The Way I See It....

Taking A Shot At A Movie Critic - The Conjuring

2013-07-23T15:55:00.001-07:00

Last night I went to see The Conjuring, yes, I suppose it's true what they say; Humans never really find haunted house movies tiring, and throw in the little fact "based on a true story", and you've got 'em hooked. Well this movie for one, unlike A Haunting in Connecticut, is sure to impress. Although I'm no movie critic, I do enjoy my fair share of horrors, in fact, they're one of my loves, along with coffee, sweets, and independent movies. I personally give this movie five and a half stars out of five. And don't tell anybody.... but by the end of the movie, I was a little scared... {Fun fact, horror movies don't scare me}, I smiled the whole movie, laughing at the moments when everybody else jumped, or, especially, when I jumped.
The story line was very well put together, and seemed more real, rather than some movie that you can totally tell is scripted. The actors and actresses were one of the best for this movie. And with as much horror, they even managed to tie a little humor, drawing you in further to the deepening plot. And unlike other horrors, this movie actually showed the "ghosts" and junk. I believe this movie has earned it's title in "Horror".

What's Wrong With A Little Love?

2013-07-14T15:09:00.000-07:00

I'm watching American Gun on the independent section of demand.. I can't quite figure out what it's about, besides a busy crime city, a child, a gun store owner, and, a school shooting. It seems like a bit of a messy story... there was this little boy and his friend, about 6 years old. On their way to school they found a half naked prostitute brutally slashed up with her guts out and everything... I couldn't imagine that. In fact, the other day I saw a drug deal.... I'm still in awe. About 4 in the morning, delivering papers, I see these two boys just walking along, carrying a shoe box. I'm like "What are they doing up at this hour!" with all of my ignorance. The lady I work with, Cindy she's like "They're making their money, you know what they have in that shoe box..." And all I could think of, was they probably have a gun... what if somebody gets shot? I know I don't live in a bad city, I know the place I live in has changed over the years, but things happen. My best friend was telling me of this domestic violence case where she lives that just got completely out of control. The guy shot the lady, and the baby, and when the cops arrived, they ended up shooting him too.... I think the lady is still alive, in critical condition, but I don't know... It's just, I don't know, this world now a days. Why can't we love?

Unofficiallness

2013-07-12T19:54:00.003-07:00

Well, I'd like to blog.... But I just can't find anything that I've been thinking about... It's lost, and my arms are limp... And I can't even keep you up to pace about anything that's happened, because I don't remember where I left off, and I especially don't have time for a fact blog. I have to go to work you see. Work, work, work...

*A couple days later*

Thinking.... thinking about relationships, values, etc. At this point in time, since breaking up with my best friend, for growth reasons... I've looked at all that I've accomplished; I finally got out of bed and not only took my G.E.D. but passed, I'm ready for college in the fall, with my orientation set up for July 26. I'm ready. I've accomplished so much since breaking up. And with still loving him as a best friend, being ready for a new relationship, but still afraid of losing all that I've accomplished. Of back tracking because I will get distracted, or lost.
So, I suppose, for now, I'm just having fun, hanging out with my guy friends, or whomever. Today, I hung out with my friend from camp Chris. We went to the mall, and on the way back, we rode the bus. One of the best things, we listened to music and played chess, bickering about who would win, and all the while he had his arm around me lol. It was a really sweet evening, it felt almost like a date, but unofficially free. He'd carry my stuff, and offered to pay for the food, etc... I don't know.. perhaps I sound a bit desperate in the fact that I just wish I were dating... I mean, I suppose I am.. unofficially, but I don't know, perhaps I want officially. Somebody I can text with cute messages, and hold hands with, and bid goodbye for the night with a sweet kiss... But time will only tell :)

Sure, Just Leave The Black Mold There, We'll Just Die Or Something...

2013-05-16T17:43:00.000-07:00

So, I'm not sure if I've told you all - my invisible readers - about my apartment, but let me tell you! It's something. And not the good kind of something... but that's not the story here. I'm not skilled enough for that novel O_O .
Point is, our kitchen ceiling is filled with black mold, but apparently it's just too expensive to take care of, so they're coming over in a little bit to just cover it up with some dry wall. It's okay, we can die, that's alright dummy.

Now, don't be concerned for me, but I will even still list the facts and such about black mold (hold back, it's been a while since I've done a fact blog).

Mold kind of lives in a colony, and is thought of as a single living organism. The main body of a mold colony, also known scientifically as mycelium, is made up of groups of multicellular filaments called hyphae. The hyphae tips release enzymes that the mold uses to help break down, and take over (or eat) what it is growing on. The hyphae than also absorbs the nutrients from the thing that they're growing on, thus, making the organism spread.
Of course, certain conditions must be right for the mold to grow, such as light, temperature, oxygen levels, and, the amount of nutrients in the victim object. The types of things that aid the right conditions are things like: Humidity, a good food source (wood, drywall, cotton, etc), darkness (mold cannot grow in ultraviolet sun light), warmth (mold can't grow in the cold), oxygen, moisture (water leaks, humidity), enough time (mold takes about 24-48 hours if all conditions are right), and finally, how well the spores spread (mold grows like flowers with the spores acting like pollen, awww, how fancy).
At the signs of mold; allergic symptoms, a moldy smell, added with any kind of problematic water leaks you may want to hire a professional mold inspector. It's best to hire a professional rather than your uncles' wife's twice removed, brother-in-law's neighbors cousin, because professionals know what they're doing. When the inspector comes in, they'll have their little gadgets, moisture meters, fiber optics and junk. These tools, they use to help them find this little pest behind walls and other objects in your house that would be good at hiding the mold without disturbing your home.
Ideally, it would be nice to test the mold to see exactly what kind it is, and if it is dangerous or not, because believe it or not, some mold is harmless. There are four types of mold tests:

Air Testing: Air testing is when samples of air are taken from your home and sent away to a big fancy laboratory. This test is to find the concentration of the mold spores (remember, it's the little mold pollen) in your home, even if you can't find where the mold hides. One draw back is that the air types vary, so it's never really a consistent result every time.

