Sorry

I really suck at this. Maybe I should put a reminder on my phone once a week to blog. I have been busy because I got a temp job at Bush Brothers & Co. That's right I work for Bush Beans and no I haven't met Duke or Jay and I don't know the secret recipe. I'm working in the analytical lab testing samples for the Product Development Teams. I can't really say more than that. I enjoy it and hopefully I will get hired as a permanent employee.
I've recently (this morning) dyed my hair the darkest color ever and I really like it. I hope to get a current picture to post on Facebook soon.
In the reading world, I started a wonderful variation of Robin Hood titled Hood, written by Stephen R Lawhead. It's part of a trilogy call King Raven Trilogy. The Robin Hood character is actually a prince who is not at all interested in inheriting the throne. William the Red is King and is allowing the French to take over any Welsh regions in which the leader has not pledged fealty. So the prince's father is killed along with all of the warband by a selfish French count. And that is all the farther I have gotten. The writing is well done and I find it hard to put down once I've started reading it.
Well I've run out of things to say so I'll sign off.

Iowa Adventure! Addendum

So I neglected to talk about the wonderful flooding experience that happened while I was in Iowa. I arrived in Ames Wednesday afternoon and spent the evening with friends. That night it stormed for a bit but I was still able to sleep well. When I awoke the next morning I looked outside and there was water covering Iowa State Center or our basket coliseum, theaters, convention center and football stadium. I was lucky that the water never hindered my visit. The whole city of Ames was under a boil and water conservation alert until Sunday. So it was bottled water and careful tap water use. Thursday, Cathy and I decided to go to Des Moines and see a movie. Since all of the major roads were closed we had to take a back route. When we were ready to head back to Ames, we found out that the highways had been opened. In short I am very glad that I didn't have any of my belongings destroyed or had to leave early. It was quite an adventure!

May peace be with you until next time!

Iowa Adventure!

For the last two weeks I have been in the magnificent state of Iowa and it has been an adventure. The first week was spent in Cedar Rapids, the city of my birth, with my mom's family. My grandparent have now moved into a assisted living and nursing care center and my mom and her sisters are working to clean out their house so they can sell it. It's a sad thing but it was definitely nessecary. Now my grandparents have a better quality of life and my aunts are less stressed. In the cleaning and sales I have been able to relive some great memories and collect some priceless items. I come from a very Italian family on my mom's side and love (and I mean LOVE!) the smell of cooking tomatoes. My mom has a tomato strainer to make tomato sauce and I have always wanted one. I now have two! I can't wait to have a garden and make my own tomato sauce. I was also able to find some facinating books. My aunt found me an older copy of the Quran (it was spelled with a K though). Since I am interested in all religions, I can't wait to sit down and tuck in. The other books that I collected include an animal art book, Les Miserable and a large complete collection of Shakespear (all plays and some sonnets). When we were digging through the garage we found a huge pile of my great uncle's art. He was a trained artist that studied in Chicago. His art work tends to be more abstract and he has a lot of nudes but he was quite good. I'm thinking that my artsy abilities might have come from my mom's side of the family. Not only did we find sketches and drawings but he had some copper etchings as well. I have been told that I will get at least one piece of his art work. I just have to wait for my aunts to go through them. Besides having to deal with silly family disputes the week was very exciting!



This past week was spent in Ames, the home of my alma mater Iowa State University. I mostly came back to attend the wedding of my friends, Kimberly and Sam. I was able to stay with my friend Cathy. I haven't seen Cathy in a good 8 months (she studied abroad last spring). It was great to see her again and spend time with her. We watched a lot of movies and I even got to teach her how to crochet. But back to the beautiful wedding; the whole event was absolutely wonderful. There couldn't be two people more perfect for each other than the bride and groom. It makes me extremely happy to know that there are amazing people in the world and that this world is going to change for the better. I do have to say that I cried a little but they were definitely happy tears. I now have no clue what else to say about it but that is was beyond belief. Today I fly back to Tennessee and have to prepare for two interviews this week. I hoping that one of them will work out.

May peace be with you until we meet again!

Sorry for the lag

I'm really sorry for the delay in a new post. I have just been super busy for the past couple weeks.

Cookies!
I love cookies! Making cookies and eating cookies are incredibly fun. Combining ingredients that aren't very tasty on their own and making something that can make any bad day good.

And I think that is all I have to say for today.

Harry Potter on the brain

So if you couldn't tell from the title, I have been thinking about Harry Potter a lot lately. I suppose it's because of the marathon of the movies that ABCFamily has been showing. This recent obsession has made me want to read the books again, but alas they are no where to be found. Besides the 7th book that I had with me at college, all of the Harry Potter books are missing. And the worse part is that my mom might have sold them.

It made me very emotional when I couldn't find them because I grew up with the books. Sadly they were my escape from the "horrible" reality of middle school and high school. I always wished that the books were real in some way. The story of friendship, mentors, good and evil, has always resonated with me. Plus the whole magic thing would be absolutely awesome. The messages that the books convey are wonderful and about values that I think everyone should have.

At Iowa Annual Conference last year, I was a delegate. While I was there I bought "The Gospel According to Harry Potter." When I buy a new set of Harry Potter books and start to read them, I hope to read each review for each book.

Well I've spouted enough about Harry Potter and my beads are calling to me.

I hope you have a great time until my next post!

Hi!

Welcome everyone to my first attempt at blogging!

Bare with me while I get used to periodically spilling my deep thoughts into the vast space of the internet. I'll start off with a little bit of background.

I am a recent grad of Iowa State University in Food Science and working on finding a job. I enjoy keeping busy so I have many hobbies that include jewelry making, crocheting and reading. In fact I just started a business creating custom made jewelry. I set up an Etsy store in May but have mostly sold to friends and people at my church. You can browse what I have in my store at www.etsy.com/shop/HappyKraftster . My projects will probably make an appearance here from time to time. If you have any questions or would like a pattern just let me know.

Since I have a B.S. in Food Science I am a huge food lover. I love tasting and making and analyzing all food. Recipes and meal experiments will also make an appearance here. Food is a very important basic need but it also brings people together. Some of the best conversations are held over a meal. I am a huge supporter of ending World Hunger and Poverty. If you would like to help out with World Hunger, I know a simple thing you could do daily.

The Hunger Site, www.thehungersite.com , has a free click link that provides 1.1 cups of food to someone in need. They even have a reminder e-mail that will be sent to you daily if you would like it. If you are looking for some great gift ideas they also have a wide variety of items for sale. From bags to clothing to jewelry to decorations, all of the items will provide an amount of food for someone in need.

I am very social justice oriented individual. I think that every person, no matter race, age, gender, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status, deserves respect and the chance for a healthy, happy and long life. Everyone deserves to love and be loved.

And with that I will end my first blog ever!