Hello Again

I have obviously been quite the slacker in the blogging world the past few months, but I have also been rather busy. School has started back up, and vacations and birthdays have also kept me away from my blog. So, what are the highlights from the past couple months or so? My vacation is probably the most interesting thing that has happened. I traveled the East Coast, across 8 states, and visited three major Canadian cities, all within 8 days. Although it was rather tiring to be forced to wake up every day at 6 a.m. Eastern time, I appreciated the vast number of sites and experiences that my parents and I were able to see in such a short amount of time. Yes, I just went with my parents and left my husband at home, because he would much rather wake up late and not rush around with all us crazy Asian tourists. We went with a Chinese tour company that drove us through the East Coast and Canada on a packed bus with about 40 other people from around the world. Our journey started from the Big Apple and ended up in Beantown.
Here is our itinerary from our travels:
Day 1 - New York City at night (saw the skyline, Times Square and Rockefeller Center)
Day 2 - (New York City) Empire State Building, Ground Zero, Wall Street, Trinity Church, Federal Hall, Fifth Avenue, Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, United Nations Headquarters, Statue of Liberty Harbor Cruise and a wax museum
Day 3 - (Philadelphia) Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Old Congress (Washington D.C.) Capitol Hill, White House, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, National Gallery of Art, National Air & Space Museum
Day 4 - (Hershey, PA) Hershey's Chocolate Town, (Corning, NY) Corning Glass Museum, Niagara Falls at night (Canadian side)
Day 5 - (Niagara Falls) Niagara Falls, Goat Island, Maid of the Mist Cruise, Skylon Tower lunch, IMAX movie, Goat Island (Toronto) Ontario Parliament Building, University of Toronto, City Hall, CN Tower, Sky-Dome Sports Complex
Day 6 - Thousand Islands Cruise, (Ottawa) Nation's Parliament Building, (Montreal) Old Town Montreal, Olympic Park and Tower
Day 7 - (Montreal) Mt. Royal, St. Joseph's Oratory (Boston) Harvard University, MIT, State House of Massachusetts, Boston Common Park, Lobster dinner
Day 8 - (Boston) USS Constitution, USS Cassin Young Destroyer, Boston Massacre site, Boston Tea Party Ship site, Boston Harbor Cruise, Quincy Market

Photos from my trip are posted at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=113998&id=655139155&l=576e0b88eb.

Music for the soul

Honestly, I can't remember the last time I purchased a CD or downloaded music, but yesterday changed all of that. With my upcoming trip in a couple weeks, I wanted to get new music for my iPod to make the hours on the plane more bearable. I also had some reward points built up on my credit card, so I was able to get an Amazon MP3 gift certificate...I love free stuff. Wondering what new songs are on my iPod? I particularly enjoy upbeat, catchy songs that make me want to dance around...so I downloaded three albums: Jordin Sparks {Battlefield}, Addison Road {Addison Road} and Brit Nicole {Say It}. They may all seem somewhat similar, but they are different in vocals, styling and soul. One of the songs that really stood out to me is one of the more emotional and soulful ballads on the Addison Road album.

{ What Do I Know of Holy? }
I made You promises a thousand times
I tried to hear from Heaven
But I talked the whole time
I think I made You too small
I never feared You at all No
If You touched my face would I know You?
Looked into my eyes could I behold You?
(CHORUS)
What do I know of You
Who spoke me into motion?
Where have I even stood
But the shore along Your ocean?
Are You fire? Are You fury?
Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?
What do I know? What do I know of Holy?
I guess I thought that I had figured You out
I knew all the stories and I learned to talk about
How You were mighty to save
Those were only empty words on a page
Then I caught a glimpse of who You might be
The slightest hint of You brought me down to my knees
(CHORUS 2)
What do I know of Holy?
What do I know of wounds that will heal my shame?
And a God who gave life "its" name?
What do I know of Holy?
Of the One who the angels praise?
All creation knows Your name
On earth and heaven above
What do I know of this love?
(CHORUS)
What do I know of You
Who spoke me into motion?
Where have I even stood
But the shore along Your ocean?
Are You fire? Are You fury?
Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?
What do I know? What do I know of Holy?
What do I know of Holy? What do I know of Holy?

