NOLA Blues

Recyling!!

2011-04-17T22:50:00.000-04:00

Instead of throwing away that scrap paper that has only been used on one side, print things on the opposite side or write your notes on the back. It'll safe you the money for the paper, plus it's helping our environment!

Visit http://www.castleink.com/ for more details.

-Samkay

Friday Fill Ins :)

2010-10-08T09:49:00.000-04:00

1. My back has "Scioliosis" hahaha.

2. A few of the FLL kids are a tad bit wild.

3. Leaves are falling all around, and the cold weather kicks in and I hate every second of it.

4. My boyfriend is full of forgetfulness. =P

5. Healing is a part of life

6. School, work, FRC, and FLL is what I've been up to lately!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to work and showering, tomorrow my plans include SAT's, work, and maybe bonfire at Collin's (?) and Sunday, I want to finish cleaning everything!

oops =/

2010-07-02T17:35:00.002-04:00

as always, I am being a bad blogger....I am in California (have been since Sunday) and will be here for another 4 weeks and 2 days. No, I am not counting down the days ;)

I just got done packing up some clothes and stuff for overnight because I am spending the night at my grandmom's tonight. All 3 of my cousins on my dad's side are going to be there as well, along with my aunts and uncles and dad and grandparents. It's the first time that all the cousins have been together. When we were with our youngest cousin over Christmas break, the other two weren't in town. and the last time we were with the older two cousins, the youngest wasn't yet born.

I'm actually off to go downstairs and eat something....it's been a little while since I ate, and I'm kinda feeling crappy right now. My goal over the summer is to blog a bit more. which is possible right now since I don't have a job this summer. (I'll explain in another post).

Have a good Fourth of July!

Friday Fill In's :)

2010-07-02T17:27:00.002-04:00

1. When it's quiet I like to relax...or sometimes I like to blare music.

2. I go home in what seems like a month.

3. My heart is kinda aching right now, but should be better soon.

4. I know of 3 people off the top of my head that were born in July.

5. In the town where I was born there is a hospital (the one I was born in) which is going to be no more soon.

6. The smiling eyes is something I really love about my significant other / friend.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to seeing my little cousins!, tomorrow my plans include cleaning the living room some and Sunday, I want to enjoy the fireworks off of the cliff!

Invisible Illness

2010-05-30T08:09:00.002-04:00

Invisible Illness Week for 2009 was around my birthday. So, in September. This was before I was diagnosed with my own, so I am posting it now, rather than wait until close to my birthday again.

1. The illness I live with is: Hypoglycemia. For those of you who don't know what this is, it's the opposite of diabetes. so, where a diabetics blood sugar goes up when they eat sugar, mine will spike up but then drop terribly low.
2. I was diagnosed with it in the year: November of 2009
3. But I had symptoms since: Probably January of 2009. Not totally and 100% sure. There are many symptoms of hypoglycemia, many of which can just be attributed to other things. Such as fatigue and ringing of ears. It wasn't until I nearly passed out at the gym in September 2009 and almost passed out at a robotics competition in November 2009 that we did the blood work to figure out what was wrong.
4. The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is: my diet. I can no longer have sugar or anything high in sugar. So, I can't have my favorite fruit (apple) or any fruit for that matter because of the natural sugar in it. I also can't have most desserts, unless they happen to be sugar free. Plus, I have to eat every 2 hours or so, where as everybody else can go 4-5 hours without eating.
5. Most people assume: that I don't know what I'm talking about when I say I can't eat sugar. They think that eating straight up sugar when I'm having a low will bring it back up and keep it high ish. Which is nowhere near correct.
6. The hardest part about mornings is: making sure that each day when I leave for school or wherever I'm going that day, that I have enough food to make it through the day.
7. My favorite medical TV show is: House
8. A gadget I couldn’t live without is: my glucometer
9. The hardest part about nights is: nothing actually. At night, I am able to go to sleep and my body doesn't require as much glycogen to operate as it does during the day.
10. Each day I take 0 pills & vitamins. (No comments, please) There is no medication that will make my blood sugar stay where it needs to in order for me to function "normally"
11. Regarding alternative treatments I: don't know of any other than controlling my diet.
12. If I had to choose between an invisible illness or visible I would choose: invisible. I don't like people to pity me, and if I had a visible illness, I know people would pity me.
13. Regarding working and career: I know my limitations. I can't overwork myself. If I do, then my blood sugar drops and I have to work harder to get it back to normal.
14. People would be surprised to know: that many people who say they are hypoglycemic are either (a) not telling the truth or (b) being told that by their doctor when it's not true. So because of that, many doctors will not diagnose this illness because they are not sure whether the patient really does have hypoglycemia.
15. The hardest thing to accept about my new reality has been: that I will have it for the rest of my life. And that at some point, it might switch to diabetes. I cannot prevent it from switching, nor can I "grow out of it". Another thing that is hard to accept is that I can't do the things I used to do. I can't go to the gym without eating something. I can't leave the house without having something to eat with me.
16. Something I never thought I could do with my illness that I did was: run the mile this year in gym class without feeling like I was going to pass out. I did eat a turkey sandwich right before I ran the mile, but I did it. I walked a small portion of it. and it only took me 10 minutes and 16 seconds.
17. The commercials about my illness: don't really exist. I've never seen one ever.
18. Something I really miss doing since I was diagnosed is: eating a big slice of cake. and eating caramel sauce. So pretty much I miss eating the sugar.
19. It was really hard to have to give up: sugar cold turkey. I did it tho. It was--and still is--pretty hard sometimes not to eat a candy bar
20. A new hobby I have taken up since my diagnosis is: actually looking for healthy foods I can eat. that and searching out sugar free things. lol
21. If I could have one day of feeling normal again I would: probably continue on with the way I have been. to me, a day when I don't have a low makes me feel "normal" again. Those days happen frequently, so most days I feel "normal". I still have to carry on each day the way I have been in order to not slip back into sugar eating mode
22. My illness has taught me: that sometimes you just have to take each day as it comes and plan things out according to what is best for my health.
23. Want to know a secret? One thing people say that gets under my skin is: "You don't need to eat all the time. You're fine!" or "Sam, you really should gain weight. Then your sugar will even itself out"
24. But I love it when people: think about me by getting me sugar free treats or just care when I have a low.
25. My favorite motto, scripture, quote that gets me through tough times is: actually reading text messages from my boyfriend that I have saved on my phone. the basic message behind each one is that he loves me, but the way he says it changes with each text I have saved. so it's actually more of the reassurance that he loves me that gets me through the tough times.
26. When someone is diagnosed I’d like to tell them: to look on the bright side of every situation. Life will throw you some curve balls along the way, but you can make it through each and every one
27. Something that has surprised me about living with an illness is: how time really does matter. especially when it is a matter of life or death. it really makes a difference whether someone is on time or how long you might be in traffic for.
28. The nicest thing someone did for me when I wasn’t feeling well was: tell everyone else what was going on and what I needed in order to feel better (my boyfriend did this on Friday when we were on our way home from a Gifted and Talented trip to Washington D.C.)
29. I’m involved with Invisible Illness Week because: Pst....I actually wasn't involved in it haha I just wanted everyone to be aware of what it is that I deal with on a daily basis. that and I wasn't able to participate in Invisible Illness Week since I hadn't yet been diagnosed
30. The fact that you read this list makes me feel: like you do care about what I deal with on a daily basis and what my family and really close friends have to go through. I didn't go into major details about my illness, but just the basic things are tiring to me, and especially those who take care of me.

Friday Fill In's :)

2010-05-21T08:56:00.002-04:00

1. Seeing my boyfriend smile never fails to make me smile.
2. I'm looking forward to summer!.
3. The bird outside is what I'm listening to right now.
4. Potato salad must have potatoes in it!
5. (I haven't eaten yet...lol) was the best thing I ate today.
6. Today was started about 9 hours ago haha.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing after spending the day at the beach, tomorrow my plans include nothing (I hope) and Sunday, I want to just fricken relax hahaha!

SAT scores and PROM!!

2010-05-20T06:53:00.002-04:00

First things first: I got my SAT scores today. I got an 1830 with the essay! :) My score from January was 1670, so this is a GREAT improvement! The biggest jump was my math (610 to 690), closely followed by critical reading (500 to 560) and then writing (560 to 580). I'm happy! :) I'm gonna take them a least one other time possibly, so we'll see after the next set which score I like best haha

And next thing: Prom is tonight! :) It has been a LONG awaited night, and it's FINALLY here!! I'll try to post pictures as soon as I can, but it will be a little while....cuz we're going to Wildwood tomorrow, so I won't post any pictures tomorrow hahaha

(If you can't tell, I'm very excited for prom. Collin, on the other hand, seems indifferent to it haha)

Alright, I'm off to school soon....Have a great day!

bleeehhh

2010-05-11T14:00:00.002-04:00

so I haven't been the best blogger lately. like, I've been sucking at it. in my defense, I've been preparing myself for the AP exams I had last week and this week. so, I probably won't be blogging for a little while, since I'm just now getting off the stress of these exams. that and my blood sugar has been a little off lately too. so, I won't be blogging for a while. sorry if that disappoints anybody (doubt it will hahaa)

Friday Fill In's :)

2010-04-16T15:48:00.002-04:00

1. I'd like to go up to New York City soon! :). 2. One of my most favorite romantic memories is when Collin came over on Easter this year even though I was sick just to spend time with me and he didn't care that I fell asleep on his lap. 3. Last night, I had pizza for dinner. 4. Sorry for the boring posts lately lol. 5. Can we just get along now? 6. One of my worst temptations is chocolate; it's just so hard to resist! 7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to the Senior Spring Fling (senior citizens' dance), tomorrow my plans include NYC with friends and family (!) and Sunday, I want to get some rest after doing a breakfast at the Elks Lodge!

Friday Fill In's :) (A day late lol)

2010-04-10T08:08:00.002-04:00

1. In 1992, I was born in the month of September :).

2. You can never get enough laughter and smiles.

3. Do what you want to do, with what you have available, where you wanna do it.

4. Back in bed, sleeping is where I'd like to be.

5. The trees and flowers are telling me it's definitely allergy season.

6. Nathalia is a little girl that just keeps going on.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going out with Collin and his friends to Applebee's after spending some quality time with the girlies, tomorrow my plans include finishing up some chemistry and English homework and Sunday, I want to relax....tho I know it won't happen! haha

Friday Fill In's :)

2010-04-02T21:13:00.002-04:00

1. All you need is love.

2. Nathalia Rose fills me with laughter.

3. Each generation, as it grows up, figures out their own issues.

4. Not being able to have sugar whenever I want to is something I have a hard time dealing with.

5. A trip to the beach is what I need.

6. {I don't know for this one!} and you get back.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to getting some sleep, tomorrow my plans include an Easter Egg hunt at the church for Hudson and Sunday, I want to see my boyfriend and possibly have him stay for dinner(?)!

Friday Fill In's :)

2010-03-26T22:45:00.002-04:00

1. The right word never seems to come out when you need it the most.

2. Be a dear and shut the door quietly, please.

3. "Up Chuck" is what the team 84 (Chuck) says when they start to lift their robot.

4. School usually is where you'll find me.

5. Ooh! What is that thing glowing over there?

6. Sleeping when you're tired is a good idea.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to sleep once the laundry is done, tomorrow my plans include the last day of the Philadelphia Regional(!) and Sunday, I want to spend some time with my honey!

