i haven’t updated in a while, mostly because i’ve been extremely busy, but also because i didn’t have anything much to talk about. but now that i have calmed things down i have an exciting announcement to make, I’M MOVED INTO A NEW PLACE!! i now live in a small studio apartment off campus, no roommates, just me and a cozy place. i will be adding a few pictures of the place so that you can see how it’s turned out.

i spent most of the summer searching out pieces of furniture to add to my new place, and i have to say that i am pleased and a little surprised with my decorating skills. my place is classically girly, no bright pinks and vibrant patterns here! i picked a color palate with a lot of neutral tans and added slate blues and a few greens to make some pops of colors. the piece that i am most proud of would have to be the desk that i bought after i moved in. i hadn’t anticipated having the added space in front of the window that is created by the sunken wall. i feel that the desk completes the room by throwing a dark color to anchor that wall, without it there would have only been a large bright window. also, my zebra print chair adds a nice contrast to the designs on the front.

let me know your thoughts on my posts by emailing me at: emma.elizabeth.w@gmail.com , the comments button does not work. or send me a message on facebook if that is where you accessed this blog. i’d love to hear some reactions!

trying new things pt. 2

here i am again, trying a new type of fruit, though this time i was not alone in this endeavor. my high school friend Shawn and i went on an adventure last week to one of the many asian supermarkets in town, and as he is chinese i was introduced to somany new things. it was almost overwhelming to see the different varieties and new foods, a large amount of which i didn't recognize. it was definitely a trip that i hope to be repeating soon, and will have to sample some other fare in my quest to try as many new things as possible! while there were quite a few yummy snacks that we brought home with us, i was most excited to try my newest addition to interesting fruits, the Korean Melon...

i immediately noticed the melon when we were perusing the produce section in search of some rambutan's or lychee. i am quite a fan of all melons, and thought that this one was particularly cute, if a girl may say so! it was half the size of a football, and the smell coming off of it, was intoxicating. very floral with a hint of a fruity bite, i had to try this. i was so excited to cut it open when we arrived home, and what i found was nothing unlike an ordinary cantaloupe...

aside from the obvious difference in color, i had yet to find any difference between this and other melons that i have had. slightly disappointed i cut up a slice of it into chunks and bit down on one, to be pleasantly surprised by an intensely sweet taste! the only way to describe the flavor is that it is a cross between honeysuckle and cantaloupe, which i find immensely wonderful. also, the aroma that i had noticed earlier only intensified after i cut it. the flesh was much firmer than one would expect from a melon as well. over all i was very pleased with my new find. at the perfect size for a small group of eaters or as a single serving, i would highly recommend all of you readers to give this a try if you ever are given the chance.

as a side note, i would also very highly recommend trying 'Lychee Coconut Jellies'. they come in little cups like pudding and are absolutely wonderful, plus they are nutritious! i can not wait to find out what more the wonderful world of food has in store for me next time!

trying new things pt. 1

for the past year or so I have joined a friend in having our 'bizarre food' days where we select the oddest foods we can find at the local specialty store and trying them out. we have vastly expanded our repertoire of foods we love ( and some we dislike ) today while at the store i spotted a kiwano, or horned melon, and had to get it and try. so now i present to you, an African Horned Melon...

this may look weird, but let me assure you, it gets even weirder as i proceeded to cut it open...

after reading up on how to eat these odd fruits i found that you suck the small sacks of fruit around the seeds out. so i did. it tasted like a cross between a cucumber and lemon. not as refreshing as i thought once i cut it open. needless to say, i don't think i will be buying these again in the near future, i will leave that up to the other bizarre food fans who wish to try for themselves.

although the weirdest fact of all was that my cat enjoys the taste of these things. i could not make that up.

some reflections

recently i was asked this question on my formspring..."what's your biggest phobia?" i answered it and gave no further thought at the time, but when i re-read that tonight i felt like my answer would be shocking to have read 10 years ago.

my response to this was..."it's a three way tie. restraint, abandonment, and men.

restraint - i don't like being held down. if it's playful then ok but if someone is holding me down or pinning any part of me i freak out.

abandonment - if i'm abandoned i tend to have severe panic attacks and generally lose track of life for a while.

