Back Again

Oh good Heavens! I forgot the blog again! I feel like this blog is one of those nightmares my mother always has where she leaves the baby somewhere and doesn't realize it until much later. Every semester I have such great plans to blog and have a great social life and get great grades and get enough sleep to make me a pleasant human being, and every semester, without fail, items from this list get slowly jettisoned, so that by the end of the year I'm sleeping in the library with all my books piled cosily around me. Then I wake up after finals in a cold sweat and run to see if the blog is still breathing.

But here I am after what was probably one of the best and one of the absolute worst semesters of my life. There were no in betweens this semester; everything was either absolutely positively fantastic or utterly horrible. This went on all day every day all semester long, and it was utterly bizarre. I've never experienced so many ups and downs in my life. What happened this semester you ask? Well, this semester, spring 2014, will ever live as the semester that I endured Wordsworth, the semester when I mastered Shakespeare, the semester that I beat philosophy into the dirt, and the semester that, for some inexplicable reason I took up rock climbing. Like I said, rather bizarre.

My classes this semester were almost too surreal to be believed. My Early Modern Lit. class was at 9am, and we spent the majority of the first several weeks talking about Descartes. Now there are somethings that I can handle before my third cup of coffee (yes, third, we'll get to that later), but oddly enough Descartes is just not one of them. Then there was Romantic and Victorian Lit., and it was in that class that I realized, as another one of my professors so delicately put it, "Romantic poetry just does not speak to my soul." Then there was Medieval History. What a fascinating subject that is. Did you know that at one point Oxford University actually had to ban bows and arrows in class? Yes, really. This piece of knowledge, of course, has led to many jokes, and a serious attempt to arm the freshman as the class of 2015's class gift; unfortunately that proposal was shot down, so to speak. Then there was Shakespeare's comedies. One of my favorite things about upper level English classes is that the professor's nutty academic pet peeves always come up, so this was Shakespeare through random little Shakespeare conspiracy theories; it was fantastic. So really, this was the semester where we romped through fields of my professors' strange English major knowledge, and it was great. Honestly I've never had so much fun.

Then there were the parts of the semester that were absolutely awful. The first month of the semester involved far more funerals than I would ever really like to talk about. So suffice it to say, that things were (and for some, still are) very hard. Then there was the three week period in which I wrote eight papers. This was also the semester that I discovered Our Lady of Mental Peace, and may I just say that I probably would not have made it through the last several months without this prayer.

But overall, this was definitely a teaching semester, shall we say, in which yours truly had to learn some lessons the hard way. One of the things we learned about is procrastination, frequently spelled s-o-c-i-a-l-m-e-d-i-a. Yeah, so, one of the things I had to learn this semester is that if you really want something to happen you actually have to do it. Sounds easy enough, but odd how complicated these things can be. For example, should you want to turn your taxes in on time, it is not exactly optimal to start them at noon, when the mail goes out at 2:45. We'll just say that although that particular episode ended well, some others did not, and from these painful, yet valuable, experience I have learned that one should not, perhaps, put things off.

Another thing I learned, which is, perhaps, cliche, is that one should not be afraid to be oneself. I realized that I waste a lot of time worrying about what people think of me. Do you know how counter productive it is to spend so much time worrying about making the wrong move, that you never actually make any moves? It's lame. Really really lame, and that was one of the things I had to learn; sometimes you just have to loosen up and do things without worrying about the consequences and without worrying about what other people might possibly think.

So what have I been doing while I haven't been blogging? Well, mostly, I've done a whole lot of thinking about everything. It's kind of bizarre to be back where I was four years ago, but also facing my senior year of college and real life and all that jazz. Anyway, I appreciate you all bearing with me during my long silences and (even longer) ramble-y posts!

Lazy Girl Recipes: Meatloaf

Okay, so this is one of the less lazy recipes I have, but I made up for all the work I did by forgetting to take pictures. And, let's be honest, when I say "All  the work," I mean that I actually thawed meat. Crazy, right?

Ingredients:
Ground beef
1 egg
1 Tbsp Basil paste
Salt/pepper
3 Tbsp Worchester Sauce
Garlic powder
Minced onions

Step one, make sure that your beef is unfrozen. Now, I know that it's difficult, but the rest of the recipe will be even harder if you don't do this.

Mix in the egg with the meat. That's right squish it around until it's nice and mixed. Then add all the spices and worcester sauce. You can really play around with the spices, if you want because, in my humble opinion, there is no such thing as too much.

Put the mixture in a pyrex dish and form it into a loaf. Cover with foil and bake at 350 until done through (meaning: when you stick a knife in the center there is no pink). 

