The Picture of Dorian Gray.... Bizarre But Worth a Read

Today, one of my homework assignments was to read the book "The Picture of Dorian Gray". It was a very strange and intriguing book that I would recommend. It is all about a dashing young man name Dorian Gray who gets a portrait painted of himself, and it is a very lovely looking photo that looks exactly like him. Just as he is leaving with his photo, a man comes in and tells him his youth and looks won't last forever, so enjoy life while you can. This makes Dorian corrupted by his looks, and he makes the crazy wish of having the portrait grow older and him stay eternally young.

Well, everything is going well for Dorian; he has the picture on his wall, his popularity is rising, and he is engaged to the most beautiful woman on Earth. However, he breaks his engagement off after being humiliated by his spouse, and this in turn breaks the girl's heart, which leads to an early death by suicide.

In shock, Dorian returns home only to find another shock waiting for him: The picture of himself now has a frown on it's face!  Alarmed, Dorian hides the picture away in the attic of his house and locks the door, afraid that someone might see this monstrosity and blab. However, each time Dorian sins, the picture gets worse- until all that is left is a hideous beast.

The ending is a bit of a shock: After committing many murders, Dorian Gray decides to destroy the painting once and for all, since it is the only evidence against him. As he goes to slash the painting with the knife, there is a scream, and when the servants go upstairs, they find a twisted beast lying on the floor with a knife through it's heart. In the portrait there is now a smiling young man. And so, Dorian Gray switched places with his portrait once again.

1 Page Paper on the Element Boron

What is boron?

Boron is a semi metal that slightly resembles coal in appearance. It is hard and brittle, and is as black as the night. The substance made with it, boron nitride, is used to make materials that are harder than diamond.

What is it used for?

Boron is used for many different purposes, most commonly to help in studies working to cure arthritis. It is also used to make a product called borosilicate glass. Borosilicate glass is temperature resistant, thus makes wonderful cookware that can be put in the oven, freezer, and microwave without any damage.

Boron is also a wonderful electrical insulator and source of transportation for electricity. It works best when at its highest temperature (4000 degrees Celsius, it's boiling point), and works horribly at the low temperature of 2075, it's melting point.

Where is boron found?

Boron is not an element found free in nature. It is hard to find and can only be found in rare volcanic spring water as an acid. The acid found in the spring water is very similar to the acid found in graphite, another mineral/element. There are a few boron springs across the world, but the most productive is the one in Turkey. Boron can also be found in rocks and specific volcanic steam.

Boron, when taken in by a human being, has had no reported effects other than irritated skin. It has had the same effect on animals and lab animals. It is noted that it automatically enters the blood stream, and leaves your body through urination. Due to the lack of human data, boron is unclassifiable.

For more info like this, please check out: www.maddiesminerals.blogspot.com 

The Sims!!!!

My game FINALLY came yesterday! I was so excited. As soon as I got home, I installed it and played all day- from 2:00 to 12:00 p.m. I was very happy. I created a good few families, but decided to play just one person to start. (I tried to handle 5 sims at once, and ended up feeling like my Dad trying to watch me and Ashleigh- worn out. I am never going to be that much of a burden again.)

The game is very much like real life. You have to keep your sim's needs up (hygiene, hunger, bladder, comfort, fun, social, energy and environment) or else they will die. Here is how to boost each need:

Hygiene
Hygiene is very important for relationships in the Sims. If a Sim needs a bath, he will have little green stink fumes rising up around him and might attract flies. To keep your Sim's hygiene up, have them take regularly scheduled showers and/or baths, especially after they work out or come home from work. A small way to boost your Sim's hygiene is to have your Sim wash their hands.

Hunger
Hunger is important in keeping your sims alive. If sims are deprived of food, they will curl up on the floor and die. To keep your sims hunger up, make sure to regularly feed your sims. If you have your sims cook enough, they will gain cooking skill points and be able to make more meals. Beware though, if you feed your sims too much food without them working out they will grow fat and unhealthy.

