Traction and Tuesday Trifle...or chocolate cake, strawberry, whipped cream thingy...

One Tuesday on my way to Bible study from the chiropractor I called my sister to see if she needed anything at the store for Bible study while I was up that way. She said no, but her dessert was ruined. But she had another plan for it. So in the end I went to her house to see if I could help set up and she taught me how to make this dessert. She kind of came up with it herself. She was trying to make truffles with chocolate cake and melted chocolate and something didn't go according to plan. This is what you do:

• First of all you choose a cake mix. I used a dark chocolate cake mix from Pillsbury. I think. If I was really ambitious the night I made it I would have made a cake from scratch. I'm sure it would have been better. But I made the cake on Monday night to take to work the next day so I wasn't feeling very ambitious. Maybe next time.
• Melt chocolate chips to spread over the cake you just made. I chose Ghiradelli milk chocolate since I used a dark chocolate cake.
  

• I just melted it in the microwave and used a knife to spread it over the cake like frosting.
  

• Then I cut the cake into squares and put it in the freezer for half an hour.
  

• 
• Crumble the chilled/frozen cake into a bowl so there is a layer on the bottom. (Ignore that first bullet. I don't know how to get rid of it without deleting my picture.)
  

• Then layer it with whipped cream and strawberries.
  

And you can decorate the top of it with the strawberry pieces.
Then take it to work with you so you don't eat the whole thing yourself. My sister made enough to make 2 layers of cake and whipped cream and strawberries. I kept half of it out that night for my family to make into their own desserts. One thing we found out was that if you are going to make this the night before then don't assemble the layers until the next day. Or even better, wait until you are about to serve it. The whipped cream doesn't hold up very well. I brought the rest of the can with me to the office so they could add to it if they wanted to.

So I finally feel like I did something somewhat creative. :) So glad Jacqueline made that lucky mistake. As Matt said, "instead of a mess it became a....bless(ing). " We all try our hand at rhyming sometimes, right? :)

On Tuesday the chiropractor started me on my treatments for my neck. They put it in traction which was very uncomfortable and I tensed my neck up and ended up hurting my neck muscles. It hurt all night. I was dreading going back today. So when they started me back in traction again today I asked them if that was normal to be really sore afterwards and they said no and I shouldn't be tensing up my neck. They helped me find ways to be more comfortable and relax and it helped SO much. I feel fine now. Maybe this treatment won't be so bad.

I can't wait to work on some projects. Soon hopefully. Somehow I feel like this summer I may be able to get stuff done.

I found out this week that my doctor is also leaving the practice. I am sad that she is leaving, but also excited for her. I hope this move will be a very positive experience for her. I've really enjoyed working with her.

Once again, things are always changing. I'm not sure how I feel about it. Detached mostly. I feel like since I'm leaving eventually it doesn't affect me quite as much. Though if we get another doctor soon I will most likely be working with them until I move. Unless they let me go. I don't know. I really am not very concerned about the situation though. I believe that God has the whole thing under control. He has it all under control.

It's Wednesday! Tomorrow is Thursday. Payday! And my last day of work before the weekend. Yay!
Until later~

So what can I say?

Quite a bit has happened since I last blogged. Too much to go into here. Suffice it to say that things are crazy. Work is very tense, more people have been coming to see the house, and allergy season has definitely arrived. Zyrtec isn't as much help as I hoped it would be. :(
But let's see, what's gone on since I last blogged...my parents went to Massachussetts last Wednesday to see my grandmother and help her get settled back into her home after getting out of the rehab center for her knee. They said it was a great visit and they got a chance to meet my cousin's new baby and my other cousin's fiance as well as see a lot of other family members. They came back that Sunday. While they were gone we had 2 calls from realtors with people who wanted to see the house. So that made me pretty panicky and I spent a lot of time cleaning the house. I was up till 1 am on Friday trying to get things cleaned up and then was up again at 6:30 Saturday morning and cleaned some more. In the end the first couple was an hour and a half late and the other was an hour and a half early and we missed the second couple because we were out. I was one unhappy camper. I felt like it was all my fault that we missed the second couple, but they didn't call or anything. At least the first group called to say they would be late. It wasn't all bad though. We had a few members of our Bible study come over for curry and we watched 2 episodes of the Muppet show (they made us watch it because we had never seen it before...I don't think I cared for it much) and Mystery Science Theater 3000. And on Sunday we went next door for Bible study and everyone just kind of brought their leftovers and we had a buffet lunch and played games afterward. It's very nice having family and close friends right next door to you. :) It was nice to have my parents home again too that evening. I don't like being in charge of keeping a house ready to show.
We finished Bleak House. My sister, her sister-in-law, and a friend of ours all decided to have a girl's night and watch Bleak House. It was really good. I'd seen most of it before a long time ago, but it was really nice to hang out with the ladies. I think we're going to continue it and watch Jane Eyre next.
Work is very uncomfortable right now. Ever since the one doctor announced she was leaving and only gave a week's notice there has been a lot of tension in the office. The parting was not very peaceful and has caused some other problems. I know it will eventually calm down, but I don't enjoy being there right now.
Last night my sister hosted a Pampered Chef show put on by our friend Becky. She just started doing consulting and it was a lot of fun. I ordered some stencils and cake decorating bottles and tips as well as some spices to make into dips and seasonings.
I have so many ideas of things I want to make and do this spring and summer. I haven't really done anything though because it's not a good time to make a big mess. I'm hoping to get to work on some projects though sometime soon.

