Rice pudding

Ok, so my math class was canceled today so I was able to come home :) As I came home I decided that I was going to make Rice Pudding. And it turned out pretty good if I do say so my self :) The recipe was really easy too
1 1/2 cup cooked rice
3 1/2 cups milk (I used whole goats milk)
1/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
tsp of vanilla
stir it all together over medium heat fort about 40 min and there you go!
I learned that you need to stir it constantly, it thickens faster. Also I didn't cook the rice long enough so its not quite as soft as I would like but it's still good.  If you want to you could put cinnamon in when you cook it and add raisins after for more flavor. But I like it the way it is. Also if you don't know how to cook rice it's really easy its 1 cup raw rice + 2 cups water = 3 cups cooked rice. but it all in a sauce pan, bring it to a boil then let it simmer with the lid on for about 20 min and presto! Rice :)

Dance and Life

As I was dancing around the kitchen this morning thinking about my upcoming performance and practicing some on the routine I realized something, Dancing is like a relationship. I know your all looking at me with a 'yeah right' look. But it is, I promise!
Before I go on, I'm talking about REAL dancing, like ballroom dance. Ok, first.... you need two people. Duh! :) But seriously you need a partner. Someone who knows what their doing it really nice. There has to be a lead and a follow.
The lead needs to know what to do, how his partner moves, what their strengths are, their weaknesses and how to lead. Just because they are the lead doesn't mean that they know how to lead. They have to know how to give direction, to give signals as to what to do next, how to move. They have to also make sure their follow doesn't run into anyone else, they have to steer and watch out for their follow. Their foot work might not be as complicated as the follow's but they have a lot to think about. They also have to support the follow as they spin or dip. Having a sturdy base is something that isn't learned over night either, neither is having a strong frame. Their frame helps to lead, guide and protect the follow.
For the Follows, the first thing is WAIT FOR HIM TO LEAD. This is your biggest and hardest job. You are the follow, they are the lead, let them do what they are suppose to. Listen to what they are telling you, be aware of their signals. Don't try to anticipate what they are going to do, because more often then not, it's not what they are planning and you have to stop and find the music again. Be aware of where you feet are, don't just let them move, know your movements, know where you body is. Yes, the follows have more complicated footwork and we're the pretty ones, but we can't do most of out moves if the lead isn't there so don't get a big head. Keep your frame. I know when you dance with a good lead you just relax and it is wonderful, but you still have to keep your frame, to make it easy for him to lead you.
and for both lead and follow, you can't do it alone. Someone has to teach you the moves. To show you where the step went wrong. This someone has to be a person that has learned to dance with their partner successfully and knows the steps. Don't be afraid to ask questions, to learn what you can, to understand how the combination really goes.
Don't be afraid to Dance
~ The Young Dreamer

Titanic

Hello my wonderful readers, I'm so sorry that I have been so absent! School has started to enter into the final stretch so tests and project have been in my mind. But I have found things that are much more fun to balance all my school work :) Recently a friend and I went to go see Titanic for the 100th year since she sank. As always the movie was beautiful. I cried the last hour of the movie and every time the tune of 'My Heart Will Go On' played. Of course I then had a Titanic kick, looking up dresses from the time period and tutorials on how to do the up-do that Kate Winslet and have been dying to try it on someone!

Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice, a love story that has lasted nearly two centuries. First published in 1813, it has survived and thrived through many generations. From it's first lines to it's closing words Pride and Prejudice has captivated the romantic in all of us. Many movie adaptations have tried to do it justice. My personal favorite is the 2005 directed by Joe Wright. Keira Knightly plays Elizabeth Bennet in a way very different from the other movies that I have seen. Unwilling to be bullied in to marriage, Lizzie does not see herself being married any time soon. But enter Mr. Darcy, played by Matthew Mcfadyen. Darcy struggles against his fascination and growing love of Elizabeth from the moment he lays eyes on her. I know that it sounds really corny and cheese, but Matthew Mcfadyen does such a wonderful job of character development with Darcy that you can follow him as he falls in love with her.
This story is one of my absolute favorites! It is so beautiful and happy. The characters are real. They aren't perfect. They all have flaws. Elizabeth judges, jumps to conclusions and has an awful mother. Darcy is socially inept, prideful and has a disgruntled 'friend' out to get him.
But they both have qualities that we should mimic also. One of those is Loyalty.
Both characters show Loyalty to those they cared about. Elizabeth to her sister and Darcy to Bingley.
When Elizabeth finds out that it was Darcy who took Mr. Bingley away from Jane, Lizzie's sister, she is loyal to her sister. I'm not sure she would have said 'yes' to Darcy when he asked for her hand, but she wouldn't have lashed out if it hadn't have been him. After she did, I think, is when she realizes that she loves him.
Darcy also shows loyalty to his closest friend, Charles Bingley. when he saw that Jane was not showing as much attachment to him as Bingley was to her, Darcy thought it best to separate them, to protect his friend. And Elizabeth's rejection helped to make things right in the end :)
Respect. Both Darcy and Elizabeth respected themselves and others. Elizabeth did not throw herself to men, even if she liked him. Darcy did not throw himself at Elizabeth either. He made himself known to her, in his own way praised her and took her advice when she gave it, even if it did cause him discomfort. In all this he was not doing it to point out that was following what she had said, only doing it because he loved her. After he made his affection known and she turned him down, he respect her wishes and didn't talk about his affections, but he did want to discuss the two charges against him, which he cleared.
They both realized and took responsibility for their mistakes. Lizzie when she judged her best friend Charlotte and when she misjudged Darcy. Mr. Darcy for taking away Bingley and he even made right Wickham's blunder.
Protective. Both Darcy and Elizabeth are protective of those they love. Elizabeth over Jane and Darcy over Elizabeth, Bingley, and his sister. And this is not a bad thing! It's a good thing that Darcy and Lizzie are protective, it's a way they show their love.
So lets recap: Loyal, Respectful, Owning up to their mistakes, and Protective. Now these are not all their qualities, but if you are looking for a Darcy or a Lizzie of your own, make sure that a Love of God is the Number 1 thing on their agenda. If they don't love the Lord, then they are not worth your love.
If you haven't seen the movie or read the book I won't ruin the ending for you, but you must do so.

Forever yours
~ The Young Dreamer

Writing

So, I'm writing a novel, well a few actually, but none of them are any where near done, but I was reading one because I wanted to start writing in it again. It's a rainy day and I didn't want to waist it on homework. But as I'm reading it and you know how in Disney movie what the two main characters meet there is an instant connection and they are a couple in, like, five minutes? Well, I think beat that in this story........ Sooooo, I need to fix that, and what better time then a rainy day? also there are brownies in the oven, yummy, yummy!
~ The Young Dreamer

Eat Me Cakes

Alright so Pinterest is extremely fun and make you want to be all crafty, so today instead of doing homework I decided to bake. of course it took me about 45 minute before I figured out what I wanted to bake and that two trips to our little store to get everything I needed. Today I made Alice in Wonderland "Eat Me" cakes :) I have to say they are really cute! I used boxed cake mix and made marshmallow fondant with powdered sugar 'frosting' to write on them. I have learned: freeze the cake cut outs, use the pour-able frosting for the smooth covering, and figure out hoe to make the cake denser. I did have a good time making the fondant though. So  here is a picture for your enjoyment!   

~ The Young Dreamer

Wow, I haven't been on in a while. I'm sorry :( I know you have all missed me terribly! but it's ok, 'cause now I'm back! What has happened while I was gone? Weeeeeeell I got a cute coat on sale at Forever 21 for $20, I watched The Three Musketeers and The Decoy Bride (both of which were awesome!), I have lunch with my family at The Tam O' Shanter (which was delicious!) and I went to the Huntington Library! I have also decided that I absolutely LOVE swing dancing! It is so much fun!
~ The Young Dreamer 

My Tea Came!