Friday Fill In's :) (A day late lol)

2010-03-20T21:55:00.002-04:00

1. Today I will be a happy girl.

2. I am asked why I eat chocolate cheerios and I say why not?

3. What do you think of my hair?.

4. At some place it's free Pastry Day til 1030 Friday!

5. People say that what we're all seeking is right under our noses.

6. The image I cherish most is my boyfriend's eyes smiling at me :) (BEST thing EVER).

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with Collin, tomorrow my plans include getting FREE water ice from Rita's and Sunday, I want to possibly spend time with Collin!

Friday Fill In's :)

2010-03-13T17:42:00.002-05:00

1. I am so looking forward to Philadelphia Regional?

2. I wish it was later.

3. When you get a gift from someone who loves you, you know the gift came from their heart.

4. Robotics is a big part of my life.

5. If you need anything, all you have to do is ask.

6. Robotics is sometimes a trip.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to my date with Collin (!), tomorrow my plans include ushering at the play tomorrow night and Sunday, I want to relax and finish homework (tho I know it won't get done)!

Friday Fill In's :)

2010-02-26T22:46:00.003-05:00

1. A cup of tea always makes me happy :).

2. My family being with me makes a place feel like home.

3. Everything has its beauty in its own special here.

4. Does anybody else hate the taste of strawberries?

5. Art makes me think about things.

6. LOL I just noticed I forgot to email my teacher with a paper.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to continuing to talk to my boyfriend on the phone and then going to bed, tomorrow my plans include taking my dogs to get their rabies shots and Sunday, I want to finish up homework!

Friday Fill In's :)

2010-02-19T22:00:00.002-05:00

1. Johnny Weir; who is that????.

2. I have not been watching the 2010 Olympics.

3. And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was at it's worst (tho mind you, I don't understand this AT all!).

4. Sometimes, you just have to get up and do something if you get an urge.

5. Having sweet dreams right now is a rare thing....

6. What does it take to get a little respect around here!?.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to sleeeeeeeeep, tomorrow my plans include going to robotics and figuring out some things with my dad and Sunday, I want to relax....tho I know I won't be able to!!

Friday Fill In's :)

2010-02-11T22:03:00.002-05:00

1. Pickles very, very yucky.

2. I love spending time at home.

3. The snow is so annoying and I hate every time it snows here.

4. I love to take hikes with my family in nature.

5. It's 5:16 PM; that means I should have fed my dogs 16 minutes ago.

6. An honest, sweet guy is hard to find.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to sleep after robotics all day long, tomorrow my plans include robotics and seeing my boyfriend FINALLY on our 16 months (!!!!!!) and Sunday, I want to celebrate Valentine's Day with my sweetie!

Wow...Bad Samkay

2010-02-10T22:10:00.003-05:00

It's been FOREVER since I've posted anything...Very bad me. I've been so busy with robotics that I've been too busy to write anything. I'll write something really quickly before I get into the shower tho....
We had a snow day on Monday, today, and we're going to have another one tomorrow. I had robotics Monday, Tuesday, and we will have it on Friday. The stupid snow day has caused us to not have robotics tomorrow. Which makes me SO mad. Crunch weekend is this weekend and it's driving me crazy!!!
Collin and I will have been going out for 16 months on Saturday, the 13th. And then the next day is Valentine's Day. Which makes me happy as can be. :)

Ok, well I have to shower now. So, I'll hopefully post something later.....Bye!

Friday Fill In's

2010-01-15T16:12:00.002-05:00

1. The lesson I learned yesterday was you can't rely on just anybody for what you want/need...you gotta make it happen on your own.

2. I can't tell you exactly where friends and family meet.

3. All these years have gone by way too fast.....

4. I changed the lives of a few people when I arrived.

5. The truth is sometimes painful, but you gotta suck it up and deal with it most of the time.

6. Crying is what I remember most from that day.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going over to Collin's after I get done tutoring and celebrating his last day of high school with his family, tomorrow my plans include robotics and Sunday, I want to just be able to breathe and relax for a few minutes!!

Campbell's Beef and Mozzarella Bake

2010-01-01T22:03:00.002-05:00

My mom and dad used to make this when we lived in New Orleans. And my sister and I ate every bite of it when we were little. And when my dad made it on Monday, there was none left over :)

1 pound ground beef
1 (11 1/8 ounce) can Campbell's Condensed Italian tomato Soup
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can Campbell's Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 1/4 cups water
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves, crushed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder (or 1 clove garlic, minced)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (6 ounces), divided use
4 cups hot cooked medium shell macaroni (about 3 cups uncooked)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In medium skillet over medium-high heat, cook beef until browned, stirring to separate meat. Pour off fat.

Add soups, water, basil, pepper, garlic powder, 1 cup cheese and macaroni. Spoon into 2-quart shallow baking dish.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until hot. Stir. Sprinkle remaining cheese over beef mixture. Bake 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted.

Friday Fill In's

2010-01-01T18:41:00.002-05:00

1. Last night I talked to Collin as it struck midnight here.

2. I'm gonna make the best of this year.

3. The funniest thing to think about are all the inside jokes I have with people.

4. It's 2010.......so where do we go from here?

5. He said gory films; she said chick flicks.

6. She lost her sanity and it's up to us to find it.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to eating some yummy hash, tomorrow my plans include going home and Sunday, I want to see Collin!!!!

Friday Fill In's

2009-12-25T23:26:00.002-05:00

1. My boots that I'm wearing right now are more like slipper boots...and are oh so warm :).

2. I know America is gonna make it out of the recession during this century.

3. Imitation of my robotics team is often attempted, but always failed.

4. Do you know somebody who just loves to talk and talk?

5. I'd like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and Happy Holidays.

6. Why do guys always tell girls to just get over it?

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to sleeeppppp, tomorrow my plans include getting on a plane to visit my dad and hopefully going out to lunch with Collin and Sunday, I want to have fun celebrating Christmas with my dad's side of the family!!!!

Merry Christmas!!

2009-12-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!!!

I hope everybody has a safe and merry Christmas!

Appointment yesterday

2009-12-22T20:49:00.004-05:00

As some of you may or may not know, I had testing done yesterday up at the hospital. The testing was HORRIBLE. They had to draw blood and inject stuff into me. I'll explain more after we get the results from it, but hopefully the testing just rules something out.

While I was at the hospital, I met with the nutritionist. I was going to have an appointment with her anyway, so we just bumped it up a few hours while I was up there. Pretty much she said that everything that I've been doing to change my diet has been good. She did tell me that white bread is not the best for me, but it isn't too terrible bad for me cuz it's still getting the complex carbs in me. She said I can have apples with peanut butter (YAY!!!) and celery (YAY!!!) and eggs! Every website my mom and I looked at said that a max, I can eat 4 eggs a week. Which would KILL me. I love eating scrambled eggs, cheese omelets, deviled eggs, and hard boiled eggs. So when she said I could eat eggs, I was soooo happy. She did say no juices pretty much cuz they would make my sugar spike and then fall rapidly. Even if I'm low, I should eat something with carbs or protein in it to slowly get my sugar back up and then it won't drop again like it would if I ate a chocolate bar or something like that. She did say that Diet sodas and sugar free stuff are fine for me, but to be careful not to eat too much of the sugar free candy stuff cuz it might make my stomach a bit uncomfortable. But diet sodas are ok for me. :)
While all the food stuff she told me was pretty good for the most part, she did tell me some not so good news. Because my pancreas produces insulin very easily and excessively, my body is not able to absorb the sugar easily which has an impact on my weight. She told me that it will be pretty hard for me to put on weight for the rest of my life. Which is not so good for me. About four weeks ago when I met with the neurologist, I weighed in at 110 lbs. About two weeks ago when I met with the endocrinologist, I weighed in at 108 lbs. And last night when I checked my weight, I was 104 lbs. For the past two years pretty much I've been around 110 lbs, either just below it or just above it. But I have never gone over 115 lbs. So being told that I will struggle to put on weight for the rest of my life was pretty big. It explains why I haven't been able to gain any weight for a while.

If I had found all this out when I was first diagnosed, this would have sparked a breakdown out of me. And finding out that I won't be able to gain weight easily did scare me. Alot. But while it's scary, I'm coming to my senses and realizing that it's better to learn this all out now rather than a few years down the line when I'm in college and I'm away from my family and my support.
So I'm figuring out that while this does suck, it's not something that I can allow to control my life. Instead of letting my hypoglycemia scare me away from things or totally restrict me, I've got to take control of my life. It's gonna be hard, cuz unlike diabetics, if my blood sugar levels get off track, I can't eat more sugar to get it back up or give myself insulin to get it back down. It's more complicated than that, but I will do it. I will be in control of my life and not let my hypoglycemia keep me down.

Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole

2009-12-22T20:47:00.000-05:00

My mom and sister got this recipe off of the Campbell's Kitchen website. It is delicious!

Ingredients:
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's Condensed Cream of Chicken soup (Regular, 98% Fat Free or Healthy Requested)
1 1/3 cups water
3/4 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cup frozen mixed vegetables
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast half (1 pound)
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:
Heat the oven to 375. Stir the soup, water, rice, onion powder, black pepper, and vegetables in a 2-quart shallow baking dish.
Top with the chicken. Cover the baking dish.
Bake for 50 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender. Top with the cheese. Let the casserole stand for 10 minutes. Stir the rice before serving.

What we ended up doing was cooking the chicken while the casserole was in the oven. My sister cut up the chicken and then mixed that and the cheese into the casserole once it came out of the oven after the 50 minutes. It was to die for! I would have taken a picture of it, but I was too hungry to wait another minute!

Campbell's also offers these variations to the recipe:

Alfredo - Substitute broccoli flowerets for the vegetables and substitute 1/4 cup Parmesan grated cheese for the Cheddar cheese. Add 2 tablespoons Parmesan with the soup. Sprinkle the chicken with the remaining Parmesan cheese.

Lower Fat - Use Campbell's 98% Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup instead of regular soup and use low fat cheese instead of regular cheese.

Mexican - In place of the onion powder and black pepper, use 1 teaspoon chili powder. Substitute Mexican cheese blend for the Cheddar.

Italian - In place of the onion powder and black pepper, use 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, crushed. Substitute 1/3 shredded Parmesan for the Cheddar.

Tell me what you think about this recipe! :)

Kate's Chicken recipe

2009-12-19T14:07:00.001-05:00

My mom's friend Kate gave us this recipe a few weeks ago. Since today is a cold, snowy day, we decided to go ahead and try it to stay warm. :)

Kate's Chicken recipe

Ingredients:

1 roll refrigerated crescent rolls
2 cups cooked ground chicken (or cut up grilled chicken...that's what we used today)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
optional: minced garlic, salt, pepper

Directions:

mix together cooked chicken and grated cheese. Add garlic, salt, pepper, or whatever spices you want.
Open up each crescent roll into a flat triangle. Fill each triangle with the chicken/cheese mixture. Rewrap each crescent into a little bundle. Line them in a glass baking dish.
Whisk together the cream of chicken soup and milk and pour it over the bundles. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until the top is browned.

That is pretty much what it looks like, with extra sauce on it. It was simply amazing. I had 2.5 of these babies. and boy were they good! :)

Enjoy!

Friday Fill In's

2009-12-18T23:32:00.002-05:00

1. No, we will NOT be silenced.

2. We sat at the old kitchen table.

3. I watched the steam rising from the hot cup of coffee (or tea) and thought: "I hate the cold....".

4. Everything is going to be okay.

5. I'll take your word on it.

6. Chocolate is AMAZING.... at least from my point of view.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to sleep <3 , tomorrow my plans include shoveling snow and staying warm and Sunday, I want to stay warm!!

Ack!

2009-12-17T17:56:00.003-05:00

It's been a few days since I've posted anything....

