Surviving the Holiday

Now that the semester (and Christmas) is over, I finally have some time to myself. Due to my busy schedule, my sister had to take over much of the annual cookie frenzy. In fact, I only made two batches this year (which she make the dough for). Since I only contributed a little, I had to really make them count.

 I think they came out much better than last year. The ninja cookies are adorable, but such a pain to frost (and package). Oh man, I think I will just stick to round cookies next year. I suppose I could stick to your standard Christmas cookie shape, but where is the fun in that?

 

Who wants trees or candy-canes when you can have ghost skulls?!

I really can't tell you how much I am enjoying the break away from school/work. I forgot how nice it is to sleep in and have nothing to do all day. Some sort of celebration is in order because I managed to get a 4.0 GPA for this semester! Woo! Hopefully it will finally raise my cumulative up to a 3.0.

  **happy dance**

So despite this month being especially stressful, I think it went well. I sort of got all my gifts together in time and I conquered my finals. Like a champ. And as much as I dislike Christmas (I'm thinking of replacing the idea of Santa with a dragon), seeing my little niece's face light up was totally worth all the trouble.

 I'm sure she smiled at some point...

December Already?

It's December.

It's almost finals.

I haven't started making anyone's Christmas presents.

And my brain has decided to go on vacation.

So instead of being productive and starting any of my various projects due in the next two weeks, I am writing this blog post and obsessing over this self portrait for my Into to Art class.

I really need to stop trying to "fix" it.

It is probably the only thing I've created in that class that I like. Usually I just do the minimum required to turn  in an assignment. I know that sounds terrible, but I have struggled creatively in that class from day one. Something about the environment is uninspiring; it could be the teacher. It's amazing the difference it makes in your performance when you like/dislike a teacher.

Anyway, I rather like this piece and my mom has already claimed it for her collection. I haven't a clue where she is going to find space for it.

Hopefully the next two weeks will go smoothly. I need my brain to start working again; there is a 5-page essay and two final art projects that are due at the end of next week.

Maybe I fried it during NaNoWriMo. Even the measly 14,075 words I squeezed out were fairly tiresome. So I guess three is not my lucky number after all. I'm thinking I will try one of the summer writing sessions; November is always a busy month. July would be much less stressful to attempt a novel.

This comic adequately sums up the experience:

http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archives/1301

On a lighter note, it is almost cookie frenzy! I can't wait to make my gingerdead men again.

This year they will be even better. 

Waiting for the Holidays

Well, I am muddling along slowly in this years attempt at National Novel Writing Month. While my progress has been steady, it is still quite a bit behind schedule. About 20,000 words behind schedule. Nevertheless, I am proud of being able to fit writing into my busy life.

Tonight, I will pass the 10,000 word mark! Woo!

Let me tell you, I am ready for Thanksgiving weekend. The three day weekend for Veterans Day was a tease for the holidays to come. I am so excited to have four days to spend with family and get some extra writing in. It seems that I come up with ideas when I'm focusing on other things. For instance, when I went to see Mr. Gnome last on the 6th.

It was at a tiny little venue called Thee Parkside. I love small venues, it gives a sense of intimacy that stadiums lack. Plus, you get to chitchat with the musicians before the show.

The bar. 

Light on the patio. 

Mr. Gnome. Best show I've been to in a while. 

Last week I tired a new recipe. I was inspired by mini pies I found on The Cake Bar, but after talking with the wife, we decided to go more savory instead of sweet. We came up with the idea of mini pot pies, and then tweaked it. 

Behold, cheesy biscuits filled with veggies! (oh, and more cheese of course)

Puff pastry crust, filled with potatoes, carrots and broccoli.

So delicious. 

Yup, I am so ready for Thanksgiving. 

Third Time The Charm?

It's that time again, boys and girls. Novel Writing Month!

Even though this year is strikingly similar to the previous ones, what with the starting off behind schedule, I have a good feeling about it. It could be my blind enthusiasm, or maybe this year is the year I reach the 50k word mark. Let's hope for the latter.

Of course, this is also the busiest year I'll have participated. I am a full-time student and work part-time (which is proving to require more brain-power than anticipated). This week alone I have a book review, an art project and a print for photography due. Finding time to write should be interesting. Maybe during the holiday?

Or, you know, now...

If I can find time to make fancy Halloween cupcakes, I'm sure I can crank out at least a thousand words a night.

Look how adorable!

I ran out of food dye for the frosting, so I had to improvise with jello. The color wasn't as vibrant as I wanted, but the cupcakes became chocolate orange and vanilla lime, which was delicious. I even got frosting-hating Johnny to enjoy them!

