A Canticle for Leibowitz (My Thoughts)

A Canticle for Leibowitz

Inspiring Quote Spot

Everyone needs a little inspiration sometimes... and so I give all my readers a good idea! Around your desk/work station, create a small area of inspirational quotes, whether they are framed, hung, or are just little post it papers. I keep post it notes stuck around my desk and have made a small display of quotes that I can look up to as I do my homework throughout the day. Some of my favorites are:

"Everything will be OK in the end. If it's not OK, it's not the end."

"Who you are is God's gift to you. What you become is your gift to God."

"In a world where you can be anything, be yourself."

I've also seen craft projects in magazines that actually inspired my little collection of quotes where you can make a whole little station of sorts for your quotes, among other things.  ===>

I also decorate the back and sides of my desk with pictures that either my family or friends draw/color for me, as I feel it adds some personality to my desk. Let me know in the comments what your favorite quote is, OR how you personalize your desk!

Maddie

How Does This Stuff Pass For Music!?!

Dad and I were recently talking about how some of the crappy music nowadays passes as "good" and how it compares to older music. What brought this topic up? I saw a headline yesterday announcing Taylor Swift's new song "Shake it Off" was #1 on the Hot 100's song list. I heard the song, and I honestly wasn't too impressed. She's a talented singer, but you wouldn't know it from this song. The beat was annoying, the singing sounded kind of forced, and the lyrics didn't make a lot of sense to me.

Earlier this year, the song "Timber" by Pitbull featuring Ke$ha held the top slot for 3 weeks. Once again, a rather horrible song. Then again my opinion is biased as I am not a fan of rap NOR am I a fan of "Ke$ha" or whatever she calls herself. The only good thing I'll say about the song is that it is catchy and the background music is alright. Also on the list were "The Monster", "All of Me", "Fancy", "Rude", "Dark Horse", and "Happy"- all of which I consider to be better songs than the other two. 

Even with all of the horrible music being made, on occasion you can find a diamond in the rock. Take Adele for example, or even Ariana Grande- both are great singers. However, I am still more prone to be listening to older music as that is what I grew up listening to. Let me know in the comments what your favorite genre of music is, and your opinion on newer music!

Maddie

How to Care for an American Toad

I remember when I first caught a toad, and I wanted to know how to care for it. I looked online, but I couldn't find more than one or two sites that gave good information. Here is one more contribution to help people who want to keep a wild toad.

First off, you'll want a nice sized tank to keep the toad in- you want it to be comfortable. A small toad can live comfortably in a 10 gallon fishtank. Line the bottom of the tank with about 2-4 inches of dirt for your toad to burrow in. I suggest keeping half of the soil moist (on one side of the tank) and the other half dry, as toads absorb moisture through their skin. I bought a fish tank "house" for my toad to go in to feel safe, as in the wild they often burrow in dark, secluded places.

I also have a small pool of water in the tank for my toad to use the bathroom in. I recommend cleaning the pool once every two days, as it can infect the tank if not changed. To clean the pool, run it under hot water for about 5 minutes. Then, put the pool back in and fill it with cold water. I also have a small mirror in the tank that my toad enjoys looking in.

For food, I catch grasshoppers, grubs, and crickets in my yard during the spring, summer and fall. In the winter, you can buy crickets at your local pet store. Toads need to be fed about 4-5 medium crickets once every two days, so keep a jar ready to catch bugs in. In the winter, I suggest buying a heating light/pad for the tank so that your toad doesn't catch cold.

Last but not least, remember that your toad will take a bit of time to get used to you and it's new surroundings. You'll be able to tell that it is settled when it starts burrowing- give the toad about a week. If you want, you can pick up your toad, but be warned- they do pee when they get scared. Have fun with your toad, I hope these tips helped. Let me know in the comments if you have any tips that I missed!

Maddie

Poetry

My Sister

The best friend I'll ever have,

is with me through and through,

even if we fight,

as sisters always do,

she's here for me through thick and thin,

and I am quite the same,

even if some of the stuff she does is really lame,

she's kind and sweet and funny,

and though sometimes she's a pain,

she always seems to find the tiny rainbow in the rain,

sure, we have our moments,

where things look at their end,

but until the day I die,

she'll be my closest friend.

