December 31, 2010

Goodbye 2010

It goes without saying that 2010 was a big year for me. 

I graduated from my dream college, which admittedly felt like a mild nightmare towards the end.

I reconnected with some family.

I began a love affair with makeup.

I've gained boatloads of self-confidence, though if you tell me I look pretty I will still blush and think you're lying.

I made some mistakes too, ones that have perfectly good excuses but still don't alleviate some of the guilt. I can only hope to learn from them and apply it to the future.

But the greatest part of 2010 was that I finally started down the path to figure out who I am and who I want to be.

All of that being said, I can now bid 2010 a fond farewell.

December 20, 2010

Day 30





Day 30- Who are you?
Again with the loaded topics.

I am...
...that quiet girl in the corner who has finally begun coming into who she really is.
...that loyal friend that will stand by you, just like you will me.
...the world's worst blogging procrastinator.
...pretty darn uninteresting when I'm spelled out on paper.

But most importantly, I am whoever I want to be


Side Note: It's over, it's finally over. It was fun while it lasted, but I really do need to work on following schedules. It took much longer than 30 days, but I've finally made my way to the end of this challenge. Yay me!

Day 29

Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned

I've learned that I tend to put off things that I find too difficult or unpleasant (as seen in the gaps between some of these posts). Also, there is one post in particular that has helped my move past some things and let go of a lot of resentment I had. I've also found that I really do enjoy blogging, even if there is no guarantee that anyone will read what I write. Nice lessons learned, nothing too life changing, but I can safely say that I have no regrets.

Day 28

Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?

You mean other than my haircut?

2009

2010
I think, in general, I'm a more confident person than I was a year ago. I'm better at standing up for myself and I find that I shy away into the corner less and less as time goes on. It seems as if I'm finally coming out of my shell little by little.

Day 27

Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge

I think the reason I had in the beginning was just to drum up some content without having to come up with any ideas. As I went on though, I found myself liking the thought of giving my friends just a little more insight (be it funny or serious) into what goes on in my mind. That's it really, no desire for self discovery or the need to reveal secrets. I thought it would be fun, which it is/was, and it was nice to post things on a more regular basis (though I clearly need to work on the procrastination side of things).

Day 26

Day 26- What you think about your friends

Oh, now this is a loaded question. I've found that I have a couple of different types of friends. 


There are temporary ones that I talk to daily. These are the people I share classes with, who disappear into the sunset once finals are over.


The ones that are best in small doses. Sounds pretty bad, but I think we all have them.


The ones that I rarely speak with but would trust with my life. Just because we don't talk regularly doesn't mean that our friendship is on the rocks.


The ones that are practically siblings, we've spent so much time together. They know me the best and know just when to push or pull back.


Looking back, I've made a few mistakes here and there when it comes to picking out friends or trying to maintain them. I can only hope that I learn from these mistakes in the future.

Day 25

Day 25- What I would find in your bag?


Backpack or Purse? Eh, it doesn't matter as it's pretty much the same anyway...


The Usual-
Wallet
Ipod
Phone
Keys
Gum (usually something fruit flavored)
Pens
A travel pack of Kleenex
Waaaay to many receipts and coupons


The Girly-
Lip balm (currently Mint Chapstick and Minted Rose Salve)
Lipstick/ gloss of the day
Mirror
Lotion (some Nivea tin)


The School Specific-
A notebook or folder with loose paper
At least one flashdrive

Day 24

Day 24- A letter to your parents


Dear Mom and Dad,


I don't think anything I could come up with here would do any justice in describing how remarkable the two of you are as parents. Frankly, there are not enough words, spoken or typed, that would ever help me to express every ounce of how I feel about having you as parents. I can only hope that I can show you with my actions how much I love the both of you and how I think I couldn't be blessed with a better set of parents.


Love,
Love

December 10, 2010

At the end...

I'm at the end of yet another milestone chapter of life, here are some things I'll miss...

...The readily available Cali burritos and Carne Asada fries
...Z Pizza
...The singing I got done on the long drives to and from school
...That little bit of independence
...The morning fog
...The people

Oh SD, you've been good to me for the last few years. This is a bittersweet goodbye, but I'm ready to go home.

December 6, 2010

Baking Machine

So I'm a bit ahead in my studying schedule so I thought a bit of stress relief in the form of baking was in order. It rained quite heavily the other day and that made me want a cookie, which made me think about all the different cookies that I have yet to make in the world. My mind finally settled on Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip...indulgent, I know. So I Googled a recipe, popped over to the store and got myself to work. I ended up using this recipe. It looked the the simplest recipe with the best looking results. Man, oh man. If you like the richness of a peanut butter cookie, the texture of an oatmeal one and the surprise of finding a chocolate chip, then you need to make these ASAP.


I ended up hitting a baking stride and noticed that I still had a bit of leftover zucchini from when I made a few loaves of zucchini bread to bring to a family potluck on Friday. Since I didn't keep any for my house and my mom loves the stuff, I went ahead and made a few more. I used a recipe that I picked up from a friend in highschool, with a few tweaks here and there:

Zucchini Bread-
3c Flour
1 1/2 c Granulated Sugar
1/2 c Light Brown Sugar
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Salt
3 Eggs
3/4 Oil
1/4 Milk
2 c Shredded Zucchini

Combine all ingredients, sans zucchini, in a bowl to form a thick batter. Stir in zucchini and pour into 2 loaf pans (or 2 8x8 pans). Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes. Let cool, slice and enjoy!!


After all of that, I noticed that there was still about a cup of chocolate chips left in the bag, so I decided to do something else with them to keep myself or the little bro from eating them straight up (which I would have). So I took to Google once more and went in search for another recipe. I was going to go with good old chocolate chip cookies, but the o-pb-cc ones already stocked my house with two dozen. I toyed with the idea of scones, but then realized that I was milkless so had to scrap that as well. Finally, I decided to try my hand at biscotti via Good Housekeeping's online recipe.

Now this is the first time I've taken on biscotti (though I do recall a disastrous attempt at the all too similar shortbread cookie that I experienced in high school), so I'm a little bit lost on what the dough was supposed to look like. After following the directions to the 't', I noticed that the dough I had was far too wet to even pass as a standard cookie dough. I searched the magic that is Youtube and noticed that I was right about the texture. So, I took a chance and added an extra 1/2 c flour to the recipe. Everything else proceeded as usual. The end result was a pretty darn good product for a first timer. I will definitely consider experimenting a bit more with this biscotti business.


Alrighty, that's about all I have to share right now...I hope things are well wherever you find yourself at the moment.

December 1, 2010

Day 23

Day 23- Something you crave for a lot



The Beatles were definitely on to something...

Day 22

Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else


I don't think there's much that makes me different from anyone else, more like things that make me who I am. For example- I love oldies, I love classic movies, I have a casual style, etc. No one person has a unique trait, rather its the unique combination of things like likes, dislikes, personality that make a person who they are. It's hard to step back and judge yourself against other people, it seems like more of a task for friends and family to do for you.

That's my answer and I'm sticking to it.