food

Good morning from a gloomy and rain soaked Austin, Texas!


This post may be a little longer than most because I'm going to include some recipes that I've been trying lately! If you aren't interested in reading about food, just skip over that part. 


Wedding updates:
Last week we ordered the flowers and I was finally able to pick up my dress after all of the alterations were made. We're hoping to order the invitations some time in the next week. My wedding band finally came in yesterday and I'm super excited to wear both of my rings together! 
This past weekend, Jason and I traveled to Ohio for his cousin Matthew's wedding. I got to meet (or see again) most of the members of his dad's side of the family. I didn't sleep a wink, but what an awesome bunch of people! I'm very fortunate that I was raised in such a wonderful family; and now my great fortune continues as join another one. Two great families? I must have hit the jackpot or something. Going to a wedding made me even more anxious for my own. I'm trying not to wish the time away because I know that it will be over really fast, but I just can't wait for it to be here! 
81 days :-)


Life updates:
Okay, so good news and bad news. The bad news is we did not get the house that we bid on. The good news? We found an even better one and bid on it. It's difficult for me looking at these HUD houses because there's no guarantee that we'll get it; and even if we do, we have to play the waiting game while bidding is underway. I'm trying not to get too excited, but it's hard not to. I've always wanted my own home, and I can see the light at the end of the apartment living tunnel. 
I graduated last week. We had a nice little ceremony and then my family took me out to dinner. While I apply for jobs pretty much every day, I still have had no luck in that department. I only have one remaining paycheck at my current job. Yikes! Despite this, I'm still trying to stay positive and have hope that this whole job thing will work out eventually.


Food updates:
Okay, so now that I'm done with school I obviously need a new section. Since discovering Pinterest, I've been kind of obsessed with finding new recipes to expand my cook book. When I first started dating Jason, I realized that I needed to be doing more cooking. I survived living on my own in college and early grad school on primarily sandwiches, salads and boxed pasta. While those things can sustain me, it's probably not a great thing to have every night, especially with two people. And it wasn't just me; Jason ate like a bachelor. He cooks a lot now too; we like to trade off. My mom was kind enough last year to give me a cook book with some of my favorite recipes from childhood (I'll talk more about this next time), but I noticed that even making these things, Jason and I had a two week rotation with food. It was getting boring. I was determined to incorporate some new things into our diets, thus my Pinterest quest. 
Feel free to check out my board, but here are some of the things we've tried so far that we've really enjoyed:


Sweet and Spicy Bacon Chicken

4 chicken breasts cut in thirds (12 pieces)

Bacon slices

salt and pepper to taste

garlic powder

chili powder

brown sugar

Cut each breast into 3 pieces, season all the chicken with the spices, then wrap a bacon slice around each piece, roll in brown sugar and place into an oven proof dish....make sure you have some olive oil in the dish too, like 2 or 3 tablespoons is fine. 

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and bacon is nice and brown and crispy.  Delicious served with mashed potatoes with some of the gravy from the chicken drizzled on top.

 This is one of our new favorites. It's delicious and easy to make.
Some changes and important points we've discovered: we use turkey bacon. It doesn't dry out as fast, it's healthier and actually tastes better (at least we think so). Make sure to completely coat both sides of the chicken pieces with the spices, and try to cover the bacon-wrapped chicken as completely as possible with the brown sugar. I also skip the oil step and just use cooking spray. While we haven't tried it, you can also make this on the grill. 

Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits 

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups Bisquick
4 Tbsp cold butter
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Butter Glaze:
3 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp dried parsley flakes

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease or line one cookie sheet with parchment; set aside.

Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter (I just used 2 forks). Don't worry about mixing too thoroughly; there will be small chunks of butter in the mix about the size of peas. Add cheddar cheese, milk, and garlic powder. Mix by hand until combined, but don't over mix.

Drop 1/4 cup portions of the dough onto the lightly greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 13-15 minutes in preheated oven until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.

While the biscuits are baking, melt butter is a small bowl in the microwave. Stir in garlic powder and dried parsley flakes. Use a brush to spread the garlic butter over the tops of all the biscuits. Sprinkle a little kosher salt on the freshly coated biscuits. Makes one dozen.

