Get Remixed

Chicken with Sriracha Cream Sauce

2012-01-19T23:05:00.001-06:00

I made the most amazing meal this week.

Seriously. It's good it turned out great because (1) last week's was on the blah side and (2) this had possibly been the most uneventful week of my life. If I didn't have this dish to rave about, I would have nothing to talk about.

Source: theboogieblog.net via Liz on Pinterest

So I started with the recipe for Stuffed Salmon with Sriracha Cream from The Boogie Blog. Except I had no salmon. But I did have chicken! So imagine the picture above, but it's chicken! (My photos turned out terrible. Boo. I was too excited to eat, rather than get the photo right.)

The marinade is perfect. Seriously. I have plans to use it again. And since I also now have a GIANT bottle of Sriracha, I'll probably be using that again too.

Sriracha Cream Sauce:
1 Cup Mayo
1/4 Cup Sriracha
3 Tablespoon Sweetened Condensed Milk

Mix all together. Taste. Make spicer or sweeter, depending on what you like.

Marinade:

1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 cup water
5 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp fresh ginger
1 minced garlic clove
2 tablespoons honey

1. Combine cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water. Stir until cornstarch is dissolved; set aside

2. In a saucepan, combine 1 cup water, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, brown sugar & honey; bring to a simmer

3. When liquid is simmering and brown sugar has melted, add the cornstarch/water mixture & simmer until thick enough to coat a back of a spoon (This took longer than expected. But it will happen.)

4. Place cooled marinade in a plastic bag with the chicken. I halved two chicken breasts. Let sit in the fridge for 1 hour - overnight. I did over the workday. I think it was a good choice.

5. I cooked some brown rice here.

6. When ready to cook, the salmon recipe said to line a dish with tin foil, and cover with tin foil. I was out. So, I just coated a dish in olive oil, and placed the chicken in there. A little messier to clean up, but otherwise worked fine.

7. Sprinkle with Seasame seeds. Cook for 20 minutes at 400. I turned it up to 450 for ten more minutes after that.

Then place some chicken on the rice, sprinkle with some chopped green onions and drizzle with the Sriracha cream sauce and enjoy. It was so nice to finally eat something fresh made and not reheated on Tuesday night. (And this actually has worked great as a work meal. Bonus!)

The Apple Factory

2012-01-10T23:33:00.001-06:00

Really, this isn't just about the Apple factory.

Apple just gets the highlight, because Mike Daisey loves Apple - really, really loves Apple.

This episode of This American Life is a serious must listen for anyone who likes to know where their stuff comes from. I have so many different thoughts after listening to it.

First, I'm no luddite. I'm writing this on a Macbook Pro (a five year old one, but a Macbook Pro none-the-less.) I work on Macs. I have a cell phone. I'm not naive either. I was knowledgeable that my electronics come from China, and probably from a factory, whose working conditions probably aren't the same as the States. It was a bit surprising to realize the scale, though. 400,000 working in a factory? That's almost the size of the Des Moines metro area.

We live in an age where electronics are everywhere. I give up a lot, for a variety of reasons, but I'm not on track to give up my computer. I'll probably need a new one within a few years. Do I value my lappy more than the work environment of someone I'll never meet halfway around the world? As a Christian, I don't think I should. So what is one to practically do?

I'm not sure. Daisey gives a couple of practical solutions to what he sees as fixable problems. For example, employees do the same minuscule task for years, never rotating, and slowly destroying their hands. If they simply rotated tasks, this could avert that. He says all it takes is someone to care. But labor is cheap in China, so if an employee can't work their job after 10 years, there are plenty to take their place.

I was also aware that most factories are warned when ethics auditors come to pay a visit, giving them time to hide anything, such as underage employees. Daisey says doing away with the warning would easily make the audits more realistic.

