I Can't Lie, You're On My Mind, Stuck Inside My Head...

....so get the hell out of there!

(This might be a good time to tell you that this post is just me freaking out about an uncharacteristic emotion.)

I have been bitten by *shudder* the LOVE BUG. :P

I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT HIM.

Inner monologue time!

No, Cheese! NO NO NO. You like other things. (You looooove him.) You want to travel the whole wide world! (You want to kiiiiiiss him.) There are more important things to focus on! (Pshhh....math is boring.) You went to the tennis match to take yearbook pictures. You did not go so you could see him dominate the competition. (You totally did...)

GET OUT OF MY HEAD, YOU DUMBO! (He's a genius...)

*facepalmfacepalmfacepalm*

John Lennon and Paul McCartney said it best:

♫♪ I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND ♫♪

Oh no. I am quoting happy Beatles lyrics. This is insanity.

I absolutely positively do not want to hold his hand. NO NO NO. *STUBBORNNESS*

*sigh* I do....

All The Single Tacos (Put a Fish On It!)

I want a fish taco. There, I said it. I have wanted one for the past three days. And yet, there is no fish taco on my plate. Is it so hard to get a stupid fish taco around here?! They're all over the place. Taco Del Mar is like the new McDonalds! It seems like there's one on every corner...right until you actually want to go into one. In the interest of acquiring a fish taco, I have composed the following:

Dear Taco Del Mar,
I'm sorry for when I said you had icky food. I had never had a fish taco from your establishment prior to that statement. But then...*swoon* it was true love. I swear. If I had to choose between the piano player and one of your delicious build-your-own tacos, you know what I'd pick?

A piano player who makes me fish tacos. (Hey, that's a perfectly good option!)

I pine for your fantastic signature dish.

Forever perfect-tasting
I love them dearly
So, soooo good
How long do I have to BEG?!

Tomato or corn tortilla?
Always warm and mushy
Chock full of incredible tasting...stuff
One food I can never get enough of
STOP BEING A BUTT AND GIVE ME THE TACO ALREADY!

Sincerely yours,
Cheese

Chill Out, Whatcha Yellin' For? (I Was Almost Done With My Blogging!)

I have submitted the last chunk of Blogging The Golden Compass, Part 2. Sorry I couldn't get it out all at once, but I was in a location where the presiding authority felt the need to stifle my creativity. *sniffle* You know how people give you a time limit, and you agree (simply because you have no other options)? Well, that happened to me on Friday, but the sad thing was I kept getting nagged with "Are you done yet?" "Are you done yet? "*whine whine whine ARE YOU DONE YET?!*" and that was not okay with me. So I figured I'd just crank out the second part later on. Hopefully next week will not be this dramatic and postponed.

Thank you for reading, Hanini!!!!! I love seeing everybody's comments each week. It makes me feel SPECIAL. :) And also like people actually read my blog. That's a big motivation factor. Thank you everyone!!!

Blogging The Golden Compass, Part 2

Last week, we left off with Lyra and her talking animal hiding in a wardrobe, secretly admiring Uncle Lord Asriel's dreamy biceps.

Now, Lyra proceeds to declare how even though THE MASTER and a handful of his minions are present, they all know where the power really lies. It is with the self-proclaimed scruffy, fossilized dreamboat who's about to show his PowerPoint slideshow.

Lord Schmexy-Pants Asriel gets THE MASTER and the Chief Minion/Librarian to sit close to the wardrobe, so Lyra can practice her spying skills. They whine about how Lord Asriel didn't die from the poisoned wine, and then they shut up and listen to Lord Schmexy-Pants's Asriel's story.

He explains how he went up North under the cover story of making friends with the king of Lapland. He actually *gasp!* went up to see some sort of "natural phenomenon" seen by a guy named Grumman, whom I presume is now dead. Lord Asriel shows THE MASTER and his clique a couple of pictures of the North. The first one is boring looking, and the second has these awesome gold specks floating down. The said specks are apparently Dust with a capital D.

This is a big deal to THE MASTER'S clique, and they freak out even more when Lord Asriel points out a child in the picture. Instead of explaining to me what the hell matters about a kid being in the picture, they move on to start discussing the Northern Lights, aka the Aurora borealis.

