Not too shabby at all

Well, this horrible semester was officially over as of this morning when I got my grades for all my classes. Two As and two Bs, 3.4 cumulative GPA, not too shabby. I'm just glad to be done with this nasty round of classes.

I launched my official photography website; it called Illustrated By and you can check that out here. I'll be posting all things photo on there, so It's Only Life will be primarily written updates from me. If you want to see my pictures, check out Illustrated By.

Christmas is coming soon and I'll be having Christmas in Denton with my grandparents on Thursday. Then my family and I are going to Houston on Friday and we'll be there until after the New Year.

Thanks for putting up with my inconsistent blogging, and I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Short and sweet

Hello blog, it's been way too long...

A lot has happened since the last time I wrote to you. Government class if about to start - oh, joy! - so I'll make this short and sweet.

I passed the GSP test and have already enrolled in Journalism classes! :)

I have been doing more photography gigs to build back up my portfolio. I tried to do a photography business before, but I really didn't have the time or energy to make it what I wanted it to be. This time, my photography 'business' will be much more laid back, more like a hobby, but still a business. I'm very excited to see where this project goes.

Writing is going slowly, but surely. I've gotten most of the plot figured out and a prologue written. I've started writing the first chapter, and it's going well.

I cannot wait for Christmas break.

I think that's all I've got for now.

Until next time,
M

Zephaniah 1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold Will be able to deliver them On the day of the LORD'S wrath; And all the earth will be devoured In the fire of His jealousy, For He will make a complete end, Indeed a terrifying one, Of all the inhabitants of the earth. 

We cannot be indifferent on this issue. The Lord is a merciful God, but this period of grace we live in will not last forever. There is a day coming. Who among us will be ready? 

Am I the only one who is not watching the game right now?

Why, yes. Yes I am. My entire family (sans my brother who is working on his homework) is sitting in the other room watching the World Series. I think the Rangers are winning, but I'm not sure. Anyhow, I figured since I had a minute, I would update a bit. 

I'm sort of on an Owl City streak; I guess it would be more appropriate to say I'm on a Deer In The Headlights streak. :) 

Anyways, today was the first really cold day of the fall! I woke up and it was cold, rainy, and overcast which is my favorite weather in the whole world. So I put on a sweater and my favorite boots and I enjoyed walking around on campus with the wind blowing crisp and cold. And it only rained when I was inside. :) After my first class, I saw my dad's jazz lab band play in the student center. They were really good. I always forget how much I love jazz until I hear it live. I don't really like listening to it on CD (unless it's Jamie Cullum or Kurt Elling) but watching live jazz is an experience. I love it. 

Tomorrow I have a tutoring session for the GSP test. The Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation Test is a prerequisite to entering the Journalism program at UNT. In order to pass the test, you have to score 14 out of 20 questions (70%) on all three sections. I wasn't nervous at first, because I don't typically have issues with spelling, grammar, or punctuation (I bet you go back and reread this post to check for errors. Its okay, there you found one!) but when I took the practice tests I scored around a 60% on the grammar and punctuation parts. This test really gets down to the nitty gritty rules of the English language, so I'm a little concerned right now. Everyone keeps telling me I shouldn't be nervous, and I know I shouldn't be. I'm just a very poor test taker. I rarely make As on tests, and it is not for lack of preparedness. I don't know if it's actual test anxiety or if I just psyche myself out. Whatever the reason, I don't do well under testing conditions. So I'm just hoping to get in there and kill this test so I can register for my classes. 

Work is going well. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but I really love my new job at Justice. I love the atmosphere. It's very chilled out, but at the same time we do a lot of sales competitions and, for some reason, that sort of thing is really fun to me. I love doing customer service. I know that sounds really hokey, but I like helping these little girls that come in find outfits and birthday presents and their moms good deals. At the beginning of the summer, when I'd first started looking for jobs, I had pretty much accepted the fact that I'd get stuck in fast food or something because of my lack of experience. My grandfather worked in retail for 20 some odd years, and retail was kind of my ideal when I started applying places. The fact that I landed my first job at a retail store is completely amazing to me and I'm very thankful. I love my coworkers, they're all amazing. 

