A Horse of a Different Color

Deadlines and Bees.

2010-12-07T15:35:00.000-08:00

Exams are coming up, and coming fast. I'm so stressed out about my grades. Everywhere I turn people mention something about colleges and scholarships and good grades - oh and by good, I mean GREAT. Basically, if you have suck-ish grades don't even bother trying to get into a great school....

Man! All this stress to maintain a good GPA. What has happened to the world? I wish I could live in a time where a college degree wasn't that big a deal... Scratch that, I wanna go to college....

I wish there was a time I lived in that didn't put so much stress on the teenage individual.

Much better.

Anyways, this is going to be a hard next two weeks. I need to buckle down and get to work!

Oh, and the bees aren't holding up very well this winter; I might have to let nature run its course and buy a new set of hives this spring. Poor things.

salem!!!

2010-10-13T10:07:00.001-07:00

I took a mini vacation up to New England, to visit my grandparents.

Everything was AMAZING.

I want to move up north more than ever now! The trees were gorgeous, the towns were cute, and the food was.....hmmmmmm.

great food!

2010-10-08T15:50:00.001-07:00

My friend made some empanadas. Considering the fact that she's part Cuban, they're the shizzzz.

Iron Fey series.

2010-09-26T12:22:00.000-07:00

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_A2Cxdw9lOPk/TEHj28UJAaI/AAAAAAAACuU/lzksqE1cetA/s1600/the+iron+king.jpgThis

Is a fairy series with a twist. Of course there's the Seelie and Unseelie courts, and the typical beautiful fey. But -----

There's IRON fey (; wicked cool.
Read it.

Yummy pictures from culinary(:

2010-09-25T12:02:00.001-07:00

Lemon thins with a raspberry Melba sauce to add a dash of color. Chocolate covered strawberries - amazing!

Hemp crazy

2010-09-21T18:38:00.001-07:00

I find it amazing how I can always make hemp bracelets, no matter where I am! I even made a new one on my bus ride.Awaiting the day I get new colors, and spiffy beads.My mom had a tie dye party a week ago with her friends from work. She have me one of the bags, which is officially hemp storage :?)

Cycle of Life can be a total Bitch.

2010-08-28T12:12:00.001-07:00

Excuse my profanity up top, although it is true.
My worms died.
I'm crushed.
I put so much time and effort into caring for the sweet babies, and then when we moved they got infested with ants. A few days later after the ants they just disappeared. I don't know what happened to them. But they are gone now, probably dead.
I want more...

I think It is sad...

2010-08-28T12:02:00.001-07:00

...that Vegan's don't eat honey.
They have no idea what they are missing out on. Honestly. Honey is sticky and sweet, and something that could never get tiring to eat. (Well, that last part mostly applies to me.) I mean, I was the kid who squirted honey into their mouth when they were little, I adore it that much.
They can never enjoy honey mustard, or honey with apples and cheese. Or honey-glazed meat (haha, well they don't eat meat to begin with, but whatever.)

Oh. My. God. They can't eat honey period!
Does that mean they can't take joy in buying Burt's Bees products, or Savannah Bee company products!? That they can't experience the lovely soft texture of their skin when they use a honey face mask?
They can't have that amazing Burt's Bees chapstick, or suck on honeycomb, or have that precious Royal Jelly lip balm. And the lotion.
Man.

I have come to the conclusion that life must suck for vegans, because if I spent my life without honey I would literally be depressed.
Those poor people.

Battle scars...and honey.

2010-08-11T11:55:00.000-07:00

Stupid me, stupid stupid stupid. I went out to the bees this morning. I was too lazy to dress properly. Of course, I don't have those fancy shmancy bee suits - quite frankly, I find it idiotic to purchase those when you could just throw on some long sleeved shirt, and pants.

But me, I didn't even have those. See, I had just woken up, and was wearing some workout shorts and a spaghetti strapped tank top. Pair that up with some sandals (hastily thrown on) and a bee veil and that completed my "bee suit."

And I had not problems with it either, although I was stupid because everything was black. (Bee Rule: DON'T GO OUT TO THE HIVES IN DARK CLOTHES.) Could I have been anymore stupid?

But of course, the clothes didn't have that much of an affect when I did go out. It was my finger, my damn finger. One of the girls snagged me on the knuckle, and the poor thing was swollen for two days.

Couldn't even bend my finger.

I had to tough it out though, and stay with the hives to finish getting some honey. :)
We didn't end up taking a lot from this different hive, only going for one frame. But it gave us four jars, and it tastes wonderful. It's a lighter version of our old hive's bitter sweet honey.

Harvest Time

2010-08-10T12:29:00.000-07:00

The bees did wonderful this year when it came to harvesting :)

The first harvest gave us more than 25 jars! And the second harvest was only a couple of frames that were leftover from the first, but we easily got about 10 jars.

To think, that was just from one hive. If we had four....hmmm hmm. To the farmers market we go!

Pictures from BPSC

2010-08-03T06:48:00.000-07:00

I finally got some pictures from my week at horse camp! Here they are.

Below: I'm on Banjo, the last one to the left with the funny stance. From me over it's Emily on Foxy, Chelsea on Boca, Jamie on Sugar, Ally on Binki, Cammie on Jazzy, and my sister Alexis on her horse Red.
Below: With the campers.

Below: Dawwwwwwey! Me and my little boy Banjo!

Below: cross country course, me and Red.

Below: a little mini named Charlotte

Guitar Hero!!!

2010-08-02T18:08:00.001-07:00

Aha! Yeah, right.
So I've taken guitar lessons for a couple of months and quit. I just got swamped with other activities, and guitar got so frustrating because I guess I thought I'd become GREAT right off the bat.
But I'm now trying to get back into it. My fingers are in pain.....
Teaching myself, with the help of certain people of mine that play, and also the help of youtube and guitar websites. Go Internet!

Currently teaching myself: Banana Pancakes - Jack Johnson.

Even Addie loves Guitar :) I bet she'll be very musical when she gets older!

More food from today (=

2010-07-24T14:23:00.001-07:00

Aww, a Paradise roll. Tuna / Mango /Cream Cheese / Masago

(Masago: The roe of Capelin fish, which resides in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans.)

