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.

ARGH!

Sorry I haven't been here the last few days- I'm sick. Typically, the winter doesn't take such a toll on me, but for some reason I've been down for the count this week. As of now, I have a fever, chills, aches, and all the other beautiful symptoms that go along with cold-like-illnesses. I haven't felt this bad since I had Swine Flu in 2009. Lovely.

Sincere Appologies.

Apparently there's a virus going around lately. Naturally I wound up with it. Sorry for yet another lag in posts- I promise I'll do a better job of it when I'm feeling a bit better.

Grease (not the lightning variety).

Here's a word to the wise: don't get hot pork grease on your face. It hurts like a bastard.
I did this today while breaking up some pulled pork. The grease shot up and landed on my chin, right cheek and right eyelid. Now my face hurts (go ahead, the joke is already set up...).
I'm going to put a cool cloth on my face and hope I don't wake up with blisters this time, though I think that's wishful thinking.

Celebration of Solitude (Official Name Pending).

I love holidays.
I'll find pretty much any reason to celebrate anything, and I like to go as far as I can with it. I spend months planning out Thanksgiving and Christmas, and will even go so far as to wear green, plan a special meal and blast irish music in the days leading up to St. Patrics day. The only holiday I am continuously underwhelmed by is Valentine's day (don't worry, the irony is not lost on me). I am not one of those people who typically thinks it's sweet to see the happy couples rubbing my face in the fact that they're paired up while I'm all by my lonesome. I'm not jealous, but I always feel a bit left out. There's no day to celebrate the single life, so from now on, I think I'll begin celebrating it myself. I'm aiming for sometime in June since I've always thought of it as the loneliest month of the year for it's lack of celebration. There's no reason single people should be completely excluded just because the greeting card companies haven't found a way to profit from them. I haven't come up with a date yet, but I will.
I'll even make cupcakes.

Aww, schucks!

100 views! I've had this blog for just over a month, and already hit the triple digits. That is seriously cool.
Thanks guys!

Jinxed.

If you haven't heard already, the New York Giants won the 2012 Superbowl. I was only half-watching the game, until the very last few minutes. The game is divided into four quarters of 15 minutes each, and there is a halftime between the second and third quarters. The very beginning of the game saw the New York Giants winning, which distressed my brother slightly, seeing as he is very much a Patriots fan. Luckily for him, they were able to gain a lead before halftime, and even maintained it almost to the very end.

We were watching the last few minutes of the game when the Giants jumped ahead yet again with the ball in their possession.

At about 1 minute and 4 seconds, my mother says "Oh don't worry- the Patriots are going to win".

At about one minute and two seconds, they scored the touchdown they needed to finally surpass the Patriots.

The look on my brothers face was priceless, and he spent the remainder of the night giving my mother the evil eye and shaking his head mournfully. Why, oh why, would you say that? Especially a minute before the game is to end...

Super Bowl 46 (I think).

The Superbowl will be played later today. For those of you who don't follow American football- lucky you. Despite the fact that it is only *technically* an hour long, it lasts forever due to all the time outs. This years game is between the New York Giants and New England Patriots, which will break the monotony a little since they have a fair number of hot guys between them. I haven't decided which team I'll root for since I simply don't care, but I'm leaning more towards the Giants to annoy my brother, who is a devoted Patriots fan.

Either way, may the best team win! Now bring on the funny commercials!

No Shadows Please.

Happy Groundhog Day Everyone!

It's a semi-ridiculous made up holiday, but it's a North American tradition for anyone who is unaware. The story goes that if, when the groundhog comes up from his burrough, he sees a shadow, winter will last for another six weeks. There's no scientific credence to this logic, but it's entertaining to see mayors of cities around the nation exclaiming over a small ground-dwelling creature every February. This year, I'm hoping winter will whisk away without much of a fuss, because while I truly adore cold and snow, I don't want to spend the next few weeks freezing my tush off. Since our furnace went out last week, we've been doing more than enough of that, so for the first time in my life I honestly hope winter ends soon.

Though, on the bright side, if Mr. Groundhog predicts a rambling winter, it'll give me more of an opportunity to make nice warm batches of bread before the heat makes baking unbearable. There's always an upside I suppose.

M-O-U-S-E.

There's a mouse in this house.
We live in the country, so I'm not surprised, but every once in a while I can hear it.
The scurrying is getting to me. The fact that I've been outsmarted by a mouse is even worse.
We had two in the past six months- they creep in through open doors and basement windows- but this is too much for me. I don't like mice, even when they've been dubbed with cute names like Nikolai, Malachi and Ron. I don't want to hurt it, but I'm running out of ways to catch it.
I'm pretty sure humans are supposed to outsmart mice, not the other way around.

Today, I'm weary and tired.

Have you ever found yourself suddenly, unexpectedly anxious? Every once in a while I will be overwhelmed by panic, as if the walls are closing in and I can feel my heart trying to escape my chest, and then as soon as it began, it's gone. It is exhausting.