Sorry, I've been very busy with school. Spring of junior year is a rough time. School ends soon and I'll post as soon as possible! ​

Yeah, so sorry, as usual I'm apologizing for not posting enough but this time I have a legit excuse! (which just so happens to be the same excuse I use every time so...) This excuse comes in the form of one, single, torturous word: School. And you can give me a break, right? It's the spring of my junior year so I have AP tests as well as the SAT coming up. That's a lot of stuff to be panicking over. (Which I am, I really, really am).
Another thing other than the mountains of homework that has been keeping me busy is ANC's spring musical-- Shrek. And here's an obviously placed ad for it, because I'm the student producer and gotta try and get as many people to come to the production as possible. Y'all should come to Shrek! It's the closing weekend this weekend-- last two shows! Tomorrow night at 8 PM and Saturday at 7 PM. If the hard work of the cast and crew doesn't instantly draw you to the show, the never ending hard work of the production's top of the line student producers (myself and Caitlin Irwin) should! (haha...) So with that extremely subtle yet totally convincing ad, I'll be seeing you all buying tickets from me at MPAC's box office... right? Hehe. 
No, but seriously, the cast and crew of Shrek have worked so hard these past few months, and I can attest to that! I've been at (most) of the practices and have had the joy of seeing this show come together. It's a great production, and I promise, it'll be worth the $15 for an adult and $12 for a kid that you gotta pay for it. (See what I did there?) It's a family friendly show that will be fun for everyone, ranging from on-the-death-bed old to just came out of the womb infants. Please, come see our show! (also my best friend is starring in it, no big deal or anything...) 
Anyway, that's what I've been up to, sorry I gotta keep it short because there's so much else do!
Thanks for reading, 
​Anj

Oh, also, P.S. another one of my best friends, Ellie Taylor, is having a piano recital at 7PM on Wednesday, May 16th. She's a wonderfully talented pianist and it's not a performance you're going to want to miss! If you're interested make sure you RSVP by May 2 so she knows how many people are coming :) (At the Settlement Music School in Willow Grove-- 318 Davisville Road) 

For those of you living under a rock, Buzzfeed has a social media page called Tasty which posts a ton of drool worthy delectable delights. After hearing a lot of raves online about just how ​absolutely amazing Buzzfeed's chocolate cake was, I decided I absolutely had to test it out. Here is the conclusion I've come to. 
All together, I was not impressed. I made my regular chocolate cake to compare the recipe with, and I'm still a bigger fan of my normal recipe. Here's the thing about Buzzfeed's recipe that nearly drove me crazy and made me tempted to just throw the cake out the window and be done with it. It's unbelievably crumbly, Like it falls apart when you're icing it crumbly. And that drove me ​insane. WHAT IS THE POINT OF A CRUMB COAT WHEN IT JUST PULLS THE ENTIRE CAKE APART? It was impossible to ice. If you look at the sides of the cake, you can see exactly how crumby it got. And that was even after I stuck it in the fridge, then tried to ice over the already falling apart cake, and then I even tried glazing it over which chocolate ganache to smooth the bumps. It didn't help. Presentation-wise I was not impressed. And I think we all know how much I care about my food presentation. (If you don't, feel free to check out my "Food Fancies" pictures over in the gallery. I really like making photograph worthy food.) 
Also making this cake is a lot of work. A lot more than my usual recipe, which was also a downside of the recipe. What all these extra ingredients do is make a very interesting flavor with a ton of depth, which is a perk. The cake's only perk, in my mind. The flavor has depth, which was good. Nothing else in my experience with this recipe was. It wasn't even leagues better than my standard recipe, so no, I don't think I'm going to be switching over anytime soon. Especially since this cake is relatively dry in comparison to my recipe. 
Side note: I followed the instructions exactly as they were given, so I definitely did make the cake intended from the video. 
After having several people taste test both cakes, I've come to the conclusion that the "Ultimate" cake is the inferior chocolate cake. Work wise it was a lot of work to make, especially finding all the extra ingredients. It wasn't something you could just make on a whim (which is how I make a lot of my baked goods) because the ingredients probably aren't things you'll find around the house. It also took a lot of extra work to decorate because of how crumbly the cake was, and it was impossible to make look perfect because the cake basically just fell apart as I iced it. Sorry Buzzfeed, but this definitely isn't a recipe I recommend. It tastes pretty good, but it's nothing great. 
Preparation: 3/10 
Decorating: 0/10 
Taste: 7/10

