Can it be I've been away too long!

Did you miss me while I was gone? Just a little Jackson 5 lyric humor. I haven't blogged since like 1985 or something. I have been burning the candle at both ends and sometimes the middle. Not only have I been working at obtaining my bachelor's degree, I have also been working at taking care of my health. One thing that became clear in my quest for knowledge was the horrible cost of diabetes. I took a digital media course and my project focused on type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The course was a blast! I got to use all these cool gadgets like flip cameras,video recorders, Imovie09 and macpros. I made a tiny one minute movie in Imovie called sugar which was alternately about "sugar"diabetes and old adds extolling the virtues of sugar. While my brain and my technical know how grew so did my concern for my own health. Just talking to my father and my Co-worker about the high cost of diabetes had me running for the nearest treadmill. I'm not a rich chick yet and when you figure that a three month's supply of insulin cost you $400 dollars with insurance and that's not including the testing supplies, you start looking for the exit signs to get off highway diabetes 101. Both my parents have type 2 diabetes and I'm trying to avoid it like the plague. So what's a girl to do when she wants to become a newer sleeker model?

Hire a trainer,






















Start drinking wheat grass smoothies





















Sleep in garbage bag pajamas?

















I didn't do any of those things-what am I mishugina? I have the time to schlep my self from class to be tortured everyday by Sven the body beautiful? I started simple- I walked a lot with Ms. A around her neighborhood and we walked by a dance studio that peaked my interest. I took a ballroom dance course and learned to salsa. Salsa made me feel so good inside! It is totally a self-esteem booster! I just loved the music so it was an exercise I didn't mind doing. Eventually I did join a gym that fit my wallet perfectly well thank you! I became more confident in my ability to actually make the changes I needed to see the results I wanted. I also cooked for myself instead of eating out a lot. I'm crazy cheap so this fit me perfectly. You don't want to know how much money I saved by cooking for myself. I am proud to say that I have finally broken the plane. I am for the first time in 15 years below 200 pounds. Was it easy? Heck No! but I found that by focusing on what I wanted in my life it was easier to say no to the things that kept me from obtaining them. I'm still on the journey. I have to keep myself out of the reach of diabetes. I don't have all the answers at all-we all slip up and have issues. You just have to get back up and try again.

You can look at my project for my digital media class.



Des
www.ditigalmedia569.blogspot.com

What's on your Player

I have been sadly slacking on my blog. Not because I have nothing to say but because an evil virus basically destroyed our home computer. Not to mention I've been looking for apartments,cars,and time to read and knit before school starts. So Here's a random list of the music I've heard this summer on the way to....

Chicago:

1. Eye of the tiger
2. My girl wants to party all the time(so weird right, some radio station in Indiana)
3. Super Freak(same weird radio station)
4. California Girls( some Katy Perry song-have no clue gets real old real fast)
5. I want to Sex you up(ever listen to a song when your an adult and think WWIT(what was I thinking)
6. All this Love(still love it)
7. Tick-Tock( annoying to say the least)

This is what comes from being unprepared on a long car trip. You are forced to depend on the radio for musical excellence.

Work to and From:

1. Glycerin
2. Heard about You(gen x station 106.7)
3. Jesus is Love (Still can't find that one on CD)
4. Champagne Life(Love it-or is it Ne-yo that I love-musically that is)
5. Step in the name of Love (still makes me want to move)
6. Back in Black
7. Jumping Jack Flash

Cd's:


1. Forgiven
2. The house that built me
3. Lead Me
4. Gimme Love
5. Cry me a River
6. All of Me
7. L-O-V-E
8. I Just haven't met you yet
You could probably tell that the last 4 songs are old torch songs. I'm beginning to think that I just might love the big band sound. I already like the dances. Now If I could just get someone to pay me to dance hmm..... well anyway Michael Buble is my singer of choice right now.
9. The Best of You
10. DOA( Foo Fighters make excellent gym music. nuff said.

So what artists have been lighting your fire lately? Lets share and by virtue of that sharing become even more musically diverse? I'm always willing to give anything a listen. Now if they would only create a website like Good Read but for Music listeners-how awesome would that be!

