This has taken much longer then expected to update. The lack of taking pictures for anything has been real. When I'm not working, I'm just mostly trying to relax. I'll try harder though.
Bookstores are a wonderful place, filled with so many stories and adventures.There just isn't enough time in the world to read all the books. It's upsetting to be honest. It's so easy to spend hours in there just looking at all the different stories.
Finally got my fishing license. The first day is coming up and I need to get some practice in. It's been years since I've fished but the past couple years I've been really wanting to start up again, just hadn't gotten around to it. Now it's just time to practice.
Misty has been a personal heater lately. She either curls up beside me or lays on my feet. It's so nice.
Long time, no talk! I know it's been a long time. I've been so busy with work, school, and just running around. Usually when I get time off I want time off just to wind down and not have to worry about anything.
On the contrary, today felt like a good day to do a post.
So let's catch up!
We've gotten a crazy snow storm a few weeks ago and I got out to take some pictures before helping shovel the sidewalk. By the time I went back inside and my jeans were soaked up to my thighs. It was so cool though. Those are the winter days I like.
After much convincing my Dad finally agreed to let me get a pet rat. We went to a couple different places looking at all the different rats, you know, scoping out options. At a pet store they had this really cool Fischer's Chameleon, I believe it's called. He was the cutest little thing. One day, hopefully. I think they are one of the coolest creatures.
The next day I got my pet rat.
Her name was Hedwig. I tried SO HARD to make this work. We got along, she liked me from the get-go, the problem was her cage stunk SO BAD. I'd clean it than two hours later I had my blanket over my head trying to hide the smell. It just didn't work. I couldn't take it any longer. We ended up taking her back. It wasn't a good day.
This was such a great experience. My Mom and Pap were gonna take a shooting class together and he offered me up the spot if I wanted to go. Not thinking much of it, I said yes. Best two seconds of courage ever. Our teacher was wonderful. He's very nice, funny, knows his stuff, and seems like a Christian man. The first class we covered some chapters in the handbook, he gave us donuts(mine had blue icing. Blue icing is the best icing), we found out there would be a test the following week, than we shot a series of different .22's.
The next week, we got there, went over a couple more chapters, had another donut, then we went over the test. We got certificates which had to be one of the best feelings ever. Then we shot bigger guns. The range is 50ft.
It was such a cool experience. The first week there was an ex-marine who helped with the class in the range and he wasn't to fond of my form when shooting. He was very particular. This week though he wasn't there and our main teacher was just fine with my form. It's gonna take practice but I'm really really excited about it.
Also, the last thing is that I joined a gym. It has been one of the greatest choices ever. Been there for almost a month now and going a few times a week. I'm already starting to notice some changes, and I'm getting used to the growing hunger, but it's been a great choice. I'm thinking of doing some posts or something on it. Haven't quite decided yet.
This past week has felt so busy, something was going on every day. It's Sunday and I'm still not ready for a new week to begin.
On Monday I visited my grandparents with my Mom. While I cleaned, like every year, they made canned peppers. (A blog post will be up about this too!) I wish I would've taken a picture of all the peppers before hand, there was a big ole wicker basket full! They were on the vine a little too long so they are quite hot, much hotter than the should be, but it smells sooooo good.
Pappap also helped me with the bow. It's been so long since I've done archery or fired the gun. We used to practice shooting all the time when I was younger, I miss it so much. Now that hunting season is coming back I'm hoping to get my license this year to be able to go. First things first... it might help if I could actually pull the bow.
So Tuesday morning, after my breakfast of corn flakes and banana slices while working on school work. Or at least attempting to. My focusing skills have seriously lacked lately...
This thing has been on my to-do list to help with the bow and tone up my 'archery muscles' as I call them. Those things seem to have gotten a bit rusty.
Went back to my Grandma's and while cleaning off her buffet stand I found these... what're these? Kidding. This was the only was I could listen to music growing up that wasn't on a radio station. Talk about a blast from the past.
These things are also amazing. I've been liking them alot for times like this when I'm away from home but need a pick-me-up. I don't feel all heavy and gross after eating them, but yet they're filling. My favorite so far I think is the blueberry crisp.