Want a decadent sauce to create a perfect meal? This homemade blush sauce is sure to a. complete a dish and b. make its excellence sky rocket out of proportions. Both easy to make and delicious to eat. This is most definitely a recipe you want to try if you adore pasta like me. Anyway, here's the recipe: 

Ingredients: 
12 oz. linguine pasta 
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil 
1 large shallot, minced (1/3-1/2 cup) 
1 garlic clove, minced
pinch of red pepper flakes 
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained & pulsed into a food processor until mostly smooth (about 5 1 second pulses) 
1 1/2 c. half & half 
1/2 tsp. salt 
1/2 tsp sugar 
1/2-3/4 cup Gorgonzola cheese (I recommend 3/4, it really enhances the flavor, even if you don't like the taste of Gorgonzola, it blends perfectly and enhances, doesn't take over the sauce) 
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
freshly ground black pepper to taste 

Instruction: 

1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat until oil simmers. Add shallot and sauté, stirring often until shallot is softened, but not browned, around 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté until very fragrant, about a minute. Add tomatoes, half & half, salt and sugar. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally until thickened slightly & mostly smoothed out, about 15 minutes. Add Gorgonzola and stir until the cheese melts and is homogenous with the sauce. 

2. While sauce simmers, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add around 1 Tablespoon of salt to the water and add pasta. Cook according to package directions to al dente. Drain and reserve 1 cup past water in case the sauce turns out too thick. 

3. Add linguine to sauce along with the chopped basil. Stir to well-coat pasta the with sauce, adding the reserved pasta cooking water a little at a time if the sauce is too thick. Season with freshly ground black pepper. 

Enjoy! 
​Anji

You know those addicting soft sugar cookies sold at the grocery store? The ones with the swath of colored icing and sprinkles on top? Yeah, well this recipe is just like them, except so much better. Why are they better? Well, they're freshly baked for one. Freshly baked things always taste better. And they have no preservatives and are made with fresh ingredients. They may take longer than just going to Giant and buying box of those delicious cookies, but it's worth it because of how good these  cookies taste. Plus-- they look just like the store bought ones, which is a fun extra tidbit. 
This recipe is great for several reasons-- of course, it tastes good, but it also makes a ton of cookies. So your hard work will pay off because you'll have a gargantuan amount of cookies to feast on when they're done! 

Ingredients: 

Cookies: 

1 cup butter, room temperature 
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla 
1 cup sour cream 
1/4 tsp almond extract
5 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking sode
1/2 tsp salt

Frosting: 

3/4 cup butter 
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar 
3-4 T heavy cream 
1 tsp vanilla 
food coloring and sprinkles

Directions:
Cookies:
1.In a large bowl mix together margarine and sugar. Beat until creamy. Add in eggs, vanilla, lemon extract and sour cream and mix together until combined.
2. In a separate bowl mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix just until combined.
3. Split dough in two and place in saran wrap. Refrigerate dough for 1-2 hours.
4. Once dough has been chilled roll out dough on a bakers mat or parchment paper. Add another 1/4 – 1/2 cup flour if dough is still sticky. Cut with floured cookie cutter.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-9 minutes until beginning to lightly turn golden on the sides. 
Frosting:
1. Combine all listed ingredients, mix with an electric mixer until smooth. Simply frost cookies by using a knife and sprinkle on some sprinkles. :) 

Hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I did! Thanks for reading, 
​Anj

For lack of a better title, I'm just going to call this post "December," because I'm going to go over some of the fantastic adventures I went on in the month of... guess it. No, not May, December! (sorry, that was a bad joke.) 
This has been a pretty good month. I mean, half of it was off from school, how could it not be a good month? Actually, I take that back, this has been a FANTASTIC month. 
To start off my wonderful December of 2017, on December 10, Rayna and I took another trip up to the Big Apple. Why? To see a Broadway show of course! It was a fantastic day, if I do say so myself. We got up bright and early (or early for me, a teenager) to travel up, so we'd have plenty of time to walk around New York and get lunch before our 3 o'clock show. We ventured to the Rockefeller Center to see the giant Christmas tree... Which I found to be actually quite ugly. It's not the pretty sort of pine tree, the only thing it really has going for it is its size.  

