Life as I know it...

Hello... life has been kind of busy, but I'll try to sum things up for you.

Gretel has taken over the couch. I don't know that we will ever regain control of our furniture. Thankfully, she has also become (magically?) quite obedient, so "Go Lay Down" has her sulking into the office to lay down on her bed.

This sight kind of made me laugh. Can you guess which pillow is mine? I guess I'm kind of clingy... or cold. I start out at the wall and end up on the other side! Maybe it happens when he gets up in the morning and leaves a warm spot under the covers. Hmm... yes.

Tuesday evening B-man made dinner while I was in class. It was sweet and sour chicken, and it was delicious. Fantastic! Wonderful!!! I am so thankful for him... he did the dishes too. I'm pretty spoiled.

Today started out like this! When I bake for bake sales, I tend to go semi-homemade. I still had to mix and bake and decorate, but I didn't have to measure out all of the ingredients. Win win! For this baking event B-man bought me a cookie scooper, to make the job easier. LOVE!

I didn't get pictures of the cookies, but I did get a picture of the cupcakes. This white frosting with soft candies in it is probably my favorite frosting ever!

Once the baking was finished B-man really wanted to out to eat. His buddies from the office all went out to lunch today, and I guess he felt a bit left out. Don't have to tell me twice! We recently found this Mexican restaurant called "Cancun's" near Kroger on Chapman Hwy... best food ever, and the portions are huge. I've never finished a meal here. It's fantastic! He got the enchiladas, and I got the chimichanga!

Then we went to Lowes, and bought a garden, complete with walls, dirt, seeds, gloves and tools. It will definitely be an adventure. Now we just need to find a home for it!

The last thing we did was go to Deaf Night at Barley's. I get extra credit for it, so there really is no reason to NOT go. We didn't stay as long as we did last time. It was crowded, and kind of awkward where we were sitting... surrounded by a bunch of people who didn't know any one.

Instead we went home, watched a movie, and now I'm going to bed! <3

Bullying...

I'm in physical pain right now, because I can't express how deeply this recent event hurts me though. I don't really want to go into detail, but the short of it is, a 16 year old girl named Phoebe Prince committed suicide because of the harassment she received at school.

Teacher knew.

Parents knew.

Other kids knew.

No one did anything. No one. How is that possible? How do ADULTS sit by and watch a child be picked on for so long.

Today in my diverse learners class this event was brought up, showing the importance of teaching about diversity, and the importance of standing up for people who can't stand up for themselves. I know this seems ridiculous, but I feel guilty because I wasn't there for this little girl. I'm a few thousand miles away, but if I had been there, she wouldn't be dead. This wouldn't have happened.

I'm kind of just putting undo stress on my self, but I know what it's like to be a new kid in a strange country (she was from Ireland).

Oddly enough - it was South Hadley HS, Mass. which is the same town my husband's extended

family lives in. Small world.

So tell me - what do you do? I am not really an outspoken person. People can have their opinions, but when it comes to respecting other human beings, and especially with kids, we - the teachers, parents, role models - are the only example. If we don't say "no" then by default, we are saying "yes."

If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.

Pictures!

I will be the first to admit that lately, I've been kind of a bad blogger. Moody, grumpy, spastic, and a tad bit crazy. Oh well, I'm feeling much better now.

A week ago B-man and I took our first trip to the American Aldi but I was sorely disappointed. We purchased a bag of pasta, and a waffle maker. It was cheap. Why not? So on Saturday I decided to make waffles. The wells are really small, so the waffles turned out a bit... weird, and the recipe had no sugar in it, and it was kind of bland. But it looked good. Maybe I'm just a sucker for warm breakfast foods. I love the steam in the picture though!

Or at least, Zuko thought it looked good!

Oh well, the recipe was VERY close to the Ebelskiver recipe, but just not as good.

Another recent food adventure involved making pizza. But this was fast pizza. At our local grocery store they make tons of different kinds of breads, and recently I had bought some Naan, but we had not eaten it yet, and I was worried it would start molding soon... so I made Bar-B-Q chicken pizza. It was.... in a word... delicious.

