Sunday, November 27, 2011

Back to School We Go

Packing is exhausting.

Think about it: as you go through each piece of clothing, trying to decide what to take and what to leave, you can't help but be flooded with memories. Sometimes they're imperceptible; you don't even realize you're remembering. But all the sorting, choosing, remembering, and sitting on the suitcase just to make everything fit are more tiring then you realize.

You're stressed that something imperative is going to be left behind.
You're worried that you're taking all the wrong things.
You're apprehensive about leaving a place you love. Or maybe you're thrilled to be leaving, but have no idea where you're going.

You're going back somewhere, or you're going to a brand-new somewhere.
What will it be like? Why do I have go? When will I see this place again? Will I love it?

You subconsciously ask yourself these questions with each shirt you fold.





I've always hated packing. But since traveling is my life's passion, I've always been able to bear it.
until now.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Fearful no more

Everyone is afraid of something.
There's always that one thing that can create the biggest hole in the bottom of our stomachs. But for some of us, it's more than one thing.

I'm a real-life scaredy-cat.
Fears have always been a part of who I am. and frankly, I'm a little tired of that.

I'm afraid I'm easily forgettable.
I'm afraid I'll never amount to much.
I'm afraid of being in love.
I'm afraid of being selfish.
I'm afraid of tornadoes. And hurricanes.
I'm afraid of losing people I love.
I'm afraid of spiders.
I'm afraid of apathy.
I'm afraid of having so many fears.


But really, who has time for fear in life?

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Saturday, September 17, 2011

The First Month

It's been exactly one month since my family slammed the SUV's trunk, gave me one last hug, and drove off- leaving me at this place called college. A lot has happened in this month. A lot of new experiences, a lot of unpleasant duties, and a lot of growing. Some days I wake up and still can't believe it. I'll walk to classes, eat meals in the dining hall, and laboriously study, all the while thinking there's no way this is real. I am in no way old enough to be a university student.
So what do I have to show for myself? What exactly has the last month of my forced me to learn? Plenty.

What you learn in the first month of College...
- You will meet more people than you ever have in your life in the first 48 hours
- It really benefits to have a unique name when meeting all these said people
- Not everyone will be your best friend. You probably won't even talk to the person you stuck with for that first weekend
- Classes are hard. A LOT harder than high school
- Procrastination has never been easier.
- There is such as a thing as eating too much chocolate in one sitting
- Care packages are your favorite thing in life. Actually, getting any sort of mail rocks.
- Netflix streaming will waster hours of your life. hours.
- You will smell like the cafeteria after eating there for every meal. So carry around some spray or something because it's gross.
- Even though it seems like there are an infinite number of food options at first, you will get tired of the cafeteria, and quickly. (that's when you'll miss your mom's cooking)
- You often have to work up a lot of motivation just to do one load of laundry
- You and your roommate don't have to be best friends. But friends is good!
- No matter how hard you declare you won't, you will get homesick. It comes in waves.
- Some nights you'll hear shouts coming from outside your window and wonder if everyone else on campus is out having fun while you're sitting alone in your room. But this happens to everyone, so you're not alone. After all, every night can't be the best night of your life.
- Some days you'll wish you were a five year old kid again. But some days you won't even think of home at all.
- You quickly realize how going to the gym is always a good idea. (after all, there's all you can eat ice cream in the cafeteria...)
- Going to soccer games are awesome. Football would be even cooler, but sadly, not all schools have a team.
- Some days you'll just have to get off campus. Find somewhere a little secluded, like an awesome coffee shop.
- Checking your email is vital. Every hour.
- Weekends are rarely productive, no matter how good your intentions
- College is awesome, but it also means growing up.

Friday, July 8, 2011

These summer nights just keep getting later

Summer is such a beautiful time.

So, treat yourself.




Listen to beautiful music.















(Will Anderson from Parachute- my favorite band)


Eat beautiful food












(I have a slight cupcake fetish)


Go beautiful places
















( I was here just a few weeks ago. And fell head over heels for the city)


Appreciate beautiful art














(Monet is amazing to see in person- just visit the Musee D'Orangerie)


Read beautiful words



















(My current novel of choice)


Celebrate the people that are most beautiful to you



















(My beautiful baby sister)

&

Have a truly beautiful summer



Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Wonderful Wednesdays 2

So, a few major highlights of life:

-This is my very last day of high school. Ever.


- Consequently, this is happening on Friday:
















- My family is coming up tonight from hours away. I anticipate lots of late night scrabble games! (I usually win....)

- I have a million and one things to do before next Tuesday

- Because.... A week from now, I will be here:










(This happens to be Zurich)


So, all in all, I'd say it really is a Wonderful Wednesday!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Adventures in the Kitchen #1

Food blogs: they are where it's at.

Before you roll your eyes and count me off as a hopeless, just check a few out for yourself. The best ones always contain beautiful photographs, funny but insightful comments, and delicious, often original, recipes.

I have been obsessing over these new-found treasures over the past week or so. While I have been a self-declared beginner foodie for the past few months, reading some of these blogs inspired me to actually clear my schedule and get into the kitchen.

