New year and I hope for new beginnings of prosperity and happiness.

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.- Psalm 143:8

Happy New Year

Starting anew.

Canon Rebel T3= OH HOLY WOW EH?!

So in the previous post I named a few supporters- Mr. Home Depot, Smokey the Bear, and well...my Momma are being called to the foreground.

Momma- how hard can you rock for showing up to graduation after flying down from New York to Atlanta, driving four hours, and showing up at the house just before we left to go?! Honestly amazing.

Mr. Home Depot- you helped us get through a very difficult time.

The Gemaw- I almost neglected to mention you, almost.  But you are the most dedicated, faithful, giving, generous, unwavering, and faithful person I could ever know.

Smokey the Bear- your awesomeness knows no bounds! And because of that you have given me a dream I had long put aside and will contribute to this blog more, to my home, my family, and maybe even to my wallet!

SO here you go. Photo-in-undation! Well....three pictures anyway I'm just going to be stingy now. :)

Good Golly Ms. Molly!

I had not realized I had gone so long without updating my three..no four followers!

I apologize wholeheartedly. So let's catch up shall we?
I AM DONE WITH MY BACHELOR'S DEGREE! Oh yes, I am in my head currently doing "hammer time" uh oh uh oh!! It's been a long hard struggle not at all easy but I have done it with the support of MANY many loving individuals. I will not name names as I have not allowed them an opportunity to agree to a release of information but we will use pseudonyms they (those special people) will be able to recognize.
Smokey the Bear
Gumby's captor
Mr. Home Depot
The Husband
The offspring
The possum killer who uses the wrong end of a gun
Michigan Hunnie
Handy Pandy
and many more...but they come to mind more readily.

So I passed the Major Field Test (standardized test all must take in the nation in order to get your degree that implies you are a Criminal Justice extraordinaire) with a 175! Bare (bear?) in mind that the national average sits in the 150 range. So BOOOYA!

Now the hunt for red october*cough* I mean a job begins. The ever elusive career starter job. The one that tells the world I have achieved higher than a high school equivalency, took a student loan, and demand more than minimum wage! Honestly though...in this economy let's be real. I just want a job at this point. And one that doesn't just pay for daycare.

So Merry Christmas two weeks out! This is a good one. Been a hard year and have come through a lot. I'm not going to say that we aren't out of the water by no means. But we are treading it and that's all that matters. We are making it. Lots of wonderful home made creative gifts to be made- some really great ideas and believe it or not I will be keeping a record both written and pictorial for your viewing pleasure.

Hubbs is out of town, it's cold, I have no homework (which leaves me feeling a little lost to say the least), and cooking has resumed. Made a new cookie recipe and I will be posting the results later. It's so delicious. I almost ran out of cookie before I could even start. Made me feel brilliant...fat....but brilliant :D

More later!

Soon to come-

I will be venting on the downward slide of humanity and just how much it ticked me off this weekend. Honestly I am pushing 48 hours of just a continuous seething anger.

When I gain control again I will explain more.

Birthday dinner on an even bigger budget part B

I am so far behind updating that I am partially ashamed. However my reasons for my delay in posting anything is well understandable. I am in my final semester of college and graduate in a few short weeks! As you can imagine the requirements for my classes are getting more stringent and challenging.

So now let's catch up shall we?

The Bulgogi dinner went over so well there were no leftovers and the hubbs loved it! So much so that is now ushered into our regular meal plan at least once a month. Score! Also, those who had not had it before fully appreciated the complexity and harmony of the flavors even if one of the comments was, "that was really good Jo! And you know me, I don't like weird new things."- Thanks Jessie you may very well could have been my hardest critic to please. I love you completely my friend.

The Banana Creme Cupcakes created by Kat Engberg were so decadent and beautifully made they were the dessert highlight! I did not order nearly enough. The cake was banana bread consistency, banana pudding in the center, and the icing was fluffy, thick, and had vanilla and banana essence. Crumbled vanilla wafers to balance the banana pudding filling and pecan chips on top added to the depth and balance of texture and flavor. They were so good that I felt so guilty and somewhat sinful for eating something so indulgent! Glorious!  9 out of 10 stars! I withhold one star because I didn't have enough even though that is my fault. Ha!
I mean really....look at them! How can they be so heavenly and sinful at the same time?

 Now my birthday dinner on Sunday the 6th was good. The whole day was just my daughter and my husband and I picking up pecans and waiting for dinnertime to roll around so as to be able to enjoy Lomi Lomi and Caribbean steak tacos with pico de gallo. So yummy. And no leftovers! Thanks Amanda for coming to say hi and wish me well on my 26th year.

Lomi Lomi= Yummy Yummy (to me....in Hawaiin it means massage massage).