But what is one person in Iowa, who wants her electronics to be made fairly, to do? I can make a lot, but I'm not going to be able to whip up a computer. Do we demand something different through our wallets? Do I write an email? Where would one even begin, if practically everything is made with such questionable, at minimum practices?

An interesting comment that Daisey also makes. He says something to the effect that there are a lot of people who wish for a more handmade time. But because labor in China is cheaper than most machines, in the factories he toured, everything was technically handmade. I got an ironic kick out of that.

Seriously. Give the episode a listen. It clearly gave me plenty to think about.

2012

2012-01-05T13:07:00.000-06:00

It's hard to time a jump with a camera remote, as seen here.

Happy 2012 to all!

Iowa Nice

2012-01-02T20:51:00.001-06:00

One of my favorite things about living in Iowa is how much everyone (mostly) loves living here. There's a lot of pride in our lil' city - it's something that I've found a lot less in cities where everyone is much more transient, coming for a few years and then moving on. We aren't afraid to brag about the state we choose, for whatever reason, to make home. For most people it only gets in the spotlight once every four years, but at least personally, I love to talk about my state.

(There is some cursing in the video, FYI)

An easy use for scrap t-shirts

2011-12-18T13:29:00.001-06:00

I love making these (t-shirt scrap rosette bobby pins.)

"Something as Important and Real as Soil and Food"

2011-12-12T20:26:00.001-06:00

I have lots of thoughts stirring about after reading this article from NPR (including: this girl might be my doppleganger, and where can I find her jacket?) There also may have been some serious thoughts. I wish I was near the point that many of these people are, but I can barely manage the three 6x4 plots in the backyard. Yet, it is encouraging to know that there are young people doing what I want to do.

One of the bits I found most interesting was kind of tucked away at the end. I think it's even more interesting than hearing about more young people wanting to live, what for many, is a quite idealistic existence. It's work. It's more work than I (and a lot of other young people wanting to farm) can imagine, with lots of opportunity for failure (see: my sad garden.)

Farming — the work, and the independence, and the connection to something as important and real as soil and food — was the one thing that he wanted to throw himself into. And he's been doing it ever since. But it wasn't always a big happy folk dance.

"I can remember feeling kind of desperate, and having many failures, a lot of failures, in the first couple of years of growing crops and not really knowing what I was doing," he says.

But there's one thing he had, and it's a big reason why he's still farming. He loved the business side of it: finding customers and making a living on his own.

That sense of farming as a business is probably the biggest thing the young farmers have to learn, he says. It's what he preaches to the young apprentices who come to his farm to work. (He's had more than 200 such apprentices over the years.)

Ideals are great, he tells them. "But if you're going to stick with it, and expect to make a living at it, you've got to be realistic about the business aspects: Money, and managing money, and borrowing money, and all the things that a business person has to do. And you have to accept that, and learn to like that – somewhat, at least – and be willing to be good at that."

(Read the rest over at NPR)

Transportation

2011-12-08T18:26:00.001-06:00

Source: tugboatprintshop.com via Liz on Pinterest

I haven't had a car for 8 months now. It's been fine. I was driving it so little, with working downtown, that it was more work to make sure it was moved frequently enough. I've enjoyed saving the money. Sure, I've had to plan more for groceries, and occasionally work the bus system, but it's worked. I really want to make it to a full year without a car.

However, with the onset of winter, it's not nearly as easy to just hop on my bike to get groceries. There are some crazy people who ride year round in Iowa. I'll ride for quite sometime, but once it's under forty degrees, I call it quits. I'll still walk, but that make grocery runs just that much slower. Additionally, it's putting a cramp in my volunteering with a nearby camp during the school year. It's hard to make the forty minute drive without a car, and I really want to be volunteering more with them.

Anyway, the last few days I've been pursuing cars. I might have a major need for one in February, and I've found several that I like and that are within my budget. But then, I think about the digging and scrapping and how little I will actually use it this winter, except for a jaunt home, a drive to the camp, or a drive for a couple of Grad School interviews, it hardly seems worth it.

