L.I.F.E!

So! I totally have not done much of anything with my blog for a long time. But it might be time for the occasional update!

To start with: School is well on its way with the normal math, literature, science, reading, P.E., language...etc..ect.

Alg. 2 is always full of its up and down and x's and y's (which I personally think are much better problems then, say story problems **shudder**). Chemistry is... well can you say stiochemistry...... it is a working progress! Spanish is of course, in a word, A.W.E.S.O.M.E! Literature is pretty interesting with wide variety of classics. P.E.- Ah! Let us just say sometimes I am not in the mood to run a couple of miles. (Oh! and, of course, the scary job of studying for a drivers permit......)

Next up!

We had a great family friend/adopted sister out for two weeks and did a bunch of fun things: painted a ceiling/floor of our slowly coming together working project of a house, taking photos, climbing up the bluff in the dark and looking across the city, bike riding, and being great fans at football games!

Which brings up another topic. Ah! Highschool and middle school football has come and gone. Awesomely enough my hard working brothers both got to the playoffs. However, they sadly did not make it to the championship games......

And Elsie:

She is her normal, chicken chasing, excitable, joyful self. Rotating between sleeping, playing, and releasing some of her contained energy. She is always a very lovable dog... for the most part.. unless she decides to not sleep nicely on the floor!

The chickens are also doing fine... I think. Out of all of them, only one is apparently laying an egg about every to days.... and we got rid of both of our roosters that began crowing and had to go bye-bye! The Buckeye especially made a delicious chicken pot pie and we got 3-5 meals out of the two of them combined (which was good, even though chickens are the one animals I have more of a hard time eating in self-butchered).

And! because this will probably be expelled from my mind by the time it is Thanksgiving: a couple of things to be thankful for!

1. As always! My Lord and Savior who puts up with me even though I am ever needing forgiveness.
2. My parents... who also put up with me. Teach me things like taping off for painting a house and how to cook a dinner.... and Mom for teaching me school and especially Spanish!
3. My brothers. Who include me in their laughs and fun.
4. My sister and her family. I totally love her and she is very awesome. Like super awesome. And so is my nephew, of course.
5. Great friends. Attending football games, doing Bible study, hanging out, and also, putting up with me.
6. My animals. As always, very competent, even when I am in a bad mood. I love my little Border Collie!
7. Mouse traps. and mothers and brothers who take care of the products of this. I CANNOT stand mice and... well yes. I cannot stand them.
8. School. Because I would probably die from boredom if I did not have it!
9. My life. Having a house, a family, food, and the essentials to life.
10. Ummm. Shall we just leave this one for the things that have escaped my present thought occupations?

Have an awesome holiday season, don't eat to much, try to be pleasant and so on and so forth!

Over and out!

Western Belle

Doe and Fawn

JC

 

GO BIG RED

On hummingbirds

My brother's mode of transportation

More flowers

Don't Blink

Time goes so fast. Sometimes it seems like something is so far away and next thing you know the important time has arrived. Months ago it might have seemed a long time before my little nephew was born. He is over 3 months old.

When winter starts summer seems so far away, but summer is almost here and winter is gone.

Don't Blink

Live life to its fullest

When the hour glass runs out of sand you can't flip it over

Start Again 

Pure Femininity Photo Challenge

Pure Femininity Photo Challenge is to capture a bit of Spring.

I captured this photo a few days ago while visiting California. Here is a photo of flower next to a picket fence against the California ocean.

A few photos :D

Here is my nephew (JC for his name abbreviated).

He is pretty cute :D.

And of course a visiting dog.

A doorknob at my sister's.

That is all for random photos for now!

~Western Belle

TAKE A HOLD OF LIFE

My life is not that hard. My responsibilities include household chores, my dog, and helping around the house (as well as getting school done.)

But even so, I can find it difficult to be cheerful and to have a good attitude. Sometimes it may be because I feel unwilling to help and be pleasant or I put aside all thoughts of humility and grace and make entirely unnecessary comments.

Mostly, this is just me not wanting swallow my pride. Who wants to be the one always losing trivial debates? That one is hard for me. But it seems, one little step in a good direction is helpful. Just learning to say, "Ok, I'm not going to say anything and just walk away" can be hard but can also be rewarding.

It can be hard to not make a comment back, it can be hard to get up and help with work, and it can be hard to be cheerful even in glum moments. But when you fill the urge to say something cutting back just because you might not be in a good mood, you can't ever take back those painful, cutting, or cruel words.

Another things is that life is EXCITING! You might not be going to the moon tomorrow but whether you are or not learn to take a hold on life.

Here are things that are exciting and I am thankful for:

1) My family. I LOVE my family. Even though I can be grumpy and unhappy, my family forgives me.

2) I thankful that I have a Savior. No matter what, God forgives me.

3) I'm soooo happy that my sister has a little son now and hope to him soon!