Surface Testing: Surface testing is when samples are taken from objects around your home to figure out the amount of mold spores and growth deposited around your house. But as the same with air testing, the results aren't perfect because mold isn't really spread around a home evenly , and it can change from time to time the amount they'd find. One thing air testing can do that surface testing can't is identifying the exact concentration of mold spores in your home.

Bulk Testing: With bulk testing the professionals take items from around your home to a laboratory to be tested under a microscope. Bulk testing is helpful to tell you figure out if you do have a mold problem, and to give you an idea just how much the concentration is.

and finally,

Culture Testing: Culture testing is when mold particles are taken into a petri dish to grow to figure out exactly what species of mold can grow inside one's home. Only the live particles of mold can be tested this way, but don't just leave the dead pieces there, they can still cause harm, even dead. But other kinds of tests (such as the ones named above) can still identify mold issues in the home, whether dead or alive, so it is still best to do this test.

Reasons Why You Should Test:

You notice signs of mold (like the ones named above)
To identify the species of mold in your home
To help find where mold is growing
To test your indoor air quality by measuring mold spore concentration
To test if the mold in your home has been fully removed

Health Symptoms of Mold

Cold or flu like symptoms
Coughing
Sneezing
Sore throat
Irritated, or itchy throat
Blocked, itchy, runny nose
Sinus congestion or headache
Difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, wheezing
Irritated or itchy skin
Skin rash, hives
Red, itchy, watery, or bloodshot eyes
Itchy ears
Hair loss, or baldness
Hay fever symptoms

Granted, none of these are casual coughing, sneezing or whatever. There are however, 16 different toxic molds that release highly toxic chemicals called mycotoxins. The symptoms of toxic molds are much worse than just the common molds named above. Symptoms of mycotoxin infection would include bleeding, damage to internal organs, metal impairment, cancer, or even death.

Safe Mold Removal
Wear protective equipment (goggles, dust filter/respirator, gloves, and, a safe suit that covers your whole body) contain the mold spores, set up negative pressure, remove mold, clean belongings, and, use a HEPA vacuum. Cleaning the mold with bleach, ammonia, borax, or vinegar is ideal in the removal.

And just in case I didn't explain it well enough:
What is Mold?
Causes of Mold
Testing
Health Symptoms
Inspection
Safe Mold Removal
Preventing Mold

Business Blogs... Whut?!

2013-05-12T20:46:00.001-07:00

Hey! So I think I've mentioned at some point in past posts that I was going to take my G.E.D., but I was really procrastinating... Honestly, I would have done it..... but at some point, kind of like how you procrastinate getting up in the morning, no matter how annoying your alarm clock is (my mom was the nagging alarm clock...). And so, I think I owe my mother a great thank you for being a supportive, nagging, funny lady. Thank you Madame Sueffle. Sorry, I don't know how to spell it... but she knows what I mean... I mean for real, she's pretty much my only viewer besides those of you who are just passer-by's. But it's okay, for those of you who stay here long enough to read that part though... :S
I always try to find other blogs to read on here, it'd be nice to be able to find a blog to read, just something random, not about hair-do's I can't do to save my life, your family.. I mean for real, who wants to know about what your 5 year old said? Granted, kids say the funniest things, but I don't want to read ALL about that! Or, I always come across the business blogs... whut?! And it seems the best blogs I come across, it just so happens that I can't read Spanish....
But, to the point. I did take my G.E.D. last week, and I passed! I knew I would, because my practice scores were really high, and also it was easy... and even though I promised I'd cry when I got my scores back.. I didn't cry soo much, only enough to be like "Oh my god, I passed, last year I didn't even imagine myself here, and just six months ago I couldn't even imagine this, much less three months ago, and I still passed, I get to graduate with my best friend on time!" The only thing I wish I did, was go to the prom.. my whole life I've been like "Omg, prom, that's stupid, just a dance to get fancy with." Man, *smh* I love to get dressed up... as much as I pretend I don't, I still think it's obvious that I love to get fancy. So prom... I disparately missed you. :( Plus I had to work that night, and I had nobody to go with, no dress, I don't go to that school... it was a mess. *smh* Poor prom, I know you missed me ;)

I think this is about love?

2013-04-27T12:43:00.000-07:00

I don't even know how long it's been since I last posted... I just remember leaving off at "C" of my 'blog by alphabets', which I left a half draft in saved, but unpublished. I suppose I got bored with blogging, thinking it was pretty senseless to be typing stuff, putting so much work into it, when it seemed nobody would even see it... but I guess that's what putting your heart and soul into something really means, in which I gave up on. Let's be honest, blogging really isn't "my thing" per say, I just feel it's something I can put out there, how I feel and junk, even if nobody sees it... it's better than my facebook seeing all the things I feel and think, than they'll think I'm just a whine ass. And I guess I've come back to you invisible readers, because I just feel like you, all of you masked by the great internet have been my support... if that makes sense...

But in the meantime. A lot has happened since I've last posted.. I'm in a different head space, before I was hung up on my ex, and having now realized, that he didn't really love me as I thought... Well, I suppose any kind of love is real love, sometimes the way you need it and how you want it, and sometimes not. But even so, it's the only way that person knows how to love at the moment. It was honestly a lot of me to expect a sixteen year old boy to be in love, I mean really? Seriously. I was all like "oh! Let's get married" (After we'd done stuff like college and junk of course) I understand where he, and everybody else was coming from when they said "What the fruit, you have the rest of your life!". In that head space, I just wanted to be loved, I wanted security in the fact that I knew somebody really did love me. Without really realizing that I already was loved.... I know, but not in the forefront of my mind I suppose... the fact is, before you can love somebody, you have to love yourself first, which I'm working on, with time.....

