Side project and work

For all of your web design and digital marketing needs, check out IntelliGents Designs, LLC. These guys do great work! Considering I'm their graphic designer, I'm a little partial. But hey, no shame in self-promotion, right?

Warm Toasted Marshmallow S'more Bars

Ingredients
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix1 cup graham cracker crumbs1 cup butter or margarine, melted3 cups milk chocolate chips (18 oz)4 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

Directions1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, stir together cookie mix and crumbs. Stir in melted butter until soft dough forms. Press into ungreased 13x9-inch pan.

2. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until set. Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over crust. Let stand 3 to 5 minutes or until chocolate begins to melt. Spread chocolate evenly over crust.

3. Set oven control to broil. Sprinkle marshmallows over melted chocolate. Broil with top 4 to 5 inches from heat 20 to 30 seconds or until marshmallows are toasted. (Watch closely; marshmallows will brown quickly.) Cool 10 minutes. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Serve warm. Store any remaining bars tightly covered.

A Visit from the 'rents.

Chicken & Roasted Garlic Risotto

Since my dad and stepmom are coming to visit tomorrow, I had to find a delicious meal that would be both filling and impressive to my dad, who taught me what I know about cooking.

Tomorrow, we will be having Chicken & Roasted Garlic Risotto. It looks really good, and you can never go wrong with chicken and rice! I will definitely share how it goes. I'm sure I will tweak the recipe a bit, since I never follow it as is (I get that from my dad! haha). I am looking forward to time with my family, and I never get tired of seeing them, spending time together, and goofing off.

I found this recipe at Campbell's Kitchen. It's a fantastic site if you are looking for a quick and inexpensive recipe. Of course, if you're looking for a more grand, gourmet recipe that you'll spend large amounts of time cooking, there are those too!

Sneak Peek.

As my work study job here on campus, doing graphic design for our Admissions dept has allowed me to get a lot of experience under my belt. Some of it, I am super stoked about. Other stuff, I am so-so about. But this next batch of tshirts includes my favorite shirt so far. So here is a little sneak peek!

The other two shirts that will debut in this order are some of those "so-so" designs I referred to, because I love the designs, but the colors they wanted were not exactly my favorite. But this one has remained in original form, and I absolutely love it. So yeah. I'm too tired to write anything else.

Still looking for a catchy sign off....hmmm....

"Spring Break"???

There are two things this week has not been: neither "spring" nor "break!"
    In Central, SC, the weather has been sunny and mid-60s for nearly a week and a half. But on February 25, I left the warm, sunny spring weather for the frigid, snow-covered tundra that is Athens, PA, and that is precisely where I've been all week. This is definitely the most snow I've ever seen! Today was a "warm" 42 degrees, which is the highest temperature I've seen all week, but it was windy, so it still wasn't very comfortable to endure.
    Secondly, the week has mostly meant playing both catch-up on late work and get-ahead on future work to ease the stress. Up to 9 hours/day of homework, projects, and design jobs, it has certainly been busy. I have had no time to even post!
    But, with all that said, I have thoroughly enjoyed my week away from campus. I am back with TK, my beloved roommate who graduated last semester. I am also getting lots of sign language practice! Photography has also been on my "to do" list this week, partly as an assignment for my Digital Media class, but partly because (since snow is relatively new to me) it is absolutely awesome to shoot!

     Also, the animals in this house are the most photogenic creatures (human or not) I have ever seen. They see a camera, and they twist, pose, pause, and practically say "cheese" to allow for a great shot. Take our friend, Patches here, for instance. This is one of about 20 good pictures I have of this cat alone. There are still plenty more of the other cat and two dogs!
     I know this post is relatively useless to most people. But it was a much-needed break from my work, so I hope you would beg my pardon and accept promises for more a better, more hobby-related post next time! Also, I would like to develop a catchy blog sign-off. Abrupt endings to my posts annoy me, as I am usually somewhat eloquent with words. But some high level of cheesiness like "until next time" or "signing off" absolutely will not suffice. Perhaps I will try out a few different ones, and wait until someone says something.