Coupled with needing to save every penny for grad school, and really being picky on what I want, compounded with insisting on low MPG, I basically end up at a stalemate. I shall continue with no car until something changes.

Lazy Blog

2011-12-05T20:45:00.001-06:00

I have the urge to blog again. I seem to get this urge, but asbthe actual blogging generally only lasts at best a month or two, my expectations are set very, very low.

Wilderness

2011-08-15T00:20:00.000-05:00

I keep on getting asked about my NOLS course. And as I suspected I would, I have trouble summarizing everything up neatly, so I end up responding "It was good."

Sometimes I'm too concise even for my tastes.

So I'll share some random thoughts here that I might not share in person, either for brevities sake, or because I honestly forget to mention things, and share some photos.

It was snowy. More than I expected, though I'm not sure what I expected. I keep on forgetting to mention this. Here's some video that shows the snow (and wind, but that was mostly just that location.)

{Surprise Lake, I believe)

I expected to see a lot of animals. I didn't. The largest things I saw was a Moose & calf. I also saw several marmots, picas, chipmunks, a bird of prey or two, one mouse and one snake.

{This is not a moose. But it's pretty.}

The weather was amazing, with only sprinkles and a wind storm until the climbing section. Which if you know mountain weather, 17 days with out an afternoon rain is pretty amazing.

{The first real campsite}

I keep on forgetting to clarify: I went to Wyoming. NOLS is based out of Lander, in central Wyoming, but my course was actually in Montana, in the Beartooths.

{Some video from the best part of our four and a half hour drive}

While I was ready for a shower and a real bed, getting both of those things meant heading back to a job that I was less than pumped about. The course being over was bittersweet in that regard.

{Along the way on the world longest "1 mile or so" hike, on a "path."}

I had some things confirmed for me. Even on the days when it was the hardest, I would rather do it over and over than continue to sit at my desk all day.

{On our way down from Glacier Lake}

After six odd months of regretting not going to Scotland, the course also confirmed that it was a good decision. I would have been incredibly unprepared. Would I have caught up? Maybe. But I feel much better and prepared skill-wise now. (Do I still wish I was starting grad school this fall? - yes, very much so.)

{Rock climbing}

I met some fabulous people, whom I miss quite a bit. I miss our inside jokes, and cooking for the group every day. I miss knowing I am just as smelly as the person next to me.

{Hike number three}

Now if only I could find some boulder fields in Iowa to practice not being clumsy on...

I Now Have a Use For My Headlamp

2011-07-01T00:05:00.000-05:00

{photo from Alex Ristea}

I haven't had much use for my headlamp since I got it this past Christmas, other than to go "Look Ma, no hands!" as I grabbed things and shined light around Christmas morning. But in less than two weeks it will finally find some real use, thanks to some fortuitous timing.

I'll be setting off for The National Outdoor Leadership School in Wyoming for 23 or so days to do an Outdoor Educator Course with Backpacking and Rock Climbing (more here.) I'd originally taken work off for another course, decided not go because of interference with working at the farmer's market, then decided to go, found out the course was cancelled, and then decided to just ask about this course. Since it was barely a month away, I figured the course was full, but it just so happend that someone had dropped out 20 minutes before I called to ask if it was still open. And everything fell into place from there: money, work giving me the extra days off, getting the okay from the farmer's market, not having to actually go to the doctors for the physical (okay, the transportation wasn't a breeze to set up, but that's a whole post in of itself.)

I'm excited. I've been looking at various NOLS courses for almost a year, and since grad school fell through for this fall, it's nice to be moving forward a little bit. Speaking of grad school, I've found a school stateside that I like a lot and in a lot of ways might be even more up my alley (and be much more in my price range.) So three days before my flight to Wyoming, I'll be taking the GRE.

By all means, if you don't hear from me until after August 7th, don't be surprised. I'm either trying to brush up my horrifically rusty math skills, or evading bears in the wilderness.