I think that is all I have for tonight. This week is going to be crazy, what with all of my homework, a bake sale, and a few other activities. Then I'm planning on driving out to Nashville for the weekend. We will be leaving the puppies home for the weekend. We've hired a pet sitter, but I'm still kind of nervous. I would feel better if some one I knew was looking after them, but with two dogs I feel bad asking any one! They can be a handful sometimes. After this week, and weekend are over... I'll be a hop, skip, and jump away from GRADUATING!!!!

And now I will stop playing with my food.

Two days.

How did I go two days with out blogging?

Stress.

Anxiety.

I compare myself to others, and then I fall short. Not good enough.

I'm not famous. My blog isn't consistently interesting, or funny. It's not full of beautiful pictures of original recipes. But it is full of my life. That should be enough.

__________________

Motivation is not running through my blood.

It's cold outside.

The sun tricks me,

pulls me,

teases me,

then disappears.

____________________________

B-man is doing the dishes. I asked him to do it earlier.

I don't usually ask. What's wrong with me?

Then he waited.

And waited...

And waited.

Now it's 12:24 in the morning. I'm tired and sore, and I want to snuggle up to his ridiculously warm body and fall asleep. It's easier to fall asleep when it's warm.

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The warmth is fleeting.

From my fingers...

my toes.....

my nose.

It's cold inside.

I can make a million excuses,

but none good enough...

"it's cold"

"I'm tired."

"too much to do..."

But in the end

there is a hole inside of me.

Eating,

tearing,

consuming.

My mind wanders,

wiggles,

dances,

giggles,

trips,

cries,

Stop.

__________________________

Why is he doing the dishes? Why didn't I get my homework done. Why am I not sleeping. What time is it? When do I have to get up? Can I sleep a little bit longer?

I have too much to do tomorrow. Far too much to do.

I think my phone is dead.

Dragons and Skating

So yesterday, after all of my cultural events, B-man and I went out for a few social activities. First we went to the movies.

B-man had never seen old city Knoxville, so it was a nice little walk. We met up with a friend of mine from UT, and a bunch of his friends to see the movie "How to Train Your Dragon." It was so cute and funny, I would highly recommend it.

Then it was time to drive to north Knoxville, where my friend Jamie was having a birthday party! To celebrate, Jamie invited people out to "Skatetown" so do a bit of roller skating, or roller blading. We went with the first choice.

I've done plenty of activities where you strip things to your feet and go. Roller skating, roller blading, ice skating, skiing, and snowboarding. So, I tied on the skates and got to orienting myself (it had been a while since I'd used roller skates, but the idea's pretty much the same as skiing.).

B-man on the other hand, tied on his skates, then hugged the wall. I was torn between roller skating, and walking on wheels with my darling husband. I alternated.

Then, all of a sudden, these kids came out of nowhere!

There was one... then two...

Then he amassed this group of kids. His personal tutor being the girl right behind him. She said cute things like:

"You'll never learn to skate if you're hanging onto that wall!"

and

"Take the training wheels off, and get out here!"

Too cute.

Then this group really had big plans for him. Especially the girl on the right. After getting him off the wall she says "now let's pick up the speed!"

Ha!

The evening was fun, and entertaining... until I fell while waiting on B-man, and I felt the pain shoot from my buttocks, all the way up to my neck. Then I decided it was time to stop. Funny enough, as we're sitting taking our skates off, B-man says:

"I think I want to learn how to skate..."

Hmm... we'll see how that works out.

I'm feeling diverse and cultural...

I do not have classes on Fridays, so instead I took the opportunity to go to a few presentations today. I feel a little bit more cultural, and a little bit smarter, so that's good!

The first presentation I went to today was by two Deaf, Native Americans. They were here presenting on Native American Sign Language, and more specifically that of the Plains Indians, and the importances of researching and saving this beautiful language. For more information you can visit the Hand Talk website. It's all very interesting.

