*{Apricot Chicken}*

• 4 5 ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts- either cut into 1' squares or kept whole
• 1/3 cup flour
• 2 tsp canola oil
• 1/2 cup apricot preserves
• 1/2 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tbsp reduced sodium soy or tamari sauce- I use Shoyu

Sprinkle flour on a plate. Roll chicken pieces around in the flour until all sides are covered. Heat oil on medium heat in a large skillet. Brown chicken for 3-4 minutes per side. Reduce heat to low. Combine apricot preserves, chicken broth and soy sauce in a small bowl and add to skillet. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken, cover loosely with foil and keep warm. Turn up heat and cook sauce until thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Serve chicken with pan sauce.
Serves 4
Per Serving Calories 292, Calories from Fat 18, Total Fat 1.9g (sat 0.5g), Cholesterol 82mg, Sodium 249mg, Carbohydrate 34.2g, Fiber 0.8g, Protein 34.4g
***I made this tonight and absolutely loved it. I stole their picture since I couldn't come up with a way to explain to my boyfriend as to why I was taking pictures of our dinner. But, mine looked different. I cut mine into 1'squares. I think it probably made it better since the sauce engulfed each piece. Also, it reminded me of 'Chinese from the Mall' minus the guilt and shame.

Higher Edjamacation

I suppose this should be my motivation. I've been super anal these past 2 weeks since I went back to school.. New school, new state, new program, complete opposite end of the spectrum as undergrad#1 with all new pre-requisites. I have however hit a rough patch. I know, I know, it's week 2. However, I am taking classes for things that I have not learned in 10 years. These things are supposed to be considered review for everyone in the class. Well, they are all reviewing things that they learned much more recently than me. I also discovered that I will be having 3 tests within the same week, the week after next. These will be my first exams. So I suppose I should keep in mind that I should be grateful for the opportunity.. the idea that society once thought that 'we' had no place in universities, or professions that didn't involve typewrites and mimeographs (whatever those are).. OK so it's not that dramatic since I'm going back for pre-nursing and that's always been a woman's field. However, I'm not in nursing school yet. Also, I should be grateful for the opportunity because Alex has enough faith in me to live paycheck to paycheck just for me to go back to school. So yes.. a woman can do it, and I can do it too, dammit.

Home-Edward Sharpe (etc) Cover-Jorge & Alex...

Absolutely love this! I love the original, I love this little girl, I love his voice, and I love that the band loves it too

The Fur-Baby

Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Applesauce Marie...

Keaton Simons - Unstoppable

Speechless- Lindsay Frail

the first...

Well. Here I am. Blogging again. It has been quite awhile. Let's see... I used Xanga for about a year starting in 2004. In fact, I re-opened it about an hour ago out of curiosity. Ohh the plight of a 25 year old single girl, after her long term boyfriend maybe someday husband had broken up with her. Was it about heartbreak? No. It was about moving on. Hence the about me description about feeling the need to blog upon reaching a fork in the road. But then I stopped. Why? Because I realized I really did have an audience- people who knew me. It's not that I minded those specific people reading it, I guess I was using it to speak my mind 'in the moment' rather than the conclusions I had made. So I was basically trying to talk through my emotions, no matter how extreme or delusional they may be. I was thinking out loud, I was attempting to analyze the thoughts and actions of the guys I was dating/attempting to date. And looking back on those posts, I was trying to fill voids with people who didn't quite fit in the holes. I also, had dreams of being Carrie Bradshaw. After all, we were basically writing about the same things. But in contrast, I only wanted to be anonymous and perhaps for someone to just see my struggles and talk through them with me. I didn't want people in my real life to know how weak I would get at times. I have always been seen as a pretty strong individual. I have had a heartbreaking past, just like everybody else, except that I feel that mine was worse than theirs honestly. One of my tragedies in life taught me to 'never let them see you sweat', most importantly, because those who are watching might be looking for a chance to exploit your weakness. So I suppose since then, I've reserved my weak moments for the closest of close. I'm hoping no one I know particularly finds this, yet I'm hoping someone will read it.

I'm not totally sure what I will use this for as of yet. Like I eluded, I'm at a fork in the road. This is the first time that it isn't really relationship related. I love my boyfriend and wouldn't change anything about our current relationship or situation. He really is good to me.. now. I suppose it's just life overall.. the what's next. I suppose I will use this to tell my story, past and present, in hopes to show the path to my future.