Poetry

The Littlest Voice

There's a little voice inside me,

that talks to me each day,

it tells me to be brave and strong

and kind in every way...

the little voice tells me to laugh,

and enjoy the little things,

for soon enough there'll come a day,

when the death bell comes to sing,

the little voice is always there,

refusing to back down,

reminding me that family's first,

before the golden crown,

the little voice is in us all,

it guides us day and night,

soothing, calming, helping us,

showing what is right.

SURPRISE!

Today, my Aunt Michelle from NJ came to NH to visit- but my grandma didn't know! Dad and Aunt Michelle had planned the trip about a week prior, and Dad let me in on the surprise so I could help out. My job? I had to keep Grandma out of the house for about an hour so my Dad could hide Aunt Michelle's car behind the house. We got back JUST at the right time- The car had JUST been parked a few minutes before we arrived.

Here is how the surprise went when we returned:
(Aunt Michelle is seated at a table, the table is about 10-20 feet from the kitchen island.)
*Enter Ashleigh*
*Ashleigh walks to the island and puts down bags(groceries). Does not see Aunt Michelle.*
*Enter me. I see Aunt Michelle and wave.*
*Enter Grandma. Grandma walks right PAST Aunt Michelle, pretty much looks at her, turns to Dad, and starts talking.*
*Aunt Michelle speaks up and says "MA!"*
*...AND Grandma jumps 5,000,000 feet in the air and screams "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"*
*END SCENE.*

What is the best surprise you have ever pulled on anyone? Let me know in the comments!

Maddie

Ice Bucket Stupidity

I'm sure I am not the first person who has blogged about this moronic challenge- it seems to have taken over the internet. I can't scroll 2 posts down my FaceBook timeline without seeing one of my friends dumping a bucket of water over their head and "calling out" a bunch of other people. Basically, the challenge is to dump a bucket of ice water on your head and post the video online calling other people out OR donate $10-$100 to ALS. Look, if you want to donate, DONATE! But don't drag others into uncomfortable situations and make them (and yourselves) look like idiots.

Obviously, this challenge is more for attention than anything else. How does dumping a bucket of water on your head support the charity in any way? It only gives you the potential to get sick. It raises NO awareness for the cause- but it DOES give you a whole bunch of attention when you "call people out". I would be very surprised if anyone has donated to the charity because of this- because everyone conforms and dumps ice water on their head. I am happy to say that I have not and WILL NOT be doing this "challenge"- nor will I be donating.

Maddie

Maple Fudge Recipe

As promised, here is the recipe (along with a few pictures)! Finally, I tell you guys I am going to put something up and ACTUALLY put it up! I pat myself on the back. In any case, here is the recipe! I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does, and remember: If you need any ingredients, you can get them at Buy Buy Momma!




You will need:
2 3/4 cups brown sugar (light OR dark)
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp white sugar
2 tbsp light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
(OPTIONAL) you can add 1 tbsp of maple syrup for extra flavor!

Prep:
Stir together all of you ingredients on the stove and bring to a boil. Keeping at a medium boil, stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Do a soft ball test, and the fudge should form a medium ball. Next, fill a large bowl (bigger than the pan you are cooking your fudge in) with icy water. Put the fudge pan into the water (it should float on top) and stir your fudge like that for 5 minutes. Have a pan prepared, either buttered or lined with parchment paper, and pour your fudge into it. Leave for 20 minutes and it should be ready to eat! Enjoy!

Maddie

Good Luck

I just wanted to write a short post basically wishing my Dad good luck at his job interview today. He left to go to NJ yesterday and from there he went to NY- and he is probably in the middle of his interview right now. He will be coming back home tonight and should be back at roughly 1:30 A.M. To keep ourselves occupied, my sister, grandma and I went out shopping in Keene yesterday. We ended up getting me and Ashleigh outfits for our consecration this Friday and eating dinner at a Chinese Buffet.

Today, I have been doing homework and cleaning a little and my sister has been playing with her toys and watching movies. Later, I have karate and also me and grandma are going to make maple fudge- I will post the recipe tomorrow along with pictures. I would have done a video, but my computer has been running slow and while the video editing does not take long, it takes about 4 hours to upload a 3 minute video to YouTube (and I have to upload it to YouTube first, I can't just put it straight into the blog).

Anyways, thanks for reading, and GOOD LUCK DAD!!! <3

Maddie

Outdoor Activities

During the spring, summer, and even fall, my sister and I love to be outside playing, gathering berries and doing fun activities. Here is some of what we do that entertain us:

Berry Picking
We have wild blackberries, blueberries AND strawberries growing in our yard- especially blackberries. However, not everyone has this luxury, so you can turn this into a gardening project also! Blueberry bushes are best bought and planted in the early spring, while blackberry bushes should be planted in the late fall. The bushes are best put in the sunlight for best harvest- but be careful, because many of the wild versions of the fruit carry viruses.

