Sunday, July 24, 2011

Cookies, cupcakes, and everything sweet!

Sometime in the future, I want to save enough money to travel to undeveloped areas in the world for service work and bring home-made delightful treats for the people.


Rationalizing to what people in other countries need the most, cookies and such do not even classified in the list, but I think that everyone should have the chance to try a cookie at least once in their life. It just makes life sweeter.

Food brings people together.

I know that when I have gotten a homemade treat from a friend, just the thought of someone putting time into baking from scratch made my day.

People sometimes send cards to help people heal emotionally, so maybe sending cookies to those in need can help them too?

This probably doesn't make that much sense, but I think that a way to show love to others is to share. I don't mean to go back to first grade lessons or Barney episodes, but it is fascinating how one act of kindness can change anther's persons attitude about life. The simple things like when a person holds the door. Specially in this century, where sometimes, acts of kindness are rarely seen (sadly) in certain locations.
Una nina bonita
Maybe one day we can bring people who enjoy baking or want to learn and have a good time and create a large batch of sweetness from the heart. 
 
Learning to cook from the amazing chef, Yuris

 There should be a motto, like:

One batch for life?

 ...
.....
...

I am out of ideas.

We could expand ideas about what kind of treats we could bake.          *Insert Happy Dance*

If people have special dietary need like lactose or gluten intolerance, we can altered the ingredients!

Have a little note inserted in the pastry with a scripture or a little note saying "Faith, Love, Hope" in different languages.

This are just thoughts for the moment, hope and pray this can work out in the future!
-Amarillooooo

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Special Edition

With less than 24 hours to go
I was in deep trouble
to find just the right gift.
You see... I have a friend
who is extremely gifted with creativity
and well...I ran out of ideas.

FALSE. I came up with one
at MIDNIGHT. Is there a friendship rule...
against late presents?
I hope not!
So here it is: 
To Andrea:
Happy Birthday!  
A blogger special edition

Warning: Possible grammar/spelling errors. You have been warned....

Here is the story:
Back in the summer of 2008 I had just moved to the state of Kansas. Not knowing anyone, I spent most of my summer reading books in the only place I knew well at the time being, my house. It wasn't a horrible summer at all, I just felt lonely at times, because the only friends I knew were hundreds of miles away (beside my family). 
Kansas has such friendly people!
After enrolling into my new high school, I started making friends.  The first year, God granted me a lot of plans. My path crossed paths with Andrea's, in a school of 600+ students, when we ended up in a class together. Wellness & Nutrition. Ha. Story of how our friendship arose! During the school year, we were friendly classmates but we never had much time to talk. It wasn't until the spring semester when we both signed up for soccer, that we started to become pals. Both of us being kind-of newbies ended up in the JV team. We did not mind it at all, strict but fun practices payed off to winning most of our matches. The team family environment was my favorite part. When a teammate was down, we united and supported each other.

After my (junior) first school year in Kansas was over, summer begun. One day, Andrea and I set up plans to hang out and the rest was history. Bike rides, movie trips, walks, picnics, etc. Who needs to watch the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants when you have your own friendship stories in the makings while its summer?!?
 Right in the midst of summer. An unexpected event flipped my world upside down. One of the biggest trials I have had in my life.  The hardest part was sharing the news. The friends I did tell, were truly sympathetic and wanted to help. Andrea, nevertheless, was one of them. Through the rough days of moving from a house to an apartment, no judgment was ever shown. A summer filled with adjusting to moving and life in general wasn't part of the plan, but it had happened. I thought I could no longer hang out with my friends because I needed to give up my time to try and help my family.  Thankfully that wasn't the case completely. Faith was my hope. I knew God had a reason for everything, good or bad, happening.

Many of my friends had a lot of summer plans, Andrea, as well,worked part-time. It was beyond thoughtful of her, to give up her free time to hang out with me almost every week of that summer.
I pray to God for such a gift. Friends. The support, the love, the sympathy, each brother and sister shares with each other. God is so wonderful!

I never felt such joy about life during a trial until that summer (2009).
Andrea impacted the way I saw life, bringing me closer to my faith, supporting me in my lows, celebrating with me in the highs, and keeping the friendship bond through time.

The next school year (my senior year), we only had one class together, but nevertheless, the friendship support was there. The artsy, creative, and intellectual friend of mine (Andrea) always knew how to make someone's day/week/month/year. Whether it was an spontaneous knock on the door with a card and a basket of cookies wishing 'good luck' on my first cross country meet of the year, or the day we baked cookies and biked 10 miles to deliver it as a gift to a friend; the memories I have when I think of Andrea bring a smile to my face.

This last school year has proven that distance has no affect on a friendship, in fact, it makes it stronger.
Motivating each other to work out.
The day we watched Julie & Julia.
A walk downtown.
Boutique window shopping.
Andrea's friends became my friends.

Breakfast challenge week.
She threw me a goodbye party. :')
The most creative B-day party!
Experimenting with tofu.
A birthday surprise.
New friends, new memories.

I am so proud of you Andrea!
This is mi amiga Andrea. Her birthday is today (July 23rd).
Baking Buddy!

A chocolate chip to the cookie of my life. To the person who inspires others. Thank you for being a part of our lives.
To those who have not met Andrea in person, well, now you know a little of what a wonderful person she is. I know there are people all over the world just like her, who have changed so many peoples lives for the better. Thank God for those people. Thank God for all friends. Really. Every single person has a unique gift and has cross our paths for a reason. To make us better, for us to make them better, in the highs and in the lows. 
 
