My 5 Teenage Superpowers

I'm not sure what prompted my brain to shift into reverse and start thinking about my high school horror days, but something made me wander there today. So I figure I might as well take advantage of it, at least while I still have the ability to remember anything at all. 

If I'm being honest, I wasn't exactly the homecoming queen, nor was I one of the most "popular" girls. What can I say?

I did, however, have a variety of fabulous superpowers as a teenager, which I'm only too happy to share with you now as a means to pass the time in truly Tinalicious style. Maybe you had these superpowers too. Let's find out, shall we? Come on now...this is going to involve a bit of time traveling. Hold on.

The Power of Invisibility

Yes, folks, I had the miraculous ability to stand in any room in my high school and be completely unseen for vast periods of time. This didn't happen all the time, and it really was quite involuntary on my part, but it did happen without warning on numerous occasions. Teachers would mark me absent when I was sitting at my desk. I could raise my hand (when I occasionally knew the answer to the teacher's question) and not be chosen to share my [questionable] wisdom with the class. And frequently in gym class I would be the last person selected for any team--I mean really, it's like they couldn't see me at all until I was the last one standing there. And eventually I really had to wonder...

Interestingly enough, I still have this superpower to this day, though it only happens when I'm in public places, and frequently when there's some hot gal standing next to me. Yep, I become completely invisible. Weird.

The Power to Repel Volleyballs

The only game I liked in gym class was volleyball. Even though I sucked at it. I totally enjoyed it. But the thing I didn't enjoy was my power to repel volleyballs with certain parts of my anatomy. 

Strangely, there's no real benefit to this superpower. Other than to make everyone in gym class laugh at you, which I did on more than one occasion.

The Power to Believe I was Fat
This power was, like, all too powerful. From about 1981, I truly believed I was fat. I believed no clothes fit me. I believed that everything made me look fat--except sweatpants and bib overalls. Believe. It. And I believed that starving myself and taking diet pills was the sure-fire way to fix my utter fatness.

Gif by www.neopolis.gr

You know, I can only wish now that I was as fat as I THOUGHT I was in high school. Dude, I would kill to be that fat. Not a person or anything. And not an animal. Maybe a mosquito. Yeah, a bug of some sort. I don't think PETA could complain too much about that.

 The Power of Absenteeism. Particularly my junior year.

After moving away from all of my friends at the end of the 10th grade I grew very depressed. So by the time my junior year started I took hating school to an all new level. As a result, I missed a lot of school my junior year. A LOT. I just hated being there. It all seemed so pointless.

I will say though that by my senior year I got out of my funk and managed to quit missing so much school, and basically get my crap together. Go, me.

My Powers of Song

I had the uncanny ability and wonderful power to do synchronized lady dancing while singing chart toppers a capella. 

OK. Maybe that last one is a lie. But considering there is a Pitch Perfect 2 movie in the making, it's never really too soon to throw out a Pitch Perfect movie reference, should the opportunity arise. A-ca believe it.

So there you go. My 5 Teenage Superpowers, which I bet you never knew I had. And maybe you had some of them too? Do tell. Drop me a comment and let me know.

 

Less Talkin More Walken

What's better than Christopher Walken?

Christopher Walken Dance Party.

And you know...

 

Now go ahead. Get down with your bad self. 

This gif from RSVLTS.com

Mexican Lasagne - Pitch Perfect Style

You know, you really can't eat too much lasagne in your lifetime. It's just not possible. And when you try a new lasagne recipe--especially one that is Mexican-style, you know you just want to share it too. Am I right?

So let's get this Tasty Tuesday started so you can start your own little lasagne party in your own little cocina, er kitchen. K?

Ingredients 

• 4 Cups of cooked Chicken, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 Cup of Sour Cream
• 2 Cups Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
• 2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 1/2 Cup Salsa (I used mild, but I'm a wuss--feel free to be brave and spicy!)
• 1 (4 ounce) Can Chopped Green Chilies (yep, I used mild again)
• 1 TSP Chili Powder
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• 8 Flour Tortillas, Cut in Half

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. Coat a 9x12 baking pan with cooking spray.
3. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, sour cream, 1 cup of the Monterey Jack cheese, 1 cup of the Cheddar, Salsa, Chiles, Chili Powder, and Salt & Pepper. Mix well and set aside.
4. Arrange half of the tortilla pieces in the bottom of prepared pan, overlapping pieces slightly to cover the surface. Top with half of the chicken mixture and spread evenly over the tortillas.
5. Layer the remaining tortillas over the top, and spoon on the remaining chicken mixture. Top with remaining 1 cup each of Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheeses.
6. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for another thirty minutes, until the top is golden and bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. You could even add a bit of sour cream on top before serving. You know, just for that extra special presentation. ;)

This is what mine looked like...

