Ask a Stupid Question

I just got a text informing me that it's ask a stupid question day today. What a rather peculiar sort of day. Why do I need a specific day set apart to ask a stupid question when I'm pretty sure I do that already on any day a feel a need to do so? Oh dear. Does that count as a stupid question? If not, that second one just did. So I suppose I should do the right thing and wish you all a magnificent ask a stupid question day. Choose your stupid questions wisely!

In case you need some proof that you are actually allowed to ask stupid questions today, the holiday is on Wikipedia so you know it's legit! Ha!

Check it.

9/11

I can't believe it's been ten years.

I know my experience is nothing close to what people in New York witnessed. I didn't lose someone close to me in those attacks, but my heart goes out to all those that did. I think of all those heroes of that day--many who gave their own lives to save others. It gives me hope and a sense of pride to know that there are everyday heroes among us, and there truly is a power that comes when we are all united.

I was in seventh grade. The school year had just barely started. The phone rang as I was getting ready for school. My mom answered it, and I immediately knew something was wrong. She turned on the television and we were greeted by the images of the towers billowing smoke. I didn't understand what was happening. I didn't even know what the building was. Finally, one thing became clear to me--America had been attacked. I watched as the towers fell. I haven't forgotten that image, and I never will.

I still went to school that day, I can't tell you what I learned that day though. We kept watching the news on and off all day. I remember the fear of some of my classmates. If these attacks could happen in New York, couldn't one happen closer to our own home? Was this just the begining of a series of attacks? What was going to happen next?

I remember one of my peers mentioning how someday we were going to see that day in history books. It seemed like an odd thought at the time, that we were witnessing history. When I went to the Denver Publishing Institute, I was able to obtain a current history book. I flipped through it, thinking about how it differed from the books I used back in the day. I paused when I got towards the back of the book because a familiar picture covered the page. I immediately remembered what this classmate had said. There it was. The events of 9/11 on the pages of a history book. Of course it should be there. It was a little weird for a moment--like I'd stepped back in time.

I've been touched by the things I've seen today in memory of 9/11. I hope that we never forget. I hope that we can be changed for the better as we remember the sacrifices that were made that day.

Yum! Yum! Banana Bread!

What do you do when you buy a lovely bunch of bananas and you or your loved ones don't eat them before they start turning brown? You make banana bread, of course!

My wonderful madre directed me to a Martha Stewart recipe, which you can find here. Or you can keep on reading :)

Ingredients

½ cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (3 bananas)
½ cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans (or chocolate chips!)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf
pan; set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream
butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, and beat to incorporate.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and
salt. Add to the butter mixture, and mix until just combined. Add bananas, sour
cream, and vanilla, mix to combine. Stir in nuts, and pour into prepared pan.

Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake
comes out clean, about 1 hr 10 min. et rest in pan for 10 min, then turn out
onto a rack to cool.

There you have it! It took 3 bananas to for me to reach a cup. I also used chocolate chips instead of nuts since others eating it are opposed to nuts. If it were just me, I'd add both!

It turned out really well. I didn't have to add or subtract any time. It's nice and moist. It's a great recipe. I've been thinking of putting together a family cookbook filled with a bunch of my family's favorite recipes so we can all have a collection of them. This would make it into the book!

Still feeling a little fancy cooking wise after successfully making banana bread, a made some chedder and potato pieorgi. Okay so they were frozen and in a box... But I tried to dress them up a little based on an idea on the back of the box. I was quite pleased. And then I gobbled them up! Yum!

I'm really going to have to find a homemade recipe for these sometime.

Well, you should bake some banana bread! I promise it's delicious!

Chocolate, Musicals, and Hunger Games

The the next few days wil be the epitome of awesome. Tonight, Megan is flying in for a visit. I'm so excited to see her! I think the plan for tomorrow is to tour a chocolate factory. I'm down with that. On Saturday, we'll be going to see Les Mis, one of my favorite musicals. It's going to be amazing! Megan flys out again on Sunday. It's too bad she can't stick around longer. Alas...

In other news, I'm about to start reading Mockingjay, the final book in the Hunger Games trilogy. I'm hooked. One thing that I really like about the series is that I have a hard time predicting what will come next. Whenever I think I know where it's headed, it takes a turn I hadn't even thought of. Maybe I'm just really bad at predicting things. Maybe I'm just too sucked in to think about it hard enough. Whatever it is, I am ready to see what twists and turns this final bok holds. Now if only I could decide if I'm team Gale or team Peeta. Hmm...

I Can Hear the Bells

The other day I was hanging out with a friend of mine, and I must have mentioned something about how I'm always telling my mother that I plan on serving dinosaur chicken nuggets at my wedding reception, whenever that'll be. Somehow that quickly shifted to how I should have a Legend of Zelda themed wedding reception. So I did the only sensible thing--I got online and searched for Legend of Zelda themed weddings. I found some videos, but haven't felt like watching them. I also found a bunch of pictures of Zelda themed cakes! I was impressed.

That last one is more of the idea that I had--still fancy but just put link and zelda on the top of the cake. Maybe play some Zelda tunes when we cut the cake. So I probably wouldn't go all out. I found one picture where the bride and groom had actually dressed up as Zelda and Link. That may be fun, but I think I want something a little more traditional in a dress. So there you go. There are nerdy weddings out there. You should check out all the other video game themed cakes. I'm amazed at people's talent and creativity. There's a random post for you today :)

I seriously will be serving dinosaur chicken nuggets...

UPS Man!

Recently, I finally got around to reading The Hunger Games. It made me dream about people trying to kill me...But that's beside the point. That dream also involved people dressed as zombies. I blame my music video on that one. I digress. I enjoyed the book, but there was one ajor problem--I didn't have immediate access to the next books in the series!

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't fret. This nightmare has just been vanquished.

I was holding my dog to keep her from attacking the people who so innocently stood on our doorstep, when I saw a familiar vehicle pull up to our house. It was the UPS man! Bringer of gifts and happiness! The everyday Santa Claus! You know what I'm talking about.

My mom tossed the box up to me. With racing heart and trembling fingers, I ripped it open using the easy open tab (a thing of genious!), and then I probably squealed and did a little jig.

Thank you, UPS man. Mission accomplished.

The Moment You've Been Waiting For!