Introducing my very own, all mine, totally grown-up, china cabinet

I'm in love.




She's a beauty. (a little bare at the moment, but i'll be dressing her up as the week goes on.) I bought the cabinet from the base exchange. It was on lay-away, so I've been making payments and dreaming about having it home for months. Now here it is.

Yea!

Because it's just too cute

mini-us on my computer

Weekly Recipe - catch up

Sorry for the delay...I know everyone waits on pins and needles each week...

Here's a quick recipe, that's delicious (and mildly good for you).



German Chocolate Cake

Buy the prepackaged cake mix and frosting. Make cake according to box directions, but instead of using oil, use apple sauce. Really. Can't tell the difference when it's made. I promise. Garnish with sliced almonds, and you have a dessert you don't have to feel guilty about eating.

Enjoy!

Heavy Sigh

I fell in love yesterday.

I noticed an online ad for the new store a few days back, and requested a catalogue. As soon as I got it out of the mailbox, I knew I was in trouble. Brocade is everything I want my home to be. Ok, well, maybe not everything (I could do without most of those lamps they have...), but everything else. I even love how the photos were set up.
Now...there's still the thing about the prices...

Eh.

Happiest October. My neighbors have had halloween decorations up for over a week now. Jump the gun much?

I've been slack this past week. But I did have my first non-family member sale on my etsy site. Woot. Very exciting.

...Blogger hasn't let me post photos recently either. I'll make sure to look into that soon.

Maybe.

Go Fug Yourself

When you've got nothing nice to say, go read this blog. Super-fun celebrity bashing at its best. Totally clever; I always get a smile from Jessica and Heather's writing. How can you not like statements like:
Actually, I guess I can call you "Janet," since I don't really blame you for this monstrosity. I mean, you didn't style the shoot. And I'm sure you didn't arrive on set, all, "I KNOW! I've lost a lot of weight in the last nine months. Let's do it AEROBICS STYLE, like an homage to Olivia Newton John's 'Let's Get Physical' video! Except with a BIG OLD BELT! And fingerless gloves, like the kind I wore in Fame! Come on! Put away those gowns! We're going to listen to my body talk!"

And lovelovelove their photo conversation captions.

Brilliant!

It's official

I'm old. I couldn't hear the new ringtone on a tv commercial. You know the one...the one that only kids and teens can hear. I heard about it awhile back, and always thought 'Hey, I bet I could hear that still.'

Nope.

It brought me thisclose to tears. Sad.

Weekly Recipe

Here's a mexican twist on the basic chicken and rice staple:

Arroz con Pollo y Frijoles

ingredients

3-6 pieces of chicken breast
garlic salt
pepper
long-grain rice (not instant)
2 cans diced tomatoes & chilies
1 can chicken broth
1 can refried beans
1/2 shredded cheese, monterey jack or cheddar

directions

Season chicken with pepper and garlic salt. Spray large skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Place chicken into pan, and cook 7 minutes on each side (or until they're golden brown). Remove chicken from pan, and pour in rice. Brown in pan over medium heat for 2 minutes (I added in a little bit of water, to keep the rice from sticking.) Add in tomatoes and chicken broth; blend well. Place chicken on top of rice mixture, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. It'll look soupy...no worries. Then remove chicken (yes, again) and keep warm (placing it in the microwave is good for keeping it warm). Spoon beans into rice mixture, and sprinkle with cheese. Heat an additional 5 minutes, or until beans are hot and cheese in melted. Serve with chicken.

This meal is delicious, even though it doesn't necessarily look it. Give it a try...you won't be sorry. Enjoy!

Lights, camera, action

The Guardian is coming soon! I know everyone's going to go see it, right? You never know, you might see me in the movie ;D

There was an advanced showing on base Saturday night; unfortunately I wasn't able to see it (Joe and I had to attend a Kodiak Thank-You dinner for the Coast Guard. We did win an official "Guardian" baseball hat among other, various door prizes). Hopefully though, it's a good film. I can't wait to see what they made Kodiak look like, since they only shot 4 days worth of footage up here...oh well. Movie magic!

Weekly Recipe

You want a little something to satisfy your sweet tooth, but there's nothing in the kitchen, except for the bag of rhubarb in the freezer. I don't know about you, but this happens to me all the time. And I have just the recipe to make it work...

Rhubarb Crunch

ingredients
4 cups diced rhubarb
1 cup sugar (brown or white)
1 egg
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup butter

directions

Preheat oven to 375*. Lightly grease 9x13 inch baking pan (I used 8x8...the smaller the pan, the thicker the bars). In a large mixing bowl combine rhubarb, sugar, egg, and 3 tablespoons flour. Stir well and spread evenly into baking dish. Set aside. In another bowl, combine brown sugar, oats, and 1 1/2 cups flour. Stir well, and then cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle mixture over rhubarb layer. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the edges get bubbly.

A dessert that's made from vegetables? Sweet!

Math *is* fun!

Indexed: a cheeky little site that's worth a look. Maybe you'll find a graph to fit your life.

Here's mine...

