Reality Check.

Soooo, let's just say setting an unrealistic goal combined with work chaos with a pinch of Doctor Who catch up created a little hiatus of my "new things" blog. So in response, I've decided to simply rededicate this blog to doing/learning/experiencing new things unrestricted to an every day basis. Because hey, new things don't always happen EVERY day. But I'm going to try my best to rediscover life through these new and exciting adventures!

Allons-y!

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Day 9: List of Dreams

I've been eating way too many Dove chocolates since Valentine's Day, but on the inside wrapper of mine today it said: "Make a list of your dreams." So I decided, Ok sure Dove chocolate I think I just will! Especially since I've never actually made a real list of my dreams. Goals, yes. Dreams, no. It's funny to think about how when we were so young we'd make up so many elaborate and possibly unattainable dreams, but really, isn't that what dreaming should be about? We get so caught up in setting goals, making a plan, resetting new goals and planning, planning, planning. Not that goal setting is bad (in fact, we're teaching our middle schoolers now how to set goals and stick with them) but sometimes we all just need to sit back and think about things that might be impossible but could be really cool to do. And hey, maybe they're already happening in another parallel world, haha.

(Also just for today I'm putting my photo requirement on hold :))

Angela's List of Dreams! (in no order at all)

1. Learn to play the harp!
When I was younger there used to be a woman who played the harp during mass at church and for some reason she just always looked so serene and graceful when she played. And I wanted to be just like her. Especially since harps seem so godly since they're in mythology and ancient tales it's like some super cool magical instrument that just makes you 10x awesomer when you know how to play.

Doesn't the cow look so magical and awesome? Image credit

2. Be a makeup model
I'm not really sure why, but this has actually been one of those far off dreams that always bounces around in the back of my mind. It's mostly because I really love putting on different types of makeup for going places or just for dress up fun that it would be super fun to do that as a job. Although, being an Advertising minor, I'm not a huge fan of the amount of editing that goes into makeup ads. Just the idea of someone else doing fun glamorous makeup on your and taking your photo sounds fun. And I'm sure lots of free makeup wouldn't be so bad either :)

Obviously not real lashes, but I like to pretend my
mascara does that for me too!
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3. Own my own bakery/cupcake shop!

So at one time or another my sisters and I used to dream about having our own sweet shop of baked goods or cupcakes or both! Although I feel like all those silly "reality tv" shows about bakeries and cupcake shops made owning them less unique. But it would still be awesome! Especially taste testing out new flavors and combinations! And making cute designs for decorating the treats and the shop would be fun! And maybe knowing I always had treats readily available would make me eat them less. Maybe. Probably. Meh, let's be real, I love sweets!

More of these cupcakes here!

SO IMPRESSED!
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4. Fly in a spaceship and/or time travel

Ok, probably not likely unless the Doctor (from the TV show Doctor Who) is actually real and his show is the British version of reality TV. Likely? Well, let's just say if spaceships were eventually created in our lifetime for space travel I'll be among the millions of nerds out there lining up for the first exhibition smiling smugly at anyone who made fun of me for liking science fiction! Ha! And then I'd travel in time and battle aliens and the world would be saved but no one would know because I had saved the world before they were born!

*tear* Rose Tyler and The Doctor
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Well, that's all I can think of for now! (especially now that I'm sad seeing Rose, ask me if you don't get it) So, until more dreams pop into my mind, maybe someday you'll see me playing the harp in my new cupcake bakery next to a billboard of my makeup ad after coming back from an exciting time travel adventure! Hey, anything's possible right?

Day 8: New Bike!

Hooray for the wonderful people at The Community Cycling Center who fixed up my new bike! I have my very own road bike! That actually works now! And many thanks go out to the Blue House for letting me take this well loved bike and make it new again! Do I look excited enough? Now the only thing left is to take it out on the town and wish for sunny skies!

New bike! Now it just needs a name!

Day 7: T. Swift

Ok, so, some of you out there might not know this, but I am, in fact, a big Taylor Swift fan. Yes, that's right, it's true, you heard it from the source. Now you can go chuckle in the corner. To be honest, listening to the Taylor Swift Pandora station actually got me into liking other country musicians too :) But let's be clear, music fan, not always life choices fan. Meaning, not always a fan of her boy of the month nor creepy clown dance performance at the Grammy's or sometimes questionable music videos...

Anyways, today was the first time I actually listened to her newest album Red all the way through! Shocker, right? You probably thought I'd have had all the words memorized to all the songs if I'm such a big fan. But nope. I've been listening to most of her new songs through the music site Grooveshark.com, but I realized for some reason I hadn't heard the whole record probably because it wasn't on there officially so not all the songs were there. (Or I just don't remember hearing them all, haha) I should really just buy it. Anyways, I'm quite impressed with the different types of songs, especially since a lot of them were compilations with other artists/songwriters so not all are her usual genre. Or perhaps this is her maturing record where she might be changing her genre. So here's to you T Swift for making another great record... Sometimes I wish I could be you. (Don't tell my students, haha.)

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Day 6: Torti Masa Tortillas!

So since today I had the day off I hung out with my mom doing various errands and such. For lunch, my mom suggested we make our own corn tortillas since she was craving enchiladas and I wanted tacos. I was a little hesitant, knowing that it would mean lunch would be later (and I was almost at the barrier of hangry, lol), but we decided that it would be a fun experiment since neither one of us had made corn tortillas from scratch. Honestly, they were so much better than any store bought tortillas. Although time consuming, frustrating, and often broke apart, they were well worth the wait! I'll never buy store tortillas again! (Well, we'll see, haha)

Another fun thing we (well, mostly my mom - I just scooped them on the pan, haha) made, were coconut macaroons! I never realized they were so easy to make - although very sugary sweet! We didn't quite have time to melt chocolate for the bottom, but they came out just as delicious as if they had chocolate and so tiny it makes you want to eat two!

Nom nom nom!

Day 5: NePo

Although I've been to NePo 42 before for their super fun Wednesday Trivia nights, I hadn't been able to take Nathan there yet to try their beer and food. And both were delicious and delicious! They usually have a ton of beers on tap and change them up pretty often apparently! I tried the Anderson Valley Boont Amber Ale and Nathan tried the Double Mountain IRA (India Red Ale), both very good! We also tried their burgers (me veggie, obvi :)) and they were well worth the wait! Yum!

Day 4: Lazy Saturdays

So, it's been awhile since I've been able to "sleep in" on a Saturday. Most weekends I volunteer (happily!) but it is also very nice to wake up knowing that there are no set plans, no requirements, nowhere to be! So on this lazy Saturday, Nathan and I decided it was finally time to take my new-found bike (a long since forgotten bike from a previous roommate) to get fixed up at the Community Cycling Center. It was a little nerve-wracking not knowing what needed to get fixed or if it was even worth it, but a free estimate is always a great place to start and the staff were really helpful helping me decide whether or not it'd be a good investment. Long story short, my new thing for Wednesday is going to be getting my newly improved bike! And all my own! But back to Saturday...

Nathan's roommates wanted to try out a new bar on SE Belmont called The Triple Nickel. I think a few highlights of the night were playing giant Jenga, Nathan toppling it over 2 out of 3 times, and a funky DJ that played music videos on a giant screen! Also, some great people watching from an interesting mix of Portlanders. Definitely going back again! Then on our way back home we decided that yes, pie from Random Order was obviously the best way to end the night! I got Apple & Raspberry, Nathan got Banana Cream Pie (no surprise), and Lisa got Chocolate Cream Pie. Delish!