I'm planning a trip to Texas this June to see my godmother. I can't wait. She lives in Austin and the last time I went there I loved it. It would be so fun to live there. I hope I can work it out with my work schedule so I can go out and visit!
Well, I guess I'll stop here. Hopefully I'll have something interesting to write about sometime soon.

While strolling through the park one day...

more like while walking at a snail's pace, stopping every so often to snap photos and ending up on the swings having a blast with my sister, Holly. It was so fun. I just LOVE this weather. And my allergies haven't really kicked in yet although my eyes were getting all watery and itchy last night. I'll spare the details on that though.




As I was saying, it was just a beautiful day. And I was probably annoying Holly because I kept making her stop so I could take her picture and making her take mine. She's a good sport though.




We ended up on the playground swinging and playing on the jungle gym. I love swings and slides and all that stuff. I know that's kinda silly, so I like going to the park with kids to give me an excuse to play on the playground with them. It was nice to just play again. Why do we stop playing? I'm only 19 and I don't really play anymore, but it's so fun.

Sorry for the excessive number of posts in one day. :P

I have placed My bow in the clouds,
and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.
Whenever I form clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds,
I will remember my covenant between Me and
you and every living creature of all flesh:
water will never again become a deluge to destroy all flesh.
Genesis 9:13-15

We had a downpour and this is the result...aside from the place being soaked. I'm not sure you can see it very well, but it was very vivid on the ride home. I had to wait to take a picture till I got home and could get my camera. When I see rainbows I do think of the covenant of God and his promises. What a special reminder to place in the sky for us.

Mostly a picture post...

I met my friend Becca today for tea. It was very pretty outside and everything is starting to bloom around here. It was a good chance to take a few photos.













We went to a tea house called Shaharazade's. It's supposed to be pretty authentic. It was very cool.











The tea was really good, as were scones I stuffed my face with. :P Becca was laughing cause I had to photograph everything. I didn't photograph the scones though. I restrained myself.


Things I'm thankful for today:
1. good weather
2. good friends
3. good tea (and scones)
4. getting my haircut
5. staying safe on the road
6. laid back day
7. seeing the chiropractor. It's really helped my back.
8. my job...I really do like it and my bosses.




Speaking of my job, one of our dentists is leaving the practice. It was quite a shock. We are excited for her since she is opening her own practice, but we will miss her being at the office. Change is so weird. I used to hate it. Now I feel that I go with it alright. I have learned to expect it really. As soon as things get quiet, expect change. It just seems to be the way of my life. Change and waiting for change...it's a vicious cycle. Life really is a crazy journey. We've been a little stressed at my house lately. This anticipation of the move is starting to get to certain members of our family and it's making them anxious. I know I'm one of those members of the family. But I'm enjoying the time I have here still. Hopefully I'll be here when everyone gets out of school so I can see them a little this summer before we pack up and go. It was a nice laid back day. I think I needed it. Now hopefully I'll do something productive tomorrow. Like homework! LoL~

I hope everyone has a happy weekend. :)

This week...

