Train Enthusiasts do not use The Internet

Oh Yeah, I went there. Things are about to get real up in this blog.

Let's all get in the Way Back Machine and go all the way to the beginning. All the way to this morning.

I've been thinking about the clock from a few posts back. I've been thinking of how bad I want it, but also been thinking that I can not even imagine a scenario in which I would pay $100 for a clock. So as a crafty lady, decided I would try to make it. Clocks are easy to get, I can pain that background, the hardest part would be finding the figurines. Little did I know how hard it would be to find those ridiculous figures! Thanks to my dad, I know they are N or HO Scale, meaning ridiculously small.

For the past few hours I have been googling any and all phrases I can think of to describe these little dancers. There is nothing. Even the basic websites,which are few, have nothing. This leads me to my theory: Train enthusiasts do not use the internet. Ebay is the only thing that has shown any results, yet not any that I need.

Here's my thought process: Train enthusiasts are, for the most part, old. Old people tend to shy away from internet, some old farts even thinking "Bah, that internet. It won't stick. Now let me eat my oatmeal." Therefore, train enthusiasts do not use the internet.

Next move is to actually go to a train hobby store. Yikes. I'm afraid to go in. I'm not sure they even allow people under the age of 50 in those places. I'm really not sure if they allow the female species in there.

All I want is a freaking clock.

Casting call

Because I don't have enough things in my life to ignore, I've decided to start a podcast. It's not going to be anything fancy, just something like a mix tape. It's taking me a while to get it together because my music is on 2 different computers. Hopefully I can sell my saxophone soon and and buy a computer. That way I can get all my music together and really pump this stuff out. Fingers crossed, people. Fingers crossed.

Cats and Dogs

Honestly, is there anything more beautiful than a proper down pour? Let me answer that: No. I think I shall never see a poem as lovely as weather that is dark, cold, and rainy. It's absolutely wonderful.





It feels like the clouds are giving you a hug. It makes everything so clean and so fresh. I'd take cold, dark, and wet, anytime over hot, bright, and bone-dry.

Animal love

I haven't had much to write about lately, but to show I haven't forgotten about this blog I decided to a photo post. Here are pictures of my favorite animals.

It's Moose O'Clock

I saw this on Uncommon Goods and it took my breath away.

Dancing the Moose Away Clock

Zoom 1

Zoom 2

Beautiful.

Toni is all growed up

Today I went wedding dress shopping with Toni. She tried on a bunch of dresses, but eventually went with one she had seen earlier. Glad I could help! :)

Here is a picture of her dress:

Best of luck with the rest, Ton-Ton.

A Horrible Christmas

I have found the #1 item on my Christmas list.

Dr Horrible Calander!!

My Favorite Flower is a Weed...

I need...

...an apron!
I decided this after I ruined one of my shirts while making cupcakes. I need one that fits my personality. I've been look around the internet for some ideas, but I just don't like what I see. They are either too girly or too plain.
I had an idea of buying a plain one at a craft store, then having friends and family (and anyone) draw a cupcake on it with fabric marker. Then I'd have an apron with tons of different people's artistic interpretation of a cupcake. Then I realized, that would mean I'd be carrying around an apron for quite some time, and that's just ridiculous. There has to be an easier way to have that happen...
Help?

Utah again.

I am leaving tomorrow for Utah again. Don't worry, this isn't going to be another 2 month trip. I'm just going for the week. Why? Because my bfc (best friend/cousin) Bonnie is getting married! I can't believe it! I feel like just yesterday we were IMing each other, making stories about the magic cabinet! I love her to death and beyond and I hope she and Aaron have a wonderful life together.

OH EM GEEEEEE!!!

I've started a craft blog, because I have nothing better to do with my time. So here it is:

http://staceys2hands.blogspot.com/

GREATEST THING EVER.

This is going to be my new desktop, screensaver, binder cover, maybe make it into a t-shirt, or a pillowcase.

THIS IS MY NEW FAVORITE THING EVER.

Home Sweet... Oh man, I can't even pretend to finish that...

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to be home. I've missed it and my friends and everything, but here's the deal: My house hates me. My first two nights were fine, but that third... Oooh that third. I woke up with a sore throat (which has since turned into a full on hacking and coughing up green phlegm) and my whole arm has been eaten by a mysterious bug. So my time home has mostly been coughing and scratching. Awesome.

Of course, it hasn't all been bad. I made some awesome cupcakes, got my hair cut, and of course, this:


Oh yeah! Civil War reenactment! The single best way to spend a memorial day. Amanda, her boyfriend Mike, and I went up to Roaring Camp for the annual Civil War Reenactment. I won't lie, it was amazing.


Plus, how many people get to say they hung out with dead presidents on their memorial day?

Homeward Bound

I leave Thursday morning for home. I've been feeling a bit homesick since Zach left, so I'm a bit glad to go back. Then again, i'm going to miss the crap out of being here. It's awesome to wake up every morning to see my cousins, and to see my brothers and sister-in-law all the time.

I'm a bit terrified about flying home. I'm not afraid of flying, I just hate it. Flyings hard for people with long legs. What I'm scared about is switching flights. I switch planes in Las Vegas. I've never done that by myself before.
I'm also nervous that for some reason I will have something in either my checked in bag or my carry on that will make them detain me. I can't think of anything except maybe the fireworks ;) . It's not anything major, just those snake pellets that you light on fire and they grow. I was going to light some tonight but it's getting dark.

Music note (pun?):
Summer Day Song 2009 - "I Gotta Move" by Ben Kweller
Summer Night Song 2009 - "St. Joseph's" The Avett Brothers

Don't freak.

