Category Archives: Life

Day 2633 – Homemade Cup Of Noodles!

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I am a sucker for cup of noodles and ramen noodles. Mmmmm. Love ’em! What don’t I love? The MSG. So, I have been on a quest to make my own. A few months ago, a friend from our bible study made rice noodles and an authentic Vietnamese meal. I thought, huh, these noodles are great, I could make these at home and have cup of noodles!

Last weekend, we FINALLY went to H Mart…which is right down the road….and we are definitely like, um, WHY did we wait to come here??? It was like journeying to another country. We got a ton of delicious foods and I got my rice noodles. I’ve been reading up on homemade cup of noodles for a while and had a few ideas.

After much trial and error, I finally found a recipe that works great for me!

I put about 1/4 cup of frozen veggies in a glass bowl and microwave about 30-60 seconds

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After they’re mostly heated, I add some chicken, baby corn and water chestnuts

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I boil about 2-3 cups of water and after it boils, I take it off the stove and put in my noodles for 2 mins.

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These are the noodles I use, but there were a ton of other options.

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Now here’s the secret sauce! I couldn’t get a good flavor but I read sriracha is a good flavor aid, and it is! So I put in about 1/2 tsp of minced garlic, a few squirts of sriracha and about 1 tsp of better than bullion, I’m using the veggie flavor.

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I dump in the noodles and water they’ve been cooking in, I like a good broth in my noodles.

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I give it a stir and I have my very own homemade cup of noodles without MSG

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Day 2630 – When Is It Ok To Cheat? – or – The Hardest Puzzle I’ve Ever Done

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A few days ago, my dad gave me a pretty cool puzzle. It is one color and every piece is different. At first, I was excited about the challenge. “Cool! A puzzle with no picture! This is going to be fun!” I started work on the puzzle on my little coffee table (the only table we own). It quickly became obvious that the table was too small. So I started putting pieces in the box, on the floor, everywhere. It was just a mess. One day, I was cleaning up the papers that came with the puzzle and I found something magical. The puzzle guide. Here was a piece of paper that had the location of EVERY puzzle piece. I had already split the pieces by their shape. Now, all I had to do was look at the paper and look for what piece went next. I thought a lot about this method and thoughT, is it cheating? Or is it being wise with my time and resources? I mean, here was this puzzle taking up all this space, I couldn’t use my table (which I didn’t realize how much it helped me with work until I didn’t have it), and this puzzle was just making me mad. I decided that it was an ok thing. Sure, I can’t say, “I did this puzzle with no help!” but, the puzzle is done and I saved myself a bunch of time. What do you think, did I totally cheat the system or was this a smart thing to do?

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Day 2628 – Feeling Like A Grown Up Today

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Today, I’m feeling pretty grown up. First, I’m on call for jury duty this week. I’ve never been called before. I’m wondering if it was just a fluke or if my arrest had something to do with it. Funny story, I was arrested 10 years ago on 9/16 and Monday 9/19 was the first date of jury duty. Funny coincidence if it’s not on purpose!

Second, I’ve been putting off going to the dentist. It’s been like 4 years since my last cleaning (shame shame shame, I know your name!) Here’s the worst part about this….there is a dentist right across the road. I can walk to this dentist. This will be good when I start going in to fill the at least 4 cavities I have…

Have you done anything grown up worthy today?

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Day 2624 – Reflections On Getting Arrested Ten Years Ago

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Ten years ago at 1:59 a.m., I had a number of thoughts:
– I was so excited about my new job! It was my first “real” job. A 9-5 where I had to wear business casual and not a uniform.
– I really enjoyed working at Target.
– I should not be driving right now.
– I texted someone and said as much.

Ten years ago at 2:00 a.m., when I was pulled over, I had a number of thoughts:
– I shouldn’t have been driving.
– I shouldn’t have been texting.
– I should be ok, I didn’t have that much to drink.

Ten years ago around 4:00 a.m., after being officially arrested, I had a number of thoughts:
– I can’t believe this is happening.
– I can’t believe I blew a .13.
– I can’t believe I talked to the cop on the way back from the official breathalyzer test about thinking God wanted me to talk to him. How embarrassing.
– I can’t believe the cops at the station said I took a good mug shot.

Today, ten years after being arrest, I have a number of thoughts:
– I can’t believe I didn’t think I had a problem back then. I found a short survey I took for my court mandated substance abuse classes. I scored an 11 out of 24. 9 or more meant probable alcoholism.
– I am SO thankful that God graciously helped me quit drinking cold turkey.
– I am so thankful I was pulled over that day. If I thought I was ok driving that day….I shudder to think what could have happened on the days prior that I knew I wasn’t ok to drive.
– I am thankful for those who stood by me through the last 10 years.
– I never thought I would put this out there publicly! I remember being SO scared about people finding out.
– I am thankful for work that doesn’t require me to check off a box – “have you been arrested” etc.
– I am thankful that I can now be a designated driver and not be mad about it.
– I am most thankful that alcohol doesn’t hold any power over me anymore. I always thought I wanted one of those stories….you know the kind…..drug addict, alcoholic, etc sees the errors of their ways and comes to Jesus and is completely saved from their vices. I always thought, well, my story isn’t that exciting….I grew up in a Christian home, gave my life to Christ very early and have clung to my faith ever since. I now know that is one of THE best testimonies. But, now I have both testimonies. 🙂

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