Genre: Opinion/Argumentation

Saturday, November 03, 2012 Every time I check my blog, I am shocked that so much time has passed since my last post.  I spend so much time Pinning, Instagramming and Tweeting that I forget the reason I started all of those social media accounts: this silly old blog!  And even beyond that, I forget the whole reason I started this blog: I love writing, I love to capture memories in words and pictures, and I love feeling like I have a place that is purely my voice. So, what do I feel like saying? I got accepted into Chico State, and I will finally be attending there in January.  I am so excited, and truthfully, very nervous.  I'm ready and excited to be taking upper division art classes, but I am also anxious about having to produce so much art. I have been painting and drawing a lot more than I did over the summer, and I'm trying to get back in the groove and keep my skills sharp. I'm taking my last math class ever (statistics), two art history classes and step aerobics, and because it is the middle of the semester, I'm feeling overwhelmed.  That's just the way it goes as a college student.  There are times where you have little to do and it feels so easy, and then suddenly everything is due or there are a million tests to study for.  I am so thankful for the opportunity to go to school (like really, really thankful) but I will be so ready to be done in two years or so. Sometimes I feel crazy for doing this to myself and my family.  And sometimes I feel like it would be crazy not to.  I think of the picture I'll have of me, in my cap and gown, with Mark, and Maggie and Liam surrounding me, and all it symbolizes, and dammit, I want that picture.  I want my kids to remember how hard I worked, and that I expect them to work just as hard.  I know it will be worth it.  And I just keep saying that to myself, over and over. Friday, October 12, 2012 Halloween is coming up quickly, and I have had a lot of fun celebrating the season in different ways. One way? Making over one of our family portraits into a Monster family portrait! Let's just say that I absolutely love it!  I plan to print it out, frame it and bring it out every October! This year, I am going to add some text and use it as a digital greeting card on Facebook and such. I started with the original photograph, taken by Amy Brown of Amy Brown Photography , at my thirtieth birthday party in June.  Then, I went to my favorite free photo editing site, Pic Monkey .  I use Photoshop and Lightroom occasionally, but, to be honest, I have moved to using Pic Monkey for most of my photo editing.  I also use Pic Monkey to make all of my banners and buttons for my blog, as well as making signs or subway art. Right now, Pic Monkey has a completely new, and absolutely beautiful, set of editing tools geared towards Halloween.  They have options for vampires, ghosts, zombies, etc., as well as textures and images to add.  I spent about an hour and a half messing around and trying out everything and in the end, I ended up with this! How did the kids feel when they saw this picture?  Well...there were mixed reviews.  Liam absolutely loved all of it, but Maggie was disturbed by Mark's zombie-ness and she said," I'm a....goat."  I had to correct her and say," No, you're an awesome monster girl with horns and super powers!" and then she was on board. So, try it!  If you any questions, or maybe even want me to monsterize a  photo of yours, let me know. Have fun! Wednesday, October 10, 2012 I recently came up with this simple recipe when I was craving peanut butter and chocolate. These peanut butter brownies are incredibly easy and are pretty enough to serve at any party.  Here's how to make these yummy, easy treats! Well, my version is the busy version and I started with a boxed brownie mix.  I made the brownies according to the directions and put them in an 11 x 7 inch pan, which made them thin, but not too thin. Next, I placed about 1/2 a cup of peanut in a microwave safe bowl and softened it by heating it on high for approximately 15 seconds.  I have also skipped the microwave part, and it still worked fine, but the peanut butter was harder to squeeze out of the bag.  Which brings me to the next step: Put the peanut butter in a ziploc and cut off a small portion of one of the lower corners.  Work the peanut down into the that corner.  Now you are ready to introduce peanut butter to brownie. Squeeze out four to five horizontal lines of peanut butter. If you have extra leftover, like I did, just go back and add it to the lines. Now, comes the trick to make these brownies pretty. Drag a butter knife from top to bottom, going through all the lines. Move across the pan, dragging your knife vertically through the lines and (this is important!) alternating whether you start at the bottom or top of the pan.  I keep a paper towel handy to wipe my knife after every pass, it makes it easier to do and is a little cleaner looking. When you're all finished, the brownies will look like this.  They are a little messier than after they have cooked, as the peanut butter flattens out.  The good thing is that you don't lose the pattern as they cook, as the peanut butter doesn't spread very much.  Bake them according to your normal brownie recipe, mine took about 30 minutes to cook. Here's the beautiful finished product.  And trust me, they are even yummier than they look. This is such an easy way to upgrade boxed brownies, and everyone who has tried them loved them! Tuesday, October 09, 2012 Last weekend, I went to Ashland, Oregon with my husband and my brother for a night.  my brother is also in college right now, and his class was going to visit the Shakespeare Festival. We saw a Shakespearean play, Henry V, in an outdoor theater that is designed to look a bit like the Globe Theater and it was a wonderful getaway. I wore this outfit that night- out to dinner,the play,and then drinks. Sorry about the picture quality, I always rush through pictures taken in public! My cardigan, suede booties and grey tights are from Target.  My dress is Forever 21 Plus, and I bought the mustard infinity scarf on Ebay. I wore this next outfit grocery shopping with the kids.  Everything is from Target, except for the skinny jeans (Forever 21 Plus) and my hat, which I also bought off of Ebay! Thanks for checking out what I wore.  I am LOVING the cooler weather in my neck of the woods and I can't wait to share more fall outfits with you all!