Yogurt, Dates, and Baking

Yesterday and today i have experienced wonderful baking moments. Yesterday I wanted to bake cookies for my friend and decided to try yogurt cookies, because I have been seeing recipes flying around the Internet for awhile. They turned out AMAZING! The best cookies I think I have ever made. Nice crisp on the outside, sweet flavor, and a wonderful melt in your mouth center. Today I decided to make a no sugar healthy fudge.I had a lot of skepticism on this one because the only ingredients are nuts, dates, cocoa powder, bananas, and honey. But WOW, yet again I am blown away by the flavor! Here are the links to the recipes I tried out, if you get the time I recommend giving them a shot.

Yogurt chocolate chip
http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/34221/yogurt-chocolate-chip-cookies

"Fudge"
http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2013/02/15/healthy-eatmore-fudge-chocolate-bars/

Procrastination.

It finals week which means finding things to do other then bury my head in notes and books. So far I have bought juggling balls, therefore I have been practicing my juggling. I have touched up my résumé in hopes of getting a second job for spring quarter. I have blogged. And I have made food. I haven't shared my food adventures in awhile so ill pass on this delicious salad I made for the week.

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup quinoa, cooled
1 can garbonzo beans (I baked mine for 15 min with a little parm and garlic for extra flavor)
3/4 can corn
3/4 cup chopped bell peppers
3 green onions
7 cherry tomatoes, quartered
Basil for garnish

Lemon Basil Dressing (I eyeballed everything so this is my interpretation of how much you should use)
3 tbsp chopped basil--I use a lot because it is so tasty
Juice of one lemon
Tsp honey
1-2 tbsp basaltic vinegar
3-5 tbsp olive oil
Salt, pepper, garlic powder


It is a simple as chop, mix, stir, assemble, cool, and serve!

Throwback

The past couple weeks have been very hectic for me. I have always heard that when life isn't going the way you expect, look towards the future to all the wonderful possibilities that are ahead of you. Sometimes that doesn't work though, and through this weird time in my life I found that reminiscing to my younger years was more therapeutic for me. I stumbled across some old pictures of me and I can't help but smile when I look through them.

~beyond the chaos, children are smiling~

formal.

Dancing is so fun! I had formal last night at Old Port in Avila and it was fabulous:) I took my friend Brennan, we have been friends since WOW last year. It was a blast getting dressed up, drinking good drinks, chatting, dancing, etc.


~beyond the chaos there is time to dance~

Blankets of snow

I love the snow. It may because everything appears to be blanketed in perfection, because it promotes playfulness, or because it brings out everyone's cuddly side. Those reasons and many more are reasons why I had a great weekend in Sequoia. I went with an amazing group of people, learned skills that I can apply to future snow adventures, ate delicious backcountry food(so many trail mix burritos!), and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

memories:
Casey's crazy driving
Trail mix burritos, chilli, awesome oatmeal
Jammin the harmonica @ Panther Gap
Weird sandwich factory dreams
The sunset
Boiling snow for water
Wet socks
Sketchy ice
Self arresting(big kid excuse to slide down hills)



~beyond the chaos, there is something ew to learn~

just juggle.

It was just another usual afternoon; slack lining, juggling, and unicycling! not.
This is not my usual but from now on, it will be!
I learned how to slack line a two and a half years ago but I don't get to practice often because I don't have my own line. One of the other poly escape co's and some guys that work at the climbing walk are really good and set up lines a lot. They invited me to go slack with them this afternoon so, of course, I took them up on their offer and went! It was a blast and I was totally impressed with the skill these guys have! They set up 3 lines, all varying levels. So fun but Definetely need to practice more. As we were slack lining two of the people said, "we are going to go back and juggle," which got my attention for sure. I have an ongoing bucketload that I add things to periodically and just a few hours before slack lining I wrote I wanted to learn how to juggle. So I ask the guys where they were going to juggle and just down the hall was the unofficial juggling club! They said they would teach me so I took it as fate calling my name and eventually went over. As I walk up to the scene, I witnessed a circus in front of me, and the coolest circus at that! Guys were juggling 7 balls at a time, unicycling, juggling while cycling! It was so exciting and the energy was awesome. They actively taught me the steps to juggle and said I was a natural. I planned on staying for 10 minutes but ended up staying for 45! I LY was so mesmerizing and fun:) can't wait to go back again and practice more!


