Facts about sleep

The other night I was having such a hard time staying awake so I decided to stop fighting it, and I went to bed at 8:oo pm. Todd and I had both been staying up later than we should have for no good reasons. Todd ended up going to sleep at like 8:30 and we didn't wake up until our alarm went off at 7:15 in the morning. I believe we both have sleep debt {where we are spending too much time awake opposed to sleeping}. I read an article on "sleep debt" and what it does to people. It makes them not be able to remember things, harder to concentrate, it may cut your life short, causes premature aging, taxes the immune system, increases level of stress hormones, and disrupts the body's metabolism. Researchers think that sleep loss may be a cause of weight gain because it increases levels of a hunger hormone while decreasing levels of a hormone that makes you feel full. I never knew a lack of sleep could cause so many problems!!!

At WikiHow it gives some tips on how to fall asleep...I will just share some that I think are most beneficial/insane.
1. Eat a banana or two before bed. The magnesium in the banana will help your muscles to relax. Other foods that will help you fall asleep are: Cheese (but this may give you nightmares), Mustard, Pickles, Lettuce, Turkey. They have natural chemicals that work with your brain to send a 'calm' message over your body.
2. Give your brain an exercise. Count as high as you can. Get a picture of as many sheep on a field as possible. Try counting all of the sheep in a dim light. This makes your mind focus on one easy thing. Also, try doing mathematical calculations in your mind, for example, think of two or three digit numbers and add them up in your mind.
3. Think of Impossible Things Think of the most strange impossible things as fast as you can and don't stop. For example, imagine purple twinkies walking on the walls then they grow red wings with yellow fishhooks dangling from them.. etc. Just think of the most weird strange thing you can and let the thoughts keep getting more and more strange and make less and less sense. You are guaranteed to fall asleep fast. This works, try it.
4.Make up an imaginary friend and discuss your days events with them. talk about your feelings etc. Think of what your imaginary friend can say back. It's calming and very good for troubled minds.

I think #1 & #2 are good suggestions but #3 & #4 are just weird. If anyone has some good tricks for falling asleep please share!

Creative Cooking (kind of)

So this past week a lot of our food has been almost going bad, so I have been trying to find recipes to use it so we can use it up and get our money's worth. Often times I have this problem with the huge bags of spinach that we buy from Costco. I have gotten pretty creative (at least for me) with different recipes for spinach. I have made spinach omelette's and a spinach bake, and spinach and artichoke dip. The best of those is the spinach artichoke dip, and it also uses the most spinach. I actually found the recipe for it at yahooanswers.com.

Spinach Artichoke Dip:
*1 Cup chopped artichoke hearts (canned or frozen & thawed)
{I used canned}
*1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed
{For this I remove all of the stems from the spinach and fill up a big Tupperware full of the leaves. I add about a 1/4 cup of water and put it in the microwave for 6 minutes. Once it's done I just cut it up.}
*8 oz. cream cheese
*1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
*1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
{I don't put these in}
*1/4 teaspoon salt
*1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
*dash black pepper

1. Heat the cream cheese in a small bowl in the microwave set on high for 1 minute. Or, use a saucepan to heat the cheese over medium heat. Once it is melted {it doesn't get really runny, but you can just tell when it is no longer hard} combine all of the ingredients and serve with french bread, chips, crackers, carrots, whatever you want!

Another recipe that I tried this weekend was for cucumber bread. I know right, it sounds gross. Well I was pleasantly surprised that it turned out good! I made one loaf just plain, and the second loaf I added some chopped walnuts & chocolate chunks. Obviously the second loaf is better. I actually thought the bread tasted better once it had cooled, which is weird because most bread tastes best when it is straight out of the oven. If you feel daring and have extra cucumbers laying around you should try it! It is similar to zucchini bread.

ZUCCHINI BREAD (or CUCUMBER):

*3 eggs
*1 cup Mazola oil
*2 cups sugar
*1 teaspoon vanilla
*2 cups zucchini, peeled and grated
*3 cups flour
* 3 teaspoons cinnamon
*1 teaspoon salt
*1 teaspoon soda
*1/4 teaspoon baking powder
*Nuts, if desired
Bake at 325 degrees for 60 to 70 minutes. Makes 2 loaf size pans or 8 small loaves.

Out to Eat

Todd and I hadn't been out to eat in awhile so we decided we deserved it and we went with Nick & Alysha to the Cheesecake Factory on Saturday. We went kind of early (got there at 5:00 pm) which was a very good idea because when we left there were a ton of people waiting to be seated. It was delicious, as it always is, and it was such a nice evening downtown. It was cool but sunny and just perfect. Here are some pictures of Todd and I and a boat with the sunset.

