"San Francisco" by Paul Hassel

"San Francisco" by Paul Hassel
Originally uploaded by ethernautrix

Quick Catch Up...

Ok, well it'd be really impossible to update this blog with everything that's happened since Irish Cream Brownies :) So, here's the long and the short of it.

I'm moving.
I was accepted at the Academy of Art University in the Spring, and at first I was planning on doing it fully online, but I got an offer to live in the city that I couldn't refuse, so off to San Francisco I go! I'm going to live with my cousin down there, which is amazing. I checked out the apartment and it's gorgeous. I've been so apprehensive about it, considering I've never lived away from Redding, but as soon as I got there, I had that feeling of "this is just so right."

It's extremely bittersweet, as I absolutely love my life in Redding and I've never been one of those "I can't wait to get out of this town" Redding kids. But I feel it's time to take on this new adventure.

I started classes online this summer, and I'm having a blast. It's a lot of work and extremely challenging, but I love every second of it. I feel like I've been rekindled with my first love. So, I'll definitely be updating this blog more as I want to stay connected with everyone.

Here are a few of the assignments I've been working on so far:

Self Portrait:


Positive/Negative Space:



Portrait of a Stranger:



Difficult Lighting:



So, that's what I've been up to. I'm thankful to those who have encouraged and believed in me and pushed me to go.

Irish Cream Brownies

In the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, I thought I'd post a recipe for the most amazing brownies one could hope to make. Any favorite brownie recipe or mix will due. I double the recipe so it will fit into a 13x9 pan. I think it's actually possible to get drunk off of these, they are just that good! :)


Irish Cream Brownies

• 1 (10 1/4 ounce) package fudge brownie mix
• 1/4 cup oil
• 2 tablespoons bailey irish cream
• 2 eggs

Irish Cream Topping

• 1 (8 ounce) carton whipping cream
• 1/4 cup milk
• 4 1/2 tablespoons instant vanilla pudding mix (Jello) **buy the largest box**
  
• 3 tablespoons bailey irish cream
• 1 (1.4-2 7/8 ounce) chocolate-covered english toffee bars, crushed (Skor)

Directions

1. Grease the bottom of an 8-inch square baking pan (not the sides).
2. In a mixing bowl, add the brownie mix, oil, 2 tablespoons Bailey's Irish Cream and eggs.
3. Stir until blended.
4. Spread batter into prepared pan.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 23-26 minutes or until wooden pick comes out clean.
6. Cool completely.
7. In another mixing bowl, add the whipping cream, milk, pudding mix and 3 tablespoons Bailey's Irish Cream.
8. With an electric mixer, beat at high speed for 4-6 minutes or until soft peaks form.
9. Spread mixture over the cooled brownie layer.
10. Sprinkle with crushed candy bar.
11. Cover and refrigerate 3-4 hours before serving.

Happy St. P

NIce Weekend...

After several conversations with my roommate, I caught the bug to do some hard-core cleaning this weekend. Those who know me know that, I like to collect things :) I am sentimental to a fault, so if you give me something, anything, I'm going to hang on to it and treasure it forever. Or if it reminds me of some cool event of moment, the same applies.

Well...take 10-15 years of that and try finding a place for it in a 12 x 15 living space...hmmm

I went through every storage box and container I had and found the most random things like...the plastic beaded necklace they gave out in the grab bags at my sober grad? Needless to say, I bit the bullet and threw a lot of crap away. I turned in a bunch of CD's to Bogbean, they gave me $40. I got rid of two bags of clothes, gave away a bunch of books, and found ways to maximize storage. This is the journey to my clean living space:

and finally:

It's feeling pretty good actually spending time in my room now. 

Friday and Saturday night I had the place to myself, so as a reward for cleaning, I had two shameless chick flick nights, and all the junk food to go with it. Pizza, ice cream and popcorn with some Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 1 & 2 and What a Girl Wants. I cried through each of them...not gonna lie. I love being a girl and being able to do that stuff without reason or excuse. :) 

This morning at the Stirring was a nice ol' spiritual ass-kicking. Thanks Nate :) Seriously, incredible word...it's God's heart and the thing that's going to change this city towards the things of God. He's coming for his bride...not in a bunch of pieces set against each other, but as one whole, spotless creature. Come on, Jesus! 

Great weekend overall. I love this place I get to live in, I love who I get to live with, I love my church family and I love my Jesus!

Dream

This song is amazing. I feel so much hope and promise and peace wrapped inside of these lyrics. I feel like they give this freedom to step back from the day-to-day circumstances and see the big picture, the dream, that God intended for my life. That it's not about what I'm doing, but where I'm going, and who I'm becoming, that matters.

Dream
by Priscilla Ahn

I was a little girl alone in my little world who dreamed of a little home for me.
I played pretend between the trees, and fed my houseguests bark and leaves, and laughed in my pretty bed of green.

I had a dream
That I could fly from the highest swing.
I had a dream.

Long walks in the dark through woods grown behind the park, I asked God who I'm supposed to be. The stars smiled down on me, God answered in silent reverie. I said a prayer and fell asleep.

I had a dream
That I could fly from the highest tree.
I had a dream.

Now I'm old and feeling grey. I don't know what's left to say about this life I'm willing to leave.
I lived it full and I lived it well, there's many tales I've lived to tell. I'm ready now, I'm ready now, I'm ready now to fly from the highest wing.