Then we went to see Kinky Boots. Which, by the way, was fantastic. If you read my last post describing my obsession with musicals, you would know that I already went to see a production of Kinky Boots this year. Yeah. I went to see it twice. Why? Because I love the show, and also the two original leads were back in for a limited run. OF COURSE I had to go and see it. And boy, was the show worth it. Stark Sands and Billy Porter were an absolute wonder. They had the best on-stage chemistry I've ever seen, and an extremely compelling stage presence. Seriously, I couldn't take my eyes away from them, even when they were in the background. Also, their voices... Ah. They have to have been the best performers I've seen yet. I know there's not much time, but if you can get in to see the show before they leave on January 7th, I would HIGHLY recommend it. Seeing those actors is life changing. 

Then on the 16th Serena and I headed to the Talking Teacup (my favorite place), for a long overdue tea date. :) Later that evening my family and I left our house to head to a hotel by the airport. Why? Because we had an early flight the next morning. An early flight to another one of my favorite places-- the tropical paradise also known as Saint Kitts. Getting up early isn't an issue, even for me, when you have a tropical island to look forward to. 
The flight wasn't bad. Even the layover was quick-- barely enough time for Zia and I to get frozen yogurt before we hopped onto another plane in Charleston. Then, finally we landed around 5. Thanks to family friends, instead of going through traditional customs, we went through the Yu Lounge. Meaning that we were picked up in a car, driven to said lounge, and then fed food while our passports were being checked. Seriously, a great beginning to a great trip. 

Just shoutout to those family friends here. They made our trip to Sant Kitts a fantastic one, and also are just great people in general so. Thank you so much! Also thanks to my father for taking us there :). Anyway, that evening we went with our friends to the Salt Plage, which is an outdoor restaurant directly on the water. We would go on to eat at the Salt Plage for several other nights during the trip because of its amazing sunset and quality food. 
Then, the rest of the week was basically a variety of sun time. The for the next two days we went to a private club called the Pavilion and spent the day by the pool. Some unspoken universal law in Saint Kitts seems to be that all pools have to be infinity pools... which is fine by me, haha. 
The Pavilion had to have been my favorite place to go. Because it was a private club (we were able to get in thanks to our friends), it was very calm there, also the staff was extremely friendly and nice. (They even hugged us goodbye when it was our last day!) 

For dinner on our second day we went to the Salt Plage again, but on the the third day we went to the Spice Mill, which had delicious food... though, since it was outdoors and I'm a bug attractor I was quite literally getting swarmed with mosquitoes for a while. (You could see a black cloud of them around my head.) 
Then, on the fourth day instead of going to the Pavilion, we went to the Shipwreck. The Shipwreck is not actually a shipwreck, it's a beach area with a great coral reef and a restaurant called the Shipwreck. There we did several things a. lie in the sun b. swim c. snorkel. It was fun. There were also a ton of cute monkeys running around. (Monkeys are the squirrels of the island. (interesting fact: Saint Kitts has an issue with drunken monkeys aka monkeys who love to steal peoples' drinks and get drunk.)) 

Then, on our third day we went on a Catamaran, which is a giant boat with like nets on the front which you can sit on. That was fun. The crew was entertaining, and we got to stop at a beach in Nevis for a couple hours. We also stopped at a place to snorkel. It was a good day. It was also quite entertaining because the boat had an open bar... And well, since everyone was on vacation they were all quite hammered by the time we got back to the dock. Seriously, I had probably 5 drinks spilled on me (not the entertaining part). There were people who literally could not walk straight, when we were in the vehicle driving us back from the harbor, we saw a guy who literally fell over and was crawling because he couldn't walk. (That's the entertaining part). The very same guy stepped on me and very nearly fell on top of me on the boat (I was very afraid of him falling on me and kept backing up until I was against the side rope, and then I was very afraid he'd fall and I'd go overboard.) 

Our next and last day ( :( ) was spent at the Pavilion, much to my delight. Then we spent our last night at the Salt Plage. And... the next day we left... Well. That's sad. Oh! Just random side note, the Pavilion had these wonderful outdoor showers supplied with soap, shampoo and conditioner. These showers were private, with really cool stonework but open to the sky. 