Also, further from the fact of love; in my absence from school this past year, out in The Real World, I've finally come to believe what they all say "Friends in high school, often stay in high school" Damn straight! The high school drama carries onto the back scenes of the fast food restaurants with the "He said, She said, but that's not really what happened, but I suppose you'll never find out because you're not In".... I don't understand how people do it for 20 plus years, as I've written in my best friends letter, "fast food isn't a career, it's something to do while you are bettering yourself in life" But I guess you always need those life dropouts to be the store manager, which I'm not talking down to my boss, he's a good guy, but you can just look around, past the fake smiles and see they all wanted something more than tossing chicken into a bucket. I'm getting out of there. That will not be my life. I for one, am tired of smiling and nodding to customers who have money enough to buy 4.00$ side items. And with the end of that, I must go to work now.... Tootles now my invisible support. :)

I Just Thought I'd Post This... I Like It... :)

2012-09-12T22:50:00.001-07:00

24 Life Lessons, Courtesy of My Dog

By Emil Caillaux (thoughtcatalog)

You can choose not to run to get the ball, but it’s always a lot more fun if you do.
Never underestimate the value of a simple plate of food and water.
Sometimes it’s all right to roll over and let someone pamper you.
Never bite the hand that feeds you.
Make sure you stretch thoroughly before you get up.
If a loved one is sad, approach slowly, cuddle up to them and wait for them to tell you what’s wrong.
There are times you lead, and there are times you follow.
Never discriminate. Cats can be a lot of fun to hang out with too.
The best place to nap is under the sun.
There is no bigger sign of affection and closeness than a big lick to the face.
It’s OK to be overly excited about things that pass you by.
Wading into water is good. Jumping in is infinitely better.
Pick carefully where you go to the bathroom.
A good run will always improve your day.
Only bark when the situation warrants it.
Leftovers are always delicious.
If someone enjoys scratching your back, stick with them forever.
Always know how to find your way back home.
Take good care of your teeth.
Loyalty is priceless.
Someone hurts someone you care about, you run after them and make them pay.
It’s all about opportunities: you’re not there, someone else gets the morsel.
Even if you’re alone, there’s someone out there that’s thinking of you.
Always go for what you want.

B is for Berenstain Bears

2012-09-12T22:27:00.001-07:00

Many of you, my readers, may remember The Berenstain Bears series as children, so perhaps you shall be interested to learn more about one of your childhood book series.

Stanley Berenstain and Janice Marian Grant both born in 1923, grew up during the Great Depression in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. They met in 1941 at the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Arts. Stan was drafted into the army in 1943, serving until 1946. He was blind in one eye, so he only had limited service, but he spent most of his career as the medical illustrator at an army hospital in Indiana. And during his free time he began drawing cartoons and publishing them in magazines. Janice also had a career with the army, she worked a draftsman for the Corps of Engineers, also as an aircraft riveter, building the Navy's PBY flying boat.
Jan and Stan married right after the war in 1946, starting a career together as team cartoonists for magazines. Such as The Saturday Evening Post, Good Housekeeping, Collier's, and McCall. In addition to publishing their own magazine of their cartoons, all featuring focus humor about children and families.

Mr. and Mrs. Berenstain began their family with the birth of their son Leo in 1948, and adding their other son Mike in 1951. Both children being big Dr. Seuss fans, Stan and Jan figured to try their hand at writing their own children's books. They called it The Big Honey Nut, which had featured Mama, Papa, and Small Bear, and was published in 1962 with Ted Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) as editor and publisher. And then it continued for the next 43 years with over 200 books, until in 2005 Stanley Berenstain passed away.

As the books grew more and more popular, Mr. and Mrs. Berenstain added more characters; making their little bear family grow. Small Bear became Big Brother with the coming of Little Sister in 1974, and then later the arrival of Honey in 2000. The names "Mama", "Papa", "Big Brother", and "Little Sister" were kept for the ease of reading for their young fans, and also to emphasize their roles in the family.
Jan and Stan kept up the magazine cartooning along with the books until the '80s. Their son Mike had also followed in their footsteps; joining his parents with the magazines and then illustrating and co-writing the children's books in 1992.

Being one of the most popular children's series, The Berenstain Bears had five NBC seasonal specials, two seasons of Saturday morning cartoons on CBS, and a daily cartoon show on PBS that started in 2002. The characters have also been made into dolls, toys, games, puzzles, computer software, and clothing, just to name a few. During the '80s and '90s there were a number of Berenstain Bear Country attractions at amusement parks. But more recently have become exhibits at museums, one such as the Strong Museum in Rochester New York. There have also been four Berenstain Bear plays and musicals, including the highly successful musical Berenstain Bears Live in Family Matters.

Jan and her son Mike still continue to write, illustrate, and publish Berenstain Bears books today. They live in Eastern, Pennsylvania, which apparently looks a lot like Bear Country.

The Berenstain Bears is a series of about 300 books that have been translated into 23 different languages; most recently Icelandic and Arabic. There are more than 260 million copies printed.

According to The New York Times, the Berenstain Bears were almost the Berenstain Penguins, until the authors decided that bears are more human-like in the way that they stand on two legs and the mothers are very good mothers.

The Berenstain Bears website: http://www.berenstainbears.com/

A is For Armadillo

2012-09-10T21:21:00.001-07:00

This is the start of my fact-based blogs that go from A-Z, and as you can see, this one is about armadillos.

There are 20 varieties of armadillos, 19 of which live in Latin America (North and South America together), but the well known nine-banded armadillo is the only one of it's kind to roam North America. The omnivorous mammal is currently endangered due to loss of habitat and over-hunting. Some cultures in America like to consume armadillo meat, which apparently is much the same to pork as in taste and texture.
Armadillos live in warm areas that have rain, grasslands, forests, and semi-deserts. And because of their lack of fat storage, cold is their natural enemy, wiping out dozens during a cold spate.

Most of the species dig burrows and sleep 16 hours, eating beetles, ants, and termites evening and morning when they wake. Armadillos have poor eyesight and depend on their sense of smell to help them out. They also have strong legs with long claws that they use to dig, and long sticky tongues that they use for extracting ants from their tunnels. In addition to insects, armadillos also eat small vertebra, plants, fruit, and on occasion carrion meat (dead and decaying flesh of deceased animals).
Armadillos can grow to be as little as 3oz, or as big as 120 pounds. Contrary to popular belief, they cannot curl up into themselves; only the three banded armadillo can. Pulling it's head and legs up inside it's tiny armor-like shell, and becoming like a hard ball, confusing predators.