men - i've had some moments in life where i have now become irrationally timid around men i don't know."

now to me, this is completely normal. but what would i have thought of that when i was 9? back when phobias were things like spiders, the dark, monsters. things that could be chased away with a newspaper or by just turning on the lights. how would i have reacted knowing that in the future i would be deeply afraid of things that can't be fixed easily?

it seems that as i get older things change drastically without me realizing it. i went from never wanting to leave home to moving into a single apartment and being thrilled about it in a matter of a few years. is it just my generation that has brought on such immensely quick changes? i don't remember my mother saying that she shifted from one extreme to another that quickly. but maybe that's the thing, you can't know and understand how fragile truths are until you experience a change so dramatic that you almost get whiplash by the time you realize it. while it's scary to see some changes in myself, i'm so glad that i can recognize just how much i've grown up, and can see just how far i have yet to go.

another lazy day

as promised i will be sharing more than just random rants about topics. i’m also going to be letting everyone who cares know what i’ve been up to, sorta.

yesterday was my first real furniture buying experience, and i couldn’t have been more pleased. i’m going to be moving into a studio apartment in mid September so i’ll be needing things to make it into a real home. so far i’ve accumulated a lot of smaller things, but it was time to tackle the sofa and other large pieces. my mom and i went to maybe 10 differnet furniture stores looking for a fairly inexpensive sofa, and i found the one i wanted at the last store. Cheap, free delivery, soft, and neutral! now i can have all my pillows and such be any pattern and color i want and i can’t wait! i also got a nice tv stand in the cutest style. while buying furniture at 19 seems a bit odd for more people, i think of it as an investment for the future. it adds some things i don’t need to worry about later in life and i made sure that i didn’t pick things that i would hate in 5 years. can not wait to move in and put it all together!

i’ve started a new knitting project as well. not quite sure what the patterns will be but they are going to be gifts, so i’m excited to get working on them. will be posting pictures when they are completed, so be ready! i crank knitting out fast when i’m determined.

also, comments are quite welcome! i don’t think anyone is actually reading this, so i don’t know if i’ll get any, but if you do read or stumble upon it randomly please leave me a little message, i’d love it. and ideas for things to talk about are much appreciated as well.

my career

today while i was waiting for my mom to pick me up for lunch i was talking to the receptionist about school and such. he asked me what i wanted to do with my communications degree that i’m working towards. now this question made me stop and think for a bit. not about what i want to do once i graduate, but whether or not he would be freaked out by my honest answer. i continued on to tell him i will be going into the business sector for my career after college, and decided against telling him my real career goal. why might i shy away from sharing, you might ask? because my life’s career choice is to be a wife and mother. as a 19 year old that may seem like a very distant reality, and yes it is, but to me it’s what i want to do with my life. i am the only person i have yet met or heard of who does not want to have a career, but instead wants to take on a woman’s traditional job of caring for a household.

in today’s society very few women my age feel the draw to fill their traditional roles. more women than ever are attending graduate school, law school, medical school, and choosing to work when they have a family. while yes, sometime circumstances force a woman to work, but i’m not discussing those who are single moms or have financial need. that i understand and of course support. i just find it odd and very lonely to be the only one who wants to spend their days caring for their children and taking care of the home. i don’t want a career in the professional world. i’ll work before i have kids and if necessary later, but i feel that my calling is to do what my mother is doing and what her mother before her did. that’s where i feel that i will fit in in life, and find my true purpose.

sharing this goal is scary for me. most people in the world would find my life choice to be out of character for women today, or too old fashioned. it’s certainly scared off a number of possible men in my life who feel that i have expectations of them that they can not fill. but someday i hope to live it out, and i’ll be thrilled when it finally comes true.