SO, I got my tea in the mail on Friday!!!! I'm so exited about it! I have to say that I was very pleased with the speed of the shipping and the tea it's self. I ordered from Adagio Teas and I bought the TARDIS and The Doctor blends (don't mind my nerdiness) I have to say the TARDIS blend was my favorite. An Earl Gray Bravo with hints of Blackberry and Vanilla  has a gentle flavor that is sweet and light. I was very pleased to find that it is is good both hot and iced. The Doctor blend is a little odd, but still good. It is also a Earl Gray Bravo but The Doctor has Hazelnut and Caramel. The Caramel and Earl Gray definitively take a backseat to the Hazelnut flavor. I haven't tried The Doctor iced as of yet and I'm not sure that I will order more of it anytime soon, but I will be ordering TARDIS again.
Until next time,
~ The Young Dreamer

Tea

I have never been one for hot drinks, or soup for that matter. but I have recently discovered tea. I was at a friends house house and they are tea drinkers. It was night time and they were all having tea and offered me some. I chose one called lemon zinger and loved it! so for a while that and mint tea were the only ones I would drink. Then my other friend had some chi tea and I found that was really good also. THEN via Tumblr someone I follow make her own blends on Adagio Teas. I was curious, so I just spit and order with  a friend of mine. I'm so exited to get my order! I will definitively tell you how they are :)
~ The Young Dreamer  

Fighting the Microscope: Round 3

Ok so another exiting round in Bio lab yesterday. We are learning about the different kingdoms of cells. After a long, and very quite explanation of what we were going to do we started strong. We looked at amoeba, and mold, bacteria in termite guts and pond water. The most fun was the pond water because the things inside were still alive! So we got to see them swimming around and had to go chase them with the microscope. It is so cool to see the tiny, tiny creatures that God has created that we can only see under powerful magnification. I have to say that the microscope is starting to show me some pretty cool stuff, just don't tell it I told you so!
~ The Young Dreamer

New Photo Blog

So a friend of mine works for a lady that is very good at social networking. Like, it's a huge part of her job. I was asked to take head shots for her, which I will be doing next week. I got an email from her asking me to talk to my friend about my website. Odd, I didn't knew that she knew I had a photo blog. So I call my friend and she tells me all the things I need to get, a facebook fan page, a twitter, a blog, and a youtube (fr what I don't know) I tell my friend that I have a blog, but was informed that I needed to get a wordpress blog........ so I go on wordpress and make a blog. Soooooo...... now what do I do with it?
~ The Young Dreamer

Chicks

All right, sooooo for all-ya'll that don't know, I live on a small farm. 1 acre to be exact. and today after coming home from school and youth group I found that we got our chicks! Now, I'm no where near a fan of chickens, unless they are in a lemon broth with lentils, but that's for another post. But I have to say, a chick that is only a few days old is very cute! I'll be sure to post pictures of them soon :) But for right now, au revior.
~ The Young Dreamer

The Ultimate Scavenger Hunt

Alright, so last week at College great put leader was talking about the verse that said "For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10 and he was comparing it to an Easter egg hunt. The thing is, he's right. God has set out good works for us to do and now we have to go find them. It is the Ultimate Scavenger Hunt!
~ The Young Dreamer

Butterfly Quote

While I was wondering on Pinterest I came across a quote. Now, if you've ever been on Pinterest, you know that is not a hard thing to find. People post quotes all the time, and I have found some that I would like to frame or put up as decals on my walls when I get my own house one day. But this one I wanted to share with you tonight. "Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly" - Anonymous 
This is such a beautiful reminder of life. Just when we feel the world is crashing down on us, when we feel like nothing more can go wrong, God comes and turn the mess we've made into something beautiful that can glorify Him. Sometimes it takes awhile before we see the beauty, or understand what happened. But God can turn even us, funny looking caterpillars into beautiful butterflies.
~ The Young Dreamer