For me, it can be very hard to get motivated. Its hard to get up early and focus on school. Hard to focus onto chores. And even can be hard to get motivated to train Elsie.

But I want to take a hold on life and live! God created a beautiful earth that can be photographed, enjoyed, and lived in. He is the Creator of my nephew, family, and me. I want to please my God and my family. I want to learn photography and go to college. To train Elsie tricks and to help out around the house. To have a cheerful and pleasant attitude and become a Biblical woman. And those habits start NOW!

I'm trying to take up a challenge to be cheerful, profitable, helpful, and godly, things I struggle with. Will you?

~Western Belle

47 Random Questions

Just thought I would copy my sister and post these random questions. Feel free to copy them onto your own blog with your answers.

1. What time did you get up this morning?

7 o' clock.

2. How do you like your steak?

Medium Rare

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?

Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?

Montana, Wyoming, New Zealand or with my family :D

6. What did you have for breakfast?

Frosted Shredded Wheat

7. What is your favorite food?

Chinese Food and Shrimp Scampi

8. Foods you dislike?

Celery and Hawaiin Hay Stack

9. Favorite place to eat?

Home or Fiesta Mexicana

10. Favorite dressing?

Ranch

11. What kind of vehicle do you drive?

None at the moment. I want an old 50s - 70s truck.

12. What are your favorite clothes?

Things that are comfortable and look nice

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance?

Scotland, New Zealand, or Africa.

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?

Depends on my mood.

15. Where would you want to retire?

RETIRE?

16. Favorite time of day?

Right between 5-6 o' clock when the sun is at the perfect height and the shade is just right.

17. Where were you born?

Rocky Mountain High

18. What is your favorite sport to watch?

Football, Horse races

19. What is your favorite fragrance?

I don't know

20. What is your favorite face cream?

Don't use any

21. People watcher?

Not sure

22. Are you a morning or night person?

Night

23. Do you have any pets?

Yes

24. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share?

25. What did you want to be when you were little?

A Vet

26. Favorite Season?

Spring

27. Are you a cat or dog person?

DOG

28. Are you married?

Nope

29. Always wear your seat belt?

Normally

30. Been in a car accident?

Yep

31. Any pet peeves?

Um...Yes.... Swearing, inappropriate discussion topics, dirty bathrooms, etc.

32. Favorite pizza toppings?

Pepperoni, Italian Sausage, Plain Cheese, and Pineapple.

33. Favorite flower?

Tulips

34. Favorite ice cream?

Mint Chocolate Chip and Mocha Mudslide

35. Favorite fast food restaurants?

Wendy's, Chic-Fil-A

36. How many times did you fail your driver’s test?

37. From whom did you get your last email?

Sarah

38. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?

I would not max a credit card anywhere

39. Do anything spontaneous lately?

Like. evolution?

40. Like your job?

Assistant cook, puppy trainer, house cleaner... can't complain.

41. Broccoli?

Yep

42. What was your favorite vacation?

Christmas Break Trip

43. Last person you went out to dinner with?

I think my family and Grandpa.

44. What are you listening to right now?

45. What is your favorite color(s)?

Light Blue

46. How many tattoos do you have?

None.

47. Coffee drinker?

Depends

Just a few pictures I took on Saturday!

4 Food Experiments

Whole Wheat Honey Bread

I find a lot of recipes online for Home Economics Class that I do with Mom. One of Mom's favorite recipes is a whole wheat honey bread.

Here is the link to this yummy bread

Preheat Oven to 350 and check recipe for details.

I did change a few things with making this bread. Instead of doing 3 1/2 cups of whole wheat and 5 cups of bread flour, I did half and half of white and whole wheat flour.

I add all the whole wheat (4 cups or so), 1/3 cup of honey, 1 1/2-3/4 tablespoon yeast and 3 cups of warm water and set to proof. Then I add then I add 1 TBSP salt, 2 tablespoon of melted butter and 1/3 cup of honey as well as much white flour as is needed to not stick very much to the Bosch anymore.

Set to rise in a greased bowl till doubled and then bake in two greased bread pans for in between 25-30 minutes.

Whole Wheat French Bread

I also made Whole Wheat French bread. I don't like this recipe as much as far as the taste of the bread but I am not a big bread eater either.

I basically did this bread like the last one. Instead of more white flour I do half and half and proof somewhat like the recipe above. I won't go into details with this recipe.

Sour Cream Twists:

The recipe explains better how to make these then I can so I just linked the web address. Basically, my only advice is only having a huge party DON'T DOUBLE THE RECIPE. Mom and I did and had an abundance of sour cream twists.

And lastly, I tried making Vanity Cakes. I can't tell if I failed or just that I am not extremely found of them but anyhow I made them!

Vanity Cakes

The boys liked them and I thought that they were okay. Anyways, they were an interesting, different recipe to try.