Christmas!

Hello all!

It's Christmas!  Well, yesterday was Christmas, but still!  It's so exciting!

I'll go ahead and skip to the good stuff.  The presents.  :)

We had some really great gift giving going on this year.  Now, I for one thought that the best and my favorite reaction was going to be the family's reaction to all the grandkids buying a new toilet and faucet for the cabin (you see, the old folk were complaining about the crack in the toilet seat and how it kept pinching their bums and then Granny complained about the water stains the sink had because of the dripping faucet... Us grandkids listen well).  However, this was definitely not the best reaction.

The parents got Grandma and Grandpa Berger an iPad.  If you know my Grandpa at all, you know he was livid.  There was a solid ten minutes of him shaking his head at this gift.  He had just got done telling Granny that she wasn't allowed to have one because she would never accomplish anything around the house.  Hahahaha, jokes on him.  BUT, this still wasn't the best reaction.

My absolute favorite and all-time best Christmas reaction goes to my wonderful mother.  Mike and I secretly bought Mother a Kindle.  She was definitely surprised.  Not only was there the classic gasp and wide-eyed situation, but there was tears.  A LOT OF TEARS.  And of course, Mike and I just giggled. Because we're weird like that.  Best reaction ever.

Oh! And my lovely cousin Bridget was wonderful as always and gave me a wonderful scarf with a quote written on it.  So classy and so lovely.  :)

I hope everyone had the best Christmas ever and their time spent with families and friends was magnificent and full of memories!

That's all for now.  Happy reading.  Stay excellent, Me. :)

Cousinly Love

Hello once again!

This past weekend, my cousins and I ventured to our other cousin Danielle's apartment in Wilmington.  There was pizza, beers, the kitty cat, and of course some tears (and yes, I did just spend on moment on making that rhyme).  It was a great time.  And somehow we all ended up in the bathroom, again.  Not doing what you are probably assuming, but hugging and laughing and spilling drinks and it was just a weird situation.

Kimi and Tila went to the store, so we had a tiny photo shoot. :)

Whiskers!

My favorite part was probably my strange and awkward conversations on my phone, thanks to  Paige.  My apologies to all affected (or is it effected? I really don't know).  

Saturday night we met up at La Fiesta for Bridget's birthday dinner!  My favorite place.  Seriously.  And the fried ice cream is just wonderfully delicious.  

Happy Birthday Bridget!!!

This is a short post.

More to come on this wonderful break.

Happy reading.  Stay excellent, Me.

Where did the time go?

I am officially home sweet home for the holiday break!  FINALLY.

As I lay in my bed, and by my bed I mean MY bed.  The one that I have known since I was a little girl and probably threw up in several times and peed in as well, but neither of those things are that important.. or relevant to this post.. or sanitary for that matter.  ANYWAY, I'm home.  And as I lay here, I can't help but wonder, where did the time go?

I have successfully completed the fall semester of my second year of college.  Not only does this mean that I'm one semester closer to graduating, but I'm also one semester closer to Spain.  I have several friends (S/O to Nicole, Katelyn and Evan!) who are going abroad next semester, and it just seems so crazy to me that it happened so fast!  I literally feel like the semester started three weeks ago, not a whole semester!

But I guess I'm okay with being at home for awhile.  When I start to think about Spain, I always think about my family.  I am SOOOOOOO beyond excited to be able to live a year away from everything I've ever known and to be able to start over and be whatever I want to be, but a little tiny piece of me, somewhere way down in the pit of my being, the size of the little dust speck from Horton Hears a Who, is a tiny pang of guilt.

HOW CAN I LEAVE MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR AND SURVIVE?

Then I remember.  I'm awesome.  It's as simple as that.  I'm awesome and I know I can do anything I put my mind to.  Whether that be tackling a foreign country for a year with my pal Jody, or actually finishing a painting for once.  I can do it.  Simply because I'm awesome.

Sorry for tooting my own horn there for a second, but TOOT TOOT!  (You knew that was coming.  I'm too witty to not throw that in there, let's be real.)

On a lighter note, I'm super stoked (do people say that anymore?  Not that I'm old, but did that word ever actually happen? I don't know.) to be spending my 3 and 1/2 weeks at home with nothing on my agenda but painting, reading, baking, and spending time with the most wonderful people ever.  That includes you.  Yes, you.  The person reading this blog, because if you're cool enough to read my thoughts, I think you're cool enough to be graced by my presence.

Now, that my friends, THAT is what you call a conceited blogger.  WHOOPS.

Stay tuned for a special post about my Boo Boo and of course, wonderful times spent with family and friends.

Happy reading.  Stay excellent, Me. :)

P.S.  Good luck to Nicole, Katelyn, and Evan with their travels to Spain!  Keep me posted! :)

Finals week!

Wow, I have seriously been slacking.  Seriously. My apologies.

So here's what you missed:

Last weekend I went on a party bus for my friend Kyle's 21st birthday, and it was legitimately the best night ever.  I got to spend so much time with my boo boo and Jeffy!  I love them.  Enjoy these wonderful pictures and their impressive quality:

Natalie and Boo Boo!

Boo Boo!

Taylor... and a duck!

So there you have it.  Next up, what college folk like to call "hell week".  The week filled with last minute projects thrown at you by every professor and exams even though you have a final the next week.  It's just awful.  This girl, well she was productive.  I'm so proud of myself.  My to do list consisted of 17 items.  I completed 16 of the 17 by Thursday night.  That's crazy talk.  And the last item?  It took me until 3 hours ago to complete it.  It was rough.  

Why would one stress themselves out so much the week before finals, you might ask?  Well, I promised myself I would complete my to do list or I wasn't allowed to go to Dayton on Friday night for a sweater party.  And we all know how  much I love sweaters, especially the ugly ones.  So I accomplished that list, with flying colors.  I should bribe myself more often.. 

Enjoy a few snap shots:

Brooke, Ashlin, Taylor, and Lindsey!

Brooke and Val!

That was a great night as well.  I just wish a certain someone who's name starts with M and ends with arisa would have been there! (Hello by the way!)  A nice S/O to Aaron Eilerman for being a wonderful host as well!  And Jeffy Grilliot for entertaining us on the car ride home!