And last....my mom's order. Bolsot. It had this funky taste to it, like smokey. But my mom is crazy for it. Lol.

Toot-a-loo!!!

Some good eating

2010-07-24T14:00:00.001-07:00

I spent the day with my mom. We went shopping! Ah, we're such shop-a-holics. When I stepped into global's I almost bought everything in the store.....And I got some clothes from T.J.Max....and then.....wait for it.....I BOUGHT A BIKE!!

Now we will go on bike rides, my mom and I.

We ate sushi, at one of my favorite restaurants in gainseville. Miya's has some great food!

I got the paradise roll, along with a bento box, while mom got Bolsot. We were satisfied, more than satisfied. We were in paradise (hehe, get it? I got a paradise roll!)

Below: Pickled radish.

Below: Kimchi. A fermented spicy Korean dish that has cabbage, raddish, and green onion in it. It was amazing! I could taste the spice but the tangy sour balanced it out so it didn't burn my throat.

Below: Julienned potatoes in a mayo sauce.

These were the side dishes that went along with my mom's dish. ^^

Graceling and Fire

2010-07-09T15:46:00.001-07:00

The first, Graceling, is an amazing book that takes you into a different realm, where the people of seven kingdoms are known to obtain a "grace",or special power. They have twp different eye colors, and are wanted by the king as tools to be used. It tells of a king's niece who is graced with fighting....but read the rest to find out what happens!

Fire, is with different characters (save one!). But instead of Gracelings, there are things called monsters....regular creatures with unnatural beauty that are vicious and can control minds. The protagonist, Fire, is the last human Monster.

MUST READS

Bridle Paths Summer Camp of 2010

2010-07-03T16:53:00.001-07:00

I volunteered at this camp that my sister's friend's parents run every summer in Bronson. I admit that the camp wasn't THAT special. At points it was unorganized and I heard from returning campers that in previous years it was much, much better than it was this year.

But, alas, I did have a good time there! I got to volunteer for a week, while my sister was a counselor. (IS a counselor. She goes back tomorrow for another two weeks. I'm going to miss her!)

Anyways. The girls were awesome! I sort of floated between different cabins, talking to everyone. I was sort of a camper, but not really. And I had privelages of a counselor and helped the girls when they needed me. My favorite cabin was cabin one! And it was very cool how the horse stalls were attached to the cabins!

I rode many different horses. Baxter - Lazy, old horse. Kahlua -- A very pretty Buckskin that had a hard mouth, but besides that she was good.

Of course I rode my sisters horse, Red. She took him along for the camp as a lesson horse, and one girl was having trouble with him so I hopped on and straightened him out. And then got to do Cross Country with him!!

And one of my favorite horses ------

BANJO!

The first night we came a counselor named Courtney rode him, and he wasn't the best. All jittery and needed a REALLY light hand on the bit or he would continuously toss his head. The girl that was assigned to him was scared, really scared. And then two girls switched and they were fine, but he still had problems.

So. On the weekend was MY time to ride, and I decided to ride him cause we didn't want any of the campers taking chances on him during a trail ride. I almost rode bareback, but found a saddle. And we ran out of pads, so I used a blanket (See? Unprofessional!)

He had such a light mouth! Literally, if you would pull back he would throw his head in the air. It was ridiculous.

So, I experimented. Since I WAS in the western saddle, I wondered if he would neck rein....and the entire week of English riding wasn't meant for the little western horse ;) And I also figured that maybe if I leaned back while moving the reins back and not really putting too much pressure on the bit, he would respond. And the rest of the ride he barely ever tossed that head.

I didn't trot too much, because we were getting acquainted, and it was a little stormy. (He is such a spook, that in the middle of tacking up he startled over a Popsicle, and stumbled around with flared nostrils and white eyes for all of 5 minutes. It took a bit to calm him, and then I left the lead rope untied in case that happened again.) Plus I hate gaited horses, ugh! Just hate them. And he was part gaited. So it didn't feel too hot riding that trot and canter. (Yes, we did canter in a field for all of 10 seconds :) )

But he is a sweetie! And he has a licking problem!

Ahaha!

Anyways, I'll post all of the pictures I have in a later post! I already got carried away writing in this one....
Toot-A-Loo!!!

Moving Has finally Come!

2010-07-02T18:13:00.000-07:00

Yes, we did it :) We moved; moved OUT of that house with the crazy landlord, and INTO a very nice and very old house where things that are broken get fixed. And fixed fast.

Everything is getting settled, and now all we have to do is hang things up on the walls.

The maintenance guy told us that the lady, Mrs. Roberts, who used to live here had died in the house. And this morning at four my mom woke up to a big crash, followed by pattering foot steps and someone closing the door. No one was up. When my dad checked there was nothing there.

And strange...the dogs never barked. Not once.

Hmmmm, this could mean something. And if it does, too bad. Cause I like the house :)

And look at the kitchen!!! I just love it!!!!

Food websites :)

2010-06-30T10:16:00.000-07:00

http://foodgawker.com/

A website where people can post pictures of their food creations!! It's really awesome!

I fell in love with this picture. I'm such a sushi addict!

http://www.veggiebelly.com/
This website is also a good one, especially if you are strictly not eating meats. But I haven't explored it as much as the previous website, although it does look like a good one!

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

2010-06-29T09:28:00.000-07:00

http://www.breetanner.com/

You have to read this, if you liked Twilight.

Yes, I admit, I am a tad bit of a Twilight fan, but nothing over the top. The movies sort of ruined it for me, though. I read the book for the first time when it wasn't a big hit, about four to five years ago.

Anyways! I'm not done with this yet, but will be soon. And I admit, it's very well done :) Kudos Stephanie Meyer.

Babysitting

2010-06-29T08:36:00.000-07:00

For the past two days I've been watching my niece for my sister, while she goes to job interviews and such.
The little gremlin and I went to the bookstore, and she had a blast hording around little books and stuffed animals.
Even as I type she's with me, on the bed, watching Wee Sing movies. We ate pasta and a banana and she did pee once, on the bed. (But I cleaned it up.)
Her only problem is she wants to stick EVERYTHING in her mouth. I almost died of fright when I saw her munching on something. I ran over and ripped it out, and when I proceeded to yell at her she only laughed.
She's too silly :)

Cheese!

