Sept. 13th, Cake-Pops and Curses!

Today is Friday the 13th! I don't even think I mentioned that out loud today...
Work was pretty good. For having a freaking CRAZY Monday, the rest of the week seemed tame. Also, I was off at 3 today so I felt pretty good.
My mom and I had plans for dinner and stuff, so after work I went to the store to pick up some stuff for the trial cake-pops we were going to make. Walmart, which has everything, did not have the candy melts that I needed, so I had to run to the craft store in town to buy them.
Craft stores are my weakness. I usually don't make it out without spending more than I intended. Today, though, I did well and only bought some cool border stamps for like 5 dollars. Semi-self control!
After all that running around I went to my parent's house to make practice cake-pops with my mom. My mom was awesome and already made the cake so it would be cool when I got there. We crumbled up the cake and added the frosting, and we used a cookie baller to make uniform cake balls. It worked like a dream. That is, it worked like a dream until it came time to dip them in the melted chocolate.
It's been very rainy lately and so humid, and I think that is why the dipping sucked so bad. The chocolate just would NOT stay smooth. Eventually I went online to see if other people had the problem and I saw that someone recommended a small amount shortening to smooth it all up. It worked so well! we'd tried the oil already like the bag said, but the shortening made all the difference.
I didn't take pictures, but they looked pretty much like the kind in that video I posted from YouTube the other day, except without the flames at the base.
It was a lot of work, but it was fun spending time with my mom and stuff. We also had shrimp Alfredo pasta - three [of many] of my favorite things.
Okay, so no Friday the 13th would be complete without something weird, and in this case, gross and annoying. Flies! Flies everywhere! I don't know where they all came from, but there were so many at my parents house today! Even my mom was freaking out because they were attacking out house! There may be some nefarious haunting going on, or a rotting corpse in the garage, or suddenly flies like the scent of canning chili.... but those darn-hootin' flies were so annoying and they just kept appearing. It reminded me of the "chickens with large talons" lunch scene in Napoleon Dynamite. So gross, ugh I hate flies. I was diligent in keeping the horrid things away from the food and treat-making though.
Tomorrow is Saturday! I'm planning to go to the matinee of Pacific Rim at the town's cheap theater. I don't know much about this movie, except that GLaDOS's voice is in it. Nerd much? I don't even care, I want GLaDOS to narrate my life for me.
See you tomorrow!

Sept. 12th, I'm Cheating Today

I try to do what I say I'm going to do, and this bogging thing is suddenly way hard to do everyday! I've had stuff in my mind in advance to write about almost everyday so far this month, but today I'm out of ideas.

And that is why I'm cheating today. I'm writing this post and fulfilling my blog-everyday-this-month duty, but content-wise, this is pretty weak.

Yesterday when I was going to work, I saw a big black tower of smoke not-too-far off, but I never discovered what it came from.

I want Avatar: The Last Airbender on DVD and it's finally not that expensive now. They're like $15 a season on Amazon right now. Someone buy them for me!

Okay, that's all for today! See you tomorrow!

Sept 11th, Book Club

I participate in a little book club. It's something that I never really thought I'd do. I have no real relationship with anyone else that attends (and lately the number of people is around 4). Nevertheless, I do enjoy discussing books and stuff. I think being an English major made me a little overenthusiastic about defending my point or opinion, so when the topics get a little crazy or out of hand, I don't feel too bad about saying what I want to say to try to steer the discussion back on track.
This leads me to what happened at the book club this week. After we finished our discussion, we were trying to plan the next two months, and one of the members printed out a pretty good and informed list of books. After she explained a bit about them so we could better choose, they asked me what I thought. Well, I was polite, but voiced my opinion. I said that since it would be October, it might be fun to do a scary book. I also said that I didn't have any particular titles in mind, but something by Susan Hill or Bradbury or Shirley Jackson might be fun. I included Dracula and Frankenstein in there too.
To my surprise, they agreed with me without much "selling" on my part! The other person's book suggestion will be done in November, and I'm so glad that she wasn't left out.
So, it came down to a coin toss between Frankenstein and Dracula, and Dracula won. Since I was the one who suggested it, I "get" to be the discussion leader. I guess that means I better start reading the book! I'm actually kind of excited about this: I haven't been able to really plan a discussion or presentation or anything since college. And the best part is, I have a month to plan it and there is no grade attached!
I also get to bring treats, which I'm excited about. I found these on YouTube and they look fun and doable!

