Catch-up

I cannot even begin to put into words how incredibly relieved I am to be finished with this semester.

This was one of the most academically challenging last few months of my life. When I started college the first time at 15 it was easier than the five courses I've been taking since February.

But I took my last final this morning...and I am free!

I'm taking summer semester off because I'm going to be spending a large chunk of June in Florida. My sister is having her first child and I am so excited to meet him that I could just scream.

Additionally we'll be moving. In July. We just don't know where to.

Tell me that's not stressful, eh?

In any event, I'll have plenty of time over the next few weeks to whip up some tasty treats to share with the 7 people who read this thing.

I'm going to attempt to make recipes that are as low-calorie as possible. While suffering through the hardest load of classes EVAR - I've also managed to lose 15 lbs. I'd like to lose 5 more before I make it to Florida in a couple weeks and then after that I'm hoping and wishing to lose another 10-15 lbs. I figure that I weighed 120 lbs. for a large portion of my adolescence and dammit I'm going to get there again.

Even if I go insane in the process.

Hopefully that won't happen. But I bet if it did my husband and I would still get along great. And by that I mean he's a crazy person (love you, honey!).

I lost the power cord to my camera's battery charger for about a week, so I wasn't able to take pictures of as many things as I'd like. I finally found it though and managed to grab a few shots of a childhood favorite of many...circus animal crackers!



And oh boy is it ever.

I remember my friends having these in their school lunches and being totally envious of them. My mother never bought these kinds of things for us when we were kids - she believed in us eating things that were actually good for us....lame-o. Every chance I got I'd try and trade at the lunch table for a couple of these babies.



After trying them again, courtesy of Foodbuzz, I'm quite sad to admit that my childhood tastebuds were horribly mistaken - they taste nothing of the delicious, sprinkle-covered awesomeness that I remember. More like someone dipped cardboard in sugar.

Boo.

At least they're still cute though.

I've also developed a distinct love for swiss chard in the last couple weeks. I'd never tried it before, although I've eaten just about every other green under the sun, and after my first exploration into the world of chard-y-goodness I am hooked!

It's particularly delicious sauteed up with mushrooms, shrimp, tomatoes, and cheese ravioli (tortellini in this shot - I ended up making it again a few days later but was out of ravioli).



I found that it is also delicious in baked penne. Though considering that the ingredients are largely the same it shouldn't have been too surprising. I'll blame it on the fact that my cognitive abilities have sunk to that of a goldfish after exercising my big juicy brain so thoroughly for the last few months.



And so concludes my update on the last few crazy, crazy weeks. I hope to be making a particularly tasty treat in the next few days for a particularly daring group - if you catch my drift.

Hasta luego, mi amigos.