Day 23: One of my current favorite tunes

Last year I dated this guy who was mostly into heavy metal music that I couldn't stand.  However, he did share a few gems with me that I love.  This is my most favorite.  I could listen to this song on repeat all day.

"Sideways"

Citizen Cope

You know it ain't easy 

For these thoughts here to leave me

There's no words to describe it

In French or in English

Well, diamonds they fade

And flowers they bloom

And I'm telling you

These feelings won't go away

They've been knockin' me sideways

They've been knockin' me out lately

Whenever you come around me

These feelings won't go away 

They've been knockin' me sideways

I keep thinking in a moment that

Time will take them away

But these feelings won't go away 

Day 22: A photo that makes me happy

Yeah, I went skydiving.  On my 21st birthday.  It was amazing.  I want to go again.  My birthday is right around the corner....

day 21: My favorite TV program

There's this show called Community and I love it.  It's about a mishmash group of people at a community college who met by forming a spanish study group.  The characters are hilarious, the situations they encounter are ridiculous, the school is very much like a community college...it's just a good time.  I love it.  I bought the first season on DVD for super cheap on amazon.  I recommend checking it out.

Day 20: A letter to someone who changed my life

When I first started this whole 50 Days thing, I saw that there were several letters to be written and I thought nothing of it.  Now that it's actually time to write those letters, I struggle.  I can't seem to find anything I want to say.  My mind goes entirely blank of people who fit whatever category it is.  It's silly, I know, because there are several people I've encountered that have changed my life.  I feel as though my life is constantly being molded by the effect others have on me.

After having that previous paragraph written for over a week, I finally realized who I ought to write to, so here it goes...

Dear Heather,
You've been my best friend for nearly four years now.  We've helped each other through rough patches, had some of the greatest adventures, and survived living together.  You are awesome.  Because of you I feel as though I've had someone to lean on, someone to laugh with, someone to pick me up when I feel like I've hit rock bottom.  You don't judge me when I do stupid things or cry over boys or mess up pretty bad.  You've listened to my concerns about life and in turn trusted me with your secrets.  I'm lucky to know you, to be friends with you, to have developed such a good relationship with you.
Becoming friends/roommates with you was one of the best decisions of my life.  Thanks for being my best friend.
Love youuuu!!!
Amanda

Then

Now

Day 19: Share a Goal

I make a lot of goals for myself.  They're usually simple, like keep my room clean or go to bed early 3 times this week, but it always feels good to reach them.

Lately I've experienced a little slump that cause me to make a new goal for myself.  It's one I can renew every day.  Be a little happier, smile a little more, live in the moment.  For the most part, I've been doing alright on this. I've found little things to make me enjoy life more and bad things aren't getting me down as much.  It's an easy goal, but it makes such a difference.

Be happy.  Love life.

Day 18: Whatever tickles your fancy

I'm swapping day 18 and 19 because I feel like writing about what I want to write about right now.

Carpe Diem.  Seize the day.  It's pretty much the motto of my life.  I'm the type of person who acts on impulse, so if something sounds good and I feel like doing it, I put all my energy towards doing that one thing.  I'm not sure if this is a good thing because I feel like I often times change my mind halfway through powering towards one goal in order to pursue something else.  But eventually some things get done and it feels awesome.  For example...culinary school!  Road trip across the US!  Skydiving!  Getting a job at the bread basket!  Things work out.

My latest fiasco (fyi-fiasco is the word of the day.  I've used it at least seven times) started last Tuesday.  My mom suggested to me that I move to Idaho in the Spring instead of waiting until the Fall and I became obsessed. It felt like a great idea, I haven't had any luck with finding a job out here, and I'm simply ready for a change of pace.  I need new faces and new scenery.  I spent forever looking into apartments out there, figuring out which ones still had rooms open for the spring, which ones I could afford, where people I knew were staying...  I found an apartment, I got all the papers ready to be sent back with the deposit...but then I was told I'm ineligible to even live in BYUI housing until I have a track assigned to me.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with how BYU-Idaho works, there are three semesters: Spring, Fall, and Winter.  When you apply, you are assigned two semesters to attend (your track) and then one semester to have off (your off track.)  This enables the school to have many more students than it's capable of having on a normal school schedule.  It worked out great for me before because I was on the Spring/Fall track.  I attended school in Idaho April-December and then went home January-March.  No cold Idaho winters for me!  However, I'm now in a rut because I have to be reassigned a track since I took so much time off.  I can't live in BYUI housing until the semester I'm accepted to starts.  I don't find out for at least another two weeks. If I'm moving into this apartment complex that I want, I need to sign a contract pretty much now or it'll fill up.  It's an awful situation to be in and the housing/admissions offices aren't helping at all.