~beyond the chaos, there is weird talents to learn~

Gear.

SLO camp and pack surplus store-- so neat! Cheap gear and good quality:) I got fleece pants, wool gloves, socks, and a hat for 50 dollars which is a really great price for nice gear. Ill be using my new gear this weekend on my sequoia snow skills trip, so look out for my post on Monday or Tuesday!

~beyond the chaos, there is cool things to buy~

CONDEMNED.

I am currently being forced by slo fire department out of my bedroom. My lovely loft that I have grown to love, has been deemed "unlivable" and all tenants in pinecreek that are living in the loft are "condemned" and must evacuate the living space.
This is just what all of us college students needed smack in the middle of winter quarter. I spent my night clearing my closet free from clothes(fire hazard because of the gas furnace) and flipping my bed so it is no longer considered a bedroom. It is meant to be a storage space so I don't think there will be a problem with keeping my things up there and sleeping in one of the other bedrooms.
I slept on our couch last night, luckily we purchased an unbelievably comfortable coach so that will do for now.
Can't wait for this to blow over a little bit. My roommates and I are going to look into houses to live in next year instead, because I don't mind this inconvenience temporarily, but I will not continue to pay the price I am paying without having a room of my own.

~Beyond the chaos, the unexpected will happen~

Quite the appetite.

Most days I am on campus from 8 am to 8 pm. With my hectic schedule I try and spend Sunday doing some casual food prep for the week. I made some delicious veggie dishes that I can't wait to enjoy. People that say packed lunches are boring have never tried mine.
In the midst of my food prep, I had to make a delicious dinner too. Highly recommend this one, its a portabella mushroom with kale, pesto, avocado, and parmesan.
For the week I prepared baked asparagus and brussel sprouts and zucchini paties.


~Beyond the chaos, there is time to enjoy what you love~

Experience.

How did I get so lucky?
I seriously don't go a day without having a great conversation with someone, laughing till I cry, or seeing something/someone beautiful!

Today was just another day of many where I got to explore with Poly Escapes ~Morro Bay kayaking~ the weather couldn't not have been better and the company was awesome:)
I also went to a lacrose game for the first time to root on a fellow sandwich maker (coworker) and wow I was amazed at how this game is played! So intense and very beautiful people running everywhere and doing crazy things.
I have decided I am going to sart going to a lot more sporting events to cheer on friends because I love the energy there!



Beyond the chaos, is just more laughter~

Surf on a Sunday

Not many people can go surfing in the middle of winter, and those that can usually dont. I on the other hand made a trip out to pismo with Poly Escapes to co lead a surf trip. There was a mystic fog all morning and the water was chilly, only bearable because of our wetsuits. I was so impressed with all the participants and just had a great time enjoying the company of the group and the beautiful beach.
I will need to go out to the ocean more cause I spent a little more time frolicking in the waves rather then actually riding them. Couldn't have asked for a nicer Sunday of surfing

~Beyond the chaos, there is frienships being made~

Culture. Art. Wine

Art after Dark is my new favorite thing in San Luis Obispo. The first Friday of every month, local shops downtown open their doors and share food and wine to people coming to look at art displays set up in there stores. I went to so many stores I didn't even know existed in SLO and left the night with some great wine in my system, bamboo pants, an adorable 'smile' ring, and a bit more cultured.


My town is so unique.


~Beyod the chaos, there is something new to be found~

Smiles.Shopping.Sunsets

Made a day trip with my two lovely friends to Santa Barbara. We had a great time shopping at REI and little shops downtown. I regretfully didn't take any pictures at all, but I left with about $350 worth of gifts for myself:)

I am constantly being reminded of the good things surrounding me which makes me so happy and appreciative to live the life I am living as well as making it easier to let go of the bad things that happen

~Beyond the chaos, there is frienship~

My playground.

I love traveling, but since I am carrying the heavy task of being a student, sometimes I can't make it out of the town much. Lucky for me, I live in the beautiful San Luis Obispo, where there is opportunities to explore and hike everywhere. Can't get much better them this..

~poly canyon~

~Montaña de Oro~

~the P~

~Madonna Mountain at sunrise~

~Caves along Bishop's~




~Beyond the chaos, there is adventure to take~