Success

George Washington Carver once said, "It is simply service that measures success." Sometimes, I look at my life and my plans for the future and I wonder what I'll think of it all at the end of my life. If everything went according to plan, would I look back and be happy with how I lived my life? Would I feel I had anything to show for my years on earth? Anything worthy of being remembered by future generations?

All of these questions are founded on the simple root question, "what is success?" I have already disregarded the idea that success is measured in the amount of material wealth one can amass. That definition seems too shallow and empty to be true. But is success really measured by service as Carver says? While this belief clearly worked well for Carver, is it an overarching principle of life?

This morning I was reading in Matthew chapter 20 and came across verse 26, "... whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant." While the context of this verse is that of greatness of position or authority, I think it can also be applied to personal greatness.
What makes an individual great according to the Bible? Who are the successful ones according to God's Word? Well, the aforementioned verse says that it is those who are servants. Hebrews 11 says that it's those who have faith. Overall, I think it's safe to say that Biblical success involves losing your life that you may find it, loving God and loving others, being a servant to all, and obeying God in trusting faith.

So can success really be boiled down to just service? I think maybe it can. After all, what is service except love embodied in action? With this definition of service, loving God and loving others is encompassed in serving God through trusting obedience and serving others as we wish to be served. The only part of what I mentioned as Biblical success not covered here is our salvation. But then again, that really isn't our success to claim; it's Christ's success over sin and death.

Now, if I were to accept this idea as true and live a life of service, would I then be able to look back and see anything worthy of being remembered by others? There is no guarantee that I will. In all likelihood, there is a strong probability that I will be completely forgotten by history and by my family's descendants. But at the same time, I know that my actions will not be forgotten by God. So perhaps I should not worry about being remembered by man, who is fragile and fleeting, but rather about how I will be remembered by God, who is eternal and steadfast. I think that will be more than enough, even for a history major like me.

KAVALENA!!!! :)

hi everyone!sorry i havent posted in a while, but i've been busy with all sorts of schoolwork.
and even now, i should probably be doing homework.
but this is a worthy enough cause for me to spend time blogging about.
recently, my sister (val) started a business. but it's far more exciting than just that. this business is called Kavalena (combo of my sister's and my names :)) and it's where my sister sells the beautiful scarves she makes. she then takes 50% of what she makes and gives it to a christian organization that takes care of children with cerebral palsy and autism in china. how cool is that?

her scarves are absolutely beautiful and very reasonably priced. so you should definitely check out her totally legit website.
http://www.kavalena.com/#!shop
http://www.facebook.com/Kavalena?ref=notif&notif_t=fbpage_fan_invite&sk=wall#!/Kavalena
i'm so proud of my sister and want to do anything i can to help her. would you help me to do that by checking out her facebook and liking her page? and if you want to buy a scarf, that'd be even better! :) (after all, winter and christmas are right around the corner ;))

Not-So-Naked Door

i've been at my new christian college for a month now. and in that time, my roommate and i had not put a single decoration on our door, thus making it naked.
lately, my roomie and i had been talking about fixing this.
vanessa decided to put together a cute board with our names on it and a cool poem. but while that's being made, i was given permission to temporarily "fix" our naked door problem.
and what do you do when something is naked? you censor it :)

so here is our lovely censored door. complete with a yellow label reading "the naked door"

ironically enough, it was censored because it was naked, yet because it's censored it is no longer naked ;)

How to Spin Yarn!

