Share Your World – 8/28/14

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Blogging is unique in it lets us connect with so many people around the world and helps us get to know people we may otherwise have never met. While looking for inspiration about what to write tonight, I stumbled across Cee’s Photography and decided to answer the latest questions in her series “Share Your World.” So pull up a chair, make yourself comfy and take a moment to get to know just a little bit more about me! And if you’re feeling up to it, answer the questions so I can get to know you, too! After all, friendship is a two-way street, best traveled together!

• Do you believe in ghosts?

I wouldn’t go so far as to call them ghosts, spirits, angels, celestial beings – absolutely.  There have been too many times in my life where I’ve heard stories of friends/family feeling the presence or hearing a voice when they were all alone. And what about times when you’ve been running late or in a weird turn of events suddenly decide to change your normal routine only to discover that had you not, you could have ended up in the middle of something terrible. On the flip side of the equation, I do believe there are evil forces at bay as well, trying to convert us to their side, because as we all know, misery loves company.

 

• Regardless of your physical fitness, coordination or agility:  If you could play any sport professionally what would it be?  Or if you can’t picture yourself playing sports, what is your favorite sport? 

Before my four knee surgeries, I use to play soccer. I began playing at 5 years old all the way to my freshman year of high school. It took some time to discover which position I loved most, but once found, I rocked as a defending sweeper. Near the end of my soccer career, I was even starting to enjoy being the goalie – I loved seeing how far I could drop kick the ball, I felt so powerful! These days, my sport of choice is surprisingly running. I have completed four 5Ks (runDisney Princess 5K 2011, runDisney Expedition Everest 5K Challenge 2013, Color Vibe 5K 2013, Mad Hatter 5K 2013), a 10 mile race (runDisney Tower of Terror 10 miler 2013) and am training for my first half marathon in November (runDisney Wine and Dine Half Marathon 2014)! The only person I compete with is myself, and I love seeing the progression I’ve made and the physical challenges I’ve over come to get to this point!

 

• Do you prefer long hair or short hair on yourself? 

This is a no brainer for anyone who knows me – the answer will always be LONG HAIR. I have (what I consider) an oddly shaped face that just can’t pull off short hair – it makes my face look almost perfectly circular and very chubby. Also, you CAN’T DO ANYTHING with short hair – I love braiding and twisting and every now and then curling my hair. In my free time I can often be found watching different hair tutorials on YouTube looking for new and adorable styles to try on my hair!

 

• If you were on a small island, who would you want to be with, where is it and how big is it? 

How funny, I was just talking about islands with one of my very best friends just the other night. We decided that if you’re going to be on an island, it better be tropical, sunny all the time and the water surrounding it better be crystal clear. As for the person I’d want with me, that would be Scott. It would be nice to be in the same place together for more than 5 days at a time a couple times a year (long distance relationships are the worst in case you were wondering). He’s someone who not only makes me feel safe and loved and beautiful, he’s constantly making me laugh and enjoys adventures and helps me to see the world differently. As for the island itself, it would resemble something like Isle Esme from the Twilight Series – the location they used for the movie was breath-taking, (off the coast of Brazil) it featured sandy white beaches, mountains, open floor plan for the house with huge picture windows, caves, waterfalls – check it out for yourself! 

Cheesy Cauliflower Breadsticks

My family has recently started looking for healthier food options and while wasting time on Pinterest the other night, I happened upon this recipe for Cheesy Cauliflower Breadsticks. They are gluten free, low carb and surprisingly DELICIOUS!

If you’ve got a picky eater in your family, this is the PERFECT recipe – you can’t taste the cauliflower and based on the texture, you’d never guess they have a secret ingredient!

Now I’m not a cook – I honestly HATE cooking, but this was a super simple and quick recipe.

So let’s get cookin’! Full credit for this recipe goes to Jo from the blog Jo Cooks, make sure to check her out, she has some great recipes that I cant wait to try in the future!

What you’ll need:

• 4 cups of riced cauliflower (about 1 large head of cauliflower)
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups of mozzarella cheese
• 3 tsp oregano
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 to 2 cups mozzarella cheese (for topping)

Here we go fellow cooks!

1. Preheat oven to 425 F degrees. Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Wash and dry cauliflower.

3. Make sure your cauliflower is roughly chopped in florets. Add the florets to your food processor and pulse until cauliflower resembles rice. (I had a medium size cauliflower head and it made about 3 cups of “riced” cauliflower.)

4. Place the cauliflower in a microwavable container and cover with lid. Microwave for 10 minutes. Place the microwaved cauliflower in a large bowl and add the 4 eggs, 2 cups of mozzarella, oregano, garlic and salt and pepper. Mix everything together. (Next time I make these, I think I’ll cut back on the oregano just a bit, personally I thought it overpowered the other flavors.)

5. Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheets for the breadsticks. (I used a jellyroll pan. That’s the name my mom just gave me!)

6. Bake the crust (no topping yet) for about 25 minutes or until nice and golden. (It’ll start smelling DELICIOUS, just be patient and let it bake!)

7. Once golden, sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and put back in the oven for another 5 minutes or until cheese has melted. (I used the rest of the cheese from the small package we bought – about 2 cups to evenly cover the whole thing. My mom also added some Parmesan shaker cheese just for kicks!)

8. Slice and serve. (My family ate this up QUICKLY!)

All in all, this one is a SUCCESS! One to save for future use! Give it a try — can’t wait to hear how you like it! Enjoy!

 

 

Wordless Wednesday – 8/27/14

Duck tape made for a princess!! ❤

Wordless Wednesday – 8/20/14

DANGER…at the county fair.

International Left Handers Day

Today is International Left-handers Day. To celebrate, people were encouraged to eat, write, type, brush their teeth, comb their hair, etc with their left hand. So I did….just like the other 364 days of the year! Being a leftie rocks, one of the many little things that makes me, me!

Wordless Wednesday – 8/6/14

So close, yet so far away…

The Letter – a short story

He wasn’t fine. Everything, and yet somehow nothing, had changed. Children still laughed as they ran carelessly around the park, birds still floated effortlessly on the breeze and the street lights still turned on as the sun said goodnight. The world around him reminded unchanged while he fought off silent demons.

The letter – that was the breaking point. The sender, an anonymous person among the masses, could be anyone. The cryptic note, spelled out in a mash-up of cut-up magazine letters, provided no clues as to its sender. The message brief – “French Café. 2:00 PM tomorrow. Look for the red rose. Your instructions await. Come alone, I will be watching.”

It had been years since he’d last been inside, let alone seen the café. So many memories, some bad, but mostly good. That’s where he first saw her – indulging in not just any french pastry, but a caramel éclair. Her expression, eyes closed, tongue peeking out at the corners of her mouth to lick the last bits of lingering chocolate, without ever saying a word, told him it was the most incredible thing she’d ever tasted.

Putting on his courage like a suit of armor, he made the bold move to introduce himself. She was annoyed at first, having been interrupted during her moment of bliss, but he quickly won her over with his goofy smile and quirky personality. She could tell he was trying to hide his nerves – maybe he doesn’t get out much? – taking pity on him, invited him to join her for coffee.

Thinking about that day, a small, mostly absent smile played at the corner of his mouth. He use to think of that first meeting often, replaying it over and over in his mind, wishing he could have been smoother on his introduction, but often deciding it was for the best he hadn’t been. Nowadays, he avoids all reminders of her and the café, but tomorrow he would be forced to return.

Deep in thought as he walked, he hadn’t realized at first where he was. On his left, rundown Mom and Pop shops from his childhood and to his right, the old cemetery where he’d spend many nights as a boy telling ghost stories with friends. Having started down the journey of reminiscing the days gone by, he walked under the old archway towards a well-known old maple tree.

As he walked past, he couldn’t help but run his hand over the tombstones, wondering about the people and the lives they had lived. What were their stories, had they lived their dreams or been taken from this world too soon? Had any of them felt as he did now – empty, alone and with more questions than answers. Did they have demons to face at one time – were they successful at vanquishing the fear.

Seated alone under the tree, he listened to the sound of his racing heart – lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub. As the wind picked up he heard it, a plastic rustling sound overhead. “How odd,” he thought, to see a bright blue balloon, probably from a child’s birthday party, caught in the branches of a cemetery tree. “Out of place,” he mused, “just like me,” as he released the balloon and watched the evening wind carry it out of sight.

After a restless night of pacing and nightmares, he made his journey slowly towards the meeting at the café. Eyes darting back and forth, he checked his watch – five minutes to spare thankfully, he did not want to find out what would happen if he was late. As the thunderstorm broke over head, he swallowed the lump in his throat and entered without looking back…

 

**This short piece is part of The Daily Post’s Weekly Writing Challenge where we were instructed to use The Ray Bradbury noun list technique to beat writer’s block. The words in italic are the words that had to be incorporated in the story – I chose to pick five from the list The Daily Post compiled and add one of my own. I wasn’t sure where my story was heading until I was halfway through it! A new thrill for me – someone who likes to plan the plot and details before the first word is ever penned.

 

National Sisters Day

Happy National Sisters day to my lovable, funny, sometimes annoying little sisters Megan and Macayla. You may drive me nuts at times, but when I need you, I know I can always count on you to be there! We’ve had our ups and downs over the years, and more adventures than I can remember! I love that you’re always around to talk or snap a silly selfie! I’m lucky to have the sisters I do, because they aren’t just family, they are two of my favorite people in the world! Love you, ‘lil sisters! ❤