Lazy Girl Recipes: Honey Ginger Chicken

When it comes to cooking, I'm pretty... relaxed. I love doing it, but I'm no gourmet cook. I mean, come on, I'm in college; I can deal with Descartes before noon, but ain't nobody got time for fancy recipes. But if college has taught me anything, it's that variety is the spice of life, particularly when it comes to food. So I've been experimenting, and I've come up with some pretty good recipes for those of us on a budget.

Without further ado, may I present my Honey-ginger Chicken recipe?

Ingredients:

2-3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ginger paste
1 Tbsp honey
Salt and pepper
1 frozen, skinless, boneless chicken breast

Equipment:
pyrex dish
foil

What to do:
If you are ambitious you could thaw your chicken, but if you're a lazy bum like me, you can pull it straight out of the freezer. Dump all the ingredients on the chicken. If you want to be fancy, you could mix the olive oil, spices, and honey in a small bowl, but I usually just pour them straight on to the meat. Cover with foil and cook at 350-400 until the chicken is done through. *If your chicken is frozen it can take up to an hour to cook.*

Okay, so I totally took a bite before I took the picture. It was just too yummy!

Tidings of Comfort and Joy: Part 2

I wrote this yesterday, but I passed out before I could post it. What can I say? It's hard to be the birthday girl!

Today is my birthday, and like Sydney says, one of the good things about having a birthday so close to New Years is that you get two fresh starts at once. 2013 was a pretty crazy year for me; in fact, it's hard to believe that I crammed so much into one year. 

Right after my last birthday, I jumped on a plane and went to a foreign country. I thought about turning around and running away from the security lines. I thought about not going, but I got on that plane and took off into the great unknown, called Italy, and for four months, I lived in the Italian countryside, sharing a room with two other girls.

I explored Rome, eating gelato and drinking delicious coffee. We studied art and visited museums. We saw beautiful churches, got lost a lot, and became very familiar with the Roman metro system. We also just took time to wander: to drink in the sights and sounds of the eternal city. 

Then one Monday morning, as I was sitting in Art History thinking about lunch, as lovely pasta smells wafted from the Cafeteria, Pope Benedict resigned. It was the saddest thing I'd ever heard, until we realized the we were going to be there for the conclave... 

But we did say a proper good bye to Pope Benedict. I was one of the first hundred people into St. Peter's for his last Mass on Ash Wednesday. We went to his final papal audience, and, of course, we wished him a very epic good bye from our football pitch. 

Photo Cred: James Bernard

Then we waited. Our group went to Greece while we waited, but not without much grumbling. There probably would have been a mutiny if the conclave had started while we were there.But, luckily for us, God worked around our schedules, and the conclave started right after we got back to Rome. 

Then one day I blew off my homework to go into Rome. Of course, there was no point, because they weren't going to pick a pope that day, and of course, I know these things. Oh how wrong I was.

 I was standing in a huge crowd, trying desperately to be under a random Italian man's umbrella without being too obvious. Then everyone started screaming, but I was like, "Oh. Black smoke. Lame." Again, my psychic intelligence was working like a charm. 

Photo Cred: Grey.

Then this guy turned up. This photo still sends chills up my back. I can't believe that we just happened to be there! It was the craziest things that has ever happened to me. Every time I think about it I wanted to run around screaming, which is basically what I did at the real thing. 

After all the excitement of the Papal election, I couldn't possibly write a paper, so I wrote it about an our before it was due, turned that sucker in, packed my bags, and headed off to Germany! 

And, boy, was it ever cold! We spent a couple of days in Munich, and then our group split up, and four of us headed to Salzburg where we spent about four days, hanging out, hiking, and generally having a good time. Oh, and in case you were wondering, the Mozart museum is not exactly the most riveting thing in the world. 

Then we went back to Rome, and it was crazy how fast the rest of the semester went by! We took a trip to Florence and Venice. I loved Venice, but it just is not the city for those of us who are, ahem, directionally challenged, but I absolutely fell in love with Florence! I actually went back because I just had not had enough time to soak in all the art! 

Then we hit finals, and before we knew it, it was time to go! So my now-roommates and I headed off to the UK! This was definitely the wackiest trip I took, but it was also one of the most fun. We hit London, Edinburgh, and Dublin in a week! Of course, we just didn't do these cities justice, but we did the best we could. 

I should also mention that we saw the Sutton Hoo helmet, which was probably the coolest thing I've ever seen. I may or may not have had a total fangirl moment in front of this display case. 

Then my friends went home, and I went back to the city where I grew up, which was amazing. I hadn't been back since we moved ten years ago, and it was so nice to just see familiar sights. I had a lot of time to myself, so I just wandered around, but after four crazy months, it was nice to slow down for awhile.