Studying

Alright, so I'm being a good student and I'm doing my homework.... you know with 3 tabs open and music playing while sitting at the local coffee shop. But I am getting stuff done, I promise!!! I've typed up bio notes and read some of my textbook. I am learning more about cells than I thought would ever be necessarily, but c'est la vie (that's life). One of the tabs tat was open was a pattern to make a TARDIS blanket.... for all the free time I have ;) 
Until next time,
~ The Young Dreamer

Fighting the Microscope: Round 2

Bio Lab has come around again and this week, again, everything we did was in the microscope! But I think I'm winning

Safe and Sound

HI, long time no see! Well school is in full swing, but that's not why I hoped on today. Today I want to share a song I just found. Safe and Sound written by Taylor Swift for the movie The Hunger Games. I love this song so much! It is so pretty and well written. It has a sort of beautifully haunting feel to it. But as amazing as Taylor is I really, really like the cover done Julia Sheer. I actually couldn't tell you why I like it more, but I do :) SO if you want to here this amazing song click the links for the Taylor Swift Music Video or the Julia Sheer Music Video. I will be honest and say that the music video's are a little odd, and when I say odd, I mean I have no idea how they relate to the song. But the song is beautiful! so Enjoy!
~ The Young Dreamer

Chocolate Pretzels

Alright so I have a large break between my third class and my last class of the day (4 hours) so i head over to my aunts house and crash there. SO while I here today I decided to make Chocolate Pretzel candy things. I made them last night while I was babysitting, but didn't take pictures, so I had to make them again so i could show you! this recipe is actually modified from this one I found on Pinterest. But first we have to get our mood music. My friend posted this website to my Facebook, and I think it is now my favorite! Rainymoods is so stinking cool!!! Ok so now that we have the sound of rain, we can start.
What you need: Pretzels, and Caramel Cups (Rollos would work)


(ignore the M&M's)
Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees 
Place a sheet of Tin Foil on a cookie sheet and lay out your preztles 

Place them in the oven for about five minutes, until they are shinny. Not melted, Shinny. take them out.

Take a pretzel and squash it on top on the caramel cup. Do it to all of them, them let them cool....putting them in the frig works well. Them...nomnomnom

~The Young Dreamer

Rain

rain

   [reyn]  Show IPA

noun

1.

water that is condensed from the aqueous vapor in theatmosphere and falls to earth in drops more than ¹ / ₅₀  in.(0.5 mm) in diameter. Compare drizzle ( def. 6 ) . 

(from www.dictionary.com)

What is the dampness falling from the sky?! It's cold and wet....it's Wet, WET! I don't understand this concept. There is water falling down, well, sideways because of the wind, but still. The whole idea of rain is a little foreign  to me, a girl from the deserts of So Cal, but is this the reason other places are green and not brown, like my house? It is because they have this thing called rain?

~ The Young Dreamer

"Beautiful Wounds"

I waited in line for my turn. There were other people waiting there with me, those had been in the crash with me. I could vaguely hear crying and the pastor leading my friends and family in my favorite song, Blessed be Your Name, in a memorial. I knew they were heartbroken but I also know that time heals.

I look up as I hear my name. Jumping up, I pass through the gate smiled upon by the man who called my name.

It is so much brighter and glorious then I ever imagined! It was so beautiful, it was breath taking. Walking in wonder I see people that I know, family that I’ve never met but somehow I know them. Those who have left great legacies greet me, welcoming me to this holy place. Greeting them happily I search for one person. I wonder down streets paved with gold, pass tall building of rare stones But I look only for one person.

There He is, bent over, working on something. I can see the strength in his arms and shoulders from working with wood and caring for sheep. But there is gentleness about him holds his project.

His is facing away from me and I see for the first time his back. It is scared and torn and bruised. I slowly, quietly, approach him. Lashings cover his entire body. Deep scars from a beating of whips and Cat-o-tales, bruises from where he was struck by a rod, scratches from where he had to push him self up to breathe.

