I use Google Chrome for my web browser. Every once in awhile and also every time I have to pay my Time Warner bill, I have problems viewing a webpage in Chrome, so I have to open it in IE. It’s a pain but I just can’t go back to surfing the web in IE anymore. I just recently discovered Chrome has an extension called IE Tab that lets you open a chrome tab that displays the website as if it were being opened in IE. Yay!! I know most people probably don’t care, but if you are a Google Chrome user you might enjoy it. I’m so happy to have found this that I had to share. It can also be useful for web developers that want to make sure their websites display correctly in different browsers.

And now for some random stuff around the web:

I am seriously considering buying a pair of jeggings. Tacky? But oh so comfy!

Did you know you can clean your dishwasher with lemon koolaid?

And lastly, I just about died watching this cover of Home by the Magnetic Zeros. You know, when I first heard this song I thought it was really lame but it totally grew on me and now I love it and this cover is awesome. That little girl is amazing.

So I did it! Well I am in the process of doing it. I finally made chicken broth from scratch. It’s actually very easy and not that much of an accomplishment but I really wanted to try making it at least once.

I used this recipe from the Soup Chick because originally I was going to try making the stock in my crockpot, but I ran out of time and did it on the stove top instead. The recipe is super easy. Just take 1 rotisserie chicken carcass, 1 onion (split in half with skin on, it adds more flavor!), 1 stalk of celery and 1 carrot cut in half, and 12 black peppercorns. Put it in a pot with 10 Cups of water and let it boil, then simmer for 1.5 hrs. Strain and voila….chicken stock!

I plan to measure them out into 1-2 Cups per tupperware and store them in my freezer for future use. I have a plethora of recipes bookmarked that use chicken broth.

The best part about making chicken broth from a rotisserie chicken is that I get a few other meals out of it as well. For example, tonight I bought flour tortillas, salad, and made my own garlic sauce (ala Zankous) to eat with the chicken. It was yummy! If you have never had Zankou, it is a lebanese restaurant that specializes in chicken with this uber garlic-y sauce. If you love garlic, you will love this sauce. I found a copycat recipe online here. If you make it, make sure your potatoes are cooked all the way through and that you blend the garlic sauce thoroughly. I was getting anxious to try it so I didn’t do either. It still tasted ok, but wasn’t as smooth as it should have been. Also, I don’t know how big their potatoes were but I totally didn’t need that many potatoes. Just add enough until you get the consistency you like.

I am also going to use the leftover chicken to add to my salads for lunch and other dinners. Next up, I would love to one day try making French Laundry’s veal stock!

Wow. I can’t believe it’s 2011! Each year, I like to make new year’s resolutions. Sadly, they rarely come through but for at least the first few months I attempt at bettering myself so that’s better than nothing I guess. :)

My top resolutions this year are to:

1. prioritize my life better so I have the time to do the things I want to do and start knocking off things on my extremely long list of things to do
2. fix up the things around the house that we have been putting off
3. physically and mentally prepare myself for having kids. I have a lot of physical issues I still need to get fixed before I even think of having kids. And to be honest I am petrified at the thought of having kids so this is a hump I need to get over.
4. eat out once a week at a place on my “to eat” list with boyrobot and/or friends!

I have also had this article bookmarked for awhile called 30 habits that will change your life. I have some of these habits already but I am sorely lacking in the health habits department. If you need any ideas for some new year’s resolutions, this is a great list to get some ideas from. I am going to outline the ones that I want to try with ideas on how I can see them through. Hopefully it will motivate me!

1. Exercise 30 minutes every day – I have such a hard time with this but I know if I make this a top priority I can totally do this. It could be as easy as taking a short walk every day (even if it’s a break during work), playing with my wii, continuing my 30 day shred workout program, or taking a bike ride.
2. Eat breakfast every day. – I always complain about not having enough time in the morning to prepare breakfast but just eating a few slices of toast, drinking a glass of oj, or eating a quick bowl of oatmeal doesn’t take much time.
3. Eat five portions of fruits and vegetables every day. – Another tough one for me but perhaps I can incorporate this with #2 like eating a banana in the morning, always including a dessert of some fresh fruit, or keeping a steady supply of cuties around which are my favorite no hassle fruit to eat. For the veggies, I would like to go back to eating more salads for lunch which are one of the easiest lunches to prepare and when i am ordering sides when eating out I’ll try to forgo the french fries for some steamed vegetables instead.
4. Eat fish. – Since boyrobot doesn’t eat fish, I sometimes neglect to do this but I can easily add tuna or sardines to my lunches and every once in awhile I will drag boyrobot to go eat sushi.
5. Drink one glass of water when you wake up. – I will make sure to always have a bottle of water by my bed or fill up our bedside water carafe.

It all seems like a lot but if i can turn them into habits, it will become second nature right?? :)

Anyways, Happy New Year everyone!!!

Merry Christmas everyone!

I’m loving these festive desktop wallpapers made by Fossil. Some of them have a December calendar on them too!

Back when I was in college and pretty much until now, I didn’t really know how to take care of my kitchen stuff. Now that I am buying more high end things, I’m trying to learn the correct way to handle my stuff so they last longer. For instance, I have pots and pans and some knives that have all of these rust stains on them from me washing them and not drying them right away! I thought I would just have to get rid of them and buy new ones but instead, I learned about this product called Bar Keeper’s Friend:

It’s pretty much…AMAZING. With minimal scrubbing all of my stains went away. My knives are spotless now! I can’t wait to try these on the hard water stains in our bathrooms and sinks! This is my favorite cleaning product ever.

My next favorite item is this brand that Target carries called Caldrea. While I was in FL, I bought one of these sets that includes a hand soap, dishwasher soap, and counter spray in a flavor called Citron Ginger. It’s all natural and kind of pricy (but I got reimbursed for things like this through work so I splurged!). Anyways, the smell is SOOO good. Sometimes I just want to keep washing my hands because the smell is so invigorating. It’s an instant pick-me-up and destresser. Looove it!

This is awesome. I am adding it to my Xmas wishlist.

Ugly Xmas Sweater Tshirt – $20

this website is amazing. i’ve tried it for tons of stuff and it always has an answer. it tells you the shelf life of all of your food and even how to store it. anyone who knows me knows how paranoid and careful i am about food spoilage. i love this website: still tasty

this website has been making the rounds lately but I thought this one was especially funny!

more from damn you, auto correct!

Wow, it’s been awhile since I did a Friday Links post. Forgive me but every time I thought to do one, it wasn’t Friday! I just barely remembered tonight before I head to bed (crazy work schedule that has me waking up at 3am…blegh!)

Useful collection of cheat sheet desktop wallpapers for web designers – i like these!
Craigslist tv – each episode is about a real craigslist user trying to sell something and the results…kind of entertaining to watch
eliminating political parties – scott adams is seriously one of my favorite bloggers
photos of phone sex operators – make sure you click through all of them
what happens when you give homeless people a prepaid credit card – interesting and surprising experiment
the world’s only immortal animal – and it’s a jellyfish!
Study: gamers’ bodies like 60 year old chain smoker – yikes, i might as well be a gamer with how much i just sit around and do nothing all day!