Oh my gosh these are delicious. The only thing I'd change is that I would recommend using more cheese; sharp cheddar is the best and has the most flavor. Also, be careful with the baking time, it can vary from oven to oven and also based on preferences. I'd start with 10 minutes and go from there. 

Black Magic Cake

Ingredients

1 3/4 c	all purpose flour
2 c	sugar
3/4 c	cocoa powder
2 tsp	baking soda
1 tsp	baking powder
1 tsp	salt
2	eggs
1 c	strong black coffee, cooled
1 c	buttermilk
1/2 c	vegetable oil
1 tsp	real vanilla extract
CHOCOLATE FROSTING
1/2 c	margarine, softened
2 oz	melted unsweetened chocolate, cooled
3 c	powdered sugar
3 Tbsp	milk
2 tsp	real vanilla extract Directions 1  Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer. 2  Add eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. 3  Beat at medium speed for two minutes. Batter will be thin. 4  Pour batter into a greased and floured 9x13 pan or two 9 inch cake pans. 5  Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes for a 9x13, or 30-35 minutes for layer pans. 6  Combine frosting ingredients and mix with a hand or stand mixer. Spread frosting on cooled cakes.

I made this gem of a cake for Jason's birthday. If you don't like chocolate, it's definitely not for you. It's a little time consuming to make, but well worth it in the end. I did not layer the cake, I chose the 9x13 option, so I'm not sure how laying it makes a difference. Jason LOVED this cake, but it was really rich so I haven't made it again (yet). I will probably just save it for special occasions. You cannot even taste the coffee. I think it's more there to darken the color of the cake and enhance the chocolate flavor. Make sure the cocoa powder you use is semi-sweet. Have milk handy when you eat this!

We've tried more recipes, but I will save them for later. Plus you're probably bored by now. Next time I will post some recipes that I had in my original cookbook. 

Until next time!

-Whitney

I'll Carry You Home Tonight

So, I realized today that I've gotten to the point where my posts are almost 2 weeks apart. Bad Whitney. I was really on a roll there for a while with my weekly posts. I'll try to get better. This post is a bit long, so get comfortable. 


School updates:
Classes are done. Exit survey complete. Technically I can now put the letters MPH after my name. Graduation is Thursday. Bring it!


Wedding updates:
Expenses are still a bit of an issue for me. I had my first major wedding "episode" last weekend because of money. I think I feel more stressed about them because I will likely be unemployed for a while. But really, I'm super excited for this wedding! We have been extremely fortunate with the amount of help we've received and I'm thankful that Jason and I have (or at least had for me) jobs that pay well enough that we can have a beautiful wedding. We've decided to hire a DJ and I'm in the process of developing the playlist now. I have another dress fitting on Thursday and my mom and I will also be looking at flowers. After that, pretty much the only thing left to tackle is the invitations. The closet in the spare bedroom of our apartment has become wedding central. Seriously, we can't even walk in the closet anymore because we're storing so much in there. 
So, I feel like now is the time to bring up something I've been hesitant to talk about much on this blog: wedding weight loss. Back in October, I was put on a new medicine for my migraines which works fantastically. Unfortunately, while my head likes this new medicine, my body does not. The first month I was on the medicine I gained about 15 pounds. That was pretty scary. When I talked to my doctor about it, he basically told me that I either have to a) alter my eating and exercise habits to compensate or b) get off the medicine. Anyone who has migraines knows that b was not an option. After the holidays and my engagement, Operation Fit into The Dress was established.  All the weight I had gained was in my belly area. Now, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not really an exerciser. Everyday, I do 60 crunches, 20 sit ups, 40 cross crunches and 20 reverse crunches. I also walk the dogs for at least 15 minutes a day and Jason and I try to go on a bike ride at least once a week. Not much in the workout department; call me lazy or whatever, but it's just much easier to control what I eat. So I have. hardcore. Since Christmas, I have not had any soda or fast food, and I only eat sweets on special occasions. 
I guess it's working. I've lost 17 pounds since January, and my dress zips up without a struggle. 3 more pounds until I reach my wedding weight goal. I joke with Jason that I'm going to get fat after the wedding. :-)
90 days to go!