Bladder- I am not even going to do a paragraph on this because this is pretty easy. JUST HAVE YOUR SIMS GO TO THE BATHROOM!!!

Comfort
Comfort is just that- comfort. If a sim is uncomfortable, they will be mopey and will not do what you tell them to do. To boost a sims comfort level, have them relax on the couch, in bed, or sit in a chair. Sims will also gain comfort from sleeping, napping, and eating.

Fun & Social
If your sim goes without fun for too long, he will start to cry. In my opinion, fun and social are the hardest to keep up with. To boost your sims fun and social, have them talk on the phone with a sim, and then invite them over. Have them talk and play for awhile, and the fun bar will rise.

Environment- If your sims environment bar is down, it means they are a couch potato! Get them outside more often, and buy them some lights for the inside of their house.

Energy- Get a cup of coffee for your sim (you must have a coffee maker) or send them to bed for awhile.

That's all for today,
Maddie

Recipes from the Family- Dad

Today I am going to interview Dad and find out what his favorite recipe is! I will then post it up. (Remember, * means a cooking tip.)

Dad's favorite recipe is his one for Spared Ribs! Let's see about that recipe:

You Will Need:
2 1/2 lbs of pork or beef spare ribs (frozen)
1 1/2 cups water
18 oz Kraft Mesquite Barbecue Sauce
1/2 a large onion

Prep:
First, chop up your half an onion into small pieces. Then, put your water into a crock pot. Put half of your ribs in. Cover those ribs with bbq sauce, making sure to keep at least half of your sauce for the top. Sprinkle half of your onions on top of this layer. Add your second half of ribs. Sprinkle the remaining onions on top of this layer, and cover thoroughly with the remaining bbq sauce. *To ensure you do not waste any sauce, put a little water in your bbq sauce bottle when you are done, shake it up, and dump the remainder to the side of the ribs.*

Cook on High for 5-6 hours, and then turn your crock pot's settings to low for an additional 2 hours. Serve with cornbread, (or for all you healthy folk) a salad.
Serves 3-5, Copyright 2013, Wayne Nef

Ok, I know that this recipe is short. I am just very excited because my Sims 2 game came in the mail today and Dad says I have to be all done with my work to go get it. It will take me about 2 more hours to finish my work, so I will get my game soon. AWESOME!!!
Maddie

Family Recipe from Ashleigh :)

This recipe comes from the youngest Nef, Ashleigh! Her favorite recipe is for Lipton Cheeseburgers! This is a very easy yet delicious recipe to make. To make it, you will need:

2 lbs of ground pork
1 package of Lipton Onion Soup Mix
8 slices of yellow american cheese
A little bit of canola oil (for frying)

First, defrost your 2 lbs of ground pork completely. After this is done, put all of the ground pork in a bowl along with the Lipton soup mix. Mix this all up with either a wooden spoon or your hands.* I find wooden spoons are easier as they don't bend as much as the rubber and plastic ones.*

Next, evenly divide your meat into 8 rounded cheeseburgers. Heat up your stovetop to medium heat, add about a half an inch of canola oil to the frying pan, and cook your burgers until they are thoroughly cooked, about 4 minutes each side. Put the cheese on top of the burgers about 3 minutes into the cooking of the second side. Serve with a side of french fries and/or ketchup and enjoy!!!
Serves about 8, Copyright 2013 Ashleigh Nef

There is Ashleigh's recipe! Next I will be doing a recipe with dad (Monday), and finally be finishing with a recipe from me (Tuesday).

Until then,
Maddie

4 Recipes From The Family- 4 Days In A Row!

Starting today, I am going to do a series of recipes that will run until the 26th of March. I am going to interview my family members about their favorite food, and how they like to prepare it. There will be one recipe per person (does NOT count Lucky), including me. Just to make it clear, these posts will be put out today, tomorrow, Monday, and Tuesday. To start off, I am going to interview Grandma!