Although i'm pretty good at spinning yarns, that isnt the kind of yarn spinning this post is about.
In this, my second pioneer post, i'll be passing along the knowledge of how to turn fibers into yarn.
However, as i studied this new skill, i realized that i would never be able to describe it with words well enough for you to be able to spin yarn too.
so instead, i'm just going to post these videos which totally shows you how to do it.
if you want to learn more about it, look it up on youtube.

have fun making yarn/thread!
until next time, happy pioneer...time!

random thoughts

here are a few random thoughts i've had in the past few weeks:

sometimes i wish i were a livestock veternarian. then i would have a legitimate reason to walk into a goat barn and ask "who are we kidding?". unfortunately, the making of lame puns is not a sufficient reason to go through all the schooling to become a livestock vet.

i believe in love at first sight. but just because there is love at first sight does not mean there will be love at second sight, fourth sight, or forty-seventh sight. there is more to maintaining a loving relationship than mere vision.

my roommate is awesome. for many reasons. one of which being that she's talking to her mom right now and she totally just used the term "ventral medial hypothalamus" in casual conversation. (she's a nursing major, and her mom's a nurse, so they both understood what that is. but me, i'm a history education major. so i'm super impressed.)

Mightily Blessed Woman

it is now the end of the most wonderful birthday i've ever had.
yes, graduating from teen-hood is pretty special, and yes, i did get some pretty great presents, but what has impressed me most on this day has been how truely blessed i am.

God has blessed me outrageously.
i am not only blessed, i am mightily blessed.
not only has God given me salvation through His Son, and given me a great comforter and counselor in the Holy Spirit, He has also given me the special blessing of a fantastic family and incredible friends.

this morning, i was reading in 2 Samuel about Amnon and how he loved Tamar (Absalom's sister). but amnon didn't have a great friend. instead, he had a friend who gave him horrible advice which led amnon to do horrible things which ultimately resulted in his death. it's really not a pleasant story, but it reminded me of how important having good friends can be. a good friend can bring joy and life, while a bad friend can bring sorrow and death.

i am so thankful for the amazing friends with which God has filled my life. i could never express in words just how much they have blessed me and have filled my life with joy. i only wish i could bless them as much as they have blessed me. in fact, it is because of my friends that this has been the best birthday ever.
i woke up to a birthday text and voicemail, and then for the rest of the day i kept getting birthday texts and cards and wall posts and messages and emails and ecards. i honestly had never realized just how many friends i have now. but i am thankful for every single one of them.

i feel like David in Psalm 23. for my Shepherd has been very good to me, and the cup of my life is overflowing with blessings.

thank you to all of you who are my friends. i love you, i appreciate you, and i am blessed to have you :)
i just wanted to let you know that i know that :)
may God bless you as much as He has blessed me. and hopefully, i'll get to be a part of how He does it :)

Best Present EVER!!

today is my birthday :)
as such, it's a day to finally open presents.
about a week ago, i got a mysterious birthday present from my fantastic friend aimee. (I LOVE YOU AIMEE!) this is a rare thing for me, because i'm usually the one who picks out my presents and therefore am not curious as to what they are. but with aimee's gift, it was a total conundrum. i very much wanted to open it right when i got it, but my mom insisted that i wait until my birthday.

so it wasnt until today that i opened the best birthday present i have ever recieved.
now i just want to take a moment to say that i'm in no way implying that i do not love or appreciate the other wonderful birthday presents i've received over the years. they were fantastic as well. but once i describe this present, you'll understand. but again, this in no way devalues the presents i've received in the past or will receive in the future.

when i opened the package just now, i had about 7 different almost nervous breakdowns with how amazed and excited i was. in fact, i think i discovered a brand new emotion, rarely encountered by man before. but as it defies words, i havent named it yet. i was jumping and dancing around with my eyes wide and my smile wider. i'm very glad that i did not wait to open it at my birthday dinner tonight. it totally wouldve embarrased my family about their gifts to me.
i could go on, but i think i should describe what it is now.

it's the most fantastic homemade apron ever! it has a bajillion multicolored multishaped pockets (12, actually)! and it's even reversable!!!! so it's like she gave me 2 incredibly fantastic aprons!!! 1 side has a ton of pockets, and the other is super cute and has secret pockets (because you cant see the pockets on the other side but can still use them!)!!
this apron encompasses so many of my favorite things. i love pockets, i love things that are tiny and will fit perfectly in these pockets, i love colors, i love secret pockets, i adore homemade gifts, i love notes (which were in every pocket :)), i love aprons, i love to cook, i love being prepared for random things, and i love doing pioneer stuff (which this apron is perfectly suited for).

