To the Asphalt

For quite awhile I've been a bit uncontent with my body. It's not like I hate it or anything. There are just some areas that I would like to change. A week ago, I decided that the only way to make that change was to start exercising. So, that's what I did.
I woke up, donned my sweatshirt and gym-shoes, and hit the road alternating between jogging and walking. (Side note: whenever I work out, I wear shorts) Because of this attire, I was freezing. Well, I went out again the next morning and upon returning, I saw that my legs had a rosy glow. I promptly asked Mom if we could go and try to find some long work out pants. :)
For the next two morning, I jogged/walked, now clothed in long pants, a long sleeve shirt, jacket, gloves, and one of those headbands to keep my ears from having that rosy glow. Also, the cat that hangs around our house, Peter, followed me down the street like a little dog. He's so cute, and I enjoyed the company until he got scared by a car.
For Fri, Sat, and Sun, I took a break. However, this morning, I went back out to pound the asphalt with my shodden feet. (Is shodden a word? *shrugs* I like it anyway.) Peter took off with me again, but this time I'd also brought along my iPod. Yes, I had lots of fun going down the street with the brisk wind in my face and singing multiple Disney songs as loud as I wanted. I intend to go out tomorrow morning the same way.

"So hit the road...and DON'T trample the Pansies!" -- Father of the Bride part 2

What's Been Goin' On

     Whoah, my last post was the 2nd of November when Julianne was born! That month leapt away from me. It's hard to remember a lot of it. Thank goodness for my daily journal keeping!
Anyway, so I thought I'd come back to my loyal fans and let everyone know about what's been goin' on.
     The biggest news would have to be that...I finished my book for Nanowrimo!!!! **Runs around in tight circles while making "jazz" hands** Yeah, I'm kinda stoked about it. It's 45,969 words long which makes it the longest novel I've ever written. I wrote the whole thing in 30 days, and I finished it at 10: 30 at night...so I was cutting it close to the wire. The book, 'cause I don't remember what I've already told you guys, is entitled Elsewhere. It's really a hard story to lay out in a brief summary, though, so I won't try. It's definitely my best work as well as my favorite of what I've done! If any of you are interested in reading my book, just post on here; I'll add your name to my waiting list. (Yes, I do have a waiting list.) :D

     My niece is doing very well. Pictures are posted constantly on facebook, and she just gets cuter with each new one. I'm dying to see her and enjoy seeing the days roll by until I can meet Julianne. Here is a recent picture!  

     I'm really disappointed in myself at the moment. Usually, the Saturday after Thanksgiving every single Christmas item we own has been unwrapped and stashed somewhere. However, because of my writing so much, I knew nothing was going to happen until December 1st. Well, something else happened Dec. 1st, but I don't exactly rememeber. Anyway, it's now the 5th and not one thing is up in the house. I do have the outside lights up, but nothing inside. What makes it worse is that for years I get on people's backs for not being prompt in their decorating. This year, I've finally had to shut up and commend others for being dutiful. I might end up pulling out a few boxes of stuff tonight, but I doubt it. Oh well, we'll just have to squeeze a lot of holiday cheer into a small span of time.

     My choir that I've been a member of for five years gave it's Christmas Concert on the 2nd. It was really great, but sad because it's my senior year. Today was our Ministry Day where we go to nursing homes and sing them selections from our music. It was the probably the most fun I've had during the actual singing part.

     My school semester at the college is nearly completed. I have a week left of classes and then finals. AHHH! No, I'm fine. I'll be ready. It's not really stressful for me, 'cause I see it as just another test.

     For dinner, we're having Pulled Pork Sandwiches. Yum! It's soaked in root beer and "crock-potted" for several hours. Don't you love how I make up words? :D Oh, and there's coleslaw on the side, 'cause who can really eat Pulled Pork without coleslaw?

     I'm extremly happy with the weather right now. I prefer colder weather to warmer weather most of the time. I don't like freezing cold, but cold enough to pass off a scarf, hat, and coat down here is perfect for me. Again, most of the time. ;)

     I'm not really sure what else to say, but I promise to be a better poster and keep you up on life here. I would like to sprinkle some holdiay cheer into your mood right now and encourage all of you in your writing...even if you don't write. (You should!!!)

Julianne Helene is Here!!!!!!

Julianne Helene is here!
Wonder and Joy surround us.
Radiant sun streams from her smile;
Glorious Happiness squeezes out
from between Her tight shut eyes.
---
Julianne Helene is here,
unknowlingly the center of attention.
Endless, unbroken love winds around her.
Such a tiny infant,
Already so strong in her family.
---
Julianne Helene is here!
Excitement is at it's peak.
The precious girl is held in all our thoughts
As she's held in the arms of her parents.
Pure joy is the only emotion.
---
Julianne Helene is here!

7:28 am, 8bs, 11/2/11

Saving My Face

Horror of Horrors! The last time I posted was exactly a month ago. SHOCKING! So, even though I have nothing to write on, I'm writing this post to save face as a writer.
Many of you will not remember, and that's why I'm going to tell you, but Nanowrimo is almost hear as November rears it's head. (I can't say ugly head 'cause my brother was born during the month.) Anyway, with the approach of such a huge thing in my young life, I've started seriously hacking out my plot for my 30,000 word book I'm going to try and finish. Yes, I did say 30,00 and for those of you who didn't raise your eyebrows in surprise, 30,000 is a very large number of words to write in a month. For Nov. it's 300 words a day. However, this is manageable since I've written well over a thousand words in a day. Yes, I'm very excited for this book since it will be the 9th in my total of completions. Also, it will be the biggest book to be completed. Plus, the story is intriguing for me. Who knewthat a plot could stem out of a title that was thought up, trying to help a fellow writer name his book. :)
However, I should really stay on what's happened in October, since that's the stuff I've bypassed. I've been heavily preparing for the next audition in the Region process I explained before. I passed through the District level and on this Saturday, I'll enter the next audition hoping to pass as well. The outcome of it will definitely be put on facebook, so you needn't worry. ;)
Kathryn had a birthday in this month as well. Yes, she turned twenty which was very strange, let me tell you. Being the only teenager in the house, as well as having to remember to say that she's twenty, will be somewhat of an adjustment. For her birthday, we celebrated by going out to dinner at P.F. Chang's where I got the best Orange Chicken ever!!! So good! Also, we hit the movie theatres to see Real Steel.
Let me take a moment of this post to inform you of how good that movie was. Oh, my goodness! I was so impressed. I expected to like it, but not nearly that much and not for all those reasons. It had a good story, believability, and great acting. Hugh Jackman was perfect for the role, and I actually got mad at him a couple times 'cause I thought he was being too mean.
I've also been sick lately. For almost two full weeks I've been sick. Not fun. It's just a cold, but waking up day after day with a full head, clogged nose, and no voice gets REALLY old, REALLY fast. I'm just hoping that my voice will clear by Sat.
Well, that's about all I got. Hope that filled you in a bit. Hopefully, I'll have more and better stories next time!