Radishes

2011-05-15T22:49:00.000-05:00

Finally. I'm not a fan of this weird, mostly chilly spring, but at last, radishes are ready.

Dates I Could Be Taking 1: Farmer's Market & Tulip Time

2011-05-06T10:32:00.000-05:00

[This post goes out to Keith, Dawniece & Allison. All my best blogging ideas come from them. I was saying how I keep on coming up with great date ideas and I have no use for them, so I'm sharing. Also, the suggestion was made to make it a whole blog in itself. But that would require me to actually post...which isn't my strong point, but it would make a nice lil' tumblr. I'm open to the idea if I keep on coming up with good dates that I think people should take, because I'm certainly not taking them.]

This weekend is the opening of the Downtown Farmer's Market in Des Moines and the weather should be perfect. Have an early Saturday date! I'd get up early to beat the crowd, grab some breakfast. After that, hang out, shop, talk to vendors, sample some tasty food. If you're feeling real leisurely after that, get in to some of your food & listen to one of the bands play.

The Farmer's Market might be one of my favorite things in Des Moines, but if that wasn't enough for a Saturday date, I'd follow up the Farmer's Market with a trip to Pella for Tulip Time. There should be no problem making it to Pella in time for the parade.

100 Years of Sleep

2011-04-03T23:12:00.000-05:00

I just started reading some George MacDonald (the 19th century fantasy writer, preacher, and inspiration of C.S. Lewis,) and little did I know he's actually quite humorous.

"I never knew of any interference on the part of wicked fairy that did not turn out a good thing in the end. What a good thing, for instance, it was that one princess should sleep for a hundred years! Was she not saved from all the plague of young men who were not worthy of her? And did she not come awake exactly at the right moment when the right prince kissed her? For my part, I cannot help wishing a good many girls would sleep till just the same fate overtook them. It would be happier for them, and more agreeable to their friends."

From "Little Daylight"

"In New Food Culture, a Young Generation of Farmers Emerges"

2011-03-08T23:25:00.000-06:00

Source: nytimes.com via Liz on Pinterest

Garry Stephenson, coordinator of the Small Farms Program at Oregon State University, said he had not seen so much interest among young people in decades. “It’s kind of exciting,” Mr. Stephenson said. “They’re young, they’re energetic and idealist, and they’re willing to make the sacrifices.”

Though the number of young farmers is increasing, the average age of farmers nationwide continues to creep toward 60, according to the 2007 Census of Agriculture. That census, administered by the Department of Agriculture, found that farmers over 55 own more than half of the country’s farmland.

From The New York Times

I heard a similar statistic about Iowa farms on NPR the other day. I think it was that more than 50% of Iowa farms are owned by people over the age of 60. The second statistics definitely was 25% are owned by someone older than 75.

Grad School..

2011-03-08T00:36:00.001-06:00

This post is all about Grad School. I'd meant to write about it, at various points, for some time. And now that I'm 99% sure I won't be going, I make a massive post all about it. Mainly bringing putting everything together all in one place--I have notes and files and thoughts everywhere. But now I get to share them all in one spot. Hurrah?

Why I wanted to go to grad school in for outdoor education: I will now just refer you to a slightly adapted version of my application essay.

Growing up I was rarely privy to the outdoors beyond our yard. My parents had little money to take trips, and when we did get the chance to travel outside of the Midwest, my parents would drive days to the mountains. Unfortunately, we would not really stop, learn, relax, or fully experience them, we would drive from outlook to outlook, spending just enough time to hop out of the minivan and stretch, look around, and pile back in the van. I dreamed of going hiking for days, learning about animals, and having my own farm, admittedly strange dreams for most ten year olds. Despite the shortcoming of our trips out of the city, I cannot help but be thankful for the experiences, however limited, my parents gave me of the outdoors. They gave all they could.

