The Life of the Nickness

My future mother-in-law told me about this recipe that she found online, and even though I have yet to make it, I knew I had to find and post it for you all. Apparently the recipe sounds really gross but everyone who has ever tried it has fallen in love with it. Has anyone made these/tried them? What do you think?

Caramel Covered Cheetos

2 cups light brown sugar
1 cup margarine - yes, for this one you must use margarine
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 - 21 oz. pkg. Cheetos® - crunchy kind

Mix sugar, margarine and corn syrup in pan. Bring to a boil. Boil 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and add soda. Stir until light in color and foamy. Spray a roasting pan (deep 10 x 14) with Pam. Put Cheetos® in pan. Pour the mixture over Cheetos® and stir, coating each piece. Place in oven at 250 degrees. Bake for 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes. Immediately, pour onto wax paper, or cookie sheets, sprayed with Pam. (This is the hard part.) VERY QUICKLY spread out as thin as possible. If not quick and spread out as thin as possible, you will get a big hard glob. After about 5 minutes, pull/break these apart even more and loosen them from the wax paper. If you don’t, you’ll have wax paper stuck to them when you go to eat them.

You will regret it if you don’t double the batch as guests are going to demand MORE! You can bake batches together and add an extra 20 minutes to bake time. I do them separately because of having to work so quickly to keep them apart at the end. The one batch can almost get too hard while working with the other batch.

I really miss my friends.

You wouldn’t think that living a little over an hour away would change things that much, but it does.

I can no longer call them up on a whim and meet them anywhere. Driving to Manassas every Sunday for Mosaic is a major gas/money strain that I can’t afford.

I miss the good ol’ days of hanging out in my room watching movies or chillin’ at TGIF.

Sigh. I guess it’s true what they say…

“Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine”

But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

Wow. Decemberween has come and gone and with the arrival of my parents’ card in the mail today, I’ve officially received all my gifts.

I won’t be listing any joint gifts that Megan and I got as a couple, as they are mainly small items, giftcards from family/clients and stuff for the kitchen, and are too numerous for me to remember what they all are(except the Lenox martini set we got from her brother and sister in law)

So, other than the joint gifts, heres the breakdown:

Stockingstuffers:

candy, socks, shaving cream, deodorant, a weird looking dog figurine(meant as a prank gift, i hope) 3 scratch off cards(I won $1) and a kids pirate sticker book(probably meant as a prank gift, but lemme tell you: pirate stickers rock!)

Nonstocking gifts:

A Christmas Ornament from my Grandma

Cash from my parents(I love you Mom and Dad. Seriously. It was really unexpected)

2 really nice shirts, a red sweater(my traditional yearly sweater), some undershirts, a pair of jeans, and an awesomely cool shaving kit from Megan

Season 3 of House, from Megan’s twin brother and sister-in-law

a pair of lounge pants, nike tennis shoes and a Tomtom One GPS unit(which I love so much I’m sleeping with) from Megan’s parents

Yup. Pretty good decemberween season, if I do say so myself.

Oh, and for those of you wondering: I surprised the crap out of Megan with a Pink Dell Inspiron 1721 notebook computer. Mad props to my brother for helping me out with it.

I should know by sometime tomorrow if I got the job at Five Below. I’m pretty sure that I did, as I’ve been made a sort of ‘unofficial’ offer, pending the green light on my background and reference check. I’ve been unemployed for over a month, and it’s been fairly difficult. It’s exciting to be getting back to work again, and in a place like Five Below. Their products and the atmosphere in the store are incredible. I’ve decided once I get paid, I’m going to put away(as will Megan) somewhere around 10% of my paycheck into a high yield money market account, in order to:

1. Build up a savings of three months pay.(I’m starting out small, going with one month built up, and working my way towards three. You never know when life is going to throw some unexpected surprises your way, and it’s best to try and be as financially prepared as possible)

2. Pay off some ‘bigger’ debts that Megan and I have accumulated; including credit cards, school, medical, and cars bills.(many people think it’s normal to have car payments. I do not. The sooner I pay off our cars, the better. It’s a monthly payment that could be going to a much better use, and the next time I buy a car I’m saving for it and paying in cash)

3. Start saving for some sort of meager down payment for a place of our own.(I abhor renting. People pay thousands of dollars a month to rent a place for a year, and when it’s all over they have no investment in that property. It’s like throwing money away. The same amount of money people throw away to rent a property they could have used as a mortgage payment and actually have some equity in their property. When my lease is up next year, I plan on buying)

Any extra money we come into(Birthdays, Christmas, Wedding, etc) we’ll also add to the account.

