Jessica Shares Drum Major Camp: All The Feels

Hey guys! This is my first post for the summer, sorry for the delay. I don't have pictures to share at the moment, but I can't hold off on sharing the story any longer. (Post may be lengthy, sorry not sorry) This definitely counts as  Make a new friend. If you count conducting in mixed meter as an instrument, you could say I Learned a new instrument as well.

As many of you probably know, I have the privilege to serve the Cypress Bay Sound of Thunder band  as a drum major this coming year (no I do not play the drums; here's what Wikipedia says about drum majors if you don't know:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drum_major) . In order to be prepared for the job ahead of me, I attended the George N. Parks Drum Major Academy at UCF this past weekend.

I didn't know anyone there; on Thursday night I sat in a room with 81 strangers. Monday afternoon I said goodbye to 81 family members.

The days were long, and breaks were short (more like nonexistent). Activities ran nonstop; we moved fluidly from breakfast, to outdoor basics block, lunch, conducting class, more basics block, leadership seminar, dinner, and a final lecture in the evening (a 7:30 am day - about 11:30pm). We learned an incredible amount of information for four days.

The best part, I think, was the fact that the staff was so willing to share their personal stories. The main message given to us was that our job as leaders is to inspire the people around us, and we were given the most outstanding examples of that message- most of the stories had us in tears.

What impacted me the most? Hard to say, but there was this one moment. Justin, the head staff member, told us to close our eyes. He asked us to envision past leaders that inspired us to reach the position we had achieved; to see the faces of all the upperclassmen who had pushed us and advised us to this point. I very clearly saw my pool of faces.

"Now open your eyes. All those people- they're gone now. They've graduated, and moved on. Now you have to take their place. You have to do all they did for you, but for someone else."

I have a lot to live up to, and tons of work to do before I would consider myself prepared for this season. However, DMA gave me the skills I needed to begin this journey. Yes; they taught us how to call commands properly, and gave us conducting tips, and showed us new marching techniques. But the most important thing the DMA staff gave us was an understanding of what we need to do and whom we need to become in order to bring success to our bands. And when things get tough, we now have the ability to turn to other drum majors outside of our respective schools for support and advice. Drum major academy was one of the best experiences of my life, and I certainly hope to go back as a veteran member

WITH PRIDE!!!!!!!!

Kim shares summer happenings [week 1] (=

I hope I'm doing this right (haha!) but for only having a week of summer I think it's started off to be pretty fantastic.

Volunteer for a day (week? :D )
Last week, from Monday through Friday, I volunteered at my church with something a lot of churches have called "Vacation Bible School." It was only from 8:30-11:30 every day, but I grew so attached to some of these kids and a few of them were pretty attached to me! (Literally)

Have a party

Actually I just remembered the Saturday before this week we had a pretty awesome party at my house. Since my Dad's birthday was Tues. June 11 and my boyfriend's was Thurs. June 13 and my brother's girlfriend's was Wednesday June 5, we had a combined thing as a luau! It was a lot of fun! My boyfriend's younger twin brothers and their friends at some point we're saying back and forth, "If you shoot the ball into the hoop from there, she's all yours!" Referring to the pool-basketball set we had. It was hilarious. We also had a roasted pig--which I know is not for everyone, including me (vegeterian..hehe!) but the party crowd was really excited. We had a pumpin' DJ and a lot of friends and just an awesome time.

Cook/Bake Something

The day after my dad's birthday and the day before my boyfriend's (Kyle) birthday, I spent a lot of time preparing a surprise for him. I baked a cake and blew up about 30 balloons (it was supposed to be 100+... oops!) and my dad set it up in his room while Kyle and I did our VBS church thing (at the top). The cake was actually supposed to be an ombre cake, but I only had 1 box of cake mix so I decided a 2-layer 2-color cake would be fine, but I did NOT put enough food coloring! I wanted blue and green. For some reason, after adding 3 drops of blue I thought, "Hmm. Maybe adding a drop of red will make it a darker blue--even dark purplish!" It did not. I had a grey layer and a light green layer. BUT CAKE IS CAKE AND IT WAS DELICIOUS. And if anyone has seen Patch Adams, that was the effect I was going for in his room, which also didn't live up to expectations, but Kyle was still very happy and surprised. (10 pts to me? ;D )

Go to a Concert

That night, and some of you will probably cringe when you hear this, I went to a One Direction concert with my nieces. It was actually a lot of fun! I got a few of their songs..hehe. It was just a really entertaining concert and they are great live performers. There were so many girls there and they were going crazyyy! I vined quite a few moments of the concert if anyone has vine!