Even as an adult, I have found anything beyond the most basic of outdoor activities to be limited by ones economic status. As I have a passion for working with children who come from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, I want to bring the outdoors to them, and give them opportunities that they might otherwise never have.

When I first worked at a Girl Scout Camp, I felt completely out of my element. Here I was teaching young girls how to make fires, tie knots, and climb rock walls, when two months prior I had never even camped. My time at camp was just as much about my own development as it was for the girls I lived with all summer. For once in my life I was in a completely new situation, and people believed in my skills, believed in my leadership ability, and believed that I could do it. That changed everything for me.

I was given the chance to become a leader, and I was given the opportunity to work in and fully experience the outdoors. When I was an Resident Assistant in college, it was the same situation, just indoors. Really, those two jobs were my favorites; the most challenging, sure, but truely the best jobs I've ever had.

I want to provide the same opportunity for youth that have even less opportunities than myself. I've spent the last six months beginning to work with at-risk kids, and learning about small and urban farming techniques. I also plan on increasing my outdoor skills in hiking, canoeing, and rock climbing, as they are moderately accessible in Iowa. I want to increase my leadership knowledge and teaching ability with The University of Edinburgh. Using those skills, I want to either work with, or if one doesn’t exist, create a program that works with inner city kids, not only to teach them to be leaders and help break the cyclical nature of poverty, but to empower them to succeed in their own environments (familial, educational and urban.) I want to use Outdoor Education to introduce them to places foreign, and give them the opportunity to be challenged and to grow. Drawing upon leadership learned in the outdoors, I want to teach tangible skills they can use in their own communities, like urban gardening, mentoring, and sustainability in urban environments. The aim would not just be to take a two-week trip to the mountains, it would be a partnership with a community for the long term.

The PgDip. in Outdoor Education at The University of Edinburgh is the perfect blend of what I’m looking to develop: A significant portion of skills based from experiential learning, coupled with theoretical classroom learning, all with a strong emphasis on a diversity of environments, people, and creating professional, competent teachers.

What's a Program Diploma?
What I liked about Edinburgh's program was that it is one of the oldest graduate programs in the world in Outdoor Education. It's a lot more established than a lot of the other schools I looked at. But the biggest seller for me (yes, even more than being in a great city) was that there also the Program Diploma, which is basically the exact same as the Master's, but without the thesis. It works out to a 10 month program. Plus, if for some reason I wanted to finish my master's, if I do really well in the diploma program, I can apply to finish the thesis. Sounded good to me.

How much does everything cost?
It technically costs less than a year at say, a private school like Drake. Though when living exspenses get thrown in, and with the exchange rate not being in my favor, it's equivalant to one year at a private school.

Which isn't that bad either, but here's the thing: I refuse to take out anymore student loans. I loved my undergrad education, don't get me wrong, but I really wish I had used less loan money--And I don't actually have that much student debt. But I don't like being a slave to my debt, and until it get's paid off, that's what I am. So unless it's a very small amount, I don't intend to take out any more loans.

That's just the "ABSOLUTELY MUST HAVE COSTS" there's others, mapped out below, of varying actual needs.

So, what sort of money do you have?

I'm so glad you asked.

Some of the money I could save is fairly cut a dry (ie, stop buying internet, save $324) but other money is not such a set form of income, such as when I work the Farmers Market this summer. I know I am working the market, but I have no guarantee on shifts, or if I will work a full shift, or do the shifts where I come in later in the morning. This is a sort of realistically, but still best case scenario outlook.

Are there scholarships?

Yes. But their deadlines aren't until after I have to reply to the admissions offer, so they are only semi-helpful. And I don't know how likely it is for me to get any. And as I'm working this out, I'm realizing I'd need to win every single one to come up with my $26,000 needed funds, based on me coming up with $12,000.

