Follow Through

This is why I am proud of myself today:

I am a hard worker, and I am blessed. Thanking God every day for the godparents I had is my joy in life. I put myself through massage school, and have paid for everything on my own and with the help of the money my godparents left me when they passed away. Throughout these past 6 weeks, I have worked while going through school, and put everything in my life aside for this goal of becoming a massage therapist. Today, I passed my final with a 91%, and received my new EarthLite Harmony DX massage table in the mail. I'm not a very proud person, but today I can't help but smile at the amazing things I have done for myself. I have followed my dream through, I have worked my ass off to afford everything, and pained through tendinitis in both hands to receive my certificate. I am proud of myself today, and I know I deserve it. I have learned so much, and intend to keep learning and growing and getting better at what I love to do. I am so happy.


Question of the blog:
Why are you proud of yourself today?

Transfiguration

Open.

Everything is white, and forest green, and a silver blue-gray.

I'm driving, it's warm inside and my heart is full and I can see that today is the day after a storm, with everything fresh and serene. We are muted, like I pressed a button on the remote, but I'm smiling and laughing, watching myself from the back seat. Mountain air and the feeling of a new day.

As we make ourselves up a hill, I see a semi coming down towards us, its body buckling. The front and rear are horizontal to the road, coming towards us and I know there is nothing we can do but look upwards. And I turn to you, and I look at your eyes which match the trees behind you, and you are afraid.

The sun is shining through the trees and the view pans out, to a beautiful landscape, separated by a thin line of humanity.

I say to you,

"Things are going to be okay."
I show you I love you, and reassure you. "Be calm, and rest." I am smiling, and I see pure joy flowing out of me and surrounding you. The air is still, and I look around all around us, to see things changing. The snow on the ground and in the trees, taking shape into the feathers of the most beautiful bird. Radiant wings of all that surrounded us, down to our own bodies.

This was the transfiguration of our lives.

The Day The Sun Was Shining

Good morning.

Eight wakes me. Existence greets me with community, and others. They clap their hands, we greet each other. I hear songs from my past, widening my heart to accept your gift. Young people, babies, love, doing their best. Thoughts jumble my mind and my stomach. Grape juice in cups that remind me of my past. My heart yearns and I open myself up. Broken cisterns. Come fill me. It's 10:30.

Jon Foreman guides me up North. I park in my favorite spot. Walk in shaking, too much coffee, or something else. It is All Saint's Day, and the occasion sends us to the Book of Common Prayer. I am home, as we say the prayers I have spoken since the day I could read. I am overwhelmed. We sing my favorite hymns.

Disregard everything, just listen.

Propaganda

Giants won the World Series this year, so my friend Brian and 3 other nice kids got tattoos.

Ah, the therapeutic burn.

We went to Propaganda Tattoo on Voltaire Street in San Diego. Such a wonderful place with a great vibe and even better people. How small is this world? Well, Steve, one of the tattoo artists, heard Brian talking about the 5-3-0 (my area code) and said, "Oh, Grass Valley? I lived there for 13 years." CRAZY. He talked all about The Crazy Horse and all of his good times hanging out by my old work. He spoke about Scary Jerry and mutual friends, and the Del Oro theatre.

It was good to have a moment back at home.

Miles Ago

Harsh lines separate the night from day,

as I wake up in foreign places after long nights.

Paint drips like water falls,

my skin is wet from those days at the river.

Black to white and ash,

Smoke rises and dissipates into thin air.

My feet up on the dashboard while you drive,

I sing those songs to the rushing air beside me.

As I recall those days ago,

the best summer of my life.

Always coming back home to you.

Question of the blog:

When was the best summer of your life?

California Knows How To Party

It's that time of year...

The weather starts to change..

You know you're in Southern California in the Fall when girls are wearing mini skirts with their Ugg Boots.

Despite this and other nauseating moments in California's history, one of our biggest redeeming qualities are the songs that are written about California. So sit back and enjoy some of my favorite California dedicated tunes.

Joni Mitchell - California (Live 1970)

Phantom Planet - California (2001)

Joanna Newsom - In California (2010)

Tupac Shakur - California Love (1995)

Question of the blog:

What state are you from?

