My Cornucopia: Update

Hi there! Just a quick post, because I want to update my "cornucopia". I first posted about it in May, and since then, I have come to like a few more fruits and vegetables. This might not be interesting to anyone else, but it is something I am quite proud of, because I had never been willing to try these things before. The first is green leaf lettuce. I actually like most leafy greens now, but I still am not fond of iceberg lettuce. I decided to add cantaloupe and honeydew melon to my cornucopia. I had eaten them occasionally in the past, but never really cared for them. I ate them again recently, and I actually enjoyed them this time. The next thing I have learned to like is carrots, particularly baby carrots. For the past few months, I forced myself to eat them, and many times I had to spit them out. It wasn't that they tasted bad...they just made me gag. It was like a reflex or something. It was quite a struggle, but now I can finally say that I like them. I also had difficulty with tomatoes, but this was because of the taste. They are still kind of iffy to me and not my favorite, but I still eat them (mostly with other things), and I actually love them chopped up on pizza along with peppers and shredded spinach. And next...cucumbers! Love them! Not much else to say about that. I eat them a lot lol. I also now like sweet potato, snow peas, avocado, red onions, and mushrooms. I actually just tried my first mushroom this weekend! I didn't think it was amazing or anything, but not bad either, so might as well eat them. :) I actually had some more today with my lunch. That's all I can think of right now. Hopefully this continues to grow as I try lots more new things! See ya later.

OMGEEEEEEEE

Omgeeeeeee! It's me!

Yea... wow. It has been forever...I am kind of sad, because I enjoy blogging and I wish I would have kept up with this. So much has happened since I last posted, so it's pretty much impossible to update on everything that I originally wanted to. Maybe I'll fill you in a little here and there, but I may just have to start fresh and write about whatever comes to mind. Excuse me if this ends up going all over the place. I am a bit scatterbrained right now.

I moved twice since my last post, and I am currently living in the basement of a house about a mile from my boyfriend's school. He is an RA again this year, so he lives in his own dorm room. I am so much happier living uptown and being closer to him. It is definitely more convenient, and I can walk over anytime I want. It takes 20 to 30 minutes, but it's really not bad at all and I love the exercise. Walking really makes me feel better and it also makes me feel more like my old self.

It has aided my weight loss a bit too. That is something I always meant to write about! I had made a post about my ever expanding "cornucopia" and mentioned how I was starting to eat better, but I didn't really talk about my "diet", if you want to call it that. To me, it isn't a diet at all. As cliche as it sounds, it really is a lifestyle change. It is simply common sense to me now. I started this back in February actually, and managed to stick with it. I was fed up with the way I looked. What I saw in the mirror didn't seem like me. I didn't look like myself. I might make a separate blog post sometime about exactly what I did to lose weight, but for now I will just say that I met my first weight loss goal of 20 pounds by the beginning of June. I have since met my second weight loss goal in September! I have lost 30 lbs overall, and I am so very proud of myself.

I am also proud of myself for another reason. School! I didn't take any classes last spring, and I didn't even know when or if I would be able to finish my degree, because the classes I needed were only offered onsite in Vermont. Then one random day during the summer, I decided to browse the college website and out of curiosity, I looked through the fall course schedule. Lo and behold, there were some new communication courses offered online. What?! wow! I felt a glimmer of hope. I went to check what remaining requirements I had, and sure enough, these new classes fulfilled them. I was excited, but still pretty nervous. I hadn't filled out my FAFSA for that school year or anything, so who knew if I could still get funds. It was a hectic time for a while getting everything sorted out, but thank goodness it worked out in the end.

This semester so far has been very busy and at times, stressful, but I am so grateful for the opportunity to continue my education. This has been a long, long road, with all sorts of twists and turns. And all I will have is my Associate's Degree after this semester! Still, I am so excited, and that is something other people may not understand, but that is okay. I have this dream in my mind. I still would love to be a Zoologist, or any kind of Biologist. That is still my passion, and everyday I realize that more and more. I have fears about it, but I realize I can't let those hold me back any more. Someday I will get my Bachelor's Degree or even my Master's. It would be really fun to study ornithology more. I love birds, especially owls, hawks, eagles, and other raptors. :) Ah the smiles inside...

