Date Night

For those of you who haven't figured it out, Matt and I are dating, a few months now, but since we spend most of our time in different states, it does make that whole dating thing a bit difficult at times :P But tonight we went on a fun date to a local bowling alley. We went there with the intention of playing 2 games and ended up playing almost 7! It turns out that tonight was a Thunder Bowling. This means that for $11 per person, groups can bowl as many times as they want for 2 hours starting at 9 pm. Since we got there at 8:45 pm we just started a little early (we got lost cause I forgot where the bowling alley was :P) and ended a little early as well. We had a blast! For the first few games we bowled normally, meaning neither of us ever scored over 124, but for our last one and a half games we tried bowling with our non-dominant hands, which was quite entertaining, or going granny style. Although we didn't score even 50 points on that game, it was still worth it in my opinion because we had a lot of fun doing it and were laughing nearly the entire time!

What are some of your favorite things to do/places to go for dates or when you go out with friends?

Happy Friday :D

Love,

Sara :)

Hamburger Cookies

Alright, I'm not sure how many of you have heard about these wonderful inventions called hamburger cookies. I was introduced to these little cookies by Matt on Christmas Eve day! They are pretty simple to make and also very cute, perfect for the holidays or pretty much any other occasion you could think of! The overall rating is that they are better than regular burgers :P

The ingredients are simple: vanilla wafers, chocolate covered mint cookies (girl scout thin mints are best), vanilla frosting (to be dyed red), coconut shavings (the kind that we sometimes put on top of cupcakes and the like, to be dyed green), and green and red food dyes.

To create the "lettuce" and "ketchup": Take about half a container of vanilla frosting and add a few drops of red food coloring (it is more pink, but that's alright, you can't have everything) which will make your "ketchup"/glue. For the "lettuce", take about half or more of a bag of coconut shavings and add just 2 or 3 drops of green food coloring (it is strong stuff) and combine them in a ziplock bag, close the bag, and shake it up until all the coconut shavings are a light green color. You can leave some parts white if you want it to seem more like iceberg lettuce, or dye it a darker green for a shredded spinach look, it's completely up to you!

To combine and create a hamburger:
1- Take one vanilla wafer and spread it with a thin layer of your "ketchup" on the flat side.
2- Set one mint cookie on top for your "burger patty"
3- Spread another layer of "ketchup"
4- Add in a pinch of your "lettuce", or until you are satisfied with the amount
5- Take another vanilla wafer cookie and spread the flat side with "ketchup" (the ketchup on this layer is optional, if your burger will stay together without it, then it isn't needed, but we might have added a bit too much lettuce and needed some extra glue to hold it all together)
6- Place this second wafer cookie on top of the lettuce and Ta Da! You have a hamburger cookie!

For a visual reference, check the picture below. I did not get any pictures of actually making the cookies, but I can assure you that if you have more than one person it goes by very quickly, we were able to make two platefuls (about 18 cookies each plate) in under an hour. Best part: NO BAKING INVOLVED! This is a perfect last minute cookie idea!

What we are trying to come up with now are variations on this burger. I mean burgers are awesome, but what about adding cheese? Or two thin mints as a double burger? We haven't come up with anything to use for the cheese, any suggestions from readers? I'd really appreciate it, and promise to try it out and report my findings :P

Well I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas, or a wonderful past few days. We've been running around visiting family and friends for the past few days so it's been a little nuts, and I'm taking whatever time I can to blog and/or craft. I'm currently working on a few ideas for New Years that I will share when I finish at least one of them! I am also now back at my grandma's house so there may or may not be a post about the neat things around her house tomorrow or something.

As always, your replies are always appreciated and more than welcome! Happy Hump Day! :D

Love,

Sara :)

Musica Monday

Hey all!
Happy Christmas Eve Day!! That is for those of you who do celebrate Christmas, for those of you who don't, we'll I hope that you are having a wonderful night and I will say that I a going to post one of my favorite holiday songs for this time of year. I will also have an update about what my family is doing for Christmas!
First, the music. I present to you actually a piece that I heard for the first time a few years ago. It's by a group called Relient K, and yes it is a Christian rock band, but they do have a unique sound that I have found that I enjoy!

I am a fan of the way that they sort of play with this song and I enjoy the way they make fun of it because I remember thinking the same thoughts about what the gifts were. I hope that you enjoy your holiday season and I wish you all a happy season.

