RAVE HERE thread

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I just made Cheesecake Factory's Pasta DaVinci at home and oh my freakin goodness, it's DELISH! 😍😍😍
 
If it would ship well I would make you the meal of your choice for your acceptance!! 😉

You should be going to UTK. Fo' realz. So we could be classmates and I could eat all your yummy food.
 
I have a Guide Dog in training today again. He's a Standard Poodle and has great manners. I love working with him after the German Shepherd with the worst prey drive I have ever seen. She couldn't focus if there was grass, a bush or a tree somewhere close, because there HAD to be a squirrel according to her. She wasn't that bad when I had her before.. But this Poodle is awesome. Such a gentleman.

😍

And I get to see the other Poodle on Friday! The one I completely fell in love with. I might get to have her every Friday and I'm so excited!
 
You should be going to UTK. Fo' realz. So we could be classmates and I could eat all your yummy food.

haha I wish! It was a very hard opportunity to turn down! Still so very excited for you! 😍
 
I spoke too soon on the Rant Here thread.
I have a job interview for a geneticist position.
The new boyfriend is taking the day off to drive an hour to my city and then 30-45 minutes to the interview. 😍.
Wish me luck.:luck:
 
I spoke too soon on the Rant Here thread.
I have a job interview for a geneticist position.
The new boyfriend is taking the day off to drive an hour to my city and then 30-45 minutes to the interview. 😍.
Wish me luck.:luck:

Congrats and good luck!! :xf::xf::xf::luck::luck::luck:!!
 
I spoke too soon on the Rant Here thread.
I have a job interview for a geneticist position.
The new boyfriend is taking the day off to drive an hour to my city and then 30-45 minutes to the interview. 😍.
Wish me luck.:luck:

Good luck and great boyfriend! 😀
 
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Skipped class this morning to study for a quiz. Quiz was then canceled and changed to an online quiz.

Skipped class this afternoon to go see the pony and take some "me" time. Totally worth it.
And magically, about fifteen minutes into our ride, my headache disappeared. I'm sure it will come back as soon as I start studying, but oh well. I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.


Oh yeah- and I got paid today. Yay money!
 
Skipped class this morning to study for a quiz. Quiz was then canceled and changed to an online quiz.

Skipped class this afternoon to go see the pony and take some "me" time. Totally worth it.
And magically, about fifteen minutes into our ride, my headache disappeared. I'm sure it will come back as soon as I start studying, but oh well. I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.


Oh yeah- and I got paid today. Yay money!

🙂 i <3 me time, i was just thinking about it earlier!

i got paid today too. with a check. in EC. 😕 what do i do with this now? i'm pretty sure in order to get the $130 US (in EC), i'm going to have to open a grenadian bank account. of joy 😎
 
Day off. Was up at 7am, got my car serviced, went to the gym, did 3 loads of laundry, washed dishes, showered, got my dentist appt over with (which belongs in a rant all by itself), rode my pony, ran some more errands, came home and washed more dishes, and am currently making some dinner.

Hooray productivity!
 
DONE with exams for the week! Both went really well.

TONIGHT I GET TO SEE MY HORSE AND SHEAR ALPACAS WITH SCB44F.

YESSSSSS.

(my horse lives with alpacas, so it's like two awesome animals, one non-violent stone)

Actually, my horse could use some shearing at this point, too...
 
DONE with exams for the week! Both went really well.

TONIGHT I GET TO SEE MY HORSE AND SHEAR ALPACAS WITH SCB44F.

YESSSSSS.

(my horse lives with alpacas, so it's like two awesome animals, one non-violent stone)

Actually, my horse could use some shearing at this point, too...

Yessss so excited!
 
I just made Cheesecake Factory's Pasta DaVinci at home and oh my freakin goodness, it's DELISH! 😍😍😍

WHAAAAAAAAAAT?! Where did you get the recipe?! mmmmm so good!
 
WHAAAAAAAAAAT?! Where did you get the recipe?! mmmmm so good!