Cookie and Jack both decided to grace us with their presence. Cookie, being 15 years old, likes to stick around the house and sleep. She's slowly down so much, it hurts. She's been looking better though, she's not so thin anymore.
Jack on the other hand is a hundred percent an outside cat by his own choice. He's into everything, that's why he isn't wearing a collar. They go missing in a matter of a few days and it frustrates me. Because of woods being so close to the house, a harness is a bad idea. It's always nice to see him though when he shows up for food. Holy cow can that cat eat. He's like a lab.
These were here and there in the yard, thought they were too pretty not to get a picture of. Thankfully, no one seemed to be home, then again I wasn't looking too hard.
Does anyone remember these? 90's kids should know. That book had been taken on a camping trip like easily 10 years ago, my Grandma found it in her trailer. Don't think I ever read the whole thing, it looked so hard to read! No it's like a piece of cake. Also, the fleer cards. Apparently those are from the 60's? It's of a bunch of different baseball teams. They're so cool!!
Here's a video of the fish in our pond. The water has cleared up a lot since. I love the sound of the fountain though and watching them eat. It's so nice having fish again.
This tastes so much better than it looks. It's a can of Gluten Free Cafe Veggie Noodle Soup with half a can of added kidney beans. It has rice noodles, corn, black beans, celery, green beans, carrots, peas, and tomatoes. Of course you could add more if you'd like. But this way is perfect. One whole can of this and half a can of kidney beans is about 2 1/2 servings for me. It should be more like 3 though. Oopsies!
This is the problem I have with studying. As soon as I'm set on sitting down and actually doing it. Two sentances in my brain suddenly remembers things that I should look up, or do. Or I get hungry, then I procrastinate but I'm so strict on having good grades. How does this even work?
Don't the clouds look like they're painted??
Me and Mom went out. I needed a large coupler for icing, and since we found a 20% off coupon I got a turn table too. Every icing video I've watched everyone has pretty much said that these things are a huge help when it comes to decorating and I'm so excited to use it!
Schar's sent me samples in the mail of their new Artisan Baker Gluten Free bread. It's AMAZING.
The bread is SOFT, LIGHT, and FLUFFY ... like normal bread!!!! And it has a slight chewy to it. It would taste good with anything. There's no over-powering flavor to it so you don't have worry about it clashing with something else.
I personally like mine with almond butter, and one just with a bit of plain butter on it. Nice and simple[:
Once a week me and my mom treat ourselves to something like chick-fil-a, a smoothie at Sheetz, whatever. After out fiasco last week, and we didn't do anything Thursday, we went early Friday morning and decided on Starbucks again. I got a green tea frappe, a marshmallow dream bar, and a KIND Almond Coconut Cashew Chai bar. I was hoping the green tea and KIND bar would be a 'healthier' balance considering I still haven't ate the dream bar. Every time we go I always get something different, I have a goal of wanting to try everything on the menu, fall drinks are still on the list! Thoughts on the green tea frappe? MUCH better with the whipped cream mixed in, I think. I'm not a whipped cream person but I always get it on top, probably more for the looks, but never eat it. Ew. Gross. The little bit of sweetness helped it though. As for the Chai bar, it was really good. There's cinnamon in it, stupid me for not reading the ingredients, but it tasted kind of like pumpkin spice or something? It didn't even taste like there was cinnamon in it.
Lastly, food shopping. I wasn't really in the mood for anything. It was
one of those days where nothing sounded good at all. So I guess
everything was more snacky. We went to a new place so I got unexpected
things, too.
The list:
Strawberry Nesquick (Was dying of thirst, no iced tea #firstworldprobelsm)
Mini Babybell Lights
1 Blueberry Muffin Larabar
1 Cherry Pie Larabar
1 Chocolate Chip Clif Bar
1 Oatmeal Raisin Clif Bar (I bet there's cinnamon in that too -.-)
Pumpkin Spice Mini Wheats (There's definitely cinnamon in that :/ )
Chia Date Coconut Cereal Toppings
Pepperidge Farms Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
Mini M&Ms
Werthers Caramel Popcorn
Nature's Path Maple Crunch GF Cereal
2 cans of Tyson Cooked Chicken Breast
1 Strawberry Dole Shakers Smoothie
1.84lbs Sunflower Seeds
Unsweetened Coconute Flakes
1 GF Honey Beef Stick
1 Fig Blueberry Bar
Again. A LOT more than I typically get.
