5 Thoughts From Today

I think alot.  I don't always think about intelligent things and I try to avoid thinking while doing homework, but I still think alot!  Most of the time, my thoughts are connected... not at all.  They jump from subject to subject in an attempt to lose me (or make me lose my mind) but I always manage to keep up.  So here's some of my most interesting random thoughts.

Random Thought #1:

It's February.  Did you know that?  It's February and this is what I see outside:

Trees are budding and some trees never even lost their leaves during "fall"...

 This tree will have white flowers all over it very soon (and that bench makes me want to sit and read a book!)...

The daffodils are blooming.  The DAFFODILS are blooming...  The daffodils are BLOOMING!



These cute little garden hogs flowers are blooming like crazy all over...

Is it really February, or am I that gullible?  The weather has been in the 70's, much to everyone's delight (and my dismay...  I love winter!).  I'm going to have to retire my sweaters and fur-lined boots incredibly early.  At this point, I'm quite scared for summer.  For those who do not know: I'm made of sugar and the heat simply "caramelizes" me (forget "melting"), I become a hot mess!  I just can't stand the heat, it's one of the main reasons winter is my favorite season.  Enjoy this weather while you can, cause the moment it hits above 80, I'm heading for Alaska (oh, how I wish).

Interesting Thought #2:

I'm in love.  I might just have an affair.  I've found the most amazing partner and I think I'm ready to finally commit... 

Chocolate...  and banana... and orange... and chocolate...  Is there anything better?  I think I'm finally ready to admit this is my favorite recipe.  I feel like I'm betraying all the other desserts I've created and enjoyed, but this little number is all I dream of baking and eating and devouring these days.  Do you see the chocolate?  How it's all melty and gooey?  It stays like that, even when it's not hot, it's still melted and gooey and simply wonderful!  Believe it or not, this is actually a bread, not a cake, but a loaf pan seems too mundane for it, so a bunt pan it is and should always be.  Are you in love yet?  I can share if needed...  Maybe...  Actually, I don't think I can, sorry!

Last Intelligent Thought Ever #3:

I have awesome co-workers.  They always make me laugh and we get along very well.  A job is always an awesome thing when you get to hang out with a friend all day!  I have 3 co-workers, but I only work with 2...  Does that make sense?  P'rolly not, but it'd take too long to explain.  Anyway, to prove the awesomeness of my co-workers, I shall have to show a picture full of personality.  We're re-naming this particular co-worker to "Daffodil".  I forget why, but we had a whole conversation about this and laughed at the end of it.  So, without further ado, Daffodil:

See how much fun we have?  Seriously, you just can't beat how much fun we have at work...  Or outside of work...  Ok, yeah, I admit, I think I have more fun than everyone else does...  Or maybe I just laugh louder, it's a possibility...

I changed my mind and here's another Thought #4:

I just watched a commercial with a little girl in a bikini.  Can I just say I don't appreciate little girls in bikinis...  I don't think it's cute or appropriate.  Little girls are little girls, not teenagers or little adults.  What's wrong with one-piece swimsuits or even tankinis?  Warning to my sister: Though you haven't yet, don't put my nieces in bikinis!  OK, done with the ranting now!


Facts Thought #5:

I've hit the backspace so many dang times in this post
I've spelled "thought" wrong every time I wrote it, including this time
I like the commercials that have funky-beat music
I have a new "friend" I've named Roxanne, but you'll meet her and hear her story another day
I have so many hobbies that I've no time for them, with the exception of eating
I just got home from visiting a dear friend and now the countdown to see my nieces has begun
Countdown till the nieces: 37 days!

