicken sausages.  I added a can of black eyed peas, roasted tomatoes, and frozen okra.  Pair it with a little made-from-scratch cornbread, and you've got a great pantry meal!

And with that, I wish you all a very happy Friday.

And Riley just wishes for a new rawhide.....that little nub is the remains of her last one.