I would also like to put I that my sister and I have two things noteworthy for this holiday season. First, in place of excess gifts, our parents have given both of use some money to spend on a charity (charities) of our choice. I am currently coming up with places where I would spend said money. Granted these funds are not endless, but they are enough for 3 or 4 donations. The places I am coming up with now include: ASPCA, Pencils of Promise, Church World Service, and a website called Kiva.com (which you should check out!). I am open to  recommendations. I feel that the holidays should be more of a time to help those who need and to reach out than to be more centered around ourselves, but that's just my opinion :) whatever that is worth! :P If you we're given money to donate what would your  top 3 charities be?

Second, my sister and I decided to make the majority of our cards this year! It was a lot of fun and I forgot how much I actually missed doing this sort of thing.

These were the end results of what we made  (not all of them, but the first few). It would be really neat to be able to create cards as a part-time career and to give everyone I know a handmade and original card but I would have no idea of where to start because it is n area in which I have little to no experience. But it for sure would be an adventure!

Well that's all I got for now! Again happy holidays to everyone and enjoy the musica Monday :D

Love,

Sara :)

Night at Grandma's House

As is customary during the holiday season, we visit my grandmother up near Lacrosse, Wisconsin. She has a oldish house, my grandfather built, that's on land that has been used as a tree farm by my grandpa for their whole time living here. It is a very pretty place, set in the middle of the woods as a setting of mystery and a feeling of slight magic and still, for a suburb kid such as myself, a bit of fear of the unknown of what I will find out here. But for now I shall concentrate on the pretty parts which include some really neat vintage style items she has up in the attic part, or where I sleep :)
Since I was little I have been intrigued by many of the seemingly old and strange and different things my grandma has collected over time. From old clocks to books to furniture style to plates and a dollhouse that we used to pretend to play in as children. I've always enjoyed her collections, which are scattered throughout her house, giving it a sort of mystical feel to it. This feeling tells me that no matter where we are or how small we feel we are in the world, it's the little things that make a place magical :)

Someday I will ask grandma to tell me more about these items that I have seen since I was a little girl, but until then, it shall remain to my imagination to come up with the answer! What kinds of places do you guys know of that have a history of their own? Do you know the history? You should ask and learn, as I will when people are awake :P

Happy Saturday!

Love,

Sara :)

P.S. The hunt is on for a new car that I should be able to pay off in the next 4 years or so, so one that will last! Any suggestions? So far my favorite is a Mini Cooper :D

Update

Hey guys, so I'm home finally! I mean the reason I haven't been posting is because I was in a car accident on my way home on Tuesday! My car, Jordan, is (most likely) gonna be totaled and sent off for scraps :(, on the other hand, no one was hurt in the accident :D.
What happened was we hit a patch of black ice (meaning ice we didn't see until it was too late), and spun at least once or twice before hitting another car that had already hit the guardrail, we proceeded to bounce off that car before running into the guardrail, both cars facing traffic. There's not much I can say other than I'm really glad that no one in either car was hurt! It really gives this holiday season a lot more of a special feeling knowing that it was because of my car being so well put together, and being designed so that the passengers would be able to get up and walk away, that we were all able to get out unscathed. I mean a few bumps, bruises, and stiff neck/shoulders, and plenty of adrenaline (right at first that is), but no broken bones or big scrapes. We were all very VERY lucky!
I hope that you all are staying safe in this snow! Remember to be happy and celebrate what you have and what you are grateful for having! :D
Love,
Sara :)

Musica Monday

Alrighty folks, I am currently on a feel good high due to having just finished a final that I feel quite confident about, and the fact that all I have left is a final history final which is going to be an essay. So, in essence I'm feeling pretty good right now. In that light, I will now present you with a music monday that goes along with a pleasure of mine, anime. Don't judge or anything, actually, if you want to you can judge, that's fine. I have enjoyed the fantasy of several different anime shows, one of the latest being called "Angel Beats!". I don't want to spoil it for anyone who might watch it, but in general it concerns a sort of afterlife area where kids who have had bed childhoods end up and what goes on there concerning a specific group. I would recommend it, it's not too long, 13 episodes total I believe. But this song is one of my favorite anime openings, it's called 'My Soul, Your Beats' by Lia, and yes it is in Japanese. Enjoy!