Financial stability is very important to me, and it’s exciting to see my plan in writing. Any comments? Whats your savings plan? Have you even thought one up yet? If not, I encourage you to do so. Knowing where your money is going–having a plan for every dollar before you even get it–is a very freeing experience. I know I haven’t talked about it in this post but budgets are a fantastic tool that really take the stress and pressure of money matters off your back. Microsoft has a bunch of budgets that are free to download available here. I used to use a personal budget like this one, but due to it’s lack of a ‘projected’ column, I found it inadequate to meet my current needs. However if you’re very new to making a budgets or if the idea scares you, it’s a great way to begin. I happen to like this one, as it contains a longer list of expenses and has a projected column. Once I’m married I’ll probably be using the Family Monthly Budget, as it’s much butter suited to married/family life than the other two.

Hehehe. If I was talking to Megan about all this stuff she probably would have zoned out by now. Money and budgets and spreadsheets are not her idea of stimulating conversation. My guess is you’re not too far behind her, so thats enough money talk for now. Hope you all are having a great week!

Anyone have any ideas on an (inexpensive) gift I can get Megan for Christmas?

All you girls out there: What would you want your man to get you?

Ever since I was introduced to Regina Spektor this past march, I’ve always been able to rely on her music as a catalyst for my emotions.

I love how music(in general) has that ability. How it can draw you inside of it and stir up so many emotions, some of which you didn’t know existed, or thought were long dead.

One minute you can be happy and carefree, but listen to the wrong song and your emotions can do a 180 quicker than you thought possible. They say your sense of smell is the greatest sense that can recall a memory, but for me I think it may be my sense of sound.

I can listen to a song I haven’t heard in years and remember every word, and be able to recall certain people, places, or things in my life that I’ve associated with that song. Not only that, but lyrics in songs I’ve never heard before cause instant recollections of the same, causing me to associate the two together.

Anyways(the above was a HUGE rabbit trail), back on track to my girl Regina. Her song Samson(which I must say I fell in love with before the rest of America caught on) is awesome. Read the lyrics here and think about what the song means to you before reading my thoughts.

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I made this for dinner last night. I call it Raspberry Chicken Surprise, which sounds much cooler than just plain Raspberry Chicken. It’s a very simple dish to make, and I’m sure you all will love it.

Heres what you’ll need:

one pound of chicken breast, half a teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon of pepper, one teaspoon olive oil, half a cup of raspberry jam(I use the seedless kind), one tablespoon red wine vinegar, one tablespoon soy sauce, one teaspoon bottled minced ginger, half a teaspoon of dried rosemary.

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After waiting what seemed like an eternity, I got a call this morning from the RM, stating that they decided to go with another candidate due to “geographic location and just general fit for the store”  but “they really did like me, you’ve a great fit for our company, it was a very hard decision, and would I like them to call me if something opened up closer to where I lived?”

I said yes, and held my tongue, even though I wanted to question the professionalism of a company that would make a hiring decision based on where someone lives in relationship to the store. As long as I don’t mind the drive and I can get to the store, it shouldn’t be an issue.

Everything seemed to be going so great, and I was never given the impression of IF I was going to get hired, it was always, which store they were going to put me in. Because of that, I really focused on this job opportunity and got very excited about it. I feel so misled.

I’m very upset.

And I have no idea how I’m going to make Jan rent.

For some unknown reason(maybe it’s the geek in me trying to get out), I really have a strong desire to learn linux.

Anyone know of any good websites that would help a beginner like me learn it?

I just sent up my gmail account to forward to Thunderbird.

I’ve been missing Thunderbird ever since ztug.net went offline.

Good to have you back, Thunderbird.

Anyone else out there use Thunderbird? What do you think of it? What are your favorite add-ons?

As stupid as this sounds, I just learned how to do the electric slide. I think I might be the last person on earth who learned how to do it.

