Want to play tennis??

My best friend here at Plymouth State is an avid tennis player. Tennis has always been my big part of his life and a family hobby since everyone including his grandmother plays and/or instructs. He is always looking for someone to hits some balls with, but I always tell him not to bother asking me because I think it is a stupid sport.

So the other day, it was absolutely beautiful out and my friend asks me if I want to play. Instantly I answered in a dull tone "No". He then got a huge smirk on his face and replied saying "Well, that's not being too open minded". I knew instantly that he was referring to my blog and he was right, I wasn't being open minded. I then changed my mind and said I would give it a shot.

We went down to the tennis courts and he taught me a few things: ready position, how to hold the racket, and the rules and lines. I am usually very quick with learning sports, but this was a little bit harder than I had expected. I couldn't hit the damn ball in the court! It even went over the fence a few times.

I am a strong athlete so I am determined to be more accurate and improve in the sport of tennis. I already have plans to play again this week!

Easter Dinner

Easter dinner has never appealed to me. My mom always cooks ham or lamb and I am not a fan of either meats.

We sat down for dinner, and we started talking about my blog. My parents were unaware of my attempt to be more open minded, but once hearing this news they were very encouraging. Everyone was eager to see my progress and test if I had truly started to expand my horizons.

This year it was ham that was served and that's what they made me try. I cut off a small piece and everyone started a countdown. ..3..2..1..and I ate it! My first reaction was that I did not like the texture; it was too slimey feeling for me, but I did like that it was very salty tasting. I told them how I felt and they said I had to try a piece and dip it into the glaze my mother made.

I cut off another piece and dipped it in the glaze. It was good! The glaze tasted like a sweet cinamon sugar glaze and it complimented the salty ham very well.

Although I was not a fan of plain ham, I really enjoyed the ham glaze. It added a whole new sweetness to it and I will probably eat ham again as long as I have that glaze :)

Djembe, djembe, djembe.

Music is a huge part of my life as it is for so many other people. It cheers me up, it comforts me, it inspires me, it makes me sad, it makes me think. Unfortunately, I do not have the talent of playing a music instrument. I used to take piano lessons when I was in elementary school, but I don't remember much. I took guitar classes in junior high, but again I don't remember much.

I've decided to sit back and enjoy music with my ears and leave it to the musicians to create masterpieces. Recently my close friend bought a Djembe. I knew of the djembe from some of my favorite songs, so I was eager to hear him play. The sounds were loud and the beat was fast, it's what I was hoping for.

I never thought I would attempt playing another instrument but this blog forced/allowed me to give a shot. He showed me the three basic sound the instrument can make and the special techniques on playing. I played and had a blast. I was not good by any means, but it was fun to let loose and slap the drum. Two thumbs up for fun-ness and great sound!

Macrame

A few years back my mom found an old box that she has had since she was in her teens. In this box there were bracelets, necklaces, and earings. They had such interesting designs and beautiful beads. My mom went on to tell me that she made all of the jewlery and that it's called macrame.

I wear all of the jewlery that was in that box on a daily basis. I couldn't think of anything to do, but then it hit me; Now is MY turn to learn how to do macrame and make awesome jewlery as my mom did.

I am extremely impacient, so the first 20 minutes of reading how to do different knots and ties was very frustrating. I made a bracelett, and my first attempt was very loose and didn't look too good. I attempted the bracelet a second time and was very satisfied with my result!

I am so happy I thought to try macrame. It is a good hobby to have and now I don't have to spend my money on buying necklaces made in China. Homemade is the way to go, plus I get to personalize the jewlery to fit the way I like and buy unique beads.

Top O' The Mornin To Ya!

Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day, so I made the trip home to celebrate with my family. St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays because it's time to celebrate my heritage and spend some good quality and wild times with my family.

A large part of this celebration is the dinner. My mom spends all day cooking a huge boiled meal consisting of corned beef, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, greenbeans, and turnip. We also have Irish soda bread, tons of desserts, cheese & crackers, etc. The holiday really revolves around great food and drinks and of course Irish music.

(My Family sitting down for dinner)

I have never tried corned beef, nor have I tried cabbage or turnip. I wasn't feeling risky enough to try the corned beef, but I DID try cabbage! The first bite... was horrible. I was not expecting that taste at all. My brother could see by my look of digust that I didn't like it at all, so he told me to put a lot of salt on it. I love salt, so I loaded it on as I was told. The next bite was much better!

Cabbage is okay, and I might have it again next year, but only on St. Patrick's Day if it's covered in salt :)

Snowshoeing!

I had been dying to go snowshoeing but the weather hasn't been completely cooperating; until this week! The storm that came through Plymouth Sunday night - Monday morning brought a whopping 8 inches! It really has been a frigid winter, but unfortunately not too much snow accumulation.