A Dream Fufilled

Dreams are pretty amazing things. I'm not talking about the kind when you go to sleep at night, though those can be amazing as well...or not. I mean the dreams when you sit around with nothing to do and think over the little things in life. Those daydreams are exciting, yet they're even more exciting when they're attained and accomplished.
Let me fill you in a bit on a certain dream of mine. For several years, I've wanted a red coat. For some reason, a red coat seems to be about the epitome of winter fashion to me. Because of this view, I wanted one. However, I knew that if I was going to get one, it had to be perfect. 'Cause it's not like you just amass coats of the same color, right? The criteria was that it had to be lower than my hips, had to have a belt, was made out of the "not scratchy sounding" fabric, and had to be the right shade of red. These 4, mostly the last one, proved very difficult to find all together. Mom kept looking in stores, yet none were quite right. Still, I was not discouraged. My red coat was laying or more likely hanging manufactured somewhere.
Well, the day finally arrived. Mom found a coat online that would hang below my hips, had a belt, was made out of the "not scratchy sounding" fabric, was the right shade of red, AND even had epaulets!
A few days later the coat arrived in the mail. I tried it on and....

Well, what do you think? I like it immensely and can't wait for the weather to get cool so I can wear it out and feel like I'm wearing the epitome of all winter fashion. :D

Peanut Butter Sandwiches and Prom Dresses

Tuesdays and Thursdays are my heavy days in school. I go to the community college by our house for Government 2 and History 1. After coming home and a few hours more, my live SAT prep class goes for two hours, ending at 6. Now, aside from those I have all of my regular "home" classes. Well, yesterday, I finished all of my "home" class work before I had to leave for school. This was unheard of!
On the way to the college, Mom and I discussed dinner. I realized, because of the late end of my SAT class, dinner would have to be able to make ahead of time. Or, it would need to be assembled very quickly. I settled on a new dinner salad recipe that Mom found in a magazine.
Fast forwarding 3 hours, and Mom picked me up from school. Then, she told me that there was a possibility of me babysitting that night. (Well, then I won't be able to make dinner.) So, we waited to see how things played out.
I ended up babysitting, so Mom and Kathryn fended for themselves with dinner. I went to sit for my 8 year old neighbor, Sophie.
She finished her homework for the day, and we decided to eat dinner. She jumped up and announced that she wanted to make both of our sandwiches. She wanted to make them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches too!
(Pausing here, I must insert a small statement for the next part of this story to make sense. I don't really like peanut butter. Yes, it's true. You can gasp all you want. I've never really cared for it. So, peanut butter and jelly was never something I really enjoyed eating when I younger. Because of this, I haven't had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich since I was probably 7 or 8.)
Naturally, I was not thrilled about the idea of eating PB&J, but Sophie was so excited to make it for me that I knew I couldn't say no.
She asks me to get down the plates and glasses while she gets the bread, peanut butter, and the SQUEEZABLE jelly. Squeezable jelly is Bama grape jelly in a sqeeze tube, but Sophie seemed to think it was this specially made thing. After a few minutes of me being in the kitchen, she asked me if I wanted to use the jelly first. That's when I figured out she wasn't going to make my sandwich.
Sitting down to eat, I prepared myself to take a bite of this sandwich. "Who knows?" I thought. "It might have changed it's flavor over the years." I took a bite. It was as if I was trying to remember a dream, and the plot of it slowly came back. The taste was like that. The taste hit my tongue, and the rememberance of eating them so long ago cam back. Very interesting. I wouldn't say I liked it, but I definitely was gagging while I ate it. Later on in the night, Sophie and I played some games and then danced around to Elton John music. :)
________

Today was my "Day after my Day of Jubilee." (That reference is not supposed to make sense to anyone but fellow West Wing watchers. So many things went excellent!
First, I got my school done very early. Then, it was time for my voice lesson with my choir conductor on my Region music. (Region is a competition for high schoolers to get into the Texas State choir. You're given music. You learn it with a CD, and then you audition it. There are multiple auditions and the first is this Saturday and is called District.) Well, my lesson went beyond well! I'm so ready for District! Coming off this high note, Mom took me to Skcubrats for a treat. Skcubrats is our nickname for a certain coffee place. (Hint: It's spelled backwards.) After going there, we stopped in at Marshalls where we looked all around.
Now, I was almost ready to go to the fitting rooms, but then I spied this dress. This dress was a floor length, strapless, cream colored with black polka dots prom dress. It was gorgeous! Fitted on the top with this really puffy and cool fabric layering on the bottom, oh, it was just gorgeous. I knew I would never wear it 'cause I don't go to prom, but I still couldn't resist trying it on. It. Looked. FABULOUS! Oh man, I just loved it. It was so cool, unique, and just really, really neat. Mom didn't really like it that much though. :) So, I stopped playing dress up, and we went home.
At home, Mom asked if Kathryn and I wanted to go to Chick-fil-a? You see, I didn't want salad which is what I was going to make from last night's planned dinner.
Yeah, it was a really great day! I hope tomorrow is just as good!

Journey Through the Kitchen with Meaghan Kelly, episode 1

Menu item? Crockpot Chicken
Sides? brown rice and vegetable medley

You know, I use to want to have a show on Food network. I'm not sad ot lose that wish. I much rather prefer to dabble in the kitchen and experiment here and there.
Anyway, you guys probably remember that in August, I was the chef for a week. I planned the menu, went shopping for the groceries, and cooked everything. That was during the summer, though. Now, I've got a crazy schedule going on, so it's not been as easy to shop and plan or even be home to make stuff. Thus, I decided to do some family recipes that were quicker to make.
Mondays, as a lot of you know, is choir for me. I usually get home at 5. Well, that doesn't leave much time for dinner. Foreseeing this problem, Mom encouraged me to make something in the crockpot.

I settled on the classic recipe for our house, Crockpot Chicken. So good!!! So, I put the chicken in, mixed the soups, sprinkled all the spices on top, and put on the lid. Then, you just let it sit for about 7 hours.

Because we were getting home especially late from yesterday, Kathryn was gracious enough to get the rice done for me. Then, I got the vegetables ready, and dinner was ready. A picture of my plate is below. Yum!

"Are you crying?"

Why, yes I am, thank you very much. Oh, it's an old story, and I thought one you might like to hear. Kathryn always says that I cry too much in movies. It's true, too. I mean, I readily admit it. The slightest thing will make me tear up, and then, look out. It doesn't even have to be REALLY sad. Even if it's like a kind of sad
moment, there I go. So, I felt like posting all the movies that I remember crying in. And, this is not all of them, I'm sure of it.

(One other thing. Don't judge me.)

Little Women
Star Trek
The Last Samurai
Anne of Avonlea
Finding Neverland
The Patriot
A Walk to Remember
MI3
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
A Journey to the Center of the Earth
Spider Man 3
Valkyrie
The Last Song
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Cheaper by the Dozen (The old one, not the new one.)
Remember the Titans
Pearl Harbor
Toy Story 3
The Ultimate Gift

Yes, I'm a very emotional person. Oh well. :D It makes me feel more attached to a movie, if it can make me cry.
Leaving you with a quote that's appropriate, and it stems from the title of the post.
"Are you crying? There's no CRYING in baseball!!!"

Cupcakes and Rock 'n Roll

I woke up at 6:30 in order to have enough to time to knock out 2 thirty minute classes, eat breakfast, and get ready to leave all before 8:45. You see, my first class, Hist. (Sorry, I use shortened forms of class names), was at 9:30. However, they were doing a special at the college because of classes starting so there were some freebies to get. Thus, I wished to leave early in order to collect. :) Well, I did my Eng, then got ready, then ate, and then did my Lit, which did in fact allow me to be ready when it was time to go. I got to the school, and picked up my free t-shirt and goodie bag. The bag held stuff like pencils and pens and notepads and such. And, even if I don't use it, it's still always nice to get free stuff right?