Then, finally, I came home. In that same week, I went to work at camp, and my dear Joy moved. You hear that crack? That's my heart breaking. But she's doing a great job caring for her grandmother, so even though I miss our crazy shenanigans, I guess I can spare her. 

Then after a very long and exhausting week at Camp Cheery, I went to work at Nerd Camp. Also, in case you were wondering, camp and jet-lag don't mix. Nerd camp was a ton of fun. My two coworkers were fantastic, and all thirty of the kids were terrific. So I spent my summer running all over the country: NC, Texas, Tennessee, and back to NC!

Then it was time for school to start, and suddenly I was a junior, which was a little confusing because I was pretty sure that I was just a Freshman, but hey, I made it through one of the craziest semesters of my life. I studied Elizabeth Bishop and Chaucer and even some old English. I caught up with old friends and made some new ones. This semester had some all time highs, as well as some all time lows, but I got out more or less unscathed. 

 I can't really think of an unsentimental way to end this ridiculously long post, so here goes; 2013 was a big year for me. I grew a lot as a person, and I had some really great experiences, but it was also a very trying year with a lot of heart break. So I'm not exactly sorry to see 2013 go, and we'll see what 2014 has to offer. 

Tidings of Comfort and Joy: Pt. 1

Christmas has been... frankly amazing. Admittedly, I've spent most of it in bed with my trusty box of kleenex, but even that's been pretty great. I'm more of a PJs kind of girl. I mean, I love clothes, don't get me wrong, but if I have choice to go out or to stay in, in my sweats and binge watch episodes of Arrested Development, we all know what's going to win (hint: sweats always win). So Christmas in the King household involves a lot of vegging, but not in the food department...

In the food department, we have mostly sweeting. Before I went to college, and, you know, got busy, I used to spent all of Advent madly baking Christmas cookies. Now finals make a major dent in my annual baking frenzy, so it has to be done on Christmas Adam or Eve. This year I discovered some pretty rad animal cookie cutters in a drawer and may or may not have gone utterly crazy with the cute sugar cookies.

Aren't they adorable? I don't have very good luck with pretty looking food. Usually I'm dishing up some ridiculous looking dish, going, "I swear, it tastes fine!" So I'm really happy how these turned out. 

We also made our house as fair as we were able, trimming the hearth, setting the table, and all that. Mom usually puts up most of the decorations around St. Nicholas Day, so I came home to this:

Those red balls are actually pomegranates, and there are little nativity sets and Santas in the greenery. 

We usually wait pretty late to get our Tree, not all the way to Christmas Eve, but pretty close. We had a hard time finding a big enough tree this year, but this one isn't bad at all. 

Hopefully you can't tell, but our tree is firmly lashed to the wall. We used not to do that, but every. single. year. without fail, we would decorate the tree, get it absolutely perfect, and stand back to admire our handiwork. Then, every year, the entire tree would crash to the floor. So now we aren't even allowed to put the lights on until it has been tied to the wall. 

Merry Christmas!

 A very merry Christmas from Our family to yours!  we would have sent you a Christmas card, if we could be bothered to send Christmas cards anymore. We stopped when I was about ten, mostly because in America you put a picture of your family on your card, and, let's be honest, we haven't taken a good family picture in years. So instead of looking at pictures of my family, why don't you just listen to the King's College Choir, so much better anyway. 

7 Quick Takes (Because it's Tuesday Night or Wednesday Morning)

1

I'm sorry for not keeping you all updated on this, but baby Caroline is now a healthy six week old! She had surgery almost immediately after she was born, but it all went well and she was able to go home much earlier than originally anticipated! I now shamelessly creep on her parents' facebooks because she is such a cutie! Thank you all so much for your prayers, and if you are at all able please donate to the Caroline Reedy Fund, which will help defray the cost of all her medical care!

2

Motivation is running awfully low here at Bag End after our Thanksgiving break. We're currently justifying our utter sloth by having a who-can-put-up-the-most-Christmas-decorations contest with the boys next door. They may have lights on their porch, but dadgum we have a pine tree scented candle and an advent calendar with milk chocolate behind every door! 

3

I have two research papers due in a week, and I've even started one of them! Words on a page is progress, and, they're even real words! I didn't just whack my head repeatedly on my keyboard. Hey, at this point in the semester this is a real accomplishment. 

4

Recently I've really been missing the Pope. Not Rome. Not Italy. Not even Gelato. Just the Pope. Everytime I get on twitter and see the papal tweets (in three languages, for some reason I can't figure out), I get super weepy and emotional, and if someone even mentions Pope Benedict, I'm gone. This is probably the most bizarre case of "homesickness" I've ever had.