As depressing as it was to leave Saint Kitts and return home.. Well, I'm still sad about it, but at least I got to spend Christmas in my own house with my lovely kitties. As per our Christmas tradition we went to go see a movie. Originally we planned to go see Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but, well, somehow I promised my cousin/best friend Ivan that I wouldn't see it without him so... We went to go see Jumanji instead. ( I partially agreed to go because I've heard good reviews and partially because the title has my name in it ). Surprisingly enough, I actually really enjoyed the movie-- I was laughing the entire time. 
Then I spent the 26th baking away. I think because I was on a baking fast due to having little free time during the school year I just kind of overdid it a little baking on the 26th. I started around noon, took a three hour break between 5-8 and then started up again until about 3 AM. Yes. I was baking until 3 AM. Like I said, I went a little baking crazy. My arms still ache from icing those freaking snowflake cookies. I don't know why I did it-- I hated doing it last year, and yet... Here I was again, icing a hundred sugar and gingerbread cookies. Joy. I also made a cake, key lime pie and french bread. I didn't get around to making more toffee because, well, it was 3 AM, and I still had to pack because we were leaving the next morning so... Yeah I was really done with baking by 3. 
The next morning we left to go and visit our cousins in the Middle of Nowhere, Maryland. Another Christmas tradition is the Christmas Party held at my Aunt Sharon's and Uncle John's. While I'm not exactly good at socializing during family parties, I do enjoy getting to see my cousins. Like I said before, Ivan is one of my best friends and since we live in different states we don't exactly see each other a lot. 
And now we've caught up to me time-wise. Ivan and I did go to see Star Wars today. And eh... I have to say I was disappointed. It was good, but I'm really disappointed with the way Luke was written into the movie, the tone felt odd at times, as well as some really strange dialog. All together not the perfect movie I was expecting, then again, maybe it's just because my expectations were too high, who knows. 
Anyway, it was a great year and thanks for reading! 
Anj 
P.S. If you're interested in seeing more of my very picturesque trip to Saint Kitts, check it out in my Gallery on this site. :) It will have more details along with plenty more pictures. OH ALSO BIG SHOUTOUT TO MY FATHER FOR TAKING FANTASTIC PICTURES WITH HIS PHONE AND BEING OUR PHOTOGRAPHER (and he was getting really sick of it, too. Love you, father!) 

For those of you who don't know, I'm a bit (more than a bit) obsessed with theater. No, I do not like actually being on stage, due to my condition of stage fright and attention fright in general. I love watching theater. Which, actually makes perfect since seeing as I love stories, and story-telling, which is basically what theater is. (Sorry for any major theater geeks screaming at me somewhere.) Basically, I get really obsessed and attached to shows, mostly musicals. (Ask my dad, he has to listen to them ALL THE TIME.) 
I've always liked theater, but the big obsession started two years ago when I began my career as a Cappies Critic. (Cappies is a high school group that goes around and reviews other high schools' plays. It's actually king do a big thing, with a giant "Tony" awards at the end of the season). Les Mis was the first theater production that I absolutely fell in love with, blasting the music at all times of the day. Then came Rent. Hamilton. Spring Awakening. Something Rotten. Wicked. Kinky Boots... etc. Basically I'm very, very obsessed. 
And when I get obsessed with things, it's not a low-key obsession, it's a grand obsession. Meaning I know basically every detail about the show, story-wise, actor-wise, etc. I know a lot of random facts about my favorite musicals. Like Lin Manuel Miranda wrote the song "Dear Theodosia" on the day he adopted his dog, not when his first child was born. Or that the melody for "Burn" is playing in the background of "Take a Break" to possibly signify an emotional affair? Or that Jonathan Groff and Lea Michelle became best friends after originating Melchior and Wendla in Spring Awakening. OR... You know what? I'll shut up now. I research and study these shows for FUN when I get obsessed. Yeah, that's how weird me and my obsessions are.  (Side note: I also know every word to every song to most of the musicals listed above. Want to badly rap along to Hamilton with me? Give me a call, haha) 
Anyway, back on topic. I love theater. Last year was the 25th Anniversary of Rent, so there was a touring cast going around. I really, really wanted to go, but my dad was busy on all the nearby dates... So I was left to be disappointed having never seen the show. Why am I telling this story? Because my dad knew how much I wanted to see Rent and therefore promised to take me to Broadway this summer. 
This would be my first Broadway show, hopefully the first of many. So when the time came, I chose Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 to be my first. Why? Because 1. Okieriete Onaodowan (Hercules Mulligan from Hamilton's Original Cast) and Ingrid Michelson were in it, 2. the plot sounded interesting 3. I'd heard good reviews and finally 4. Philippa Soo (Original Eliza in Hamilton) originated the role of Natasha (Yeah, that's how much of a nerd I am.). 
It was a great show that was extremely unique. It interacted with the audience, performing with audience members actually seated on the stage and actually interacting with random audience members as part of the show as well. It was fantastic, and I'm so bitter that it left Broadway so soon. Well, that day trip to Broadway was probably one of the best days of the summer, and I still think of it fondly. (Shoutout to my father for putting up with my theater obsession and taking a day off to actually take me to Broadway. Love you father!) We left early, and got to New York in time to wander around and see the Broadway area, even visiting the Richard Rodger's Theater AKA HAMILTON. Not that I actually saw that show, but even being at the theater was awesome . (Yeah, I'm a nerd. Sorry) The actual theater for The Great Comet was pretty amazing as well. It was built just for the show (as are all Broadway Theaters) and was extremely unique. (See picture below). Before going to the Comet, though, we stopped in a little Italian Restaurant on Times Square and had the best Italian food I'd ever had. Basically what I'm trying to say, and what I've already said is that was a great day. 