Anyway, I am taking my three final classes right now. Effective workplace communication, Seminar in Educational Inquiry, and World Mythology. World mythology is the most laid back of the three. Our books are really fun and interesting too. Seminar in Educational Inquiry is probably the most demanding, just because the professor is pretty...um... he's the type that puts a high value on the "A", if you know what I mean. I know it is a good thing, but it can be frustrating because I never really know if he is going to like my work or not. I really don't want this to be the class that ruins my 4.0... well I guess technically it is 3.966, so oh well. I will try my best, and that's all that matters. Still, whyyyyyyyyyyy. Haha just kidding....

Effective Workplace Communication was the class I initially feared the most. I actually like it now, though. I am learning a lot, and well, working on my biggest weakness, so that can only be a good thing. Oddly enough, everyone seems to like me in this class. I get a lot of positive feedback on my video presentations and have even been elected as a leader for our upcoming team project. Who knew?
(In case you're wondering how on earth a communication class can be taught online... there are a lot of useful technologies these days! It has been an interesting experience so far)

That is pretty much what's been going on lately. Fall is here and Halloween is on its way! I am pretty excited! At one point, I thought I would be a circus girl for Halloween, since I learned how to juggle :), but I just changed my mind randomly one day. I've known what I want to be...I think since August or maybe even July... but I'm not telling! I don't know how it's going to turn out, but if it's anything like I picture in my head, it will be very fun :-)

Well, that's all I can think of for now. I can't promise when my next post will be, but I have some ideas, so hopefully it won't be too long!

Thanks for reading. Have a great day!

My Favorite Flower

I love Hibiscus flowers. There are many different species and colors, and I just think they are so bold and vibrant. As a little girl in Hawaii, I used to love looking at them. Since then, I have realized there is more to love about them than just their beauty. Various parts of the plant are edible and are actually quite good for you. These plants grow in tropical areas throughout the world and have been used for medicinal purposes for centuries.


calyces (sepals)

There are many culinary uses for hibiscus, and one of the most common is tea brewed from the dried petals (although some sources indicate it is actually the calyces...but I will still call them "petals" in this post). The tea is made from a species of Hibiscus called Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa). The tea has many names, such as Agua de Jamaica, Sorrel, or Karkade. The tea can be served hot, or you can make it into an iced tea. I think both ways are lovely, although I do prefer the cold version. Hibiscus tea has a light, refreshing flavor. It is very tangy, somewhat tart, acidic, and slightly "fruity". It reminds me of cranberry juice in some ways, but still very different and unique. I don't know if it is a taste everyone would enjoy, but I certainly do.


Photo by Becky Luigart-Stayner



Hibiscus tea is very simple to make. You can buy it in tea bags, or you can purchase loose dried petals. (I think you can also get it in powder form, which could have some interesting uses). You make it just as you would any other tea, except that you want to be careful not to over-steep it, as this can leech a bitter flavor. If you like a stronger tea, simply use more petals. Hibiscus is commonly used as an ingredient in commercial teas, especially berry-flavoured ones, since it adds such a pretty and natural red color. If you can't find any hibiscus locally, you can always order a bag of dried petals online. The petals have a wonderful aroma. I wonder if you could cultivate the scent somehow, like into a potpourri or a candle or something?

There are many different ways to serve hibiscus tea. You could sweeten it with honey or sugar, add spices like cinnamon or ginger, or mix it with juice, lemonade or other teas...who knows, maybe even wine or spirits? I prefer to leave mine unsweetened, but sometimes I will mix in some orange pineapple juice. I think it makes a nice refreshing summer drink. I usually only drink water, but hibiscus iced tea can be a nice alternative. It has zero calories and is rich in vitamin c, antioxidants and other wonderful things. I don't know how extensively the health effects have been studied, but many sources list the same basic benefits. It can lower blood pressure and cholesterol, strengthens the immune system, is a natural mild diuretic, helps with bloating, can lower fever, etc...