Anyways, I finally went snowshoing today and had a blast! I walked all around the paths at Fox Park and showshoed for about 3 hours. Time flew by once I was all bundled up and ready to go.

(Me and my friends putting one foot in!)

I always thought it was a lame activity; Why walk in snowshoes when I can just walk on a plowed sidewalk? I finally understand the hobby that many New Englanders get such pleasure out of. Snowshoeing is not about getting to where you want to get as fast as you can, like so many other things in life. Showshoeing is about relaxing and appreciating the beautiful environment that surrounds us! It has been too easy for me, especially since being in college, to ignore the simple things in life.



I greatly enjoyed my snowshoeing experience and hope to take a few more walks before the snow dissapears! I also strongly encourage those who have not tried it to try it!

...nothing new..but SOON.

Sooo I havn't had the time or oppurtunity to try anything new for the past week and a half. Pretty lame, I know. I hadn't posted to update the status of the expanding of my horizons so I figured I could use this post to let you know more about myself so you could leave better suggestions for me to try.


Sports I play/have played: Soccer, Snowboarding, baseball, kayaking, volleyball.

Hobbies/interests: taking pictures, swimming, tie dying, tattoos, drawing, music, piercings, global warming, driving.

Favorite color: green

Favorite foods: tacos, anything spicy, pizza (of course), pasta, boneless chicken, most fruits and veggies, mashed potatoes.

Pet peeves: people that leave their mouths open, when t-shirt sleeves are flipped up, flickering lights, hearing people puke down the hall, etc.

Personal Goals: graduate college at the end of senior year, be more open minded, progress enough in the beginning of next season to enter snowboarding competitions, and just be successful in life.

I can't think of any other major things to tell about myself so hopefully I provided enough info. for some good suggestions!!

Peace outttttt

Sooooo... about the red meat

I had been putting it off for awhile, but I finally gave in and tried the meat.

I don't want to mislead you in thinking that I have never tried or consumed red meat before. I had a bad experience when I was younger at a restaurant with red meat on a bone, and I have done my best to avoid both red meats and anything on bone.

Okay, enough background history. This week I tried rib eye steak. It was suggested to me by many people that if I were to try a meat, that would be the best to try. Cooking is not a talent of mine, other than grilled cheese, so preparing and cooking the steak was interesting.



After I cooked the meat was "just right" my end product didn't look too bad:





No, all that wasn't for me. I made sure that I grabbed the small piece to the left So I could complete the red meat challenge. I am proud to admit that I did in fact finish eating the entire piece.

Overall, the experience was a good one. I did get grossed out a little when there was a piece of fat, but other than that I stepped it up. I didn't hate the steak and I feel more open minded to read meats, or at least steak. Maybe next time my mom cooks steak tips I'll have some rather than making a peanut butter sandwich.

First new experience....unplanned

Last week was Winter Carnival week up here at Plymouth State. The week is comprised of events and activities for students and clubs on campus such as a comedian, Ski Day, bongo ball, and to finish off the week there is the R-rated hypnotist Sailesh.

The week was coming to an end, and I still hadn't done anything new. I felt like nothing was quite good enough to kick off the expanding of my horizons. I attended the R rated hypnotist on Friday night with friends but this was not new to me either since I went to the show last year as well. Even though I had already seen Sailesh's show, I was still very excited to see what embarrassing and crazy things this years group of kids would do on stage.

..Little did I know that I would be one of those kids.

As he was inviting everyone up to the stage I had absolutely no desire to go on that stage. Sailesh was doing his thing, relaxing the students on stage, and I was listening carefully - maybe too carefully. Next thing I know I'm walking up on to the stage.

In the show I experienced extremely cold temperatures, funny TV shows, a sad movie, River dancing, and other dances and R-rated things that I don't think I should share on here.

Unfortunately, since this experience was so unplanned I did not have a camera to have pictures taken while under hypnosis. my friend did use his phone to take videos though, so hopefully I can find a way to get them on here.

This was a great experience and having it be unplanned made it even better. I am looking forward to doing numerous new things and I am still looking for suggestions!!

Expanding My Horizons

Okay, so I am not completely close minded to things, I am just set in my own ways. My mother always has to cook special dinners for me since I am so picky and If I don't participate in something I automatically think it is a stupid sport/activity. I am supposed to keep this blog on a certain topic of some sort, so I figured it would be a perfect opportunity for me to try new things. I will be looking for ideas and suggestions for new foods, sports, crafts, etc. to try each week in efforts to "expand my horizons".

*Keep in mind that I am a sophomore at Plymouth State in NH, so try to suggest things that are within reason. After each new experience I will post pictures and the process and reaction to each. I already have a few things in mind such as tennis and snowshoeing.

I am looking forward to trying these new things and hope to become more open minded each week.