The next professional theater show I saw wasn't actually on Broadway. I went to go see the touring cast of Wicked when the came to the Academy of Music this summer with my father and Zia. It was a good show, I was already familiar with Wicked, so I just wanted to actually go see it live. It wasn't the best show for several reasons that had nothing to do with the story. The show itself is great, just circumstance wasn't. First off, I left my glasses at home, which is totally my issue. Then secondly both Glinda and Elphaba were the standbys. Glinda was good, but Elphaba? Her acting was really choppy, like she was just saying the lines, but don't get me wrong, her singing sent shivers down my spine, especially during the iconic song "Defying Gravity." And then there was also a guy listening to the show on headphones like right next to me, and I could hear the electronic-ized voices for the entire time. Still, it was a very good show and I did actually enjoy my time. (sorry! My inner critic is showing.) 
Then the next show came as a bit of a surprise. One of my best friends, Rachael, got two free tickets to Kinky Boots at the Academy of Music. Knowing my love of theater, she invited me along. Of course I accepted, despite the fact the show was on a school night and I also had a field hockey game that day. Basically how that worked was I came home right after the game was over (had to miss watching the JV), and throw on a dress over my sweaty body (sorry, too many details?) before jumping into Rachael's car and racing off to the train station. Then we got to Philly and may or may not have gotten a little lost trying to find the Academy of Music due to malfunctioning GPSes on our phones... Yeah I'll just say this circles and RUNNING DOWN TO TRY AND GET THERE IN TIME. We ended up getting there at about 7:26 when the show started at 7:30. So yay! we made it in time, even if we were sweating and panting in our seats for a bit into the show. 
Kinky Boots was a great show, show's humor is spot on and it's music is so catchy. I added basically the entire album to my ever so long and ever going Musical Favorites playlist. 
That night getting back is actually a bit of an interesting story, too. Being the adept duo that we are, Rachael and I couldn't figure out a way to get back into the train station. See, we got out from the Comcast Building, but it was 11 at night, so that was closed. And then the main entrance to the station was closed due to construction. Basically we were a little worried about being stranded in Philly on a school night, but then we saw a security officer, and asked for a way to get into the station... He proceeded to point about twenty five feet away from us where there was an underground entryway. Whoops. I did say Rachael and I are a very adept pair, didn't I? We got back late, and I was EXTREMELY tired the next day, but for the show it was all worth it. Also just want to say I love Rachael so much, and not just because she took me to a show (but that's a bonus, haha). Rach, if you're reading this, you're the best. 

Alright, because I wanted to go back to Broadway so bad, I talked to my friend who is actually very good on stage, Rayna, about if she'd want to go to New York sometime to see a show. Luckily enough for me, she was very enthusiastic about the idea and soon enough we had a plan to go to not one, but two shows in the oncoming months. The first show we went to see was Cats. I really wanted to see this show because literally it seems like ​everyone talks about it, and seeing as it's leaving Broadway in December, I figured now would be the time to take action. Rayna wanted to see it because she heard it had amazing choreography (which it did!!) Basically, it worked out. 
So a couple weeks ago, Rayna, my dad and I all got up early on a Sunday Morning (November 12, to be exact) to head to New York City for a matinee performance of Cats. It was a fun time, walking through the city, stopping to get lunch and then going to see the show. Cats is an amazing show. Sure, I'll admit I had no idea what the plot was, but the singing, dancing, and set? All of it was so impressive. I wish everyone could go see that show because it'll leave you stunned. 
That Sunday had to be one of the better days of the year, and the most exciting part? WE have another one planned this December. What show are we seeing? Well, I fell so much in love with Kinky Boots that I looked it up and found out that the two original leads are back for a short time. OF COURSE I had to see that, so Rayna and I are going back to New York to see that soon next month. I'm so excited, too, because it's such a fun trip. Hanging out with Rayna is great (Love you, Rayna!), New York is great and going to Broadway is great. All the combined makes the best day ever, so as you might imagine, I'm getting pretty excited for the best day ever part II. 
Anyway, thanks for reading! If you ever need any theater recommendations, I'm your girl. :) 
-Anj

