ridiculous vlog time.

today is going to be a nice, busy day.
i've got my cup of cold brew [a nice, medium dark roast; house blend of trader joe's] and i have music to edit and bring down or up a key for mum to follow on the piano tomorrow.
your love never fails.
it's a good song. listen to it. enjoy the below post. :) don't laugh and point too much.

thursday night, 7pm
wow. just had an adventure. hah.
retina burn from the focusing light of my camera and a stubbed toe --all because of a pair of shades.
i think it's time for a cup of decaf. it's a light roast, so we'll see how it is.

just so we get this straight, i never wear shades.
but here they are.

funky amusement, i tell ya.
do they look idiotic?
because i don't care. i just might wear them in public sometime.
ya know, sometime when i go out, in daylight, when it's hot, and there's people around. :]

and then the moment some of you have been waiting for.
the vlog.
le sigh.
okay, okay. so i kinda had some of the best fun ever making this vlog in particular, compared to the past ones. :D

ya don't get any more details on why i'm grounded.
i promise i wasn't.... naughty. it's just a funny....sibling thing.

ohhh, shiitake mushrooms.
stupid youtube made a crappy screen capture right up there.
so . . . there.
now you can live your day and go to bed smiling, feeling good about yourself.
you're not as weird as me.
:)

how to: cold brew coffee.

the moment you've all been waiting for.

beware. it's a 9 minute long video.

sigh.
i'm sorry.
that's what happens when you get rachel, me, and an ipod together after midnight.
it's bad.
maybe in the future sometime i'll rerecord for a much shorter video on how to do this.
but you might laugh somewhere at this video....maybe at least once, i hope.
if it gets a laugh and some people to try it out for themselves, that'd be perfectly wonderful.
seriously though, try making it and let me know how it went! :)

a pearl bracelet mum gave me, from gram. ♥
i kinda love it.
but then, i love anything with pearls. so did gram; she was known for it, i guess....so that's where i get this obsession. :)

freckles. this is what i get for facing the sun once in a while. :)
. . . also, if you don't want to waste your freaking precious time, go to this post about my first cold brew experience in pictures [well, most of it] and here, to the original post on cold brew coffee by the pioneer woman.

here's a blog post by one of my favorite authors, kacy barnett-gramckow. she's a dear, i tell you. completely hilarious, creative, and addicted to coffee . . . kind of like someone you and i know. ;)

a wedding and reception. w/videos.

well, hello.
i decided to upload the vids rach took with her ipod . . . so you could see the fun we had.

good memories, i told rachel; since we'll probably never see that child again.
:\

dude, it was wild. and i was lip-syncing no words. just so you know why i'm extra-dorky.
can't you tell?
i think everyone was in the other part of the building.

you know that phrase rach was saying but the music starts going over her voice?
it was we are the hilarious photographers.
and when she aimed the camera at my camera? i was obviously claiming that nikon as my own. [you know, since she has one just like it, but anna's borrowing it as she stays with sarah, justin, and the kiddos.]  
oh! and the face i'm making at :36 and onward? that's my guppy face. mhmm. as in, the fish called guppy.
isn't that a fun fact? i love the fact that the song near the end of that reminds me of the movie knight and day. because it's in the soundtrack. good stuff.

okay, so here's a slideshow of the actual wedding and reception. even though the baby and some of the music was the best part of it all.

so there you go.

i'm off to cook up some ground beef for tacos tonight. :) 

not that this quote is at all related to anything of the above....erma is just too good.

Housework, if you do it right, will kill you.
[Erma Bombeck]

cinnamon chip scones. ♥

'ello. 
:)

so, i decided to ramble on this lovely sunday afternoon we've got here.
bear with me. this is the main portion of this blog post.

this is the music i was listening to...starting with the first track.
the maine.

i'm making this recipe. by taste of home.
mind you, i've never made scones myself before. anna's the scone woman. so....but anyways.......i have hope for these. :)
i better get to it while the sun's still up. photos, ya know. ;)

cinnamon chip scones
12 Servings
Prep: 25 min.
Bake: 10 min.

Ingredients
     3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
     1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
     2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
     1/2 teaspoon baking soda
     1/2 teaspoon salt
     3/4 cup cold butter, cubed
     1 cup buttermilk
     1 package (10 ounces) cinnamon baking chips
     2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions
     In a large bowl, combine the flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder,
     baking soda and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse
     crumbs. Stir in buttermilk just until moistened. Fold in chips.
   
     Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead gently 10-12 times or
     until dough is no longer sticky. Divide in half; gently pat or roll
     each portion into a 7-in. circle. Brush with butter and sprinkle
     with remaining sugar.
   
     Cut each circle into six wedges. Separate wedges and place on an
     ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 10-13 minutes or until
     lightly browned. Serve warm. Yield: 1 dozen.

by the way, most of these pictures in the slideshow are taken by lyddie:)

~~~

growing up won't bring us down . . . 
[the maine; growing up]

~~~

8:15pm
well, here i am, reporting back.
i rocked my first ever batch of scones.
just saying.
i also used a mix of whole wheat flour (freshly ground, mmm, still warm) and all purpose flour.
the texture was great.
and i've had one of the ten i ended up making from the stuff. :P
i should take a walk tonight.

this is the stuff of life.

i took these as i was reading some of this great article: 21 things you need to know about that misguided man we all have been hearing/reading about this weekend.
so yeah. that's what i look like when reading stuff about a wacko. at least i came away informed.
i love how "little ol' me" wrote that part: i like my readers to be educated, so i'm telling you this.

it rained tonight.

the kind you can hear.