Between writing my novel (working title: Delirium) and the book review, I have been spending quite a bit of time trapped in front of my computer screen. Sunday was wonderfully sunny for November (it still feels like summer...) so I decided to do my figure drawing homework in the sunshine.

I think being outside improved my skills.

I also applied for SF State over the weekend...

Wish me luck! **fingers crossed**

October, Again

I wasn't so excited about my birthday month this year.

However, my beloved family and friends carried on with the celebration whether I was excited or not. This worked out rather well, since it ended up dragging out my birthday over half the month. It actually will bleed into November, since one of my presents is to go see Mr Gnome in the city on the sixth.

This is Mr Gnome if you don't know. They are awesome.

October is my favorite month. Even with sort of a slow start that included a rough week of migraines and a pinched nerve in my neck, it has turned out to be a pretty great.

Awesome gifts from the wife.

Lily's first pumpkin patch adventure.

 And a Shark Hat!

I'm not sure why we didn't buy this. 

Now that midterms are over, I will hopefully start updating regularly again. I did so well last month! 

In case you don't know or forgot (or just don't think about it) November is Novel Writing Month. Yes, I will be participating again. This year, my story will be include a dream world, psychedelic drugs, searching for family members and lots of regret. 

I really don't know how to write happy stories. Yeah...

Here's a preview of next week's post!

Baking Halloween Treats!

Operation Homemade Sushi

The best kinds of adventures are the impulsive ones.

The family decided to make sushi yesterday, which was exciting for a couple of reasons. One, sushi is delicious (obviously). The second reason was the fact that we would get to go to an Asian mart. If you have never been to one of these magical stores, I highly suggest it.

Rice hats!

Strange and colorful desserts!

Ordinary things in foreign languages!

This particular one (cleverly named...Asia Mart) isn't quite as fantastic as the 24-hr Korean Mart in Los Angeles, but it did have Durian fruit and balut. Seriously, walking into an asian mart is like walking into another country. 

Once we lugged our treasure back home, we realized we had gotten a little carried away. It might have been the squid jerky or matching rice hats for Dom and Lily (they are now Sushi hats). 

The sushi hat is serious business. 

So the trick to sushi is the perfect sushi rice. Sushi rice is short-medium grain rice with a su (sauce or vinegar) folded in. The recipe we used was this:

4 cups rice (rinsed, then cooked in a rice cooker)

1 cup rice wine vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup sake (we used unfiltered)

The result should be rice that is shiny, with a sweet/tangy taste and not mushy. Ours turned out really well, but I might use less of the su next time. 

I think Operation Homemade Sushi was a success. We definitely appreciate the art of sushi-making more and will probably be more picky about how fresh our fish is. 

Also, we realized that three pounds of fish is definitely too much for only four people. 

Nigiri, Temaki, Uramaki, and Poke

Sushi is the most attractive of foods~

Learning Overload

Konnichiwa!

I started learning Japanese (or nihongo) this week. I know, what better time than during a full semester load and starting a new job? What can I say? When I get motivated, I get stuff done. So far I can do basic greetings and count to ten.

Ichi, ni, san, shi, go, roku, nanna, hachi, kyu, gyu!

This has been an ongoing project for, well, since I first started watching anime. So I am guessing at least six years. I have made half-hearted attempts here and there over the years. I enrolled in a class for half a semester, I signed up for a free online tutorial, etc. But this time it is for real!

ii tenki desu ne (nice weather, isn't it?)

See? I have a knack for it. Plus, I really want to visit Japan. So, you know, learning the language is a pretty important part of that.

In other news, I think the painstaking efforts in figure drawing are starting to pay off.

Degas on the right, mine on the left. 

 It might just be that I am drawing more often, so my skill level in general is increasing. Either way, I am getting more confident in my art, which is really exciting. 

All I draw is naked people these days.

I also made my first cheese cake last night. Originally, I was supposed to make it for my roommates birthday, but I am about two weeks late. He enjoyed it despite how belated it was.

This recipe was for a no-bake cheese cake (which is super easy). I'm not sure what is with me and boozy desserts, but I found myself making a Bailey's Irish Cream cheese cake. You can find the recipe here.

 

Mmmm...cheese cake.

Mine was not as pretty as the pictures on the blog, but it was delicious. Next time I will line the bottom of the pan so the cookie crust doesn't stick. Also, I either need a smaller pan or double the cookie crust because there definitely wasn't enough of it.

Now if I can only figure out a way to combine this recipe with the Guinness Chocolate cake I made...