Armadillo Fast Facts

The name "armadillo" is Spanish for "little armored one".
Armadillos average life span in captivity is 12 to 15 years
Armadillos can be any size ranging from 5 to 59 inches
Other than humans, armadillos are the only other animal that can get leprosy
Armadillos can be house broken
When frighted, armadillos jump straight into the air
Armadillos can walk underwater
Armadillos always give birth to four identical babies, all of the same sex

100 Things To Do Before Next School Year; Edition 2

2012-09-10T18:05:00.000-07:00

You all remember how I had that list of things to do before next school year? Well, I've decided to do it again this year :) Except it's called my Goal List... So for those of you who are curious;

Read 10 books
Go sledding
Set up lava lamp
Ace a test
Go on a collage tour
But a sweatshirt
Save 100 dollars & not touch it
Make my bed
Go to the fair
Go on a bouncy house
Eat popcorn
Drink marble soda
Plant m&m's
Meet somebody new
Get a T-Rex
Water gun fight
Eat salad
Make a rainbow out of Starbursts wrappers
Clean my shoes
Play tic-tac-toe
Wear feeties with someone
Watch a movie
Appreciate somebody
Pay it Forward
Color
Pay off the library
Watch a foreign film
Make cookies
Eat a candy cane
Draw with chalk
Find pastels & use them
Collect 300 pennies
Write 26 factorial blogs A-Z
Get a book from the library
Not lie
Have a snowball fight
Go swimming
Use bananas as phones
Go to church
Draw
Complete something
Clean the bathroom
Do at least 5 pages in my book
Write a poem
Wash a floor
Work maximum hours
Eat candy
Go to the mall
Go for a walk
Do homework
Melt crayons
Talk to an old friend
Buy clothes
Help with the Free Sale
Write on a sidewalk in mustard
Eat cotton candy
Eat a Popsicle
Listen to a new song
Take a really good picture
Work out
Play in the rain
Hug somebody new
New pen pal
Learn a new sentence in a language
Drink Kool-aide
Cry
Wear earrings
Paint toe nails
Draw a new animal
Spring collage 2013
Apply to LTU
Buy a laptop
Go to an art show
Sleepover
Wear a dress
Go to the Peanut Shop again
Be nice
Do some math
Keep a positive attitude
Paint
Sharpen pencils
Be the best I know I can be
Quotes
Clean under my bed
Wash sheets
Start a portfolio
Learn a new word
Write an essay
Blog
Lose a balloon
Blow bubbles
Do something not selfish
Pray, for no reason other than to do it
Try your hardest
Volunteer
Apologize with action
Find green underwear
Listen to an old song
Try something new
Buy someone lunch
Sing
Don't give advice
Play I spy
Have a tea party
Watch a movie in theaters
Not cut
Empathize
Eat french fries
Get new shoes
Go to camp
Win an art scholarship
Be serious
Garden
Detail Burger Head

And that is so far, but I think I forgot a few... Anyways, I hope this catches on! :D The only rules are you don't set out to do it, it just happens, and once it's written down, you can't erase it, doesn't mean you have to do it, just that you can't erase it. Thanks for reading! :D

It's Not Kindergarten!

2012-08-09T22:43:00.000-07:00

So, as you, my followers.... (Mom, Jeff.) and those of you who just happen to come across my page, have known for a bit that I have gotten a job :) My first real job :) And while I'm excited.... it'd seem that my parents are more excited O_o which is understandable, but they act like it's kindergarten lol.
I got home from getting my work permit signed by the appropriate people (in which they made me run from one side of town to the other for; get permit from school, take permit to work to have them sign it, then bring it back to school for them the to sign it, then, finally, I can bring it back to work for them to file), and it was raining outside. So I'd walked home from the bus stop in the rain and I get my uniform from the car to bring it in, they're all like "Try it on! We wanna see you in it! :D " They say they want pictures.... and I remind them that it's not kindergarten... but they reply with "But it's your first job!" lol so, yeah, I may be exaggerating this a bit, but for real, it happened, at least the jest of it.
Reflecting on this episode only makes me think of what it'd be like when I move out, or go to college, or make my first Pixar film, or anything... I guess it'd be the same as when I see the people I love do great things, and move up in the world, like growing up... We all avoid it, we avoid responsibility and growing up as teenagers, but we know it's coming, we know we have to do it, and while at the same time we are desperately looking forward to it, it's only mostly because we don't want to have somebody say for us anymore.
So guess when I start? Tuesday. Guess what Tuesday is? My seventeenth birthday! Which wouldn't be so bad, but I really wanted to see The Lorax (which I heard hasn't gotten the kind of attention they want it to, but for real, if that certain person is reading this, I think that movie is great, just by the previews, and I really really want to see it!) at the library with my friends... but I can't... very sadly... perhaps my parents will rent it for me! ^_^
But just in case anybody cared, I will tell you what I want for my birthday:
Birthday Dinner: Spaghetti with Italian sausage and cheesy garlic bread
Wish List: Headphones
Cool Socks
New York Times Newspaper (they have amazing pictures that I would love to cut out! :D )
A Plastic T-Rex from Meijer
Hello Kitty underwear :3
Gum
My own thing of ice cream :D
Cracker Jacks
AAA Batteries (for my mp3 player)

But this is the cake I want:

I don't care if we don't have enough jars for everyone, I'm getting a cake in a jar, and that's that.
Here's a copy and paste of the recipe from http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2011/04/08/rainbow-cake-in-a-jar/

Rainbow Cake in Jar

1 box white cake mix made according to package instructions
Neon food coloring in pink, yellow, green, turquoise, and purple
3 one-pint canning jars
1 can vanilla frosting
Rainbow sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Thoroughly wash and dry the inside of each canning jar. Spray the inside of each jar thoroughly with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Scoop about 1/2 cups of cake batter into five small bowls. It doesn’t have to be perfect, don’t panic if you get a little more of less of one color than another. Tint each bowl of cake batter with the food coloring until very vibrant.

Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the purple batter into the bottom of each jar. Spoon equal amounts of turquoise batter, then green, yellow, and pink. Place the jars in a shallow baking dish, add about 1/4″ in water in the baking dish. Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Remove jars and allow to cool completely before scooping a small portion from the top of your cake and adding a hefty dollop of vanilla buttercream to the top. Sprinkle & serve, or cover with a lid and store in the fridge or pop into the mail & surprise someone you love!