5

The weather is Texas is more indecisive than a bipolar pregnant lady. It was freezing for two weeks: absolutely freezing, and I had no winter clothes. So I spent two weeks shivering and miserable, but when I finally go home and get all my winter clothes what happens? Texas decides to have a week of 70 degree weather. Thanks, Texas. 

6

 My favorite part of the fall semester, intramural softball, is over. Not that I play or anything. I've had far too many accidents with these so-called sports to get anywhere close to those bats, but I am a great groupie. I really love going to watch all my friends play, and no matter what the score is, they're still may favorite team. (Okay, let's be real, I go to the games to socialize with my other non-athletic friends, but the game is a good excuse to, oh, I don't know, not write papers...)

7

I started making a books-I would-really-really-like-for-Christmas list, and shall we say it's getting a little long. As in, it may or may not be longer than the afore mentioned research paper. I have this great plan for getting a ton of reading done over break, but if previous breaks are any indicator, we'll just have to see what happens. 

The Blues, Thanksgiving, and Advent

I've really had the blues lately. No, I haven't been depressed; I, um, well, I don't know how to put this. I managed to dye myself blue. You may well be wondering how I managed to perform such a tremendous feat. You know all those tags on new, dark wash jeans that say the dye may rub off on lighter surfaces? You know how gingers have notoriously pale legs? Yep. I was that lighter surface. My legs are blue, and I'm not exactly sure what to do about it. I'll get back to you on this one.

Before I dyed myself an unnatural shade, I had a really great Thanksgiving with my family. I flew from TX to TN, and maybe I'm the only person who feels this way, but whenever I'm in an airport, surrounded by hundreds of people I'll never see again, I am always tempted to pretend my life is about seven hundred times more interesting than it is. I'm so tempted to pick up my phone and pretend that I'm talking to, oh, you know, my personal assistant because I obviously started a huge company in my dorm room. Or to tell some utter sob story about how unfortunate my life is. Am I the only person who feels this way? Please tell me, I am not the only person who desperately wants to tell horrendous lies to total strangers just to see what it would be like to have a different life? But I digress...

Anyway, I had a really awesome time with my family. We ate a lot and watched a lot of football, which is the most American thing I can think of. I have to admit that until this weekend, I had absolutely no idea how football worked. I mean, there are big dudes with an egg-shaped ball; I got that far. But have you ever watched football? They stop every other minute, and the announcer says something like, "74th and down at the 43rd and a 1/2 yard line," and you're just like, "Uh, huh. Okay. Sure." I never saw the appeal of football until I spent about eight straight hours watching it with my grandma, and by the end I was the hardest core football fan you'd ever seen. I was yelling at the TV, for Pete's sake, like I actually had a clue what was going on. I'm not quite sure what happened to me...

But actually the best part of Thanksgiving was having my entire family together for the first time in a very long time. Not only were the cousins I hadn't seen in ages there, but we also got to facetime with my cousin who is currently deployed. I'm not usually one to get all emotional about things, but that was probably one of the top ten best moments of my life. Rarely have I been so grateful for all the things I have: all the things that people have died to protect. I was so grateful for the sacrifices people make so that our country can be free, and I'm so thankful that I've never had to be so far removed from all my loved ones.

This break was also a good chance for me to reevaluate what I'm doing with my life, or at least what I think I'm doing with my life, and what with the start of Advent, now seems like a good time to refocus on the things that are really important in my life. Firstly, I'm definitely trying to get my spiritual life back on track, so I'm going to be reading the Bible and saying a rosary everyday this Advent. I'm also going to procrastinate less on my school and housework, and finally I'm going to be more active in achieving my goals (you want to be a writer, maybe you should update your blog). We'll see how all this goes; I mean, if I can't buy pants without severe mishap something tells me that this is going to be a long process.

Miscellaneous Happiness (For a Sick-ish Weekend)

My new theme song. It makes me so utterly happy and drives my roommates utterly nutty, but if anything can make your day better, it's this song.

Being reunited with these lovely ladies after a year apart. As much as they loved being in Rome last fall, and I loved being in Rome last spring, we are all so very happy to be back together.

Finding recordings of my Project Poet. There's absolutely nothing like hearing these poems read by the poet.

Exquisite Texan sunsets. This is the view from my balcony, sure there's a tree in the way, but we have front row seats for the sunsets.

Happy and hilarious Rome memories. Why were we posing like this while a thunderstorm was rolling in? Do you remember how we had to sprint for shelter right after this photo was taken? Do you remember...? 

My newest Icon. On my last day of work at the Catholic bookshop this summer, we unpacked an entire crate of Russian Icons, and this one (Our Lady of Vladmir) was a going away present from my bosses. She now is in a place of honor (my nightstand) in our apartment. 

