Southern Blondie: November 2011

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Here's the thing. I've been crazy busy lately. Even though it's a lame excuse, it's all I got. As soon as I can get this paper done for graduate school I'm coming back!


Page 2 of my paper that isn't complete and due by tomorrow (Thursday) at 5 p.m. 
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A Long Five Years and Lots of Lessons Learned

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My dad and I in 89. I guess I was perfecting my pouty face. 
For Thanksgiving holiday I went and stayed at my parents house for a couple of days. Though I go home a couple of times every few months, it's always different around holidays. Maybe it's because old friends are in town or because I see all of my aunts, uncles and cousins around chicken and dressing and ham. Whatever it is, it makes me very nostalgic.


I start to go through old pictures, look at year books and find all those things you kept because of the things they meant at the time. Maybe I have way too much free time when I go to my parents house. There isn't much to do in my home town...

This feels like a lifetime ago. Then it feels like yesterday. 

On Friday night, one of my best guy friends and I decided to go ride around and find some back roads. For two hours we talked about life and how much it's changed in the past five years. 

Friends since we were kids. This was 2005 or 2006.

Five Years Ago:
Year: 2006
Age: 20
Job: Public Relations Associate at the Craighead County Jonesboro Public Library Children's Department
College: Sophomore/Junior at Arkansas State
Dating Status: Who knows. Either single, together or broken up. 
Favorite Movie: Pretty Woman 
Favorite Color: White (It's a color!)

Things I said: 
- "I'll never live in Little Rock."
- "I'll never go back to school to get my masters when I'm done with school."
- "I won't even think about getting married until I'm 25." 
- "I can't cook anything but soup or chili." 

After five years, four moves, three different cities, and lots of ups and downs, I'm finally becoming a little more settled than I have ever been before. 

Small reunion in 2011.


Now:
Year: 2011
Age: 25
Job: Social Media at Heifer International 
College: Working on Masters at UALR
Dating Status: I'm single and I mingle. 
Favorite Movie: Pretty Woman
Favorite Color: Turquoise and white. 

Things I say now: 
- "I have no idea where I will live one day."
- "Is going back to school worth it?"
- "Maybe I'll get around to getting married."
- "I can cook anything but eggs." 


So what now? I have no idea. I've learned never to make plans for the years in advance, I had no idea that at 20-years-old I would move to Atlanta in the next year and a half. I had no idea that I would move back a couple of years after I moved. I had no idea that I would be going back to get my masters.  Life seemed to difficult at the time, now that time seems so easy and things seem hard now. 

Here's what I can say about 2011:
- I'm pretty sure I'm right where I'm supposed to be for right now. 
- This year has been been full of surprises. 
- People do change. For good or bad, they change. 
- One day you wake up and you seem to know what you want. Out of life. Out of yourself. Out of a relationship. Out of your friendships. 
- You shouldn't settle for anything less than exactly what you want. 



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For All That I Am Thankful, My Friends I Am Most

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I'm blessed.

Probably a lot more blessed than I should be.

I have a wonderful family.

The best of friends.

A job I absolutely love going to everyday.

And life experiences that teach me how to be a better person.


It's not luck. It's blessings. I think God must know that I couldn't do it alone.

I'm lucky to have so many people in my life, new and old, that I can count on and rely on for anything. Bad day? Call one of my friends. Need to go out for some fun? Call one of my friends.

Whether I've grown up with them, met them in college, or just in life, I have some of the best people in the entire world I can call my friends.




Though I may not see or talk to some of the friends I've grown up with everyday, things don't change.

Anytime we see each other things go right back to the way that they've always been. We may go through our ups and down, heres and theres, but stead fast and strong, these people will always be my friend.





What makes these people the greatest friends?

You can be silly.

Or sad. Or happy. Or mad.

They are there with you thick and thin,

because you'll be friends until the end.




I  even wrote a little poem about it...

To all my friends, near and far, 

I think of you often and hope you're happy wherever you are,

If you ever need a thing, just give me a ring,

It's the same cellphone number since I was fifteen,

I love you dearly, and miss you a ton,

Let's catch up and have a little fun by thinking about all the things we have done,

No matter what happens, please remember so, 

You're a wonderful person whom I'm lucky to know.








Thank you to all of my friends who make my life so wonderful.

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I Saw Justin Bieber in NYC

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I'm not a Bieliber...
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Do You Believe in Serendipity?

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Serendipity: a fortunate accident

Serendipity. Such a pretty word. Such a pretty idea. For something to be a fortunate accident.