"I say am I right?!"- A Charlie Brown Christmas (had to sneak in a quote somewhere.)

Now, on to Hist, where I met up with my friend Jesse, who is also taking the class. We filed into the classroom and sat down. We were not prepared for the hour and twenty minutes of monotone (and pathetic jokes) that were about to assail us as our teacher, Dr. Hayward, introduced us to the syllabus. I'm glad this lady gives a lot of notes, 'cause I'll need something to do to keep my mind awake!
My next class was Gov. Now, I'd already taken part 1 of the class last semester with Dr. Bob Eubanks, or Brother Bob as he likes to be called. And, I was taking him again this semester. So, I was pretty sure as to what I could expect from him. Of course, any of you who know him, will know that you CAN'T expect anything because he's all about the unexpected. Anyway, his opening class was the usual "history of Rock and Roll." It very funny, and perked me up from the dismal plodding I'd just sat through. When Gov finished, I went down to the Commons for something that I was very excited about.
Cupcake Wars!!! Well, not exactly. Have you seen the show on Food Network? Well, if not, here's a very brief summary. 4 contestants must compete by baking and decorating cupcakes to get to the final round where they must make a 1,000 cupcake display. (They have help! Don't worry.) The college was doing a mini version of that. 4 contestants got 2 minutes to decorate their cupcake with any color icing provided (but only 2 colors of fondant). Then, the cupcakes would be judged, and the winner got a giftcard.
I come up to the challenge thinking, "2 minutes is a ton of time. It's doesn't take that long to put the bag in your hand and squeeze." Well, I decide I was going to make a dinosaur.
My fondant colors are orange and red, and of course, green is my frosting. 2 minutes...and START!!! I start piping, and then I start to make the dinosaur. As I look at the cupcake, I think, "Man, I really want a thinner tip, maybe some black icing to make some outlines. I'd like a spatula to smooth things out, too." Then, I hear that there's only 30 seconds left! AHHHH! Quickly, I start rolling out my fondant to make the teeth and tongue, and they're counting down. I did finish before the buzzer, but it went a WHOLE lot faster than I expected!
We all presented our creations to the judges. The first girl did abstract art, the guy did "Fire and Rain" (and that should be in quotation marks for more than one reason), the second girl did a rubber duckie which was really cute, and then of course was my dinosaur. The judges deliberated, and the winner was......The Dinosaur!!! Yay! I won a giftcard to Pappa John's too, which was really cool! (The picture's below.)

Well, then I ate one of the cupcakes they provided, chocolate with really good icing and coconut on top. I didn't eat my dinosaur 'cause it had A LOT of icing on it. :D Then, I called Mom, got picked up and went home to finish up all my other schoolwork and things.
So, yes. Now, here I sit, writing a blog post with my math work pending. Oh well, math doesn't take THAT long. ;) Besides, my public needs to hear about all of the exciting news that's circling around me! Talk to you guys later!

Choir Camp

My choir has an annual camp in August for getting a head start on the music and for getting a head start on making friends. Because I'm graduating early, this was going to be my last year. Mom was also doing the games for this year.
Well, all the kids got divided into color teams of yellow, green, blue, and purple. I was on the blue team and our name was the Blue Bandits. Purple was the Purple Crowns, Green=Green Hornets, and Yellow had the best one. They were the A.F.R.D. In other words, they were the Angry, Flying, Rubber Duckies. It was so funny!!!
The end winner was determined by the team with the most points. You got points by winning the games or by arriving at the game room first with your whole team or by wearing your team color. Now, usually, the only things you can wear for points is stuff that is meant to be worn like clothes or jewelry or hats. On the last day though, we had something called Crazy Day. This was where anything you could hold or stick on your body with your team color got you points. It was definitely crazy! Some of the weird things people got points for were: CD cases, fake hair, bananas, water bottle wrappers, hula hoops, embroidery floss, food bags (like for chips and cookies), and chairs!
We all had tons of fun, and I thought it was the best camp yet! Also, my team, the blue bandits, won!!!!

Beauty and the Beast Cleans Up

When I was little and became sick, I got to watch a movie. The movies, though different, never varied much. In fact, now I can look back and remember that they were almost in a list in my head. Those certain movies were jokingly nick-named Meaghan's Sick Movies, because I would always watch them then. Some of the movies included the original Parent Trap, the BBC Silver Chair, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Sword in the Stone, and Beauty and the Beast. When I go back to watch those movies, I remember certain times when I was sick and had picked this or that one to watch, but none bring back those memories of being little so much as Beauty and the Beast.
The movie starts and the very first scene, the view of the castle from the forest, is still in my mind the most beautiful picture ever animated. It makes me grin and get all excited. Then, the movie continues with wonderfully old animation and amazing musical numbers. I mean, watching Be Our Guest and Human Again is just amazing. The way everything works together...aaaah, it's so cool!!! For a long time now, I've debated within myself over which Disney movie has the best songs. I'd finally whittled it down to between Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. Well, watching the later yesterday, proved everything to me.
Yes, Beauty and the Beast, is for me, the most beautiful of animated movies. It's also got the best music of a Disney movie. And, it has probably the best comical partnership of a Disney movie as well. Oh, and watching it on Blu-ray makes it even better. ;)

"Serve him tea. Sit in the master's chair. Pet the pooch!"
"I was trying to be hospitable."

"I want to do something special for her, but what?"
"Well, there's the usual things: flowers, chocolates, promises you don't intend to keep...."

Country Music

Kathryn doesn't like country music. She says that while you get some songs about love (Achey Breaky Heart) the predominance of songs are about the singer's dog or truck. Now over the years, I've become more partial to country music. I don't know why I'm liking it so much. Still, I do enjoy it. Yesterday, I made a pandora station and the first song I got was about a car, the second song was titled Big Green Tractor. In this song, Jason Aldean sang about how his girl got all dressed up and had no place to go. He told her they could go into town, or watch a movie, or they could just go ride around on his Big Green Tractor. They could make it go slow, or make it go faster. Wherever they went, it *don't* much matter, as long as they were together.
I must confess, I was not able to controll my laughter at this song. This may be due to the fact that I couldn't help but imagine Kathryn's disgust for such a song. Or, maybe I'm too much of a city girl, but I would not want to get dressed up and go ride on a tractor with my honey. Just my personal preference.
Later on while on pandora, a song popped up that was very different. The chorus was this: "God is great. Beer is good. And people are crazy." This song earned much of my laughter as well. Where do writer's come up with this kind of stuff.
Well, even if I never find any songs on the station that I like, I can always be sure of a good laugh. See ya later, alligator.

Cooking on day 4-last one

Menu Item? Fish Piccata (courtesy of Cook Melissa D'Arabian)
Sides? Cous-Cous and a Vegetable Mix
Estimated Time? 20 minutes
Actual Time? 1 hour

Yes, today marked my last day of cooking for the week. I've enjoyed it, but I'm happy to give the reigns back to the real driver. I was excited about making fish for the first time and also trying capers as well. I ended up using Sol instead of Tilapia. I blotted the fish, seasoned it, dredged it, and put it into the saute pan. (By the way, all yesterday, I was completely unable to get the words 'saute pan' out properly. I always said, 'saupe tan.')

The last fillet

The frying was a little scary, because of the ocassional popping oil. Also, the fillets kept breaking. There were a few that stayed whole, though. I poured the chicken stock (instead of the wine) and the other stuff into the pan to make the sauce. It was also my first deglazing of a pan. :)

The dish came out well, and Kathryn liked it especially because of the lemon flavor. And, because of said flavor, it was not a huge favorite with the chef. I did find the capers interesting, good but a little briny.