Writing is also going very well. I think I said in one of my recent posts how I decided to cease working on The Lion to work on another project, but I didn't really say why. So here's a long rant about my writing: 

I have been writing fiction since I was ten years old, so that means I've been writing for eight years give or take a few months. I only finished an actual story this past August and it wasn't very good. After struggling through plots and characters and settings and all that jazz, I've come to the conclusion that I've been writing the wrong genre for at least a few years. I tried to make my style mimic that of my favorite authors and that doesn't work for a myriad of reasons. I was limiting myself creatively by trying to fit my style into a neat and tidy box, which made my characters flat and the plots meaningless. I wasn't writing from my heart and while that is a corny statement, it was detrimental to every word I wrote. Another that was was wrong with the way I was writing was that I didn't really have a purpose in a particular story. I suppose, for most writers, the goal is to write something great that readers will enjoy. That is an awesome goal, one that I'd like to fulfull someday. But that cannot be my ultimate goal in this process of writing a story or I will fail. I belong to Jesus Christ and the purpose of my life is to further the Gospel and bring glory to the Creator. That purpose bleeds over into every aspect of my life: work, school, friends, career, everything. If my purpose isn't to glorify the King, then I have no purpose and my life is meaningless. So whatever I write has got to point the readers to the first Author who loves them and wants them for Himself... 

And that is what I am endeavoring to do with this new project. I've been putting together this plot for a while, and I've only written bits and pieces. It's tiring, but I take great satisfaction in what little bit I can get done for it because it is all for a purpose greater than myself. Please pray that I would continue to persevere in this idea and that God would bring creative ideas to my head and that I would not loose my focus and get discouraged. He is good all the time, and I know whatever happens, happens for a reason. 

Sorry for being such an inconsistent blogger. Things have been crazy busy with school and whatnot. I will do my best to update more. Thanks for reading!

M 

PS: I don't know why the letters are highlighted black. I didn't do it, and I can't figure out how to turn it off. Sorry :P 

And nearly a month later, the online world learned that she had, indeed, not died

There you are. I have not died. 

And I am sorry for not writing in so long. 

I really do not have time to blog right now, so be content with the fact that I am still alive. 

M

I only have 9 minutes until class, so I'll make this short and sweet...

1. I freaking love Harry Potter more than any other movie I've ever seen in my whole life. 
2. I am ready for these dumb classes to be overwith so I can move on to the cool classes related to my major.
3. The editing process for The Lion has not really started. It sort of did for a while there, but then I decided that I wanted to revamp and do something totally different with it, so it may not be done before Christmas. I really struggled with making the decision to let the idea I have stew for a little while, but here is the blog entry by one of my favorite writing blogs that forced me to go with my gut: Click here
4. Zooey Dechanel's new show called New Girl is so funny. I've watched the first episode about three times. 
5. I'm ready for Christmas.
6. I'll write more later when I have more time. 

M 

Just call me Lois Lane

I'm so very sorry, readers (for those of you who haven't totally boycotted me for lack of attention to this blog)  for not keeping up with you. However few of you that may be. I've been extremely busy since the beginning of the semester and I have a feeling it's only going to get worse as the days pass. But God is good, all the time and I have some pretty exciting news...


I changed my major! (No surprise) To Journalism! (Wait...whaa??)


Yes, it's true. I changed my major to Journalism and by the end of this week, I should be officially declared as a pre-Journalism major! I know this is kind of sudden because the last time I talked about major changes I was talking about tech writing and merchandising but to be honest, this change was kind of sudden for me, too. I kept trying to spin the English thing into something that would satisfy my need for creativity but also my future need of employment. :) I couldn't justify switching to tech simply because it was more employable than creative. I'm not one of those people that can sacrifice what it is they love to do in order to make money. If I'm not able to use my creative outlet - which is writing - in my long-term job, then I will most likely be dissatisfied. I'm not saying that God couldn't put me in a place of work sans writing where I wouldn't be happy because I love my job at Justice and I don't write a thing. I also don't discount the possibility of getting married and not having to support myself all on my onesy. But I feel that planning for whatever comes my way is the best possible course of action. 