Roommate silliness. Very rarely do I let all my goofiness loose, and my poor roommates didn't know what they were getting themselves into.But they are holding up remarkably well, as I do and say the silliest things with very little provocation. 

  

This music video. Because what could possibly be happier, than the happiness of two claymation monsters? I mean, really?

Day 17

Dear Diary,
I've been stranded in this wasteland for 17 days now with no sign of rescue. The monsoon season is coming, and I have developed a cold. My only hope for recovery lies in a potion that one of the locals gave me. It is a startling shade of blue, and apparently, if taken in excess can kill you. One of the natives has undertaken it to teach me their poetry. Today, he tried to teach me about the meter of their poems, but in my weakened state I could barely understand him. I am, however, eager to learn and am trying my best to scan one of their native laments. I hope someday to write an intelligent essay on the matter. Perhaps, if I make it through this ordeal alive, I can have it published.
I have also moved my living quarters and am now installed in a tiny wooden box measuring about three feet by three feet, with room only for a small wooden table on which I spread my books. It is neither large nor comfortable, but I must stay here until the period of final examination, by the natives' calendar, has past. Sleep is irrelevant and nourishment unnecessary. If you find my bones here, commend my soul to the Lord and give me a proper burial. 

Apparently, I wrote this the other day, while sitting in the library. It worries me somewhat that I have only vague memories of this event.

Life at Bag End, Among Other Things

Well, we're finally settled into our apartment, and the semester is in full swing. We've christened our apartment Bag End, which really makes no sense because we live on the second floor and our front door is decidedly rectangular, but we needed a name for our wifi, so after rejecting "The Wardrobe", "Narnia", and other such names we decided that Bag End seemed dorky and literary enough for our home. Little did we know what repercussions our seemingly innocent wifi naming would have. Now we all have Hobbit names: I'm Merry because apparently he was the youngest hobbit in the fellowship.

We're still working on decorating the rest of the apartment, but I've definitely got my room all sorted out. Sure, it's basically the same as last year, but our apartment is cute that I just have to share it. I absolutely love the window above my bed! I doubt you can see it, but there's a tree right outside, so it's like our room is in a tree house! As you can see Little Miss Sunshine is still around, and what's even scarier, after a year in storage her batteries still work, which is utterly terrifying when, oh you know, you sit on her in the middle of the night, and suddenly a cheery voice says, "Hooray for everybody!" Terrifying I tell you.

I'm also doing a pretty good job keeping myself well fed. My roommates are always chopping vegetables and stuff, like they're gourmet ninja's or something, while I'm dumping things out of cans on to frozen chicken. But all in all I feel pretty satisfied with myself.

This is one of my favorite "quick fixes" from last week. Basically what I did was brown some ground turkey in a frying pan with some olive oil and other spices, then I added it to a jar of Prego pasta sauce. Sure, not the most original recipe ever, but it's a good way to add some protein to basic pasta.

As far as classes go, my schedule is pretty weird: I have classes at 10 or 11, and then my next one won't be until about 3 in the afternoon. I really hate afternoon classes because if I've spent my day studying, the last thing I want to do is go sit in a classroom for an hour. I really prefer to get my classes over with as early as possible, so I can work all afternoon and then, occasionally, have the evening to do my own thing. On the up side, I really do like all my classes, so it's worth the goofy schedule.

I did decide to drop down to twelve credits this semester, which does feel like kind of a cop out, but I am taking four upper level English classes, so I need the extra time just to get all my reading done. I had originally thought about auditing an intensive German class, but I'm already taking Old English this semester, and I really just don't have time to learn another language. Unfortunately, because the German language is absolutely beautiful. Ah, well, perhaps Senior year.

Speaking of English classes, I am really excited about my major now. This semester I'm focusing heavily on poetry, what with the Junior Poetry project as well as Medieval Lit., and we're even translating a lot of Anglo-Saxon poetry in Old English! I have studied poetry before, but never as intensely as we are this semester. I have a feeling that soon I'll be spouting lyric out of my ears.

Even though I'm not getting to spend this semester without one of the loves of my life (German), I am getting to spend a lot of time with my other one- the Anglo-Saxons. I don't know what it is about those lovely tribes, but I absolutely love them. I was a little wary about Old English at first, but when I got the syllabus, and realized that the first class was entitled "Getting in Touch with your Inner Anglo-Saxon", I knew that I was in the right place. The first poem we worked on- Caedmon's Hymn, is one of my favorites, and I actually translated it out of Medieval Latin when I was in high school, so I was super excited to get to read it in the language in which it was composed. The Anglo-Saxon history class I took last semester is also helping me out a lot both in Old English as well as Medieval Lit., which is really nice because I already done most of the reading for both classes.

