WHATS UP DOC?

I always love a good Carrot Muffin!  Actually I'm sure you guys are noticing a trend that I just like muffins in general.  I've been on the hunt for a great carrot muffin recipe for quite some time now.  Anyways.  I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

CARROT MUFFINS:

2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
4 Large Eggs
1 Cup White Sugar
1 Cup Canola Oil
2 Cups Raw Carrots, finely grated
1 Cup Apple, grated
1/2 Cup Pecans or Walnuts, coarsely Chopped
1 Cup Raisins, Currants, or Dried Cherries

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F.  Place paper liners in tins, or grease muffin tins.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

In another bowl, whisk eggs, sugar and oil until slightly thickened.  Fold in the flour mixture until just incorporated.  Fold in grated carrots, apple, nuts and raisins.  Evenly divide batter between muffin tins (mine made 14 muffins)

Bake approx. 20 mins or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let sit in pan for 5 mins and place on wire rack to cool.  Dip in Cream cheese icing and garnish.  ENJOY!!

CREAM CHEESE ICING:

1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter
1 8oz Pkg. of Cream Cheese, room temp
3 Cups Icing Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

DIRECTIONS:

Combine the butter and cream cheese.  Mix well.  Add the icing sugar 1/2 Cup at a time until incorporated.  Add the vanilla and beat well.
*note- This makes a TON of icing!  You could easily 1/4 the recipe for the batch of muffins up above.  I choose to make the entire batch and freeze the remaining icing for a future date!  HAPPY BAKING!

THOSE YOUR APPLES?

I'm not a big fan of apple pie, but the people I work with are fanatics!  I could probably make a pie every other day to keep up with the eating habits of my "Shack Mate".  That man just can't seem to get enough of it.  The worst part is... he's as skinny as a toothpick!  Anyways, I made one up and thought I'd share my beauty of a pie!

Now I don't exactly follow a recipe for apple pie (I normally don't follow one for anything, I think of them more as a guideline)  This means that I can't tell you exactly what I used.  But I do know that it was delish!  I had a piece after dinner.



I always love heaping in the apples



Egg Wash and Sugar



Now this looks tempting!!!



LETTERS TO A FRIEND

From the amount of emails I received I think that the letter writing project is a go!  I guess seeing as how I thought this was such a genius idea, it is only fair if I start the process.  I'm going to be free in about an hour and I think the perfect thing to do would be head straight out to get some pretty paper and a pen and then sit down and start writing.  (After I'm done at the spa of course!!)

If you are interested in being involved in the sophisticated version of "pen-palling" you can send your MAILING ADDRESS to my email so that I can get a letter on the go!  ithinkinpinkhearts@gmail.com.

I can't wait!  I'm actually really excited for this little project of mine!  I can't wait to hear from you, so that you can hear from me!

PS... On a rather sad note, I'd like all of you to pray for a family that goes to my moms church.  They lost their daughter yesterday, due to a severe car accident.  Pray for strength, peace, and support for them during this tragic time. Thanks Dolls! Xoxo

TAKING CHANCES

After my last post I figured the only way I was going to figure out my life was to take a chance.  So I've decided that I'm just going to let it all go and see where I end up.  I'm taking a chance at life, take a chance on love, and take a chance at work. 

A few of you who really know me, know that I'm not a huge fan of change.  I mean, who is?  I realize that in order to grow into the person we are meant to become that we need to do some embracing.

After a conversation I had (on a date) with someone I just really happen to care about, he informed me that if I wasn't around, he really couldn't see things working out.  I've always swore I'd never quit my job for a guy.  But, I kind of have.  I didn't technically quit.  I just moved to a different position. (which hasn't officially started yet... I don't start until October)  But with that said, I'm not going to be gone all the time.  I'm going to have the freedom to have some-what of a life.  And I'm taking the chance that things are going to work out in the love department (fingers crossed).

I am excited, I'm nervous and I'm scared shitless (sorry mom, but there was no other word to describe it)!  I guess with change it is expected that there will be fears.  Fear of the unknown, fear of making the wrong decision and fear of failure.  I'm a bundle of nerves and emotions, which shouldn't be unexpected.  I've been doing the same job for the last 7 years.  And as most of you know, it is so easy to get "stuck in a rut".  Now apart from the "scared" side there is also a positive side.  The positive side is, I'm excited!  I'm excited to see where things go and how I grow as a person.  I'm excited for meeting new people and having new experiences.  And most of all, I'm excited to see what else life has to offer! 

CHECKLIST FAIL

If any of you are like me you'd probably dreamed up your perfect life.  Made a list of all the things you'd planned to do before you hit 30, or 40 or 50.  I was going back through my list in my head last night, and according to my "CHECKLIST" my life has really gone down the toilet.

I always thought by the time I was 30 I'd have been married, had two kids, and lived in this perfect little house.  Thought I'd have my own business, and just not have to worry about the day to day things, because everything was supposed to work out EXACTLY how I had planned it.