And now for Saturday night.  The last weekend in BG.  Of course I had to spend it with the one and only Jodi Wellman.  This girl keep me on my toes.  I won't share our story of Saturday night because it's more of her story to tell, but it ended with an adorable roomie sleepover and a movie the next day.  Great end to a stressful semester.  

Just look how cute we are. 

And that's pretty much all you missed.  Oh! Except for an awkward encounter I had tonight.. but we might save that one for next week.  It's a little too fresh in my mind right now.  Too salty still.  

Until Sunday, happy reading.  Stay excellent, ME. :)

P.S.  Good luck to everyone on finals! See all my wonderful hometown friends soon!

Thanksgiving Part II

Hi hi hi! Happy Thanksgiving! Again.

So here's the scoop:  I have had one of the best weekends ever.  For real.

Thursday was Thanksgiving, and we all know how wonderful that day is with food, family, and of course a ton of shopping preparations.  I was a little concerned with the amount of options I was going to have that were vegetarian friendly, but Grandma Berger's was a feast.  My plate was just as full as everyone else's (regrettably) and there was even WINE.  I love me some wine (and mixed with a splash of 7-UP seemed to knock out that dreaded headache I always get).

Anyway...  After dinner, which consisted of jokes all around and accidentally causing Jonas to cry (again), I sat calmly on the couch with Lover (aka Bridget) and I started leafing through all the ads just for fun.  And then I saw it.  The most perfect camera ever.  On sale.  At target.  After some slight hesitation, we jumped off the couch and ran around telling parents where we were going and why.  The verdict?  Mother got on the computer and less than 5 minutes later, I had a new camera at half price and with free shipping.  MAGICAL.

Bridget and I went to Target anyway just to make fun of the crazies, but the line to get in was wayyyyyy too long and we gave up on that idea.  But it was a nice car ride anyway.

Friday was the highlight of the weekend.  I got to make cheesy vegetable chowder with Bridget!  Turns out that vegetable stock has yeast in it.  Translation: it has gluten and that meant Mim and Pap could not eat it.  Bridget sucked it up and enjoyed a bowl of soup with me anyway.  And some ice cream too.  All while watching Sleeping Beauty.  We live exciting lives.  After my much needed time with Bridget, I went to Ashlina's and we drove up with a group to a friend's lake house at St. Mary's.  We had a classy group of people,  a ton of time, and no worries on our mind.  Such a laid back night with tons of fun!  It's the nights like these that make me not want to go back to school.  Ever.

Last night was spent with some of my oldest friends and my cousins.  Paige, Kimi, Danielle, Bridget, and myself ventured to The Cheesecake Factory for a dinner and just time for ourselves.  Loved it.  And our waitress thought we were witty.  That makes me smile.  Then we ventured to Coley's and played mafia and a combination of telephone and pictionary.  It was strange, but fun.  Well, it was fun until everything turned into male reproductive parts and Oen.  Then it just got a little too inappropriate for my liking.. but still a little humorous.

Random side note: Seether is an amazing group to listen to.  Especially Rise Above This and Broken.  Check it out.

As for today... I'm sulking.  I don't want to go back to school.  I want the semester to be over already and to be able to just relax and worry about Christmas presents.  Cause I still have a lot to get and to make and we all know I won't actually get them done until the day before Christmas.  Procrastination at its finest.

I believe that's all I have to say for now.  This was a solid post.  I'm pretty proud of myself.

Happy reading.  Stay excellent, Me. :)

Thanksgiving- Part 1

Well hellllllllooooo there!

Yes, it is 5:53 am right now.  Yes, I did just get home from school finally.  Yes, I did just make tofu meatballs for the first time.  And yes, I will share with you my journey (like usual).

But first, I found these on the kitchen table, and I put them on.  I'm adorable.

So the balls (I will continue to refer to them as this.. simply because I can.  I hope you don't mind...) aren't actually finished yet.  Now don't get your panties in a bunch just yet, they're cooking as we speak, or type/read, however you'd like to phrase that.  They smell absolutely delicious however.

My lovely brother had to work this evening at the bar so we weren't able to leave Bowling Green until around 3am.  (The fact that I'm up right now is probably making a little more sense to you at this point.) I took the liberty of driving so I went to bed around 9:30 and set my alarm for 2am.  That is dedication.

I meant to make the meatballs at school, I had all the ingredients all ready to go so I could make them when I got off work today (well yesterday.. I don't know.  It's confusing!) but then I completely forgot! I mean completely.  I didn't even think about it until I got on the interstate and started thinking about what I was going to do when we got home (because sleeping seemed kind of silly after I slept for the night already).  I was mad to say the least.

So I made a pit stop.  WalMart in Sidney, Ohio at 4 am is not pleasant.  It was so empty and eerie, and there were a few Mom's who had that crazy look in their eyes with turkey's in their shopping carts that really had me worried.

I just flipped the balls.  They look great.

So back to the point, the making of the balls.  It was super easy.  For real this time, and it didn't take me hours like my cheesy vegetable soup (which I just ate the last of today for lunch).  Here's the link: Tofu Meatballs Recipe

Basically, you combine everything together at once and then form the balls.

19 oz. firm tofu (I only bought one container of 14 oz.)
1/4 C. chopped onions
1/2 C. Italian style bread crumbs
1/4 C. egg beaters
1 Tbsp. Soy sauce (which I just realized I forgot to add.. Whoops)
1/4 C. Parm. cheese, grated
1 Tbsp. parsley
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. oregano

AND THEY ARE FINISHED!
But I'm kind of terrified to try them.  Don't judge me!  I had to squish up that tofu and let me tell you, that texture is not something you want to touch.  Ever. So now I'm concerned that the texture will also be icky in my mouth. I'll just finish them with some BBQ sauce in a crock pot (and let Paige taste them first) and hopefully my family won't be afraid to try them!

Happy reading.  Stay excellent, Me. :)

P.S. Happy Thanksgiving!

Sunday once again..

Happy Sunday!

No food today, I decided that it was productive to stay in bed until 12 and then get up to do homework, so I don't really have time.  Plus, I'm going to dinner at El Zarape with Sam and Sarah for Sarah's birthday! (I might just make a half-batch of the cheesy vegetable chowder though, just because I can't live without it. WHOOPS!)