Anyway, I'm supposed to be working on the Wife's Lament!

Back at School!

I am finally back at school, and, let me tell you, it is absolutely awesome to be back! Because of Rome, my class has been split in half for the last year, and there are a lot of people I haven't seen in ages, so it is wonderful to catch up with them. I had a lot of great friends from freshman year who I haven't seen in nine months, but we're able to meld back together right away. It's also been really fun meeting the people in my class who I didn't get to know freshman year.

Moving into my apartment has been a lot of fun.  Even with our lovely view of the dumpster, we really love it. It's nice that everyone can have at least a little bit of space to themselves, albeit a very tiny bit of space, but space none the less. Yesterday we went to the thrift store, and found some pretty rad decor. There will be pictures soon, I promise.

 Going to the grocery store, however, proved to be a lot less fun. Nothing says stressful like the knowledge that you have to keep yourself alive for the next four months. So we galloped around Wal-mart trying to figure out what we knew how to cook and what we needed to make it. So we now have the most random assortment of food items, but at least we won't starve to death within the first week.

Tomorrow is the first day of classes, and then the real fun begins. I've been looking forward to starting classes all summer, but looking at my schedule is making me rethink all my life decisions. Signing up for classes while in Rome is just a bad idea. I mean, there you are, in Rome, having the time of your life, feeling like anything is possible, and then you sign up for, oh, four upper level English classes. Then you get back to Texas, and all you can think is, "Anything is not possible- like surviving this semester." But we'll see how it goes, but right now, sheer panic.

Domestic Goddessing

After my Elizabeth Bishop brownie catastrophe, I felt a bit down in the dumps about this whole cooking thing. There's nothing like standing over your almond-y, greasy brownies and remembering that you have to keep yourself alive for the next four months. But today, the parental units were going out to dinner, and I was presented with a pack of frozen pork chops, instead of the pizza I was anticipating. And, hey presto, I made a pretty good dinner, if I do say so myself.

I covered the pork chops with, olive oil, salt, pepper, a little lemon pepper (because it was there), and oregano. Then I put it in the oven until it was cooked through. I also stewed some peaches to go with it. This past week mum bought a huge box of rock-solid peaches, so I cut about four up and put them in a covered saucepan with a little water and honey. I think the water may have been overkill because the peaches gave off a lot of juice, but I was afraid that they would burn to the pan at first. Then for desert I made brownies from this recipe. I thought that the raspberries were a nice touch, and they even turned out great. The only problem was that it took absolute ages to cook, but once they were done, they were
delicious!

Yummy brownies in the making!

In other news, I'm finally packing up to go back to school. It seems that all my clothes have been breeding in the back of the closet for the past couple months, and I'm having quite a time trying to shove them into my duffle. Sometimes I wonder why on earth clothes are so important. Why can't we all can't just be nudists? It would make life so much easier. Anyway, I've decided that this is not the semester to experiment with such things, so I've got a bulging suitcase that looks like it's packed for the end of the world.

Fortunately all my bedding and other random dormhold (like household, but more primitive) items are in storage in Texas, so I don't have to worry about bringing those down. I'm moving into a flat this semester with three friends, and we're having an interesting time figuring out what we're going to do about about cookware and what not. Personally, I own three plates, four mugs, a lot of spoons, and an electric kettle. I also picked up two pyrex dishes with plastic lids, which I am very pleased with, especially since I picked them up for $6 a piece. Gotta love T.J. Maxx!

Siiiigh.

I also have to admit that I'm cramming to finish all the seasons of my new favorite old show via amazon prime, As Time Goes By. Mum introduced it to me at the beginning of the summer, and we were watching it together, until I was gone for most of July and got way ahead. Now I'm forging through season 7 (of 9), while she and dad are still somewhere in season 4. I don't actually watch it all that much though, I usually just put it on while I work on blog posts and various other things. There's something really soothing about just listening to British TV. Maybe it's just because I grew up there, but I just like background noise with familiar accents. In honor of this bizarre quirk, here's a photo from my post-Rome trip to the UK. You're welcome.

Update on Baby Caroline

Sorry for not keeping you up to date on baby Caroline's situation, but your prayers have definitely helped! Last week Caroline and her mom under went what is called fetal intervention (basically unborn baby heart surgery). Obviously it was a pretty nerve-wracking experience, but it went well, and miss Caroline's chances of developing further heart problems have been lessened! Thank you so much for your prayers, and please continue to pray for a safe delivery for her!

