Honey Garlic Chicken Fried Rice

Per Jenney's request. Keep in mind that besides the sauce, this is entirely my own creation. Feel free to tweak it :)

Serves one famished person, two hungry people, or three people with virtually no appetite. Basically, serve it to two.

Sauce:
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp mustard
3 tsp soy sauce
1/2 cup vinegar- I would recommend red wine vinegar, but white works too
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup ketchup

Combine ingredients in a small mixing bowl, beat with whisk until mixed, set aside
*optional* add 2-3 tsp fresh squeezed orange juice to taste.

Chicken:
Bake two boneless skinless chicken breasts. (20-35 min each) Halfway through baking time, slit with a knife and pour 1/4 cup of sauce on each.
Cut chicken into one inch cubes, or shred it if you prefer.

Rice: **wait until chicken is done cooking for this step!!**
one cup instant rice
2 tbsp butter or margarine
one egg
small skillet

Cook instant rice following normal instructions. Melt butter in a small skillet. When butter is melted, drop in the egg. "Scramble" the egg as usual. When egg is fully cooked, add the rice and approx. one cup of sauce. Stirring continuously, add the chicken breast.
Pour in approx. 1/2 cup of remaining sauce. (Note: You kind of have to "eyeball" how much sauce to use. The sauce will soak in to the rice as you cook, but you don't want it to end up soupy.)

Pour into bowls and serve.
Goes great with the egg drop soup from Sam the Cooking Guy.

Updating...

It's March 1st. Wow, it's March 1st. How strange... I still hadn't accepted that August was over. (By the way- "August is Over" by We The Kings= good song.) Anyway, I haven't updated since February 14th, so here we go...

We had a great family vacation to Florida. It was nice and warm, lots of time by the pool. Aunt Kendra came and brought Ian Joseph (my 4 month old cousin), so we had a lot of fun "baby time." We went shopping (I got dresses! and vests!), ate a lot, and soaked in the sun.

Last weekend (February 27-28) was the Christian Communicators of Michigan Invitational Speech and Debate Tournament at Midland Evangelical Free Church. Whew. I'm glad I didn't actually SAY that- I'm out of breath just from typing it. Anyway, it was a fun tournament. We had seven rounds of debate, and I had 3 rounds of Impromptu.
The results? I placed 1st in Impromptu, my partner (Eric) and I placed 4th in Varsity Team Debate, and I was 1st place Varsity Debate Speaker.

Now I'm sitting at Delta College, relishing the fact that they have Macs... ahhhhh. Emistotle and I are going to go get dinner before class.

Pictures of Florida and the tournament will come soon!

A Valentine's Day Survey.

For Valentine's Day, I went to a concert with two of my good friends. It was amazing. I watched some hilarious youtube videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMYX1VDpkHE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49jKeGyUCJE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp9Gm-aRe5A
Now I'm going to go make White Chicken Chili for tomorrow. After that I'll watch Gilmore Girls and eat popcorn. Happy Day!

Emilyy, Sarah, Guitar Player, me, Lead Singer- Run Kid Run
Emilyy, guitar player, drummer, Sarah, me, Lead Singer, bassist- Lightswitch
I took this without a zoom

IN THE LAST MONTH HAVE YOU...

Had someone buy you something?
Yes... Jared and Levi both bought me lunch. My parents bought me lots of things...

Gotten sick?
Yes.

Been hugged?
Yes, I was on retreat. I was hugged so much...

Felt stupid?
Numerous times.

Missed someone?
Every second I was awake. And most of those during which I was asleep.

Failed a test?
Nope.

Ate cereal?
Yes. Yum

Danced crazy?
Not that I know of, but I have been guilty of singing really loudly when I'm alone in the car.

Gotten your hair cut?
Yes. And dyed.

Lied?
Not that I remember.

HAVE YOU EVER...

Said "I Love you" and meant it?
Yes. I never say it without meaning it.

Waited all night for a phone call that never came?
Not all night

Snuck out?
Nope. And it's "Sneaked"

Sat and looked at the stars?
Oh, no. Never.
Ahem.

Do you swear?
Absolutely not.

Do you ever spit?
I spit out some gross food once.

Do you cook your own food?
I can.

Do you do your own chores?
mmhmm

Do you like beef jerky?
Yeah. Especially on the way home from Retreat

Do you like pepsi or coke?
Mountain Dew.

Are you happy with your hair?
I love it! I wish it was always this color.

Do you own a dog?
no.

Do you spend your money wisely?
Normally.

Do you like to swim?
mmhmm

Do you call a friend when you get bored?
Yeah.

DO YOU PREFER...

Gray or Black?
Black.

Color or black and white photos?
depends on the subject.

Sunrise or Sunset?
Sunset. And the song called "Sunrise, Sunset" from Fiddler on the Roof.

M&Ms or Skittles?
Skittles. The ones in the purple package.

VALENTiNES DAY QUESTiiONS...

Do you like anyone?
I do.

Do they know it?
Yes.

Does someone like you currently?
I would hope so. I would hate to find out that my friends and family have been pretending all this time.