I wanted lettuce but nothing looked good, most of it was all brown unless I bought a huge bag. My stomach cannot consume that much lettuce before it goes bad! Lol
Holy smokes! I still can't believe it's turning into fall outside!
The fish you see above with the black, that's Pouncey. He's hard to snap a picture of, he's like the Road Runner of fish. He's there one second and gone the next!
I've fallen inlove with them. It's hard not to get attached to animals.
Even though I'm much more of a summer kind of girl, it's flannel season. And hoodies. Oh, how I've missed them.
My mom got me these really cute blue mini ceramic pots from Burlington, they were supposed to be a Christmas gift but she said she wanted to give them to me early because she didn't want me to get them when we go back cause she wouldn't know what to say. I had planned on getting them too! Originally, I had planned out to make oatmeal, and somehow that got turned into this and it was SO GOOD. It was slightly just a little too much in one sitting though, next time I'll cut back on some of the pasta.
Ingredients:
1/3c gluten free pasta. (I used Sam Mills)
1/2 a can of Del-Monte Zucchini in Tomato Sauce
A Spinkle of Sargento's Cheddar Cheese
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Over medium heat, bring a small pot of water to a boil, add pasta and let boil for 8mins. Drain pasta and add to ceramic pot, add a pasta, spoon over zucchini and tomato sauce, top with cheese and bake until cheese is golden brown.
Enjoy!
Hello hello hellloooo, I... am your beloved Count Olaf...
Just kidding.
He scares me a bit...
It's just me. Amber, the actual author of this blog, I promise! I'm here to present a late night post of this past week. Hope you enjoy!
On Thursday, Mom and I went out for our weekly day out together. I had a few things I was in desperate need of.
Our first stop, Mom needed rocks for the pond.
We hit up a local place that is pretty much rocks-galore and Mom got
probably six different large rocks to put around the pond. It's so
exciting watching it all get done. She seems super excited about it too!
Since Burlington Coat Factory didn't open for about another half-hour we went to Starbucks.
Let me just state the fact that where we live, even though it's not, our town is considered 'country'. Therefore we are country people. At heart we certainly are, we just don't like on 5acres with a farm. So us in Starbucks is a bit of a train-wreck trying to get the lingo and everything down, it's quite funny.
The guy who served us was so incredibly nice, he even made mine specially. If there was a way I could get his boss to give him a raise, I'd try!
I ordered a Grade, which really should have just been a small, Strawberries & Creme Frappe but with coconut milk, it was soooo good! I always try to get something different when we do go.
Mom got their Apple Spice drink which smelled like apple crisp.
After sucking down our drinks Burlington opened and we were able to look for what we needed.
I was on the hunt for shoes for my brothers wedding. The dress code seems to have gone from semi-casual to all the guys wearing suits. So apparently converses won't do... -.-
So instead I got combat boots! [side note: I'll add pictures tomorrow, promise!] Along with a much needed 'winter' jacket that's faux brown leather, so hopefully it'll keep me warm. I freeze just from opening a freezer, so.
Plus I got a cute long sleeved night shirt for cheap. Another needed item is long-sleeved clothing.
On Friday...
It was a trip to the hospital for an Endoscopy for my stomach issues. My doctor seems to want to get this kicked in the butt.
I've had one done before by a very not-so-great specialist who would not listen to any of the problems once so ever, but thankfully this doctor was sooo nice! He listened and seemed to have checked over what the previous doctor had done, from what files were found. Sketchy, right?
So, as of now, nothing major was found, no ulcer or anything like that which is great, but also a little frustrating. He's gonna test for celiac, and depending on how the results come out I'll probably get the gallbladder checked next.
Lastly, today. It was nice outside and I had a bit of time to myself so I went out and snapped a couple pictures. This isn't all of them, but these are two of my favorites.
oooh-aahhh, so artsy.