It tastes good, smells good, has a beautiful color, is natural, and has no additives or caffeine. It is great hot or cold, sweetened or unsweetened, and on its own or mixed with other drinks. Hibiscus tea is a wonderful beverage. :)


(I don't know why the images always fade when I upload them here...They are all much more vibrant)

My Cornucopia

It amazes me how much a person can change in just a few years. I have realized how much growth we experience during the ages 18 to 21. I don't think it is as drastic as the adolescent stage, but I can't help looking back and feeling like a different person in many ways. I can't believe I am 22 now. Does that make me a real adult? I still feel like a kid in a lot of ways, and I hope that never goes away. Then again, there are so many things that make me feel much more grown up. I remember being a kid and thinking, oh I'll never be like that...but what do you know...here I am. I do laugh about it now. I could ramble on with all kinds of examples and stuff, but that is not really what I wanted this post to be about, so maybe I'll save that for another time.

One of the things that does make me feel like an adult is the way my finicky eating habits are starting to fade away...and let me tell you, I am glad! As a kid, I used to hate being forced to eat things. I especially hated being told that I would have to sit at the table until I ate it. I was stubborn, too, so if I didn't want to eat something, it wasn't happening. I would sit there until finally someone said I could get up. I swore I would never make my own kids do that. I did not understand why someone should have to eat something if they don't like it. We all have different taste buds. I still don't think I would force a kid to eat something they really don't like, but I do wish I would have been more open-minded about food. If someone doesn't like a certain food prepared one way, they might like it a different way. You just have to keep trying to find the ways that work. If you keep making something the same way and telling a kid to keep trying it, that will just make them hate it more. Then they will have a negative association with that food, and it will only get more difficult with time. Maybe when they are older they will start to like more things, but until then, you just have to experiment.

I remember when I used to always order chicken nuggets and chicken strips at every restaurant. I remember when the only fruit I would eat were apples, grapes, bananas, and strawberries. The only vegetables I liked were potatoes and corn, and corn only if it was on the cob. I wouldn't eat spaghetti, chinese food, or venison and the list goes on and on. Most of these habits lasted well into my teen years, and some beyond. I've always hated having to tell waiters, "please don't put this, this, this, or this on it." If they forgot, I would freak out and not even want to eat it. I knew I could just take the veggies or whatever off my self, but just the thought that the vegetables were touching my food grossed me out. Wow I didn't realize how bad I was. I don't know why, but it was like I thought the veggies would hurt me if I accidentally ate a piece. I am talking about this like it was so long ago...when in reality, I still am like this with some foods, and I still do prefer to order some things 'plain'. But I am a lot more accepting of foods now, and just in this past year I have started eating a bigger variety. I will be trying more and more foods!

When I was 18, these were pretty much the only fruits and vegetables I liked to eat.


Now I like all of these. (click to enlarge)



I like to think of this as my ever-expanding Cornucopia! :)


Have you learned to like any new foods lately? What do you think I should try next?

VDay & BDay

I hope everyone had a fabulous February. I especially like February, since it has Valentine's day and my birthday! It was our 3rd Valentine's Day :) We didn't go anywhere really exciting this year, but it was still nice. In the morning, Brian made breakfast and it was yummy! I think it is called "eggs in a basket", except he cut a heart shape out of the bread. How cute <3 This year I wanted to do something random and silly for Brian. So somehow I came up with the idea to make him a goo kit. I decoupaged green napkins on top of a little wooden chest, and then I added little conversation hearts that I made on my computer and printed. They have silly puns like, "GOOgly eyes 4U", "Squeeze me", "I Knead U", etc. I put all the ingredients inside, along with a recipe card I made. We had fun making and playing with our goo! I made heart shapes and even spelled out "I love you" with mine. Haha we are definitely kids at heart, and probably always will be. Life is more fun that way :)



I also gave Brian a couple little boxes of candy. I had put some scratch tickets inside and discretely glued the box flaps closed again. He didn't suspect a thing, and was surprised and confused when he finally opened them. hehe

Here is some of what I received from my sweetheart :-)

=) =) <3

When he handed me that card I couldn't stop smiling :-D I love it so much! If you didn't know...I loooooove greeting cards and I keep them all. ...for example...