But I was saved!  I got a call today from a grocery store I applied to a couple months ago.  I applied for the bakery, but they had a position in their Starbucks open up and they liked my availability.  I went out there and interviewed and they offered me the job on the spot.  35 hours a week, Sundays off, great pay.  I start training on Wednesday.  BYUI will have to wait until September.  Bittersweet.

So, carpe diem.  It might be my saving grace, it might be my demise.  For now, it's making things hectic, but so good.

You may call me The Mormon Barista.

Day 17: A photo that makes me sad

I don't get this.  Why would I want to post something that makes me sad?  Really, WHY?  This past week has been so full of ups and downs and pains and hurts and good cries and bad cries and simply not wanting to move, I beg the question WHY?  Can't I post something that makes me happy?  I mean this is my blog.  I should get to make the rules.

This is my cat, Buckle.  This picture makes me happy because this is the coolest cat ever (except for maybe Jello.  He had a sweet mustache) and he loved me probably as much as I loved him.  When I went away to college and my mom put my bedsheets in the laundry room, he curled up on them and slept there.  She took a picture and sent it to me, but I can't find it anywhere.  That picture is one of my favorites.  

This picture makes me sad because he died a couple years ago.  He just never came home a couple weeks before I came home for Christmas.  I was devastated.  I still am.  I drive my mom crazy with how often I ask for a cat. 

Day 16: Five Celebrity Crushes

This is a post I can get excited about.  Thinking of my celebrity crushes wasn't hard for me at all, so without further ado, here you go.

1.  John Cusack (mostly the young John Cusack)

He's a babe in Say Anything and completely adorable in Better of Dead.  I even love more recent movies of his, like Martian Child. 

2.  Lee Pace

Um...have you seen the show Pushing Daisies?  Or the movie The Fall?  Yeah.  He's fantastic.  And gorgeous.

3.  Andrew McMahon

Despite being all tattooed up and having a pretty foul mouth, this dude has mad talent.  He plays the piano and he plays it well.  His song writing/piano playing is why I love Jack's Mannequin and Something Corporate so much.

4.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Fell in love with him with 10 Things I hate about you, still in love after Inception and 500 Days of Summer.  

5.  Daniel Craig

Yeah, he's James Bond.

Day 15: A Letter to Someone I want to meet

Dear future husband,

I picked you to write this letter to because you give me hope.  I find that at times like this, when nothing seems to be going right, I remind myself that you are actually out there and you're looking for me.  It helps lighten the mood.  I'm sure you're great.  Here's hoping we cross paths soon, but I don't mean that we need to get married soon, just that I hope we meet soon.

And I hope you like cats.

Day 14: A Song from my Childhood

When I was a little girl I read a lot of books with my parents.  One of my favorite books to have my mom read to me was called My Father.  It had beautiful watercolor pictures and the story was a song.  Listening to my mother sing that to me while we read is one of my favorite memories.


