Jello shaved ice (simple and yummy)

http://www.tipsfromatypicalmomblog.com/2013/06/jello-homemade-shaved-ice.html 

       So this recipe is what we started with, and we absolutely, completely loved it. For ours, we started with watermelon Jello and 7up. I think diet soda would also work, but Sabrina said the flavor might change. You will need two cups soda, 1 cup water, and an average packet of any flavor of Jello.  Start out boiling a cup of water on your stove. For ours we didn't really give it a chance to get it to a rolling boil, we more let it boil with medium sized bubbles. Seeing as we're impatient teenage girls, I'm sure you could let it boil for a while as you perform other tasks, but we didn't.

After it was boiling, we poured it into a medium loaf pan and immediately poured in our pack of watermelon Jello. In the recipe it recommends a square pan, but a loaf pan works just as well. Then whisk it until the Jello has dissolved into the boiling water. 

 

When the Jello is dissolved, pour the soda in. It will look like the above picture, with foam on the top. Make sure you thoroughly combine the soda in, in ours we didn't do so and we ended up with some Jello parts in the ice parts. Whisk it in really well, then put it in your freezer. 

 

This needs to be frozen for four hours, or maybe an hour extra, but if you put it in overnight it's likely you'll want it to sit out for a little while before you are able to scoop into it. When it's in the freezer be careful not to bump it because Sabrina accidentally lightly bumped it and the liquid swayed nearly to the edge. 

When your four or more hours are up, it should come out looking like this. The ice inside shouldn't be jiggly at all. Use an ice cream scoop and scoop it into cups or bowls, as this could be a drink or a snack. 

We used cups, and everyone who was even a little hungry took two scoops. Everyone also used spoons, but if we didn't finish it immediately it became just as easy to drink. Sabrina thought that the Watermelon flavor was a bit extreme, but I liked it that way. I guess you'll just have to make your own analysis! Have fun! ~Blondie~ 

Introducing the start of a fantasmicalabulous day!

Good morning! Yesterday I spent the day working through a really great set of projects with this girl: 

 This is my friend Sabrina, as you should know from my extensive mentions of her. We like to call ourselves Team Fantasmicalabulous, a nickname we invented my junior year when we performed a speech duet together. 

          Anyway, we found a list of five different projects or recipes off of Pinterest we wanted to do, then we spent the afternoon until ten o'clock last night putting together each project. I've taken pictures and my next five blog posts will be about these projects: 

Jello shaved ice

A fluffier box cake and decorating it

Ribbon flowers

Sock bear

Sock gloves

I'll reference the certain pin, along with telling you what did and didn't work for me. So go ahead and look through them! I'll start posting each as soon as I can. Thanks! ~Blondie~ 

Editing

Yesterday I started editing and revising my novel again. I suppose I should be overwhelmed, but it's the most calming thing I've done in a while. 88 pages of mess for me to clean, straighten, and perfect to a point that any editor would love it. This has long been a dream of mine, and I hope to achieve it by the end of this year (2014). If anyone would like to read it, even possibly revise it I would be extremely grateful. Well, I'm wiped, but tomorrow I shall share pictures from my Pinterest party! Bye! ~Blondie~ 

To be a grad... or to not be a grad... That's no longer the question.

          Hi Guys! Do you like my new platform? I'll admit I need to tweak some stuff, it definitely needs a smattering of color so I promise I'll work on it. For now, I'd like you to look at these beautiful pictures.

I have the best boyfriend in the world and he didn't even say anything when he realized I was taller than him in my heels. 

 My cousins, their kids, and my aunt all came to my graduation party. This is the best picture we got of us all.

 My cousins' son, Ezra, was born the day before my party and my cousins were crazy enough to come to the party with him. He's so cute!

 These are my girl cousins on my mom's side. I love them so much.

 Here's my whole family right after the ceremony. All the picture taking was crazy but this is a pretty good one.