If this swine flu gets worse, you can always pimp your swine flu mask.

I'm surprised no one has drawn a pig snout on theirs. Or is that just because everyone is a better person than me?

Utah-tastic

More people to add to the list:

Crystal Smith
Santa Claus riding a motorcycle
Marie Osmond

I'm sticking around Utah for a bit longer. I'm staying to see my cousin off to the MTC (knock 'em dead, Zachy boy!). After that, who knows. Take care of California. Don't let that swine flu get you down.

2 more

2 more people that I've run into:

Cole Walker
Stacey Christianson

This place is so small.

Re: Last Post

Here is a list of people I have run into so far who I was not planning on seeing:

Will Garrett
Damayanty Vasquez
Erica Savage

Guess where I am?

Oh Utah, you are such a vortex of coincidence and weird.

Craft blog, you've done it again!

It's like they knew! Today Craftzine posted these instructions on how to make a terrarium in a mason jar. I will have to get on this soon at some point.

In unrelated news, I'm very much in love with the song Furr by Blitzen trapper.

Churros

People have been asking for my churro recipe (I mean "my" as in the one I used, not made up). Here it is:

Ingredients:
For the churros
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
3 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tbs sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter
canola oil

For the coating:
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Also need:
pastry bag
large star tip

Directions:
In a small saucepan, heat the milk, butter, and salt over low heat. Add the two tablespoons of sugar to the mixture once the butter has melted and stir. Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Next, add the cup of flour to the saucepan while stirring continuously. When the mixture has reached dough-like consistency, it should after about 30seconds, remove it from the heat and let it cool for about five minutes. It is really important that you do not heat the dough for more than the 30 seconds because otherwise the dough will not puff properly.

Separately beat each egg and add them one at a time to the mix. Make sure you mix the entire egg into the dough before you add the next egg. Fill a pastry bag with a large star tip up with the dough.

Before you begin frying the dough, combind the 3/4 cup sugar with the 1 tsp ground cinnamon.

Fill a deep frying pan with about 4 inches of canola oil and heat till it reaches a temperature of about 315-325 degrees. Carefully pipe out about 4 inch long strips into the oil. Cook until they are a light brown color, it should not take more than five minutes. Do not overcrowd the pan with churros, otherwise they will not be crispy.

Spoon out the churros and place them on a paer towel lined plate t drain off the excess oil. Don't let the oil drain off completely. Roll the churros in the sugar and cinnamon, making sure each is evenly covered.

Enjoy!

Success!

Churros Status:

CONQUERED

(Except for the part where the thermometer broke spraying hot oil, mercury, and glass everywhere,and I had to restart. Anyways...)

And if it fails, I'm swearing off the kitchen

Planned culinary adventure for the week: Churros.

It would be like the earth, and I would be like God

I really want to make a terrarium. Like really badly want to make one. I'm not sure how I will feel about it in the morning. When I'm awake in the wee hours of the morning (IE every night) I get these almost uncontrollable compulsions to undertake huge projects. It's all I think about, and the more it's in my head, the more my brain and body say "DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!". It's rather dangerous.

Anyways. Oh yeah, terrariums. How freaking cool are they?
Mine wouldn't be this intense of course, but oh if it could!

Oh man! This one is a ring! How sweet would that be?

There are a few things holding me back. I have no idea how to make one. I have maybe 2 dollars to my name at this point. The biggest one: I would lose interest.

This is how everyone of these late night projects go (stupid boy projects*). I get really excited about something. For the next few days-weeks-months, it's all I think about. I plan it out, map it out, draw it out, until all my notebooks are covered in ideas. Then I go crazy getting everything I need. After I have all the necessary items and have a solid plan I lock myself in my room for hours-days-eons working on it. When I'm finally finished, I stare at my result for a few hours.
Then I'm bored with it.
BORED.

This is why I try not to act upon my late night project urges. It takes up my life until completion, but then I don't care about whatever it is. How long did I spend painting the sheep on my wall? I really don't care about it. And all the homemade paper? I wasn't really interested in making the actual paper, just figuring out how to make the frame and the pulp (paper batter?).

Maybe if I go to bed early, I won't get these ridiculous urges.
Yeah, and maybe if hell freezes over, that will happen.

*Seriously, if you read Yes Man you would understand almost half of the stupid things I say.

Stuck

I've been in a bit of a funk lately, and it's hard to think clearly. Though after today I realized that even during these crappy times there are good things still happening.

Things like

• Receiving the weirdest/greatest text ever from a wrong number
• The best nachos I have had for Linger Longer
• My damn good taste in music, and getting new stuff
• Having 3 cookies at church which resulted in the worst sugar high I've ever had
• Having friends who just laughed at my sugar high craziness instead of being annoyed, as I thought they would have been
• People being able to forget all my anger and depression ridiculousness from my teen years
  
• Having a large bag full of some of my grandma's jewelry
• The incredible rain we've had for the past few days
• I'm going to say the rain again, because it is amazing
• Re-reading Yes Man for the umpteenth time, and re-discovering the reasons why it's the best book ever for the umpteenth time
• This valentine by aquaticfishy

Women's panties!

I have a post in the making but I have been busy with working on the family mix, cleaning my closet, and procrastinating. I'm just letting you know, so you don't think I've abandoned my blog.

Until then, here's a video of my great aunt Wilma, Duke's #1 fan, watching a Duke basketball game.

Ooooops...

I don't update this thing nearly as much as I should, and for that I apologize.

Clovis!

My trip to Clovis can be described using only a few pictures:


And of course:

Cupcake Tour 08

Check out my brother's blog for the cupcake tour we took last week while everyone was here for Christmas. It was great.