Bouquet Making\
I used to enjoy playing around with flowers when I was about 6-7, and I still do. I love braiding wildflowers into my sister's hair and making small bouquets- I take 3 long strips of grass, braid them, tuck some assorted wildflowers into the braid (sometimes I make 3-4 braids) and then tie everything together with another strip of grass.

Wildlife Observing
In New Hampshire, there is abundant wildlife almost EVERYWHERE. We live deep in the woods, so we get a LOT of wildlife wandering through our yard. Over the years, we have seen skunks, chipmunks, squirrels, deer, turkey, porcupines and many, many birds in our yard and have friends nearby who have seen a bear and moose in their yard. Just the other day me and Ashleigh were walking down the driveway when we spotted a chipmunk on the rockwall! We got about 3 feet away from it before Lucky scared it off.

I hope you enjoy some of these activities! Leave me a comment below telling me what your favorite activity is!

Maddie

P.S. If you want to buy berry bushes, you can pick some up on Amazon! Before heading to amazon, check out my Dad's post on how to keep berries SUPER FRESH and use the link to his store to put you through to amazon. It is at no extra cost to you- and if you buy something through that link, we get a commission!

Dad's Article: http://buybuymomma.weebly.com/home/a-very-berry-good-idea-for-you-today

When Put In A Situation

In Social Psychology this week, I was learning about how behaviors are influenced and how when a situation actually arises, an outlook could change. I'm sure if asked in a questionnaire "Would you stop to help a person having a seizure" that everyone would say yes- but when faced with the actual situation, would their answer hold true? People have a tendency in hindsight to boost themselves up and make themselves feel better when in reality, they aren't.

A study was conducted where 300 students were asked if they saw someone who was sick, would they stop to help them regardless of what they were doing. Over 85% of the students answered that they would. To test this, the students were told they had to go to a special class. To get to this class, the students had to go through one hallway, and in that hallway a man was seated to pretend to be sick to see how many of the students would ACTUALLY try to help him.

The students were assigned to three groups- one group was told they were going to be late if they didn't hurry to the classroom, and they all left in a hurry. The second group was told that they had a LITTLE time, but they should probably leave then anyway and they left at a moderate pace- and the third group was told to go early and left slowly. Out of ALL the students, about 10% in total stopped to help the man- out of the 85% that said they would help a sick person no matter what.

I found this rather interesting- and astonishing because of how honest it was. People often do say things they don't mean, most of the time unintentionally and because of biases and self pride. We are biased to think that if we DON'T help the sick person, we are automatically BAD, BAD people- when in reality, we are just being honest.

Maddie

Apologies

I apologise to my readers for all the poetry lately- I have been blogging late at night (as I am right now) and poetry is easier for me to do. I am going to get back on track and start writing regular posts again, but I have been busy with work and other things. I am currently taking a Social Psychology course from Wesleyan University and also am taking a course in calculus. I am also preparing for my consecration which is about 1 1/2 weeks away.

However, I have also been having a lot of fun- Dad had some of his friends over last weekend and I had a great time being a hostess and baking/cooking for them. I also got to go fishing with them once before they left (it was a fishing trip). On that subject, congratulations anyone who went! Dad and his friends caught 75 fish between them in 1 1/2 days- from the same lake! I find that very impressive, being that afterwards, not only did Dad come back and grill burgers for lunch but he also stayed up talking til 11:30 with his friends! Had I caught that many fish, plus canoeing, I would have come home and literally collapsed. On the floor.\

Anyway, it's getting late again, so I will end this post here. Once again, sorry for all the poetry, I am resuming normal blogging (and hopefully a normal schedule) tomorrow.

Maddie

Poetry (I think this is becoming a poetry site.... sorrrrrryyyyy!)

White Wolf

White wolf, 

strong wolf,

running through the glen,

try to make it back,

 to your family in the den,

white wolf,

fighting wolf,

striving to break free,

from the chains that hold you down,

for all the world to see,

white wolf,

scared wolf,

hide from all the hunters,

chasing and mocking you,

stripping you of all your wonders.

white wolf,

dying wolf...

you know you're at the end,

collapse into the snow,

the pain your only friend.