Well! Christmas is almost upon us! The season feelings are here.
But amidst all the rush of Christmas... lights, presents, business...
Try to remember the real reason why we celebrate. And keep in your heart the feeling that comes around. This year -- give more, receive less.
Peace, joy, love, plus more to you all!
Merry Christmas!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Caught up in... life
Well it's been over a month since my last post. I feel out of touch.
Let's see... I'll update you all on things that have happened.
At the beginning of November, I turned 15. I went and tested for my driver's permit and passed! Now I'm learning to drive. I haven't gotten in to any car crashes yet so that is a good sign. It must mean my mom is doing a good job of teaching me.
To further celebrate my birthday, I went to the beach for a few days with my mom. We stayed in a hotel, relaxed, watched movies, and went geocaching. If you don't know what geocaching is, look it up. It's great fun.
------
Here is a random recipe for anyone who is interested:
Tomato-cheese pasta.
I'm not sure about the exact amount of pasta needed... however much you'd like I suppose. Mixed with this sauce recipe, you should have about enough pasta to feed five. Here is the recipe for the sauce.
~ 3 T. of butter
~ 3 T. of flour
~ a pinch of minced garlic
~ milk (no specific amount)
~ 1 can of condensed tomato soup
~ about 1 1/2 cups of any variety of cheeses you'd like. (Grated)
~ any spices you'd like. I used pepper, oregano, and basil.
After placing your cooked pasta in a colander, melt the butter in a saucepan on low heat. Add flour slowly (you might not have to use all of the flour). Stir. Add garlic and a little bit of milk. Pour in the tomato soup. Mix. Gradually add cheese and however much milk you'd like to get the desired consistency. Reduce heat to simmer. Continue stirring until the sauce is smooth. Stir in spices. Add pasta, stir, turn off your stove, and enjoy! :)
Speaking of food... Thanksgiving is tomorrow! Whether visiting family or celebrating this holiday in town, I hope you all have a wonderful feast. I know I can't wait to dig in to turkey, stuffing, and pie. It's the one day of the year that I don't have to be ashamed for taking a fourth helping because everyone is stuffing themselves like... well... a Thanksgiving turkey!
Have a Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy your turkey and pie... plus more!
Let's see... I'll update you all on things that have happened.
At the beginning of November, I turned 15. I went and tested for my driver's permit and passed! Now I'm learning to drive. I haven't gotten in to any car crashes yet so that is a good sign. It must mean my mom is doing a good job of teaching me.
To further celebrate my birthday, I went to the beach for a few days with my mom. We stayed in a hotel, relaxed, watched movies, and went geocaching. If you don't know what geocaching is, look it up. It's great fun.
------
Here is a random recipe for anyone who is interested:
Tomato-cheese pasta.
I'm not sure about the exact amount of pasta needed... however much you'd like I suppose. Mixed with this sauce recipe, you should have about enough pasta to feed five. Here is the recipe for the sauce.
~ 3 T. of butter
~ 3 T. of flour
~ a pinch of minced garlic
~ milk (no specific amount)
~ 1 can of condensed tomato soup
~ about 1 1/2 cups of any variety of cheeses you'd like. (Grated)
~ any spices you'd like. I used pepper, oregano, and basil.
After placing your cooked pasta in a colander, melt the butter in a saucepan on low heat. Add flour slowly (you might not have to use all of the flour). Stir. Add garlic and a little bit of milk. Pour in the tomato soup. Mix. Gradually add cheese and however much milk you'd like to get the desired consistency. Reduce heat to simmer. Continue stirring until the sauce is smooth. Stir in spices. Add pasta, stir, turn off your stove, and enjoy! :)
Speaking of food... Thanksgiving is tomorrow! Whether visiting family or celebrating this holiday in town, I hope you all have a wonderful feast. I know I can't wait to dig in to turkey, stuffing, and pie. It's the one day of the year that I don't have to be ashamed for taking a fourth helping because everyone is stuffing themselves like... well... a Thanksgiving turkey!
Have a Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy your turkey and pie... plus more!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Poor mom and her fashion memories
It's been one week since my post informing you all that I had a cold. My goodness it seems longer. In any case, I am happy to announce that my health has improved. Gone are the head aches and sore throats. All that's left is a little sniffle, which is always somewhat welcome to me, considering it is a factor that accompanies my favorite season: fall.
I recently wrote an essay about fall for a writing class I am doing. The essay informs the reader of certain attributes of fall that make it wonderfully unique. If you are interested in reading a copy of it, feel free ask and I'll be happy to email it to you.