Grandma's favorite recipe is for Potato Pancakes with Sour Cream. This is her recipe. When you see the star symbol, it means that there is a cooking tip. Here is Grandma's recipe for potato pancakes:

Potato Pancakes

You will need:
6 large Russet or Idaho potatoes
1 large onion
1 egg
1 cup of flour
1 tsp salt
Prep:
Peel, wash, and cut your potatoes into 4-6 pieces. Then, put the potatoes into your food processor with 1/4 of the large onion. Process until coarse (not smooth). Repeat until all potatoes are processed. When processing your 3rd potato, add your egg and another 1/4 of the onion. Process and put potato, onion, and egg mixture in a glass mixing bowl. Add the cup of flour and the teaspoon of salt slowly while mixing in well.

Put 1/2 of an inch of vegetable oil into a frying pan and heat to medium. Then, add one big spoonful of pancake mixture to the frying pan (about 1 mixing spoon). Fry until golden brown on each side, about 4 minutes each side. *Keep an eye on your pancakes, as they might cook different on your stove than they do on ours.* Serve with sour cream and/or applesauce and enjoy!
Serves about 3-4 people Copyright 2013 Marie Nef

Well, there is your first recipe! Let me know in the comments if you tried it, and if you did, how did they come out? Also, leave YOUR favorite recipes down in the comments and I will try them out and let you know what I think.

Maddie 

The Sims 2 Double Deluxe

I have heard about the sims games, and I have always wanted to play one- and now I can! I was on Amazon yesterday, and I saw that someone was selling a sims 2 double deluxe game pack for only $11.30 (besides, if I ordered before a timer ran out, I could get the game TOMORROW! Naturally I did, so tomorrow I can play the sims!)! 

Now, I have seen the exact same thing in Walmarts for $50.00- so naturally I asked Dad if he would get it for me, since it was an AWESOME price compared to the one at Walmarts. Dad said no, so I decided to earn the money myself. When I want something, I will beg people to give me jobs- and I found them! 

I had $4.30 leftover from past jobs. 

Getting my sister ready for bed- 50 cents

Polishing Grandma's shoes- 50 cents

Shoveling the walkway, including melting the ice- $10

Happy Easter early!!! :)

CH-CHING!!!! The walkway really helped. Now I have money leftover to use for a surprise for my sister- an Easter basket!! Speaking of Easter, I am going back to NJ next week to celebrate Easter with the family.... so no blog for another week. :'(  But after that, I should be in NH for awhile, so I can keep writing consistent blog posts. 

Well, I will tell everyone how the sims game is either tomorrow or Friday- or next week, depending on if I read the shipping date correctly. I am going to end my blog post here, because I still have a mountain of work left to do today.

Maddie

VANILLA WON ON THE MILKSHAKE POLL!!!!

Coursera- Week 3

That's right- I am on week 3 of songwriting! My homework last week was to write a song- 1 verse and 1 chorus- and I did!! It was a lot of fun to do, and this week I get to start a new song! My song is called The Belt, and it is all about training in the martial arts. There are going to be 3 verses in my song- past, present, and future. Here is what I have of it right now:

The Belt

There was a time when I was 3,
And played with lots of energy,
Fun and games was all I knew,
Little Dragons pulled me through,
The games were fun and meant to train,
But in time got kind of plain,
I was young yet promoted fast, and went from games to the older kids class.

Kick, Kick, Punch, Punch,
Push up, Push up, Crunch, Crunch,
Kicking High, Hitting Low,
Train to make the perfect blow,
Know your body, know your mind,
Leave your worries far behind.

Copyright 2013, Madison Nef

Well, what did you think of my song? I admit, I did have some help from my Dad, but a lot of it was me. I think it is pretty good- I will tell you what my peers gave me as a grade on Thursday. I have graded the student's papers now, so I am just waiting and continuing my lectures and quizzes.  

Ok, well I am going to end my blog post here because I still have my mineral to do, plus my coursera, plus my math lectures. And my mineral has to be done in about 20 minutes.... Tick Tock, Tick Tock.....