i have decided that every pioneer post i do from here on will be researched and written while wearing this apron. it will also be perfect for when i make my hats :) (i'm always misplacing my scissors and crochet hook).

thank you so much aimee!!!!! i absolutely love it! :) it is the best present i have ever received (other than salvation... and the gift of the holy spirit... and my mom giving me life...).

Tanning Leather

here is the official first post in celebration of Pioneer ______ (Time)!

there's really no reason why i chose tanning leather as my first pioneer post, but i think you're really going to like it. all i can say is, people think of the craziest things to do. i mean, who in their right mind would think to do this to a dead animal's skin? it's not anything any normal person would ever be inclined to do.
Let me tell you.

Here is the entire tanning process:
Step 1- remove the skin from the dead animal and clean the skin so that there's no meat, fat, or viens left on it. If you dont want any fur on it, rub either urine or wood ash into the fur (who in their right mind would choose urine over some campfire ash for this?) (also, what person would think "hmm, i want to get rid of this fur. shave it? nooo, i'm gunna pee on it.) after the substance is rubbed into the fur, let it sit for a while before pulling/scraping the loosened hairs off.

Step 2- to prevent the skin from rotting, rub it with either animal fat, egg yolk, urine, or brain. (long side note on brain-tanning: every animal has just enough brains to tan it's own hide. i find that cruelly ironic, yet excellent planning on God's part. also, in case you didn't save the animal's brain, apparently they sell brains in a can. i dont know where, but they do. this just goes to show that you can find pretty much anything in a can these days. also, i bet this gives you a whole new meaning for the phrase "use your brain", doesnt it?)

after this, there's more than one way you can finish tanning the hide. there's tannin tanning, and then there's brain tanning. the brain tanning will give you a lighter, buckskin color. i think the tannin tanning produces a stiffer leather, but i'm not sure.

Tannin Tanning: in case you thought tanning couldnt get any grosser, you're wrong. the next step in tanning leather is to rub the hide with the dung of a carnivore (kind of sounds like a witch's recipe) (dog poo works best, apparently. yet another use for a good huntin' dog.) leave the dung on the hide until the hide is limp and willing to lie flat. then wash the dung off.

next, you need find/make a clay-lined pit with a log/pole in it. You hang the hide over the log/pole and soak it in a mixture of water and crushed oak bark (finally, a non-gross ingredient. it just might take you a while to crush all that bark). you let the hide soak for a few days, then you spread it out to dry.

Brain Tanning: stake the hide into the ground so that it wont shrink (just dont stretch it). cook the brains in a little bit of water. mash them with gloved hands and heat until it's almost too hot for you to touch. rub this "soup" mixture into the skin with your hands and with some smooth heated stones. flip the skin over, and repeat (unless you're making a fur). leave the hide in a sunny spot for 6-8 hours, then submerge the skin under water overnight.

while the hide is soaking, prepare your graining tools (1 is a wooden wedge shaped thing, the other is a stick about 2 inches in diameter with a smooth, rounded, blunt tip.)
once the hide is completely saturated and pliable, restake it into the ground. use the wedge shaped grainer to get as much water out of the hide as you possibly can. then use the rounded stick to work/stretch/loosen the fibers in every inch of the hide. if you stop doing this before the hide is completely dry, it'll become stiff. when the hide feels dry, unstake the hide and trim the edges.

now tie a rope between 2 trees and rub the hide across the rope. the friction will further dry and soften it. when you're done, use a smooth stone to rub any imperfections.
if you dont want the leather to become stiff when it gets wet, hang it over a small "smudge" fire until the smoke has penetrated every part of it.

