How to Confuse Your Roommate

Ignore the time stamp, I don't know how to adjust it so it displays the right date. But that's not important anyways. It's not like I need this picture to document when I did a particular thing.

But anyways, I bought one of those small bagless vacuum cleaners for my dorm. It makes life simpler because I don't have to lug the huge vacuum all the way up the stairs, and I can use it whenever there is a smal mess to clean up.

Well, one afternoon I got out my vacuum and part of it was on backwards, so I fixed it. Well, I got about half of the room vacuumed before it broke, in half. So I attempted to put it back together, but it wouldn't stay together. Therfore I threw it on the carpet and left it there. Then I proceeded to sit on my bed and do homework.

About half an hour later, my roommate, who is also my best friend, comes it. The door was closed, which sent up an alarm, because usually I leave it open. So she opened the door and saw my vacuum cleaner just laying on the floor. And she said, "Why is your vacuum cleaner murdered?"

New Things I've Tried

This is my second year in college. I am rooming with my best friend, which is nice because we know our limits.

Anyways this year I've been trying some new stuff because you only live once.

1. I joined International Club -- learning about different cultures and countries.

2. Swing Dancing - I've always wanted to dance but I feel awkward when I try to learn on my own. So I thought this would be a great idea.

3. Bubble Tea - some of the girls from my floor decided to take a trip to the Farmer's Market one weekend. While I was there I noticed a booth selling Bubble Tea smoothies. I ordered the mango one. The flavor was interesting, but I didn't like the Tapioca balls at all.

4. Tofu - the cafeteria on campus likes to include lots of choices in their meals. So one night I decided to try tofu. The texture reminded me of rice and it has a rather bland  flavor.

5. Treasurer -- okay, so last year I was sitting around a campfire with people from this one club. The President decided that we should hold an unofficial election for the new president. I ended up running because we needed two people, well I voted against myself, which meant I lost. But they were talking about making me Treasurer of the club. I wasn't sure whether they were serious or not, but I return in the fall, and start recieving Treasurer emails, so that's basically it.

My Personal Bucket List

A few years ago I watched the movie 'The Bucket List' featuring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. It really is a touching story, and it made me realize that life is short so you should try to enjoy it while it lasts.

1. Vacation on a tropical island -- nothing like the warm sun on my skin and a refreshing drink
2. Volunteer for a rescue organization (i.e. natural disasters...etc.)
3. Donate anonymously to Cancer Research centers and/or Children's hospitals
4. Meet a celebrity
5. Attend a Country Music Festival/Band
6. Ride a motorcycle
7. Take a hot air balloon ride
8. Learn how to square dance
9. Go to Busch Gardens in Florida
10. Go on an African Safari
11. Travel to Japan with my best friends
12. Celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans
13. Attend a Rodeo
14. Go to a midnight showing of a new movie
15. Have my favorite book signed by the author
16. Ice-skate on an outdoor rink
17. Try a complete spa package
18. Attend a Monster Truck rally
19. Write a book
20. Watch the Northern Lights in another country

-- If you have any suggestions to add to my list, please leave a comment

Skunks in an Unlikely Spot

So a few weeks ago in mid June, my father put a live trap in our lawn mower shed to get rid of our woodchuck. He baited the trap with peanut butter spread on apples cause apparently that's what they like to eat -- this coming from my uncle. Anyways, in the morning he checked and noticed that the cage had been sprung, but not enough to trap anything. Later that same evening, he checks in again. Suddenly he jumps back and says, "I think I've got 2 skunks in there" My mom of course glances over and says, "I believe there's more than 2 skunks" So she calls my brother and I out of the house to check out the find. Sure enough, there's a ton of baby skunks crawling all around Mama skunk. She wouldn't have been able to spray us anyways, so we lucked out on that. While Dad is figuring out how to get rid of the skunks, Mom is snapping pictures and laughing cause they're just so adorable. Mama skunk was giving us the stink eye (pun intended). Dad just threw 2 towels over the cage and used a metal bar to lift it onto his trailer. All 4 of us piled into the van so we could relocate the skunks to my uncle's woods. Dad decided we should stop at the neighbors to see if he would volunteer to release them. He opted against it, but decided he and his girlfriend should come and watch. We made our slow way to the woods, the poor little 'uns were bouncing all the way. Dad took the towels off and put the trap by the trail leading into the woods. Mama sprung out the cage very quickly. Soon the little ones were following Mama, but only after some assistance. We counted EIGHT! Yes, eight baby skunks. Apparently some skunks can have up to a dozen little skunks. We were about to leave when four little ones decided that they wanted to come home with us. They were crawling under the trailer and up on the wheel rims. Mom's on the ground shouting "Okay, go, go, go" "No, stop, wait, wait" "Okay, go" Oh they were so cute. Above is a picture of just one baby next to a regular Cool Whip container for comparison. And if anyone is wondering, there is plenty of underbrush in the woods for them to live in, and a small creek runs through the woods.

Easy Dirt Cups for the Dorm

One Friday night as my roommate and I were sitting on our beds, some of the student staff workers came around announcing that there would be dirt cups and cupcakes in the basement lounge in half an hour. So we waited until that time before heading down to the basement. When we got down their, we found out that they were just out of dirt cups -- the sole reason of coming down to the basement, that and it's free. What college student doesn't love free food?

So my roommate decided that instead of moping about not getting a dirt cup, we would do something about it. The convenience store at the cafeteria was still open, so we made a run thru the darkened space between our dorm and the cafeteria. After picking out our respective pudding cups, we returned to our room to assemble a dessert fit for the average college student.

Easy Dirt Cups

1 vanilla pudding cup per person
1 package Oreo cookies (or any generic knock-off)
Gummi Worms (optional)

1. Remove lid from pudding cup
2. Put a couple of Oreos into a sandwich bag (remove all air from bag)
3. Gently crush Oreos until desired texture.
4. Slowly add Oreo pieces to pudding.
5. Mix
6. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

 

A few years ago, I came across a chocolate chip cookie recipe in one of my family's cook books. I started baking this recipe whenever a batch was required: campfires, family gatherings, for whenever. One of my best friends developed a fondness for them, she will call me up whenever she would like them. And I'll happily make them for her, as long as we have all the proper ingredients.

 

Recipe

 

1 cup margarine

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 package instant vanilla pudding

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 t baking soda

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 cups chocolate chips (I use much less though)

 

Preheat oven to 375 F. Cream margarine and sugars together. Add eggs, dry vanilla pudding mix, and vanilla extract. Then mix in the baking soda and flour. Drop by cookie scoop onto ungreased cookie pan. Baked for 10-12 minutes. Let cool. Enjoy!