Why don't you try fund raising?
I don't think I'd make a very good fund raiser. I'm too self-deprecating, plus, when you have friends who are trying to adopt a baby or friends trying to go build a well & a church in Haiti, it's really hard to feel like funding yourself a trip to grad school is all that important in the larger scheme of things.

See, I'm a bad fund raiser.

Is this the end?
Of this post? NO! I just keep on going and going tonight!

Of the plan? No. I had a backup plan, which has been edited, and I won't go into here. I like Des Moines. I'd miss it here. So in a way, not getting to leave isn't all that bad. And while the program doesn't defer enrollments, I was told I can apply next year with the exact same materials, and since I was accepted once, would probably be accepted again. So there's always next year, if I still have that desire.

Explaining the Internet to a 19th Century Street Urchin

2011-03-05T20:06:00.000-06:00

Source: images.fastcompany.com via Liz on Pinterest

As I wait for a friend to get into town, I thought I'd share this. Plus, I wanted to see how posting from Pinterest works. Fairly easy, but it might just be easier to link to the original, unless I was promoting my pinterest account. (Which I'm not.). I'd highly recommend clicking for a larger view.

Sick

2011-03-02T12:24:00.000-06:00

I am home sick today.

This is the second time this year that I've had to take a sick day.

At my last job, I took two, maybe three sick days in two-and-a-half years.

I've also had three not-sick-enough-to-stay-home-colds at the new job.

That's five illnesses in the roughly six months I've worked here.

I'm not sure if it's that I lost any semblance of an immune system after working with only two other people at my old job, or if no one washes their hands at the new job. Either way, I am not a fan.

Dirt

2011-02-17T22:39:00.000-06:00

{Hello...is there anything good in my dirt? You are looking awfully clear..}

{Naturally, it's not where it should be}

I tested my soil last night. This must be a natural progression of getting into gardening. I didn't test soil the last two years, I've just dumped stuff in the boxes and let things grow; though, I've had ideas that maybe my soil was lacking. This year I've actually tried to figure out what I'm doing, instead of just making it up. (Though I do love winging it...)

Sending my dirt off to get tested would have been more accurate, I'm sure, but I like to do things a little ghetto fabulously. And as I said, I wasn't surprised by any of this.

Basically, the soil needs to be more acidic, and it needs a lot of nitrogen, potassium, and a lot of, but not as much phosphorus. I'd tell you what that means I need to put in the dirt, but I don't know off hand, and I don't feel like looking it up right now.

I only tested the middle box, because that is where the early plants like lettuce and arugula are going, but I have no reason to doubt that the other boxes are the same. If I have the time I'll give those a test too, just because experiments are fun!

8 Month Update

2011-02-16T21:34:00.000-06:00

As is usual for any consistancy with me and blogging: There isn't any. Lo' and behold: roughly eight months has passed since I last blogged. Here are some highlights:

I ended up working all of September and October at the Farmer's Market. Still loved it, but if that keeps up this upcoming summer, I will have a coffee addiction.
In August I started a new job downtown. The best part? Bikes and public transportation.
In October, I turned 26.
Also in October, I applied for grad school in Outdoor Education at the University of Edinburgh.

I found out in February that I was accepted.
I probably can't afford it, but it was still an honor to accepted.
But I still want to go. Money? Hello? You don't grow on trees? Even when I refuse to go in debt?

I put a bunch of stuff on at remixstudio on Etsy. I've banned myself from starting new projects until I get rid of old stuff.
Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, the usual. We had a cocktail New Year's at the house. It was delightful.
The New Year had barely started when I got mildly obssesed with the garden.
I discovered (aka, a roommate told me about it) Pinterest. It's helped spur on creativity and ideas, even with a dull job.
I've read a lot of books. Scratch that, I've listened to a lot of books at work: All of the Harry Potter books, The Hunger Games, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Heyday. Started several others that I just got too bored with for listening to while working.

I actually have read a lot of books too. I won't list all of those.