Harry Potter, Halloween, and Candy! My favorite things! I might have to make a batch way ahead of time to make sure it's something I can manage. I think that I'd not use the stick though, and instead put them in mini cupcake holders. Preferably fiery orange ones.... If it proves too difficult, I might just frost sugar cookies and make jack-o-lantern faces out of chocolate chips.
Like I mentioned, the book group is pretty small, and I guess it used to be quite huge. I'm going to make a poster and bookmarks for the library (I do it for every month's book club) and hopefully really sell the whole "Halloween Theme" that will be going on.
Wish me luck!

Sept. 10th, About Yesterday's Post...

Yesterday I posted 10 Top 10 lists, and after publishing it, I kept thinking of other things that I should have put in the lists instead. So, instead of looking at those answers as an end-all for what I think is best, just think of the listed things as 10 of the things that I like in that category.
Except the one about that bugs I hate, that will stay the same forever, I think.

So, the weather....
It's been rainy and not too warm for the past few days and it is SO nice! Working at the library on a rainy day feels so right. Also, the library is not as busy on rainy days, so in addition to having a perfect atmosphere, things don't usually get too hectic.
This rain is making everything feel like a mild autumn and it's wonderful.
Tonight I'm going to a book club, but instead of talking about the book-of-the-month, this time we are each going to spend just a few minutes and tell the group about a book that we love and why we love it. It's so stress-free and easy, a caveman could do it! I'm going to take "The Neverending Story" because I think its so fun and imaginative. I wanted to take another book called "Silence" by Shusaku Endo but I don't know where my copy is. "Silence" is not a happy book at all, but it is profound and really makes the reader think a lot about their own faith and how far they will let people push them before relenting. I recommend it to anyone who wants a good, thought-provoking story and doesn't mind having their heart ripped out a few times in the process.

This post is short, whether that's good or bad, I'll let you decide. See you tomorrow!

Sept. 9th, 100th Post!!!

Wow, 100 posts! I guess for a blog that's 3 years old, that's not that impressive. But still! I'm surprised I've made it this far, especially since my life is pretty average these days and I don't have that much to write about.
For the 50th post on this blog, I wrote 50 things about myself (read it here). For this 100th post, I'm not going to do that again. Instead, I'm going to write 10 Top 10 lists on various things.
Just to clarify, the top 10 things aren't necessarily in order, they are just the top 10 in that category (in my ever-changing opinion), and I encourage you to check them out. Enjoy!

Top 10 Movies (This list changes often for me)

1. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
3. Matilda
4. The Matrix Trilogy
5. V For Vendetta
6. Return to Oz
7. The Village (haters gon' hate)
8. Hocus Pocus
9. Clue
10. Tron: Legacy

Top 10 Nintendo Games

1. Legend of Zelda (all of them, but especially "Ocarina of Time" and "A Link to the Past")
2. Super Smash Bros. Melee
3. Animal Crossing
4. Super Mario World
5. Donkey Kong Country
6. Super Mario Galaxy (both of them - so fun!)
7. Pokemon Yellow
8. Mario Kart 64
9. Super Monkey Ball 2
10. Super Mario 64

Top 10 Classical Pieces (YouTube these!)

1. Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 (and 3!)
2. Saint-Saens' Dans Macabre
3. Respighi's Pines of Rome (especially the Appian Way movement)
4. Gorecki's 3rd Symphony, 2nd movement
5. Handel's Worthy is the Lamb/Amen (all of Messiah, actually)
6. Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2, Allegro
7. Holst's The Planets (Mars will knock your socks off!)
8. Wagner's Tristan and Isolde Prelude and Liebestod
9. Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition (especially the finale!)
10. Grieg's Peer Gynt
    And SO many more!

