The Packing Chronicles, Part 2

Read: Packing Chronicles, Part 1

Packing Chronicles, Part 2

This past Friday, I gave myself three things I wanted to accomplish over the weekend:

1. Dye my hair
2. Cook/bake all the food in my apartment
3. Apply for jobs

 Things from that list that I actually accomplished this weekend:

1. Dyed my hair
2. Attempted to cook/bake all the food in my apartment

Operation Dye My Hair

So I successfully dyed my hair. I've had the hair dye since before graduation because I had wanted to dye my hair for graduation. Clearly that happened. It's a medium auburn brown. So really it's just my hair color (maybe a tad darker) with a hint of red.

Just a hint of red. Easier to see in sunlight.

Operation Cook Everything

I decided I would cook/bake all the food in my apartment so that I could start packing my kitchenware. This way all my food could be in the freezer and all I would have to do is microwave it. Then I could pack up my pots and pans, most of my dishes, most kitchen utensils, and other kitchen stuff that I wouldn't need. Well, Operation Cook Everything was a bit more of an undertaking than I thought it would be. Plus, I actually have a life (surprising, I know) and didn't want to spend every minute of the weekend getting adventurous in the kitchen. What I accomplished to cook/bake:

• Lots of macaroni and cheese
• Lots of fried rice
• Vegan chocolate cupcakes with almond "buttercream" frosting
• Coconut cupcakes
• Couscous
• Quinoa with black beans and corn

Vegan chocolate cupcakes.

Coconut cupcakes and vegan chocolate cupcakes

Coconut cupcakes with coconut pecan frosting and topped with shredded coconut.

Operation Get A Job

Well, I looked at job postings. That's as far as that went. A little lacking in motivation at the moment for that. None of the jobs really appealed to me, and I guess I shouldn't be picky, but whatever. Something will happen. Speaking of jobs, I had a dream last night that University of Hawaii offered me a job and I couldn't decide if I wanted to accept it or not. I woke up feeling completely stressed out - not a great way to wake up. Also, not really sure what that dream means other than I have no idea what I want to happen.

The Packing Continues...

So I'm hopefully going to go full force with packing this week. I have clothes, kitchen stuff, bathroom stuff, and not much else to pack. Oh yeah, and a fish tank. I started preparing today to move my fish tank over to the Housing office, who are inheriting my fish tank because I really can't move with it since I don't even know where I'm moving to. When I say I've started preparing to move the tank, that includes buying a new fish... because that's logical. Oh well.

Meet Cyrus. My new fish, that will soon become Housing's.

My packing/moving advice continued:
3. If you don't want to be distracted while trying to pack, just break up with your computer. By which I mean the battery is dying and needs to be replaced. Not a big deal, it just needs to be plugged in all the time. So, charger stops working. Told my computer that I think it's right about us needing a break. Unlike TSwift, we are getting back together as I gave in and ordered a new charger. I'm lucky enough that I can borrow a work laptop in the meantime.

The Packing Chronicles, Part 1

Packing Chronicles, Part 1

So I'm moving! In case you didn't already know that. Where to, you ask? I'll let you know when I know. That's right, I've been packing up my apartment (read: my life) and am getting ready to move to a place to be determined. As you know it is potentially Alaska or Hawaii (still awaiting their calls). If that doesn't work out, then I'm likely staying in the Pensacola area, living with friends, and working at Panera Bread. Sounds like a not so ideal plan, but some days it's the plan I'm most excited about. Everyone keeps asking me which job I'd prefer. Some days it is Hawaii, some it's Alaska, and others it's neither. It's complicated and my emotions are a roller coaster basically (Army Wives isn't helping!)

I hate packing. I like the actual idea of moving, but hate the actual process of moving (except for the awesome road trips involved sometimes). Knowing this about myself, I start packing nearly a month ago, meaning I started gathering packing supplies, getting rid of stuff I don't need, and "organizing" (read: destroying) my apartment. The real packing has been occuring in the past week or so. Really I only have two and a half boxes packed. Not much I know. I am however proud at the amount of stuff I'm getting rid of, but still amazed at how much stuff I have. I'm making progress, but it's slow. I gave myself a move out date... June 18. We'll see if I stick to that, and we'll see where I'm going.

2 full boxes. Not a  lot accomplished.

The start to my list of packing/moving advice:

1. If planning (or potentially planning in my case) to ship boxes to your destination keep an inventory of what you put in each box, and instead of labeling the box with what's in it label it with a number that corresponds to the inventory list. This makes your boxes less vulnerable to theft.
2. Don't get really distracted by something. In my case, it's Army Wives. I watched the first three episodes last Wednesday night and am now about halfway through season 6. Yeah. Packing gets a little distracting from watching Army Wives. haha
3. To be continued... (Apparently I'm not full of advice right now.)

So with all this packing, I'm trying to get rid of all the food in my fridge, freezer, and cabinets. So the next couple of weeks will consist of whatever concoctions I come up with. A couple nights ago I made brownies from scratch. I tossed in some walnuts and some sprinkles. I got a little bit distracted and cooked them a bit too long (see #2 above). So they tasted good, but they were dry. So what could I do with them? Realized I had some whipped cream and cherries that would go well with them. Then I realized I also had chocolate syrup, caramel syrup, and more sprinkles. So really all I needed was some ice cream. Bought ice cream and brought it all over to a friend's where a group of us had an impromptu sundae party. Worked out well.

Tonight's dinner was an interesting concoction. Made a tuna and green bean casserole. I used ziti, tuna, green beans, cream of mushroom soup, cheddar, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses, paprika (of course), and panko bread crumbs. Probably not the combination of ingredients you'd immediately think of, but it turned out to be delicious. So this one is a success. Hopefully I'll have other successes as well.

Doesn't look or sound like much, but it tasted great!

Pan-Seared Tilapia w/ Herb Cream Sauce

A few nights ago I made some delicious tilapia for dinner. As I've said I am doing weight watchers and trying to eat healthy and exercise. I wanted something simple but delicious. I am also a vegetarian, but I do eat seafood (so yes, I'm technically a pescetarian). And since I'm very environmentally-minded I make sure to eat sustainable seafood (I am an aquaculturist after all). It's hard to keep track with all the fishing practices, so I look to the Seafood Watch by the Monterey Bay Aquarium to see what's good to eat. They have a guide online, a printed pocket guide, and a smartphone app. So for tilapia, U.S., Ecuador, and Canada farmed tilapia is good. So that's what I got.

Ingredients:

Tilapia (I used a 6oz piece, which is 2oz more than a typical serving size)

Garlic salt

Old Bay seasoning

1/4 cup fat-free sour cream

1 tsp fresh parsley, chopped

2 tsp spinach, chopped (I used frozen that was already chopped, and just thawed it)

1 tsp reduced fat parm cheese

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions:

Pan-Seared Tilapia (PointsPlus: 5)

Spray a non-stick frying pan with a small amount of cooking spray (a very small amount is all you need). Heat the pan over medium-high heat. Season the fish to taste on both sides using the garlic salt and old bay seasoning. I used a little less than a teaspoon of garlic salt on one side and about a teaspoon of Old Bay on each side. Once the pan is heated place the fish in the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes then flip and cook for 2 minutes on the other side.

Herb Cream Sauce (PointsPlus: 1)

Mix together the sour cream, parsley, spinach, parmesan cheese, and lemon juice. Serve on top of tilapia. This made more than I wanted on my fish so I didn't use it all.

I served the whole meal with some steamed broccoli and corn on the cob. Delicious, low-point dinner! Enjoy!