It was seriously easy to make and, like, amazing. Super duper yummy. Delish!

But be careful. You don't want to eat too much of the stuff. You know, you're not gonna be 22 forever.

I Blame the Y Chromosome

Why oh why is it that men don't seem to be able to find anything in the house without help? They'll look for something and look for something, but it's amazingly never to be found. That is, of course, until the woman of the house walks right in and finds it.

I can recall numerous instances of the Hubs and Me involved in this exact type of scenario. He asks me where something is, I tell him where it is, he "looks" for a bit, but he never seems to be able to find it. Then I'll walk right in and find whatever it is in no time. This happens at home on a semi-regular basis, but it also happens when we're at a store looking for something.

I used to think it was just the Hubs--but then I saw other men do it too. Like, a LOT. And one time when my grandson was at the store with us, he couldn't find something that was right in front of him--and the Hubs couldn't find it either.

That's pretty much when I figured it out: It's a man thing. Yep. Absolutely a problem affixed to the male of our species. And I totally blame the Y Chromosome. Clearly it messes up their radar. Or their vision. Or both.

Just the other night the Hubs couldn't find a certain pair of shorts he has. I asked him why he wasn't wearing them and he said he "couldn't find them." It went kind of like this...

Me: Did you look for them? I mean, really LOOK?

Hubs: Yes, I looked. Where could they be?

Me: They can only be in your dresser or on the shelf in your closet--it's one or the other.

Hubs: I looked both of those places.

Me: So what do I get when I walk in there and find them?

Hubs: *shrugs*

Me: *walks to bedroom, checks closet, no shorts. Looks on shelf in closet--bingo, there they are.*

Me: Found 'em.

Hubs: Where were they?!

Me: Right on top of the shelf in your closet, plain as day.

Hubs: I looked there.

Me: Obviously.

And all of this really has me wondering too, could it be the Y Chromosome that also makes men unable to ask for directions when they're lost? Perhaps it's also the reason that men don't seem to notice when the toilet paper roll needs to be changed--or why they can walk past a sink full of dirty dishes or a pile of dirty clothes, seemingly oblivious to the vast amount of household real estate they occupy, even when they are directly in front of it? 

Hmmm. A lot of men can't seem to find a woman's G-Spot either. Coincidence?

 

Yeah, until proven otherwise, I blame the Y Chromosome.

Unbaked Ziti

I found a recipe on Pinterest recently for a one-pot "baked" ziti that I pinned to one of my boards. But as so often happens, Pinterest blocked the pin because it said it may lead to Spam. Hmmm.

Yeah, something tells me that's probably not what they mean. But whatever they mean, it's just a good thing that I had already printed off the recipe I'd seen, so that I could modify it and make it more my own, as I frequently do with recipes that I find. Don'tcha just feel lucky?

Let's get this Tasty Tuesday rolling then so you can try this recipe on for size!

Unbaked Ziti

Ingredients

• 1 Pound Italian Sausage
• 1 TBSP Dried Minced Onion
• 2 TSP Minced Garlic (or 1 TSP, if you're feeling sissy-fied)
• 1-28oz Can Crushed Tomatoes (I used Dei Fratelli brand with Basil & Herbs)
• 1/2 - 1 TSP Kosher Salt (it just tastes better, trust me), to taste
• 2 TSP Italian Seasoning
• 2 Cups Water
• 12 Oz Uncooked Ziti (I actually used a mini penne)
• 1 Cup Ricotta Cheese
• 1/3 Cup Heavy Cream
• 2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Directions

1.  Brown the Italian Sausage in a 2.5qt skillet until browned; drain the fat.

2.  Add the Onion and Garlic, and cook until fragrant, about a minute. Then stir in Tomatoes, Salt, and Italian Seasoning.

3.  Add Water and Ziti and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover, simmer for 15-20 minutes or until pasta is tender.

4.  Turn off the heat and stir in the Ricotta and Heavy Cream, and 1 Cup of the Mozzarella. Cook on low for just a few minutes to heat through. 

5.  Serve in bowls and add some extra Mozzarella on top. 

If you're feeling really lucky, it may look something like this:

What are you still sitting here reading this for? Aren't you going to try to make it? Aren't ya? Come on already. I dare ya.

And P. to the S. I'm linking up this blog post to Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. :)