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. ;)