Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Are you currently operating at 100% capacity? If not, what % are you? What's keeping you there?

  I wouldn't say I'm operating at a 100% capacity, more like a 94%. I think what's keeping me there is quite frankly my preference for books over productivity.

  Keeping my answer in mind, I think it's fair to assume that I would be much closer to, if not at, 100% if I didn't read quite as much.


2.  Have you done your taxes? Planned/booked a summer holiday? Thought about or started your 'spring cleaning'? Besides what's listed here, tell us one task that needs doing before spring rolls around.

  I'm at that lovely age in life where I don't have to deal with taxes, and on a moderately related note, I am also at that age where I'm not old enough to plan Summer vacations.

  Spring cleaning has been started and it's certainly not anywhere near as romantic as it seems in all of the old-fashioned books.

  One task that needs to be done when Spring rolls around? I usually start organizing  my plan of attack for the rest of year, in other words, I break in my New Year's resolutions.


3. What's a favorite food from your part of the country?

  Maple syrup and mushrooms are quite popular round this neck of the woods, but I don't like either. I will count chocolate as a favorite food from this part of the country.

4. This isn't a leap year, but let's run with it anyway...look before you leap, a leap of faith, grow by leaps and bounds, leap to conclusions, leap at the opportunity...which phrase might best be applied to your life currently (or recently)? Explain.

  Leap at the opportunity. I'm not extroverted by any means, but an unconscious resolution of mine for this year turned out to be leaping at new opportunities and so on.

  Speaking of which, I may or may not become part of the local teen's book club. I've always thought it sounded like splendid fun and therefore I'm rather excited about the idea.


5. As the month draws to a close list five fun and/or fabulous things (large or small) you noticed or experienced in February.

1.   A few genuinely sunny and warm days
2. Playing human Dutch Blitz (the cards are the size of a regular piece of paper, the teams each have a table to hold their cards, and then "run the cards" out to the middle of the room. Other than that, the game is exactly the same as when it has the decency to be small.
3. Going to the library
4. Finding out that I have a "twin". I got home from our homeschool group one day and found a letter addressed to me from someone I didn't even know existed. (She's Amish) To Amish girls, having a twin (merely a person born on the same day/year as you) is exciting. She wanted to become penpals and since I enjoy writing letters I have another pen pal.
5. I noticed that out daffodils are growing and now I'm delighted since that means spring can't be too far around the corner.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

  I love Hallmark movies, there's something so cheesy and predictable about them that makes me love them so much. It's true that not all the actors are splendid at their jobs and it's also true that the scripts tend to follow the same pattern over and over and over again, but that simply adds to their charm. Every time I'm out and about for any period of time, I look forward to being home, and when I think of home I think of books, of family dinners, games, laughter, fun, baking, cooking, conversations, and Hallmark movies. Home is a wonderful thing, and so are all the things we associate with home, therefore I deem Hallmark movies wonderful.

Currently...

Reading... I just finished reading "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" it was such a good book! I loved almost every character in the book, and especially loved the way it was written. Nothing beats a good old fashioned book. Right now I am reading the first book of the Elsie Dinsmore series.
 
Writing... A very odd little story about how furniture polish came to be. 

Listening...  To birds. Can you believe it?! Right now it's sunny and the windows are open and we're enjoying the stunning 70 degree weather.

Thinking... That being a good driver is going to take a ton of practice.

Smelling... The outdoors, I smell sunshine and the dirt of the ground, the fresh scent of spring which I am wholly inadequate to express.

Wishing... That I already had my driver's license, the training part isn't the greatest.

Hoping... That I'll never drive my dear Mum into a ditch.

Wearing... A solid purple t-shirt (my favorite color) and a pale-blue "tiered" denim skirt. 

Loving... The beautiful weather, and the fact that my Mum doesn't panic like (or at least not as much as) all the mums do on TV when they're teaching their daughters to drive.

Wanting... A slice of cheesecake and a cup of tea.

Needing... A break. I may have only driven for an hour today but it felt like a year.

Feeling... Tired and tiny bit hungry. That could quickly be remedied with a slice of cheesecake and a nap.

Catching Up....

     A few things have been happening in my busy little corner over here, and I've been doing a terrible job of keeping you updated. Apparently it's never a good idea to decide to read "one chapter" of a good book before sitting down to write a blog post, because, the post never gets made.
     Now it is time for me to regale all of the the little things that have been going on around here.

        Little Things That Have Been Going On Around Here (don't you just love my creative title?)