This past week has stretched our money so thin we could see through it. In other words we had none left and bare cabinets. Unacceptable!
101 pounds of pecans later, sold, and grocery shopping later, our cabinets are almost fully stocked again! And the freezers too. That's right. Two freezers.
Now here is the best part and why I love Winn Dixie-- I had forgotten all my coupons! All of them. So when I arrived at the store the deals they had available were so fantastic I spent a hundred dollars and saved seventy five dollars. Just imagine what I could have done had I my coupons. Just wait, I'm picking pecans again....and going back so we won't have to imagine for too long. Shout out to Winn Dixie!

Monday I will also be going to Food World in my local town to get some purchases they have the best selections for- SALMON! Had I a Publix near I would be shopping them and Winn Dixie but Food World will do for now. I only get to enjoy the discounts they offer Troy University students on Mondays for a few more  weeks. When you present your student ID you receive an extra 5% off your purchases. And they double manufacturer coupons up to one dollar.

Now, in relation to the stressed ramblings caused by my brain going on leave while crawling around under a nut tree I had some clarity. (Delivered to me on my birthday)

I am starting an amazing project and hope to get it published in the next year. As such we will be staying in this area of Alabama at least for another year. Then I will be working to begin my Masters degree pursuit immediately upon completion of the project.

That is enough for now. I applied for my dream job- hope it goes my way.

As I part, how many of you are participating in no shave November? This house has gotten very Jeremiah Johnson around here.

Adios All!

Biggest birthday dinner on a even bigger budget part A.

Entree for the man of my life who is turning 28 today? A dinner from across the globe! Straight from Korea. I don't know about you, but for me, Korea seems to be a very unhappy place given most of their food is left to rot and ferment and THEN eat. Thanks, but no thanks. I choose life and a parasite/bacteria/bowel distress free life. So Bulgogi it is!
 -This will not be my first time having it. In fact, it's been many moons since I've had this delicate, sweet, and satisfying dinner. Thanks Justin Maughan for introducing me to this wonder.-
The hubbs has never had it and has always wanted to experience it, and so in good wifely fashion, I have so arranged his new adventure.

What's even better- the birthday guests will also be trying this for the first time! Ha! Take that rural Alabama, you are unwittingly being subjected to expanding your horizons! Awesome.

I have let this rib eye (thinly sliced) soak in a mixture of garlic, red pear, green onion, sesame oil, red pepper, salt, soy sauce, yellow onion, sugar, and oh buggers, what was the other ingredient? Oh yes, a dash, couple of drops of vinegar, marinate for 24 hours. I will then fry it up on a medium skillet in some more sesame oil and serve over Sushi rice. To accompany this, stir fry broccoli with pork, and maybe some egg rolls. <- I will not being making those today or in the near future.

What of dessert?! Birthday boy must have birthday cake! Well, cupcakes. Kat, a highly skilled cupcake connoisseur, is creating Banana Creme cupcakes. Yummy! As our guest list increased I added in a vanilla banana bread type cupcake with peanut butter vanilla frosting. Oh so very yummy to the tummy!
I started out with the banana cupcake and was going to make a butter maple frosting. Enticing is it not? However, tragedy befell me and like a newbie, my maple caramelizing on the stove, burnt in just one woeful second! Gah! *palm to the forehead*
And so was born the peanut butter and vanilla frosting.

Recipes to come tomorrow along with an after action report from our unsuspecting participants in globe trotting Korean style.
*bow*

Picking pecans leads to picking my own brain.

How do you define happiness? When you were making plans for your life, setting goals, and starting out to achieve them were they remotely close to where you find yourself now?

Such were the thoughts bouncing around in my head as I picked through pecans. Repetitive behavior allows for the body to become automated and the brain to just wander. I find myself at a crossroads. Where do I go now from this point? In a matter of seven weeks I will have finally acquired my bachelors degree in Criminal Justice. I had plans to go straight into Pat Thomas Law Enforcement Academy; however, with now being on Beta blockers on a daily basis this has now proven to be a no go. So now what?

I have decided that I will pursue a research project. Hooray! And I will be pursuing a Masters degree! Hooray again! What school? How am I going to pay for it? I would love to have a job now. Hundreds of applications sent to all sorts of different agencies and various levels of government. Health Insurance, money for daycare, our own home, fix the vehicles, savings account, college fund for the offspring, does everyone get this overwhelming, daunting list pressing down on them daily? Am I going in the right direction and what is best for my family? Ugh. Some days it just seems all too much to bear. And then other days I feel like I am not being proactive enough. All of these things while picking through pecans to help make ends meet.
Here's to you Carya illinoinensis (Pecan)