and that is how you turn a dead animal's skin into beautiful leather. i recommend praying that you'll never need to use this new-found knowledge of yours.

ethnic makeup

some day i'd love to be a teppanyaki chef. (teppanyaki is a type of japanese cooking where chefs cook on a big griddle in front of people and do tricks while they cook)
the only thing is, i'm not asian.
i'm not even asian looking!
so i think that would definitely hinder my employment opportunities.

that's why i think some company should make some kind of makeup that makes you the same shade as a different nationality.
i would totally buy the asian one and wear it to teppanyaki job interviews (or at least to the job itself). and since it's usually dark in fancy restaurants, i could totally fool everyone!!! :)

Real Life and Movies

the other day, i had a new idea about why people like certain kinds of movies.
my theory is that people like movies that either reflect what their lives are like or what they wish their lives were like (only taken to a degree that is actually entertaining).

for example, people who have had sorrow in their lives like stories that have some sadness in them. people who are in a stage of life where romance is important in their lives really like love stories. and so on and so forth.

i personally love action and adventure stories best. this fits my theory very well because i'm in a stage of life that's filled with new experiences and strange places and adventures.

i havent done a whole lot of verifying for this new theory of mine, but so far it seems to work pretty well. what do you think? does this theory work for you too?

Burr Conspiracy

right now, i'm studying for an early u.s. history CLEP test.
and i've got to say, it's amazing what you can come across in a history book. even if you've studied the general topics many times before, you can still find something new and interesting.
for example, i just learned about this thing called the "burr conspiracy". Here's what it is.

Once upon a time, there was a man named Aaron Burr.
Now, Aaron Burr had a very special dream. he dreamed that some day, he'd be the president of the united states. so he jumped into the race for the presidency along with several other people,
but Aaron Burr did not win. instead, he tied for first with Thomas Jefferson. and so the house of representatives had to decide who would win.
it was a very, very, very close decision for them. but in the end, Alexander Hamilton, Burr's archenemy, broke the tie within the house of representatives and made Jefferson the president. So Aaron had to settle for being vice president.

Four years later, Aaron Burr was no longer the vice president. Since he'd given up trying to be president, he figured he'd try running for govenor of new york.
But yet again, Alexander Hamilton stood in his way. Alexander ran against him and ended up winning that election.
This was the final straw.

Aaron challenged Alexander to a duel. and finally, finally, Aaron Burr won something.
but now, he was on the run for the murder of Alexander Hamilton.
So Aaron Burr decided to do something crazy. after all, he had nothing to lose; and, frankly, had pretty much lost it (mentally).

Aaron decided to chase after his dream for power once more. He decided that if he couldnt rule all of america, then he'd rule part of it. He devised a wild plan to capture part of the new southwestern US territories and claim them for his own as a totally new country. This plan involved everything from military force, to help from Spain and England, to possibly even kidnapping president Jefferson.

but help from spain and england never came, and news of his conspiracy got out. he ended up being tried for treason before the supreme court. the only reason he escaped punishment was because the chief justice didn't like Thomas Jefferson (who tried to influence and prejudice the trial) and so he let Aaron go because of a loop hole in the treason laws.

man, who knew history could be so interesting. i feel like this could make a pretty good movie someday :)
and now, back to studying.

News turned Musical

my friend lish just showed this to me. the first video is a real news cast about an attempted raping in lincoln park. but the brother was so funny that someone edited the video and turned it into an AWESOME rap song :)
it's pretty funny, and very catchy...

Self-Proclaimed Pioneer Holiday

recently, i've become very interested and curious about how pioneers used to do things.
some may think i'm crazy for wanting to know how to make cheese, tan leather, turn cotton fibers into cloth, and so on; especially since i live in a culture where these things are cheap and plentiful. but i think this knowledge can still be useful.

admittedly, the scenarios in which i would need this knowledge are few and far between. but there are definitely at least a few different scenarios where this knowledge would come in very handy. here are but a few examples:
1- if you were a part of some new reality tv show where modern people live like pioneers. in that case, this knowledge could earn you a large sum of money after winning the leather making competition.