Life updates:
Well, still no job prospects. I've reached the 100 mark with applications. Yikes. Despite that, I feel like there are so many positive changes in my life right now. I have a master's degree. I'm getting married to a wonderful man. And Jason and I started looking at houses. Yes, houses! Jason's been making some calls lately and he found out late last week that even if I'm not working, we can afford a mortgage that's approximately what we currently pay for rent. Since Jason's mom is a realtor, she's been helping us a lot. She took us out yesterday to look at some houses and we found one that I totally fell in love with. It's a HUD home, which basically means that it was forclosed on. It's a 2005 nice little 3/2.. basically a perfect starter home. No damage beyond general wear and tear. It was well within our price range, so Jason decided to go ahead and bid on it. We should find out in about a week if we got the house or not. I'm trying to not get my hopes up too high because there's no way we're the only bidders, but at the same time, I loved that house! Please think positive things for us. I feel so fortunate that I'm marrying a man who has managed his money so well. He's making all of my dreams come true! For now, I'm going to continue to focus on the positive things. It's a much better use of my time. 


Enough boring you for now. Adios!


-Whitney Hammer, MPH (just because I can!)

no longer the road to a thesis

I am a terrible blogger. 


But really, there's not much to blog about these days. 


School updates: 
Last Friday was my thesis presentation and it went surprisingly well. I am glad that it's over and done with completely. Graduation is in two weeks and I have a week and a half of classes left. I have mostly been spending my time grading the massive amount of assignments that are due this week and next in the class I TA. I can't believe how quickly these past two years have flown by. It amazes me to think that I've spent the past 6 years in higher education. I've met some of the most amazing people and had some wonderful experiences. I can only hope that the next chapter of my life in the "real world" is equally as fulfilling. 


Wedding updates:
Not much is new since last time. We have our food tasting coming up on Friday (yum!) and my second dress fitting is Saturday. I'm excited to put on my dress again. I feel all giddy when I wear it. We also got our guest favors in the mail earlier this week. I am looking forward to you all seeing them! For now I will keep them a secret :-)
102 days to go!


Life updates:
My advisor was able to pull some strings to keep me employed through the end of May. I still have no prospects after that. I've applied for close to 90 jobs now and have yet to have one single interview. It is really hard not to be despondent and depressed about it. If it weren't for the wedding coming up and my impending marriage, I'd feel like my life had no direction at all. 
I'm really trying to stay positive but it gets harder with each day that passes without word. I think about all the things I want to do and how very few of them seem achievable if I'm not working in some capacity. My loans are my biggest concern. Come November I've got to start paying on them. Can't very well make payments without an income. 
We're kind of on the fence about where we'll be living after July. Our lease is up 2 weeks before the wedding and we can't seem to come to a conclusive decision as to what we want to do. On one hand, we'd love to have a house and a yard and a place to call our own, plus it's a buyers market, but on the other, with only one income as a possibility, owning a home may not be financially feasible. I keep thinking that maybe I should just stay in school. Then I remind myself how difficult and stressful graduate school has been. Could I really do that again for 3 more years (at least)? Yikes. 
Please don't get me wrong, I love my life and I know how incredibly fortunate I am to have the things I have. I guess I just need to keep reminding myself of that fact. 


Hope I didn't leave this on too depressing of a note. 


Until we meet again,
Whitney

I have run out of clever titles.

Bonjour to my loyal readers,
Hopefully I have not kept you waiting too long since my last posting. There is still not much going on to report, but I'll do my very best.


School updates:
Not only is my thesis done, it's also submitted. All I have to do now is present/defend my findings next Friday. Pretty exciting, and I can definitely now breathe a huge sigh of relief! It's weird to think that in less than a month I'll no longer be able to provide school updates. While I was somewhat hopeful about finding a job here at school after my graduation, it doesn't look like that's going to be possible now. Most public health work is based on grant money, and if there's no money coming in, none can go out either. Bummer.


