Follow Up: I am Awesome at Cooking

Ok, not really. But the recipe for Strawberry Mint Iced Tea came out simply amazing. I will now proceed to post pictures, like a real blogger.

Wonderful! Adding the garnishing touches really adds something special to the overall appeal of the beverage. Refreshing and cool mint tea combined with these fresh strawberries quickly became quite addictive. If only the freezer would make ice as fast as I can imbibe a gallon of tea. (Sigh.)

I also made this Veggie Ravioli Lasagna based off of an article Matt sent me today while at work. This is my attempt at taking advantage of all the affordable produce available in these dog days of July. Here's how it came out for me: 

It was delicious, and not to mention very easy to make. Pretty much all the preparation includes is cutting the veggies into various shapes, placing them in the dish, and pouring oil on them. A few  comments on the recipe website advocate for less olive oil. I never have a problem with a little extra oil, but in this case it did somewhat pool in areas, and I wound up pouring out some just so the dish could live up to its "lasagna" name, and that worked out just fine. But to avoid wasting any EVOO, I'd say use about half the recommendation - which is 1 Tbsp. at 3 separate intervals. Sticking with 1/2 Tbsp. of oil should do just fine, and hopefully waste less.

Of course, here are pictures of the lovely ladies enjoying!

Strawberry-Mint Iced Tea

This recipe is taken off of Joylicious.net,written by a lady who has a veritable plethora of fantastic ideas for summer eating. I am gonna make this today, I swear. Results to follow.

(From Joylicious:)

• 1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
• 8 fresh mint leaves
• 1/2 cup honey water (1/4 honey 1/4 water) <— you can also use agave
• 4 mint-flavored tea bags
• In a medium saucepan, bring 6 cups water to a boil.  Allow water to cool down to a warm temperature (around 110 degrees). Add 3/4 pint strawberries and mint. Allow to steep for 10 minutes then add honey water and tea bags.
• Strain mixture through a fine seive and mash strawberries to extract more juice. Cool to room temperature and refrigerate until serving.
• Pour over ice. Garnish with remaining sliced strawberries.
  If you do not feel it’s sweet enough, feel free to add more honey/agave. The reason I did not steep the tea leaves in boiling water is because with Raw Foods, they have a rule where they do not cook anything above 118F.  However, if you could care less, feel free to simmer the strawberries and mint at a low heat for about 6 minutes, add the honey water and tea bags and simmer for an additional minute.
  
  The pictures on this woman's blog are simply incredible. I kind of want to be her. Or in a room with AC. 
   

It is hot as balls.

Tonight I'm going to experiment with putting my sheets in the freezer and then making my bed right before I sleep in it. Hopefully the feeling lasts longer than 10 seconds.

This is not a good idea, but a dream I had.

Today is the first of three days the OAs have off. We just finished session 3, and we are exhausted. I woke up at 9:30 after going to sleep at about 12:30. In the last hour or so of my sleep I had many dreams of varying location and conflict. Here is what I remember:
I'm at 54 and the place is spotless. The 7 couches in the living room have turned into 3 couches that are positioned perfectly. (Do I remember how? No.) There was also another auxiliary room which we made perfect for hanging out via free furniture, though it wasn't specified if they were from Craig's list or not (they probably were.)
Then suddenly part 2 began!
 I was hanging out with a girl from a Geneseo sorority who, I think, was trying to recruit me. I wasn't opposed since I enjoyed our hanging out and figured maybe being in the group would entail more of this. It didn't matter to me in the dream that a) I am a senior and b) I don't want to join one. Irrelevant. We drove around Geneseo, I think we were going up Court St yet when we got to the top North St was populated with businesses. I am pretty sure we were in pursuit of iced coffee - she recommended a place I had never been. We went, and suddenly I was in part 3.

Part 3- I went grocery shopping in a really nice grocery store that had lots of international yet still cheap and fresh products. Kind of like a mix between Trader Joe's and Ace Endico, a restaurant distributor my parents like at home. So I was in the cheese section and all they had were giant cheese wheels which I deemed inappropriate for my purposes. I was looking towards some Gouda when I was stopped by a man claiming to be from the Netherlands. He said in the Netherlands Gouda is for old people and if I really want a good cheese I want _____ (pretty sure it was in Dutch.) Then I was surrounded by other Europeans, one from France, one from Holland. They were all arguing about which cheese I should get and which one's the best - one agreed that Gouda was for old people and I didn't want it.
After this episode I meandered over to the check out and prepaid for a few groceries. I wanted the biggest iced coffee they had (sounds like me) so the lady pointed to where they are and said they are in pink packages, and then charged me accordingly.
The next part of the dream is spent searching for the iced coffee. I finally got to the dairy/coffee drinks refrigerator and was then looking for a huge pink package; there was nothing. I scanned the whole fridge many times and finally decided to ask an attendant nearby, who informed me that they had just sold their last one. Disappointed and gyped out of a refreshing beverage, I woke up.