Crafting Creativity

Growing up with four kids in one family causes a mother to get creative.  When a mother gets creative, she inspires her kids to be creative as well, if only to spare her household budget the tiniest bit.  We had a very crafty (in a good way) mom, sewing clothes for the dress code at school (before uniforms), teaching us how to make our own birthday gifts for friends' parties, pulling out odds and ends when we were bored and running all over the place...  I'm pretty sure she's the reason we kids have a artsy/creative streak.  My older sister knits things that would make my hands cramp for weeks (I await each Christmas eagerly for whatever she's made me, it's always so cute!).  My brother is incredibly talented at drawing, pottery, sculpting, painting, you name it, he's good at it!  My little sister has the best dance moves and can (literally) shake her hips anyway she wants; she also can dabble in just about anything she wants, cooking, sewing, music, etc...  I love to cook and see (and taste) art in food.  I'm finding more and more a love for sewing and making my own patterns.  Then there's these little wooden boxes you can get at any craft store and I have such fun painting them all kinds of different ways!  So today, I'm sharing some of my creative-doings!  I enjoyed making all of these and I have alot more currently in progress or waiting to be started.  FYI, I had cute "Titles" for each photo collage, but I'm not very technologically... adept.  In other words, I've no idea why they're not there!

See? Painted boxes!  I've made so many, starting from when my mom gave me one to paint for a gift for a friend when I was 12.  Since that one turned out so well, I  remember I wanted to make a box for the next three or four friends' birthdays.  The blue "lacy" one with the fabric lining is my most recent.  I made it for my ASL (American Sign Language) teacher last semester.  I really liked the class and adored the teacher, I can't wait to learn from her again!  On the inside of the lid I'd painted, "The Beautiful Song of ASL".  The yellow and blue striped one I made just for fun, no other reason.  Ramen Girl ended up liking it so much I gave it to her.  The pink one was for a girl in the youth group I used to help teach.  I have more already finished in my closet, I just don't know what to do with them...  Anyone want a painted box?

Hi, I'm Nicole, and I'm a food addict...  I love to cook.  I LOVE to bake.  I love Love LOVE to eat!  One of the great things about being a vegetarian is I eat very often (veggies don't keep you full terribly long), so I get to have wonderful food all day long.  The awesome thing about cooking is there aren't really any rules.  As for baking, as long as you understand the food science and what ratios are needed, recipes can be altered or discarded completely!  Excuse me for a second, I think this has made me hungry...

My mom taught me how to sew when I was younger, but I could never read a pattern well enough to actually make clothes.  Most of my sewing was patchwork pillows and other small things I could make without a pattern.  Having adorable nieces has made me want to actually make them something besides pillows, so I tried my hand at clothes without a pattern.  Actually, I made my own patterns.  I may dislike math, but I seem to enjoy working with measurements and figuring out how the pieces should fit together like a puzzle.  I'm not technical with my sewing at all, but I have alot of fun!  My older niece seems to be living in that purple dress, I never thought it would be that popular!  I couldn't find a laptop bag I liked, so I made my own.  Those pants are the first I've ever made and were intended for my younger niece, but I think they might be just a tad to small for her so I'm making another pair slightly bigger.  So now I have a pair of pants that I'll never wear...  I'm thinking I have a friend somewhere that has a daughter that these would fit!  I admit, I used a pattern for the blue dress, and I still have to sew the zipper (currently pinned in), but I added some details I wanted and changed a few things to make it more "me"!  Sigh, can't I just sew instead of doing homework?

I could have included this apron with the other pictures, but then you all would've been denied my cute older niece!  While sewing this apron, I discovered I LOVE the look of ruffles more than I thought I did (which was already a substantial "like").  Miss Niece loves pink and girly stuff, so she had fun in this little number, particularly since she got to make cookies while wearing it.  She was so cute!  She rolled out and cut those cookies on her own and frosted them in a myriad of colors her Aunt Buggy helped her mix. 

If I had time to do any of this alot more often, I don't think I'd have room in my apartment for Ramen Girl and The Ginger, but you know I'd be incredibly happy!!!  Next on the to-do list: finish the coordinated pink outfits for Miss Niece and Little Niece, make a long sleeved dress out of this delicious red wool recently acquired, work on the Nieces Easter dresses, sew The Ginger a black skirt for her performances, and more!!!!  Let the fun begin...

A Quarter of a Century...

My birthday is officially over! I know, I sound like I'm rejoicing... Turning a quarter of a century is draining (just on the pride tho), particularly when I think back on where "teenager" Nicole thought "current" Nicole would be in life. Funny how it's NEVER the way we plan, huh? (I do believe there's a Bible verse about that...)

