because it's sunday

sometimes when i am scanning at work i listen to conference talks on my phone. i stumbled upon this one the other day and i just love it a lot. it was definitely what i needed to hear this week. today i found this a great condensed version on it, and i know it's a little old, but it's real great. happy sabbath

do your best and leave the rest to Him.

cranberry almond granola bars.

move over, quaker.


i haven't talked food in awhile, soooooooo here it goes. prepare yourself for the most delicious granola experience of your life. i can't wait to mess with this recipe a little bit to put in some of my favorites. aka dried apples. or marshmallows. peanut butter chips. ... nutella.


this recipe is completely adjustable, i altered it myself. ready, set, go! 


cranberry almond granola bars
from smittenkitchen
1 2/3 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup oat flour (or 1/3 cup oats, processed till finely ground in a blender)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 to 3 cups dried fruits and nuts
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup honey/agave (i was running out of honey so i used mostly agave. i deserve a pat on the back for that move. flavor=great)
1 tablespoon water


preheat oven to to 350. mix all dry ingredients, then mix all wet ingredients together and combine. mix to a nice consistency. line an 8x8 with parchment paper, smoosh granola mix down. stick in the oven for 30 minutes. Take out, cut into bars, and let cool. i just grabbed the parchment paper out of the pan and let them cool on the paper on the counter to speed up cooling time. i'm just real impatient like that. you can also stick em in the freezer or whatever, just let them cool for 20 so minutes.
now remember what your life was like before you took a bite, and then go for it. but brace yourself. they will rock your world.
i wish jimmer lived next door so i could take some to him. goooo byu! and happy saturday. 

because i am sneaky

i snuck home this weekend.
no one knew i was coming- heck i hardly knew it until 4 or 5 days before leaving, and it was fun to give the fam a little heart attack by knocking on the back door late at night, then seeing the delight on their faces when I was forced to tell them who the intruder was at the back door out of fear they might leave me there all night.
it was a pleasant weekend. in fact, my mom basically beat me to the deets, so if you're interested, click.
my own weekend additions? i brought home the guitar and am learning to play. so far i can play "leaving on a jetplane" and brown eyed girl". please notice, however, that i didn't say i could play either very well . maybe once my fingers toughen up a little bit, the story will be different. a girl can hope, right? oh, and emily and i made it back to provo in about 5 hours if you don't count the gas stop, food stop, and bathroom stop. don't ask me how- i hardly sped. the only feasible conclusion we could draw is that maybe they moved provo a little closer to home while i was away. either that or my speedometer is broken. nah, i am going with the first.
now it's back to the grindstone. ps do you like the nip/tucks made on this ol' page? i was feeling something new, but i am too chicken to change too much too soon... plus i am pretty html inept. one day i dream of sections with food and life and travel buuuuuuuut until then my weak attempts at the three will just conglomerate in the same small space. there is always summer to learn and expand, right?
summer. i like the sound of that. this semester is almost halfway over.
time flies.

this post is indeed about a grapefruit.

for a moment, spend some time marveling at my latest feat.

i am slowly mastering the sectioning of  a grapefruit. 

growing up, i watched my mom carve up one of these every day with prestige; sectioning, scooping, and squeezing out all the juice. she never for one moment needed the "grapefruit sectioner" i got her for mother's day that one year.

 however, i never wanted anything to do with em.

well folks, one-month-shy-of-twenty alyssa is growing up- after two weeks of religiously trying to perfect my skills and learning that a. you cannot cut a gp with a fork. b. you cannot cut a gp with a spoon and c. sugar is sort of important

i feel like i've made small steps in the breakfast foods realm

(but i still can't section an entire grapefruit without eating half of it in the process- impatience is a tasty, tasty virtue)

ps. tgif 

the weather of provo

can be likened to a 15 year old girl. hormonal.

and i know i speak of the weather a lot, but it just amuses me. kind of like this picture of today:

probably shot at the strangest angle possible, but i guess that's just the product of a lot of happiness because the sun shone today for a good solid 8 hours. and i even shaved my legs for the occasion.