Lord Asriel shows one last picture, and this one is the most shocking yet, at least to THE MASTER. It shows a city in (wait for it...) another world. One of the clique members asks if it's about the "Barnard-Stokes business." Whatever that is. Is there like, a prequel or something? Did I accidentally start on the second book in the series? Does anyone besides Philip Pullman get what's going on here? Because I sure don't!

That Grumman guy actually is dead, it turns out. And better yet, Lord Asriel has proof. Lyra can't see it because THE MASTER stood up in front of her, but the whispers of his clique tell her that Uncle Swoonworthy brought back Grumman's head in a box. From what the group of old dudes can deduce, Grumman was murdered by a group called the Tartars, who appear to be stab-happy while they poke holes in their victims' heads.

The scholars start to talk about a talking bear who wants a degree and a daemon (talking animal), and as Lyra is too lazy to stay awake for this conversation, I still don't get any explanation of what's going on.

....

*TIME PASSES, LYRA CATCHES SOME ZZZZ'S*

She is woken by Lord Asriel, and quickly interrogates him about what Dust is. (Yes!)

He doesn't tell her. (No!)

Lyra then asks if she can look at the head, and Lord Asriel sneers and says to not be disgusting. If I recall correctly, he's the arm-grabbing pedophile in this scenario! Hard to get more disgusting than that.

He pulls a paternal move and tells her to go to bed, since he is leaving to go back to the North in a mere 10 minutes, but stubborn Lyra asks if she can come. He stares at her for a moment while she blushes under his gaze (NOW tell me she doesn't have a crush!!!! Just TRY!!! I DARE YOU!). Lord Asriel eventually decides that no, her place is here, and she needs to go to sleep.

The scene changes to THE MASTER'S private room, where he and the Librarian are drinking it up, arguing over the morals of their decision to try and poison Lord Asriel. THE MASTER says he only tried to kill him because the alethiometer (add THAT word's meaning to my list of questions) said it'd be bad if he was allowed to continue his expedition.

Then they start talking about politics and blah blah blah, and the Pope, more blah blah blah, etc. etc. etc. Oh wait no, apparently they killed Catholicism, so now there isn't a Pope. *facepalm* I didn't get it (seriously, is there a Golden Compass for Dummies book I can blog first?), but they capitalized the word "Magisterium," which I have inferred to be the Pope's replacement.

I love the Librarian. He just asked THE MASTER what all this Barnard-Stokes business is about. (Happy dance! Answers incoming, straight ahead!) THE MASTER declares that Barnard and Stokes were two treasonous theologians who believed there were many worlds besides this one. Then the Church killed them because Barnard and Stokes went against their teachings.

Once again, they mention the Magisterium, who is rather annoyed that there seems to be mathematical proof showing that there really are more worlds. Then they talk about Lord Schmexy-Pants Asriel and his pictures, which have turned out to be evidence. (I kind of get what the deal is now...sort of.)

AND NOW THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT LYRA!!!! They say that she would have been safer if they had ended up killing Prince Charming Lord Asriel. Apparently she has a "major part to play," she is not supposed to figure out what's going on, and they're expecting her to help without knowing she's helping. That isn't unfair at all. *sarcasm hand*

Prediction:
Lyra cries herself to sleep over Lord Asriel going on vacation, THE MASTER kills Lyra's chemistry teacher because he thinks her grade will be safer that way, and I will finally learn the definition of
a) daemon
b) alethiometer
c) Magisterium
d) Dust with a capital D

Please?

I Can't Stop Loving You With Half of My Heart...

Hooray for conning the substitute teacher! Thanks to my awesome piano player, the two of us managed to escape a whopping eight pages of scales. We got to spend a quality hour and a half all alone, rehearsing my solo. :)

Its alias (according to him): "our song." EEEEEE!!!!!!!!!! Okay fine, maybe he said "our piece." But still! It is an OUR, and not a MY. Well, "your," from his point of view.

We have a song. :)

He played the Mendelssohn Concerto for me. My FAVORITE part, of course. The slow section where it gets all major-ish and pretty. You know, I'd rather have that be our song. It takes a lot of the pressure off of me. Plus, he's just so good at it. *sigh* He is making getting over him really hard. Why does he have to do that???

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY!

I'm the concertmaster!!!! Can you believe it?! I hardly can! I'M THE CONCERTMASTER I'M THE CONCERTMASTER I'M THE CONCERTMASTER!