I don't know how that spacing worked out.. but it is what it is! Anyways, I had a pretty awesome first week of summer. Looking forward to sharing more with you guys! But I'll try not to cram it in one post! 

-Kim

Lauren's First Weeks of Summer All Crammed into One Blog Post!

It's been an eventful week-or-so since summer vacation began, but my mad procrastinating skills have prevented me from sharing thus far. However, I shall take a stand now! It is time to get something accomplished... something other than the PSAT homework I am currently neglecting.

Here's the gameplan: I will divide this post by subjects on The List and attempt to write in a chronological-ish manner.


Have A Party 
Technically, I did not have the party. I was a participant, though. We celebrated our friend Cat's 16th year of life on this planet in a nerdy and spectacular way. It involved pasta, key lime pie, some highly amusing rounds of *ducky-wucky, presents, and, surprisingly enough, physical activity; some of our friends can actually kick soccer balls and throw frisbees (who knew, right?). All in all, it was a great way to ring in the vacation.

*Ducky-wucky is a game in which you must attempt to decline the offer to be someone's ducky-wucky without smiling or laughing— a near impossible task. WARNING: hilarity will ensue.

The shirt I got Cat for her birthday
Note: This is not Cat

Go On A Road Trip 
The very next day, my mother and I set off to visit UF, Rollins College, and Sea World (I firmly believe that all college tours should end with a trip to an amusement park). We packed the car with snack food, podcasts of  "This American Life" and "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me," and enough clothes to last us far longer than the three days we would actually spend away from home. Thusly, we headed off... and right into the path of tropical storm Andrea.

The lovely view from the front

   

The lovely view from the side

It was a rainy trip, but the company was good, the podcasts were entertaining, and I could practically taste my newfound freedom. I convinced myself that nothing would spoil my trip and nothing did.
So there. 

We arrived at UF in a drizzle rather than a torrential downpour, so we were thankful. We had our meeting, took the tour, and prepared to turn around and head back down to Orlando. Before we left, though, my mother and I did our own exploring in the comfort and, most importantly, the dryness of our car. We found a woodsy trail, Lake Alice, and the student agricultural gardens.

A few hours later, we made it to our hotel and met the nicest receptionist ever. Seriously, the next time you're in Orlando, stay at the Hampton Inn closest to Universal and find Jeremy. He'll chat your ear off and make you feel right at home.

We saw Rollins College on day two of our trip. It was basically the opposite of UF: a small, liberal arts college where football was little more than a footnote. I will say that both colleges offered interesting programs and opportunities and both had beautiful campuses. Everyone we met on our trip was welcoming. Plus, they both had pretty trees and omelette bars— my two must haves in a college! Yup, I know where my priorities lie.

Me and Mom

After our tour, we wandered around Winter Park (the town surrounding Rollins College). It's essentially a  long row of stores and restaurants, as far as I could see. We went to an AMAZING French restaurant for lunch. The food was just so so so good. We ordered one croque-monsieur and one sandwich au gigot d'agneau (one ham and cheese and one lamb sandwich) and then exchanged halfs. I kind of wanted to take a picture of my plate, but felt awkward doing it in public. It seemed too stereotypically teenager-with-electronic-device. As such, you will just have to imagine the meal we shared. Feel free to drool a bit. I also stopped into the candy store next door and sampled some taffy. The chocolate chip cookie one was definitely my favorite. We probably would have meandered into some more shops if I hadn't realized that my sweater was still at Rollins. Oh, the curse of the absent minded. We left shortly after finding the recalcitrant sweater, but all was not lost! I bought a pair of adorable French toast socks from the Rollins store. And I don't mean french toast the food, I mean toast that says "Bonjour" and wears a little beret! I am totally in love with them. I may never take them off. They are getting smelly...

Conquered the Kraken

My father joined us for the last day of our trip. We got drenched at Sea World, but not by Shamu; a thunderstorm rolled in around midday. It did not, however, dampen our fun. We scuttled from one indoor attraction to the next. We touched stingrays and dolphins, met a very friendly walrus, froze our butts off in the Antarctica exhibit, and saw tons of fish. By the time the roller coasters opened again, nearly everyone was gone. The lines were miniscule and I rode in the front each time. It was a blast!

I can't tell you much about the last leg of our journey. I was asleep for almost the entire ride home. 