2010-06-10T17:59:00.001-07:00

Went to a cheesemaking class at the library and learned a lot of helpful things :)

I want to make some. I need to make some.

One more exam tomorrow, and then school is gone and the Summer is here.
Going to bed!
Toot-a-loo.

Cookies

2010-05-26T14:45:00.000-07:00

Fiddled with cookies in Culinary...well, actually, I was working a different area in the kitchen and just so happened to wander by when the 'experiment' popped out of the oven. It's sugar cookie stuffed with this jam filling. And haha, doesn't the face look like either a Pug, or a Monkey?
Chef Morris thought I was insane.

Wants, needs, the general stuff in life.

2010-05-25T15:52:00.000-07:00

I'm dieing for some sushi right now.

I'd like to have school end. Forever. Like oh no, it's vanished into oblivion.

And I want to start a journal for the bees, and the garden.
- To document everything that I've grown, all of the harvests, happenings, basic day to day
activities of the hives.

And I think any old journal would work, but it has to be pretty.

I want a picture printer, so I can print out the pictures I really love!

Or maybe I could just journal through blogging???
...
...
Eh, too much technology!!!!!
Good Lord.

Oh man, tonight I have like no homework. None, whatsoever. I feel free, totally in bliss right now!
Greek drama festival is over, just took my geometry test, and Biology isn't due for two days!
- GDF = Big Greek acting play production. Very serious. Very stressful, and very fun. I hope I make finals! But then again....even more work if I do, so hope I DON'T make finals.

Wild Rabbit

2010-05-16T15:11:00.000-07:00

Stella got out, and now she doesn't want to go back in her cage. She's offically our wild rabbit, and even though she's skittish she sticks around our house. In fact, she's becoming way more friendlier now then when she was caged.

So yesterday she was on the porch and followed me all the way into the back, when I was checking out the bees. She hopped circles around me for minutes, and I'm not sure why she was doing it but it was a good laugh for me!

She even played, and cuddled, with Tiger. :) And all the cats, besides Sushi, were out with me, just chilling.

Good times, good times.

Harmony Garden

2010-05-09T12:53:00.000-07:00

Is one of my favorite places to go.

I'm not sure, I THINK it's in gainseville, but then again, I am horrible with directions and I pay no attention to where we're at every time we go.

It's this old house they turned into a shop, and they have a ton of land. There's flowers EVERYWHERE. And citrus trees, and row upon rows of tomato and chili and basil.

They have metal racks for vining plants, and cool looking birdhouses that are made from the oddest materials, and honey and soaps that smell great.

Annnnnd, my favorite thing(Well, everything there is my FAVORITE.) is the glass mushroom statues. Cute cute cute!!!

Mother's day

2010-05-08T12:01:00.000-07:00

I found out what I want to get my mom, for the big day.....but I'm scared she won't like it.

And can't say anything on here - There's possibly a chance she might read this.

And I need a ride to go get the goods.....fml. I GOT TO GET IT!!!!!!!!!! I wonder who would be willing to drive me....hm.

Fugees

2010-05-01T15:29:00.000-07:00

I was in Culinary the other day, with Bernesia panning potatos.
Of course Chef Morris wanted more rosemarry on them.

Morris. "I want Rosemary! Where is my rosemary?! You're killing me, killing me slowly."

Bernesia. "Heeeey, I know that! From the Fugees, that'e my song, been stuck in my head all day. Killing me sloooowly. Aha."

Me. "What? Fugees....Never heard of them."

Bernesia. "Huh? How can you not hear of - what, man?"

So, I looked them up, google was handy.
And holy fudge this is my group.

The Fugees.
I heart them.
Favorite is probably Ready or Not, and Cowboy.

Beastly

2010-04-25T09:54:00.000-07:00

Found about Beastly the book is turing into Beastly the movie. Trailor looks good, hope the movie turns out well :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Neo6W1f7hyY

Addie's first birthday!!!

2010-04-25T09:06:00.000-07:00

Our little baby is growing up....and stuffing her face with mom's famous buttercream icing cupcakes - better even than the Savannah, Georgia cupcakes we buy when we visit the city.

A note on fanfiction

2010-04-24T17:41:00.001-07:00

Basically....some stories on there, er, how do I put this nicely? Well, they just shouldn't be there. They ultimately, epically suck. suck butt. They're just plain horrible. Why can't people see that???

I have this labeled as great reads, but it's anything BUT a great read.

The author on fanfic. that I truly love, is
http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1059896/

Literally, the best stories I have ever read on there.

some eggs Benedict anyone??

2010-04-23T03:59:00.000-07:00

So, CIA instructer came to EHS to do a demo for our class. He made a Hollandaise sauce, and showed us how to pouch eggs. And then we toasted some english muffins and opened up a back of really good ham slices....and asked for volunteers to make your own aggs benedict

So I raised my hand, even though I'm extremely shy.

And here's how it turned out

Bee Adventure

2010-04-06T16:15:00.000-07:00

I went to see the bees with my mom today....so much activity!!! We painted two supers, orange and blue (But not for Gators) and took them out to put on the hives.

They needed the supers. Bad. One of the hives began building brood cells between the top super and the bottom box, so when we took off the super it split open the larva cells. In half, so we could see white glistening larva everywhere. Some were even half formed into adult bees. It was fascinating to witness, but also sad because we accidentally killed them.

My hive was queen less. We took a frame from the "larva" hive and gave mine some brood. I'm scared....but I think - and hope, and pray! - that they'll survive. We'll have to order a new queen for them.

So, besides that, everything was good. :) But they do have a case of mites....so we powdered sugared their little bee booties, and keep giving them treatment until they are good and healthy bees!

I love my bees.

One flew into mom's veil.....ahaha - BAD BEE.

Rock Star :)

2010-04-02T15:46:00.000-07:00

I'm taking Guitar lessons!!!! Slowly working my way up to being quite excellant.

Madness

2010-03-21T10:40:00.000-07:00

Adalae is a walking machine!!! She does it all by herself now, and giggles the entire time.

I love my little neice :)

2010-03-01T10:59:00.000-08:00

Preparing the bedding............

Untitled

2010-03-01T10:55:00.001-08:00

Two of the baby bunnies from the new litter died. So now we're down to four.

