2012

Well, another year's gone by, and the world has yet to explode. Admittedly, it's tried pretty hard over the past year, but we're all still here.
I'm surprised to say it, but I'm actually very excited for the New Year to come in. The beginning of a new year is always a good chance to reflect back on what's changed over the past year. Just personally, I'm able to come up with a few.
1. I've been able to find some of THE MOST AMAZING friends- or discover that I already had them.
2. Diabetes diagnosis in April. That was fun, but I'm glad that it's turned out to be manageable.
3. Survived my first year of high school!
4. I chopped my hair. It's gone, and I'm pretty sure that the pixie is gonna stay for a while. Yay!
5. Had one cousin get back from a mission and another leave.
6. Had the cousin who got back get engaged- freaky in and of that if he's the oldest cousin, there's only 3 more between him and me.
7. Had my first boyfriend, and then dumped said boyfriend.

I'm sure there's plenty more, but I honestly don't want to list more than just the seven. There were good and bad parts to last year (I won't go into which was which), but overall it was a huge time of growth for me as a person, which is part of why I'm excited for 2012. I'm excited for the new opportunities that will come up through the year, especially as I begin to prepare for leaving home and choosing a college (a very scary thought).
So with that in mind, I've also come up with a list of goals for myself for 2012. Notice, I said GOALS, not RESOLUTIONS. Resolutions are a bit too absolute; goals leave room for editing and adjusting, and they're far more measurable to boot. Will I achieve each of them? No, I can already guarantee that I won't. But the important part is that I will have tried.

Goals for the Year 2012
1. Pay more attention not only to what I eat, but how it affects me.
2. Practice violin and/or viola at least 5 days a week.
3. Make a genuine effort to be kinder. Yes, this includes being overly sarcastic.
4. Excercise more, even if it's just for 1/2 an hour a week. It's more than I usually get anyways.
5. Stop procrastining long-term projects; if I have a spare moment work on them then rather than the night before they're due.
6. Blog at least once a week. That's right, I'm gonna make this a regular event!
7. Make more of my time- be genuinely focused on what I'm doing rather than thinking about other things to do.
8. Study more effectively- this applies to music, school, and the gospel.
9. Make sure that I always give things my best effort, regardless of a crap week or dinsterest.
10.Be more willing to use a camera- I never post any photos of my own on here, and the ones I do post turn out looking like crap anyways.
11. Be more creative. Find ideas online, and then DO something!
12. Be less afraid of being wrong.

Hopefully, I at least see some success! Wish me luck.!
And Happy 2012!

A Christmas Story

Only a week until Christmas Eve! In honor of the occaision, I'm posting a little snippet on what it one of my favorite Christmas movies of all time- A Christmas Story. While not every childhood is like Ralphie's, it does bring up those memories about Christmas when you were about 7 or 8. There was always that anticipation for that one certain gift that Santa would bring- you spent all month dreaming about what you were going to do with that toy. For Ralphie, of course, it was always his "Red Ryder BB gun with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time." This BB gun is legendary, and essentially is Ralphie's constant throughout the story. Of course there are other things- the quirks of the family. There's Rudy, who (quite literally) eats like a pig, his mother, and as always, the Old Man. This is the Old Man who was an oldmobile man, who mourned the loss of his leg lamp, and absolutely hated the Bumpuss's dogs. This the old man who "worked in profanities like other artists worked in clay. He was a master." And yes, this is THE movie which made (in my world at least) famous THE leg lamp. It always makes me laugh to see when people have strings of christmas lights that are leg-lamps, or have one in their living room window, just for christmas.

The movies we get to watch at Christmas, like The Grinch, Rudolph, The Polar Express, and A Christmas Carol are always such highlights to this season, but this movie especially is what makes it so much fun for me. I can't wait until I finally get the chance to sit down and watch the whole thing from beginning to end.