Me, David, and a goblin at LaserQuest

Play LaserTag 

This past Sunday, a group of friends and I went to play lasertag. I lost every time, but it was fun. Lawrence reigned supreme, winning every round and getting the top score of the day. After lasertagging, we returned to David's house to watch Doctor Who and the Tonys— an unlikely pairing, but whatever. C'est la vie.

Volunteer for a Day

Well, I've been volunteering for the past five days at Camp DMC and will be for the rest of the summer. I would tell you stories or include pictures of the adorable children I work with, but there's the HIPAA law and other privacy issues to consider. You'll just have to trust me.

Bake Something
I made banana muffins from the bruised-and-beaten bananas we took on our road trip and forgot to eat. They were yummy!

And so, that's my summer so far. I apologize for the lengthiness of this post. If you have made it to the end, congratulations! You have a will of steel! Until next time, dftba.

Cooking with Eve: Cashew Corn Chowder with Cilantro Cream

I can feel myself breaking out in sweat about being the first post, but since everyone else's lives have apparently been composed mainly of sleeping and breathing for the last week, I'll share first.

Food at my house is kinda a big deal. My mom and I both really, really, really enjoy food and my dad tries to support us by trying anything. That being said, I like to cook, and so I've made a small decision to try cooking different things this summer, with a highlight on healthy stuff. It's already paid off.

My New Roots is a blog that I found while trying to figure out what the hell you're supposed to do with lentils because lentils have always been nasty in my mind and I never looked at lentils as something tasty and I was only looking at them mainly because earlier in the day I ate three Krispy Kreme donuts and the self-guilt was pretty bad. However, this isn't about the lentils (although I have changed my mind about them), so on with the rambling the informative information.

It's a blog all about healthy food. When I say healthy I mean vegan, gluten-free, all organic, whole foods that are way too expensive and make me wanna hang myself because they're so cheap in Europe and frustration with America. I'm not vegetarian, I'm pretty sure I love gluten, but I tried a recipe and it was awesome, and so I wanted to share it to reassure everyone reading this that, yes, stuff that's good for you can simultaneously give you a foodgasm.

Without further ado, Cashew Corn Chowder with Cilantro Cream

Easy to make, tastes good, and is also healthy, since it's mainly just vegetables and nuts. And the spices in it offer benefits like anti-inflammatory properties. Meanwhile your tongue is actually enjoying it.

Cashew Corn Chowder with Cilantro Cream
Serves 4
1 Tbsp. coconut oil or ghee
2 medium yellow onions
6 cloves garlic
2 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. cumin
cayenne to taste
3 ears fresh corn
4 cups vegetable broth
1 Tbsp. freshly-squeezed lime juice
½ cup raw cashews, soaked overnight (4 hours minimum)

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. When hot, add turmeric, cumin and cayenne and cook for about a minute, until fragrant. Add onions and salt, and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add garlic. If the bottom of the pot becomes dry, add a little broth instead of oil to moisten things up.
2. While the onions and garlic are cooking, husk the cobs of corn. Cut off the kernels by standing the corn on one end and slicing downwards. Add corn kernels to the pot and stir to coat with spices. Cook for 5 minutes then add the remaining broth. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook until the corn is bright yellow and sweet, about 5 minutes. During this time, make the cilantro cream (see recipe below)
3. Once the corn is cooked, remove pot from heat and transfer the soup to a blender, reserving a few tablespoons of the whole corn kernels for garnish. Add soaked and rinsed cashews. Blend on high until completely smooth. Add water to thin, if desired. Season to taste. Return soup to the pot to keep warm if necessary. Serve with cilantro cream, a drizzle of olive oil, a few kernels of corn and plenty of cracked black pepper.

Cilantro Cream
½ cup raw cashews, soaked overnight (4 hours minimum)
1 Tbsp. freshly-squeezed lime juice
1 cup cilantro (leaves only, loosely packed)
½ cup water
1 Tbsp. raw honey (or agave)
1 tsp. sea salt
pinch cayenne, if desired
½ small clove garlic, if desired

Directions:
1. Put all ingredients in a blender and blend on high until completely smooth. Season to taste. Store leftovers in a sealed glass container.

Well, this was a really long first post. I hope it wasn't just fifteen minutes of you guys going "uh-huh." Although if it was someone please let me know so I can just curl up in a blanket and eat my chowder and wallow in my failure (I am JOKING please don't report me and have me admitted). Enjoy guys, and don't forget to scramble this summer! 

....

Someone strangle me.