forgive

Let me introduce Bianca...

(lol. i do love this picture of her)

Bianca and I have had many great conversations. In fact, i have had some of my most thought provoking conversations with her. 

  However, there is one in particular that i remember most.

It was about forgiveness. 

I can't remember the cirumstances in which this discussion came about but none-the-less we sat in our kitchen one summer day and talked about what it means to forgive.

Here's what i remember most: 

She said: to really forgive, means you have to GIVE.

and GIVING isn't always an easy thing to do, which is why the act of forgiveness is so hard for us. Because we've been wronged the last thing we want to do is have to give. 

When you forgive, you're granting a pardon. You are excusing someone. 

You're giving.

and God says (Colossians 3:13)

Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Old McDonald Had a Farm...

Old McDonald really had a farm. True Story.

{Old McDonald being my Gramps}

He grew up on a Farm in where I call the deep south.

{although, some argue on whether the farm was in the DEEP South, or just the South. 

moving on...}

So Old McDonald grew up, moved away from the farm, and eventually ended up in a town in California's Bay Area where there is not much farming...

 ....until now {thanks to me. and even then, it hardly counts as farming. but we'll get to that}

So one day, Old McDonald's granddaughter moved in with him and decided that she wanted to plant a garden.

Little did she know,

 that Old McDonald knew more about gardening than he had led her to believe. 

Little did she know,

 that when he was growing up his 'garden' was one full acre. 

And little did she know,

that this new garden of theirs would be more than just a garden.

One Spring day, little miss granddaughter, who had no knowledge of gardening/plants went to home depot and got a batch of plants that she thought might be fun to have in a garden.

Among those plants were a few tomatoes, some corn {like i said, she had no knowledge of gardening whatsoever} , some cucumbers, and maybe something else.

 She went home, put on her cowboy boots and a t shirt 

and so begins the  legendary garden. 

{this was the process of digging the garden. I got through this with a little help from my pops :)  }

The picture above were the "Before" pictures. 

Old McDonald is pretty old.

 At 92 some might say he's not as limber as he was in his prime.

That being said, the site of our garden is a raised bed on the side of the house, which is SO perfect because we don't have to bend down and break our backs gardening.

And Old McDonald can use his expert gardening skills to his hearts content. 

Continuing our story....

So the weeks went by and some plants died {the corn. big surprise}

and were replaced and some lived {not many}.

After about half of the plants didn't make it, Old MAC instructed his granddaughter that she in fact didn't plant them correctly, explaining their death.

If at first you don't succeed, try try again. Which is exactly what they did. 

Currently, we have 3 Tomatoes, 1 cucumber, 3 HUGE zucchini, about a million turnip greens, and 2 Bell Pepper plants. 

It's no longer a garden. It's a farm. 

{Above was after everything had been planted}

{Below is the "farm" to date...}

{yes, that is a cardboard Coyote in the garden! hah.}

{the zucchini leaf in comparison to my hand}

Summer Search

the search is on

and my eyes will be peeled for an

locket necklace.

I think its due time that i find one.

i am at the right age where I could use a sentimental piece of jewelry.

For as long as i can remember, my mom has always had a small golden locket 

that she wears around her neck. 

and now, i think i want one like it. 

a few years back, my grandmother passed. 

she left me a silver charm bracelet that is covered in little heart charms. 

Those who gave her the charms engraved their names on the backside of the hearts. 

Among those names are her father, her sisters, boys, etc...

Its pretty cool. 

So yea...the summer search is on! 

for an old gold locket!

Remember Scarlett and Keep Her Holy

1. 
   
   
   
   
   Scarlett O.
   Who doesn't love her?
   She is pretty awesome and ever since I finished Gone With the Wind, she's been my role model...well, for the most part anyway.
   
   
   I was reading a book in which there was a chapter called, "Remember Scarlett and keep her Holy"
   Of course I had to keep reading. Any book with a chapter like that must be worth reading. 
   
   
   So I continued my read to stumble upon a "The Scarlett Checklist"
   You may be wondering what this checklist is?
   Basically, they are the strong points of Scarlett O's character. And they are awesome. 
   Although you might not appreciate it unless you've read Gone With the Wind, those who have will get a kick out of this. Let me share this knowledge with you:
   
   
   
   
   "The Scarlett Checklist"
   1. Always know clearly what you want.
   2. Never doubt that you can have exactly what you want. 
   3. Never doubt that you are the most tantalizing girl at the barbeque.
   4. Remember that men aren't everything. For the most part, they are just someone to eat barbeque with. {lol. good thing i like barbeque}
   5. Never listen to anyone who tells you that you can skip on your wardrobe, hair, or makeup. 
   6. When life gives you green velvet curtains, make a green velvet dress. 
   7. Pretty is as pretty does.
   8. If another woman gets in your way, don't hesitate to connive against her. Just make sure you do it well.
   9. Speak softly and carry a small pistol {HAH! this one is my favorite}
   10. In front of the mirror practice saying in a light hearted fashion: "Fiddle-dee-dee!" It will put you in the appropriate mood of carefree girlish abandon. Warning: Avoid saying Fiddle-dee-dee aloud in public as people might think you're crazy. 
   
   
   So with the Scarlett Checklist concluded, i should get back to studying... 
   BIG test this week!
   P.S.
   coming soon: MEXICOOO BLOG {picture included}

my friends and home sweet home....

my friends....
and
home sweet home...
i always forget how how i HEART Twain Harte until i come back.


really.