What are some of your favorite show opening songs? Care to share? Do any of you watch anime or cartoons that you really enjoy?
Happy Monday!
Love,
Sara :)

If Only....Casually Feeling Cute

Alright, so I happened to stumble upon an online boutique called Mura, and instantly have fallen in love with several of their pieces!! They are at an affordable price...if you live in Australia, which I, sadly, do not :( So, these dresses serve as great examples on my "If Only" theme for these posts!
Mura is a trendy place to buy clothing that is beautiful and not too expensive. Granted, it is again only for women and the dresses tend to be shorter than my father would let me out of the house in, I do find that I like some of these pieces. As they say "make your fairytale come true", and I believe that is part of the fashion of dresses! Here are a few of my very favorite dresses that I would definitely buy if I 1- had the money and 2- was in the same country...damn international shipping!

This first dress is called the Bower Bird dress, and I love both the front and the back. The bright blue color of the dress paired with something simple like a pair of sunglasses, headband or a silver bracelet and light shoes makes for a simple outfit that can still make a statement at the same time. On the other hand, you could also add a brown belt, a hat and head out barefoot (or maybe it's only me who enjoys being barefoot more than wearing shoes :P). It also comes in black if you want a less bright, but still classy and fashionable look!

The second dress is called the Elly Ponti Dress. I prefer the red dress (I must have something with bright colors today!), but it also comes in a very pretty black. If I were to buy this dress I would get the black just because it would be used for more formal events. This dress is again one that would be easy to dress up, and it wouldn't take much if you didn't want it to; a simple necklace and/or bracelet and earrings would work just find, along with heels or flats.

This third dress is one that normally I wouldn't pick out, yet I'm not sure if it's because of the model or the name or what but I really like it here! It's called the Strawberry Milkshake Dress (gotta love that name, I got a dress from modcloth a while back that was called something about Chocolate Milk!), and I think it is adorable! The reason why I wouldn't normally go for it is because it has quite a bit of lace and I'm not normally a lacy-type girl. I still can't explain but this dress would be one that I would seriously consider purchasing! Adding a belt (like the photo...), and some brown shoes and this is a great summertime dress!

Alright, that's what I have time for today! What are some other places you guys have heard of that are over seas? Would you travel to another country for a dress you fell in love with? Solutions? Help? :P
I hope you have a wonderful week! I'm almost done with finals, so I know that after Tuesday my life will become a thousand times less stressful, at least for a few weeks!
Happy Sunday (at 2 am!)!
Love,
Sara :)

Sending Out My Thoughts!

Alright, so I admit that I'm not exactly one who keeps regularly updated with current events, but there are some that I think really deserve attention! This is one of those posts where I will express my opinion and if you don't want to hear it, then don't read it. But I hope that you do read it because I think that everyone is entitled to their opinion and it should be heard.
I'm sure most of you in the United States have heard about the tragedy of the Connecticut shooting. For those of you who haven't, there was a shooting this past Friday at an elementary school in Connecticut, killing 28 people total, 20 were children under the age of 10. I see no reason why this would be acceptable and am shocked that something like this would actually happen! Anyways, I wanted to send out my thoughts and any prayers they would accept from me!
Love,
Sara :)

Ergogenic Aids, What Are They?

An ergogenic aid is any substance, food, chemical, equipment, or training methodology that helps the body work harder, including restorative methods, or perform better.

There are 5 ways to go about improving performance:
1. Pharmacological
        such as anabolic steroids, HGH, amphetamines
2. Mechanical
        such as improving materials for safety improvement like lighter equipment, competition suits, and gloves for ball games; also physical techniques that improve performance such as dunking in basketball and shot put techniques
3. Psychological
       such as visualization and motivational speeches that can help performance
4. Physiological
      such as attitude running, achieving a low percentage of body fat
      increased muscle mass which leads to increased force, which can allow a person to work harder
5. Nutritional
      such as dietary aids, not including eating disorders

These are ways that people can improve their own performance, in either direct or indirect ways. Yet these ways are also very controversial and there are many arguments against using such aids in sports. Some of these arguments include:
~these changes being unnatural, since it changes the athlete itself
~these changes being an unfair advantage meaning it threatens equality or concept of fair play, this objection is more towards the way in which the athlete gained the advantage, making it a form of cheating
~these changes can also threaten the safety and threaten to harm the athlete, especially if something goes wrong
~there are also ideas concerning paternalism, which is viewed by many as a restriction on human liberty, it's more of a worry that people had been coerced into something they didn't want to do
~there are also the thought of violation of ideals and norms and the ethics of competition as well as a possible violation of human rights, meaning again that possible people didn't have the right to change how they were born
~advantage over sports, meaning the notion of sport as a measure of human performance is violated, sort of like creating your own luck

The difficulty is drawing the line of where things become controversial verses being alright and acceptable.