I am posting it because it was very long and illustrative.

THIS!

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/top-ten/top-10-ways-to-reuse-plastic-bags-023610

When going to WUDi,

it is a good idea to fill up the gas tank prior to leaving home. Once in the SUNY Purchase area gas is almost nonexistent and since it is rush hour it is also insane and people are very rude. Around home I a) know where the gas stations are and b) the people are mostly nice!
Tonight I left set to arrive fields at 6:15. Since I was a little early I decided to fill my very nearly empty tank. After a huge ordeal and a lot of blood pressure I got to Purchase at 7:25, almost an hour after it started. Luckily it's Ultimate and nobody gets there on time, so the score was only 5-4 in a game to 15. Which we won by the way!

Let me never do that again.

This comes from the Sweet Briar Spa in Geneseo. I like massages and snacks!

 

Energize
The Student Package
The Energize package was created especially for the needs and lifestyles of our local students. Join us at Radiance Spa at Sweet Briar with three to five of your friends as you come to energize and rejuvenate both yourself and your friendships through the healing arts of yoga and message.The package includes a one hour private yoga class, a 30 minute massage and sauna session. Snacks are included in this package.

$55 per student
*must have valid student ID and cannot be used with other discounts

Post-Graduation Fun in Florida

I have not yet received any type of clearance for this particular "good" idea, but I don't think it would be particularly challenging to obtain.
The idea is that we all (whomever) go to Florida (Key West) post graduation! My uncle owns a house there that can house I think around 10 people on beds and more if pull out couches and floor space are included, though I would highly doubt any of that would be necessary. I would be willing to host just about anybody who wishes to accompany us, currently I was thinking along the lines of Toby, Natalie, Pete, Cathy, Matt, Druggy and myself, but that is not meant to exclude anybody; it's just who comes to mind. The vast majority of us will be 21 so this will add extra fun.
The expenses would be air fare, food, and rental bikes if we choose to go this route (though Matt and I had a fine time wandering around on foot there last week on our trip.)

I figure if we plan it early enough we can probably pick a week that works for everybody (e.g., the week right after we graduate might work?) An added bonus, this will probably ease the process of graduating!
Any thoughts our readers (ha) may have will be warmly welcomed so long as they are in agreement with this plan. (Half kidding.)
One other note- renting a car at the ripe age of 21 is murderously expensive so it will probably be in our interest to fly straight in to Key West, which can be pricey but worth it relative to the car rental fees. Interested? Not? Share!

Eggs 'n Lattes

Good Idea: Opening a drive-thru operated Eggs n' Lattes joint out of our house. It'll be aptly named Latte (like a lot of) Eggs.

A graduation card for Grossman!

Has to happen today. I will get myself to Wegman's and get a card and have peoples sign it.

WD40 for my door.

Probably will never happen.

Presents for Moms (well, my mom.)

• Sewing machine. Yes, this is self-serving, but it is also extremely practical as my mom's current sewing machine seems to provide many moments of agony and four-letter words.
• John Denver discography. While this has been hard to locate on the Internets, my mother loves John Denver and his music.
  
• Cooking classes to take with her. Not an insult; a fun opportunity. Now sounds more like an insult.
  

The Good Ideas Folder Project

This is an initiative that was originally intended to be a physical, literal folder with masking tape and permanent marker labeling that it is for Good Ideas.
Mediocre and Iffy-at-best ideas are also welcomed warmly.

These ideas may be on a large scale or a small scale. They may be long-term or immediate. It may be a place to write things down (or, I guess, type them) so as to not forget them, or a place to simply express an otherwise seemingly stupid idea or momentary thought. Once in a while (ha) I get a forceful urge to express myself; for these times I hope this will provide a dependable and worthy outlet. Blogs are all about hearing yourself speak, right?

I also find it important to note that it will also be a place for post-it ideas that eventually get thrown out. Fortunately, things on the Internet rarely get thrown out.

The first idea in the folder is the folder itself.
Yes!