2- you're on a plane that crashes in a very remote place/country/island and because of varying circumstances, there's almost no hope of you being found any time soon. your only option is to start a little community and farm the land and so on until you're rescued years later.

3-you take a trip on a time machine and because it's a trial run, or because of some malfunction or miscalculation, you're trapped in the early 1800s (or earlier agrarian society).

4- the national power grids get zapped for some reason (be it EMPs, other terrorist activity, alien attack, a flock of suicidal pigeons, or some other unlikely cause) and we are forced to go back to pioneer-like living conditions and survival techniques (even if it's only for a relatively short time). (thanks to Mike McCurdy for this one)

5- you're in a very secluded cabin. you have a strong hankering for cheese, yet the nearest town is 5 hrs. away. since you know how to make your own cheese, the crisis of waiting 5 hours and wasting a ton of gas is averted.

6- zombies have invaded. knowing that most people depend on grocery stores for food, they wait in the isles for their brain-meals to come to them. but if you used your brain to learn how to be a pioneer, you could keep your brain from being eaten by never going into a store ever again.

now even though these scenarios arent all that realistic, i still think that learning how to do stuff the pioneer way is interesting and worth your time. after all, it's better to know something and never use it than to need to know something and not know it.

therefore, i've decided to declare this is as "Pioneer ______ (insert unspecified amount of time)". it's a new and unnofficial holiday that will be celebrated on this blog. basically, this just means that as i learn how to do different pioneer things, i'll write about how to do it while making fun sidenotes every now and then. i already have a list of things i want to learn, but if you have any suggestions for things you'd find interesting, feel free to leave a comment.

hopefully you'll enjoy this holiday as much as i will, however long it may last.
until i post again, happy Pioneer... Time! :)

Secret Treasure Map

recently, i've been doing a lot of crocheting.
and when i crochet, i usually listen to music. but the other day, i did not. and so my mind wandered, as it is often prone to do.

and i got to thinking, "hmm, you know, i bet a piece of crocheted work could totally be used as a secret map." (i've always had a very active imagination)
the number of stiches in the same row, or the number of same colored yarn stitches in a row, could signify the number of steps you need to take. you could figure out which direction to walk in based on either the color of the yarn (supposing you knew which color corresponded to which direction) or if there were any charms or anything else attached to it as a clue.
i havent really thought out all the details yet, but the possibilites seem almost endless.

it'd make a great "secret" map because few would suspect it to be a map. most would probably just assume that it was some craft project gone horribly wrong.
anyways, i just thought it was a cool idea and thought i would share it :)

Be a Missionary

This week my mom is holding Good News Club at my house.
basically, good news club is where my mom invites all the kids in our neighborhood over to our house for an hour each day. they sing songs, play a game,  hear bible and missionary stories, and learn about God's love for them. i love that my mom does this.

in fact, my mom's been doing this almost every summer since i was little. i remember absolutely loving good news club. it was so much fun.
i still remember some of the songs we used to sing. but none of them quite stands out like the be a missionary song. i'm pretty sure it was one of my favorite songs ever growing up. there was clapping and hand motions and the lyrics were super fun too.
my mom reminded me of that song earlier this week when she was preparing for good news club, and i've decided that this song is just too fantastic to not put on my blog.
so here it is, claps and all. i hope you like it as much as i still do :)

be a missionary every day
(clap, clap, clap, clap)
tell the world that Jesus is the way
be it in the town or country or the busy avenue
africa or asia- the task is up to you!
so, be a missionary every day
(clap, clap, clap, clap)
tell the world that Jesus is the way
the Lord is soon returning,
there is no time to lose, so (clap)
be a missionary (clap)
God's own missionary,
be a missionary today!
let's go!