Four adorably cute babies!!! They still haven't opened their eyes, so when we touch them they think it's Stella and start jumping and squealing, wanting yet more food. (They have fat bellies from eating so much.)

I love the black and grey the best out of all of them. They're so unique and CUTE!

She did it again...

2010-02-25T14:02:00.000-08:00

....With the help of a certain male rabbit, by the name of BUNNICULA.

Stella had six more babies. SIX. BABIES.

Four white, one grey, another black.

SIX.

BABIES.

Sushi, where? Everywhere!

2010-02-15T15:09:00.000-08:00

For my birthday my mom took me out to sushi. It was fantastic :P I had the Hawaiian roll and a chicken box. Mom got....well, I forget the name, but it's this hot rice and veggie bowl with a simmering egg on top. It gets spicy when you pour the chili sauce on....mom loves her spicy food, her taste buds have acquired a liking for anything spicy. (Hence her eating a gazillion hot hot hot banana peppers when she gets home from work.)

Alexis and Mack (the bf) even had sushi for a v-day special. They MADE it. So cute. I helped pick out what to put in the rolls. My favorite was the crab and mushroom. Delicious!

More pics to come...

Bead Store

2010-02-13T14:49:00.000-08:00

Dropped by the bead store and got stuff to make........wait for it......EARRINGS!

Lots of arguing, frustration, and beads of sweat as we figured out (with the help of youtube videos) how to make a pair of earrings. We made three, me and my sister.

Baby Bunnies :)

2010-02-10T17:53:00.000-08:00

Stella and Bunnicula bred....although we thought it was a false pregnancy, and Stella gave birth whenever we let her exercise....and the killer kitties possibly terrorized them.....anyways! We HAD five little ones to start out with, but the grey bunny died, and then one of them dissapeared...mysterious.....

They are a few weeks old, and growing healthy. All white and precious.

Untitled.

2010-01-31T14:04:00.000-08:00

Borrowed some wine from our neighbors, but my sister got the wrong type of roast when she went to the store for my mom, so that whole cooking plan that we had today was a no go. Anyways, check this out, snagged a picture of the bottle:

Dear John

2010-01-31T06:44:00.000-08:00

Ahh!!! Can't wait to see the movie, but I'm slow to read the book :( Too much stuff to do.
Anyways, listen to one of the songs from the movie. It's amazingly beautiful.

Snow Patrol - Set the Fire to the Third Bar.

Veggies, bread, and getting sick.

2010-01-27T15:27:00.000-08:00

I learned a new word, well two new words.

The first is a B and B dish - or bread and butter dish. Used obviously for bread and butter, but also for desserts, appetizers, etc. It's a word that I learned in Culinary at the beginning of the year but forgot until I learned it again today.

The second: Crudite. It's French. Also Culinary is where I learned it. Anyone guess what it could be? No? well, if you insist, then I will tell you! It means raw veggies. Platters of Crudite sounds so sophisticated and expensive, yes? But for anyone who doesn't know what it means, they will just get ripped off. All it is: A platter of raw vegetables. I love French Culinary terms :) They make the simplest things sound fancy and pretty. I mean, if you were at a restaurant and the waiter comes up to you, saying, "Good evening. Would you ladies like to sample a platter of Crudite?" Wouldn't you want to try some?

In class today, I once again for the 2nd time volunteered for Crudite, which to me is a big fat hunk of ugh. I only did it 'cause no one else would and Chef Morris was going to assign jobs if no one volunteered. Taking one for the team, unfortunately. Anyways, it wasn't without benefit. I, unlike the other people - more like annoying butt heads - in my class, got to practice my knife skills, Batonneting carrots for a hundred people.

Oh, and one thing that bums even more than Crudite? Getting sick two days from your b-day. Not good.

Flyleaf

2010-01-25T16:42:00.000-08:00

I love Flyleaf. It's just so amazing. Their new albumn is a must to listen to. Keep an ear open for the lyrics. They're so beautiful and full of meaning :)

Upcoming B-day

2010-01-23T14:00:00.000-08:00

Yep, it's that time of year.....my birthday! I gotta get ready to blow out the candles and say hello to 15 years.

Birthday wishes

Since I will be 15, I'll be old enough to have my permit. That would be amazing, me driving. :) I want to take the test. An old friend of mine studied the booklet for only five hours and passed his, so if he could do it then I can too.
Something from that store Alternatives. It doesn't matter what, because I'm obsessed with everything in the store!
To go riding, I haven't gone in forever... :(
A new book.
Sushi
Boxes for gardening and a compost bin.

That's all I want :)

Happy birthday to me!

Penny and Tiger acting silly

2010-01-14T15:38:00.000-08:00

A day of rest

2010-01-14T14:00:00.000-08:00

Ahh, so little activity!

2010-01-14T13:59:00.001-08:00

Low Country Boil

2010-01-14T13:58:00.000-08:00

Made for Christmas eve - way late of me to update :)

2010-01-14T13:57:00.000-08:00

This picture was from a few weeks ago - when FL didn't have extremely cold weather. Now the little beauties are dieing. :(

Asian food market!

2010-01-14T13:55:00.001-08:00

Cystic Fibrosis

2010-01-08T18:37:00.001-08:00

Nothing better than staying up late working on my Biology midterm. - A poster board for Cystic Fibrosis. (No sarcasm intended)

Learning about this disease is so fascinating, I could stay up forever and work on my project. Too bad I don't have any glue sticks to stick things on, I'll have to do that tomorrow when I have the chance to buy some from the store.

Winter Freeze

2010-01-07T18:14:00.000-08:00

Ah, the cold weather has finally set in to Florida this week, after months of anticipating it on my part. I don't have any affection for the cold, besides in my fantasy world where I can be in a cold environment, curled up on the couch and trying to keep warm, but not actually feel it.

What this weather has done for me so far.

Made my hair feel like static

Not given me the opportunity to wear my dresses I got for Christmas.

Killed my baby Basil, Dill, and soon to die mint and Lavender. The big girls out back are probably next.

Ahhh! Think of the bees, how sad and miserable they must be out in the freezing night!