Top 10 Foods

1. Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
2. Tacos, Burritos, anything Mexican
3. Pizza!
4. Lasagna
5. Pasta! Any kind!
6. Kimbap - it's Korean and so good!
7. Artichokes
8. Salmon
9. French Fries
10. Homemade cookies

Top 10 Disney Rides

1. Soarin' Over California
2. California Screamin'
3. Space Mountain
4. Haunted Mansion
5. Thunder Mountain
6. Tower of Terror
7. Thunder Mountain
8. Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye
9. Toy Story Mania
10. Pirates of the Caribbean

Top 10 Books (Or Series) - This list will change constantly, but these are all books I'd read again.

1. His Dark Materials - Philip Pulman
2. Harry Potter - JK Rowling
3. Monster Blood Tattoo - DM Cornish (strange title, GREAT books!)
4. The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
5. The Neverending Story - Michael Ende (if you judge this book by its movie I'll shun you forever)
6. Silence - Shusaku Endo
7. The Arrival - Shaun Tan
8. Coraline - Neal Gaiman
9. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs
10. The Westing Game - Ellen Raskin

Top 10 Plays (Musicals Too)

1. Sweeney Todd
2. Importance of Being Earnest
3. Phantom of the Opera
4. One Man, Two Guvnors
5. Midsummer Night's Dream (but only the production at the Globe in London in summer 2010)
6. Wicked
7. Viva Forever (Make fun and I will CUT you!)
8. Joseph and the Amazing Never-Ending Titled Dreamcoat
9. Wait Until Dark
10. Les Miserables (and in London! Phenomenal!)

Top 10 Bug I HATE

1. Earwigs
2. Grasshoppers
3. Spiders
4. Moths
5. Cockroaches
6. Mosquitoes
7. Worms (because they're gross)
8. Flies
9. Crickets
10. Wasps
    (Bees don't freak me out because they usually keep to themselves.)

Top 10 TV Shows

1. Parks and Recreation
2. Adventure Time
3. Tron: Uprising
4. Ocean Girl
5. Are You Afraid of the Dark?
6. Downton Abbey
7. The 10th Kingdom (it was a miniseries, so originally for TV)
8. The X Files
9. Malcolm in the Middle
10. Family Guy (Even though it's terrible, it makes me laugh...)

Top 10 Video Game Music (Click the Links!)

1. Super Smash Bros. Melee - Opening Titles
2. Mario 64 - Dire Dire Dock (also, this version is amazing)
3. Halo 4 - 117
4. Donkey Kong Country - Aquatic Ambiance
5. Shenmue - Main Theme
6. Final Fantasy X - To Zanarkand
7. Zelda - Everything! Especially Gerudo Valley, The Dark World, and Song of Healing
8. Super Mario Galaxy - StarDust Road (also called Space Junk Galaxy)
9. Portal - Still Alive
10. Okami - The Sun Rises

Ok, so there you go! 100 things to check out (or avoid)! I wonder how long it will take me to get another 100 posts here.... 3 years again? Will I even blog in 3 years? We'll see!

See you tomorrow!

Sept. 8th, Waking Up Early

I am not a morning person. I hate waking up so much that even when a nice breakfast is made that I still want to just stay in bed.
One way to surely make me an angry bear is to urgently or rudely wake me up. Someday when I have kids, I fear that they will be terrified of me in the morning. I've growled before at people in my waking stages because I was too sleepy/incoherent to say words to them to leave me alone.

