Baked apples and eggs

 Sometime last week when Ben got home in the morning I decided to do an experiment with baking eggs. You don't know this about me, but I love watching the Food Network. It's pretty much the only channel I watch (except for Spike when they have those repo shows on. Super trashy, super entertaining). I'd seen people do baked eggs in a lot of different ways that mostly included some other baked concotion. Since, I don't wake up with a mind set to cook for several hours before I eat I aim to make things that take less than 45 minutes. That led me to baked eggs and as I was looking around for something else that I could throw in the oven I came upon a bag of apples. Baked apples. My sister in law had made scrambled eggs with apples at Christmas and it was delicious. Turns out that eggs and apples pair well together. The first time I did this I baked both things on 400 for forty mintues. For me, that was a little too long for the eggs though Ben really liked them. The second time I did this I baked the eggs for 20 minutes and the apples for 40 at 425. Both times I've seasoned the eggs with salt, thyme and cayenne (a flavor combo I've been recently putting on my popcorn as well) and the apples with cinnamon and honey. You can't beat cinnamon baked apples and honey.

And there was bacon.

I greased a muffin tin with cooking spray and the eggs were easy to pop out with a fork

           

I wrapped the apples with cinnamon and honey in a foil bundle. It's a good idea to wrap it twice because it will start leaking very hot honey when you take it out of the oven.

Ha! Bet you thought there wouldn't be a cat picture in this post.

What are some of your favorite breakfast recipes?

Finding creativity

I've become a boring person. For awhile I blamed it on working at Target. 

"Oh well it's because that place is so draining that I don't have time to be creative."

Now that I have the freedom that massage gives me I'm still really boring. Most days I spend cleaning and watching t.v. and I let myself get so bored. Instead doing anything else I'm satisfied to be placated.

My blog posts have definitely reflected this. I've stuck with simple sentence structures and predictable words. 

I haven't read a challenging book in months! I'm bored with myself. I've been dealing with this issue for a couple weeks now and one night I dusted off my notebook and pen and had a journaling-therapy session. It showed my that I could still write well and that half of my problem with being boring was lack of self- discipline. I've been just taking the easy way for almost a month now, and easy is most often boring. 

I can write! I can be creative, it just takes work. Duh. 

The thought process that I've been disillusioned with is getting an idea and just getting caught up in a burning passion and creating something wonderful over night.

Nothing really works that way. It takes work, genuine work and time and discipline of create something worth anything. 

I'd love to see this blog be something, but it's going to take work on a regular basis not a couple of hours here or there when I feel like it. 

I've never viewed the creative process as work or something that I need to actively set aside time for, but that's what you do if you want something to be worthwhile! 

So there you have it I need to be more disciplined in the things that I love to do and hopefully I'll start making things that are worthwhile on this blog and otherwise.

How does your creative process work?

Comic Review: Ultimate Captain America

Ultimate Captain America is a 4 issue series written by Jason Aaron with art by Ron Garney. It caught my eye when I was looking for different characters to read to broaden my spectrum in the comic world. I'm reading the Uncanny Avengers (amazing, so far) and I read Avengers vs. X-Men (also, extremely well done) but nothing with Cap on his own. I liked Ultimate Captain America because it was short.

The outline of the story is this- while on a mission in North Korea Captain America runs into Frank Simpson the man they tried to make the Captain America during the Vietnam War. However, Frank went crazy and switched sides. 

The series really tested Captain America's character; Frank believed that America was evil and tried to show Cap the light by telling him all of the horrible things the government had done expressly President Nixon. Even though this was a short series it took me over a month to read. I have always had a hard time stomach torture scenes and vol. 3 is full of them. Despite that and a little bit because of it this was a well done series that really pushed the character of Captain America and really showed how strong his beliefs are. I was really glad to see that they kept Cap's Christian roots and even allowed for a religious discussion in the fourth volume. 

The art in this series complimented the writing well. Everything was clearly defined and the colors were true to form. 

This series overall, was a good look at Captain America and what he stands for.

Have you read Ultimate Captain America? What do you think?

Happy Friday! Have a good Weekend!

Instagram lately

This past week was a cold one. Ben had to put plastic around our windows to help keep the cold at bay. It did help, but we added sweaters, socks and long johns to our lounge ware. I also had to get a flu vaccine and was feeling sickly the day after (even though the nurse assured me that I wouldn't. Lies) so my instagram feed has been pretty mundane full of cats as always.

This is Tazo whom I'm pretty sure I've never introduced.

I'm really self-concious of taking pictures of just me. Every once in awhile I'll get one I like though.

Our mama cat, Boo. Without the kittens around anymore she's been a kinder, calmer cat that like snuggling with us at night.

Ben worked on Saturday and I ended up not doing much of anything, but playing Harvest Moon DS Cute which is one of the only games I have any sort of attention span for.

How has your week been so far?

No more sugar!

I have loved sugar for years. We've built an intimate relationship. It was with me in during the good times and especially the bad times. Lonely nights spent with a pint of Ben and Jerry's, party nights made better with mixed drinks and almost always a midnight snack. Pick me ups in the afternoons of busy days. 

Yes sugar has loved me and I have loved sugar, but I felt our relationship begin to sour last year when I was making a conscious effort at losing weight and realizing that the love sugar gave was not the best for me. It was downhill from there. I was still turning to sugar all the time, but I'd get more and more frustrated with it. Over the holidays I felt groggy, tired and sluggish and I knew it was directly connected to my sugar intake. Finally, in the beginning of this month I knew I had to do something drastic. I cut ties with sugar. 

It was a hard break-up. The first few days I was constantly irritable and dissasitfied. On day 3 I may have actually shed some tears for sugar. However day 4 things started to look up. I felt revitalized and sort of free like I didn't have to rely on sugar anymore. 

It lasted 5 and a half days, but sugar did not like being rejected. When I did come back to it it rejected me. This past week I have had zero energy, drive and a constant headache. By yesterday I knew that sugar and I would have to end for good. Not as enemies though, but as friendly acquaintances. I won't cut it out completely but I'm not relying on it anymore. It's hard but it'll be worth feeling normal again.

We have storms headed our way! I snapped this picture with my iphone at a stop light which probably wasn't safe, but the clouds were so dramatic that I couldn't pass it up. 

I'm hunkered down with the cats who have been super weird we've got our flash light and candles and a bathtub ready if we need to dive in it.

Hopefully, we'll be safe and nothing will happen but you never know!

Do you like when it storms?

More happy images!

Today is my fifth day without sugar. I'm trying to go seven days without despite having some weird withdrawals. Seriously, last night I got incredibly moody and sad and the only reason was I was craving sugar! It's crazy but I'm hoping by the end of day seven I won't be crazy or have crazy sugar cravings anymore. 

And keeping with my new year's resolution to be happy no matter what here are some things that have made me happy the past week or so.

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Gotta love Amazons

This pug in a unicorn costume. I think I need the cat version.

This is a good reminder

Oh, pomeranians.

This entire photo stream.

Ben says it looks too cold, but I think this looks like the coziest bedroom ever.

This is just haunting.

I hope these have entertained you some and made your day happier.

(I know this post is a little weak-sauce, but it took me all week to put it together because all I can think about is cookies. Eating so many cookies.)