Stupid Computer

I haven't posted cause my stupid computer isn't working properly. The "highspeed" internet won't connect, it takes forever for a page to load, and the keyboard is quite broken. Rabenstrange said that he'll help make me a new comp but he's been really busy getting ready to go to Japan. He still hasn't helped me fix my template...
Anyways, tomorrow is Rabenstrange's baptism so my mom is throwing a party at our house. Maybe I'll take off and go swimming or somethin.
Monday, our family is going on vacation again. Ri, my mom, and I wanted to go to Canada, but my dad decided that we're going to the Oregon coast, again... My grandmother is coming with us.
Two Sundays ago I went to the Skillet concert. They were really good. I met the guys afterwards and bought a t-shirt. I even got a pic with the band. Their new CD comatose comes out on October 3rd. They played several of the songs from it. Check out skillet here.

Some Recipes

Ri and I have been trying to find some tasty, healthy recipes lately. Today we tryed these and loved both of them.

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
3 Tbs. pure, virgin olive oil
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 Tbs. poppyseeds
zest of one lemon

Mix ingredients in blender. Line muffin pans with muffin papers. Fill muffin papers 3/4 full with batter. Bake at 400 F for about 20 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and enjoy!
Makes approximately 18 muffins.


Easy Carrot Soup
2 1/2 cups carrots (about 3 or 4 carrots)
2 1/2 cups water
1tsp salt
pepper
1 clove garlic
2tsp parsley flakes

Peel and slice carrots. Boil water, add carrots, salt, pepper, and garlic. Cook for about 15 minutes or until carrots are soft but not mushy. Remove from heat and add parsley. Purree in blender until smooth. Serve immediately.





By the way, if you're wondering why I haven't been posting on people's blogs, I'm having internet difficulties. It is taking several minutes for each page to load. I'll try to get to the library soon so that I can catch up on everyone's blogs...

Vacation

I haven't posted in awhile because i went on vacation... My mom and sister were all hyped about going to California so we decided to go while my brothers and dad were at their camp-thing. So we packed up a couple of bags and headed off in our van.
We were gone for six days, five nights, staying in KOA Kamping Kabins. Each cabin was one room and all but one of the cabins had two beds, a queen (which my mom and the two little ones got) and a bunk bed which the older of my two younger sisters and I shared.

Day 1: Destination Grant's Pass, Oregon
We spent the entire day in the van. Fortunately the little
kiddies were actually pretty well behaved. We didn't stop
until dinner, at which Zach managed to spill both his water
and his icecream, much to my mother's frustration.

Day 2: Destination, Eureka, California
Traveling went smooth, again, we traveled most of the day.
However, the drive was beautiful as we were surrounded by
the giant Californian redwoods. We reached Eureka around 5
and decided to go shopping in Old Town. It was quite fun. We
went to a bead shop where each of us bought a necklace. Mine
is made of orange glass beads. We also had dinner in Old
Town at a coffee and chocolate shop. After we ate, we stayed
and listened to a jazz band perform, then we walked along
the waterfront before heading back to our cabin for the
night.

Day 3: Crescent City, California
We got up early and went to Old Town so that Arita could
go to some of the shops that had been closed yesterday. We
didn't leave until after noon. In mid-afternoon we went to
the "Trees of Mystery", my mom's choice. She said that she
had been there when she was a child and so she wanted to
take us. They were actually quite interesting. My favorite
was a tree that had over a dozen other trees growing off of
it's branches. There was this ride thing that took us to the
top of the mountain. That was beautiful. When we were done
there we drove on until we reached Crescent City.

Day 4: Newport, Oregon
This morning, after checking out at the cabin, we went to a
museum. This was not your ordinary museum. It was inside an
old World War II ship and was full of all sorts of odd
things. I mean, who would expect to find pickled sea
cucumbers and whale eyes? Then we stopped at a beach. It was
beautiful, in the ocean, you could see these tall rocks with
flowers growing on them. We also went to the West Coast Game
Park. There, we petted lions and bears, played with pumas,
petted capybaras, and much more. This game park, breeds
animals for zoos and movies. (the bear was being raised to
act in movies) The funny thing was, I was looking this lama
in the eye, when suddenly my little brother Zach gave it a
sharp kick in the buttocks. The lama jumped forward and boy
did I jump. (No, Zach usually isn't that stupid but he's
only four, what can you expect?) We didn't reach our cabin
until around 6:30 and by then, we were all tired and grumpy.

Day 5: Astoria, Oregon
Today's our last day before heading home. We took it slower,
deciding to stop at an outlet mall that we saw. Ri and I
shopped together while my mom took the little ones. I talked
Ri into going into Zumiez and Pac Sun and in return, she
dragged me into Coach. I have a Gucci purse, why would I
want to go to Coach? Zach begged my mom until she bought him
this huge lollypop which kept him busy for a while in the
van. This afternoon, we went to Tillamook, Oregon where we
visited the famous Tillamook Cheese Factory. We went on the
self-guided tour, watched the people make cheese, taste-
tested cheeses, and bought fresh icecream at the end. For
all you people who have never had fresh and I mean fresh
icecream, you're missing out.

Day 6: Seattle, Washington (home sweet home)
This morning we visited one last beach before heading home.
But this beach was different, it had an ancient ship that
had be washed up many years ago. Ri and I ran along the
beach and enjoyed the salty air. On our way home, we picked
up my dog (my grandma was watching her). And now, WE'RE
HOME!!!


So that's the story of my trip. Any questions?

I've been having issues with my comp lately. I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. Anyways, not much is happening this summer in my life, just the usual, guitar, piano students, and sleeping in...
My fam's going to my grandma's for independence day. We're gonna have a barbeque and watch the fireworks, and light some of our own. It feels odd not working a fireworks stand this year. Last year it seemed like I was up there for the whole week.
Oh, yeah, I almost forgot, the patriotic concert thing went great, except for one song in the last performance. (the director messed up on the counting and cut us off before the end and some of the violins missed the signal)
Well, I'll probably not post tomorrow so Happy 4th of July!!!!

God bless our troops!
God bless George W. Bush!
God bless America!