Wedding updates:
We've got a big weekend coming up in wedding land. Tomorrow is (finally) my first dress fitting. It will also be the first time I've put the dress on in almost two months. Guess it's time to find out if my weight loss plan is working. Saturday is our cake testing! Jason is pretty stoked about this. He doesn't care at all what the cake looks like, but rather what it tastes like. Fear not, I'll be there to make sure it's pretty too. We've ordered our guest favors (which I'll keep a secret for now ;-) ), and mostly just have a few little things left to get. Jason got fitted for his tux last weekend, so that's out of the way too. My wedding boots came in on Monday (thanks to Mrs. Fry for the inspiration!) and they are adorable. I feel pretty proud of how far I've come with all this wedding planning. I guess it's the organizer in me.  


Life updates:
Still no luck on the job front. My advisor has agreed to keep me employed at the school through the end of May, but none of the other 75 jobs I've now applied for have panned out thus far. Is it really this hard for people to find a job after graduating with a master's? It's got me quite despondent these days. I try to keep positive by thinking about the wedding, but then I remember that I need money to pay for that. Which I won't be earning if I'm not working. I know that all of my sappiness is worrying Jason and I don't want to, but it really is upsetting me. I can't even be proud of my school work because I feel like it hasn't done anything for me.
On a more positive note, I've tried to make it a point of becoming a better cook before the wedding. I still mess up sometimes, but I've added a lot of recipes to our book thanks mostly to Pinterest. I try to keep things diverse in the kitchen so that we're not always eating the same 12 things. I shall continue this quest even post-wedding!


I suppose that's it for now. 
Adios until next time,


Whitney

changes...

I suppose it's about time for another post. I've been waiting until I have something to report, but I don't want to fall too behind on my blogging "duties".


School updates:
So, pretty soon I'm going to have to change the name of this blog to "The Road to Matrimony" because my thesis is done! I've received the final approval from both the docs on my committee, so the only thing that's left is submitting it to the online service the school uses to prevent plagiarism. I'm going to obsessively read through it a few more times to make sure that all grammatical errors are eradicated. I still have about 2 weeks before the final due date. Jason and his parents took me out to dinner last night to celebrate my small victory, which was lovely. Work is going well but slow now that the thesis is done. I'm trying to stay on top of everything. Only 5ish more weeks to go until graduation! 


Wedding updates:
Well, I went to pick up my dress shortly after my last post. For those of you that do not know, my dress is discontinued (which is insane!). They only had 2 left in the entire store.. one was a size too small for me and the other was several sizes too large. However, I was so in love with this dress that I didn't care about the fact that it was a little tight on me. In order to fit into it, I need to keep the belly flab down. I'm not complaining; it's totally worth it and gives me an excuse to stay in shape.  So anyway, I when the dress was purchased, there was some loose beading and strings since it was the gown that was on the floor (meaning that people tried on). The alterations department offered to fix the beads and strings and after some difficulty in the scheduling (the woman in alternations was a little brash and clearly very busy) we worked out a date to come and review her work. We were also supposed to have my first fitting that day. We even called ahead of time to make sure everything was ready and got a hurried and somewhat rude response that it was. Well, when we went to get the dress, it seemed as if very little work had been done on it at all. Some of the beads were fixed, but there were still loose strings everywhere. My mom was upset (naturally, they'd had nearly a month to work on it) and the shop was very busy so no one was around to help us with anything. We decided it would be best to take the dress elsewhere to be altered. I'd rather have someone who isn't always backlogged working on a dress that I cannot take back or replace.
So, long story short, I chose a tailor shop and have my first fitting on April 6. I can only hope this place turns out better and that my dress continues to be gorgeous! 
The day after my first fitting we're going cake testing! I'm very excited about this, and so is Jason. It's the only part of the wedding process that he really wanted to be involved in :-). Typical man for you. 
We've received good feedback on the save-the-dates. I'm so glad! They were fun to make and it was nice to hear that people liked them! I did as well! :-)
Now we mostly have little things left to handle. The next "big" endeavor will be the invitations. 


