Now, Soon, End of the year

(Possibly a cut I'm contemplating getting in May or June)

( Vibe of the style I want to get on Sunday)

(What I have now)

Every once in a while I need a good change in style whether it be a haircut or a revamp of my wardrobe ( Doesn't everybody?). Lately I have been finding my current hairstyle somewhat stagnant and in need of some refreshing. I have always adored Liv Tyler and her looks so the cut I'm hoping to go with (or at least the essence) of something that she would sport. 

Referring to the top photo.... I have also always thought about cutting my hair into a pixie style, but I've never had the guts to do it. Perhaps if I set myself a time goal, weight goal reached, or finding the absolute perfect pixie, I'll do it. 

Senior Photos

Earlier this year I had my Senior Photos taken by the lovely Emily Semens of ES Photography. I had three outfit changes and boy was that fun. At first I was a bit awkward having someone take pictures of me, but I found that I loved it and it became less and less uncomfortable as the time passed. This is no the choice I ended up going with but it is definitely one of my top favorites. The photos were taken at the Kendall Jackson Winery in SR and despite the construction going on, we were able to find a way around it. Not only was Emily nice, but her younger sister ( I think) was her assistant of lighting and they were both delightful to go to. If I ever need and photos taken again I will go back to her, and no she didn't ask me to write this, I just think she did a wonderful job. 

Squirrels...Evil Squirrels...

Squirrels, squirrels committed this heinous crime to our windshield with a single pine-cone. Isn't that terrifying? Imagine being the one located beneath the piney juggernaut ....

Chocolate Heaven

Now these my dears, are gluten-free chocolate cupcakes ( really brownies in cupcake cups with icing). 

I'll admit the cake part came from a Betty- Crocker mix, but the "icing" I did do all by myself. 

Cake:
1. Follow the instructions on the box

Icing:

6 tbpls. butter

1/2 sugar

2/3 unsweetened cocoa 

Some milk, add however much as the more you add the more glaze-like the icing will be

3 tsps vanilla ( or whatever flavoring you would like with the chocolate)

1. Mix all the ingredients together ( preferably with an electric mixer to save time)

2. Put all the ingredients in a pot on the stove and heat and mix until all components are melted together and smooth and slightly bubbly.

3. Let the chocolatey mixture cool for about 5-8 minutes

4. Put on  your cupcakes or cake ( This is also a wonderful sauce to dip fruit or marshmallows in)

Huh?

Boys, guys, men, whatever. I really don't understand. It has always bewildered me how a girl gets into a relationship with a guy. I've had it twice before, but neither turned out well, and both were friends before hand. What makes a guy want to ask a girls out? and how does this whole relationship thing work? I would really like to know :p.

Halloween Makeup, And Other Things

This is the almost end result of my Halloween costume (as I forgot to take a photo of my complete costume). Next time I try the cracks I'm going to do fewer of them, and definitely practice more. For the hair I didn't want to do something too elaborate as I knew it was going to rain later in the day ( which it did). 

Sadly, but not so sadly I stayed in on Halloween night. The night was filled laughter, closets, texting one of the sweetest coolest boys I have met, and the movie signs (in which a new context was brought by friends).

Overall the day ended well, I now have wonderful weekend plans, and my costume pulled together better than I thought it would.

Why the Scissors?

                      

I believe it's time for me to explain the name of my blog.
Once upon a time there was a sculpture shaped like scissors that sat in the middle of Courthouse Square in the middle of downtown Santa Rosa. These scissors became a landmark and a meeting area for all. People would say, " Hey we should go Downtown, meet me at the scissors" and it lessened confusion among peers and family.
I think it was this last summer that the scissors were taken away because of someone climbing on them without being careful leading to an accident. Yes, I know that precautions for the safety of everyone must be made, but it was a sad day when the sculpture disappeared in the blink of an eye.
I have lived here ( Santa Rosa) my entire life and it's sad to see landmarks slowly  go away ( like the fountain in the middle of the Plaza Mall). And, these scissors became even more important when I got older and started hanging out with friends more often, and without adult chaperones, because it gave us a meeting point  and we used it for years.
That is why the blog is " Meet Me at the Scissors".

Pin-up Possibility?

I really love pin-up girls  because the modeling allows for anyone to do it. There's no, you can't have brightly coloured hair or large piercings,or, you aren't a size two so you can't be one of the top. Yes I realize there are many different types of styles and models, but I thoroughly enjoy the pin-up variety because there seems to be less criteria that HAS to be matched, more room for everyone and such.
PS. ( on my next birthday I so want to do a pin-up girl photo shoot, fully clothed of course)

Plus, I'm a sucker for vintage and retro clothing. That red striped shirt I got at a vintage store in Sebastopol. I think I have worn it more than most of my other button up shirts. I particularly like it because it reminds me of Mary Poppins.