On principle, I never set any alarm before 7 am, because up until then, it's still night.
Well, today I actually did have to wake up earlier than usual, since I had to be in my seat at a special event by 7:40, so my first alarm went off in the 6th hour - also known as the butt-crack of dawn - and I got up and ready and was in my seat on time.
The meeting was really good (it was a church one) and I feel like it was worth getting up so early to go. I might need a few days of recovery though....
I'm not usually one to go to bed early, which makes mornings hard.... I can remember getting in trouble typically on a nightly basis for playing after I was told to go to bed throughout my childhood. My brother and I shared a room, and I don't recall him really ever getting in trouble, even though I certainly wasn't playing only on my own.
I remember one particular threat in which my parents told us that our feet had better not touch the floor the rest of the night.

Introducing: Hot Lava! The game played by kids everywhere can now be played after bedtime! All you need is furniture and to the ability to jump and laugh quietly!
So, because I've always been one to stay up late playing or reading or finding shapes in the textured ceiling, I've never really been ready to wake up when I ought to.
When I was in 4th grade (a year of my life I'm surprised I made it through) I took class violin lessons EVERY DAY BEFORE SCHOOL. I'm surprised my parents insisted that I keep going rather than sleep in a bit themselves. Waking up super early, even when it was a school holiday, was awful. And I hated school and stuff too, so I faked sick probably 80% of that school year. My parents I guess saw through it though, because I only missed a few days in total. It was that year that I honestly wanted to be home-schooled because I hated school so much. Students who were bullies, teachers who were also bullies, early morning violin lessons....I think from that year alone I have earned a lifetime of not having to wake up early. Though that may be the case, I'm certain that employers won't recognize that and I'll have to drag myself to work at whatever time they choose.
Just understand that if and when I'm hateful and ornery in the mornings, it's not you, it's me, I promise.


And a plug for tomorrow: It'll be my 100th post! Come back and check out this momentous occasion! There will be free popcorn and money for this historic event.

Sept. 7th, Piano!

For almost a year, I've been taking real piano lessons. I've taken lessons before, and for a decently long time, but this time has been lots of fun because I am basically able to choose whatever I want to play. In less than two months I'll be in my third recital since I started last October. I've been working on a really fun piece for the recital, and I'm trying to memorize it, but the chords and key modulate almost constantly. Anyway, I'm going to be ready by October if I put myself to the task.
It's a Halloween recital, so I chose a really fun piece called "The Addams Family Waltz" by Marc Shaiman. It's from the 1991 film and this particular piece doesn't have the familiar theme that everyone knows, but instead is a perfect sort of Dance Macabre. I've only found one video of someone playing the piece, and they do a pretty good job. Do you like it?

Another piece that I'm working on is one that I've been wanting to learn for years, so I'm glad that I have a teacher who can help me finally learn it. It's "Aunt Marge's Waltz" by John Williams. I've posted it about it before, but I'll post the video again...

I love this piece! It's bonkers. I think it will take a lot of practice to get it right and as fast as it's supposed to be, but I'm determined!

I'm also working on a piece called "Bells of Freedom" by Jon Schmidt, but I'm not going to post a video of that one. I'm not that big of a Jon Schmidt fan, and probably that's only the case because it seems like every single other Utahn just loves him and knows all his music and is also learning his pieces on the piano. That's pretty shallow of me, I guess. I will admit that some of his stuff is rather good, and I'm glad for the success of The Piano Guys. Beside all that, it's a piece that my teacher suggested, so I obliged.

The other stuff I'm working on is the nitty gritty... scales and arpeggios. Scales I'm not too bad at, but I'm working on arpeggios a bunch and not getting much better. In all the years of piano lessons, this is the first time I've ever done them, and they are not as easy as I wish. My biggest motivation to get them right is that there are a few pieces I'd like to learn that have some hefty arpeggios...so wish me luck!

I still try to write little music bits here and there, and even though I'm not very prolific, I still have fun with what I do. Here's a quick and short (and not too original) piece that you'll probably recognize pieces of...

I should try to add more to it since it's so short and simple. Any suggestions?

Hopefully if you read this blog I'm not boring you to death. If I am, let me know what I should blog about (but tell me nicely!).
See you tomorrow!