(clap)
be a missionary every day,
(clap, clap, clap, clap)
learn to eat whatever comes your way
if it's ants down in your cereal,
or roaches in your coke,
just dont let it bug you,
but eat it till you choke, oh,
be a missionary every day,
(clap, clap, clap, clap)
it may stink, but eat it any way
it may be warm and fuzzy,
and sometimes it still moves, but (clap)
you dont need a skillet (clap)
chew it 'till you kill it,
be a missionary today!
let's eat!

needless to say, the second verse was always my favorite. it's also way better sung than read.

lion... zebra?, and bear? oh my.

i'm not fully certain as to how this started, but this summer i've been making animal hats for a few of my friends.
it all started with my friend tatiana. i dont fully remember what it was that made me want to make a hat for her, but whatever it was, it started everything.

all i know, is that i knew that tat loves orange, and loves africa. i also knew that she's the kind of person who loves to do random, silly, and sometimes even awkward things.
so i combined all of this knowledge into my plan to make her this hat. it's a lion.

then i remembered that lish had mentioned once how someday she'd love to have a panda hat. so i made her one.

when i put pictures of this hat on facebook, my friend michelle said that she'd like an animal hat too. we talked about different options, and she decided she'd like a zebra hat. so here it is:

i love to crochet. i especially love trying to figure out how to crochet different things like this and making my own crochet patterns (i made the patterns for each of these hats).
if you'd like a copy of the pattern for any of these, just leave a comment and i'll post it.
if you'd like me to make you a hat, be it animal or normal, leave a comment. i often give them as gifts, but if you dont want to wait, u can buy one for like $5-$15 (depending on the yarn and whether i have to ship it).

Novel Novel Idea

the other day, i had a fantastic idea.
this idea springs from my thinking it'd be super cool if there was a book character based off of me. slightly egotistical, i know, but i still think it'd be cool.
then i started wondering if other people thought the same thing about themselves. for the sake of speculation, i assumed that they did. and from my speculation, a beautiful baby idea was born.
this is my idea:
what if all the main characters in a fiction book were real?
each main character was a real person whose dialogues and actions were all based on what they would say or do given a certain situation.
this is how it would work:
1-get together a group of super fun or interesting people. the kind of people who make you feel like they could be from a book. it'll help if they're already friends.
2- once the people are gathered, one person from the group will act as the narrator. this narrator would decide what the basic plot is, where the scenes are originally set, etc. the narrator is basically in charge of directing the group and keeping the group on track.
3- all the other people will be themselves. and when presented with a certain scenario, they say what they'd do and what they'd say. so basically, this is just like acting, only without a script and without pretending to be someone else.
4- every time the group meets, everything is recorded. that way, people wont have to try to remember what they said.
5- after it's been taped, one or more people type it out. and, wah-la! a book is written :)

at first glance, i think the best kind of book to be written this way is a book that has a team in it working towards a goal. that way, characters wont have to pretend to not be in the same room with eachother. also, the more minds working on a problem, the more creative and unexpected solutions there will be. it'll also make the dialogue very realistic.

well, that's my novel novel idea. i hope you like it. and i especially hope that someone will use it to make an awesome story someday. if anyone does, i expect a free copy! :)

Vegetarian Fast Food :)

oh yes, my friends. such a thing really does exist :)
in fact, it exists right by the intersection of army trail rd. and bloomingdale rd. in bloomingdale, IL.

i found out about this place when i noticed it while driving to the 711 on army trail. the sign made me extremely curious as to what "vegetarian fast food" could possibly mean (as in what kind of veggie food do they sell). the sign also made me immediately think of my friend lish. she's my friend who "don't eat no meat". and so i resolved to take lish there someday.

