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.

Gingerbread Houses

To start with, had a nice Thanksgiving. Had a wonderful lunch/dinner, played "Compatible", "Imaginiff", and "Apples to Apples"- and had desert.

Gingerbread houses!

Gingerbread house, royal icing. A wreath, green trimming, and little bushes made out of green gumdrops. Also: red hots, candy canes, pretzels, Twizzlers, and sprinkles.

Recipe here

Catching Up

It been a somewhat longish time since there has been up dating on Whinny Up.

So, to start off, a little bit of hunting- and, finally, success. My older brother shot a doe.

There where lots of deer.

Elk!

Surprise, very early, birthday party! Went to a basketball game for a surprise, early birthday celebration and then had a fun night at one of the houses playing Apples to Apples with refreshments.

Earlier went hiking at local park.