Life updates:
Things have been a bit tense for me since I still have not found a job. If the school doesn't hire me on for the summer, I will no longer have a job after April 30th. This prospect scares me. Not only are we trying to pay for a wedding and living expenses, but I also have loans to pay off! I did a count today and realized that since I started looking in December, I've applied for about 60 jobs. And heard back from none of them. Health departments, hospitals, Monster, Craigslist, even some at UT Austin. Nothing. I mean, I've always heard stories about people struggling to find work and everything, but I kind of thought that with a master's it would be a little easier. Not the case. It may be the case that I have to take some kind of waitressing/receptionist job for the time being. I guess some money is better than no money. Obviously this isn't what I want to do, but I need to contribute something. I know Jason could take care of us both if it really came down to it, but what kind of strong, independent woman would I be if I let THAT happen? :-)
We still have no idea what our living situation will be post-July. As much as we'd love a house, it may be a little hard to swing if we've only got one income. As much as I hate it, it seems we're taking the "wait and see" approach on a lot of things these days. 


If you're still reading you're amazing. 


Now, go do something else!


over and out,


Whitney

Save the date because my thesis is cruisin'

Today I've been motivated to write another post. Turns out some people actually do read my blog! You brave, brave souls. Give yourselves a pat on the back and read on!


Wedding updates:
We finally got the save the dates sent out! It was only a month later than I wanted to, but hey, at least they're done. I was amazed how much we spent on postage! And to think we get to do it all again when we send out the official invitations. Thanks to David's Bridal (so much nice swag came with the dress!) we're also getting a free photo book (which I will be using as our guestbook), so I need to complete that this weekend. I have had lots of wedding chats with my mom this week, mostly pertaining to showers and flowers. Ha! I rhymed. She is coming into town tomorrow (yay!) for my dress bead check and first fitting. Plus Haley will get to pick up her totally adorable bridesmaid's dress! We're also going to look at some florists and head up to Round Rock so that she can "visualize" (as she puts it) the ballroom where we're getting married. 
136 days!


School updates:
Only 8 weeks until graduation! My thesis has survived its first round of final edits. I had to make a few small changes and am now waiting for any further edits my committee provides. D-day is of course April 9, and I just found out yesterday that I will be defending on April 13 (Friday the 13th, that is!). I was accepted into the PhD program. While I was happy, I didn't feel the same way as I did when I got into the Master's program. This worried me some. After talking with Jason and some trusted faculty here, I think I'm leaning toward working for awhile. I have not completed ruled out doing my PhD, but it doesn't seem like the best option for me right now. I have shifted my efforts into finding a job. Not so easy, but my resume is out there. I'm worried I may end up unemployed and no longer a student. Yikes! What exactly is a master's degree worth?