So why journalism? 


Truthfully, I felt an irresistible urge to check out UNT's journalism program and I don't know why. But as I read about their news writing/editorial program it just screamed me. I scheduled a visit with the advising office, went, and changed the major. The program has all sorts of opportunities for media writing, online blogging, and this really cool thing called creative nonfiction. I'm super excited to start the classes in the Spring! :) You may call me Lois Lane from now on. :)


Classes are going as well as can be expected for them all being GenEd; I'm pretty bored with them all right now, to be honest. But I've committed to making all As in my classes, so I'm studying and reading every day. I'm excited to begin the classes for my major! 


BSF started last night, and that was amazing as usual. My group is going to be great, I can just sense it. :) 


I joined the adult choir at my church and that was so great. I already know quite a few people in it - including a couple girls who were in student choir with me - and everyone else was just so welcoming. Honestly, it felt like coming home. There's such a sense of community and the only reason I can give, is that God has truly blessed the ministry. I'm so thankful for my choir family. :)


That's all that's been going on as of late, other than I've been writing a lot. Thanks for reading and putting up with my inconsistent blogging. :)  


M  

And now...

After an evening of happy dances and spontaneous outbursts of excitement, I've decided to begin the editing process of the book I finished yesterday today. I originally thought I was going to wait until next Monday just to give myself a break, but I woke up really wanting to begin this new phase of the project.

Today is the first day of school and I'm sitting in the Language building waiting for my one o'clock class to begin. I already went to my Government class and it looks a lot like the one I took last semester. So while I have an hour to kill, I'm going to write this quick update and begin editing the prologue of The Lion. The way the story's title had morphed as time has passed amuses me greatly. I originally planned on calling it The Lion, the Rock, & the Bicycle for reasons that wouldn't make sense unless you knew the story. After writing about half of the story I decided to knock off Bicycle and just call it The Lion & The Rock. And now, after completing the first rough draft of this story, it is now simply called The Lion. The title may change again as I finalize the chapters and characters - who knows?

I really wish summer wasn't over. I'm sure that's the sentiment of most everyone right now, but I really really don't want summer to be over. I'm going to miss being laid back and hanging out with friends til all hours of the night - or morning - and having enough time to read, write, hang out with people, watch a movie, watch a show, exercise, and take a nap all in the same day. I've set a goal for this semester to make all As in my classes and to get abs. I know to reach those goals, I will have to be very careful with my time and use it constructively basically every waking second of the day. If I can achieve these goals, it will be worth being busy and stressed and tired all the time.

Okay, I've gotta go be productive.

M

You know that novel I've been workin on...for two years?

The rough draft is done! Done! I've finished something I started. The rough draft is done and I'm a little freaked out. It's rough in every sense of the word and no where near ready to be read by anyone but me just yet, but it's finished! I reached my goal of finishing the rough draft before school, which begins tomorrow!

The new goal: To get The Lion up to snuff so I won't feel horrible letting other people read it. By Christmas. :)

Please pray that I would persevere in this project to make it excellent. It's good right now, but I want it to be great.

Praise God. He's so good.

M

Excerpt

I've been working on my project tonight and I just wrote the quote I'm posting below and I just really like it. This is a turning point for one of my characters and marks a HUGE change for him personally. And, just so you don't think I'm allergic to proper nouns, I've taken out his name so nothing is spoiled. Ya know, for ALL those people who follow my blog and who would buy this story if it ever got published. ;) 

Anywho, here it is.

"Life was more than what he'd made up in his mind. He had a greater purpose and even if he didn't know what it was right now, the mere knowledge that something bigger than himself was out there made every moment more precious, every color a little brighter, and every day seem more like an opportunity than a task."

~Excerpt from The Lion by Molly O'Sullivan

M

I cannot wait to see this!

My sister showed me the trailer for this movie and here are the reasons why I want to see it...