I searched to figure out which wine they use. I could always taste it and I knew it wasn't marsala, so finding out the wine was the key. It is Madeira wine. I didn't exactly use a recipe, but I can try and tell you what I did. I like to experiment and use my judgement. It turned out EXACTLY like the original though! SO good! 😍

These are rough judgements on amounts...
Mushrooms - you can use whatever you want, but I just bought a package of button mushrooms (used the whole package)
Onion - I think in the restaurant they use red onion, but I just diced up half of a sweet onion.
Butter - about 1/2 stick throughout the whole process.
Garlic - there can never be too much garlic 😉
Chicken (I used four chicken thighs mmm, but you could probably use two or three breasts instead).
Penne Pasta (I cooked the whole pound but probably used 1/2-2/3 of it.)
Madeira Wine (found it at only ONE liquor store in all of Syracuse 😕) I used about 2 cups.
Heavy Cream - about a cup
Salt and Pepper obviously

Sauteed mushrooms, onions, and garlic in butter with salt and pepper, until they were tender. Then I took them out of the pan and placed them to the side.
I seasoned and sauteed chicken (used a small amount of olive oil and butter), and removed it from the pan. I kept all the yummy juice and chicken bits in the pan... very important! Then I de-glazed the pan with the Madeira wine, making sure to get all the little bits from the bottom of the pan incorporated into the sauce. Let it simmer until all the alcohol cooked off (for a few minutes I guess, I just know by the taste of it). I added a small chunk of butter but I think I might do without it next time bc when you heat it up later, the butter tends to separate out. Once the alcohol is "cooked out", I reduced the heat and added about a cup of heavy cream. I simmered it until it thickened. (Make sure the heat isn't too high when you add the cream, it can scorch and curdle.. bleh!) You can thicken it with a TOUCH of flour if you want, but don't go overboard. Then I added the chicken, mushrooms, onions, and garlic back in and let it all cook together for a minute or 3. Then I added about 1/2-2/3 of the pasta and mixed it all together.
Then, I ate the **** out of it! 😀
😍

545256_10101717589733253_5215677_75615882_1582972770_n.jpg
 
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I have been feeling somewhat guilty about picking my more expensive option for vet school even though it's the right choice for me... and they called today with a scholarship offer!!!

Today=win
 
I have been feeling somewhat guilty about picking my more expensive option for vet school even though it's the right choice for me... and they called today with a scholarship offer!!!

Today=win

Very very awesome! 👍
 
Mine too. And she'll growl at anyone who tries to take her toys.

:laugh:

I actually think my cat plays fetch better than a dog. She will actually bring the item back to you and drop it for you to throw it. Every dog I have had makes you play tug of war before you can get the toy back to throw it.

My cat also growls too...especially when eating food. She will pick up a piece, shake her head and growl a little (usually this is only with treats or pieces of chicken) 🙂
 
if you are a starbucks regular and use a rewards card account to buy things, eventually they send you a gold card with your name on it. i recently received one of these and i feel like i should have some kind of acceptance ceremony thanking vet school for the honor.

couldn't have done it without you!!
 
:laugh:

I actually think my cat plays fetch better than a dog. She will actually bring the item back to you and drop it for you to throw it. Every dog I have had makes you play tug of war before you can get the toy back to throw it.

My cat also growls too...especially when eating food. She will pick up a piece, shake her head and growl a little (usually this is only with treats or pieces of chicken) 🙂

Mine retrieves too!!!! And she will keep on plopping it on your foot until you pay attention to her.

I'd love to say I trained her to do this. But no.


Pssss Nyanko, I really want to be part of the strbx gold club. How much stuff did you have to buy???
 
I actually think my cat plays fetch better than a dog. She will actually bring the item back to you and drop it for you to throw it. Every dog I have had makes you play tug of war before you can get the toy back to throw it.

Um, you only know untrained dogs then. When my dog retrieves something and brings it back, depending on my hand signal she either drops it at my feet, gives it to me and lets go when I have it, or holds on to it (a la tug of war).

My cat knows "leave it" but so far haven't been as successful with "give." But when he plays fetch he just drops things for me to pick up too.
 
Um, you only know untrained dogs then. When my dog retrieves something and brings it back, depending on my hand signal she either drops it at my feet, gives it to me and lets go when I have it, or holds on to it (a la tug of war).