Maddie

NJ

YES!!!! I got back from NJ last night at around 9 o' clock, and went straight to bed after checking my emails. I couldn't even stay up to read my new book! If you are wondering, the book's name is If You're Reading This, It's Too Late. It is the second book in a series of five. The series is based around mystery and the five senses. Here are the titles, in order:

#1- The Name of This Book Is Secret (smell)
#2- If You're Reading This, It's Too Late (sound)
#3- This Book Is Not Good For You (taste)
#4- This Isn't What It Looks Like (sight)
#5- You Have To Stop This (touch)

The books are all by the same author, who uses the pen name Pseudonymous Bosch. Though the author has never revealed his true identity, it is thought that the author's full name is Raphael Simon. The author has an interesting way of writing, such as interrupting the story to put in his own thoughts, and ordering chapters backwards. He refuses to reveal the place or date of anything, or reveal the "true" names of the characters. However, their book names are Yo-Yoji, Cass, and Max-Ernest.

I read the first book and enjoyed it a lot, so while we were up in NJ, Dad bought me the second book. I read about half of it in NJ, and am enjoying it so far. I highly recommend it!

OK, time for an announcement: I have to close the Curiosity Shop. It might close down my blog if I don't remove it. 2 of Dad's blogs were taken down due to this issue, and he had to restart and recreate them. I would hate for that to happen to this blog, since I have 340 posts on it. Sorry about that.

Maddie

No Math For 2 Weeks!!!! HURRAY!!!!

I am very happy right now for two reasons: One, I smell bacon cooking, and two, AFTER I FINISH ONLY TWO MORE PROBLEMS, I GET TWO WEEKS WITH NO MATH!!!!!!! HIP HIP, HURRAY!!!!! I am finishing up Level H math on IXL today, and I am going to be given a two week break from math homework because of it. Thank you sooooooooo much Dad!!!!

Now back to bacon... I cannot stress how much I love bacon. It has zero carbs, it tastes delicious, and smells good besides. I like my bacon very crisp and crunchy, while the rest of my family prefer their bacon to be kind of limp. I think that is what my next poll is going to be... How you like your bacon. :D

AND... I'M .... DONE!!! I just finished my last problem. I was trying to balance my blogging and math at the same time, since Dad wants both done before he returns from plowing. I had been out helping him, but I got too tired and cold and wound up coming inside. Dad said that I had better have my blog and my math done before he came in or he would be annoyed.... Ok, time for lunch.

I'm back! The bacon was great. With it I had cucumbers and strawberries... a strange and unlikely combo that is surprisingly very tasty. Well, I only have one more blog to do, and then I am done for the day. I want to enter a contest as well, so I am ending my Think a Thought here.

Maddie

NJ THIS WEEKEND!!!! :)

This weekend, me and my family are traveling up to NJ. My Aunt Michelle just went in for an operation on her knee, which had the same condition my Dad's had. The operation went very well, however, my aunt will be off of her feet for 2 weeks. So, as a special treat, me and my Dad are going to make a special dish we invented for her. We like to call them "magic peppers". Here is the recipe:

You will need:

6 red bell peppers
9 slices of bacon
2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
1 lb ground pork
1/4 of an onion, diced
1 can of mushrooms (optional)
Aluminum Foil
A dab of oil (for mushrooms, meat, and onions)
6 slices of muenster cheese

Prep:

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Next, line your baking sheet with foil. While your oven is still preheating, wash your peppers and cut the top and bottom off and gut them out. Place them standing up on your baking sheet. Next, start your ground pork in a frying pan. Make sure it is completely defrosted and broken into small pieces. I recommend using a tiny bit of oil in your frying pan for better flavor. While it is frying, dice up your 1/4 onion and toss it in with your pork. If you prefer to keep your ingredients separate, you do not need to fry your onions with the pork. However, I find it is a great time saver. After your pork is nicely browned, remove it from the stove and dump it into a bowl. 