All plated



So end the tales of my exploits in the kitchen this month. I have enjoyed them and look forward to next month when I shall try some other new things. Thank you for following along on my Journey Through the Kitchen. Till next time!

The recipe is here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/fish-piccata-recipe/index.html

A Breaking News Bulletin

It has been decided that there are enough leftovers in the refrigerator to make an entire dinner out of. Therefore, I will not be cooking tonight, which I'm just a tiny bit happy about. It'll give me a break. So, all of you guys are going to have to hold on and wait until to tomorrow to know how my cooking extravaganza ends.

Cooking on day 3

Menu item? Pulled Pork Sandwiches (courtesy of Chef Tyler Florence)
Sides? Coleslaw (not Tyler's) and French Fries
Estimated Time (for making the rub)? 20 to 30 minutes
Actual Time (for making the rub)? 1 hour

Greetings to you all from my third day on the job as the executive chef at the Kelly Restaurant that only serves dinner to its four regular customers. I was originally planning a different dinner tonight, but changed when I realized we were planning on doing dinner while watching TV. The other dinner, the one planned now for tomorrow, wasn't a really good dinner for in front of the TV. So, I opted for the sandwiches.
This recipe was very easy. All you do is dump all the ingredients into a food processor (all but the pork, of course) and mix it together to form a gooey paste. Then, you put the pork in the dish you're going to bake it in. Next, you plunge your hands into the paste and proceede to smear it all over the pork, making sure to push your sticky fingers into the little holes around the fat. :D I know I'm just making your mouth water right now.

Oh, you can see from the picture that my pork has two pieces instead of Tyler's recipe which uses just one piece. Well, after rubbing in all of the paste, you put it in the refrigerator for 3 hours. After three hours, you take it out, and put it in the oven for 3 hours, (I knocked off the 1/2 hour because of the two pieces of pork). When the timer goes off, you pull the pan out, let the meat rest for 10 minutes, and then grab two forks and get to pulling.


                                      Before

                                                                                                      After

     It was REALLY good. The other three customers informed the executive chef, that moisture of some kind, perhaps BBQ sauce, was needed. However, the executive chef, who is known for eating dry cereal  and dry BBQ sandwiches thought it was perfect.                                                                                     

Here's the recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tylers-ultimate/pulled-pork-sandwich-recipe/index.html

all put together

 "PORK! Mother."-Emma

Craving for Cake

Tonight, I had a rather strong desire for some cake. I didn't want ice cream. I wanted something solid and doughy and chocolatey. The problem was that I had just made dinner and was in no mood to go back into the kitchen to make a cake or anything remotely similar. Also, Kathryn was not willing to make me anything. :) So, I was resigned to eating some cookies. *sad face* I voiced my longing for chocolatey goodness to The High Mogul, and she told me, "Oh well." *really sad face* Then, she turned to me. "You know," she said, "I've heard of recipes where you can make cake in a mug in the microwave."
Hope dawned like the sun or a lightbulb being turned on. I went to get my computer, typed in google, and looked up recipes for cakes in mugs. One linnk popped up at the very top that only took 3 minutes, with a fairly simple list of ingredients.
I sojourned into the kitchen and gathered my ingredients. Pulling out Mom's mug, 'cause it's bigger than mine, I plopped all the stuff into it. I was very happy that the only dishes to get dirty was the mug, a tablespoon, and fork. Everything was stirred up and put in the microwave. It was very hot coming out, a little too hot, but I still tasted it.
While not stellar or anywhere near the best cake I'd ever had, it was still good and satisfied my craving for cake which was the only real purpose for it anyway. After eating a bit of it, I decided to dump it into a bowl and put just a bit of vanilla ice cream on top.

Here's the recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/3-minute-chocolate-cake-in-a-cup-339696

Cooking on day 2

Menu item? Spicy Orange Beef (curtesy of Chef Guy Fieri)
Sides? Rice and Vegetable Mix
Estimated Time? 55 minutes
Actual Time? 1 hour and 15 minutes

This recipe's original title was Spicy Tangerine Beef. However, Kroger was barren of tangerines, so I opted for the orange element. This recipe was a lot simpler than yesterday's, which was welcomed. I put the rice on, then got to slicing the beef. I used sirloin instead of the suggested flank steak/ tri-tip. It was very interesting on slicing the beef thinly on the bias. After marinating the beef, I put it into a large saucepan and "stir-fried" it. :D

Sadly, I did not get any pictures of the prep time. However, I did get a picture of the end result.  

This dish was greatly liked by all for the flavors, though there was not a strong orange flavor. Dad and I especially liked the dish. However, there was a bit of a problem and I can explain it in one simple way. Right by Dad's plate was his jar of red pepper flakes that's always there, and he puts them in almost everything. For this dish, he said it didn't need any peppers. Yes, the "spicy" in the title was well put there. It had quite a punch. So, if you like things a bit calmer, you might put in just one tablespoon of chili sauce instead of two. 

The recipe is here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/spicy-tangerine-beef-recipe/index.html  

I'll leave you with a quote. "Argentina has good beef. Beef...and Nazis." - While You Were Sleeping

The Little Things

A knarled tree,
A twisted fence,
My fancy is caught
Like a thread on a nail.

An impression in a stone,
An unusual bird sitting high in a tree,
My fancy is caught
Like a thread on a nail.

A pair of interlocking ripples,
A group of parading catepillars,
My fancy is caught
Like a thread on a nail.

My eyes can see,
My ears can hear
The little things
In a writer's world.

Cooking on Day 1

Menu item? Chicken Enchiladas with Tomatillo Salsa (curtesy of Chef Tyler Florence)

Side? Spanish Yellow Rice

Estimated Time? 1 hour and 45 minutes

Actual Time? 3 hours

Monday dawned, and I knew that tonight I would be making dinner. I was not apprehensive or distraught. I was actually quite excited. I looked at the recipe and calculated the time I would need to have dinner ready by 6. I also factored in extra time because I'm slow whenever I'm cooking or baking. Then, I donned my Star Wars apron. Everybody should own a Star Wars apron. :D

My first task was to make the tomatillo salsa. I had to chop up the tomatillos, garlic, and put the jalapenos on a pan to roast in the oven. Then, I pulled the pan out after 14 minutes, and put it all, along with the juices of the onion, into the food processor. It was my first time using this appliance, and I liked very much pulsing everything and having it be so easy. The salsa was supposed to be combined well but still chunky. 

Around this time, I had to shred a whole deli chicken. Now, I've never shredded chicken before so it was quite an interesting experience. I'll let you know that your hands sure do feel nice and slimy afterwards. I didn't mind so much about ripping apart the rib cage and dismantling the legs. My issue mainly came with the jelly. You probably know what I mean, if you've eaten refrigerated deli chickens before. At the bottom of the tray or bag or whatever it's in, and often on the bottom of the chicken as well, is a nice browish colored jelly that consists of fat drippings and bone marrow juice. It's pretty nasty to just look at, but when you've got to plunge your fingers into the stuff and pull it from the meat, it gets a bit...not nice.  



