Symphony Club.

    Tonight I went with the Symphony Club to Abravanel Hall to see Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2 and Orchestral Suite from The Ring. The Ring is a series of 4 operas usually performed over 4 consecutive nights. The total length of the 4 operas is about 15hrs. Tonight we saw and Orchestral Suite which was only 45min. The Orchestral Suite contained music from all 4 operas. The names of these opera are: Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerrung. Wagner wrote these plays over of about 26 years. Wagner is one for my absolute favorite composers.

Pic credited to SLCCFA

     A typical night at Symphony club consists of eating, listening and bus riding. First of all we normally ride a school bus down to city creek mall. At city creek we eat at the food court. The food court has many different types of food, everything from pizza to mexican food, and Asian cuisine to great american classics. Afterwards we walk to Abravanel Hall and listen to whatever performance we happen to be seeing, which usually starts around 8 o'clock. about halfway though the performance there is an intermission. The symphony useally ends about 10 o'clock. We get home about 10:30 - 11. That is our typical night at Symphony club.

Where in the World?!

For many traveling the world is a on their bucket list. This is also one my my wishes. I would like to share with you my top five places in the world where I would like to travel.

5. Paris, France

     Number five on my list is Paris, France I have been there once before, and had an amazing time.  I was in France for a week and half last spring. We spent most of our time in southern france, I saw the ocean for the first time during that trip which was very exciting!
    The three days that we spent in Paris was amazing. I don't really enjoy museums so the Louvre wasn't very fun. But the rest of the time was grand! The main reason I want to go back is because of the food. Also the city was extremely beautiful. I would love to explore the city.

Pic credited to Parisetoile

4. New York City, USA

Pic Credited to WGirls

 
  Next is the big apple. NYC is definitely a place I would love visit when I'm a little older. The reason that I want to wait is so that I can fully enjoy the night life! The other reason is the music! NYC is full of different types of music and I would love to hear all kinds of bands that I have yet to hear.

Pic credited to Batter Sea Buttons

3. London, UK

     Third is London. London is a place that I would love to visit just to explore the city. Also to be able to learn more about our sister country. Lastly I am a huge fan of multiple British TV shows. To see where in London these shows were filmed and the slight chance to possibly meet some of these actors is a very exciting prospect.




2. Les 3 Vallées, France
     For those of you who have read some of my previous posts know that I love to ski. Les 3 Vallées is the largest ski area in the world and is renowned for their skiing. Les 3 Vallées is french for 3 Valleys. Les 3 Vallées consists of 8 resorts. 3 Valleys has some of the best terrain in the world for skiing and is beautiful.

Pic credited to Les 3 Vallées

1. Tokyo, Japan

Pic credited to Buffalo Sa

    The number one place in the world that I would like to visit is Japan. Japan is my absolute favorite  country, Although I have never been there. Tokyo is a huge metropolitan area near the ocean, and about 90 min by public transit from the nearest ski resort. I love Japanese culture and would love to learn more about it since their culture is so much different than ours. It is also a very beautiful place no matter where you go. Japan is a place where I hope live for at least a year of my life.


 

      The world is a beautiful place full of many exciting adventures and fun to be had. Who knows what amazing things could happen out there!! So Where in the World will you go?

My Only Siblings Are Dogs...

     I am only child with two awesome non-human siblings. Reyna is a 12 year old black lab whose 12th birthday, we celebrated on monday. My brother is Radar, he is 8 years old, his birthday is April ----. My siblings mean the world to me and are totally awesome.

Reyna (Left) and Radar ( Right) My own Pic

    Most people that I know have some kind of pet, though most tend to have a dog or cat. If you have a pet then you know what I mean when I say that I love my dogs.

    To celebrate Reyna's birthday we made a doggie birthday cake with a peanut butter and honey frosting. Aswell they each got their own burger. Now we don't normally feed our dogs such unhealthy foods but since it was a special occasion, we decided to treat them to a great meal. Afterward though they fell asleep and didn't move for about an hour.

    My Reyna is getting older, and with age comes issues. She is having many joint issues and can't even get into the car or onto the couch without help anymore.  I don't like seeing the people/dogs I love in pain. So we try our best to help her have the best time we can. During the summer we go to the lake, while Radar runs up and down the beach, Reyna does a little swimming. We go for short walks and play ball. We still have a lot of fun as a family. But I hope that she will make it through the year and hopefully even though my highschool years.

    My other dog, Radar, is a sweetheart but he would love to eat a pug and despises most dogs. He is my alarm clock. When he hears my alarm in the morning he comes running downstairs and jumps on top of me to get me out of bed. I tell that getting tackled by a  80 lbs dog first thing in the morning gets you up.

     So that is a little bit about my awesome dogs. Please leave some comments about what I should blog about!!

When you Crave Onion Rings, you Make Onion Rings!

    I just spent the last half hour of my life making one of the most american foods that you can find, Onion Rings. In my own personal opinion I have three food that classify as most american 1. Burgers
2. Onion Rings 3. Hot Dogs. Although french fries are a close tie for third.

     So how to make onion rings from scratch is what I would like to tell you about today. Im going to start off with a simple list of ingredients.

My Pic

1 egg
1/4 cup oil
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 large onion
Flour (for coating onions)
Oil for cooking
Pinch of sugar if not using a sweet onion.

Now that's a pretty simple list of ingredients. Cooking the actual food is even easier. But before we start cooking we have to know how to cook with hot oil.

