Down South

Statesboro is so awesome! There isn't much here, but it's great. I don't have to drive so far to get to the other side of town. The past week has been busy. Lots of apartment searching. I've chosen not to live in the beautiful house I am now, because I have such an issue using the house owner's kitchen. Everything is so nice and decoratively displayed, I wouldn't want to mess it up. So I'm spending loads of money eating out, which makes me sick to my stomach. I want homemade rice and chicken, sad face. Anywho, the house is absolutely amazing. It looks exactly like the house that Noah built in The Notebook. I cringe when I bring that movie up, it disgusts me. I have my own bedroom and bathroom all for $300 a month. Then I'm asked, why in hell would I want to leave this? Well because. I need to eat. And it won't be from this amazing kitchen. It will be in a smaller kitchen in a one bedroom/one bath town home for DOUBLE THE PRICE. I rage, but it's okay. I don't have any pictures of the house yet, but I will throw some up once I remember to actually take one.s

The weather here is kind of ridiculous. It's been up around 88F all week except for today, dropped down to 76. While looked at apartments yesterday, one of the leasing officers was showing me around. I asked about the heat. She said it stays around 80 until June, then jumps up to 90 during July and August and back down to 80-70 through September and November. This is the best thing I've heard all week. Summers in San Diego were really short and sad. But this. THIS IS AMAZING. Heat and humidity is my thing. But there has been this strange thing in the air. Something is up with the pollen in the trees. Most cars are covered with a light yellow dusting. I have to wash my car every few days so it doesn't turn yellow. Tons of people are suffering from the pollen, like the house owner I live with. She's had a terrible cold and scratchy throat all week. BUT I'M GOOD BRO.

I do believe this is somewhere out in El Paso, TX.

 I can't remember was swamp/river/lake/huge ass body of water this was named, but it was huge. The bridge was a good 10 miles long.

 This is where people some to drown babies. Such as these folks.

And this one as well.

I unintentionally took a picture of the sign; I was aiming for the actual river.

Couldn't find the welcome sign, doh.

I hate how my own mother takes better pictures than I do.

I turned around and found my dad drinking the water. He said it reminded him of home in Ohio.

The streets of downtown New Orleans was WAY too crowded to find any parking. Next to the sign you could see a part of the Superdome where everyone stayed for shelter during the hurricane.

My mom had to beg and cry for us to stop and take this picture, it was funny.

This one is my favorite.

We managed to drive through four different states in one day. Hence the same outfit in a lot of these pictures.

Leaving Pensacola.

We made a detour in Jacksonville and visited my best friend(s) from elementary. There was supposed to be another twin there, but she was at work. Sad face.

Peaches, ha.

The last day my parents were here, we drove around Savannah.

 

 My mom was talking to a jogger, but she had headphones on.

This is probably the most epic picture of my dad. Much like this one.

Tybee Island.

I absolutely hate packing and unpacking.

 This is where I live. Fo cheap son.

I won't be sharing anything food related for a while, since I'm still in the process of looking for an apartment, but I will get there eventually. I must mention, to get it off my shoulders, that my life is a MESS. Thank you.

I made it!

Okay guys, so I'm here in Statesboro and LOVING this heat. I'll post up some pictures of the trip once I get the chance. I have to drive around in parking lots, stealing business owners wifi. I didn't fly off a cliff!

Coconut Banana Bread with Key Lime Glaze and a side of Moving Madness

 It's been a terrible week. So much going on, as well as going WRONG. But all in all, VERY WELL. This does not make sense. But it will after a few minutes, I swear. But where to begin.

Luck has been on my side lately, only for a few important things. Shouldn't be complaining right? WRONG. Since I got into school, my moving situation has been a success. I've managed to transfer jobs. This is good. Very good. However, my awesome super stupid manager who treats everyone like crap except me because I happen to be so amazing has given me a great review to my new manager in Georgia; I was spoken of with a high recommendation. This is good. But bad. Now I have to work hard and live up to that expectation. But that's fine. Why? Because Statesboro is MUCH smaller than San Diego. This means less customers, less craziness, less frustration and stress. I'm almost positive more than 35% of customers do in fact, speak english. I'm almost positive that 100% of customers will speak english. So I'm not complaining, yet. Also, I found a place to stay when I get there, until I can find my own apartment. This makes me a happy camper. Everyone has turned out exactly how I needed, not wanted. Which is EVEN BETTER!

HOWEVER, my driving situation went down the tiolet. My best friend happened to receive a speeding ticket (not surprised) and could find no one to work her shifts this weekend. It's unfortunate because she's my best friend, and well, that's how it works. So I have to drag my mom with me; it's really nothing to be upset about. BUT I AM. I COULD DIE. Last year, before we took a family trip up to Oklahoma, I had this dream. My mom and I were driving the corolla, brake got stuck, flew off a cliff and died. Why does this scare me? Last month my dad told me about there being a recall on all corollas. Apparently, a small family, driving this great quality car, flew off a cliff and all died. Why? The drivers mat slid up and locked the brake pedal. This should make sense now. I'm terrified to drive with my mom. We leave Saturday, stop in Austin, then make our way to Statesboro. I'm just happy that everything has been working out, sort of. I haven't even started packing yet, and I leave in two days. I'm a slacker. Welcome to my life.

There is also another part of my life that has been going WRONG, but yet well. And of course, this is the date life section. I used to be so good at men. Now I just fail so hard. I have seem to lost my mojo. I realized this yesterday when I summed up the past 8 months of my life. First, I date a guy I met on the interweb for a few months (SAD RIGHT?), then I get stood up by another guy, THEN I crush on another who only talks to me to show how great of a guy he is. This is also the pathetic part of my life. It also falls into the social category where I have lost all ability to socialize. I have a total of two friends here in California. Yes, two. And yet, I'm not bothered.