5 guilty pleasures ( and why i love them )

one. KNITTING
yes knitting, that odd crafty hobby that we all picture little old ladies doing. i started my addiction to knitting quite a few years ago during my sophomore year of high school. though i didn’t become in love with it until this past summer, i’ve always enjoyed it. there’s something about the fact that i can sit and enjoy alone time while making something beautiful ( if all turns out well ). i’ll be posting pictures and little updates about my projects randomly on here, so to all you haters…I LOVE IT. i used to try to hide my knitting love until spring break this year when i decided to head out of the realm of scarves and tackle a much larger obstacle, cardigans. and i have successfully finished my sage green cardigan with little pink flower accents! while it’s seen as a weird hobby, i find it relaxing. i don’t try to hide it anymore, i was proud to show everyone in my dorm what i was doing while they all went out and partied it up. i made an article of clothing all by myself, nothing to be ashamed of.

two. CARTOONS
when we were all younger cartoons were the staple of our Saturday mornings and after school snack moments. today, i still love them, though i have grown out of the digimon and pokemon phase and into full blown anime. a lot of people find it peculiar but i love to just sit and watch a random cartoon every now and then or watch a full anime series start to finish. it takes me back to those mornings when i would sit in the living room and be fascinated while eating my cereal. although, lately i have found a few friends who also enjoy these with me, and it’s made me ‘come out of the closet’ about my cartoon love. no longer ashamed to watch Naruto or Spongebob in solitude, and proud of it!

three. CATS
i will be that crazy elderly woman down the road who is widowed and compensates for her loss by adopting 20 cats. it’s an inevitable fact of my life, and i have finally embraced that. most people my age don’t find cats very exciting, or only enjoy them when they’re hyped up on cat nip and can fit in the palm of your hand. me? i love them anyway they come. i recently started volunteering at my local humane society to help lift the adoptable cats spirits by coming in and giving them much needed attention. while it certainly is fun to be able to play with cats for hours at a time, my favorite part is getting to know each cats own personality. on my last visit i got to know Petunia, a sweet little calico who is extremely affectionate but when she sees other cats has a panic attack and can only be calmed down by being carried into a small room and held for a while. also, Allen, a 5 month old tabby who is so desperate for attention that he knocks over his food bowl and kicks littler around his cage so that you are forced to take him out and hold him while you clean it. cats amaze me with the way that they convey the depth of their emotion and individual preferences. while a dog will always be happy no matter what, a cat will pout and sulk if you don’t pet him enough, or will throw a tantrum if it can’t figure out how to open a door, or will purr and rub all over you when you find just the right spot to scratch. i’m crazy i know, but i know what i love, and i most definitely love cats.

four. TECHNOLOGY
i can’t even begin to describe the excitement i get when a new technology is put on the market or a press release is given about a new innovation that is being tested. i’m no engineer, but learning about all the new possibilities in the world of science is something i am borderline addicted to. i constantly am ‘stumbling’ around from site to site related to technology and learning about all the amazing new things. just recently i saw an article about how contact lenses are being made in such a way that they can project images into your eye, making it seem as though you are actually seeing the images. effectively, it turns your vision into a computer screen, tv, phone, anything you want. i can’t wait until this is a definite reality, i want to try them super bad.

five. COOKING/BAKING
as a stereotypical woman i enjoy to cook and bake. there is something about the simple knowledge that if you combine this, this other thing, and that you will end up with something that tastes great. although the best part is sharing it with others and knowing that you did a good job, i really enjoy messing with recipes and making them my own. ask my high school drumline what kind of cheesecake they like. the majority answer will be ‘emma’s cheesecake’. i make it slightly different than the recipe says and it always turns out richer and creamier than if i had followed things exactly. ask my ex where he ate the best ribs at, he’ll tell you ‘the ribs emma made me for my birthday’. i combined two different recipes and deduced what the best part of each was to make ribs that are completely detached from the bone, marinated in rub, and slathered with sauce by the end of the 12 hour process. i love cooking. i love baking. and i WILL be sharing pictures and thoughts on recipes i try this coming year in my apartment. expect to have your tummies rumbling!

today is only the beginning

hello to all you readers out there, though right now i doubt there are any. this is my first post, and i feel that it is only fair that i introduce myself.

my name is emma, i'm a full-time college student. this blog is simply a way for me to get out my thoughts, share my opinions, and possibly rant a time or two. i do not promise to be witty, i do not promise to provide earth-shattering insight. what i do promise is to be honest in what i say.

feel free to comment and ask me any questions, i would love to hear from you!