After the chicken was shredded, my next step was to prepare the filling for the enchiladas. The first step of this was to dice an onion, which I've never done, and then carmelize it in a saute pan. I took the onion, it was actually just half, and poised my knife, remembering all my watchings of food network chefs dicing onions. I first cut it sideways, working my way up, but of course not going to the very end. Then, I cut down into the thin strips. Lastly, I chopped it the opposite way down, and voila, I had a not badly diced onion. That was the proudest moment for me. I had just diced an onion. It felt really cool! To the left is a picture of my nicely diced onion.

After carmelizing the onion, I added garlic to the pan, then cumin and flour, and then chicken stock. When the velout had thickened a lot, I added half of the tomatillo salsa and lastly, folded in the chicken. Next, the tortillas had to be filled.

Now, the recipe tells you to flash cook the tortillas on the stove top and then coat them in some of the remaining salsa. I tried it with one, and it had no affect on anything. So, I'd skip it entirely next time. I put the filling in the tortillas, sprinkled them with Monterery Jack cheese, and proceeded to roll them like a cigar. By the way, there was about half of the filling left, after all the tortillas were rolled. In the bottom of my pan, was a thin smearing of the salsa, so that nothing would stick. You put the tortillas down and then dump the rest of the salsa on top, as well as cover everything with a layer of cheese.

Getting all nice and melty

The enchiladas had to bake for 30 minutes, so that was just enough time to fix up the yellow rice. While everything finished cooking, I cleaned up the kitchen and had almost all the dishes loaded. I felt quite productive. Okay, now for the big question, how was it? They were good. They weren't stellar, but the flavor of everything was good, and the family all agreed on that point. I still prefer Mom's recipe, but, if we're wanting to make them a little different, this would be a good kind to make.

The recipe is here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/chicken-enchiladas-with-roasted-tomatillo-chile-salsa-recipe/index.html

So, my first cooking day was a success. And, I'm very pleased to say that. I was hoping for a good kick off. Also, while it did take nearly 3 hours, because I'm so slow, I never really got flustered, and I enjoyed myself. Ready for meal #2. Here's a final picture to leave you with how it looked coming out.

New Designs

Yes, I've changed the blog look again. I was getting a bit bored with the rain look, so I decided to ask my brother (who's extremely gifted in the area of computers), if he wouldn't mind helping me out. Well, what do you think of his work? I love it! It's purple which is perfect for me and is fun and interesting at the same time. Thank you, Ryan for doing such a great job.

Chef for a week

For a long while now, I've been really wanting to learn how to cook. I want to be able to cook and cook well. Now, I can make a few things like meatloaf, Crockpot Chicken, and Chicken Chilie, but I haven't ever made anything new. Well, I have....once. But it was a horrible experience and a not much better meal, so I try to block that memory from my mind.
I've tried my hand at making pasta salad twice. Both times it's been fun and satisfactory to put some creative effort into my food and then eat it. Well, with these successes, I took the advice of my brother, Ryan, and decided to make a meal plan for the dinners of the week.
So, without telling anyone, I went snooping around foodnetwork.com for recipes that captured my interest. I knew I wouldn't have to plan anything for Sunday, and I wasn't going to do anything for Saturday either. So, I was going to find 5 recipes. Suddenly, everything started coming together so I talked to Mom and told her about how I wanted to take over the kitchen for the week. She was all too pleased, as you can imagine.
Well, I'm not going to tell you the recipes until I make them. However, I promise to write a post for each recipe so you can follow me on my journey of cooking. Also, I'll take pictures. :)

Tori's Birthday Outing

Even though this is rather late, I said I'd post it, so, I'm gonna post. I wanted to take my friend Tori out for her birthday. So, we planned to go shopping at Plato's closet which is a resale store that sells name brand clothing. Then, we'd go and hit the movies to watch X-Men: First Class. We hooked up and had so much fun looking through the racks and finding hilarious shirts.

Tori almost wanted to get this shirt. :D 

I thought this one was great.

After Plato's closet, we headed to the theatre where we walked around and looked at posters. On the way, we spotted the cut out for Taylor Lautner's new movie, Abduction. Tori had to stop and take a picture with him. So, I got in it too.  

We had such a fun time! It was really great and she enjoyed the movie as did I (I'd already seen it though). Can't wait to go out with her again. 

July=Fun

While these last few days of July have not had any huge stand outs, the rest of July will be pretty fun packed. On Tuesday, I'm going to be hangin' out with one of my girlfriends! (I'll post on it, with pictures!) Then, next week I have a Region Camp. I'm sure all of you know what Region is, 'cause I've explained it before. I must have. :D Anyway, so it'll be the first time I get my music that I'll be singing for the next few months. Plus, I'll be there with some of my friends! That always makes something fun, more fun. After all of this, I've got an event planned for my choir which will be tons of fun! After that? Who knows? Maybe even more fun things will present themselves!

Rediscovering

     So, with all of this reading I've been doing lately, I have neglected my writing. Shameful, I know. I myself was appalled in thinking back to when I'd last written. And I mean, WRITTEN! Not editing or rereading what I'd written, or adding a sentence here and there. I mean, locked up in my room for several hours, sitting on my bed with the computer on my lap, the open document before me, and wrestling with myself on how to write one page. That's real writing. And I hadn't done it in awhile.
     Well, on Sunday, I was talking to some of my friends about my past books. Thinking over these books that I'd completed, I suddenly got this craving to write again. I got home and when I got the chance, locked myself in my room (not litereally of course), got on my bed, put the computer on my lap, opened the document, and stayed in that position until I'd written about a page. It was something like two hours later. :D
     Boy, did it feel good! I mean, I always know I enjoy writing, but I neglect it so often for something else. Then, when I finally get back to it, I'm like, "WHOAH! Why do I not do this everyday?!" Watching a blank page fill up with words that have come out of you is a feeling that no can understand, unless you've done it yourself. It's surreal, let me tell you that.      
     Also, I've been trying to work out my plot for my upcoming Nano novel. Yes, I start planning early. :) Well, I have the general shell of an idea, but for a few days the names of the characters were really illuding me. And when I can't think of names, it drives me crazy. This may be due to the fact that I have trouble fleshing out my characters until they're named. A lot of other people I know that write make their characters first and then name them. Not me. I've always got the loose idea of what the character's traits are, but I can never find the right words to describe them. When the name hits, then the exact words come.
     So, I was struggling with the names until yesterday. All of a sudden, I had this name streak, and all these names came pouring into my brain. And I found the perfect ones for my characters!!! All 4! It was so exciting. You know what I did next? I went ahead and made their characters. ;)
     Yes, these last few days have been very exciting as I rediscover my passion for writing. There are few things I enjoy doing more. So, I think today, when I have my free time, I'm going to write. :D 

Current books I'm plowing through

I've really become a heavy reader now. I seem to read all the time, especially if it's a really good book. Plus, I figure that if I'm going to write, I need to read. The books I'm currently in the middle of are Les Miserables, Eldest, and Mansfield Park.
Thoughts:
Les Mis-This book has 5 mini-books in it's binding. Well, I've finished two, and since I was at a breaking point, I've kind of put it on hold right now.
Eldest-I think I explained in an earlier post that the 4th book in the Inheritance Cycle is coming out in Nov. Because of this, I'm rereading through the previous books. Right now, I'm on 2. Now, usually, #2 books are the slow, boring ones of the series because it's the segway from everything starting to everything wrapping up. Also, it's usually the book where (okay, I'll say it) all hell breaks loose and it looks like things can never end happily. Eldest is no different, except that all hell waits to break loose until the last few chapters. The book is immensely boring for two reasons. Eragon is traveling, eating tons of fruit, and sitting in the woods listening to ants. Roran is experiencing anger issues and girlfriend deprivation as he goes on a journey to rescue his love.
Mansfield Park-The first day I started this book, I read 100 pages exactly. I was enjoying it a lot, but recently it's gotten really slow. I'm relatively close to the end, so I don't have any problem with finishing it.