My cat knows "leave it" but so far haven't been as successful with "give." But when he plays fetch he just drops things for me to pick up too.

My dog knew what "drop" and "give" meant. He was fairly good at it when he was younger, but as he got older he didn't really care as much...

I think he liked playing tug of war better than fetch anyway which is probably why he didn't particularly drop his toys. The dog we have now won't actually play. No joke. She will not pick up toys and will not play.
 
Rave:
Getting excited for DVMDream and I's WW game! 😀

Rule #1 - Squirrels can't play 😉 jk Squirrels! 😛
 
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Rave:
Getting excited for DVMDream and I's WW game! 😀

Rule #1 - Squirrels can't play 😉 jk Squirrels! 😛

What's the theme going to be? I'm ready for another!
 
Not sure when everyone wants us to start it. I know there were a few more people that wanted to start up WW games, so I don't want to step on their toes. Anyone have plans to start one up I should know about? Or can we roll this baby out soon?
 
I searched to figure out which wine they use. I could always taste it and I knew it wasn't marsala, so finding out the wine was the key. It is Madeira wine. I didn't exactly use a recipe, but I can try and tell you what I did. I like to experiment and use my judgement. It turned out EXACTLY like the original though! SO good! 😍

These are rough judgements on amounts...
Mushrooms - you can use whatever you want, but I just bought a package of button mushrooms (used the whole package)
Onion - I think in the restaurant they use red onion, but I just diced up half of a sweet onion.
Butter - about 1/2 stick throughout the whole process.
Garlic - there can never be too much garlic 😉
Chicken (I used four chicken thighs mmm, but you could probably use two or three breasts instead).
Penne Pasta (I cooked the whole pound but probably used 1/2-2/3 of it.)
Madeira Wine (found it at only ONE liquor store in all of Syracuse 😕) I used about 2 cups.
Heavy Cream - about a cup
Salt and Pepper obviously

Sauteed mushrooms, onions, and garlic in butter with salt and pepper, until they were tender. Then I took them out of the pan and placed them to the side.
I seasoned and sauteed chicken (used a small amount of olive oil and butter), and removed it from the pan. I kept all the yummy juice and chicken bits in the pan... very important! Then I de-glazed the pan with the Madeira wine, making sure to get all the little bits from the bottom of the pan incorporated into the sauce. Let it simmer until all the alcohol cooked off (for a few minutes I guess, I just know by the taste of it). I added a small chunk of butter but I think I might do without it next time bc when you heat it up later, the butter tends to separate out. Once the alcohol is "cooked out", I reduced the heat and added about a cup of heavy cream. I simmered it until it thickened. (Make sure the heat isn't too high when you add the cream, it can scorch and curdle.. bleh!) You can thicken it with a TOUCH of flour if you want, but don't go overboard. Then I added the chicken, mushrooms, onions, and garlic back in and let it all cook together for a minute or 3. Then I added about 1/2-2/3 of the pasta and mixed it all together.
Then, I ate the **** out of it! 😀
😍

545256_10101717589733253_5215677_75615882_1582972770_n.jpg

I just ate a huge dinner, but I'm hungry again. Seriously, get yourself to TN and cook me some food! 😉
 
Not sure when everyone wants us to start it. I know there were a few more people that wanted to start up WW games, so I don't want to step on their toes. Anyone have plans to start one up I should know about? Or can we roll this baby out soon?

I want to play!
The lounge game hasn't moved forward for 48hrs now. I am in withdrawal and quite OZ knowledgeable. Can I play?
 
HOLY POOP Emiloo!! That looks AWESOME. I am definitely going to make that this weekend. Might have to find an alternative for the cream, though. I'll let you know how it turns out🙂.
 