Tweet tweet...Twitter makeover

Hello fellow tweeps and Blogospherians...who really knows what the correct terms are these days. Are you lost in this tweeting world of at symbols and hashtags? I was sucked into this avian-inspired microblog platform by my tech-savvy, software developer husband about a year ago or so and still have quite a bit to learn about this thing. I found a pretty handy little guide on the site Web Designer Depot to help me navigate Twitterville. It is called The Ultimate Guide for Everything Twitter. It starts with the basics and gives helpful tips on how to tweet properly (Tweetiquitte, if you will). A few days ago, I decided it was time to change my Twitter-look and gave my Twitter page a little makeover and upgraded from an orange-striped theme to a mostly white with some pink and black theme. Check it out and become a follower @thmiller. Sorry, if I'm not good at responding to messages, but it's hard to keep up when it's blocked at my work. Also, post in the comments of any people who you think are follow-worthy.

Cupcake craze

If you haven’t noticed, there has been a huge frenzy over cupcakes. What’s the big deal with these miniature confections? Just in the Oklahoma City area, there have been several cupcake-specific restaurants popping up all around town with hoards of people fanatically drawn to them. A friend recently informed me of a new cupcake store that opened in Oklahoma City called Green Goodies by Tiffany. This store specializes in being Oklahoma City’s first peanut free bakery and provides options for people with special dietary needs. This morning, our intern at work brought us some of the most delicious strawberry and lemon cupcakes that I’ve ever eaten…and so started my own cupcake craze for the day. She made the cupcakes using a cake recipe from a book called the Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn. Here is the strawberry cake recipe I found online.

Strawberry Cake { with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting }
Cake:
* Solid vegetable shortening, for greasing the pans
* Flour for dusting the pans
* 1 package (18.25 ounces) plain white cake mix
* 1 package (3 ounces) strawberry gelatin
* 1 cup mashed fresh strawberries with juice (1 ½ cups whole berries)
* 1 cup vegetable oil, such as canola, corn, safflower, soybean, or sunflower
* ½ cup of whole milk
* 4 large eggs
* 1 cup of frozen unsweetened grated coconut, thawed
* ½ cup chopped pecans
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
* 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature
* 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
* 3 ½ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
* ¾ cup fresh ripe strawberries, rinsed, capped, and mashed to make ½ cup, then drained well
* ½ cup frozen unsweetened grated coconut, thawed
* ½ cup of chopped pecans
What you do:
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease three 9-inch round cake pans with solid vegetable shortening, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pans aside.
2. Place the cake mix, strawberry gelatin, mashed strawberries and juice, oil, milk, and eggs in a large mixing bowl and blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides down again if needed. The strawberries should be well blended into the batter. Fold in the coconut and the pecans. Divide the batter among the prepared pans and place them in the oven; if your oven is not large enough, place two pans on the center of the highest rack.
3. Bake the cakes until they are light brown and just starting to pull away from the sides of the pan, 28 to 30 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the layer on the highest rack oven. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edge of each layer and invert each onto the rack, the invert again onto another rack so that the cakes are right side up. Allow them to cool completely, 30 minutes more.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the frosting. Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on low speed for about 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the sugar and drained strawberries. Blend the frosting on low until the sugar has been incorporated. Then raise the speed to medium and mix the frosting another minute or until the frosting lightens and is well combined. Fold in the coconut and the pecans.
5. To assemble, place one cake layer, right side up, on a serving platter. Spread the top with frosting. Add another cake layer, right side up, and frost the top. Repeat this process with the third layer and frost the top. Use the remaining frosting to frost the sides, working with clean, smooth stroke. Serve at once or chill the cake for later serving.
* Place this cake, uncovered, in the refrigerator until the frosting sets, 20 minutes. Cover the cake with waxed paper and store in the refrigerator, for up to one week. Or freeze it, wrapped in aluminum foil, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cake overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

To make these sugary sweets even more scrumptious, use a cute cupcake liner like the ones you can find at Bake it Pretty. This site was recently featured in Better Homes & Gardens, so it looks like they are currently sold out of some of the designs.

