Why do I always overcommit myself?! I’ve hit an all-time high for maxing out every spare minute of every single day – I’m taking 19.5 credits (so six classes plus a thesis), working 16-20 hours a week at Nordstrom, TAing a class (and grading papers every weekend), on exec for Sigma Iota Rho (running communications for a 100+ person honorary), am trying to find a job/scholarship/fellowship/SOMETHING for next year, and also trying to enjoy my senior year and my friends and the beautiful fall weather. Oh, and trying to workout, blog, cook, and maintain a semi-clean apartment. That’s sane, right?
Ha. On top of that, I’ve had a nasty cold for two weeks, which is making me tired and even more stressed. Before you start pitying me… please know I’m not complaining! Just taking two seconds to vent a bit and give you a little insight into my crazy days… But what I want you to take away is that despite how busy it is, despite how exhausted I am when I collapse into bed at midnight, despite how much I want to roll back over and keep sleeping when my alarm goes off at 6am… I’m blessed and honored to be able to do all that I am. I’m taking 19.5 credits largely because I want to! I don’t actually need half of these classes for my major or even as more credits to graduate – I just enjoy learning and these classes interest me! It’s my last year of school for the near future and I’m not going to be able to take classes like this probably ever again… So I’m absolutely going to take that extra class on Women and the Law. I’m absolutely going to take them all for a grade and not audit any…because I want to read, research and write excellent papers – I have and always will be a student.
But I will say… when I come home after a long day, what I absolutely love is squeezing a half hour in to checking in on my blog and readr people’s comments on my posts or on facebook, watch my pins on pinterest fly around, connect with other bloggers through a facebook group I’m apart of, learn more about SEO optimizations, plug-ins and ad networks… It’s my break. It’s my relief. Cooking is my passion and sharing it through this blog is rapidly becoming almost as therapeutic.
So all that to say… this year could be crazy. I may not sleep a lot. I may be pulled in a zillion different directions. I may feel overwhelmed by two jobs, my classes and the regular duties of life… but I’m going to keep blogging because it’s my outlet… my form of expression…my happy place.
But now we need a recipe! I made this Caramel Puppy Chow for a SIR meeting. We had about 80 people coming and so I made a couple of desserts from Julie’s Eats and Treats to share! These were such a hit! Caramel coated chex mix and cashews with some M&Ms added for good measure… who could resist?
- 1 (14 oz) box of Rice Chex cereal
- 1 (8 oz) can of cashews
- 1 cup butter
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 bag M&Ms
- In a large bowl, combine the Rice Chex cereal and cashews. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup to a boil. When boiling and mixture is melted together, remove pan from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla. Pour half of caramel mixture over cereal and cashews. Using salad tongs, gently stir the caramel into the cereal. Add the rest of the caramel and carefully stir it all together ensuring all the chex is coated.
- Line two baking sheets with wax paper. Spread the cereal in a single layer on the wax paper to dry. Sprinkle m&ms over. When cool, break up caramel chow and serve!
