Emo Ranting, Chicken, and Cinnamon Quills ... huh?

Okay, so hello all again.  Or to whom it may concern.  I am soooo over life right now.  Not like in the I wanna kill myself kind of way, more like in the I’m sick and tired of getting screwed up the ass with hard, sandpapery things (thanks Kelly).  Also not literal.  I’m just waiting for bad things to stop piling up on top of each other, but I suppose that’s how life is.  I’m sure someone would likely chime in, “life isn’t fair,” blah, blah blah.  But when someone says that to me, I wanna punch ‘em in the face.  It’s annoying.  In case you haven’t noticed, some people REALLY do have it better than others.  Sometimes, life is more kind to some people.  Fortune smiles upon different people in different ways.  Then that leads me to wonder, maybe I haven’t had fortune turn its back on me so much as have it bless me in another way.  I’m not poor (yet, hahaha), I’m healthy, decently good-looking, smart, etc.  So, it seems I have been given a lot of seemingly great gifts and many things to be thankful for.  My only qualm is that I don’t get to use my talents.  I haven’t yet had the opportunity to capitalize on my abilities.  I’m stuck in a stupid college town for the time being, and at a dead end job.  I pray that when I graduate, my degree will actually mean something in a world of escalating political, social, economical, and emotional warfare.  I want to be someone that leaves a mark; someone that won’t become just another person in history.  I guess I’m not the only one that feels this way.  It seems to be a common driving force behind some of the most successful people of all time.  But then you have to ask what exactly counts as success.  Most people would agree that an awesome family, financial security, and some pretty things to show off pretty much define success.  I won’t lie, I want all those things--who doesn’t?  A lot of my friends and I pretty much have the same thing to say about life at the moment, “I’m just ready to start my real life, with a real job, and a real impact.”  I think, at the moment, that I have an impact on quite a few peoples’ lives, and I’m thankful for that.  I guess I just really don’t want to end up like my parents--afforded many opportunities, and threw them away.  The part that scares me most, is that a huge majority of children that wish to be different from their parents turn out to be eerily similar.  I don’t want that.  I also don’t want to marry someone like my mother (or father or however that works).  I love both of them, but I know that my soul mate would be hard pressed to convince me to be with him/her if he or she was like either of my parents.  I expect drive and discipline from a person.  I expect kindness and a willingness to learn, all things neither of my parents possess.  I also don’t want to settle.  Like them.  I won’t settle.  I suppose if it takes my entire life bettering myself, if only to be better than my parents, then so be it.  Thankfully, the bar has been set preeeeeetty low.  I think they’d both agree that I have practically achieved as much if not more than them by getting into college.  Still not enough.  I want an awesome job, some pretty things to show for myself, and at some point a less dysfunctional family.  Not to much to ask, right?  I feel like I’m repeating myself and being emo.  Oh well.  That’s what rants are for.  Whew.  I feel better.  This is somewhat therapeutic.  Is this why people blog so much about random stuff!?  HECK YEAH!  I just talked myself through on the interwebz, hahaha!

Anywho, moving on to something different.  I love Paula Deen.  I watch Food Network all the time, and I’m slightly obsessed with her.  She is so adorable and her food is awesome.  The whole point of mentioning this is because I made her Chicken Georgia (which is dangerously similar to something my grama makes) today.

This is hers:

It is amazing.  And after my rant that I had earlier, making this made me feel better.  Oh the joys of food.  Of course I didn’t copy her recipe exactly, I HAD to add my own flair, right?  I mean, I am a wicked awesome cook.  I'm also a very humble person (I promise! hahaha!).  Pretty much, the key to cooking savory is … ready? … CINNAMON!!!  Not powdered cinnamon from the store either, that’s not even real cinnamon.  Neither are the quills that look like cinnamon bark.  That’s fake too.  Chances are, you’ve probably never had real cinnamon in your life.  CRAZY!  Trust me, the difference is insane.  Anyways, I went to a spice shop, and got real cinnamon.  A real quill of cinnamon bark.  It was very large, btw.  Maybe like a thin baguette.   Pretty much, you add some grated cinnamon to the chicken while its cooking then turn it and add it to the other side.  My grama is a genius.  She uses cinnamon alllllllllll the time.  I guess it’s the Italian.  I dunno.  Moral of the story: try this recipe, and add cinnamon to all kinds of things (it’s extra yummy in marinara sauce or in a onion dip/Worcestershire sauce hamburger).  Oh, I also add a massive amount of cheese … and garlic.  Can’t ever go wrong with garlic or cheese, haha!  Talk about random posts!