The most wonderful day of the year..

Today was St. Patrick's day (or, more accurately, St. Guinness day as my dear friend calls it), which is in my opinion one of the best days of the year. It's the perfect holiday if you think about it: The whole day revolves around good food, good music and tasty drinks without the obligations of gift-giving, religious observation or making the rounds to passive-aggressive family members. If only every holiday were like this.

Since I didn't go out or get intoxicated with friends (this year...) I made a batch of beef stew for dinner and two beautiful loaves of Soda bread. True to my nature, I didn't take photos, but I *will* share the recipe, which I advise you to make since it is pure amazingness.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a pan with butter and then lightly coat it in flour.

Dry ingredients:
4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cold butter, cut into very tiny cubes

Wet ingredients:
1 egg
1 3/4 cups buttermilk

Combine all dry ingredients into one bowl. Mix egg and buttermilk together in separate bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and kneed until a ball is formed. place in pan, slice an 'x' into the top, and pop it in the oven for 25-35 minutes. Let it cool and bask in the glory of the soda bread. If you have a jar of blueberry preserves lying around, use it. Your life will never be the same (it will immediately improve).

Droppy McDropperson

I have dropped everything today. A plate of eggs, a knife, and just now, my computer. Blame it on muscle tone or the solar storm, but I've been an awful klutz all day. Maybe a good nights sleep will help me out on this one.

Real Adults.

Facebook has become a depressing place as of late. Between the wedding plans, baby announcements and party pictures, I've grudgingly come to accept that my friends and I are evolving into real adults at an alarming rate. I'm happy for everyone, don't get me wrong, but I feel like I've missed something. I was 12, 15... and now I'm close to 21. I must have blinked somewhere, though I can't pinpoint it. Does it ever slow down, or will it be a whirlwind until I'm finally sitting in a rocking chair, telling my grandchildren about the year 2012? I've decided that I'm going to do my best to enjoy it as much as possible, even if Father Time won't yield to my demands.

Hello, I'm a bad blogger.

Alright, let's be honest here.. I suck at this. Blogging just doesn't seem to be my thing. I've never been good at keeping a written record of anything, hence the numerous five-page long diaries taking up space in the draws of my cabin bed. I get super excited to start a new project and then it flat lines- I do this with most things. I'll write when I have something interesting to say, but I can't promise much. Sorry.

Lackluster lundi.

I've had a rough few days. I've been anxious, depressed and all around a big ball of anti-fun. I can't really explain why I get like this now and then, but it's always a drag because one part of my mind can't be bothered while another part is yelling to just get up and go. There's a good chance it can be attributed to a mix of the weather, the pile of paperwork I wake up to every morning and my habit of playing armchair psychologist even when I could use one myself. I've felt detached from everything, even as I do it. It's like I'm watching everything through a pair of foggy binoculars. Luckily, I think I'm on the downside and should be able to get myself back together soon- if I look close enough I can see a pattern emerge every time I feel adrift like I do. It'll go away and come back again, just as always, but I suppose that's how it's supposed to be.

Toothy woes.

A while ago I was told I have a rare tooth problem, where a few of my teeth formed in the wrong positions before growing in. Most of them have worked themselves out, but there is one particular on the upper right part of my mouth where it hasn't. Currently, I have two canine teeth in a row, with no bicuspid where there should be one. I was told I'd need dental surgery to pull one of the canine's and get the bicuspid which was lodged above the rest of my teeth. Recently though, the tooth began to move down and now I have a turf war in my mouth (oh, the jokes that could be made...). I tell you this, because despite the fact that I'm 20 years old, and I *should* have been done with this years ago, I keep wiggling it like I'm 8 again, and it's a really weird feeling which has distracted me for a while. It snags on everything, so naturally I've been trying everything to get rid of it once and for all. Biting apples, chewing gum, brushing it obsessively, etc. I'm almost tempted to let my brother tie it to a doorknob like he's been begging me to do.

Too bad the tooth fairy doesn't make house calls for adults.. could've scored big with this one.

Spring ahead.

I am finally all caught up on my work (soon to be flogged down by more this weekend), so today I went out to a local clothing shop with my mom for some light browsing, not intending to get anything. While there, we found some really cute clothes, and I wound up getting a pair of spring-length sweatpants, a tank top and a cute floral skirt. When we got home, I flipped on the weather channel and learned that apparently, we are in for cold weather and a little snow tonight. Oh, that's right... it's still February. I guess I jumped ahead of myself there.

Looking at a long week.

I can't believe the amount of work that has piled up this past week. A few days ago my to-do list was down to just a few run of the mill things I do every week (homework, reading, etc.) but suddenly I've got a list at-least half a page long. My list-writing habit may be the end of me after this one.

Pinteresting!

Has anyone heard of the website Pinterest.com? If not, it's an interesting site where there are thousands of photos that can be 'pinned' to a virtual board where they are saved. It sounds a bit strange, but honestly, it's quickly becoming one of my favorite websites ever. There are photos which link to articles and tutorials about just about everything. This site plays to people's inner voyeurism, so naturally more and more people are flocking to it. I was lucky enough to get an invite, which is the only way to sign up (anyone who wants one just has to comment with an email address) and I've been browsing around the last few days. I've become a bit addicted though, so I think I'll have to limit how long I allow myself on there from now on. Whoops. What's great about it is that it allows you to explore pretty much any topic, be it crafts, design, fashion, cooking, etc. I've already compiled a long list, or board, of things I'd like to make which I'll have to add to yet another of my ever-expanding lists of things I'd like to try out. Might have to consolidate those...

On the downturn.

Sorry I've been absent so long. The last few days have been full of sneezing, body aches and whining about how cold I was under 238948734 blankets. It's flu season here and it hit me pretty hard. In the past 48 hours, I have slept, literally, atleast 24. For someone who typically doesn't sleep well, that is a huge deal for me. During my waking hours, I've been attempting to have something slightly resembling conversations with my equally-ill mother which have gone something like this:
Mom: "I feel like shit".
Me: "mmhmm"
*five minutes later*
Me: "I feel like shit"
Mom: "me too..."

Everything still hurts, but it should be subsiding soon. Hopefully.