All the scientists say that repetition helps you remember things. :)

And my stand partner is rather adorable! And also my piano player!

ALL YEAR LONG!

This arrangement could work for me. :D

the word is on the street that the fire in your heart is out...

Dear You*,
Just get over it already. You really do deserve better. Maybe she was the light in your life at some point. Maybe she was the light in your life for a long time. But 15 years from now, when I'm in the front row at your wedding, watching you happily marry someone that's not her, you're not going to still be sulking. You'll be happy. You'll have found something else to live for. Something that isn't her!

At the very least, you could try to work with me here. Instead of complaining all the time that all you want to do is just die, you could ATTEMPT to let some positivity into your world. I would understand if you wanted to take a few weeks to cry about this. But you already have. I've given you time. And now the time has come to pick up the pieces of your broken heart, and stand on your own. Without her. Just give me the chance to fix you.

Please?









*You don't know who "You" is. Deal with it. You is not even going to see this. I just wanted to say something.



And now that that's over...I made soup tonight! I'm not going to publish it as a Misadventures post, because 1) I used canned broth, 2) my mother made the noodles, and 3) it didn't involve any skill.


But despite not adding it to my cooking repertoire, it was still rather delightful. There's nothing like hot soup on a rainy fall night.


Feels like home, doesn't it? :)

I'm Starting to See the Editing Skills You Lack. I WANNA U-U-U-U-U-UNDO IT!

FAIL of the day:

Ok...this is actually a fail from about a week ago. I just didn't import it until tonight.

Blogging The Golden Compass, Part 1

Welcome to the first installment of Blogging The Golden Compass! I, Mary (embracethecheese), will be conquering a chapter every week. Here I go!

What I already know about this series:

-It’s really popular.

-It was developed into a movie, which I saw at my friend’s birthday party a few years ago. Despite seeing the film, I am NOT worried about spoiling my book experience, since everyone else at the party told me it was absolutely nothing like the book.

-There are talking animals in it. Ohhhhh, joy. *sarcasm hand*

-I’m pretty sure the plot revolves around dust. This could mean one of two things:

• People are idiots, and this series is vastly overrated. OR
• The author has brainstormed new life into something that’s as lame as dust, and this book will not suck.

Dim the lights, draw the curtains, and let the show begin! (I have been in waaaay too many dramatic productions.)

Chapter One:

Oh goody. I am four words in, and they've already mentioned a talking animal. The book appears to be about a (human) wannabe spy, Lyra (who has no last name as of yet) and her (animal) "daemon," Pantalaimon. Did Lyra name him? What was she, like, five? Nah, never mind. A five year old probably couldn't pronounce something with that many vowels.

The story begins with Lyra and Pantalaimon wandering around in a big, fancy great hall area. They are obviously not supposed to be there, since Lyra keeps looking over her shoulder, afraid of the servants showing up and BUSTING HER.

Pantalaimon *snicker* turns out to be a shape-shifting talking animal. He is currently a moth, since he needs to be almost invisible in the humongous crowd of people surrounding him and Lyra. *rolls eyes* If I was a shape-shifting talking animal and no one was around to see me, I would turn into something awesome like a peacock, or maybe an okapi. NOT a moth.

Lyra starts babbling about the steward ringing bells, Pantalaimon accuses her of "not taking this seriously," and the plot suddenly clicks in my brain. I totally get it now. Lyra has just started college, and this is a hazing-initiation-thingy for the sorority she's joining. BAM! CAN'T FOOL ME!

The two troublemakers head across the hall to the Retiring Room, described by Lyra as being pretty much totally off-limits to anybody except for scholarly dudes. She's never gone in there before, even though she's lived at the College for her life.

........................................................

*headdeskfacepalmheaddeskfacepalmheaddeskfacepalm*

It actually IS a college? I was kidding, you know!!! My predictions are NOT as funny if they're dead-on right. *sigh*

Lyra and Pantalaimon continue snooping, when they suddenly hear someone coming in. It is "the Master" and his servant, and THE MASTER (someone who is this obviously important deserves a name in all caps) inquires as to whether Lord Asriel (Lyra's uncle) has arrived yet. He instructs the servant to give him food when he gets to the College, and the servant leaves him alone (with Lyra and *snicker* Pantalaimon).