Contrary to popular belief, Charter Day is not, in fact, meant to be a cult holiday. For everyone outside of Bryn Athyn that follows this blog or anyone outside Bryn Athyn period, Charter Day may look a lot like a cult thing (as does most of Bryn Athyn to most outside viewers). I mean, I can see where people are coming from... A ton of people in robes and red sweaters marching down to a cathedral... Well, it's not mean to be cult-like, it's actually just meant to be a celebration of our school being granted a Charter. Hence the name Charter Day. 
Charter Day is basically the homecoming for our school, of course we couldn't actually call it homecoming because we're ANC. It always happens close to the midterm (after 6 weeks), though this year it was a little later, taking place on October 20th. 
The only proper way to kick off Charter Day is with the Charter Day Field Hockey Game under the lights. Yes, that is the only proper way. For anyone who didn't attend... Well, your does your Charter Day even count as a Charter Day? No, I'm not a biased opinion at all. 

Our Charter Day Game was also our senior game. That basically means that we honor all our senior players by the Juniors making them posters, and then they walk up on the field, get flowers and we announce their life plans and whatnot. Anyway, you may be wondering, Anji, why did you creepily post a picture where you are in no way shape or formed involved? To that I reply, well, I wanted to show off my amazing best ever, never going to be topped senior poster. Caitlin is part of our conjugal defense line up, so of course I made her poster. Did I stay up till 1 doing it? Maybe, but it was worth it. (FYI she's  number 1 so that's why the i is a 1) 
(Also side note: why didn't I post a fockey picture we me in it? Well, because I don't have any fockey pics with me in them from Charter Day.) 

Scratch that, here's a picture of me from Charter Day! Yeah, that's me playing my game. Am I 20? Nope. That's me in the background, 22, looking like a dweeb. Hey, what else is new? 
Anyway, for those if you who didn't attend the annual Charter Day Field Hockey Game Under the Lights (*gasp* how could you?), we won! yeah 6-1! I'm proud of my team for that... It was almost a shut out too... Almost. 
Anyway to continue on to the Charter Day festivities, after the amazing game under the lights that you shouldn't miss, we go home and get to sleep in. Well, unless you're a senior, then you gotta go in early the next day... (Oh, dang, that's me next year, isn't it?) Anyway, most of the high school gets to sleep in the next day, and then we go into school in our Charter Day attire and have our march to the Cathedral. Also known to some (possibly) as the cult march. But, like I said before, that's a common mistake to make, despite how it may look, it's not actually a cult. I don't think... I'm technically a part of it so can I really be a proper judge of the cult factor? 

When you're just an awkward blob... 

Anyway here's what we do after our (not) cult march. We sit through a long, arduous chapel service... Oh, sorry I mean an enlightening hour long chapel service (or is it an hour and a half?), we all walk around to the back of the cathedral to sing (not) cult songs. Actually though, the Charter Day songs are really fun to sing. Then it's picture time! (as seen above). Seriously, if you get in front of the big, fancy cameras for Charter Day, there's a good chance of you getting added to all the ANC advertisements. My face got put on a billboard in the mall (along with other people) last year, it was weird. But seriously, I swear they enhanced my acne in that picture, which continually horrifies me because that's in the mall. 

Then, after taking about three-thousand, five bajillion pictures, I left the cathedral to go and get my nails and eyebrows done, and proceeded to spend the rest of the afternoon half getting ready for the dance and half just lazing around. I always hate it when I have plans but nothing to do in-between because I don't want to start anything but then I'm bored, too. Seriously, I took FOREVER to get ready just because I had FOREVER. 