POST EDIT: Several commenters have indicated that the cake is not cooking all the way through in the 30-35 minutes indicated in the recipe. This was enough time for our cake, but I’m cooking at high altitudes, and my oven tends to bake hot. So, I’d recommend baking the cake for 40 minutes, then return it to the oven if it still doesn’t spring back to the touch when you check to see if it’s finished. As for the cake puffing up and out of it’s bottle, ours did that a bit, as well. Easy fix. We just scooped a bit of the cake out to make room for the frosting and wiped the outside of our jars clean. Several people have indicated that the wide-mouthed mason jars work a little better for this purpose. I’ve not yet baked with wide-mouthed. What you see above is what was baked in my kitchen according to the recipe instructions, and what came out of the oven when it was all. Of course, if you’re feeling wildly impatient, you can also zap the cake in the microwave for 2 minutes. It’s going to bubble up, for sure, but you can scoop the top part of that cake out, frost it, and no one will ever be the wiser. Good luck, everyone! This is such a fun cake. My kids went nuts over it, and I hope it works as beautifully for you as it did for us!

Bacon is Really Good :)

2012-08-05T19:53:00.000-07:00

I think we all agree, bacon is damn good! But I was thinking earlier, the little baby piggies are cute too... but it's okay, because they don't kill the babies. :) They wait until the pigs are fat and gross, or until they feed them enough chemicals to get fat and gross... :S Gosh, we eat a lot of chemicals...

So one of my neighbors are having their second baby on Tuesday :D I'm so excited! I can't wait to see a brand new baby! My other neighbors are hoarders... for the most part... They keep giving us stuff; blankets, coffee cups, which is all nice, but all of these things are ugly as f*ck! Sometimes they buy us stuff too, they bought my sister some face wash, and they bought me some neonish nail polish, it's like hunting orange *gross face*, which I'd like to use it, but come on, the color is gross, plus I can't really paint my nails, because I just got a real job! It's nice that they buy us stuff, thoughtful and all that junk, but for real, I don't really use nail polish as it is, and Taylor didn't need chemically intoxicated face wash, we make our own, and it works well. Well, at least for me, 'cause she uses either that or store-bought face wash. She really needs to make a for sure decision which one she's going to use, because for one; it's annoying, for two; her indecisiveness is going to make her break out more.

So, if you were wondering, the mixture we use for our (or my) face wash is a half and half combination of Pure Olive Oil (you can get that at just a regular grocery store or whatever), and Castor Oil (which you can buy at any drug store). The olive oil cleans your pores or whatever and also moisturizes your skin as it needs in a natural manor, and the castor oil dries up bad oils and sucks out impurities...I think... but either way, it works. Just give it like 2-4 weeks to do it's thing, and you'll hardly have to wear cover-up when you go out! :D

Jealous.

2012-07-27T21:06:00.001-07:00

I need something to do, I need some inspiration for a good blog. A good blog like those other people who just put stories or whatever up, I do not have such interesting stories.. my life isn't that eventful. Gosh.. I am jealous of you people.
So. My mother introduced me to this website called Pintrest. It's pretty interesting, people pin pictures of ideas, crafts, art, actually, everything. And you can browse, and hoard all kinds of pictures and whatever to your little hearts content! It's great, I think my mom's addicted to it actually lol.

I made the start of my Bucket List today... even though I'm probably too young for one, I guess you can't start too early for life goals :)

Sometimes

2012-07-17T23:01:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I just want to break down and sob, but I know how pathetic that'd look. I just want to zone out and forget the world, create my own color, because it seems lately the "friends" in my life are only making it grey. It seems pretty stupid that now of all times I'm wondering who my real friends are, instead of wondering that before I got in too deep with all this shit. They caused so much shit, although I was in-part of that, still, they aren't here now. When I try to talk to some of them, no body seems to listen. As of now, I'm able to talk to, and get a well thought response out of 3 or 4 of my friends.
Even so, no offense to those who do listen to me bitch and just jabber, it still seems all I've got is my best friend who lives 2,000 miles away, music, and my creativity.

Phone Tag

2012-07-13T23:07:00.001-07:00

So I think I'm about to get this job at KFC, and they call, but it seems we only play phone tag, because they call when I'm either gone looking for other jobs, or sleeping because I'm still tired from delivering papers. My parents say that I can stop doing the paper route when I get a job, but I kind of feel like I'm obligated to keep doing it, even thought I know the likelihood of me being able to both deliver papers and work at KFC and be awake at both places is slim. Because we have like a system of doing the papers where we get done like half an hour early, which is great, because then I get to go to bed faster.
It's a good thing I haven't decided to do this blog as a journal, because my life is terribly boring. I sleep during the day, watch TV, look through the left over papers for interesting pictures to cut out, sometimes call friends, go on the computer, and water the garden. I just need the energy to make this more interesting, so if you would, give me suggestions!

I don't know what to blog about.... Newspapers?

2012-07-06T22:29:00.000-07:00

I don't know what to blog about, but I feel I should blog, seems how I have not in a long time. I'm hungry..
I see no reason to go to bed now, seems how I'd have to get up in an hour; delivering papers is defiantly some work! I hardly get any sleep, and it involves a lot of walking. This one lady we deliver a paper to is super picky about where it lands on her porch, but it's really hard to get it just right when you have to aim 4 feet at an odd angle in the dark from behind a fence. And this morning I had the pleasure of finding out why she is so particular about her paper; she has a dog, who she has trained to retrieve the paper for a treat. *dumbfounded face* If she wants to give the dog a treat so bad, don't make my job harder, just give the damn dog a treat!
We also deliver to this one couple who is up every single morning I deliver to them, like 4:30-5:00 a.m., What? Why!? Why would they do that!? And they're not even that old! They're like mid-ish forties, getting up God awful early to see that they get their paper!? The early, I am not in the mood to talk to strangers. But from what I hear, delivering newspapers makes decent enough money, enough to get up that early I suppose.. but I'm not actually the one doing it, only helping my parents. They say I can have a day off when I want to, but after about a week, we seem to have developed a system that makes us get done half an hour early, which is good, because then it's back to bed sooner :) But I feel that if I take them up on their offer that the system will be distraught, and then they may be in a bad mood towards my sister - she tends to have an attitude about stupid things, that frustrates people a lot.