Life updates:
Last week was our cruise and I can't possibly express how much we enjoyed it. It was so nice to be away from everything for a week (including our phones!). As much as I needed a break, Jason really did. Work has been a little bit rough for him lately. His department keeps shrinking and instead of hiring new people (in fact, they're downsizing) they just keep giving Jason more work to do. Anyway, here's a summary of what we did during our amazing vacation:
Prior to being in port, we spent 2 full days on the ocean and another full day after our ports. We spent a lot of time relaxing those days and exploring the beautiful Carnival Magic. It was still a bit chilly the first two days so we avoided swimming, but there were plenty of things to do on the ship. On the last day we did swim some at the pool and used the waterslides since it was still warm. I liked getting dressed up for dinner each evening and also seeing Jason all spiffy since he's usually a jeans and t-shirt kinda guy. Of the 5 cruises I've now gone on, this was the rockiest in terms of water quality. I'm talking looking-drunk-walking-down-the-hall kind of water. Thankfully neither of us got sick at all. Our dinner company was good too. We sat with three other couples, but only really got to know one, the Gerould's. They were an older couple from Katy. Awesome and hilarious. Each night we made sure we caught the shows they put on. Some were good and some not so much. We got our picture taken every 5 seconds. If you've ever been on a cruise you know what I mean.
Jamaica: When we got off the ship, it was cloudy and drizzling. We met up with our scheduled tour and got onto a small bus. The drive to the plantation took about 1.5 hours, but it was really cool to see the two sides of Jamaica. On one hand, we saw the "Americanized" Montego Bay area which had shopping malls, KFC and Wendy's, but we also got to see the rural mountain areas. Very different. Our bus driver made sure to point out all of the beautiful plants and explain things that we saw while driving. The road was extremely narrow and people in Jamaica drive crazy (and on the wrong side of the road!). We made it to the plantation in one piece and started our tour. Winston was our tour guide and he was fantastic and knowledgeable. We got to see all kinds of fruit and coffee plants, and also got samples of pineapple, coconut, grapefruit and new things like jakfruit. They also make this juice there from pineapple skin and honey that is AMAZING. I really wish they had sold it at the gift shop because I guarantee I would have bought some. Jason sampled "the best coffee on earth", called Blue Mountain. After the tour we were served a traditional Jamaican lunch of jerk chicken, "rice and peas" (which is actually what we call red beans and rice), sweet cucumbers and collard greens (which they have another name for that I can't recall). After another terrifying hour and a half ride back and witnessing a police raid of a school, we briefly stopped to do some shopping before heading back to the ship.
Grand Cayman: We were really excited about the snuba excursion that we had booked in Grand Cayman. Neither of us had ever snuba'd and the water in the Caymans is unlike anyplace else on earth. Sadly, when we got up that morning we were informed that the tour had been cancelled due to rocky waters. We we permitted to change to a snorkeling expedition that went to the Great Barrier Reef. It was a very fun and the weather was very cooperative. We ended up getting about an hour in the water and got some fantastic pictures (see Facebook). I wish we had seen more though; we only saw a few fish and a small portion of the reef. Still, overall the excursion was successful and awesome. After we got back near the port, we did a good deal of shopping. I looked at some really pretty wedding bands in their countless jewelry stores, but they were all a bit out of our price range. Thankfully I only got a little bit pink. When we got back on the ship we were able to nap (thankfully!) before dinner. 
Cozumel- the weather was totally gorgeous. We got off the boat and met up with our tour guide. We were taken to a catamaran which took us out to Isla Pasion (Passion Island) off the north coast of Cozumel. We spent the afternoon on the beach swimming (in the freezing water!) and catching some rays. Lunch (chicken, rice, bread, chips and salsa) and drinks(mostly rum punch for me!) were included which was nice. The water was gorgeous but was a little churned up where we were swimming. I got a little more than pink that day. We did a small amount of shopping after we got back to Cozumel before we got back on the ship. 


Overall, we had a wonderful time. It was hard coming back to reality this week. If you've never been cruising before, I highly recommend it. We're already talking about going on another one for our 1 year anniversary. 


That's probably enough for now! Until next time,


-Whitney

Pictures, completions and cruises

I am a terrible blogger! In my defense, I've been crazy busy with my thesis. Oh well, I'm back! Here's my life since last time!


Wedding Updates:
My dress fantastic! I'm totally in love with it. If only I could post pictures. We ordered the save the dates last night and should be sending them out by mid-March. Be on the lookout! We got a sneak peak of our engagement pictures! They are incredibly fantastic. Thanks so much to Amanda at Whitney Lee Photography for taking these beautiful photos. To view them, check out this link: http://www.whitneyleephotography.com/photoblog/


School updates:
The day after I wrote my last blog I FINALLY received approval on my thesis proposal. Determined to stay ahead of the curve, I spent the last two weeks finishing up everything. I am happy to say that aside from final edits that my committee recommends, I AM DONE with it! The road is paved but not yet ready to be driven on. This is such a relief off my shoulders. Poor Jason has been so worried about me lately because of all the stress. I'm glad I can finally relax a little and enjoy my spring break. Still no word on if I got into the PhD program. I've also started talking to professors around here for potential job connections. We'll see how it all plays out. For now, I'm set to graduate May 3! Eyes on the prize!


Life updates:
Happy birthday to my wonderful fiance! I'm so glad you came into this world 26 years ago, and I love you very much! We leave on our cruise on Sunday! I'm so excited to have a whole week of not having to worry about anything. We will also be completely cut off from the outside world. Still experimenting with new recipes a la Pinterest. I made one on Tuesday that turned out to be a fiasco. I felt so terrible. Jason and I had to go to Sonic. I will be attempting a chocolate cake tonight for Jason's birthday. Hope for the best! We looked at some houses online. While I'm thrilled to open this chapter in our lives, I feel like I need to survive thesis edits and wedding planning first. 


Alright, that's it for now. Until next time (whenever that may be),
Whitney