*catchy sign-off to be announced at a later date*

Glitz and Glamour Pageants...

could not possibly be further from just that. Today, starting at 8am, the Miss Easley/Miss Clemson Pageant took place in Southern Wesleyan University's auditorium. This pageant came complete with big hair, crazy moms, and swimsuit competitions. This was single-handedly the funniest and worst work days I have ever had. There were several moments where off-pitch middle schoolers or ditzy interview questions gave us a good chuckle, but 8am-midnight of ANYTHING (except maybe Star Wars! lol) is too much!

"What do I have to show for it?" you ask. I could tell you. But you can see for yourself! That's right! The pageant directors left behind a trophy. It reads, "PRINCESS / Miss Clemson / Miss Easley / 2011." Being the only gal on the tech team, naturally, it was bestowed upon me. I even practiced my pageant winner face! As miserable as the day was, and as sore as every muscle in my body is, the trophy was a nice way to end the night. It certainly helped make the day a tiny bit better!!!

Great Date Idea.

 For Valentine's Day, Will and I decided to go to Glazed, a paint-your-own pottery studio here in Clemson. The prices were reasonable, the staff was great, and we spent an entire afternoon painting each others' Valentine's gifts. He made me a coffee mug, and I made him a Star Wars to-go mug, so he would stop stealing mine! ha. I was a bit wary of how things would turn out once the mugs were fired, but we went to pick them up today, and we were both pleasantly surprised by the results!

He made me a mug with aqua and lime green stripes, but then put a black "crackle" finish over it. The inside was black, and he put a white crackle over that. I made him a Star Wars, complete with Death Star, TIE Fighters, and even an X-Wing. Even the font turned out well. I could not be happier with our fantastic new dishes. It certainly made it a Valentine's Day to remember, despite my normal disdain for the cheesiness of the holiday.

The final products!

At the end of the day...

A hot cup of tea is awesome. I used to refuse to even give hot tea a chance, because I thought it was a "northern" thing. But really, I have found that it eases my mind and helps me get to sleep! Plus, I love love LOVE peppermint. So I've been drinking Celestial Seasons Candy Cane Lane recently. It's a green tea with peppermint. And it's AWESOME. I don't know if tea is your thing. But if it is (and even if it isn't), consider giving this tea a try!

He had a dream...

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s home, where he was
born and raised, on Auburn Ave.

Today, my Christian Lifestyles and Values class visited the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site. Aside from the stress of trying to navigate across six lanes of traffic in downtown ATL in a 15-passenger van with dual-ies, it was a trip that made me think. Inside the Visitor Center, guests can watch a documentary about his home and walk through an exhibit with 6 mini-films about several aspects of MLK's life and the Civil Rights Movement.

Growing up in a conservative southern Christian school, racism is something that was never really discussed or addressed. The only knowledge I had of racism was my parents' racist, slanderous comments often uttered in frustration or annoyance at someone of color. I know my parents are not hateful, and I know that in everyday life, they would not judge someone of a different race. I think it emerges in anger because it is how they grew up. Their parents used the "n"-word, and now they use it, thinking little of it. I have always hated the word, and do not under any circumstances use it, but today I watched clip after clip of people using the word as they bombed "colored" churches, homes, businesses, and even schools. They saw nothing wrong with their actions; in fact, they considered them to actually benefit the world around them. In today's society this blows my mind. It is nearly impossible to imagine a segregated society. I am so incredibly grateful for this; I have never truly known the hatred of racism like those in the Civil Rights Movement.

M.L. and his wife are buried beside
his father's church, Ebenezer Baptist
Church, which is still a growing body
of believers today on Auburn Ave.

M. L. died fighting for the things in which he believed. How often today do we back down the first time someone disagrees with us? If today taught me anything, it is that one person can help to effect a great deal of change. I accepted today as a challenge to appreciate the changes that have been brought in society, and to help provoke others to continue to make changes regarding the injustices in the world.

One would think...

that I would run out of time to find new hobbies, but it never fails. Painting, graphic design, cooking, photography, baking, playing the ukulele and knitting all manage to make a grab for my time. On top of it all, new hobbies are always presenting themselves.

I have an addiction to hobbies!
"Is there such a thing?" you ask.
I respond with a resounding, "YES!" My life and busy schedule are proof of the very possibility. I am a Jack of all trades, but an Ace of none.

Somehow, somewhere, I'm sure there is an individual or two who may share this addiction. I encourage you not to see it as a "problem," per se, but to view it as an opportunity to try new things.

Who knows? You might end up with one more hobby!