Pasta in Vodka sauce

2010-01-02T15:34:00.000-08:00

Went through my pictures and found some of the pasta in vodka sauce that I made for dinner a long time ago. This recipe came out of the Sopranos cookbook. And it was yummy yum yum in my tum :)

Come to me...2010

2009-12-30T11:07:00.001-08:00

Aw, so it's coming, and coming fast. The new year, 2010. A time to make new decisions, to make a fresh start, to make your life better. I didn't care much for the '09. There was nothing very special about it. So to make '10 better than '09, I have some...drum roll please.....NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS!!!!

1. To become healthier, as in eating better and exercising. More fruits and veggies, and less junk. Goodbye junior mints and pizza, hello apples and bananas. Bring on the wii fit.

2. Become more active in school functions. I need to join more clubs and be on at least one sports team. I love to run, so I'm thinking along the lines of track.

3. Blog and journal more often.

4. Develop better speech habits. a.k.a. lose the curse words.

5. Start doing yoga.

Goodbye 2009, and welcome the big 2010.

Curry Powder

2009-12-28T14:10:00.000-08:00

I just love the smell and taste of Curry. It has got to be my number one favorite spice. I could eat curry dishes anytime and I would never get sick of the taste. One time when we were prepping for a catering, the chef made Curry chicken salad, and it was absolutely delicious!

Stuffed mushrooms

2009-12-23T08:44:00.001-08:00

I'm making them as an appetizer for Christmas Eve, but I had to look up a recipe online. It came down to two choices. One had crab meat and the other didn't. I asked my mom and my sister what they thought I should pick, but all they said was, "It's up to you," and, "You're the chef, use you're best judgement."

Hello? I'm a chef in training. I've never had stuffed mushrooms before. I don't know what one would taste better! Crab meat or cream cheese?

Anyways, I finally exited out of the crab meat and stuck with this bad boy.

Ingredients:

12 whole fresh mushrooms
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.
2.Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Fry until any moisture has disappeared, taking care not to burn garlic. Set aside to cool.
3. When garlic and mushroom mixture is no longer hot, stir in cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Mixture should be very thick. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps.

Hopefully, he won't disappoint.

Untitled.

2009-12-19T15:23:00.000-08:00

My great-grandmother came down from Pennsylvania. She's so hilarious! She's 'in a relationship' with my sister's boyfriend's grandfather. Old people are funny when they date. My great-grandmother is talking the guy's ear off as I'm sitting here typing this. <3

Alexis is a fantastic knitter! I haven't started yet, but tomorrow my mom is going to teach me.

I want to ride

2009-12-13T10:31:00.001-08:00

The more time passes by, the more I feel like I'll never go riding again. I want to go so bad, but we moved and we don't have the horses in our reach so I can never go now. We're boarding them at this lady's house, that my mom works with. And it's so far away!

I've literally only gone out there once in this past two months.

This is why I need to drive! That way, right as school got out I could speed on down there and spend time with Jewel and Red.

Royal Blood

2009-12-12T14:05:00.000-08:00

The 6th book in the Vampire Kisses series. It was really funny, and slightly cheesy. But for some reason I still end up reading and loving the books.

Christmas wish list

2009-12-05T17:45:00.000-08:00

Alright, Santa please listen up while I make my list.

Straight As and As on my exams.
Books, books, and even more BOOKS
The kindle
New stockings
cheese making kit
Clothes, of any sort, as long as they're cute and stylish.
All the White Stripes albums.
Some bins for me to start composting.
More time to ride.

Actually, half this stuff I would be fine with not getting, but the books, grades, and riding are a must.

Creamy Tomato Soup

2009-12-05T06:51:00.001-08:00

I made it last night for dinner. I didn't particularly like it, although Alexis seemed to. I thought it was too rich, which made my stomach rebel.

All it took was tomatoes, onions, carrots, parsley, and butter. You throw it on the pot and after 20 minutes you mash it up in a vegetable mill (Which I don't have). Don't forget the half and half and the heavy cream.

Oh, and thyme, but we didn't have it so that was out of the recipe.

Again, this recipe = Not good!

Gaylord Palms

2009-12-02T14:13:00.000-08:00

Monday the ice carving club took a field trip down to Orlando, Florida, to the Gaylord Palms hotel. We bought tickets for the ice carving event that the hotel was hosting. It was amazing.

Forty Chinese ice carvers came from China to carve 200,000 million tons of ice. They created a multitude of different sculptures, and everything was life size. There were polar bears, statues of people, angels, snow flakes, even a giant slide that you could ride down. It was nine degrees. You had to wear parkas. My fingers were burning. I had an amazing time!

Decalgirl.com

2009-11-27T11:39:00.000-08:00

My mom showed me this website and they have the cutest Kindle covers.

Ice Carving.

2009-11-26T09:44:00.000-08:00

My very first ice carving, that a girl named Kristan and I did. Okay for my first time, right?

This was a Cornucopia Cup that an ice carver demonstrated for the class. He only got as far as the basic structure so I was finishing it. I love ice carving, and I'm determined to become very good at it!

Flyleaf's new album!!

2009-11-24T14:56:00.000-08:00

Memento Mori. It's fantastic. If you haven't listened to it then go to youtube!

1. Beautiful Bride 2. Again
3. Chasm 4. Missing.
5. This Close 6 The Kind.
7. In the Dark 8. Set apart this Dream.
9. Tiny Heart 10. Melting
11. Treasure. 12. Circle
13. Arise 14. Uncle Bobby
15.Break your Knees 16. Enemy
17. Have we Lost 18. Who am I.

Check out this stud.

2009-11-24T14:36:00.000-08:00

'79 Corvette. I looove this car, but only the vintage Corvettes, the new ones, in my opinion, are quite ugly.

Hello NEW bee yard.

2009-11-22T11:08:00.000-08:00

My bees need a visit. But it seems as if that will never happen, everyday we pick has terrible weather. We need to go out soon to check on them, I think mine needs a Super put on, the pollen flow is fantastic in the new house. We have wild flowers growing in the back, and if you go out and sit in them you can see about a million bees pollinating. Here's some pics Alexis took:

I got to get!

2009-11-21T16:47:00.000-08:00

The Kindle!