has gone by...quickly. I guess. I have been to the doctor every day this week. The orthodontist on Monday and the chiropractor Tuesday through Thursday. So I've been getting out of work early for the past couple of days which is kinda nice I guess. I'm excited because tomorrow I'm meeting a friend of mine for tea at a tea house. Kinda like a coffee house but they serve tea instead. It's supposed to be very much like an authentic indian tea house. The weather today was very warm. It's so pretty. Trees are blooming and some flowers are too. I love it! So hopefully I'll get a few pictures of my outing tomorrow. For now though, I'm home alone and am going to take advantage of the peace and quiet and try to do some homework! I'm sure I'll write again later~

The task of art today is to bring chaos into order. --Theodor Adorno

I'm not very good at that kind of art. :P

Sometimes life just seems like one chaotic whirl. One chaotic whirl that has me caught unprepared and helpless. Sometimes I don't want to deal with it. I want to just go back to sleep and not face the day, which, of course, would be totally impractical. I'm struggling with that lately, and I'm trying to not to let those feelings get the best of me. They're just feelings after all.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

That's what I need to think about. Not what's currently causing stress in my life. Life is constantly dealing with stress. Last night I was stressed out so I came home and checked email and some of the blogs I read and came across this over at My Messy Thrilling Life's blog. Of course I had to try it. I know it's awful to make cookies because you're stressed, but I really didn't eat much of it (honest!) I just wanted to do something kinda creative and this is
what I did.
I think it came out really good! Then again, it's a chocolate chip cookie so of course I thought it was good. I would have taken a picture of it in the skillet, but my siblings and I got into it before I thought to get my camera. My brother ate 3 big pieces before bed and another this morning. Then he said he got a stomach ache. No wonder. I couldn't do that. I should bring one to work sometime. I think everyone would like it.
This is just a really huge piece that was left over and I got a picture of it before someone ate it.

This morning I went with my sister up to town to go to the bank and grocery store. We had a nice time. It's cold out. It was so beautiful outside on Tuesday and now it's cold and gray out. I can't wait until spring is here to stay! While I was at the store I picked up these Daisies. My lilies died. I do like having flowers around the house. It makes the house seem nicer. We had
someone come look at the house yesterday. This is the third time the house has shown since the middle of December. Not too good since the last house we sold was only on the market a few weeks before it sold. It scared me though. It's starting to sink in that we are really trying to move. I know it will be a good thing, it's just the longer I wait I start to lose my nerve.
One of the ladies at work was telling me that at the wellness center gym she goes to they have yoga classes there on Monday nights and Friday mornings which is perfect for me. I'm seriously thinking of joining over there and taking classes. It's cheaper to have a membership there (I get a discount for working for a doctor, even though my doctor is a dentist) and just take yoga than it is to find a yoga class. Plus they offer all kinds of stuff like tai chi (sounds dorky, but I've always wanted to try it!), a pool, sauna, machines, and they are open earlier an stay open later than my gym does. So I'm about to head out and close out my current gym membership. I wasn't going to switch gyms since we're moving, but I still don't know how long we'll be here and I want to do this. Plus the chiropractor said it would be good for me. The lady at work who was telling me this has a membership there and said she would take the class with me if I sign up so I think I'm going to do it. I'm hoping it will be a good thing!

Tonight we're going to my sister's house to watch Bleak House. I saw bits and pieces of it a few years ago on Masterpiece Theatre and liked it so I'm excited to go see it. It's going to be me and my sisters and mom and a few other ladies we're friends with and a couple jars of Nutella. Sweet. :)

Happy April Fool's Day!

I didn't play any jokes...it wasn't really on my mind. :P
I can't believe how fast March went by. It was so warm today. It was beautiful! I went back to the chiropractor today and he went over my x-rays with me. Basically he told me I am in the first stages of spinal degeneration most likely due to some trauma to my neck which occurred when I was little. Since my last visit I've been thinking of all kinds of different times that I haven't been very friendly to my neck. I can remember lots of different times I've fallen off stuff, crashed into stuff, etc. Just nothing that stands out more than the others. Luckily the problem should be able to be reversed or contained since it's at stage one right now. It's just stressing me out. I have to go back and do treatment which means missing time from work. My doctors have been really kind about letting my take off though. He also did an adjustment and cracked my back and neck. That was really...loud actually. But my back feels a lot better. I've got a headache, but my back doesn't hurt anymore. Hopefully I will notice some improvement while I'm at work.

We have an early patient tomorrow so I'll sign out here.
Latah!