Are you even worried about the upcoming holiday?
Why would I be worried?

Why is this an important holiday to couples?
I have no idea. Valentine's Day was created to honor St. Valentine. It originated as a day to show EVERYONE love. Not just your "significant other." However, as with so many other good things, the world and Hallmark teamed up to corrupt the day forever.
See here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/note.php?note_id=50059994863

Have you ever gotten something from someone on the day?
Yes. School valentines, back in the day.

Life is a Highway

I'm home from Winter Retreat 2009. There are so many emotions and thoughts flying through my head. I just slept for 12 hours. I talked Emily's ear off the whole way home last night.

If it was possible to freeze moments forever, these are the ones I would freeze:

Brandon telling us to make love our identity, not our strategy.

Singing Mighty to Save with one arm around Kimmee and the other around Levi.

"That's a huge fan."

Making videos about the wood flavored soup with Joci and Taylor.

Looking around the room as a hundred or so of my peers cried and worshipped together.

"What the E-sharp?!"

Joci's asthmatic horse.

Hugging Kimmee until I couldn't breathe.

Levi-Alyssa Talks on the bus.

Dancing with Kimmee during "I am Free" *Charlie Brown!*

Talking to Megan by the sinks in the bathroom every day :D

That part of one of the videos Rocky made where David Anthony tries to kiss the camera.

Teaching Jerry what REAL music is.

Playing spoons, butter knives, "Bible Study," and Egyptian Rat...slap? screw? I refuse to enter THAT debate.

From the Inside Out

Lip Sync. All of it.

Never calling Mallory by her name, just "Twin."

Begging to be humbled.

The multiple epic failures that were videos with Rocky and Joci.

Finally being on the winning team.

Realizing that I was completely surrounded by people who WOULD NOT let me fail.

Kat & Emmy rocking out to Born to be Wild *Kat

The "camp situation" that turned out to be pizza *Kat

The pillow attack of death *Doug

Levi's sardines *after everyone is done yelling and holding their noses* "Want some?" "NO! I DO NOT WANT ANY!!!" *Jess

"So, how do you want me for this?" *Jess

Connie, Rocky, Jess, Me, and Jenna- getting ready to leave the Farm.
Eric, Jared, Me, Kimmee. EpicMe, Jess, Jenna, Grace- on the bus.
Eric, Kimmee, me, Joci, Rocky- "Biker Ball" :DJess, Jenna, Me, Amanda, Rosie- Cabin 7 Remnant
Emilyy, Joci, Rocky, Me- Emilyy came to pick me up!

Sweet Sixteen Party

L: Levi, Hunter, Emilyy Joy. R: Rocky and Me... not really sure what's going on.

L: Kimmee, Emilyy, Me. R: Rocky and Me, once more. A "smile"!!!

L: Levi (my buddy) and Me. R: Rocky and Me. no smile this time.

L: Levi & Emilyy R: Levi, Grace, Me. She tried to kiss my cheek.

L: Me, Maggie, Molly. R: Levi and Me, again.

WGTP

Last year on our way to Peru, we tried to teach Pastor Doug how to speak "text" language. He was trying to come up with acronyms for various things specific to our trip. The mixture of our excitement and lack of sleep caused sheer hilarity.

One such acronym was "WGTP," or, "We're going to Peru." Friends, family, random stalkers who may happen to be reading my blog (if that describes you, please leave)... I am pleased to announce that once again...

WGTP!!!!!

That's right, folks. My mom and I are returning to Peru. We received the dates for our trip and the go-ahead from my dad this morning. I cried with joy when I found out, and my eyes are overflowing again as I type this.

This was the only thing I would ever be willing to miss camp for, and God has worked it out so that I can go to Peru and to Hiawatha. He is, oh, so good.
WGTP. Praise the Lord.

A Flood of Memories

As I cut into the passion fruit (Spanish: maracuya), a familiar scent hits my nose. I scrape out the pulp of the fruit and take a small bite. As the familiar taste hits my tongue, a flood of memories rush into my brain.

C'est si bon.
Singing American songs along with the Spanish radio.
Never finishing my pint before Kelly finished his liter.
Being mocked for my slowness.
Walking down the street, listening to Spanish rock music.
Ben.
Feeling like I could stay there forever, and never regret it.
"Rating" the waitresses with Kelly and Ian.
The last visit.
Pretending like the end wasn't coming.
Laying on the roof.
Saying goodbye.
Walking to the gate, watching as Cesar leads Ben away slowly.
Flying away from Pucallpa, not knowing if I'll ever return.

I sit here, crunching the familiar tasting seeds and chewing the familiar tasting pulp. I know there are other things going on around me, I know that time is still moving. I hear people talking to me, but just barely. It seems to me that time has stopped, that I have gone back. The familiar sweetness of the fruit brings back so many memories.

The fruit is gone all too quickly. The memories, however, will never go away. I left my heart in Pucallpa, Peru. A piece of it will remain there forever. It's funny how a smell or taste can bring back so much.