What books are you in the middle of? 

Rocky Mountain High

Recently, my dad was going on a missions trip to Honduras for Living Water. It's a program that builds a well in a remote area. Since he would be gone for a week, Mom thought it might be nice to do something with just us girls. The idea of seeing our newest born cousins was a perfect plan. Both families live in Denver, and our aunt is in Colorado Springs. So, we pulled out our Atlas and plotted a road trip to go up.
I often voice that I enjoy car rides. For some reason, I like to be crammed into the back seat of a car with backpacks, computers, and purses from the front all around me. I like to be crammed in this state for any number of hours, but particularily 6 to 10, this trip. I like to be crammed so that all the snack food is behind me and any time anyone wants something I have to unbuckle, get on my knees, and bang my head against the low ceiling in order to retrieve the desired item. I still maintain this opinion, however, in a bit of an altered state. I like short car rides of about 3 to 5 hours. 10 hours of reading, writing, editing my books, listening to whatever CD or radio station has been chosen, and handing up tons of oatmeal cream pies, oreos, and cheez-its, were just too much.

Anyway, the driving was very dull because out in West Texas there is nothing. No, I'm serious. It's all one big, flat, grayish plain of dead grass. To be fair, an oil pump or cow might be seen every hour or so. I thought to myself, that any old movie set in West Texas could not be accused of simply running a screen behind the moving object. It all looks the same anyway. :D
Colorado was beautiful. The weather was simply gorgeous, and there's something about mountains that just draws me in. I can't get enough of them.

Speaking of moutains, we decided to do something different, and take a train up Pike's Peak. It was amazing! On the way up we caught a glimpse of an animal called a Yellow Bellied Whistling Marmot. They we like squirrel beavers. A squirrel's body and tail, and a beaver's head. Really weird looking. For this expedition, I had brought a little notebook to write down my thoughts. While we went up, I scribbled and scribbled away as hundreds of things popped out at me. It was so amazing! Finally, we reached the top and were greeted with 38 degrees with a windchill of 23. Yeah, it was cold, but the view! Oh, the view! So beautiful looking down and down for miles!

                                                          It's a little windy up top.

In the rest area up top, they have these special, World Famous doughnuts that can only be made at that elevation. We decided to try some. They were the best! best! best! doughnuts I've ever had. They were so amazing!
Our newest cousins, Bennett (4 months) and Lucy (2 months) were totally adorable. I loved holding them, playing with them, rocking them to sleep, and giving them kisses.

                                                                      Bennett

                                                                        Lucy

Aren't they cute? Well, we had an amazing time with them, and visiting with my aunt and other cousins. We were sad to leave, but still, we wanted to be back home. It was a great trip, and I can't wait to go back. Though, perhaps next time, we don't drive. ;)

My Sister's Cats -story for library competition

We used to have a dog. She was half Chow and half Retriever with a heavy black coat, huge, brown eyes, and a warm nose. Her name was Bridget, and we adopted her from a shelter when she was just a puppy. She lived with us for nearly ten years, growing to stand above your knees and becoming one of the fastest dogs to react to the world squirrel. She kept the snakes away, drank from our pool, hated her baths, learned to open our screen door with her paws, preferred to stay in her kennel, ate through our swimming noodles, and ultimately refused to play anything so unrefined as fetch. She was a wonderful dog and a wonderful friend up until the day she died.
Immediately, we began to miss the ever present face at the bottom of our French doors. It was my job to feed Bridget, and I missed going out to wish her good mornings and good nights. Shadows from the trees near our house often caused me to think I saw her standing in the yard. It was very hard, and my mom and sister and I all wanted another dog. My dad, however, had made it quite plain that when Bridget died, we weren't getting another dog because they cost too much. Soon, this was unhappily accepted as irreparable fact.
Then, a curious thing happened. A cat appeared. He came around often and was very friendly, allowing us to pick him up at any time. My sister had too much of a soft spot for cats and wanted to feed him. Mom opened up a packet of tuna and that was the beginning. Because of his creamy, yellowy coat, he was named 'Cappuccino' but we only ever called him, Chino. He now came around often, and my sister and I would stop what we were doing to go out and hold him.
ONe day, my sister excitedly told me that she'd spotted a gray cat down at our barn. The barn was a solid , white structure affixedc to the very back of our property. It was filled with random sizes of boards, rusty equipment, and occasional rat or colony of rats, and a distinct smell that can only be labeled as "the barn smell." My sister told me she'd gotten close enough to pet the cat, and it had the softest fur. I decided to go and bring it up to the house where we could feed it.
The gray cat met me a few feet from the barn. I quickly discovered she was a girl and that was most exciting. Her fur was just as my sister had described it: like goose feathers. She caustiously followed me up to the house, and my sister and I immediatley set to work on her name. We looked at her attributes which were alertness, snootiness, and no interest whatsover in Chino. These happened to be some of the most prominent attributes of a character in a book. Thus, she was given the character's name, Arya.
Meanwhile, three other cats made their appeareances. There was David: black and white, fat, an immense tail, and sat like a statue atop the fence that went right behind the barn. Then, there were Riley and Junior. These two cats were identical. The only difference was their size. Riley was fatter than David, but Junior seemed a mere ktiten. Despite the size, their names allways became entangled.
Around the arrival of these three, Mom had become depleted of packaged tuna and canned chicken. So, she broke down and bough a small bag of cat food. Also at this time, another change occured. Arya went into heat. All the other cats became bolder and started chasing her up trees and under cars. We felt sorry for her, but it was a natural process. Soon, I was given a very intereseting Biology lesson.
As Arya became exceedingly fat in her middle, David, Riely, and Junior disappeared. Chino still hung around, yet, not nearly as much. Mom informed us that it was getting near Arya's time to deliver. My sister and I were excited and anxious. Then, Arya was not there the next day. She was gone the day after and the day after that. Arya was gone for almost two weeks, and Mom proclaimed she'd gone back to her real home to have kittens. My sister and I hoped the kittens would come to our house.
Not too long after, as if in answer, Arya led her four kittens to our yard. The kittens were very adorable, and it was clear from their coloring, that Chino was the father. Two were boys, and two were girls. Again, names had to be decided. My sister suggested using the arts to name them. ONe of the boys, gray with white paws, took charge of art by being named Leonardo DiVinci, with Leo for short. The other boy, solid black with yellow eyes, was given pop music by being named Michael Jackson and calling him simply, Jackson. The girls were harder to name, as it seems with all girls. Finally, the bigger of the two with the black stripes, was named Carmen for the Opera. And the other girl that was exactly a mix of her parents, was donned Ginger Rodgers in honor of dancing. Excitedly, we showed them to Mom who wasn't very pleased. Mom had never been a huge cat person herself.
Time went by. Chino could no longer be found. Arya herself was scarce. The kittens grew: each of their personalities showing clearer each day. Leo was calm and friendly. Jackson was literally a "scaredy cat" as he ran from everything. Carmen was the trouble maker, and tiny Ginger was the sweet one. We enjoyed having them around so much. But then, like clockwork, they started to leave. They didn't come around nearly as often, and when they did, it was not up at the house. Just as they were pretty much gone entirely, haughtly Arya returned.
Because I was upset at the kittens leaving, and Arya was the meanest of all the cats we'd ever had around, I began to dislike her. My sister still loved her, going out at all times to pet and fee her. Still, I decided not to like her since she scared off her children who were my real favorites. However, she persisted in staying. Now, occasionally, we'd catch a glimpse of another cat. It mihgt be Chino or Jackson or Riley/Jr.
Then, Carmen visited us for a night. She was ridiculously massive in her middle, far bigger than David or Riely had been. We then assumed that she was pregnant, and soon, though we've never seen her since, her kittens came around. ONe by one, they came slowly. First, there was a girl who looked as if she'd been sown together with scraps of fabric. Some might call her patchwork; Mom called her ugly. She was rather homely, but she was so small and had such a cute face. My sister and I chose to name any kittens from Carmen's litter from the characters out of Disney movies. She was subsequently christened, Naala. The next kitten came by; he was Simba. This cat was as skinny as a rail and was gray with some darker stripes. Then, another small cat came around; who we almsot though was Simba. The same coloring, though slightly bigger around, but it was a gril. Wendy she was, and the next to come, who was also gray with blackish swirly patterns on his sides, was Peter.
Naala tried to hang around often, but she and Arya did not get along. Perhaps it was some type of female rivalry over a previous claimed area. Despite the efforts we made to make them friends, the two who were actually grandma and granddaughter, never met without a hissing match. Soon, for whatever reason, Arya backed off and let Naala rule the roost which she took extreme pleasure in. Jackson was also always hangign around. So, we had two that were sleeping at the house, and Arya came around very often. My sister and I started saying we owned two cats. This was very close to the truth. Though we didn't take them to vet appointments, we fed them adn they always stayed. Jackson and Naala really never left. They were always outside adn sunning themselves on our diving board.
Once again, spring rolled around and it was Naala's turn to enter into a heat. The day that followed was very strange in that all the male cats seemed to come from nowhere. Jackson was around of course, but then came Riley, Simba, and Peter. It was kind of exciting to know that we'd seen two genereations of cats and would now be watching the third come around.
Now, we wait. Naala grows fatter by the day, and we await the arrival of her kittens which my sister and I hope occurs at our house. Since this time, Jackson has left. He simply disappeared and we haven't seen him since. Arya still comes fairly often, though. Sometimes, I forget a time when we didn't have at least one cat peering in at us through our French doors. Sometimes, I forget a time when there was not a cat prowling in the high grass or sunning itself on our diving board. But then, I do remember. I make myself remember the joy of racing with Bridget. I remember what fun it used to be to go out on cold mornings and sit with my feet in her fur. I can never truly forget those times, but they often sit in the sidelines as I watch the cats. Then, I think of how it was when Chino first came, how we were so excited to have a cat by our house. I do miss Bridget, but I like having the cats around. I like watching how my sister goes out all the time to pet them. They truly are her cats, for she enjoys them more than any of us. We recently took a vacation and pain our young neighbor to come over and feed them. So, it really is like we have real pets again.

