Ninja Assassins

I have never really worried or been particularly scared of spiders... but after moving into a spider-infested basement apartment, I have developed a new-found spider phobia! We have tried multiple things to get rid of them, but to no avail! They always seem to approach me when Aaron isn't home, it's like they are on a special mission or something... I have single-handedly killed hundreds of these evil creatures, so I just know that I am on their secret "kill list." I have even killed a couple that I know were specifically assigned to take me out. The first one was a black widow directly above the front door. I bet you can imagine my horror upon glancing up and matching her menacing gaze. I know she was just waiting for the perfect moment to jump on and kill me! The second, and most recent is when a large black spider (I refer to him as ninja assassin) came spinning down from the ceiling just inches in front of my face! Needless to say there was wailing and failing of arms... He didn't last long. But if he would have had better navigation, he could have easily landed on top of my head... and BOOM I would be dead.

What gets me is I haven't seen any for a couple days... I just know that they are planning their next assassination mission... I mean, I have killed several of their kind so can I truly blame them? I am mentally preparing for the next attack. If you don't hear back from me in several days... then I hope you can make it to my funeral. ;)



peace.

Oh and ps, I am being only slightly serious. (:

Birthday Weekend

Just in case ya'll didn't notice, Aaron and I basically share the same Birthday--mine is the day before his. It's kinda cool 'cause we are almost exactly 2 years apart! Well, needless to say, this special phenomenon causes for much celebration in the Best household. (: We started off the weekend with... BIRTHDAY CAKE! Not just any birthday cake: Homemade OREO CREAM CAKE.

Aaron insisted on eating it right after work (he gets home after 11 pm) he just couldn't wait for the next day! Can you blame him?

Silly, cute boy of mine (:

Blowing out the candle! 

(It sang "Happy Birthday" very annoyingly... perfect). 

Mmmm! It was very tasty and rich! 

NOT going to lie, we were both pretty impressed with my baking skills ;) 

Here's a link to the delicious recipe if you're interested. 

Did you notice that there are no pictures of the birthday girl? 

This is because I was planning on doing the cake thing the next day... 

and was already ready for bed... (I mean c'mon it was 11!)

 I looked like a creature that only a devoted husband could love (:

hahahahaha. I make myself laugh.

THE NEXT DAY:

We decided to go eat at this cute little sandwich shop called Sensuous Sandwiches haha! Let me tell you: it was most definitely SENSUOUS. We plan on going back soon, it was delish and reasonably priced. (Aaron says it's even better than Jimmy Johns... I am undecided) Plus they have an eating challenge: eat a delicious TWO FOOT sandwich in like 30 mins... Please... Have you seen my husband eat? Some challenge ;) 

Afterwards we went to Wally World (Wal-Mart) to buy the supplies for our super fun activity/date! I got the idea from this website. It's called a watermark tee. Basically you draw a design with glue onto your white shirt, after it dries you dye it (you can buy fabric dyes at Wal-Mart) and the glue acts as a resistant. In other words, wherever you put the glue will remain white... Or at least that's the idea. ;)

His says: GOT SHOTPUT? on the front and then UVU TRACK on the back. Mine is pretty lame... just some diagonal stripes with a little doodle on the bottom corner (cropped out of the picture...FAIL.) I wasn't feeling the creative juices flowing, I guess. Next time (: 

I don't have pictures of the finished project just yet... we dyed them a light gray, and it worked pretty well! Really want to try it again. 

INTERMISSION: 

I made him take a ton of pictures with me... Isn't he so nice? (:

Just some silly pictures. If you can't read the quote it says: 

"Anyone can be passionate, but it takes real lovers to be silly. -Rose Franken." 

This is PERFECT for us. We are just plain silly. 

Our poor children will be so embarrassed and humiliated by us... especially when they are teenagers. (:

TO FINISH OFF THE WEEKEND:

To finish off our celebration we opened presents, went out to dinner at none other than PF Chang's, and then wandered aimlessly in the nearby mall. 

It was marvelous. (: 

Oh, cute note: there was a darling wishing well in the mall, we made wishes and shared our dreams/goals with each other. May not sound like much, but it was a tender moment. I love him. So much. 

So... um... HAPPY BIRTHDAY from us to you...? (: 

the end.