• It looks like a great tear-jerker/500 Days Of Summer type flick
• It has the little Russian guy from Star Trek in it. 
• Ingrid Michaelson music was playing in the trailer
• The plot, from what I could decipher from the preview, looks great.

As the summer comes to a close...

It seems that when the summer started, everything went by so fast and now as the summer comes to a close, it's oozing by dreadfully slow. At any rate, I've not been up to much lately; just working and writing and spending time with people before life becomes a haze of schedules, homework, more work, and structure. I'm ready for the structure but I also don't want my laid-back time to be over. But all good things must come to an end. 


I didn't accomplish most of my summer goals, but I did do some and I also  modified a couple. You can read the long post here, but here is the list I made back in May. 

Read, read, read. I want to finish Mere Christianity, Franny and Zooey, Just Jane, and Breakfast At Tiffany's. I want to read more Nicholas Sparks and Anna Karenina, too. (This one was an epic fail. I didn't finish and/or read any of these. I know, the English major who can't buckle down and finish any book she starts. I ought to be taken out back and shot. I did, however, begin the first Harry Potter book and I am enjoying it.) 

I want to finish my novel. I'm seven chapters in and I think if I can dedicate a couple solid hours every day to working on it, I can get it finished. (I'm a much better writer than reader. I am about two or three chapters away from being done with my novel!!)

I want to do a study of the book of Jeremiah. I'm doing it on my own without a study guide. We'll see how it goes. :) (Again with the reading. :P I did five chapters of in-depth study and have learned a lot. I'm not going to stop reading Jeremiah, it just won't be done before summer's over with.)

Continue growing my hair out.  (Done. :) Still growing it out.) 

Find at least three new musical artists who I consider my favorite. (DONE! Noah and the Whale, Bon Iver, and Fleetwood Mac.) 

See those friends who will be moving away for college before they go. (I'm having coffee with a great friend on Tuesday before she leaves for OK and I will hopefully be seeing some other people before they head off to college.)

So all in all, it was a fairly decent accomplishment of goals, considering my tendency to procrastinate and get absolutely nothing done. Here's a small list of some of the other things I did this summer...

• Went on the most amazing mission trip. You can read a REALLY long post about that here.
• Watched both seasons of Make It Or Break It. Don't judge, it's highly entertaining. :)
• Spent too much time on Tumblr. Here is my Tumblr. If you're on it, you should follow me. ;)
• Saw new movies in the theater: Soul Surfer (meh), Cars 2 (pretty funny), Cowboys And Aliens (frigging awesome! Go see it!), and Crazy Stupid Love (also a great flick).
• Started a new book idea. Don't worry, I haven't abandoned the old one and it will be finished in time! 
• Started my first job. I absolutely love my new job and coworkers at Justice! I like it so much, that I'm looking into merchandising at my school. I'm not rushing into any decisions and I haven't actually decided anything yet. :) 
• Celebrated many birthdays
• Saw my lovely friend who has been living in Mexico. 
• Ate at IHOP for the first time. I'm in love.
• Took pictures, as you will see later
• Saw fireworks
• Went to a Ranger's baseball game
• Made an excellent batch of arroz con pollo (rice with chicken).  It's something my grandma and dad make all the time and mine came out excellently. I didn't get any pictures of it, though. :P
• Ran into someone I hadn't seen in almost two and a half years at the most unexpected time. 
• Learned to love, trust, let go, and move on a little more

So yes, I had an excellent summer and will look back on it fondly. Here are a few recent pictures. :)

Sarah, my lovely best friend. :) 

Sarah and me

Sarah, me, and Kathryn. Best friends since our Sophomore year in high school. 

I tell you what, we four are DANGEROUS. Dangerous and inseparable. I wouldn't have it any other way. Thank God for friends and sisters who also happen to be best friends. :) 

Aren't they gorgeous? 

My dazzling big sister. 

After we took pictures at the Square that night, we came home and ate and tried to do Henna tattoos. They washed right off afterwards. :) 

Chloe - my little sister - and me while we were baking cookies 

Some lovely friends from church had a birthday party for their youngest daughter who was turning 3. 

So adorable! 