Steps to a simple, easy retro style:
1. Red lipstick
2. Curls ( if you can do pin curls they will last longer) and a pompadour
3. Black winged eyeliner (on the top lid only and liquid works the best)
4. Whatever vintagey kind of clothing you have, put it on ( looking online for outfit suggestions is always helpful)

Though the clothing aspect of the look is important, I think the hair and makeup really Make the style.

I Hope You All have a Wonderful Day!

Halloween Makeup: Trail 1 Continued...

Halloween Doll Makeup: Trial 1

This Halloween I've decided to be an old, cracked victorian doll. I have the dress and the stockings but I need to get the makeup part down. I think I'm heading in the right direction though I believe I need to make the edges around the cracked holes more jagged and angular. And, I would have made a step -by-step tutorial had I not thought of the idea until a day or two afterwards.
But, to achieve this look I watched various youtube videos and then I used liquid eyeliner and a gray eyeliner pencil. This isn't my whole makeup look as I was just trying out the cracks ( the real doll look I will practice later when I'm not so tired)

Pita Pita Pita Chips!

This is also a relatively simple recipe that I think people will enjoy.

Ingredients:

A few slices of pita bread ( Depending on how many servings you want to make)

Powdery toppings ( Cinnamon, Cheese and Garlic Powder, Curry Powder, A mixture of sugar and cocoa powder, or whatever your heart desires)

A tiny bit of water

A cookie sheet


 Pre-Step: Preheat oven to 350-250 degrees

1. Cut the pitas in half so that there is a rough side and a smooth outer one for each piece.

2. Slice the pita halves into strips or triangles.

3. Dab some water on each strip of pita and sprinkle some toppings on it.

4. Put all your chips on the cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes depending on how crispy you want you chips.

5. Let them cool, and then eat your beautifully made chips!

Vintage Styles

So today I was contemplating on how to style my hair for tonight's choir concert. Then I got to thinking about haircuts, betty bangs, and vintage-hairstyles. 

In the past I have succeeded in creating a victory roll fringe, retro curls, and simple pin up girl hairstyles. But, now I want to try something more complicated, something more daring. Maybe I'll let my hair grow to a considerable length for a while and then cut it in some snappy 50's style. 

Every year, oddly during the winter, I get the urge to chop off all my hair. This time, however, I'm gravitating towards shorter bangs, perhaps Zooey Deschanel brow-grazers, or Betty Page darlings. Hmmmm, not sure if I'm ready to take the plunge and have them cut though....

I do know that I want to wear every one of these styles in this picture at least once in my life. 

Bacony Appley Goodness

The Bacon Core Apple

1 Apple
1 Slice of Bacon,( preferably the microwaveable kind)
1-2 Tablespoons of brown sugar
A dash of cinnamon
Optional: Pumpkin pie spices or chocolate chips
A cookie sheet or pie tin


1. Preheat oven to 350-400 degrees

2.Take out the core of your apple so that the middle is hollow but there is still the apple bottom present.

3. Fill a quarter of the empty space with brown sugar and add a bit of cinnamon.

4. Stuff the bacon in the center and then pack the remaining space with brown sugar and top with more cinnamon.

5. Place the apple on a  metal cookie sheet or pie tin and set in the oven for about 21 minutes.

6. Take out the apple and carefully set it on a plate and add, yes, more cinnamon.

Enjoy!

Sadly I could not take a picture as I ate my apple before I could remember. It may not be the healthiest recipe, but it's darn good.

The Wafflenator

Does this look super healthy? Probably not. But it sure tastes good. Breakfast: 2 van's gluten free blueberry waffles, butter, syrup, a banana with cocoa powder and lemonade.

Shaggy Soup

He appears again! Soup/Shaggy was decorated with a pink ribbon from one of Possum's birthday presents. She went skydiving!
*nicknames are used

Wearing Pants

Me about a month ago trying on clothes at Old Navy.

Caking

I red velvet caked my friend on her birthday.

Oh Bananas...

Yesterday was sickly hot, and it was completely horrid. I believe the temperature got into the 100's. And... one of my rabbits died. It never had any health problems, it was the heat.... I will miss you Cornflower.

