A Must Try One Day!

Nutella Mug Cake

Ingredients

4 tablespoons self rising flour
4 tablespoons white granulated sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 tablespoons Nutella
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in a largecoffee mug. Whisk well with a fork until smooth. Microwave on high for 1 1/2 – 3 minutes. (Time depends on microwave wattage. Mine took 1 /2 minutes.) 

2. Top with whipped cream and chocolate syrup. Enjoy!

Note: Depending on the wattage of your microwave, you may have to increase cooking time.

Makes 1 very large serving.

Whats on my Mind (edited)

A) Stories, books. Been reading alot since camp. One of the many good things that came from there. I haven't had time for reading since high school, I forgot how much I love it till the girls at camp got me back into it. I have so much time for it this semester too, especially with the bus rides to and from work. I'm going to miss it come spring semester when I know I won't have time for it. Finding extra time between classes, work-study, the part-time job, and the homework isn't easy. Usually any extra time is spent sleeping, lol. So I'm loading up on books now while I can. I just ordered some more yesterday!
B) I still haven't found a place to stay or a job for next semester. Emma is getting worried about finding an apartment, but she is incessantly anxious anyhow. I'm not really worried, worse comes to worse we just stay at school housing again. I really want a job closer to the school so that I won't have to spend so much on gas this year, but worse comes to worse I take back my job at Kroger. It'll all work out in the end.
C) Ideas. If I were smart I would come up with ideas, concepts, metaphors, what have you for next semester now so that I'm not scrabbling to come up with something then. Concept is always my downfall. I create and figure out the meaning later. The teachers at mca don't really understand that way and prefer it the other way around. For some reason this is like getting a fish to fly for me. It doesn't help that I haven't even been working on my sketchbook like I should. It's starting to turn into more of a journal than drawings, which is usual for me, but I really wanted to work on my lack of drawing skills. I'm really bad at forcing myself to do things I don't like to do. I need someone to force me, honestly, but I'm not going to find that here, lol.
D) Someone asked me if I was enjoying my time here at disney. It really made me think. I mean, yes, I am of course. But I think I'm going to stop fretting about money so I can truly enjoy myself. I'll save up enough for a first month's rent, deposit, and groceries, everything else I'm going to use here if I find something I want. It will truly be a vacation that way, I feel.
E) Christmas. I won't be home for christmas for the first time ever this year though I will be home between Dec. 3-12. I already got the days off and bought the flight tickets so it is all settled, except where I am staying while there, lol. My room was finally given away to one of the younger kids so now it is the couch or an air mattress. Or staying with my aunt who has a guest bedroom. I don't know yet. The kids will be at school during the day so I could sleep in at Vada's and meet the kids after school everyday or I could stay with my parents, be woken up around 7 every morning but get to see the kids and eat breakfast with them before they left. But then I will have to either stay home alone or tag along on mom's daily activities. It's a difficult decision. I'm just excited to see the kids and family! Which reminds me I also need to start getting gifts. We just got the holiday merchandise deals and coupons so it's the perfect time for disney shopping. I even have their lists...
Brentley-
Wesley-
Zachary-Pascal(Tangled), Flying Magic Carpet(Aladdin)
Aubrey-Killer Whale(SeaWorld)
Kelsey-Bagheera(Jungle Book), Tiger
Casey-Mushu & Crickey(Mulan)
Mom-Dori & Squirt(Nemo), Kota(Brother Bear)
Dad-Bruce & Crush(Nemo), Pumba(Lion King)

Artist: Jason de Caires Taylor

Taylor does something magical and breathtaking. They say location is everything when it comes to sculpture. Taylor doesn't limit himself to the land, he goes into the depths of the sea. Here his work becomes more than just something to be looked at, it is lived in and provides shelters to the underwater life. His artist statements are wonderful, also. Maybe one day I can visit, take in the beauty in person.

La Evolucion Silenciosa (The Silent Revolution)

The ocean is imbued with mystery. Underwater and devoid of white walls the viewer is unrestrained in their interaction with the work. Buoyancy and weightlessness enable a detached physical experience, encouraging encounters that are perceptual and personal. As time passes and the works change, they reshape and redefine the underwater landscape in unpredictable ways.

Vicissitudes

Vicissitudes depicts a circle of figures, all linked through holding hands. These are life-size casts taken from a group of children of diverse ethnic background. Circular in structure and located five meters below the surface, the work both withstands strong currents and replicates one of the primary geometric shapes, evoking ideas of unity and continuum.
The underwater environment is much like that of the outdoors. An object is subject to changes in light and prevailing weather conditions. The cement finish and chemical composition of Vicissitudes actively promotes the colonisation of coral and marine life. The figures are transformed over time by their environment, and conversely as this happens so they change the shape of their habitat. This natural process echoes the changes exacted through growing up. Social interchange shapes this process, while conversely as the product of a particular society we in turn invoke change on the workings and dynamics of that environment.
The sculpture proposes growth, chance, and natural transformation. It shows how time and environment impact on and shape the physical body. Children by nature are adaptive to their surroundings. Their use within the work highlights the importance of creating a sustainable and well-managed environment, a space for future generations. Taylor notes that close to forty percent of coral reefs worldwide has been destroyed and that this figure is set to increase. His work reminds us that the marine environment is in a constant state of flux, and that this in turn reflects poignantly the vicissitudes, changing landscapes, of our own lives.