THE MASTER dumps some poison into the wine he just set out for this all-important Lord Asriel, and quickly departs the room. Lyra and Pantalaimon are planning to leave too, but they hear the Steward's bell calling people to dinner, and are forced to hide in a wardrobe.

As they watch the Steward do some last minute preparations, Pantalaimon starts bitching to Lyra about how she needs to listen to him when he's being an unadventurous, wimpy sissy. They argue about what to do about the poison, Lyra infers that the fancy robes in the wardrobe are for THE MASTER to play dress-up, and then she explains that Lord Asriel and THE MASTER are both important political figures, and this is a high tension time in their world (aka, there'll probably be a war).

Lord Asriel arrives while Lyra and Pantalaimon are sulking in the wardrobe. He ALSO has a talking animal with him, and he starts chatting about some PowerPoint he put together to show the scholarly college people. Lyra spies on her uncle, describing his tall stature, powerful shoulders, and glittery eyes.

*processing*

o_O

*processing*

I THINK LYRA IS HITTING ON HER UNCLE. Um....anyways...

He reaches for the poisoned wine, and she screams a loud "No!" since she is unable to watch her forever buddy (*shudder*) die. She jumps out of the wardrobe and he grabs her arm (omai!) and begins to interrogate her. Lyra admits she saw the wine being poisoned, but before they can continue this passionate heart-to-heart, more people show up and Lord Asriel forces her back in the wardrobe.

Lord Asriel finds a way to dump the wine on the floor, breaking the bottle (woo!), and whispers to Lyra that she should watch THE MASTER while he's in there, and he might find a way to keep her out of trouble.

The chapter ends with Lord Asriel staring down his daemon and promising THE MASTER that he has something interesting to show him.

Prediction:
Lyra and *smirk* Pantalaimon will continue to bicker, Lord Asriel will show his PowerPoint with a bunch of steamy vacation photos, and Lyra will describe in detail the delicate curves of Lord Asriel's toned abdominal muscles.

Misadventures in the Kitchen, Week TWO

Misadventures in the Kitchen, Week TWO (Ultra Belated Edition!) is the recipe I have been longing to make ever since the first time I ate it! I made.....

PASTA WITH TOMATOES, MOZZARELLA, AND WHITE BEANS

And it was deeeeelicious. I know you're all dying to see it, so here ya go. :)

YUMMEH. Now wipe that drool off your face, this post isn't done yet.

As for the close-up...

I ate three whole bowls of it, and just seeing it is making me STILL feel hungry!

Pros:
Mouth-wateringly scrumptious end product
Relatively simple to make

Cons:
Massively unfortunate clean-up job
Takes a fair chunk of time to prepare

My repertoire is expanding rapidly! Soon enough I'll have a show on Food Network! (For those of you out of the US, it's basically the cooking channel. Name is pretty self-explanatory. I don't mean to insult your intelligence, I'm just not sure if they broadcast it overseas.)

Hopefully next week's post will be on time! As per usual, all suggestions for my next meal are welcomed in the comments!

I'm Out of Time And All I Got Is 4 Minutes....4 Minutes!

Here I go! I am churning out a post under the pressure of time constraints! TICK TOCK TICK TOCK TICK TOCK.

...You know, it's REALLY hard to concentrate while my mom is sitting three feet away watching chick flicks with attractive male leads. Uhhh.... *tries to concentrate*

*fails*

Conversations about *cough cough* DESTINY? Check.
Begrudgingly admitting strengths? Check.
Spilling food on one another? Check.
Passionate fight? OH YEAH.
The heroine is sooooo falling in love with the sarcastic boy with a secretly sweet personality. :)

CALLED IT!

Ahem. So anyway...

I don't know if I'm EVER going to learn another recipe! My cooking night just keeps getting postponed, postponed, postponed some more! I can see it, 50 years from now...I'll have a bunch of grandkids running around my house (actually, I'd still be sort of young for a grandma, so I guess they'd be crawling), and the only thing that I will be able to cook for them is a grilled cheese sandwich! God, I hope none of them are lactose intolerant.

That's it for now! BEDTIME!

With Every Step, I Sprint A Little Faster...

I won the sprints at soccer practice today! EEEEEE *crazed scream* EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOMGOMGOMG!

