Oh, how nice it would be to have a room like this, wouldn't you agree? To read there, all summer long...so perfect. All it needs is a little table right next to it to hold some coffee and treats.

I am back in Rocklin, sitting at a coffee shop, feeling guilty because I didn't can't buy anything, yet I am using the wi-fi relentlessly. I did get my first paycheck today though, and I would be lying if I said I didn't legitimately smile when I saw that it had been deposited. It wasn't for a lot, but when you have nothing, everything is a lot, and I am happy.

Lifeguard training continues tomorrow, and the schedule tells me that Shadow Guarding begins Sunday....I hope I'm ready! It's both nerve-wracking and exciting. Sometimes I ask myself why I chose a job where people's lives are at stake and I am responsible...

It's going to be great though, and I really can't wait.

Today is the lovely Rachel's birthday, so we'll see what festivities that brings on tonight!

Here's to a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

Being home in our new kitchen (although not fully finished) has had both my mom and me cooking and baking nonstop. I had been craving chocolate-chip pancakes since I had them at my family's house in Portland over choir tour, but since we were out of eggs yesterday, fate had me wait until today to make them.

Granted, there is always something that goes wrong, and this morning it was an extreme lack of buttermilk. If you ever run into this problem, fear not! An easy substitute is to mix one tablespoon white distilled vinegar with one cup milk (this counts as 1 cup of buttermilk). Of course it's never ideal to have to substitute key ingredients, but it gets the job done!

Recipe from none other than Cooking Light.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk (*So if you don't have any, like me, this would be 1 TBS vinegar and up to the 1 and 1/2 cup line of milk)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg white
• Cooking spray
• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons butter

Preparation

• Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine buttermilk, oil, egg, and egg white, stirring with a whisk; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.
• Heat a nonstick griddle or nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Spoon about 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto griddle. Turn pancakes over when tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Serve with syrup and butter.

**I also added 1 TBS cocoa powder, a helping of chocolate chips, and then for the final product I sliced fresh strawberries with light powdered sugar on top. Another great option I tried was one half of a sliced banana on top, drizzled with maple syrup. It was to die for.
**Note, although they weren't as moist (ah I said moist!!!) as they would have been with the real buttermilk, I found that I didn't feel half as lethargic after eating them. You know, the Oh my goodness, I have three pancakes sitting in my stomach now feeling.

(Sorry for lack of quality in pictures, too. My phone's camera is all I have currently...RIP digital Sony from eighth grade..)

 Enjoy!!

 

Okay, so I've been super lucky with getting another free and legal and awesome music download! This band's album was just released yesterday, and I found out about them from various people from Metro! One of the band members is the son of our pastor, and last night I found out via Twitter that they were performing on JKL, so I tuned in! Their music is fantastic and is immediately being added to my summer playlist! Here is the download from iTunes! (And don't hesitate to buy the album in its entirety, I might add).

In other news, today has been the epitome of a perfect summer day. Both yesterday and today I have woken up late, lazily made breakfast, and ventured out to the backyard to enjoy it. This morning I had my coffee and my journal, and I simply sat, reflected, and wrote. There are few things that make me happier than doing just that. The perfect weather was a huge contributing factor as well.

Tomorrow I will leave my beautiful home in Lodi and head back to my home in Rocklin, and I can't wait to be with the lovely girls in my apartment once more! We unfortunately (and fortunately, actually) don't have wi-fi though, so I will be doing all my future blogging from local coffee shops that provide such services. I guess that isn't the worse thing that could happen. ;)

Happy Tuesday!

 

Two (legal) free downloads from the two albums that will be filling my ears this summer!

Fleet Foxes: "Helplessness Blues"

Bon Iver: "Calgary"

Enjoy, my friends!

*(edit! I was notified that the link for Bon Iver was wrong, but it is now corrected! Sorry about that!)

 FYI:
There is so much I want to do with this blog right now. I am in a crazy reflective mood and have an insatiable desire to write, but then I also feel like I am rambling uncontrollably so writing would be counterproductive and confusing, so then I also want to wait to even post an entry because I want it to be fancy and well-thought-out with beautiful pictures (of food) so needless to say here I am anyway, ready to fill you in on life. Perfect. (I did warn you, didn't I?) 

Summer has arrived, and how different it will be than the previous! I am living in an apartment up the street from school with 5 other lovely girls, I will be guarding the lives of swimming kiddies and adults and preteens alike for City of Roseville, and most importantly, there will be plenty of time for reading, cooking, and relaxing in this no school period of life. Remember that one time I took pre-calculus over summer? To say that I am happy I have zero academic obligations for the next 3 months is an understatement. A time of detox will be so nice and so necessary in order to prepare for my 19-unit semester in the fall (double-majors everywhere unite)!

Thus, during this period of half-relaxation, half-productivity (in the form of getting tan, saving lives, and making some green) there must be a list. You know the kind...

the list (for now):

• do not get sunburned even once. my allotted amount of skin-crispiness and total-fryage happened during training in April... never. again.
• read way more than I did last summer. off to a good start with The Wayward Bus by Steinbeck. 
• attend yoga at least twice a week; be able to hold crow for a whole minute
• spend a night outside and not care if the dew is soaking my pillow come morning
• clean out the uncontrollable mass of matter that is my wardrobe
• discover a new coffee shop and stay there all day (splitting time between reading and people-watching, obviously)
• buy the new fleet foxes and bon iver albums...actually buy them...hard copy form, aka a CD
• research food-critic jobs, magazine writing, health articles, etc like crazy
• walk to save gas and for enjoyment as much as possible
• blog, blog, blog
• most important: discover Jesus more intimately and wholly than ever before. this summer is the absolute perfect time to lay before Him all I need to surrender and to practice quietness in His presence (note: this can only be done with a fresh cup of coffee, a journal, a pen, and plenty of sunshine). 

and just some items to be looking forward to:

• brother and Caitlin's wedding in 35 days (and bridal parties and bridesmaid luncheons and rehearsal dinners and the works beforehand)
• my first paycheck; it's a BD
• cooking a full, delicious dinner in the apartment, complete with dessert
• DINKEY CREEK
• DINKEY CREEK
• DINKEY CREEK

Be back tomorrow! Goodnight all :)

PRE-ENTRY NOTE:

 

(this means a real entry will be following shortly, so stand-by)

 

I am no longer stressed, as I so sorely left you in the last two entries. Thought I would get that out there now. It is summer, life is lovely, and I can't wait to blog obnoxiously for the next three months.

 

Consider this your warning.