School starts on the 25th. I don't know if I'll blog before then, so ta-ta for now!

M

Jamie Cullum is awesome music to write to. He's a genius.

Sometimes the King is silent

I wish...

I could play a musical instrument

I could sing as beautifully as I want

I could fly

I could say what I feel when it counts

I could be really good at sports

I could be as influential as some people I know

I could make everyone happy

I could put myself into a neat and tidy box

I could draw

I could paint

I could get into a body of water without being afraid 

I could be done with school for the rest of my life

I could be all the things I want to be, but can't

But I am who I am

I am a daughter of the King and sometimes the King is silent. 

It is my duty to wait for Him to move

to speak

 to inspire...

I am not a musician but I will sing for the King

I am not a bird but He will make me soar if I let Him

I do not have the gift of speech, but He will put His words in my mouth

I am certainly not an athlete, but His strength will fuel my movements

I am not good enough, but His grace is enough to make me worth something

I am complicated and stupid but the King gives me the most joyful title ever bestowed: His

I am not a painter so stick figures and doodles will have to suffice, He thinks my art is pretty

I am afraid of the water but the King has made it, so it is beautiful

I am no scholar, but He will use my shortcomings to teach me

I am a heap of ashes, lacking potential and grace and purpose...

but the King makes me beautiful and raises me up to do the work of the Kingdom

Where is my place in this Kingdom? 

I do not know, because sometimes the King is silent

"Be still and know that I am God."

~the King

A few colorful summer photos

One of my dear friends celebrated her 18th birthday yesterday. Here are a few photos from the shindig. :)

I love this one, it just looks fresh :) 

This tasted even better than it looks. :) 

This drink was sprite mixed with berries and Italian ice. :) SO SO yummy. 

The group :) 

Kathryn makes amazing cupcakes! These were Neapolitan with cream cheese frosting. 

The birthday girl. ;) 

Hey, Joe! Pooch he say he wants-a two spaghetti speciale, heavy on the meats-a ball!

One of my all-time favorite Disney movies which also makes me think about spaghetti.
Source

I have a couple confessions to make. Number one, I love spaghetti. Number two, I am a spaghetti snob. If I'm going to eat spaghetti, it's gotta be good. I hate it when it's just kind of thrown together. Spaghetti is a special recipe! When I hear 'spaghetti' I think of romantic dates, Italy, quality, Lady and the Tramp for crying out loud! Spaghetti should be made specially, and when it's not, it's totally unappetizing to me. I can handle spaghetti and meat sauce, but I infinitely prefer spaghetti and meatballs. Thus, I have an excellent recipe that I use whenever I'm feeling like gourmet spaghetti. Okay, it probably doesn't qualify as gourmet per se, but I think this recipe is especially delicious. Yes, that was a Nacho Libre reference. ;) 

Like last time, I took a recipe and modified it. This recipe was originally taken from The Shared Table by Don Pintabona. 

This is what the cover looks like. 

The recipe in the book is called Mom's Meatballs for Gravy and it's on page 15 if you're interested in the original. Here is mine. :) 

Molly's Meatballs

...and the award for the world's most unoriginal recipe name goes to....

Ingredients

~ 2 pounds of ground beef

~ 4 eggs

~ 1 cup of bread crumbs (Italian or regular; I make my own with crackers and random spices)

~ 3/4 cup of water

~ 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese

~ 1/4 cup of parsley flakes

~ 1/4 cup of sweet leaf basil 

~ 1 teaspoon of salt

~ 1/4 teaspoon of pepper

What I did

1. Place the fully defrosted meat into a large bowl.

2. In a smaller bowl combine the eggs and water. Pour that mixture into the bowl with the meat and then mix it all together. You can use a spatula or spoon, but I prefer using my hands (I don't think I need to say this, but just so I can say I did, wash your hands before you handle any ingredients). 

Right: This is what the meat should look like once you have added the eggs and water to it. 

4. Add the breadcrumbs, cheese, and spices into the main meat bowl. You can mix them together in a separate bowl and then add them, but this is the way I do it. 

