Thanksgiving and Christmas 2009 Family Pictures

Here are some pictures from Chandler Family Thanksgiving and Christmas 2009 dinners.

Exhale

Today I turned in my Online English Final Exam, marking the official end of my Final Exams for the Fall 2009 Semester. I can now officially enjoy the rest of the year, stress-free. And how did I do you ask? Well, in the past, I would have fretted over anything less than an A, but now, especially for my General Education classes, I just want to get a C or better so that I don't have to take them over again. Having said that, I think I got straight B's this year, maybe an A or two, but probably straight B's. Being an honor student and a member of Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society, I know that straight B's aren't the best that I can do, but consider this: I took 5 classes this semester, and I really wasn't terribly interested in any of them. Only one of them was a law class, and even my teacher will tell you that Bankruptcy law is not a fun class (though she made it as fun as it could be.) So between carrying a heavy load of difficult and boring classes certainly affected my work ethic this term. Though I was really only "sick" once during the semester, I took as many "sick days" as I could from each class just to keep myself from burning out. Add to that the fact that this is my first term going to 2 schools (University of LaVerne & Mt. SAC) at the same time, I had a lot on my plate. I'm so glad the term is over.

"Thanks for the adventure. Now go have a new one."

Daniel is moving to Texas on Saturday, so we went to Disneyland one last time yesterday. I got a new Personal Best Score on Toy Story Midway Mania (216,400) and Daniel made the it onto the board for Top 3 Scores of the Day with 254,600. We spent the day going on all of our favorite rides and talking to each other about our lives and where they are headed, both figuratively and geographically. I will miss my friend, but he is coming back in May to visit and attend a family member's wedding, so we can go to Disneyland one more time before our passes expire this Summer.

Daniel,

Thank you so much for all the memories, good and bad. I will miss you, especially the next time I go to Disneyland or watch a UFC fight. Isn't it funny how life turns out sometimes? Best of luck to you on your journey, not just to Texas, but through life itself. It's been fun.

With love,
Your friend,
Holly

The home stretch

Today is the official start of finals week. I have 5 finals, 1 paper & 1 project left to do in the next 5 days. It is gonna be a busy week, but I have dinner with Trina and Gregg planned for Friday, a nice lunch with Nicki planned on Saturday and Disneyland with Daniel, Lara and Jim planned for Sunday, so at least I will end a busy week on a happy note :-)

No more Math EVER!!!

Today I finished the last chapter in my Statistics textbook and finished all the homework at the end of the chapter. I am now officially done with Math for the rest of my life!! WOOO HOOO!!! And once the semester is over, I will never have any more English or Science homework ever again! Basically after this semester, the only General Education classes that I will have left will be "Values and Critical Thinking" and whatever Core 320 class I end up taking, either "The Human Condition" or "Towards a Sustainable Planet," and then I will have nothing but law classes for the rest of my Bachelor's degree and then, of course, LAW SCHOOL!!! YAY! I see light at the end of the tunnel!

My Chili Recipe

I made my Chili Recipe today for the first time this season. Last Winter, I started making it again after years of not doing it, and with great reviews. Jeff and Mike eat as much of it as I do when I make it, and Heather (who is herself quite the chef and a fellow foodie) LOVES my Chili. I've been very protective of the recipe, particularly because of the unique way that it tastes and because of the ingredients that I use. My Chili has an element of sweetness to it, along with a kick of hotness (like me... haha, just kidding, I'm not that into myself.) I used to make people guess my secret ingredient (no one ever did, I would have to tell them and watch their faces) but I figure, if people like the recipe so much, I'll share it. First, let me start out by saying, if you are a Texas-style or Cumin-based Chili eater like my Dad, this will be different for you. But most people LOVE my Chili, in fact the worst thing anyone has ever said about it was "Its good."