I kicked off my culinary endeavors earlier this week with a squirmy six-year-old and a recipe for Hot Cocoa cookies (found on one of favorite food blogs: http://www.howsweeteats.com/2010/11/hot-cocoa-cookies/)

After mixing up the dough (which was quite addicting to eat), we refrigerated it for about 40 minutes. I was very anxious to get the dough popped into the oven and baked into delicious morsels of goodness. Sadly, though, when I checked on the cookies ten minutes after they started baking, I saw they had lost all cookie-form and had spread out into a glop all over the cookie sheet. I was more than devastated.

I chilled the remaining dough for a few more hours in vain hopes that that would solve the shapeless problem. Wrong.

Here's how ugly they were:





But as a side note, they are incredibly delicious and I have not been able to stop eating them all week! And even though they are very crumbly (which is partially due to breaking the cookies into pieces), the crumbles make great vanilla ice cream toppings!

My cooking endeavors for that night did not end there though. I was in charge of dinner (which rarely ever happens, thanks to my hectic schedule), and instead of making the boxed macaroni and cheese that the previously-mentioned six-year-old was demanding, I decided to make a pasta creation of my own. So I roasted garlic in the oven for forty-five minutes, then roughly followed a garlic peppercorn sauce recipe I found on allrecipes.com.

I was surprised at how easy it was to follow the directions, and after boiling the penne, and preparing the sauce, viola- I had a delicious meal ready. By the time I served it, the sauce wasn't as hot as I would have liked, but that's just something to keep in mind for the next time I make it (believe me- there will be a next time!) After all, how can something that has a whole head of garlic in not make you longing for it again? With some grated Parmesan cheese topping off the pasta and sauce, my interesting day in the kitchen was complete!








Also, as a side note for the day, I really want these shoes:
http://www.toms.com/womens/new-styles/bottle-green-linen-women-s-classics

Time is rarely free

Just as a preview of what will be coming up: I am going to be spilling some of my deepest secrets. After all this is a [kinda] anonymous blog that I don't even know if people read, so maybe sharing my secrets will be a kind of freeing experience. We shall soon see, I suppose.

But anyway, my secret for today is that I often fantasize about free time. Just hearing those two little words sends my head into a beautiful place, whirling with possibilities.
So yesterday I decided to be a little sinful. I thought of what it would be like to have an entire week of free time. Summer is rapidly approaching, and for many it means several weeks of nothing but free time, but for me that is not the case. It never is. But really, that's okay- I don't mind being busy. However, dreaming of free time still consumes my thoughts on some days.

So what would I do with a whole week of nothing but free time?
I would:
- Cook and/or bake something new each day
- Read an entire classic novel
- Deep clean my room. Like, this involves giving and throwing stuff away. I know, intense.
- Exercise differently every day. Yoga, soccer, Thai Chi, polo, P90x- I'd do them all
- Scrapbook. This is a hobby I had as a child but unfortunately have not been able to do a lot with in years. However, someday I hope to have my life all documented in neat little scrapbooks.
- Write
- Clean out my email inbox. Let's just say that's long overdue
- Learn. I love to learn.
- Watch TV every night, when it got dark out. Sometimes I feel guilty for watching in the day, but at night, it's always okay.
- Strengthen my relationships. That's something that always suffers when I'm crunched for time, sadly.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Happiness can be found in the little things

















Isn't it funny?

It's been forever since I've posted. Simply because I find it hard to pour what I'm thinking out into words. This is a common struggle, I'm not vain enough to think I'm alone in this, but that doesn't make it any easier to work through.

So today I thought I'd just let my thoughts flow.
Consequently, here this is.

- Isn't it funny how it's hardest to say what you mean the most?

-Isn't it funny how smells can connect us to a moment, or a time period? I just put on the lotion I wore the entire time in Thailand. Man, now all I smell is part of Thailand. And it makes me sad.

- Isn't it funny how we're meanest to the ones we love the best? I treat my family so poorly, yet I couldn't live without them.

- Isn't it funny how we always want what we don't have? But then when [if] we get it, it's not so cool anymore.

- Isn't it funny how what we're scared of the most is sometimes what we want the most?

- Isn't it funny how nostalgia makes you want to smile and cry at the same time?

- Isn't it funny how some things aren't really funny at all?

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Today's Favorites

A few of my favorite things on this beautiful Thursday?

-bike rides with my five year old sister
-the fact that my mission's trip abroad is only 7 days away
-baking (I have black and white meringues in the oven right now!)
-65 degrees. the first day of spring weather here.
-consequently being able to wear flip flops all day
-seeing my older brother in the newspaper. I'm so proud of him (:
-playing a beautiful grand piano
-We the Kings
-Rory Gilmore
-The knowledge that tomorrow is Friday.

It's been a good day!












Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Quote of the Day #2

"The power of imagination makes us infinite" John Muir

Friday, March 11, 2011

"Date a Girl Who Reads"

I was just recently introduced to the blog Audrey Allure (http://audreyallure.blogspot.com/) and now can't get enough. Check it out! She recently posted this and I love it. Enjoy!

By Rosemary Urquico

"Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag. She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.


She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.


Buy her another cup of coffee.


Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.


It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault
if she does.

She has to give it a shot somehow.


Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.


Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.


Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilight series.


If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.


You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or dur
ing a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.


Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.


Or better yet, date a girl who writes."

Quote of the Day

Writing our own Reality

"Reality has no place in our world" - Loralie Gilmore