5. After you have added all the dry ingredients and spices, mix it all together with your hands until the meat looks like this...

6. Now comes the involved part. Get a long cookie sheet and line it with foil. Then put a rack on top. The purpose of the rack is to keep the meatballs from cooking in the fatty grease that will run off of them while they're baking. 

7. Take a regular kitchen tablespoon and scoop out the meat. Roll is around in your hands molding it into a ball. It shouldn't be too big or it will take the interior too long to cook. Don't make it too small or it will be dried out while baking. 

This is the proper size for the perfect meatball. :) 

8. Space the meatballs out just a tad. I hate using exact inches, so just know this: the meat will not spread out like cookies but they will expand a little so don't mesh the meatballs right up against each other. 

This is how far apart I spaced mine and they turned out perfect. 

9. Once you have the meatballs on the baking tray, bake them at 375 Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes. You want to make sure that they are soft which means that the middle might be a tad bit pink which is ay-okay. The taste and texture will be so much better if you don't bake them until the interior is completely brown. If you do this, they will be rubbery and you will want to spit them out. No one likes a rubbery meatball. 

Here is how the middle should look. 

10. Once they are finished baking, remove the meatballs immediately from the baking tray with a pair of tongs or a fork. They will be tender so be careful! Place them in a covered dish. 

The finished product! 

I typically serve these with regular spaghetti and red sauce. I think the most important ingredient to this recipe is the sweet basil. It gives it the perfect amount of flavor but it's not so much that it leaves a ridiculously strong aftertaste. I'm completely biased when I say that these are the best meatballs I have ever put in my mouth. :) I hope you enjoy eating them!

There's no crying in baseball!

This past Wednesday my family and I went to a Ranger's game. Here are a few pictures. They won, by the way. :)

The incredibly greasy garlic fries. They seem like a good idea in the moment, but the foul breath and stomach upset that follow make the taste and texture completely not worth it. :) 

Mr. Ian Kinsler :) 

A most yellow recipe - Beef Stroganoff

Hello all :)


I'm sorry it has been a while since I've blogged anything, but I've been busy. This post is about the recipe, so here's a small list of what's been going on

• I got a job!! At Justice, the little girl's store. I'm very excited to get started! God is good. :) 
• I have reached the half-way point in the rough draft of my current writing project. I really want to get it done before school starts. 
• I have a brand new idea to begin planning for, ONCE I finish the first draft of the other project. 
• It's still hotter than Hades in Denton. 
• VBS is this week! 

Beef Stroganoff 

(I modified the recipe from the Joy of Cooking cookbook) 

Ingredients

(This is for 4-6 people; for the beef tips and noodles, just use how much you normally would to feed that number.)

~ Beef tips

~Egg noodles

~ 1 medium onion

~ 2 tablespoons of solid butter

~ 1 cup of beef bouillon 

~ 2 tablespoons of spicy mustard

~ 3 tablespoons of sour cream

~ 1 tablespoon of flour 

~ salt, pepper, garlic salt

What I did

1- Chop the beef tips into bite-sized chunks

2- Chop the onion into rings

3- Brown the meat and onion in a non-stick stew pot over medium-high heat until the meat is only slightly pink in the middle and the onions are soft.  Season the meat with salt, pepper, garlic salt, or whatever else you want. 

4- Store meat in a covered dish. 

5- Melt the butter in a small sauce pan over low-medium heat. Once it is completely melted, slowly whisk the flour into the butter. The mixture will be slightly doughy.

6- Add the beef bouillon whisking the mixture very fast until there are no doughy lumps. This mixture should be water with a very runny consistency. Increase the heat to medium and cover the pan until the mixture comes to a boil.

7- Once the mixture is boiling, whisk the mustard and sour cream into in the pan. Whisk until the lumps are gone. This mixture should be thick and creamy. Reduce the heat to low-medium and let the sauce warm. 

This is how the sauce should look when it is done. 

8- Boil the pasta the way you normally do

See what I mean about it being a yellow recipe? ;)

9- Drain the pasta and dish a serving into a bowl. Top with meat and sauce. Then eat it cause it's delicious. ;)