This saves space (Which I need, hence the room overflowing with books)
You don't have to waste paper, which ultimately saves the environment
no flipping pages! Woo for the lazy people (i.e. me)
Books on the kindle cost less money! Double Woohoo!!

My Sister's Keeper

2009-11-21T16:39:00.000-08:00

This movie had me crying the whole time, well except for when the girl died and my mom broke out sobbing, then I had to stifle a few giggles. Because the sob was out of nowhere, and at first I couldn't figure out what the noise was. Oh, I love you mom!

Fanfiction.net

2009-11-11T11:13:00.000-08:00

Very wonderful site where you can read many great stories from manga, books, movies, etc.

http://www.fanfiction.net/

I even wrote a couple stories, but no way am I giving up the link.

Books, Book, and more Books

2009-11-11T10:46:00.000-08:00

Massive book sale for the library a few weeks ago. Me and Ashley stayed in line for an hour, since 8 a.m. Everyone was crowded into this small warehouse, shouting and pushing at anyone in their way. Tensions flared. It was awesome.

I purchased many great books.

A new cook book about soups and stocks. Yay! Now we can make all kinds of soups, from chilled avocado to orange puree soup. (The orange soup is actually a recipe, although it seems a bit odd. Never had orange soup before, never even knew it was possible to make. You learn something new every day.)

A lick Of Frost - The continuation of the NEVER ENDING Meredith Gentry series by Laurell K Hamilton. Haven't started it yet but I know it will be good. Anyone who wants to read it be warned that it's mature. (Shh, don't tell my mom. Haha, just kidding!)

Cold Mountain. I saw the movie when I was seven, and I never even knew it was a book until I happened upon it in my search.

Interview with a Vampire. We were also going to get Queen of the Damned but we ran out of money.

Sweep.

Herbal Almanac. Even though it's the 2004 addition, it looked so interesting and there was nothing else in the section of gardening that looked good. I had to get it.

Volume one of manga series Fruits Basket, which is still somewhere in Ashley's car.

And last, but definitely not least, Dances With Wolves. It was unbelievably amazing and better than the movie.

Honey Bee

2009-10-11T08:01:00.001-07:00

This book is absolutely divine. It has everything I love in it, a great story, information on flowers, recipes, and of course Honey bees. And the amazing thing is? This woman is the founder of Red Bee Honey Company, and she got involved with beekeeping by accident.

Honey Bee, by Marina Marchese.

Read it. Learn it. Love it.

Santa Fe Game

2009-09-19T13:45:00.000-07:00

This was the first I went to. Yep, that's loser status....never been to a football game, psh. It was Santa Fe vs. GHS. I had Mack and Alexis drop me off, and then I got to hang out with Shelly, Ashley, and Alexis M. It was really great, because I haven't seen them in a long time. I also got to see so many of my other friends that I had to leave behind. Like Savannah and Kaitlin and Wayne. Our time was spent laughing, swapping stories, throwing fries at people, and walking over to GHS's side and shouting out how much we luurved Santa Fe.

The funny thing was that we so thought Santa Fe was going to dominate...but they lost 41 to 7.

Perfection.

2009-09-13T12:16:00.000-07:00

You know that saying that goes "Practice makes perfect"? Well, I don't like that saying because nothing is ultimately perfect, especially when it comes to my ability to cut perfect straight lines and angles in Culinary. My hand must be a tad bit mentally off because my Juliennes need a ton of work. And I mean A LOT. Chef D seemed to think so too because when I asked her for help she replied with a "oh yeah you do." She then proceeded to throw my cuttings in the trash bucket and made me tart over, which I didn't object to at all because they were indeed utter failures for Juliennes. In fact, I remember myself laughing when she threw it out, not in the least offended. I mean, I'd rather have a teacher like her that will let me know straight up if something I do is wrong instead of a teacher who sugar coats my mistakes.

Since I'm left handed Chef D thought that Chef Morris would be better at helping me, and she did. By the end I got a "not too shabby." But still, I've been practicing at home and it wasn't pretty....

My weekend.

2009-09-12T09:40:00.000-07:00

A weekend spent with a friend. Eating tacos, swimming, and taking a lot of pictures, as you can already see some of them. That's right, there was more!

Pretty Kitty

2009-09-12T09:35:00.000-07:00

I was going through some pictures on my computer and guess what I found? Isn't she adorable? Laying in one of my empty flower pots.

Reutrn of the bee keepers.

2009-09-10T16:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went out to the hives, the first excursion to the hives in a few months. Yes, it might seem like neglect, but honestly it's not! They can survive on their own just fine, just as they would in the wild. my mission was to cut down the weeds around the hives because they're out of control, growing like crazy. Anyways.....yeah, the weed whacking? Didn't go so well...The clippers sucked! But I did get a good peak at my girls! Tons of foragers were flying in and out and hovering around the hive entrances. My girls, hard at work. =]

I also went out another day, just to make sure that everything looked okay out there. As I was walking along the path to the hives, which have a large vegetation growth, I saw some of the bees pollinating the wildflowers. It was a truly beautiful scene. I was content to stay out there for hours. One of the girls got stuck in a spider web so I reached out and gently plucked her from it. Ah, they are such fascinating creatures...My girls.

2009-09-04T14:05:00.000-07:00

Hm, school. I was so nervous before. And now? Piece of cake! Lmao, but there's this Chinese proverb that says whatever is good in life may turn out to be bad....

Anyways! I joined two clubs. Ice sculpting and hero, even though I really don't understand what hero is.....but it's the effort of joining that counts, right?

Culinary is awesome! Did my first catering today. One word: magnificent....and then it ended when I had to take my exam. That exam in Culinary determines whether or not I'll be able to cook in the next few weeks....I hope I passed it!

On the plus side? It's the weekend, and I learned how to fan strawberries. Thank you Chef. D. =]

Jitters.

2009-08-21T16:21:00.001-07:00

Ah! School's starting and I'm barely ready for it! I wish I could start in....a million years.

*sigh*

I'm going to East Side High, for the Culinary program. Which is awesome....the only problem is that they messed up my schedule. I took Alg 1 Honors last year in 8th grade, completed the high school course with all "A's" and then they go and tell me that I'm taking Alg. 1 for 1/2 a semester and then switching over to Geometry. So I was like, that's crazy! And it was even worse when we went to the front office and explained it to the lady and she said, "Oh Lord. I'll be right back, I have to ask someone about this."

