I don't know what to write about...

I honestly have no clue what to write about anymore. I want to write poetry, but I've been doing too much of that lately. Right now, I am sitting at my laptop, staring blankly at the screen hoping something will come to me but... nothing is. My mind is somehow free and clear: un-stressed and clarified. It's a nice feeling, but it sucks when you are trying to write a blog post late at night. Normally I can type these out within 15 minutes, but today has just been... different.

Dad left for NY again... more work stuff. I didn't miss karate because of it though. Which I'm glad about. Karate is good stress-relief and exercise and I literally don't know what I'd do without it. I missed ONE CLASS last week (That's 1 out of 5 classes missed) and I felt like I hadn't gone for weeks. Getting back into the dojo on Monday was awesome- especially the 10 o'clock morning class. I may whine and grumble about getting up early, but I really missed my morning workout last week,

Anyway, it's kinda late so I'll wrap my post up here.

Maddie

Bean Soup Recipe

You Will Need:
4-5 cups of water
Ham bone and leftover ham scraps
4 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
2 celery stalks, cut small
1 carrot, cut small
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 large cans of Great Northern Beans

Prep:
Saute minced garlic for 1 minute and put into a pot. Then saute the celery and carrots in oil for 5 minutes. Add the vegetables to the pot along with the meat and bone. Add water and bay leaves. Bring this to a boil and then lower the heat and simmer for 1 hour. Add both cans of beans and simmer for 5 minutes, adding the black pepper. Remove the bones and bay leaves, and then puree in small batches. Put the pureed soup into a fresh pot and then heat and serve.

What is your favorite soup recipe? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Maddie

Poetry

Don't        

Don't ask me to explain
I can't
And even if I could,

what makes you think I'd tell you?

Don't tell me that I can

that you'll accept me as I am
because even if you could,
what makes you think I'd tell you?

Don't try to talk me down
from the ledge I've put myself on

even if you could,
what makes you think I'd listen to you?
Don't try to surround me with lies

I see through them

and even if I couldn't

I still wouldn't like you

Don't give me false promises

I've had enough of them

and even if I hadn't

who wants them to begin with?
Don't try to bring down my defenses

they're up for good

and even if you think they crumble

they're still stronger than ever

Don't try to talk to me anymore

I know you're gone

and even if you weren't

I may not want to

Don't say you'll try

Because all you ever do is give up

and even if you did try

Your efforts would fail.        

Poetry

Time

Time,

the man-made concept,

on which we all rely,

to tell us when we're young or old,

to stay living or to die,

we quarrel about everything

from politics to religion

which were both made by man,

but include decision

never have I heard

of arguing over time

unless discussing theories,

of how, or when, or why

I think I know the answer

as to why we never fight

it is because with time,

there is no wrong or right,

we see it as a dictator,

when it is but a thought

another idea created by man

that should never have been brought.

Laughing is important

The other day, my Dad was reading an article in his emails and turned to ask me "How many times per day do you laugh?" I answered "I laugh a lot, why?" His reply was "On average, children laugh 300 times a day... while adults only laugh about 10 times." I was shocked- Dad laughs a lot more than 10 times usually, and I KNOW I laugh more than 300 times. If anything, I probably laugh 500-700 times- it doesn't take much to make me giggle. A funny picture, something my sister says or does, my dog's reactions, even my own thoughts amuse me.

I've said this time and time again but I'll say it again: it's the little things in life that matter the most. If you take time to look around you, there are many things to laugh and smile about. I think (and this is just my own reasoning) that adults don't smile/laugh as much as children do because they get so caught up in LIFE that they forget to stop and notice small things. Children have more time and are more carefree, and notice things faster and therefore have more to smile and laugh about. No matter what age you are, you should have the time to take even a minute and reflect on the tiny joys in life. Maybe there are pretty sunsets where you live- take the time one day to watch the sun go down. Go out for a short walk in the woods, or along the beach... maybe just sit down with a good book for a half an hour. Take time for yourself, just because you get older doesn't mean you should stop smiling.

I asked my grandma how often she smiled and she said 5-6 times per day. Her excuse? "Well, adults have more responsibility." <=== I think that proves my theory pretty well- just because you have more responsibility doesn't mean neglect your level of happiness. We're given an unknown amount of time on Earth to live- we can choose to be happy and we can choose to be sad. I choose to be happy- what's your choice?

Maddie

Poetry

Become the Winter

Let all emotion fade away,
Like snow upon a winter day,
Landing soft upon the ground,
Quickly fading all around

Make your heart cold and hard as ice
No love, no pain, no feelings suffice
The only thing you leave is hate,
The grey slush washing through the grate,

You never thought love would prevail,

So you let your emotions fall like hale
Breaking windows of firm trust
Letting silver turn to rust
Melt away in the light of hope
Bound by the knots of your own rope

Bath-Haverhill Covered Bridge

Bath-Haverhill Bridge- not my picture

For those who don't know, Dad and I enjoy searching for covered bridges in our spare time. On occasion, we take a weekend and drive around to look for them to visit them. It was our belief that there were 13 covered bridges in New England, but a quick Google search proved us wrong- there are in fact 54 covered bridges in NH alone. We have visited 9 out of those 54 so far and intend to visit the rest throughout the year. I saw the long list and decided to look up the oldest standing bridge and found that it was the Bath-Haverhill bridge in Bath, NH.

It was built in 1829 by Moses Abbott and Leonard Walker after Ariel Miner left his position as the superintendent of the project. It has been repaired 3 times since its original construction- once because of an ice storm, once because of arson and once just for regular repairs. The total cost for repairs was about $46,000 over the years. It blows my mind that someone would want to burn these bridges- a few years back, 3 covered bridges were burned and arson was suspected... the bridges are often times historic landmarks, who would want to get rid of them? Not only are they old, but I find them beautiful and rustic in their own way.

This weekend, my family and I went to visit 4 bridges that are relatively close to us and I got pictures. I will add pictures to this post later, due to the fact I am too lazy to go charge up my iPod and add photos- being my pictures were better than my dad's this trip ;)

Have you ever visited a covered bridge? Leave me a comment.

Maddie