Packin’ Up

Packing is always a challenge for me. I never know what to bring and what not to bring. I always bring too much. I’m always worried that my suitcase(s) will be over the 50 lb limit when I fly home. I never plan ahead and leave some space, despite the fact that I always have more stuff going back due to shopping, gifts, etc.

The long breaks are harder, obviously because I pack a lot more. I want to have everything with me when I’m home, so I always over-do it. The first thing I do when I get home is UNpack, because there’s nothing I hate more than living out of a suitcase. Even if I’m only here for a few days, everything is out of the suitcase and into the closet right away! Then I put my suitcases where I can’t see them. Then, I can relax.

Today, I have load it all up again. Between Christmas, traveling, shopping and more shopping….I have accumulated a lot of things. All of it has to fit back into the two big suitcases I brought with me, that were full to begin with. Ehhhhh.

Then there’s the question of what will be my “carry-on”, and what to pack in that. As a frequent flier and victim of the new regulations on what is allowed/not allowed in your carry-on bag, these are what I consider essentials:

• Ipod
• Wallet (don’t forget that ID!!!)
• Gum
• Magazine(s)
• Lotion (that now has to be under 3 oz, and in a plastic bag. Because clearly plastic bags will protect us from the terrorists)
• A good book

I used to always bring a bottle of water to avoid having to buy one for $3, but that’s not allowed anymore. No liquid over 3 oz, and like I mentioned above, all liquids have to be in a small plastic bag. I have yet to figure out how this is protecting us from anything. Any insight into this?? I always wonder….

I do have some buddies around here that like to “help” me pack. We have 3 cats that all love to climb into a bag or box of any form, whether they fit or not. Then they peek their cute little heads out and purr. They are always so proud of themselves for finding a way into this new contraption. When I pull out empty suitcases to start the packing process, they have a new playground. They immediately climb in, lay down, and look up at me like “Hey can I come too??” Personally, I would love to bring them back to school with me. But they definitely would not fit, or be any help towards meeting that 50 lb mark (they are a little large, in LB’s words “WHOA! big ass cats”. haha)

Alright, back to the disaster that is currently my room. This is an all day task, not fun. Only to unpack it all tomorrow. Which is actually really fun around our apartment, because we all run around showing off our New stuff and trying on each other’s clothes/shoes. That is the only thing that makes this process exciting.

Weather Confusion

I go to school in Pennsylvania. It’s supposed to be cold there. During the winter it is usually about 10 degrees outside and it snows a lot.  That’s just how it is.

I live in the desert of the Southwest. Close enough to Colorado to get some cold weather during the winter and beautiful temperatures and sunshine during the Fall, Spring and Summer.

During January, it should not be 60 degrees in Pennsylvania and 20 degrees here.  It should not be sunny in State College while the sky is dumping 3 inches of snow in the southwest!  Something is definitely not right here. The weather got confused. I am not amused.

I have spent all day inside, with the exception of half an hour this afternoon when I got to shovel snow off our driveway. I’m not really complaining about this, days like that can be nice; curling up in a blanket and reading or watching TV and movies “The Office”.

I guess I should enjoy this now, since we start the Spring semester exactly one week from today.  From then on, when it snows, I’ll be pulling on some boots and layers of clothes and trekking to classes all day instead.  Ehhhhh.

This Is Me Cooking, Part 2

On the menu tonight:

Jalapeño Beer Bread & Mexico Tortilla Soup

My mom told me she wanted to make Beer Bread tonight (I thought of you LB ) so then we decided to make a soup to go with it.  I searched Kraft’s website, as I often do, to find something to go with our bread and decided on their Mexican Tortilla Soup.

As usual, we are adding our own “twist” to the recipe. Simple stuff, nothing fancy.   When browning the ground beef, add Taco Seasoning to the meat.  Usually this comes in packets that can be a cheap as $0.50. All you do is add it to the meat when it’s almost done cooking and you’ll typically add it with some water (depends on the brand, each has it’s own directions).  These packets are usually found with the salsa, taco shells, etc.  I also use this seasoning when I make chili to add some extra flavor.

I’m also adding a can of diced tomatoes (undrained) with green chilies to the mix.  I think tomatoes are good in tortilla soup and my mom found the kind that comes canned with the chilies for some extra “spice”. Good stuff!

When we were grocery shopping I stumbled upon a dry mix for the Jalapeño Beer Bread. I was planning on just doing my regular bread, but this sounded too good! The company Desert Gardens makes great dry mixes for soups, breads, and a variety of dips. I only see them when I’m home (in the Southwest), so I stock up and bring some of the soup and dip mixes back with me. I had never seen bread mixes before, and this one was standing solo on the shelf. Perfect twist on beer bread for our Mexican meal! I can smell it baking right now…mmmmmm.

