Favorite Things (Friday) Vol 1 Ed 6

FRUIT LEATHER BABY!

That's right, now that I've become a Bountiful Basket-er, I have a lot of fruit, too much to consume alone! So, instead of letting my dear fruit go bad, I am making delicious, homemade fruit leather! That's right! So, I'll walk you through the simple process. Make sure peel and chop your fruit in semi-bite sized-ish pieces. I like to put my fruit in a large pot and boil in so it gets a little soft and doesn't hurt my blender so much. So, 1/2 a cup of water for every 4 cups of fruit, bring to a simmer, and let simmer with the lid in for around 10-15 minutes. Then mash the fruit up with whatever you can, and taste it. Add sugar as needed and let the mush thicken up a bit more and make sure all the sugar is dissolved!



You can let it cool a bit here if you want, but now you want to puree your fruitness. I use my blender, but if you have a food processor or something else that you prefer, then it will work. Make sure it gets super smooth! Taste the puree and make sure it is to your tasting. You can add lemon juice (just a little) to bring out the taste of the fruit. You can add cinnamon and/or brown sugar to apple, like I did, but I just added regular sugar to the pineapple example.




Now you want to super spray your baking pan with some sort of Pam (or substitute), or you can cover your pan in heat-proof plastic wrap. Anyway, pour your puree into the pan. A trick I have for smoothing it out is to shake the pan left and right and up and down, so you even out all the ridges and stuff. Be soft so you don't spill, just be gentle.

Stick it in the oven at the lowest setting. In my oven it is 'warm', try not to be over 150ish, and then close the oven door. This is when patience takes place. It could take 8-10 hours to dry properly. You know it is done when the middle is no longer gooey, of if you touch the middle and it doesn't leave an indent! It always peels off the pan pretty well for me, and then you just slice it and put it in a plastic bag. I guess you can put it in a freezer or fridge or whatever. As if there will be any left in time for you to do this!

Trust me, it is worth the wait! (YEah, I bit that piece, what of it?)

Favorite things Friday Vol. 1 Ed. 5

this Friday (Saturday) is First Dates! Why - you may ask - is something so awkward a favorite thing. Well for one - because I had an awesome one last night. I love the adrenaline. The shy awkwardness of both parties - it's adorable and kind of humorous if you think about it! I love the way you both are kinda wondering what will become of it. The awkwardness of who will pay. And then the cute 'Oh thanks!' when he offers. Besides - first dates means your dating new people. Which means you're meeting ad getting to know new people. I love how attentive he was when I was explaining my family situation - he wanted to see the picture of my niece I was showing around to the girls in the car. It was fabulous!

Favorite Things Friday Vol. 1 Ed. 4

FLUTING!

That's right! I'm not sure you guys realize just how much I absolutely love my flute. There is nothing in my life that I care about more than my music. It's hard, it's expensive, it's time consuming, it's degrading (at times), it's competitive, it's painful, and yet, I still do it! It's a common fact around the music department that music majors cry at least once a semester when we have our breakdowns. It just happens. It's also a little known fact (to others at least) at how crazy of a course load we have. I am currently taking 18 credits, and yet that still amounts to over 10 classes! Class goes from 8 in the morning til 5 at night, and I have a few night classes every now and then. It doesn't even matter though, because when I get up on that stage (or even in that practice room) and just make beautiful music, it is the most amazing feeling ever! You have no idea the glory that comes out of the realization that I am the one creating that glorious music. I love Music Theory, I love everything about music. Sure, there have been times that I have gotten frustrated, REALLY frustrated, and thought about changing majors. But then I realized, what else would I do? There is nothing else I want to do in my life. I love that Dr. York is my professor now - she rocks so bad, and I don't know what I'd do without her! I now know that with her help I will succeed in this dog eat dog music world! I am starting to teach beginning students now, and I couldn't be more excited! It will be so much fun!

Favorite Things Friday!

Hey everyone! Glad to be checking in ago!

This favorite thing's Friday topic? GOALS! Indeed whenever I hit a block or downer in my life I get out my journal and start some goaling! Goals about a bunch of stuff! Recently I decided a goal that I want to develope a meaningful relationship with as many of my nieces and nephews as possible! It felt great to write letters this week - and I intend on continuing to write or send little treats or whatever as much as my time and wallet will allow! If your kids ever question anything - I want them to know that I love them and that I'm there for them! Sometimes you just can't go to mom and dad about an issue - but I want to be there for them (and honestly - for you - I'd rather have my kids going to family than their 'friend' or someone who may not have the same values that we love and embrace. I love you all - and your chillins!

Favorite Things Friday - Delayed

Haha - Favorite Things Friday was delayed this week because of this week's favorite thing:

APOSTLES!

We were blessed enough to have Elder Richard G. Scott come to Pocatello this week to speak to the ISU Institute students! Because it's a HUGE deal to have an Apostle in Pocatello (they usually just drive through to Rexburg) I had to go to the institute building STRAIGHT after class so I could make sure I got a good seat. The speech started at 7:30. I got there at 5 and DJ and his brother Jared joined me at 5:30 and, 2 hours before, the entire front part was full. We got seats very near the front of the gym but WOW! It is so powerful to have an entire institute building filled from the chapel, through the gym, back through the lounge area, and even some class rooms had to have overflow! Even though his message was ALL about marriage (we're kinda used to that now) Elder Scott let his personality shine through and we all got to see how great of a sense of humor he had! Really - it was hard to remember I was at a devotional sometimes because I was laughing so hard! He is such a great man and his speech was such a blessing in my life. The spirit was so strong before he even walked into the room and he really helped me remember that my Heavenly Father and the Apostles we have on the earth today love me.

