Batman vs Superman Reaction

What I liked:

• The face off between the two heroes was everything I expected and more. 
• Wonder Woman was amazing. I actually would have loved it if she had a more prominent role, but I understand why since she's getting her own movie
• Lex Luthor was a fascinating villain who had a really interesting plan that I will need a second viewing of the movie to really appreciate. 
• I won't spoil the ending, but I will say that it was really well done and planted seeds to lead perfectly into the next movies.
• The cameo of The Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg.

What I didn't like:

• There wasn't an explanation to connect how the Dark Knight Rises ended with where we find Batman at the start of this movie.
• There were a couple of "slow" moments in the movie spent rehashing how Batman's parents died that I thought were unnecessary.
• Even though the ending was well done, I don't think it was believable considering what movies are still to come (if you've already seen it you know what I'm talking about).
• The idea that Batman would go to such lengths to take down Superman didn't seem right to me.

Chocolate Pumpkin Bread

I modified this recipe to create a bread that was just a little healthier than the original. I made half the recipe since I wasn't sure how it would turn out. Here's what I did:

• 4 tbsp butter
• 6 tbsp sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 2/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup milk with 1 tsp vinegar stirred in

So I ended up doubling the pumpkin, adding less sugar, eliminating the yogurt, adding more milk and adding more butter. I don't like chocolate chips or nuts but if you like those I'm sure it would taste great in the bread. Next time I would probably add a little more milk since the batter was a little stiff. If you prefer a sweeter bread you can add the correct/recommended amount of sugar. I baked the bread in mini loaf pans so the baking time was only about 30 minutes.

Shopping for Shorts

I've been doing some online shopping for shorts since I have no guarantee of finding my size in the store. There are so many styles to choose from that make choosing a size very difficult. Boyfriend, girlfriend, and regular styles each require a successively smaller size. And each clothing company has a different size chart so I can't even buy the same size from each store. Actually I have the same problem with buying jeans online.
I have noticed that most shorts are either really short or really long with not many in between lengths. I prefer a length longer than a 1-in inseam but shorter than the bermuda style.
At this point I've tried shorts from Gap, Old Navy, Kohls, JCrew, Amazon and American Eagle. I will probably make a trip to Annapolis, return some of them and possibly see if any other stores have what I'm looking for.

Clearance Racks

I went to Kohls to return a few items and decided to browse the clearance racks. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with these racks. Sometimes I can find something at a really low price (like today when I got a shirt for 5 bucks). On the other hand, I have a hard time finding clothes in my size especially after the selection has been picked over. I've always wondered why the racks are so disorganized (clothing size not matching size on hanger, clothing sizes and clothing types not grouped together). I guess this is why I end up buying most of my clothes online.

Cold Grilling

It was in the 40s outside today, but we went ahead and had grilled burgers anyway. It was a little strange to put on a winter coat to step outside and grill. Last year my family and three other families from church split a whole grass fed cow. The beef is more mild tasting to me than regular beef from the grocery store. It's also a little denser (especially the ground meat) because it is aged longer.

Tea tree oil soap

This felt like a lazy Saturday even though we made two batches of soap. This is the orange and black soap we made yesterday and I love how it turned out. The curly pattern is different from all our other soaps. People have been asking us for a soap made with tea tree oil and we finally made one! I also realized this evening that I forgot to walk on the treadmill today. Whoops.

Orange and black soap

After a short day at work I came home to help my mom make more soap. This is what one of them looked like in liquid form right after we poured it into the mold. I'm not sure what the name of this one will be, but it's scented with tea tree and lemongrass essential oils.
Today was one of those days where I didn't eat a proper lunch and just snacked on carbs all afternoon. I really need to find some better lunch options. We had spinach pie for dinner, so at least I got in some vegetables today. After dinner I made some more of my favorite fruit dessert.

Charles County Courthouse

The only picture I took today was outside the Charles county courthouse today. This county had a lot more records for me to go through than I anticipated, so I ended up having to hand write about 75 records. I really should have just taken the laptop with me. As I was leaving, a guy ran out of there so fast it seemed like he could rival Usain Bolt. We are expected to get a couple inches of snow tonight here in southern Maryland. I found it amusing that the roads were pre-treated until I crossed from Calvert county into Charles county.

Veggie Chili

I am quite happy that I found a way to eat more vegetables. My mom gave me the spice combinations to go with my vegetable combo.

Ingredients

• 4 oz each of chopped frozen spinach, broccoli, green beans and onions
• 8 oz ground beef, browned (if you want to make it vegetarian just skip this)

The rest looks like a long list of ingredients, but it's mostly spices which can be adjusted to your personal taste:

• 4 oz tomato paste
• 6 oz beer
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/8 tsp allspice
• 1 1/4 tsp cumin
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp chili powder (I like it mild)
• 1/8 tsp curry powder
• 1 tbsp italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp basil
• 1/3 tsp ground fennel
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tbsp vinegar
• 3/4 tsp cocoa
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• ground black pepper

I chopped up all the vegetables and threw all the ingredients into the crockpot and simmered for about 5 hours (half the time on high).

A really cool soap

I cut open yesterday's soap experiment which required three of us pouring in all three colors in at the same time. I think if there are only two people home one person can pour two colors at the same time. Sometimes I think cutting the soap logs is my favorite part.
Today we also made two more new batches of soap, and I worked on creating labels for all these new soaps.
Today I also got on the treadmill, which I've been slacking off on lately. I really have no excuse not to walk on it either.