8. Learn one new recipe and cook it once a week.

Hmm, clearly, this hasn't been a weekly habit.  I've been cooking more frequently though, rather than just heating up something frozen.  As far as original recipes however, I could branch out a bit more.  On tonight's menu:

Pasta with Chicken and Veggies

1 green squash

1 yellow squash

1 onion

2 cups sliced mushrooms

2 cups grilled chicken

4 cups fresh broccoli raab

1 jar of spaghetti sauce

1 pound of whole wheat penne pasta

garlic

basil

parmesan

Sautee onion, garlic, squash, and mushrooms.  Add jar of sauce to vegetables.  Boil broccoli raab for 3 - 4 mins.  Drain, mix in with sauce and vegetables.  Add basil and simmer.  Cook pasta.  Drain, mix with sauce concoction.

You can thank me for all that fiber later.

61. Ditch white breads/pastas. Move to whole-grain products.

Check.  Except when I make my world-famous grilled cheese.  Some things can only be done with Stroehmann white bread.

Happy Holidays

Since I'm way too lazy to post separately, here's St. Patty's/Andrew's 21st, along with some Easter stuff.

My Penn State Football Egg

The finished products

Better Late

These are from about a month ago when we were in Colorado. Copper Mountain, specifically. It snowed like hell the last day in town. And since I procrastinated, it was the only time I had the camera out on the slopes. As a result, the ski shots aren't all that great, but the village sure looked beautiful.

I would have taken some from the very tippy top of the mountain if there weren't white-out conditions.  They'll be better next time, promise.

Kinky

I've held off on this post for quite a while, for fear of jinxing myself.  I believe very strongly in the gods of karma and jinxing.  So you can imagine my surprise when my blatant lack of respect for a school accepted me into their D.O. class for Fall 2008.

I appear as a semi-competitive student for medical school on paper (I'll spare you the stats - I'm not a tool).  It all really came down to the interview for me.  Could I impress them enough to give me the nod of approval to admissions?  I thought so, at least until the last question.

Interview Committee: "If you don't get into medical school this year, where will you go from there?"

Right Answer: "I'm so glad you asked, interview committee, I will reapply to your institution next year and be the first application in your mailbox.  I know I applied late this year.  I'm a chronic procrastinator (did I forget to mention that?) and deserve to be punished.  Please give me the opportunity to give you more money in application fees next year."

My Answer: "Honestly, this is it for me.  I have a life.  I won't be spending another year of it applying to medical school.  I'll get a job for a couple years and then go back and get my PhD.  I'll probably ending up making more money than your doctors anyway." (I omitted the last sentence for the actual interview)

Read: Your school isn't all that important to me.  Let me rub shit all over it and then throw it in your faces.

The Interview Committee proceeded to rip me a new asshole after that answer and I left the room feeling defeated and sore.  I didn't expect any letter in the mail after that, much less an acceptance.  Perhaps Admissions Committees appreciate the bitch slap now and then.  As my brother said, "they liked the kinkiness of it, and want it for another 4 years."

I believe I've cashed in all my karma chips on that one though.  Time to start building up again for residency slots.