I searched to figure out which wine they use. I could always taste it and I knew it wasn't marsala, so finding out the wine was the key. It is Madeira wine. I didn't exactly use a recipe, but I can try and tell you what I did. I like to experiment and use my judgement. It turned out EXACTLY like the original though! SO good! 😍

These are rough judgements on amounts...
Mushrooms - you can use whatever you want, but I just bought a package of button mushrooms (used the whole package)
Onion - I think in the restaurant they use red onion, but I just diced up half of a sweet onion.
Butter - about 1/2 stick throughout the whole process.
Garlic - there can never be too much garlic 😉
Chicken (I used four chicken thighs mmm, but you could probably use two or three breasts instead).
Penne Pasta (I cooked the whole pound but probably used 1/2-2/3 of it.)
Madeira Wine (found it at only ONE liquor store in all of Syracuse 😕) I used about 2 cups.
Heavy Cream - about a cup
Salt and Pepper obviously

Sauteed mushrooms, onions, and garlic in butter with salt and pepper, until they were tender. Then I took them out of the pan and placed them to the side.
I seasoned and sauteed chicken (used a small amount of olive oil and butter), and removed it from the pan. I kept all the yummy juice and chicken bits in the pan... very important! Then I de-glazed the pan with the Madeira wine, making sure to get all the little bits from the bottom of the pan incorporated into the sauce. Let it simmer until all the alcohol cooked off (for a few minutes I guess, I just know by the taste of it). I added a small chunk of butter but I think I might do without it next time bc when you heat it up later, the butter tends to separate out. Once the alcohol is "cooked out", I reduced the heat and added about a cup of heavy cream. I simmered it until it thickened. (Make sure the heat isn't too high when you add the cream, it can scorch and curdle.. bleh!) You can thicken it with a TOUCH of flour if you want, but don't go overboard. Then I added the chicken, mushrooms, onions, and garlic back in and let it all cook together for a minute or 3. Then I added about 1/2-2/3 of the pasta and mixed it all together.
Then, I ate the **** out of it! 😀
😍

545256_10101717589733253_5215677_75615882_1582972770_n.jpg

ooooooooooo it looks just like it! thats it, I am making it next week 😀 Thanks Emiloo!
 
Emiloo! I can't cook. BUT... I think I'm going to pass your recipe to my sister. She's a FABULOUS cook (and baker, dammit). Looking at that, I think it will make her, my bro-in-law, and me very happy should she be inclined to make it one night! 😀
 
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I want to play!
The lounge game hasn't moved forward for 48hrs now. I am in withdrawal and quite OZ knowledgeable. Can I play?

Of course lol. We will have sign ups soon I guess. I was trying to wait and see if anyone else was planning on doing one soon, but unless someone comes forward, we will sign up soon. I may have to wait until Sunday night if that's cool.
 
HOLY POOP Emiloo!! That looks AWESOME. I am definitely going to make that this weekend. Might have to find an alternative for the cream, though. I'll let you know how it turns out🙂.

Are you lactose intolerant? You can always use water and plain coffee creamer too... little trick 😉
 
HOLY POOP Emiloo!! That looks AWESOME. I am definitely going to make that this weekend. Might have to find an alternative for the cream, though. I'll let you know how it turns out🙂.

ooooooooooo it looks just like it! thats it, I am making it next week 😀 Thanks Emiloo!

Emiloo! I can't cook. BUT... I think I'm going to pass your recipe to my sister. She's a FABULOUS cook (and baker, dammit). Looking at that, I think it will make her, my bro-in-law, and me very happy should she be inclined to make it one night! 😀

Do it!! It was sooo yummy! I'm sure there are more concrete recipes floating around somewhere, but this one turned out just right! Good luck! Let me know if you have any questions! And remember, Madeira wine! 👍
 
Pssss Nyanko, I really want to be part of the strbx gold club. How much stuff did you have to buy???

all you have to do is register a gift card and use it 30 times in one year!

backstory is my bf used to get $10-$15 starbucks cards at work for sales incentive type prizes (he's in IT sales), and one day I realized that I could transfer all the balances to one card so that I only had to keep one on me, then they started the rewards program thingie and I registered the card online and welp.

free beverage modifications (i get soy milk) plus a free drink every 15 times is pretty worth it for just using the card to buy a drink instead of cash like I would otherwise the once per week or so I am too lazy to make my espresso drinks at home. :laugh:
 
+1 on the sbux gold card. Plus, there's an app that makes reloading super easy, and you can pay with the app even if you don't have your card!
 
Opening Day of Baseball Season!!! :soexcited:
 
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