Chewy Granola Bars Recipe

I got a new cookbook called The Student Cookbook, and its full of recipes that require very little time, and most or all of the ingredients are really cheap and easy to find. Right now I'm making English flapjacks. They're like chewy granola bars, kinda. Here's a recipe for anyone (broke or rich) who wants to try them. The ingredients are super cheap, and most people already have all the stuff in their cupboards.

Preheat oven to 300.

• 13 Tablespoons butter (I used salted)
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup 
• 1 scant cup of brown sugar 
• 2 cups rolled oats 

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Once melted, add maple syrup and brown sugar; stir until sugar is dissolved. Add the rolled oats and put into a 8x12 (I used a 8x8) lined with parchment paper (wax paper). bake for 20 minutes, slice immediately and let cool.

Conrad and I had an amazing day together yesterday. We woke up, ate rice and eggs, went to Barnes and Noble (in search of home design books, for when we build our dream home), Best Buy (in search of new phones, washer/dryer, etc.), PetSmart (in search of a furry or feathery companion), and Old Navy (in search of a deal on summer clothes). Then we saw a matinee showing of Date Night. After we came home, we went on a walk through downtown, came home and had stroganoff with lemon grilled asparagus. Then we stayed up doing homework, reading books, watching old home videos my parents let us borrow, went to bed, and slept super well!

Hope everyone's having as good of a weekend as we are!

My life once we're stinking rich

Being young, married, and poor rocks! However, it inhibits any extra eccentricities you'd indulge in, had you enough money. Here are a few things I will do when we strike gold.

get a cello and learn how to play it.

build a custom house with my hub.

get a better car.

paint outside.

become a competing ballroom dancer.

swim whenever i want because my pool will be heated year round.

work out regularly with a personal trainer who has no mercy.

stop being a frump.

new clothes all the time.

go to parties, fashion shows, charity events, etc.

learn whatever i want [sculpting, piano, photography, clothing design].

travel on a whim.

have a fantastically landscaped yard.

have a luxury sail boat.

do all this stuff with my kids.

Yes, I will be a socialite. Yes, I will do my own cooking and cleaning. I want to expose my kids to fantastic things {art, history, travel, nature}, but I will also teach them that they could only get these things with work. My parents set the same example for me and my siblings. I enjoy work. I enjoy being domestic. I also enjoy being catered to and shopping. Having both is not impossible, in fact it is easier to obtain the latter by also doing the former. That is why I've chosen to finish my education. I've decided to work as long as I'm In school. How can I tell my kids to finish education and be hard workers if I have/am not?

Lists

-Mother's day is coming upppp. What to get her? What to get Conrad's mom? I have two moms now!!!

-We ate really delicious spicy chinese food from Target (freezer section) and I hope I don't regret it later.

-I'm finally getting used to my new haircut. I bought mousse and a curling iron for the sake of sanity.

-I'm making incredible progress with keeping the house clean, quitting soda (extremely gradually), and not sweating the small stuff

-I'm not doing very well at controlling my shopping urges. I've spent, like, $250 this month on new stuff for myself.

- I have homework. so...much...reading.......

- Where to move? Where to finish school? Where to work once we do move? Buy a house?

Obviously, I'm a list-oriented person. I love goals and rewards. I love writing everything down, mostly because I LOVE the feeling of being able to cross something off the list. But I'm really unmotivated to do certain things. I read Elise's blog and it had a really good idea: when you list your goals, attach a treat (not necessarily food) that you get when the goal is accomplished.

For example:

1. read Huck Finn article and answer worksheet questions; watch CSI.

2. do laundry and clean living room and kitchen; go out to dinner with hub.

3. run 2x a week for 4 weeks in a row; nonfat fro-yo.

4. resist shopping urges; paint.

5. write anthropology paper; sign up for dance lessons with conrad.

Yes these are real. No, none of them are accomplished.

I'm thinking about cheating on my...

hairdresser.

1. She invites her friends to the shop while she does my hair. This is a business transaction. When you are chatting away with your mother, it distracts you. I don't enjoy sitting there for 45 minutes while you turn the blow-dryer on and off, trying to hear everything she says. Save your socializing for a time when I'm not paying for it.

2. She cuts my bangs on an angle. AN ANGLE?!?! I had to come straight home and fix it myself. So remind me what I paid for?

3. When she washed my hair, the water was freezing cold. Normally thats ok, because they don't always know how hot you want it. But when I asked her to heat it up, she scalded my head.

4. When she blow-dries my hair, she blows it straight into my face. It dries that way, and blocks my vision!

Mostly it was the talking that bothered me. Her chattiness doubled the amount of time it should have taken.

I've been going to her since I was 12, but I think this relationship is over.

Being a newlywed (I'm still a newlywed, right? one year?) means I don't have tons of cash to drop on a shotty hair job. So what should I do? Would you cheat?

grocery list and budget

Ok, I know I just posted one, but I thought of something else on my mind.