Favorite Things Friday

So as some of you may know -my amazing sister Sara does this weekly blog post called 'Five Sense Friday'. I was thinking about it this week and decided I was going to steal her alliteration idea and make my own version (since my blogging has been lacking - this can be a weekly catch-up of something that made me smile.

So this Favorite Things Friday is my new Favorite Foods/Food Like Thingies

My new favorite snack/latest craving is a mixture of Dole Mediterranean Blend Lettuce (Taste Intensity of 4 and a Texture of 3). It reminds me of the salads you would get at any restaurant in Europe - and the different types of lettuce add to the taste, not to mention e add a bit more crunch than others. An AWESOME blend!

Add to that some Raspberry Vinaigrette! (I prefer Newman's Own, but it doesn't matter!) Which has a sweetness added to the bitterness of the vinegar. If you let it soak in a bit it is DELICIOUS! The sweetness makes the vinegar taste tart instead of bitter.

For lunches lately I have been using my brand new Bento Box! It has reusable compartments that are specifically sized for healthy portions, and you don't waste plastic baggies when you use them! My pack even came with a little drink bottle so I could add some juice (I usually carry around a Nalgene with water). One of my favorite meals? Summer Sausage and Cheddar Cheese for a 'Main Coarse' (I'm also loving Oroweat's Health Nut Bread with Organic Peanut Butter and Raspberry Preserves), then my salad from above or celery, carrots, and broccoli with ranch, and then some pretzels for some salty. Delish! Anyone who has kids - I HIGHLY recommend these for cold lunches. Mine has an insulated outer carrier - so no ice pack needed, and since everything is in its own plastic container, there are no smooshed sandwiches and you can actually have a salad! It even comes with fork and knife!

And finally - I am in LOVE with the Pocatello Co-Op! It's a free trade store where you can get locally grown goods. I go here for my milk because I don't like stuff with hormones or additives - and this is practically straight from the cows at Clover Leaf Farms. I cannot get Reeds here - well I can - but only gallons and they expire quickly and are EXPENSIVE. These are slightly pasturized so they last long, and they're still 'organic', but cheaper. They come in glass containers - so I feel all old school as I rinse out my glass container to take back. I also bought some bulk uncooked Jasmine Infused Rice there. It was DELICIOUS - easy to cook - and didn't come in a box! They sell bulk spices and herbs and a bunch more! I got my organic peanut butter there. It takes some getting used to, but I love this place. They have locally grown fruits and veggies, and everything is fairtrade which makes it that much better! I know IF has one - their fruits and veggies aren't the best but I suggest their bulk spices and dry goods to anyone! The lady there is so sweet too! Whenever I have a question about cooking (or which rice is closest to the rice you'd get out of the box) she goes through the co-op with me til we find it. It's great!

Kappa Kappa Psi!!

So as some of you may or may not know, my old flute teacher and her husband, who was our Assistant Director of Bands/Marching Band director left this summer to get their Doctorate. After an intense process of interviews, they got an AMAZING new director (whose wife happens to have her Doctorate from Texas Tech in Flute Performance :D). Mr. York showed his great skills at Marching Band Camp a week before school started with ease. It didn't take long for me to notice his Kappa Kappa Psi clothing. I had heard of Kappa Kappa Psi before, since many of my friends at other colleges are involved with it. It is a Co-ed Fraternity, the National Honorary Band Fraternity. It is solely for kids who play band instruments in a college-sponsored ensemble. I had wanted to be a member of KKPsi for a long while, but ISU didn't have a chapter. One day when Mr. York was wearing his KKPsi hat, I asked him if it would be possible to start a chapter here at ISU. He said yes without pause, which was exciting for me, I never would have even thought to ask any of our other professor about it. Luckily for us, he had recently helped his previous school, GVSU, establish a KKPsi chapter too.

After some Facebook conversation with him about how we would get it started, I started advertising the idea to my peers. I made an announcement at every band rehearsal, asking people who were interested to talk to me. We have a small school, so we were hoping for an interest level of 15-20 people and we got it! We then had to set up a meeting time. Sometime along the way my friend, Cassie McBean, became a super help, becoming my 'right hand woman'. We established a meeting time, that would be the same as GVSU's meeting time so we could have a video conference with them. I posted signs, posted facebook events and continued making daily announcements, not to mention bugging people to ensure their attendence. We had the PERFECT attendence, and by the end of the meeting, and having all their questions answered, everyone was still interested!

I cannot believe that after a month and a half this is really happening! We are sending in the application in just a few weeks! Our colonly will start out with somewhere between 10 and 15 people, not huge, but all my hard work is paying off! I never thought this would happen! I am so happy that Mr. York was willing to help and we had such an interest. We will be a colony for a good year before we become and actual chapter, but it will happen if I have a say in it! I am going to be the President of the Kappa Kappa Psi Colony at ISU! It is awesome to be such a huge part of the Music Department's History, especially because I love this department, and this college, so much!