Desi

The Traveling Librarian!

Well guys,

I've went coastal now. I have currently been to 4 libraries in my journey out west. I visited a library in South Dakota that had an interesting approach to their lost and found. Once a month they spread items from the lost and found on the table with a sign that says" If this is yours take it". There was a library in Yellowstone national park. Really cute and small, had access to Internet with a guess pass. The second library was in the doubletree hotel in Berkeley California, I "checked out" Angry Agnes and the hit man(yes I brought lots of books but I"m a reader I zoomed through them). The last an most interesting library was in Reno Nevada. I say interesting but the library was located in side the mall. This is the first time I've experienced what it feels like to be a customer waiting on the other side of the gate waiting for the branch to open. Who know what I'll find next.

Des

Trivia Time!

Let's play a game! I'll give you some clues and you can figure out where I've been so far.

I traveled through three states in the first day of my trip. Here's your clues.

State number one is the 19th state to be added to the union.

State number two is home to the white sox and cubs.

State number three has a Mayo Clinic.

Can you guess where I've been?

Tune in tomorrow(if I can find a hotel with a business center) to see where I was and where I went next!

TTFN

Des

always,always read the fine print

Well guys,

I should have read the contest rules completely. I thought you would just submit one of your favorite photos. It actually had to be a photo from a columbus arts festival. So I won't be submitting my photo:(. It's cool- Thanks to all who voted.

photo competition?

Hey guys,

I'm sending in one of my random photos for a contest in the alive paper. Please vote by comment by June 19th. I'll let you guys be judge and jury on this one.

des

Where has desi been?

Hey all,

I've been a very busy lady lately. First can I just say that I love being in school right now. Not only for the learning opportunity but for the cheap tickets I get from OSU. Of course I pay a quarterly activity fee so I'm kind of subsidising my own fun. Where have I been well.....

On May 21st my cousins and I went salsa dancing and got a free dinner from cheddars(they were too slow and ended up buying our dinner for us).

On May 22nd-my birthday! I went to the cleveland indians game with my friend Ms. A.


We didn't win but I still had fun and we stayed for the fireworks!

I cooled it down and did a couple papers and learned a couple dips in my social dance class

but I want to get here!

Then I went to the crew game with my friends Mr. B and Ms. A. I had a blast. Favorite comment from kids: "We're not blacking out the galaxy maybe their wearing sunscreen" and "That's expensive for beer" out of the mouth of babes!

Well I'm off to a clippers games next. I can't wait to see the new stadium.

Check ya later gaters

Going,going,Gone

My time has been going,going,gone for the last two quarter. Consequently, this is the first time that I've been able to post anything. Here's a quick rundown of what's been going on so far. I've been:

1. Salsa Dancing
2. Ballroom Dancing
3. Apartment Hunting
4. Hiking
5. Reading bloody Shakespearean history plays(yippee!)
6. Trying to get another MP3 player that actually plays all my music.
7. Making noise
8. Sleeping whenever I can(on the side of the road-at a red light-I'm not picky)
9. Boldly going where not cook has gone before-pulled pork with homemade barbecue
sauce!
10. Becoming addicted to groupon and buying all my dream items at half-price
11. Speaking of half-price went to half-priced books and scored a box set of musicals from the 30's and 40's-6 bucks
12. Doing my taxes-hopefully correctly
13. Planning my trip across the United States!
14. Trying to be grateful for the little things in life like 72% cocoa chocolate and groupon.

Well that's all I can think about this morning-12:32 am. I wouldn't be up but I just finished the rough draft of my Titus Andronicus paper(blood thirsty thriller choc full of murder and mayhem not to mention enemy pies-but don't take my word for it!). Will now sleep approximately 8 hours and hope to construct this paper correctly in order to produce and A and not just for effort from Ms. Oleary.

Wish me luck!


P.S.

Rip Guru!

Des

"Whoooeee boys, that's some mighty fine pickin' and a singing!