I also found that I have gained weight, but have lost weight since yesterday, 158.6. Jeez, I sure need to ease up on the sweets. Anyway, breakfast today is: Light 100 cal Mocha Frappucino, a plain frozen banana( no chocolate or anything), two slices of bacon, and a sort of gramwich. I want to get through this day and not pig out on something completely unnecessary like cheesecake.....

I'm Back

Okay, so I've neglected my poor blog from mostly laziness and a lack of internet. And, I finally decided I should  start writing again. So I haven't been exercising like I thought I would, nor have I lost a lot of weight, I'm stuck at around 155-156 lbs....

Oh darn. But.... I have been keeping myself busy and I HAVE been cooking more often. Good cheeses, grains ( mostly granola bars and some bread), and other nice stuff have been making their way into my diet. I have been eating more regular scheduled meals which has been making me less hungry all the time.

Last night I sat through my first horror movie, The Amityville Horror (the one with Ryan Reynolds) and I was crying involuntary the entire time. I can't believe I actually watched that terrifying... thing; I have discovered horror films are not my cup of tea. But to make up for it I got to be comforted by one of the favourite males in my life, eat pizza and chocolate and brownies and snickerdoodles ( in moderation), and play Quelf for the first time.

Quelf. Who came up with that game? It's incredibly fun but also very very absurd. Pretend you are amine in a tree stuck with 5 lobsters and an angry dwarf, well, alright then....

The fog's moisture wets my face
I try to keep my pace
I do know where I want to go
But because of the peoples' flow
I cannot

Being in double digits is not easy
To a genie I'd say,free me
I want to blend
Yet I cannot bend
My muffin-top into my pants

Today will be better I'm sure
A thought yesterday presentent a cure
I will be no doormat
I will stand firm where I'm at
And do what's best for myself.

First Day, Senior Year

   The first day of school, its scary, exhilarating, fun, sad, and all-together well, interesting. New classmates are met and unfortunates are given first day homework. I want this year to be good.

   Last year I focused on friends and not so much on academics, which led to my grades and GPA lowering. Was it worth it? At this point I say yes because the experiences I had with people helped me realize more about myself as a person and become more accepting about who I am, or how I perceive myself to be.

  I nearly failed two classes, but pulled through at the last minute with C's, not terrible but nothing to be proud of; I could have done better. This year, I will do better.

  I plan to study and work on school as much as I do my social life. I need to learn how to balance my life and make myself happy as well as others, not just the people I interact with.

  Sometimes my willingness to help may come off as me being a doormat or down-to-earth or a nice person. I like to think it's mostly the good reasons, but I also know that I will let others take charge because I believe thay know better because they are better than me. This needs to change, I want to help but not at the expense of my own self esteem.

  I want to not let my weight control how I act as well. For years I have defined myself as a fat girl in my mind for years, and thought that blending in would make me happier. Now I just want to be a part of something but also show that I am different.

Was it worth it?

 So yesterday was my birthday and I said before I would let myself have a 'cheat-day', no matter the consequences. Well, I gained two pounds, I had lost a couple from staying over at a friends house the previous days ( down to 150.6) and now I sit at 152. Which isn't all too bad, but I was very very excited that I lost ( around) two pounds. And, now I gained them back because of too much cake. The cake was one of those super chocolatey mousse filled whole foods cake and I had two slices. Boy was that a mistake. I really should have just had one.But, now that I think about it the cake was worth it. After all birthdays only come once a year.

21 Days: Check in #2

   Well, I'm sixteen days into my experiment of not eating chips for 21 days. So far I haven't missed them at all, but I have come very close to eating them. How can one resist the temptation of tortilla chips with salsa at a Mexican food restaurant? Not easily.
   Tomorrow I'm going to let myself cheat a little, Mmmmm Mmmm, chocolate cake here I come! I figure since it's my birthday tomorrow I can get away with one semi-cheat meal without totally blowing my good eating for the week. 

Yes I'm lazy

Oh you know, just watchining friends play Portal after a day of the movie theater, meeting an extremely nice Greenpaece man, and frozen yogurt. All in all I'd say a pretty great day. Though frozen yogurt isn't the best meal..... I'll do better at dinner time, I promise.

Bacony, Bacon Refreshment

So this is one of my friends who decided to try out Bacon flavoured soda. It really doesn't sound very appetizing, and I have yet to hear the verdict on whether it tastes good or not. I'm assuming not.

Orange Bunnies

I just love trying on clothing, even if I can't buy anything (usually this is because I have already spent my money). When I was at my heaviest, and even before I didn't like wearing dresses and sure didn't like shopping because I had maybe three options or shopping online, which was rare. Now I feel like I am reverting back to who I was before the weight defined me, which was around when I was six or three. Twirly dresses? Love them.