My father always promised us
That we would live in France
We'd go boating on the Seine
And I would learn to dance 

We lived in Ohio then
He worked in the mines
On his dreams like boats
We knew we would sail in time 

All my sisters soon were gone
To Denver and Cheyenne
Marrying their grownup dreams
The lilacs and the man 

I stayed behind the youngest still
Only danced alone
The colors of my father's dreams
Faded without a sound 

And I live in Paris now
My children dance and dream
Hearing the ways of a miner's life
In words they've never seen 

I sail my memories of home
Like boats across the Seine
And watch the Paris sun
As it sets in my father's eyes again 

My father always promised us
That we would live in France
We'd go boating on the Seine
And I would learn to dance 

I sail my memories of home
Like boats across the Seine
And watch the Paris sun
As it sets in my father's eyes again

Day 13: Whatever tickles my fancy

Bucket lists.  Bucket lists tickle my fancy.  I've been thinking about mine lately and then a friend of mine posted a link to his, so that got me thinking that I should probably start keeping an actual list of what I want to do during my life.  You know, in case I forget.  Or at least so I can cross things off and feel accomplished.

So here is my bucket list.  It's a work in progress, since I keep coming up with new things I want to add to it, but here it is anyway.  If I ever do something on here, I'll post about it.

1.  Ride in a helicopter
2.  Scuba dive
3.  Play the guitar well
4.  See Phantom of the Opera on stage
5.  Cage dive with sharks
6.  Ride in a hot air balloon
7.  Visit the pyramids
8.  Live in another country for 3+ months
9.  Open my own bakery
10.  Skydive
11.  Convert to longboarding
12.  Night boogie boarding
13.  Publish my journals under my pen name
14.  Run a half marathon (or a marathon, but that's aiming pretty high)
15.  Visit each of the 50 states (already been to 24...almost half way there!)
16.  Shave my head (just kidding.  I wish I were that brave)
17.  Make a wedding cake.  A legit, big one
18.  New Year's at Times Square
19.  New Year's in Paris
20.  Temple Marriage

To be continued...

Day 12: Self portrait

I had a party last night.  A gangster party.  I moved all the furniture around, a friend made a huuuge brick wall thing with graffiti on it and we put it up on the dance floor.  My alter ego, Lil Shawty, showed up.  She's pretty chola and not really nice.  And she only has one face.

She's got some sketchy friends, but they sure do know how to bust a move.  

It was a fun night.  Thank you, mom and dad, for going out of town and making this party happen.  I promise it wasn't too loud.  We even took a little walk to make sure the sound wasn't carrying too much, then we shut the front doors to spare the neighbors.  

Day 11: My favorite recipe

I was torn between posting a pie recipe and this chicken recipe.  When I thought about it, I figured most of you would benefit more if I posted the chicken recipe...so here you go.  This is what I have every year on my birthday.  It's my favorite.  I've even turned this into an ebelskiever recipe and used the sauce for dipping.  It was delicious.

RITZ GRILL CHICKEN


Serves 8


8 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
1 cup (approx.) extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup snipped fresh rosemary
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
¼ cup clarified butter*
1 cup butter
¾ cup white grape juice
4 shallots, minced
2 lemons, juiced
½ cup chopped parsley (optional)

Slightly flatten chicken breasts, so they are similar in thickness (I like to cover them with plastic wrap.  it helps contain the mess). Brush both sides with olive oil and sprinkle with rosemary, salt and pepper. Over moderately high heat, melt 2 tablespoons oil and clarified butter in large skillet. Cook chicken 3 to 5 minutes each, until just barely done (meat thermometor should read 165). Keep warm. Meanwhile, combine juice and shallots in saucepan. Cook over high heat until reduced by half. Add butter, lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper. When butter is partially melted removed from heat and whip with a wire whisk to thicken slightly. Pour some sauce over chicken breasts and serve the rest on the side.

*Clarified butter:

Plain butter will burn and speckle rapidly (especially when cooking over high heat) because of the milky residue it contains. When you clarify the butter you rid it of that residue. Cut butter into smallish pieces and bring it to a slow boil in a fairly roomy saucepan. Listen and watch for several minutes until crackling and bubbling almost cease. At this point watch that the butter does not burn and darken. Pour the clear yellow butter through a tea strainer into a jar. It will and will keep for several months in the refrigerator.


Takes about 30 minutes.

Day 10: A letter to the person I hate most...or someone who hurt me

I thought the letter to my crush day gave me a hard time...I'm having a lot of trouble coming up with something to write here.  I don't even know who I'll write to....  I suppose this will have to do.

