Mega Firestarters

Mom and I made more firestarters last night. Dad had a lot of biodegradable pots sitting around in the shop, so we decided to use them to make firestarters. 

First, we filled them with materials. Just like the little firestarters, but with more materials! If you want to know how make firestarters in depth, look at post that was linked there. I don't want to write it again. Sorry, not sorry. 

Anyways, because they're not so little, we don't have to cut up the materials up into small pieces because there's so much space in a plant pot! Oh, I am so thankful.

We put lots of materials in - jean pieces, parts of t-shirts, old wash rags, popsicle sticks, and happiness. Then, we melted down lots of candles we had around the house in an old popcorn popper that I had (I broke it while trying to make sugar corn...I kept the base and everything else found a new home...in the trash). 

We melted the candles, poured it over the firestarters (so they stuck together), waited for them to dry, and then they're done. Take a look for yourself!

Y'all. I'm so excited. We made some beautiful firestarters! Look at them - just look at them! My heart is happy.

Anyways, we were able to use materials we found around the house that we didn't need anymore and we started reusing them in a grand way. A thankful heart is a happy heart. I'm glad for what I have - that's an easy way to start.

So now there are two sizes of firestarters that can be made - cupcake-sized and plant pot-sized. What a good way to be sustainable with using what I have been given and reusing what needs a new purpose. 

Also, dad talked about maybe selling them somehow somewhere. That'd be cool. But I also kind of really just like making them. So we shall see! 

Peace.

Note. If you don't know what a fire starter is, it's good to start a fire. Like a bonfire. Or fire pit fire. Or inside the house in the fireplace fire. NOT a house fire. Don't get any ideas.

Second note. My mom is the best.

Tally Marks

A couple times a week, I get tally marks. A couple times a week, tally marks are erased. In fact, I got at least five tally marks today. I may get more!

See? Here's my tally marks.

Now the what the heck is that answer. Because it's funny to me. =]. 

BUT MORE THAN THAT. Everything that goes OUT of my apartment (article of clothing, furniture, books, random items) to be given/donated/sold is worth a tally mark. One tally mark equals one dollar.

Now, if we look back on my goals/random thinkings on this year, one of my goals was to only buy what I need. Reference here. But there are little random things I contemplate buying. Like coffee. Well, mainly coffee. Like at a shop. Because, as we know, ground coffee from the store counts as something 'needed'. (on that, am I supposed to put the apostrophe inside or outside the period? English is weird)

So, this gives me my "froo-froo" money. Those aren't words. I don't care. This keeps me accountable not to spend all my money on coffee (which is why I originally started it last year), but it also keeps me accountable to not buy what I don't need. For example, when I'm thinking of buying a shirt, I can contemplate if I really want to lose ____ tally marks. If I don't, I don't get the shirt.

This is super great. I thought I'd share. OH. And this continually keeps me accountable to get rid of things that I have that aren't in use. 

Happy day for decluttering. 

Peace.

ALSO. If you struggle with buying an excessive amount of coffee like me, this really works. 

DOUBLE ALSO. I don't get a tally mark until the item in question is given to the person needed. Therefore, it doesn't count if it's in my jar. Just doesn't count. 

TRIPLE ALSO. You are dearly loved.

Avocado Love

Chopped avocado.

I struggle to get protein daily. Daily. I don't really eat meat (unless someone else cooks it) and I can't eat eggs or peanut butter, so there's that. Luckily, avocados have the highest protein given of any fruit - four grams per fruit! That's the best.

Thank you, avocados. I appreciate your existence. 
Now, I hadn't been able to eat avocados for the last year, so bear with me. I've been eating tons of them now because my body doesn't hate them anymore and I can eat them. Thank you, Sid's body, for healing slowly and surely. Thank you, Jesus, for making that happen. YOU are the ultimate Healer.

At least, when I eat the correct amount. When I get 2174817095 avocados at once, it's bad news bears.

Tonight, I made guacamole. I decided to take pictures while I did it because some people don't know how to make it and buy it. That's silly. Don't do that. Homemade is better. 

What do you need? Please remember that I don't measure...
- one avocado

Chopped onion.

- 1/4 cup of chopped onion
- 1 Tbsp lime juice (maybe two tsp - I don't know)
- 1 tsp (add more if needed) salt

First step? Get a bowl so you don't spill all over the counter. Second step? Avocado. Cut it in half vertically. Get out the pit. Want an easy way to get out the pit? Take your knife and put it in the pit (not stabbing it, but like you were 'cutting' it). After the knife is in, twist it sideways. This gets the pit loose and it should be able to come out. 