So. I read on Yahoo that there was a gummy bear dress made. Apparently it took about 3 weeks to make, but it looks amazing!

Yup................. so it appears that I am done with this blog... it sucked, I'm sorry. ~ Needs blog ideas!~ tootles then!

The Little Things :)

2012-06-13T20:54:00.000-07:00

Today's checklist:

hung out with a new friend,
caught fireflies,
bought candy for a dollar,
cup of tea,
called my best friend,
And my other best friend is leaving me tomorrow.... for South Korea.... :(

~ Always telling about how people should really appreciate the little things in life more often.. well, I think this - along with other pieces of proof - shall really put it out there that perhaps you wouldn't be such a grouch if you did appreciate the little things, like card games and goldfish. :)

All the other things on the list are pretty self-explanatory, but my friend, going home to South Korea.... Sadly, her nine months of Americanization is over... we have done our best, and now she is just another Asian-looking American. We gave her American foods, candy, and experiences. Tomorrow she departs on a fourteen-hour plane ride home. Although she is leaving me flustered with her, I still love her, and shall miss her so much! We plan on sending e-mails through facebook and hand-written letters (yes, be surprised and wide-eyed, mailmen will now have something to do other than deliver that junk mail!), and if anybody could kindly tell me how much postage would be from the United States to South Korea, I would greatly appreciate it! :3
See, the reason I am flustered with her is because I had been planning since early last week that she was not leaving this country without spending at least one more night at my house. And look, she's getting away.... >:/ I had spent the better part of four to five days hearing excuses as to why she couldn't come over that day, or the next, finally just giving up and telling her that she had greatly disappointed me. I had already been through some other saddening things, and needed a friend, but she would not be there for me.... or couldn't, or whatever. I would have loved to call her tonight before she leaves tomorrow, but I did not have her phone number when it wasn't this late - also, she lives in a house with a bunch of other foreign people, who do not speak English as good as her, so if you ask if she's there, you will get a "no", even though you know she's there! So I called my other best friend instead, but he was tired, had a headache, and also has summer school to attend to until August -_- yay! So now I am on here; blogging this boring blog... and having nobody to talk to... perhaps I might get so bored that I will clean the bathroom..... have you ever been to that point of boredom? That you just clean... yeah, that's what I do when I'm upset, cleaning keeps my mind busy, also, because I have run clean out of inspiration for my creative side. *rambling now... sorry*
So, please enjoy this picture of a fat unicorn as I leave you :) <3 Thank you!

Swallowed Gasoline?

2012-06-10T20:02:00.002-07:00

Have you or somebody you love recently swallowed or ingested gasoline? Well, not to make this sound like a stupid commercial, but I have 7 steps - that I looked up online - that could possibly help save their life, so that you can tell them that they're stupid to have ingested gasoline.

Step 1). Stand by the person while they catch their breath, make sure that you reassure them that they are not going to die,and that many people swallow small amounts of gasoline everyday and they're okay. :)

Step 2). Once the individual has calmed down, help the down a large glass of milk as to settle their stomach.

Step 3). Although they may be inclined to drink carbonated beverages instead of their nice glass of milk, refrain from letting them do so. When gasoline is in the stomach, it creates gas, and carbonated drinks will help them to burp, but in this case, that is the wrong thing to do.

Step 4). Call Poison Control Center (1-800-222-1222) and explain the situation to them, they will help you decipher how much gasoline was swallowed and will be able to help you do what you need to do to cure this person.

Step 5). Although the gasoline-swallower may b burping for the next several hours, and they may feel nauseous and sick, that is because of the fumes that are escaping through the esophagus. Just be there to remind them that they will be alright in the next day or so.

Step 6). Make sure that they drink plenty of water throughout the next few hours, but not all at once.

Step 7). Be sure to remind your friend or whomever they may be to you that ingesting gasoline is dangerous, and that they should avoid it. Because at some point, I'm sure that all that gasoline will just be too much, and they'll croak... lol jk :)

Cupcakes ~ yeah, something interesting now :))

2012-05-22T17:54:00.002-07:00

I used to write interesting things all the time.. but it seems I have better things to think about, so I just end up using my blog - when I do write - as a journal.. I'm sorry mystery readers, you shall not suffer, for this blog anyways.. So. Random facts about cupcakes! :3

~ As much as you all want to believe, cupcakes are not named "cupcakes" because they look like cute little cakes inside little paper cups. On the contrary they're called "cupcakes" because they are snacks that can be stored inside a protective athletic cup during baseball games. Abner Doubleday is suggested as the first who tucked this little treat inside these cups, and was apparently known for munching the little cakes while running bases.
~ Cupcakes did not always have that tasty frosting that most of us enjoy, it actually had lard swirled on the top. And it was Winston Churchill who had suggested to put frosting on the top.
~ Apparently John Lennon's song Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, which is assumed to be about or involving psychedelic drugs, is actually about cupcakes (?), even though it contains no references of any kind about cupcakes, when interviewed John Lennon is quoted as saying: “You never know what you’re writing when you write a song, it’s only years later you realize the truth. You think you’re writing about other people, but you’re really writing about cupcakes. Goo goo ga joob. Imagine. Yoko Ono."
~ The number of cupcakes eaten last year has a mass weight greater than the entire Earth.(2010, so not accurate as of this year... just sayin'.)
~ One cupcake per adult is consumed everyday.
~cupcakes, among other tasty treats, are banned in the New York school system as a way to cut down obesity rates (the least of America's problems here :S ).
~ The Hostess Cupcake has been around since 1919, but has become even more popular since the addition of the cream in the middle in 1950.
~ The world's largest cupcake was created August 15, 2009 (the day after my birthday!!!! *rage face*), and weighs 1,224 pounds, with a 2 million calorie count.
~ The world's smallest cupcake was baked in Great Britain in celebration of National Cupcake Week. It's measurements are 1.5 centimeters high, and 3 centimeters wide.
~ The fastest record for eating cupcakes is 29 cupcakes in 30 seconds. O_O
~ National Cupcake Day is December 15th, just for those wondering :3
~ The first mention of a cupcake recipe goes as far back as 1796.
~ Cupcakes are referred to as fairy cakes in Britain, and patty cakes in Australia.