While working on editing the photos I made lunch. Since the Endoscopy my stomach has been kind of touchy when it comes to food. It's probably a mind thing, but whatever. I've been really craving dairy lately, and I've been having ice cream on the mind for the past week and a half so I decided to cave but I made myself a salad first to get in something healthy. I used:
Mixed organic greens, organic kidney beans, organic ketchup, and a bit of lemon pepper. It's weird, I know. But it was surprisingly good. It was like non-spicey chili.
Lastly, hung out with this cutie. She plowed down a spot of grass to the dirt, silly girl. She really enjoyed it though. I've been wanting to get her outside. I don't like keeping her in so much.
Over the course of the past month or two my Mom has been working on getting a pond together in the back yard (if she posts a blog about it I'll be sure to attach the link!). The birds have been LOVING it. They like to stand on the rock where the water falls from the box into the lower water and bathe themselves, it's so cute to watch.
We even had an Eastern Painted Turtle for a short while.
Her name was Squirt, like in Nemo. At least I'm pretty sure it was a female. Anywho, she stuck around for about two weeks, two-and-a-half then suddenly was gone. My Dad think a racoon or a hawk got it, I think she ran away. It was a wild turtle, so it wouldn't be a surprise if it just took off to find somewhere else to be.
It was very friendly. We had the chance of keeping a Snapping Turtle, but Mom didn't like that idea... :[ I got to hold it though! It was only a juvenile, he fit right in the palm of my hand and was in fact very friendly, he didn't bite once, and he liked to have his shell rubbed. I wish I would've gotten a video of it, it was so funny. He looked like he belonged in Harry Potter.
When you have a pond, you need fish. I'm pretty sure it's the law to have a pond without any sort of animal or something ;]
So this past week me and Mom set out in search for fish. Of course, being mid-Spetember (I almost put October. Where has the time gone??) the choice of fish is very slim, and it's getting a little late to get any just because of the weather. But that didn't stop us!
One week we went to a pond store where Mom's been getting all her pond supplies to build the beautiful water habitat (a picture will be posted when it's completely finished) and the owner of the store has two ponds. A small one outside the building that has beautiful small and giant Koi, along with a much bigger one with a waterfall that has like three dozen huge Koi in it.
The black ones are my favorite. They don't stick out as much as the colorful ones so you have to look a little harder for them in the water. It's cool (and sounds really weird) only being to see something moving just under the surface.
When we finally set out to actually get the fish, and not just look at what was around we went to a completely different pond store. It was both a nursery, a feed store, and a pond supply place. It's huge. We were expecting it to be all nice and sunny, but it was raining buckets that day, therefore making it a little difficult to take a lot of pictures.
Although, I got one of a Damselfly.
We got two Fan Tails. The bottom one, with the mostly white tail is named Nemo, and I haven't decided on the other yet.
They are very photogenic.
On the way to the pond store with the Koi ponds, Mom had to stop at the bank and she got me two DumDum lollipops in Blue Raspberry. I haven't had one of these things in forever! We used to get them all the time as kids at the bank downtown.
At the store with the Koi ponds, and saw a GORGEOUS gold and white one that was all fancy looking but we found another tank outside that had younger ones and there was this black one with a silver stripe on its back, but when the lady put it in the bag it looked more like a trout... so we got one that was still a good bit of black, with orange/red on the sides, and silver/white on it's belly. It's name is Pouncey. I can assure you he won't be out for 6 weeks with a torn fin.
Last stop was a pet store that had tons of tanks, lots of salt water fish, too.
Mom got 12 feeder fish, which kept in tanks that I would be embarrassed for people to see, however, the other tanks were very nicely kept. Specifically the salt water tanks.
On the way home though one of them was belly up, but all the others were okay, they were all active and it's been a few days and none have passed.
So now the pond has 3 Blue Gills, 11 Feeder Fish, 2 Fan Tails, and 1 Koi. Next summer Mom wants to get tadpoles, another Koi with the fancy tail, and I want a turtle and an all black Koi.
No pond is complete without a turtle.