This past week went by soooooo fast!  I'm so happy it did though, Thanksgiving couldn't come soon enough.  I can't wait to eat entirely too much food, and spend entirely too much time with my family.

Last week was my brother's birthday and yesterday was my dad's.  Both of whom are very important people in my life.  I'll spare you the sappy details, but this is a shout-out to both of them!  Happy Birthday old farts!

In other news, I had a wonderful stay in the Wood County emergency room last Thursday night.  Now don't go and panic just yet, I'm writing this post now, so it couldn't have been too bad, right? Right.  Well sort of.

I had this AWFUL pain in the left side for about two days before I finally couldn't stand it.  So I dragged Sam and Sarah (S/O for being the best friends ever!) along with me to the ER to find out what was going on.  Four hours, a few blood tests, a urine sample, a chest x-ray, and an EKG later, the doctor tells me, "Well, all your tests all clear.  I'm stumped."  WHAT? So the kind doctor sends me on my way with a prescription for some extra strength Advil (which I didn't fill because he made me so angry with all his dumb tests and cold hospital room stuff) and tells me to check in at the health center on campus if it continues.  Great, thanks for your assistance.

Back to a happier note, I seriously can't wait for Thanksgiving.  I just want some mashed potatoes sooooo bad!  It dawned on my yesterday, when Jodi, one of my roommates, was making stuffing for a thanksgiving party she had here at school that a lot of dishes at Thanksgiving contain meat or have some kind of broth in them that comes from meat.  For example, the turkey.  Obviously.  Then there's the gravy for your potatoes which definitely contains the juices from said turkey.  Next, we have the stuffing, containing not only the turkey juices but also some bits of turkey as well, and last but not least, the salad, which will contain bacon because my family is literally filled with carnivores.

So, I'm going to try to convince Paige to help me make some tofu meatballs that the family can enjoy (and so we don't starve).  Wish us luck!

Happy reading.  Stay excellent, Me. :)

"Sunday" dinner: hectic weekend = lazy day..

The most exhausting weekend of my life.

Pay attention, it gets a little bit confusing. Good luck.

Friday night, my brother and I begin our drive home, realizing twenty minutes into the drive that he has forgotten his black dress shoes, Mike makes me turn around and go back to BG.  Mind you, if I would have forgotten something (ANYTHING) we would never go back for it.  Anyway, we finally make it home and I change quickly and meet my cousins Paige and Kimi and our friend Coley at the local watering hole to celebrate Paige's 23rd birthday.  She's an old fart now.

Saturday morning, sadly my family and I had to attend a funeral of a very dear man.  He was one of a kind, that's for sure.  One of my dad's best friends and the kindest hearted man I've ever met.  Why this added to my exhaustion this weekend, should be self-explanatory.

Saturday afternoon/evening, I got to spend some much needed time with my favorite (don't tell the others) cousin, Bridget!  We had all intentions of baking a marvelous cake and decorating it in a weird yet splendid way, however, neither one of us was in a "cake" mood.  What did we do instead, you ask?    We watched Beauty and the Beast and ripped apart the sentimental ending in the following way,

Me: "I wonder where all those people came from?" (referring to the end segment where they are all human and dancing at a ball)
Bridget: "Probably from the village"
Me: "But they didn't like him"
Bridget: "They didn't like her either.  They thought she was rather peculiar."
Me: "Hypocrites."

(referring to the stain glass window that pops up)
Me: "That's a new window."
Bridget: "Yea, I wonder how much that cost them.."

We also made glutin free, homemade pizza.  And it was delish.  Be jealous.  So delicious in fact, we had to take a break between pieces to allow for proper digestion and to make room for more goodness.  After our food comas passed, we watched The Lion King, which we also ruined with our pesky commentary and ridiculous gas noises that were coming from Bridget (oh Joann, how embarrassing!)

Saturday late evening, I got to spend some time with my Boo Boo, Ashlina.  And of course some other rats we graduated with.  The evening was splendid.  And I got to see Jeffy!  He's also my favorite.

Sunday began, and I was dreading it.  Homework day.  I accomplished one lesson plan and my final field task paper before we went out to my grandparents' cabin.  We enjoyed some nice grilled vegetables on a stick (us vegetarians that is) and everyone else chowed down with chicken, pork, and some mysterious other stuff.  I don't know.  After dinner we were informed that the cabin was placed into a trust sort of thingy.  Long story short, in 50 plus years when all our parents have passed, the grandkids inherit the cabin and the land.  There's no monetary value, but only shares.  So it should stay in the family for a very long time.  This makes me extremely happy, and our family is extremely blessed to have such a place in our possession.

Here's where the trainwreck begins.

Sunday evening, upon returning to Bowling Green, I went into my brothers house to get my van/apartment keys.  I could not find them.  Panic didn't set in just yet, though.  I checked a few places that keys would usually be in his house like the kitchen drawer, Mike's desk, the desk drawers, on top of both refrigerators, etc.  Then the panic sets in.  I check the van to see if its unlocked, it's not.  I look inside it to see if the keys are locked in, they aren't.  Mike asks his roommates if they have seen them, they haven't.  And then I began to cry.  Sobbing.  Sitting on my brother's bed while there's a party going on in his living room and he doesn't know what to do and I don't know what to do and it's just a giant mess.  His consoling words? "Why are you freaking out?"  I DON'T KNOW, MY KEYS ARE MISSING? But of course I kept my composure and managed to squeeze between sobs that I was just "tired" and "stressed" like any other girl would do.  So I take Mike's car to my apartment to get my spare van key.  On the way I sob on the phone to my mother about what happened, but she can't understand me so I ended up getting angry and telling her again in real words what happened.  Then I had to explain it to my roommate Jodi, and guess what? Yep.  I cried again.  But wait! There's more!  I had made plans with my roommate from last year to dye her hair, but I had to call her and tell her I couldn't anymore, and the tears began again.  Finally, I returned to Mike's and as I walk in the door I get his text that says he found my keys!  And you know what's coming this time, don't you? Yea, I cried again.  So happy that my keys were safe, I couldn't help but cry again.