 My sweet boyfriend got me flowers and I couldn't resist to take a goofy picture.

 I love my grandparents so much.

 My mom gave me my diploma.

 This was a good one with my parents.

I don't know what I'm going to do without my best friend Sabrina by my side next year.

         If you couldn't tell, my graduation went well. I was surrounded by family and friends who love me and I actually had a lot of fun. My next step is summer, then I move into college on August 22nd and boy am I nervous. For now though I plan on cherishing this summer. Stay tuned for an update, as that girl in the last picture (Sabrina) and I are planning on having a Pinterest party, complete with pictures of steps, what is should be, and how it turned out. You will be highly entertained, I promise. For now, I am going to nap before I go to work. TTFN! ~Blondie~

Saying Goodbye (because my posts aren't emotional enough)

Hey guys! So I only have six days of high school left, and everything’s starting to get a little… emotional. I’m gripping to each day, hoping to complete my homework and still be able to enjoy my lasts. Last concert, last day of walking to class with my best friend… some of these lasts are going to make me cry, guaranteed, and I used to be a person who didn’t cry very much.

Monday was senior skip day, and I had lunch out with my friend and mom, then we went to my house and watched a movie while we did homework. Honestly I’m just exhausted and fed up with the teachers and even some of my classmates who I can normally deal with. I’m counting down the days like it needs to speed up, but I just want each and every day to slow down.

A week and 5 hours from now I’ll be saying my final goodbyes. Goodbye to the hallways that my friends and I circle in the morning just to have something to do, goodbye to the different classrooms I’ve been taught in through the years, even goodbye to my silly little locker I don’t even use anymore. Look at that, I’m getting emotional. I knew I would. I can hardly stand to think about the end of the summer and all the goodbyes that will entail. Goodbye to seeing my friends face to face every day, goodbye to singing with my friend Sabrina just because we feel like it.

Oh my gosh the emotions… this isn’t okay. I should go before I continue and cry. But I just wanted to say that after I graduate my blog should still be accessible, just possibly on a different platform. I’ll make sure that you all know.

Bye!

