"O"cean

So after putting that picture into my last blog, I was excited to put another picture into this one. But the big question was...what should I post a picture of? I turned to my handy dandy Google Image toolbar and typed in the letter "o". I needed some calming down because of studying for CLEP testing, so I clicked on "ocean". Up popped hundreds of pictures of the beautiful ocean. I figured they might make you as happy as they made me, so I'll share them with you.






I've only had the privilege of visiting the ocean about 3 times. I wish I had the opportunity to live near one so I could frequently visit it. The crashing waves, the sand between my toes, the sound of the sea gulls...I love it all. I've always wondered what it would be like to live on an island. I'm thinking it would be a lot harder than it looks on Survivor. But maybe having to depend upon myself to survive on an island would teach me some important life lessons.

And so...there is yet another thing to add to my bucket list: survive on a deserted island.

"R"ecipes

So I like the letter "r". It's the second letter in my name, and I liked what the Google search bar brought up when I typed it in. I am a big fan of cooking and baking food. I like to think of myself as my Grandma Betty's apprentice. The first link that came up led me to a website called "All Recipes". The recipe that caught my eye was Coconut-Lime Cheesecake with Mango Coulis. Sounds fancy, but sounds really tasty. So here is the recipe if you are interested in trying it:

Prep Time:35 Min
Cook Time:55 Min
Ready In:9 Hrs 30 Min


Original Recipe Yield 1 9-inch cheesecake
Ingredients
3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut
3/4 cup crushed gingersnap cookies
3 tablespoons melted butter

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (10 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs
1 tablespoon lime zest
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon coconut extract
2 cups cubed fresh mango
1 teaspoon white sugar, or more to taste
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan.
2.Combine the coconut, gingersnap cookies, and melted butter in a bowl; mix until evenly moistened. Press the cookie mixture into the bottom and slightly up the sides of the prepared pan.
3.Bake the crust in the preheated oven until browned and set, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
4.Reduce oven heat to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
5.Beat the softened cream cheese in mixer bowl until smooth. With beater set to medium-low, slowly pour the condensed milk into the bowl, mixing only until just blended, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the eggs, individually, allowing the first to blend into the mixture before adding the second; again, scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary.
6.Pour about half of the cream cheese batter into a separate bowl. Stir the lime juice and lime zest into the portion in the new bowl; pour the batter over the crust in the springform pan, smoothing into an even layer.
7.Stir the coconut extract through the remaining cream cheese batter; pour over the lime-flavored batter in the springfom pan, smoothing into an even layer.
8.Bake in the preheated oven until the top of the cheesecake springs back when gently pressed, about 45 minutes. Turn oven heat off, but leave cheesecake inside with oven door slightly ajar until the oven cools completely. Refrigerate until completely chilled.
9.Prepare mango coulis by pureeing the mango with sugar until smooth. If too thick, add a teaspoon of water at a time, using just enough to make pourable. Drizzle over cheesecake when plated.



So this brightened my day just thinking about how amazing it would be. Now imagine if you actually had it to eat. It would make me want to sing that old Coca-Cola song..."Put the lime in the Coke you nut and drink it all up. Put the lime in the Coke you nut and drink it all up." Ahhh...refreshment.

"D"isney Channel

Oh, the title says it all. Some people may not like the idea of Disney Channel and call it cheesy television. I will agree with them on all accusations except for when they attack the movies shown on the channel. I am more specifically talking about the High School Musical movies. Personally, I am a huge fan of all three of the movies. I concede that at times, there are cheesy moments in every one of the movies. But that does not give others the right to call the entire movie cheesy and dramatic.
I'm not going to lie...One of the best parts about those movies are the actors. Zac Efron and Corbin Bleu are especially good actors who make their characters seem believable. Their good looks are not a bad asset either, which make the movies so popular.
On the opposite end of the spectrum of the High School Musical series lies the Hannah Montana series. What I want to know is how the viewers stay intrigued in the show now that Hannah's HUGE SECRET is revealed. In all honesty, Hannah Montana is definitely more cheesy than HSM and the content of the show is in no way constructive to the young minds who are watching it. At least in HSM, you learn the lesson of following your dreams and being honest (not lying to the world that you're Hannah Montana when you are really Miley Cyrus). To all those Disney Channel fans out there, be careful what DC shows you watch. They could be lying to you like Hannah Montana.