So finally I make it back to my apartment, and Sam came over so I could dye her hair, then we got some yummy taco bell.  I crawled into my bed after watching some ridiculously stupid television show for about an hour, and I just passed out.  Crying is exhausting.  I recommend it to all who are struggling to fall asleep at night.  It's magical.

As for my dinner, I'm probably going to have a leftover baked potato.  I can't exert any more energy this weekend.  Thank goodness Thanksgiving is so close.  For real.

That's all.  Happy reading.  Stay excellent, Me. :)

Sunday Dinner: Catch up! Halloween, Birthdays, and Skype Dates

Hello there.  

So, I didn't post last weekend.  And I felt guilty about it all week, but I couldn't post on a random day and mess up my whole Sunday dinner thing.  I blame it on the fact that I didn't cook anything last Sunday for dinner, so there.  Lo siento. 

Here's what you missed:

Last weekend was Halloween/Beth's 21st birthday!  It was an absolute blast.  For real.  Friday I went out as Snow White and met up with some coworkers and we just had a jolly good time. Saturday was just... well it was a 21st birthday party, you get the idea.  Enjoy our lovely faces:

Cayla, Kortney, and myself.

Birthday girl Beth, Kelly, Jodi, and me!

The following Monday, we had Big/Little reveal with Alpha Phi Omega!  My family (the Fierce Fam) made shirts for our littles and ourselves.  It was so much fun.  My little was so excited to finally meet me too, so it was worth the wait and the surprise to see her reaction.  Everyone's Little's were so excited and the whole experience is just wonderful.  It's great to have someone in the chapter that you know you can go to with your problems or concerns.  I love that it's meant to be a mentorship, but in most cases, it turns into a lifelong connection.  

Meet my little Grace!

And finally, this weekend's adventures!  I hung out with my friend Sarah from my french class for the first time.  I met all of her friends and got to jam to some classy music!  I love meeting new people at random places too, so the night was perfect.  Funny story:  We were both talking about how we find the hockey player in our french class very attractive, and suddenly this guy (who's name I can't remember now because I was so concerned about how identical he looked to the hockey hunk) comes walking in the door!  Needless to say, we forced the poor guy into a photo shoot with us and called him Scott all night.  Oops.

Scott?!

And last night.  Last night was a keeper.  It was Dani's 21st birthday!  She decided to throw an ABC party (anything but clothes), so me and my friends went as a birthday theme!  I dressed up in wrapping paper, Sarah and Amber wore gift bags, and Sam had on a giant plastic party bag!  I wore my dress for an hour without having any problems (besides being able to sit down or bend at all) and then I had to get in the car.  Worst nightmare.  I ripped a whole right on my butt! I was soooooo upset!  But not to worry, there was extra tape!  I got it all patched up, just to realize that I had to pee.  That's a whole other story though.  I'll spare you the details.  

Sam, Sarah, Amber, Me.

Today I finally got to see the beautiful face of Sarah Watters!  I missed this girl so much!  If you look back at my post about my summer job as a camp counselor, you'll see her in that one too!  She seriously cracks me up.  We started talking about camp and how she's going to go back again this summer.  I was  so sad and jealous, because she received an email asking her to come back as a counselor.  And then it happened.  As I was scrolling through my emails, I saw it.  I also received this email!  How exciting?!  They want me back! (Again, if you read the post about my camp experience, you'll understand why this is so exciting and surprising.)  So now I have tough decisions to make ahead, and so much to think about with my future, and my credibility, and just everything.  Ugh.  These next few weeks will be some rough ones, you can count on that.  

On a lighter note though, Sarah and I discovered that our awkward friendship at camp has continued to grow.  She now asks random people and friends if they have an awkward face.  Yep.  She does it.  So I would just like to share with you the famous awkward face that made its debut at Lake of the Woods Summer Camp in 2012.  Drum roll please.....

There you have it folks.  The best face ever.  Probably better than Jenna Marbles version of "the face".  Look it up.  It's funny too.  And of course, I'll share her beautiful face with you again:

I love her.  A lot.

There's a lot of photos in this post.  Wow.  I hope you like them.

And as for dinner, I don't know what I'm making yet, but it's going to be something good.  I can feel it. 

Happy reading.  Stay excellent, Me. :)

Sunday dinner: Lasagna

Oh my goodness.  I am sleepy.  So sleeeeeepy.  And ill.  Somehow I have contracted this gross congestion in my right nostril, and it hurts a lot.  I have to go to chapter as well.  Ugh.  It just took me over 2 hours to write a two page reflection.  That's absolutely ridiculous and absurd.  

I don't have much to say either.  I'm sick as a dog.  BUT, I did finish my halloween costume today!  I bought red shoes at Charming Charlie's and a blue sweater from Charlotte Rousse, to accompany my yellow tutu and red tights.  Snow White is officially complete.  Well, except for the red ribbon bow that I need to hot glue to my red headband, but thats a minor detail really.  Here it is:

Yay!  I'm super excited!

I made lasagna for dinner today.  It was delicious.  But now I have a huge pan of lasagna that I have to fit in the refrigerator and somehow eat over the course of the next week.  Wish me luck.

That's all.  Happy reading.  Stay excellent, Me.

Sunday Dinner! Tomato Tortellini Soup

Another amazing soup recipe. Seriously.  I don't know why I've never made soup before now.  It's kind of depressing thinking about the nineteen and a half years I've lived without these two soups.

So here it is:

Tomato Tortellini Soup <-- I linked the recipe here!

1 package (9oz.) refrigerated cheese tortellini (I used spinach and cheese)

2 cans (10 3/4 oz. each) tomato soup, undiluted

2 cups vegetable broth

2 cups 2% milk (I used 1%.. haha)

1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (I wish I would have only used 1/4 cup)

1 tsp. onion powder (which I spilled all over myself by the way)

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Additional shredded cheese for topping

Cook the tortellini according to packaging directions.  In another pot, combine the soup, broth, milk, cream, tomatoes and seasonings.  Heat through, stir in cooked and drained pasta carefully.  Add cheese.  Sprinkle each serving with additional cheese if desired.

There you have it folks.  A soup that didn't take me three hours to make.  But chopping those pesky little tomatoes was difficult.  