Sorry, just had to get that out there. It's kind of a big (huge) deal for me, because I remember my first practice two whole years ago. I was the worst one there, because everyone else had played since they were 5, and I was the one and only junior-high-age-joiner-weirdo. I had no skill, I had pathetic endurance, and I felt like everyone else on my team resented me for being so far behind them.

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAYYYYYY.....

I've come so far! I am not the fastest, but I sure as hell ain't the slowest anymore! I have....more skill than I did before. Probably not going to be getting any soccer scholarships, but I can hold my own on the field. (Finally.)

Whoa, I've been so self-centered today! I usually at least try to be entertaining. Sorry, but this is just SUCH A GIGANTIC ACCOMPLISHMENT FOR ME!!!!

To make up for my me-ness today, I have collected (courtesy of some sites I found thanks to Google) a handful of rather hilarious viola jokes!

Why do so many people take an instant dislike to Viola players?
It saves time.

Why are violists' ears sought after for transplants?
They've never been used.

And my personal favorite...
What's the ideal weight for a professional Viola player?
About 20 ounces - not counting the urn.

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Are you laughing? I'm laughing. I am cracking up over here.

Come Together Right Now...For the Contest of the Century (aka: I'm choosing a book)

Not So Cheesy now has SIX FOLLOWERS! This is amazing! I love youuuuuu. :)

The votes have not changed for a while, so I'm pretty darn sure it's between The Golden Compass and To Kill A Mockingbird. Know what this means? SHOOTOUT TIME! Adi, I did like your suggestion, but let's face it..this'll be way more interesting.

Enter the contestants!

The Golden Compass: BAM! I got here first.
To Kill A Mockingbird: I would've gotten here first, except I was just busy changing the English class lives of millions.
(Winner: Mockingbird. I want to read a book with *pompous know-it-all voice* Significant. Cultural. Impact.)

GC: MOOOOOVIE. MOOOOOVIE. MOOOOOOVIE.
Mockingbird: Oscar noms! BEAT THAT.
(Winner: None. Last time I checked, I was going to blog a book, not a movie.)

GC: Series! That means if Cheesy likes me, she can keep reading the rest of the books!
Mockingbird: I was the only book Harper Lee EVER wrote.
(Winner: GC. This would make it easier to pick the next book I end up blogging.)

GC: I have talking polar bears!
Mockingbird: Shut up. Talking polar bears are creepy.
(Winner: Mockingbird. I have to say, talking animals are almost always NOT my thing.)

GC: 23 chapters! 23 weeks of loving me.
Mockingbird: 31 weeks for me! We might as well get married.
(Winner: GC. I don't have that long of an attention span.)

*WHISTLE. WHISTLE. WHISTLE.*

Dang it folks, that's all the time we have. Unfortunately, it seems we are still tied. My personal choice shall determine it all! We are (ummmm, I am) going to read...the Golden Compass! And I'm just throwing this next part out to bust all you people who cheated and skipped right to the end.

....

....

WAIT FOR IT

WAIT

WAIT

WAITING!!!!!

....

Yum. I like pie. My mom is making a peach pie tonight. But you know what else I'm going to like? Blogging THIS BOOK!

HERE WE GO PEOPLES!!!!

THE VICTOR AND DETERMINER OF WHAT I SHALL READ FOR THE NEXT LONG TIME: To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee! Woo!

Ooo, ooo, witchy poll. See how many votes I get. Ooo, ooo, witchy poll. See how technology makes me fret.

The amount of votes keeps changing. And no, I don't mean the typical going-up-because-people-click-on-it changing. I mean, I was looking at it earlier and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn had 4 votes, narrowly WINNING over...whatever was in second. And now....I'm seeing a 2 or 3 way tie. This is NOT normal!

My technological helpers are all rebelling against me, just so you know. My computer hates me, my iPod shrank (I had to delete my one episode of Glee to make room for my music from Dad!), and my camera AND cell phone keep dying. So if posts are erratic, late, and/or...crazy, now you know why.

Because of the stupid vote-changing, I do not have a clear winner for my poll. This is inconvenient. I will give it a couple more days to see if it changes any more. If not (and it is still inconveniently tied), I have decided that we will have a shoot-out between contestants, World Cup-style. (Don't ask me how this will work. I truly have no clue.)

P.S. Gmail is also flipping out. Chat doesn't work, and I can't even reply to the emails I get, but Adi...thank you. I did get your email, and I saw the video. AND the description. Merci beaucoup. (I think I spelled that wrong.)