I have finished one Christmas present. For Nathalia. Well, almost finished it. I just have to sew in the ends, and then I have her headband done. That's all I'm making for her right now. Unless I decide to give her that for her birthday in March...Yea, that's what I'll do. Which means, I gotta get working on her scarf! Ack! haha
I am currently working on Ally's present. It is a scarf. Tonya, make sure you don't tell Ally what I am making her lol

The blog site is up for the robotics team. Go check out the LuNaTeCs and all their wonderful thoughts :)

And I just got done tutoring a kid named Eli. Tonight was the last night for two whole weeks. THANK GOD. lol ;)

Christmas present dilemma

2009-12-12T08:12:00.002-05:00

I have a dilemma. I have 13 more days (counting today) until Christmas Eve. And I don't have gifts for 6 little girls (Allyson, Nathalia, Kyra, Celine, Emma, and Adelyn) who I love dearly. I've decided I want to knit them something, but I'm not totally sure what yet. I do have a few ideas for each girl tho. (and yes, I have done repeats for most of the girls lol)

Allyson: scarf, mini backpack, pillow, headband
Nathalia: scarf, mini backpack, pillow, headband
Kyra: scarf, little purse, pillow, headband
Celine: scarf, pillow, headband
Emma: scarf, mini backpack, pillow, headband
Adelyn: blanket

I have patterns for the headbands and I can pop out scarves like no tomorrow. So those gifts are likely for each of the girls minus Adelyn. But I want to give them something else. I dunno. Do those ideas sound good for girls who range from the ages of 6 months (Adelyn) to 8 years (Kyra) with the other 4 girls being around the age of 3 ish?

Friday Fill In's

2009-12-11T17:03:00.000-05:00

1. Good times: they keep people sane.

2. I do love my home.

3. Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?.

4. Nathalia is little.

5. Once more I will tell the story again.

6. Does the insanity over end?

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to the Walk of Lights with Collin and his family, tomorrow my plans include something unbeknown to me and Sunday, I want to babysit Celine and Kyra! So happy that I get to!!!

Idea...

2009-12-04T18:42:00.003-05:00

I have an idea....
And my idea is this:
To add ANOTHER blog to my group of blogs.
Dedicated solely to hypoglycemia.
Recipes, tips, reminders, notes, anything.
So if you come across ANY recipes that are hypoglycemic friendly, please pass it along to me.
Cuz I want to try any recipes that sound good and I want to put it up on my new blog.
Thanks! :)

Friday Fill In's

2009-12-04T16:20:00.002-05:00

1. You get one chance on this earth, so make it matter.

2. We got right to the point and told him the story.

3. It's always like we're running on not enough time.

4. Eating a turkey sandwich without mayonnaise!?That's ridiculous!

5. I feel more tired than I have in a LONG time.

6. It's getting late.......goodnight!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to staying at my grandparents' house, tomorrow my plans include NHS breakfast in the morning and Sunday, I want to go see my boyfriend and celebrate his birthday with his family!!

Last minute Friday Fill In's

2009-11-20T21:54:00.002-05:00

1. We need to figure out what we really want in our lives before we can be happy.

2. I made a sudden decision a little over a year ago one night at about 11 at night and it made me smile after time went on a little bit :).

3. If you want to get to know anybody, you gotta talk to them.

4. I know Collin is happy when his eyes smile because his eyes rarely ever smile, unless he is truly happy about something.

5. Massachusetts has a proposed 5% sales tax on elective cosmetic surgery; I think that it doesn't pertain to me??? haha.

6. Being around family and friends makes for a happy holiday.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to SLEEPING!!, tomorrow my plans include lunch with a family friend (my "other" grandmother) and Sunday, I want to relax....tho I know it won't happen!!

Pretty please?

2009-11-20T16:52:00.001-05:00

GoodSearch & GoodShop

YOU SEARCH OR SHOP... WE GIVE!

Raise money for South Jersey Robotics just by searching the web and shopping online!

Search the web now!

Money-saving coupons!

Add to your site

Hypoglycemia

2009-11-20T15:10:00.002-05:00

What is hypoglycemia?
It is when your blood sugar is too low.

Why am I even asking what it is?
Because I found out today that I am hypoglycemic. I did a 5-hour long glucose tolerance test yesterday, causing me to miss the entire day at school. And I found out that this morning during first block that I have hypoglycemia.

I want to cry. I want to scream. It makes me really worried. Cuz I will have this my whole life. I will never grow out of it. So for the rest of my life, I will constantly be watching my diet habits and how often I eat and what I eat and keeping a close eye on my blood sugar.

There are many symptoms hypoglycemia. Personally, I have experienced about 13 of them during one of my spells. The most common ones have been: Double/Blurry Vision, Fatigue, Ill Felling, Headache, Hunger, Dizziness, and Paleness.

I'm scared of what's in store for my future. Right now I feel like crying cuz it's so scary. At least, it is for me. So this should be an interesting few years.....=/

Friday Fill In's

2009-11-13T15:18:00.002-05:00

1. The last band I saw live was uhmmmm.

2. What I look forward to most on Thanksgiving is spending time with my family :). (if you don't celebrate thanksgiving, insert your favorite holiday)

3. My Christmas/holiday shopping is nowhere near done! hahah.

4. Thoughts of robotics competitions fill my head.

5. I wish I could wear tank tops whenever I want to....

6. Bagpipes are annoying.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to helping out at the Oldmans PTA Movie Night and getting community service hours for it, tomorrow my plans include Ramp Riot!! (with Collin as the driver hopefully!) and Sunday, I want to have fun during the Shoe Box and Pizza Party at my church with Little Bean and also at the college fair!

Ugh

2009-11-06T08:17:00.002-05:00

I haven't been posting much because my computer is being a piece of dog doo-doo. Every time I turn it on, 100 million pop-ups come up and won't go away. So right now I am on my mother's computer. I won't be able to post anything for a long time either.
I am going to a church related thing called Revolve Tour tonight and tomorrow. It's in Philadelphia, and I've been going for the past 3 years. It is sooo much fun. For any of you that have heard of Women of Faith, Revolve Tour is the same thing, but for teen girls.
I just wanted to tell everybody that I won't be posting for a while and why I haven't been posting anything since October 23.

Friday Fill In's

2009-11-06T08:13:00.002-05:00

1. Plans and schedules can change on a moments notice .

2. I'm happy when things work out for the best .

3. The last thing I drank was water I believe .

4. One of the most valuable things in my life is the love I get from my friends and family .

5. I like bacon and sausage on my pizza.

6. Dear November, I hate that you are such a cold month. Yours Truly, Samkay .

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to Revolve Tour!, tomorrow my plans include REVOLVE TOUR! and Sunday, I want to see Collin and get community service hours at the LAC Concession Stand!

Friday Fill In's

2009-10-23T15:11:00.002-04:00

1. The crickets sing, but Poppop never gets to hear them.

2. Don't forget me, wherever you are.

3. I want to get far away from the insanity of my world sometimes.

4. Getting paid to do robotics!?; this was a dream.

5. But as for me I always try to be as calm and collected as possible.

6. I definitely know where I come from

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to hanging out with the boyfriend :), tomorrow my plans include possibly driving the stick with Poppop and Sunday, I want to go up to the GameX with some people from the robotics team...Oh that's right! I get to do that!!

Stop Motion Animation

2009-10-19T21:19:00.001-04:00

Did that for a class project with my "brother" Eric, friend Garry, and this kid Shane in my first block class. Waddya think? :)

Friday Fill In's

2009-10-16T19:55:00.002-04:00

1. So are we going to get the CD to burn or not?

2. Success is what's up ahead.

3. I love to talk to my boyfriend whenever possible.

4. He is my brother....of some sort.

5. I walk a lot when I have the energy to.

6. CHOCOLATE is the true elixir of life!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing for a few more hours before going to bed, tomorrow my plans include the Island Road clean up in LAC and homecoming and Sunday, I want to practice driving my car with Miss Ellen!!!!

Mimi Update

2009-10-15T22:19:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was a good day. Her surgeon had said that yesterday was gonna be the day that she was hating him. But yesterday was her good day. So we are thankful about that. She was walking around in the hallways and was doing better.

Today, however, was a different story. Her blood sugar was a bit off this morning. They got it regulated at where they wanted it. And then they got the bloodwork back. That showed that her hemoglobin was at 7, which mean she got one pack cell today. =/ She wasn't feeling good at all today, so no walking around for her. Tho they did put her leg on the machine and that exercised the knee even tho she wasn't walking out of bed.
We are hoping her levels become stable and she is better tomorrow. At this rate, however, she will NOT be going to South Gate tomorrow for rehab. We'll know more tomorrow.
They did have to change her room today because the room she was in has a leaking problem when it rains. So, they moved her and her roomate into a room further down the hall where there is no leaking problem.

Please keep her in your prayers. Today was not a good day for her, and we are hoping things get easier. And even tho things have been so off, she hasn't complained once. She really is a trooper, which we are all thankful for. Just please, keep her in your prayers. She could really use them right now.

Surgery success

2009-10-13T21:24:00.003-04:00

My grandmother was taken into the O.R. at about 8:30 ish or so. She got out of surgery at about 11 this morning. Everything went great. My sister and I went up and saw her after school today (with two stops on the way to drop off homework to my "brother" and stopping at Chick-Fil-A and ended up seeing my ex there and talking with him). We drove up to Marlton by ourselves, and did perfectly fine. She is in some pain, but she only used the Morphine Pump about four times that my mom knows of. Four times since about 11 this morning. That's my grandmother for ya! lol
They hooked her leg up to this machine that would bend at the angle they set it to and it would bend and flex her leg for her. They had her on the machine for about 3 hours or so. And she actually had her first round of P.T. today as well. They didn't think she was going to until tomorrow, but since she got back to her room before 2, the physical therapists gave her a visit. They even had her up and walking around and putting weight on it. She did complain that it hurt alot. But after all that she has been through, I would be surprised if it didn't.

So that's the update on my grandmom. And now I'm exhausted and will probably go to bed soon. It has been a LONG day.
Please continue to keep my grandmom in your prayers!

Today is the day

2009-10-13T06:52:00.002-04:00

Please keep Mimi in your prayers today. And her doctors as well. My grandparents and mom left for the hospital at 6 this morning to be up there by 7. My sister and I are going up there today after school. By ourselves. Which should be interesting, but only cuz we only half know how to get up there (West Jersey Hospital up in Marlton). Thank god for the GPS. But still. Keep the doctors, my grandmother, and my family as a whole in your prayers today. We can really use them today. =/

(happy anniversary babe!!!!)

YAY!

2009-10-12T20:36:00.004-04:00

Tomorrow is me and Collin's first anniversary!!!! :) I am soooooooooooooo happy! Tho I'm not sure what makes me more happy....Knowing that we've been together for a year, or knowing that he loves me enough to be with me for a year. :) lol
I gave him the present I made for him yesterday on our way home from the mall (I was driving, so it was more of a "Collin, grab the bag in the back, will ya?" haha). At first when he opened it, he wasn't too happy with me cuz he had told me not to get him anything. But I'm not a very good listener :D
I made him a photo album of pictures of us from a few days before we started dating to last Tuesday night. After he got over his unhappiness, he laughed and said that since we filled a page and a half this year, we will just have to fill up a page and a half every year :)
He did forget it in the car Sunday night. When I texted him and told him, he genuinly sounded sorry. lol so, I forgive him for forgetting it. Even tho I was joking with him saying he did it on purpose ;) lol

On a different note....Tomorrow my grandmother goes in at 7 to have her right knee replaced. PLEASE pray for her. They aren't putting her under (heart and lungs might not be able to handle it) so instead they are doing a spinal block. They will give her some meds as well to make her really drowsy. I am going up to the hospital with my sister tomorrow night to go see her. I'm even skipping robotics to go see her. And I'm not going out on a date with Collin like I had wanted to earlier. Which is huge. Cuz if it was anything else going on that night, I would have skipped THAT to go on a date with Collin on our anniversary.
But please just keep my grandmother in your prayers. And my entire family. She will be in the hospital for four days and then will be in rehab at South Gate for about a week. I will definitely be posting something tomorrow night after I get home from the hospital. So, be on the lookout for an update on her.

