The other day I made homemade chili!
It had a TON of veggies!
I even felt adventurous enough to chop up a fresh jalapeno to throw in!
I DO NOT, however, recommend rubbing your eyes after chopping a jalapeno.
Even if you washed your hands!
Talk about a painful experience...

Anyway, I decided to take pictures of the whole thing!
Enjoy!

Veggie Ingredients:

Proteins and Spices:

Sorry if some of these are blurry....
I normally shake a little, so when I am hungry I shake a lot and it makes it impossible to take stable pictures...

Chopping the Onion:
(tip: To avoid "crying" rinse your hands in cold water. Sounds simple, but it works!)

Celery:

Zucchini:
(I could put this in everything! I love zucchini!)

Altogether now:

Our little Jalapeno:
(This picture makes him look HUGE! He was only 4 inches across...)

Spicy!
Like I said, don't touch anything afterward without washing your hands like 3x!!

Beans and Tomatoes into the pot:

Cooking the ground turkey with some of the onions and jalapenos:

Adding the chopped veggies to the pot:

Look how awesome this looks! Oh yeah!

Voila!
Finished product!
Om nommy!

So yeah, if you're not a huge veggie person, but you like chili, then you will love this!
The veggies are cooked in such a way that they're soft and inconspicuous.
Also the spicy-ness and the chili powder and all of that really helps mask any overly veggie tastes because it makes it taste like chili!
The meat and beans help too.
It's super healthy too!

And if you are one of those "I always speak my opinion about everything" people and you're going to tell me that "real" chili doesn't have beans in it.... then you will find your comment deleted...

They may not put beans in it where you're from, but chili just isn't chili without beans!

Happy Saturday, everyone!

Wow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MGnCp3gbkk

A.w.e.s.o.m.e.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7uLi2YvTBM

I just finished "Persuasion" - the movie.
I love Jane Austen films.
Love them!

There is something so much more romantic about "back then"
There was pretense and even social classes, to be sure.
Many did not even marry for love, but for money or security or rank/title.
But Jane Austen captures the stories of the ones who - among the rest - find true love.

In Jane Austen's stories it almost always catches them off guard.
Here they were, minding their own business...
When all of a sudden they see this person...
And that person sees them....
And their hearts drop into their stomachs and all pretense is gone.
They know that among all the others, this one person stands out.
They may not even fit the model of what they expected or imagined.
Suddenly, they realize that what they were looking for was right under their nose...
In the shape, form and figure that they weren't looking for...
And therefore they did not recognize it when they saw it....

Those who found true love in her stories experienced it like this.
Love is hardly ever at first glance you know...
But love is more so at the first time you take a chance to really, truly look at someone
Once you really see them for who they are
And it turns into this heart palpitating...
"I can't stop staring at this person...."
"Why am I shaking so much?"
"What has come over me?"
Fear and terror and dread and horror that I have allowed myself to be affected this deeply...
**love**

That is what love is to me.

It is not a list.
It is not a formula.
It is not a logical thought that is followed by certain steps.
It is not predictable.
Bring logical has it's place mind you...I won't say it doesn't.

But at it's core, love is a raw, gut wrenching emotion.
Love affects you deep down.
Love turns your world upside down literally.
Love takes all your reason and throws it out the window.
And that is scary.
But love is scary.

And so worth it.

I know it is not always easy, clear or well defined.
Love is a messy business.
Downright painful sometimes too.
But nearly everyone I know - including myself - has said that it just happened.
It happened and they "just knew"
Sometimes you just know it when you see it.
I think it is because He is ready for you to see and He opens your eyes.
And there they are.

P.S. - I highly recommend Jane Austen movies. If you can't stand the old way of speaking and old cinematography, then watch the modern version of Pride and Prejudice with Kiera Knightley. It is - and always will be - one of my absolute favorites.

REALLY long video, but I REALLY enjoyed it.

I hope you REALLY enjoy it too.

http://fury.com/2010/02/jesse-shells-mindblowing-talk-on-the-future-of-games-dice-2010/

Pics from my cell phone I have not yet shared... until now that is. I tried uploading all these like 2 days ago, but the Xanga Photo Uploader was down.... :-

Enjoy!

My brother Shaun's kids... I think this picture is so funny!

My cat Pita being a creeper...

Cool cars I have seen in random parking lots...

Sunset through a fence in Chester....

Went hiking the other day by myself and saw these pretty pictures...

Working at Vangent means you are IN THE SOUTH and you may stumble upon a random, unsuspecting pork chop bone. How's that for classy?

Random, I know.

Zane makes a really good Pilgrim.

He is equally a good Indian.

He has also been eaten by a hippo...

He also jams out to Coldplay on Rock Band in arcades...

He also has the cutest face!

And the weirdest face...

The End!!

http://www.thedoorpost.com/hope/The%20Butterfly%20Circus/

One week from today will be my last day at Vangent.
I am not even going to be at work Tuesday and Wednesday.
So after today, I will have 3 days left working here.
I will miss some of the people's here...
But I am super excited to move on.
Williamsburg.... The Ocean... Here I come.

I feel expectant.
I am looking forward most days lately.
Instead of thinking much about the next few months -
All I can think of is the Fall.
School.
Kansas City.
Buying a house.
Getting my Pita back.
Making friends.
Finding a home church to really get involved in.
Feeling productive....rooted...settled...
I hope to get the most out of our time in Williamsburg.
But I hope it goes by fast.

I feel like I am having withdrawls from SVU.
Is that weird?

Ever had one of those days where you just felt blah?
For no reason at all - you just aren't yourself?
Despite the options, you're bored to death?
One minute you were happy and fine.
The next minute you are just sad.
Nothing sounds interesting.
You just feel blah.
Thursday.
Ugh.

Whew.
Monday.
Low Calories.
Jillian Michaels.
Slightly dehydrated.
Just nearly passed out.
Shoulder muscles are tense.
Most definitely going to be sore.
Eight full weeks of this dedicated torture.
I can also make words cascade in my blog.

G'night.