Anyways. After the pit is out, cut it into little squares (lines of cutting vertically, lines cut horizontally). Then use a spoon to put ALL the avocado into your bowl.

Happy avocado.

Mix.

Chop 1/4 onion, put it in the bowl, too.

Then dump the salt and lime juice.

THEN CRUSH IT. Well, kind of. Smash and mix it all until it's got no avocado chunks and it's just baby onion pieces. Then it's done!

Eat it with chips. Or rice cakes. Or on something else because you're not bound by rules because you're super cool.

What a happy time!

The end.

Oh, well, kind of. Avocados are super good for you. They're a fruit (technically, a berry). Tons of protein. They are very high in potassium (higher than bananas!), they're full of fiber (10 grams per avocado!). They're super good for your skin. Basically, they're the boss of all the berries. Minus all the other happy berries. Maybe we should have a berry party.

And call it a berry good party.

That's all. 

Peace.

Want more facts? Check it. Or check here.

Kitchen Decluttering

For the past year, it seems, I've been decluttering my life. I feel like I'm supposed to get rid of the things I don't use and it's been humbling. And REALLY good. 



I worked on cleaning out my kitchen this last winter break. I was going to declutter my entire apartment, but no. I didn't. I drank coffee instead. 

But my kitchen! I'm so excited about this. Why? Look.

Believe it or not, I can't reach my top cabinet shelf. I can jump to grab what is on the top shelf or I can use a step stool. My tip toes sometimes work. Maybe. 

But most of the time? I'm not able to get anything from the top shelf. 

So I had to clean it off! I pulled everything off of all of my cabinets - what a messy counter that became - and then I grabbed things one at a time and asked questions to myself. What questions? 

- Do I use this?
- Will I use this again?
- Is this good for me and beneficial to my health?
- Does this make me happy or do I have this just because?

So many questions. Well, four questions. Not too many. But when asking four questions for over 100 items is 400 questions. Also, did you know that your cabinets hold a heck of a lot? Yeah, me neither. Crud.

I cleaned everything out, wiped it down, and then purposefully put things back. Snacks foods on higher shelves, cooking jazzy jazz on lower shelves. 

I had to make sure everything was close enough to the front of the cabinet so it doesn't get lost in the cabinet. 

You see, if I don't see that I have something, I lose it. That's why I don't use the fruit/veggie drawers in my fridge. I forget I have the things. They die a slow and painful death and I find them two months later. 

So, that's my cabinet cleaning decluttering joy. I got rid of over 50 items from the cabinet. I also realized I don't use spices when cooking and I'm cool with that. Also, I was able to give lots of jazzy jazz to people and they can use it! What happiness that brings my heart.

Go clean out your cabinet. Give it to people. Don't keep things you don't need.

Peace.

Granola

According to the website of dictionary.com, a crunchy granola person is someone who is characterized by or defining oneself by ecological awareness, liberal political views, and support the use of natural products and health foods. Don't believe me? Here.

Not related to anything like that, I made granola tonight like a super cool kid. I had been given a lot of random granola, so I hadn't been making it, but I finally ran out. 

Sad day.

This is my absolute favorite recipe because it's basically a dump recipe! I learned it in my food science class at university - that's like the only thing I took away from that class. Except, also, what a paring knife is. 

Okay.

So, you first create a 'base' of the recipe, then you add whatever you want. Your base? Honey, butter, vanilla, salt, and oats. 

Now, I don't measure when I cook/bake things like this, so sorry if I'm wrong on specifics. I'm going to try my best like a super cool kid!

Ingredients:
one stick butter
half cup honey
splash of vanilla
dash of salt
half container of oats (well, honestly, as many oats as you need to soak up the liquid)

SO. What you do! Melt down the butter, add in the honey after melting it. Add in, then, the vanilla, and salt.

My next step is to add in all the good, happy things BEFORE adding in the oats. I usually add...

Oh! How lovely. Before cooking.

- chia seeds
- flax seeds
- pumpkin seeds
- almonds (chopped)
- brazil nuts (chopped)
- macadamia nuts (chopped) <-- oh my gosh. Up until this very moment in time, I thought the word was macadamian. What the heck.
- cacao nibs
- raisins
- dried cherries
- chopped dates
- dried fruit
- random ingredients from the cabinet
- joy
- freedom
- America


Just kidding, you can't add America when you cook. That's weird.

But really, just add random things that are granola-related. I didn't add everything above this time, just chia, flax, pumpkin, almond, brazil, macadamia. It's what I had and that's more than okay.