Anyway, here is what you will need:

2 pounds 93% Fat Free Ground Beef (oh yeah, by the way, its "healthy Chili")
10 ounces of Ketchup (Yup, that's right, Ketchup. That is my secret ingredient.)
1 large Red Pepper
1 large Green Pepper
1 28-30 ounce can of Crushed Tomatoes
1 28-30 ounce can of Pinto Beans
1 28-30 ounce can of Red (Kidney) Beans
1 28-30 ounce can of Black Beans
Chili Powder
Garlic Salt
Regular Salt
Black Pepper
Your favorite Hot Sauce (I used Dave's Gourmet "Temporary Insanity" Hot Sauce)
A big pot (at least a 2 gallon pot) with a lid that you can vent (usually in the lid handle)
A slotted spoon
A cutting board
A pairing knife
(The reason I tell you what tools to use as well as what ingredients you need is that I HATE when I am looking at a recipe and I start cooking it only to discover half way through that I need a garlic press, or a melon baller, or a piping bag, or some other kitchen tool that I don't own in order to finish the recipe. )

Here is how I make my Chili:

Brown ground beef on medium-high heat (being careful to keep meat from clumping together), then strain. Straining the meat is important because it not only keeps this an almost fat-free chili, but leaving the fat in affects the flavor of the chili, so be sure to strain it. After straining, add enough Chili Powder to cover the top layer of meat. Do the same with the Garlic Salt. Add a couple dashes of Salt (I measure out about a quarter-sized amount in my hand) and Black Pepper (I use a grinder and I do about 6-8 turns of the grinder.) Stir, then add Ketchup. Mix Ketchup in with meat and lower heat to medium. (At this point, it should look like Sloppy Joe mix.) Add in Crushed Tomatoes. Stir and leave uncovered while you chop up the Red Pepper and the Green Pepper on your cutting board with your pairing knife. Add in chopped peppers and mix. Strain the liquid out of the canned Black Beans, then mix them into the pot. Do the same for the Red Beans and the Pinto Beans. It is important to strain the canned beans otherwise the Chili gets soupy. Turn the heat down to low. Last but not least, add 3-4 dashes of Hot Sauce. It may seem like a little bit, but depending on the Hot Sauce you use, a little goes a long way. In my recipe, 3-4 dashes of Dave's Temporary Insanity Sauce will put a kick of heat in every bite. Any more than that would make it hard to eat. Stir the Chili again and cover with the lid vented. Let it simmer on low for a half hour or so, stirring occasionally.
The Chili will taste good after simmering for a half hour, but its even better if you put it in the fridge overnight and either nuke it for a couple minutes in a bowl or eat it cold. It keeps well too, covered in the fridge with the same lid you cooked it with.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is my favorite holiday! I mean, what's not to love? Dressing up, going to parties, getting candy, mutilating produce - its all good! This year I dressed up as a Succubus (if you don't know what that is, go Google it) and just like last year, rather than just wear a pre-packaged costume, I decided to put one together in pieces, so I could give it my own personal stamp. I'm happy with the way it turned out. Speaking of costumes, one of my favorite things about Halloween is seeing people who wear topical costumes. This year, between the 2 parties I went to, I saw people dressed as Billy Mays, Lady Gaga and Octomom. The people closest to me also had some interesting and in some cases disturbing picks for costumes: my best friend Heather and my roommate Mike both went as clowns (I HATE clowns, I am scared of them), my other roommate Jeff wore a dress (he found one that fit his gigantic shoulders!) and Daniel dressed up as a penguin. Raven and Amber went as characters from my favorite Disney movie: Alice in Wonderland. Raven was Alice, but with a twist- she was also a vampire. Her litte "White Rabbit" had bite marks on his neck. Amber was the Queen of Hearts. Watching her scream "off with your head!" was priceless. We carved some pretty cool pumpkins this year. It was a process. On Friday I came over and gutted the pumpkins and Raven and Gregg went on the internet to find patterns. Then Saturday afternoon we punched the stencils into the pumpkins and carved them. Because Amber's pumpkin was small (and so is Amber) I drew a kitty cat on her pumpkin and she and Trina painted it. Raven helped carve her Headless Horseman pumpkin (she got to do the design she liked on the biggest pumpkin, so she was very proud) and we also did a Dragon, a Skull and (of course) a Jack Skellington face on the other pumpkins. The coolest part was that all the pumpkins came from the garden that Trina and Gregg have been growing in the backyard. As for candy, Trina, Gregg and I will need to "inspect" the girls' candy so as to make sure it is OK to eat...yeah...inspect...that's a good word... :-)