Friday Fill In's

2009-10-09T15:29:00.003-04:00

1. Sweet dreams my adorable little Adelyn and Celine :). (the youngest two girls I watch)

2. Purple and black orbit balls especially for me. ;) fun times in that stupid craft room LOL

3. Silliness is what I live for.

4. I dunno what I wanna be this Halloween.

5. Outstanding or not I try to do the best I can do.

6. Chocolate is what I want right now!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going over to Collin's house for the bonfire hopefully, tomorrow my plans include Duel on the Delaware with the robotics team and Sunday, I want to do something fun with the boyfriend maybe?!

5 more days!

2009-10-08T21:58:00.004-04:00

I am looking forward for this upcoming Tuesday.
Well, in one sense I am. My grandmother is having her knee replacement surgery that day, which makes me sad. But, that's not what this post is about (the post about the surgery will come later)
This post is all about one specific person....

My boyfriend....
On October 13, 2008 at about 11:30 at night, Collin asked me if I wanted to be his girlfriend. I'll admit, it was on the tail end of a bad breakup, and I wanted some comfort from somebody, so I said yes. What I consciously did not realize at the time was that I really did have feelings for him. I realized that about two days later when I actually realized how much he cared about me.
On Tuesday, October 13, 2009, we are celebrating our first anniversary. And I am SOOO happy about that. We've had our fights, we've had our laughs. He has even experienced first hand what happens when I get extremely stressed out or upset and the waterworks start to flow. But even through all the fights and sad moments, we both know just how much the other person cares about us. I'm so glad I found a guy like Collin to date, and I wouldn't trade him for any guy in the world <3

(this picture was taken today, shortly before we left for robotics. He did NOT want me to take a picture of him, but I got him to agree to it somehow. lol)

ABCDEFGHIJ...Oh you get the point

2009-10-07T16:41:00.002-04:00

I got this from Shark Bait and decided to do it :)

A: Addiction: Dark chocolate
B: Breakfast: Water, a donut, and a few lifesavers
C: Chocolate or Chips: Chocolate
D: Dessert or Appetizers: Dessert
E: Essential Items: Cell phone, iPod
F: Favorite Color: Purple
G: Gummy Bears or Gummy Worms: Bears
H: Hometown: All over the country, just about
I: Indulgence: Chocolateeee
J: January or July: July
K: Kids: None yet :)
L: Life isn't complete without: my bestie <3
M: Most exciting memory: Oh lord. I have alot.
N: Number of Brothers and Sisters: 1 full sister. A few sisters that I've adopted as my own.
O: Oranges or Apples: Apples
P: Phobias or Fears: PVC pipes LMAO
Q: Quote: "Our love is like the wind. I can't see it, but I can feel it" A Walk to Remember
R: Reading: Nothing right now lol
S: Summer or Spring: Summer baby <3
T: Tag 6 people: Eh, I don't feel like it lol
U: Unknown Fact About Me: There is one family member that many people don't know about of mine.......
V: Vacation I want to go on: France. Italy. Pretty much Europe in general.
W: Walking or Running: Either
X: X-Ray or Ultrasound: X-Ray. Ultrasounds freak me out. Especially when they do one of my kidneys. :(
Y: Your favorite food: I have lots :)
Z: Zoo or Bowling: Bowling

Crazy Day

2009-09-29T22:25:00.002-04:00

Today - and these past few days - have been CRAZY. Today especially tho. My "brother" decided he was dropping the engineering academy. All cuz of AP Chem. Then my NHS meeting got rescheduled for tomorrow, which meant that my AP Chem exam was rescheduled for today. (MeM said it could be tomorrow cuz the NHS meeting was during chem.) It's a good thing I studied last night for the test anyway.

Tho today wasn't all bad. It was sad at times, but not horrible. I guess I should give some background info....
For those of you that read my post about Mr. Marvin, you'll know just how much he meant to me. Today would have been his 81 birthday. And since he meant so much to me, I had really wanted to go to the cemetery today to pay him a little visit. I had asked Collin last night if there was a chance he could take me by there today, and when I called him this afternoon to see if he was picking me up, he did. We had to drop off an application for Radio Shack for him and we stopped at the new Dunkin Donuts in Woodstown and the McDonald's in Woodstown for him to apply to those places for jobs as well. And afterwards, he drove me to the cemetery apon my request.
When we got there, I got out of the car and kinda squatted down in front of the grave (he is buried right along the road and Collin pulled up right in front of the grave). I just kinda sat there for a little bit and whispered happy birthday to Marvin. Next thing I hear, Collin is opening up his door and he came around to sit next to me. I started to cry a little bit, and Collin held me the entire time. I didn't expect Collin to get out of the car and come sit next to me, let alone let me cry into him while sitting there. Like, I knew that he wouldn't mind it if I cried, but it was surprising that he even got out of the car to sit there with me.
When I mentioned him getting out of the car on our way back to my house, he said that even tho I didn't specifically ask for him to get out with me, he knew I wanted him to. Which was true. It meant alot to me that he did it on his own tho, without me asking him to.

I've put Collin through a lot of shit. I really have. Recently and as far back as when we met. Yet he has always been there for me, through thick and thin. If you ever read this Collin, thank you so much for always being there for me and for putting up with me and my weird mood swings and all my crap. You were a great best friend before we started dating, and now you're even more of a great best friend. I love you babyboy <3

Friday Fill In's

2009-09-25T19:15:00.003-04:00

1. One week ago yesterday I got my license!.

2. I miss some of the memories I had when I was young.

3. Mama told me never play with guns ;) .

4. Babe, it's just you and me.

5. Take your time and get it right the first time.

6. This too will pass!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to hopefully going out with Mom and Shannon for dinner, tomorrow my plans include registering my car, going to the Woodstown Festival thingy, and the pig roast at Kirby's house and Sunday, I want to drive to Salem and see my boyfriend and actually spend time with him!

Long day

2009-09-24T17:12:00.003-04:00

It's been a LONG day today. And it's only about 5:15 ish too.
We had our school pictures today. Because I'm a junior whose name is between A and M, my picture was during the first half of first block. I hate having school pictures taken, cuz I always think I look dumb in the pictures. Last year was a semi good picture of me, tho I have a feeling this year's won't be.
I found out during second block that I got a 98 on my AP Calc test....And I got the highest grade...And 7 of those points were because of extra credit.....The average for the class was a 69....Mr. Lower is PISSED. =/
After I got home from school and called my mom, she told me that I had to get in the car with Shannon and drive down to her office. For those of you that don't know, my mom works for a doctor's office. Usually she doesn't tell me to go down there unless it's a good reason. Before I got off the phone, she told me that I was gonna have to get a shot. Uh oh. Shots + Samkay = BAD. But, I did as she said, and got in the car with Shannon. I wouldn't tell shannon why we were going down there until she was in the car tho. Cuz Shannon + shots = REALLY BAD. She passes out usually. So, wasn't gonna tell her until she was in the car.
We got down to the office and signed in. I knew what shot we were gonna get, but what I didn't know was that technically the office isn't giving the shots until October 1. Yes, the flu vaccine. *shudders* So, we got the flu vaccine today. The main reason we got them today and not until after the first is cuz my grandmom is going into the hospital on the 13th as some of you know. For those of you that don't know, she is having her right knee replaced on the 13th of October. And we wanted to get the flu vaccine well in advance because for about 2 weeks, the immune system isn't running at its best after that vaccine. And we don't want to risk her getting sick while she is in the hospital or right before she goes in. We want her to be as healthy as possible going into this surgery.

As I posted 2 days ago, please continue to pray for Fred and the entire family. His surgery was successful, but apparently things didn't go exactly as planned. He is also in pain, which is not too common because he has a high pain tolerance. Things are a little difficult without him being home right now, so please keep Collin's family in your thoughts right now.

Please?

2009-09-22T17:02:00.003-04:00

If you pray each night, just please mention Collin's dad, Fred, in your prayers please. Even if you don't, at least keep him in your thoughts at least. Tomorrow he goes in for surgery. I'm not quite sure what type of surgery it is, but I know it has to do with diverticulitis. Again, not quite sure about all the details, but I know that he had a bout of it this summer and also 3 years ago when Tonya was pregnant with Ally. (Collin's stepmom and half sister). Please just keep him in your thoughts.

:D

2009-09-21T22:21:00.002-04:00

Today was a good day.

Because my car arrived today! :)
My grandfather who gave me the car also took me to drive it today after everything got figured out. I only stalled once. :) Unlike the 10+ times I stalled while driving my dad's car LOL
The car will be registered probably Saturday at the earliest. Tho Mom will be driving it before then. Cuz I'll need her car on Tuesday and other times during the week.

Collin and Anniversary

2009-09-19T22:23:00.003-04:00

On October 13th, it will be one year since Collin asked me out. And I want to get him something sweet and meaningful to show how much I love him. And I have put lots of thought into it. It took me until tonight to figure out what I want to get him. But I'm not sure if it's cheesy or anything like that. I know that if I post my idea on here that it will risk him seeing it and figure out what I want to get him. But, I'm willing to take that risk to hear what everybody else has to say about my idea. Mainly the people who know him well. (i.e. Tonya, Denise, Denise's mom, etc. lol) Tho I'll give a little bit of background information that lead me to come to this idea.

Ok, so Collin and I were talking one day while I was out in California, and I was watching Disney. Aladdin was on, and I told him that. He then told me that it was his favorite Disney movie and always had been. And then tonight when I was on facebook, I took a survey that was called "Which Disney Princess Are You?" and the first question I got was about what song was my favorite out of a list of songs from the movies that have princesses in them. The top one was "A Whole New World" from Aladdin. And when I saw that, I actually felt myself smile cuz it reminded me of Collin.
So my idea was to get him a copy of Aladdin on DVD. Cuz when I think about that movie, I think of him right away. But does that sound cheesy at all? My friend Eric said that no, he didn't think it was cuz it shows that I listen and care about what he says. So, I really need your opinions on this one. Please?

Friday Fill In's!

2009-09-18T18:11:00.002-04:00

1. My car is currently on its way to Minnesota right now.

2. My dad's birthday is coming up next.

3. Lately, things seem to be a bit easier than they had been in the past.

4. My room with chem stuff is one of my favorite 'hiding' places.

5. What happened yesterday and the day before was simply AMAZING! (Got my license yesterday and I found out that I am 7th in my junior class out of 164).

6. Making Adelyn laugh is not impossible!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to driving to the store and to Aunt Potsy's house hopefully by myself, tomorrow my plans include the robotics open house and applying for a job at the new pet store in Pennsville and Sunday, I want to finish my AP calc work!

