Fiddleheads

before

after

O is for Orchid

When I moved in, there were two plants. I quickly killed one. The other is on its last legs. So, I decided to get an orchid. The orchid is still thriving after a month! Right now, there are 12 blooms. Turns out that orchids are pretty easy to care for:)

CA dog + snow = smile on my face :)

So over Christmas break, it snowed a couple times at my house, which was kind of incredible because it snows maybe every 15 years in Vegas, and we got a couple inches at our house!!! Anyway, we (or I should say I, because I hijacked my brother's camera) obviously took a gazillion pictures of the patio furniture and us in the snow, and also of our dogs outside experiencing the snow. Well, they'd never seen it before and while Madison wouldn't go off the concrete porch, Jackson (who is almost 11!!! eek!) went out without fear and ran around for a little bit before practically sprinting back into the house to get warm. It was one of the best moments of my time at home and I finally got the pictures, so I had to share this one :)

Old people have the best stories

The week after next, I'm heading to Peru for spring break. My mom sent me this 94 year old's amazing story to prepare me for my trip. It just takes a minute and I know y'all will love it.

photo from zoagli on flickr used with a creative commons license

A Reason to Watch American Idol

His name is Kris Allen.

1) He is in Chi Alpha in Arkansas and leads worship at his church

2) He is beautiful

3) He has an amazing voice

But don't take my word for it.

Bribing Myself with Project Catwalk

I'm hooked on Project Catwalk, the UK's spin-off of Project Runway. My strategy: 1 hour studying for midterms, followed by 1 episode of the show.

Rules for school

So since I've realized that the rest of 2009 is going to consist of A LOT of school, I decided that I needed to keep myself motivated and on top of everything, so I came up with a list of rules...appropriately titled "Lindsay's Rules for School"...my mom has been informed of these rules and hopefully she'll be keeping me accountable. I hope that they work, because this is going to be intense, but I am kind excited for the challenge :) I thought I'd post the rules so that even more people know and now I really can't cop out of them... :)

Lindsay's Rules for School are as follows:

1. For every class missed (except in the case of serious illness), $5 will be deducted from the monthly entertainment allotment.
2. For every assignment not completed to the best of her ability, one TV show will be delayed until the weekend
3. She will exercise at least three times a week, weather permitting, and use her weights four times a week, or one more TV show will be delayed
4. Devotions will be done every day before any TV is watched or Internet is surfed
5. Church will be attended every Sunday, barring absence from Denver or severe illness
6. Small group will be attended every week barring an exam the next day, absence from Denver, or severe illness
7. She will go to professor’s office hours if there are EVER any questions/comments, it will NOT be put off; she will also keep in touch regarding graduation requirements (keep on top of her responsibilities as a student)
8. She will make an honest effort to email friends once a week to say hi and keep in touch :)

21!

I had an absolute blast celebrating my 21st birthday last week! Justin turned 21 on Thursday so we decided to have a joint party. The party theme was TexMex so people came as Texans or Mexicans (see my mu mu above). There were yummy TexMex appetizers (thanks Whitney!) and an ahhhmazing chocolate cake (thanks Elaina!). I was a bit worried that everyone would fit into my apartment but luckily they all did. This awkward pic was taken at the very end after we played a hilarious game of French charades. Good times.

Soup = Yum

I also made soup. This is my mom's Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder recipe. It's one of my fave dishes. I made it to take to work and it should last me most of this week. Any suggestions for next week?

If at first you don't succeed

Photo of loaves just before they went into the oven.

I've had a blast cooking lately. I even attempted to bake bread on Sunday. Key word: attempted. Sadly, the dough didn't rise and I ended up with inedible rock solid "bread." So, I tried again today. This time, sweet success. Yay for delicious homemade bread!

eek

I nervously made a decision last week to train for this half marathon in April. I ran four miles today...only nine more!

Tim Tam Slams

Just saw this fabulous explanation of Tim Tam Slams on Apartment Therapy. It even includes a YouTube how-to video. Wow. Reminded me of good times in Sydney.

Here's Ashley, the diva of slams, showing us how it's done:

Learning Italian via Google

Since I signed up for internet here in Italy, Google has been showing up in Italian. The address is much catchier than the American counterpart, it's google.it. Furthermore I've learned some Italian from searching the web like "avanti" means "next." But I think the most amusing phrase I've learned is seen here on Google's homepage--"Mi sento fortunato," "I'm feeling lucky." Yes, I'm sure this phrase will come in handy.

Weary Winter Weather

I left my rain boots in New Jersey... that was dumb.