The Room Saga Continues

I finally finished the great room redecoration of 2013! Although the start was unpromising, I'm very happy with the end result. I had a lot of random pictures hanging around, so I decided to try my hand at a picture collage on the wall above my bed. 

I'm really happy with the results. I was excited to finally hang my icon from Greece, as well as my picture of St. Hedwig, which I got from Salzburg. For awhile it looked like the collage would be a lopsided disaster, but then I found that awesome round frame under my parents' bed. They keep asking me what I'm planning to put in it, but I think it looks cool on its own. Here's the whole picture:

I've had the pillow I made on my bed for a while now, and I love how it looks. I've also got some plans for the wall above my bookshelf; my sister Viola painted a really incredible picture, which I bought from her for a milkshake. Viola is a terrific artist, and I absolutely love this piece!

Sorry about the carabiner, I had to find something to hold it flat while I took the picture. 

So, as you can see, I'm getting it together here. I still need another bookcase to house my suddenly massive library, but I'm pretty happy with the results so far.

Brownies and Elizabeth Bishop

I knew that my life had reached an all time low today, when I went up to my mother and said, "Mom, all my friends are either engaged or have chosen their poets for the project." Obviously there's not a lot I can do about the latter, but I decided that today was the day that I finally chose a poet for my Junior poetry project. So off I went to the coffee shop armed with my new satchel and my ever trusty copy of the Norton Anthology of Poetry.

Originally my plan had been to read every poet on the list, and then chose one, but eventually I just ran out of poets than interest me. What with the semester being only 3 weeks away, I figured I had better get a move on, so I went back and reread the poets I had really liked. And several hours later I decided on Elizabeth Bishop! You have no idea how happy I was about this decision. I mean, I couldn't stop smiling. If I can't be engaged, this is obviously the next best thing, obviously.

Then, after Mass, I decided to throw health to the winds and bake brownies rather than going for a run. Who needs health anyway? I used this recipe, but I substituted almond extract for vanilla, not because I'm artsy or anything, we were just out of vanilla extract. I also tried to substitute shortening for oil, which somehow didn't work out. Then just when you think I've messed up enough, I decided to make these celebratory brownies. After all, it isn't everyday you pick your junior poet, so I found some writing frosting in the cabinet and frosted "Bishop" in very amateur writing. The writing started out okay, but I ran out of room, so the last three letters were all squished together. So we ate greasy, almond-y brownies, bad decoration and all. Yep, Elizabeth, they were a disaster (and they didn't just look like it).

Lazy Sunday

You'll be glad to know that my room is finally clean enough for me to reach the door and that I have actually been able to open it, since I last blogged. So now I'm just relaxing in the midst of a not-so-bad mess and enjoying my Sunday coffee.

Wouldn't you like to come have Sunday brunch with us?

Dire and Dusty Situations

We finally finished painting the last segment of our house, this past week, which means that yours truly now has a nice shiny bedroom (just in time for me to move out, wouldn't you know). The painting caused utter havoc to my nicely feng shui'd room, so naturally I just had to rearrange everything. Which, in and of itself, caused even more chaos. About this time last night, I was sitting on a nest made of my rolled-up rug and a large strip of cork board, facebook-ing furiously in an attempt to ignore the war-like state of my once-pristine room (Don't laugh, we all know that it was pristine at least once... A very long time ago).

But as we all know, when you start rearranging furniture, you then have to start purging your closets. Do you know how much random garbage I've been hiding in my closet for the past five years? Well, let me just say that there are now three goodwill bags cluttering up the floor I'm trying to clean. Who knew all that stuff was there? Seriously, I just found a pith helmet in the way back of my closet and am completely bewildered as to its origins. I am also realizing that sentimentality comes at a price; keep all the shirts you wore in middle school or have room for your new ones.  Anyway, there's definitely something therapeutic about throwing things away (or into bags to donate to goodwill).

Several Days Later:

I started this post on Tuesday, and there has been no visible improvement, in fact the situation is deteriorating rapidly, but the ground troops (me) are still working tirelessly to prevent total meltdown. Originally I planned to have a lot of before and after pictures to perhaps inspire you to clean, but at the moment I'm too ashamed to (I am also unable to get out the door to get my camera). If you want to know how I feel right now, see below. If I can't have a clean room, at least I can feel epic while weeding through dusty craft supplies.

I suppose the upside to this dire (and incredibly dusty) situation is that I am no longer bored.

Summer Reading and Kiddie Poetry

Summer boredom has officially set in. Well, it set in in June, then took a break while I had a blast at nerd camp and with my grandmothers during the month of July, but now its back in full force. I also deleted by pinterest account (no more mindless pinning. No more wasting my life), so now I'm trying to remember what worthwhile things we did before we pinned.