La Jardinera de la Esperanza (The Gardener of Hope)

La Jardinera de la Esperanza, depicts a young girl lying on garden patio steps, cultivating a variety of plant pots. The sculpture is sited four metres beneath the surface Punta Nizuc, Cancun. The pots are propagated with live coral cuttings rescued from areas of the reef system damaged by storms and human activity. This technique, a well-established procedure in reef conservation, rescues damaged coral fragments by providing a suitable new substrate.
The sculpture, a synthesis between art and science, conveys a message of hope and prosperity, portraying human intervention as positive and regenerating. The young Girl symbolizes a new, revitalized kinship with the environment, a role model for future generations. The interaction between the inanimate and living forms highlights a potential symbiotic relationship with the life systems of the underwater world. Over the past few decades we have lost over 40% of our natural coral reefs. Scientists predict a permanent demise of 80% by 2050. The Gardner of Hope is designed to focus attention on this important, often forgotten, ecological issue.
Built into the base of the sculpture are specialized habitat spaces designed to encourage individual types of marine creatures such as moray eels, juvenile fish and lobsters.

Anthropocene

Depth 8m, Manchones Reef, Cancun/Isla Mujeres, Mexico

http://www.underwatersculpture.com/index.asp

We should all be this imaginative...

Want to sleep but instead...

Libra woman
The Libran woman has learned all the charming ways from Venus herself. She enjoys a good debate and is usually more intelligent than most men who fall for her dimples. But her feminine instincts are always razor-sharp and they never let a man catch on to her real level of smartness unless he is properly hooked and wrapped around her dainty fingers. Once she has decided to love, cherish and manage a particular guy, she will give him her complete devotion – something which even her children will not be able to stake a claim at.

The women born under the sign of Libra have a mind of their own and needless to say, they love to talk. Libran woman is not only the most romantic and charming sensitive girl in the world, she is also the most trust worthy and devoted. She can be the most feminine woman in the world when going on a date or a party and give the illusion of a weak defenseless girl, and can just easily put on her crisis management hat and handle even the most difficult of situations with unparalleled calm.

A Libran woman enjoys many things in the world but teamwork or partnership is something that she was born for. For her, there is not much difference in a marriage and a business partnership. She treats them both equal dedication and commitment. She will always work towards making the life easy for her partner by tackling various obstacles through clever strategies. Remember her phenomenal ability to weigh pros and cons of everything? Well, the Libran woman is no fool and her wisdom and fairness are usually beyond compare.

Like a typical Libra, this woman works towards maintaining an inner harmony. If her emotions run out of control due to any reason, give her some time and like the scales that govern her sign, she will quietly regain her inner balance.

Chinese Zodiac - Horse Personality Occupying the 7th position on the Chinese Zodiac, the Horse symbolizes such character traits as strength, energy, and an outgoing nature. Extremely animated, Horses thrive when they’re the center of attention. Always in search of a good time, Horses keep the crowds happy with their humor and their wit. Horses are extremely intelligent so they’re able to grasp new subjects with ease. They’re also capable of multi-tasking however they don’t always finish what they start because they’re forever chasing the next opportunity. Horses are honest, friendly and open-minded. They’re perhaps a bit too centered on themselves and have been known to throw tantrums when situations don’t go their way. Health Horses are very healthy, most likely because they maintain a positive outlook on life and because they’re athletic. Lead Horses to wide, open spaces and watch them run free! Horses will usually only feel ill when they’re trapped inside. Career Horses enjoy positions in which they can interact with others. They aren’t fond of taking orders and they’ll run from jobs they consider routine. They’re able to grasp new subjects with ease making them capable of handling most any job. They’re effective communicators and they enjoy power. Good career choices for Horses include: publicist, sales representative, journalist, language instructor, translator, bartender, performer, tour operator, librarian or pilot. Relationships Horses, being spontaneous, have a tendency to fall fast and hard for others. They tend to give themselves fully in each new relationship a quality that ends up chipping away at their inner being. Fortunately, this exhausting trait mellows with age and relationships are stronger and more stable later in life. Horses and the 5 elements   Metal Horse – Years 1930 and 1990 Free-spirited in every sense of the word, commitment is the easiest way to scare Metal Horses away. They prefer jumping from one relationship or job to the next. Because of this, Metal Horses make better friends than partners.

Exhausted

Sleeping has recently become a problem. Since camp I haven't been able to sleep through the night and it's starting to get aggravating. Every night I wake up between 1-3am and then again 5-7am. It's difficult to go back to sleep between these and usually after 7am I just give up on trying to sleep. Even if I wait to fall asleep till after midnight I still wake up at least twice before morning. I just want to stay in bed all day. Maybe I'll invest in some meds to help me sleep and see how that goes.

Artist: Terry Border "Bent Objects"

Omnious Spring

Instead of happily reading or sketching like I would love to be doing, I can't help but think about the ever approaching spring semester. It's only 3 and a half-ish months away and I am not ready to go back to that life. I still need to re-enroll so I can pick out classes, ugh. I hate to think about it, but schedules are usually done right after mid-terms and those are coming up in a few weeks for MCA. Not that I don't love going to school and learning new skills. It's just a hard life, filled with no sleep and no money ever(no matter how many jobs you take on). I may have found us, me and emma, a place to rent pretty close to school. We will see how that resolves. I need to start applying for jobs soon. I would like to avoid working at Kroger again. I don't mind working there, it's just so far away and I don't want so much of my money going to gas again. I need something within biking range. So this is what has been on my mind. God I need to figure out who to call about deterring my loans come December. I figured out about how much I need to be trying to save up while working now to make life a bit easier next semester, lol. We'll see how much I actually save. Maybe I will just procrastinate these things for a few more days.
*the top of the sticky note is just a motto I'm working on for later use, it just sits on my screen in case I come up with more ideas for it ;)