The morning started off with a beautiful blessing over our college, and program. Even though it was is a different sign language, I could understand some of it. I think it was just a precious way to start off the event.

After the blessing every one trooped inside, out of the drizzle, and settled into the auditorium for a power point slide show. Hmmm... my favorite! lol. It was so interesting, and I wish I could share more, but to be honest, it was all new information to me!

To my right is James Wooden Legs, and to my left is Melanie McKay-Cody. Their presentation was interesting, and engaging. After the presentation James said a "closing prayer" and then invited any one in the audience to come up and be blessed. It was really special, and I'm glad I had the chance to be there.

Afterwards, I also got to go to the sit-down lunch and just chat and ask questions. It was cool because my roommate, Nikki, from last year, was also in attendance. Yeah!

After hanging out a little bit more, and enjoys Jame's magic tricks, I headed over to the UC so I could see a presentation from a Tibetan Monk.

This is Arjia Rinpoche, the high lama, and Abbot of Kumbum.... and the list goes on and on. I had never met a Tibetan monk before, so it was an experience, albiet, not a life changing one. His story really is incredible, so if you have an extra $20 to spend on a book, I would highly recommend it.

This is another monk who was with him, but I didn't catch his name. :) Lol. They were from the Tibetan Monogolian Buddhist Culteral Center, in Bloomington, Indiana! That kind of makes me giggle a bit. Regardless, if you are interested in learning more about them, you can check out their website!

Now what? I have traveled through time and space today! So now... Brandan and I are going to the movies, then maybe to dinner, and then... maybe roller skating. We'll see how the night goes!

So tell me... have you ever met any one incredibly interesting? Tell me who, when, and why?

A more successful baking endeavor.

Because of my recent failed attempts at baking, I decided to do something a little more tried a true, so that I could feel successful. The answer? Chocolate Chip Cookies!!! Yep! Now, my cookies don't usually make it to cookie form, usually the dough just gets stuck in the fridge and eaten... but b-man wanted actual cookies... so I did end up baking them.

Step 1: You'll need 2 1/4 cup flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 2 sticks of butter (softened), 1 tsp vanilla, and about a cup of chocolate chips!

Step 2: Mix together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl.

Step 3: In a larger bowl, mix the sugars, and butter.

Step 4: Keep mixing...

Step 5: Until it looks like this!

Step 6: Then add two eggs!

Step 7: After the eggs are fully incorporated, start adding the dry ingredients a little bit at a time.

Step 8: Once you've added in all of the flour mixture, be sure not to break your favorite spatula drying to stir in the chocolate chips!

Step 9: Thoroughly incorporate the chocolate chips. I tend to add less than most people, because I prefer the dough over the chips. Adjust to preference.

Step 10: Bake for 8 minutes at 375 degrees. Serve with milk.

This was a much more successful baking spree. Yeah!!!!

For my 150th post....

I'm going to share a little gem of dog owning. Sometimes, when they ask for it, you just have to share! The following ensued.

This puppy cracks me up, all day long. Good thing, since the B-man works... all day long!

So, any one have weekend plans? Tomorrow I am going to go watch a presentation on American Indian sign language, and then a presentation by a Buddhist monk. Then B-man and I are going to a birthday party!!! So... tomorrow will be better than today. All I'm doing today is going to class.

Fail...

Yesterday was a rough day. But thankfully I have some good friends to see me through. Plus, I got to go on a lunch date with Amy! She is the sweetest gal I ever met, and so positive. A good person to be around if you would rather be sulking and seething.

We went to McAllister's. Good stuff.

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Today I wanted to cross something off of my list of 23 things to do. Here is my adventure:

Step 1: Find Clay Pot that your mother-in-law gifted you for your wedding. Check.

Step 2: Find Recipe. Check

Step 3: Collect Ingredients. Check.

Step 4: Soak clay pot. Check!

Step 5: Stop working because husband fed dog, and there's no room. Check.

Step 9: Line pot with parchment paper.