I had a dream

A Fantastic Holiday, fantastic year

Hey all. Yep, it's been 4 months since my last blog. I really want to better at this :)
I can't believe it's 2009. We're fast approaching the year they made Back to the Future 2 about. I have yet to see flying cars and hover boards, but we do have TV's that you can hang like a picture frame, and then there's the Wii Fit. Get in shape while playing a video game? That should have been in the movie.

Anyway, crazy 4 months for my family! In September my dad had an operation to have his right foot amputated. He has been in pain for 15 years, and although the procedure itself was scary, it was a huge blessing for him to have freedom from the pain. My mom had taken time off work to care for him, but she had an accident herself, and broke her knee cap. So two weeks after my dad's surgery, my mom had a total knee replacement. And a few days after that, my brother developed a bone infection that kept him in the hospital for 3 weeks. Craziness. Because of all this, I was able to take 6 weeks off work to help them out. Outwardly, things looked chaotic and difficult and painful, but honestly, we never had a bad day. Spirits were incredibly high and we felt God's hand on us. I was amazed at my parent's courage and faith to face the most difficult thing they've experienced in 30 years of marriage. I felt that we grew so much closer as a family this.

The Christmas season was amazing. This year we decided not to exchange gifts, but rather do stuff together as a family. My mom, grandma and I spent a lot of time baking and sewing aprons. We went to the Cascade Christmas (which gets better every year) and enjoyed hanging out. The greatest gift to us as a family was having my dad spend time with us. Because of his pain, when he's home he's always laid up in bed, and it's been this way since I was 10. And even when he was able to hang out, it was very short lived. Now that he didn't have pain, he ate with us, and even stayed up till 11 playing games. He's a new man. Here's a pic of him and his new leg :)
and some more family pics :)

The day after Christmas, Shelby and I and some friends went up to her grandparent's cabin. The snow was fresh and stunning, and there was tons of it! The cabin is wonderful anytime of the year, but with the snow and icicles and fire place, it was magical. It was great to get up there, be with great people, and do nothing. Perfect vacation.




I finished up the year in Disneyland with my sister and nieces. My sister planned such an awesome trip. Not only did we spend 3 days in the park, she took us to a "Pirate Adventure" dinner in Buena Park! I'm absolutely stunned at the kind of talent that exists in Southern California. Everyone is so professional and sharp and loves what they do. Disneyland around the holidays is the BEST! Everything is transformed into Christmas perfection. My favorite part was "It's a Small World - Holiday!" Jingle Bells in 6 languages? That's awesome! I also had a fun surprise when we were watching the Christmas parade.

I've know this guy since Jr. High! He's a triplet, and he and his brothers all work for Disney. It was so fun seeing a little piece of Redding in Disneyland :) Everything was amazing. The holidays is definitely the best time to visit the park, even if it's crazy busy. The only letdown was that it was so foggy at night, we didn't get to see the New Years fireworks :( But we were riding around on the Matterhorn right before the countdown so that kind of made up for it : ). Awesome vacation. I'll be the first to admit, my heart definitely sank the day we had to leave...

Alright, so...2008. Awesome year. I have lots of hope and expectation for an even better 2009! Here's the to new year!

God Bless the Indian Summer...

I'm so happy September is here. This weekend was a very good "see ya later Summer!" kinda weekend. Saturday was ridiculously hot, as usual. But Sunday and Monday were at that perfect temperature where you walk outside and think, "jacket, or no jacket?" It was a sweet glimpse into the wonderful things to come. We turned off the AC for two days and slept with the windows open...ahhh....such bliss. And one night, I even had a shiver. Yes, it was cold enough for a shiver! This is my favorite time of year, no doubt. I look forward to putting my big fan away, sleeping under my down comforter in a nice, chilly room. Taking walks in the brisk fall air with leaves crunching beneath my feet, watching the trees turn their lovely shades of red and orange and yellow. I look forward to baking pumpkin bread, apple crisp, soups of all varieties, chicken divine and apple cider. I'm especially looking forward to the first rain of the fall. That day never disappoints. 

I feel like the last few weeks of summer were spent well. Shelby, Jeff and I went up to her grandparents cabin in Shingletown for their annual "Folk Dance Festival and Picnic." You know that song, "Over the Hill and Through the Woods to Grandmothers House We Go!"? 

Someone wrote that with Shelby's grandparents cabin in mind. It's amazing and has become one of my favorite "get away" places. Tons of people come from all over to this event. Great food, great people, and folk dancing. Her grandparents have been doing this for about 50 years. It's fun to see people gather and celebrate something they love so much. It was such a fun day.

 

This last Friday I had a whim to get out of town, so I just got in my car and drove down to Chico. I love the drive down. Tons and tons of fruit trees everywhere. Makes me imagine the kind of life where you spend your days walking your orchards and picking lots of fruit. I think I would enjoy that. I spent the afternoon reading on the corner at Peet's coffee and exploring the shops. I loved the feeling of no agenda, no place to be, and no one to run into. I love running into people in Redding, don't get me wrong, but sometimes it's nice to just be invisible in a city and observe life happening. Chico life is interesting. In Chico, cars are so 2002. It's all about bikes. If you don't have a pimped out cruiser, you're not cool. I think my cruiser would enjoy herself in Chico. 

Saturday a bunch of us rented a raft and floated down the Sacramento River. It was the perfect way to spend the last Saturday of summer. Floating down the river is like being on your own private freeway. We explored down different side streams and envied all the millionaires that had beautiful homes on the river. There was talk about taking a few days to float all the way down to Sacramento, like Huckleberry Finn. I'd dig that. I'm so grateful to live in a place as beautiful as Redding. 

So, farewell dear summer. Hello glorious fall!