Peace and love. 

The Curly Girl Method

This book is changing my life! I have always struggled with liking and accepting my naturally curly hair. Despite the efforts of my mother and others, I always managed to find something wrong with it. I always felt prettier and more confident with straight hair. This book/method teaches you how to embrace, love and take care of your curls It also helps to banish the myth that straight hair is more beautiful, more professional, ect. I've been doing it for less than 3 weeks and I am already loving it, and noticing a difference!

I took this today (just under 3 weeks into the curly girl method)

So basically the major change is that I no longer use shampoo to clean my hair; I know, I know, that sounds really gross, huh? The reason is that curly hair tends to be a lot dryer than other types, and shampoo contains sulfate which strips your hair of its natural oil and dries it out. You can still use shampoo if you want, but it HAS to be sulfate-free (read the labels on everything!). Instead of shampoo (and following what the book suggests) I massage my scalp with conditioner, the key to a clean scalp is the way you massage it. That, by itself is enough to clean the dirt and oil out while moisturizing and nourishing the hair. 

There are other steps of course, but the no shampoo is the biggest and first step. If you wanna get started on this major lifestyle change, I suggest checking out this book at your library or buying it off Amazon.com for $8. This website is also awesome with helping you get started: naturallycurly.com. (This page also helps you find salons in your area that specialize cutting curly hair. Can't wait to go!)

I found out about this crazy, awesome "method" from watching a girl named Sarah on youtube. She is so helpful and really detailed, she has a ton of videos on how to take care of your curls using the curly girl method. Watch her! You'll learn lots! 

So... Yeah (: I guess I'll just keep posting pictures of my hair transformation. Loving it so far!

Peace and love.

First Week of School and Garlic Chicken Recipe... Mmm

Well, we survived our first week of school! Score. All I can say is I am tired of generals. I wanna move on with my life and take classes that I actually want to take, not some classes that "they" think I should take. Alas, here I am... I can do this (; Aaron likes school, he's into a little more personalized classes though... Lucky! He has a lot on his plate right now with work, school and track... I'm afraid I won't see him very much. Welcome to newly wed college years, right? We're lovin life though and try to focus more on the little moments that we do have with each other. He is so sweet (: I love him.

Okay enough of the mushy filler stuff (; what really got me on the computer was this awesome recipe I found on http://kathiecooks.blogspot.com... GARLIC CHICKEN! YUM!!

Sorry about the picture... This is what was left over in the pan... Haha I didn't think about it until after. Still looks yummy though, huh?

This is the recipe I used (with my alterations in yellow)

Prep Veggies:

Slice 1 zucchini, 1 pkg. fresh mushrooms, and 1 - 2 carrots into long strips. (You can use any of your favorite veggies). I used the carrots, green bell peppers and an onion

Prep Chicken:

Slice 1 - 2 chicken breasts into thin long strips.

Put in small bowl and add:

1/4 t. salt

1/2 t. sugar

1 egg white

1 1/2 T. cornstarch

1 T. oil

Mix all together.

Prep Thickening Agent:

In small bowl put 2 T. cornstarch and a little bit of water. Stir.

Heat pan on high and add enough oil to generously cover the bottom of the pan. Cook a little bit of the chicken at a time in the hot oil. Remove and put on plate once cooked.

Deep fry veggies next using the same oil. Add carrots first because they take longer to cook than zucchini and mushrooms. Remove veggies from oil and put on another plate.

Add 1 1/2 T. minced garlic to pan (if there's a lot of oil left remove some just leaving a couple of Tablespoons). Saute garlic then add 1/2 inch water to the pan (while on high heat). Be really careful when adding the water! The combination with the oil made it splash up. Oops/Ouch

Add:

5 T. soy sauce

2 T. sugar

2 T. chinkiang vinegar I didn't have this so I just used apple cider vinegar

1/2 t. chili sauce (optional) didn't use

1/2 - 1 t. sesame oil didn't use either... I didn't have it, probably would have been better with it though! Who knows?

Add thickening agent a little at a time, stirring constantly while on high heat to thicken the sauce. 

Add chicken to sauce and stir. Then add cooked veggies. Stir and serve with rice.

Yummy yummy in my tummy! We both really liked this dish! Let me know if you tried it and what you did differently!

Peace and love.