I was always the weird one musically in my family. I actually liked the folk songs we learned in 4Th grade. I internalized " This land is your land" and "My Bonnie flew over the ocean". So it should come as no surprise that I like blue grass music. There is something so beautiful in the poetry that goes on between a musician and his instrument. When the bow hits the violin and strikes a cord that resonates inside you that you never knew was there. Music like that just makes my heart happy. I confess to getting lost in it! So tonight I let my toes tap, my hands clap,and I gave up on all pretense of decorum when I listened to the Punch Brothers tonight. The Punch Brothers are a collection of musicians that have between them a bass fiddle(Paul Kowert), fiddle(Gabe Witcher),mandolin(Chris Thile),guitar(Chris Eldridge),and banjo(Noam Pikelny-affectionately called pickle). Both Gabe Witcher and Paul Kowert stole the show for me. I love fiddle almost as much as I love a good guitar riff and the deep color of sound that comes from the bass fiddle-(Oy I'm all verklempt talk amongst yourselves for a moment-okay I'm back). Each musician put there love for the craft on display tonight. It's one thing to play well, it's another thing all together to lose yourself in the music and take the audience along with you. I was swept away by their musicality and there oneness. Each musician played his instrument awesomely but they listened so intently to one another and vibe off of each other. What can I say-I have a new band to add to my expanding list of must haves! Even if you don't like blue grass- you can't deny the talent. Give a listen to the Punch Brothers.

sushi tonight

I made sushi again-this time with the help of my friend kaori. I marinated Salmon and then baked it(see it's not all raw fish). Then I cut up some cucumbers and bread and butter pickles( i know enough with the cuc's already) and some fat free cream cheese. I was inspired by my favorite sushi roll from tenske(spicy crab roll). Oddly it was the vegetarian roll(cucumber,pickles,cream cheese) that I like the most. Pair this with soy sauce and you have a lovely afternoon lunch. I ended up making enough for my friend and I and her two children. I hope you'll try something you've always wanted to do. There's no time like the present!


des

Memory lane

I absolutely loved slim goodbody. Who wouldn't love a man in a body stocking. It would take a man extremely confident in his masculinity to wear a body stocking. Looking back now, it's hilarious but I truly loved this show.


You can't have Slim without some nutritional advice from a cheese puff in a 10 gallon hat! I hanker for a hunk of cheese! I learned how to make cheese and cracker along with Popsicles from this little guy.



You can't tell a hero by his size He's just a little tiny super guy. They don't make television like they used to.



I have been searching for this segment forever. I just couldn't remember the name of the character I loved. It's full of all the jive talking and slick walking that went on during the seventies. I just loved the alliteration in the names of the characters. From Smart Susie Sunset to Bad news Barton and Wrong Way Willie there's no end to the smart and imaginative ways language can be used to interest young learners.



I've now become saturated with 1970's tv show memories. Maybe I need to watch something new a vibrant to get my mind off of the past.

Des

Game day leg warmers

I finally finished my game day leg warmers. I found this pattern in Stitch and Bitch nation. I just happened to have some left over scarlet and gray yarn respectively to finish this little project.

Bark: The untold story

Bark is fantastically easy. All it takes are a few items from your local Super Marche (That's french for Super Market,Mai Oui!). I found some 62% cocoa girhadelli chocolate chips. I paired that with some unsweetened chocolate, some semi sweet chocolate chips and cranberries and walnuts. What you end up with is not only suprisingly good but also good for you.

Here's the Recipe (See the closet kitchen for the white chocolate version)

1 bag dark chocolate chips(62% cocoa rocks!)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
half a square of unsweetened chocolate
1 cup cranberries
1 cup walnuts

Most people use a double boiler. I let mother neccesity inspire me. I put about a cup of water in deep sauce pan. I covered that with a glass mixing bowl that fit in the pan,but just fits.

Pour the chocolate chips(dark and semi sweet)and the unsweetened chocolate into the mixing bowl. Over medium low heat melt the chocolate. It should look something like this.


Remove the pan from the heat and pour the cranberries and nuts into the mixture


Spread either wax paper or parchment paper(wax paper is infinitely cheaper) over a cookie sheet. Pour the mixture onto the wax paper,smooth it out but not too thin.


Then either let cool on a counter top or if you have room put in the fridger over night.


Peel the bark away from the wax paper and break it into pieces-great stress reliever.


Enjoy

Des