Update

Okay so it's been a while since I've posted on this blog, but everything's been pretty busy for me. I mean, school has  been completely hectic and my sleeping schedule has been jacked up. I can't even stay up past 9 pm on  a Friday night because I'm so tired of everything. So for cooking breakfast in the morning, I have resorted to microwavable meals. I'm not talking about the Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches, but home cooked meals made in less than 10 minutes. The first thing I attempted to make was a pancake in a mug. I had seen this recipe on a website that had a list of these microwavable meals and was very interested in trying this. So, I tried making this for my sisters one day. One word: AMAZING!!! The pancake was absolutely delicious and cooked perfectly in the mugs. I would definitely recommend this recipe to anyone that needs a quick meal in less than a minute. The link for this recipe is below, I would also recommend this website because it has many other delicious recipes worth trying. Have fun cooking and adios!!!

http://kirbiecravings.com/2013/07/pancake-mug-cake.html

My pancake in a cup:

Last Day of Break :(

Today was the last day of break and I'm utterly saddened by how fast it went. I really had am awesome break. My mom, sisters and I went shopping more the once throughout the break. I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas, Hanukkah, etc. and an even better New Years.

The Maze Runner

Yesterday, my family and I got to see The Maze Runner. One word to describe this movie: AMAZING!!! I absolutely love the book and now love the movie. The movie was about Thomas waking up and finding himself in this place full of boys ranging from little tweens to young adults. This place, named the Glade, is in the center of this maze that the boys have been trying to find a way out. And as soon as Thomas comes into the picture, everything starts to change. I would definitely recommend this movie to everyone who's into science fiction-y type movies or people who liked Divergent. This movie would definitely rank at my top 5 best movies list. This is a 10 out of 10 for me and I really can't wait to see Maze Runner: Scorch Trials that's supposed to be coming out next year!!!

Book Thief, the movie

Yesterday, I finally got to watch The Book Thief. This movie is about Liesel Meminger, who is living through the horrors of World War II, is taken to Germany where she finds comfort by stealing books and sharing them to others. In the basement of her home, her adoptive parents are hiding a Jewish refugee. This movie was just very sad. So many people died in this movie that were very important to her. This movie would be a definite 5 out of 5 because the movie actually fit the time period. Now I haven't read the book, so my opinion of the movie would be a 5 out of 5. Whenever movies are this great that means that the book is as great. Maybe even better.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Yesterday, my dad took Gracie and me to the movies. We watched Guardians of the Galaxy. The movie was basically about Peter Quill, known as the Star-Lord, that was taken away from his family after his mom died from cancer. He grew up to become a famous thief and comes across this orb that he later learns has enough power to destroy the universe. Quill along with his four friends find themselves as prime targets of Ronan the Accuser when they discover that his main goal is to destroy the planet of Xandar. This movie was just absolutely awesome. I can totally see how this movie was the number one blockbuster. This movie had the action, the adventure, the witty comments, and a touch of romance all put together. I would definitely rate this movie a 5 out of 5 for it's humor and action.

Making Muffins with the Family

Today, my sisters and I got to make banana muffins and quadruple chocolate muffins. Both muffins were delicious. My sisters and I are going to be making muffins for breakfast like these muffins more often for school because they're time-saving. The banana muffins came from Simply Recipes, though we made some alterations to the recipe. Below are the recipes for each muffin with a picture of our muffins:

Banana Muffins
Prep time: 10 minutes            Cook time: 30 - 40 minutes            Yield: about 17 - 18 muffins

Ingredients

• 4 very ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C), and lay out 17-18 regular-size muffin cups on a pan.

In a mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork until smooth. Stir melted butter into mashed bananas.

Mix in the baking soda and salt. Stir in the sugar, beaten egg, and vanilla extract. Mix in the flour.

Pour the batter into the muffin cups, filling only about 1/3 of the cup.

Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350°F (175°C), or until toothpick comes from the center clean.

Remove from pan and let cool. Serve with some butter and enjoy!



Quadruple Chocolate Muffins
Prep time: 10 minutes            Cook time: 17 - 19 minutes            Yield: about 23 - 24 muffins

Ingredients

• 1 pouch of Betty Crocker Hershey's Ultimate Chocolate brownie mix
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of Nescafé Clásico
• 1/2 bag of Nestle Toll House Dark Chocolate Chips, 10 oz. bag

Directions

Heat oven to 325°F and lay out 23-24 regular-size muffin cups on a pan.

Stir brownie mix, Nescafé Clásico, oil, water, and eggs in a medium bowl until well blended. Mix in Nestle Toll House Dark Chocolate Chips. Pour the batter into the muffin cups, filling only about 1/3 of the cup.

Bake for 17-19 minutes at 325°F, or until toothpick inserted into center of brownie comes out clean.

Remove from pan and let cool. Serve with a cup of milk and enjoy!