I should say that this post is actually part of my notes for a class I'm taking, called Sport Ethics in Society. I have my final in that class tomorrow afternoon, and for me it's easier to understand things if I go over it out loud or explain it to someone, so that's kinda what I'm doing right now. Thanks for reading! Don't take offense if there is any way for you too with this post, I do apologize if so!

Love,
Sara :)

Beginning of Finals Week/Last Day of First Semester

Well, today is the last day of first semester classes! There is snow on the ground, the Minnesota air is cold (turns my nose pink!), everyone on campus is stressed and starting to get sick. This usually happens only once a semester: finals. I make it sound so dramatic, but as many of you know it is a stressful and dramatic time in college. I have one paper and four finals between this Thursday and next Tuesday. So, I may be a bit distracted from posting and from many things in general with my life. Luckily it's just this semester and next semester for me at least. I'm not doing graduate school, at least not now. I'm not exactly sure what I wanna do yet, so I don't wanna go and get a degree in something that I'm not even positive I'm going to want to do in 5, 10, or 20 years. I'll figure it out eventually!
Anyways, that's my little update about what's going on this week. Good luck to any of you who have finals or any other test coming up! The holidays are right around the corner (well, some are here already but you get my drift I hope), so just finish everything strong and work hard, then you can enjoy life even more after :P
Love,
Sara :)

Monday Musica from the Library

Alright, so due to the fact that I have a research paper, a project, and two final exams this week I am pretty much living in the library for a while. Tonight is an example of one of those nights. As one person commented about an hour ago, "weren't you here four hours ago?" Then winced when I said I hadn't moved and proceeded to give me a cookie :D. Sorry funny little story I wanted to share! anyways, instead of putting up just a single song for you by a single group, for this musica Monday, I will send you to my Pandora profile and invite you at see what I listen to :) I highly recommend the Piano Men station for studying, it works super well for me!
My name is: samodahl. Go check it out!
Wish me luck on finals :D any of you taking them, I wish you luck as well!
Happy Monday!
Love,
Sara :)

Snow!!!

It's snowing very nicely and we put penguins and snowflakes on our window!! :) I enjoy the snow lots! It is probably one of my favorite times of the year!
What is your favorite season? What about your favorite thing during the holiday season?
Love,
Sara :)

Family Visits

I have had a busy last few days and have so fallen slightly behind on school work (not to mention blogging!). However, I wanted to give a quick update oh how the week has gone :) Every year, St Olaf College puts on a Christmas Festival that lasts 4 days. This is a world-renouned Christmas celebration that features 5 St Olaf choirs, including the Chapel Choir, Cantori, Viking Choir (all male freshmen), Manitou Singers (all female freshmen), and of corse the St Olaf Choir. It has sort of become a family tradition to go to this concert all four years that I've been in school year. I do enjoy cause this is one time that I do get to spend lots of time with my family! I am also in the St Olaf Handbell Choir, and we have a concert every year during Christmas Fest. This year it went quite well! Unfortunately, I don't think that we have a recording of the playing. There are 3 different bell choirs at St Olaf: Manitou Handbell Choir, Chapel Handbell Choir, and St Olaf Handbell Choir, and each one plays several times each semester in the chapel and at outside concerts. I'm excited for next semester when the St Olaf Handbell Choir goes on tour. I'm not positive where yet, but I do look forward to it.
Anyways, this weekend was really a lot of fun and it was great to see my family and gives me the little push that I needed to go through and finish up the semester as strong as I can.
I'm sorry for being so slow at blogging and putting up posts, but hopefully it will get better. I know there wasn't any musica yesterday but it was a busy day and I was having trouble keeping up. I'm working on getting back and into the flow of things. I will try and keep blogging during the rest of the week, but we will see!
Happy Tuesday!
Love,
Sara :)