1. Even though I somehow forgot to tell you about it, around two weeks ago I had a birthday. It was  a lovely day too and though I know it's not important, I did get some really lovely gifts. I believe one of my very favorite ones was this little gem. 
2. A few of my family members were suffering from the flu last week and because of it various fun events were canceled on our agenda. Thankfully we're all better now and I'm glad that my sickness of the year is now past.
3. The Olympics have begun and I'm so excited about them, the Winter Olympics are far more enjoyable to watch than the Summer Olympics, at least in my book they are (let's all ignore the irony of watching anything in anyone's book) 
4. I have finally gotten around to writing letters again. I always end up having much more fun writing letters than I imagine I will beforehand. Speaking of which, I have officially four letters to write this week. Possibly more. 
5. Last night my brother went to gym night, and I would have gone along but I had just been sick on Saturday and it didn't seem decent to endanger a bunch of other people's good health, so I stayed back as a responsible citizen simply doing what was best for her fellowman.
6. I have been inventing a heap of different quinoa recipes out of my desperation to use up the huge batch of quinoa I had made a little while ago. It seems I'll be having quinoa fritters, cakes, wraps, meat balls, stir-fries, and stews for quite a few meals yet. It ought to be nicknamed the never-ending grain.
7. Our kitchen's thermometer has been misbehaving for quite some time now, it is blatantly ignoring the snow spotted ground and declaring it to be ninety degrees outdoors.
8. Despite my best efforts to love my enemies, I can't muster even the tiniest bit of affection for my Algebra studies. I thought that advanced Algebra has to be a piece of cake compared to the Geometry struggles I endured, but if it is cake, I shudder to ask what the ingredients are. 
9. And something that hasn't happened yet, but I'm looking forward to, this Friday I believe, we will be going to the library again. Some people are ecstatic about traveling to Spain, Italy, Greenland, France, and the like (which I don't blame them) but I'm ecstatic about visiting the library, I have big plans, big plans indeed.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. February can be a little bit tricky given the weather and the winter and the whatnot. I read a list (here) of things you can do to make your February brighter which included-start planning your next trip, take more baths, make your own chocolate covered strawberries, and exercise in preparation for swimsuit season. Anything on the list you might try? Which suggestion on the list appeals to you most? Tell us something not on the list that helps make your February brighter. 

  Ah, chocolate covered strawberries sound incredible and would definitely make my February brighter.

  Something that isn't on the list, yet makes my February brighter, is reading books and crafting things, I've been really enjoying making envelopes and journaling. 

2. Tell us about something you've seen or done recently that you'd say was 'super'?

  Last Friday at TOL (my home school group) my friend and I won the game of Human Dutch Blitz. It was such a super feeling.

3. Best thing you ate in a 'bowl' last week?

   It was mashed potatoes. When I was much younger I thought mashed potatoes were one of the most boring things you could eat, but I absolutely love them now.

4. Something you're 'cheering' for right now?

  For Spring. I go to bed every night cheering it on. Perhaps my whole neighbourhood should join in with cheering Spring on because I don't think it can hear me, or if it can, it's certainly not motivated.

5. The Winter Olympics begin Friday, February 9th in Pyeong Chang, South Korea. On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being all in and 1 being no interest whatsoever) how interested are you in the games? Which event do you most want to see (you'll find a list here).

  I would say I'm excited at around a 6, I'm certainly not fangirling all over the event, but I am looking forward to figure skating.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

  Right now the entire house is filled with the wonderful scent of my Mum's freshly baked bread that is cooling on the kitchen counter. I love the smell of bread, it's such a warm and home-y scent that I wish someone would bottle and sell. I'd never have to feel homesick throughout my life, I'd just pull out the jar and take a whiff.

Sugar-free isn't Sweet...

     Nutrition books and I are very good friends, I could spend hours in the library simply choosing which nutrition books to read next, I take my time when I pick them because it's always disappointing when I'm ready to read them and then I find out they aren't at all what I expected.
     A few weeks ago I picked up a new and intriguing nutrition book called Sugar Smart Express. I've read in other books that cutting sugar out of your diet will clear up your acne (sadly I'm a teen that's afflicted with acne) and now I've finally found a book that actually tells you how to do it, in my excitement I read the book in a few hours.
     It shared a plan on how to "detox" from sugar and I had big hopes of clear skin (and in all honesty I still do), but in order to do the whole plan you have to eat the meals and things that they give the recipes for. To me it seemed like no big deal. My Mum, sister, and I went shopping a few days ago and I picked up all the things that I need for my mission which has been lovingly dubbed. Adventures in Food: Episode Clear Skin.
    Today was day one of phase one. I cooked up my breakfast this morning, a pretty plate of savory pancakes topped with tomatoes.

      With my jar of lemon water beside me, I dug into the pancakes. Words can't describe the shock and confusion I experienced upon that first bite. Each pancake was like a sheet of gritty, slimy, and curdle-y mush. The taste? Unspeakably nasty. With my trusty diary beside me I documented the experience, "I wonder if stomachs can gag, I bet it was hurrying the full signal to my brain..."
  My expression was horrified and disgusted, you don't have to simply take my word for it, apparently my dear Mum sneaked an unsuspecting picture of me as I was trying to summon the courage to take another bite.
 

     It was such a horrible meal that I ended up throwing half of it into the bin (a.k.a trash...garbage...rubbish, whatever you wish to call it)
     I have decided (out of the goodness of my heart) that I shall share the recipe with you. I know the picture doesn't capture the terrible taste, in fact the breakfast looks almost good.

 Basil-Mozzarella Pancakes

1/3 cup rolled oats
1 egg
3 tbsp milk
4 tbsp shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp + 1 tsp chopped fresh basil ( I didn't use basil, I don't like it)

 Blend the oats in a blender until you have fine crumbs (also known as oat flour), add the egg and milk, blend till smooth, stir in half of the cheese and basil, plus a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook as 2-3 pancakes. Top with the remaining basil and the tomatoes.

If you do try them, I would love to hear what you thought about them, though if you don't try them I won't blame you, in fact I'll call you wise.