I hope this was exactly what you; my mystery readers, have been missing, and that it was as entertaining and educational as the rest of my blogs. - Seems a goal of mine to know everything about things that people don't need to know, that makes you seem even smarter than they think ;D Until next time my good people!
But, before I leave, some good quotes :)) I love quotes :)

"Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark. Professionals built the Titanic." from anonymous,

and

" The greatest thing you'll ever get from me is just to love and to be loved in return." also anonymous.

Been Awhile.. Thoughts....;

2012-05-07T13:50:00.000-07:00

Currently I have completed 146 out of 235 goals on my 100 Things to do Before Next School Year list. Never did I think when that idea was born about 6, 8 months ago that'd I'd be in this kind of mess; that I'd do all of the things I've done. I never thought I'd have to put on any kind of goal list "graduate from high school". In which I am not going to complete in any lifetime - or this one at least. So far, there isn't even going to be a next school year... I'm getting a job, working for a lousy G.E.D., and I still want to go to college, but I'd have to work my ass off even more than before; way more than before!
Now I'm not sulking; I deserve this, I need to accept what I've done, the outcome, and just move on. I'm still alive right? Even if I don't want to be, I'd be too much a coward to do anything, or maybe brave enough to live it through.... either way, I need to do a lot of thinking.

So this was my day

2012-04-12T13:56:00.001-07:00

So, as though it may seem that a typical teenagers day is fairly easy, but I had to deal with a freshman Japanese class, stupid teachers, dumb books that the government makes us read, although there's no reason for it, a chemistry test, upset friends, people in general, and a geometry redue test. Then, I had to ride the city bus home, which is all fine and well, besides the fact that when I went to take my mp3 out of my pocket, I came to find that my right ear phone was in pieces! When I put it back together thinking that it was just the squishy ear piece, I discovered that I had apparently split some wires.... So, I had to sit through an hour long bus ride with half of my music working -_- . Thank God for my old pair of headphones though! But, one thing to look forward to this evening is calling my best friend! :DD I haven't talked to her in weeks!! D:

Child Molesters; What Do We Do With Them?

2012-04-11T15:59:00.001-07:00

**This is my persuasive essay for my English class :) I hope you all think positively of it lol, please leave a comment of what you think :)

Is this any way to live?:

22% of boys, and 23% of girls are sexually victimized before age 8.
1 in 7 victims of sexual abuse were victimized under age 6.
67% of sexual abuse victims are under the age of 18.
95% of teenage prostitutes have been sexually abused.
It is estimated that there are 60 million survivors of sexual abuse.
Children with disabilities are 4 times more vulnerable to sexual abuse than their non-disabled peers.
The "typical" child sex offender molests 117 children on average, most do not report it.
60% of convicted sex offenders are on parole or probation right now.

      How can you protect your children, family members, or friends? Do we live in fear of when and who they will strike, victimize, demoralize. How are you going to protect yourself? Like this, you can't.
     Before anything can be done, the definition of sex offenses would have to be changed permanently. It would have to stand for justice, not teenagers' parents getting mad and condemning a young life as a sex offender. If you break the law, you break the law, no in-between. After that, these real, actual sex offenders should be chemically castrated, and placed in an enclosed work camp for life.
     As it currently stands, the courts definition of a sex offense is; "crimes of a sexual nature". For example, distribution of obscene material is a misdemeanor, rape is a felony. But while this definition sounds concretely solid, the charges can be ridiculous. Your punishment would depend upon the type and severity of the specific offense you are being charged for. Conviction of a misdemeanor is punishable for up to a year in county jail, probation, fines, or a combination of all three. Conviction of a felony can result in penalties as a misdemeanor, or state prison for up to life. But the penalty assigned by the court for a felony depends on the specific crime committed, as well as the specific circumstances of the offense and criminal history.
      But out of 8,000 people convicted of a felony sex crime in California each year 39% go to state prison, 5% are supervised on community probation, 1% county jail, and community probation. This obviously isn't working. Even murderers get a longer sentence, and at least those victims don't have to live on in pain.
     In 2006 the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in California proposed that the Department of Mental Health of California screen the offenders to determine whether they meet the criteria for a Sexually Violent Predator (SVP). Currently the law describes an SVP as "a person who has been convicted of a sexually violent assault against 2 or more people and who has a diagnosed mental disorder that makes the person a danger to the health and safety of others in that it is likely he/she will engage in sexually violent criminal behavior.". After they meet that check list of society-damaging behaviors they are placed in rehabilitation mental hospitals. But 80% of these individuals fall within normal inelegance ranges.
      Alabama has a new bill that states; "...that those who receive mandatory minimum sentences, that means no parole, no probation, no good time, no split sentences, that means you are going to prison. They will not wear bracelets for 20 years, because they will be in prison for 20 years. After that prison term, convicts will then have to wear an electronic bracelet for the next 10 years.". Which I agree with, except for the tracking bracelet, that would require more commitments than what already isn't there. And for that matter, is a 30 year time out enough time to "recover" from their "lifestyle"?
      The "cure" for pedophilia ranges from group therapy, a myriad of sex-drive reducing drugs, castration, and individual therapy. Most, if not all sexual assaults aren't because of sex, it's their way to get total control over a person; by invading their personal space.
      Although the sex-drive reducing and chemical castration drugs cause side effects such as heart disorders, back pain, respiratory disorders, night sweating, rachiopathy (suffering), osteoporosis, etc. They have been found at least a little helpful in preventing recidivism. Some studies have found that reports of sex offenders who have had this particular treatment have suffered depression, anger, a felling of inadequacy, and isolation. Much similar to the shopping list of pain their victims suffer. For too long sex offenders have had painless punishments, now is the time for them to suffer the same as their victims. Even criminologists say that castration "must be looked upon as the best social measure for and treatment of sexual criminals and abnormal sexuals in general. Whatever ethical, physical, or psychological problems castration might pose, from a criminological point of view it is effective.". But that alone is not going to do the trick, I think something much like Joe Arpaio's self-sufficient prison camp in Maricopa County of Arizonia would be exactly what we need to prevent hurt generations.
      An online journalist John Rossamando reports in The Daily Caller on August 15, 2011 about a group of psychiatrists, mental health professionals, and pedophiles may be able to revise the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) by 2013.
      Another group looks upon pedophilia as a sexual orientation rather than a mental disorder. Dr. Hubert Van Gijseghem, psychologist and retired professor at the University of Montreal told Parliament members; "True pedophiles have an exclusive preference for children, which is the same as having a sexual orientation.". Another expert Dr. Vernon Quinsey, professor of psychology at Queen's University in Ontario says; "There is no evidence that this sort of preference can be changed through treatment or anything else...It's not necessarily that they need to change their sexual orientation; they need to learn how to control themselves, with our help."
     But I think that with a combinations of hardcore prison sentences, chemical castration and work camps such as Joe Arpaio's we could be free.

