it's rubbing off on me...

i have to try this.

amid all of the "other productive stuff" i was doing today... i found this blog. 

me likey.

pretty much everything about the blog. her clothes, style, diy projects. they're going to keep me fairly entertained and busy for the next little while. 

(unfortunately we don't get a newspaper... so i have to go and find me a garfield comic. stat.)

is anyone else excited for halloween?

i know i am.

(i have this problem of getting really excited about the next holiday... and especially about forgetting poor thanksgiving.)

not this year!!!

i saw a christmas commercial yesterday. and my resolve just about wavered.

but i stayed strong!

but my sister and i made a new resolve that it's going to be party central at our apartment.

:)

now stop listening to the music and go party.

it's saturday!

i dream of genies!

do you remember back in elementary school when you got to go on field trips?

i remember in first grade, when we got to go to a dairy farm. we spent about a week learning about the different kinds of cows we would see there... and i only remember seeing black and white ones.

i have to say, these field trips are just a little bit better. (only a teensy tiny bit...)

ariel and i at tel arad

this is located in the yeshimon wilderness...

they have two kinds of wilderness here:

the fertile kind, and the desert kind.

(i had no idea that there was a difference before i came!) 

why do i always have to be the sacrifice?

;) 

this would have been the holy of holies in an ancient temple (at tel arad) do you see the two pillars in the very back?

they represent diety...

a slight problem for an israelite temple, (which is the reason why this temple was shut down)

 

i'm diggin the sunglasses guys.

:)

that's one lucky guy there...

it looks like fenton is starting his own harem. 

best. roomies. ever. 

dad, this one is for you.

just so you know i've got my own posse of arab-ninja-protectors watching over me.

creepy men of the city beware! 

best view of the entire city!

see the tiny gold dome?

it's kind of like finding waldo...

we got there right before it closed... so we didn't have to deal with the usual crowds...

(the guys weren't really happy we kept taking pictures, but i didn't know when i would get pictures this good again!)

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do you know what i love more than anything?

playing volleyball for 3 hours straight.

and kicking butt.

:)

and the best purchase ever?

genie pants.

gotta get some...

so you can be cool like us!

a lot of randomness for your wednesday

i know what it's like.

i've seen it played out a few zillion times.

you're waiting for that magical day when someone makes the connection and recognizes who you really are.

maybe they'll first catch the sparkle in your eye.

or perhaps they'll marvel at your insights and the depth of your spirit.

someone who will help you connect the dots, believe in yourself, and make sense of it all.

someone who will understand you, approve of you, and unhesitatingly give you a leg up so that life can pluck your ready, ripened self from the branch of magnificence.

well, I'm here to tell you, your wait is over.

that someone, is you.

~Mike Dooley

isn't it true though?

i was reading through one of my journals, and i found that quote.

oh how i love quotes!

i always seem to find ones that speak right to my very core. that make me want to be a better

person, and that give me the boost that i need to...

i'm pretty sure that this is my favorite saying of late.

with all the stress of an upcoming study abroad (even though i am extremely excited! ...it is still nerve-racking and i just love to worry about stuff anyways), applying for nursing schools, dating, not dating, making friends, going to class, homework, and trying to stay sane by

cooking... i just have to remember to keep movin' on!

we had an experiment tonight... we started out with a potato soup, and just kept adding stuff from the fridge that needed to be eaten. so we ended up with a very interesting (but very yummy!) soup. and we decided we needed bread to go with it, so we hopped in the car and drove down the street to maverik to get a $1 loaf of french bread.

keep calm and carry on!

i've decided that life is ok, and stressing about stuff will only waste energy.

energy that i need! (to have awesome nacho-libre themed parties like tonight!!!)

we even made a paper-mache luchador-mask pinata!

it took serious skill.

(yes, i am the idiot that painted it... don't laugh)

oh, and i did mention we dyed our hair?

here is a picture.

of the blue.

i had to make sure to hide the hair when i went to the testing center today. they don't look too kindly on those of us who express their individuality through our choice of hair color. it does not look as good as my roommates - she is super blonde so it turned bright blue. mine looks kinda green.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

i am thankful for sleep

and airbourne

and for the hours that i did not spend worrying about parties,

because hanging out with friends is always a success!

cultural awareness and my need for more stuff!

everyone likes a party right?

yes, of course you all do! (Nobody likes a party-pooper...)

i have to say, i love to throw a good party, but I hate the anticipation of not knowing who is going to show up... (the down-side of the social life in college is the non-committal answers people give you when you invite them to something.)

"i'll check my schedule"

"i'll really try to make it!"

"i might have a date that night..."

basically... "i'll see if my cooler friends are doing anything fun, then i'll get back to you."

gee, that makes me feel awesome!

just kidding. :)

but i am a little nervous for our chinese new years party tonight.

yeah, i know that it was yesterday. but fridays are just made for parties!

we told everyone to bring something that reminds them of china.

since i am so cool, i decided to make these:

mine do not look this perfect.

but almost!

(i lost my camera somewhere... and whilst i am attempting to find it, you must be satisfied with the picture that came with the recipe.)

Fortune Cookies!

Ingredients

1 egg white

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pinch salt

1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 cup white sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a cookie sheet. Write fortunes on strips of paper about 4 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Generously grease 2 cookie sheets.

Mix the egg white and vanilla until foamy but not stiff. Sift the flour, salt, and sugar and blend into the egg white mixture.

Place teaspoonfuls of the batter at least 4 inches apart on one of the prepared cookie sheets. Tilt the sheet to move the batter into round shapes about 3 inches in diameter. Be careful to make batter as round and even as possible. Do not make too many, because the cookie have to be

really hot to form them and once they cool it is too late. Start with 2 or 3 to a sheet and see how many you can do.

Bake for 5 minutes or until cookie has turned a golden color 1/2 inch wide around the outer edge of the circle. The center will remain pale. While one sheet is baking, prepare the other.

Remove from oven and quickly move cookie with a wide spatula and place upside down on a wooden board. Quickly place the fortune on the cookie, close to the middle and fold the cookie in half. Place the folded edge across the rim of a measuring cup and pull the pointed edges down, one on the inside of the cup and one on the outside. Place folded cookies into the cups of a muffin tin or egg carton to hold their shape until firm.

***

i want these!

oh my gosh i'm pretty sure that i could cry right now...

my spices live in spry containers right now.

a pitiful existence for the yummy little muses of the kitchen.

these little "l'epice jars" are from anthropologie. $4.00? no way!

really... i think i just shed a tear.

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today, i am thankful for the stool in front of the heater.

for recipes that don't work out just the way we want them to

(note to self: never stick paper towels on rising bread...

even if the recipe tells you to!)

and for happy music.