that day ended up being this past friday :)
as we were walking up to it, an extremely nice indian lady walked out and we had her take our picture. after all, it's not every day that i get to take a vegetarian out to a vegetarian fast food place :)
here we are:

i guess i had some preconceptions as to what this place would be like, because when we walked in i found it was the exact opposite of everything i had subconciously imagined. not gunna lie, i was very intimidated and wanted nothing more than to run right out of there.
i was thinking it was going to be similar to other fast food places, like subway, or burger king.
nope.
definitely not.

luckily, i realized that 1- if i briskly walked out of there with my eyes wide and my tail between my legs, i'd be both a coward and extremely impolite, and 2- lish was still walking towards the counter and didnt seem to be phased at all. (as a side note, i really do need to express that this place probably isnt as scary as i'm remembering it. i think the only reason why i freaked out was because it wasnt what i expected and it wasnt like any place ive ever been to before.)

i am so glad that i had lish there with me. otherwise, i would've totally missed out on some amazing indian food and an incredible experience.

once we reached the counter, we were greeted by a fantastic indian man. he was one of the nicest people i've ever met, and he totally didn't mind the fact that neither of us knew what any of the items on the menu were, or how to accurately pronounce them. here's a shot of their menu, so you can understand just what we were up against.

there were no pictures. we would have been totally lost without him. especially since lish and i are extremely indecisive whenever we're around eachother. more so than usual.

but this nice indian man totally saved the day. it was like he could read our minds about what we'd like and he made suggestions for us and brought us free samples. all of which were insanely delicious. we had so much fun trying different things and learning what they're called and how to pronounce them and what was in them.

 it was the perfect way to end our time together. the food was incredible. the people were fantastic. the price was really good. we walked out of there with a feast of deliciousness and it only cost us like $10. we were so inspired by our awesome experience, that we rocked out to slumdog millionare on our way home and listened to bollywood music on pandora as we ate. all this combined to make it one of the most enjoyable meals i've ever eaten.

i honestly couldn't be happier that i didn't chicken out. in fact, lish and i had such a good time, that we decided we need to make it a tradition to go there whenever she's in town.

i guess the moral of this story is that you shouldn't be afraid to go into new places and try new things. and who knows, you just might find that the things which initially scare you, are really just treasures waiting to be recognized. just be sure to bring a friend. it's a lot easier with moral support :)

(lol, the moral of this story is to bring moral support! totally unintentional)

Vermiculture

at this very moment, i'm supposed to be writing a paper for my first aid class on the common causes of childhood poisonings and how to prevent them. but instead, i'm going to blog. sorry little poisoned children. i care about you, but not enough to not procrastinate in writing a paper about you.

actually, i've already started writing it. but i only have one sentence down and wasn't focusing. so i decided to go eat an apple in the hopes that it would focus me.

mistake. after learning about isaac newtons experience with apples, i really shouldve known better than to think that an apple wouldn't inspire me. in fact, that apple is the sole reason why i'm writing this post.

you see, the other day i decided to research composting. dont ask me why. i just have random fits of nerdy pioneer person-ness. during my research, i learned that there are two different kinds of composting. there's the normal kind where bacteria break down organic material and then there's the kind where worms do the composting. this second kind is called vermiculture. so there's composting, and then there's vermicomposting.

and vermiculture is actually pretty cool. you either buy or build a special box home for the worms. then you fill it with some "bedding" (which is basically just shredded damp newspaper, sawdust, and some other things). and then you get red worms and put them in there. i know it doesnt sound very cool, but my mind likes to look at things differently.

vermiculture bin

so the way i see it, these worms are sort of like awesome pets. for one, they like to be at the same temperatures that we like to be at, so their box can be inside. kinda like an indoor dog house. and you can feed them your table scraps almost like you would a dog. plus, you only need to feed them like once a week! (and clean their box only twice a year!!)

but back to the apple.

you see, as i was peeling that apple, i started thinking about vermiculture.

i saw the apple peels and core and started having a conversation with myself (something i often do when nobody's around). it went a little something like this:

