I Hate to Bake

Here's the thing: I don't like to cook.

Now, allow me to defend myself before you attack me as an incompetent lady. I CAN cook, I can bake, I can clean, and I can organize a house-- my momma taught me how. But sometimes I just don't like too. In the case of cooking, I just, get, well . . . I get bored, and irritated, and lazy. If I'm cooking with friends, then it's fun. If I'm cooking with my mom, it's usually fun (besides all the teasing). I will admit that I am a klutz, and often, that carries over to the kitchen at the worst possible times. Like on Christmas eve . . .

Preparing our annual neighborhood "Christmas Run" requires lots and lots of cookie making. With at least 15 families to deliver cookies too, we have dozens that require lots of TLC and cooling racks. Determined to set my mom straight, I stationed myself in the kitchen, donned an apron, and began to follow directions.

"First, I need you to make the brown sugar. Grab the molasses from the top shelf in the cabinet and mix it with this sugar. No, keep mixing. I still see spots. Oh, that was a clump, never mind. Good job."

Naturally, when it came time to mix all the ingredients together, I went to the drawer where we kept the blender. Not only was my mom surprised that I knew where it was, she also questioned my ability to use it!

As I deftly attached the metal mixing prongs to the bottom of the ancient motorized machine, I anticipated my next move. To constant admonitions of "Careful, not too fast" and "Slooooowly" I began to mix the wonderful cookie dough. Obviously I did fine. That is, until the very end. I was a little hasty in pulling out the machine, and didn't wait for the prongs to stop rotating, resulting in a slight . . . splash. This mishap was greeted with an outburst of laughter from both my mom and I. After dropping egg shells into the batch soon afterwards, I had officially proved the delicacy of my place in the kitchen--again.

Other things Elena is doubted for in the kitchen:
-Peeling garlic (who doesn't know how to do that??)
-Cutting bread (I have graduated from past diagonal cuts to straight up and down!)
-Mixing anything
-Boiling eggs
-Making rice
-Making anything besides lasagna and spaghetti

Things Elena is looked UP to in the kitchen:
-Homemade ranch dressing
-Making salad
-Making lasagna and spaghetti (with sauce from scratch)
-Popping popcorn
-Putting leftovers into storage containers
-Sweeping

Here is the delicious dough for our gazillion cookies. We all survived the splashing and dropping, and this batch of cookies came out fantastic! So you see, I can cook and bake, but definitely in my own way. :)

78 Degrees in November

Mid-November and it was 78 degrees on Saturday. Whoa. A park and a walk were in order. On our way around back bike trails and behind stores, we found an abandoned cart.

And for my dear mum, here's a picture from our most recent banquet. Borrowed dress, but definitely my own fun. 

I Voted Today- I Got My Sticker

"Is this your first time voting?"

"Yeah! Do I really look that young?"

"Yes, and congratulations, you are now a part of our nation's history."

I am indeed. :)

To Bless the Future

Currently, Union is undergoing some incredible changes. We are constructing a new Math and Science complex that should be complete for classes next year! Today as an afternoon Sabbath activity, we got permission from the construction company to go in with soap stone pencils and write on the beams and supports composing the building's skeleton.

At 3:30, students came. Parents came. Little kids and the President of the college came. We prayed together and after choosing a pole or beam, we began to write. Verses from the Bible, little drawings-- we scribbled all over the place!

Happy Sabbath, may God bless this building!

Barn Party, Yeee-Hawwww!

Since I am a part of our ASB team and ran the Pumpking Bowiling bowling alleys last night, I didn't have much time to take pictures. Here are a few that I managed to snap near the end to show off our awesome location, the Prairie Creek Inn. I'm sorry I don't have any sweeping landscapes, but 11:00 at night is not the best for lighting. It was such a beautiful place and we were taken such good care of, I would totally go back there again.

For a brand new event, the Barn Party was a hit!!

Happy Sabbath

This is a classic hymn, but Jadon Lavik re-did the tune, and I'm just blessedly obsessed with it right now. I LOVE this song! Be still today.

Happy Sabbath guys!

Responsibilities

Today I test drove a car for the first time.

Now you may ask, "Why is that such a big deal Elena? You're a licensed driver!" As true as this is, driving my mom's car around the town I grew up in, and test driving a Buick in a city I'm only in for school, stands in quite a different light in my eyes. You see, I am a good driver, have driven in most conditions (other than icy roads), and safe. But as much as I love to drive I also hate it. Having other people in the car other than myself is such a huge responsibility! So today, when I was handed the keys to this car, I was slightly freaked out. Luckily, I got to drive it with only myself to think about; without worrying that anyone would be critiquing my skill at the wheel. So as I was left alone in the parking lot, I punched on the lights (it was a foggy day), turned down the radio (to facilitate concentration), adjusted the seat (I have short legs compared to a 6 foot something driver), and prayed that God would protect me in this vehicle. In the short of it, He did!

