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