     First of all never ever let hot oil and water mix. Don't even have water near the oil at all. If the two mix hot oil will be sprayed everywhere. The hot oil will burn anyone and anything around you, including you. If an oil fire does start (which is very unlikely) put flour and/or baking soda on it. When cooking with oil I always have flour at least an arm's length away. If you have a fire extinguisher you should make you that you know where it is before you start to cook. After you are done remove oil from heat and let cool overnight, this insures that the oil is cool and no will get hurt when disposing of the oil. Now that we have gone over safety procedures, let's cook.

    First of all, when cooking get out all of the ingredients and supplies you will need for this recipe. This will make cooking quick and efficient.  For this recipe you will need:
1 larger pot with tall sides or deep fryer (I have not used a deep fryer. I do not know how to use one.)
1 large bowl for mixing in
1 blender for mixing
1 medium bowl for flour
Plate with paper towels on it
Cutting board
Kitchen knife
Tongs to flip onions and take them out of the oil.
Something to measure temp of oil. Candy thermometer or meat thermometer will work

1. Fill the bottom of pot with 2-3 in of oil. Turn on medium-high heat. Check temperature often. You want the oil to be about 375º F. If using deep fryer, follow deep fryer directions.
2. Peel and cut your onion. Peel away the outside of the onion. Cut the onion so that you get a circle, do this for the whole onion. You want each ring to be about 1/2in - 1in in width. After cutting seperate each circle into rings. You should be able to see the layers. If you can't fit your finger though the hole than the ring is too small and can be thrown away.
3. Now in the large bowl, blend the liquids: milk, egg, and oil on a low speed for about 1 minute.
4. Add your dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt. Blend with the liquids till smooth.
5. Put the flour for coating the onions in the medium bowl. about 1/2 cup - 1 cup should be fine.
6. Once your oil is about 375º F you're ready to start cooking.
     - Start with your raw onion rings
     - Dip them in the flour so that they have a light coating
     - Then dip them in the batter.
     - Drop gently in the hot oil. Only have about 3 or 4 in the pot at one time.
     - Flip the rings when one side becomes golden brown, take out when both sides are golden brown
     - Place on the plate. The paper towels will absorb any extra oil.
7. If you would like you can put them in the oven at 150º to keep warm. Optional
8. Enjoy!

    This is one of my favorite recipes because it is so simple and delicious! You can use this recipe to feed a group or just a couple people! I hope that someone trys out this scrumptious recipe. Enjoy!.

The Magic of New Music!!

If you know me or have read my bio you must know that I love music. Music and band kinda rule my life. I listen to nearly anything and everything. The only exception is country music. I just don't like country (more on that story later).  Im going to share some music that is new to me from a variety of genres. In no particular order. But I

 First of all is "Uma Thurman" by Fall Out Boy

I decided to include this song because I've listened a lot of Fall Out Boy and this song is unlike the majority of their music. But also I love this song. This is one song that makes me want to dance and move non-stop. The album the "Uma Thurman" is on "American Beauty/ American Psycho" is actually pretty good album to pump you up for anything.



                                                Link to video ---->

Next is a song that I have only ever found on Youtube. "Hellfire" by Vonikk. This is a dubstep song created using synthesizers. This is song stands out to me because it's different from a lot of the dubstep that I have heard. Plus this is a great song to imagine that you are fighting some badass battle. I know weird thing to say. But its true. Anyways fun song with lots of dynamic contrast.





                                                Link to video ---->

On a completely different note, let's listen to some Jazz!  First of all, I have no clue what this song is called. But this is from a movie called Calle 54. Great movie for musicians or anyone! There are at least 3 things that make this song great. 

1. These guys look like they are having so much fun!
2. Great music full of amazing rhythms and rhythmic contrast.
3. Jazz Flute! Anchorman gave jazz flute it's reputation, but its musicians like him who really make it amazing.

Just grab a partner and dance along to this Latin beat.
                                             Link to video ---->

Last but not least, is "This is Gospel" by Panic! At the Disco! This is a song that I have come to enjoy due to having too much fun listening to music. I have recently discovered Panic! At the Disco! even though I had heard the name many times I hadn't heard any of their music. Great Band, great song. I bet that you guys have heard some of their other songs.  Plus great music video!




                                                       
                                              Link to video ---->


I have so many other songs that I would love to show you guys! But sadly I don't have enough time to post more often. But you guys should search for your next favorite artist any where you can, and listen to as many different types of music as possible.

Apologize... Why would I ever want to do something as crazy as that?

First of all, I'm going to apologize to all of those who happen to read this odd little place for my ramblings for my absence. And second of all for anyone who happens to need to an apology. An apology to be given or received from anyone or to anyone.

     Why, you may ask am I talking about apologies? To answer that question I must ask another. Why do we feel the need to apologize or to be apologized to? All people feel on a different level. Some may choose to feel with their heart or soul, while other choose to take a much more logical route to emotion. But for many we can't choose how, when, or why we feel.

Pic credit to Golden Gate Park

      In my life I have many people to apologize to and many people whom owe me an apology. But in our lives there will only be one person that an apology will ever mean the most to and that is yourself. Because only you can ever be you. Your memoir is still being written and you can still forgive yourself. Our choices don't define who you are it is the choices you make afterward and afterward in an infinite loop of choices.

      There are will always be moments in your life to regret and moments to cherish and sometimes they will be one in the same. Im not telling you to be perfect or strong or even to always be true. I'm telling you and myself that we can forgive ourselves for when we aren't strong and can't make the choices that we might have wanted to. To apologize is to forgive. And forgiving isn't always easy but it is possible.

     So I apologize to myself for all I have done in the past and to all of those around me. So I ask you to forgive yourself and move on from whatever might be holding you back. Do whatever you may need, but live in a way that will make you the happiest. So take this apology and apologize to someone and forgive someone else. So why would I apologize? So that I could leave all the crap behind and move forward.