A Turtle's Tale

Tonight we went over to a friends house so Brian could help her out with a few things and so before we left we put Mila in a Styrofoam container because we just bought a picasimus for the turtle tank. I put several things around the sides of the container so she wouldn't knock it over, we put some water in with her and we thought that would be good enough so we left. 

We spent like 3 hours over there hanging out and enjoying each others company, I told her about where we put the turtle and she was like "what if it eats through the Styrofoam " The thought never crossed my mind so all the way home i was freaking out. When we got home I went into the kitchen and saw that the container was fine and then I looked in it and this is what I saw

The turtle was gone! I didn't know what to do, it was as if she had vanished. Now I'm freaking out yelling for Brian and so the search started, we looked everywhere and I finally came to the conclusion that someone broke in and stole her. There was no way else the turtle could have gotten out, I had all these crazy scenarios going through my mind. I figured if she somehow escaped she would have fallen off of the counter and falling that far would brake her shell. 

I was so worried, we couldn't find her so I looked at Brian and told him we needed to pray because we literally looked everywhere and she was no where to be found. So we got down and I said a quick little prayer and sure enough not even five minutes later Brian was looked behind the couch when he pulled one of my sweatshirts out and there was the Mila, just chilling by the heater. I guess her water had gotten cold and so she went in search of warmth. She climbed out of her container, fell down the counter, and got past Rusty without getting injured! It was a miracle and I was so relieved.

Magic Bars

I have a serious sweet tooth every now and then and this time around I decided on making magic bars! I got the recipe from my friend Paige awhile ago and I've been dying to have a go at it. The end result was this ooey gooey mouth watering morsel, I can't stop eating them! Next time I make them I will have to give the majority away to a friend because I will eat them all in one sitting. I'll just get right to giving you the recipe so you can enjoy the deliciousness as well! 

Items needed

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter melted
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
1 1/3 cup coconut
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups crushed Ritz cracker

1 medium size bowl

8X8 baking pan

I've seen recipes that use graham crackers, but I like the salty sweet that the Ritz add to the recipe.

The first thing you want to do is preheat your oven to 350. Next you want to melt the butter, I use one of my small glasses that is the perfect size for this!

I put it in the microwave for about 40 seconds and then I stir it to make sure everything is melted then I set it aside and let it sit for a few minutes. Next I take the crackers and I crush them up in my Ninja Chop.

(This little device is probably one of Brian's favorite wedding gifts.) 

You can use your hands if you don't have something similar, don't let this one thing stop you from making these.

Once you have your crackers crushed put them in a medium sized bowl and add the melted butter and mix it until everything is combined. It shouldn't be too firm, this forms your crust.

Now add the crust mixture to your pan. I used an 8X8 square baking pan and I didn't grease it, but you can if you want to prevent some sticking that may occur.

I spread the crust mixture with my rubber spatula and once I have it where I want it I push it down with my fingers so that it is mostly level. (I say mostly because sometimes I don't always get it perfect)

Now pour about 1/4 of the sweetened condensed milk onto the crust and spread it so that everything is covered. I try not to spread it all the way to the sides because as I said before I don't pre-grease and I don't want it to stick to the sides. Sometimes it gets on the sides, but it's not the end of the world.

Next, combine the chocolate chips and coconut in a bowl (I use the same bowl for everything so don't feel like you need a new bowl, less dishes right?) Then I take handfuls and distribute the mix all over so that everything is covered!

Lastly pour the remainder of the condensed milk all over the top. What I do after the can is empty is take my spatula and spread the milk so that everything is covered.

Now stick these bad boys in your preheated oven and set your timer for 25 minutes!

They should be golden brown on top when finished. 

Let them cool in the pan, when cool cut them into squares and enjoy :) 

One thing that I have noticed about these bars is that they are gooey when you first cut into them so I let mine sit for a few hours covered in the fridge, by then they firmed up. It might be best to make these first thing in the morning and let them sit for the day so that they'll be ready for dessert!

Manic Monday

Yesterday was one interesting crazy day! It has been snowing on and off for the last couple days so everything has been a bit slippery. Brian and I decided to go to Fairbanks to get a few things, so we stopped by the shoppette here on base to get some gas and I went inside because I really wanted a F'real. For those who don't know what a F'real is, it's basically a glorified milkshake that I'm crazy addicted to. (Keep in mind I said that it was a bit more slippery and also when you live up here for awhile you seem to think you're invincible to the snow and ice and nothing can bring you down so you get comfortable and that's when God gets a sense of humor) On my way back to the car I'm a pretty happy camper drinking my F'real when out of nowhere I fall to the ground! Brian told me the sniper got me, in other words I slipped on some ice. I've never fallen before so I was a bit shocked and I convinced myself that it hurt, but I didn't really feel a thing.... it was weird. Good news is, that I didn't spill my drink!