Happy Birthday Andrea!
P.S. You present will be mailed this coming week....sorry, I tend to be late in these kinds of things.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Aloha Hoapili 'Hello Good Friend'!

One of my friends just flew to Hawaii for vacation, though I never been there,  I bet it is more beautiful than what movies portray it to be. 

"Ohana means family. Family means no one gets left behind." -Lilo & Stitch
 
Dancing groove? Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride
Me Ke Aloha (with love),
Ahh-me (Amy). 

Monday, July 18, 2011

Tranquilo Roberto

Sometimes in life, we have so much perseverance that we feel in a rush to try harder. But at times, we try too hard that we get injured. For example; training to run faster or farther. It is possible to finish a marathon without training (just ask my friend), but that leads to consequences after the race...and many lessons to be learned while you sit on the couch all day because your legs cannot physically move.

If this post had to have a keyword, the word would be proper. To try properly. Not too slow and not too fast. Stay Tranquilo (relax) while you move forward.

I learned my lesson last week, when I tried running up and down the stairs of a stadium and later in the week ended up with a minor case of shinsplints because I wasn't used to doing that. Bummer, because the only way to heal is to stay away from running for the time being.

You know when you are prohibited from doing something you like doing temporally, and it makes you want to do it more because you miss it so much? Sigh.
I say, if you are injured, try doing something else similarly to your hobby that will not harm you.

Like biking
 and taking random pictures of bike seats...
 While you are at it, you might run into a surprise. 
Like the most adorable cat you've ever seen!!

"Consider it joy, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." -James 1:3

Suitcases by Dara Maclean

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Inspired Baker

After reading about 100 healthy food blogs last night (exaggerating ), I felt inspired to create a recipe. By 'create' I meant, use another recipe as a guide and altered the ingredients and proportions. I grabbed my notebook and pencil, and started the process of creating what I like to call: the Ah-mazing cookies.

I used Quaker's Vanishing Oatmeal Cookies recipe as my guide.

 Ah-mazing Cookies (Ingredients):
  • Almond butter
  • Almond milk
  • Oil (tiny amount!)
  • Flax Seeds (substituting 'egg')
  • Almond Extract
  • Vanilla Extract
  • Pecans
  • Chocolate Chips *
  • Quaker Oats
  • All-purpose Flour
  • Brown Sugar
  • Baking Powder
  • Salt
*Contains dairy

After baking the first batch, I think that the recipe can improve. Surprisingly, I think it would taste a lot better without the chocolate chips. Instead, I think I will add apples or raisins. I also liked the idea of using mini cupcake wraps. Any recommendations/tips? :)

Hopefully, it will be 100% dairy free, 100% delicious, and _ _% nutritious!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Ay Chihuahua

Muy Caliente! (My thoughts on the weather)
The temperature outside has been above average compare to previous years. Last week, the temp went as high as: 103, 105, 109, 115 and today 111. I don't want to complain because I know that in the winter, I will be wishing it was summer again. 

I attempted to go jogging...

That lasted 5 minutes, and then I just walked.
 
During the walk I was trying to come up with possible ideas for my new blog post, and I came up with this one:

A list of awesome bloggers.

I think that part of blogging is networking to share brilliant ideas, which is why I want to share a couple of great bloggers that succeed in the health & food category.

1. Angela from Oh She Glows (Inspiring lady who also shares a bunch of delicious vegan recipes).

2. Amy from Super Healthy Kids (Don't be discourage by the title if you do not have kids. Her recipes are extremely creative. Just today, I made her famous Simple Ice Cream after my walk.)

3. Kathy from Healthy Happy Life ( I recently found her website and will most likely try her Almond Butter Banana Shake in the near future.)

4. Chef John from Food Wishes (I think I like his website mostly because his recipes have video tutorials. I also have to add a comment, that Chef John's enthusiasm is one of a kind.)

*On the right; Simple Ice Cream from #2. Mine was melted because I was impatient...







*On the left; Pre baked Apple Cake from #1. The recipe calls for jars, but I had none. Improvising!
    In the words of Chef John,
    "Enjoy!"

    Tuesday, July 5, 2011

    El Gato Volador

    "The flying cat". Not exactly what my story is about, but just a random thought. There is actually a song with that title, which is were my thought first came from. I am not weird.  Really. :)

    This afternoon, my mom and I went for a walk around the neighborhood.
    During the walk, we saw a beautiful Garfield look-a-like cat.
    The cat spotted us and surprisingly approached us.
    My mom thinks it was because we just had fish for dinner. haha.
     
    SOOOOOOOO cute.
     
    After leaving the cat, we proceeded our way to the park. The sunset came soon after, and we walked home.
    The End.

    Documenting summer soon to be memories. It's a must!

    Monday, July 4, 2011

    Swing Away

    Will you swing with me?
    No one is ever too old for playgrounds.
    It just seems as if many lose interest in this wonderful and classic invention.
    If it has been years since you have been on a swing, please, try it one last time.
    Feel the rush of the wind while your eyes are close.
    Feel the energy as it sways you back and forth.
    Feel your feet dangle in the air as if you were soaring in the sky.
    Feel the chain with your grip, as if you were holding on to your life.
    Have a race with a friend to see who can swing the highest.
    And if you dare to, with precaution, jump off as the swing at its highest point.

    P.S. Was that a yes?

    Friday, July 1, 2011

    The world that is not indoors

    What have I been up to?
    Working on a short clip of what lies outside my house. Experimenting with "cartoon" mode.