2 New Movies That Meet My Extreme Approval

I promised a post about I am Number Four, but I couldn't write a movie post without including some about the newest X-Men film that came out; X-Men: First Class.

I read the book, I am # 4, after seeing the preview. The trailer captured my interest and when I discovered it was a book, I became interested. I enjoyed the book. It was different, with not the usual story, yet still contained some normal elements. So, naturally, I was interested in the movie. However, I knew that because of how it was, it would be spoiled sightly if I watched it with Kathryn and Mom and Dad because they'd be rolling their eyes. They wouldn't get it. As seen from the previous post, the perfect opportunity arrived in going to Austin.
I put the movie in, not having terribly high hopes, in fear of being disappointed. Still, I was expecting a good movie. I was thoroughly pleased when it ended, far more pleased then I expected. The first thing I had noticed was how accurate it was, and it remained so for the entire movie. They were hitting almost every major point, leaving out one big part only because of time. This was exceedingly pleasing in this age of butchering the story coming from books.
The other thing I liked so much, was the character portrayal. The script writers and actors did a wonderful job of showing off the characters. Plus, they showed them in a way that I hadn't thought about before. As a closing, the movie was great, and it made me like the book much more. :D

I discovered the X-Men series not too long ago. Kathryn had seen the first one, or at least part of it. She wanted me to watch it, and though I was sick, I really liked it. Then, we found out that First Class was coming out and so I pressed to watch 2 and 3 before we went to see the movie. Well, we ended up watch 2 the night before we went to see the movie.
First Class was excellent. I liked almost all of the new Xs like Havoc and Banshee and the others. But, my favorte part? Can you guess it? No? Look up into the paragraphs about I am #4. Yes, my favorite part was character portrayal. (It often is in movies) I thought James McAvoy did a stunning job of conveying the young Charles Xavier. The guy who played Eric, don't remember the actor's name, was also very good in showing the inner fire of anger that was eating at his insides. Speaking of the eating fire, early on, he was creeping me out! Kathryn and I leaned over at the exact time and said, "He's freaking me out right now."
Then, there was Mystique or Raven. For her first big performance in Winter's Bone, Jennifer Lawrence was praised and praised. When she secured the coveted spot of Katniss Everdeen for the Hunger Games movie, I became interested in her even more. Now, she was going to be in this movie. She greatly impressed me. I thought she did a super job with her role.
So, as you can see, I was very happy with this movie and now look forward to finishing the series off by watching X3 and Wolverine.

Raven: "I'm tired. Read to me."
Charles: "I have to work on my thesis."
Raven: "Well, read that. That always sends me right off."

Chocolate Covered Pretzels and Root Beer

Ah, the good things in life. I decided I've not been blogging enough lately. So, I figured I'd write about my recent day trip up to Austin.