not quite the kind you can smell, but i might be wrong, because it was around the time i took those pictures up there, and i was sitting on the ground in the kitchen, sitting against some cupboards....so i couldn't really smell anything coming in from the outdoors. not too focused. hah.

i love the foggy factor, in the distant fields. taken at church earlier, around noon before we went to see pirates 4. which, by the way, was better than 3, and...i have to say that 1 and 4 are my favorites. the middle ones are good. just not as good. :)

this was last night.

wait. i mean this morning. a.m. around 1....

me and my sister, rach, were up while i cleaned the kitchen, listening to good, dancy music...

yeah, we might've gotten carried away a few times.

like this: right before we quit and went to bed. we hadn't watched it in so long; since the first time i showed it to her. so....of course. yeah. refresher course on quoting the funky stuff she brings up all the time.

like the days rach walks by me and says canna have yo numba? incessantly. annoyingly. but always making me laugh.

and the newest quote she does? el oh el, smiley face. from megamind. ummm, yes.

siblings can be the best and the worst.

now we quote it together, since that's how we roll.

that's how we bond. 

because God only knows how much we clash sometimes:P

by the way: i just want you all to know that this combo is awesome.

...what? eating basil leaves and "pizzeria" blend cheese at 1:26am isn't normal?
oh. hmm. well, if it helps any, it was only my first time. :] and it's amazing.

this news just in: alyssa, from the blog bitty wings baby, is hosting a series. it sounds pretty darn wonderful, so, starting monday, you should swing by there and see what's published! i'm in the line-up, as you can see, and i just wrote my post tonight , to-freaking-night, because . . . well, my right brain unorganized tendencies took over what with making food happen, anna coming home, art news, and the thoughts and tense edge-of-your-seat mindset i've got going once in a while about the birth i'm photographing any day now.

interesting news on that: they live almost 2 hours away. just a little over 1 1/2. so....i know this isn't their first so it's not going to be the longest, and all i can do is pray we get there at a good time to still document the moments leading up the actual wonderfulness.

so yeah.

dear God,

it would be just fine with me if you had her go into good, real labor around 10, have them call us around 11, right after i do my solo at church, and then i can get dressed down and hop in the car with mom to head to a house we've never been to and take pictures...all in a timely fashion.

thank You? :) :) :)

love, beka.

p.s. : as per erika's suggestion/request,here's a video....of the song i'm singing tomorrow. 

ironically so, this is actually me singing. the little boys in the vid are danny and david cito. lyddie's the cinematographer. ;) excuse my dorkiness. especially the end paranoia.

holy crap, it's a vlog. er....many vlogs.

well, i didn't know whether to embed this before or after the train wreck my vlogs are, but . . . i'll put it before.
sheesh. it won't matter in the end anyways.

 

. . . that is my favorite josh groban song to sing to. most of the time i just love doing the harmony, in fact. but i just flat out love the song. and a youtube vid of this song paired so heartbreakingly with one of my top favorite movies--p.s. i love you? gah!
to answer the question commented a few posts back, this will be our first time seeing him in concert live. :) i'm pretty darn excited.

~~~

now onto this vlog business.
#1...aka, zee intro:

this is me.
trying to start a vlog of answering questions.
beware: this is one of probably 6 videos. all for answering 3 people's questions. [well, technically only 5 videos uploaded to YT, since the 6th--2nd outtake--completely and totally sucked. no joke.]
hey, give me a break; i was watching 2 kids under the age of 6 while this was happening. ;)

up next, erika's:
a- if you could pick any name for yourself, what would you pick?
b- top 3 favorite books? movies?
c- why did you start blogging? what are your favorite things about it? ...how could i be so scatter-brained? totally skipped this one. i shall formulate something for another vlog sometime!

wonderful titles, yes?
just so you all know, i'm sorry for my weirdness.
el oh el.
i'm not used to myself sometimes. sheesh. that's why this is labeled #3...2 was horrible. way more awkward (hah), and word stumblings all over the place!!

erika's last question:
d- When did you start to have your huge love for coffee? :)

kelsey's:
"This is what I want to know.
You are obviously what they call "wise beyond your years" and have so many interests that I doubt your peers have.
Do you have a hard time making friends and/or relating to people your own age?
This is a compliment, lol... really! I was much the same way as you but it gave me a weird sense of superiority for a while which you certainly don't seem to have!
Now I am afraid you will take this wrong lol"

and megan's:
what is your dream job?

sigh of relief....it's over. :)

~~~

end point: i don't think i'm fully ready to embrace how weird i am.
heh.
or was i the only one coming to that conclusion?? i dare not hope. el. oh. el.
other end point: i am a dork. :) 

we could end it on a more normal note, yes?
well, to try for that, i'm going to tell you that rach ran to the library because things were in (including a book she'd been waiting for;) and this book was there too: 

of course, as legend would have it --er, as logic would have it, it's something anna put on hold.
surprise surprise, the main character is a midwife. ;) i totally almost laughed when i read that. i smiled. 
but anyhow....i started reading it. 
{yes, cardinal sister crossover almost-sin: reading a book that 'belongs' to the other sister, without asking persmission. we've been over this before, her and i. heh.}
and the book seems really interesting. pretty good read. i'm enjoying it so far....on page 43 already. okay, so i was skimming some of it. oh well. forgive me.

no pictures from my watching the kiddos today since i shoveled the vlogs on you. wait, that doesn't make sense. ;)
okay, okay...maybe one.
or two.
little 2 year old who slept from 12:30-3pm. little 5 year old who lounged with me. sweet times inbetween the busy-loud ones. :)

♥