Return of the Cupcakes

Well, I'm back with the images of my venture into the cupcake-making world. Obviously, my skills are, as yet, unhoned. Technically, it worked. You see the green triangle in the middle of the one I spliced? That is my success. True, you can't really tell it's a Christmas Tree unless I tell you (by the way, it's a Christmas Tree), but you couldn't really tell it was a christmas tree when I put it in the cupcake anyways. The ideas was actually simple enough. -Make any sort of a sponge-cake batter. -Spoon out about 1/3 of the batter. Cover the rest and put it to the side or in the fridge; you'll need it later - With 1/3 in front of you, mix in several drops of food coloring. -Bake the 1/3 at the suggested temp. until the batter is just firm enough to hold it's shape. Take it out and allow it cool COMPLETELY. - Use VERY small cookie-cutters to cut out the shape you want. - Make a foundation from the remaining uncolored batter. Gentle put in your shape, then spoon more uncolored batter around it to make walls around your shape and support it. Your cupcakes should be about 2/3 full. -Bake until done. Be careful; the center is already mostly baked, and the rest of the batter will cook at a different rate then your cake recipe says it will! IF you actually try this, I wish you luck with getting a better shape then I did! I'll have to try this again and see if a simpler shape works better. And I'll have to practice my icing skills a bit more before then. We'll see, I'll try it until I get it right!

Holiday Baking Plans- Forestalled....

Well, sure enough, I'm back again! I'd had a plan- I was going to take pictures of these amazing cupcakes I was going to make yesterday and make you drool over their deliciousness. However, my honors and a.p. teachers had other ideas, so instead of making these objects of salivation, I worked hard to get my homework done. The good news is that I got all of my homework due this week done, so all of my homework from here on out won't have to get any new homework done until Saturday or Sunday. I'm not too grieved by this delay to my plans; I thought up a new scheme pretty quickly. My new plan is to make said cupcakes when I get home from the endocrinologist's tomorrow (ironic that they'll ask me if I'm eating healthy, isn't it?). So, hopefully, either tomorrow or Friday, I'll be able to take pictures of these delicious little creations so that you may be hungry with me.

The Holly and The Ivy

Well, I'm still obvioulsy in my Christmas mindset. I'm just excited! I love this time of year, despite it's being the busiest time of year. Last night was one of my many Yuletide performances, which I'm glad to say, went fairly well. One of my favorite pieces that we performed was the Mannheim Steamroller arrangement of The Holly and The Ivy. It was a bit odd to perform this in an orchestral setting (if you listen to the original, it's a wind piece), but it was a gorgeous piece, just the same.
There are times I could swear that out of all the months of the year, December is the month that my instruments see the most use. However, I'm far from complaining. I love Christmas, and I love music! Put the two together, and it's twice as awesome. So, I'm still very excited to perform all of these pieces over again, since we don't get to play them all the year through!

The Holiday Season

Wow, it's been a long time since I was on here. However, that may change. In the past few months, I've discovered several blogs that may get me posting my own thoughts and ideas more and more. So, here's the warning, you may suddenly be getting lots of alerts for random pictures, clothes, and recipes that I've fallen in love with, and don't want to post to facebook.
However, that's not my main reason for posting today. My main reason is that in the past few days, I've had thoughts bouncing around my head about Christmas and Thanksgiving as we transition from one to the next. I've decided I'm not nearly grateful enough for what I have. Christmas is not just a time of giving and joy, it's a time to give thanks for all that you've been blessed with, and I've been blessed in so many ways. Particularly in the last year, I've felt the guiding hand of the Lord so many times, as I transitioned schools and friends, and as my health declined and then got better. I'm grateful that I've got some of the most amazing friends and family in the world, and I know that they'll always be there for me. I'm grateful for the amazing friends that I had in Junior High, and that we are still friends, and I'm grateful for my new friends in High School. They are some of the most amazing band nerds you will ever meet.
I'm also grateful for my new day-to-day challenge. Diabetes isn't necessarily easy to live with, but it's manageable. I'm grateful I've been given this chance to reassess my entire life and see what needs a change. I'm grateful for the love I've found from everyone as I've adjusted, and for the support they still give. I'm grateful that I'll probably end up being the worlds greatest health freak, and that now I'll always have a reason to take care of myself. I'm grateful for my family, I couldn't do this every day without them.
Above all, at this special time of year, I'm greatful for my Savior. He's been there to support me through this time of trial. The past year has probably been the hardest of my life so far, and I know that if not for my testimony of Him, I would have fallen by the Wayside about a year ago. His Spirit continues to build me, and I'm grateful for this time where we're given the chance to celebrate His birth, and that for one month of the year, we are all able to focus all of our energies into loving our fellow man and learning of the Savior.
Merry Christmas! I hope you all are blessed with peace and joy this season!