I attempted to make this banana bread a few months ago. It came out delicious and also came from the amazing Peabody. I have to say, the best part of this bread is the glaze. I couldn't get enough of it. I also added a little more lime juice to the glaze to thin out a little.

Coconut Banana Bread with Key Lime Glaze

2 cup AP flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cup mashed bananas
1/3 cup yogurt or sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter down a large loaf pan.
In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a larger bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Add eggs one at a time. Add banana, yogurt/sour cream and vanilla. Mix well. On low speed, add the flour mixture. Fold in coconut. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the bread passes the toothpick test.

The other day I was reading someones blog who did something interesting. With cooling bread, he laid the pan on the side while cooling. I haven't tried this, but I think I will next time. Anyway, while the bread is cooling...

Key Lime Glaze:
1 tbsp shredded sweetened coconut, you can use more if you like
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 1/2 tbsp key lime juice

Combine all ingredients with a whisk. Drizzle over bread while warm. Enjoy!

A Creative Reminiscence And Some Healthier "Fried" Chicken

All of my grade school years, I was creative. I wrote, I drew, I thought, I imagined. I'm old now, so a lot of that has disappeared, but I'm sure there is a tiny spark of creativity that will last me a good chunk of whatever years I have. In my last year of high school, I wrote a book. This is how I almost failed high school graduation. I had to lie about my community service hours because those hours were spent locked in my room, writing. I remember at one point it was so intense, I woke up in the middle of the night, lit a candle, and continued writing. Those nights, I felt so crazy; I couldn't stop my pen from forming words, to sentences, to paragraphs to pages. At one point, I forgot about reality. But lets not forget, I was young. Anywho, the book was mostly non-fiction, with a few personal experiences tied in. It was about war, family, and choices. One of my favorite parts is when the main character imagines her fantasies in a public library.

   "Excuse me."
   Everything disappeared. The dancers, the candle-lit ballroom, the mysterious shadow, all because of...
   "Excuse me."
   Alet caught herself before crashing into another body. She looked up and saw a tall boy with black hair and blue eyes. It was rare to see someone with that pair in her town. A sudden rush of embarrassment and anger flourished her face when she found to the words to speak. "How long were you watching?"
   "I just walked in. Someone left the door open."
   "You didn't....hear anything, did you?" Alet responded.
   "Besides your bad singing? No."
   Alet's face turned red; she looked as if she was about to explode in defeat. She tried to find the words to retaliate but nothing came to mind.
   "Who are you? You're not supposed to be in here! Get out, now!" Alet was so embarrassed, everything came out in a slur.
   "My name is--"
   "No, I don't care. You have to leave. Don't make me force you."
   "You? Force me? You're a funny girl. I was just checking to see if everything was alright.
   Another blow to her ego. "Okay well everything is fine. You can leave--." Before Alet even finished her sentence, the boy was gone. She never felt so ridiculed in her life. The town was small, so everyone knew eachother.
   "What an ass!" she yelled in frustration.
   Alet stood in the library for a moment, replaying what happened in her head. A view of a the moon from the windows reminded her of how late it was. Packing up her books, she headed out the door with her face still red.

I wrote this while under the effects of inspiration to do what I wanted. At that point, I had the idea I was going to attend the Art Institute and major in game design. As soon as I realized that wasn't going to happen, I lost it all. I picked up a job, and stopped writing. I even stopped playing music. Sucks right? Not entirely. We all have to grow up at some point. We put away our younger interests into a small box and keep that secured in a locked dresser. And when we get out of work, we pull it out and remember all those things we used to love. Exactly how Mrs. Darling states in the 2003 version of Peter Pan. Do I regret not going to the Art Institute? No. Do I regret not pursuing my creativity? No. I'm kind of glad I got it over with. Otherwise I think I'd still be a child, haha. I definitely would NOT know what I know now about life, how it works for us, and how it works against us.

So, being so old, I only make sugary sweets that could maybe, I don't know...kill you. Trying to move away from this, I have been making attempts at actual food, which has been GREAT. Cooking is as enjoyable as baking with a little less weight guilt. Typically, I like to eat healthier food versus healthier snacks/desserts. Since my mom has been in the Philippines for almost four weeks now, I have been searching for stupid easy chicken recipes you shouldn't fail. However, to get things right, you have to fail at least once. WHICH FAILS IN ITSELF. But you get the idea. My oldest brothers talk of healthier eating has kind of wormed it's way into my diet and...cravings. Yes, I crave healthy food. I found this great, easy chicken recipe off All Recipes that didn't require a trip to the store. AND it's not FRIED. It came out super moist and delicious. I didn't use the dried thyme and paprika because I didn't have any, might have tasted a little better with it. The only thing I do recommend is NOT using mayo for a coat. That sounds silly in a literal sense. Or maybe use a lot less mayo because the bottom of the chicken's crustiness will get a little soggy if you don't turn them over at a certain time. Or you can be real southern and use some buttermilk. Everyone's oven is different. KNOW YOUR OVEN!

Oven Fried Chicken
Adapted from All Recipes

6 chicken legs
1 cup dried bread crumbs
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/3 cup mayo
1/3 milk

Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl, whisk together milk and mayo until smooth. Coat the chicken in the mayo, ha. In a larger bowl, combine the crumbs, garlic powder, salt, pepper and cayenne. Coat the chicken in the crumb mix. Place the chicken legs on a lightly greased baking rack and bake for 20-25 minutes on both sides, depending on your oven. Don't use a baking dish, the juices from the chicken will soak and ruin the crispy coating. To make them extra crispy, broil for the last 5 minutes. Makes 6 legs.