Step 6: Mix flour, salt, and tiny bit o' lard until crumbly. Check!

Step 7: Heat milk, then add sugar. Check.

Step 8: Add yeast. Wait 15 minutes.

Step 10: Cry when yeast refuses to work. FOUR TIMES...

Step 11: Give Up.

Step 12: Make Cinnamon Rolls.

Now, to be honest... the cinnamon rolls weren't very good either. I didn't really cry. I just got really upset. I may or may not try again next week.

Oops...

There are two options:

a) I can't use yeast, like, I am physically incapable of making it work right.

b) my yeast was dead.

I just went through two packages trying to make bread. So now, before I can continue my bread making endeavorer, I must go buy more yeast. Gah!

Hodge-podge of the last few days of my life.

Some times taking, editing, uploading and posting pictures seems like a quick thing I can do right between brushing my teeth and going to bed. Then sometimes it feels like I'm running a marathon trying to get it all done. So, now I am posting a non-cohesive blog about the census, cooking, bugs, date night, and my kitchen. Yeah. Crazy.

1. Census: We got it. I filled it out. I sent it back.
   
   
Yeah... some one was excited. The government might get a better census if they just scan facebook. lol.

That's ok, it was a welcome break from the homework and papers I had been working on.


2. Stink Bugs: We have them. B-man has come up with this crazy method of putting them down the garbage disposal with lots of soap. I guess it works. They're annoying.
   
I think it looks like a tired old man's face. I don't think those are really its eyes.


3. CD collections: Brandan's is huge. Like... more than 100 CD's.
   
So I have been slowly ripping them onto the computer. Umm... they are in alphabetical order. I just thought you all might want to know that. What kind of person did I marry? A crazy one. But I think I can handle it. :)


4. On Friday we went out to dinner at Chili's. I think it might be my favorite restaurant, but it has gotten more expensive recently, so we tend to... not go there.
   
I got something different from what I normally get. So it was quite the monumental occasion.


5. Lastly, we bought a new shelf for the kitchen. When I watch people on HGTV go through houses saying "This kitchen is too small" and "This closet is tiny" I really just want to invite them over.
   
   There is one closet in my house. And it's not a big one.
   
   My kitchen has two drawers, and 2 usable cupboards.
   
   Stop your whining. lol. In anycase, because of the recent TV move we needed a new place to store my grandmother's dishes that had previously been chilling in the unused TV stand. So we bought a metal shelf.
   


It now serves as an extension of the pantry. We used to have a book shelf there, but it is now in the right of this picture - and that is where the dishes are.

I'm glad we went with this, and not the closed cabinent I had picked out first. It doesn't crowd or make the kitchen feel tiny - the kitchen does that with out the help of storage.

So, this week... I don't know what I'm doing this week. I will probably be doing some homework, some cooking, and some sleeping. Or lots of sleeping. I prefer the latter, but you never know! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend, and I will try to organize my entries better, from now on!

PS: B-man got a hair cut. Still trying to get a non-blurry picture.

I'm famous!!!... or not...

Ok, not really. Recently I was interviewed for a little clip about the general opinion on global warming. The portrayal of my opinion is not complete - but unless you really want to know, I will keep my long winded (albeit, educated) opinions to myself! I think I probably said something about how, the effects we are witnessing, are real, but in the grand scheme of things, it's normal. And something about how pollution is very destructive, but it hurts some areas more than others. Yeah... I think I just kept going and he was like "Why is this girl still talking?!"

The kiddo's name was Shane Donahoo, and he is a student of the School of Journalism and Electronic Media at the University of Tennessee. For more articles and clips you can check out their website!

So there you have it! After he video taped the clip we had a nice conversation about food networks and... I don't remember what else. Then I traipsed off to my night class as the snow fell. Picturesque, really.

In other news... I am actually going to cook food tonight. It's been a while, stress takes a mean toll on me, but B-man and I went grocery shopping yesterday, so... I have to cook!

Things to do...