**Dang, I'm bad at spelling lol, hope it was informal and interesting :) Please leave your comments.

Obsessed with Anime

2012-04-07T13:47:00.000-07:00

Recently I have found myself watching hours of anime, something I could easily find myself wrapped up in - all the artistic drama. But one thing I admire most of the anime I watch, would be the clothes. Although I find the Elisabeth character of The Black Butler to be obnoxious, her clothes are defiantly something to love.
Up until yesterday I was also watching another anime called Durarara, it's amazing show with everything you could possibly wish for in a favorite TV show. But I had to stop watching it because I've gotten up to episode 26, but can not find episode 26 anywhere! So, if anyone has any information on where I could find it, I would be so thankful! :D

I would have to say one of the best lines in all of anime would have to be from The Black Butler episode 3, where the Butler says after Grell threatens to kill himself "There is no need for that. Just think of the horrible mess you would make. It'd take hours to clean up all of the blood....And if you do decide to seek your eternal rest, please see to it outside, would you? And try not to make too big a mess."

Well, back to talk about real life I suppose...My half sister, whom I have not seen since I was like 7 or so, might be coming to live with us, her, her husband, and her two children. Now the situation isn't as messed up as it seems, more of like you just don't have the whole story.. but that's alright, just believe me :) . So yeah, that'll be a total about of 9 people living in my house, her 4, plus the 5 already living here.... Oh well, lol, I've lived in such situations before, it's not all bad :) .
Also, we go back to school on Monday!!!!!! :D *sigh* This vacation has been boring as hell :/ . Seems how I've nearly run out of things to say, I suppose I'll tell about something funny somebody posted on my facebook; "Love is like a fart. If you have to force it, it's probably shit." And while on the subject of things people have said, my favorite anime character of Durarara; Shizuo, in episode mm like 25 or something... anyways, Shizuo came in the door of the doctors house bleeding half to death. The doctors all like "goodness graciousness, what happened to you?!" and Shizuo replied with; "oh, you know...." lol and before that I thought I'd lost my favorite character. Now that's the kind of awesomeness that's just too hard to kill! :D

"Catching up"

2012-04-05T15:43:00.000-07:00

So, it's been awhile since last writing a blog.. been thinking a bit of what to do my next one about... Also thinking of what to make for dinner. We've got hamburger in the sink thawing, spaghetti sounds easy, but I'm just not in the mood for it.. or I could make tomato soup and grilled cheese, but my sister is really picky and doesn't like tomatoes -_- plus, we don't have bread.
We're on spring break this week, and it being almost over, I can certainly say it's been a bit of a waste of time for me. The most I did was research a little bit for my upcoming persuasive essay for English class, hung out at the mall with friends, and have my friend over for the weekend before she sadly has to go back home in Korea. I've also watched countless American Dad episodes, my new favorite anime Durarara, this old show I used to watch called Bob's Burgers, and two documentaries, one about this guy trying not to get sent to jail for masturbating in a video store over his porn addiction, and another about The New York Times crossword. Yup. And now you see why this country is so educationally delayed; due to wasted time both in the classroom, and time given off to students who don't need it, only to make a waste of time.
Well, I suppose that's it... I've got really nothing else to "catch-up" on, 'cause it's all just mundane everyday stuff.. nothing special :)

Feelin' a bit down.....

2012-03-28T17:43:00.000-07:00

Old times creep up on you when you least expect it, and they have such a talent of making you feel so bad... But as they say, misery loves company... And I seem to be getting along better with one of my friends whom everybody knows to be pretty much depressed. Perhaps it's not a good thing that I give into it, but I've come to realize, I haven't really worked through any of the shit I've been through...
Like the other day my mom was saying something about how my siblings and I have my "father's" side of eyes; which are big blue eyes. I don't really see how my eyes are particularly big, but whatever. So anyways, I was sitting on the bus on my way to school listening to music, and then I thought about the conversation... "Does that somehow make me as bad as him? Does that mean that in some sort of fucked up way that I represent him, and or all the horrible things he's done?"... But I know I'm not like that... but still, it;s something you'd have to wonder...

Some things that make me feel better during these times is going outside, or drawing. But when I draw I have to have the world drowned out with music.. which, in most cases has only aided my depression.. But my new friend has introduced a new way to relax in a way that I can see what everything is :3 It's like meditation or something.. inside intuition, like the feeling of knowing something, but you have no idea as to why you know it.. which I already had before he told me about, but he told me of a way to focus more on it. It's really relaxing! Here are the steps, but as to explain it further so that one could like research it more or something, I could not do.. because it's just something I've always known but can never explain :)

Steps to "Opening Your 3rd Eye" (as he calls it, which I'm sure is the correct term :) )

lightly look at the center of your forehead.. you will feel a tingle - stick one finger tip to your forehead, without straining your eyes. Close your eyes, and feel your finger on your forehead.

Now focus on the part just inside your forehead, inside your skull. it will help

Do that when you wake up for any amount of time, but feel the tingle, and before bed, or literally anywhere. Just relax.

Do it everyday, but no more than 5 times a day as to not obsess.

I would suggest, seems how I cannot explain further, to look it up, but I tried the steps above, and got amazing results, otherwise, it would not appear on here :) Have fun! :) <3