I mix the random granola-like things into the honey/butter base, adding more honey/butter mix if it looks like I'm in dire need of some more liquid. It should look like everything is coated in a baby bit of the honey/butter base without there being a ton of extra liquid. 

This is the color it should be when it's done.

HOWEVER. If there is extra, that's more than okay! This is where the oats come in. Dump a little bit at a time (like a cup at a time) and stir. Stir. And then stir some more. All the stirs. After you finish adding all oats, it should look like the whole mix has a very light layer of the base (and random chia seeds should be all over. That's how chia likes to hang out). If you didn't have enough base, just make more and add it in!

The oven should be set at 375 degrees. Put the granola on a cookie sheet (or in a casserole dish) and pop it in the oven. 

Every 10 minutes or so, be sure to check the granola and stir it in the oven. This makes sure that none of it gets burnt and it gets an even cook all around.

After cooking it for...I don't know this. I didn't set a time. I just went off of color. It should look golden brown. If anyone knows how much time this is, hit me up. I'm without knowledge of this and it doesn't really bug me.


BUT. When it's all golden brown, take it out, stir it, and let it cool.

Look! Reusing again! Also, my mom got me
this sweatshirt and it's the best. Thanks, mom
and Goodwill.

You? Sip some tea. Why? You just made a boss batch of granola.

That's all.

Love it.

Peace.

PS - I definitely got to REUSE my old bags from previous granola when putting this granola away. It made me super happy. Thank you, Lord, for this world that we get to help protect.

Midnight Changes

Tonight (at midnight) it becomes a new year. Hopefully I'll be asleep when that happens because I'm a bit really really tired. 

But I was thinking on my way home about this past year (the good and the bad), as well as what I would like to see happen next year. 

Here's a moment: Jacey and I got
stuck in the rain between the
wedding and reception of
Anne and Will's big day.

This past year, there were lots of changes made and joyous moments. Also, there were some moments that were really hard. But it's the hard moments that help us grow. So, here's a joyful list of thoughts from this last year (they're not thoughts, they're...lessons) -->

- I hurt my knee really bad this summer playing Ultimate Frisbee. It was the most humbling thing maybe ever to happen to me. It was terrible and wonderful. I learned to accept help from people more than I ever wanted to. Thank you Irma, Yingjie, Jeremy, Kshitij, Braden, Ross, mom, dad, Lindsay, Jamison, and many more. I know I didn't list everyone and I know I failed at thanking everyone. But really, y'all, I'm sitting here with eyes that are making it hard to see (they're all liquid-like) because I'm humbled from this experience. Truly humbled. 

- Ask for help. This is talked about above and that's really what began to break my pride, but I realized how essential it is to ask. I learned more and more what it looks like to get over myself and lean on the Lord. Not myself.

- Oh, the environment. My heart grew for this world that I call home (at least for now). Though I know my home is in Heaven, the Lord has given us this land to protect. What a humbling, beautiful, wonderful responsibility. The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. - Psalm 24:1

These people...

- Take a chance. Y'all, I got a two-bedroom apartment last year with the idea in the back of my head that (specifically) an international student would maybe need to stay somewhere for a bit of time and I could provide that place. I did that. And then nothing happened for about a year. Then Tugce randomly posted something on the book of faces about needing a place to live, I answered, and I then received the greatest blessing of my year: a dear friend. All because I trusted in the Lord and not in myself (because, y'all, I don't usually take chances...ever). 

- I don't need a ton of to be joyful. This, yes, is something is known. But I've been cleaning out my life daily and, if anything, it's been freeing. The less I have, the more I can focus on what matters: Jesus.

...make my heart...

- Teaching is hard. Like really hard. I'm humbled daily and I can't do it without the help of the Lord and people around me. Thank you, Fallin (Jenn) for being willing to help me survive and thrive daily. Even when it feels like I'm drowning, you help. Thank you. 

- I learned quite a bit about myself this year: how I focus, how I learn best, what brings me happiness (not joy), my stubbornness, and more. What I've been learning the last couple of months of this year is that I won't do something until I've decided I want to. Someone can tell me something a million times over (like, something that I should do), but until I decide I want to do it, I won't. Examples? Biking. Making my bed. Flossing. Drinking water. Trees. Reading. Eating no sugar. Decluttering. Drinking black coffee. To do or like those things was determined by MY brain, no one else. 

...happy.

- I need to saturate my brain into the Word of God. NEED.

- Being myself is more than okay. I've been made special and unique and the Lord dearly loves me. So often, I feel like I need to do something to fit in and be 'normal'. There is no normal. I am a daughter of the King and I should act like it - head held high, confidence, laughter, joy.