Dear Friend,

To this day I'm still not sure what happened between us.  I don't know what I did to make you loathe me, I don't know how we went from being so close to so far so quickly.  It makes me sad because I have a lot of good memories with you.
But you hate me and you hurt me.  You said cruel things to me, you turned people against me, you made me doubt whether or not I was a good person.  I remember the last night we spoke.  I came home sobbing so hard, my mom thought someone had been hurt.  I couldn't catch my breath.  You were just so cruel.  So cold.  No one has ever spoken to me like that before.
I prayed for you that night.  I cried for you and your pains.  I cried because I knew you were losing faith in what I hold dear.  I prayed that you would have strength, that you would find happiness.  I don't know if you have.
All the tears and unkind words aside, I'm glad everything happened they way it did.  It set me off down a path that undoubtedly has put me where I am today.  I have strong friendships and people I love, I have fond memories with good roommates, I have no regrets.  I'm glad you set me down this path, letting me meet the people I have met.
I still wish you happiness.

From,
An old friend

Day 9: My favorite tumblrs

What is a tumblr?  I have absolutely no idea.  Is it a mini blog?  A twitter-type thing?  I'm still confused.  Up until a couple weeks ago, I don't think I could have even said I knew it even existed, let a lone had favorites.  However, I do have a favorite (also my least favorite, since it's the only one I've ever read) and it's call To My Wife.  It's sweet.  I like it.  I like imagining that my future husband thinks of these types of quirky things that he's going to want to say to me one day.

Day 8: A recent Photo

Last week I decided on a whim to dye my hair.  I've been told by my hair dresser, and dear friend, Katie that I should try going darker.  While I was at the store picking out a color, they seemed to be all out of their darker browns.  I ended up picking one that's almost black.

It took me a little while to get used to the drama of the color change, but I like it.  I've had several people ask me if I dyed my eyebrows to match, but I didn't.  That's my natural eyebrow color with my unnatural hair color.  Somehow it all works.

Day 7: A Funny Youtube Video

I watch a lot of videos on youtube.  A lot of them are hilarious.  This one never fails to make me laugh...



There's something about laughing babies that gets me.

Day 2: My day in bullet points

I wish today had been more exciting...

• Woke up and drove my brothers to school
• Went back to sleep
• Woke up yet again
• Showered
• Went to For Heaven's Cakes, Nothing Bundt Cakes, and The Valley Bakery to apply
• Practically forced the girl at The Valley Bakery to take my resume
• Went home
• Made a sandwich (it was delicious)
• Watched an episode of Arrested Development
• Put gas in the suburban
• Picked up my brothers
• Got some laundry going
• Picked up the other brother
• Got bread from Great Harvest
• Did some dishes
• Folded some laundry 
• Made some dinner
• Did some more dishes
• Ate dinner
• Went to Institute
• Went to Linnea's and talked and watched Monk
• Came home and blogged.

What a boring day.  But it's so...typical of my life.

Day 1: An introduction

I've seen other people do this and it seems like a pretty fun idea.  Plus, I need a few reasons to blog.  I've been a lazy blogger.  I mean, blogging about Ikea shopping carts?  Really, Amanda?  So without further ado, an introduction to me:

My name is Amanda.  I was homeschooled for 8 years but managed to not end up with any socialization issues.  I've completed two years of college and changed my major five times.  I went to culinary school.  I've been skydiving and loved it.  I have a bucket list.  I'm obsessed with cats.  And penguins.  I write in my journal too much, watch too much TV, and spend too much money on books for my kindle app just so I can read whatever I want whenever I want.  I play more solitaire than should be allowed.

I'm driven by passion for life, learning, and love.  I fear spiders more than almost anything.  If I don't paint my nails, I'll bite them.  I'm short and I like to dye my hair.  I really enjoy coconuts.  When I think about things too much, Carpe Diem creeps into my mind and I usually end up doing something reckless, but often the result is satisfying, or I at least learn a big lesson from it.

I'm a glutton for sleep.  The end.