The weather was so beautiful. it couldn't have been a more perfect weekend. 

as far a Tuolumne County goes...
it is so Politically uncorrect that it cracks me up.
i was driving through Mi-Wuk Village [where i used to live]
and noticed that on almost every other house there are little wooden Native American figures posted somewhere...

seriously though...that has got to be the funniest thing.
and they are everywhere.




as far as my friends go...
i love [and never get tired of] how 'out of control' they are.
they never cease at an opportunity to wreak havoc.


a few examples...
i woke up on Saturday Morning to find my car TP'd.
Later to find out that at 4 AM that night they were, as close as you can get, to skinny dipping in my pool.
while my family and I {along with our trusty "watch dog" Otis} were sleeping.


On Sunday night was a completely another story however...
it consisted of...


1. mini golf 
there was this really random Campbell's Soup ad. it was kinda funny.

2. Flour.

There was a lot of flour that night. Sarai did a good job spilling it all over herself and Matt's car. 

3. Pilar's Driving
"Look ma! No hands!"

4. Yard clippings. Lots of  smelly, heavy yard clippings. and Political Signs

Untll Next time....

Squirrel

today i went running. 

i've been doing that lately.

so i was running and

i was on my way up a hill when i saw 2 squirrels.

now usually i don't stop for squirrels 

{i stop because i get tired. lol}

but these two squirrels were in my path and they weren't moving

i must have stood there for almost 2 minutes watching these squirrels do whatever they do.

they just wouldn't move.

from my experiences ,

{in good ol' Tuolumne County} 

i have learned that if an animal such as a squirrel 

{or a possum in my case} 

is in your path, just keep going because if its smart, it will move.

if it's not so smart, it will get run over.

so after watching these squirrels doing their thing, i decided to take action and continue on my way.

i ran toward them, expecting them to move. 

well....

one did.

the other one climbed up a nearby tree only to charge me as i was running past. 

it missed me by a hair. 

hah.

talk about a flying squirrel. 

i screamed and kept running.

so all in a day, i almost got attacked by a crazy squirrel in Los Gatos.

life is interesting to say the least.

my time has come

My time has come. 

its time for me to learn to cook.

me, elyse? cook? for those that know me well...i'm not a cook

{to say the least}

i have been putting off cooking for as long as i can, but now it simply needs to happen. 

i can no longer eat tamales bought from grocery outlet. my body says no more.

i can no longer eat home made fried chicken. my body really says no to that one. 

and i can no longer survive off a bowl of popcorn 

{i do make some mean popcorn though :)} and cans of chili with corn muffins 

{i really like chili and corn muffins, but every other day is a little excessive}

its time to step up.

and so it begins...this scarry journey of learning how to cook in a kitchen that has the weirdest set up. 

so farrrrr....this site

http://fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com/ 

looks the best. 

the Neapolitan Pancakes look AWESOME!

Being that my two favorite foods are burgers and bacon, i thought why not start with the favs. 

plus, i want to start slow and easy.

my first meal? 

Blue Cheese and Bacon Burger

http://fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com/search/label/Beef 

i'll let you know how it goes

Casablanca

love this!

Change

HELLO! long time no blog... 
Tirzah keeps reminding me on how i need to blog more, sooooo i thought "why not today"


This past week or two i have learned a lot about life and the changes it throws at you. 


I used to have a cork board in my room that had the definition of the word Change-
"Change (verb): to make or become different"


I don't think it's until something BIG in your life changes that you realize all the little events that have made you transform as a person.


Another epiphony: Change is ok. In fact, it can be a good thing. It might not always be the thing you want, but then again, it may just be the thing you need for a while. 


Another thing thats changing....my favorite show LOST! the season finale is tonight, so sad! but why not celebrate it with a LOST finale party?...
...i think so :)

little old man

sorry fans, it has been WAY to long since i've last blogged.
i think chaos would be an understatement of how my life has been these last few weeks. lol
but i'm not here to go into that =)


my school week consists of 3 days (monday -wednesday) of Clinicals and 2 days (thursdays-fridays) of tests. ewww...


anywho....clinicals have been quite the experience. The awesome thing about working with old folks is that no one day is ever the same. EVER.


These last few weeks we have prancing around our clinical site in uniforms that are so white and bright that it hurts your eyes to look at them. Wearing white uniforms are not the best when you are getting pooped on, spilling coffee on yourself, writing with permanent markers, and giving showers....you can imagine at the end of the day how tired, dirty, and discouraged one might be. Sometimes it gets hard to stay positive.


but not all the clinical site adventures consist of having a dirty uniform by the end of the day. In fact last monday I had one of the most pleasant conversations with a little old man who lives at the nursing home.


I had always been meaning to talk to this man; whenever i saw him, he was constantly smiling and just  seemed nice. Well on Monday i had the chance to chat with him. I asked him how his Easter Sunday was.
His eyes just lit up and he went on to tell me how absolutely amazing his Easter was. He told me all about the kids and their easter eggs, how beautiful they all were, and how great his family was. He told me about how his wife passed last January and how he misses her like crazy. {he had a smile on his face the entire time he was talking} But then he said, "You know, I can't complain. I've got it a lot better than most. The Lord had blessed me."


That statement just really made my day. It's so uplifting to hear a person be so encouraging...This little old man made me realize that all things in life i consider serious DRAMA really are no big deal at all. It definitely gave me an attitude adjustment real quick.


With that said, he went on to tell me how beautiful everything was. what a nice man.


but seriously, whenever i have started to get irritated or bothered, i just remember this conversation i had on Monday and I am reminded that, "I can't complain. I've got it a lot better than most. The Lord has blessed me."


=)