Now, one attribute of fall is just around the corner... Halloween is drawing near! People are scrambling to finish costumes (or come up with one), buy candy for trick-or-treating, and get pumpkins to place on the porch.
These past few years, I have come up with the most bizarre costumes: a baked potato, a baby bottle, an old lady, gas-station Barbie, and most recently -- a garden gnome. All these costumes have been fun and none of them have failed me a "best costume" award, but I felt this year I wanted to do something a little less crazy.
I was brainstorming ideas: a Gothic princess, a medieval maiden, etc. but none of the costumes would be very reusable. I was beginning to despair when suddenly, I had it. An 80s girl! It would be perfect. Not something too crazy, and not something common like a vampire or a pirate. I began to find things that would work for the costume. I have a pair of black leather boots and a black leather skirt. They would work great. But what to wear as a top? The answers to my questions resided in my mother's closet. I had to go look.
"Mom? I figured out what I'm going to be for Halloween... an 80s girl! But I need some stuff for my costume, so can I look in your closet?"
"Sure," she responded.
I found what I was looking for. A yellow collared shirt and a brightly colored knit sweater. My mom also helped me go through her jewelry to find some clunky earrings and a necklace. I tried on the whole thing. My mom remarked that I looked like a popular girl from the 80s.
She offered to look for her college year books to show me more examples of what people wore. I don't know if the fact that I was making a *Halloween costume* out of something that people wore 25 years ago amused her or made her cringe. Maybe a little bit of both.
I'm going to a Halloween dance next week and plan to wear the costume then. There will be a costume contest with several winners such as: scariest costume, most creative costume, prettiest costume, and silliest costume. My mom thinks I should get the award for scariest costume.
I guess the moral of the story is: don't remind your mother of fashion trends from her college years. Hee hee.
Anyway, that's all that goes on plus more!
I recently wrote an essay about fall for a writing class I am doing. The essay informs the reader of certain attributes of fall that make it wonderfully unique. If you are interested in reading a copy of it, feel free ask and I'll be happy to email it to you.
Now, one attribute of fall is just around the corner... Halloween is drawing near! People are scrambling to finish costumes (or come up with one), buy candy for trick-or-treating, and get pumpkins to place on the porch.
These past few years, I have come up with the most bizarre costumes: a baked potato, a baby bottle, an old lady, gas-station Barbie, and most recently -- a garden gnome. All these costumes have been fun and none of them have failed me a "best costume" award, but I felt this year I wanted to do something a little less crazy.
I was brainstorming ideas: a Gothic princess, a medieval maiden, etc. but none of the costumes would be very reusable. I was beginning to despair when suddenly, I had it. An 80s girl! It would be perfect. Not something too crazy, and not something common like a vampire or a pirate. I began to find things that would work for the costume. I have a pair of black leather boots and a black leather skirt. They would work great. But what to wear as a top? The answers to my questions resided in my mother's closet. I had to go look.
"Mom? I figured out what I'm going to be for Halloween... an 80s girl! But I need some stuff for my costume, so can I look in your closet?"
"Sure," she responded.
I found what I was looking for. A yellow collared shirt and a brightly colored knit sweater. My mom also helped me go through her jewelry to find some clunky earrings and a necklace. I tried on the whole thing. My mom remarked that I looked like a popular girl from the 80s.
She offered to look for her college year books to show me more examples of what people wore. I don't know if the fact that I was making a *Halloween costume* out of something that people wore 25 years ago amused her or made her cringe. Maybe a little bit of both.
I'm going to a Halloween dance next week and plan to wear the costume then. There will be a costume contest with several winners such as: scariest costume, most creative costume, prettiest costume, and silliest costume. My mom thinks I should get the award for scariest costume.
I guess the moral of the story is: don't remind your mother of fashion trends from her college years. Hee hee.
Anyway, that's all that goes on plus more!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Life goes on
I wake up this morning more tired than usual. I press snooze on my alarm clock one too many times. I realize I have a sore throat and a head ache. Isn't waking up in the morning supposed to be pleasant? What happened to waking up to the sun shining through your window with the faint sounds of bird song? What happened to sighing happily, eager for the day ahead and enjoying the last warm remnants of a soft blanket? Sigh* I suppose we can't all have those days. So, I wait, hungry and cold to find out if I am actually sick or if my body is just playing tricks on me.
Maybe I'll put on some socks. Maybe I'll do some homework. Maybe I'll drink another mug of hot tea. Maybe I'll fill my empty stomach. Maybe I'll watch a movie.
Or, I'll do all that plus more.