Also, Hershey's cookies 'n cream bars (my favorite candy) kept appearing randomly throughout the day. It was quite amusing! lol

We made pink rice crispy treats! Deeelicious!

So Valentine's Day was simple and sweet, but the fun wasn't over because my birthday was the very next day. I always feel so spoiled because of that.

I am 22 now...oh my gosh!






One of my birthday presents from Brian was a remote control helicopter. He gave it to me early because I already knew about it and he has one too, so we wanted to fly them together!




My family sent me cards too, and my momma sent me a necklace that says Kayla and Brian on it with both of our birth stones. It's cute =)

My birthday cake...CHEESECAKE yummy! It's the no-bake kind because we think it tastes the best. There are some very good homemade no-bake cheesecake recipes too, but mine was just from the box because it's cheaper and we're too poor lol.

Yes, he added food coloring to it. Blue in the cake and purple whipped cream :D

Well I think that is it for now. I definitely have some other posts planned that will be coming up soon. See you then!

Catching Up

Here I am, finally! I have been procrastinating this post big time...The holidays and end of the college semester had me very busy, but since then I have just been too intimidated to try to catch up on these blog updates. There is just so much I want to write about, and I had no clue where to start, so I just didn't. Tisk Tisk... How shameful of me!

I got a 4.0 last semester, which is always good. I think my overall GPA is 3.966 (gosh darn A- that I must've got in some class). I was happy to get an A on my Website Development project. We had to make a website (no kidding!), and I actually really enjoyed it and have been working on a few others since then. Hopefully I'll launch them soon!

So...December! December was hectic, but definitely a lot of fun. I had mentioned before that I was planning a little Anniversary party. December 15th was two years since we officially started dating, and our party was on the 19th. It was just a party for us two, which might sound a bit odd, but we had a blast! We cooked chicken picatta, got dressed up and sat down for a nice little dinner together, had drinks, played a bunch of silly party games, danced, had cheesecake and peppermint schnapps 'n hot cocoa, played an awesome game called Carcassonne for the first time, opened the Christmas presents from my grandparents (since we couldn't lug that huge box to Great Falls!), and finally, cuddled up and watched a movie. It was definitely an evening to remember and so much fun.

(All of the pictures in this blog post got washed out during the uploads...hmm...)










Hot Springs



We got to go to the hot springs resort for free with Tech, since we helped with Halloween! I love going there! This time we even made snow angels in our swim suits! haha

Christmas



My main focus for the rest of the month was CHRISTMAS. I was very much full of the Christmas spirit. I loved it all; The lights, the snow, the cards, wrapping presents, and everything else. I was inspired and determined to make it special for my loved ones. My family means a lot to me, and I wish I could've given them much more, but I did my best and at least they really appreciated it. I was on a roll with the handmade gifts, but I didn't end up doing everything I originally planned to do.

Painting for my Aunt Robin


Painting for my Grandparents


Painting for my Aunt Sally


Duct tape wallet for Emily




Decoupage Bowls with candy for Casey and Nicole






Cards and treats for some friends.



Christmas itself was very nice. I decided to wear my new dresses on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. It's fun to dress up for special occasions. On Christmas Eve we went out to dinner with Brian's family, and then Brian and I walked around a little park full of pretty lights. Later that night, we exchanged some of our presents to each other, and opened the gifts from my mom. I got a pretty chest from her that was full of nice things, a pretty wooden picture, and The World of the Dark Crystal, which is an old and really awesome book full of art and extra information about the movie.





We woke up Christmas morning and had cinnamon rolls and opened presents at his mom's. After that we went over to his Grandpa's for a bit, before heading over to his other grandpa's house to visit with him, and Brian's dad and brother. We went over to his aunt's house for dinner, and we played Pictionary and a Deal or No Deal DVD game. It was girls against guys and us girls actually won the million! Now if only that were for real...