I learned how to knit. I learned how to crochet my freshman year of college, did that obsessively for about two years, and then decided knitting had more variety. It just took me this long to sit down and learn.
I've found myself enjoying more and more BBC period shows, and even a BBC mystery show. My fifteen-year-old self is very, very confused.

Because of my actually having learned stuff recently about gardening (and my constant talking other people's ear off about it...) I had some requests to write about my garden escapades, if I could so call them. So I'm hoping to blog a bit more. Then again, maybe it will be another eight months.

Oh Oregon!

2010-07-13T16:21:00.001-05:00

My roommate Em and I were talking last night, and somehow the conversation progressed to this: we made not-real-plans to move to Oregon.

Our requirements for the perfect place were as follows:

Near a small city, so Em could work at Starbucks if needed
One hour or less from Portland, so we could have access to big city things
But not actually in town itself--we want a small acreage
Internet connection so I could work freelance or remotely
If renting, something where they will let us do pretty much whatever
Room enough for three or more people.
100+ year old farm house
A small pond is perferrable

And what would we do with this small parcel of land?

We'd grow fruit, like pluots and cherries
Beekeeping would be an adventure
Lambs! I've wanted sheep since I was, oh, 10.
We can then fleece the sheep and make our own yarn
We'd have chickens, so we could have our own eggs
And we'd have turtles, because something needs to go in that pond

The hilarious part, I think, about all these not-real-plans, is that all of the above can be done in Iowa, except for the pluot and cherries fruit growing (they need that northwest climate, if I recall correctly.) But everything else, we could just get a small acreage here and be set, and probably for cheaper, judging from my glances around craigslist.

But it's probably good that the "perfect" place doesn't exist matching all of our wants because I kind of like Iowa.

A Belated 4th of July

2010-07-06T13:40:00.000-05:00

My long weekend was relatively uneventful, but I did take some photos that range from "meh" to midly interesting.

I took a few firework shots on Thursday night of the Yankee Doodle Pops fireworks, from my roommate's work's rooftop:

I probably should have left the shutter open longer, but for a first go, I'm fine with these.

After the fireworks thing got really interesting. We were standing on the roof, talking with some new friends who had snuck up their too, when over their shoulders I noticed a large, black plume of smoke coming from behind a building or so away. As we looked below, we could see the orange flickering glow of a fire. Naturally we all had to investigate further, so we left the roof, to find two cars engulfed in flames. I took some photos of that too, because it was just that insane.

Speechless.

The next day I took some not that great photos of the Des Moines river (because it's flooded, and looks cool) and of the new pedestrian bridge.

I'm going to try those photos in black and white later.

I'd say this weekend could be summed up as such: fireworks, fire, and flood.

A Prophet & a Promise Photography

2010-03-09T10:06:00.003-06:00

{The final art work}

I was asked to do an art piece for The Gateway Church for their next series on Isaiah.

Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth!
For the LORD has spoken:
"I reared children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me. (Isaiah 1:2)

Like ancient Israel, God has a plan and desires for everyone from their birth, but also like Israel, we run, we hid, we rebel.

I took portraits of myself and friends, holding baby pictures; a visualization of where we each have come and grown from. Nine different people, nine different lives, but one God, who is redeeming us like Israel.

Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool. (Isaiah 1:18)

When I started this project, I thought of having people looking at a variety of different points, but when I assembled everything, with everyone looking around, it looked very Brady Bunchy, so I stuck with everyone focused on the camera. You can check out all of the photos here on Flickr, plus look at the other photos that were taken.

The Saga of the Electronic Tuner

2010-02-10T22:11:00.001-06:00

{Heaven. Heaven with a poor landscaping}

I love the house my roommates and I rent, I really do. It really couldn't be more perfect for the three of us. Except for one thing: Things seem to disappear here. Now, most of those "things" seem to be scissors, and they usually turn up in the black hole which is more commonly known as the green couch. But, occasionally, other things disappear too. For example, my electronic tuner, but first I need to back up a little bit.

