I need inspiration...

...to be healthier. I feel like every time I have the urge to make something I end up making a sugary desert. Now this may sound good to ya'll and I know my family generally enjoys it. But my body does not. The more often I eat sugar the more my body wants it. And wow does my body want it. Every few minutes there's this little voice whispering "ohhhh, go find some chocolate, it'll make you feel better." or "hmmm, maybe if you baked some cookies it would warm you up". Thanks mind, so helpful. Looking over this blog almost every post has been about desert and that's only a very small percentage of the things I've baked. I only post about the interesting and new things. I've found that I have this thing for baking. If my day isn't going well, I'm sad, or anything else like that I just want to bake something. Or cook something. But sugar is comfort food so generally baking is better.
Have you ever had that feeling like you just have to make something? My mum always said that when they were younger my oldest sister had to create something everyday and my oldest brother had to build something everyday. Well, I seem to need to bake something everyday. And cooking some normal everyday meal just doesn't cut it. I want something new, fun and exciting. And so I turn to deserts because well, there seems to be an endless supply of amazing deserts to make. I've had this attitude for the past couple weeks, I'm not sure where it came from, "oh looks sugary, fattening food, eat it it won't make you gain weight!" Umm...ya...It does. Not sure why my brain thought it was a good idea... But it seemed totally rational at the time. Either that or I was just blocking my rational side and not letting it tell my brain what I really should be thinking. Well, I need to get back in shape. For my body and my mind. I've gotten much, much too lazy of late. "Exercise, what's that?" Ya, I know horrible right? But I've made a promise to myself! I will get in shape, lose a few pounds, stop eating desert and get my metabolism working again. And so, I will be baking fewer deserts for a while. But since I seem to need to make something I'm hoping to start cooking more. Actual food, not deserts. Maybe some alternative foods, not just normal foods. Some "healthy" foods, some "weird" foods. I'm not sure what yet. I keep finding different "diets" I want to try but I can't settle on one that I'll want to stick with. And so for now, until I actually find one I like I'm just going to do my own thing. If any of you ever run across a recipe you think I'd like please do send it my way. I can't promise I'll make it but it is highly likely I will. And if it turns out well I just might make it again for you. ;)
Hmm, I'm not sure what this post was really about...but I think my main reason in writing it was that I wanted to let ya'll know that I may not be posting as much or if am it will be about healthy stuff mainly.
Remember if you come across any recipes please send them my way! They will be much appreciated!

~Alyssa <3

Not about something I baked?

Que loud gasps of shock and horror. I know, I know, what else do I talk about besides food? Lots of things! Okay, well to be honest, that's not true...I really do mostly talk about food... But that's because food is good! Food is amazing! Food is life!

But as I said, this post is not mainly about food. There is some food but that is not the point.

Most of you know that my Mum and I flew down to Dallas to visit my sister for her birthday. Let me just start off with saying, it was amazing. Visiting my sister, meeting her friends, visiting the University of Dallas, meeting professors, seeing the theatre, trying weird foods, going cool places. And the list goes on and on.

I would attempt to tell you guys in a nice organized way everything that happened. But we all know that won't happen. I'm just not an organized person (even if the hangers in my closet are color coordinated). I don't understand talking in a organized way. My mind jumps around too much to try to speak in a coherent manor. So bear with me.

I am still trying to come to terms with the fact that my dear sister is now 21. It seems like only yesterday we were playing stuffed animals, training chickens and having mud fights. Now, she's a Junior at UD, studying, learning and all that other weird grown up stuff. See I don't understand that stuff because I'm still young unlike you! ;) But really, happy 21st birthday darling sister!

                                                    

For Hannah's birthday we went out to dinner with a few of her friends to this super nice Asian restaurant. Now Hannah has been trying to get me to try sushi for a very, very long time. I have put it off and put it off as best as I could. But she wouldn't let me get away with it this time. I was going to have to try it. I put on a brave face (okay, no I really didn't, I was visibly cringing). I tasted it. It was gross. Really really gross. I really, really wanted to spit it out. But I didn't. I just calmly (frantically) swallowed it down and than gulped down a huge glass of water. Now to finish it off I saw a little blob of  "avocado" on the corner of the plate. I was like "oh yay, something to wash away the gross taste in my mouth. I put the whole blob in my mouth. Something wasn't right though. It was a bit too spicy and didn't taste like avocado at all. It took Hannah a minute to realize what I was freaking out about before she said "ohhhh, that's not avocado, that's wasabi!". Well, thanks for warning me sister. My mouth was on fire for a long, long time. Not cool. I should not be placed in Asian restaurants without proper supervision.

                                     

On Saturday I got to sit in the theatre for an hour while students worked on set, lighting and sound. Now that sentence probably does not excite any of you. Who would get excited about sitting around while systems get checked and sets get painted? Me! I was seriously freaking out! I just tucked myself in a corner and watched. I must admit I didn't want to leave. I could seriously live in a theatre. Just stay there and never leave. I don't even think any of the people who were working there understood at all. They all seemed a little weirded out that I was totally entranced and happy to be there for so long. But ehh, who cares!

That night Mum, Hannah and I all went out to dinner for at another upscale Chinese restaurant. The kind with weird food. Okay, not all of it was weird. In fact some was quite normal, and quite good. But than while looking at the appetizers mummy and Hannah had to see the Jelly Fish. They both were quite certain we had to try some. "No, please no! Let's leave that for another time" I vehemently protested. But I was quickly shushed and told that I didn't have to try it if I was a that much of a wimp. Well, fine. "Just order it" I said with a resigned countenance. I must just suck up my better  judgement and eat substances that are not meant to be eaten. Okay...well I ate it. Yes, I am proud of myself. I'm not sure why I would be proud of it but I am. It honestly didn't taste too much. Almost no taste at all actually. But the texture. Ugh. It was exactly like I would imagine cartilage being. 

                                       

On Monday morning before I left I got to meet with one of the drama professors for 30 minutes and I also got introduced to the other professor. In some ways I was completely impressed, in others I'm still a little iffy on it all. I do love UD and there do seem to be some really good things about the drama program but there are some things I've heard from students about the program that scares me just a bit. I do still want to go to UD. I am kind of in love with the school. But I am questioning it a little bit too. I still have a while to decide though so I shan't worry too much.

Oh I also sat in on Hannah's Latin class. Whoa...and I thought high school Latin was hard... No, no it's not. The class was insanely hard. Hmm..the things  have to look forward to. But the teacher was brilliant. She's this absolutely gorgeous woman, with her own fashion line but she's also an absolutely brilliant professor. Just a stunning women all in all. Here's a link to her website in case you want to see what I mean.

For those of you who are freaking out about the whole Ebola thing, yeah, not as big of  a deal as everyone is making it seem. Though really we weren't in Dallas, we were in Irving. I was kind of surprised when we got down there and there were really no signs of it. No extra posters about being sanitary or anything. I think the media must be blowing it out of proportion a bit. So none of you have to worry. I did not get Ebola. I did not die. I'm fine. Though there was one scary moment when on the way back I was feeling pretty sick and the first thought that ran through my mind was "I have Ebola!" I freaked out and was just about ready to skip my flight and go to the hospital so I wouldn't contaminate everyone else before I realized that it takes longer than two days for symptoms to show and that there just really wasn't any way I had gotten it. It was just my hyperactive imagination at play. Sometimes I wish my mind would just shut up.

And just cause I really liked these pictures here are a couple of the sunset pics I took from the plane. It may have been a long flight home but it was quite beautiful. We were chasing the sunset, so the colors seemed to last forever. 

~Alyssa <3