So here's what's up.  

No epiphanies today.  Boo.  However, an old friend came back into my life recently.  A sign?  I would like to think so.  Especially after my last epiphany.  

That's really all I had to say.  Oh, and as I wrote this and ate my soup, I realized that the soup really isn't that good.  Leave out the tomatoes altogether.  And cut the seasoning in half.  Enjoy.

Happy reading.  Stay Excellent, ME.

Sunday Dinner 2: A New Meaning to "Lick the Bowl Clean"

Well hello there once again.  As promised I have began cooking again on this wonderful Sunday morning, but I'm cheating.  Don't be mad!  That cheesy vegetable chowder was so good that I had to make it again.  I had to.  (Plus I had leftover veggies from last week that I needed to use up.)

With that being said, I guess you could say part of the reason I made it again was because, like I said last week, I had an epiphany.  So I guess I was sort of hoping I would have another.  Well, it worked.  Sort of.  Let me explain:

As I was chopping the onions I began to tear up (obviously, those onions get me every time), except after I finished the onions I realized that it kind of felt nice to cry for a minute.  So like any girl would do, I cried again.  All over the celery and carrots.  I wasn't really sure why I was crying, I think I just sort of needed a good cry.  But then it hit me: BAM.  I made the same soup and wanted another epiphany because I'm a baby and still haven't taken action with my last epiphany.  Rough, I know.  So as I was crying, I decided that the actions needed to take place.  And they needed to take place now, and when I say now I mean a week ago.  I can't cry over silly things and people in my life that don't respect me or appreciate me.  

Time to move on.  

Time to let it go.

So there you have it boys and girls.  My second epiphany on my second Sunday dinner.  That's pretty impressive if you ask me.  

Now I need to eat some DELICIOUS chowder and make this pretty face happy again:

Maybe I should have put some make up on.. I don't know.  

I'm going to promise again that I will make a post about the JDRF walk soon and now one about my leeeeetle cousins' last homecoming!  They grow up so fast!  *sighhhhhh

That's all for now.  Happy reading.  Stay excellent.  ME. :)

P.S.  Here's the link for the recipe just in case you don't want to go to my old post: Lulu the Baker

Sunday Dinner- Cheesy Vegetable Chowder!

I have officially decided that I am going to try a new recipe every sunday for Sunday Dinner at the Copper Castle.  This is exciting!!!

So before I go into the details of my chowder, I would like to explain why I'm going to do this.  I've been having a hard time finding time to just sit and think.  I'm too wrapped up in my job and my homework and everything else around me, I just need some time to relax.  So I had a thought today: Cooking.  I always used to love cooking at home on the weekend.  Making some cookies or a cake or even better, cupcakes with Bridget.  So I'm going to spend my Sunday afternoons cooking Sunday Dinner instead of whatever else I had in mind.  This will be good.  (Plus, I'm hoping it will make me actually post every week instead of when I randomly find time!)

Today I woke up at 7:19.  I was wee bit irritated that I woke up so early on my only day to sleep in for the week (I went to the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes event on Saturday morning with Bridget and Mim, but I'll post about that later this week hopefully).  So instead of actually getting out of bed and being productive, I got on Pinterest and began looking through all the yummy recipes that I've pinned.  And the Cheesy Vegetable Chowder was the winner.  

A fellow pinner/blogger actually had the recipe posted on her site, so you can see it here (since it was her idea and all): Lulu the Baker

But  I'll also share it with you here:

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder

2 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup finely chopped carrots

1 celery stick, finely chopped (feel free to add more celery if you like)

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

4 cups chicken broth (I usually use a mixture of low-sodium chicken broth and broth made with chicken soup base because it gives it such a nice flavor)

2 large baking potatoes

1 Tablespoon flour

1/2 cup water

2/3 cup milk

2 cups chopped broccoli

2 heaping cups shredded cheddar cheese

Melt the butter in a large soup pot.  Add onion, carrots, and celery and sauté over medium heat until tender.  Add garlic and cook 1 or 2 additional minutes.  Add chicken broth and potatoes, bring to a boil, and cook until potatoes are tender.  Mix flour with water, add, and simmer until soup is slightly thickened.  Add milk and broccoli and cook until broccoli is just tender and soup is heated through.  Stir in cheese, allow to melt, and serve.

So of course I made some changes, duh.  I do have the tendency to eat like a herbivore.  Instead of chicken broth, I used vegetable stock, and I added about 1/2 cup more cheese.  I also didn't peel my potatoes, just because I forgot. Oops.  And of course I added more celery, along with carrots and onions as well (what can I say?  I love my veggies!)  Other than that, I did everything else according to the recipe.

Here's the process:

Chopping all my veggies with my teeny, tiny knife.

My wonderful substitute. 

Boiling away..

The broccoli is for real going to be my favorite part.. except for the cheese. :)  But it also took the longest to get tender... and the recipe made me add it last.  I was a little irritated.

Dinner rolls to serve warm with it!

And, drum roll please..................... 

The finished product!

And I just tasted it.  I want to marry this chowder.  For real.  

All in all, I would say it was a very productive thinking and cooking session.  Especially since the blog said it would only take my 40-60 minutes, but it took me about 90 minutes.  Oops.  Dinner is going to be delicious and I had an epiphany about my life as well.  Good job, Kelsey, good job. :)

Happy reading.  Stay excellent, Me.

I almost forgot!

I almost forgot that I wanted to share this cute little tune with you all:

Cue tears now...

Now go cry yourself to sleep thinking about your childhood. You're welcome.

Another one of those things called posts...

Welp..

I just had another one of those moments where I write an entire post about something and then realized at the end that it was pointless and no one cares about what I tweeted this morning.  Oops.

So yea.. My life.  It's definitely interesting I guess.  Nothing really to note right now though.  (I'm really just stalling until I think of something really cool to talk about.. or have to go to class.  Whichever comes first.)

OH!
I got one.

This past weekend we, meaning my roommates and I, hosted a Beer Tower party!  It was a blast.  Seriously.  And not to toot my own horn, but TOOT!  I won!  Well, sort of.  I technically tied with the neighbor boys and maybe I started a few hours before everyone else.. and maybe I stayed up later than everyone else as well... but hey, I made some sacrifices!  I even paused to make cookies with Pat (S/O to Pat for putting up with me.. I faintly remember dropping A LOT of things. Oops.)

