Review

Today was incredibly stressful. I have never felt less confident about starting my nursing program than I did this afternoon. The session with the director was brutal, with her doing everything in her power to convince the students we won’t be accepted to the program, and even if we are, there is a good chance we’ll fail out. I realize these are scare tactics, used to weed out people, but honestly. I am growing so concerned with my entrance exam. I just want it over. I’m sure everything will be fine. My pre-reqs are all A’s, and I love what we’re actually learning, I just get easily panicked I think. Just needed a quick vent.

Anyway, moving onto more positive things… I tried the Zhena’s Chocolate Chai!!

And it’s really good! Very complex tasting. One thing I really like about it is that it is decaf. A lot of chai teas are black tea and spices, but this one is rooibos, which must be why the background taste seems different to me. I appreciate that it is decaf, because I am pretty sensitive to caffeine, and this means I can enjoy a cup of it at night by the fireplace, which is my preferred tea drinking method. Perfect! 🙂 Like I said before, I’ve loved all the Zhena’s Teas that I’ve tried, and this one is no exception. Thank you Zhena’s for sending it to me!

More Surprises

Today was so much better than yesterday! I feel so much calmer, and even a bit chipper! I got so much done today: post office, run, work, seeing old friends, finished anatomy lab, baking. Just an awesome feeling! 🙂

I had plans to go to a Valentine’s party at my old job, which I was happy to do because I do miss the people there. Because they view me (often times incorrectly so) as a baking goddess, I felt it necessary to oblige them and whip something up. That something was a particular cookie recipe I’ve had my eye on since it was posted: Toasted Coconut Shortbread. I have mentioned so often how much I love coconut, and it is most perfect to me when toasted (and put on ice cream), so I’ve been looking for a reason to make these.

These came out thin, crispy, buttery and delicious. I made Deb’s recipe, substituting almond extract for the vanilla because that’s what I had, and I think almond and coconut go together like peas and carrots. I wish I had cute heart shaped cookie cutters, but for right now, as long as we have something in the house that does the job close enough, purchases such as that are unnecessary and thus, not happening. These circles, while not as festive as Deb’s are, I’m sure, equally delicious. I really love the slight saltiness that comes through on these. It breaks up the richness of the butter really well.

In the middle of all this baking excitement, my doorbell rang, sending the dogs into fits of frenzy. Another package for me!! How lucky can one girl be? A few weeks ago, when I raved about the Zhena’s Tea I fell in love with, Ann from Zhena’s contacted me to tell me they appreciated my support, and they want to send me a sample of the Chocolate Chai I had been drooling over.

I am so excited! I did not get a chance to try it yet, but I will let you all know when I do. After the UPS man dropped this surprise off, I checked the mail and saw a got my portion of the Sleigh Ride Sugar Cookie Tea from Sarah for participating in the BSI contest! You can see why I’m feeling so jovial today! 🙂

I did have class tonight, which was actually really interesting. We went over the body’s homeostatic mechanisms, and one thing we talked about was how if they fail, and the body endures something like a high fever for a long time, proteins can denature causing serious problems including deafness. This happens most often in children because their bodies’ mechanisms are not fully developed yet. As those of you who actually know me outside the blog know, this happened to my mother when she was about 8 years old and she suffered permanent hearing loss, resulting in near total deafness, so I thought it was really fascinating to learn the exact reasons behind it.. (I’m sure my whole class was like “Why is this crazy chick asking so many questions about this?”)

Tomorrow is FRIDAY!!! There is no such thing as a bad Friday in my opinion. 🙂

Breakfast for Dinner

I’m in such a good mood! I finished my first test — and it went well! My grandmother (who had been hospitalized the past 2 weeks with a host of problems) was just released this afternoon and is back at home. 🙂 Dog-walking was fun. There is a yellow lab puppy that just got adopted that looks just like the dog from the Marley & Me posters. Now that my exam was this week is over, I’m feeling relieved, and like I have a bit of breathing room tomorrow.

Unfortunately we found out that my brother did not complete all the requirements for graduation, so he will not be graduating this week and we will not be going to Kentucky.

Back to the food…. One of my go to meals for the nights I have school is a frittata. They’re perfect because they’re quick and cheap and you can use absolutely whatever you have on hand. Tonight’s was some steamed broccoli, onion, roasted red pepper and pepper jack cheese. I’m really loving on roasted peppers right now. Yum.

On the side, I made some roasted potatoes (which I think go with absolutely everything).

A note on tea…

A while ago I ordered some tea from Zhena’s Gypsy Tea and loved it! Really, I think it is the best brand of tea I’ve had. Brent wasn’t super pleased with the shipping charges, so I’ve been savoring them slowly. I tried the Coconut Chai — which is the best chai I’ve tried, and the Pumpkin Spice which is like heaven with a teaspoon of honey. Perfect for when I’m freezing and trying to thaw by the fire. I want to try the chocolate chai. Maybe next time. Unfortunately, I’m running precipitously low on this gourmet tea supply, so I was just wondering if you’re a tea drinker, what are your favorites?