So I was freaking out. I knew it would be hard to switch my schedule to where I take geometry because all the freshman have 80 min. periods and the rest of the school doesn't so if I took a class with a 50 min. period everything would be messed up. Confusing, right?

Anyways, the lady called us back and asked my mom if I could be in I.B. - This extremely smart academic program. Ever heard of it? I guess they really wanted me because I remember getting an offer to do it in the mail once and now they were pulling strings to let me do Culinary and I.B., Which isn't allowed under normal circumstances because you aren't allowed to take both magnet programs at the same time. We accepted the offer, I mean how could I say no? It's a great opportunity. And I get to take French. =] Plus in my book.

Now I'm only scared because I don't even know who my teachers are, let alone how I'm going to find my classes on Monday. Good lord this is frightening. And I'm scared I won't be able to keep up my straight "A's". Now I am tremulous..... and sad.

Oh heart, stop acting naughty.

2009-08-14T15:21:00.000-07:00

I went to the cardiologist. I've been having some heart palpitations for about three weeks, and so now I have a heart monitor on me for 30 days. I can only take it off when I take a shower. Every time I feel a palpitation, I have to call this number and let the people on the other end of the line listen to the recording of my palpitation.

Day Of Photography

2009-08-08T18:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday it was too hot and humid to ride, so my sister and I decided that we would take pictures with the horses, and then blow the pictures up and hang them on our walls.

We groomed the horses, making them look mighty pretty, and then gussied ourselves up a little too. And with that, we went outside to take the pictures....only to find that the horses had escaped! Those little tricksters ditched us and went off to graze!

Anyways....we still got in some pics. *winky face* Here they are:

Me and Jewel --

Aren't we cute?? She got itchy so I was scratching her ears for her. She loved it!

Alexis and Red -

And we also took some pictures with some of our cats! But I must say that Sushi HATED it. She was about ready to claw our eyes out, growling like a dog at us!

Back in the Saddle.

2009-08-07T05:34:00.000-07:00

I've been lazy with the horses! There, I admit it. I haven't gone out to ride for a few weeks. I just didn't feel like it.

But yesterday, I came upstairs to see Alexis talking on the phone with one of her friends- actually it was my friend, but not the point here- and I decided that enough was enough. I was so frustrated, and I was dieing to get outside.

"Alexis," I said. "Let's go on a trail ride."

She completely agreed with me, so we got up, got dressed, and took off down the road on a trail ride. I loved every second of it.

Mystery worms?

2009-08-06T11:04:00.000-07:00

Well, they're not actually worms, but caterpillars. Black, icky caterpillars with yellow stripes and a red head, who eat everything in sight, even the poisonous and most dangerous Angel Trumpet that is in my yard. Seriously! All it's leaves are gone. How sad...

These caterpillars are very annoying. They're all over my tomato plants. There has to be just about a million of them crawling in the grass, resulting in me not being able to go barefoot when I'm outside.

There is so many of these bugs that my sister, upon feeding the horses, found one crawling it's way up her shorts. It even bit her. Yikes, talk about scary!

And the worst thing about this is I have no idea what kind of caterpillars these are....although I have my suspicions...I think they might be Army worms...hm.

Glowing Sunflowers.

2009-08-03T14:51:00.000-07:00

A few months back when we had some food in our bird feeder, and it started to rain non-stop for days, the seeds in the feeder started to sprout. I didn't notice at first so everything that sprouted just kept on growing.

When I did notice, there was a ton of grass growing out of the feeder, and also some newly sprouted sunflower seeds. So, curious as I was, I wanted to experiment! I grabbed a few of the sprouted seeds and planted them in some pots, and before I knew it, I had myself some sunflowers growing. There wasn't a lot that I planted, which I regret greatly because I could have let them grow near my bees! (Not that they would have any problems finding the sunflower if it wasn't close to them. I see at least one bee every day in my potted lavender, which is right by the spot that the sunflower is planted.) Oh, how the bees would have just loved the sunflowers planted right near them!

It turned out that two out of the four that I planted died once in the ground because my horses, the nosy creatures, got into the garden patch. (And no, we have not fenced the garden off. It's a wonder that everything else hasn't died from our number of cats and dogs that come and go by the garden each day, unaware of the destruction they are causing.) So, two were trampled. But the other two are still in good condition! In fact, why don't you see for yourself?

I don't know 'bout you, but I think this little darlin' is mighty fine. She's nothing big, although I wish she was! Only about two feet tall. I guess I shouldn't be so sad about her size. I mean, you can't really expect to grow a giant ten foot sunflower when you're getting the seeds from a bird feeder. Haha, I'm also just glad to go through the experience of planting her. And check out that glow on the picture I snapped off? I don't even know how it got like that. Maybe from it being so humid outside, and some condensation got on my lens? Anyways, it sure does compliment her!

Someday I would definitely like to grow giant sunflowers. I saw the GardenGirl do it and now I just can't get it out of my head.

I would also like to plant some sunflowers in my bee yard. That would look pretty and sunflowers are easy to maintain so it wouldn't be any trouble taking care of them over there.

My Crazy Cat.

2009-08-01T20:01:00.000-07:00

Penny Lane, sister of Mary Jane (May he rest in peace.) is very loving, but also a bit insane. Well, all my cats have their quirks, but I'm writing this for Penny Lane because she was just so cute yesterday, and so funny, that I felt like I had to share it. Her silliness just tickles me pink!

I grew a sunflower and it recently bloomed, so I went outside to take some pictures of it. And every time I go outside an animal always comes up to me, which I really wish they wouldn't do sometimes because they never realize when they are sitting on the plants and I am forced to yell at them. I was snapping off some shots when she came up to me, purring as usual, and also rubbing against my leg. I couldn't resist her so I forgot about the plant and started cooing at her and petting her.

When I was petting her, the string hanging on my camera was dangling down and she looked up at it and then proceeded to hook her claws right into the string, her eyes locked onto mine. It was just so funny because her tongue was also out and the whole time she was still purring! And of course little old me couldn't resist snapping a few pictures of her, which she probably enjoyed greatly.

The art of making sushi.