Fair Time!

At the Gravenstein Apple Fair in Sebastapol, just stopped to rest in the shade and happened upon a cooking seminar. Sadly because my friends were being disruptive we had to relocate to another area to rest.

21 Days, Check in:1

You know how it's said to take 21 days to break a habit? Well I'm doing that with chips. So I'm thirteen days into not eating chips, I sure hope I can last until the end.

Boys, Boys, Boys

  Being in what seems to be in a half eaten love-donut or half circle) is not really fun at all, especially when we're all best friends. I like one guy who is pretty great but doesn't know what he wants and the other guy likes me but I like the other guy more in a romantic sense. When I weighed 250 lbs., I couldn't believe anybody would ever like me, I know partially has to do with the fact that I was 10X more shy than I am now but I know most of 'the blame' can be put into my weight. At least that's what my self conscious side tells me.
I think its time to focus more on bettering myself than focusing on guys.I feel like in the end I'll be happier, and that losing weight, and figuring out what I want to do with my life is a better use of my time. But, of course I won't rule out the thought of romance all together, just shifting it lower n my list of priorities.

Mmmm Chocolate 'n Chicken

Oh this is such a healthy breakfast....not. I think tomorrow its oatmeal and banana time.

Pounds,eesh

 Damn, gained a pound. In the long run it doesn't seem like it should matter, but if left unnoticed or not fixed pounds add up. Its probably the snacking, its so difficult not to snack. Its as if when at home the kitchen is always calling, full of its mouthwateringly good..... food. 

 I was having a conversation the other day about women in the 50's and 60's and why their waists must have been so small. If you've ever been in a vintage clothing shop you'll get some good examples, I have a guy friend who wears a women's size two and a good portion of the dresses couldn't fit him.Anyway...., sizing. The conversation boiled down to these reasons:
              
                  The housework those women had to do, especially without all of the 'insta'-devices we use today
                             
                            Smaller portion sizes, we probably eat twice as much or more than them
                               
                                  A greater pressure to be perfect[sorta ( in a weird way)], I mean they even really
                                      dressed up to go to the supermarket, gloves, hat, the whole shebang.
                                       [Etc., Etc, you get the gist]

Oh how I would love to be able to fit into those frothy, pastry-like design of those eras. But, alas it will never be as I could never be that tiny.

Cute Randomness

I like this one a lot. Gotta work on the confidence though, you know, to say hello.
P.S. Sorry about the sideways photos, its my phone that makes them this way

Breakfast? Lunch? Dessert?

While I like yogurt, most of the time I can't stomach more than a half of a cup or I have to force myself to
 eat
 the whole thing ( you know because of needing a breakfast on the run). I don't know why this is but my

solution is too freeze the whole cup, for some reason being frozen makes the yogurt more appetizing to me.

Then today I tried Greek yogurt (with honey) for the first time. Why have I never had this before?! Now

that

I have had this wonderful, beautiful food I will make it at the top of my go-to breakfast list. The texture is so

incredibly creamy and thick that there's still a clear indent of where you took a when you took a spoonful

from the tub, and the taste is just heavenly.

List of Go-to breakfasts:

Udi's Gluten Free Granola (Original) and a banana
Any sort of flavour of Instant Sugar Free Oatmeal
A Spoonful of Peanut Butter and Almond Milk
Leftovers
*Same Granola but mixed with peanut butter, the combination is even better if crunchy peanut butter is added
 A slice of Sprouted wheat toast with butter or grape jelly and instant hot coco or almond milk

Tahoe

A photo from Tahoe, Kings Beach

Excercise?

Hmm, I think it's time I think about exercising again. Thing is, I no matter what I try I can never stick to anything for very long. Its all about willpower I guess and I have more willpower when it comes to food than exercise. When school starts up again I think I give going to the gym another go, but for now I'm going to try something new: riding my bike around the neighborhood.

This, I'm going to do early as I prefer riding on sidewalks and need to practice riding regularly on the streets before I try it when there are more people around. Last time I tried? I nearly ran into every parked  car on the side of the road/ Practice. Practice. Practice. And that is what I plan on doing tomorrow.

Weight update? I am now at around 152.6, not bad. i don't think I have weighed this little since I was in elementary school ( where I was already in women's' sizes, scary, I know).