Alright and shoutout to Camille. She's basically just like an older sister to me and I love her so much. She came to stay with us over Charter Day weekend (yay <3), and took time out of her horrendously busy schedule to come home and help me figure out my hair situation. So thanks Camille, I love you. You're the absolute best. 
Anyway, spent a ton of time just getting ready for the dance/ lazing around. This included make-up, hair and scrubbing the shite out of my legs. 
Yeah, you weren't expecting that last bit, were you? Well, if any of you read my blog last year, I get horrible rashes all up and down my shins from my shin guards. Yes, I wear rash guards every single day, but it just can't be prevented apparently. Well, I spent a good half and hour using my sugar scrub (if interested, the recipe is on my blog) to scrub them down. And then I proceeded to use cover up, you know, to cover up those hideous rashes. Not many people contour their legs, eh? 
Then I got picked up by my date at 7. Yeah! I got asked to Charter Day! which is fantastic because a. I really didn't think I would be asked b. all my friends had plans so if I didn't get asked, I probably wouldn't go and I already bought a dress :(. anyway, I got asked so yay! (When people say "asked to Charter DaY" they mean the dance. Not just the day in general). 
It was fun. We got to Rachael's for pictures, despite my horrible directions, and then got to Bernie's for dinner. Then we went to the dance. Yeah, I'm not big fan of dancing, but like... I love dances, so it was worth it. 

Then on Saturday I did an open house and attended a movie night thing (it was on an outdoor projector, freezing but fun) and Sunday I had Cappies training (Ugh) and then Monday I got to sleep in. Yay. Charter Day weekend (there's a whole ton of other events, but I just didn't feel like writing about them, sorry. ) Anyway, thanks for reading! 
​Anj

TBT on a Tuesday...

Yeah, so basically I try to post at least once a month on this blog. This month I had literally no idea what to do, no new recipes and nothing particularly interesting happened in my life, so here's just a random talk about what's going on. I actually have a good excuse as to why I haven't been posting a lot recently (aside from the fact that I'm extremely lazy-- also don't I always have a "good" excuse? Because yeah I'm pretty sure I do.) Basically I've started my Junior Year in high school this year and, well. It's busy. Junior year is probably the most important year for colleges, and I've decided to take all honors (why???), so yeah, I'm going to be very busy this year aka probably not going to be posting very often. 
Seriously, I have a book review back up on my book blog (AnjiBooks). I think I have like four or five reviews I have to catch up on, which is a pain. And there's always more books piling up, too. On the brighter side, if you're looking for a good book, check out my book blog. Yeah, and if you say you don't read, I say lies. Everyone is a reader, some just haven't found the right book yet, so just go out and find the right book. 
Even with all the stuff I've been busy with, I try to find a little time to read almost every day. Now, on to what I have been up to. Well, as I said earlier I started high school. And all honors. Which means the majority of my time has been spent doing. *sigh* homework. So, so much homework. I feel like I've been buried under a mountain of it, and I've only been in school a month! Crossing my fingers that I'll be able to survive the year. At the moment I'm stressing over the number of tests I have in this upcoming week, which is a lot. And then I had a few tests last week, too. Basically Junior year is keeping me pretty busy. 
There are probably a lot of you out there reading this and laughing like "Oh yeah, I have a real job. You know nothing of work" or you're in college and I know nothing of being tired. Maybe that's true, but so far this is a very tiring time in my life so I have nothing to compare to. Sorry if I'm offending you by all my complaints of being busy and tired, but for what I've done in my life, this is a busy and tiring time. 
On top of my honors courses (and their tons of homework), I'm also doing field hockey again. While last year I made varsity and started a couple games, this year I'm actually starting varsity. I've been starting as right back (which, for those of you who don't know, is defense.) I, along with everyone else on the team, was very nervous for this year. We lost four of our starters last year to college and we also lost our goalie, so I was very worried about the team this year. Now, a month in, I can't be cocky about anything, but I do feel happy with where the team is at the moment. We're obviously a different team from where we were last year, but I'd say we're not horrible. Sorry, I don't want to say anything too confidant because karma. And I don't want to jinx anything, also don't want to be an idiot and say something incredibly cocky and then lose. 