So I have seen a few of these, like Megan's, which is beautiful, and Dana D. also made another pretty one. So I thought I would get inspired and write down all of the things I want to accomplish in the next year (minus a few weeks, since my birthday was on the second).

In text format:

1. Graduate College
2. Buy a new couch, something trendy.
3. Go through the photoshop tutorial, so I can actually use the program.
4. Finish a quilt
5. Relax on a beach.
6. Finish reading a book.
7. Go to Nashville.
8. Camp. With my husband. And the dogs.
9. Go on a weekend getaway... with out the dogs.
10. Visit New York City.
11. Watch a full season of House, hmm... love.
12. Make bread from scratch.
13. Finish my legacy challenge in Sims 3.
14. Replace the buttons on my coat.
15. Beef, it's what's for dinner. I tend to cook chicken... or pork. I need to mix it up.
16. Go to a garage sale... or two... or three...
17. Get B-man's ring resized.
18. Lose 20 pounds.
19. Complete a Project 365.
20. Throw a real party, with real invitations.
21. Buy a better camera.
22. Take B-man to a VT football game.
23. Collect Eclectic Dishes.

So there is my list. Maybe I should add "Be cooler." but I don't want to set myself up for failure!

Gooooooood... morning?

It's technically morning now, but it wasn't a few minutes ago. Boo.

Here's five minutes of my life!

And it's true. I do love a good cake wreck! I don't think I will do too many of these videos in color... I think the black and white make my skin look nicer, but... we'll see. I had been blow-dryer-less for over two weeks! Yes... lots of pony tails.

Now it's off to bed, middle school in the morning!

Finding the Balance...

So I'm trying to find a good balance of blog postings... I could probably blog all day... 20 times a day. But, I know no one would want to read all of that. I also know that I would love to make Video-blogs 20 times a day. Ignore that fact that there isn't enough time in my life to do that.

I've kind of decided that blogging once a day is acceptable, and then posting two or three videos a week (at the max) is good too. Since it is something that really does help me practice, I don't want to get sick of it. lol.

So, here's a new video, just a short bit of what I did today, and some things I did yesterday. I know that my blog/vlog entries might overlap, but if you really don't like watching them... you don't have to! lol.

I hope every one had a wonderful St. Patty's day, and I'll catch ya tomorrow... after I've been go-go-going all day! Yippeeeee!

Smooth sailing.

Yesterday I spoke with my teacher about the other test I had bombed, and thankfully she too is going to let me up my grade a bit.

After that quick discussion I was off to my Tuesday night class, and the test that I had not prepare for. But, I think I did well on it because her tests are pretty straight forward, and none of this is really new information.

Then I drove home, kidnapped my husband, and we went out to dinner. I had really not been in the mood to go out over the weekend, so instead we went out on Tuesday. There is this new restaurant called "Bangkok Tokyo" and it is a Thai and Japanese restaurant. It is not a fusion restaurant, it has two separate menus for each kind of cuisine. B-man and I went opposite of each other. He got Thai, and I ordered Japanese.

I really wanted a good sweet curry, ya know, with pineapple and raisins. Yeah, they didn't have that. They had lots of food I've never heard of, and three variations on curry. So I ordered Chicken Teryaki with rice. The food was good, I didn't have a knife... and I didn't really want to ask for one... because I had already filled my question quotient for the evening. So I ate my chicken sans knife. It was interesting.

Over all it was good. B-man said his curry was delicious, and if we go again I will have to try something different.

We also learned this yesterday = our favorite Chinese buffet is closed. For good. For ever. and ever. It was a sad realization, their food was really good. 0_0

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In other news, I went and volunteered at TSD again today. They were doing testing, so I didn't feel too useful, but then I got to play some games with the kids, and that was really fun. We played dominoes, boggle, and Sorry!.

I think I will probably be volunteering at the middle school every Wednesday and Friday. It's such good practice, and it'll probably look good to have so many volunteer hours racked up in a portfolio.

So, I think that is all. I want the weather to warm up. Soon.

I need a nap. Ciao bella!