Bad Samkay

2009-09-15T09:14:00.002-04:00

I've been slacking on my blogging again. And I'm not sure exactly why. Cuz I'm on my computer most of the day when I'm home. I guess I'm just too lazy to actually post something tho. Sorry to all those people who actually read this. lol

Since it's the 5th day of school today, I guess I can honestly say how I thought the first three went. So, here we go:
Wednesday (9/9): It was kinda weird the first day back. Like, don't get me wrong, I was SOOO happy to be back at school with all my friends. But it was pretty weird when my homeroom teacher ended up being my first block teacher. And this guy is new. So, when we left to see if our lockers worked, he told us to go to our first block class. So all of us went to our first block class, only to find out that no, we should have gone BACK to homeroom. My first block class is also kinda weird. It's Design Media Tech or something like that. Second block is AP Calc AB right now. And I have Mr. Lower again. So I'm happy :) Third block is AP US History 2. Which is ok. And fourth block is AP Chemistry. FUN! :) lol Wednesday also kinda sucked cuz I saw Collin for maybe 10 minutes total. :( Like, I saw him before homeroom, as we were walking to first block, and then for like, 2 seconds during 3rd block when he came to see Mrs. Cerrito. :( He leaves for college after second block every day, so I don't get to see him. Which makes me VERY sad.

I would post about the rest of the week now, but I have to go to the orthodontist. I'll hopefully post about Thursday and Friday later! :)

Friday Fill In's (Two days late LOL)

2009-09-13T08:26:00.002-04:00

1. That's a party to be.

2. Hey look!; I'm over here!

3. The possibilities include: Confusion and Mixed messages. (Anybody who knows about the robotics issue will hopefully understand this one LOL)

4. Coco's Needle Fish (Noodle Dish...My family can never understand what I say haha) is one of my favorite cool day recipes.

5. How will you know when somebody lies to you if you don't know them as well as you should?.

6. I love summer and a stormy sky.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to the gym, tomorrow my plans include robotics kick off and Sunday, I want to go to Septemberfest and celebrate Michael's birthday!

Quick post!

2009-09-07T11:17:00.002-04:00

Yesterday after church, Collin picked me up and took me to his mom's house for the first time in the almost 11 months that we've been dating. I got to meet his grandparents who live in Arizona too. They are sooooo nice. Denise took some pictures while I was over there too.

Ok, so this one her dad took actually. haha this was before John came home with JP and Ray-Ray

We were playing a game called Pictureka. I would explain it, but it's very confusing to understand. hahah

Still playing haha

And still playing hahaha.

It was lots of fun playing with the boys. JP read a book to me as well, and asked me to read him two books. After I got done the second book, Collin and I had to leave in order to get back to my house on time. Then he ended up staying for dinner, which was spaghetti. It was interesting listening to my grandparents and Collin talk about Maine while I was setting the table for dinner before Mom and Shannon got there. My grandmother sounded like she was loving talking to Collin about Maine, which made me feel sooooo much better. hahah :)

Alright, I'm off to go places with my grandmom and my mom today. Hopefully I'll post more soon. :)

Friday Fill In's

2009-09-04T09:00:00.000-04:00

1. I feel like going to bed soon. (I did this at 11:30 on Thursday night)

2. Hanging out with Rachael and CeCe and Colton is always fun.

3. Right now, I can hear these things: The TV up here, the TV downstairs, and myself typing away.

4. My stomach is a little bit sore and I'm glad it is in a way cuz that means that doing the Abs exercises is working :).

5. The last time I saw a movie in theaters was on Sunday with Shannon and her boyfriend and my mom.

6. I'm somewhat looking forward to this Labor day weekend.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to hopefully relaxing at home, tomorrow my plans include practicing my parallel parking with my grandfather and Sunday, I want to go drive to the cemetery to go spend some time with Mr. Marvin since I haven't done that in almost two years!

Apology

2009-08-31T08:08:00.002-04:00

I apologize for taking 2 weeks to write anything. Things have been CRAZY around here. I've been going to parties and movies. I've gone to the rodeo. I've wanted to kill some people, and I've been missing others that left this world in my life.

There is one person who I miss more than anybody right now. He was my grandfather's best friend here in Jersey. He was like another grandfather to me and Shannon. Mr. Marvin just had that way about him that when you were around him, you couldn't help but laugh yourself silly. My family had actually saved his life in a way because we urged him to go to our cardiologist when he started having chest problems. Shortly after he went to an appointment, he had to have open heart surgery. I forget exactly what they had to do (pacemaker or bypass....and if it was bypass, I don't remember if it was triple, double, etc.) but doing that surgery kept him alive for about 2 or 3 more years than we thought he was gonna live.
I remember the night he died very clearly. He hadn't been feeling that great, so his girlfriend (another family friend...we did a match-maker thing there ;] ) called my grandfather who told her to call an ambulance My mom and poppop had gone up to the hospital with Mr. Marvin's girlfriend and met up with his family there. They found out then that he had died while at the hospital. My mom then called my grandmom and told her. I walked down into the kitchen from being on the computer to find my grandmom crying. I asked her what was wrong, and that's when she told me and Shannon that Mr. Marvin had died. The night was the hardest for me ever. I couldn't stop crying.
I went to the viewing with my family. That was the hardest viewing to attend. I kept wanting him to open his eyes and tell me that I had better stop crying like I heard him say so many other times when he would be in the hospital. I had wanted to go to the funeral the next day, but I had a field trip that day to NJIT. Now it sounds silly that instead of going to the funeral of the man that was such a big part of my life that I went to a stupid field trip. But I knew that if I had gone to his funeral instead of the field trip, Mr. Marvin would have killed me. He would have wanted me to be with my friends instead of mourning his death. Everyone else in my family went to the funeral. My sister said that she cried the entire time. And my grandfather had to do his best friend's funeral. Apparently he choked up a few times while doing the funeral. Once they made it to the cemetery, my mom said that she actually saw him wipe away a tear.
A few days after the funeral, I finally made it to his grave. Just as I started to cry, the heavens opened up and it started to rain. My aunt kept trying to get me to get into the car cuz it was raining. I wouldn't budge. Not even when my mom tried to get me in the car. Finally after I stopped crying my eyes out completely, I finally got in the car. And to be honest, I think that's when I finally let go of Mr. Marvin. I haven't cried solely for him since that day, tho I have come close to crying for his memory whenever I go past the cemetery now. And on October 29, I am going to be driving myself to the cemetery to pay respect to him on the second anniversary of his death. He died exactly a month after his birthday.
Rest in peace, Mr. Marvin. We miss you so much.

Friday Fill In's

2009-08-28T11:39:00.002-04:00

1. He was a man who had some rough times in his life, but when he looked at the pictures of his daughters his life looked a little bit brighter.

2. Mr. Marvin's Labor Day picnic is what I look forward to most this time of year...Even if we no longer have them anymore. R.I.P. Mr. Marvin.

3. My best friend and I have had our ups and downs, but she is always there for me when I need her :).

4. You never know when people want to be honest with you.

5. Appearances can be very deceiving at times.

6. The last person I gave a hug to was my grandmom when I got out of the car last night.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to maybe getting my eyebrows done if I can, tomorrow my plans include nothing that I know of and Sunday, I want to do something. I dunno what tho!

Friday Fill In's

2009-08-14T14:23:00.003-04:00

1. When will people stop being so stupid and demanding?????

2. Don't Judge a Spy By Her Cover (book)...Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (movie)...Degrassi (show) was the last good book I read or movie I saw or tv show I watched.

3. Everything has its beauty but not all of it is visible on the outside.

4. Pizza is what I had for dinner last night.

5. I'd like your background??.

6. With Collin is where I want to be right now. (No shock there haha)

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to babysitting Celine, tomorrow my plans include a parade here in town and John John's 2nd birthday party and Sunday, I want to relax!!!!!!!!!!

Today

2009-08-13T10:54:00.002-04:00

Today is a big day. Collin and I are celebrating our 10 months today. Which is huge. But, of course, it had to rain today, so our plans to go to the park are ruined now. And we can't find anything to do that won't require us to make an effort to go there. Stupid, stupid rain.

Tonight there is a party for my graduating class from my middle school. A pool party. My best friend (who actually graduated from Woodstown, not Oldmans) is gonna be there cuz she went to Oldmans her entire life with the exception of 5 and 8 grades. Collin is going also. lol And afterwards, Rach is spending the night here. So, that's good.

Still have an issue of figuring out something to do.....Crap.

Blog Hop! Favorite Pictures

2009-08-11T06:43:00.004-04:00

Welcome to the newest Blog Hop! :) This one is all about my favorite picture or pictures. As you can probably tell, I LOVE taking pictures of people, whether I'm in the picture or not. So, sit back and enjoy, and I'll make sure to give some background information about each picture. :)

One of the girls I babysit (Nathalia) came with my mom and grandfather to pick me up from the airport when I came in from visiting my dad. Once I picked her up when I saw her, she didn't leave my side once, except when I went to find my baggage. I love this little girl with all my heart, and this picture reminds me that sometimes, all you need is a hug from a little girl who doesn't know - or probably care - that things go wrong in life every day.

This picture was taken last summer when I was up in the mountains in New York State with my best friend, her brother, mom, and cousin. We were hiking the last day, and my best friend and I were farther ahead of everybody. I took a picture over my shoulder while we were walking, and after I looked at it after taking it, I smiled so much. Jimmy (the cousin) is in front, Colton (the brother) is behind him - and slightly blurry - and Jenn (her mother) is in the very back.

This again was taken during our hike in the mountains of New York. Jimmy and Colton were chilling at this rock while we were taking pictures of the scenery (which was GORGEOUS!). They looked great in the lighting, so I took a picture of two members of the family I've adopted as my own. :)

Rachael, me, and our families (my mom and sister, her mom and brother) LOVE to go to concerts together. Last year after the New York trip, we went to go see Boys Like Girls, The Maine, Good Charlotte, and Metro Station. After we were starting to get a bit tired, we went into the tent area to cool off since everybody was pushed up against eachother during the concert (outside concert, no seating). My little sister took this picture of us while we were obviously posing for another picture. This picture is one of my favorites because it shows me that even though last summer we had a major fight, we've stayed best friends for over 6 years so far, and nothing, not even boys, can come between me and my best friend :)

This is a picture of Nathalia, the first time I babysat her. It was in December of 2007, when she was about 2 years old. We were in the doctors office where both her mom works and my mom works. They were having a meeting in another room, so we sat in the kitchen playing in there. She was so shy at first, and then she ended up crawling on the floor and into my lap. She was so cute and adorable then. And she still is too. :)

This is Rachael's cousin Ciara. She is another person that I have adopted as my own family member. She is a goofball, just like us. We were at the hospital in the waiting room because her mom had given birth the day before to her baby brother and there were lots of people in the hospital room right then. We decided to hang out in the waiting room to avoid all of them, and did so quite well for a while. :)

Hope you all enjoyed this week's blog hop!!

Salem County 4H Fair

2009-08-08T23:14:00.003-04:00

The robotics team had a booth at the fair...here are pictures that I had from Monday night (set up night) until Friday night (last night)
ENJOY!! :)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Friday Fill In's

2009-08-07T12:15:00.000-04:00

1. Relaxing on the beach is my favorite summertime past time.

2. My favorite John Hughes movies is Yea, can't think of any John Hughes movies. LOL.

3. Soft baby clothing is something I love to touch.

4. The full moon makes me appreciate life actually. It reminds me of lessons I learned the hard way.

5. I'm tired and hungry right now.

6. When daylight fades I get mischievous ;) .

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to getting the fair done with, tomorrow my plans include hopefully going swimming in my aunt's pool and Sunday, I want to go to Logan to have my eyebrows waxed if possible!

Good news!!! :)

2009-08-05T16:28:00.002-04:00

If you to go this blog, you will learn some VERY good news in regards to the robotics team.

Registration this year will cost us $5000 instead of $6000. AND we will be getting a Classmate PC to use in our driver's station (where we control the robot) as part of the Kit of Parts. This is HUGE!!! :)

YAY!