See, I really want to learn how to dance–so tonight–with Megan, her parents, and a friend from church we popped on an instructional dvd on how to line dance. By the end of the first section, we had learned the electric slide.

Why didn’t I learn this sooner?

I’m starting slow, and I know most people have a head start. But eventually I’ll learn how to ballroom and swing dance really really well.

And when I’m old, accomplished, and everyone looks up to me because of my awesome dance moves, I’ll be able to look back and say “To think it all started with the electric slide…”

Want to learn how to do the electric slide yourself?  Click here to find an awesome teaching tool, with basic and advanced moves!

Whats your favorite cocktail recipe?

I never knew drunken noodles didn’t contain alcohol until one day I got curious and asked the server at my Thai restaurant what was in it. I always thought thats where the dish got its name–you know, eat too much and you’ll get drunk! Alas, no one really knows where it’s name come from, though there are many hypotheses. This is by far my favorite food ever. If anyone tries this recipe, please let me know what you thought. So without further gilding the lily and with no more adieu,

Heres what you’ll need:

6 oz of rice noodles, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, 1 mashed garlic clove, 2 chopped green chilies(or more if you want it hotter!), 1 sliced onion, 6 oz of cut/sliced chicken(some people use pork or shrimp, it’s up to you) 1 chopped green bell pepper, 4 shredded kaffir lime leaves(or less if you’re not a huge fan of the lime taste), 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce, 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, half a teaspoon of sugar, 1 sliced tomato, 1-2 tablespoons of sweet basil leaves.

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So it’s official… as of yesterday morning, I am officially a resident of the state of Maryland. My trip to the MVA(its what this states calls their DMV) lasted all of five minutes. Seriously. Wasn’t the DMV supposed to be hell on earth?

Yesterday, I was also supposed to get the call from Tuesday Morning, letting me know if I had the job or not. The call never came. Granted, I’ve been told they were going to call me before, and things have come up, but the interviewer specifically said she’d call on Thursday. I’m trying hard to be optimistic, and not read into it but it’s really hard to do.

I need this job. Really badly. And I’m really hoping I get a call with good news today.

Italian Appetizer Squares

1. Greased 9X13 pan
2. Crescent roll dough laid flat in bottom
3. Layer in sliced ham, salami, pepperoni, provolone, roasted red peppers(optional), basil(optional)
4. Repeat layers
5. Top with crescent roll dough
6. Beat 4 eggs, add a cup of shredded parmesan, pour over dough
7. Bake at 350 til golden - usually about 30-40 minutes.
8. Cut in squares, and ENJOY!

Don’t forget the marinara sauce for dipping, and make sure you have 911 on speed dial for the eventual heart attack.

I was thinking about time travel recently, and that question popped into my mind. (yes, I’m a dork)
I mean, we know time is linear, not circular, so we can’t travel back in time. The best we could do is observe the past.

But… if I could go back in time, what would I change? Anything? I’m sure if I thought hard enough, I could think of many, many things. But then I would be changing myself, since who I am today is influenced by the events I’ve experienced. (I won’t even go into the idea that those changes might lead me to not even create a time machine, therefore creating a horrible paradox that could destroy the universe, or at the very least myself)

The scary thought? What if the me of the future has already gone back in time, and the life I’m living now was the best Future-Me could do?

What kind of crazy messed up life must I have lived?

Or worse still…what if I was living the perfect life, but arrogant Future-Me thought he could go back and make it even better, yet succeeded only in completely screwing it all up?

Damn you, Future-Me!

Hold the milk, put back the sugar
They are powerless to console
We’ve gathered here to sprinkle ashes
From our late friend’s cereal bowl.

Breakfast Clubbers, say the motto
That he taught us to repeat:
“You will lose it in your gym class, if you wait til noon to eat”.

Back when the Chess Club said our eggs were soft
Every Monday he’d say grace and hold our juice aloft
Oh, none of us knew his checkout time would come so soon
But before his brain stopped waving, he composed this tune:

Chorus:
WHEN THE TOAST IS BURNED
AND ALL THE MILK HAS TURNED
AND CAPTAIN CRUNCH IS WAVING FAREWELL,
WHEN THE BIG ONE FINDS YOU MAY THIS SONG REMIND YOU
THAT THEY DON’T SERVE BREAFAST IN HELL

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