Do you have any favorite songs written for your state/city?

Network

I may have posted this before.. But my dear friend Justin reminded me of it today.

Shivers, every time. Everybody knows things are bad.

I'm a human being. My life has value.

I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore.

One More Time

Sunday night, Jillian and I had a Christmas party. One last hurrah for me before I move.




For all who attended, thank you, it was great seeing you.

Until next time,..

Ice Cream Pie!

Spring is here!
It's getting warmer, and I'm starting to uncover those shorts and skirts I haven't seen in months. The other day, it was about 75 degrees here, and everyone around town was in flip flops and buying ice cream.
During this (short) glimpse of warm weather, I decided to make an ice cream pie with Heath bars in it. Ice cream pies are super easy to make, and are a great treat on a warm day like the ones we've been having.


All you'll need for your Heath Bar ice cream pie is
1 Ready Crust chocolate pie crust
5 Heath bars
Enough vanilla ice cream to fill a pie pan.. So not that much. I bought 1.75 quarts of vanilla ice cream, and didn't even use 1/4 of it.
1 freezer.. For freezing, duh.


1. Set up a place to make your Heath bar ice cream pie. Leave the ice cream out to soften.
2. Cut up 3 of your Heath bars into small little pieces. These are the pieces that will go inside your pie, so make sure they're small. You don't want a huge Heath piece to be the death of a friend you are hoping to woo with this delicious treat.


3. Once the ice cream has softened enough to easily scoop with a spoon, lay down a layer of ice cream in your chocolate pie crust. Pack the ice cream as gently as possible, so you don't crush your crust.


4. Next, throw a layer of Heath bar on top of your layer of ice cream. You can put as little or as much as you would like, but make sure there you can see some ice cream through the Heath, so the two layers of ice cream can settle together. How romantic.


5. Once you are satisfied with your level of Heath bars, cover it up with the vanilla ice cream. I chose to only make one layer of Heath bar, but if you're feeling saucy, try putting two layers in, with three layers of ice cream. Just make sure to cover the Heath chunks completely.
6. Smooth over the top of your pie, and put it in the freezer for 45 minutes, or until the ice cream is frozen again. You don't want to eat Heath bar soup.


7. While your pie is freezing, break your last two Heath bars into big thick pieces for the topping. Another way of doing the topping is crushing the Heath bars, so your pie is more of a crumble pie on the top.
8. Take out your frozen ice cream pie, and start decorating! I did more of a Flinstone/mosaic top, but I encourage you to decorate to your own satisfaction. As you decorate, push the Heath bar pieces into the ice cream, so that they aren't easily moved when the ice cream starts melting.


9. Put your Heath bar ice cream pie into the freezer for another 45 minutes so that all of the ice cream in the pie is frozen.
10. Invite your friends over, and slice your pie open to reveal a delicious, chocolatey inside.


One great thing about this recipe, is that you can substitute Heath bars for any candy you want (maybe not any candy..but most). Next time I make this ice cream pie, I would love to try Snickers, Milky Way, Reese's, or York peppermint patties. Have FUN with your creation!

Question of the blog:
In all recipes, I prefer instructions that are clear, but with some vague parts that leave room for me to be creative. In my recipes that I post on here, would you prefer to hear straightforward, meticulous instructions, or more of a relaxed view to cooking?

Color My World: RAINBOW EDITION!

Andy and I love to have food adventures when we are together, and this visit definitely included a few of the top food adventures yet. One night, we had delicious homemade vegetable omelets with hashbrowns for dinner. Yum! Okay, that was great, but it was nothing compared to our food adventure we had yesterday. May I present to you, The Great Rainbow Cake!

Isn't it amazing?? So, for your viewing pleasure, and possible future pleasure for your own tastebuds, I'm going to give you a quick image slideshow on how to make this, and then send you over to the full recipe where we learned how to make this rainbow cake!