Maybe I'll put on some socks. Maybe I'll do some homework. Maybe I'll drink another mug of hot tea. Maybe I'll fill my empty stomach. Maybe I'll watch a movie.
Or, I'll do all that plus more.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
S'mores, yurts, and raccoons... Oh my!
After a long and strenuous journey in the car, we finally arrived at South Beach on Sunday evening. We got checked in and went to explore the yurt that was to be our home for the night. After unlocking the door and depositing our stuff inside, I immediately ran outside and began to roll up the window covers.
After we got ourselves situated and had a snack, we took a 1/3 mile trail down to the beach. It was early evening so the sun was still up. The sky was perfect. Not a cloud hung there at all. We ran around in the shallow water. My dad and I lured the dog in... she wasn't very pleased with us and went waddling back to my mother, seeking refuge.
After exhausting ourselves, we rested our feet which were numb from the cold water, by sitting down and watching the sunset. The colors were brilliant.
Back at the yurt, I started a campfire. I was pretty happy with it, considering I had never made one before -- due to lack of activities in my girl scout troop (which is why I am no longer a girl scout). It took me only two attempts to have a beautiful log-cabin style fire crackling before me. I had the foresight to bring a guitar along on the trip, so I sat down and sang songs by the fire. I've always wanted to do that.
We had dehydrated food for dinner... you know, the kind that you "just add water?" It wasn't bad at all. When dinner was over, my brothers and I grabbed the three ingredients we needed to make that camping favorite... s'mores! We all sat down to roast marshmallows for our desert.
As we were enjoying the sticky chocolatey goodness, my dad exclaimed, "What is that animal on the porch?" We all turned around and saw something disappear under the porch. I quickly grabbed a flashlight and illuminated the spot it was seen... Four little masked faces in a row peeked out at me! We had a family of raccoons underneath our yurt! We had fun for quite a while longer rushing all of our food inside and watching the little pests dart in and out of their home. They were awfully cute.
I finished my evening playing more guitar and singing as the fire slowly died down.
Inside the yurt, my dad and brothers and I played a game of Apples to Apples... I won. Then we all wished our friends under the porch goodnight, curled up in our sleeping bags, and fell asleep with the sound of the ocean in the background.
The next morning, after breakfast, I decided to explore a trail behind our yurt. After assuring my dad that I wouldn't be gone long, I set off alone down the trail. Reaching the end, which only dumped out to another part of the campground, I decided to go back and explore one of the side trails I had seen on the way. It led downward and was encased on either side with bushes and trees tightly woven together to form a sort of wall on either side of me. It reminded me vaguely of a corn maze. The trail continued on for a while taking sharp turns and going up and down. I didn't feel any need to turn back, so I went onward. Eventually, there was a steep incline and the trees thinned out some. I started to jog along the trail to speed things up, only remembering after several minutes that I didn't have any water and should save my energy. The trail went on for what felt like a long time. I eventually found my way out and ended up back in the campground but in a completely different area. We were in the C loop, but I ended up in the G loop. I walked around for a while until I found out where I was and then I jogged back to our yurt. My dad looked rather confused when I came up to the yurt out of breath from the opposite direction I had started my quest.
We spent a little more time on the beach before we left. We were blessed once again with beautiful weather. I found many shells which I later placed in a hole we had dug. Some lucky person will come upon the collection.
We walked back to our campsite for a final time to pack our things and then check out.
We loved the area a lot and will definitely go camping there again. I had a great weekend with my family and had fun with s'mores, yurts, raccoons, plus more!
After we got ourselves situated and had a snack, we took a 1/3 mile trail down to the beach. It was early evening so the sun was still up. The sky was perfect. Not a cloud hung there at all. We ran around in the shallow water. My dad and I lured the dog in... she wasn't very pleased with us and went waddling back to my mother, seeking refuge.
After exhausting ourselves, we rested our feet which were numb from the cold water, by sitting down and watching the sunset. The colors were brilliant.
Back at the yurt, I started a campfire. I was pretty happy with it, considering I had never made one before -- due to lack of activities in my girl scout troop (which is why I am no longer a girl scout). It took me only two attempts to have a beautiful log-cabin style fire crackling before me. I had the foresight to bring a guitar along on the trip, so I sat down and sang songs by the fire. I've always wanted to do that.
We had dehydrated food for dinner... you know, the kind that you "just add water?" It wasn't bad at all. When dinner was over, my brothers and I grabbed the three ingredients we needed to make that camping favorite... s'mores! We all sat down to roast marshmallows for our desert.