2009-08-03T08:00:00.003-04:00

The plane landed at about 4:50 ish or so I wanna say. I had texted Mom asking her if Collin could go with her to pick me up. She said that there wouldn't be enough space in the car. I assumed that that meant that both of my grandparents were going to be coming with her. Well, my grandfather did go with her. But instead of my grandmother, I got this person

Nathalia Rose came with my mom and grandfather to pick me up. Which made me smile SOOOOO hard. I saw her before she saw me and I handed Shannon my Diet Dr. Pepper and ran over to Nat and picked her up. She didn't even realize I was right there until I had picked her up. She started hugging me like crazy and was holding onto me up until when we got to baggage claim.

I missed that little girl <3

Mostly packed and home for 6 weeks

2009-08-01T15:00:00.000-04:00

It's official....Last night I packed up all of my clothes that were not in the washing machine or dryer. I leave tomorrow and I have mixed feelings about it. For 6 weeks, my home has been Santa Cruz, CA. I've been with my dad, the man who I've always looked up to, no matter how bad things were during my life. And believe me, things have gone from great to horrible in the matter of a few minutes during points of my life. And he was always there for me, even tho I used to push him away during one point in my almost 17 years of being on this earth. Being with him was great. But I'm dying to get back to Jersey where almost all of my close friends are. And where my boyfriend of over 9 months is. Packing my suitcase this time took longer than it usually does because not only was I packing all of my clothes, but I was packing away memories that I had made on this trip.
I have a bunch of pictures included in this post...Of my room that I lived in for 6 weeks. Kinda lame, I know. But I figured I'd let you see what I saw every morning for the past 6 weeks. Very different than the room I live in when I'm in Jersey...

My bag that is almost all packed. Just need to put a few more things in it to finish packing.

My dresser when I'm here. With a few books on the very top. At one point during these 6 weeks, that open section had about 10 books filling it. Now the majority of them are in my suitcase, waiting to be added to my collection at Mom's house.

My desk. I've had that desk from when I first moved to California about 10 years ago. I think it used to be my aunt's desk when she was about 7, which is when I first got the desk. It's gone through many moves, and now it's final place for now is at my dad's house.

My bed. Kinda a bad shot. haha. Oh, and please ignore the mess of clothes on the right side of the room. Those are my dad's clothes, not mine or Shannon's.

My sister's bed with her clothes on it. She didn't pack last night like I did because she was at a friend's house for the night.

The closet in our room. It's a HUGE walk-in closet. Like, I could easily fit my bed in there and have room for a dresser. Larger than the one I currently have at Dad's house. I didn't use it that much, only to hold my suitcase for 6 weeks. Shannon used it because she doesn't have a dresser here and was living out of her suitcase.

The messy, messy bathroom. Yes, we have a bathroom off of our bedroom. My stuff is generally all on the left side. Tho not all of it is mine. haha.

The broken towel rack. Don't ask why it's broken...We didn't break it.

The lovely shower. haha

Shannon's bed and my bed. The purple sheets are actually mine. Not Shannon's. Dad couldn't find Shannon's sheets before we got here.

My bed and desk.

Behind the picture of Half Dome (in Yosemite Park, CA) is a TV....The TV has not been used in about 2 years or so. But oh well. :)

Better view of my desk. If you look closely at my computer, you actually see my blog up on the screen. haha. My desk is cluttered with my iPod, sunglasses, cell phone, water bottle, books, cell phone, head band, and the monkey I plan on giving the baby girl born to Heather and Jeremy on June 7, 2009. :)

And I had to put this picture on here....While up visiting my grandparents in June, my grandmother took me and Shannon out into town the last full day we were there. She bought me knitting needles and 3 skeins of yarn. I have been working on a scarf for myself since then. It's not quite done yet, but it will be soon hopefully.
My grandmother supports all of the hobbies and activities that my sister and I pick up along the way during our life. She sends a check each year to support the robotics team, usually over $250 by alot. She buys knitting things for me constantly and she is always giving Shannon culinary tips and recipies for her to try out. And my grandfather is extremely supportive as well. He will have many conversations with me about the robotics team. He also is driving out the 1988 Mazda RX7 cross country for me in September. :) I am VERY blessed to have grandparents who are so supportive and will do anything to help me and Shannon accomplish our dreams and goals.

I find it amusing that this started out as a kind of sad post for myself to a happy post that has now caused me to smile. :)

I leave tomorrow to go back home. I am really looking forward to going home. I'm going to miss it here like crazy, but my homesickness is really kicking in.

DIG 32 :)

2009-07-31T22:54:00.003-04:00

Today has been a good day. So, here goes my DIG earlier than I usually would do it. :)

1) I got to hang out with my friend Edwin during his 15 minute break today. It made me happy cuz he is one of the few friends I made at work last summer. :) YAY friends! lol

2) Shannon's friend Ivy was in town today and we hung out with her. And Ivy's friends and cousin and cousin's friend were pretty nice as well to us. YAY for that! haha

3) Shannon is spending the night at Kellie's house. Which means that it's just me and Dad tonight. YAY! hahaha

4) I am starting to pack my clothes tonight to go home on Sunday!!! <3

5) It was my last day off from work before I leave for Jersey. :)

I should probably start packing up my clothes and other junk I have laying around the house. It'll take a little bit of time to get everything together and make sure all my clothes are washed, but it should work out. haha Tomorrow I'm working from 2 until 9:30, so I'm not sure if I will be able to post between now and when I leave. I might schedule a post tho. That is more likely actually. haha. :)

Have a good night everybody!!

Friday Fill In's....Last one while in Cali!! :)

2009-07-31T14:00:00.000-04:00

This is the LAST Friday Fill In that I will be doing while here in California....You have NO idea how happy I am!!! :) lol

1. It's time for me to go see my friend Edwin since he is working on the boardwalk!.

2. Orcas Island; it's not a bad place for some time to yourself in a pretty place.

3. I must be be ready to go home by tonight...

4. Cellular technology is the best thing I have ever known.

5. My friend Rachael is simply amazing and is my bestest friend EVER!!.

6. The last time I laughed really loudly was today when we saw my friend Kellie's ex....hahaha.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to packing up all my clothes, tomorrow my plans include working from 2 until 9:30 PST and Sunday, I want to GO HOME!!!!!!!!!! It's a good thing I am doing exactly that too!

Oops

2009-07-30T19:32:00.002-04:00

I haven't posted anything in 3 days...I'm soooo sorry about that!!!

Right now I am doing a webchat with the robotics team. Yes, I'm still in California. :( It kills me that I'm so far away from that workshop right now! I am going through withdrawal of my tools at the robotics workshop. I miss doing electric work. I miss stripping wires. I miss wiring things.
Good God....I'm a robotics nerd!!!! AHHH!!! lol just kidding. I embrace my nerdiness. :) If I didn't, then I wouldn't be doing the webchat. LOL

I just wanted to post and tell everybody that I'm still alive. On Tuesday and Wednesday I was working and I work on Saturday. Today Shannon and I went to the boardwalk, and toomorrow we will as well so I can see my friend Edwin one last time before I leave. Oh, I leave on Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) lol

Blog Hop! Favorite Kid Picture

2009-07-27T12:00:00.000-04:00

I ended up picking 2 pictures. All 2 of them are of my mom's friend's daughter Nathalia. I babysit Nathalia all the time and when I get back to my house in August I'm also going to be babysitting her baby sister Adelyn. These are the pictures I have for now tho.

Nathalia the night I babysat her and we got the kitten

Nathalia playing "Grocery" with my grandmom's walker

Change of plans

2009-07-26T02:54:00.003-04:00

I'm not gonna do my DIG....Instead, I'm just gonna show you some pictures. Tho I'm not quite sure why they're not in order....My Blogger has been all messed up lately. Oh well. Enjoy the pics!

My '88 Mazda RX7 with Mount Tam behind it :)

My aunt took this one

I'm not gonna say much anymore...So, just enjoy the pics ;)

For some reason this one ended up down here...It was supposed to be in the beginning...

So, did you like the car??? :) My grandfather here in CA is giving it to me as my 17th birthday present. He's driving it out to Jersey for me and everything. Can you say I'm a spoiled granddaughter?? LOL Just kidding. Like, he is driving it out for me and everything, but I am the oldest grandchild and I did ask for the car. My grandmom wasn't too sure about giving it to me, but my grandfather fought for me. By saying how he would trust me with the car over a 17 year old boy. Which, I don't blame him. (no offence Collin or any other 15-18 year old guys who read this. LOL) My aunt is all for it as well. :) She helped me with getting these pictures taken. Like, she moved my dad's car, my car, took a few pictures, and moved both cars back to their original parking spots. I love her <3

Alright, well, that's it for now. I work tomorrow from 1 til 8 PST. So, I won't be blogging tomorrow probably. Have a good day tomorrow!! :)

Quick post before my DIG....

2009-07-26T02:46:00.002-04:00

Please check out this post I found on a blog today...Believe me, you'll like the entry that Brown-Eyed Girl posted today. Cuz I mean, a FREE $50 gift certificate to Sephora?? Who wouldn't like that!? :)

Friday Fill In's :)

2009-07-24T18:00:00.000-04:00

*For anybody that notices the time this is posted and when I said I was going to be working today, I will have you know that I purposely scheduled this to be posted at 6PM ish or so EST. Which means I'm at work when this is posted. So that will also explain my later answers haha*

1. Losing a loved one is not the end of the world.

2. Sitting here, listening to the sound of rain falling, I wish the rain was actually falling here in California. Stupid dry season..

3. Dark chocolate tastes so good!

4. Sometimes, putting others first is what causes me to not feel good (I do it all the time and always put myself last....not turning out so great for me right now).

5. Holding a newborn is breathtaking, really. Not my own, but others hahaha just had to clarify that for anybody that wasn't sure lol

6. Well, maybe there is going to be a time with my parents get along without constant fighting. Or maybe I'm just a wishful dreamer. Yea, that is more likely.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to getting a nice warm shower to get rid of the nasty cooking grease smell, tomorrow my plans include going up to Marin to maybe see my friend Sophie...or maybe to hang out with my dad's girlfriend....that sounds pretty fun actually and Sunday, I want to not work until 8....tho I think that's exactly when I'm working until!

DIG 31

2009-07-24T02:01:00.004-04:00

Day in Grace time again!

1) My dad and I got Crystal Light tonight and we made the Fruit Punch one...Boy was it yummy :)

2) It was my aunt's birthday today!!!! :) Tho nobody celebrated it with her today :( Her husband and son went to the Phillies game tonight and my mom and grandparents (her sister and parents) are in Louisville. And we're out there. :(

3) I got lots of exercise into today by walking....(you'll see why in a little bit....)

4) My iPod kept me company during my long walk and didn't die or get sad :)

5) The picture below in itself is a thing to be VERY happy about....

That is my work ID...Saying that I can officially work on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and be an employee of Twisselman Enterprises. :D I worked my first shift today from 4:30 to 9:30. And I had to walk all the way to work Yes, it was annoying. Thank God my dad picked me up after work. haha

I work tomorrow from 12 to 6....PST....Fun? lol I'm working lots of days before I leave. Which I guess is good. Cuz more days to work means more money for me. But still. I hate walking all the way there. And I smell NASTY afterwards.