Where's That Shiny Bus, And Did It Ever Get Me Far? (Oh No It Didn't, Because They Forgot About Me)

The bus forgot about me and my friends this morning. After high school classes, we had to wait for an hour and twenty minutes to catch the damn bus back to our normal school. We needed to call our school's office, and then we yelled "WHERE IS THE BUS?" in unison. This 80 minute-period was spent fighting over iPods, kissing each other on both cheeks a la francais (sadly, I did not get smooched by the piano player), and having shouting matches with my peers. Looking back on it, it was actually pretty awesome. But regardless of its fabulous factor, it was still a waste of my time.

Due to this unfortunate circumstance, my harmonica plan has reluctantly been put on hold until I'm guessing tomorrow, when I am expecting to have a full hour of potential annoyance at my disposal. Quite honestly, though, I'm not totally sure if this will be the case. But my dear harmonica IS waiting patiently in my backpack, practically begging to be blown on.

As for blog news...we are currently tied in our book-blogging poll! The Golden Compass and To Kill a Mockingbird each have a whopping TWO votes! Since I have not thought of an acceptable tie-breaking method, if you have not yet voted, GET YOUR BUTT OVER THERE AND CLICK THE BUTTON! It ain't rocket science, you know...

Also, it is with regret that I inform you Misadventures in the Kitchen is on a temporary hiatus. I have been forbidden from cooking the meal I decided on until further notice, simply because my mom and/or I have something scheduled every single night of this week, and she doesn't want me using expensive ingredients without her watching over my shoulder. Crazy, I know! I'm like Rachael Ray over here! You can't stop my food-making mania!!!

*shakes head*

Will Smith said it best...

♫♪ Parents are the same no matter time nor place
So to you other kids all across the land
Take it from me
Parents just don't understand ♫♪

HOLLA!

You Know My Name (But I Bet You Had No Clue I Played Harmonica)

BEHOLD. My salvation for my hour of TA-time 3 mornings a week!

The Best Instrument EVER After the Violin (and guitar, because that's what Adi plays)

You see, my family is getting ready for a garage sale, and in between the piles of old dolls and stinky riding boots, I found this amazing harmonica! But instead of the usual reminiscent "Oh my gosh, I forgot I had this! So and so got it for her birthday fifty billion years ago from la di da dude," the first thought that came to mind was "Now I have something to do while I 'assist' my dear, DEAR teacher!" And THAT thought, my friends, was quickly followed by an obnoxious mind-cackle.

It gets better. I found a helpful "For Beginners Only: How to Play the Marine Band Type Hohner Harmonica" guide. My master plan consists of sneaking (aka walking in normally, just with a hidden harmonica) into said teacher's office, blowing a loud, piercing note, watching a hopefully VERY amusing reaction, and then actually learning how to play it correctly. Don't you think it would be cool to know how to play 2 instruments? Psh, violin and piano is typical. Violin and a regular band instrument is traitorous. But violin and HARMONICA? Epic, epic, spectacular, epic. :D

Sing Me A Song I Know All The Words To...(Oh Right, You Just Did!)

First off, I would like to congratulate Adi on his outstanding cover of Use Somebody (in which he rather adorably says "Ohai, Mary" at the beginning) and encourage my several readers to nag him about getting it on Youtube. :)


*nag nag nag*


Aaaaaand this is the part where I taunt you with "I KNOW WHAT I'M COOKING THIS WEEK AND YOU DON'T." You see, as much as I appreciated Feathers' suggestion, I disqualified it because I remembered that I have, in fact, made a decent serving of scrambled eggs before! So I faced the scary 4 full shelves of cookbooks my mother owns and chose a brand new dish that appears to be within my range of expertise. In fact, I found SEVERAL recipes, so we're set for the next few weeks. Yay!


I find it very depressing that I don't read nearly as much as I'd like to, so I'm going to blog a book (how original, I know). I have not chosen one yet. I'll try to decide within the next few days. This is going to be a recurring, weekly column that happens every...Friday. (Dan Bergstein and Coffinmaker seem to have dibs on Thursdays.) This will start next week, unless I happen to find a book at the speed of light. As with everything else on my blog, comments and/or suggestions are WELCOMED, ENCOURAGED, and MET WITH OUTSTANDINGLY ENTHUSIASTIC TACKLEHUGZ.