Today I read a book. It has been an embarrassingly long time since I read a book for fun (The Norton Anthology of Poetry doesn't count). Okay, it's been like a month, but I'm an English major, so the bar is pretty high. Yeah, because English majors are that snobby (sarcasm). Anyway, at the moment I am giggling my way through my first every Terry Pratchett book. That man is a genius. I suppose my pinterest addiction had led me away from intelligent humor, but my goodness, Pratchett is hilarious. I've also realized that my summer reading list has been... eclectic to say the least. So far I have read The Moviegoer by Walker Percy, My Anthonia by Willa Cather,  Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym, and Good Omens by the aforementioned Mr. Prachett. I'm not sure what's next on my list, but I am considering another Pratchett book, possibly Going Postal.

On a more juvenile note, I have been desperately seeking the audiobook of Michael Rosen's You Wait Till I'm Older Than You. We checked it out from the library when my brother, Cole, and I were but wee tots, and those poems have been part of our family vocabulary ever since. Unfortunately, the audiobook is not to be found (I've found a million copies of the book). This is a bit of a catastrophe because yesterday when I turned to my sister and said, "I know that now, but how do I get the car out of the ditch?" She had no idea what I was talking about. Right about now you're probably wondering why I think this is such a catastrophe:

Now do you understand? This man is genius, genius I tell you, but I still can't find him reading my favorite poems. Michael Rosen, if you ever ever read this, there are poor, deprived children in America who have never experienced the pure hilarity that is You Wait Till I'm Older Than You.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Wow, it's hard to believe that Nerd Camp was already over a week ago. It seems like only yesterday (Sniff, sentimental tear). Yet somehow I think I'll survive, especially since I'm now gearing up for my favorite time of year: Back to school time! Nothing like the smell of new books, the sound of squeaky new erasers, and the beautiful, beautiful sight of all my friends back together after a very long summer apart!

I've already done some back to school shopping which means I am now the proud owner of probably too many sundresses (but I love them all), a new laptop charger because I managed to loose mine at Nerd Camp, and soon I will receive in the mail the satchel to end all satchels. That last one was a total splurge which I justify by telling myself a) "But, Pip, you didn't buy a leather bag in Florence like the rest of your classmates, and b)"You're just stimulating the economy in your 'hometown'," all of which are really dumb excuses, but goodness me I like this bag. In addition to these larger purchases I also have a planner and two rolls of scotch tape. Oh, and all the pens that my Nerd Campers left behind. Thanks, guys, now I'm ready for the school year.

This year I'm especially excited because I'm moving into an on-campus apartment with three friends! Oh, and I got two spatulas for the apartment. That too. Being in an apartment means being off the meal plan, which is super exciting after eating three meals a day in the cafeteria for the past two years. It's also going to be a lot cheaper and, hopefully, healthier, if I can just stay away from all the junk food I love. The downside is, I'm not going to be seeing people in the cafeteria, so I'm going to have to make sure to actually leave the library and my apartment sometime. The apartment is also one more step closer to being an actual adult. It means that I'll have more than just my cell phone bill to pay every month, and it also means that I'm going to have to budget and plan my meals, which I've never had to do before. Sure, it doesn't sound like much, but it's kind of a daunting prospect, especially as I roll into my Junior year of college.

Speaking of Junior year, isn't that just a little terrifying? Don't get me wrong, we're going to have a ton of fun this year, but reaching the half way point in college is a little weird. I'm taking four upper level English classes this year, including my lovely Junior Poetry Project. Basically what you do is pick one poet, read all their works, read a ton of criticism, and then be reviewed by a panel of professors. I've been told that it's not as scary as a lot of people make it sound, but its still a big deal, so I want it to go well. I've also been a little annoyed about my schedule this year because our German department is now only offering 5 days-a-week, intensive German classes which count for 6 credits, rather than the normal 3 credit, 3 hour classes. Obviously the 5 days-a-week thing is a little difficult for any schedule, but the class managed to conflict with Poetry Project on Tuesdays. Only on Tuesdays, but I still can't take German, and I'm really disappointed about this because I absolutely fell in love with the German language in my last class. I was also hoping to get a minor in German, but now that plan has been blown out of the water. Oh well, I guess I'll console myself by taking Old English instead.

If you can't tell I'm totally geared up to go back to school, which would be a great thing, if I didn't have three weeks until the start of the semester. Yes, three whole weeks! I'm not sure whose brilliant idea this late start was, but may I just say, it's killing some of us. I had planned to spend these last three weeks moping around the house, but instead I got my late summer must-cram-everything-in mood, so I'm running around like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to make up for all the working out, reading, and violin playing I didn't do all summer. Maybe the time will go by faster this way.