momentous, i tell you. 

however, i just peeked my head outside, and it's been blizzarding as of late, so i guess this nice sunny day won't be replicated any time soon. pity. pleeeeeeease come, spring. i stand beckoning.

in other news..... well, there really isn't any other news... besides the fact that i failed my cleaning check today. speaking of which, i should probably go clean the freezer. 

i've been thinking about summer lately and i even started my list. it's still in the the rough stages, so no unmasking will be done tonight, but seeing as BYU didn't feel like giving me any scholarships for spring/summer, guess all my dreams of taking year round classes have been shattered and now i must think of other ways to fill my days. hmmmmm shouldn't be too difficult! stay tuned. 

the makings of a fabulous valentines day consisted of;

a. sugar cookies for breakfast
b. working and listening to my coworkers talk about their husbands and one of them play her twilight themed card from her husband over. and over.
c. having a nine year old boy come in with symptoms of "acting drunk"... yeah, it probably isn't that funny... but it is.
d. a delicious mint brownie for lunch
e. signing the xed line on my new apartment for next year. happy valentines day to me!!!! looks like me and provo are in this for the long haul.
f. shortened microbiology lab/ some good insight in mission prep
e. apple crisp for dinner (and some stir fry too... come on people, i have more class than that!)
f. hearing high pitched squeals coming from downstairs. engaged on valentines day? really? another one bites the dust. i like it
g. and a looooooooooooong run to get the ol' heart pumping... you know, something really festive!

love love love. happy valentine's day!

that one time my mom came to town

this weekend mom came to town for a little visit.
maybe it was just to get her hair done, maybe she just wanted to see the newest and cutest member of the family (not me) little baby evie, but nonetheless, since she came it meants we got to hang out a lot and it was great.
we went to the fabulous malawi's pizza and got delicious lasagna and pizza... and dessert.
and when we were done, we got another desert, because heck that is just how we do things.

and honestly. how could you pass this up? i dream about it in my sleep. in fact i better keep my keys hidden at night because i am getting afraid i might sleep drive right on over to the riverwoods one of these nights and get another.

we spent lots of time with the family just laughing and carrying on all weekend,complete with lots of cute baby cousins to hold and kiss. (& in my case make cry)

 

case and point.

we shopped, and shopped and shopped and i spend a lot of time trying to dodge the attempts of my lovely aunts to set me up with every waiter and Nordstrom shoe salseman in utah county. they are great, these women.
the weekend was complete with superbowl food and a baby blessing, cafe rio and lots of sugar.
it was fabulous. will you come back soon, mom?

have you seen this?

read this

which stems from this.

girl, you just got jimmered. sometimes i really like byu

excuse me,

can i sit here?

this has got to be the worst question in the world of studying at the HBLL. 

mainly because usually it's gingers who ask.

or engaged couples.

exhibit a: couple sitting across from me, scooting their chairs closer and closer and feeding each other chocolate. niiiiice. (i believe you can reserve rooms.. maybe i should slide them a note and tell them to look into that)

man, i just wanted to study glycolysis in peace. 

to hell with you, microbiology

2.5 hours in one seat during dinnertime in a basement listening to anecdotes about bacteria is THE WORST.
good thing i brought the laptop today. let much blogstalking and list making commence.
feat of the day: making corn tortilla chips at lunch. how? easy.
spray both sides of a tortilla with cooking spray, put that baby on the george foreman for 5 minutes, and VOILA eat it with the remants of your salsa in the fridge.
when you have no food you get creative.
i'm back on my facebook diet, if anyone wanted to know. once a day. (sometimes twice) let's just say seeing "the social network" made me think twice about getting my stalk on. (and on and on and on)
provo is freezing. and does anyone know if the groundhog saw his shadow? i can't get a straight answer from anyone/the internet and i am just really relying on p. phil for the good word.

i yearn for this. i might have been fat and flabby, but i was happy. ridiculously happy. ha sometimes i wonder if it even happened.
9 minutes left and i can go home. oooooooh yeah. and 24 hours til mom comes. :) yay