Winter is trying to kill me. Everything I want to do right no, needs to be done outside, which winter is preventing quite well. Things I'd rather be doing: riding my bikes, hiking, walking anywhere, planting vegetables, heck, I'd even mow the lawn. I can't do any of that, unless I have a death wish. I considered going on a winter hike this past weekend at Maffit Reservoir, but I couldn't find a companion, and it's my goal in life to show Maffit Reservoir to everyone, so I didn't waste the trip. Then it snowed six more inches; my boots can handle a lot, but I cannot manage a hike in knee-high snow. I should have gone to the lake on Saturday...

{Does anyone else in Des Moines know about Maffit Reservoir?}

So, I decided I should get back to learning the guitar, because I'm two steps from going insane, and I need a hobby. Unfortunately, I'm lacking in the follow-through department; I've been "learning" to play the guitar since I was a senior in high school, though I'm fairly certain that the total time I've worked on it amounts to 5 days. So, there's that.

But anyway, I decided to give it another shot, it's only February. I've still got plenty of winter to combat. So tonight, I went up to the nursery, and was going to sit down to play, when I realized I hadn't seen my electronic tuner since October. I know it was October, because that's when I put the plastic over the windows, and I specifically moved it away from the windows, because I know I would do something dumb like seal stuff in behind plastic for 5 months. I haven't seen it since then.

Now, the nursery room is a very small room.

{See, small}

I checked in the love seat, behind the paintings, in the mini closet, under the couch. Nothing. I looked in my room, in my drawers, in my closet, on my desk. I found a pair of pants, a missing pair of scissors, and two pairs of underwear (don't ask.) But I didn't find the blasted tuner.

As I was cleaning my room in attempts to find the tuner, also noticed my pack of picks was missing. Uh oh. I know my roommates haven't touched the guitar stuff, they mainly just tinker with the piano. And I asked them, just to make sure. Nope.

So, I figure four things could have happened:

I misplaced both the picks and the tuner. This is likely. As soon as I buy another one, everything will inevitably show up.
Our house has a ghost with a thing for music accessories.
One of my roommates is a sleepwalking kleptomaniac, with no recollection of taking music accessories.
Someone in the dozens of people we've had over either spending the night, or over for parties has gotten a little handsy, and helped themselves to some music accessories. At first I didn't even think about this. But when I realized the picks are gone too...

Anyway, if you've read all this, well, you might just have less to do with your time than I do. Want to help me look for my tuner? Or walk through snow up to our knees?

Chocolate Preztel Sticks

2010-01-08T20:20:00.000-06:00

2010 has been a bit busy for me. Okay, that is sort of a lie. But the internet connection has been lacking at my house, so I haven't updated in a while. This is a repost of a post from the Owls Blog.

Okay, so I don't have an official name for these, but they are super simple, and if you have kids around, easy for them to help with.

Ingredients:
Long pretzel sticks
Chocolate Almond Bark and or White Almond Bark
Nutella (Optional)
A variety of toppings if you so choose (I used almonds, pecans, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, ground up health bar, and coconut for mine.)

Melt your Almond bark in the microwave, or a double boiler. It's a pot with water and I just stuck another bowl over the top. There are fancy pots for that out there. I don't own one. If you so choose, spoon in a tablespoon or so of nutella. Yum!

Break your long pretzel sticks in half.

Separate into bowls the toppings you want, and grind or chop up the things like pecans, or chocolate chips.

Dip the broken side into your now really warm chocolate.

And sprinkle with whatever toppings you so choose! This is the part that is great for the kiddos. I did a bit of everything, and a few plain.

Let the chocolate get hard again, and then enjoy.

Snow

2009-12-13T14:06:00.002-06:00

Here are some photos from the snow the past week:

What the plows so kindly did to my car:

It only took almost two hours and four or so people pitching in to get it out.

Kate creating a bit of a path.