I will say that driving in Nebraska was not so bad after all. I survived, came nowhere near getting into an accident, and only had difficulty (embarrassingly) parking the big boat.

I ended up declining to purchase the car, but I learned a couple of things today:

1. Things are almost never as bad as you imagine them to be.
2. I am blessed with amazing friends.
3. Responsibility is no joke.

Now, as I continue to delve into the inner workings of Microeconomics, Sociology, and ancient culture, I will keep this theme of responsibility strong. I am at school to learn after all. Learn Responsibly: to learn with the intention of retaining. That's my definition anyway. At least for tonight.

Sundown

Wind

At a brisk wind of 25 miles per hour, peaking at a possible 50 mph later today, I feel like just curling up on my bed with some tea and a good book. But alas, I have nine hours of work ahead of me still and at least two hours of homework. The life of a college student is definitely mine.

Fall is Heeere!

My favorite season of the year (besides winter, spring and summer) has definitely arrived!

After an extremely productive and much needed fall break (aka Friday off) I am refreshed and ready to finish this semester and enjoy some cold weather. I'm ready to GO!

As Life Goes By

I know, I know, I have been quite silent over the past two weeks, but I have good reason. Well, no, I actually don't. I have been very busy, but not too busy to make the time to write a blog post or snap some shots. My problem the past two weeks has been my time management (or lack thereof).

When I overextend myself with things I am involved in (which is a current problem) I tend to get overwhelmed. And when I get overwhelmed, I start to lose motivation. When I lose motivation, the first thing to go is the cleanliness of my room. Oh, I changed my outfit this morning? Well, I'll just pile the old stuff at the foot of my bed. Old newspapers that need to be thrown away? I'll just wait until next week when I have more to throw out, and save myself a trip. I have homework I need to do? Let me just wander around my room trying to motivate myself to clean instead. You get the picture.

What do I do then, when I just have too much to do? I do nothing for a while, except cram papers in just barely in time and review for a quiz 10 minutes before class. Then I get mad at myself for procrastinating and freaking out, get organized, and then buckle down and work. It takes some doing, but it is possible.

I have reached the "buckle down" stage in this process today, and while I still really do have too much to do, I am determined to get it together. I'm at school to get good grades and graduate after all. So, let's DO this! School is wonderful! No, college is wonderful! My life is NOW, so yay college and God!

P.S. I also paint my nails ( a normally rare occurrence) when I freak out. This weekend, they are mint with gold sparkles. You know you like it.

World Cup Soccer

Happy Sabbath!

"Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God."

~Romans 15:7

aka: He died . . .

. . . so we love.

because He first loved us.

The Amazing Pizza Machine

So sorry to get behind people, but did you know that college is extremely BUSY?! Who would've thought, right? I'm even pushing aside some homework now to finally get these little snapshots up for you to feast your eyes upon.

I really must get back to my homework, but here are a couple (literally) of pictures from last Saturday night's activity. The school went to The Amazing Pizza Machine with an all you can eat buffet of pizza, pasta, salad, pizza doughnuts, ice cream, tacos, and stir fry. Each student got a little card which they could swipe to play some of the arcade games like table hockey and bumper cars. It was a grand time!

So. Much. Pizza.

 Dance, Dance Revolution, first time ever! We had fun. 

Lately

Lately I've been missing the ocean; more specifically, swimming in it. To combat this sadness, one of my friends and I have been swimming laps in the pool here at school. It really isn't the same as the ocean (obviously), but we have lots of fun.

I was looking through some pictures from this summer and found this one my pops took while Kerri was visiting. Kerri getting certified in Hawaii= best summer ever!

But for now, the pool will do.

Vespers: Happy Sabbath!

Project Impact

Union College's 32nd Project Impact, the longest running mass community service project of its kind in the nation, rocked today! In 91 degrees, over 80 locations were serviced by about 750 volunteers. We get a day off of class, and no one is required to go to Project Impact— it's all up to you to go. How cool is that?

We started off with breakfast under the Clocktower at 8:00 in the morning. Bananas, bagels, and donuts were, well, all over. As people came in, they choose a group from the many leaders standing with signs and  get their t-shirts, the design of which is a contest and one of the best kept secrets at Union. Before today, only a handful of people know the shirt design and color. It's pretty exciting to get there and see what color you get to add to your Project Impact collection.

Once the welcome, group picture, and prayer are over, groups head out to their respective sites. My site today was a huge elementary school. Our task— weeding, mixing compost, cleaning trash, and reading to the kids. At about 12:30 we packed up and headed back to Union for a massive pizza feed. I don't even want to know how much it costs to feed 750 tired and hungry volunteers, but we had leftovers!! All in all, a fantastic day, and a niiiiiice break from homework.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Sabbath

Gotta love Ephesians:

"God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing."  Ephesians 2:10 NCV

Go do what God made you to do, and be amazing at it for him!