Beer bread has got to be the easiest kind of bread to make.  All you need is the beer of your choice, self-rising flour and sugar.  I’ve used Red Stripe, Yuengling Lager, and Miller Lite.  I normally wouldn’t use a “lite” beer, and don’t recommend it, because it won’t add as much flavor.  But we thought it would actually work better with the Jalapeño bread because we didn’t want something too sweet.

Beer Bread

3 cups Self-Rising Flour
1/4 cup Sugar
1 12 oz. Beer (your choice!), at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 375°. Mix flour and sugar in a large bowl.  Add the beer and stir until mixed. Do Not Overmix!
Place the dough into a greased 9×5 inch pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes. Remove from pan and let it cool about 5 minutes before cutting.

Yup! That’s it!

I love that recipe because you only need 3 things and there’s basically one step: add it all together! Simple and quick. And mmmmm it’s gooood!

Eat & Enjoy!

Seasons 1-3 on DVD

Confession: I have spent the last week and a half (minus the weekend trip to Texas) watching “The Office” on DVD. I can’t stop. I’m addicted. I’m soooooo entertained.

I’m also developing a huge crush on Jim Halpert.

For fear that some of you have not started watching the show (do it! now! go rent it!!!!), I’m not here to divulge any secrets. I’m just here to rave about how amazing this show is. I would even go so far as to say; this is the best show on network television since Seinfeld.

It is a “mockumentary” of a group of office workers in Scranton, PA. If you can make anything in Scranton, PA even remotely interesting, Kudos to You! If you can make an office for a paper company in Scranton interesting and hilarious, you have gone above and beyond.

Today we start Season 3.  My mom and brother are watching these with me (in case you were wondering what the “we” is about), and they have no idea what happens. I, on the other hand, basically started watching this show more consistently during the fourth season.  That translates to: I’m not in as much suspense about the “jim and pam” thing.  Basically I know what happens in the long run, but it’s much more fun watching it from the start.  The last episode of Season 2 was a “cliff-hanger”, and I was waiting for that one the whoooole time.

The fact that you can watch entire seasons of a show on DVD has completely changed television.  Do you want to start watching something, but don’t want to be out-of-the-loop? Is there was that show that you just never got around to watching but heard it was “Sooo good”? Or, do you have that show that you can’t get enough of, despite the fact that you’ve seen every episode…multiple times? (“Friends”, “Seinfeld”, “Sex & the City”…anybody?) Simple solution my friends, go rent it on DVD!

The future of television may be at stake here.  We are spoiled by the fact that we can sit down and watch every episode of a season back-to-back. The suspense is lost.  After a few days, you know everything that happened over what should have been months of religiously tuning in at 8 o’clock every Thursdays night.

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for this trend.  I admit it: I have watched numerous television series on DVD, and DVD only. These are not my intentions! I understand that without the numbers, the show would not go on.  They are cancelled, and replaced with something of equal or lesser value. Usually the latter. In my defense, after watching a season (or two…or three) I start actually watching the show.  But I have been spoiled by the commercial-free, back-to-back, on-my-clock version.

Alas, my Thursday nights are now in disarray.  What used to be a night solely and completely devoted to “Grey’s Anatomy”, has now turned into a battle of the shows.  “The Office” is no longer conveniently on right before “Grey’s”, instead it is on at the same time. So is the last season of “Scrubs”. Tough decisions here!

Or, choose one and wait until the other is out on DVD right?

Another Win for JoePa

After a 24-17 defeat over the Texas A&M Aggies in the 2007 Valero Alamo Bowl, Joe Paterno reached a record of 23 career bowl wins as the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions. As I mentioned earlier, he also holds the record for bowl appearances, with 34 under his belt. The Alamo bowl also marked his 500th game as a coach for PSU!

With every game and every season, he is setting records and making history. At the age of 80 he still runs out onto the field with the team before every game, he still paces the sidelines and yells at the officials, he still consistently coaches winning seasons, and he still pleases the crowd. When our team runs out on the field to start of each game people are cheering just as much for him as they are for them (if not more so )!

I stood next to a small group of Aggie fans (stuck in the Penn State section) during the game. During the first few minutes they kept saying things like, “No he’s on the 25, wait…now the 30. See! Yah, look, that’s definitely him!”. At first I thought they were probably talking about one of their players, but then I realized they were following JoePa up and down the sideline. Watching him instead of the game. I had to ask, and this was one guy’s response:

“He is college football history! We’re not talkin’ Bobby Bowden or somethin’, this is Joe Pa!!”

Couldn’t have said it better myself!

And for those who keep speculating, he’s not going anywhere! In reference to our amazing fans, alumni, students, band, etc, his exact words were:

“Did you see the crowd and that atmosphere tonight? Where else would I want to be?”

WE ARE….PENN STATE.