Now, open your can of mushrooms. Make sure to drain them completely before frying them on the stove in a small bit of oil. It should take about 5-10 minutes for them to brown. When they are done, remove them from the stovetop and place them in a bowl. (If you want to keep your meat and mushrooms warm while cooking bacon, set them NEAR the cooling burner. The heat from the burner should keep it relatively warm. 

Now, it is time to cook your bacon! While me and Dad prefer to use our George Forman mini grill to cook our bacon, you can make yours however your want, to whatever level of crispiness you want. Take nine slices of bacon (I recommend hickory smoked), and cut them in half. Cook these pieces to your satisfaction. Afterwards, break the bacon into small pieces. 

Take your cheese out and set it aside in a separate bowl. Now it is time for my favorite part of making this treat- stuffing the peppers!!!! While you can stuff them with any different layer combo, I prefer to do this for my peppers: (Chart shows layers from bottom to top)

Muenster Cheese Ground Pork w/ Onions
Cheese
Mushrooms
Bacon (about 3 slices per pepper)
Ground Pork w/ Onions
... And top your pepper off with another nice layer of cheese!

As soon as your oven is done preheating, put your peppers in and cook them for about 30-45 minutes. Take them out when they are done, and enjoy!!! I find this is a very good recipe to do together with your family, as it has so many things that can be done- someone can cook the bacon, someone can cook the meat and mushrooms, someone can gut the peppers, and someone can arrange the peppers.
Serves 6
Copywright 2013, Madison Nef and Wayne Nef

Well, if you happen to try me and my Dad's recipe, please comment down below and tell me how it turned out!! If you'd like, comment your own favorite recipe! I am pretty open to trying new things, so if you leave a good recipe, I will attempt to make it and tell you how it turned out.

Thanks,
Maddie 

Coursera Week 1 Progress

Just in case you didn't read the comment of my other post, I decided to do a post on my courses. I am learning songwriting, and it is pretty good. My teacher is very dramatic and interesting. His stories seem pointless at first, and in the end they teach you something you could have learned if he said it straight out. I have learned how to arrange a song, and the meanings of the bridge, pre-chorus, chorus, and verses. These are the parts of a song:

Bridge- Holds together the entire song
Chorus- A chorus is the repetitive part of a song, and states the central idea of the song.
Verses- A verse is the most important part of a song. Without verses, you would not have a song. They describe the song.
Pre-Chorus- The pre-chorus is a lot like a bridge. It is the piece of the song that connects the chorus to the verse.

This is my teacher, Pat Pattinson. He is a professor at the Berklee School of Music. He puts up pre-recorded lessons on Coursera. The projects aren't that hard to do, and the quizzes are a breeze. The worst I have done on one so far is get only 50%.... AND IT WAS ON IDENTIFYING PARTS OF A SONG!!!!

I am almost done with week 1 out of 6. My course started on the 1st of March, and will end on the 12th of April. If I do good on my assignments, I get a signed certificate from Berklee School of Music!!! Wish me luck!!!

Maddie

Updates

THE WINNER IS IN!!! The winning entry for the contest came from Wayne, who left this funny photo as his entry! I was all over it, mainly because I love cats. That face was too cute to resist, and paired up with words, it stole the contest.

Ok, so now that that is out of the way, on to the rest of my blog! I wanted to share an awesome recipe that my Dad created for his pulled pork. It is an easy-to-make meal that can be thrown in the crokpot and forgotten until you are ready to eat. This recipe is also found on www.buybuymomma.blogspot.com


Pulled Pork Rollups

Ingredients:

3 pounds of pork butt or pork roast (frozen)
1 onion
1  18 ounce bottle of Kraft Hickory flavored Barbecue Sauce
1 pinch Italian seasoning spice
water
1 red pepper
sour cream
1/2 bag of shredded cheddar cheese (16 ounce)
1 package of Pepito flour tortillas (burrito size)

Preparation:

Pour one cup of water into the crock pot and then place the frozen meat into the crock pot.