As we were enjoying the sticky chocolatey goodness, my dad exclaimed, "What is that animal on the porch?" We all turned around and saw something disappear under the porch. I quickly grabbed a flashlight and illuminated the spot it was seen... Four little masked faces in a row peeked out at me! We had a family of raccoons underneath our yurt! We had fun for quite a while longer rushing all of our food inside and watching the little pests dart in and out of their home. They were awfully cute.
I finished my evening playing more guitar and singing as the fire slowly died down.
Inside the yurt, my dad and brothers and I played a game of Apples to Apples... I won. Then we all wished our friends under the porch goodnight, curled up in our sleeping bags, and fell asleep with the sound of the ocean in the background.
The next morning, after breakfast, I decided to explore a trail behind our yurt. After assuring my dad that I wouldn't be gone long, I set off alone down the trail. Reaching the end, which only dumped out to another part of the campground, I decided to go back and explore one of the side trails I had seen on the way. It led downward and was encased on either side with bushes and trees tightly woven together to form a sort of wall on either side of me. It reminded me vaguely of a corn maze. The trail continued on for a while taking sharp turns and going up and down. I didn't feel any need to turn back, so I went onward. Eventually, there was a steep incline and the trees thinned out some. I started to jog along the trail to speed things up, only remembering after several minutes that I didn't have any water and should save my energy. The trail went on for what felt like a long time. I eventually found my way out and ended up back in the campground but in a completely different area. We were in the C loop, but I ended up in the G loop. I walked around for a while until I found out where I was and then I jogged back to our yurt. My dad looked rather confused when I came up to the yurt out of breath from the opposite direction I had started my quest.
We spent a little more time on the beach before we left. We were blessed once again with beautiful weather. I found many shells which I later placed in a hole we had dug. Some lucky person will come upon the collection.
We walked back to our campsite for a final time to pack our things and then check out.
We loved the area a lot and will definitely go camping there again. I had a great weekend with my family and had fun with s'mores, yurts, raccoons, plus more!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Continued from the past
Some of you will know that I had a blog before. I hadn't posted much on it. I don't like coming back to things after I have ignored them for a long time, so I've decided to start afresh and create a new blog.
First things first. I will start with education. Bwahaha.
I have started taking a Japanese class at Chemeketa Community College. In winter term, I will probably start a math class of some sort. So far, I am enjoying the experience working with other people in a class room. Having homework to do with deadlines is also very motivating for me. I think that will help me in the future.
Moving on.
I am disappointed to report that today was the last day of an acting class I was doing. I had an immensely good time working with fellow actors from Shakespeare's Greatest Hits and also several new students. Hopefully I will see most of them in January for SGH!
Random thought of the moment: My fingers smell like basil. I went out to our garden about an hour ago to pick basil to dry. I've been looking on the internet for suggestions on how to properly dry basil. We don't want to hang it... we'd rather dry it in the stove. I think we've found a pretty good way. Turn on the oven somewhere from 200-300 degrees Fahrenheit and dry until crispy. Do not let the basil turn brown. When it's done, you can store it in airtight jars at room temperature or in ziploc bags in the freezer. Just in case anyone is interested.
Tomorrow, my family is leaving for Newport to camp in a yurt for one night. I have never been in a yurt. I'm sure the experience will be new, exciting, and life-changing.
That's all for now. I'm off to help make tacos for dinner.
Enjoy all that goes on plus more!
First things first. I will start with education. Bwahaha.
I have started taking a Japanese class at Chemeketa Community College. In winter term, I will probably start a math class of some sort. So far, I am enjoying the experience working with other people in a class room. Having homework to do with deadlines is also very motivating for me. I think that will help me in the future.
Moving on.
I am disappointed to report that today was the last day of an acting class I was doing. I had an immensely good time working with fellow actors from Shakespeare's Greatest Hits and also several new students. Hopefully I will see most of them in January for SGH!
Random thought of the moment: My fingers smell like basil. I went out to our garden about an hour ago to pick basil to dry. I've been looking on the internet for suggestions on how to properly dry basil. We don't want to hang it... we'd rather dry it in the stove. I think we've found a pretty good way. Turn on the oven somewhere from 200-300 degrees Fahrenheit and dry until crispy. Do not let the basil turn brown. When it's done, you can store it in airtight jars at room temperature or in ziploc bags in the freezer. Just in case anyone is interested.
Tomorrow, my family is leaving for Newport to camp in a yurt for one night. I have never been in a yurt. I'm sure the experience will be new, exciting, and life-changing.
That's all for now. I'm off to help make tacos for dinner.
Enjoy all that goes on plus more!
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