Culture Night Disappointment

Every year since 2005 I have looked forward to Culture Night on campus. It was to begin at nine and I always talk Todd into going to these things on time. Every time he tells me it will start 30 minutes late but I still insist that we go on time for the slim 2% chance that it might actually start...I don't want to miss anything! So we go there at 9:00 pm sharp and it didn't start until a little past 9:30. It began...and that's when I wish it wouldn't have. I was so disappointed in the performances! There was nothing cultural about them besides the different races performing. They were dancing to made up choreography that had nothing to do with their culture. I think Saturday night would have been better because there were clubs that we have seen in the past that always do amazing (mine & Todd's favorite is Tahitian), but we just didn't have the energy to go see it because we were scared our hearts would get broken again. Not really, but I do want to send a complaint letter to the activities people to tell the to do a better job monitoring what is performed and to make sure it is cultural.

Is anyone else having a problem?

For the past week maybe it seems like Blogger is taking a CRAZY long time to load using Internet Explorer. I have not wanted to post anything because it takes so long, but I just decided to use Firefox and it works perfectly! So I guess I will do some catching up now.

Sleeping in the clouds

Todd and I feel like we are in heaven sleeping in the clouds. It is absolutely amazing. We got a brand new queen sized Serta mattress!!! We requested a new bed because we could feel the springs in our mattress coming out. Our bed is way high now so we have to almost jump on it to get on. No more counting sheep...

Trip to Honolulu

My Aunt took a vacation to Maui and had a couple hours in Honolulu for a layover. Todd & I went down to see her, and actually Todd met her for the first time as well. It was so much fun seeing her! We went out to eat at the Old Spaghetti Factory and talked and caught up on things. It made me realize how much I want MORE VISITORS to come!! I will look for good deals for anyone that wants to come out here, and all you have to do is buy the ticket, fly out here, and sleep on our provided air mattress! Come! Now!

This is how tired I feel...

I need to go to bed now. I will post tomorrow because I know I will have something good to write about...

When I woke up...

...this is what I saw.

It's funny to find things like these THREE orange peels in the morning because I always wonder how I didn't here Todd get up to eat during the middle of the night. Also, I have never actually gotten up in the middle of the night to go eat because I am so hungry. Todd doesn't do it often, but he does it. The other morning he woke up at 4 am and ate a pear. He said it was really hard to do because he was so tired, but he was also way hungry.

Cruising in style

My parents like to go on cruises, and have taken advantage of the great deals that my dad gets through his job (he's a pilot). They go often but not as often as Todd says...he says they go on monthly cruises, but that is so far from true. Here are some pictures of their most recent cruises both of them being last year. They left Saturday for another cruise down to the Mexican Riviera I believe. I don't like it when they go on cruises because they go out of cell phone range! However, one of the last cruises they went on I was lucky enough to get a call from my dad when they were in Mexico! He was getting wireless internet from one of the nearby hotels and called me on Skype. I remember I was having a really bad day and just wanted to talk to them and he called...I felt so lucky to have parents that called me for no other reason then just to talk while they were in Mexico. They are the greatest, and I hope they are having fun right now. I will post some pictures of the one they are on right now when they get back.

Oh also when they are gone and I can't talk to them I just call and leave messages on their phone updating them on what happened to me that day :) I am sure they love going through all of my messages when they get back.

P.S. I think my parents are just two of the most adorable people in the world. I love them so much!!!

Todd's requests...

So the other day Todd said, "Oh, Michelle, for my birthday party we should get one of those good cakes from Costco." I replied with, "Oh we are having a birthday party for you?" He of course said yes. Later he requested some balloons that spelled out his name like this:

He also decided he wanted a BBQ for his birthday with chips, hot dogs, and deviled eggs. I never knew he expected so much from this birthday of his! Hopefully it will live up to everything he has envisioned in his head :)

Charlie Bit Me

This video is hilarious. Some friends showed it to me yesterday and I have watched it like 5 times already.

I need a Bosch!

So, I have been really into cooking and baking since I got married because I am trying to be a good wife by doing those things. I made my mom's cinnamon rolls the other day and they turned out amazing! However, it is really hard to make them when all I have is a little $7 hand mixer that smells like it is burning when I use it because I make it work so hard. That is why I need a Bosch! I would be able to EASILY make things like this instead of it taking as long as it does. However, I don't think that I will be getting one because we won't be here that much longer (enough to make it worth the money).

Here is my mom's recipe...they are the best!
-2 tablespoons yeast
-1 tablespoon white sugar
-½ cup warm water (mix these three things in a bowl & set aside)
-In separate container scald 1 cup milk 2-3 min. in microwave & set aside-in bowl, mix: 2 teaspoons salt, ¼ cup of Crisco, 1/3 cup of white sugar, 2 eggs, 4 cups of flour (start with 3 then keep adding)-
Mix everything together, should be a little bit sticky-
Roll out with flour or Crisco on countertop
-Spread margarine, cinnamon, brown sugar, flour, then roll up & use dental floss to cut it 1-1 ½ inch pieces
-put on greased cookie sheet, let rise for 45 min, cover with towel
Bake at 400 degrees (preheated) for 10 minutes
ICING: 8 oz. package of cream cheese @ room temperature, ¼ cup milk, & powdered sugar (keep adding the powdered sugar until you get the flavor that you want.

If anyone does make these let me know how they turn out for you!