Andy and I made this cake with these ingredients:
1 package Betty Crocker Super Moist white cake
3 eggs
Some water.. You can measure it yourself
1 package of food coloring (food color gel works better)
1 box of vanilla frosting
2 baking pans

1. After preparing the Betty Crocker cake mix as directed on the box, we split the mix equally into 6 bowls.
2. Andy and I then added the food dye to each (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple). Our food dye worked great for a couple of the colors, but for the red and purple especially, it was much too pastel colored for our liking.
3. We then took half of each color cake mix, and dropped it in the center of the pan. The bottom color (purple, for example) will spread out as you add the top layers (blue, green, and so on).
4. In your other pan, you can do the same thing, or switch the colors so the color on the top of the other cake is the bottom of this one (for example, we went p-b-g-y-o-r and then r-o-y-g-b-p on our two cakes.)
5. Bake cakes in oven as instructed on the cake box.

As the cakes are baking, take pictures of all of the fun colors on your spoons. Make sure to bake this cake midday so you get the best lighting. I wish mine had turned out better!

Then, after approximately what your Betty Crocker box says, take those suckers out and let them cool. I suggest oohing and aahing for your beautiful rainbow cakes. Our cakes didn't look too pretty on the outside once we were cooked, but not to fear, because nobody sees the outside anyways when you have psychedelic frosting on top!
But before that! After cooling your naked rainbow cakes until they are room temperature, add a sealer to the top of one, and then stack the two. Andy and I used vanilla pudding (which we dyed orange, just for funsies), and it worked great in sticking the two together. It also tasted awesome. Just use a thin layer, or if you're feeling saucy, do whatever the heck you want!

1. Just like you split your cake batter into 6 bowls, split your frosting into 6 cups.
2. Add food dye into each cup to create red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Again, our purple really wasn't that fab.
3. You can really do this however you would like it, but we decorated our frosting in a bullseye fashion, with each color frosting on its matching color of cake. The purple part of the cake was in the center, so we started there, and rainbowed outwards.

4. Once you are finished making your cake into an acid trip bullseye, take a fork or knife, and starting at the center of the cake, pull the frosting outwards so it creates a marble effect.
5. After setting for a while, the fork marks will go away and you will have the most over the top cake you have ever seen.
6. Complete with sprinkles of your liking.

After an hour or so, and lots of dirty dishes covered in crazy colors, you will have a rainbow cake that is out of this freakin' world. Like the Easter bunny barfed up its existence and then put it on a platter. It's that good.

Andy and I, with the completed rainbow cake. What a fun adventure to share with someone. And and I had a good laugh over the commentary from the recipe where we got this, so be sure to go over to Omnomicon and look at her fun rainbow cake and sassy reasons why you want to make this cake. She used gel food dye and her cake colors turned out incredible vibrant and fun. Or if you're just looking for a great photographer, you should look there too. Omnomicon is the full package, complete with cute name.

All in all, the rainbow cake was a complete success. It not only filled our adventurous appetite, but our tastebud ones too! I have been asked by a few people about date ideas for couples, and I would definitely recommend this as one of them. It gives you a chance to work together as a team, while gaining kitchen skills and having fun together. It also teaches boys that they can be creative! Yes, boys, you too can be creative!

I encourage you to try new fun food adventures, whether it's with your boyfriend, girlfriend, mama, or just on your own. The end result is just so satisfying.

Happy cooking! xoxo

Hold Your Breath

"Need-love says of a woman 'I cannot live without her';
Gift-love longs to give her happiness, comfort, protection- if possible, wealth;
Appreciative love gazes and holds its breath and is silent, rejoices that such a wonder should exist even if not for him, will not be wholly dejected by losing her, would rather have it so than never to have seen her at all."
-The Four Loves p. 17, C.S. Lewis

Sisterly Giveaway!

In honor of my sister's 500th blog post on Rumination Reading Room, she is giving away a piece of handmade jewelry for free!

Here's what my sister has to say:
"In honor or my 500th post, I have decided to reveal one of the new jewelry pieces I have been working on with my roommate/new business partner Scott. And beyond just revealing it to you... I am giving it away!
I have wanted to do a giveaway for a long time now, but needed just the right occasion. And I think my 500th post is the perfect timing for a fancy gift to you my friendly readers!

I have been working on creating a line of miniature book necklaces. I love books, and I love accessories. So what could be better than combining the two! I am working on some books that can be used as tiny sketchbooks, journals, and memory holders. I have lots of different styles in the works, so keep your eyes peeled for more postings ahead filled with all sorts of treats!"