Typically each month we spend around $200 on groceries. And we're pretty good about using what we have. However, we do eat out a lot. Like, three times a week. I want to do more meals at home, not only because it's cheaper, but it's healthier. I shop at Albertsons. I'm not a maniac fan of it or anything, it's just the closest store. So they had a special (not sure if its still going on) where if you buy a $250 gift card, they would give you an extra $20, and if you did $300 you got $30. So I got the $300 one. I figured, if I'm gonna be shopping here more instead of eating out, make it worth my wallet. So I get to use that money, plus my Albertsons card, plus coupons. Not bad.

My typical grocery list is:

2 gal milk

1 gal OJ

Pomegranate juice

Apple juice (we like juice)

Lots of fruit like bananas, lemons, limes, berries

Also lots of veggies like squash, zucchini, carrot, cucumber, onion, etc

Eggs

Cereal

Pasta + some kind of sauce

Chinese food from the frozen section (so good when you don't feel like spending a lot of time in the kitchen)

Occasionally ice cream

When we eat at home, it's pretty healthy. I've rekindled my love for almond butter (it's like peanut butter for the PB-impaired). It's just when we eat out, we get these big delicious meals that 2 normal people could split just one of. We overeat, plus the food is greasy or sugary or salty, then it makes you feel gross, then you're grumpy, then your marriage suffers.

I'm really curious of any staple foods you typically have in your cupboards. I'm never without pasta or frozen chicken breasts.

Conrad got a job!

He's already started! It's an engineering job with a company that does train/rail work. He does project management along with paperwork and on-site stuff. It's in LA, so he'll take the train! The best part is, because they do so much work with the metro, they'll pay for 60% of ticket costs for employees. So much money saved!

It's part-time for now, because he's still in school, but when he graduates in June, he'll be full-time with benefits.

So now, we're looking at cities to move to. I'll decide on a school to finish at, then we'll move somewhere near both my school and Conrad's job. It's all coming together!! In about 6 months (more or less) we'll buy a house.

Today we went over all the upcoming expenses we have, and its no small list.

1. Contacts and glasses prescriptions for both of us

2. Fix the cars: AC and new windshield for the Ranger, new tires for the Maxima

3. New phone plan

4. Business wardrobe for Conrad (business casual, his idea)

5. Dog for wife

6. House, plus all furnishings, maintenance, loan fees, inspection, etc.

7. Surfboards and wetsuits/springsuits (only if we live close enough to the beach)

8. Vespa!!

I'm so jealous of Jacie for getting one. I've wanted a scooter for the longest time, and Conrad said that if we live near my campus, I could ride it to school. Imagine the gas/car money we'd save!!

Rough day

was horrible. i usually hate when people dish about their awful lives constantly, but today i'll allow it, only because i need to do it. It all started last night. I ate bagel crisps that must have been fried in peanut oil or something, because they made me ill for 4 hours before i worked up the courage to vomit (i try to hold it down until i feel like i'd rather die). so once it was all out, my face puffed up and my nose was so clogged that the harder i blew to get it out, the more clogged it became. so i took a theraflu, 2 benadryl, and 3 tums. Needless to say, i passed out. However, it wasn't a good kind of pass out. it was a "my mind's still awake but my body is dead" kind of pass out. conrad said i moved all night (which was evident in the morning when my body was sore and still totally exhausted) and i even had a dream about lady gaga.

When I woke up, I was dazed, still hopped up on all kinds of fun stuff. My nose was still clogged, and I realized that in order to not suffocate, I had to breathe through my mouth for 9 hours. Tongue = numb and dry. Throat = sore and gaggy. I knew immediately it would be a fun day. I layed in bed longer than I should have, thinking I could just skip my only class today, but I realized I have a test on thursday that I'm not at all prepared for, and that I should definitely attend class. So I lurched out of bed and Conrad helped me by making my oatmeal and getting me out the door.

On the way to school, I felt funny. Like, dirty. I realized that in all my scurry, I forgot to brush my teeth. Imagine the foul taste I had after a whole night of mouth-breathing, followed by milky, sugary oatmeal. Luckily I only had to deal with it for an hour and a half, but still...

After class (for which test I'm still totally unprepared) I drove home, listening to Huck Finn on CD. It occurs to me, after finally brushing my teeth that I have a quiz on the whole book tomorrow, and that I still have 4 CD's to listen to. Screw it. I'll Sparknotes it. In the same class, there is also a GIANT paper due. I did it, don't worry. I just forgot to edit, revise, rewrite the conclusion paragraph, and email to myself. Whatever, I can afford to get a C on one paper.

"Oh yeah, and you have to rush to work today, with your still-swollen face, unwashed hair, and no work clothes," said the universe. Just when I thought I could relax. So I went to work for 8 hours, came home, had In-n-out, tried to finish homework while watching the Food Network, failed, and decided that I gave this day a valiant effort, and tomorrow will probably be better.

I write this now, completely worn-out. My face is not swollen anymore, my teeth are brushed, i'm a showered woman. As for homework, my paper is still unrevised, but I emailed it to myself so I can print it at school. I didn't read Huck Finn or its Sparknotes. I ate past 7 pm. My husband thinks I'm mad at him and I'm not. I love him. He's the reason I persevere.

Shut up, universe.