My day was very relaxed and I appreciate that particular aspect of it. I stayed up to greet my birthday the night before, so I slept in till noon (with the exception of my mom, aunt, and grandma calling to serenade me in the morning). My roommate had to wake me up (cause she was feeling guilty for sleeping so late as well) and we lazily got dressed as I went back and forth in my decision for which restaurant I wanted lunch at. I had a marvelous vegetarian sushi roll (I don't care that there was no fish- it was at least sushi-"styled") that I had been waiting almost a whole year to taste again. That alone made me very happy! Just when I thought we were done ans waiting on the check, two spoons and a dessert were brought out with birthday wishes. I honestly had not expected The Ginger (as she shall be fondly known) to tell on me, so I was mildly shocked until the deliciousness of the dessert made it all ok. There was many vintage shops in mid-town that we would've loved to explore, but The Ginger only had five quarters for the parking meter, so we had an hour total to get back to the car or else... We did have time to go to the vintage store right next door where I scored an amazingly awesome teal-ish waist belt for about $8. The Ginger has already informed me she's stealing it... Another friend dropped by after we got home and watched as The Ginger (I'm really enjoying calling her that...) and I cleaned some more of our room (still a work in progress, but oh-so-close!).

My other roommate (I shall call her Ramen Girl since she just might be obsessed with... ramen) arrived home after The Ginger and my other friend left. I was back to relaxing on the couch trying to figure out how to change the look of this blog (do you like the new look?) when she announced we had to go somewhere for my birthday. I was starting to thing people were conspiring against me staying home for my birthday like I actually wanted (The Ginger had originally planned to take me to San Fransisco, fun but I wanted to stay home), but they must've known better than me because I had more fun than I thought I'd have today. We ended up going to Color Me Mine.  I had never been before, but Ramen Girl had (I'm already plotting to go again, it's that awesome... for me...). It's a place where you can pick out a ceramic and paint it, they glaze it and fire it, then it's yours to keep, give away, lose, destroy, etc... I picked out a little plate that has a cupcake in the center, it's super cute and I think I did a marvelous job making it cuter (but you have to wait till I get it back to see the truth of my words since I didn't take any pictures at all today). Ramen Girl chose a mug that she painted these cute little characters on (from TokiDoki if anyone else besides her knows what that is). I finally figured out as we were driving home that she might be sneakier than I give her credit for since I concentrate more than I talk when I'm painting... Lucky her! We got home and had strawberry shortcake (delicious!) and watched totally ridiculous (but hilarious) videos on YouTube.

Such a silly, abnormal day for me, but I have to give a big thank you to both Ramen Girl and The Ginger for making this "turning a quarter of a century" thing not as bad as I had envisioned it'd be. Seriously, I just have amazing friends, what can I say? So, what are my plans for year 25? Besides more work and school and homework? I have grand plans!!! I just can't get enough of my friends and family, so seeing them and laughing with them and cherishing them more is so on my To-Do list, and growing closer to the One who cherishes me the most!

P.S-Just want you all to know I'm going to be tired tomorrow, especially since I have to get up in five hours...  That's what happens when you sleep till noon, even on your birthday!

P.P.S.- Although the room's not done yet, seriously MUCH better tho, I'll get pics up when we get everything rearranged (which is taking some serious math skills!). My mom is a true mother and wants to make sure I actually cleaned my room :-P I love you Mommy! :-D -THE END-

Instructions for making milk go UP your nose, as opposed to OUT of it!

I was estatic today when my roommate arrived home. She was... blessed... to be the first person to have to deal with me after getting off my four-day shift. I suppose she didn't HAVE to deal with me, she probably could've found a way to escape, but I have a sneaking suspicion she actually enjoyed laughing at my derlious state.

You see, having only been in contact with people on the job these last 96 hours, I think I went a little... crazy...? Added to that is the fact that I have not actually been home since Thursday, July 22nd, I hope you can now see why I might've lost a bit more than usual of my mind. It's been a crazy (almost) two weeks and as much as I'd like to say I can't wait for it to finally slow down, it will only get even more insane when I start school in three weeks! Aish (my favorite sound of frustration :-D ).