"what a waste. these apple peels could be going to good use. but nooo, they're just gunna be thrown in the trash and get put into a land fill. if only i had some red worms. (yes, i seriously think these things)

who knows, i bet there's a little ol' red worm family right now who are cold and hungry and thinking, 'oh, if only someone would come and take care of us! is there no one who will love us? no one who will feed us and keep us safe? i know we seem rather gross, but ohhh, how we long for friendship. we could make your garden the most beautiful in the land! and all we ask for in return is safe haven and your scraps.'

and to think, right now i could be making my little worm friends apple peel smoothies and they would love me. and i could give them names, and decorate their box real prettily, and they'd be so happy.

but i go off to college in a month, and my mom would never want to keep them (she would consider them bugs and refuses to have bugs in the house. even though, technically, a bug isnt a bug unless it has 6 legs, a certain kind of mouth, and a triangle on it's back). and i doubt i could bring them with me because the administration would either call them pests or pets. neither of which are allowed.

oh well. maybe one day, when i have my own house, i can adopt a little red worm family (or someone can give them to me as a house warming present. hint, hint.). then i can feed them all the table scrap smoothies i want. and i can water some of my plants with the "tea" i drain from their box and fertilize my garden with their castings. i'd never have to buy fertilizer or miracle grow or any other synthetic plant growth stimulants.

i realize this is a very strange dream. but please, try not to judge me. because this whole thing boils down to me wanting to be kind to some lesser creatures while having the healthiest and lush-est garden around. and kindness and beauty are always good things to have around :)

if you want to learn more about vermiculture, here's a link: http://www.composting101.com/worm-composting.html it also talks about regular composting on that site. you know, in case you want to find out about regular composting too ;)

ps- sorry this post is so long. i guess i got a little passionate. but hey, it's hard not to when you find something interesting, practical, and all around awesome in an abnormal way.

Miracle Mug Cake

Today i was trying to find a fast and easy recipe that i could use for the demonstration speech i need to give soon for my summer speech class. And i had heard of mug cakes before (where you have the batter in a mug and then microwave it), but i had never seen any recipe like this before. i really dont understand how it works, but somehow, by some probably miraculous force, this thing actually tastes good. once you see this recipe, you'll understand.

Recipe:
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 Tb. cocoa powder
1 egg
(there's not even any flour!!!!! that's it for ingredients!!!!!!! well... unless you put chocolate chips on top. as someone i know might have done...)

so you put all those things in a normal sized mug and mix it all up with a fork and pop it in the microwave for 50-60 seconds. (be careful not to put it in too long)

when it comes out it's really hot, puffed up in the middle, kind of fluffy, and moist (unless you overcook it). add chocolate chips right away so they'll melt (highly recommended. also, i hear some cool whip on top is awesome).

this mug cake has a lot of things going for it.
since there's no flour in it, it's gluten free. it's also pretty cheap to make and relatively low in calories because of how few ingredients there are. there's also very little clean up, and you dont even need an oven or a pan or some friends to help you eat it!

also, it's a great recipe for people who aren't on a diet, but have someone in their house who is on a diet. this is because this recipe only makes 1 serving, and the raw ingredients aren't anything that even a desperate dieter would eat by the spoonful.

now that i'm done singing this recipe's praises, i'd like to give a small warning. yes, this cake is good. but please don't compare it to your great grandma's secret family recipe chocolate cake. it's good, but nothing can really compare to that. i will say this though. if all cakes were judged by quickness and ease of preparing, how fast it cooked, how few ingredients it had, how easy it was to clean up, and how good it tasted, this cake would be the best cake ever.

i think it took me less than 5 minutes to make this cake. it's well worth your time, and i definitely encourage you to try it :)

oh, and i should probably say where i found it since i didn't make this one up myself.  i found it here: http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2010/08/02/3-ingredients-60-seconds-gooey-chocolate-mug-cake/