12/365: Saturday Adventures!

This week's Saturday adventure was...class. That's right, I have class on a Saturday. Good thing the USF campus is my favorite place in Tampa. I lived on that campus for four years and have been a student there another three years. I took a walk around where I had the majority of my undergrad classes, and so much as changed! The social science and faculty offices buildings don't look dingy anymore! They were always some of the oldest buildings on the campus, and for a long time USF was focusing on their new, shiny buildings on the science side of campus. I want to do a proper USF picture post one day, but for now here are some pictures of just a tiny corner of the USF world.

My old home. Most of the rooms don't have windows, but it did have the largest vending machine room of most of buildings between 2006 and 2010.

This is where I live now. It's nice and shiny, but it doesn't have the charm that the social science building had.

11/365

Last night was latte and movie night, one of my favorite ways to relax. Johnny and I had some friends over and watched The Perks of Being a Wallflower, one of my favorite movies to come out this year. Note my strange 70s-colored countertops in the picture above.

10/365

Yay! This was my first day not needing medicine in over a week! I was able to focus at work, I have energy, and I'm finally catching up on blogging and homework. Luckily I don't have a reading quiz tonight, so I can catch up on note-taking before diving into articles on sustainable supply chain management. Let me rephrase that actually. Luckily, I don't have a reading quiz tonight, so I can do something mindless like note-taking while watching the new Grey's Anatomy tonight. My priorities are straight tonight.

9/365

We set a record high in Tampa! It was 84 degrees...in January, I like warm, but I also like to have winter weather in the winter. We deal with hotness from March until early December. Is it that hard to have a couple of months sans temperatures over 75? Anyways, that is the hazy view from the 5th floor of my parking garage at work.

And this is the view of the courtyard from the 5th floor of the parking garage. Creative, I know.

8/365

I started off the day feeling great! My cold was getting under control, it was warm enough to wear a skirt, and I didn't have class after work. However, about an hour into work the cold started again, and it came back with a vengeance. I was hardly able to make it through my mountains of homework, setting me behind on only the second day of the semester (it's not the first time that's happened too). I ended the day with Nyquil at 9:30.

7/365: Back to Life

It was back to work and school on Monday. I took a picture of the mess of a project I came back to. Oh yeah, and it was definitely a Monster kind of day because classes started on Monday as well. Double joy! I was out of the house from 8am until 10:45pm because of class. It's going to be a long four weeks.

6/365

I get into food ruts very easily. If I'm without a new recipe or crazy ingredients, I tend to just stick with chicken, rice, and veggies. I was at a loss for dinner yet again tonight, but thanks to some leftover ingredients I was able to throw together something delicious. I love spicy food. I love hispanic food. I love the smell of chipotle peppers roasting throughout the house. If you love those things too, this is a recipe for you to try.

Note: When I cook, I tend to eyeball instead of actually measure. When you add your spices, add them to your taste.

Basic ingredients:

• Boneless pork (I used two medium size cuts for two people plus leftovers)
• One can diced tomatoes (any flavor)
• One can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 yellow onion, diced and caramelized
• Two chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
• Red pepper flakes
• Cajun spice mix (I use Weber's)
• Curry powder
• Coriander powder
• Splash of lime juice

Step 1: Cut up the pork into bite-sized pieces and season. I trim the excess fat off of my pork here. Cook pork and caramelize the onions.

Step 2: Combine the pork, onions, tomatoes, black beans, and chipotle peppers in a large pot. Add some water to the mixture if you want a soupy mixture. Bring to a boil (if you added water), and let sit on low-medium heat for at least one hour.

Step 3: Enjoy some sake while you wait!

Step 4: Add a splash of lime juice and enjoy! Johnny and I had ours over rice with queso fresco, but I can see this making a great burrito filling or salad topping.