Accidental inspiration

Today, I attended the monthly Oklahoma City Advertising Club meeting and listened to Dirk Fowler, accomplished letterpress poster designer and Communication Design professor at Texas Tech, speak about his art and business f2design. A few samples of his work are shown in the picture above. His collection of eclectic pieces, which often incorporate visual symbols and illusions, are simple, yet complex in meaning and imagery. It was inspiring to see how his work has impacted not only the design industry, but also the music industry. When asked where he comes up with some of his ideas, he responded by referring to the posters that were distributed to all the attendees titled "Hand Eye Chicken." Dirk recounted how the image came about just from moving around a few pieces and realizing that a new image had appeared. Much like these posters, design inspiration is sometimes accidental and results from experimentation.

Divine design

Yes, it’s Monday…the most dreaded day of the week for most people. I would have to say that I am guilty of feeling this sense of dread and gloom on most Mondays, especially today. After a restless night of sleep interrupted by both dog and husband, I was less than enthused about rolling out of bed this morning. The repeated series of events that occurred throughout the night: dog jumps out of bed, husband jumps out of bed to chase down dog, husband wrangles the dog to get her back in bed or she whines at the side of the bed until someone will lift her back up in bed. We really need to get her some stairs for the bed, but just haven't done it yet. Dave suggested stacking cardboard boxes up beside our bed or building some sort of styrofoam monstrosity in our bedroom...I don't think I was having the same vision as my husband when I said we should get stairs for the dog. I had something more like this in mind...

After feeling not quite inspired to start out the work week, I found an article today on Crosswalk.com, a site I frequent regularly. It is titled "Redeem Arts & Culture through Divine Inspiration" and talks about how you can include the Creator in your creative endeavors. As someone who works in a creative field, I know it is sometimes difficult to always conjure up clever and innovative design ideas. This article details a few practical solutions to become divinely inspired. They include the following:

• Invite the Holy Spirit into your creative process.
• Develop a listening lifestyle.
• Make yourself completely available to God.
  
• Grow in your craft.
• Wrap each project in prayer.
• Enjoy seeing what happens.

The article is adapted from Finding Divine Inspiration: Working with the Holy Spirit in Your Creativity, copyright 2008 by J. Scott McElroy.

Shades of white

How many shades of white, off-white and cream are there? You might be surprised. Above are just a few of the sample swatches I picked up today at Home Depot. My husband and I are in the process of remodeling our house so we can sell it next spring, and our recent project to tackle is...repainting the kitchen cabinets. We first had the inclination to stain them, however, we quickly changed our minds after we attempted to sand one cabinet door last weekend. So instead, we have decided to paint them...all 30 or so of them. After my Sunday Zumba class, I ventured over to our local Home Depot with sweat still dripping down my forehead and trotted over to the paint section. "This shouldn't be too hard," I thought. After about 20 to 30 minutes of carefully evaluating the ever-so-slight nuances between Antique White, Cottage White and Ultra Pure White, I left the store with, not a gallon of paint, but instead these swatches in the picture. I'll be mulling over these different colors the next couple days and will have to take my husband with me next time to force me to make a decision.

Also, in church this morning, we learned a new worship song that really spoke to me today. Here are the lyrics...

FROM THE INSIDE OUT (Joel Houston, copyright Hillsong Publishing)

A thousand times I've failed, Still Your mercy remains
And should I stumble again, Still I'm caught in Your grace
Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never-ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame

In my heart in my soul, Lord, I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise, Become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Your will above all else, My purpose remains
The art of losing myself, In bringing You praise
Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never-ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame

In my heart in my soul, Lord I give You control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise, Become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never-ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise
From the inside out Lord my soul cries out