You see the bit of the sign that says "Hot Dog...." ?? That's where I work. Hot Dog on a Stick. Laugh all you want. haha. I make fun of myself ALL the time for working there. The worst thing we sell is Cheese on a Stick. It's a chunk of American cheese dipped in the same batter used for the corn dogs, put on a stick, and deep fried. Nasty. Today I sold like, at least 4 of those things. We also sell Polish Dogs on a Stick. Not as bad. I sold 1 of those. Those are special order tho and take about 10 minutes to make. Ugh. lol

Robotics love

2009-07-23T18:00:00.004-04:00

Can I just say that I love robotics. Even if we are 3000 miles away :)

*The top picture was taken with my sister's phone. We took a screen shot of what the robotics team looked like from 3000 miles away on the webchat. The second picture was taken by a mentor of my sister and I being goofy as can be. He took the picture with a camera and it was when they were using my aunt's computer instead of the computer that has the camera already hooked up.*

DIG 30

2009-07-22T23:19:00.002-04:00

OMG it's been a full month of DIG!! ahaha and it's taken me HOW long to get to here? haha

1) I went to the dentist today. No, that's not what I'm happy about. I'm happy that they found only like, 2 cavities but the one is in between two teeth and small enough that they aren't too worried about it right now. I go back on Wednesday for 1 filling and 2 seals. Fun? lol But for not haven gone to the dentist in 5 years, that's pretty good. Don't ask why it's been 5 years.

2) My aunt understands why I'm going insane with a certain person on the robotics team. This person thinks that they can just take themselves off of the subteam without informing us that they are doing that. yea, doesn't work so well.....But Aunt Potsy understands my frustration because of this person.

3) My cousin is always there for me when I need someone to go to, and he tells me things that he knows I should know. And he confides in me with things he wouldn't talk to anybody else about. So I feel loved :)

4) My mom is getting away for a little while. She leaves tomorrow to go to Louisville and she will meet up with my grandparents down there. They are staying with my grandfather's stepsister and they will also go see my grandfather's stepbrother and his wife. They were the parents of my mom's cousin who died earlier this year. She would have been 38 a day or so ago. :(

5) This is my 200th post!! :) lol

Tomorrow I don't think I'm going to be posting anything since I am going to be working. I work from 4:30 to 9:30 (PST) and will not be awake enough probably to post anything. Also I'll be smelly thanks to the fryer grease and will want to get a shower and go to bed after I get home. lol So, have a good day tomorrow!

Bad addiction....

2009-07-21T18:39:00.003-04:00

I'm feeding my addiction....I'm up to 5 blog backgrounds that I've made. The newest one I just made today. During the webchat with the robotics team.
I made a LuNaTeCs background. And I might like it better than the other ones I made. Tho I promise I will try not to use it until January.
I guess I should probably explain why I won't use it until then....

I'm on a team called the LuNaTeCs. We are part of an organization called FIRST. We are a robotics team and we compete each year. January starts our official Build Season. We work for 6 weeks on a robot after getting the game from FIRST during the first weekend of January. It's an intense 6 weeks. Try putting 12 students in a workshop that is in a community college. We don't have tons of room for all of us. But, we work on a robot each year and it turns out pretty darn good if you ask me. :)

That was our robot this year. I love Sammy Su :)

Blog Hop! Fav. Recipe

2009-07-21T12:00:00.001-04:00

Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

Cookies:

1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg

Filling:

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ teaspoon peppermint extract
2 drops (or more) red food coloring
½ cup crushed red-and-white-striped candy canes or hard peppermint candies (about 4 ounces)

For Cookies:

Whisk flour, cocoa, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until well blended. Beat in egg. Add dry ingredients; beat until blended. Refrigerate dough 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350^oF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop out dough by level tablespoonfuls, then roll into smooth balls. Place balls on prepared baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Using bottom of glass or hands, flatten each ball to 2-inch round (edges will crack). Bake until cookies no longer look wet and small indentation appears when tops of cookies are lightly touched with fingers, about 11 minutes (do not overbake or cookies will become too crisp). Cool on sheet 5 minutes. Transfer chocolate cookies to racks and cool completely.

For Filling:

Using electric mixer, beat powdered sugar and butter in medium bowl until well blended. Add peppermint extract and 2 drops food coloring. Beat until light pink and well blended, adding more food coloring by dropfuls if darker pink color is desired. Spread 2 generous teaspoons filling evenly over flat side of 1 cookie to edges; top with another cookie, flat side down, pressing gently to adhere. Repeat with remaining cookies and peppermint filling.
Place crushed candy canes on plate. Roll edges of cookie sandwiches in crushed candies (candies will adhere to filling). (Cookie sandwiches can be made ahead. Store in single layer in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days or freeze up to 2 weeks)
Sorry, I don't have any pictures of these....They really do look good tho! :)

Impressive....

2009-07-20T14:19:00.002-04:00

I'm doing the mature thing for once....I'm going to the library to work on my summer homework. Today I'm primarily working on my AP US History 2 research project. Hopefully I will get lots of research done while I'm there and will get some of the rough draft started. Hopefully. I'll tell you how it went tonight. If I survive. ;) lol
Have a good day everybody!

haha name list

2009-07-20T13:15:00.000-04:00

Ok, so, I am on my old blog site and saw this....LOL

Do You Know A..... *if yes elaborate*

-Michael- Yes....School and Collin's little brother
-Matthew-Yea...School
-Jacob-Yea...Went to middle school together
-Christopher- Yea....School, my cousin, my dad, and my uncle
-Nicholas- Yea...His mom is friends with my mom
-Joshua- Yea....He dates my friend Angelina and we have 3 block together lol
-Tyler- Yes....Middle school
-Daniel- Yea....Middle school
-Jonathan- Mhm.....My dad's friend
-Andrew- Yea...1 at the middle school, 1 is my ex boyfriend, and 1 is my uncle haha
-Brandon- Yea....Shannon's boyfriend and 2 kids I went to middle school with
-Zachary- Yea....He dated my sister
-Joseph- Don't think so
-Austin- Yea....He used to go to Oldmans with me
-Anthony- Haha yea. I used to like him. LOL
-John- Yea. Middle school
-James- Mhm...Collin's little cousin
-David- Yea...Middle school and high school
-Ryan- Yea. He's my godfather's brother-in-law
-Justin- Yea. Rachael's boyfriend
-William- Yea....That's my godfather. LOL
-Alexander- Used to lol
-Robert- Yea. Dated him.
-Christian- Yea. Shannon's ex
-Steven- Mhm. Honors US 1 and Honors Bio
-Brian- Not that I can think of lol
-Eric- Yea....he's like my big brother. LOL
-Kevin- Yep. My best friend in New Orleans has a stepdad named Kevin and Shannon has a friend who is now a senior in the culinary academy named Kevin and he worked at my grandparents' anniversary party
-Thomas- Technically, yes. He goes to Oldmans but I met him thanks to being a Safety Captain in 7th and 8th grade
-Dylan- Yupp. I went to school with two kids named Dylan (Wolff and Jordan) and there is a kid in my high school named Dylan and he also goes to one of my churches
-Aaron- Left Shoe!!!! :D lol Yea, robotics
-Cody- Yea. Both school and my dog. LOL
-Benjamin- Yes. Rae's little brother
-Jose- haha yupp. Health 10 <3
-Jordan- Yea. Jordan Baker (in academy with me) and Jordan Higgins (this kid who tried saying that Collin was cheating on me)
-Samuel- Yepp. Went to school with him while I was in California
-Sean- Yepp. My darling cousin. :)
-Caleb- Nope. I didn't get to meet Caleb. :(
-Nathan- Yupp! Cutie little Nate. One of the bridesmaids in my mom's wedding has a baby named Nathan. So it's Kate and Nate. LOL
-Louis- Yupp. Both World Cultures in my freshman year and Spanish 2 in my sophomore year :) Tho he spelled his name Luis. lol
-Adam- Yepp. Addam :)
-Richard- Yea. My uncle.
-Jason- Yepp. He dated my friend Callee
-Devin- Yupp. I know a bunch
-Mark- Yea. Dated Bonny and went to Oldmans with me. On the bus all my freshman year he would call me Kirky
-Connor- Nope
-Trey- Nope
-Hunter- Nope
-Cameron- Nope
-Jesse- Yupp. Robotics and Decor Design 1
-Jared- Yea lol he dropped outta the academy after freshman year
-Charles- lol my science teacher in Oldmans!! LOL Mr. Walzer!!
-Timothy- I dunno. Maybe?
-Patrick- Yea. Oldmans. And now his cousin dates my ex. Just alil weird. lol
-Shaina- Not that I know of
-Corey- Yea. I also know of a girl whose name is spelled Cory. Not Corey. lol
-Logan- Yepp. His cousin dated me in 7th grade. hahaha Logan is a pain in my butt too
-Ian- Yea, I know a few
-Gabriel- Nope
-Dakota- Nope
-Marcus- I don't think so
-Trevor- I went to school with one in Cali
-Juan- Nope
-Jeremy- Yepp. My uncle.
-Alex- Yupp. Many.
-Luke- One of Dad's Burner friends!!! hehe lol
-Peter- I might?
-Carlos- Nope
-Chase- omg I love Chase! He's so cute! lol
-Miguel- Nope
-Jeffrey- Yea. He was mean to Cassie. >.<
-Sara- I know MANY Sara's. Both who spell their name Sara and Sarah.
-Travis- Don't think so
-Nathaniel- I know somebody who has that middle name
-Antonio- Nope
-Isaiah- Nope
-Garrett- Don't think so
-Alejandro- Not that I can think so
-Jesus- He was in my freshman health. But I don't really know him
-Taylor- Yupp. The Oliver family is HUGE and has many cousins. LOL
-Angel- Oh god. That kid pissed me off!
-Dalton- Don't think so
-Kenneth- Nah
-Adrian- Nope
-Bradley- Haha yea. She's adorable
-Edward- Kinda. He pisses me off
-Elijah- Nope
-Blake- Nada
-Jake- CHEWY!!!! <3 Yes I do lol
-Raymond- Yepp. Collin's youngest sibling. :)
-Seth- Barely anymore lol
-Alec- Nope
-Colton- CREAMPUFF!!!!!!!!!! <3 lol
-Dustin- Cali
-Ethan- No?
-Jorge- Haha yupp. Health 10 :)
-Ricardo- Nope
-Colin- Can you add an extra "l" in his name please?
-Gregory- Yea. He used to be married to my dad's cousin.
-Wesley- Nope
-Jeremiah- Nope

DIG 29

2009-07-19T01:10:00.003-04:00

Time for DIG 29!!! :)

1) Today was a good day for the most part. We went out for breakfast and just wandered around. All 3 of us. :)

2) Dad bought me this AMAZING knitting book. It has awesome projects that are actually totally Playa projects. LOL Can you tell I'm a Burner's daughter? :)

3) I got to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince today with Shannon and Dad. It was actually pretty good. Now Dad and I feel the need to reread books 6 and 7 LOL

4) I have yet another new layout. Yea, the other one wasn't loading on my computer for some reason. It said that Photobucket had deleted it. Yet when I went on my Photobucket account, it showed up...So, NEW LAYOUT! :D This one is in honor of baby Adelyn. But, that's another story for another time :)

5) I designed a background for Shannon's blog and you should totally check it out. Both her blog and the background I made. :) Designing backgrounds for blogs has become my new addiction...Help me feed my addiction.... ;)

Well, I'm off to mark which knitting projects I want to do for who and in what color(s) in my book. I love my post-its :) Night everybody!

Friday Fill In's

2009-07-17T14:45:00.000-04:00

1. Macaroni and cheese make a quick and easy dinner.

2. Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover is the book I'm reading right now.

3. July brings back memories of sitting on the cliff watching the illegal fireworks going off on the beach below us with my dad :)

4. The plot of the story was obvious.

5. They say if you tell your dreams they don't come true I guess.

6. You have to her give her time to think it over.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to the boardwalk with the Burners to see a free live music show, tomorrow my plans include doing something fun with my dad and sister I hope and Sunday, I want to go for a run!