I traveled to NYC last week for a work conference but was lucky enough to have some time off. (I've given up sleeping in life which leads to more time in general.) Though it wasn't my first trip to the Big Apple, I was able to go do something I've wanted to do for a while. 


Visit Serendipity 3. 


What is Serendipity 3? Well, it's a restaurant in NYC that serves famous desserts such as the Frozen Hot Chocolate. If you think back about 10 years, you'll remember a movie called, "Serendipity" with John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale where they randomly meet buying gloves and decide to go for frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity 3. 


After having their dessert, they continue on their own lives knowing that if they meet again it would be fates way of saying you belong together. Though as any good, romantic comedy ends, they of course find each other right before the credits roll when they need each other the most in life. Was it fate? Was it destiny? Did serendipity bring them back together in another fortunate accident? 


I'd like to think that I've been lucky enough to encounter a serendipity moment or two in my life. Whether it's meeting a stranger and being provided with a moment of happiness, or finding something you didn't even know you needed, it's a nice idea. 


Maybe life is guided by fate or destiny. Maybe life is all about free-will or pre-determined circumstances that lead us to live the life we have. I'm not really sure. However, tonight while flipping through TV channels and doing a little work, guess what movie happened to be coming on? Serendipity. 


So whether you believe in the idea of Serendipity or the belief of fate and destiny, you have to believe in one thing, life is exactly what you make it. And Frozen Hot Chocolate is delicious. 

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Wordless Wednesdays: Breathing

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Tuesday was insanely busy, so when I saw this I just stopped and breathed.
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Blackened Shrimp over Spanish Rice and Black Beans

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After a change of plans on Sunday (silly allergies left me all tired) I decided to stay at home and get all that stuff done that I haven't gotten done in forever. Cleaning. Laundry. Putting things away. Organizing things. Grocery shopping. All of those task that you have to do when you're an adult. The time change had somewhat thrown me off so I got hungry a little earlier than normal. What to do? What sounded good? And that's when I though shrimp. Shrimp sounds good. Shrimp and black beans. How would I create this meal? So I opened my pantry and this is what I found. 

Though I don't go to eat a Chili's a lot, since there are so many other places that are better and aren't chains, I do have a love for their Margarita Grilled Chicken. So I took what I had and created my own version of it. 



I followed the directions on the box for the rice. Easy enough. Rice. Water. Diced tomatoes. Bring to boil. Put on low. Add a lid. Let it cook.


To the black beans, I added a fourth of a white onion and a jalapeno chopped up. They cooked just as long as the rice did on low to medium. I wanted the flavor of the onion and jalapeno in the black beans. For the topping of the shrimp, I created a quick pico. More white onion, chopped jalapeno and diced up a tomato. Salt and pepper. (I should have added cilantro that was in the fridge but I was on the phone while I did all of this and forgot.)


To create the shrimp,  just thawed it out, let it sit for a while with some Zatarain's Blackened seasoning and then cooked it quickly in some Pam spray.


And there you have it. My creation of Blacked Shrimp over Spanish Rice and Black Beans with Pico on top.

Best part was, I added up the calories with some fancy app and it comes in at 380!

Blackened Shrimp over Spanish Rice and Black Beans
This is a good recipe for two people
Ingredients:

Rice:
- 1 box of Zatarain's Spanish Rice
- 1 can of diced tomatoes

Black Beans:
- 1 can of black beans (If you're cooking for more than two, then add two cans of black beans)
- 1/4 of a white onion
- 1/2 teaspoon of cumin

Blackened Shrimp:
- 20 pieces of shrimp depending on how many you are cooking for (I would say 10 shrimp per person)
- Zatarain's Blackened Seasoning

Pico:
- 1 Tomato
- 1/2 of a White Onion
- 1 Jalapeno
- May add garlic

Directions:

1. Cook the rice as suggested on the package. Just add water and a can of diced tomatoes, bring to a boil, put on low and cover with a lid for 25-30 min.
2. Add your black beans to a pot. Fill the black bean can with water and add to the pan. Add chopped onion, jalapeno and cumin. Set on low-to-medium and let cook for 25-30 min.
3. If your shrimp is frozen, let it thaw out. Add plenty of blackened seasoning and let it sit for 5-10 min.
4. Chop and seed tomato and jalapeno. Finely chop white onion. Add together and let sit.
5. Cook shrimp right before the rice and black beans are done.
6. Once everything is done, it's time to assemble. Add one cup of rice to the middle of a dish. Add 1/2 cup of black beans around the rice. Add shrimp on top of the rice. Add pico on top of the shrimp.

Ta dah!

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