We also managed to get our clock stolen by one of my brother's friends.  It's still missing.  And I'm salty about it.  GIVE IT BACK DYLAN.

........  So that definitely wasn't as exciting or as long as I thought it was going to be.  But at least I attempted to entertain you all (which basically includes Marisa, Bridget, and my mother.  Hi Mom.)

The End.

Happy reading.  Stay Excellent.  ME.

P.S.   I hope you all thoroughly enjoy the fact that I share every thought that runs through my mind as I post.  I find it quite humorous when I proof read.  :)

La la la.. :)

I just really love this song.  A lot. So I thought I would share it with all of you. :)

I Won't Give Up- Jason Mraz

Stay excellent, Me.

A little thing I like to call MAJOR Catching Up.

Oh goodness.  I need to write an outline or something for this post.  It's about to be rough. So bear with me, and hopefully no one gets lost or left behind. Cross your fingers.

Ok, so I guess I'll begin where I left off last; Camp.

I met the most amazing people at camp.  I never thought I would connect with people from all over the world in such a short period of time.  The first show, The Wizard of Oz, went very well.  It was a little rougher than expected, but the kids had a blast so I'm happy about it.  The first 4 weeks of camp went by so quickly that I was shocked to have to say goodbye to my campers!  They were like my little sisters who I adored and led day by day.  They even taped me to my bed after The Wizard of Oz, just to be silly!  The next session began and it was off to a rocky start.  The directors decided to move me to the 2 week camp so that I would have more time to work on our show, Snow White.  I had to start completely over with making friends and connecting with my co counselors and supervisors.  I adjusted as quickly as possible and made another great connection with this group of people; too well of a connection I'm afraid.  As some of you may noticed, I was home from camp a little early.  When our 2 week campers left, some of my new friends and I decided to celebrate.  Well, long story short, it was a big mistake that got us in a lot of trouble.  So five of us were sent home from camp 2 weeks early.  But I wouldn't change a thing.  It was my decision to behave that way; yes I regret making those decisions, but everything happens for a reason.  I had the best last night at camp ever.  That's something I'll never take back.  My first co counselors were Kate and Jesse.  I absolutely adore them!  We had the best time ever!  So many great memories and stories to remember forever.  Kate taught Jesse and I the ropes of camp and the three of us had the happiest, most easy-going cabin in camp!  Kate was even there for my first and only incident of being pulled over (nothing came of that, just a nosey cop who pulled us over because I was "swerving within my lane", bologna.)  My second set of co's were Shelby, Bec, and Jaclyn.  Loved them!  And then there's this odd one named Sarah that taught me tennis, and supported my awkwardness.  Love her as well.  Enjoy the following photos: 

2 week co counselors (l to r): Shelby, me, our counselor in training Juliet, Bec, and Jaclyn

We mustache you a question, but we'll shave it for later.  Jesse!

Knit one, pearl two, Kate Tamer this is for you.  Where's there a jungle, you'll find a monkey.  Kate Tamer, chase that donkey! :)  Me, Kate, and Sarah. 

Our cute little cabin, all packed up and waiting for campers to leave after 1st session.

Sarah, my tennis playing lover.

Lauren and I, in our Katniss moment at the archery range. 

Yes, we loved the food there. :/  

Camp entrance!!! With Lauren, myself, Sally, and Hannah.

Love Kate. A lot.

Sarah and Jesse. :)

Pretending to be Snow White. 

After my campers taped me to my bed.. little turds.

Last but certainly not least, I would love to comment on these two weirdos that somehow became the highlight of my summer.  They kept me entertained while road guarding, kept me filled in on gossip, and kept me sane during the show!  Sarah and Amanda, you are literally the best things ever!  Don't ever change.  Be yourself and reach high!  Sarah, go after Umans.  I support that.  Amanda, keep your eyes on those Shawnees!  :)  (P.S. this photo captures their personalities so well)

Also, enjoy these wonderful looking men doing some weird dance that I can't remember.  It's something they use to intimidate their opponents, or something.. ?

Ok, so after camp, I basically came home to tell the embarrassing story to my family and friends (happy Marisa?) and to spend time with everyone!  Alumni tournament was the weekend after I got home and I enjoyed every minute of that!  Seriously, best time ever.  Especially our night at Eric's filled with grilling pizza, taking jeep rides, and some serious sleeping issues. Ha! 

Lauren, my partner in crime. 

Now I'm back at school, in my big girl apartment, with a big girl job, and big girl responsibilities... But we all know I'm still having fun! Here's an insight into my first two weeks at BG: basically, some friends from good ol' Versailles came the first weekend, and this past weekend I ran into my APhiO brothers out and about! Great time.  

Eric, Amanda (way back there), Aaron, Shelby, Me, Brett, Brian, and Eric (way back there).

Alan, Ashley, Amber, Me, Jenn, Sean, Kara, and Haley! 

And I think that's a pretty good description of the rest of my summer.  I loved it.  All of it.  And I hope you enjoyed hearing all about it.  That's all. 

 Happy reading, stay excellent.  Me.

Oy Sugar...

So I can sit here and type up a long list of reasons why I haven't posted lately, but I think in the end I would consider myself lying to you all.  Here's the truth: I'm exhausted by the responsibility of 14 eleven year olds.  Along with the responsibility of making the production of Snow White a success in approximately 2 and 1/2 weeks.  Yep.  So more later.

Happy Reading, stay excellent. Me.

Campers! :)

Hi again!

The campers have arrived! Yay!

So here's the situation, Monday was our first day with the campers.  Some arrived around 11am with their parents in cars, some arrived around 1pm on a bus from Chicago, and then our last two campers arrived at 1:30 or so on the Detroit bus.  It was soooo exciting!  All the girls are so sweet and adorable! I had to leave on Tuesday morning for a family thing back home, but when I returned Wednesday afternoon/evening, the girls had made me a cute card that said welcome back and they sang a song to me at dinner saying welcome back and they missed me.  It was so cute.  I made it back just in time for my last activity period on Wednesday so I got to teach an acting class for the first time.  It was great! I'm so excited for the summer to get rolling and for all the campers to really get excited for the play!  

