Baked Apple Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal

Okayyy ... life. is. good.
I have to keep telling myself that.
You know when you go through a spell of trials (call it bad luck or fate) and you feel like they are never going to end?
Well that has been my life lately.
But now my life is getting better, and I am just waiting for something bad to happen.
Waiting...just waiting.
Life is too good.
I am doing well in school.
I love my friends.
I am feeling healthy.
I live in an awesome house in a chill neighborhood.
I am hardly EVER bored.
I am finding joy in simple things (hearing the crickets at night, sitting out on my porch watching the world go by, seeing the bright smile of a child...)

Something bad has to happen soon, right?

In the meantime, something good just happened...General Conference! Yes. I loved every minute of it.
PLUS + my best friend Carl came and visited me for the weekend. It was a lot of fun to have him here.

Here we are being crafty and making pizza box paintings. Katie, Iggy, and Carl.

The finished products! Apparently, everyone liked mine the best, BUT Carl's was pretty dang good. [insert laughter here]  Katie just had to show off her Canadian roots :)  And as for Iggy, well...I will just say that maybe that is the way they do art down in Argentina.

So we woke up Saturday late, and I mean LATE. We woke up around noon. Yes, you heard me right, NOON! I NEVER sleep in, so that was a huge deal. Ha.

Sunday, we did a little better. We woke up at 11 a.m.

As you can see, Carl was still exhausted...

 Watching Conference. Look closely and you will see Carl asleep in the computer's reflection. Teehee :)

 Yes, this is an awful picture of me without makeup and looking dirty with unkempt hair. But do I care? Not at all. Watching Conference is about sitting in your PJ's all day and being lazy.

Prepare yourselves, this next part is exciting...

In between sessions Carl helped me put new road tires on my bike. Okay so he put on the tires and I watched him. But seriously, I built and painted that bike and I am so over working on it!

 Do you see that blue rim. Yep, I painted that.

And then I decided to make something delicious...

Baked Apple Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal.

Oh yes. Swirls of cinnamon, chunks of apples, sprinkling of raisins, all with a drizzle of almond milk, vanilla, and maple? Come to mama.

Almond milk. Get some.

Baked Apple Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal

1 cup old fashioned oats

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Pinch of salt

1/4 cup maple syrup, plus more for serving

1 cup milk (I used almond milk, but any kind will work)

1 large egg

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 apple (any kind), peeled, cored, and diced into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 cup raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease or spray a 2-quart casserole dish with either butter or cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, toss together the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.  In a separate small bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, milk, egg, the melted butter, and the vanilla.
3. Place the diced apples in a single layer in the bottom of the prepared casserole dish.  Sprinkle about two-thirds of the raisins over the top of the apples, then cover the fruit with the oat mixture.  Drizzle the milk mixture over the oats, making sure to distribute the milk as evenly as possible.  Sprinkle the remaining raisins over the top of the oats.  Bake the oatmeal for 35-45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the oats have set.
4. Remove the oatmeal from the oven and serve hot with more maple syrup and almond milk.
5. Die from happiness :)

To say the least, Conference was much needed. 

And I gotta admit, life is pretty darn great.