The May 18th Wrap Up

I think we can all agree
that we know where my creativity lead itself today.
Here.

I realize that one is not supposed to not blog for three months, only then to sit down and write four posts.
Actually, now its five.

I felt that I had some catching up to do.
Do you feel caught up?

I wonder if anyone knows how to get blogger to have multiple tabs on a blog and be able to post to each tab. Pages doesn't seem to allow that. I could then more easily separate my divergent dismissive remarks from the lovely pictures of food.

Oo! I think I'll go make some balloon animals now...

Structure? Which structure?

I entered a conversation today about the upcoming Episcopal General Convention.

If you don't know what that is supposed to mean, this post isn't for you. It would be better for you to wander away into happier blogs or posts... like my favorite post of this blog: http://oldenoughtooyoungtocare.blogspot.com/2010/08/why-dont-sheep-shrink-when-it-rains.html
Or get off the computer all together. Its a nice day outside... go out and breathe fresh air.

If you are already scared about what might be coming next, you might have a bit of sense.
If you got all excited, you have serious issues.
Perhaps you should call your nearest Episcopal Bishop and talk about your options.

The conversation went something like this:
     "The General Convention is going to be talking about Structure. The structure of the national church."

     "The national church? Why not the local church? That's where the real issues are."

     "I know. We really need to be having discussions about how to change and make the local churches more sustainable within communities, yet the want to start those kind of conversations is lacking. We have just been experimenting with different models for a generation without any systematic change." etc, etc.

[Musical Interlude of a couple of hours]

Then (in my head):

Say you come upon an eighteen wheeler on the side of the road. It is stopped and the driver says that there is something obviously wrong with it because it hasn't been working properly. You think you are a stand up person, someone who would really like to help the world out, so you take a survey look at the truck and realize the tires are gridlocked. So you decide that you will try to fix the engine. You start tinkering with the engine and finally you think, there! I have it! It must be fixed now. But when the driver starts the truck up, it doesn't go anywhere. The tires are still all grid locked and aren't moving. Sadly, all your fixing of the engine doesn't help at all. The truck still won't go anywhere.

I realize this analogy is not that great. And the national church does need some help, but it would be good if some helpful work was done on reorganizing the local, regional church was done as well.

If you have made it this far, perhaps you want to leave some feedback. What do you think?

Cake, Cake, Lamb, Cookies, and Pretzels!

Cake.

Cake.

Lamb.

Cookies.

Pretzels.

This is the baking post for the day.

No, I did not make these all today.

Actually I made an Almond Honey Cake today.

But I didn't take a picture of that cake.

Honestly, none of these are actually what you might think they are.

The first was my try at a King Cake for Mardi Gras.

The second was technically a Boston Cream Pie,

so I'm not sure if its really a cake or a pie...

The third was lamb ribs. 

So I guess that is really what they look like. Maybe.

The fourth look like chocolate cookies, but they are carob cookies.

I'm still not sure how I feel about them.

The fourth was a mess. Otherwise known as pretzels. 

As you may be able to tell, I forgot what pretzel shape actually looks like.

At least they tasted good when they came out of the oven.

To reference my last post, yes, sometimes my creativity meddles in my cooking or baking.

Sometimes that is a good thing, sometimes it isn't such a good thing.

You can never tell at the beginning. 

Trust me sometime. 

;)

Finally! I am an Entrepreneur!

Today was the culmination of a few small things in my life.
(Of course, now this is two weeks late. Oh well, I have priorities. Occasionally.)

First, as the title celebrates, I am an Entrepreneur today. I have sold my first online pair of earrings under the name Sharon's Seminary Styles. Tacky name, I know. I couldn't think of anything better at the time. Which goes to show I should really only allow myself online when I am feeling creative. Sadly, I cannot control my creativity all the time. Sometimes it shows me how much of a geek I am that I would possibly spend a couple of hours trying to figure out how I could make a solar powered hot water heater if I wanted to.

And then I'll spend half an hour transforming paper clips into puzzle pieces, shamrocks, diamonds, spirals and other shapes to hang from my ears, all the while not writing my creative exegesis paper for class. I wish I knew how to tame the creativity.

Though maybe then it wouldn't be creativity.

(These are the earrings I sold online! I was so excited.)

Second, I finished my first year of seminary. That is also totally exciting. Alas, I don't have a picture of that. Hopefully you can use your imagination.
If you can't, no one else can.
Good luck.

Oo! Oo! Whatcha Makin'?

I know you are all interested in what I do with my free time ;)
And I know you wonder what have I been doing with my building bug since the MintyBoost.
Well, I have a treat for you.

First up, I copied Latro's friend's wine rack desgin

Second, after an explosive event involving chocolate milk, strawberries, bananas, and ice cream all over me and my kitchen,
I dissembled the blender.
I am hoping that this will not be the end of the blender and my relationship, however, the plastic casing is keeping me from removing the critical pieces I want to be able to configure a gear system to work the blender off of my bike.

Sadly, after a couple of months (this post was started in February...) I can tell you that my relationship with that blender has ended completely. Someday I will build a gear system for my bike to connect and operate a blender, however it is not to be in the near future.

However, as a third, I did build a lovely memorabilia box for Latro's graduation present. (The picture is the top of the box)

And while it may just be a box, it technically does have an attached moving part: the lid. :)

I've survived a whole year in the *real* world!

First off, congratulations to all the seniors who are graduating today and in the weeks to come!

Graduation at Allegheny means that it has officially been one whole year since Yoda and myself graduated. And we're still alive!! I remember a year ago around this time I was trying to imagine where I would be in a year (ie. now). I don't think I would have been utterly surprised could I have known then, but a few details would have had me expelling a few "Hmm, really?!" 's.

For one, I do indeed have a little pup, Zoey, now (but she's getting so big!). She's definitely the high point in my day almost every day and helps keep me sane (usually by pulling me all the way through the insanity spectrum that we pop back to the opposite side). Having a puppy also leads to doing and saying some weird things, such as:

• Saying "shove it up Spiderman's butt."
• Putting a teddy bear in the freezer, on purpose.
• Hearing the phrase "we don't sniff ladies like that."

Those are just a few examples that come to mind.

The little pup after one of our grand adventures

Living on my own in a non-college-dorm setting has been quite the experience. For instance, I now get to dabble in the fine art of interior decorating that doesn't involve taping comic strips to my wall, owning a salad bowl, actually using car insurance, and lighting candles whenever I want (and remembering to blow them out). Living in the DC area has added to the sudden change as well, mostly via all the traffic.

Overall, it's been a pretty decent year with its shares of ups and downs, but Zoey and I are still living good and having fun. Hopefully this coming year will be filled with more adventures and happy surprises!

PS. A special shout out to all the mommy's for Mother's Day tomorrow! Especially mine, because, well, she's the best. :)