New blog layout

2009-07-17T14:27:00.003-04:00

I decided that my old layout was not cutting it for me.
So, I made my own. I learned how to make my own layout at this site. It took a few tries to get it right, but once I got it, I thought it looked pretty good.
What do you think? :)

DIG 28 I think it is

2009-07-17T02:26:00.002-04:00

Today was a MUCH better day than yesterday was. So, here is my Day in Grace for Day 28 (I think)

1) Today was a day revolving around robotics. LOL Webchat all day with the team from about 12:30 this afternoon until about 5:30. Which was really fun.

2) Laughter filled a good chunk of my day (thanks to robotics nerds. hehe)

3) My dad took us out to dinner (pizza) before we saw a movie.

4) We saw The Lost Boys tonight at one of the movie theaters.

Yes, this movie is OLD. Like, from the 80's old I think. lol But, it's an amazing movie, and the movie theater we saw it at is doing a Flashback series of old movies. And while this movie is awesome to see in the comfort of your own home, it is even better in theaters.

5) We saw the movie with a bunch of my dad's friends. Alot of which have grown somewhat close to us in the 3 and a half weeks we've been here and they've been super nice to me and Shannon.

So, there's my DIG. Tho, I'm wanting to add an extra one...So, I'm going to. :)

EXTRA THING OF GRACE: I got lots of robotics work done today. Like, rough copies of paperwork that is needed for the fair we are doing and some office type things like planning who is taking what job for the publicity sub team. And it felt so much better that when I sent the things to the sub team mentor (my aunt) to look over to make sure it all looked right, she only said to make one change....Take out a coma in a sentence. I was sooo happy I didn't have to do lots of work. Soon all the things are going to be sent to the team leader for her to check, so this should be good. :)

I hope everybody had a great day today! I'm looking forward to tomorrow since we're going to possibly be hanging out with my dad's friends again at the boardwalk and he and I are going to get my work permit hopefully. :)

Nope. Nada

2009-07-15T22:40:00.003-04:00

Today is NOT the day for me to do my DIG.....I've had a kinda crappy day all day and nothing is gonna help it out. Actually, not true. This girl is helping me.

I'm not sure what I would do without Rachael. Especially right now when I need her most.

But yea, no DIG tonight. I'm too emotional to come up with 5 good things when I can only think of one right now and it's that my best friend is always there when I need to talk to her and I need her advice.
I hope everybody else had a better day than I have had.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-15T20:30:00.001-04:00

Blog Hop! 3 Things you don't know about me

2009-07-13T14:24:00.003-04:00

3 things you don't know about me....

1) I absolutely LOVE going to see live bands with my mom. She always gets tickets to awesome concerts, and always takes me if it's not a 21+ show and she has an extra ticket. Or, when it's my birthday and she gets tickets to see my favorite band (Cowboy Mouth!!). The picture below is from when we saw my other favorite band from New Orleans, Better Than Ezra. Their song "Juicy" was on the radio for a while when the album first came out.

(don't pay attention to the fact that her eyes are closed...that is a frequent thing with her. haha)

2) I am a total robotics nerd. Ok, you may have actually figured that out, BUT even when it's not competition season or build season (A.K.A. right now), I am CONSTANTLY doing things for robotics. Like, looking things up to save us money, fundraising, and recruiting. And even though I'm out in California visiting my dad right now, every Tuesday and Thursday I jump on my sister's computer to do a video chat with the team while they are in the workshop.
Below in a picture from our first regional in Rochester, NY. It was everybody on our team who was in the pit. Minus the driver since she was taking the picture. So, we have our main drive team (minus Shelby) and our back up drive team and our coach, Mr. Hinde. I don't feel like naming everybody...it would just take too long. :)

3) I'm pretty messy for a Virgo. Tho, not as messy as my dad...(he just made the cut-off for Virgos). They say that Virgos are supposed to be neat and tidy, right? Well, obviously they don't know me and my dad haha we can have things all over the house in the most random places. But, we can always find the stuff we need, when we need it. Or, almost always.

DIG 27

2009-07-12T02:25:00.005-04:00

Finally doing another DIG....Wow...I've gotten WAYY behind on these....lol Ok, here's at it. lol

1) My dad taught me how to drive stick shift today!!! I still need LOTS of practice at it, but at least now I kinda know how to drive a stick lol

2) We started to clean up the house a little bit. Like, all three of us pitched in. Totally different than what I'm used to at Mom's house....

3) I got some good 1-on-1 time with my dad. That doesn't get to happen very often when we're out there, but between driving with him and the time we were spending together while watching the Harry Potter marathon on ABC Family tonight, we actually got that time together :)

4) I got to drive today :D lol yes, I know that I said above that I learned to drive stick....BUT, I haven't driven in exactly 3 weeks. So, I'm soooo glad I got to drive again today!!!

5) This one is good and sad at the same time....I saw pictures of my gorgeous little girls today....

Nathalia Rose....

And her little sister Adelyn Noelle. (ignore my mom please in the above picture LOL couldn't find a picture of just her haha)
Well, seeing the pics from Nat at the beach with her mom and stepdad and then seeing the picture of Adelyn sleeping on Jeremy's chest made me soooo happy cuz I love those girls sooooo much. But at the same time, seeing them also made me so sad. Cuz I miss them just as much as I love them. Like, I was watching this commercial on TV about toddlers and how they need good food to energize them. Well, that had me thinking about how Nat will just go outside and run around with my dogs and then when she gets tired, she'll crawl up on my lap and watch Noggin (So glad we have OnDemand LOL). Which made me miss her like crazy. And then I thought about her sister. And how adorable she is and how she already would look up at me and smile. Or, it looked like a smile to me haha. Tomorrow she will be 5 weeks old. And she is just so too cute.
Gah....I'm making myself miss my two girls even more!!!! I'm gonna stop before I cry! haha

Hope your day was good! :)

Hmmm

2009-07-11T19:05:00.004-04:00

Just got home from learning how to drive stick shift.......
It was........
interesting........
Yea, that's the word I want to use.
My dad had me start the car without actually turning on the engine. Like, going downhill on this one part with the electrical stuff on and with the car in second and then taking my foot off the clutch. Scared the crap outta me. lol He purposely had me stall a few times. And there were a few times when I stalled completely by accident lol Like, when he wanted me to do a U turn and I accidently stepped on the gas instead of the brake & clutch. So, I stepped on the brake like I would in an automatic. Yea, I learned the hard way that you have to step on the clutch when you do that too. lol
He said that I had the basics down tho, and that I wasn't a bad driver. Now I just gotta practice alot before my birthday. Cuz I am so driving my car to robotics that night :)
I am SO glad I know many people who have stick shifts and would gladly help me practice :)

So excited :)

2009-07-11T15:12:00.002-04:00

Today, Dad is taking me to drive his stick shift. I need to learn, because the car I'm getting is a stick shift. :) But after we get done cleaning around the house, we're gonna go find a parking lot for me to practice in. Even tho it's technically illegal for me to drive out here....haha. Oh well. :)
Oh, and once I get a good picture of my car, I'll put it up here. It's awesome. :) It's a black Mazda RX7, 1983, 2 seater. My grandfather here in California is giving it to me as my birthday present. He is gonna drive it out to Jersey for me and everything. He is having the paint redone and everything too.
I love being the oldest grandchild. And that I said that I wanted it. :)

Quick ranting....

2009-07-10T16:07:00.002-04:00

I've been pretty good about my ranting posts. Tho, not so good about actually posting this month. So, it's time for a ranting post. Or, a small ranting post. haha If you don't wanna suffer through it, don't read it. :)
It just so happens to be about things here in California....Like always, I will not put names.

I love him to death. I really do. But, he doesn't always think about things. Like how there are 3 different zip codes that could be used for this one post office box. So, he gives me the box number, but not the zip code for said box. Thank god the person who I was giving it to knows what zip code could be used for the street that his office is at. I might just try to kill him tho if things don't work out.

These two loving people really need to get their acts together. Cuz I'm getting dragged into the middle of something that I really don't want to be in the middle of. She didn't think things through before she told him. He jumped the gun and told another person before he should have. And that other person called me not so happy about it, and ended up crying about it, just before they got another call. One thing led to another, and I am stuck with crying people all over, and frustrated people and I can't handle it anymore!!!! Thank god that things have started to settle down. But, the two loving people needed to think things through before opening their mouths up.

Ok, that's it for the ranting for now. I ranted about two things that were really bothering me, and now I feel better. Like always, sorry about the cryptic rant....I can't say who or what each rant is about. Even cryptically, it helped get things off my chest.
Thanks for putting up with this if you actually read it. :)

New buttons

2009-07-10T15:53:00.003-04:00

I've added new buttons on the side of my blog.
If you click on one of them, it will bring you to a site. The site will then offer you a question with 4 multiple choice answers. Answer the question with what you think is the right answer. Whether you pick the correct answer or not, you will donate 10 pieces of kibble to either a cat or dog in the Animal Shelters, depending on which button you click on. You can also get to the other site by clicking where it says "click to...feed {insert other animal} too!". If you want to, you can also add a button like I did on mine by looking up at the top of the site where it says "banners". You can pick any banner you want to. Please help me and everybody else help out these poor animals! :)

Friday Fill In's

2009-07-10T13:53:00.003-04:00

1. The last thing I ate was ice cream and the ice cream cone.

2. Food is something I recently bought. (with my own money)

3. When it rains, it sometimes makes for a boring day

4. Shannon was the first person I talked to today.

5. Hugs are awesome!!.

6. Temprapedic beds offer extra comfort.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to hanging out with Dad and Shannon, tomorrow my plans include hopefully something fun and Sunday, I want to find out what's going on!

I love my myspace sometimes.

2009-07-08T01:26:00.003-04:00

My myspace has this wonderful application...it's called Bumper Stickers. I can put these stickers on my profile, telling my friends exactly how I feel sometimes....

Like take this one for example...It tells my best friend and boyfriend that I'm thinking about them everytime they smile. :)

Ok, this one is just adorable lol that's why it's on here. :)

Again, shows that my friends are amazing :)

Yea, story of my life actually lol

Something I'm trying to live by...

Really shows exactly what my bestie Rachael is like. :)

Story of my life...I know wayy to many people that I think this about...

Again, so, so true.....

Again, something Rachael would probably do for me. :D

Let's see if you can guess who this is for....LOL :)

And this one....hahaha Can you tell I love my bestie??

Dr. Seuss was a very smart man. :)

I just thought that you would enjoy seeing things that explain who I am...Or, some things that do. lol :)

Blog Hop

2009-07-05T21:14:00.003-04:00

This is my favorite picture because it is of my youngest cousin Riley at his first Christmas in the family. And, that night he was cuddling up in the blanket I had made him for Christmas (on his lap) which makes it a special picture as well.

Happy Fourth of July!!!!

2009-07-05T02:56:00.004-04:00

Happy 4th of July everybody, and happy birthday to Colton and Kelsey!!!!

Friday Fill In's :)

2009-07-03T13:35:00.003-04:00

1. When I heard the train whistle I knew it was time to go see my dad in New York City.

2. Laughter best medicine.

3. It's late, but I can't sleep (Ok, it's not late here at all but...lol it works)

4. I love my friends always.

5. My eyes have seen many things that I wish I could blot out of my memory.

6. The man lifted the wood strongly.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to baking cookies, tomorrow my plans include going to a party that one of my dad's friends is holding and Sunday, I want to chill and do nothing!