2009-07-28T14:08:00.000-07:00

One Saturday, a long time ago when I was a mere third grader, my mom brought home sushi for lunch. I don't know what kind of roll it was, or where she got it from. All I know is that it was raw fish...and I loved it. I loved every little part of it;from the slimy-goodness of the raw fish and all the way to the salty soy sauce that made my mouth water. I Loved it so much it's bordering on obsession.

From that day on, I was completely hooked on sushi. I could eat it anytime, anywhere. My whole family likes sushi, even though my mom has begun to dislike it on account of her getting sick from eating sushi once. (I still love it though! Even if she doesn't!) I've eaten at multiple sushi restaurants but my ultimate favorite is Miya sushi. It's phenomenal eating! And when they bring out the sushi it looks so pretty laying there on the sushi plate that I almost don't want to eat it..... But I do eat it....every last piece!

On one of our many excursions to the bookstore (I believe it was Borders) I discovered that you could actually make sushi yourself,at home. How cool is that?? It came in this little kit that included--

Two sets of chopsticks.
Two chop stick rests (I had no idea what they were at first. They're just little side dishes that you place your chop sticks on when you're not using them.)

A book on how to make sushi.
Two soy sauce dishes.

A bamboo rolling mat.

Everything came in this cute green box, which we still have to keep our sushi making materials in when we're not using them. (I tend to be very organized when it comes to the kitchen.)

Once I purchased the kit, I got everything else I needed to make the sushi from the grocery store. I only wanted to make a California roll-which is just crab meat,cucumbers,and avocado- because for two reasons.

1) I don't want to try making anything involving raw fish because I'm scared that I'll do something wrong that could make me sick.

2) I still need to look at other recipes,which I haven't gotten around to doing yet. Hehe. (i.e. the book about sushi that came in the kit,which explains many sushi recipes.)

The first time I made sushi I felt so sick afterwards because I was very impatient and couldn't wait for the rice to cool down. I was just so eager to roll my sushi I couldn't stop myself.

I also did not use the necessary rice vinegar that you're supposed to put in the rice. But the second time I did, and I think it made a world of a difference on how the sushi tasted!

Recipe for rice vinegar. (For two cups of rice.)

Ingredients.

2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup sugar.

Directions.

In a small sauce pan add in the rice vinegar,salt,and sugar. You need to mix it on a low heat until the sugar and salt dissolves. Be careful not to let it come to a boil or that will spoil the vinegar.

After you have mixed it, slowly pour it over the sushi rice, when the sushi rice is cooked, and mix it together, gently folding the rice over. Do this for about five minutes and then place the rice in the fridge until it's cold, maybe for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Making sushi is a great adventure for me and everyone should give it a try! Of course, you're not going to be perfect at first. Failure is gonna happen. But as the saying goes, practice makes perfect.

Ant Control

2009-07-12T12:19:00.000-07:00

Today, after swimming at the Y with my brother and sisters, I came home and decided to water my tomato plants, which I've recently planted in the ground. As I go out I see this giant ant pile right next to one of the plants. One of my plants was completely covered in dirt from the ant pile.

I wonder if that could become a problem, and so I go inside and look it up online. This other person had the same problem as me and got advice saying to drown the ants out.

I did that. It back fired. The ants are now moving on to the other plants because I demolished their old home with water.

I'm going to wait to see what happens tomorrow and if I see that the ants have taken over my other plants, I will put them back into pots and wait until I can get a new location for them.

Maybe I could build some raised beds that I've been dying for?? I was out searching for a fly mask that my horse lost, and in the neighbor's yard I saw that she had some raised beds... Unfair, it is.

Well hello, world.

2009-07-09T18:20:00.000-07:00

Wow, finally I'm starting my blog. It took me a while to work up the courage to do so. But here I am. Writing. *Smiles.*

So I guess I should start off with an introduction,of sorts. My name is Abby. I live in Florida. My family owns five acres that we live on, although we are now officially looking for a new house to live in because our current household is a very old farmhouse that would need a lot of repair work done on it if we bought it.

I have a big family, not ginormous like some of those people you see on T.V. that have 13 kids. For my family, it's more like 6 and 1/4. The 1/4 being Adalae, because she's so small.

You see, It all started with my mom. She's like, the most amazing woman on Planet Earth. She's a very open labor and delivery nurse that loves to spin. She's a fantastic chef- I learned most of what I know from her, and for that I will always be thankful. She has a great sense of style, totally retro hippy. She understands most things that I tell her and can only be described as a "cool but protective parent." I know that she loves all of her chicks. And I love her just as much.

Here's a picture of her:

So after my mom came my sister, Ashley. The first born, and also the "experiment" child,because my mom was still learning the do's and don'ts of motherhood when she had her. She's very nosey like my mom, and can sometimes think that she knows everything. But we love her. She's really smart and beautiful. She's a new mommy that's going to school to become a nurse. So Kudos for her.

Here's a picture:

And then Alexis was born. She's practically the golden child, if you know what I mean. She's good at everything she does! She's an excellent student. Wants to become a vet. In a serious relationship with a guy. Beautiful. But slightly dingy, almost to the point of transforming into Jessica Simpson. But don't worry, she's hanging in there. And sometimes she actually has one of those rare moments of complete genius. Lol, well that's a little over the top. She's not that stupid! And I love her so much. I can never say no to her. My weakness.

Here's one of my favorite pictures of her, completely stunning:

After Alexis, I arrived. I really don't know what to say about myself. I can be a royal bitch, but sometimes I'm actually a nice person. I have straight A's in school. Have a slight case of OCD. I love to garden, ride horses. I hate going out in public. I'm embarrassed over stupid things. I'm really shy... at first. I love spending time with my family and friends, and also riding bikes in Target with my brother. My mom says I'm different, but in a good way. My style is completely unique. I'm a bookworm. I love to cook.

Here's a picture:

And then my insane brother, Noah, was born. He's such a little weirdo, that I love, but I always give him a hard time. He's shy. He's into video games. Eats junk food. And is so funny. He's the family comedian.

Here's a picture of him:

And last but not least, is Adalae. My little niece. She's the most beautiful baby with the longest and thickest eyelashes I've ever seen. And she's worked her way into our hearts.

Picture:

So that's my family, not including the animals....