I Like the Way You Sound in the Morning (When You Agree To Be My Piano Player)

YES! I have gotten the elusive ex-friend/future-forever-buddy to play piano for me! And no blackmail was involved!!! Oh. Em. Gee! I just asked him earlier and he was like "Again?" "YEAH!" "Um...sure." HOORAY, I DID IT! *happy dance* (Note: Girlfriend is now my inspirational anthem. Not because of its authenticity to the situation, but just because I was listening to it this morning while I got up the guts to ask!)

And I haven't forgotten...happy weekiversary to Not So Cheesy!!! We've got the first of several (eventually, I'm sure) installments going on, and Not So Cheesy is hopefully just going to get better and better and better!!!

Sorry. I'm not being funny at all today. It's just that I'VE BEEN PREPARING FOR THE PIANO PLAYER BATTLE ALL SUMMER LONG, AND I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO DO IT!!! I hope this turns out well, because it appears that I just can't stay away. Then again, neither can he...

But he still agreed to do it! Even BEFORE he realized the piece was like 14 pages long for him! OH MY GOSH, I'M JUST GOING TO GO GORGE MYSELF ON CHOCOLATES AND PASS OUT FROM HAPPINESS (AND FATIGUE. SOCCER TRYOUTS WERE EXHAUSTING). I LOVE ALL OF YOU READERS SOOOOO MUCH!

Misadventures in the Kitchen, Week ONE

Misadventures in the Kitchen, Week ONE was an all-American (I think), cheese-filled delight...*drum roll* A GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH!

I won't lie, I've made a few before. But there is nothing more important than mastering the skill of the sandwich flip, and I figured it would be a great place to start my series (aka the very beginning). Oh my gosh, I'll be making Lobster Thermidor before you know it!

But as to my sandwich-making process...

Pros:
~Quick to make, which is critical, seeing as how I was STARVING after soccer practice
~Working closely with cheese
~Getting butter on my fingers

Cons:
~Have to keep checking the side on the bottom, because you KNOW it'll be waaaaay browner every .5 seconds
~Constant fretting about burning the sandwich
~Getting butter on my fingers

And the moment you've ALL been waiting for...

my sandwich!

Isn't it beee-yoootiful? I'm gonna call it Adrianna. I bet if I send the pic to NASA, they'll name a rocket space-thingy after her.

As always (just kidding, this is the first time!), I welcome any and all suggestions for next week. :)

P.S. Don't forget, tomorrow is Not So Cheesy's WEEKIVERSARY! AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!! ARE YOU EXCITED?! I'M EXCITED! LET'S DO THIS!

Let Me Know That I’ve Done Wrong (By Letting You Grow Your Stupid Facial Hair)

One of my favorite parts of going back to school every year is seeing how people have changed. For instance, I have discovered my history teacher (who I also had in 7th grade) is not actually an evil, smart-child-torturing, happy smiley maniac. He’s actually pretty darn cool, and I look forward to giving him another chance to not suck this year.

And OHMYGOD MY ORCHESTRA TEACHER HAS SOME SORT OF WEIRD GROWTH ON HIS FACE!!! It’s very distracting. I see it, and then I just think some variation of: “Ewwww. Who in the world told him a beard was a good idea? Ugh, I hope he doesn’t get food stuck in it. That would be gross. Good thing I have his class before lunch. They’d better have some no meat salads for me this year. Last year they always ran out…” The pathetic thing is, the beard isn’t even the same color as the hair on his head. It’s darker, and more ridiculous-looking. And it sticks out weirdly. *shudder*

On the bright side, at least I know who his favorite student is. You see, I have had the misfortune to become his TA on the mornings that I get back to regular school earlier than scheduled (I have to go to the high school for a couple of my classes before heading back to my school). Why? Oh right, because he requested me. :P At least I’ve got a better idea of who’ll end up being concertmaster. *evil grin*

As for blog news…
I am running out of nights to start my misadventures in the kitchen series. I’m not totally sure when I’ll get the chance, but if I happen to have time later on tonight, y’all might get a DOUBLE-POST! Hooray! I might as well continue this Oprah moment by giving you a car and house, and paying every single one of your bills.

Then again, maybe not. I don’t get my allowance for a while.

CHEESE