One of each, please

If I ever came across a magic lamp with a genie who would grant me three wishes...I would wish for everything from Anthropologie. Everything. Maybe I should wish for world peace or the end of hunger, but I mean, have you seen this stuff? It's gorgeous, and I want it all. Sigh.

The jewelry...

The shoes...


Home goods and decorations...

The tops...


and the dresses...ooh, the dresses...

WXPN ROX!

Can I just say...NPR's World Cafe rocks my week days. It's the only thing on the radio that I look forward to, and occasionally plan my day around.

But - that might not be saying much seeing as how the radio stations here are unbearably lame. All three of them. I can't even tell you the last time I heard a decent song from this decade. Oh well.

You have my heart David Dye...I'm yours forever.

Craby

Every year in May, Kodiak has a Crab Festival. A big to-do for the city. It's pretty much like a carnival or state fair - there's rides, games, crafts, and food. The Chamber of Commerce takes submissions for slogans and logos each year. This year, I submitted one. However, I just found out I didn't win. But I was told that the committee liked my work so much (just not enough apparently) that they would like me to resubmit for the next go around. Hmm.

Here's my non-winning entry:

Weekly Recipe

When you're penny pinching (like I am this week), fancy food just doesn't make it. Here's one way to stretch your grocery budget (and it really isn't that bad!):




Knuckle-Down Soup

ingredients
1 can chicken noodle soup
1 package of ramen noodles (any flavor works)


directions
Heat chicken noodle soup over stove. Add 1/2 can water (in addition to the can of water the directions call for...because you're using instant condensed soup, right? Right, because it's the cheapest.) When it boils, add in the instant noodles. No need to add the flavor packet. Stir occasionally for 3 minutes, until done.

Now you have enough chicken noodle soup to go around.
Delicious with saltine crackers, but even better with a grilled cheese, turkey, and tomato sandwich.

Good for a quick lunch, or unbelievably inexpensive dinner. Enjoy!

Vs.

Joe and I got into a little tiff about a turn of phrase.

If that's what you think, you've got another thing coming.
-or-
If that's what you think, you've got another think coming.

I claim thing. Joe says it's think.

I get the 'clever' play on words with think, but thing just sounds better, and still makes sense. We looked it up online (because who doesn't use to the internet to settle disputes nowadays?), and found out there's quite the cyber-debate. It's a pretty even split. So neither of us could claim an official victory.

Joe did tell me he used to say "for all intensive purposes" instead of "for all intents and purposes," so I'm declaring victory on the word-expression front.

Weekly Recipe

I'll be the first to admit it - I'm no Martha. I'm not even Not Martha. But I am becoming slightly domesticated, and I thought I'd share the good news.

It wasn't too long ago that I caught bread on fire as it was warming in the oven. Seriously. Living on an island with limited take-out options, however, has kicked me into gear and made me a much better cook. I suppose I could only get better...I couldn't get any worse!

The first recipe is one I've perfected, because I make it so often. Bananas go pretty fast around here, and we all know mushy bananas are no good on cereal. So I found a better use for them.



Grandma's Banana Bread
ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon (more or less, depending on your taste)
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 slightly beaten egg whites
1 cup mashed bananas (about 4 bananas...way past ripened)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup apple sauce (or vegetable oil)
1/2 to 1 cup chopped walnuts

directions
In a large mixing bowl, mash bananas with a fork. Mix in egg whites, sugar, and apple sauce. Stir in flour, baking powder and soda, cinnamon, and salt until moistened. Add nuts if desired.
Spray loaf pan or muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray. Pour batter into pans. Bake at 350* for 45-50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (Muffins take around 20 minutes.) Cool bread in pan for 10 minutes. Then remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
Delicious plain, but amazing with a crumble top: mix a couple tablespoons of brown sugar with a little flour, butter, and left-over nuts. Sprinkle on top of batter before putting it into the oven.

It makes a lovely and quick breakfast. Enjoy!

If I ever cleaned, I'd never get little love notes.

"Don't just stand there, day-dreaming about lipstick!"

Garth Marenghi's Darkplace is one of the funniest, most brilliant television shows I've ever seen. It's a british import, that regretably, has already run it's course. There's only six 30-minute episodes, but oh! how they're filled with such cheesy goodness. You can catch the shows on the SciFi network. Prepare to bask in Marenghi's genius.

Drum roll please

Hello there! I'm Kelly, and this is my new blog. This all came about because a dear friend of mine asked me to write more about my life. And I figured since I live on an island in Alaska, light-years away from loved ones...why not. So, Dawn, this one's for you.
At the moment, I'm not totally sure what all I'll include in Full Circle, but it'll be marvelous. Suggestions are always appreciated. If they're good, that is.
Maybe you're wondering about the name of the blog... it comes from a game I made up with some friends while in college. Someone would call out some random object, and I would have to relate it to my then boyfriend now husband, Joe. I would win if I could put it together in a logical process, and lose if it didn't make sense or stretched too far. I would always win. Wait, did everyone always let me win?...hmm. Well, I was in looove. Eventually it progressed to an all day thing to where if any topic of conversation repeated, whoever noticed first would yell out "Full Circle!"


...Yeah. We didn't have much of a life. But now I'll be writing all about mine. Full Circle!
Thanks for stopping by.