We spent the day after Christmas with Brian's 6 year old nephew, Kristopher. We got him this big nerf gun for Christmas, and of course he wanted to play with it right away. Brian went outside with him for a bit, until he got way too cold and tired. Then Kristopher comes up to me and asks ever so sweetly, "Kayla, may you please come play with me?" Who could say no to that? Haha. When we got outside he instructed me, "First you will be a deer, and once I shoot you 8 times you will be dead and then you will be a moose for 8 more times, then a wolf for 8 times again." As we got more into this little game, I added a few of my own twists and rules, which Kristopher got really excited about and it kept us both entertained. I sure was pooped after that, though. That kid always wears us out!

The New Year

New Years this year was relatively uneventful. We did go out to dinner with Grandpa Dains, Brian's Dad, his brother Kevin, and Kevin's girlfriend. But that night, we just stayed home and had some drinks. A little after 10 p.m. my older sister called me and she was all excited and was like, "Happy New Year!" To which I responded, "You know it's not New Years here yet, right? We are two hours behind you." (Brief Silence) "Ohh..oops!...but the ball already dropped!" That was pretty funny :) Silly Jen. It is weird not being on the East Coast anymore to actually be able to watch those kinds of things live on TV. Instead it's like, this already happened...so the suspense is pretty much gone :-/ Ohs wells...

Reflections of my year in 2009:
Here is a quickly thought up list of some of the memorable (good and bad) things that happened in 2009!

Lincoln Trip..built an awesome igloo, met Bill Cole

We hatched our Sea Monkeys

I turned 21

We took a weekend trip to Yellowstone

Moved into a House

Travelled to the East Coast and back to Montana on a Greyhound bus.

Brian's first trip to New York City.

My first time at the Statue of Liberty

I got a 4.0 in the spring and fall 2009 semesters.

I was sick for pretty much the entire summer with what I am assuming was whooping cough

I got a Wii

I experienced my first Monster Truck Show

Went to a 3 Doors Down Concert

First time at the Evel Knievel days in Butte

Got paid $250 by the Discovery Channel for the use of my Spanky Spangler youtube video.

We joined the Nitro Nutz r/c car club

Went on stage as a guest assistant for the Illusionist show at the fair

I found Squirrel

Brian became an RA and appointed me as his "RAA"

Brian turned 21

I went to a drive in movie...hadn't done that in a looong time!

Tried my first cigar

Dexter Season 4!

Went up to the Lady of the Rockies

Went to my first stand up comedy show (that I remember)

Brian dressed up as an Amish farmer, and I was his cow for Halloween

We befriended a stray kitty cat

Little Caesars opened in Great Falls. mmmm

I lost my dear kitty, Fizzgig...heart breaking :(

Brian and I Celebrated our 2 Year Anniversary

My cousin got married

I saw Avatar

I learned how to solve a Rubik's cube

I accomplished 5 things from my list of 100 things to do in my lifetime (and therefore, added at least 5 more)

2009 was another great year :) and I hope 2010 will be just as fun, or maybe more!

Ode to 21st Birthdays

Okay so there isn't going to be a poem, but I just thought it was a catchy title for this section. Anywho, I've been to a couple 21st birthday parties since I last blogged. Thought you should know. Our friend Andy's 21st birthday was on December 30th, so we went to his party, and of course, had SO MUCH FUN! Ahh what a night. There were some awesome people there that we don't see often enough! Then just this past Sunday we took a little road trip for Gracie's 21st. We all went out to dinner at the Old Chicago in Bozeman. I had a yummy Calzone. After dinner we continued the partying at the guys' house, where we also spent the night. I didn't know a lot of Gracie's friends who were there, but there were familiar faces too, which was very nice :) Yay for parties! I used to dread parties, but I think I have gotten more comfortable about it. I still get anxious, but as long as there are smiling faces around me, I can enjoy it :)

Gracie's present :) She liked mine, so I decided to make one for her.

So... I didn't have wrapping paper, so I was like "hmm...I know! I can use some colored paper from the RA office." As I'm rolling up the purple paper, Brian gets clever and asks if I want to use the paper cut-out machine thingy (I don't really know the technical term...). It's really neat, actually. You can use it to punch out letters and pictures and all kinds of good stuff. I decided to use flowers.

And walla!


Well I think that will have to be it for now. I need to take a shower, so I'll be ready to go to pizza night! Oh I'm hungry!