To enter in the little raffle for this beautiful necklace, head over to Moorea's blog and comment in the section below. Include your name! Moorea will be drawing the winner on Tuesday. Good luck to you all!

ENTER TO WIN NOW!

Broken Arms and Head Injuries

Every week at Bible Study Fellowship, we get these little papers with our lesson on them. All week I have been smelling something odd in my room, something that reminded me of paper covered beds, long hallways, and butt-bearing robes. Yeah, it smells like the hospital. And it sorta weirds me out.

By the way... Most embarrassing moment of my week/month/life so far: I left Caroline's little store today with my iced latte on my roof. A guy drove by pointing and laughing, and I thought, "huh, I have never seen him before." I pull out, and reach down to get a sip. Eff, I said to myself, that's why he was laughing. Eff. Eff. I wonder if it's still on there. I pull in to the Holiday Lodge, and get out to see if it's still on there... Hoping that I could finish off the 14 ounces of the drink I still had left in my 16 ounce cup. Not there. Okay maybe it just flew off down by Caroline's... I'm not worrying. I pull around, and there lies my cup, with milk everywhere, and ice, and a straw. Gleaming in the sun in all it's glory. On the side of the road, and some random raggedy lady is picking up my mess. I pull by, make an awkward smirk of a face like, She knows it's me. Heh. Don't hate me? I wave and mouth, "THANK YOU." To her, and then realize how close "thank you" looks like "eff you" so yeah that's awkward. I pulled away as fast as possible, and I am pretty sure I haven't laughed as hard and as long since post-Luminaria nights at camp. I laughed all the way to school, and then cried in my car from laughing so hard. I must have looked like a psycho woman today. Scatterbrained Sally.

Midnight Drawings

I really like my new camera. Jillian and I played with glow sticks last night and had so much fun.





I love Jillian. I like glow sticks. I like my D60. I like night time. Rhett and Link. Flood light. Karate. Smiles. Or whether it be the fact that I have the chutzpah...


I love you forever.

Question of the blog:
Jillian and I grabbed some ice cream from Rite Aid last night, and as I was looking at the different options, I realized there are some that I find absolutely repulsive. Are there any ice cream flavors you would never try?

Gorillas In Our Midst....

This is amazing! ahahha

Completely.

I just finished Mere Christianity.
And I feel like C.S. Lewis and I would have been best friends if he was my age.
So, for those who haven't read C.S. Lewis before, here are two little thoughts he shares in this book that I just thoroughly enjoyed.


That is why the Christian is in a different position from other people who are trying to be good. They hope, by being good, to please God if there is one; or- if they think there is not- at least they hope to deserve approval from good men. But the Christian thinks any good he does come from the Christ-life inside him. He does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us; just as the rood of a greenhouse does not attract the sun because it is bright, but becomes bright because the sun shines on it. -C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, pg. 63

Love in this second sense- love as distinct from 'being in love'- is not merely a feeling. It is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by (in Christian marriages) the grace which both partners ask, and receive, from God. They can have this love for each other even at those moments when they do not like each other; as you love yourself even when you do not like yourself. They can retain this love even when each would easily, if they allowed themselves, be 'in love' with someone else. 'Being in love' first moved them to promise fidelity: this quieter love enables them to keep the promise. It is on this love that the engine of marriage is run: being in love was the explosion that started it. -C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, pg 109


I could honestly quote this book all day with all of the things I felt hit home with my thoughts, but I'll save the excitement for you so that you can experience the book for yourself. I highly recommend it. Now, onto the rest of his books. My boyfriend lent me the complete C.S. Lewis signature classics and I am STOKED.

Question of the blog:
What was the last book you read? Would you recommend it to other people?

The Chic Chihuahua

Today at Caroline's, I was reading a few chapters from 1 Kings when an old woman with a flowery moomoo and pigtails came in. She asked Molly if she could bring in her Chihuahua, and went out to her car to get it. She came in with this older dog, as tiny as ever, but the spectacular part about it was that the Chihuahua had a beard! It was incredible.

(Simulation Chihuahua beard.)