 

 

Summer Music!!!

Besides being lazy and reading, summer for me is spent by listening to discovering new genres of music. Surrounded with music from a young age, I've always loved music. This summer, I started to listen to alternative music. Now, with summer break almost over, I am in love with alternative music. I could tell you that I only started listening to it because I came across it while going through radio stations, but I only started listening to this music because my favorite radio station was acting up. I now love this genre because the songs have so much good meaning and I just love the bass and drums. Below are YouTube videos of the new songs that I discovered that are all really good:

Need You Now by Lady Antebellum

 

Riptide by Vance Joy

 

Cardiac Arrest by Bad Suns

 

My Sweet Summer by Dirty Heads

 

Habits (Stay High) by Tove Lo

 

Do I Wanna Know? by Artic Monkeys

 

Stolen Dance by Milky Chance

 

Dangerous by Big Data ft. Joywave

 





UPDATE!!!

Wow it's been a long time since I've been on my blog. This summer has been just awesome. My definition of summer vacation is being lazy, read books, watch movies, and be lazy. All summer I've pretty much spent at home with the occasional outing to the movies or store. My whole summer has been surrounded by music and I absolutely love it. I think the only bad part about this summer is that my dad has to work the whole summer away from home. I miss him so much and I only get to see him with the occasional Face Time chats. Other than that I'm having a wonderful summer. I also get to go to this new charter school that's being built near me. I can't wait to go there. It means a new start. I hope you guys have an awesome rest of the summer and stay safe. PEACE!!!

Texas Steak Cook-Off

This past Saturday, my family and I went to Hico, Texas to go to this steak cook-off. There a bunch of chefs come to this tiny town to see who cooks the best steak in Texas. My family and I always go to this event. We just go around sampling a bunch of delicious food. One of the dishes that I remember from the trip was this dried apricot with asiago cheese wrapped in bacon. It was absolutely delicious. I suggest that everyone should go to this fair because it's awesome and I had a lot of fun. It happens every year on the 3rd Saturday of May.

http://www.texassteakcookoff.com/ 

Insignia

I just finished reading Insignia by S.J. Kincaid. The book is about Tom Raines going from a low-life kid living off the streets barely going to school to becoming an important person in the military. In the world, there is a coalition of 12 companies that practically rule the world. They are split into two groups that are fighting for land in space. Tom goes through different challenges that he never had to go through when he was with his father. This book is a really good sci-fi book for people who like sci-fi. This book would be a 4 out of 5 because it was a really good book and it showed how even great things can have a bad impact on a person's life.

Soccer Game!!

Last night was my first soccer game. I can officially say that soccer is my favorite sport. The game was against another middle school in my district called the Tidwell Titans. Since there were two teams with no substitutes, we all had to be in the game the whole time. I played the left outside midfield and I loved my position. I got to do the throw-ins if the ball went out on the other team. The only bad part about soccer is all the running. I'm not a very fast runner, but I can run for long periods. Running for an hour in cleats and shin guards that I'm still trying to get used to isn't really good. Since we had no subs and both A and B team was exhausted after their specific game, we might just combine the two teams so that we have subs for when we get tired. But until next Monday, we won't know what's going to happen for our next game in two weeks.

UPDATE!!!

Since the last time I blogged, a lot has happened. At my last track meet, I placed sixth place for discus at the zone meet. I was ecstatic when they told who placed on the big speaker. I tried out for the soccer team and got on B team. It seemed really hard at the tryouts, but it got easier. Today we ran a mile at practice in under 9 minutes and I actually got it. I also took the 7th grade Writing STAAR and the 8th grade Math STAAR. The writing test was a two-day test that you had to answer 46 revising and editing questions and write a total of three essays. The math test was absolutely horrible. There were 64 questions total on the stupid test and we only had four hours to take it. I took 3 hours and 35 minutes to take the test. I know I did good on the test. I just hope I get commended on the test.

Julie Langevin

Today is my friend Julie's birthday. She's turning thirteen today. Julie is one of the only people in all of my classes that I have almost the exact same schedule. She's really quiet. Probably even quieter than I used to be. She is really nice too. Once, she brought two packs of gum for Ali and she just gave them to her. I would say that Julie is one of my best friends here.

Ender's Game

Earlier this week, my family and I got to watch Ender's Game. The movie was about Ender Wiggin being recruited into a International Military program to defeat the Formics, a alien race that nearly destroyed the human race years before. Throughout his time through the different schools, Ender is faced with choices and is called up to be trained as the commander of the fleet that will go and annihilate the Formics race before they can complete their unfinished job. This movie was a 5 out of 5 and for several reasons. I, for one, love science fiction and this movie was packed with science fiction. The movie had some sentimental parts. One being the part when Ender's sister Valentine convinced Ender to go back into the program after he quit. I would definitely go to see the second movie if it came out. I just hope they don't leave a big cliff hanger like this one.