Rocky

...this is how you make a delicious linzer "cake." I put it into quotes because you cut them into bars and are rather less like a cake and more like a bar. First: Make sure you have all your ingredients (very important I have come to find after much trial and error) 3cups flour 1 cup sugar 3tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 cup butter 2 eggs 1tsp vanilla lemon rind 2 jars(standard size) apricot perserves 1/2 cupish of crushed walnuts mixed with sugar Second:Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Third: Mix- Sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder and slightly softened butter. Fourth: Mix- eggs, vanilla and lemon rind Fifth: Add egg mixture to previous butter mixture until it becomes a dough-like consistancy Sixth: Take half of the dough and set it aside. Take the other half and cover your work space surface with flour and roll it out so that it will cover the bottom of a greased cookie sheet. (Note: the dough is very fragile and will break easily, don't worry, just patch it...

Current Top 3 "modern" Christmas songs: 1)"You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" By Queens Club http://socialbutterflies.wordpress.com/2009/12/23/queens-club-goes-grinch/ 2) "Put the Lights On the Tree" by Sufjan Stevens http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gKzXlqsOeE 3) "I Celebrate the Day" by Relient K http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AcTxNr_Xx8 Current Favorite Holiday Coffee Drink: Andes Mint Cooler Snowdrift from Caribou Coffee Or Starbucks' Peppermint Mocha Frappucino style. mmm good. Favorite Christmas Stories: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17488106 Current Top 5 Christmas Movies 1) Naitonal Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2) Its a Wonderful Life 3) A Christmas Story 4) Home Alone 5) Elf What I wish I could make: Here is a Xmas Greeting from me to you! haha http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArCfckolWU0

I arrived home late late on December 22nd from Haiti. I had previously gone on a trip with the UCLA Chi Alpha team this past June and was given the opportunity to join them again. It was an amazing amazing trip and well needed. I feel the timing was perfect and everything went so well. I miss the Haitians already and I miss the team already! I have so many stories to tell and some I am not allowed to tell haha and each time I think about them all I can do is smile to myself. I have a lot to think about, pray about and sort out. Perspectives must change, behavior must change and life must change after such experiences. I am so grateful for being able to join them on this trip, and I don't think words can really describe it. It is kind of overwhelming to think about putting into words everything we did so I will take the easy route out again and leave you with some photos.

I realized for a while that a lot of my posts have been kind of shallow. So going along with that theme, I am in the process of making a "look book." Most the Look Books are a collaboration of ensembles you like so that you can always look stylish. My purpose though is to look reasonably nice while taking little to no time doing so. I put a few outfits together and set up my computer and took a few shots with the Photobooth program. So here are a few shots. haha I had to sit funny so that I could fit everything in and to get the shoes in too. bahahaha

After recently happening on the site, www.beforeidieiwantto.com I have been thinking of goals I wish to accomplish long term and short term. For instance a longer short term goal I have is not to buy a single article of clothing or shoes for an entire year. I would truly like to be content with the things I have and stop buying into the mindset that what I have isn't good enough or that I will become a better me with newer things. The only exceptions are: undies and socks... these are non negotiables, or perhaps if I am in a wedding and need to buy specific attire or something. One of the great things about the concept of "before I die, I want to..." is that the focus really isn't on death per se, but rather what you want to accomplish before you die. I think it gives a healthy perspective on life, that all we have is an allotted amount of time, what will you do with it. So here is a short list of things I would like to accomplish either again or for the first time, s...

Today I took my portrait for the church photo directory. The bottom picture is what is going in the directory where the other two are me just messing around. haha

For those of you dying to know how(haha)... this is how you make strawberry jam. STEP 1: Cut very ripe strawberries into small sections (make sure to cut out mold) STEP 2: Smash up the strawberries, making its consistency between relish and a smoothie. (oh and this is Priscila's hand) STEP 3: Mix 1 package of freezer pectin and 1 cup sugar STEP 4: Stir your sugar mixture with your strawberries for 3 minutes. STEP 5: Fill wide mouthed straight mason jars with jam, while leaving a 1/2 inch headspace at the top. (it will expand in the freezer) STEP 6: Label the jars for the freezer or fridge. The jam will last about a month in the fridge but a year in the freezer. STEP 7: Enjoy! the end.