Okay so maybe it wasn't that dark, or defined, but the dog definitely had some scruff going on. And it was great.

Glimpse Of Heaven

Tonight I saw the prettiest meteor I have ever seen in my life.

Lying on a tan lawn chair
My head resting on a shoulder I enjoy so much
A warm black blanket to keep the wind away
Looking up at the stars,
and I feel like I could look into eternity.
The stars shine and they move,
Like God is continually winking at me.
A father saying, "Good job."
"I love you."
"You are beautiful."
And it is beautiful.
As one small meteor was thrown across,
another passed.
They were here as fast as they were gone,
dainty and fragile like a child you just met.

What I love about meteor showers, is the unexpectancy.
You look and you search, but it is not you that's doing the work.
God will bring you the gift when He brings it to you.
I turned my head upwards,
and there it was. The most stunning piece of artwork I have ever seen.
The meteor was strewn across the sky so far and with such elegance, it left a trail behind it that took my breath away. I didn't expect to see such a beautiful sight tonight, and not at that moment.

God has placed some incredible moments in my life that were not expected. Some moments felt tragic, others felt like complete miracles. I'm not talking about moments in nature, but the experiences I have with other people, and the things I have gone through in life. As I thought, "Where have you been?" tonight, I know that God has spent a lot of time preparing me to be the person I am today, and that he put previous experiences in my life so that I could be this person.
I am learning how beautiful life is when you just open your eyes, with your face turned towards God. That is when you catch glimpses of heaven.

Dear Pet Gopher Snake...

We didn't know you would taste that bad. Sorry we killed you.

One shot KO made by Monty the Maniac.

Yes. It was a solid blow to the face. I'm glad you were put out of your misery fast, that was nice.

57 inches! We couldn't believe it.

Huge huge gopher snake. And baby Wyatt throwing rocks at it. Good boy.

Scalies. Goodness, I love texture. God made everything so beautiful and intricate in this world.

Bounce and Monty skinning the snake. Slightly repulsive, but they were awesome.

Dericious. At this point I was really not feelin up to eating the snake.

All skinned. So gross. Then Monty talked to Dog Bone and we decided to bread the snake like chicken...

I'll be honest, it was disgusting.
So, my dear little gopher snake, I'm sorry we killed you. I really hope you weren't the pet gopher snake that Becky kept until it was too big... And you didn't really taste very good so that sorta was bad too. Okay byee.
Love always,
Alexandra

Inspiration

I was lurking around on flickr (please don't think I'm too creepy) when I stumbled upon this photo by my friend Nathaniel. I think it is so beautiful, and I loved the caption.

"its so funny how you can see her trail and where she sits every single morning for her routine ball throwing."
See more of Nathaniel's incredible photography HERE.



Anyways, seeing this photo on his Flickr reminded me of a true story my dad told me about a Buddhist monk. So here it is. I hope you enjoy it, and that it inspires you as much as it inspires me. What an incredible lesson on perseverance in your faith and values.

In a story straight out of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, human footprints worn into a wooden floor mark the spot where a 70-year-old Buddhist monk named Hua Chi, has said his prayers in a temple in Tongren, China, for over twenty years. More than 1 1/2 inches deep in some places, the prints tell the story of unbelievable prayer frequency, which according to Hua Chi at one point occurred over 3,000 times per day!

Hua Chi admits that due to his age, he was forced to cut back on his prayers, and these days can only manage about 1,000 times a day.

Even by Buddhist standards, which stress living life in a state of meditation and contemplation in order to reach Nirvana, his original rate of 3,000 prayers per day is considered excessive.

Today, hundreds of students visit the monastery which houses the temple bearing the prints in which the soles of the monk’s feet have become embedded in the floor. There is little to say, as the message of uninterrupted belief couldn’t be very much clearer.

Hua’s daily routine is simple and never varies. Before sunrise, he arrives at the temple steps, places his feet in his footprints and bends down to pray. He then walks all around the temple grounds until it is time to return for more prayers.

“During the first years I would pray 2,000 to 3,000 times a day. But I have grown older, so in recent years I have only done around 1,000 each day. I reconstructed this temple and have prayed and walked around the temple all these times so that after my death my spirit will not suffer,” said Chi in a recent interview.