A recipe and a more upbeat, albeit long, post.

Okay, today is much better. The funk has moved on to overtake someone else (my heartfelt apologies if it's you) and I'm feeling more like my normal happy self. Phew! First a few random thoughts before I share a yummy recipe:

1. I'm not normally a fan of the Bachelor series. I've watched it here and there over the years but most of the time I'm just too embarrassed by the girls to watch. But have you seen the new Bachelor? Holy cow. And have you heard him speak? Dreamy. A guy I work with is Irish and I practically swoon whenever he calls. You gotta love a good accent!

2. I'm really looking forward to General Conference. I just called Comcast and added the BYU channel to my lineup. I normally just watch at my mom's or at a friend's house but I'd really like to be able to watch it at home too, if necessary. So I am giving them even more of my money for like 3 channels. I don't even watch the half of the ones I have now.

3. My recent iTunes downloads include: New Soul by Yael Naim, Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis, and Proud by Richard Niles (the theme song from Biggest Loser). I love the Leona Lewis song so much. It's fantastic.

4. And speaking of Biggest Loser - do you watch? If not, you should. This week's episode was both good and bad. I like that Alli got to come back and now I think I'm rooting for her to win. Bad was Mark coming back and them ending the show without showing us who got eliminated. Annoying. Although, I think I can figure out who didn't get eliminated just by some stuff I saw on the internet this week. They didn't go out of their way to keep it a big secret.

5. My goal when I was YW president was to make it through my "tenure" without anyone getting pregnant and I am happy to say no babies were had on my watch. However, I just learned of someone (not from around here) who isn't so lucky. What are 14 year old girls doing having sex? I do not understand and it just breaks my heart.

6. I've had a box of Samoas in my cupboard for one week and they're still unopened. That might just be a new record! Actually, I think I'm going to give them to my friend who is coming over to help me hang pictures & shop for lamps tomorrow. I might just make it through this year without partaking of even one Girl Scout cookie!! Woo hoo!7. I got a nice little raise and an excellent review at work this week. I love my boss - he's super kind, supportive and so very fun. Unfortunately, I cannot keep doing the job I'm doing much longer only because I will not be able to get a substantial raise next year as I make too much for my current job classification. 2008 - the year of change for me!

8. The new Top Chef - Chicago was good! I love that show. Most of their recipes are way too out there for me (Peach Pizza??) but it's a fun show to watch. Way too many f-bombs however. Wouldn't you think you'd check yourself knowing you're on TV and maybe not swear quite as much as you usually do? People are dumb.

9. One last pop culture item -- I'm excited to see Mariah on SNL this weekend. Love her.

And with that, I'm sharing a wonderful recipe a friend gave me called "Cowboy Caviar." I was going to share another bar cookie but decided I should show that I do make other things besides desserts (actually, I pretty much only make appetizers and desserts - the easiest thing for the single girl to bring to a party!!) Anyway, this is super easy, super tasty. You MUST buy the Fritos scoops to serve with this, however - that's an order!

2 cans of northern beans (white) or black eyed peas
2 cans of Green Giant white shoepeg corn
3 large tomatoes ~ chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped (to taste)
1 white or red onion, diced
3 fresh jalapeno peppers, chopped (optional - I never put these in)

Mix in a large container/bowl and pour 1 cup of bottled Italian salad dressing on top and stir. Chill then serve with FRITOS or tortilla chips. Yum, yum!