Chop up 1/2 an onion and place it on the meat. Add one pinch of italian seasoning spice over the meat.

Pour the Hickory Barbecue Sauce over the meat making sure to cover the entire roast. When the bottle is empty add 1/3 of a bottle of water and swish it about to clear the extra sauce from the bottle and then pour it into the crock pot making sure not to splash the meat.

Turn the crock pot on high and forget about it for 9 or 10 hours. The added water will help keep the meat moist and the pork will shred easily after this time period. Given the meat was frozen, you WILL NOT overcook the meat over this time frame.

Chop up the rest of the onion and put it in a small bowl.
Clean and chop up the red pepper and place in a bowl.
Place the shredded cheese in a bowl.
Scoop the sour cream into a bowl

At dinner time, place the pork onto a large plate and shred it with a knife and fork. The meat will be very tender and shred easily.

Give everyone a warmed tortilla and have them make their own roll up. Add raw onion and red pepper to taste as well as cheese and sour cream. 

OK, well there is the recipe. Be sure to be on the lookout for more easy recipes on: www.buybuymomma.blogspot.com


Maddie

An Interview With My Sister

Me: Hello Ashleigh.
Ashleigh: Hello, I am Ashleigh James
Me: How old are you Ashleigh?
Ashleigh: 3!
Me: What is your favorite color?
Ashleigh: Pink
Me: What is your favorite food?
Ashleigh: Grilled Cheese! (grilled cheese sandwich)
Me: Ooh, those are good. What's your favorite thing to drink?
Ashleigh: Lemonade!
Me: Yum! Now Ashleigh, whats your favorite way to pass time?
Ashleigh: Play, read books, and watch movies!!!
Me: And what are some of your favorite movies?
Ashleigh: Victorious, Strawberry Shortcake, Dora, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Thomas the Tank.
Me: What are some of your favorite books?
Ashleigh: Cat in The Hat, The Disney Babies, especially VISITING THE DOCTOR.
Me: Wow, that's cool! What's your favorite candy?
Ashleigh: Root Beer Barrels!
Me: My favorite candies are caramel creams.
\
Let's flip this interview around and let Ashleigh ask ME some questions...

Ashleigh: Do you like cheeseburgers? Do you like dogs? Do you like cats? Do you like tic-tacs?
Me: Yes, Yes, YES! and Yes.
Ashleigh: What is your favorite school subject, and why?
Me: Well, I would say my two favorites are blogging and home economics. I like home economics because I plan on opening a bakery someday and in this class I get experience with both baking and cooking.

Well, I just lost my subject.... Oh well. Can't blame a girl for trying. I can always try again in a few months... or years. Well, this is all I have for this post.

Later,
Maddie

Game Store

As promised, there is a new section in my store! I updated it this morning and now there are video game downloads! There is a download for just about ANY game you could imagine. Most of them are at decent prices too... I saw a download for SimCity4 Deluxe Edition for just $15! That seems like a great deal to me, as in stores the game can get up to prices of $60....

I'd like to, in the future, do some game reviews. If you happen to buy one of the games from my store, please comment down below and tell me how it works and if there were any issues.  Also, if you'd like me to review one of the games you love, please comment below and I will see what I can do. You will need to leave the name of the game, what genre it is, what game system, it's rank of difficulty on a scale of 1-10 (10 being toughest), and what age group you'd recommend the game for. If my store does not have a game you want, please tell me and I will try to fix it.

I've been counting my pageviews today, and I have almost 3,000! To celebrate, I decided I would put up the stats of the countries that have viewed my posts over the whole time my blog has been up. Here they are:

United States	2256
Russia	221
Canada	124
Germany	63
United Kingdom	41
Spain	11
Bulgaria	7
China	6
France	6
Ukraine	6

WOW. I can't believe how much my readers have supported me. I try to check my readings once a day, and I am currently getting about 15 views a day. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I never in a million years would have though I would have readers all around the world. It means a lot to me. One again,
Thanks a Ton,
Maddie