short & sweet...

what a crazy week so far…& it’s only monday! to start, i am done with exams & survived in one piece. (many more tests to come, but for now…whew!) your gal, ash, is officially out of core & onto a new phase in my program at school. thanks for all the good vibrations & positive voojoo-ness during this time. it most definitely reached me & come to find out, i’m not a complete bonehead…ha! important information has managed to stick to my brain that has nothing to do with random pop culture trivia. plus, i participated in a super awesome fashion show at school saturday night & look forward to many more in the future.

on the flipside to that accomplishment, my house has seriously suffered in the upkeep factor. enter my sister, bro-in-law, & niece arriving thursday…this thursday. ahhh! it’s cool. i’ll get it in gear in time, hopefully. & if not, oh well. i’m just really happy that they will be here…haven’t seen them in a minute (since christmas!) & speaking of family, hold tight you guys, but as of sunday (yesterday), i am now in touch with a half sister!! behold, the powers of the interwebs, my dad’s daughter (who i’ve always known about but have never met) has found him online. it’s overwhelming in a wonderful way & i feel really happy for my pop & hope to grow a relationship with her. (& there’s a half brother out there, too…stay tuned) i know, right?! & breathe…i can handle it. i can always handle surprises & goodness.

meanwhile, back at the ranch…

my child is still the cutest monkey in the land (a little biased? guilty.)

sybil is still my best girl friend to watch ‘real housewives’ with.



scout is still the king of the mountain.



& the girls…still growing bigger & more clever.



it's a pie...or something. just trust me...

you know how you see something cool or neat or super yummy & automatically, you must have it? well, i’m totally like that, especially when it comes to the yummy! i had seen where a friend posted a pic of her homemade, from scratch pie earlier yesterday evening on that popular book of faces. it was so pretty & amazing looking…really…& i thought about that dang pie all night (may have even dreamed about it a little) & when i woke up this morning, my mission for the day was to create a sweet nom!

i have various fruit here & there; frozen & non, but apple was on the brain. i had 3 that would have to be eaten in a day or so, for best desired taste. (or get tossed to the girls) 2 golden delicious & a granny smith…perfect. i’ve never made my own pie crust & didn’t want to make a trip to the store today (way too hot)…let the googling begin. yikes! everything i saw called for shortening or crisco (which is one in the same, right?) i don’t exactly keep stuff like that on hand. is that still a common ingredient? i realize that i’m in the south, but i just figured that was an old school thing. heck, what do i know…never attempted this feat, remember? (i’m a bad belle…ha!) anyhoo, i did see one or two recipes that called for butter, & i do have that. flour…yep. sugar…un huh. etc, etc…word. “mix into a ball…place in plastic wrap…refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight” wait, what? no time for all that…i want this deal today.

like with any recipe, i am guilty of deviating. i try to be true to directions on baking because it is so precise, but this shouldn’t be that hard…should it?! could i wing it? i was about to find out.

i measured out (in my stand by pyrex):

1 tbsp sugar
a pinch of salt (okay…an extremely generous toss of kosher salt)
1 & ¼ cup of all purpose flour
½ cup butter (cold & patted, or sliced & diced)
2 tbsp cold water

i mixed it all with my bare hands…rawr! just kidding, but really, i did. wasn’t sure how well a hand mixer would do & i can sling flour all over the place all by myself, thank you very much! & the ball thing worked…i made a ball of dough…hooray!

now to bump up that refrigeration time. 30 minutes sounded more than reasonable to me. except i was fresh out of clingy plastic wrap...dang. got it! i slid my ball into a freezer bag, flattened it out to about 5 inches (yes, flattened it. i was starting to question my methods) & sealed it up.

as the dough chilled a bit, i got the filling together. but first, i had to grab one of my pie dishes real quick. um…where are my pie dishes? not particularly feeling the urge to pull out all the freaking glassware & such from the bottom cabinet, i resort to plan b which was…okay, so maybe i hadn’t thought that part out yet…YET!

i peel all of my apples & sliced them thinly, put some sugar in a separate bowl, & grabbed the cinnamon from the pantry. oh, & don’t grab the paprika by accident! (whew, that was a close one.) in preparation for my ball/5 inch flat of dough, i floured my countertop. i decided to use my baking stone as a platform for my “pie.”  i flattened the dough out even more, & then carefully transfer it to the stone. placing the slices clockwise working outside in, i sprinkle mixture of sugar & cinnamon on top. finishing touch…folding the extra margin over to make a more uniform appearance. bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. (i had a thing for 30 minutes today for some reason)

voila! yummy, pseudo apple pie for the bumbling baker. & it may not be the most beautiful thing in the world, but hey, i didn’t have to make that trip to the store & enjoyed another adventure in the kitchen. & the next time, i know to add a bit more butter (perhaps drizzled on top prior to sugar & cinnamon...just a thought!)



how to study for a test...

1.   stare blankly at guidelines, pretest info, & notes that you’ve been taking (over the last 10 weeks) as if you’ve never seen them before.

2.  panic a little…or a lot. preferably a lot.

3.   tell everyone that you come in contact with; at least 72 hours prior to said exam, that you in fact, have an exam. (if this statement is followed with words of encouragement, continue to step 4)

4.   explain to friends & family that they don’t understand…you have a really hard exam approaching…like, hard!

5.   begin the studying process with books, notes, pens, & hi-liters spread out around you. don’t forget to breathe. (also, heart palpitations are normal...pretty sure)

6.    think back to the last time that you had to study for an exam. feel old for a minute. carry on.

7.     feel confident about the material that you’re reviewing. (oh, yeah…totally seen this stuff before)

8.    get stumped on 1 or 2 or several things. say “i quit!” to yourself a few times. after the doubt marinates for a while, get back to work.

9.    snack on everything that you can get your hands on because you are far too stressed to eat eat!

10.  decide that you may never go back to school ever again. realize that you still have to pay the tuition either way. make some flash cards.

11.   repeat definitions, techniques, & steps while away from study material. & use your hands…that way, not only will people think that you talk to yourself, but from a distance, may also be a mime.

12. take plenty of headache, acid reflux, & nausea medication to aid in the studying process.

13. feel inadequate for the bazillionth time & know positively that you will have to follow exam with a makeup exam.

14. start to finally understand & become knowledgeable on subject matter without constantly double checking books & notes. Chant cocky sayings, such as “i got this all mutha trucking day, beotch!”

15.  as time draws closer to testing time, start to lose bits & pieces of things that you’ve crammed your brain with. repeat step 2.

16. begin to accept whatever may happen.

17.  remember to breathe again & to grab some more nausea meds.

18. pray your hands will stop shaking (for goodness sakes!) keeping in mind that “calm” is NOT your middle name.

19. one last quick review in the ole noggin &…

20.  go for it…there’s no turning back now!