In every wound I see a sin that I have done. That bruise paid for the time I lied to my dad. The strip on his shoulder covered the stolen CD. The large scar where the Roman Cat-o-tails ripped out his flesh paid for the time I snuck out and partied.

He turns and looks at me over his shoulder and I see a great sadness in his eyes. I know that I didn’t have to sin, that I had his Spirit inside of me, but I chose to disobey instead. I fall to my knees, unable to stand in his presence and look upon the Lamb of God. Tears come to my eyes as I see what my sin has done.

I hear him turn and I see on his feet two circular scars where he had to push on the nail just to breathe. My eyes travel and I see a long gash in his side, the gash the spear entered his body, piecing his broken heart. Two calloused hands of a carpenter reach down and cradle my face, turning it upward towards him. Using his thumbs he wipes away my tears and I see many small holes where the soldiers pounded the crown of thorns onto his head. Reaching over to his place of work, he sets a delicate wooden crown on my head.

“It is Finished”

I lift my eyes to his and see great love in his eyes, love so perfect, only now can I understand it. He pulls me up into his arms whispering all the while, My child, my sister, my bride, my servant, my church.

I look down at the hands that are holding me. I softly trace the two perfect scars in each of his wrists where the nails held him to the cross that day so many years ago on Calvary’s mount so I could be here in this moment with him.

He pulls back to look at me and smiles. I look at him and see perfection in his many, many beautiful wounds.

~ The Young Dreamer

In Christ Alone

Today in church we sang one of my favorite song, In Christ Alone, written by Getty, Julian Keith; Townend, Stuart Richard. I love how beautifully and simply this song explains our faith in Christ, in what our hope is in. It is a beautiful song, so if you want to hear it click on the movie below, (this is a rendition done by Owl City)
Enjoy,
~ The Young Dreamer

The Weather

SO this weather, hu? Well, what ever you say I LOVE it!!! At the moment we have a light rain coming down and I'm listening to the Pride and Prejudiced soundtrack and I am very happy. Rain is definitely one of my favorite weather conditions. The way the storm clouds look, how the rain changes everything and makes the world seem more magical somehow. I love the rain, I always have. It puts me in the mood to write, or read (something I haven't done in ages, much to my dislike) And it should always came with a fire in the fireplace. So on the remainder of this lovely rainy day, enjoy it, find the beauty.
~ The Young Dreamer

First Week

Well I have survived my first week back to college. I think I'll last the rest of the semester as well.......but we'll see :) On a side note, I just watched the first episode of BBC's Sherlock. It. Was. Brilliant! Oh, my goodness, it's amazing! Stephen Moffat has done it again! Moffat is a genius. the writing was so well done. And the acting! No one can act like the British can. Benedict Cumberbatch is amazing! I've seen him before in Amazing Grace but his performance of Sherlock Holmes is fantastic. Utterly fantastic. If you have not seen Sherlock, I would highly recommend. and for those who want to see it, Netflix has it on instant play and on DVD for your viewing pleasure. :)
Until next time,
~ The Young Dreamer

Fighting the Microscope: Round 1

So I have officially started school back up. After a full day of classes yesterday, I have Bio Lab today. Let me say one thing about Bio Lab, you have to use microscopes. Now that's fine and dandy, if you can figure out how to make them work! So there I am, looking through my microscope and I know I'm supposed to see on circle with the object, sorry, objective in the center. Except, I have two slightly overlapping circles and only white in sight! After I give up using both eye pieces (moving them as far apart as possible and looking in one with my right eye closed) I set out to find the itty-bitty 'e' on the slide. Success! I found it! now magnify....it's gone........sigh. Start again, find the 'e' center it and magnify. Eureka! Now if I could just figure out how to use both eye pieces without getting cross eyed...
~ The Young Dreamer  

It's Alive!!!!

My blog lives! Now you will never be rid of me! Hahahahaha.... well until I realize how Home Work I have to do. But for now, I'm here. So who am I? I am a Dreamer. I am the Young Dreamer. And I'm living my life. Are you living yours?
~The Young Dreamer