- Healing takes time. There were a couple experiences of this year that I would really rather not live through again. Experiences that made me feel stupid (that's a forbidden word in my classroom) beyond belief or hurt beyond reason. It was more than okay to take time to heal from those. I learned that talking about the experiences helped and keeping it bottled up made me crazy. It's okay to cry. It's okay not to be okay.

Here, read a bit of journal.

- Oh, I like to write.

There's a lot more lessons. A lot more friendships that I am aboundingly thankful for. I can't even think over how much God has provided for me in this past year without crying out of joy. I'm so thankful that I have a Father that cares so deeply for me that it doesn't matter what I do, it simply matters who He is. I can see everything that has perfectly been orchestrated into His plan. Not mine, His. Thank you, Lord, for such a good year. I'm thankful. And very humbled.

This next year, I don't know what to expect. I have goals, yes, but not 'resolutions.' To resolve to do something makes it permanent, but I feel like you can mess up on a goal and still work towards it. So, my goals -->

- Buy only what I need (and look beforehand to make sure)
- Make the Word of God a priority DAILY. Daily. d.a.i.l.y. (I don't want to be like a tree that isn't planted by streams of water - I want to be by the water [in the Word])
- Get people together as the body of Christ to serve, love, pray, and do what the Church is supposed to do
- Pray. Pray more. Pray fervently. I was thinking of taking one hour a week (Saturdays) and cutting everything off and praying. Only praying.

Hi, school. You're not so scary. I'm glad
I take pictures to remember joy.

- No sugar. I'm excited and terrified about this.
- Travel. I want to go somewhere. Oh, Lord, please show me where you want me to go.
- Practice and attempt to learn a language (that is, other than English)
- Read books. I want to read books.

That's all I want to commit to. I'm glad I'm allowed to fail at goals.

References to the experiences are sort of listed some places - 

Ultimate Injury
Asking for Help
Learning Sidney
Teaching
Biking
Book List
Cutting Out Sugar

I like to reference things that I've written. 

Peace.

Peace out 2016.

Welcome 2017.

Real Cups

Welcome to another coffee talk. I went to Bluestem Bistro today and drank a lot of coffee. Well, kind of. I got a soy latte and soy milk and espresso shots. Help us all.

Oh, look! A soy latte.

Last night, I was up until like 1AM because I contemplated classroom management for two hours unintentionally and wondered about classroom projects and then contemplated the lives of my students. It was a hot mess.

AND. I had to be up at 7:00 (well, earlier would have been good) to go to the dentist. I forgot to go to the dentist for one and a half years and then I had a dream about the dentist, woke up, called the dentist because I remembered in my dream that I needed to go. If you tracked with that, props. If not, welcome to my life.

After the dentist (with my sparkling teeth), I went to mail packages of books at Hy-Vee. After mailing the books, I went and hung out at Bluestem for two hours.

Wow, wow, wow. That took a long time to get to. At Bluestem, I decided to get something with no sugar so that my dentist didn't hate me. He encouraged me to floss when he checked my teeth. I do floss. Flossing brings me joy. Oh well. Can't win them all.

Anyways, sugarless. 

Oh, wait. I got steamed soy milk and three espresso shots. Maybe that's a lot of caffeine. Working on like five and a half hours of sleep, I was really still falling asleep while reading my Bible. I was finishing Luke. If you haven't read Luke, please do. It'll inspire your soul.

Oh! Espresso shots and steamed soy milk.

Jesus is beautiful. 

I was also reading A Gospel Primer for Christians. It basically talks about 'preaching the Gospel to yourself' daily. Stating how beautiful God's love is for us and how we can't earn it - it's freely given through Jesus. 

Oh my goodness. I'm struggling with the focus. 

When I got my coffee, I remembered that in the past like 235923850928305 (I struggle to put in commas to numbers...) times I've been to the coffee shop, I've been given a paper cup with a plastic lid. That cannot do! It's bugged me. Why waste paper and plastic when there's ceramic mugs?

So I asked for the real mug. It made me feel happy and at home. It made me happy about fact that I was helping the environment a little baby bit by using a real cup.

Also, I ran into someone online who lives a zero waste life that brings their own cup when they're taking coffee to go. I think that's a lovely idea. I should try that sometime.

Good luck tracking with that. Read Luke. Use a real cup. 

Peace.

OH! And when I finished the soy milk and espresso shots, maybe I got a soy latte. Basically, I used my coffee money for the week in one morning.