On the Wonders of Morning

As I sit here typing this, my ideal bedtime is ticking away. This makes me sad, but I know that I will just have to make the night what the morning could be— study time. You see, I have found that though living in a dorm has it's perks (basically a huge mall and only two minutes from class), there is also the disadvantage of my friends. I may innocently be working on my Microeconomics homework, when someone barges in to tell me a story. Of course, being the easily-distracted person that I am, I'm all ears, and before you know it, half an hour is gooonnneee. Once they leave, I then have to (somehow) re-focus and get back into the "zone". It's rough.

So this morning I tried what I did a couple of times last year— go to bed early and wake up super duper early. So, at 8:00pm I turned off my light, and at 4:30am I popped out of bed ready to roll! Didn't even hit the snooze button and let me tell you, it feels GREAT. I got loads done, and since I went to bed on time, my entire day just felt, more vibrant. It is difficult to do this every night though, because some nights, meetings must be met and life must go on. But basically, what I'm saying is:

You should try it sometime.
Lemme know how it goes.
:)

Best Veggie Burgers Ever

The Day Was Great!

Happy Sabbath

The best sleep I get is Friday night, hands down.

Big Country, Little Lincoln

Man, oh man, the things I do to save just $50 is getting ridiculous. Granted, $50 is a lot of money for a poor college student such as myself, but the hassle and stress that tend to come attached to this 'saving' are almost not worth it. For example, I booked my flight to return to Nebraska from Hawaii in May (for August, you know, 'cause it's cheaper), with a total of five flights. Yeah, five. As I was checking in on my day of departure, I was only allowed to check my two suitcases under for four flights, not my total five. Problem? Yes.

You see, between my fourth and fifth flights, I now needed to go to baggage claim to collect my suitcases, check-in once again, go through security, and get to my gate. The problem was, that my layover was only 45 minutes long. 45 minutes, no matter how fast you are, is NOT enough time. Now add on to the fact that I am tiny,and would have to handle two 50 pound suitcases, as well as two carry-ons, on my own. Honestly, it wasn't going to happen. So, during my five hour flight, I decided to beg for my bags to be taken off in Portland, because I had a three hour layover there.

With my adrenaline pumping and my brain exhausted from the never-fitful sleep of flight, I charged off the plane and into the nearest agent. After quickly explaining my situation to the man at the desk, he got on his radio and asked those unloading the plane to send my two bags to carousel 6. Off I went to baggage claim: backpack, attached ukulele, red rollerbag, and jacket jangling with my short and quick steps.

Upon arriving at carousel F, I waited about five minutes. (By waiting, I mean paced up and down the empty area, careless of the lone man watching me). Soon, a buzzer sounded, and out popped my two bags. All by themselves. They made it about 15 feet out of the flapping rubber tire door before the carousel was turned off. Now, along with hauling these two huge suitcases up an escalator, they were now at the entire other end of the baggage claim area, far from the escalators. Throwing my pride to the dead air of the airport, I grabbed one and began to lug it about 50 feet. I then returned to get my second suitcase, which was actually a trunk, and haul it to where the first was waiting. Cue lone man, "Hey, do you need some help?" Already feeling terrible, but knowing that it would be great to have some assistance, I replied, "Sure, I just need to get this all to the escalator." So away we went, loaded up the bags on the escalator with a quick, "Thanks, bye" and I continued on up.

If you are not exhausted by now just reading this account, I applaud you for continuing on. Maybe you can see how tiring it was for me! Because as I reached the top of the escalator, I found that my airline was (of course) at the far end of the row of airlines. leaving my bags a few feet behind me, I ran to one of those "Ask me for help" people and, well, asked him for help. He said I needed to get a cart because I couldn't carry stuff over one by one—  I would get in trouble from security. So I told him I would get a cart from outside. I left my stuff by the window and ran out the door. Reaching the front of the cart dispenser, to my dismay, I found that a cart cost $4.00! As I pulled out my credit card to do the deed, I heard knocking on the window right beside me. stuffing my card back into my wallet, I ran back inside to find the helper man. He had found me a cart for free!

I loaded up and checked in at my airline's desk. Finally rid of my 100 pounds of stuff I headed to the security line, where I waiting for 20 minutes. That's right, 20. I made it to my departure gate with an hour or so to spare. Let me tell you, God definitely took care of me as I was lugging my suitcases around. I'm pretty sure He gave me the idea to prematurely take my stuff off the plane in Portland. I happily landed in Nebraska two flights later; everything with me and intact.

It's good to be back.

The Freshies are Here . . .

(not a freshie)