Happy reading! Stay Excellent, Me. 

Lake of the Woods Summer Camp!

Hello all!!!

So, I have a few things to address in here.  

As some of you may know, my summer job is taking place at a summer camp in Decatur, Michigan.  So my posts are not going to be very often at all.  Sorry in advance.

I arrived at camp on Sunday and have been meeting tons of new people.  So many in fact, I can't even remember any of their names.  Oops. Anyway, I got my cabin placement and I'm with 11 year olds! Yay! Should be exciting. Anyway, my cabin is all pretty and cute for the girls, we're the snails! It's adorable.  

My free time is nonexistent right now.  Literally. I've spent this entire week along with everyone else at camp get ready for the campers to get here on Monday.  I'm teaching the Drama and Acting Classes here at camp for boys and girls ages 7-16.  Our first production will be The Wizard of Oz.  We have four weeks to audition, learn lines, get scenery, and stage cews all put together.   Rough.  Our second production will be Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  I'm super excited for Snow White.  It's my favorite Disney movie of all time. :) 

So that's basically it for camp. So far.  But hopefully I can find some time once the campers arrive to keep you all updated on whats going on in my life.  Considering we're running on Chicago time, that means that I'm an hour behind all you Ohio people. My day starts at 7:45am and goes to around 11pm (or for you, 8:45am to midnight).  It's a tough life.  Really. 

More soon.  Happy Reading, Stay Excellent.  Me. :)

My Boring Life.

I have absolutely nothing to say.   Not inspired.  Hmph. And that makes me angry.  I would love to entertain you all with my awesome wit and sense of humor, but I just can't think of anything.  Probably because I spent the day packing my miscellaneous items for camp, 7 days from now.  But anyway, more later.

Happy Reading, stay excellent. Me.

Hello Cleveland & Wilmington!

Well, it's good to be home for a change. :)

Last Wednesday I set out on my adventure to Cleveland, Ohio.  All alone.  Without a GPS.  I had my good old google maps directions printed out and some freshly burnt CD's to accompany me.  My trip went very well, aside from getting on the expressway and missing my exit, but that's ok.  I had a lovely phone conversation with Breanna (hello there) who kindly directed me to su casa from where I ended up while she straightened her hair because apparently I was thirty minutes early (which was garbage, there just wasn't any traffic... ). Anyway, I had a lovely time chatting, watching movies, napping, exploring the mall, going to the beach, and of course trying her mom's spaghetti (which was delicious).  One smallish down fall though, I was packed for Versailles, Ohio weather, not Willoughby, Ohio which was right next to the lake.  It was absolutely freezing in my t-shirt and shorts.  I did get to see my good friend Sarah though! yay!  We had dinner with our friend Lindsey as well where Breanna was working and it was great.  I missed them all so much and I'm so happy we found time to see each other!

After my four hour trip back home on Friday (and two Starbucks coffee's later), Paige met me at my house and we were on the road once again!  I'm nuts, I know.  For a grand total of 6 hours of driving on Friday, we finally  made it to Wilmington to visit Danielle.  Our visit consisted of the following: eating, sleeping, watching TV, sleeping, watching TV, cleaning horse stalls, eating, sleeping, showering, eating, sleeping, going out for an hour, watching TV, sleeping, and eating.  Worst part is, we loved every minute of it.  :)

Upon arriving home, I dropped my stuff off inside, said hello to mi familia (my brother was home, who knew?), changed into my swim suit, and headed out to the cabin to lay out and relax.  We ended up in the pond, which surprisingly, wasn't as cold as we expected.  We enjoyed the first swim of the summer and my Aunt Janice was kind enough to capture that wonderful moment:

You can't really see us, but in case you were wondering, from left to right there's Kimi, Bridget, Paige, and then myself.

So over the course of 5 days, I spent less than one hour in my own house.  That takes some talent.  But that's all for now, I have a date with the sun at 1 and I'm about to be late! 

Happy reading.  Stay Excellent, Me.

A wee bit of everything today Kiddies

As some of you may know, I'm taking two online summer classes at BGSU in order to receive my junior status that's necessary to live off campus next year.  Well, I was unable to find any classes that actually pertain to my major (AYA Spanish education), let alone classes that I need at all.  So I ended up signing up for Music of World Cultures (MWC for short) and Intro to Art.  My MWC class started today, but me being anxious and what not decided that I needed to start last week, just in case.  So I've been working on African music now for probably 3 days or so (by 3 days I mean I logged on three different days and worked on it for probably no more than 20 minutes once I subtracted out the wasted time on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, etc.) and I was beginning to wonder if I got myself into something a little more difficult than expected.  :/

Today, I logged on to see if there were any announcements from my professor, which there weren't, and then I decided I should probably work a little more on the African music section.  I FINALLY made it to a quiz and then it hit me.  Because I had looked ahead a little bit, I knew that the African quiz was pretty far down on the agenda.  So I finished the quiz (100% by the way, yea, I'm good.) and then I went back to the calendar and realized that it was set up day by day and not week by week, like I originally thought. So now I'm four days ahead of schedule with the annoying African tribal music under my belt.  BOOM.  I  couldn't be happier, because in all honesty, if I can't distinguish the instruments from the voices, there's probably some kind of migraine that's going to form as I try to decipher the African language.  Let's be real.