NEWS FLASH!!  The only thing I've accomplished from the above list is the perfect little house.  The only bad thing about the perfect little house is that I'm never at it.  Two or three weeks a year in your own home doesn't exactly put it in the "home sweet home" category.

Now obviously life 10 years ago was a lit different.  I was a little more naive (or a lot) and didn't really understand what kind of hiccups that life could throw at you.  Life isn't perfect.  You can't just go around checking off your "TO DO" things by a certain date.  I mean there is nothing wrong with having goals and a plans.  But you also need to be flexible.  Just because you haven't met the criteria of your "checklist" doesn't mean that you aren't successful.

If I were to make my list now, with all the things I know, I wouldn't have been nearly as hard on myself.  I know that having unrealistic goals isn't conducive to anything.  I know who I am, what I want, and I know that it takes work to get there.  Things aren't just handed to people on silver platters.  Life has a funny way of teaching all of us lessons.  Sometimes the harder the better!  So for now, I'm going to take my list and burn it.  Just because I didn't live up to my 18-year-old standards of life doesn't mean that my life is a failure!  All of the things on that list will happen if they are meant to.  In the mean time, I'm going to live life and enjoy every moment of it!

AIRING DIRTY LAUNDRY

My pillow has been my nemesis lately!  Here I am at almost 1am waiting for my pillow case to be dry.  I only have one pillow, therefore I only need one pillow case.  I completely forgot that I had washed it, and when I finally decided to go to bed, I realized that it wasn't possible (due to the fact that pillows and mattresses and other sleeping things that aren't covered skeeve me out).  Frustrating!! While I'm at it, I might as well tell you about my last "pillow mishap".

A few days ago I decided to go tan up on the roof and took my pillow with me (sans pillow case).  I ended up getting it completely filthy, so I figured I'd throw it in the washer.  I stuffed it into this tiny little apartment sized washer, and when I went to bed, I was quickly reminded that I had no pillow.  I figured if I threw it in the dryer it would be dry in an hour or so.  I quickly scurried to throw it in the dryer, and much to my surprise, the darn thing was so water logged it probably weight at least 50 pounds.  Needless to say, I ended up throwing the thing in the shower (at 1 in the morning) and stomping the living daylights out of it.  My efforts were futile and in the end I ended up leaving the pillow in a soggy heap at the bottom of the shower. In the end I ended up rolling up a blanket for the night.  The next day starting early(ish) in the morning I threw the water logged pillow in the dryer, after another thorough stomping (of course).  It took me 10 hours of straight drying to get the silly thing dry, but on the bright side... it has never been fluffier!

Moral of the story, don't leave important things until last!

THE GIFT OF GIVING

I have been a little lazy with the blogging lately.  It's just lack of creativity, lack of anything substantial to say, and lack of motivation.  I'm hoping a change of scenery next week might help things out.  I plan on packing my camera everywhere with me and taking pictures of whatever tickles my fancy!

On another note.  I was doing dishes the other night and thought about ways to keep us all connected in a way other than blogging.  I was thinking, how great it would be if we all decided to pick a few people a month to send letters to.  Like an actual handwritten letter.  Something personal, not just the mass letter you send to everyone at Christmas.  I know it makes my day when I get something in the mail (other than a bill).  So maybe this would be a great way to make each other feel special with some kind words of encouragement!

I guess in a world where there is so many impersonal emails floating around, blog comments left with only the intention of gaining more followers, and the whole "txt msgs" form of communication, there is room for MAJOR improvement.  Maybe we could make this a Blog Event!  I think if a bunch of us put our minds together we could come up with something great!  I'd love to hear your feedback on it, or what you think!  If you are interested in doing this you can email me at: ithinkinpinkhearts@gmail.com  I look forward to your comments!

BEFORE & AFTER

Someone asked me the other day if I missed doing the Beauty Blogging thing.  My answer: Sometimes. 

Now the thing I miss most about it is the getting ready and trying things I normally wouldn't.  Plus I've discovered that spending a little extra sometimes is totally worth it!  I walked away from it with some AMAZING new products.

What I don't understand is how some of the other bloggers can afford to spend so much on their makeup collections?!?  I guess the pressure to always have something new and fabulous and discover the new "it" product just made the experience not so much fun. (which is probably my own fault, because blogging isn't really a competition [or is it?])

Anyways, I'm enjoying the simpler makeup routine.  That isn't to say that I don't enjoy getting all "dolled up" once in awhile, but working in the oilfield isn't exactly the place for trendsetting/groundbreaking/glamours makeup.

Anyways.  I thought I'd do a little before and after.  You don't have to spend hours and hours getting ready.  Mine took a total of 10 mins (including hair) from start to finish.  Sometimes all you need is a little enhancement to make your features pop!

Please excuse my horrible roots!  I'm in desperate need of seeing a hairstylist!