All I was doing was complaining after my incident and I just wanted to go home, but Brian knew better and would have none of my nonsense! When we got to Fairbanks we went over to Petco to get Mila a new turtle dock because we think the one she had was too small for her and that's why she didn't really use it. We walked around with the dogs and got what we needed, we also decided Mila deserved a little treat so we got about 10 feeder fish for her, a new plant, and a moss ball. We checked out and went to the car and put everything in the back then headed across the way to Wal-Mart.

I was a little skeptical about leaving the fish in the car with Thor because he gets into EVERYTHING, but I had a little hope because he doesn't get into the groceries. So we go into Wal-Mart and get what we need and when we come out and open up the back of the car what do we find? We find a very naughty puppy that tore up the plant we bought and tried to eat the fish and moss ball. Luckily 7 of the 10 fish we bought were still in the corner of the bag in the smallest amount of water, alive. We found two more in the car that were alive, when Brian picked them up one fell onto the snow and the other made it into the bag. We headed back to Petco to try to salvage what we could of the fish and moss ball, The lady that helped us came over and immediately got us new bags and gave us two more fish complimentary! We had to get a new plant because I didn't think the previous one was salvageable, so we checked out and left only to find Thor in the back eating rocks.

We made it home and put the tank together and I was able to salvage the messed up plant! Sure it doesn't look like it did when we bought it, but that's what gives it character, right? The night goes on we had dinner which Brian made and might I add it was exceptional as always! Before bed I sometimes like to make tea because it calms me or something, So I'm making tea for both of us and I have Brian's mug kind of sitting underneath the cupboard, but also by the edge of the counter. Its hard to explain, but I think you get the picture. Anyways, as I'm putting the peanut butter back in the cupboard it falls off the shelf because I didn't put it far enough back and it falls onto Brian's hot cup of tea and it spills over onto my stomach and burns me! I start screaming and crying like any normal person would. Brian rushes over and checks out my burn like a good husband and fireman and gets some ice. He then continues to ice my stomach and make it all better! I just love him so much! As I said before, today was one heck of a day, but it will definitely make for a good story to tell one day.

A Shell Full of Happiness

Yesterday was a very exciting day for us. We drove into Fairbanks to go to Petco to get a turtle! We had so much fun getting everything ready. Earlier this week we went out and got the fish tank and everything the turtle would need to be happy. At Petco we bought a few extra things like decorations for the tank and we got the food.

 

Now it was time to pick out a turtle! We had so much fun deciding which one was perfect for us, we already decided to name it Sherman a few days ago so we tried to find the one turtle that fit the name. There were so many turtles it was so hard to choose. I was set on getting the red eared slider but Brian really wanted the little yellow one.

After awhile we both agreed on the little yellow eared slider. We thought the name fit and everything, but the manager told us we picked a female! So the name Sherman didn't quite work. I mean sure we could have put her back and picked a male, but we really liked her so we kept her. The manager packaged her up in a little box and we went on our merry way.

         On the way home we had to decide on a name, let me tell you some of the names we thought of were ridiculous! After about 20 minutes we decided on a name, let me introduce Mila the turtle!

After we got home we put Mila on the counter while we put the final touches on her tank.

When we finally put her in the tank she sunk to the bottom and sat there for awhile. Eventually she got comfortable and now she is very happy in her new home, she loves to swim and chase the fish, She's not a huge fan of her turtle dock, but we're hopeful she will change her mind on that.

Sleep Schedule

I am naturally a night owl, I always have been and I always will be. But only to a certain point, for example, 2:30 am is usually where I give in and go to bed. The dogs are usually really good about going to bed and sleeping through the night when I turn in, and when I say "sleep through the night" i mean sleep until 7:50 and cry until mom feeds us breakfast, these dogs don't know what sleeping in is. 

Since Brian has been on the night shift for the last few weeks my sleep schedule has been all out of whack! When Brian is home on his off days I'll stay up to keep him company, but about a week ago I started to notice 2:30 turned to 3:30 then to 4:30 and so on and before I knew it I was sleeping all day and staying up all night. Seeing as I don't have a job and I mostly stay at home you wouldn't think this was a big deal, but it is. This is where the dogs come in. 

I now will go to sleep around 6 am and about two hours later Thor's face is all up in my grill wanting to go outside. Normally Brian would take care of the dogs the first time so I could sleep in till about ten, but now he gets home around six and goes to sleep around seven, so I don't want to wake him up and I don't want to wake up. I stumble downstairs anyways and take care of the dogs and go right back upstairs to fall back to sleep, this goes on for the whole day because Thor doesn't want to sleep. You would think I would learn my lesson and go to sleep at night like a normal person, but I don't. I hope Brian switches to days sometime soon otherwise I'm going to be a grumpy pants for a while.