A Week in Tahoe

Well a whole week in Tahoe with a reasonable kitchen and absolutely no microwave, what is a frozen food reliant girl to do? Suck it up and cook something healthy.
I think this week away from home has done me some good. Prior to the vacation I was snacking all day ( not horrendously mind you, but still snacking), eating at weird times and not much of it was 'healthy' ( think ice cream and too much peanut butter). During my stay in the quaint little 60's themed cabin I actually used a stove for the first time in months, ate three meals a day, and lost three pounds because of it!
A trip to a candy shop that could have gone terribly wrong, didn't.  I ate some of the samples that the workers so generously gave, probably 10 in 7 minutes and still came maybe a bit under my calorie goal of the day. Woohoo!

Then there was the beach. While in the past I would refuse to even think about wearing a swimsuit around so many people ( and believe me I still do), I pushed past my anxiety and waded out in to the lake, in my swimsuit, in front of strangers, including a bunch of cute guys and girls my age that I constantly compare my self against. I am nowhere near my goal weight but I am glad that I wasn't self conscious enough to not have fun. I think gaining confidence is one of my favorite achievements of the weight loss.

Railroad Square and Pudding

Alright, so as I am too tired right now to do into my previous weight loss experiences I'll just talk about my day, thoughts etc. So a mozzarella stick, a plum, and rice pudding for to start out my day, and pretty much the same for lunch. This may not seem like the best breakfast but it's a whole lot better than other breakfasts I've had in the past. I swear I have lived at least a week on nothing but sweets, terrible right?

Anyway, there was a Woody Guthrie 100th celebration in Railroad Square ( A part of downtown that is mostly antiques, thrift shops, vintage clothing and good food). Well, as there's usually not much to do in Santa Rosa, at least for the younger set, of course that's where I headed. There were so many food booths that held scrumptious plates of food both steaming hot and  refreshingly cold. But, due to me trying not to spend a lot of extra money and that most of them weren't super healthy, I decided to wait until I got home to eat. I didn't really do any 'exercise' like running or going to the gym, but I sat down maybe twice for short periods of time from 12:00 to 7:30, if that doesn't help, well that would really suck.

The music was wonderful, though sadly I do not remember any of the band names, which is unfortunate because if I had I would have listened to their music online or something. There were two stages, and most of the main seating did not offer any shade, so, one would either have to choose visuals, sound blistering heat and rest, or no seating, cool shade, and absolutely no view of the stage ( for most people).

Then a trip to target was in order, to prepare for an upcoming trip to Lake Tahoe. Well, by this point it was around 6:30 and my legs were killing me. However, rabbit food and dish soap do not walk themselves home, another hour of walking and standing. Finally, finally, I was able to come home, rest and eat. Now, by this time I was starving, and I don;t recommend waiting to eat your biggest meal towards the end of the day. It pretty much leads to a pig out session, unless of course you have incredible self control. A mound of salsa, some chips, sprouted wheat toast with provolone cheese and low fat ranch dip, almond milk, light Boston cream pie yogurt, and two pieces of chocolate. Wow, that is a lot of food in one sitting. Tomorrow I 'll be more balanced, I hope....

Newness

  Alright, so I know I haven't really done anything with this blog. But, that's mostly due to my laziness and inability to decide on a subject I want to write about. I think I've finally come to a decision. What better topic to write about than my weight loss journey?; this is something that, of course, I think about often. Since I have hit a plateau, maybe this will help me work towards my UGW a little harder.
  My next post will be about the very start of my journey, but for now I'll start by sharing a little bit about myself. I'm currently residing in a medium sized town in California's North Bay Area. I would love to cook more often but because of a lack of a full size stove/oven, I do what I can with a microwave/conv. oven ( which really isn't too bad).  My starting weight was: 250 lbs., Current weight: 154.6 and my goal weight  is somewhere in the 140's or 130's. I want to achieve this as healthily as I can, so I'll be starting to give myself  healthy goals to work towards- such as, cutting out chips, or working more vegetables into my diet.

Cataract Surgery in animals ( informtion taken from places i found around the internet)

Backpacking Through Europe

 It's only Junior year, and people are already starting to think about their Senior trips( I am too). I hadn't given it much thought 'til today because the people I know I didn't think would invite me or they would have a summer job or would be preparing for college.
 However, today one of my wonderful band nerd friends had the idea of backpacking through Europe, a trip that would span the summer between graduation and college. At first I was hesitant. We would be getting our "life experiences" through this venture and we would be without real adult supervision. Yes one of us will be eighteen at the time but it will not be real supervision.
 We will pack as light as possible with a map to mark down where we have been, and a loose plan to go wherever we fancy. One meal a day and staying at hostiles will be a must most likely and many necessities that would make up our daily lives here in the U.S. we will have to do without. If we need more cash, since we are musicians, we can and could busk for the money.