"W"al-mart

Upon typing in the letter "w" in on the Google search bar, I clicked on the first item that came up, Wal-mart. I clicked on the "official Wal-mart website". Up at the top, I saw a button that said "Click here for the Value of the Day!" So naturally, I clicked it. To my dismay, it was nothing I would be interested in buying. It was and Iron Man DVD with action figure for $19.00.
Hoping to restore my faith in Wal-mart's values, I clicked on the Clearance tab on the toolbar. Ironically, the first item on the Clearance list was and "Ironman 1850 Elliptical" workout machine. After a heavy sigh of disappointment, I scrolled down to the next item. It did not help. The product was a rocking chair, which is not a bad idea. But upon reading the product description, I realized that the cushion for the seat was made out of camel hide. How depressing.
The next item thankfully did bolster my faith in Wal-mart products. It was a Convertible black Lounger Couch/Bed. I started to think that maybe this product would fit perfectly in my college dormitory next year. But then came the price. For a broke working student, I can't afford $250.00 for a piece of furniture.
Upon my exploration of Wal-mart products, I think I'll stick to buying shampoo and gum.

"L"ife Quotes

As I typed in the letter "l" in the Google toolbar, the suggested searches included lowes, lady gaga, lyrics, limewire, and life quotes. I'm in an inspirational mood today, so I figured I might as well pick life quotes. I chose the third website result from the top. Here are two of my favorite quotes:

Death is more universal than life; everyone dies but not everyone lives.
A Sachs

Life is like an onion; you peel off one layer at a time and sometimes you weep.
Carl Sandburgs

In response to the first quote, I completely agree. There are people who go through life just moving from day to day. There is no purpose and no meaning in their lives. Some fill up their days with work and activities, leaving no time for family or friends. I once heard a quote that said, "It's not how many moments we live, it's how much life we have in every moment." I think this parallels to the first quote in that we need to live life instead of just going through the motions.
The second quote reminds me of a Shrek reference. When Shrek is explaining to Donkey how "Ogres are like onions", Donkey tries to relate Ogres to cakes by exclaiming, "Onions have layers and cakes have layers!" I think Shrek was intelligent in refuting Donkey's assertion. Yes, Ogres are complex creatures with many "layers" like onions. But their lives are also filled with sadness and tears sometimes from being looked down upon. We may not be looked down upon in life, but sometimes life does make us cry.
Just some food for thought. No pun intended.

"Z"umba

As I typed in the Google search bar the letter "z", a list of possible searches popped up. This list included zappos, zip codes, zumba, zodiac signs, and zombieland. I figured I'd pick the one I am least familiar with, zumba, and research a few facts about it. The first search result read "Zumba-Ditch the workout, join the party!"
After looking through the search results, I found I was not going to encounter anything interesting unless I Googled "random facts about Zumba." So I did. A website came up with 5 random facts about it that I thought were interesting:

1. 5 million participants take Zumba classes every week.
2. You can burn 500-800 calories in a one hour class. Some report burning over 1,000!
3. There are over 550 Zumba instructors and over 400 classes each week within 25 miles of San Jose, CA.
4. Zumba workouts are taught at over 40,000 locations in 75 countries.
5. The word Zumba is Colombian slang for buzz like a bee or move very fast.

As I pondered these facts, I came to realize that Zumba is a new fad. But I also realized that if so many people are exercising this way, and continue to do so, there must me some merit to the class. In fact, after reading these persuasive statistics, I might have to go try out a class for myself. =]

Sources: http://www.southbayzumba.com/2010/03/5-fun-facts-about-zumba/

Smile

Just the other day, I was listening to Uncle Kracker on the radio singing his song "Smile". This song always makes my day better when I listen to it. My favorite part of the song is definitely the chorus which compares his everyday actions to random objects:

You make me smile like the sun
Fall out of bed, sing like a bird
Dizzy in my head, spin like a record
Crazy on a Sunday night
You make me dance like a fool
Forget how to breathe
Shine like gold, buzz like a bee
Just the thought of you can drive me wild
Oh, you make me smile

When I hear this song, I always think of a guy who is liking a girl, but she doesn't really know that he likes her. She is the sunshine in his life, yet she doesn't even realize it. I think this is kind of sad in a way that she has no idea. Maybe if the guy told her how he felt, there might be some mutual feelings.
There is nothing more crushing to a girl than a guy shielding his feelings from her. He may think that he is making it obvious to her, but sometimes girls are oblivious to the signals he may be sending. It would be terrible if a guy were to hold back his feelings for such a long time that the girl felt he didn't like her and moved on to another man. Imagine if the girl were to find out about this situation after the fact. How depressing.
Thanks to Uncle Kracker for writing such a sweet and uplifting song. But if you are feeling like this and don't outright tell the girl, there might be some hurt feelings on both ends. Guys, be confident enough in yourself to make yourself vulnerable to the girl you like. You may just end up with a story that ends in "happily ever after."