Enough about boring schoolwork though.  I'm sure everyone who is finished with school is tired of hearing about it, and those who aren't finished are probably tired of hearing about my start of a new "semester" already. Oops. :)

Yesterday was Mother's Day.  I like Mother's Day. But only a little.  It's a great holiday, a good reason for one anyway, but it always seems to make me feel guilty.  Yes, guilty.  Because I'm a sassy and dramatic person, especially when I'm dealing with Mother. So, sorry Mother for my sass on Saturday and for my ridiculous behavior these past 19 years.  But also, thank you for the wonderful memories and for raising me with a good head on my shoulders and morals to be proud of. :)

Along with yesterday being Mother's Day, it was my first official weekend home that felt like summer!  It was nice outside and we got out the comfy chairs at the cabin instead of the icky wooden tables.  And dinner, well put quite simply, it was DELICIOUS.  We pulled another hillbilly idea out of our backsides and had a Mongolian grill kind of thing over an open fire with tons of fresh garden veggies and some meat for those in the family that aren't herbivores (which would be everyone but me).  All in all, it was a good start to my summer and a wonderful day with the family. :)

Speaking of good starts to my summer, last week and the weekend before were some classy days as well in good ole Versailles, Ohio.  The weekend before the one we just ended (as in May 5) my friend Bridget Mescher's sister got hitched!  Which mean, a good wedding reception and a lot of people having a good time and helping them celebrate their new life together.  Loved it.  Last week on Wednesday (or maybe Tuesday, I don't know really), a group of us went canoeing.  Yes, canoeing.  It was absolutely perfect.  Even though I ended up getting attacked by a thorn bush while sliding down the side of the bank after a pee break, and we almost tipped twice but somehow Tyler saved us when I was already halfway in the water, I still had a blast and wouldn't change a thing.

This is about to be a summer to remember already, and it's only week 2!  :)

Happy reading, stay excellent.  Me.

The Importance of Sleep and Ambsuhing

Well hello there my avid readers! (I like to pretend a lot of people read this, so humor me.)

I just wrote a whole long post about this and realized that it made absolutely zero sense.  So I spared you the terrible reading. You should thank me.

Basically, all I had to say about sleep and ambushing is when you're just barely asleep and someone calls  you or texts you in the middle of the night and you answer the phone just to make it stop buzzing.  An ambush. I'm not saying it's always a bad thing or someone you don't want to talk to, but its usually a conversation that you won't remember or you won't really even participate in.  You don't even look to see who it is half the time, you just answer.  Therefore, sleep is important ladies and gents, don't forget that. 

That's all for now.  Happy reading. Stay excellent. Me.

Finals Week: Freshman Year at BGSU

I would just like to start out by saying that my anxiety is through the roof right meow.  So if I go on some random tangent at any point during this post, I apologize.  I can barely think straight right now.  

So my finals week has officially started and I'm actually not that stressed about it.  I have one exam on tuesday morning, two exams on thursday night, and my last exam is on friday afternoon.  I'm probably not worried yet simply because I haven't even began to study and I still feel like I have a lot of time. I'm a crammer, I never study until the night before, and it usually works pretty well.  But we'll wait and see when it's monday night at 10pm, and I'm hyperventilating in my bed trying to comprehend my Educational Psychology information.  Oops!

Now to the point, I want to take the time to reflect on my first year of college.  It was wonderful, crazy, heart-breaking, breath-taking, eye-opening, educational, and magnificent all at one time. In a nutshell, it was PERFECT.  I wouldn't change a thing.  I made new friends, lost new friends, kept some pretty good ones, and stayed connected with the ones that meant that most from back home.  I missed my family and friends less than I expected but that's only because I had some amazing people here to distract me.  

There's just one sticky part about my year.  The experiences I've had with APhiO (the good, the bad, and the ugly) have helped me to get the most out of my first year here at BG, and I'll have to admit, I think I would change a little bit about that experience (which means I lied earlier in my post when I said I wouldn't change a thing, oops.  Lo siento).  I pledged the first semester, but I ended up dropping because I felt pressure from others to do it and not because I wanted to for myself.  However, there was a lot of dramatic occurrences during my pledging experience the second time, which didn't stop me from completing the process.  I'm thankful for the people that helped me through those hardships and helped to make me feel comfortable in the chapter.  So I guess the point is, that I wish I wouldn't have felt pressured that first semester and I would have gotten involved in this wonderful organization sooner rather than later. (My whole family tree at initiation)

Back to the good stuff!  S/O to my roommate, Sam.  Amazing girl.  Love her.  I'm going to miss her and our crazy moments that are worthy enough to put on our quote wall.  And of course, our taco bell runs.  I'm kind of glad my first roommate was a weirdo and I had to move out.  Otherwise I would have never met Sam, I would have never found out about APhiO, and I definitely wouldn't be where I am right now.  So thanks to her. :)

S/O to Jody!  My spanish buddy through thick and thin.  This girl kept me going all year with my spanish classes.  I'm so lucky to have found a classmate with my major and who is willing to travel to Spain with me and put up with me for a whole year!  I can't wait to embark on that journey together and I definitely think we should still sell some "screw drivers" by the bars to raise some money for our trip! (Jody and Marley)

S/O to my Big and G-Big!  Julia, my big, has helped me work through my ridiculous pledge issues and has been a great mentor thus far in my experiences.  Emily.  Emily, my grand big, is just crazy.  I love her.  And I'm sad we didn't know each other's circumstances earlier in the year, or we all could have lived together.  Poop.  But I will miss you both dearly this summer. (my Family branch)

S/O to my future roomies, Kelly, Jodi, and Beth.  I can't wait to get started next year and to get to know your girls better.  I'm looking forward to our apartment thingy at Copper Beach! (P.S. I don't have a photo with Beth or Jodi, but Kelly is in the middle!)

S/O to my falcon heights clan.  This means you Leah, Lindsey, and Breanna!  For putting up with my mental breakdowns (though they weren't on the same level as Leah's), my anxiety driven freak outs, and my ridiculous CATtitude, I thank you! I owe my survival through the second semester all to you guys.  Who knows how crazy I would have been at this point.  Love you, and I'll miss you.  My visit some time in May will be PURRfect. :) (This is Breanna, for some reason I don't have any pictures with Leah or Lindsey.  Probably because we spend most of our time together in sweats and crying. lol :P.  No one wants a picture of ugly crying)

And finally, last but not least, a S/O to Amber, Sarah and Stef.  You girls were like my 3 extra roommates.  Through thick and thin, we've had a two way street living and learning together.  I thank you all for a wonderful year, and I can't wait for the years to come. :) (Amber, Stef, Sarah, Sam, and Ben)

I think that's all.  I think.  If I forgot some people, I'm sorry!  

And now, for the future.  

In the immediate future, I will begin to spend my days with Bridget, making cupcakes and tie dying until our hands are literally unable to move.  I hope she's ready, cause I know I am. :)

That is all.  Stay excellent.  Happy reading. :)