We've been playing pretty well this season, winning our last three games all ___- 0. I'm just very nervous for our upcoming game for this Tuesday. On Tuesday we play Shipley, which is a team that is in our league, and they're also pretty good. The two teams in our league that I'm most nervous about playing are Shipley and Westtown. We haven't played Westtown yet, and I'm not sure when we will, but Shipley is this Tuesday. And I'm nervous for the game. Very, very nervous. Especially considering the game is on Shipley's turf, while we're used to playing on grass. And the defense actually hasn't had much to do in the last three games-- they've all been offensive. Well... Crossing my fingers for that game. 
As you may have noticed, all my pictures are of field hockey because that's only time I actually really ever get any pictures of me. The rest of the time I'm really just doing homework. 
Not to mention I'm about to start working on the play (and in the spring, the musical) as a student producer, which is a time commitment. Which means I'm going to be even more busy-- hopefully I'll be able to work out my routine to be able to balance everything (school, field hockey and play). Well, I guess I'll have to. 

Oh! I'm writing this late at night while drinking my homemade water kefir. So I can tell you all about that, because that's a subject I'm very excited about. Over the summer my family has taken to brewing kombucha. Kombucha is a very healthy fermented drink that is really good for helping you digest and for your gut bacteria. It gets fizzy, too, and really I find it to be really delicious (it's an acquired taste, though.) All summer I'd call the kombucha "kefir" because, well, they're both brewed drinks that start with "K" very easy to get mixed up. So near the end of the summer, I decided I'd start brewing kefir so I couldn't get mixed up. 
After a while of arguing as to why I should be allowed to get kefir, my dad finally let me buy the ingredients to start brewing water kefir. I've been brewing it for about a month now, and have been having a lot of fun playing with the flavors and what not. I've been sharing my water kefir with my friends since it brews very quickly and I get about 1/2 a gallon every other day, and gotten good reviews. It's quite good, in my opinion. My favorite flavors so far have been lemon and lime, but I'm still testing flavors. I just finished making a berry batch, so we'll see how that one turns out! 
For those of you who don't know, kefir is also a brewed drink, like kombucha. The flavor is very different though, and as is the brewing process. The brewing process of kefir is a whole lot shorter than kombucha (kefir 1-2 days kombucha 1-4 weeks, depending on how brewed you like it). I've been asked the difference multiple times of the health benefits of both and the main health benefit difference is that kombucha is more of a help to your digestion while kefir is just a really good probiotic. 
One more thing to update you all on is that over the summer I got my driver's permit. I didn't immediately get it on my birthday, but waited a couple months because I had to get a physical. Funnily enough I'm writing this exactly three months to the day of when I got my permit. Which means I'm at the halfway point. Exactly three months from now I theoretically could get my license. I say theoretically because I highly doubt I will have my license in three months. For one it'll be two days before Christmas and two my dad hasn't set up a date yet for it, so... I have a feeling we're going to have to wait a little longer. 
Let the record show that I don't actually care that much to get my license. I think that's a really older sibling/extrovert thing to be excited for. Being the youngest, it was never that hard for me to get a ride somewhere if I needed to go plus I'm an introvert. I probably shouldn't admit this because then you'll all know how much of a dweeb I really am (if you hadn't already guessed), but I don't actually leave the house that often so really, I don't actually need my license. That's why I wasn't all that excited to get my permit, which is why I didn't immediately get mine on the day of my 16th birthday. 
I have, however, been noticing recently how useful it would be to have my license. For one, my sister's off at college, so that's one less option for a ride, and two, my dad isn't always around. And I hate constantly having to ask people to rides or, *gasp* walking. For instance, my dad goes out of town a lot for work, and that wasn't really an issue when my sister and I were left home because Zia could drive us wherever we needed to go. But now when my dad is out of town I'm basically stuck at home or have to ask someone for a ride. Like this weekend my dad is out, and I had to get to an AKM event (it's a sorority at my school). I had to get a ride from a friend, and it was kind of a pain because I went through this whole worry period that she'd forgotten to pick me up and that I was also pestering her. And also this Monday would be the perfect time to host a team dinner, but we couldn't  because my dad is out of town and I don't have the ingredients-- so I need to go grocery shopping. Basically no team dinner, and it's also going to be difficult to bake anything really seeing as my usual heaps of ingredients is running a little dry. 
My point is, while I was never really excited about getting my license, I've been starting to see how useful would be. Then my dad wouldn't have to worry about picking me up from practice when the time and place change and then I don't have to worry about asking for rides or worrying about rides. So, probably, six months from now, I'll have my license and not be worried about these sorts of things. Of course, that doesn't mean I'll be going out more because a. driving makes me nervous and b. I'm still a dweeb who's an introvert and stays at home at almost all times. 
Anyway, thanks for reading, I'll see y'all next time! 
​-Anji