I'm coming home tomorrow!

 Oh glorious day!  I get to drive a manual!  I get to go barefoot!  I get to wear pants!  I get to be outside...a lot!  I don't have to serve dinner twice a day!  I get to make soap!  I get to go camping!  I get to go to the beach!  I get to see everybody!  Spider-man!  Campfires!  Gaelic Storm in stereo!

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Real gold fears no fire.

View of our frisbee field...

...(parking lot) from the room next to mine...as taken from my room. My most amazing play of last night's amazing game: running deep in the near endzone, I snagged the frisbee just enough inbounds for a goal and finished with a crash and burn that broke out in a rash up my right arm. I couldn't begin to tell of John's innumerable amazing plays. I'll just leave it at: I'm glad we were on the same team some of the time.

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Real gold fears no fire.

Lemon-Honey Drop Cookies

Monday we made these delectable little cookies no one could get enough of. Imagine honey-butter infused with lemony sunshine and this is what you would get. I won't even disclose how many found their way to my stomach in the name of 'taste testing'.
Speaking of large quantities, last night during Bible study we counted over 20,000 clear and pink beads for craft packets for Pre-EXCEL. We paired up, one girl counting 44 clear beads and the other, 32 pink. The girl I was working with had a speedy counting method that I had a hard time keeping up with until I adopted it and we became *cough* the fastest counting team *cough*. We probably counted enough for the next two conferences.

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Real gold fears no fire.

Week at a glance

 Monday: We had a windy picnic in the courtyard to enjoy our newly painted gazebo.  I made lots of picnic-y things to eat including raspberry lemonade and, not so picnic-y, shortcakes with lemon curd and raspberry sauce.

 Wednesday: Took a long drive in a rainstorm so severe that visibility was reduced to lights and reflectors and we could barely hear each other in the same car because of the noise the rain was making as it pelted the van.  Meanwhile, back at the ranch, 90-100 mph winds blew in a window, causing glass to fly some 40 feet from its original location, and downed several trees and large branches.

 Thursday: Scraping out the seeds from a jalapeno for salsa, I got squirted in the eye and spent several minutes on fire at the same time remaining completely calm so Katie wouldn't freak out.  Later on, since Katie and I were the only two around for girls' Bible study, we decided to convene at la Madeleine over a groan-worthy chocolat mousse crêpe.  I love that place...Bible study I mean, Bible study.

 Saturday: Our day to celebrate a few staff birthdays and, it being the 5th of May, the theme recommended itself.  The menu comprised chicken empanadas, salsa fresca, mango salsa, agua fresco, and dulce de leche flan, none of which I had ever made before.  Everything turned out wonderfully and I would definitely make any of them again (except perhaps the same flavor of agua fresca; I think I prefer to eat my watermelon), especially the dulce de leche that I had to make for the flan, if only because it just tickled me so much to make something by boiling a can of condensed milk underwater for four hours.

 Only one week and two days until I'm home!  I'll have to post if I make anything wonderful between now and then.

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Cheers

On the Wall

Coming from choir practice, I got to Exposure Rock Climbing Gym about an hour after the rest of the group. After watching a cheesy orientation video, I harnessed up and made a quick trip to the top of their 'we just want to be sure you're comfortable with the equipment' wall and belayed for Rachel as she went up. I made a beeline for John and he pointed out a couple of walls that he thought would be good to start on. Most of the time John and I would alternate between belaying and climbing but we got someone else to belay so I could take pictures and then so he could. I only climbed one wall that was a real challenge. John picked it out for me and coached me to the top. At one point, I had to jump to reach the next handhold, but fell off the wall because I couldn't get a grip that would hold me. Back on the wall, I tried it with a different foothold and didn't have to jump. My forearms were so tight after that climb. After two and a half hours, most everyone was ready to go, but I kept climbing as long as I could and was the last one out of my harness. That's one more thing I can check off my list, and definitely something I will do again.

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