Kathryn is a huge fan of Michael Buble, as I believe was stated in a previous post about how bad he is. Anyway, he's on this new tour and was coming to Texas this year, but not sadly, not to Houston. He was going to Austin. This did not detour Kathryn. She asked Mom if they could go up to Austin for the concert. Mom agreed and the tickets were bought. This would have Mom and Kathryn leaving on Wed. (concert night), staying the night in Austin, and coming home on Thurs. Dad and I were to have the whole time to ourselves.
However, Dad was not going to be home. This will not do. Meaghan really shouldn't stay by hersellf the whole time. :( I was of a different mind. I did not much like the idea of being tracked over the state to sit in a hotel room by myself and watch TV that I could be watching in the comfort of my home. Plus, without the bother of packing and the long drive.
Howver, Dad was now coming back home. Yay, I'm saved. Now, I was going to stay home. Dad would be back very late, and then Mom and Kathryn would return the next day.
However, did I REALLY want to be by myself all the time? There's only so far TV and movies can get you, even I'll admit to that. But, I REALLY did't want to have to go with them. Granted, it might be fun. Kathryn pointed out that I'd never been in a hotel room by myself, but it just didn't seem like enough. Finally, after talking it over with Mom, I decided to go.
Arent' you happy this paragraph isn't starting with however? :D On Wed. we packed our stuff, packed the car, and headed off...to the post office and McDonald's for a Redbox. I was going to get two movies to pass the hours in the hotel. The films? Tron!!!!! and I am Number Four. I am #4 was a movie which I'd wanted to watch, since I found it was coming out. But, because of the type of movie it was, I knew I'd only enjoy it properly if I watched it alone. (A later post is coming about the movie so I won't say any more.)
We drove and drove while I read and read. A little past the half way point, we stopped at Buccee's for snacks and a bathroom break. We got drinks and a bag of chocolate covered pretzels, and we were ready for the last stage. When we got into Austin, we had to quickly find our hotel and get to the Cracker Barrel to eat and let them go to the concert. But, we got lost trying to find the hotel. Finally, Mom called and got us back on track, but we now didn't have time to go all the way down to the Cracker Barrel. We spotted a Chilie's, ate a yummy dinner, and then got to the hotel. After getting out everything from the car, including my precious can of Root Beer I had stashed for the night, they left and I walked upstairs.
As I was walking into the hotel for the second time (two trips were needed), I saw a man sitting outside the door smoking. Looking at myself holding a can of root beer and a bag of chocolate covered pretzels and a bag of chips, we'd brought them from home but they never got touched, I wanted to say to him: "Party in room 209!!!!!" However, I restrained myself. Mom had told me to double lock the door anyway. :)
Well, I kicked off my shoes, set up my laptop, brought over the movies, and plopped down on the bed. I wasn't sure if both movies would finish in the time they were gone, so I decided to start with I am Number Four. I'd rather they walk in on the end of Tron, then the other one. ;D I watched it, and it was really good. Now on to feature 2, but I've yet to eat any of my snacks. I broke out the pretzels, and the root beer from the refrigerator in the room and sat back on the bed to watch Tron. And there I was; in Austin, in a hotel room by myself, sitting on a bed, watching Tron, eating chocolate covered pretzels, and drinking root beer after 9 o'clock. This was how the summer was meant to be spent. :D
After awhile, they came back and told me about the concert. Kathryn had loved it, expectations met. But Mom had not had the best time because of her sitting partner. Lots of talking kept us up late, but eventually, we hit the sack.
The next morning I awoke to hear some sort of tapping going on. I distinctly heard it coming from over the vanity. I got up and stomped over. (I was in rather a grumpy mood, perhaps not fully awake.) I turned the light on, eliciting a moan from still sleeping Kathryn. Mom came out of the bathroom to find me peering up at the ceiling with a mad look on.
"Why did you turn the light on?" asked Mom.
"Because I did. Something's making noise, like tapping, over here," I answered.
"Okay, why don't you go back to bed. It's still early."
Still grumpy, I stomped back to bed. "It's 7. It's not THAT early."
Now, I find this story very funny. Don't ask me why I was in such a bad mood at 7 in the morning. It did not matter though, since I never woke Kathryn up and actually slept until 10 myself.
Mom and I were the first ready to leave, yet Kathryn wasn't packed up. So, I turned on the TV and scrolled through the channels. I happened upon a movie that was in some kind of Greek or Roman setting. Interested, I stayed, trying to discern what it was. My initial guess was Clash of the Titans, though I've not seen it. I asked Kathryn to come over and help me figure out what it was. Then, we saw Sam Worrington and a Pegusus-like-horse and we knew it was indeed Clash of the Titans. While waiting for her to finish, I watched till the end and I tell you, it was awful! The most anti-climatic ending for the previous few scenes. I was greatly disappointed. Imagine if I'd watched the whole thing! :D
The ride home was lots of fun, because I wrote a lot. I actually completed the story I'm submitting for the library writing thing. I'll post the story up here soon. And, we stopped at Buccee's on the way home for more snacks. :)
I look back, and see what fun I'd missed if I'd just stayed home. Little excursions like this are over quickly, but they make some extremely fun memories!

Thor

Thor! The God of Thunder and Lightening! The God who has mastered the art of the hammer!!!!! The God who has an amazingly cool cape! The God that's played by Chris Hemsworth! Yeah, that's all I need to say.
This movie has gotten so much hype and such good reviews that I wanted to see it. The previews looked good too! So, with Kathryn and three other friends, we set out to the movie theatre for the first showing yesterday. Movie threatres are not very crowded at 12:15 on a Tuesday when most schools are still in session. :)
I enjoyed the movie. I thought the special effects were cool! I thought the acting was well done. Oh, and almost forgot that I jumped about 2 feet in the air both times she hit him with the car! I didn't find it the best movie of the year by a long shot, but I did enjoy myself. And, that's what I look for in a movie. It doesn't matter how amazingly the movie was done, if I didn't have an enjoyable time watching it, it was muy MAL! That's 'very bad' for you non-Spanish majors out there. ;)
After the movie, Kathryn and two of the friends, came back to our house to get "sustenance" as Thor put it in the movie. For some odd reason, I was starving! So, I polished off 2 sandwhiches, a helping of chips, 2 and a half cookies (big ones), and 2 glasses of water. I guess the M&Ms I had during the movie didn't sate my hunger. :)

"We drank. We fought. He made his ancestors proud!" --Thor

Summer Writing Competition

Hello buddies!!! I have some news for all of you! There's a summer writing competition coming up soon. It's hosted by the Barbara Bush and Tomball Library. It's pretty much for kids of all ages up to 18 or 12th grade. You submit a short story or poem or both and then judges read them. Then, prizes (Barnes and Noble giftcards) are given out for the top 3 placements. I'm entering in both categories and would REALLY like others to do the same. I love to compete against people I know. :) So, if you're interested, and want more info, go ahead and give me an email. Write hard! :D

10 days!

It's 10 days till we'll be in Disney World. Actually, about now, we'd be watching IllumiNations. That's the fireworks display in Epcot, if you don't know. Yes, I'm excited about going!!!

I Stink at Chess

I am not being modest here. I mean, I'm just awful at the game. I'm often open to playing it, but I know I'll lose. It's kind of like my bane in the game world. I go back often to see if I can beat my arch nemisis, but he most often knocks over my poor king with a nasty cackle. I call my king poor because he got stuck with me as his defender. "All the other warriors are busy fighting in distant lands."--The Hobbit (tapes). This is the reason he was unable to get anyone better. :)

Well, I recently discovered a chess program on my computer. Usually, if I'm playing a game in the game section, it's Mahjong. You say you don't know what that is? Well, go look it up. That's what Google's for. Kathryn had never heard of it either, but when I taught it to her, she became a wee bit obsessed. So, anyway, that's my game of choice. However, I've been getting a little bored with it. So, I went through "games" and saw chess. "Hmm," I thought, "this might be fun for a little while. Well, what happened? I lost, really BADLY lost. I played again. I lost. Play-lose. Play-lose. Play-lose. My eyebrows knitted together, and I set my teeth. I was GOING to beat my computer! The little man, hiding in the keyboard or perhaps the dust guy hanging out at the "space bar" (anyone seen that commercial?), was not going vanquish me again.

With a snicker at my foolishness, he beat me. After many more of these, I gave up, very frustrated. However, the next days after, I've been obsessed with trying to win a game. This will be proven by my gasp during lunch today. Mom asked me what was wrong. (I mean, it sounded like I'd watched someone die.) I said, "They took my queen."

I was playing just a few minutes ago and losing every game. Then, then, I took the opposing queen!!! I got a second pawn down to the end and got a second queen. After some chasing, I cornered the King and made him jump out of his castle window. Hahahaha, not really, but I was extremely happy. In fact, I think the word jubilant could come into use right here. Isn't jubilant a good word?

Now, one would think, that after this Herculaic feat (I just used a literary allusion!), I would be content with not playing the online game again........One would think. ;)