So the first thing Melissa receives upon entering our apartment is a demand to take me to go pick up the pizza! After picking up the pizza and grabbing a couple slices (why wait till you get home?) we decided to nix the planned movie at the theater and spend a night vegging at home. She had this anime she wanted to pick up from FRY's electronics, so off we go again, still munching pizza. Before we even got to the freeway, I exclaimed with such fervent passion, "I need milk!!!!" (Odd as you may think it, I love milk with my pizza.) She immediately bursts into laughter then explains that it's too late. Being in the wonderful, acquiescing mood I was in, I continue with, "No, turn here, there's a Save-Mart on the corner of Auburn, I can get milk there!" She laughs, again, and follows my directions (still eating, you guessed it, pizza).

Having left the pizza box in the car (shock!) and acquiring my milk and a soda for Melissa, I decide we should completely gorge during our vegging night. My weapon of choice? Melon... LOL, three melons- a watermelon, a cantaloupe and an orange-fleshed honey dew, and I had full intentions to eat (almost) all of it. I don't remember when fruit was considered pigging out, but I think the amount of which I chose had something to do with my justification that my melons could hold up in a gorge-fest just as well as candy or ice cream or cookies! Satisfied that I didn't want anything else from the store (at the moment) I paid for our stuff and back to our pizza box, I mean car we went. I opened my (half-gallon) of milk and proceed to drink it straight from the jug. *Now for those looking at my bad manners, I had full intentions of doing this when I bought it, and I refuse to pay $1.89 for a pint of milk when I can get a half-gallon for the same price! So there! :-P *

Melissa pulls out of our parking space, I'm still chugging. "Brake check!" Sudden stop. Milk UP my nose, on my shirt and on the pizza box (holding fort on my lap), courtesy of Melissa Diane Munoz... Now the whole world knows, it's her fault! LOL Man, she was laughing so hard! I looked in her visor mirror and had to laugh myself. The bottom half of my face had a 2% milk facial, and there was nothing in her car to clean it up with... I pondered aloud why my friends thought that I was a good specimen for their practical jokes... The reason we concluded is that I'll still be friends with the pranksters even after they completely ruin whatever moment I'm in... Oh well, it was seriously funny. I should've taken a picture, but I'm not that desperate for embarrassing proof of my end of the jokes.



We walk around FRY's with the computer geeks and get home just so I could flop on my couch (she has her couches, and I have mine... Meaning we have three couches in our apartment!). I'm sure we were home to accomplish the whole vegging thing, but I didn't want to put the effort into putting in a movie or getting more food, so the couch it was! I realize that to eat my melons I needed tools! So my good serv..err..sport of a friend followed my instructions to, "Get me a knife, melon baller and a cutting board!" Melissa, "That didn't sound like a command at all." Me, "Oh! Please! There. Thank you!" Yeah... Looking back I think I can see why she wants to "milk" me sometimes... Sigh, alas, I couldn't finish my melons... Not even one actually, but I impressed myself with eating a whole half of one by myself! :-)



So after vegging for a bit more I realize it's not dark yet and we have time to go for a walk! Poor Melissa is again told to get ready, and even tho there's a bit more complaining she's still a good sport! I grab my camera thinking I'd snap a few pics along the way as I'm always admiring how pretty God's creation is. I thought I'd be able to do this because in our past walks I've always out walked Melissa by quite a bit... Come to find it must've been because of her bad shoes (she borrowed my running shoes tonight)... I have rather short legs, especially in comparison to her (5'5" vs 5'9" here) She kept going and going and going (I didn't even see a pink bunny...?) I was trying to get pics while also trying to keep up with her long stride... Rather amusing outcomes if you ask me! I eventually ended up running ahead to take a pic or taking one and then running to catch up... Well, I did say I wanted to start running... LOL Some of the pics I took while running are quite... interesting. It made me think of "Yes Man" when Zoey Deschanel leads that group that runs and takes pictures... It's EXACTLY what I did! :-P


Walking and taking a picture...

Same...

And dido again... (I really like this!)

Melissa liked this rose, I stopped for this pic (No Way!!! :-P)

Another pretty flower!

Yay!

I think I like roses...

LOL, I WAS running while this was taken

The sunset from our apartments...

All in all, a very good evening, and for as demanding as I was, Melissa said she thinks she was able to laugh at my antics more than I was able to boss her around. Sometimes my mouth just won't stop... I babbled WAY more than once tonight... So I 'll stop here before YOU have to put up with it. :-D