The simplicity of a love story

Hi guys! Wow it's been a little, okay a lot, while since I've blogged. Honestly I don't really remember what I've done since then. Seeing as there seems to be absolutely nothing for me to write about my present life that will not make you fall asleep, I think I'll write a little story down. It's kinda cheesy I suppose, but I'm going to stick with it. I'm hoping this will be a forever love story, but right now I'm okay with it being right now. Let's start with a little background. I have been in Girl Scouts since 2008, and I've been in my current troop since 2010. There is only one other girl in my grade; her name is Katie. We were acquaintances only for the first two years, as. She was friends with the older girls. Last year we formed this goofy, unbreakable friendship where we could tell each other anything and neither would (outwardly) judge. This last November I was tired of the cold, deep into my NaNoWriMo writing, and overwhelmingly stressed, but I still decided to go to Girl Scouts on November 5th. We were watching a movie (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone), and Katie and I practically had it memorized, so we just talked. At some point we started talking about guys, and she told me about one of her guy friends whom was single. He started texting her back about the last thirty minutes of the meeting, and she insisted I text him, then proceeded to tell him all about me. He wasn't sure about this, and neither was he, but after a lot of pushing from Katie he friended me on FaceBook. That night I didn't go to sleep until after one in the morning. We were talking the entire time, amazed at how much we had in common. Finally, before I fell asleep, we decided to go on a date that Thursday (the 7th). Now, I'm not one to just date because it's fun, so the number of boyfriends I have had can be counted on one hand. I was so excited for the date, I felt like a little kid. We decided to make it simple and go to Shadow Lake and eat at Taco Bell then wander around. Katie was then dispatched, and we solidified the plans that Wednesday night. Wednesday was nearly as bad as the Tuesday had been sleeping-wise, and I ended up with extreme loss of sleep and an extra amount of excitement. That whole day if school I kept repeating "I have a date tonight. I have a date." It was the best sort of enthusiasm that made my lack of sleep seem nonexistent. After school I flew home as fast as I could, dragging my sisters with me. I was jumpy and giggly as I went through outfit after outfit with my sisters. I was lucky because he took a little while to pick up Katie. I finally ended up with some outfit with my brown coat and a pair of borrowed boots from my sister. As I was finishing up, I got a call from Katie asking how to get to my house, as they were lost. Through my laughter I helped them get on the right track before I finished getting ready. When they finally arrived, I was so nervous I only greeted Katie and almost pretended Alex wasn't there. I felt really bad but I just couldn't talk to him. He met my dad, and we talked awkwardly before I rushed us out the door. He opened my door for me and I felt especially special. Then we headed to Shadow Lake. On the way there, I joked with Katie about not being able to find my house, but I didn't really acknowledge Alex. Taco Bell was good, and Katie and Alex talked generally about school. Soon, though, our food was gone, and the conversation ran dry, so we decided to go wander. First we went to dollar tree. I insisted due to my obsessive love of cheapness. As we walked Alex and I finally started talking, and we realized that bringing Katie wasn't the best idea. As we came to the end of one aisle, Alex whispered to me "just start walking backwards." I felt like a rebel as we attempted to leave Katie behind. After that we went into Ulta where Katie and I sampled perfume. When we ran out of our wrists, though, we decided to try it out on Alex. He was patient, but attempted to avoid the stream of girly headed his way. When we had completed our torture, we headed back to his car. Even though Katie lived closer to Alex, he decided to drop her off first, then take me home. This gave us a chance to talk. All I remember after that was stopping to get gas, then blasting White Walls by Macklemore as he drove me home. I'm sure we talked, but I don't remember much more. He was ever a gentleman as he walked me to the door, and then he said hello to my mother then headed to his late practice. Later he confided he had wanted to kiss me as he said good bye, but was too nervous. That Friday, Saturday, and Sunday he had an away soccer tournament, and even though we wanted to meet again, we couldn't. Then Sunday we decided to meet so I could meet his parents and sister. I did my best to impress them, then he dropped me back off at my car. Before he let me go, though, he kissed me softly then asked me to be his girlfriend. I was so happy that I said yes immediately. That was November 10, 2013 at approximately 8:30 at night. Nowadays we are twelve days from being together for six months. Again, I told you that this was a hopeful love story, but it don't know what the future holds, I'm just hopeful. He is sweet, and I am constantly flattered by how much he cares. I guess, if you read through this and finished it I'm extremely proud of you. I get a little over-zealous when I'm happy. Hope you all are having good weeks! -Susan

Knit knitity knit Friday

Happy almost Friday Y'all! If you've had the kind of I-just-wanna-sleep Thursday I've had, you'll understand how I feel. Luckily for me, tomorrow is coming and it's gonna be a lot of fun. I suppose to most people my plans wouldn't sound very much fun, but to me it sounds like the most perfect way to spend my Friday evening. Let me explain... So, for almost two months I've been knitting like crazy. It started out as a whim, but as I started I realized what I wanted it to be. I kept knitting, and it slowly formed into a scarf for my boyfriend (Alex) 's birthday. Last night, around 10:30, I finished it off with some fringe, and it was a billion times better than I thought it would be. The only reason it had taken me so long was because, as my boss puts it, I'm "a very busy and popular person." Tomorrow I am going to surprise Alex for his birthday. He's going to be at practice, so his mom is letting me in and I'm going to decorate his room. I bought streamers and I plan to turn his room into a streamer laser maze and put his present on the other side. It's going to be hilariously perfect when he sees I'm there, as he believes I'm going to have to work. It's also going to be funny to see him attempt to get his present. So yes, that's my awesome Friday and he'll get to see my amazingly fabulous scarf.